Read on for my thoughts on last night's Smackdown.
The opening match was fine to keep that storyline going. Rowan doesn't have the prettiest offense, but he fits his role fine. Not everyone needs to try to have a "five-star" match. That mindset's really out of synch with what makes wrestling work. Only part of the audience is interested in seeing good matches from a technical standpoint instead of stories and characters.
That was a pretty cool segment with Bryan attacking the Wyatts. Sunday will be interesting for this angle.
I missed Zeb's crazy promos. He needs his own show on YouTube.
I really liked the tag match. Everyone there did good things. I wish more veterans were as good in the ring as Goldust and it didn't feel like they were taking roster space from more talented younger guys.
That was a really stupid promo from Barrett. This whole thing feels like some kind of rib on him. I don't see him getting too far up the card with this gimmick.
Wow. Really? Way to sell Sandow as a credible force. Though I guess it can be construed as Sandow being so smart, he decided to bail out.
Ehh. Not much to say about the Big E/Sandow angle. It's not getting a lot of love from Creative, but they've definitely done a LOT worse in building PPV matches.
Not a bad Divas' tag match. I'm pretty much ready for a new feud. They've gotten all they can out of this one.
Cena did a pretty good promo there. I'm glad he's serious and motivated right now. If I hadn't heard the "serious Cena" promo 5,000 times before, it would be more effective, but there was nothing wrong with it. No poopy jokes, no Star Wars references, just talking about the PPV.
Pretty cool tag match. The Shield have really been firing on all cylinders and the Usos have stepped up their games from where they used to be.
Pretty good Punk promo. I'm ready for TLC.
Ugh. Big Show. Can HHH fire him again? I've had more than my fill of him in the past almost 15 years.
I don't necessarily see Ryback and Axel as stars with huge futures, but I don't really see how it benefits Show and Mysterio to destroy them. Both guys have already headlined PPVs and been both WWE and World Champion. There's really nothing else for them to prove.
Great Bray promo, but I'm a sucker for the weird stuff.
Kofi vs. Miz is still a thing, I see. They need more of a story for this one. It feels like they're fighting for basically no reason.
Nice setup for HHH and Orton's segment.
Intriguing ending to the show. I can see something big happening at the PPV given this angle.
More wrestling coming up.
TLC predictions:
ReplyDeleteI'm guessing Ziggler on the pre-show (not that it matters)
I can see Natalya taking the Divas' Title, either at the PPV or the night after. It seems like they're running out of things to do with this one. I know there hasn't been a huge buildup for Natalya to win, but this doesn't seem to be a massive priority for WWE.
Big E to retain, almost definitely.
I get this spooky feeling we're in for Big Show and Rey as Tag Team Champions, which would be a shame since Cody and Goldust are doing so well.
I can see Punk getting the upset with Ambrose turning face. Probably some kind of issue between The Shield leads to their loss.
Bryan vs. The Wyatts is kind of up in the air. I definitely don't think they'll "bury" Bryan here, but I'd be a bit surprised if he beat 3 men clean. Maybe Punk helps him get the win?
Expect interference in the main event. I definitely see Orton vs. HHH after the show as a possibility. Some even speculate HHH winning the match. Or there's always the potential there's some kind of swerve with HHH and Orton screwing Cena. That will be an interesting one to keep an eye on.
Logical predictions. We'll see what happens.
ReplyDeleteI also think Ziggler will win. The kickoff matches really have no real storyline behind them and have no real feud momentum helping market the match, so it really won't matter who will win at this point.
I know we've both been wrong numerous times in picking against AJ the last few pay-per-views to lose the title, but this time it seems more of a sure thing that Natalya will take it. She's riding a lot of momentum, and she's paid her dues to gain the title added to the fact that AJ has had the title for so long.
I still contend that it's unfortunate they're devaluing Sandow, as he was the Money in the Bank holder and now is on the edges of not even being able to win the Intercontinental Title. Big E should win, and no offense to him, but Sandow having ZERO titles at this point is a bit unfair for as well as he's done in his role. Maybe there could be a continuation of this feud culminating in Sandow taking the title, but Big E won't lose it this quickly.
I agree Goldust and Rhodes probably won't retain. They've gotten a lot of credibility from the fans, but they've both endeared recent losses to both Cesaro/Swagger and also Axel/Ryback. If that wasn't enough, Big Show and Mysterio are the definition of how a newly placed tag team made up of credible stars take the titles from a more established team. I think that's what will happen.
As I mentioned, the 3-on-1 matches are VERY hard to call. It would be tough to understand seeing Ambrose turn into a good guy, since he's so good at being a bad guy. I think The Shield could hint at a breakup with all of the tag teams out there, but WWE should note that Ambrose is so good in his "bad guy" role. However, with him being the sole champion in the group, they may have Rollins and Reigns turn against him in some fashion.
I honestly have no clue what will happen in the Bryan matchup. I've really had no clue on the WWE's direction with him since the summer, so my prediction would be very tenuous at this point. I don't think it would make sense for him to turn heel here and join the Wyatts though, as he's WAY over with the fans still.
I was undecided on the way the Cena/Orton match would go up until this week. My prediction is that Triple H will cost Orton somehow. It could be a big swerve along the lines of Triple H playing mind games with Cena and making it seem like Triple H and Orton are at odds. That would generate insane heat for both of them, but I predict Cena in some odd fashion, though I am not all that sure about it.
I don't know how much WWE looks at "paying dues" these days as much as who they think is the right person to hold the title at the right moment, and sometimes even how long someone's held the title doesn't matter as much as "who do we think should be champ going forward."
ReplyDeleteSandow could be a major player, but he's really lost momentum. I wish they cared as much about some of the up-and-coming guys as they do about people like Show and Rey who've done everything in the company of worth.
Ambrose could turn face without changing his character much. He's pretty popular and I think fans would be able to cheer him. Plus, Rollins vs. Ambrose would be amazing.
It's weird to me how many people don't "get" how Bryan's been booked. He hasn't lost a PPV match clean (unassisted) since being put in the main event picture, and he's often in major spots on the shows. He's not treated as THE guy, but they're not treating him like a Ziggler or Kofi either. I think it's still possible (if not probable) he's WWE Champion in Mania season.
I have a feeling HHH will be Champion at some point before Mania, losing to Bryan at the big event.