Finn Bálor – The North Jersey Nonconformist

WrestleMania 39 Postscript

April 4, 2023 by njnonconformist Leave a Comment

All it took was one heel turn. Roman Reigns was a disaster as a babyface champion, and all of his WrestleMania main events were near dreadful affairs. In 2020 he took some time away from WWE and returned as the bad guy that we all wanted him to be. That moment set him up to finally live up to his potential as the best performer in the company.

The Bloodline saga was punctuated with two top-notch WrestleMania main events this year. There were plenty of other good matches that exceeded expectations, but this was The Bloodline show. Cody Rhodes won the fans over and was the betting favorite on offshore betting websites, but it was not meant to be for him. Roman Reigns was set to maintain his grip on the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship the whole time. The initial critical reaction was that Reigns vs. Rhodes was the greatest WrestleMania main event of all time. It might be a bit early to make that call, but it certainly felt like an important match that will be remembered fondly.

WrestleMania Sunday overcame two significant injuries to close the weekend on a strong note. Both nights were captivating from start to finish. Most of the undercard matches were wildly entertaining. Matches were kept simple, and they were based on storylines that resonated with the audience. The broadcast duo of Corey Graves and Michael Cole nailed it on commentary.

The critical acclaim for this WrestleMania is no doubt due to the creative direction of WWE content under the stewardship of Triple H. He clearly learned well under the tutelage of Vince McMahon but brought a fresh perspective to the approach of storyline and character development that connected with the fans.

There were more ups than downs, and many wrestlers came out of the weekend in a better place in their careers, having elevated their status through their performances, or by cementing indelible WrestleMania legacies. The winners far outnumbered the losers.

The Losers

Bobby Lashley: Got the short end of the stick when Bray Wyatt had to pull out of action. The big guy deserved a spot on the card and didn’t get it.
Dominik Mysterio: Come on, kid! If you are going to step up to your old man, you better beat him.
Shane McMahon: Legitimately tore his quadricep muscle seconds into his first in-ring action in over a year. Maybe his body is telling him something.
Gable Steveson: Remember Steveson being introduced to the crowd twice during WrestleMania 38? What happened to him since then?

The Winners

Austin Theory: Welcome to the big time, son. A victory over John Cena at WrestleMania is as good as it gets.
Logan Paul: Triple H said it best, “he has no business being this good”.
Seth “Freakin” Rollins: Seth can be counted on to work with anybody anywhere and make it look great. He continues to author a great WrestleMania legacy for himself.
Gunther: What a great Intercontinental Championship run for this ethnic heel. He got a late start to his main roster WWE career, let’s see what else he is capable of.
Sheamus: Just put this guy in the Hall of Fame now. Sheamus has quietly been one of the most important players in WWE over the course of his decade plus career.
Drew McIntyre: Drew carried the championship well during the closed-arena era for WWE. But his calling card of late has been his ability to capture a moment. He did just that, along with Sheamus and Gunther in this match.
Snoop Dogg: Does Snoop even know how to throw a working punch? Or run the ropes? Or drop a People’s Elbow? None of that stuff is easy! Well, he sure figured it out on the fly.
“The Demon” Finn Bálor: He recovered from a nasty cut that stopped the match and put on a show with Edge. This was the best WWE match the 41-year old has been involved in.
Edge: He is already in the Hall of Fame so it’s not like he needs to add to his legacy. But he sure did anyway. With Triple H retired, he got to take over the “cool entrance” spot with his Brood Edge character set to Slayer’s “South of Heaven”. Amazing!
Kevin Owens: If you are keeping score at home, this is the second WrestleMania main event in a row for the kid from Quebec who learned English from watching WWE programming. Is there a cooler story?
Sami Zayn: The MVP of the WWE was prominently featured in both WrestleMania main events. He knocked it out of the park this year.
The Usos: They already surpassed Demolition and The New Day with the length of their title run. But most importantly, they are the backbone of the Bloodline, and I don’t think Roman would be as good without them.
Solo Sikoa: This rookie played a critical role in the main event. He wasn’t a competitor in the match, but he hit his time cues perfectly and delivered the final blow to Cody before the match-ending spear from Roman. Solo played his part perfectly.
Paul Heyman: Roman Reigns is in the midst of one of the greatest championship runs ever, but Paul Heyman gets to wear the championship title belts to and from the ring. That pretty much makes him the coolest dude in WWE.
Cody Rhodes: He got his big WrestleMania main event and will be remembered for this match forever. This loss isn’t going to set him back, it is just another chapter in his story. Watch this space.
Roman Reigns: The face of the WWE is in his prime and delivered his best WrestleMania match yet. Look for him to be in this spot again next year in Philadelphia.

Filed Under: WWE Tagged With: Austin Theory, Cody Rhodes, Drew McIntyre, Edge, Finn Bálor, Gunther, Kevin Owens, Logan Paul, Paul Heyman, Roman Reigns, Sami Zayn, Seth "Freakin" Rollins, Sheamus, Snoop Dogg, Solo Sikoa, The Bloodline, The Usos, Triple H, Vince McMahon, WrestleMania, WWE

WrestleMania 39 Analysis and Predictions

March 31, 2023 by njnonconformist Leave a Comment

WrestleMania 39 will be of historic significance, but not because of what happens in the ring. It will be the first WrestleMania without Vince McMahon at the helm of the creative direction of the show. Triple H has overseen the on-screen product since SummerSlam in August. He has had an immediate positive impact on what we have seen on Raw and Smackdown. Here are a few of the improvements under Triple H’s regime which are apparent up and down the card:

An investment in long-term storylines that are engaging and meaningful.
Championship reigns are longer and more important.
Giving pushes to NXT call-ups that would have been previously discarded under McMahon.
Re-signing performers who never should have been fired in the first place.

The Bloodline storyline was the best angle I can think of in years. It lasted for months, made you want to tune in to find out where it would go next, and elevated everyone involved, especially Sami Zayn and The Usos. Shakespeare couldn’t have written it better. It was such a good story that its outcome will be prominently featured both Saturday and Sunday night.

The rest of the card is also centered around solid storytelling and will complement the main events well. There is a lot to cover, so what you need to know about each match is as follows.

WrestleMania host, The Miz

There is not much of an obvious direction where this is going to head, but it is clear that Miz is hosting both nights. Maybe he will set up an angle on Saturday that pays off on Sunday. Maybe he even ends up in a match somehow. Maybe he gets involved with a returning superstar or a celebrity. Your guess is as good as mine.

Saturday Night

Austin Theory (c) vs. John Cena in a Singles match for the WWE United States Championship

WrestleMania was once John Cena’s show, now it belongs to Roman Reigns and Cena is just a participant. But he Cena not so far removed from his heyday making this a great opportunity for Austin Theory. There may have been some truth to the promo Cena cut on Theory that Theory is not ready for the WrestleMania spotlight. But Theory is young and has the look and the tools to be successful, and Cena is known for making young talent look good.

Prediction: Winner and still WWE United States Champion, Austin Theory

Seth “Freakin” Rollins vs. Logan Paul

Logan Paul’s early work in the WWE has been unprecedented. In his very limited set of appearances as a part-timer, he has impressed both on the microphone and in the ring in the biggest spots imaginable. He wowed the crowds at WrestleMania and at Crown Jewel, and he has made seamless transitions from heel to babyface and back to heel. Paul being matched up with the talented veteran Seth Rollins should be a treat for fans and an opportunity for a WrestleMania moment for both individuals.

Prediction: Winner, Logan Paul

Trish Stratus, Lita, and Becky Lynch vs. Damage CTRL (Bayley, Dakota Kai, and Iyo Sky) in a six-woman tag team match

Not even two hall-of-famers can save this from being a complete disaster. Trish Stratus wasn’t capable of working a match without a blown spot when she was in her prime as a full-time competitor so don’t expect her to be better in retirement. The Damage CTRL gimmick is displeasing and needs to be wound down in a hurry.

Prediction: Winners, Trish Stratus, Lita, and Becky Lynch

Braun Strowman and Ricochet vs. The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford) vs. Alpha Academy (Chad Gable and Otis) vs. The Viking Raiders (Erik and Ivar) (with Valhalla) in a Men’s WrestleMania Showcase fatal four-way tag team match

Try saying that one fast. This is a typical “let’s get everyone on the WrestleMania card” tag team match. They tend to be uglier than a bowling shoe. Everyone will try to get one big spot in before they quickly get pinned. The only thing that can save this match is a heel turn.

Prediction: Winners, Alpha Academy

Charlotte Flair (c) vs. Rhea Ripley

Rhea Ripley complements the rest of the Judgement Day faction members very well, and her work with Dominik Mysterio got her hot and afforded her the opportunity to take on Charlotte Flair for the championship. Given that it is the only women’s match of the night, one would hope that they give it their best effort.

Prediction: Winner, Charlotte Flair

The Usos (Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso) (c) vs. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn in a tag team match the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship

Sami Zayn might be the WWE MVP these days, but don’t overlook how well the Usos have played their parts in this saga. The twins were given a chance to show their individuality and turned Zayn from a trusted friend to a foe. Kevin Owens — star of last year’s WrestleMania Saturday main event – is dependable in his role as always. This should be the main event on Saturday, but even if it isn’t, it will be the most important match on the card.

Prediction: Winners and new champions, Owens and Zayn

Rey Mysterio vs. Dominik Mysterio

I always say that professional wrestling is at its best in a one-on-one grudge match. And what kind of grudge match is better than father versus son? Dominik and the Judgement Day have tormented Rey for months and the payoff happens on Saturday, on the night after Rey is inducted into the Hall of Fame. What better way for Rey’s WrestleMania weekend to end than to have him job to his own son?

Prediction: Winner, Rey Mysterio

Sunday Night

Gunther (c) vs. Sheamus vs. Drew McIntyre in a triple threat match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship

Quite often, the Intercontinental Championship match at WrestleMania is either over-booked or an afterthought. Neither is the case this year. These three brawlers have already worked together and have great chemistry. This is going to look like it hurts because it actually will hurt.

Prediction: Winner and still WWE Intercontinental Champion, Gunther

Edge vs. “The Demon” Finn Bálor in a Hell in a Cell match

We have not seen a Hell in a Cell match since the Hell in a Cell premium live event was eliminated, and that is a good thing. It cheapened the HIAC gimmick to have it on the calendar every year. It is much better to bring it out when the situation warrants it. This is a situation that warrants it.

Edge is likely to wrap things up very soon and call it a career again. This could be his swan song, one last emotional and violent match at WrestleMania. Finn Bálor is still searching for a signature in-ring moment in the WWE, and he is teasing bringing back his “demon” gimmick for this match Expect the two of them to create WrestleMania memories.

Prediction: Winner, Finn Bálor

Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez vs. Natalya and Shotzi vs. Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler vs. Chelsea Green and Sonya Deville in a Women’s WrestleMania Showcase fatal four-way tag team match

If they were going to have an over-booked men’s fatal four-way on Saturday, might as well showcase an even worse women’s fatal four-way on Sunday. If you are experiencing WrestleMania fatigue by Sunday night, this is your opportunity to flip through the channels, you won’t miss anything important.

Prediction: Winners, Ronda Rousey and Shana Baszler

Bianca Belair (c) vs. Asuka in a singles match for the WWE Raw Women’s Championship

Belair was a participant in what is considered by most to be the best Women’s WrestleMania match of all time against Sasha Banks two years ago. She typically saves her best work for premium live events. If you must watch one of the women’s matches on this card, this would be it.

Prediction: Winner and new WWE Raw Women’s Champion, Asuka

Brock Lesnar vs. Omos (with MVP)

This is a cold pairing for Brock Lesnar who did not have an obvious main-event level opponent for this year’s Showcase of The Immortals. Lesnar has done some of his best work these past two years. Omos still is struggling to sell credibly for his opponents, which is a critical skill for a monster heel to master. With any luck, Lesnar can make Omos look good but it will be an uphill battle.

Prediction: Winner, Brock Lesnar

Roman Reigns (c) (with Paul Heyman) vs. Cody Rhodes in a singles match for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship

Roman Reigns has completely transformed himself from the “Ruiner of the WrestleMania Main Event” to the unquestionable number one star of the company in just a few short years. The Tribal Chief has connected with the audience in a way he was unable to earlier in his career, and it is making his matches must-see events. He is enhanced by the talents surrounding him in The Bloodline, and he enhances the superstars he competes against.

Cody Rhodes took an unusual path to this year’s WrestleMania. Since the inception of AEW, he is the only talent who has switched from WWE to AEW, and then back to WWE. He played the companies off of each other to his own advantage, elevating his status as a performer each time. Despite the setback of a significant injury in 2022, Cody was able to ride the wave of momentum he is on to the main event of WrestleMania while doing nothing flashy. He is not the most gifted wrestler, and his promos are centered around true stories about himself and his family. It worked for him, he connected with the audience and they want to see him in this spot.

It should be an enjoyable and emotional match, but this one is tough to call, there is a compelling case for both of them to have their hand raised as champion.

Prediction: Winner and still Undisputed WWE Universal Champion, Roman Reigns

Filed Under: WWE Tagged With: Austin Theory, Brock Lesnar, Cody Rhodes, Dominik Mysterio, Drew McIntyre, Edge, Finn Bálor, Gunther, John Cena, Kevin Owens, Logan Paul, Omos, Paul Heyman, Rey Mysterio, Roman Reigns, Sami Zayn, Seth "Freakin" Rollins, Sheamus, The Bloodline, The Miz, The Usos, WrestleMania, WWE

WrestleMania 35 Analysis and Predictions

April 6, 2019 by njnonconformist 1 Comment

Myself with WWE Champion, The New Daniel Bryan and WrestleMania Axxess

East Rutherford, New Jersey will be the most important place in the world on Sunday! WrestleMania week is here! The excitement is in the air in my home state of New Jersey where WrestleMania 35 will be held at MetLife Stadium. There is no better tailgating scene in the NFL than at Giants and Jets games, and my crew and I are going to extend our parking lot grilling skills to WrestleMania.

There has almost never been a more peculiar time to be a WWE fan. Ratings for Raw have been at historic lows, despite the glut in talent from the NXT feeder system. There has never been a deeper WWE roster, but creatively, the WWE can’t seem to get out of its own way. In recognition of the low ratings and viewer apathy, Vince McMahon returned to WWE television and promised to shake things up. The shakeup included firing both general managers of Raw and Smackdown just to insert the McMahon family back as authority figures (because we’ve never seen that movie before), and promising a bunch of NXT call ups that either didn’t show up (what’s with that Lars Sullivan guy?) or completely failed to get over (EC3, I had such high hopes for you!).

But hey, WrestleMania 35 is here and there are at least 15 matches crammed into what will be a six-plus hour show. Time to get excited! We have title matches, battle royals, grudge matches, farewell matches, you name it! The possibilities are endless! We have no idea if The Undertaker, John Cena, or most oddly Kevin Owens are even going to be on the show. But if they do or they don’t, this card has all the makings of what can become a top-five-best WrestleMania of all time.

Since there are so many matches, unlike the WWE, I’m going to practice a little brevity with my blog and not take your entire day with it. But, if you are betting the matches offshore, you’ll want to take my predictions to the bank!

Special Attractions

Alexa Bliss is going to be the WrestleMania host. The way they’ve been playing things out on TV, she’s been more of a heel commissioner type by creating matches for superstars, rather than being a host. Either way, this is going to play out somehow, and will likely dictate the direction and finish of at least one match on the card.

Elias is going to put on a special musical performance. I expect him to insult the crowd and get interrupted, which perhaps will turn things into a spontaneous match.

Triple H. vs. Batista in a No Holds Barred match with Triple H’s career on the line

After having completely botching Batista’s last return to the WWE ahead of WrestleMania XXX, the WWE got this one exactly right. He’s back on a hot, reality-based, and emotional angle against his former mentor, Triple H. Of course, Triple H is the perfect foil for this type of angle, always able to get any kind of storyline over.

For the second straight WrestleMania at MetLife Stadium, Triple H’s career is on the line in a match. Unlike WrestleMania XXIX where he survived to see another day by defeating Brock Lesnar, don’t expect HHH to duplicate that feat. He has looked older and slower in recent years during his one-off matches, and he suffered a major injury when he last competed at WWE Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia last year. Time for the Cerebral Assassin, The King of Kings, The Game, whatever you wanna call him, to finally hang up his boots.

Prediction: Winner, Batista

Shane McMahon vs. The Miz in a Falls Count Anywhere match

Grudge matches don’t get much better than this. The rivalry between these two was built in a slow-burn angle that started with The Miz begging Shane to be his tag team partner so The Miz could make his dad proud of him. So, when the team failed, it set the stage for a masterfully executed heel turn by Shane when he attacked The Miz from behind in front of The Miz’s father.

The falls count anywhere stipulation was added to this match to accent McMahon’s talents as a stuntman. There will certainly be some big spot that includes him taking a death-defying leap and exploding through a large object at the bottom of his fall.

Prediction: Winner, Shane McMahon

Buddy Murphy (c) vs. Tony Nese in a singles match for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship

This match is a complete waste of time and shouldn’t be on the card. I wouldn’t know either guy if he bit me on the ass, and I’m betting you wouldn’t, either. Not gonna bother making a prediction for this match other than I’ll probably ride it out on the nacho stand line in MetLife Stadium.

Kurt Angle vs. Baron Corbin in Kurt Angle’s farewell match

Kurt Angle finished his career out well after his return to the WWE at WrestleMania 33. He’s a Hall of Famer and was featured in a high-profile WrestleMania match at WM 34. He’s going out on a high note with a feature farewell match at WrestleMania 35 against Baron Corbin.

This is a great spot for Baron Corbin, to be featured in Kurt Angle’s last match. He’s a great heel judging by the fan backlash against him being in this match. He knows he’s annoying and that people hate him, and he doesn’t care.

Wrestling tradition dictates that when someone leaves town, he puts the new guy over. It never fails.

Prediction: Winner, Baron Corbin

AJ Styles vs. Randy Orton

They’ve spent weeks on television trying to one-up the other on the microphone. There’s no gimmick, no titles on the line in this match. Just two of the best veteran professional wrestlers in the world in a heated grudge match. It will be a treat to watch them trying to one-up the other in the WrestleMania ring.

Prediction: Winner, Randy Orton

André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal

Ah, the refuge of the damned. The Sixth annual André The Giant Memorial Battle Royal, the match that exists to “get all the wrestlers on the card” and hasn’t really produced any memorable moments. It hasn’t helped any careers either.

It is unfortunate that Braun Strowman is stuck in this match. This guy never seems to have any luck when it comes to WrestleMania booking. He’s got some silly feud going with two guys from Saturday Night Live that nobody has ever heard of. And there are 27 other competitors in the match, none of whom are marquee names. Boring.

Prediction: Winner, Braun Strowman

Samoa Joe (c) vs. Rey Mysterio in a singles match for the WWE United States Championship

After a long wait, Samoa Joe finally gets a one-on-one matchup at WrestleMania. Joe is one the most dependable heels on the roster and he is good at getting any storyline over. This is a great spot for him to be in, and he should really be able to carry the inferior and undersized Rey Mysterio to an exciting match.

Prediction: Winner and still champion, Samoa Joe

Roman Reigns vs. Drew McIntyre

Roman Reigns isn’t going to be in a fifth straight WrestleMania main event and that is a good thing. He wasn’t any good before he went away to get treated for Leukemia. He didn’t improve during that time, but the human-interest story stemming from his cancer battle seems to have finally gotten him over with the fans. That’s a long way to go to get over!

Drew McIntyre is believed to be a future WWE champion by many. This is going to be the biggest match of his life, so expect him to deliver a brutal performance.

Prediction: Winner, Drew McIntyre

The Boss ‘n’ Hug Connection (Bayley and Sasha Banks) (c) vs. The Divas of Doom (Beth Phoenix and Natalya) vs. The IIconics (Billie Kay and Peyton Royce) vs. Nia Jax and Tamina in a fatal four-way tag team match for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship

The Boss ‘n’ Hug Connection is far and away the worst name for a tag team the WWE has ever come up with. I can’t even think of something that compares. Bayley has the poorest gimmick in the WWE. Just no to this whole thing.

Prediction: The team with the dumbest name wins

Bobby Lashley (c) vs. Finn Bálor in a singles match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship

Finn Bálor is a scrawny little twerp who smiles too much. His Demon King gimmick is lame and illogical. I don’t get what the big deal with this guy is. Bobby Lashley is the total package and has already participated in one of the highest profile WrestleMania matches of all time when he represented future WWE Hall of Famer Donald Trump. Bobby won his match, giving them the right to shave Vince McMahon’s head bald. Expect another big performance out of Lashley this Sunday.

Prediction: Winner and still champion, Bobby Lashley

WrestleMania Women’s Battle Royal

I love WrestleMania, but there are way too many matches on this card. If this match wasn’t on the show, not a single person in the world would think any less of WrestleMania.

The Revival (Dash Wilder and Scott Dawson) (c) vs. Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder in a tag team match for the WWE Raw Tag Team Championship

Hey, good for Hawkins and Ryder to be featured in a straight-up tag team match in a crowded card. They haven’t done anything to distinguish themselves lately, but hey, here’s a chance! Well, they’ll probably get smoked in a quick match, but you never know.

Prediction: Winners and still champions, The Revival

The Usos (Jimmy Uso and Jey Uso) (c) vs. Ricochet and Aleister Black vs. The Bar (Cesaro and Sheamus) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura and Rusev in a fatal four-way tag team match for the WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship

There’s a lot to unpack in this match. To summarize the most important things you need to know about it:

The Usos: Veteran tag team that only made their first main-card WrestleMania appearance last year, only to get squashed and lose the titles. They want to put on a better show this year.
Ricochet and Aleister Black: Recent NXT callups that were randomly made into a tag team. They are hot right now and have a great deal of upside.
Shinsuke Nakamura and Rusev: Why are these guys a team? In fact, why is Nakamura still in WWE and why is Rusev constantly cooling off every time he gets hot?
The Bar: After middling singles careers, these two have turned into one of the best tag teams we’ve ever seen.

Prediction: Winners and new champions, The Bar

Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Seth Rollins Singles match for the WWE Universal Championship

Big Brock Lesnar continues to dominate the competition on Monday Night Raw. That is, when he decides to show up! Much to the chagrin of most fans, a part-timer is WWE Universal Champion. Of course, none of them realize that there’s money in getting them to hate the guy, no matter what the reason.

As good as Seth Rollins is, expect Vince McMahon to continue to troll you all with a Lesnar win. He can then go on to defend the title the next time the WWE heads to Saudi Arabia this year.

Prediction: Winner and still champion, Brock Lesnar

The New Daniel Bryan (c) vs. Kofi Kingston in a singles match for the WWE Championship

After a three-year layoff due to a brain injury, Daniel Bryan has been firing on all cylinders since his return a year ago. Questions about his working style or the WWE’s commitment were quickly squashed when he became a heel champion in 2018. The WWE has never committed to him more than they have right now. Daniel Bryan is at his best when he works heel and is a breath of fresh air to see him shun his “Yes Chant” and trust in his ability to make the crowd hate him.

Kofi Kingston is playing out a role reversal with Daniel Bryan from Bryan’s lead in to WrestleMania XXX. The fans wanted Bryan to get a title shot so WWE creative asserted the storyline of him being labeled a “B+ player” who was being oppressed by the McMahon Family and had to earn his shot to main event WrestleMania.

Kofi caught lightning in a bottle in a gauntlet match on Smackdown that he wasn’t even supposed to be in. Filling in for the injured Ali, he put in a nearly hour long effort until finally losing to AJ Styles. After 11 years of toiling in the mid-card, Kofi was embraced by the fans who demanded that he get a title shot at WrestleMania. Since WWE creative had some time to kill, and apparently, they were out of new ideas, they replayed the exact same “B+ player who is being screwed by the McMahon Family” angle on Kofi. Of course, Kofi persevered, and now here he is in the biggest match of his life.

This match most certainly should be the best match of the night. These are two of the best workers on the roster, and for the first time in 11 years, Kofi will go from a B+ player to an A player. He’s still going to lose, though.

Prediction: Winner and still champion, The New Daniel Bryan

Ronda Rousey (c; Raw) vs. Charlotte Flair (c; SmackDown) vs. Becky Lynch Winner takes all triple threat match for both the WWE Raw Women’s Championship and the WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship

They said it couldn’t be done, but for the firs time in WWE history, women will headline the show in the main event. As my faithful readers now, I am no fan of what is formerly known as the “Diva’s Division”, having suffered years of sub-par bra-and-panties matches, and other waste of time segments of the like.

That was then and this is now, and the WWE has fully committed to making the Women’s Division equal to the Men’s Division. Although I’m still not really a fan of most of the division, I have to say that two of the best they have are in this match, in Ronda Rousey and Charlotte Flair.

I was convinced Rousey was going to absolutely suck when she burst onto the scene last year and I was surprised at how well she took to the business. Her promos are raw and personal, and she is a workhorse in the ring. I was initially interested in Charlotte Flair because she is Ric Flair’s daughter. But she went on to distinguish herself almost immediately and is an imposing figure in the ring.

I am not sold on Becky Lynch. She seems to have gotten over in the same manner as Daniel Bryan five years ago, and Kofi Kingston this year. Her performances aren’t the best, and she is going to be overshadowed by the other two superior performers in this match.

Even I must hand it to these three. From a division that was lucky to have one match on the WrestleMania card just six years ago, to the division that is in the main event, they certainly earned this opportunity. I’m not sure what to make of this match, and the crowd is going to be exhausted after sitting through fifteen matches prior to this one. The are going to have to bring their best in order to win over this crowd. Expect them to try something special that we won’t forget.

Prediction: Winner, and new double-champion, Charlotte Flair

That’s as brief as I could make it! I will see you at the show!

Filed Under: WWE Tagged With: AJ Styles, Alexa Bliss, André The Giant Memorial Battle Royal, Baron Corbin, Batista, Becky Lynch, Bobby Lashley, Brock Lesnar, Charlotte Flair, Curt Hawkins, Daniel Bryan, Drew McIntyre, Elias, Finn Bálor, John Cena, Kevin Owens, Kofi Kingston, Kurt Angle, Randy Orton, Rey Mysterio, Roman Reigns, Ronda Rousey, Samoa Joe, Seth Rollins, Shane McMahon, The Miz, The Revival, The Undertaker, Triple H, WrestleMania, WWE, Zach Ryder

WWE SummerSlam Analysis and Predictions

August 18, 2018 by njnonconformist Leave a Comment

The Hottest Show of The Summer invades the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York this Sunday and I couldn’t be more excited. I’ll be there in person and it will be the third SummerSlam I’ve attended. The first one was in 1989 at the old Brendan Byrne Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The highlight of the card for me was when The Ultimate Warrior defeated Ravishing Rick Rude for the Intercontinental Championship due to a distraction from Rowdy Roddy Piper. I was sitting next to future WCW superstar Crowbar and we both popped huge for the pinfall! I’m hoping for the same level of excitement this year in Brooklyn.

Interestingly enough, 1989 was the last year that SummerSlam didn’t feature either John Cena or The Undertaker, so this year represents a bit of a changing of the guard. The card is stacked with matches with everybody who is hot on the WWE roster right now, except for Elias! What’s up with that? Anyway, on to the match analysis and predictions.

AJ Styles (c) vs. Samoa Joe in a singles match for the WWE Championship

AJ Styles and Samoa Joe are both enjoying a late-career resurgence as members of the WWE roster, after having spent most of their earlier years toiling in the lesser promotions. This match is every wrestling fan’s dream, whether you followed them their entire careers, or if you only know them from their WWE work. Two of the absolute best in-ring talents in the world right now, and also two of the best storytellers. This is one of the several matches on the card that can potentially be match of the year eligible.

Prediction: Winner and new WWE Champion, Samoa Joe

The Bludgeon Brothers (Harper and Rowan) (c) vs. The New Day (Big E, Kofi Kingston, and/or Xavier Woods) Tag team match for the WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship

The New Day sure does have a persistence about them that I didn’t see coming. When they formed as a babyface trio, they absolutely sucked and I expected them to get released in a few months. When they turned heel and became tag team champions using the Freebird Rule, I couldn’t have been happier for them. When they eventually turned babyface again because they were so good they started go get cheers, I even had to hang on as a fan because they were still pretty funny. Now when I see them flinging pancakes to the crowd, I want to throw my TV out the window. It’s time for Big E to turn on the other two and go on a monster heel run. Kingston and Woods can go back to being jobbers. They’ll be remembered well when their careers are over.

The Bludgeon Brothers are at a career peak right now. I never understood why they weren’t dominant tag champions when they were in The Wyatt Family, but there is no time like the present for these two talented veterans to show what they can do. Nobody lays down a vicious beating like Harper and Rowan, and I’m hoping they leave The New Day lying in a heap in the middle of the ring.

Prediction: Winners and still WWE Smackdown Tag Team Champions, The Bludgeon Brothers

Cedric Alexander (c) vs. Drew Gulak Singles match for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship

Prediction: I’ll be finishing off my dinner at The Shake Shack on Flatbush Avenue while this pre-show match is taking place. Do you care anymore than I do about it? I don’t think so.

Shinsuke Nakamura (c) vs. Jeff Hardy in a singles match for the WWE United States Championship

Nakamura saved a disappointing WrestleMania match against AJ Styles by turning heel with a surprise low blow. With that one nut-shot, he turned around a floundering babyface run and turned his fortunes around as a diabolical ethnic heel. You can never have too many ethnic heels in the WWE, and of course, one of them always has to be the United States Champion to really get on our nerves.

Jeff Hardy is performing well despite his advanced age and the wear and tear on his body that he’s suffered from absorbing so many high-impact bumps over the course of his career. Even if he is somewhat bland as a character (his face paint is kinda cool), he is usually entertaining as a wrestler, and he’s fun to watch lose.

Randy Orton is a potential wildcard in this match. He is not booked to compete as a wrester, but he has been stalking and regularly beating Jeff up lately. It’s good to have the heel Randy Orton back, he is a new man and should factor into the finish of this match somehow.

Prediction: Winner and still WWE United States Champion, Shinsuke Nakamura

Carmella (c) vs. Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair in a triple threat match for the WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship

Prediction: This match is going to suck. Maybe I’ll sneak back out to Shake Shack for desert while it’s on.

Daniel Bryan vs. The Miz

An old-fashioned one-on-one blood feud match with no stipulations or championship on the line? Do my eyes deceive me? How great is this?

The Miz/Bryan feud is typical of modern day storytelling in the WWE. With kayfabe dead and gone, a great way to get characters over as babyfaces or heels is to use a reality angle. This feud is a great example of that playing out. You get the sense that these guys truly hate each other. The intersections of their real-life events such as the both becoming fathers and Bryan having to take an extended time off due to brain damage enhance the intrigue behind their conflict.

Daniel Bryan is one of the most overrated wrestlers in the world, but this is a good spot for him. Somewhere on the mid-card with a top-notch heel that can carry him in a match is the best thing for him right now. This is another one of the matches on the card that has match of the year potential.

Prediction: Winner, The Miz

Dolph Ziggler (c) (with Drew McIntyre) vs. Seth Rollins (with Dean Ambrose) in a singles match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship

Interesting pairing of Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre as a mini-heel faction. It’s hard to quite understand why they are together, but what they are doing works. Ziggler is a great heel champ, always bragging about how good he is only to cheat to win every time with the help of his heater.

Seth Rollins did a good job of carrying the IC title before losing it to Ziggler. The feud between the two has made the title seem very important and sought after. With the re-emergence of Dean Ambrose who is coming off of a lengthy recovery from injury, there could be enough excitement and intrigue in this match to rival that of the Warrior/Rude match for the same title that I witnessed in ’89!

Keep an eye on things here, this match is ripe for a swerve. Either McIntyre or Ambrose could be likely to turn on his partner during the match match, or at least play some sort of role in the finish.

Prediction: Winner and still WWE Intercontinental Champion, Dolph Ziggler

Alexa Bliss (c) vs. Ronda Rousey in a singles match for the WWE Raw Women’s Championship

Yes, Ronda Rousey is the best thing going in the Women’s division. That’s not saying very much, she has a low bar to clear. I guess I better get used to seeing her, there is a strong rumor that she and Charlotte Flair are going to main event WrestleMania 35 in East Rutherford next April, and I plan to be there live. What fun.

Prediction: This match is going to suck.

Finn Bálor vs. Baron Corbin

I feel like I’m missing the point with both of these competitors. I don’t get why Bálor isn’t in the 205 division, and I don’t get why he walks around smiling all the time. He couldn’t be less interesting to me.

Corbin looks and sounds like the worst actor in the high school play. His promos are forced and contrived, and he doesn’t feel like he means what he says. He is over-matched in his segments with WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle as his “constable”.

Even still, these two could put on a surprisingly good match. The size disparity between the two men will certainly come into play, and if they sell for each other, it will look like an evenly matched fight.

Prediction: Winner, Baron Corbin

Braun Strowman (MITB holder) vs. Kevin Owens in a singles match for the Money in the Bank contract. Should Strowman lose by disqualification or count out, he will lose the contract

The best feud in the WWE is on display in this match. These two wrestlers are playing their roles to perfection, and they are the most fun to watch on Raw right now.

Braun Strowman feels like he is just a few months away from breaking out as the face of the WWE. He is better working as a heel, but the fans realize how good his is and won’t let him be one. He improves with every single promo and match. In regards to this match, his constant tormenting of Kevin Owens is nothing short of hilarious.

Kevin Owens has carried his end of the hilarity in this feud as well. His cowardice is usually met with some sort of brutal looking physical punishment from the larger Strowman. His fall off the top of the steel cage at Extreme Rules came with a great twist as he technically won the match, earning him this opportunity to seal the MITB contract by bellyaching to Stephanie McMahon.

I have to wonder if the winner of this match will go on to cash in later in the evening during or after the main event. The MITB contract is always a wild-card, you never know when it will be cashed in.

Prediction: Winner and new MITB holder, Kevin Owens

Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Roman Reigns in a singles match for the WWE Universal Championship

Anybody know how many times we’ve seen this match already? It seems like it’s been a lot! I’m not sure what they can do to make it more interesting this time around.

Brock Lesnar’s real-life contract situation with WWE, along with his frequent appearances in UFC work well for generating heat from the fans. Every single person who believes that Lesnar doesn’t care about the WWE and is just in it for the money is a mark. He is one of the all-time-greats, and that doesn’t happen without hard work, dedication, and passion for his craft. The fact that he wants to diversify his career by dabbling in high-level MMA doesn’t make him a bad person. But the majority of us WWE fans are very gullible and are eating this narrative up!

Roman Reigns continues to suck. He will never get better, and this storyline isn’t doing him any favors. Let’s just hope that he doesn’t headline a fifth straight WrestleMania in 2019!

Prediction: Winner and still, WWE Universal Champion, Brock Lesnar. Kevin Owens then cashes in his MITB contract on a prone Lesnar, and wins the Universal Championship!

If you are going to the show, come find me at the Shake Shack beforehand!

Filed Under: WWE Tagged With: AJ Styles, Baron Corbin, Bludgeon Brothers, Braun Strowman, Brock Lesnar, Crowbar, Daniel Bryan, Dolph Ziggler, Finn Bálor, Jeff Hardy, Kevin Owens, Ravishing Rick Rude, Roman Reigns, Ronda Rousey, Samoa Joe, Seth Rollins, Shinsuke Nakamura, SummerSlam, The Miz, The New Day, The Ultimate Warrior, WWE

WWE WrestleMania 34 Postscript

April 11, 2018 by njnonconformist Leave a Comment

WrestleMania 34 week is in the books. Some critics are calling it the best four nights of wrestling in history. That may be a bit of hyperbole, but between NXT Takeover, WrestleMania 34, Raw, and Smackdown, the WWE sure did give the fans what we want.

WrestleMania stood by itself as a very good show. It may have fallen flat in a few places, but overall, it was certainly well worth the WWE Network subscription fee! There were unexpected moments, thrilling matches, and the right amount of comedy throughout the evening. The Styles/Nakamura match was an unexpected dud, but it didn’t help that the show ran so long and the crowd was exhausted before it started. As usual, there are winners and losers coming out of WrestleMania.

WrestleMania 34 Winners

Ronda Rousey: I’ve been nothing but extremely critical of the Women’s division in the WWE for years. It was probably a generation’s worth of calling them Diva’s, bad wrestling, and stupid gimmicks like bra-and-panties matches that put me off to the division for good. When I heard Ronda Rousey was coming to the WWE, I had low expectations, given how poorly she left things off in UFC. Her early promos on Raw were embarrassingly bad. Then something unexpected happened. She put on a really good performance in her debut WWE match at WrestleMania. Her match told a story and was very entertaining. I’m not going to say that she can turn the Women’s division around, it is a complete mess right now. But Rousey certainly is the best member of the division already.

Nicholas: How great is it that some random kid became the youngest champion in WWE history? Of course, we found out on Monday that he wasn’t so random, he is the son of a WWE referee. Either way, it was a feel-good story, and the crowd loved it.

Braun Strowman: There’s something about this guy. He is involved in one ridiculous storyline after another. He flips ambulances with his bare hands, he enters tag-team-battle-royals by himself (and wins them), and he picks a 10-year-old out of the audience as his tag team partner and wins a championship at WrestleMania. In this reality-based era of wrestling, there is something to say about a wrestler who can get silly storylines like this over time after time. Watch this space, Braun Strowman is trending upwards.

Braun_04082018MM_0007--04dc9147d5347c78880c958b103c85ad.jpg

Unlikely WWE Raw Tag Team Champs!

Corey Graves: In just a short period of time, Graves has turned himself into the top announcer in the WWE. His comedic wit and timing during his WrestleMania calls where impeccable. How great was it when Ronda Rousey tagged into the match and he exclaimed “Call the cops!”?

Seth Rollins: Finally, something went this guy’s way. After his program with Jason Jordan was scrapped due to injury, he walked away from ‘Mania with the IC title instead. Not bad.

Brock Lesnar: Shocked the world with a win and title retention. Nobody would have bet against Reigns, but for some reason, they decided to keep the strap on Lesnar. Good for him, well deserved.

The Undertaker: Long live The Deadman! We were lead to believe he was going to walk away after WrestleMania 33. And with no official announcement, he returned to WrestleMania 34 to quickly destroy John Cena. That match told a story, and an important one. The greatest WrestleMania performer of all time still has some gas left in the tank.

John Cena: The squash loss didn’t hurt him one bit. This was the highest profile match Cena had at WrestleMania in five years and he carried his end of it well. His days as a full-timer are over, but he can still deliver at WrestleMania.

Daniel Bryan: A three-year layoff due to brain damage, and he returned to The Grandest Stage of Them All with a convincing performance. He’s too fragile to be the face of the company, but he’s back and will be featured prominently as long as he is healthy.

Shinsuke Nakamura: His match laid an egg, but nothing like a swerve and a heel turn at WrestleMania to make up for it!

The Miz: This guy looks great, even when he loses. He truly did restore greatness to the Intercontinental Championship during his run. He keeps getting better, don’t be surprised if he gets another WrestleMania main event in the future.

Jinder Mahal: This guy gets a lot of criticism, but he keeps the hits coming. I’m a fan, and I’m glad he had a WrestleMania moment as his great year continues. The token ethnic heel wearing the US Championship is always entertaining. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn: These guys carried Smackdown with their months-long feud with Shane McMahon. The feud came to an end with their loss at WrestleMania, but it was a job well done, especially by Sami who had nothing going on before his heel turn.

The Bludgeon Brothers: Well-deserved tag-team championship victory for these two often-overlooked veterans. They have all the talent in the world, and they will show it.

Sheamus and Cesaro: Sold their end of the tag team championship with veteran savvy. These guys are still at the top of their game, even without the straps.

WrestleMania 34 Losers

Elias: Deserved a match, not a quick appearance before the Cena match.

AJ Styles: Failed to deliver during his highly anticipated match. Maybe it was placement on the card, but they put everyone in my apartment, and everyone in the Superdome to sleep during their match. I didn’t expect much from Nakamura, but I had higher hopes for AJ.

Finn Bálor: This scrawny little punk needs to go to the 205 division, never to be heard from again.

The Usos: After waiting all of those years to finally have a match on the WrestleMania main card, they dropped the straps in a quick match. Maybe next year, they’ll get at least 10 minutes in the ring.

The New Day: This gimmick is stale. Time to split up.

Randy Orton: Plodded through another WrestleMania match. Is this guy ever gonna show some fire again?

Roman Reigns: Is anybody in the WWE C-Suite listening? People DO NOT LIKE ROMAN REIGNS! Time to find a new top guy! At the very least, he didn’t win the match, so that’s good for us.

What’s Next?

The WWE is a story that never ends. Homer couldn’t have written a longer tale than this. Raw and Smackdown laid the foundation for what’s coming next. A host of returning stars from injury, a few NXT callups, and the surprise return to the WWE of Bobby Lashley will freshen things up in the near-term. Of course, the Superstar Shakeup will shift the lineups on both shows next week.

And how cool is the “Greatest Royal Rumble” card going to be. It looks like it’s more ambitious than WrestleMania itself, and it is crazy that it takes place just three weeks from the big show!

We have all the ingredients in place for an interesting year ahead of WrestleMania 35 in East Rutherford, NJ in 2019. Daniel Bryan vs. The Undertaker anybody?

Filed Under: WWE Tagged With: AJ Styles, Braun Strowman, Brock Lesnar, Cesaro, Corey Graves, Daniel Bryan, Elias, Finn Bálor, Jinder Mahal, John Cena, Nicholas, Randy Orton, Roman Reigns, Ronda Rousey, Seth Rollins, Sheamus, Shinsuke Nakamura, The Bludgeon Brothers, The Miz, The New Day, The Usos, Undertaker, WrestleMania, WWE

WWE WrestleMania 34 Analysis and Predictions

April 7, 2018 by njnonconformist 1 Comment

It’s the best time of year to be a WWE fan! No weekend out of the year is better than WrestleMania weekend! WrestleMania 34 in New Orleans will have a stacked card from start to almost the finish! Roman Reigns is set to ruin a fourth straight WrestleMania main event, but even the lack of suspense surrounding the outcome of his match won’t dampen my enthusiasm for the card.

In fact, there is enough mystery baked into this card to keep us guessing for most of the night. In addition to there not being too many obvious winners on the card, there are a lot of questions that we don’t have answers for right now:

What is this “performance” that Elias has promised us going to entail?
What’s up with John Cena calling out The Undertaker to no avail? Is Cena really not going to have a match? Would they have an unadvertised Cena/Undertaker match on the card? Is something else going to happen?
Who is Braun Strowman’s TBD tag team partner? Or is he not going to have one and use some sort of reverse Feebird Rule to win the tag title himself?
Is this Brock Lesnar’s last match before returning to the UFC?
What happened to Bray Wyatt in the Lake of Reincarnation at the Hardy Estate two weeks ago? Is he going to make a surprise return with a new persona?
Is there going to be a heel turn we don’t see coming?
Is a WWE alumnus going to make his return? Will an NXT call up have an impact on the card? Will someone from NJPW crash the show?

The WWE is at its best when it can actually keep storylines secret and you don’t have any idea what is going to happen. It makes the show all the more enjoyable to sit back and watch. I expect that this could be one of the best WrestleMania’s we’ve seen in the past 10 years, and we could be treated to at least one or more top-10-all-time best WrestleMania matches.

On to my expert predictions.

AJ Styles (c) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura in a Singles match for the WWE Championship

It’s hard to believe how far Shinsuke Nakamura has come in just one year on the Smackdown roster. He showed up on the Smackdown following WrestleMania 33 with a violinist playing in his bizarre entrance. He called himself the “King of Strong Style” and got the crowd to sing along with his entrance music in the following weeks. He started to stand in the middle of the ring, do a squat, and scream “Come on!” at his opponents and the crowd ate it up. Lastly, he came up with the catch phrase “Knee to Face” and that seemed to put him over the top. I can’t figure out where the substance to any of this is, but the fans seem to really like it.

AJ Styles, conversely, is one of the top performers in the company right now, both on the microphone and in the ring. His in-ring work is unparalleled on the WWE main roster right now and that has earned him the fans respect. He reminds many of a master wrestling technician who can also sell and tell a story, like a young Shawn Michaels. Even in his early 40’s, he’s the subject of anybody’s dream match right now.

The build for this match has been lackluster. Anytime you have a big babyface vs. babyface match, the angle is a bit of a creative trap. They have to protect both guys image, and nobody can generate any real heat. They have to pretend like there is a mutual respect for each other, and that is a very uninteresting way to promote a match. Either way, when they get to the ring they should deliver.

There’s a lot on the line in this match. Styles gets his first opportunity to defend a championship at WrestleMania and Nakamura has never wrestled a bigger match in his life. His Tokyo Dome experience from NJPW is the little league compared to having to perform on the Grandest Stage of Them All. Both of these men, at this stage in their careers will want to make a statement in this match. It has the potential to be the match of the night, and perhaps a top-10 greatest WrestleMania match of all time.

Prediction: Winner and still WWE Champion, AJ Styles

The Miz (c) vs. Seth Rollins vs. Finn Bálor in a Triple Threat Match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship

The Miz has come a long way since his WrestleMania XXVIII main event against John Cena in which he successfully defended the World Championship. In many ways, he’s a better wrestler now, and his reign as Intercontinental champion has been more impressive than his World Championship. He is the best heel in the business and is considered by many to the WWE MVP.

Seth Rollins has lost a great deal of momentum since he lost the WWE Championship following an in-ring injury. He was the feel-good story coming out of WrestleMania 31, when he stole the championship from Brock Lesnar in the main event with a surprise cash-in of his Money In The Bank contract. Since the injury which cost him a spot at WrestleMania 32, he hasn’t had too many noteworthy moments. He flip-flopped back and forth as a heel, he re-united The Shield, but that angle fizzled due to illness and injuries to the other two. He had a slow-burn angle with Jason Jordan which came to a quick end when Jordan himself was injured. Rollins needs his luck to turn around, and a big match at WrestleMania 34 would certainly do that.

Finn Bálor is a one-trick-pony. He has a slick entrance with audience participation. Other than that, he’s a scrawny little twerp who wears tights with a leather jacket. He should be in the 205 division, wrestling guys his own size. He doesn’t look right wrestling guys who outweigh him by 75 pounds. He has zero personality to make up for his lack of size. I don’t expect him do much of anything interesting in this match.

I’d prefer to see this as a two-man match, but this is better than the typical 5-man ladder match they usually put on for the IC title at WrestleMania, so I’ll take it. Triple-threat matches are all about timing the big spots between the three competitors and are stylistically very difficult to pull off. The Miz and Rollins are going to have to be at their best to pull this off and carry Bálor.

Prediction: Winner and still WWE Intercontinental Champion, The Miz

Randy Orton (c) vs. Bobby Roode vs. Jinder Mahal vs. Rusev in a Fatal Four-Way Match for the WWE United States Championship

Not to be outdone by the triple threat match for the Intercontinental Championship, the United States Championship will be decided in a fatal four-way match. A match like this will be either memorable for years because it was so good, or bowling shoe-ugly. Everybody will try to get a signature move in at some point in order to stand out.

Randy Orton continues to plod through the later stages of his career. His championship win at WrestleMania was noteworthy because the crowd of over 70,000 was mostly silent throughout the match. He’s going to need something better out of this year’s WrestleMania match.

Bobby Roode is the least interesting competitor in this match. Over-produced entrance, an underwhelming personality, and way past his prime. Nothing to see here.

Rusev snuck into this match because he suddenly has a popular catch phrase: “Rusev Day”! It’s kind of weird but it works for him and should last for a little while longer. I thought he was better as a monster heel, but I guess he’s selling more merchandise this way so good for him.

Jinder Mahal is the biggest home-grown star we’ve seen in years in WWE. He’s had an amazing rebound from being fired from the WWE to his return and eventual ascension to WWE Champion. He’s got a great look and played the part of the cliched ethnic heel to the best of his abilities. If anybody deserves a WrestleMania moment and a win in this match, it’s Mahal.

Prediction: Winner and new WWE United States Champion, Jinder Mahal

Alexa Bliss (c) vs. Nia Jax in a singles match for the WWE Raw Women’s Championship

If you’ve ever followed this blog, you know what I’m about to say.

Prediction: This match will suck

The Usos (Jey and Jimmy Uso) (c) vs. The New Day (Big E, Kofi Kingston, and/or Xavier Woods) vs. The Bludgeon Brothers (Harper and Rowan) in a Triple threat tag team match for the WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship

Big build up all around for this match. The Usos finally get a match on the main WrestleMania card for the first time in their careers. They’ve put in the time and they did a good job re-inventing themselves after their bland Hardy Boyz-ripoff gimmick they started off with. This is a big opportunity for them.

The New Day is as stale as can be, and this team is dying to be broken up. Big E will go straight to the top, Xavier Woods will go straight to the middle, and Kofi Kingston will go back to being a jobber. They’ve had a fantastic run, but it is high time for a swerve and a heel turn for one of them, bringing this faction to an end.

The Bludgeon Brothers are hot right now. Harper and Rowan (having just lost their first names!) are the two most underrated big men on the roster right now. These guys have all the tools to be the best in this game. Their outfits are a little over the top, but everything else about this team screams heel champions. Their build to this spot was masterful, having them lay waste to a host of jobbers and making them look unstoppable. Watch this space, these guys are going to be big.

Prediction: Winners and new WWE Smackdown Tag Team Champions, The Bludgeon Brothers

Cesaro and Sheamus (c) vs. Braun Strowman and TBD in a tag team match for the WWE Raw Tag Team Championship

How great is this? The best tag team on Raw takes on the hottest talent on Raw, with a bone-fide mystery partner by his side! This is WWE at it’s best, creating a ridiculous situation that we’re dying to see. Could you imagine paying to see the Yankees play a home game against a mystery opponent? Wouldn’t ever happen! But in professional wrestling, this is creative gold!

People have argued that this isn’t the best spot for Braun Strowman and that he deserves to be in the main event. I’m a huge fan of his, but I think this is a great spot for him. Roman Reigns is the “chosen one” and there’s nothing we can do about it. Strowman is still going to get his push, and he’s going to take the ball and run with it. He does monster heel, he does comedy, he performs ridiculous feats of strength. What’s not to love about the guy? Just because he’s not in the main event, doesn’t mean he can’t be awesome.

Who is his partner? I’ve read all kinds of speculation that it could be a returning hero, an NXT call up, or someone else already on the roster. What’s the point in trying to figure it out now? Just sit back and let the show come to you!

Cesaro and Sheamus always deliver. They are going to nail their parts in this match and you can count on that. When they lose the title, it will be fun to watch them chase it back down.

Prediction: Winners and new WWE Raw Tag Team Champions, Braun Stroman and TBD

Charlotte Flair (c) vs. Asuka Singles match for the WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship

Out of respect for Ric Flair, I won’t disrespect his daughter. But this match is as good as it gets for women’s wrestling because the bar is set so low. Asuka is average at best and her gimmick is annoying.

Prediction: Winner and still WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion, Charlotte Flair

Kurt Angle and Ronda Rousey vs. Triple H and Stephanie McMahon in a mixed tag team match

Kurt Angle made a hero’s return to the WWE last year at the WWE Hall Of Fame ceremony, and then re-joined the regular show as Raw General Manager. Rumor had it there would be a big build to a WrestleMania 34 match for the Olympic gold medalist. Instead, he got saddled with this abortion of a match.

Ronda Rousey left the UFC as a loser and a shell of her former badass self. In the time between her UFC days and her WWE days, she did nothing to repair her reputation. Thus far, she has completely bombed on the WWE stage. Her promos are embarrassingly awkward. As one of my readers pointed out to me “she had the personality of a wet blanket in UFC” and apparently, her ability to memorize and read lines the WWE creative team feeds her is zero. Who even knows if she can wrestle? Probably not very well.

I can’t feel too sorry for Triple H, he’s had some very good WrestleMania matches in his career. But Kurt Angle deserved better than this. I don’t think either one of them can save this mess.

Prediction: Winners, Triple H and Stephanie McMahon

Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon vs. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn in a tag team match and if Owens and Zayn win, they will be rehired to SmackDown

Daniel Bryan’s surprise return to Smackdown changed the current landscape in the WWE in a way nobody saw coming. He was close to the Shane McMahon rivalry with the Owens/Zayn duo for months, and he is perfectly positioned to return in this match.

Kevin Owens is the top heel on SmackDown, and the story arc of his simmering feud with Shane McMahon has taken on many Shakspearian twists since it began in 2017. It’s now involved Sami Zayn, included the both of them sending McMahon to the hospital, and then getting themselves fired by Daniel Bryan before beating him up on the night he announced his return to active competition. This was top heel work and WWE creative at its best.

This could be the most entertaining match of the night. It has three of the best workers in the WWE right now, along with Sami Zayn who will play his supporting role as well. It has “win” written all over it for Zayn and Owens, and it will be fun watching the aftermath on Smackdown when it’s all over.

Prediction: Winners, Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn

Brock Lesnar (c) (with Paul Heyman) vs. Roman Reigns in a singles match for the WWE Universal Championship

A fourth straight WrestleMania event is about to be ruined by Roman Reigns. It’s a good thing this card is so stacked because the show will end with a thud with this match. We’ve known for a year that Reigns is going go win the match. The “like me because I’m a full-timer and Brock is a part-timer” angle is boring and has not helped Reigns improve one bit. He still sucks on the mike and his in-ring psychology is poor. No matter how many WrestleMania main events he gets, he never improves.

Brock Lesnar is about to walk out on the WWE. His act has gotten tired and it will be good for the WWE to move on from him at the top. He had a great run since his return as a part-time special attraction, and something needs to be said about how less exposure can actually help a superstar in the WWE. But it is time to go.

This match is going to fail to entertain. The crowd will be tired, Lesnar will have his eye on the exit, and Reigns will continue to stink. Try to stay awake if you can.

Prediction: Winner and new WWE Universal Champion, Roman Reigns

Filed Under: WWE Tagged With: AJ Styles, Bludgeon Brothers, Bobby Roode, Braun Strowman, Bray Wyatt, Brock Lesnar, Cesaro, Daniel Bryan, Elias, Finn Bálor, Jinder Mahal, John Cena, Kevin Owens, Kurt Angle, Randy Orton, Roman Reigns, Ronda Rousey, Rusev, Sami Zayn, Seth Rollins, Shane McMahon, Sheamus, Shinsuke Nakamura, Stephanie McMahon, The Miz, The New Day, The Usos, Triple H, Undertaker, WrestleMania, WWE

WWE Elimination Chamber Analysis and Predictions

February 25, 2018 by njnonconformist 1 Comment

The Road to WrestleMania 34 (I still number them even if the WWE doesn’t) continues with the Raw-branded Elimination Chamber tonight in Las Vegas. After Shinsuke Nakamura won the Royal Rumble and declared his intention to compete for the WWE Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania, it left open the question as to who will face Brock Lesnar for the WWE Universal Championship at the same event. Of course, rumor has it that Roman Reigns was picked over a year ago to get the slot in the WrestleMania main event, yet again. But that doesn’t mean we can’t hope that the rumors are incorrect and that anybody else wins the Elimination Chamber match!

This Pay Per View is a one-trick-pony, with the men’s Elimination Chamber being the only one that really matters for WrestleMania. There are two women’s matches, one of which will be the first ever Women’s Elimination Chamber match. Much like the dud that was the first ever Women’s Royal Rumble match in January, this match is going to suck. In fact, it has the potential to be much worse given the confines of the chamber itself.

The one thing worth mentioning about the Women’s division is that Ronda Rousey will make an appearance at Elimination Chamber to sign her Raw contract. Rousey was once the talk of the globe, having conquered the UFC Women’s Bantamweight Division. Unlike the WWE Women’s Division, the UFC Women are respectable athletes and performers who are highly entertaining to watch. The hope is obviously that Rousey will bring outside attention, and therefore new revenue into the WWE.

Unfortunately, Rousey crashed and burned in the UFC, having lost her two matches as the sport rapidly passed her by. Instead of handling her losses with grace and sportsmanship, she handled it like a complete loser. She ducked all media obligations, didn’t bother to talk about the fact she got her ass kicked, and left the octagon as a disgrace.

Given all that, and the fact that she has never worked a professional wrestling match in front of a live crowd, and that the talent around her in the WWE isn’t very good to begin with, chances are slim that Rousey is going to help the Women’s Division improve in the slightest.

I have been a constant critic of the WWE Women’s Division for years, I feel it has always been handled improperly and is painful to watch. Even after they dropped the “Diva’s” moniker and gave the entire division a push with more screen time and high-profile matches, I have not seen any improvement. Maybe I’m wrong and Rousey will give the division a shot in the arm and turn things around. I’ll keep an eye on it (mostly because I’m being forced to), but I don’t have high hopes. And that is all I will say about the Women’s division as it relates to the Elimination Chamber.

There are three men’s matches, two of which are filler. If you just tune in just for the main event, you’ll learn all you need to know about the Road to WrestleMania.

“Woken” Matt Hardy vs. Bray Wyatt

I don’t watch independent wrestling so I have no idea what the “Broken” Matt Hardy gimmick was all about. Now that he’s in the WWE and I’ve seen the “Woken” Matt Hardy gimmick is all about, all I can say is that I really don’t get it! He just babbles nonsense, has a weird phony laugh, chants “delete” and loses matches all the time. I’m not entertained.

Bray Wyatt is the biggest enigma of his time. He has all the potential in the world, and it never gets him anywhere. This is a dead-end feud that isn’t doing him any favors. Considering how poor his WrestleMania 33 performance was last year, this guy could use a break. He’s not going to get one here.

We already saw this match on the 25^th Anniversary Raw. It was boring then, and it’s not going to be much better tonight.

Prediction: Winner, Bray Wyatt

Cesaro and Sheamus (c) vs. Titus Worldwide (Apollo and Titus O’Neil) (with Dana Brooke) in a Tag team match for the WWE Raw Tag Team Championship

Sheamus and Cesaro are the best tag team in the WWE right now. They are always fun to watch, and can be counted on to put on an entertaining match. Apollo is the latest lucky winner of “the guy who lost his last name” award, which was once awarded to Cesaro! Titus O’Neil has a great deal of upside as an “agent” who runs a heel stable. It feels like the WWE is not giving him as much of a chance as he needs to really take this gimmick to the next level, and saddling him with a “statistician”, the nerdy-looking Dana Brooke isn’t helping out.

Regardless, this will be the second-best match on the card and it will be worth watching. It will certainly set the tone for the Raw Tag Team Championship picture at WrestleMania.

Prediction: Winners and still WWE Raw Tag Team Champions, Cesaro and Sheamus

Braun Strowman vs. Elias vs. Finn Bálor vs. John Cena vs. Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins vs. The Miz in a 7-Man Elimination Chamber match for a WWE Universal Championship match at WrestleMania 34

This match will represent the WWE at it’s finest. It should last at least one hour, tell a compelling story, contain several high-spots, leave us wanting more when it is over, and will set the stage for two, if not three matches at WrestleMania 34. There is something on the line for each of the entrants in this match.

Finn Bálor is badly in need of a signature match or even a moment in the WWE. After his initial push in which he became the first ever WWE Universal Champion (and having to surrender the title a day later due to injury), not much has gone right for him. It seems that people are becoming wise to the fact that all he has going for him is a well-produced ring entrance. Beyond that, he doesn’t say or do much that is very interesting. In fact, he comes off as a scrawny little twerp that should probably be in the 205 Cruiserweight division where nobody has to watch him. If he finally shows us something in the chamber, he might gain some steam headed into WrestleMania. If not, it’s off to the pre-show card for Finn.

Elias is the biggest up-and-comer in this match and stands to gain a lot ahead of WresteMania. He’s the classic “heel with a guitar”, combing nerve-grating singing with out-of-tune guitar playing and lots of great insults. People want to cheer him, but he’s such a dick to the live audience, they have no choice but to boo. His crowd reactions get better and better each week on Raw, and his in-ring work is very solid. Keep an eye on this guy, he probably won’t win, but will come away with a good feud in the near-term.

Seth Rollins is a victim of bad luck many times over. His first run as WWE Champion ended unceremoniously with a broken knee, and subsequently he missed WrestleMania 32 while on the mend. He hasn’t been in the title picture since his return. He reunited with The Shield to a huge fan response, only to have Dean Ambrose suffer an arm injury (which will cause Dean to miss WrestleMania 34) and have that faction quietly break up. He was paired with Jason Jordan and was headed towards a match with him at WrestleMania, until Jordan suffered a neck injury a few weeks back, and he will now miss WrestleMania leaving Seth without an obvious opponent. Seth is a highly talented young performer who has proved that he can carry the mantle for the WWE in the past. He needs a good Chamber match that somehow gives him a good opponent at WrestleMania.

The Miz is the best heel in the WWE right now. He is in a better place in his career now than when he headlined WrestleMania WrestleMania XXVII to mixed critical reviews. He has also become a master promoter for the WWE to outside media outlets and can be counted on to represent the company well, which helps make him a potential main eventer at WrestleMania this year. Keep an eye on him, he can be a dark horse pick to win the chamber match, especially given the stipulation that he has to enter the chamber first. That will certainly add to the intrigue of this match.

John Cena would be a great pick to win this match. He hasn’t main evented a WrestleMania since he beat The Rock at WrestleMania XXIX in New Jersey. Since that time, he’s been saddled with mid-card matches at ‘Mania, his low point coming last year when he had to participate in a mixed-gender tag match and pretend to propose to one of the Bella Twins, just as a way to advertise her reality show. Cena is one of the best wrestlers of all time and would be worthy of the main event spot at WrestleMania once again.

Braun Strowman is red hot right now. He is an example of the proper way to bring up a talent from NXT and make him into a star, in stark contrast to Roman Reigns. The two have almost parallel careers, but Strowman has outshined Reigns in every way. Strowman was a heel that the fans forced to turn babyface because he was so good. Everything about his matches, promos, and vignettes prove that this guy gets it. You won’t hear fans complain that Strowman is being “forced down their throats” even though that’s exactly what is happening. People don’t mind because he is deserving of the screen time he gets. A Strowman/Lesnar main event would blow the roof off of the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

Unfortunately, Roman Reigns is the favorite to win this match, and go on to ruin yet another WrestleMania main event. I continue to be bewildered by his never-ending push. I also can’t understand why he never improves. No matter how many interviews he does, he never has any real emotion or feeling when reading off the memorized lines he’s given. His ring psychology sucks, he has no idea how to properly sell for heels, or get any kind of fire for his comebacks. I repeat these same complaints over and over again because, with Roman, nothing ever changes.

Even if Reigns does go on to win the match, given the talent level, and the specter of the chamber itself, this has Match of The Year potential. I expect it to very enjoyable and am very much looking forward to it.

Prediction: Winner, Braun Strowman

I obviously just picked who I want to win, not who I think will win. Too bad, I’m a wrestling fan and that’s what we do!

Filed Under: WWE Tagged With: Braun Strowman, Brock Lesnar, Elias, Elimination Chamber, Finn Bálor, John Cena, Roman Reigns, Ronda Rousey, Seth Rollins, Shinsuke Nakamura, The Miz, WWE

Royal Rumble Analysis and Predictions

January 28, 2018 by njnonconformist Leave a Comment

The road to WrestleMania 34 begins at the Royal Rumble in Philadelphia tonight. At what should be the creative peak of the WWE year, both Smackdown and Raw are in the midst of a lull. There is a lot of unwatchable content on WWE these days with the proliferation of the Women’s and Cruiserweight Divisions. You pretty much have to watch Raw and Smackdown on a DVR so you can fast-forward through all of that. Not to mention, Roman Reigns is laying in wait to ruin yet another WrestleMania main event, so there isn’t much suspense right now in wondering who is going to get the big push in the coming months.

There are many bright spots in the middle card right now, and the Royal Rumble is always one of the more entertaining cards of the year. So, there is plenty to look forward to this evening, of course with the exception of the Women’s Royal Rumble. You should change the channel or take a nap or pet your dog or do anything else you can think of while this abomination is on.

AJ Styles (c) vs. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn in a Handicap match for the WWE Championship

AJ Styles has been a fan favorite since his first days in the WWE, having distinguished himself in every other major wrestling promotion in the world prior to his WWE debut. His current run as WWE champion has been solid, and his momentum could carry him to WrestleMania 34 to defend his championship in the semi-main event.

Kevin Owens is the best heel on the Smackdown brand. He is a relentless jerk, and never runs out of things to say to draw heat to himself. Sami Zayn was spinning his wheels for his entire WWE run as a white-meat-babyface, and his fortunes turned around mightily when he turned heel by aligning himself with his former foe, Kevin Owens. The two are a natural pairing, and they complement each other very well as annoying, cowardly heels.

The underpinning storyline behind this match is the budding feud between Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon that lead to the stipulation that this will be a handicap match for the WWE title. Expect the Bryan/McMahon situation to explode somehow during this match, affecting the outcome. I find it highly unlikely that they will award the WWE championship to two men using the Freebird Rule.

Prediction: Winner and still WWE Champion, AJ Styles

Seth Rollins and Jason Jordan (c) vs. Cesaro and Sheamus in a Tag team match for the WWE Raw Tag Team Championship

The unlikely pairing of Kurt Angle’s “son”, Jason Jordan and Seth Rollins was made possible due to the unfortunate injury to Dean Amborse. Jordan was put in an interesting spot with the illegitimate child angle (no pun intended), but not too many interesting moments came out of it until he paired with Rollins. Now, they are a classic good guy/bad guy tag team, and play well off of each other. Jordan has made the most of his role, and has gotten over as a heel.

Cesaro and Sheamus continue to impress as the best tag team in the WWE today. Both were likely at the end of their WWE runs before they paired as a tag team, and they caught fire once they united. They have great in-ring chemistry, and put on great matches on pay-per-views.

Prediction: Winner and new Tag Team Champions, Cesaro and Sheamus

The Usos (Jey and Jimmy Uso) (c) vs. Chad Gable and Shelton Benjamin in a 2-out-of-3-falls match for the WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship

The way these teams have been presented, I don’t know who is the babyface or heel team, nor do I understand why this has to be a 2-out-of-three falls match. There isn’t much interesting going on here, and I expected better out of Shelton Benjamin since he returned to the WWE.

Prediction: Winners and still WWE Smackdown Tag Team Champions, The Usos

Brock Lesnar (c) (with Paul Heyman) vs. Braun Strowman vs. Kane in a Triple threat match for the WWE Universal Championship

No doubt about it, this is going to be the match of the night. Braun Strowman is red hot right now, he has gotten over with the fans and has potential to carry the company if he plays his cards right. He has freakish size and strength, in-ring ability, and is great on the mic. The over-the-top displays of strength he shows by pulling down lighting rigs and flipping over semi-trucks are outright hilarious. He has surpassed Roman Reigns in terms of ability, and hopefully WWE brass realizes that soon.

Kane is making a late-career main event run. After having lost a considerable amount of time to injury, he made his way back into the top of the card. Kane may seem like an odd pick for this match, but he has consistently been one of the most dependable performers in the WWE over the past 20 years, and will play an important part in this match.

Brock Lesnar is very consistent, if not somewhat stale. Unlike Kane, not much changes with his character. It might be time to change some things up if he’s going to stick to the WWE for an extended run. I’d expect him to put on a great match like he always does.

Prediction: Winner and still WWE Universal Champion, Brock Lesnar

2018 Women’s Royal Rumble match for a women’s championship match at WrestleMania 34

This is a horrible idea. It’s going to be the worst match of the year, and it’s going to go on way too long. If you like watching people with pink and purple hair blow spots for an hour, you are in luck. If you’re like me, there’s probably something better on TV at the time to watch instead.

Prediction: This match is going to suck and let’s hope it’s one and done and they never do it again!

2018 Men’s Royal Rumble match for a championship match at WrestleMania 34

The most unpredictable and unique match of the year will help shape one of the biggest matches on the WrestleMania card. Interestingly enough, only 18 of the participants have been named thus far, with 12 remaining. The mystery remains who the other 12 will be, but it is unlikely that the winner is among that group. For the most part, the Royal Rumble only has a handful of people with a reasonable chance of winning and going on to a title match at WrestleMania. There are a few categories that the competitors can be bucketed into.

No Chance in Hell:

Matt Hardy: The fans wanted his “Broken” gimmick from TNA. They got a “Woken” gimmick and it is terrible.
Rusev: Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Once a dependable heel, now he’s a babyface with a catchphrase. A funny catchphrase, but not ‘Mania-main-event-worthy.
Aiden English: Funny guy, will get tossed.
Apollo Crews: I watch WWE every week, I barely know who he is.
Titus O’Neil: Perennially underused, too old for a push to the top.
Tye Dillinger: Bad gimmick and very boring. Will never be WWE champ.
Big E: Has potential to be a top guy in the company, need to flip to heel and leave the New Day first.
Kofi Kingston: Is not going to WrestleMania in a singles match.
Xavier Woods: See Kofi Kingston

Could Shock the World:

Elias: Has done well with the opportunity he’s been given since his Raw call up.
Shinsuke Nakamura: The most perplexing guy on the roster today. What’s with that entrance he does? What does “King of Strong Style” mean? Why should I care about this guy? Despite me not having the answers to these questions, people seem to like him, I don’t get it.
Finn Bálor: Another one that is “all entrance and nothing else”. Rumor has it that Vince McMahon thinks he is bland. I wonder what took the old man so long to figure that out?
Baron Corbin: Seems to be hanging on to his push pretty well. A former André The Giant Battle Royal and Money in the Bank winner, he could surprise here.

Favorites to win:

Roman Reigns: Will headline WrestleMania whether he wins or not. Remains to be seen if they want him to get booed out of Philly for a second time after winning the Royal Rumble. Sounds like a stubborn Vince McMahon move to me.
Randy Orton: Won last year’s rumble, had a horrific match at WrestleMania 33 against Bray Wyatt.
Bray Wyatt: Was in the same boat as Orton last year, maybe he gets to redeem himself this year.
The Miz: The best heel in WWE right now and former WrestleMania headliner. It could be his year.
John Cena: Needs one more championship to surpass Ric Flair’s career total. He’s part time now, so WrestleMania is as good a time as any. Unless the rumors are true and he’s slated to work with The Undertaker this April.

Also, to consider would be some NXT callups making the match, and we might also see returning veterans who are no longer full-time wrestlers get involved. Or maybe a leading independent wrestler, or someone tied to TNA or NJPW will make a surprise debut in the rumble.

Prediction: Winner, The MIz

A lot of things can happen in the Rumble match that set up other feuds or angles for the next two months headed into WrestleMania. With a ruckus Philly crowd, the energy in the room should be good. Despite the creative quagmire the WWE is in right now, this could turn out to be a great show, despite the Women’s Rumble!

Filed Under: WWE Tagged With: AJ Styles, Braun Strowman, Bray Wyatt, Brock Lesnar, Elias, Finn Bálor, John Cena, Kane, Kevin Owens, Randy Orton, Royal Rumble, Sami Zayn, Shinsuke Nakamura, WrestleMania, WWE

WWE SummerSlam Analysis and Predictions

August 20, 2017 by njnonconformist Leave a Comment

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Following WrestleMania each year, the WWE tends to find itself in a bit of a creative slump over the summer. This year is no different. There are very few hot wrestlers or exciting angles on WWE TV right now. Battleground was critically panned as one of the worst pay-per-views of the year.

The WWE is looking to break out of the malaise when it invades Brooklyn this weekend for the 30^th annual SummerSlam event. As is always the case since the dawn of the WWE Network (without PPV time limits), this is a very crowded card with 13 matches, inclusive of the three on the pre-show. There are a few matches with promise, and a few that will have to exceed expectations to become memorable.

Cesaro and Sheamus (c) vs. Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins in a Tag team match for the WWE Raw Tag Team Championship

Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins are back together after three years as adversaries following the breakup of The Shield. The story behind their reunion was entertaining and compelling. Even more importantly, this angle sets things up for one of them to turn on the other in time for a match at WrestleMania next April! But in the here and now, the WWE fans are very excited to see them back together and will be hot for them during this match.

Having gone as far as they could in their careers as singles competitors, veterans Cesaro and Sheamus have re-invented themselves as tag-team competitors. They are serviceable heels, and do a good job of keeping interest in the tag title championship by having the babyfaces chase them. This matchup has the potential to steal the show.

Prediction: Winners and still WWE Raw Tag Team Champions, Cesaro and Sheamus

Finn Bálor vs. Bray Wyatt

Finn Bálor returns to the building where he simultaneously became the first ever WWE Universal Champion and broke his shoulder at last year’s SummerSlam. As far as I can tell, he’s nothing more than a puny guy with an elaborate entrance who wears body paint once or twice a year. Kind of like half of an Undertaker but like 1/25^th as good as the Undertaker.

Bray Wyatt finally had his chance this year when he defended his first WWE Championship. He blew it with a crappy match against Randy Orton and his weeks-long title run will be forever remembered for how badly it ended. He hasn’t had much momentum since.

We just saw this match on Raw this week, but it was only to set up the reasoning behind Bálor deciding to wear his body paint for their SS match. Wyatt won the first one, it would be a shame to see a 50/50 booking and give the win straight back to Bálor.

Prediction: Winner, Bray Wyatt

Big Show vs. Big Cass in a Singles Match with Enzo Amore suspended above the ring in a shark cage

The WWE must really like the shark cage gimmick as it was used earlier this year at the Royal Rumble with Chris Jericho trapped inside of it. Either that, or they spent a lot of money on it and are looking for a good return on investment.

Big Cass and Enzo Amore were a hot tag team, buoyed by a unique appearance, in-ring chemistry, and an entrance cadence that the audience loved to participate in. When they predictably broke up a few months ago, their momentum fell flat and nobody seems to care about either one of them anymore.

The Big Show is always a dependable veteran. This was an obvious match up between the two tallest men in the WWE. There aren’t going to be too many moonsaults and frog-splashes in this match!

Prediction: Winner, The Big Show

Randy Orton vs. Rusev

Two once-promising guys turned lazy in a match with virtually no build-up. Beer break.

Prediction: Winner, Rusev

AJ Styles (c) vs. Kevin Owens in a Singles match for the WWE United States Championship. Shane McMahon will serve as special guest referee

As uninteresting as the Orton/Rusev match will be, the Styles/Owens match should be intriguing. These two are among the most charismatic individuals to hit the WWE in the last several years. More importantly, they are both innovators in the ring. Their matches tend to always be among the best on any given card. Throw in special guest referee, Shane McMahon, who wrestled Styles at WrestleMania earlier this year, and now has heat with KO, and you have an additional combustible element in the mix. This should be a match to remember that has repercussions into the next pay per view.

Prediction: Winner and new WWE United States Champion, Kevin Owens

Jinder Mahal (c) (with The Singh Brothers) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura in a Singles match for the WWE Championship

A star was born when Jinder Mahal won the WWE Championship from out of nowhere earlier this year. It was a surprise move, one that you don’t see very often. He had no lower singles championship, no memorable promo or catchphrase, and no signature match on his resume prior to his big win against Randy Orton. The decision to put the strap on Mahal was a controversial one with most fans who thought he wasn’t deserving or ready. But, I’m a big fan of Jinder. He’s got a good look, is good on the microphone, runs a heel stable, and is fun to watch.

Shinsuke Nakamura, however, appears to be in over his head in the WWE. Similarly to Bálor, he seems like he is nothing more than a guy with a big entrance. What’s with these guys from NXT who come pre-packaged with these long entrances, anyway? Is that all that is entertaining to fans anymore?

Nakamura was expected to be on the fast track to WWE Champion when me made the main roster the week after WrestleMania this year. He had a reputation as a top-performer in Japan and in NXT here in the US. Thus far into his WWE run, he’s been pretty lackluster and hasn’t done much to impress anybody. He’s like a .330 hitter in AAA who can’t hit a major league slider and hits .215 when he gets the call to the big leagues. He may have looked good in comparison to the rest of the talent in the lower rungs of professional wrestling, but isn’t anything special compared to the best wrestlers in the world in the WWE.

Prediction: Winner and still WWE Champion, Jinder Mahal

Naomi (c) vs. Natalya in a Singles match for the WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship

Prediction: This match is going to suck

Alexa Bliss (c) vs. Sasha Banks in a Singles match for the WWE Raw Women’s Championship

Who thought it was a good idea to have two divas matches on the same card?

Prediction: Could be even worse than the Naomi/Natalya match

John Cena vs. Baron Corbin

Baron Corbin has been on the verge of breaking out for quite some time. His latest push had him win Money in The Bank earlier this year, but bizarrely lost the cash-in match on Smackdown this past week. That was a curious booking decision and it didn’t do him any favors.

John Cena, even in his part-time capacity, and at the age of 40, is still the best wrestler in the world right now. He gets better with age and can put a good match together with anybody. He’ll also do business, he will put guys over if it is the right thing to do for a storyline or character advancement. Make sure you are in your seat for this match.

Prediction: Winner, John Cena

Brock Lesnar (c) (with Paul Heyman) vs. Roman Reigns vs. Samoa Joe vs. Braun Strowman in a Fatal 4-Way match for the WWE Universal Championship

This is the most intriguing match of the card, with a diverse set of competitors. All four men have different backgrounds and stories, and are at different stages of their careers, but the one thing they have in common is super-human size and strength.

Samoa Joe is the newest to the WWE main roster, having made a huge impact since his debut in March. This will already be his second pay-per-view main event. He is a real underdog story, having wrestled in every other promotion in the world until his late 30’s when he was finally given a chance in the WWE. Since then, the fans have connected with his character, a bruising, unapologetic, bully

Braun Strowman has steadily improved these past twelve months since he split off from The Wyatt Family. He plays the part of a monster heel, but the fans have steadily rallied behind him anyway, mainly because his chief foil has been Roman Reigns.

Brock Lesnar continues to do what he does best, and that is to act like a beast. The added stipulation of him leaving the WWE if he loses the title could set him up for a lengthy absence, perhaps to return to the UFC octagon. Or, it could mean nothing if he retains the title.

Roman Reigns stinks. He never improves. He just reads whatever dumb lines the WWE writers hand him with all the emotion of the worst actor in the 5^th grade play. I’ll give you $1 if you can name me one classic singles match he’s ever been in.

This match can go in any direction. There could be a strong case to put the title on Joe or Strowman to give one of the fledgling newcomers a title run. The Lesnar leaves town stipulation could be a swerve and he could be slated to win. There is always the horrible specter of another Roman Reigns title win hanging over us as well. Nothing else to do to but sit back and watch. But as an analyst, I’ll take a shot at a prediction.

Prediction: Winner and new WWE Universal Champion, Braun Strowman

Filed Under: WWE Tagged With: Baron Corbin, Big Cass, Braun Strowman, Bray Wyatt, Brock Lesnar, Enzo Amore, Finn Bálor, Jinder Mahal, John Cena, Randy Orton, Roman Reigns, Rusev, Samoa Joe, Shinsuke Nakamura, SummerSlam, The Big Show, WWE, WWE Network

WrestleMania 33 Analysis and Predictions Part 3: The Raw Matches

March 31, 2017 by njnonconformist Leave a Comment

Part three of my four-part series on WrestleMania 33 will focus on the Raw matches. On paper, these matches, in isolation, would make for a great pay-per-view card. As part of the overall show which is much bigger, the performers in them are going to all have to step things up a notch in order to be noticed and remembered. There is no shortage of opportunities here for some of these matches to considered classics if done well.

Seth Rollins vs. Triple H in a Non-Sanctioned Match

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Nothing like a contract signing to get the juices flowing for a WrestleMania match.

This match is a great example of how long-term storytelling can build a tremendous amount of anticipation for a match. This match was made to be at WrestleMania for almost three years now and we finally can get out payoff for years of investment in the storyline.

The Shield was the most popular faction the WWE had seen in years when it made its debut on the main WWE roster in 2012. At the time of their arrival, it seemed that all three members had unlimited potential as singles competitors, and they had their chance to do such when Seth Rollins turned on the other two members of The Shield in a masterfully orchestrated heel turn in 2014, and aligned with Triple H. Rollins immediately overshowed Roman Reigns who turned out to be the most overrated of the three. Rollins went on to be WWE Champion and United States Champion over the course of a torrid heel run.

Unfortunately, Rollins lost all the momentum he had when he badly broke his knee at the tail end of 2015, forcing him to forfeit his championship and to miss WrestleMania 32. Upon his return in 2016, Rollins was eventually placed in a match for the new WWE Universal Championship which he lost to Finn Bálor at SummerSlam. The feeble Bálor was injured during the match and had to immediately vacate the title, thus setting up Rollins for a second chance to win it in a fatal-four-way match on Raw. Much to everybody’s surprise, Triple H, who hadn’t been seen on TV since WrestleMania 32, made his return to Raw, and gave Rollins The Pedigree. This handed the championship to Kevin Owens and turned Rollins babyface. It also set the stage for this match at WrestleMania 33.

Unfortunately for Rollins, he re-injured his previously broken knee in the run-up to WrestleMania 33 earlier this year. There was speculation that he wouldn’t be medically cleared for WrestleMania yet again this year, but he appears to have re-habilitated his knee to the point that he will be able to make it through a match. The WWE added his knee injury to the creative angle of the match by making it a non-sanctioned match, ostensibly forcing Rollins to waive any liability to the WWE if he suffers further injury.

Triple H has amassed a 9-11 WrestleMania win/loss record in his 20 WrestleMania appearances. Very few of those matches are remembered as timeless classics, he always seems to be overshadowed by somebody else on the roster. But there is no doubt that The Cerebral Assassin brings his best to WrestleMania.

If there is one thing Triple H is good at, it is building and selling a hot wrestling angle. His verbal assault and his beatings he’s placed on Seth Rollins these past few weeks have been absolutely brutal. He has the crowd in the palm of his hand, with them all hoping he gets beat by his former protégé. Not to mention, he always has an outrageous entrance at WrestleMania that is sure to bring the crowd to its feet.

I have high hopes for this match, as long as Rollins’ knee is up to the task. If he is healthy enough to perform, I would expect that Rollins will put on a technical masterpiece, and this match will tell an intense story.

Prediction: Winner, Triple H

Neville (c) vs. Austin Aries in a Singles match for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship

The cruiserweight division has not caught on and is not over with the fans of the WWE Raw flagship show. Once the division made its debut on Raw in 2016, it lost all momentum it had gained after the critically acclaimed Cruiser Weight Classic tournament. In the isolation of their own show on the WWE Network, the cruiserweights were able to put on an entertaining program. When thrust into Raw, the individual competitors got lost. There’s no good reason for the fans to care about any of them, they just showed up with over-the-top ring entrances and theme music with no other real backing of their characters. Eventually, I would just start to fast-forward through their segments and matches because they are boring. I’m done with it, something is going to have to drastically change for me to care about the Raw Cruiserweight Division.

I suppose that if you are actually paying attention, these two are going to lay it on the line and perform some high-flying spots designed to get a pop out of the crowd. The match won’t go very long as it is part of the pre-show, where it belongs.

Prediction: Winner and still WWE Cruiserweight Champion, Neville

Bayley (c) vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Sasha Banks vs. Nia Jax in a Fatal 4-Way Elimination match for the WWE Raw Women’s Championship

Not even the daughter of Ric Flair can save this match from being a total abomination. At least it will be a good time for a bathroom break during the show.

Prediction: This match is going to suck.

Chris Jericho (c) vs. Kevin Owens in a Singles match for the WWE United States Championship

This match is a shining example of how great storytelling, the right setting, and the right amount of time, can set up a stellar matchup at WrestleMania. The months-long “friendship” angle between Owens and Jericho seemed like it was designed to be a joke or a one-night-only occurrence at first. But the angle was kept alive for months, and delivered enough twists and turns to take us to an eventual WrestleMania match between the two.

Chris Jericho has never been the best, despite his massive ego and how he refers to himself. He was overshadowed by his contemporaries like The Rock, Kurt Angle, Stone Cold Steve Austin, and Shawn Michaels for good reason. They were all better than him. His many returns as a nostalgia act over the past several years didn’t catch on at all, and resulted in some boring and routine matches that didn’t resonate with the WWE fan base. All this changed when he paired up with Kevin Owens in his most recent run.

Kevin Owens caught on with the WWE audience since day one. He doesn’t have a prototypical WWE wrestler’s look, in fact, he’s clearly overweight and not a physical specimen at all. However, he connected with the fans as someone who is relatable to them. Despite the fact that he has worked exclusively as a heel, he appealed to adult fans and gets his fair share of cheers. Fans respect his ability to get a storyline over with his great promos, he can be funny, evil, arrogant, and sarcastic, just like any top heel should be able to do. He has an innovative in-ring style, and his matches keep you on the edge of your seat.

The pairing of Owens and Jericho has revitalized Jericho’s career. Some say this is his best and most memorable run ever. At age 46, he probably is nearing retirement from the ring, and this match could be his last chance to create a lasting WrestleMania memory. Owens, on the other hand, still has plenty of gas left in the tank and wants to show the world that he can be a WrestleMania headliner at some point in his career.

Prediction: Winner and new WWE United States Champion, Kevin Owens

Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson (c) vs. Enzo Amore and Big Cass vs. Cesaro and Sheamus in a Triple threat ladder tag team match for the WWE Raw Tag Team Championship

Unlike most of the matches on the card, this one has veered towards “overbooked” territory. It would be one thing if it were a just a triple-threat tag team match. All three teams have had a great year and are deserving of being on the card somehow. But the late addition of the ladder stipulation was unnecessary. It’s almost as if somebody in WWE creative said to themselves last Monday “Oh, crap! We forgot to book a ladder match at WrestleMania! It’s not WrestleMania without a ladder match!”

The triple-threat ladder match at WrestleMania was revolutionized by Edge and Christian, The Hardy Boys, and The Dudleys during The Attitude Era. The revolution grew organically because the talents in them had shown the ability to work well in ladder matches prior to WrestleMania. The trio of wrestlers in this year’s ladder match don’t exactly have the same resume as those three classic teams had headed into WrestleMania 2000.

Gallows and Anderson have had a start-and-stop push since their WWE debut in 2016. In the beginning, they made a big splash as members of “The Club” along with AJ Styles and were received well by the fans. They ended up somehow getting lost in the pack after the brand split in July, but hung in there and were eventually awarded the Raw Tag Team championship. They seem to be still finding their way in the WWE, but this championship run, along with this match on WrestleMania 33 will certainly help their cause.

Enzo Amore and Big Cass hit the floor running when they received the call to the main roster last year. Their exposure from NXT had the crowd chanting along with their cadence on their very first night. They are an entertaining duo despite the fact that they work exclusively as baby faces. This is the type of pairing that is destined to break up at some point and feud with each other, so it is best for them to seize the opportunity they have now while they are still together.

Cesaro and Sheamus are together as a team, likely because the WWE has run out of ideas what to do with them as singles competitors. Cesaro is never going to catch fire, and Sheamus has been to the top but that was in the distant past. They found chemistry together and work well against both of the teams they are facing off against in this match.

This match could be either remembered as a classic, or bowling shoe-ugly. The ladder stipulation isn’t helping matters much. Instead of tagging in and out, all six men will be in the ring at the same time, making it difficult for them to time their spots well.

Prediction: Winners and still WWE Raw Tag Team Champions, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson

Goldberg (c) vs. Brock Lesnar (with Paul Heyman) in a Singles match for the WWE Universal Championship

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WWE Universal Champion, Goldberg is ready for his WrestleMania rematch against Brock Lesnar.

Who would have seen this match coming this time last year? Goldberg was an afterthought, a revered WCW hero who never caught on in the WWE, who seemed to be happy to have moved on with his life. All we knew about his departure from the WWE was that it was acrimonious and it didn’t seem like, at age 50, he was destined to come back for one more run.

What we didn’t know, was that Goldberg had the desire to come back one more time due to a life-changing event, the birth of his son. As he grew older, Goldberg wanted to give his son, Gabe, a chance to see him wrestle one more time. It seems that this humbled Goldberg and he was able to patch up his differences with the McMahon family and agree to return for the Survivor Series in 2016 for a match against Brock Lesnar.

The professional wrestling world was shocked at the outcome of the Lesnar/Goldberg Survivor Series match when Goldberg easily defeated Lesnar in about a minute and a half. Critics were quick to point out that they thought that the reason this happened was because of Goldberg’s age and lack of ability, the longest he could last in a match was under two minutes. What the critics didn’t see, however, was the WWE building towards a bigger feud between the two that will culminate in a WrestleMania 33 match between the two.

This is a very interesting angle that the WWE used to build this match. Brock Lesnar has been presented as an unbeatable destroyer since he ended The Streak of The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXX. By painting him as someone who “underestimated” Goldberg, causing him to lose, it keeps his credibility as a destroyer intact. It also paints Lesnar as a credible threat to turn the tide and defeat Goldberg the second time around.

I had the misfortune of seeing their first matchup at WrestleMania XX live at Madison Square Garden. That match was a mess as both men, and the audience, knew they both were about to leave the WWE after that night.

This time around, both men are in a different place in their careers and their personal lives. Both genuinely want to put on a good show this time around, and make up for their lackluster performance in 2014. Goldberg isn’t known for putting on long matches, and at this age, it’s not known if he even can perform in a long match. But, that is beside the point. If this match goes 1 minute, 5 minutes, or 30 minutes, it will certainly be designed to tell a story and give the live crowd something to react to.

Prediction: Winner, and still WWE Universal Champion, Goldberg

I realize I’m going against the grain with this pick. The betting odds heavily favor Lesnar as Goldberg is rumored to be done with the WWE after this match. But the WWE shocked us once before at Survivor Series the last time these two faced each other. It wouldn’t surprise me if it happens again at WrestleMania 33.

Stay tuned for more analysis between now and Sunday. If you have any questions or comments, please comment below or send me an e-mail (advice@njnonconformist.com).

Filed Under: WWE Tagged With: Big Cass, Brock Lesnar, Cesaro, Chris Jericho, Enzo Amore, Finn Bálor, Goldberg, Karl Anderson, Kevin Owens, Luke Gallows, Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, Sheamus, Triple H, WrestleMania, WWE