Let me tell you a little something about grit. After going 2-9 on my WrestleMania predictions I could've called it quits. I mean, would anybody even notice? I've only posted like 3 blogs and racked up enough pageviews to last me a life time. Ho Hum. But I'm not a quitter. It isn't in my DNA. Even when I bought $WWE at $16.31 and it dropped as low as $13.28 I stuck to my guns and persevered. And now I'm back. Am I going to stop making bold predictions and picking with my heart over my head? Not a chance. If you're here looking for chalk picks just close your laptop and save yourself from the roller coaster ride that I'm about to take you on.
Strap in, because it's go time.
Pre-Show
Kalisto(c) vs. Ryback -- United States Championship
Oh look, the United States Championship has zero credibility again. I guess we were spoiled by John Cena's unreal run as champ that revived the mid-card belt, but come on, is it that hard to book these angles? Kalisto is as exciting as it gets in the ring, but he doesn't have the mic skills necessary to stay relevant as champ. Now we're faced with another title match on the pre-show and to be honest, I'm pretty lost in this program. The match will probably be an exciting one for those of you tuning in at 7:30 to catch it, but I think it's time for the belt to change hands and try something new. These two have gone back and forth and Ryback has been doing some decent work as a heel, time to give the Big Guy a shot.
Prediction: Ryback
Main Card
Charlotte(c) vs. Natalya -- Women's Championship
I appreciate Natalya and think she's one of the most underrated wrestlers on the roster. I mean, she's related to the fucking Harts and is incredibly technical because of it. Charlotte has Ric Flair's corpse in her corner and he's helped her win more than enough matches, so Natalya decided to even up the score by bringing her uncle Bret (you may have heard of him) out with her. Maybe a bit of a bold prediction, but I think Bret Hart can keep the Flairs from stealing another win, or at least put Ric Flair in a sharp shooter, and that's good enough for me.
Prediction: Natalya
Dolph Ziggler vs. Baron Corbin
Baron Corbin is a savage and Dolph Ziggler is a stepping stone for superstars who need a push. That's basically all you need to know for this one. Apparently, Vince McMahon called up Corbin with no knowledge of his talent or character and it kind of shows considering he's getting the stereotypical big man push. This might end up being the shortest match on the card and Ziggler will probably get his ass kicked. I wouldn't be shocked if Corbin gets DQ'd or this match ends in a count out, but either way, Corbin will hit Ziggler with the End of Days and walk out on top.
Prediction: Baron Corbin
Enzo & Cass vs. The Vaudevillains -- #1 Contendership
We are finally going to have new challengers for the titles that aren't The Usos, what a breath of fresh air. Even better, we're getting to see a showcase of two of the top NXT tag teams in the history of the company. Sadly, one team is incredibly over with the crowd while the other one isn't. Everyone who watches NXT had a feeling that The Vaudevillains gimmick wasn't going to work on the main roster, and it might be going even worse than expected. On the other hand, Enzo & Cass are as over as it gets due to their top notch promos and electric matches. But take a look at the big picture here. The New Day are 3 of the top faces in the company, and putting The Realest Guys against them could cause some friction with the fans. When Enzo & Cass debuted, they immediately went after The Dudley's and ended up beating them in the second round of the tournament. You think Bubba Ray and D-Von are just gunna let that go? I think The Dudleys interfere and The Vaudevillains win via roll up or something of the sort. This sets up another tag team program to help establish Enzo & Cass as even bigger in ring threats and gives The New Day some heels to work against for the next month.
Prediction: The Vaudevillains
Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens
I know I'm speaking for most of us when I say I wish this match 1) happened at WrestleMania and 2) was for the Intercontinental Championship. But life isn't perfect. Owens/Zayn has the make up to last YEARS and could potentially end up as one of the greatest rivalries in the history of the company. This is a tough match to pick because these guys are two of the most talented guys on the roster and are both so easy to get behind, but losing to KO seems to be Zayn's thing. Even if Zayn could steal a win from his former friend and now mortal enemy, Owens would probably still dismantle him immediately after and be the one walking out on top. I expect this to me a lot more competitive than their NXT Championship match and a Sami Zayn comeback attempt seems inevitable. But Kevin Owens is too good and I can't see him losing this one.
Prediction: Kevin Owens
Dean Ambrose vs. Chris Jericho
Can Dean Ambrose win a match at a PPV? Most of this feud has been settled on the mic and I have no problem with that. The build up has kept us wondering who has the upper hand here and the only real taste we got was this past week on Raw when Y2J locked Dean into the Walls of Jericho on the announce table. I think Dean finally wins a big match and hopefully the company will start using him like the star he is, but I won't hold my breath waiting for that to happen.
Prediction: Dean Ambrose
The Miz(c) vs. Cesaro -- Intercontinental Championship
For starters, The Miz is an offensively underrated heel. Nobody draws heat better than he does. And with the return of his (real life) wife Maryse to accompany him at ringside, I actually think the Miz snakes a win from the Swiss Superman to continue working as a heel champion. Do I want it to happen? Not necessarily. I've been waiting for Cesaro to get a legitimate singles push forever. But a loss like this won't hurt Cesaro at all. If anything, it might build him up. I'm predicting a Maryse distraction leading to a Skull Crushing Finale or maybe just a roll up. This adds depth to the story and would make Cesaro's eventual reign as champ even more special.
Prediction: The Miz
Roman Reigns(c) vs. AJ Styles -- WWE World Heavyweight Championship
Roman Reigns isn't a bad champion. He isn't a good champion. He's just a champion.
I wouldn't say I hate Roman Reigns, I'm just indifferent to him as a champ. He's incredibly athletic and is capable of putting on 5 star matches, but it's just so tough to listen to his promos, which is such an important aspect of being the face of the company. I think the WWE finally figured it out and realized that he isn't going to work out as a typical face. Now they have him kind of in the middle, which he clarified when he stated, "I'm not a bad guy. I'm not a good guy. I'm THE guy." Which is a pretty bold thing to say. But it isn't as bold as Besse's Be Bolder Predictions Brought to You by Butterfinger.
The WWE has been hinting at a Bullet Club reunion ever since Gallows and Anderson debuted a couple of weeks ago. Originally, AJ was pumped to see his long time friends, but those feelings slowly changed as the tag team started drawing parallels to Dom from Entourage, thinking they were helping out their buddy but actually going against his wishes.
I'm not going to try and get cute here, because I don't back away from bold predictions. That's how men do it. So I'm just gunna lay it our for you.
At around 10:53 (Eastern) on Sunday night, Roman Reigns and AJ Styles will be engaged in a good match that we're all convinced that Styles is going to win. That's when the music hits and Gallows and Anderson come storming out to a decent pop from the crowd. Obviously, they're coming out to continue their work from the past few episodes of Raw and help AJ take down Roman, but this attempt doesn't work as well as the last few. Styles' boys end up costing him the win which leads to a post match face off and a splitting between the two sides. Does Finn Balor debut? Well he did say that he wants to debut with the Bullet Club so let's throw him into this. It's worth noting that Styles was kicked out of the Bullet Club in Japan and Finn was the leader, so why not carry that concept over to the WWE? Maybe AJ gets attacked, maybe not, I don't know I'm kind of rambling here now, I just really want the Balor Club to form is all, my bad.
P.S. If this match leads to a Bullet Club (Styles, Gallows, Anderson) vs. Reigns and the Usos I'll be so disappointed. I'm getting worked up just thinking about how lame that would be.
Prediction: Roman Reigns
Vince McMahon's Decision
Time to address the elephant in the room. It makes ZERO sense that Shane McMahon is running Raw. I mean, the entire point of his match at WrestleMania was that if he won, he got Raw, and if he lost, he was gone forever. But here he is, going three weeks strong as the new GM of Raw. But now Stephanie is back in the picture and she wants her control back because she realizes how ridiculous this situation is too. BUT, the show has gotten significantly better with Shane as the GM and we've seen a ton of exciting NXT call ups and the product we've been given every Monday has been much better to watch.
There have been so many rumors about Shane's time back with the company ranging from him leaving after Mania to him being here for the long term so this is a tough decision to predict. A decision I can't exactly put my finger on. Speaking of fingers, it's time for a SECOND segment of Besse's Be Bolder Predictions Brought to You by Butterfinger.
The Authority act got so stale so quickly because every feud seemed to be the same. They'd try to get the top face to join them, the face would refuse, and then they'd do what they could to make his life miserable. With Smackdown's move to USA, the company has been trying to revive the B show and bring more legitimacy to it. So why not have Stephanie run one show as a Heel authority figure and Shane run the other as a Face? This brings back the concept of the brand split and with all of these NXT call ups and superstars returning from injury, I think they have the depth to do it.
Will Vince have the balls to do it? Probably not. But one can only hope that he tries to shake things up at least a little bit.
That's all I've got for Sunday night. The New Day will probably cut a promo and do their thing, and I'm sure some other segments will be added in too.
Agree? Disagree? If you have any thoughts you can find me on Twitter at @KButter_22 or add me on Venmo @kiernan-besse
Blessings,
Little Besse
No comments:
Post a Comment