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andymull · 5 years

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WWE Wrestlemania 35 - Preview & Predictions

Becky Lynch vs Ronda Rousey (c) vs Charlotte Flair (c) - Winner Takes All

And here we go...... the women have finally produced a feud and wrestlers that have gotten theirselves into the main event of the biggest show of the year. The addition of Ronda to the company has been MASSIVE, both to the product in terms of matches as well as to the financial side of things with her being a big factor in the WWE’s new tv deals. And as well as Ronda we have Becky, who has really clicked with fans over the past few months, with the image of her with a busted face on Raw being the image fans now see the second they think of her which was vital in her progression.

This then leads us to the third wheel of the match in Charlotte, im not sure if that’s a knock on her or not, oh well its the truth. There was a big backlash around her inclusion here as many feel it wasn't required in the slightest, but really taking a step back and thinking about it this added an extra factor of heat to the feud which was kinda needed as they've messed up so often during the build to this bout. Whoever the winner beats to win then sets up another big match with the person not involved as they weren't beaten, then you can also have the loser climbing their way back to another bout giving it another layer of development to it all. Another of the problems in adding Charlotte was that very recently it seems Vince found out that Charlotte hadn't won a tv match this year, this was the reason for her randomly taking on Asuka and beating her for the title to show there was a big reason to add her in the main event as more people were questioning how bad that stat looked. And at the same time doing that has destroyed the plans for the Smackdown women's championship and Asuka’s big pay day.

Remember, they arent just building to this match, they are building for the future. And the above will see them easily through to the Survivor Series with a heavily heated title feud on one or both shows depending on how they handle the winner having two titles......

Which then leads to their decision, do they continue to have two women’s champions OR have one champion that travels to both shows to align things with the women’s tag titles?

I see Becky winning beating Charlotte to take both belts, it lets Ronda have some time off setting up a big money match on her return while Becky leads Raw in her place - LYNCH

The New Daniel Bryan (c) vs Kofi Kingston - WWE Championship Match

Another match where the build has been all over the shop, but in this case injuries have changed and dictated the directional moves in which wrestler would be making the step up to challenge Bryan for the belt. The last change that stuck was moving Kevin Owens out of the match and adding Kofi after his reaction in the Elimination Chamber, after he was added to that match after Ali was injured and lost his spot there too, busy to keep up isnt it...

This really should be an easy to predict outcome with Kofi finally getting his big shot and winning the title for a first time, the actual question should be how long will he hold the belt for? Once the Wrestlemania buzz dies down and management begin to look critically at his ratings and sales how long will they persevere with his reign?

I just hope they dont split The New Day up during his run, we need them to keep the group together and show friendship in a solid way, instead of the usual ways of them turning on him with poor reasoning. If they want to challenge him for the belt have them ask for it and say they are willing to prove theirselves first, then challenge him as friends as whoever wins it doesn't break the connection as they all support each other.

Daniel Bryan will not lose much in dropping the title, he’ll quickly move into another fun feud with whoever he wants and asks for, this is exactly the method to Bryan’s current run and its great......get Pete Dunne ready!!! - KINGSTON

Brock Lesnar (c) vs Seth Rollins - WWE Universal Championship Match

Too many matches on this show, so ill be quick with the ones that SHOULD have an easy to predict outcome.

This is the perfect example, Seth goes over strong, Brock takes some time away and finally gets a date for his return to the UFC and gets in fighting shape. Rollins then returns to Raw as champion and moves into a feud with Drew McIntyre who deserves it and will have some solid bouts, the only problem there is Drew is up against Roman and I doubt he wins at Mania over him - ROLLINS

Triple H vs Batista - No Holds Barred Match

Also if HHH loses he has to retire and cant wrestle again which should ring bells for the outcome, I love that Big Dave is returning for one last match and if you know him you’ll know he isnt here to have his hand raised.

Triple H wins, hopefully quickly after seeing his last few bouts, then I see them both hugging straight after or even on Raw just making a mockery out of this fake build up to the feud - TRIPLE H

Shane McMahon vs The Miz - Falls Count Anywhere Match

Toilet break time.

I really have no interest in this in the slightest, even as a team I didnt care, seeing Shane wrestle as a heel doesn't appeal and Miz acting as a bad ass baby-face cant get me to act interested.

I love Shane as a heel boss but it doesn't carry over to wrestling, as a face his whole act is building to a big spot/jump but that really is counterproductive for a heel, and if they do so then dont be surprised to have him get cheered over Miz - MIZ

Roman Reigns vs Drew McIntyre

I really want Drew to win here as he’s so ready for the big push but the whole story to Roman’s return cant possibly see them plan for anything other than a Reigns victory. I can only imagine them doing a multi person match on Raw for the next number one contender as a way to have Drew get there without pinning Roman - REIGNS

Tamina/Nia Jax vs Bayley/Sasha Banks (c) vs The IIconics vs Beth Phoenix/Nattie - WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship Fatal 4 Way Match

All I can say here is that the Sky Pirates NEEDED to be in this match for my interest.

Lets get rid of Nia and Tamina quickly in a heap of rubble at ringside then let the others work, there’s no doubt in my mind that the champs are keeping their belts. They then will defend on all shows including NXT, hopefully, but lets keep the titles on teams that can work well and not with the gimmicky teams please - BAYLEY/BANKS

AJ Styles vs Randy Orton

This should be a very solid bout but at the same time is really the beginning of the feud so may not get the most time and could have a cheap finish to let this continue. But saying that these two could be guys high up on the list of people that potentially could get moved around in the draft, especially Styles after his long run with the title on Smackdown - STYLES

Samoa Joe (c) vs Rey Mysterio - WWE US Title Match

Another match that has changed multiple times or morphed into other planned feuds, this particular match blatantly wasn't planned at the time of the last PPV as they had Joe choke out Rey which doesn't make any sense to have him now challenge here.

For me Joe needs a long run with the title mowing through guys and gaining back the killer image he should have, let him do this for months with the whole purpose of it being to ultimately get him ready to be moved back to the main event scene as a legit challenger and the champion.

Rey has looked great since coming back and should really have been having a bout against Andrade tonight with the mask vs hair stipulation added to it but oh well, not sure if Dominic will be ringside and involved but I feel he may and may be the reason for Joe retaining, be that by him being a distraction for his Dad or even turning on his Dad, who knows.

What I also will say is that Rey actually does have a slight injury which he seems to be fine with,but, I wouldn't put it past them to alter this and add others to the match AGAIN just to get people on the show and save Rey’s ankle if its still in pain - JOE

Bobby Lashley (c) vs Finn Balor - WWE Intercontinental Championship Match

Finn’s going to be in Demon mode, simple - BALOR

Kurt Angle vs The Baron - Angle’s Farewell Match

Man, what a let down this is if it actually is the planned match, and not only that but Angle is broken down now sadly to the point where they shouldn't be putting him in the ring, who knows how he passes their tests to see if he is fit enough to be in there.

The big story is will someone take out The Baron when he makes his way to the ring for a HUGE pop and take his place against Kurt, the popular choice with people is seemingly John Cena. Now, im not sure anyone can drag Angle to a great match anymore and bringing in someone who isnt a full timer and hasn't been wrestling in awhile is a bad choice for me, id rather he be involved in the Elias angle where he can come in and nail an F5 for the easy pop.

Im actually lost for who should take the role and it work and more importantly someone who isnt already in a match on the card. If I could take it back afew months I would have never had the Drew McIntyre match in November where he destroyed Kurt with his own move, if they built Drew as a force upto this point then had a super competitive match with Angle ending in the same way as November I think you could take tons from it. Angle doesn't need to go out on top, he will be left in the ring after the match for the applause and potentially taking off of his boots to leave in the ring. But it will also do wonders for someone to beat him, hell if its Drew it would have been easy to move him straight to the title scene rather than a lose to Roman.

If it actually stays as The Baron id love for it to be a double retirement match, or an Angle win - ANGLE

Ricochet/Aleister Black vs The Uso’s (c) vs The Bar vs Rusev/Shinsuke Nakamura - WWE Smackdown Tag Team Championship Fatal 4 Way Match

Id expect the Usos to retain, not sure the others deserve the titles just yet, maybe Ricochet and Black but I see them going singles once the Mania buzz dies down - USOS

Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal

The main name included here is Braun Strowman and the guys from SNL, I cant see past Braun and there’s no real reason for it unless there’s a new guy debuting or a big angle that’s going longer with the SNL guys being able to get Braun eliminated - BRAUN

Women’s Battle Royal

I dont think all the names have been announced here and it will be decided just before the show on who’s around, yes I believe that fully. The front-runners should be Asuka, Mandy Rose and Lacey Evans, Asuka deserves it for how she’s been treated with the title and Lacey’s big push should be starting from here. Ill go with Lacey to eliminate Asuka to win and kick start her first bi feud on the main roster - EVANS

Buddy Murphy (c) vs Tony Nese - WWE Cruiserweight Championship Match

Again I say the same thing, not the time for Murphy to drop the title and not the opponent for it either, infact im alittle surprise Nese got the spot. He’s a good wrestler but I dont think much of his character work ‘look at my abs!!’ and that’s basically it? - MURPHY

The Revival (c) vs Zack Ryder/ Curt Hawkins - WWE Raw Tag Team Championship Match

There really is ZERO need for this match, ZERO. The challengers haven't been on tv, haven't won matches and have ZERO credibility.........but what about Hawkins losing streak......that’s literally the ONLY reason they have gotten this spot - REVIVAL

I hope everyone enjoys the show, please try and watch it in parts if you can avoid spoilers as this is WAAAAAAYYYYYYY too long a show AGAIN

Bye for now

Andy

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wrestlingisfake · 7 years

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Smackdown Fake Rankings, 12/30

Men’s heavyweight singles division - babyfaces

AJ Styles (world champion)

Shinsuke Nakamura

Randy Orton

Bobby Roode

Zack Ryder

Tye Dillinger

Men’s heavyweight singles division - heels

Kevin Owens

Sami Zayn

Jinder Mahal

Mojo Rawley

Baron Corbin

The top angle on Smackdown is Owens/Zayn feud with Daniel Bryan (who isn’t cleared to wrestle) and Shane McMahon (who already had a blowoff match with Owens), so it’s not yet clear how that’s going to lead into any top feuds for the first quarter of 2018. Styles, Nakamura, and Orton all seem to be on autopilot. These top five guys are reportedly set to headline the Fastlane show on 3/11, which would seem to suggest only one of them will be in the title match at Wrestlemania, and begs the question where else a top contender could come from.

Meanwhile, Roode, Ryder, Mahal, Rawley, Corbin, Dillinger, Xavier Woods, and Aiden English have been slotted into a tournament for the United States title (which Dolph Ziggler “apparently” abandoned on 12/18). I’d expect Jinder to win the title and hold it through Mania, unless there’s a SWERVE~! and Ziggler returns, in which case I figure he and Roode will feud over it.

Corbin has notably already been eliminated from the tournament and seems to be stuck in a “downward spiral” storyline. Knowing WWE, this could be the beginning of the end of for him or a feint before he rockets all the way to the world title picture.

Women’s division - babyfaces

Charlotte Flair (Smackdown women’s champion)

Naomi

Women’s division - heels

Ruby Riott

Natalya

Liv Morgan

Sarah Logan

Tamina

The arrival of the Riott Squad (Riott, Morgan, and Logan) has shaken things up but also left us with too many heels. The babyface side has struggled with Becky Lynch off making a movie and Naomi briefly vanishing to sell a beating from the Riott Squad. Carmella, Tamina, and Lana have been shown forming a loose alliance against the Squad, but not to the point of formally turning.

We still don’t know what the deal was with Natalya’s emotional tirade after losing to Charlotte on 12/17, or if it’s supposed to be some kind of quitting angle. I tend to assume they wouldn’t do that with Natalya and Dolph Ziggler at the same time, but stranger things have happened.

Men’s tag team division - babyfaces

The New Day - Big E & Xavier Woods & Kofi Kingston

Shelton Benjamin & Chad Gable

Breezango - Fandango & Tyler Breeze

Men’s tag team division - heels

The Usos - Jimmy Uso & Jey Uso

Rusev & Aiden English

The Bludgeon Brothers - Harper & Rowan

The Usos barely seem like heels anymore, and it hasn’t mattered much since they’ve been doing multi-team matches with the New Day, Gable/Benjamin, and Rusev/English. I would expect a turn, except it’s not clear to me who would take their spot as the top heel team (Rusev/English are over, but they’ll be faces themselves before too much longer).

The Bludgeon Brothers have been squashing Breezango as a tie-in to the “Fashion Files” skits, with the running gag that Konnor and Viktor are “helping” their friends Breezango by setting up multiple rematches. I think that’ll lead to Breezango and the Ascension turning on one another, but the way plot points move on the Fashion Files, that might not happen for another eight months.

No Smackdown or PPV appearances in 30 days: Becky Lynch, Carmella, Epico Colon, Konnor, Lana, Mike Kanellis, Primo Colon, Samir Singh, Sunil Singh, Sin Cara, Viktor

Did you know Primo and Epico are still in the company? Yeah, I have to keep checking myself.

It’s interesting that Carmella has had so little to do while she’s carrying the Money in the Bank contract. That usually indicates they’re planning a cash-in, although that doesn’t mean they’ll follow through...

Part-time: Shane McMahon

I sort of don’t give a shit about Shane’s wrestling career, but it’s clear WWE does so it’s probably worth considering which guy is going to be tapped to carry him at Wrestlemania this year. It feels like Owens vs. Shane is already played out and Zayn vs. Shane would be a poor retread of that. A tag match would work but Shane would really need a more interesting partner than Orton or Nakamura to make that compelling. Maybe Cena could swing back over from Raw, but that seems like a waste of Cena’s time.

Inactive

Dolph Ziggler (storyline - walked out)

Do us all a favor, Dolph, and turn this into a shoot.

#wwe #fake rankings

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phooll123 · 7 years

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Fastlane 2018: 5 things we learned from Sunday's WWE event

The next stop on the Road to WrestleMania is WrestleMania 34 itself, thanks to the completion of the SmackDown-exclusive pay-per-view, Fastlane. And because of what went down at Fastlane Sunday night, we also have a much better sense of what SmackDown will be contributing to WWE’s biggest show of the year.

These are the five things we learned from WWE Fastlane 2018, a show that split its time between being really good and making you wish you could fast-forward through live TV to get to the next match.

If you want the full blow-by-blow recap experience, check out our live blog from Sunday night.

Shinsuke Nakamura will indeed face AJ Styles at WrestleMania 34

No swerves here: Royal Rumble winner Shinsuke Nakamura wanted to face AJ Styles for the WWE championship at WrestleMania 34, and after Styles successfully defended his title in a six-pack challenge at Fastlane, that’s just what Nakamura is going to get. Even better, we got to this conclusion almost the exact way I suggested we should:

This is probably a match that should be very aware of the lack of tension about the wrestler with the best chance to win, as that’s Styles retaining his title despite the fact anyone else could pin Dolph Ziggler at literally any time during the match and become champ instead. To make up for that relative lack of tension and surprise, things should probably go super off the rails, with false finishes and broken set pieces and Baron Corbin throwing someone into the crowd and then using a fan as a weapon or something.

What we got was things going off the rails from the start — Cena hit his finisher on four opponents before Styles decided against running right into one, and then it was signature moves and finishers and false finishes due to interference and brutal attacks on the outside and broken announce tables and stairs getting thrown and Corbin did throw someone into the crowd, but alas, did not then use a fan as a weapon. Can’t predict them all, I suppose.

Most importantly, though, Styles won, which gives us the matchup most people want to see. Nakamura had a poor start to his WWE career thanks to some strange decisions for feuds and how those feuds went, but he’s begun to look like the superstar he was presented as when he arrived stateside, and Nak vs. his old rival from New Japan Wrestling should make for a serious championship bout at Mania.

Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens are fighting each other again, but still have a common enemy in Shane McMahon

Zayn laid down in the middle of the ring for Owens as promised, but Owens didn’t trust Zayn to stay down, and all hell broke loose from there. Zayn ended up ducking an Owens’ kick later on in the match, and it found a new target: Shane McMahon’s head. Shane O’Mac then broke up pin attempts of both Owens and Zayn, pins that were likely going to end the match and make them WWE champion, so those two have a place to direct their justified anger besides each other.

McMahon feels like a real waste for these two to be spending their attention on, but at least Sunday’s main event advanced the story and introduced stronger tensions, while opening up a space for Daniel Bryan — SmackDown’sother authority figure — to get on McMahon for directly interfering in the match, twice, after what was clearly an unintended kick from Owens.

Cena still has no path to WrestleMania 34

Cena came out of the gate on fire, hitting Corbin, Ziggler, Zayn, and Owens with Attitude Adjustments, but he couldn’t keep that pace going throughout, and suffered defeat in the end of Sunday’s main-event just like all of those men whose attitudes he adjusted. He now has weeks to go and no pay-per-views left, and still no direct path to WrestleMania 34.

So, on RAW or SmackDown this week, we’re likely to see one of two things: the Undertaker does arrive despite Cena being told that wasn’t in the cards by WWE management, as he said in his promo on Monday’s show a couple weeks back, or Cena legitimately is going to miss WrestleMania 34, which sets up a long-term story line for when he’s in a better position to wrestle full-time again. The answer very likely depends on how Taker has felt in the gym the last few months.

We’re getting Asuka vs. Charlotte Flair at WrestleMania 34

Here we gooooo. Charlotte Flair, the face of WWE’s women’s division who has turned into a legitimate star for far more reasons than just her last name, will defend the SmackDown women’s championship against Asuka, the wrestler for whom no one is ready. Flair has been the most dominating women in WWE basically since her arrival on the scene a few years back, and Asuka has yet to lose a single match in the company. This is going to be amazing.

Asuka showed up after Flair successfully defended the women’s title against Ruby Riott — more on that soon — and didn’t say a word, but she didn’t have to. The anticipation of challenging Flair and putting hands on her was palpable, and Asuka pointed at the WrestleMania sign just in case it wasn’t clear why she had that smile on her face and that look in her eyes.

This also likely means Nia Jax is going to finally get that long-awaited championship opportunity against RAWwomen’s champion Alexa Bliss at Mania, and oh man do I have feelings about that, too. This was the ideal setup, if it’s the direction they’re going in, and if both Nia and Asuka win, WWE’s women’s scene is going to look significantly different than it has for some time.

[whispers] And don’t forget Carmella still has the Money in the Bank briefcase, and wouldn’t cashing in on a victorious Asuka while she’s down and out after her Maniamatch, breaking the streak and ripping the title from her in the process, just be an incredible source of renewable heat for the Princess of Staten Island?

Rusev and Riott looked wonderful in defeat

Rusev and Riott had unenviable tasks at Fastlane. Rusev had to go up against Nakamura, who needed to look good and strong heading into his WWE championship match at WrestleMania 34, and Riott was challenging Flair for her title in a similar capacity. They both lost, as expected, but they both looked great in the process, and that’s encouraging for two characters who need more of a spotlight on whichever show they end up on after Mania.

Rusev was absolutely dominant during his lengthy match with Nakamura, and looked like he was going to win on multiple occasions. The resourcefulness and wrestling IQ of Nakamura won out in the end, though, as he slowed Rusev with submissions, snuck out of his finisher, and refused to be pinned no matter how many times he got kicked right in the head. Rusev looked like someone capable of defeating a main-event star, and Nakamura looked like someone who is incredibly difficult to put down, even with incessant beatings.

Riott and Flair had a different structure to their match: Riott was in control nearly the entire time, to the point of it being surprising how much she was in control. When Flair would begin to pick up momentum, Riott would almost always find a way to cut it short and take back the advantage. She ended up failing when she didn’t stick to just trying to one-up Flair, however: when her stablemates Liv Morgan and Sarah Logan were sent to the back by the ref, Riott got distracted arguing with him about it, giving Flair time to recover.

Had Riott just stuck to beating on Flair instead of worrying about her squad — who, by the way, didn’t have much of anything to do with Riott’s dominance over the champ — she just might have pulled out the surprise W. Good storytelling. That win would have let Flair know she needs to take Riott more seriously than she has and let the audience know Riott is a legitimate threat, but one that still has some room to grow if she’s to pull off the scheme she revealed during this feud. She can likely topple Flair, but that’ll now have to wait.

That’s it! That’s five things. And we didn’t even have to talk about Randy Orton vs. Bobby Roode to get there. Congrats, team, this is a victory for all of us.

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junker-town · 7 years

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Fastlane 2018: 5 things we learned from Sunday's WWE event

SmackDown’s contributions to WrestleMania 34 are a lot clearer than they were before Fastlane

The next stop on the Road to WrestleMania is WrestleMania 34 itself, thanks to the completion of the SmackDown-exclusive pay-per-view, Fastlane. And because of what went down at Fastlane on Sunday night, we also have a much better sense of what SmackDown will be contributing to WWE’s biggest show of the year.

These are the five things we learned from WWE Fastlane 2018, a show that split its time between being really good and making you wish you could fast-forward through live television to get to the next match.

If you want the full blow-by-blow recap experience, check out our live blog from Sunday night.

Shinsuke Nakamura will indeed face AJ Styles at WrestleMania 34

No swerves here: Royal Rumble winner Shinsuke Nakamura wanted to face AJ Styles for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 34, and after Styles successfully defended his title in a six-pack challenge at Fastlane, that’s just what Shinsuke Nakamura is going to get. Even better, we got to this conclusion almost the exact way I suggested we should:

What we got was things going off the rails from the start — Cena hit his finisher on four opponents before AJ Styles decided against running right into one, and then it was signature moves and finishers and false finishes due to interference and brutal attacks on the outside and broken announce tables and stairs getting thrown and Baron Corbin did throw someone into the crowd, but alas, did not then use a fan as a weapon. Can’t predict them all, I suppose.

Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens are fighting each other again, but still have a common enemy in Shane McMahon

Sami laid down in the middle of the ring for Owens as promised, but Owens didn’t trust Sami to stay down, and all hell broke loose from there. Zayn ended up ducking an Owens’ kick later on in the match, and it found a new target: Shane McMahon’s head. Shane O’Mac then broke up pin attempts of both Owens and Zayn, pins that were likely going to end the match and make them WWE Champion, so those two have a place to direct their justified anger besides each other.

Shane McMahon feels like a real waste for these two to be spending their attention on, but at least Sunday’s main event advanced the story and introduced stronger tensions, while opening up a space for Daniel Bryan — SmackDown’s other authority figure — to get on Shane for directly interfering in the match, twice, after what was clearly an unintended kick from Owens.

John Cena still has no path to WrestleMania 34

Cena came out of the gate on fire, hitting Baron Corbin, Dolph Ziggler, Sami Zayn, and Kevin Owens with Attitude Adjustments, but he couldn’t keep that pace going throughout, and suffered defeat in the end of Sunday’s main-event just like all of those men whose attitudes he adjusted. He now has weeks to go and no pay-per-views left, and still no direct path to WrestleMania 34.

We’re getting Asuka vs. Charlotte Flair at WrestleMania 34

Here we gooooo. The face of WWE’s women’s division, who has turned into a legitimate star for far more reasons than just her last name, will defend the SmackDown Women’s Championship against Asuka, the wrestler for whom no one is ready. Charlotte has been the most dominating women in WWE basically since her arrival on the scene a few years back, and Asuka has yet to lose a single match in the company. This is going to be amazing.

Asuka showed up after Charlotte successfully defended the women’s title against Ruby Riott — more on that soon — and didn’t say a word, but she didn’t have to. The anticipation of challenging Charlotte Flair and putting hands on her was palpable, and Asuka pointed at the WrestleMania sign just in case it wasn’t clear why she had that smile on her face and that look in her eyes.

This also likely means Nia Jax is going to finally get that long-awaited championship opportunity against RAW Women’s Champion Nia Jax at Mania, and oh man do I have feelings about that, too. This was the ideal setup, if it’s the direction they’re going in, and if both Nia and Asuka win, WWE’s women’s scene is going to look significantly different than it has for some time.

[whispers] and don’t forget Carmella still has the Money in the Bank briefcase, and wouldn’t cashing in on a victorious Asuka while she’s down and out after her Mania match, breaking the streak and ripping the title from her in the process, just be an incredible source of renewable heat for the Princess of Staten Island?

Rusev and Ruby Riott looked wonderful in defeat

Rusev and Ruby Riott had unenviable tasks at Fastlane. Rusev had to go up against Shinsuke Nakamura, who needed to look good and strong heading into his WWE Championship match at WrestleMania 34, and Riott was challenging Charlotte Flair for her title in a similar capacity. They both lost, as expected, but they both looked great in the process, and that’s encouraging for two characters who need more of a spotlight on whichever show they end up on after Mania.

Rusev was absolutely dominant during his lengthy match with Shinsuke, and looked like he was going to win on multiple occasions. The resourcefulness and wrestling IQ of Nakamura won out in the end, though, as he slowed Rusev with submissions, snuck out of his finisher, and refused to be pinned no matter how many times he got kicked right in the head. Rusev looked like someone capable of defeating a main-event star, and Nakamura looked like someone who is incredibly difficult to put down, even with incessant beatings.

Riott and Charlotte had a different structure to their match: Riott was in control nearly the entire time, to the point of it being surprising how much she was in control. When Flair would begin to pick up momentum, Ruby would almost always find a way to cut it short and take back the advantage. She ended up failing when she didn’t stick to just trying to one-up Charlotte, however: when her stablemates Liv Morgan and Sarah Logan were sent to the back by the ref, Ruby got distracted arguing with him about it, giving Charlotte time to recover.

Had Ruby just stuck to beating on Charlotte instead of worrying about her squad — who, by the way, didn’t have much of anything to do with Riott’s dominance over the champ — Ruby just might have pulled out the surprise W. Good storytelling, that, as it let Charlotte know that she needs to take Riott more seriously than she has, let the audience know Ruby Riott is a legitimate threat, but one that still has some room to grow if she’s to pull off the scheme she revealed during this feud — she can likely topple Charlotte, but that’ll now have to wait.

That’s it! That’s five things. And we didn’t even have to talk about Randy Orton vs. Bobby Roode to get there. Congrats, team, this is a victory for all of us.

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placetobenation · 5 years

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So, WWE Universe! What got you excited this week?

Was it the return of Goldberg, LIVE and in person on Friday Night SmackDown? Or maybe it was the Bella Twins getting the nod into the WWE Hall of Fame? Was it Randy Orton’s thorough thrashing of Matt Hardy? The return to the ring of The Velveteen Dream and that sweet entrance! Or maybe, it was the continued heartbreak of the Mandy-Otis coupling.

I don’t know about you, but outside of Orton, all of that played second fiddle.

Hands down, the best show of the week goes to the folks from Full Sail! NXT TakeOver: Portland dominated the WWE airwaves on the WWE Network. Champions stood tall, new tag team champs crowned on a night that looked like The Undisputed Era looked to lose all the gold, only to see Johnny Gargano turn on his friend and former foe, Tommaso Ciampa moments before he was going to get his NXT Championship back.

Across the board from in-ring to furthering storylines to crowd excitement, NXT led the way. And that’s the way it’s been lately. RAW’s been better in the past few weeks, but SmackDown has really lacked that “it” factor. That surprises me that the level of “WOW” just hasn’t been there for the blue brand, especially considering how much FOX is spending for it. That 2.4 million viewers a week is a nice, safe number, but FOX at some point will ask why the needle hasn’t moved much. Plus, just watching the show, you can see that it’s lacking the drama and needed creativity.

Simply put, imagine how much different the Road to WrestleMania would look, especially for the women if not for NXT! We wouldn’t have Rhea Ripley vs. Charlotte Flair. We wouldn’t have Shayna Baszler (ahem, possibly) against Becky Lynch. Two of the hottest stories across the brands!

With Super Showdown this Thursday in Saudi Arabia, expect things to get much clearer on the Road to WrestleMania. After all, remember, we do get the return of John Cena as well Friday night in Boston on SmackDown. Then, it’s Elimination Chamber just over one week later on March 8th.

NXT TakeOver: Portland

RESULTS

NXT North American Championship Match: Keith Lee defeated Domink Dijakovic to retain title

Street Fight: Dakota Kai defeated Tegan Nox

Finn Balor defeated Johnny Gargano

NXT Women’s Championship Match: Rhea Ripley defeated Bianca Belair to retain title

NXT Tag Team Championship Match: The BroserWeights (Matt Riddle & Pete Dunne) defeated The Undisputed Era to win the titles

NXT Championship Match: Adam Cole defeated Tommaso Ciampa to retain title

.@ShinsukeN, @WWECesaro, @BraunStrowman and @IAmEliasWWE let the music speak for itself in brutal Symphony of Destruction matchup.

#SmackDown pic.twitter.com/oa2w8xAAgl

— WWE (@WWE) February 22, 2020

Star of the Week:

It’s not a person or particular person this week. It’s a match. The Symphony of Destruction Match between Braun Strowman/Elias vs. Shinsuke Nakamura/Cesaro. In just its second edition, this match was fun, physical, entertaining and all four, plus Sami Zayn, really had me invested! Unfortunately, that piano didn’t cooperate. Damn, those backs must have felt that one! Well done guys!

RAW

RESULTS

Aleister Black defeated Erick Rowan

24/7 Championship Match: Riddick Moss defeated R-Truth & Mojo Rawley in triple-threat match

Drew McIntyre defeated MVP

Bobby Lashley & Angel Garza defeated Rusev & Humberto Carrillo

Kairi Sane defeated Natalya (countout)

Ricochet defeated Karl Anderson

Kevin Owens & The Viking Raiders defeated Buddy Murphy & The Authors of Pain (DQ)

Overall:

This one just didn’t have that “it” factor either this week. The show seemed off all night. Nothing really stuck out other than Randy Orton’s deletion of Matt Hardy. This is the Road to WrestleMania and the WWE needs to start treating that way with must-see shows EVERY week. This one seemed like a take-off week instead after some very good shows.

What we loved:

Red-hot RKO – The hottest heel on the planet continues to be one Randy Orton. We thought The Viper put Matt Hardy to pasture last week, but that attack was nothing compared to a pair of conchairto shots in and out of the ring this week. Scary to think that at one point, Orton had the crowd cheering him to give Hardy one more shot. You have to wonder what Orton has in store next.

JOIN THE REVOLUTION.@FightOwensFight & The #VikingRaiders get some EXTRA back-up in the form of The #StreetProfits on #Raw! pic.twitter.com/c9PHlYpwkp

— WWE (@WWE) February 18, 2020

Substance to The Street Profits – It’s good to see the WWE finally using The Street Profits for more than just comedic fodder. Their infusion into the main even match with Seth Rollins and his Monday Night Messiah Minions gives the storyline some freshness.

No squash here – How about that! Instead of a pair of squashes for Aleister Black and Erik Rowan, we get a physical match between the two. Plus, Black gets elevated into what looks to be a mid-card match WrestleMania. Nice step up for Mr. Black.

Horror on #Raw. What has @RandyOrton done?! pic.twitter.com/73tDU6FgEU

— WWE (@WWE) February 18, 2020

Hey Lucy, you got some ‘splanin to do:

Hard-ly any help – It always bothers me when there will be a flurry of help from the locker room for some random disturbance in the ring, yet when there’s a vicious attack on a fan favorite, like this week on Matt Hardy, absolutely no one comes out to help! Why is that? Does Matt Hardy have no friends after more than two decades in the company? He was out there getting his ass and neck killed for almost ten minutes. Makes no sense. Even Humberto Carrillo has gotten help at one point.

Becky vs. Shayna – Why exactly is Becky Lynch shelling out money for what she’ll do to Shayna Baszler? Why is Baszler’s s-bomb not bleeped and is she getting the non-PG treatment on purpose? Is it me, or is the Elimination Chamber just a mere formality?

What we didn’t love:

24/7 – It seems we’ve lost some creative and fun to the once beloved 24/7 title. The past few weeks, it’s just turned into another throwaway match. I need it to return to the wild, crazy, out of the ring, defended everywhere mayhem it was the first few months.

NXT

RESULTS

NXT Cruiserweight Title Match: Jordan Devlin defeated Lio Rush to retain title

The Grizzled Young Veterans defeated Raul Mendoza & Joaquin Wilde

Non-title NXT Tag Team Match: The BroserWeights (Pete Dunne & Matt Riddle) defeated Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch

Non-title North American Title Match: Keith Lee defeated Kona Reeves

Chelsea Green defeated Kayden Carter

The Velveteen Dream defeated Roderick Strong

Overall:

Coming out what so far could be the show of the year at TakeOver: Portland, NXT delivers another solid, but lacking big moments show. A pair of champions, Keith Lee and The BroserWeights, looked strong while The Velveteen Dream steals the show, dealing another nightmarish ending to TUE with a clean win over Roderick Strong. I am VERY curious to see where Bianca Belair will land after calling out Charlotte Flair again. Belair, despite the loss at TakeOver: Portland, remains a rockstar with a tremendous upside.

What we loved:

If this is a Dream, we never wanna wake up. #WWENXT @DreamWWE pic.twitter.com/JrDk28Io1Y

— WWE (@WWE) February 20, 2020

The Dream Delights – Great to see TVD back in the ring in the main event. Match of the night between the Dream and Roderick Strong delivers on what it promised. Plus, an expected beatdown keeps the feud going.

"There can be no @JohnnyGargano in #WWENXT." – @NXTCiampa pic.twitter.com/6oRZHv9Xn5

— WWE (@WWE) February 20, 2020

Ciampa’s challenge – Not only did Tommaso Ciampa challenge former partner and nemesis Johnny Gargano’s spot in NXT, but also set up a battle next week vs. Austin Theory. Ciampa’s chomping at the bit to not only get Gargano, but another shot at Goldie and the NXT Championship.

Celebrate the cruiserweights – Jordan Devlin and Lio Rush got out Wednesday night off to a hot start with a thrilling title match start. Rush has really changed my mind on him with his latest run in NXT. Devlin has definitely taken the baton and kept the cruiserweight championship at an elevated state.

What we didn’t love:

Home not-so-sweet Home – After a capacity crowd in Portland, Oregon Sunday night at TakeOver: Portland, it was a bit of a letdown to go back to Full Sail Wednesday night. I’ll say it once and I’ll say it every week until it changes, NXT has to go big or stay home (and stay safe). Staying safe isn’t going to cut it against All Elite Wrestling, who continues to bang it out in bigtime arenas on a week-in, week-out basis.

SMACKDOWN

RESULTS

The Usos and The New Day defeated The Miz, John Morrison, Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode

Symphony of Destruction Match: Braun Strowman & Elias defeated Shinsuke Nakamura & Cesaro

Daniel Bryan defeated Heath Slater

#1 Contender’s Match Smackdown Women’s Championship: Naomi defeated Carmella

What we loved:

Tag-team toughness – LOVED a little smack talk between The Usos and The New Day before a good ol’ fashioned tussle to start the night with The Miz, John Morrison, Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode. Always quality stuff from these 8 men in the ring! Plus, always a little tease for a fight down the road if a turn’s needed.

Standing O for Symphony – LOVED all the musical destruction between Elias, Braun Strowman, Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura. Tag teams are ruling the night and count me as one if they wanted to push Elias and Strowman as future tag champs. Good chemistry and the crowd loves both of them at the moment.

"@heelziggler is such a piece of trash." – @TheMarkHenry Poor @otiswwe #SmackDown pic.twitter.com/chp7to7ZXy

— WWE on FOX (@WWEonFOX) February 22, 2020

Stalking Otis – Otis is about to snap my friends! Simmer. Simmer. Boil! It’s coming, folks! Mr. Ziggler is about to get a whooping! Can’t wait to see where they take it before getting that feel good moment we all know is coming, but will all stand tall and enjoy when it comes!

Oh so predictable:

.@Goldberg encounters #TheFiend @WWEBrayWyatt for the first time on #SmackDown! pic.twitter.com/jH7bgddbmN

— WWE (@WWE) February 22, 2020

Goldberg spears The Fiend….and that’s it – I get that you have to put some kind of notion that Goldberg could actually beat Bray Wyatt/The Fiend at Super Showdown. But, it was oh so predictable in how it was laid out, complete with Goldberg telling us how it would happen. There’s ZERO chance The Fiend loses at Super Showdown on the Road to WrestleMania.

Meh:

Naomi vs. Carmella – Flat and clunky at times. Don’t get me wrong, it was fine, but for a main event, I need to be wowed. If not, it’s just there. Kind of like this whole episode of SmackDown. It was just there.

Bryan vs. Slater II – Why?

Parting shots:

Congrats to the Bella Twins as the newest announced inductees to the WWE Hall of Fame!

How about the latest rumor – WWE in talks with ESPN to show their PPV’s on the ESPN+ streaming service. Could be a big blow to the WWE Network, but worth guaranteed money for the WWE and more mainstream publicity from ESPN. Something to watch as this one could develop quickly – BEFORE WrestleMania.

Super Showdown is next Thursday in Saudi Arabia at 12pm (ET) on the WWE Network.

WWE Championship: Brock Lesnar vs. Ricochet

Universal Championship: The Fiend vs. Goldberg

Smackdown Women’s Championship – Bayley vs. Naomi

Smackdown Tag Team Championship: The New Day vs. The Miz & John Morrison

Raw Tag Team Championship: Seth Rollins & Buddy Murphy vs. The Street Profits

Steel Cage Match: Roman Reigns vs. King Corbin

Tuwaiq Trophy Gauntlet Match: AJ Styles vs. R-Truth vs. Rusev vs. Bobby Lashley vs. Erik Rowan vs. Andrade (if he’s back off Wellness Suspension)

Thanks for letting us share our thoughts! Shoot me an email at [email protected]. We’d love to hear your comments and suggestions! You can also check out my blog, The Crowe’s Nest as we delve into more pro wrestling, sports entertainment and the World of Sports. My apologies ahead of time – I AM a Patriots and Red Sox fan! If you’re not down with that, I’ve got TWO WORDS for you… NEW ENGLAND!

#IFTTT #Place to Be Nation

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