Read on for my thoughts on last night's Smackdown.
I think that was a pretty good opening segment, as far as Cena segments go. Rollins actually came off as the face to some degree in wanting to put an end to so many years of Cena dominance. I did appreciate the names Cena dropped, for what that's worth. He's come a long way from dominating the U.S. Title picture.
Kind of a goofy opening vignette for The Ascension. Why'd they get turned into that gimmick instead of the cool "goth" thing they had going on? I think they can do well as a team on the main roster, but it's odd to change their gimmick into that.
Tyson and Cesaro have definitely been really talented in their WWE runs, but I don't think they're going to grab the brass ring sufficiently for Vince's liking. It's probably mostly a size thing, sadly.
I liked the change of pace for when and why to cut to commercial.
I liked the tag match a good deal. Kidd and Cesaro continue to do good stuff under the radar. Hopefully they eventually get more of a spotlight.
Good mind games by Miz. I hope this leads into something interesting for TLC.
I definitely hope we're not in for the Usos getting the titles again. They're a good team, but there's no reason to do a switch right now.
Fine brief Wyatt promo. Should be a big match.
I liked Alicia vs. Nikki. They put together a good match in the time they had. Alicia's got a good grasp of things in the ring.
Good post-match. AJ vs. Nikki should be good.
Good Goldust/Stardust promo. I'm looking forward to their match on the TLC pre-show.
Good match, although it was kind of quick. I'm liking The New Day so far, although I'm worried Goldust and Stardust could be losing momentum by continuing to lose.
I liked Titus vs. Swagger pretty well. It got its purpose across ahead of Swagger challenging for the U.S. Title.
Nice post-match. TLC should be a good show.
Pretty good Ambrose promo. I'm glad we're getting to see him get a big platform in WWE.
I liked the six-man tag well enough. I kind of wish Show or Kane would have taken the fall instead of Harper, but it was what it was. Hopefully Harper will still do well for himself.
Pretty cool ending! A nice way to set for TLC.
More wrestling coming up.
TLC predictions:
ReplyDeleteThe New Day
Nikki
Miz/Mizdow unless they're already setting up the two of them feuding
Rusev
Ryback
Show(?) They like using him to kill people's momentum.
Harper (Ziggler screwed out of it?)
Ambrose, unless there's another spooky twist to carry this to another big match
Cena (possibly with Orton's help)
Solid predictions.
ReplyDeleteI also agree that The New Day will win. It wouldn't make much sense to take away their momentum being a new tag team.
Same with Nikki in the stance that she just won the title. The rematches for titles seem just to be a way for the newly crowned champion to gain more traction. Rarely does the challenger and former champion win it. Either way, I don't think many will care much about this match compared to the others.
I'll say Miz and Mizdow retaining by some sort of shady means and perhaps a disqualification of some sort. I see a rematch coming eventually, though. Fans want to see Mizdow turn face, but he wouldn't be a stunt double in situations to mimic Miz for our amusement if that happened. I'd like to see him turn face, so I'm just playing devil's advocate there. What are your thoughts?
Rusev will definitely win in my book. Swagger's basically just someone that will help Rusev continue his momentum (again).
Ryback will also definitely win in my book. Kane is just someone WWE uses to help get other stars over at this point.
I say Big Show will win, only on the basis that WWE may think Rowan isn't as game-ready. I've said this before, but I don't agree how/why WWE is still high on Big Show and so low on Kane and Henry.
Exhibit A as to why Kane deserves just as much shine, if not more, than Big Show is when he was with Team Hell No. He was still 3X more entertaining than Big Show, could still push the envelope despite being in his mid 40's, and still is solid on the mic and in the ring. You logically can't say 90 percent of those things about Big Show. Puzzling.
I say Harper will find a way to retain. He's been booked very shabbily since winning the title, so him losing it would basically make little sense as to why he won it in the first place.
The only thing we differ on is I think Wyatt will find a way to win. I want Ambrose to win and feel he needs a big win, but I believe WWE will keep Wyatt strong. Scenario B may be that Ambrose wins, but Wyatt finds a way to stay strong. It's a close call on this one.
I also say Cena. Orton costing Rollins makes a ton of sense, and it may be even likely.
Any dark horse predictions with regards to face/heel turns or match outcomes?
The "former champion gets an automatic rematch" is pretty much a booking crutch in that it's an easy way to set up another PPV match. I'm fine with that, but it definitely gets repetitive after following wrestling for so many years.
ReplyDeleteI think Naomi will be involved in the tag team title match somehow. It's possible they turn her heel to be with Miz and Mizdow, but I definitely think we're in for Mizdow turning face before Mania. I do wonder what he'd do as a face if he can't be someone's double. I think he's got the talent to play just about anything they throw at him, so who knows.
I also want Sandow to turn face, but they should draw it out for a while. That way, when it does happen, it will really mean something. My idea would be for him to tease dropping the stunt double act when Miz is eliminated from the Royal Rumble. Like, why should he throw away his chance at main eventing Mania just because Miz lost? If they play that right, I think it'd get a good reaction and lead to the two of them splitting. Maybe he could out-Miz the Miz as a face? I can see him coming out emulating The Miz from the ECW brand days with the hat and Chick Magnet shirt.
They can only have someone pin/submit Rusev for the first time once. I like Swagger, but they should make the most of Rusev's undefeated streak. Honestly, I'd be considering having Rusev be the challenger for the WWE Title after Mania. Ambrose or Reigns would walk out of WM31 with the title. Rollins would also be in the mix. And maybe Bray? WWE has the opportunity to really shuffle the deck once Sting, Lesnar, Taker (?), HHH (?), etc., are out of the way following Mania.
My only guess re: Show is he's committed to keep wrestling for longer than Kane and Henry. I haven't seen anything to suggest he's thinking of hanging up the boots. Obviously I'm not a fan of his, but I think he's sticking around for a while. I'm pretty sure he's got several more years on his current deal.
Oh, Kane's great. I don't think anyone will argue that. It's about a lot more than who's the most talented, entertaining, etc., though, to WWE brass. I'm guessing they do think Show's going to be wrestling longer, so they're more invested in him going forward.
I'm guessing Wyatt and Ambrose have such a war, both will be strong if booked well following. Hopefully Ambrose has a big night at WM31 like Bryan did at WM30. There's definitely some backlash to Reigns being pushed ahead of him, although it might not be at the same level as what pushed Bryan to the main event.
I think Orton was supposed to be in Sting's position last month, but WWE changed that to shake things up.
I don't know of any crazy surprises set other than Orton potentially coming back. I wouldn't be shocked if there's another weird ending to Wyatt/Ambrose (like at HIAC). A dark horse idea would be Heyman preventing Cena from winning or something, but I don't know if they'd go that route.