I'm starting to think that this whole "Kiernan Besse is a wrestling blog prophet" talk might actually be legit. For starters, my current record on The Sports Brief stands at 29-14 (.674) and that's factoring in my dismal 3-7 performance at WrestleMania.. whatever. Not only that but this is another blog that caused me to suffer from writer's block until I had a dream about it on a Friday night. This morning I woke up in a cold sweat with visions of this Sunday's PPV in front of me like I'm Matt Damon in Good Will Hunting shoutout Robin Williams. The draft happened this past week and the WWE handled it worse than the parents of the child who snuck into Harambe's exhibit. Smackdown is supposed to be a wave of youth but guys like Owens and Zayn are on Raw and 3 of the shows top stars are over 36. Word to Vince McMahon on that one. Smackdown will 100% get more viewers with better TV, but when the front office still treats it as a B Show, why should fans change their mind? However, the draft does make Battleground more intriguing by leaving a few question marks around which direction each wrestler is heading. So let's take a look at the card and figure it out.
Pre-Show:
Becky Lynch vs. Natalya
I'm assuming this match will make the Pre-Show but I don't really know. Who cares. Both women were drafted to Smackdown and with the genuine animosity behind the feud you can expect it to continue past this Sunday. It was Natalya who turned on Becky, who has been getting her payback over the past few weeks with attacks on Natty. Becky has been needing a push pretty badly and can benefit from a win much more that Natalya can. Therefore, the pick is in..
Pick: Becky Lynch
Main Card
Rusev(c) vs. Zack Ryder -- United States Championship
There's just no shot Zack Ryder wins. I'm sorry. Rusev is back to being a monster and when paired with Lana the two of them are an unstoppable duo. Zack Ryder has had a nice 2016 so far and a competitive loss will be close enough to a win for him. I think Ryder can score a near fall but in the end Rusev and Lana will prevail.
Also Mojo and Ryder are going to be on Smackdown together so I hope the HypeBros don't take too long to come together on the main roster.
Pick: Rusev retains
The Miz(c) vs. Darren Young -- Intercontinental Championship
I feel like logic points towards Darren Young winning this one. He's been receiving a relatively large push for a while now with his "Make Darren Young Great Again" video packages and his endorsement from Bob Backlund, but I just don't think so. Before his exciting win with the Crossface Chicken Wing last week, he kind of stole his win in the Battle Royal by laying on the ground while the last two wrestlers fell over the top rope and then scored a roll up win soon after that. I also noticed that Rusev and Young were drafted to Raw while Miz and Ryder were drafted to Smackdown. I think Rusev is a lock to beat Ryder, so I just can't picture Young winning and having both mid card belts on Raw. Especially with how the rest of my picks are going.
Pick: The Miz retains
Charlotte & Dana Brooke vs. Sasha Banks & Mystery Partner
The WWE and Sasha Banks have been very tight lipped about who the mystery partner is, but Sasha did say this on Instagram tho..
I get a lot of tweets. It could be Nikki Bella — I've been hearing a lot of rumors. It might be Bayley. The [WWE] Draft just happened and we just got a lot of new girls — Alexa Bliss, Carmella, Nia Jax. Could be one of them. You never know. The Boss doesn't need friends, but the ones I do have I keep very close. I finally get to get my hands on Charlotte, who has been running from me since day one. She's been hiding because she knows I'm better than her. After this Sunday, I'm going to prove to Charlotte that I deserve a one-on-one match with her.
Despite their intense feud on Sasha's way out of NXT, her and Bayley are very good friends. So when Sasha addresses keeping her small group of friends close.. yeah. Also, if the WWE has learned anything from their past surprise disappointments, they'll go with Bayley, because basically anybody but Bayley will get booed. So just go with Bayley. Please.
As far as the match goes, Charlotte's title isn't on the line and it's time for Sasha's push leading up to Summerslam where she becomes the Women's Champion, so a win here would be huge. Much like my prediction for Charlotte & Dana's match against Becky and Natty, Charlotte is protected by having Dana Brooke eat the pin if WWE is worried about her losing. Regardless, having Sasha score the pin for the win is exactly what needs to happen..
P.S. it's probably gunna be like Nia Jax so whatever..
Pick: Sasha Banks & Mystery Partner
The New Day vs. The Wyatt Family
Much like with Charlotte, The New Day are not defending the titles this Sunday, which allows them to take a loss. It's starting to get to that point where The Wyatts actually need a win. They always get into these feuds, cut unreal promos, perform in the ring, and then lose and make you wonder what the whole point was.
Sadly, Braun Strowman will be working on Raw while Bray and Rowan are on Smackdown. Will that factor in to the outcome of the match? I don't think it should. It's been known for a while that Strowman is a McMahon guy who would receive his push once viewed as ready, and I guess that time is coming. As far as the outcome tho, it's tough to call. How will the tag team division be handled with the brand split? Will there be two championships again? If the Wyatts are on Smackdown and New Day on Raw, will they get a title shot at Summerslam? Either way, I think Bray and his brothers need a win and The New Day can afford a loss, especially after becoming the longest reigning tag team champions today.
Also, The Wyatt Family Compound video was weird and a force of a response to the Hardy video. That's all I will say about it.
Pick: The Wyatt Family
Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens
The logical pick is Sami Zayn here, I think. I mean, Owens already won at Payback and a win could set up a rubber match at Summerslam, but I'm passing on that logic.
Owens is pissed about his fall in the draft and he's scary on his mean streak. I could see this becoming a brutal double count out where they give up on the match and beat the shit out of each other instead, as long as Zayn doesn't score a pin. Keeping Sami from pinning Owens builds his underdog narrative and will cause a HUGE pop once he finally scores that PPV win over his bitter rival.
Pick: Not Sami Zayn
Cena, Enzo & Cass vs. The Club
Styles stole a win in his last match with Cena so 50/50 booking leads me to believe that Cena will get his win back to kick off a Cena/Styles feud to headline Smackdown. Due to the draft, both teams will be splitting up, but that obviously means a lot more for The Club than it does for the loose alliance of Cena and The Realest Guys. I think this match will serve as a clean break for The Club trying to keep Styles aligned with them from Smackdown would be a force. One might even call it bold.. like Besse's Be Bolder Predictions Brought To You By Butterfinger.
Listen, I really don't have that bold of a prediction for this match or the card as a whole. But this could be my last chance to boldly predict Finn Balor's allignment with The Club so I can't just not do it after all of these swings and misses that I've had trying to predict it.
I think Cena and friends go over here, but that doesn't mean they're the ones standing tall at the end of the match. I don't even know how it would happen, but I just want Finn to come out and join Gallows and Anderson while abandoning Styles.
OR
Maybe Balor can run The Club on Raw while Styles starts his own division of the faction on Smackdown and build it up like the NWO or The Bullet Club in Japan. Just give me Finn Balor I honestly don't care how it happens. Yeah this bold prediction is garbage but I really don't care. Haters can write their own blogs.
Pick: Cena Enzo & Cass
Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose(c) vs..... roman reigns -- WWE Championship
It's really a shame that we live in a world where a disgraced wrestler like Roman Reigns can get caught cheating on a drug test, be absent from TV for the entire build up to a championship match, and return just in time for the fight that he HAS to be in because Rollins and Ambrose have carried the storyline so well. Sad!!
Bias aside, this is the match we've been waiting for and there's no way it disappoints. Unless Seth Rollins doesn't win. And especially if Reigns wins. Yeah maybe we aren't getting this match at Summerslam or Wrestlemania, but really, who cares? People are always complaining that these B Shows are never interesting enough but then it's an issue when a main event like this is on the card? Fuck outta here with your weird complaints. People get so angry about WWE being too predictable and then cry foul when they go against the grain. But I digress.
It's worth noting that Ambrose is going to Smackdown while Rollins and Reigns stay on Raw. I do NOT think Ambrose goes to Smackdown with the belt. I think Rollins pins Ambrose and him and Reigns feud over the title on Raw. If Smackdown is really about starting over and being a breath of fresh air, then they will be the brand that brings in the new title and has a tournament or some shit to determine the new champ. That would be on brand and they need to be after fucking up the draft by drafting fresh faces aka the oldest dudes on the roster.
Pick: Seth Rollins gets his belt back
P.S. Don't forget about Randy Orton's return on The Highlight Reel
Hopefully he hits an RKO on someone. If not, I don't really care about what he has to say about his fight with Brock Lesnar.
That's all I've got for now. What do you think? I felt pretty scatter brained with the justifications of my picks but that's all just part of the artistic process behind what I do. I gotta go to work.
Little Besse
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