Read on for my thoughts on last night's Smackdown.
That was a pretty cool opening video to set the stage for things. Anyone who honestly thinks WWE is forgetting about Bryan and not treating him as important should watch that.
I really liked the opening segment, even though I'm not crazy about them teasing issues between Orton and Rollins so early in their relationship. They did a good job having HHH put the focus more on Orton and Rollins than himself. He's just an occasional wrestler at this point. The other two should be where the spotlight shines.
On another note, it's interesting WWE is trying to define the "eras" they've gone through. They definitely took a different naming route than WWE 2K14, and of course some fans throw around the name "PG Era" even though Smackdown has always been PG. I do think there's a gap between the Ruthless Aggression Era and the "Reality Era". I'm OK with the name Universe Era in referring to WWE's growth and use of the term WWE Universe.
Anyway, I'm glad Barrett's getting some buzz ahead of his match. I hope he is a future WWE Champion.
Ambrose vs. Barrett was pretty good. I didn't expect otherwise given their past work.
Good post-match to heat things up for MITB.
Paige vs. Cameron was good to continue things for Sunday. I'm glad we're seeing Paige use the Paige Turner again.
I liked the post-match. I think it should be a triple threat at the PPV, but they could also use the PPV as the reason to split the Funkadactyls to lead to a triple threat.
The Wyatt Family continue to have enjoyably creepy promos.
I liked Sheamus vs. Wyatt a good deal. Both men are strong workers. When Sheamus has the right opponent, he can really be special.
Good post-match. WWE's doing a good job of building matches for the PPV.
I liked the Goldust/Stardust promo, as weird as it was. This is certainly an interesting change for Cody.
Damned solid tag match. Everyone in the ring turned things up a notch. I'm glad Del Rio got some momentum with a tapout win over Van Dam.
Fine post-match to sell the PPV as every wrestler for himself. Normally I don't like heels attacking heels, but they're opponents in a high-stakes match and Cesaro could be turning face soon anyway.
Interesting Usos promo. I can't complain about them getting mic time, though.
I like the Rusev/Lana act, but it does seem to be getting more heat on Russia and Putin than on Rusev. The jury's still out on how far Rusev can get.
Rusev's been impressive with his quick, decisive victories. Eventually he'll have to move on to bigger prey, and that's where things get interesting. Rusev vs. Sheamus for the U.S. Title could be a lot of fun.
I liked the Big E/Rusev segment. I definitely want to see a Round 2 at MITB.
Layla vs. Summer Rae works for me.
Kane vs. Reigns was a good match between two big guys. I can definitely see Reigns as a top babyface down the line.
That was a pretty cool ending to the show. I think WWE could tell a good story of whether Kane will obey The Authority or try to win the titles for himself on Sunday.
More wrestling coming up.
MITB predictions:
ReplyDelete- Summer Rae (I don't see any reason to stop any momentum she has as a face)
- Presumably Paige, but we're in for a Funkadactyls feud either way
- Rusev (Big E doesn't have the momentum to beat him)
- Goldust and Stardust (no reason to have them lose so soon after becoming a team)
- Ambrose
- Wyatt Family(?)
- Cena or Orton, depending on what they want to set up later. Lesnar taking the title from Cena at Summerslam leading to Bryan beating Lesnar for it would be interesting. They can still do Cena vs. Lesnar at Summerslam with Orton vs. Bryan for the title if Bryan's cleared by then, but I don't know if Bryan can wrestle then.
This pay-per-view is definitely a tough one to call with so many participants in the main events. We'll see what will happen.
ReplyDeleteI think the Summer Rae/Layla match will be a close one, but I'll lean towards Summer, even with a disastrous loss to a green Eva Marie not long ago. My only question if she does get the upper hand, who will Fandango side with? I don't see him going back to Summer, so maybe a miscommunication.
I see Paige winning. You can tell the company is really pushing for her to be at the top for a while. I also see Cameron and Naomi feuding right after this pay-per-view, presumably.
I don't see Rusev losing, either. Big E. has been built fairly strong even after his title loss, but I think this is a matter more of Rusev winning more than Big E. losing.
I also see no reason Goldust/Rhodes will lose so quickly. The Stardust gimmick is very odd, but I guess that is what he/WWE is going for. Time will tell if it's enough to propel them back to the tag title hunt.
I picked Ambrose to win the briefcase right when he was announced to be in the match. I think it will come down to Rollins and Ambrose, but I believe Ambrose will get the upper hand. Rollins has gotten the better of Ambrose via sneak attacks since his heel turn, so I see this as a sign of redemption for Ambrose. The only caveat being will WWE see enough in him as a singles star to have him be a World Champion so quickly with the competition being so fierce? Hopefully it will not be another Sandow-type situation.
The Wyatt Family most likely will take the tag titles. They've done a solid job at hyping this match via promos, matches, etc. I see this more as WWE being high on the Wyatts.
I'll break off into tiers my thoughts on who will be the World Title match winner:
Most likely: Cena, Orton, and Wyatt
Fairly likely: Reigns
Not likely: Cesaro, Del Rio, Kane, and Sheamus.
If pressed, I'll have to go with Cena. This match is definitely tough to call. I would have been higher on Wyatt if he hadn't lost repeated matches to Sheamus to halt his momentum a bit. This is one of the, if not the most important, hyped, and momentum-changing matches in a while. It will certainly be interesting.
For whatever reason, I can see a Fandango face turn. It's not like he's going anywhere as a heel and I can see the fans getting behind his gimmick.
ReplyDeleteI think they've got plans for protecting Paige. It's tough for me to separate "main roster" Paige from her previous experience and work in NXT that I'm sure a good deal of the audience isn't really familiar with. She got more buzz coming from developmental than a number of male wrestlers who've been called up, and that's pretty rare. I can't think of a female wrestler with so much hype as soon as she hit the main roster since Kharma. Maybe AJ, but she didn't have the pre-WWE experience Paige did.
I'm curious to see the long-term ramifications of Stardust. Goldust can't keep bumping forever, and a big feud with Cody has been something he's wanted for years. How far down the road that is remains to be seen.
There are a number of people high on Ambrose (and have been for a while). They might not see him as a top champion just yet, but he's had supporters pretty much since Day One. I think he'll do really well for himself.
I can see a Cena/Brock rematch at Summerslam in the vein of Cena/Rock at WM29 where they up the ante by putting the title on the line. WWE obviously loves Cena as their top act and has put the title on him quite a bit.