For some reason I don’t think I’ve ever done one of these for a Takeover. These things are the NXT pay per views though so it’s definitely worth looking at a little bit closer. This one does feel like it’s slapped together and really not necessary, but at least you have a series of big matches that should eat up a lot of time. Let’s get to it.
Let’s get the smaller matches out of the way first.
I’ll take Asuka over Dana Brooke. Brooke has been built up as a threat but Asuka feels like something special. I’m not saying Asuka is going to be the next top challenger, but I’ll take her over Eva Marie’s comedy show any day.
Apollo Crews over Tyler Breeze, though Breeze really needs a big win at some point.
As for the main event, of course Bayley wins though Sasha is likely getting a fall here or there. I’m sure the ending will have a bunch of drama, likely with Bayley locked in the Bank Statement with time running out and wondering if she’ll give up or not. There’s no way they’re taking the belt off of her yet though. There has never been a repeat champion in NXT and I can’t picture it happening now with Sasha looking like she’s going after the Divas Title.
Now for the tournament, which could go more than one way. We’ll start with the only easy match in the field: Jordan/Gable beat Rhyno/Corbin. They’ve got something special with Gable and I think they know it. There’s no way they’re going to put Rhyno and Corbin over them and into a final they have no chance of winning.
That brings us to the more complicated match as Finn Balor/Samoa Joe face the Mechanics. It’s no secret that Balor and Joe are going to be feuding at some point in the future. However, the question becomes do they lose and argue over whose fault it was or do they win the whole thing and then fight over who was the more important member of the team? Or do they win the whole thing and then Joe gets a shot as a sign of respect? I’m not sure if they win the whole thing or not, but I do think they advance to the finals.
So that leaves Joe/Balor vs. Gable/Jordan for the title. I think I’m going with Gable/Jordan here as they’re a good choice for the next challengers to the titles and you can have Balor vs. Joe at the next Takeover. Or, they go with Gable/Jordan but a DUSTY FINISH gives it back to Joe/Balor. Seriously if they don’t go with a Dusty Finish at some point, I’m going to be disappointed.
Overall this show feels…..unnecessary. This feels like they’re giving Full Sail a Takeover to make up for Brooklyn because they’re afraid Full Sail will be offended. I have confidence in NXT to pull something off though and they’re guaranteed to have some entertaining matches along the way, but I’m hoping we don’t have another one of these for a good while. Like until London in late December.
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I can’t believe I’m saying this but I’m somewhat optimistic going into the show tomorrow night. TNA has done about as good of a job of setting this thing up in four hours and I’m actually wanting to see what they’ve got. Above all else, this show is already better than last year’s disaster and has the potential to be entertaining. Let’s get to it.
We’ll start with one of the matches added on Impact with Kurt Angle vs. Eric Young. To continue the theme of things I can’t believe I’m saying, Eric should win this hands down. Angle is leaving in January and turns 47 in December. There is no reason to keep pushing him as this star, especially if he’s on the verge of leaving. Eric has a lot more potential in TNA and Angle stopped being hurt by losses about ten years ago. It’s nice to have a story to this match but Angle should take the loss, probably the first of a few on his way out.
There’s a gauntlet match between Abyss, Aiden O’Shea (Jay Bradley. I remember him better from his OVW days than TNA), Chris Melendez, Eli Drake, Jessie Godderz, Mahabali Shera, Mr. Anderson, Robbie E. and Tyrus for a future shot at the World Title. Let’s not waste time here: Shera is winning this and getting the big title shot in India for the sake of the live crowd because that worked oh so well in Ring Ka King.
You remember Ring Ka King. That’s the TNA backed show that ran in India and ended with Shera winning the title before the show was canceled. As is always the case with TNA: they never learn. I know Shera is better now, but catering to the live crowd instead of the much larger one over in America, as in where they’re in desperate need for a new TV contract. Their solution: push a guy whose gimmick is folding his arms and popping his shoulders in the latest “dance craze”. In other words, they’re pushing a brawling Fandango and expecting it to be their big TV angle for….whenever the shows they’re taping in late November air.
Next up is the Ultimate X match for the X-Division Title. I’ve completely given up on any hope for the title having meaning these days so a thrown together multi-challenger title defense is the best we’re going to get. Tigre Uno is defending against Andrew Everett (newcomer who has worked around the indy circuit including some time in ROH), DJZ (who lost in a multi-man match on Wednesday) and TJP (formerly Manik, who has won two singles matches in TNA since last September and one of them was at a One Night Only).
It’s so sad to see the title this dead after being the cornerstone of TNA for so many years. That being said, this meaningless title defense is standard lately for Bound For Glory as they haven’t had a singles match for the title since 2012 and that match was added at the last Impact to put the title on the show. Tigre should retain here but they’ll probably go with TJP, who they keep seeing potential in, despite not letting him go anywhere for some reason. It’s going to be a big spot fest and nothing we haven’t seen before as Pope and Josh the Tool (seriously dude: wear long sleeves) talk about how innovative it all is.
Wolves vs. Trevor Lee/Brian Meyers. If you need an answer here, you haven’t been paying close enough attention. Lee has talent and should be successful elsewhere but Meyers is one of the most generic guys I’ve seen in a long time. Wolves retain and barely break a sweat in doing so.
Lashley vs. Bobby Roode for the Globally Televised Legendary Kingdom in the Mountains Title (STICK WITH A NAME ALREADY) is probably going to be the match of the night and that shouldn’t come as a surprise. Their series for the World Title was really good but I could go for ANY kind of story here.
It’s really lazy writing to have an open challenge for the title (and even worse when you consider it’s on the same show as an X-Division Title match where the opponents were thrown together and a gauntlet match where the opponents are thrown together) but they have the potential to be really good as both guys are talented. Lashley has gone from the hottest thing in the company to just another guy in the last six months but that’s TNA for you. I’ll take Roode to retain but it’s a tossup.
Kong takes the title from Kim. There’s no logical reason to keep the belt on Gail here, aside from TNA’s love affair with her. Kong hasn’t help the belt in almost seven years and she should take it back here. As usual in TNA, they’re building the idea off something that happened years ago and you needed to be around a long time ago to know the idea here. The match should be good but Kong needs to powerbomb her into oblivion and hopefully off TV for the better part of a year. I’ve had enough of the female Lance Storm for a thousand years and I really don’t need to ever see her around the title again.
I’ve already done a full column on the main event:
I’m picking Galloway but Carter retaining wouldn’t surprise me. Then again neither would putting it on Hardy, which would be the worst possible option out of the three. Of course there’s always the option of having Jeff turn on his brother and join forces with Ethan as the new heel stable because it’s been two whole weeks since we’ve had one.
Overall Bound For Glory has the chance to be a fun show but at the same time there’s nothing on the show I’m dying to see. There isn’t a blowaway match on the show (I bet Buddy Rose could have one) and the best one is likely the midcard title match that we’ve seen three times in the last year. There’s a real chance that this is the last TNA pay per view ever and hopefully they go out with a decent show after this year’s Slammiversary and last year’s Bound For Glory were such wrecks. We’ll go with cautious optimism and low expectations, which means it’s a good day for TNA.
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It’s only a few hours away but there’s always time for a preview. This is going to be the biggest show in NXT history (so far) as they’re in the same arena as Summerslam with 13,000 people. Tonight is a double main event of Bayley challenging Sasha Banks for the Women’s Title and Finn Balor defending the NXT Title against Kevin Owens in a ladder match. I’m way more excited for this show than Summerslam (which also looks like a good show) so let’s get to it.
First up we have the debut of Apollo Crews against Tye Dillinger (the Perfect 10 guy). NXT really likes the idea of debuting their next big thing on these shows and this is the latest example. Crews looks awesome in training and has spent years showing off in the indies, so this should be fun. The ending is obvious of course, but this would be a good choice for an opener to get the crowd going.
Baron Corbin vs. Samoa Joe has the potential to be a great power brawl, which can often steal a big piece of the show. The thing is though, I’m not sure who goes over here. They seem to be worried about pushing Joe huge due to his unique contract situation (a totally reasonable perspective) and I could see Corbin being the low level challenger to Balor after Takeover before they start building up to the next major challenger. I’ll take Joe winning here, but I could see Corbin getting the big upset here.
I’ll go with the Vaudevillains taking the Tag Team Titles. I actually had a line about the champions retaining and it felt so totally wrong that I had to erase it. Blake/Murphy are a great way to make Alexa look good (you know, because she has such an issue doing it on her own) and even though they feel like transitional champions, they’ve held those things since January. I’d love to see more of Bliss, but I could easily see her getting a new act and be like the old Sunny, jumping from team to team whenever the old team is done. But yeah, should be new champions here.
Breeze over Liger. As amazing as it is to see Liger in the WWE, Breeze is looking like a star at this point and has gone so far past where his character should have come to a screeching halt (in a good way) and a win over a legitimate legend could make him look even bigger. Remember where I said Corbin could be the mini-bad to get Balor on to his next major opponent? That next major opponent should be Breeze, and I wouldn’t have an issue with Breeze taking the title. He’s more than earned it and he isn’t going to be called up anytime soon. On top of that the fans are accepting him due to the hard work and great matches he’s put on, so why not take a shot on him when Balor goes up north?
I would say Balor retaining the title is the most obvious ending in the world, but then I read something that got me thinking. Obviously one of the big stories lately has been HHH vs. Kevin Dunn over the NXT guys. Would it really shock you to see HHH send Owens back down to NXT so Dunn can’t ruin him on the main roster? It would be a much better way for Owens to stay over than by being a midcarder who is on the bad end of fat jokes because WWE thinks like a nine year old at times, so why not do it for a bit to restore his image? I think Balor wins, but it’s not as sure as I thought it was.
Finally, we have the match that I’m looking forward to more than anything on Summerslam, this year’s Wrestlemania, the Royal Rumble, and probably all the way back to Sami Zayn vs. Adrian Neville II. Bayley is challenging Sasha Banks for the Women’s Title and there is no reason to believe we’re not getting a title change here. Bayley has been chasing the title for over a year now and this feels like the night.
The key thing here though is why this feels so important. While I’m expecting the match to be good, I’m not expecting it to be as good as some of the other NXT women have done. However, what I’m expecting is one of the most emotional moments in recent years, and that’s WAY more important than the wrestling. The fans want to see Bayley win the title and that’s where the money is.
It’s such a well done story of one of the last few innocent people in wrestling fighting the good fight against someone who, while not full on evil when you think about it, isn’t the nicest person in the world. I’ve gotten so into this story and I want to hear that place erupt when she wins the title, which I’m almost fully certain she will.
Overall….my goodness that’s a heck of a card. The worst match is probably the Tag Team Titles, which should be a fun match depending on who the Vaudevillains have to counter Alexa (if it’s Blue Pants, the reaction will not be of this world). Couple that with a Brooklyn crowd and 13,000 people and this has the potential to be something better than good; it has the potential to be special.
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It’s another TNA pay per view and now, instead of being better than WWE’s offerings, the question is can they be better than One Night Only. It’s almost impossible to not beat Bound For Glory from last year, and at least there’s something borderline important on this show. Let’s get to it.
So this could be interesting as I’m not entirely sure what’s on the card in the first place.
We’ll start with the six man ladder match for the X-Division Title with new champion Tigre Uno defending against Rockstar Spud, Kenny King, Crazzy Steve, Manik and Mandrews. This is another example of the title meaning nothing as there are no feuds to be seen and it’s just throwing everyone out there for the sake of a big multi-man spot fest. It’s also telling that less than a week after the title changed hands, it’s already time for a fresh batch of opponents, despite Uno having no real connection to any of them. Tigre retains as he just got the belt earlier in the week.
I’ll take Davey over Aries to pick the stipulation for the final title match, because for some reason TNA thinks faces should pick stipulations in matches instead of heels, as common sense would suggest.
Matt Morgan will likely beat Bram via DQ or just cleanly because Bram is one of the biggest wastes in all of the company. This whole challenging anyone on the roster is really just a thing that he’s doing with no real upside. What good does it do him or anyone for that matter to have a bunch of one off matches? At least Morgan was successful in TNA. Kind of. In tag teams. Some of the time.
Ethan Carter III/Tyrus should beat Lashley and Anderson because there is zero logical reason for Anderson and Lashley to win given Carter’s upcoming title shot. Actually there’s no real reason for them to be teaming together other than they’re a pair of losers at the moment, but then again this is just another meaningless match.
Brooke and Kong over the Dollhouse in what should be another obvious ending. These are starting to worry me though as TNA is going to have to screw up something obvious sooner or later.
Jesse Godderz will beat Robbie E. because, again, there’s no logical reason for Robbie to go over. Godderz is getting a nice push as the new self obsessed heel, and having him lose to Robbie would be about the dumbest thing they could do here. Godderz won’t go very far with this character (his finisher is a Boston crab) but what they’re doing so far is working well.
Jeff Jarrett wins the King of the Mountain title. Yeah it’s now a title and the other participants are Matt Hardy, Eric Young, Drew Galloway and Bobby Roode. I love that they’re setting up a midcard title again, but their track record with these things kind of sucks. Well there’s no kind of to it actually. Maybe this will be different, assuming Jarrett actually sticks around.
Finally, James Storm over Magnus as this is probably continuing.
Overall, Slammiversary doesn’t look that bad. The card is WAY better than Bound For Glory looked last year as A, stuff actually matters here and B, I’ve heard of everyone on the card. I don’t think the show is going to mean anything other than being a long episode of Impact, but at least it could be entertaining. The build for this has barely existed because TNA can’t do something as simple as schedule things properly, but that’s the least of their problems right now. This show could be good, but it’s the most cautious optimism possible.
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If the Royal Rumble isn’t my favorite show of the year, it beats anything else for second place. The namesake match is so insane and all over the place that it’s hard not to love. In addition to that this year though, there’s an interesting triple threat which could throw a major curve into the Wrestlemania picture. In other words, it’s really hard to predict what’s coming and it’s making things that much more interesting. Let’s get to it.
As usual we’ll start with the pre-show match. I’ll take the New Day to win the six man elimination tag over Rose/Cesaro/Kidd with Woods being the only elimination. There’s no reason to have New Day lose yet, even though they’re just not that interesting. I don’t mind them as much as most people, but there’s no reason to care about them yet. Cesaro and Kidd are a good option as a team but they’re stuck in this role because that’s how WWE works.
Ascension over the Outlaws of course. I like the story it seems they’re going with as Ascension can defeat legendary teams to prove their statements right before they go after the belts, but at the end of the day they’re just going to be beating old guys who barely ever wrestle. This is where you need the commentary team to step up and get the story over, but this commentary team isn’t capable of stepping up and getting a lunch order over.
The worst part about Ascension is they’re a fresh idea for a team, but they were ripped apart so fast coming out of the gate that they weren’t given a fair shake. Look at what Ryback did just a few years ago squashing jobbers: he was challenging for the World Title in the main event of a pay per view just a few months later. The commentary team was in awe of him but they jumped all over Ascension and now the fans want the team gone already. Unless they get to prove the commentators wrong, it’s a waste of their time in NXT and a way to get back to the boring tag division we’ve had for years.
Speaking of the Tag Team Titles, I see no reason for them to change hands tonight. It’s not that the Usos are the most interesting team in the world, but the imminent split of Miz and Mizdow would mean there’s no reason to put the belts back on them. After that though, who else could go after them but the Ascension? Cody and Goldust vs. Usos has been done to death so there’s…..New Day? Is that the point we’ve reached already?
Again, I have to wonder why there’s such a lame tag division when there’s such a deep roster. Could it be that they treat tag teams like such jokes and people aren’t interested in seeing two guys randomly paired together with each other without any effort being put in, ala Kidd and Cesaro? The short version of this way too long statement: bring back tag team names.
The other tag match is an unnecessary Total Divas match between the Bellas and Paige/Natalya. I’ll actually go with Paige/Natalya here to set up the next challenger to Nikki’s title, but it wouldn’t shock me to see the Bellas win again to make sure we don’t forget that they’re the greatest, toughest, most dominant and interesting Divas in the history of the world. I mean, what other Divas go to brunch together and are so amazing that they can’t even keep arguing with each other because they’re so awesome they forget it happened and give us a lame explanation of “we’re sisters”?
Now we get to the two main events, which are both wide open but the more I think about them, the more I think they’re going with the most obvious winners. We’ll start with the World Title match with Lesnar defending (yes really) against Rollins and Cena. The addition of Rollins has breathed new life into the long past done Lesnar vs. Cena feud. I really didn’t need to see Cena dying and then leveling up again to fight the final boss one more time. It may not lead to a different ending, but at least it’s something we haven’t seen before.
On top of that, the buildup of Rollins into a main event guy was great, even though he stopped standing up to Lesnar and ran like anyone else would this past Monday. The image of the two of them staring each other down was awesome though and I totally bought Rollins as a top level player.
As for the pick, I’m taking Lesnar with no cash-in. Unfortunately I think WWE is fine with having no title match from now until Wrestlemania with the thinking being they’ve gone this far with the idea so don’t worry about it screwing up Wrestlemania either. My first reaction to this would be to point you to both the Network numbers as well as Wrestlemania XX and SuperBrawl II. Wrestlemania XX is of course Lesnar leaving and having a HORRIBLE match against Goldberg, but SuperBrawl II is a bit more interesting, as well as pertinent to what we’re looking at here.
Back in 1991, it was clear that Sting was the top man in WCW and the uncrowned World Champion. His first run with the belt hadn’t gone that well but now the people were ready to accept him as the star (that’s quite the lesson: Just because a first reign doesn’t work, the second can be much better. See also Bret Hart and Daniel Bryan) when he won the title at SuperBrawl II. Unfortunately it was Lex Luger’s last match with the promotion and he hadn’t been wrestling that much due to already fulfilling all of his contractually obligated dates. Is this ringing any bells?
Luger went out and put in the minimal effort imaginable for someone actually alive and dropped the belt to Sting in a horrible match. Now this was at SuperBrawl, which was an upper tier show but not the biggest. Can you imagine if this happened in the main event of Wrestlemania? I can accept that Bryan could save the match, but can you imagine Reigns in this spot with only his signature moves to save him? The word disaster isn’t nearly strong enough.
That brings us to who Lesnar will be facing, and I think it’s going to be Reigns. We’ve covered everything possibly wrong with Reigns getting this spot this early in his career, but if that’s what WWE is going to force on us then so be it. I still think it could ruin whatever he has going for him, but it looks like that’s what we’re getting whether we like it or not. I’ll take Reigns coming in around #25 or so and cleaning house to win, likely knocking out Big Show for the final elimination ala Shawn in 1996.
As for the other possible winner in Daniel Bryan, I’m guessing they have someone from the Authority take him out, setting up Bryan vs. Authority II with him facing……Rollins I suppose at Wrestlemania. That would be one heck of a match, but it’s yet another reason why Lesnar vs. Reigns would be a disaster to have on top. Can you imagine those two trying to follow Bryan vs. Rollins if that’s what we get?
As for surprise entrants, I’ll go with Orton (should be obvious) and…….eh sure why not the Dudleys. It’s in Philadelphia and they’ll take some of the pressure off the fans who are going to explode if Bryan doesn’t win again. Oh and Rob Van Dam and/or because you can’t have a Royal Rumble without one of them making a SHOCKING return.
This show feels like it could be very entertaining, but man alive does it feel like it could explode in their faces. This show is going to set the stage for Wrestlemania and that could be the biggest disaster in years if they go with the wrong selections. Unfortunately it seems like that’s where they’re going with it and the fans could rip this show apart if they’re not happy. I don’t think it’s going to be nearly as bad of a reaction as last year’s (primarily due to Bryan at least having a chance), but they’re walking a very tight rope.
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It’s time for this months pa…..you don’t actually have to pay for this, unless you pay for the Network every month. However, this is as one note of a show as you can find as the entire show is about Team Cena vs. Team Authority and the rest is barely mentioned. Even after Raw there were only four matches announced with a bonus being added later in the week. This show is going to be all about the main event which is usually a bad idea. Let’s get to it.
We’ll start with the preshow with the new and improved Fandango facing someone to be announced. I have a feeling this is a way to have a big name return against him and beat him, which would be more entertaining. Fandango stopped meaning anything after he didn’t win the Intercontinental Title so I don’t see this meaning anything.
I’ll go in reverse order this time so you might have a reason to keep reading.
Miz and Mizdow need the titles at this point as there’s no reason to not capitalize on Mizdow any longer. He has a short shelf life so giving him a Tag Team Title is about as good as you can ask for from him.
The Bellas get the Divas Title because it’s been a whole month since this stupid personal servant thing started and about three weeks since it meant anything. The sisters seem totally fine with each other anymore and I think we’re setting up a Bellas reunion as a season finale of Total Divas, making the last few months completely pointless. AJ doesn’t need the belt anymore, though to be fair I don’t need the Bellas anymore in general.
Paige, Cameron, Layla and Summer to win the elimination tag in a match that means even less than it seems to.
Bray vs. Dean is one of those matches where it’s a coin flip. Bray needs the win to rebuild himself and Dean has basically been thrown in a freezer since the Cell. The story is good but they need to actually go somewhere with it instead of just saying vague things about Ambrose’s dad causing him all this emotional damage. I can’t imagine this has a clean finish and I’d assume we’re seeing a gimmicky match next month.
That brings us to the main event, which is more along the lines of what kind of swerves we get. The possibilities range from someone turning on Cena to HHH offering immunity to a member of Team Cena to HHH having to step into the match himself and probably a lot more than that. I still think Orton returns and completes his face turn, likely setting up a showdown with Rollins, perhaps for the briefcase and then a feud with Lesnar. Or maybe I’m just wishful.
As for the match itself, I can’t imagine it winds up with anyone but Cena at the end, triumphing over the Authority and winning the day. While this could be a great chance to give someone else a rub, it doesn’t seem like that’s something that’s likely to happen. Rusev isn’t going to get pinned and odds are Ziggler or Rowan pins Harper to set up a match for the title later on. At the end though, it’s probably Cena pinning either HHH or Rollins to free the company from the Authority.
As for the big name rumored to make an appearance, as I’ve said millions of times, I’ll believe it when I see it. If he shows up here to plug the game and that’s the last we see of him, it’s like Dolph Ziggler’s 45 minute title reign a few years back: yeah it happened, but it’s a cheap way to check something off a list.
Overall Survivor Series really isn’t doing it for me, though the main event should be fun. There’s almost bound to be something extra added to the card, with Rose vs. the Bunny as a possibility. Of course they could add a third elimination tag without too much effort, but I can’t imagine they’ll actually do that at SURVIVOR SERIES.
Hell in a Cell 2014 Preview
This show has a strange build to it as we’ve seen almost everything there is to see for the setup but I don’t know if WWE can give us the payoff we need due to the lack of the violence. We always hear about the violence inside the Cell and how insane it’s supposed to be but there’s a good chance we’re not getting anything close to that. Let’s get to it.
We’ll start with what is likely going to be the main event and say Cena beats Orton. That’s unfortunate as Orton vs. Lesnar could headline a few PPVs in a row but it looks like we’re going to get another Cena vs. Lesnar match which really doesn’t have a huge audience. Orton is on the brink of a face turn too and face Orton with the RKO against Super Beast Brock would have me drooling. Instead though it’s probably going to be Cena and it’s probably going to headline the show because that’s what WWE seems to think we want to see.
Next up is the match that has had the build and should be the main event since Cena and Orton don’t need it, but instead will probably be the show stealer that people want to see close things out. I think Rollins beats Ambrose due to some shenanigans but the drama is going to be amazing. Ambrose could be a huge deal, but I don’t see him winning while holding the briefcase. Unfortunately Reigns is kind of holding the match hostage and there are so many possibilities with him in there. I just can’t see Ambrose winning, but I think Rollins takes the beating in a lifetime to get the win.
Nikki beats Brie due to interference of some sort. There’s just no logic in having Brie win, but it means I don’t have to listen to BRIE MODE twice in a row. Nikki wins and is all evil to Brie for a month, setting up yet another match that drags the show down. Somehow Brie is the best face the division has at this point, but I have no idea why I’m supposed to care about these two fighting.
Sheamus beats Miz to retain the title and we get Miz vs. a face Mizdow in the future. Damien has a future due to pure hard work. Imagine that.
Rusev beats Big Show, hopefully by TKO. These two had a match that was way better than it had any right to be recently so maybe they can do it again here.
AJ beats Paige in another match we don’t need to see again.
The Dusts retain in a match that feels like we’ve seen it a dozen times due to all the six man tags.
Ziggler retains over Cesaro, making the losses mean nothing whatsoever.
Overall the show has me interested but my expectations are low due to the violence not being allowed. That’s the problem with PG: they can talk the matches up as being the most violent things you’ll ever see but they can’t deliver due to the restrictions. There’s nothing wrong with the restrictions and you certainly can have a violent match in the Cell in this era, but I don’t know if the young guys can pull the pathos to make it work.
As for the other Cell match….I just do not care. I’ve seen these two fight about 40 times now and I do not want to see it again. I don’t care that it was in the Cell, I don’t care that it’s for the title shot and I don’t care that it’s likely going to headline the show. The interest isn’t there and it’s high time WWE figures that out. They’ve WAY overplayed this match and there’s almost nothing left for them to do anymore. When they’ve traded the title so many times before and talked so much about how big and epic their rivalry is, I just do not have enough interest in seeing these two fight.
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I have a feeling this is going to be a shorter one as most of the matches are fairly obvious, meaning there isn’t much to say about them. That’s a bad sign too as most of the matches haven’t had a ton of effort put into them and it really isn’t all that hard to guess most of them. WWE has done a very bad job of setting up this show other than the main event and it’s going to catch up to them. Let’s get to it.
There hasn’t been a pre-show match but the rumor is the Bunny/Rose vs. Slater/O’Neil. I can live with this, but they better nail the unmasking. The rumor of Darren Young would be about as big of a letdown as you could ask for.
The main event is the only match that matters here and WWE has done a good job of making me believe Cena could pull it off. At the end of the day though, I’m hoping Lesnar holds onto the title. If not, it’s a pretty big waste of Brock’s huge push, especially when Cena doesn’t really have anyone other than Rusev to fight with. I’ll go with a double DQ though to set up the showdown in the Cell.
Since Reigns is out with the surgery, I’m hoping they go with the obvious idea of Rollins giving an open challenge and Ambrose returning for the big showdown. I’m not sure if Reigns’ condition is legit or not, but man alive it’s convenient that they did Rollins vs. Reigns on Monday, right before Ambrose is due back.
Cesaro takes the US Title, though I have no idea what he does with it.
I’d like to see Miz take the title as he’s doing very well with the character. That being said, he isn’t going any higher with it. I wouldn’t mind seeing Breeze debuting with the entourage soon though.
Unfortunately, odds are Nikki walks out with the title because for some reason the Bellas are the second biggest act on the card right now, despite the interest just not being there. Oh wait it’s to get 14 people to watch Total Divas or vice versa. I’m so glad we get to deal with this stuff. Did I mention I REALLY hate this story?
Rusev beats Henry. Duh.
I’ll take the brothers to walk out with the Tag Team Titles. I mean the brothers who paint their faces. Gah this is annoying. The Dusts win the titles and maybe we finally find out what the Cosmic Key is.
Orton beats Jericho. Does ANYONE care about this match?
Night of Champions is one of the least interesting cards I’ve seen in a very long time. This company just has no energy anymore and hasn’t since Summerslam was over. WWE has put in almost no effort to the show and it’s clear that they’re not interested in trying hard for this one. This is the really bad fall lull and we’ve got a few more months of it to go before things start getting better. Maybe some of the NXT guys can breathe life into the company but I wouldn’t bet on it right now. Lesnar vs. Cena should be good though.
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It’s time for the biggest party of the summer and it feels like we’ve been getting here for the last nineteen years or so. The card has been set for the last several weeks now and we’ve had to sit through a long stretch of Raws and Smackdowns where almost everything was filler. Hopefully it’s been worth the wait. Let’s get to it.
RVD vs. Cesaro has been announced as the pre-show match. Neither guy has anything going right now but I could see RVD being the American version of Jericho to Cesaro’s Bray Wyatt and give the guy on a losing streak a win. The match should be entertaining, although it’s likely going to be short.
We’ll start the full card with the main event of Brock Lesnar challenging John Cena for the World Title. I’ve heard people say that Lesnar could win by DQ and Rollins cashes in, but I just can’t see it happening. There’s no reason not to put the title on Brock as a payoff from the Undertaker win. No he won’t be defending a lot, but that could open up the door for some more people to make a splash. I could even see this holding out until Wrestlemania where Reigns can punch Lesnar in the jaw to win the title. I don’t see it happening, but it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world.
The other major match is Ambrose vs. Rollins, but I don’t think it’s time to pull the trigger on Dean’s win yet. This thing is destined to go to a match for the briefcase, which would almost have to be in the middle of a big brawl. The lumberjacks are an interesting idea but it’s not what I would have picked for the stipulation. Still though, it’s going to be entertaining to see Dean hammer on Rollins for eighteen minutes. The match will be a lot better if I don’t have to listen to Cole try to get “lunatic fringe” over as the new catchphrase.
Bray Wyatt beats Jericho and there’s zero reason to think anything else is logical. Granted the same thing could have been said about their Battleground match.
I think Nikki turns on her sister to cost Brie the match, because the world is clamoring for the Bellas to go at it. This story hasn’t been interesting most people and I can’t imagine there would be any real desire to see the story continue. Therefore, you can pencil in another match at Night of Champions.
Rusev should beat Swagger in the Flag Match, but I’m still not clear what the rules are. I’ve heard it’s basically a flag on a pole match and I’ve heard a regular match with the winner getting to wave their flag. If it’s the former, I’d be far more likely to believe Swagger could win. Either way, Rusev is the guy here and should head on to winning the US Title after this.
AJ Lee retains against Paige but has to cheat to do so. I’m not sure why they think she should turn heel but that’s where they’ve been heading recently. The match has potential but I can’t imagine it’s anything great.
Reigns beats Orton. Is there really any other possible option?
Miz isn’t going to lose the title this soon, especially not when he’s actually nailing the character as well as he has been lately. If they play it right, this could wind up being a very successful title reign for him and a way back up the card for Miz.
Overall Summerslam looks good on paper and I’m pretty sure the big matches are going to deliver, but I’m not sure if it’s going to be worth all the build we’ve had to sit through. I’m not sure where we’re heading for the fall, but it has to be more interesting than the last few months of 2013. Lesnar vs. Cena is going to rock and the lumberjack match won’t be too far behind. Summerslam should be solid but I can’t see it coming close to last year’s show.
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Battleground 2014 Preview
We’ve arrived at what was the worst show of 2013, but this year’s version looks to be far more interesting than last year’s mess. The card has actually been built up rather than just being thrown together as a filler show, meaning we continue to benefit from the Network. This has the potential to be a solid show and that’s always a good thing. Let’s get to it.
The pre-show is Cameron vs. Naomi and unfortunately I think Cameron wins because WWE thinks she’s a star because she’s on a reality show they produce. Hopefully Naomi wins because she has some talent.
Cena retains the title in the obvious match of the night. There’s never been anything that makes me think he doesn’t win and there’s nothing wrong with that. This is a token title defense and a way to get us to the big showdown with Lesnar at Summerslam. That brings us to the two major questions about this: does Rollins cash in and does Lesnar appear on Sunday? No.
Time for my pick that makes no sense and it’s likely to happen: Dallas wins the Intercontinental Title. This is more something I want to happen that has any possibility to happen. Battle royals are really hard to predict though so it’s pretty much random guessing. Either Dallas, Cesaro or Diego. You don’t want to sleep on him.
Bray over Jericho. There’s no reason for Jericho to win and I really don’t think there’s a logical argument for it.
The Wyatts take the Tag Team Titles. Again, there’s really no reason for them not to and the Usos have had a nice title reign already.
I’ll take Paige to get the Divas Title back from AJ to complete her heel turn and set up a submission match at Summerslam.
Ambrose vs. Rollins is likely going to a non-finish to set up another match at Summerslam, perhaps for the briefcase. This is going to be the best match of the night and there’s no reason for it not to tear the house down.
That brings us to the match where I have no idea what to expect. I know I’ve said for weeks that Rusev is going to snap Swagger in half and sprinkle over him his Russian pizza, but then real life intervened. In case you haven’t heard, a Malaysian Airlines flight was blown out of the sky, killing nearly 300 people a few days ago. There’s a chance that that the Russian military had something to do with it, and that’s REALLY not something you want to mess with. I can’t imagine Rusev getting pinned or submitting, but maybe losing by countout or DQ. There’s also a chance they have a non-finish to set up a rematch when real life has calmed down.
Overall, Battleground actually looks pretty awesome. The main event should be a fun fifteen minutes and Rollins vs. Ambrose should be a war. The battle royal actually has me intrigued and that’s not something I would have imagined coming in. It’s just a bridge heading up to Summerslam, but it’s a nicely constructed bridge that should be an entertaining show. I know this is short, but most of the matches range from obvious to really obvious. That doesn’t leave me much to talk about.
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