WWE Smackdown Live - 7/3/18

WWE Smackdown Live
7/3/18
Century Link Center, Omaha, Nebraska

Quick Results:

1. United States Championship: Jeff Hardy (c) defeated The Miz to retain. 
2. Asuka vs. James Ellsworth ended in a double countout. 
3. Non-title Match: AJ Styles defeated Aiden English w/ Rusev by submission. 
4. Becky Lynch defeated Peyton Royce w/ Billie Kay by submission. 
5. Team Hell No (Kane and Daniel Bryan) defeated The Usos (Jimmy and Jey). 

Blog:

Smackdown opened up with one of the most debated topics in the WWE; Team Hell No. Some fans hate to see Daniel Bryan doing comedy and feel he should be protected until he challenges for the title, while others believe the nostalgia act will help Bryan get more over until he is moved to the main event (assuming he signs a new contract).

Personally, I believe this is a great direction for Daniel Bryan. He is naturally funny and has great chemistry with Kane. Fans have fond memories of the dysfunctional yet successful tag team so this is a good way to draw interest to Smackdown. During Bryan's rise, the tag team division was on fire with the Shield, Usos, Wyatt Family, and Rhodes Bros., so there is no doubt that, even five years later, Team Hell No and the Bludgeon Brothers will steal the show at Extreme Rules.

The bickering between Kane and Bryan was funny and a good callback to their roots. The main event against the Usos was also a good reminder to the matches Team Hell No had in their first run.

Jeff Hardy and The Miz had the second best match of the night. No one believed Miz would win but the crowd was happy to see Jeff Hardy. I am enjoying the "open challenge" so far but would like to see Nakamura with the U.S. title. He needs something to light his character up and he can bring a lot of value to the belt. A long term feud with Jeff Hardy would be great, as both are charismatic and exciting in the ring.

It's good to see Rusev playing a definitive heel. Fans have been wanting to cheer him but will choose AJ Styles over him every time. Rusev laying out AJ after his victory was a good way to heat him up for the title match. The real test will be how Rusev is booked after Extreme Rules. I doubt he will win the title so I am hoping he does not end up back in the lower mid card as a comedy act. AJ continues to be booked well, with a quick submission victory over Aiden English.

On the undercard, Becky Lynch continues her win streak, with a quick win over Peyton Royce. The Iiconics are a great duo but do not need to be protected in the ring in order to get over. Becky is a fan favorite but fans need to see her win in order to believe in her. It is unclear where she is headed, but I am hoping to see her face Asuka for the title.

I am hoping for better things for Asuka and that should start with a win over Carmella for the title. Her segments with Ellsworth were entertaining and I like the vignette featuring the "Battle of the Sexes" tennis game in order to set up the match. However, Asuka has cooled off a lot since her days on Raw and needs the title win in order to gain back her momentum.

Other Thoughts:

I was happy to see Sanity interrupt the New Day's pancake eating contest. New Day is becoming very stale and I find myself not looking forward to their segments anymore. Their matches are solid but their act just doesn't make people laugh anymore. The "internet" wants to see Big E break away from them and go on his own, without an official breakup, which wouldn't be a bad idea. However, there is currently no indication of that. A six man tag against Sanity at Extreme Rules can be fun but I am not looking forward to promos featuring New Day make fun of Sanity.

It's good to see Nakamura should be ready to compete at Extreme Rules despite his dog bite at a house show about two weeks ago.

Match of the Night: Team Hell No vs. The Usos.

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WWE Monday Night Raw - 7/2/18

WWE Monday Night Raw
7/2/18
Denny Sanford Premier Center, Sioux Falls, South Dakota

Quick Results:

1. Curtis Axel w/ Bo Dallas defeated Matt Hardy. 
2. Authors of Pain (Akem and Rezar) defeated Titus Worldwide (Titus O'Neil and Apollo Crews)
3. Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins defeated Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre by DQ. 
4. Ember Moon defeated Liv Morgan w/ Sarah Logan. 
5. Roman Reigns and Bobby Lashley defeated The Revival (Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder) by DQ.
6. Nia Jax w/ Natalya defeated Mickie James w/ Alexa Bliss. 
7. Braun Strowman defeated Kevin Owens by countout. 

Blog

Holiday editions of WWE programming are usually uneventful and this edition of Raw almost continued that trend until the closing segment.

Kurt Angle officially announced Lashley vs. Reigns at Extreme Rules, and while this match does have sort of a "big fight feel" to it, I would like to see this billed as a number one contender match in order to make it feel more important. The dialogue between Lashley and Reigns, calling each other "ego maniacs" is just weak. Both of them are natural heels but are being held back by portraying babyfaces and being heavily scripted in their promos.

Rollins and Reigns taking on Ziggler and McIntyre was easily the match of the night, despite the non finish. Rollins continues to put on excellent matches and he had some great talent in the ring with him. They did a great job limiting the interactions between Drew McIntyre and Reigns, making fan want to see a one on one match between them. I didn't mind the finish at all, as The Revival attacked Reigns for the dq. This made sense for the match later on in the show with the Revival taking on Reigns and Lashley.

While it would have been great to see Lashley and Reigns have a straight up match against the Revival, the story here was Reigns refusing to tag Lashley in. I am not sure why Reigns hates Lashley so much but the story here was Reigns was "too proud" to tag Lashley in. I am hoping to see Lashley turn full on heel and just attack Reigns going in to their match at Extreme Rules and lighting a fire in their program.

The big visual from Raw was Braun Strowman throwing a porta potty containing Kevin Owens off of the stage. Following this, the ring announcer made it clear that Strowman won the match by countout, taking away the seriousness of this angle. While this segment alone was good, the lead-up to it could have been better. Owens, wearing a Baron Corbin hoodie, made a valid point in asking Angle to send Strowman to counseling like he did to Bayley and Sasha Banks. He also asked Angle to suspend Strowman or fire him. Angle instead makes a match between Owens and Strowman. I am not sure why Angle is condoning Strowman's actions, such as crushing Owens' rental car, but hopefully next week, he will make a logical decision regarding Braun Strowman's actions. Strowman remains a comedy character in the upper mid card so hopefully a conflict with Kurt Angle with heat up Strowman for a future title match against Lesnar. I feel Strowman should be the one to dethrone Lesnar for the Universal title.

I was glad to see Dr. Shelby conducting the counseling between Bayley and Sasha, as it brought back fond memories of the early days of Team Hell No. Unfortunately, these were a big let down. Bayley and Sasha have a believable and relate-able feud, with Bayley constantly getting stabbed in the back by her best friend. Her attack on Sasha last week was well done but this segment was a huge step back. It worked with Kane and Daniel Bryan, who were in a comedy feud, but this was anything but funny.

Speaking of comedy, Finn Balor is someone who should not attempt to be a comedy character. His joke about Corbin's haircut wasn't funny but I am glad he was able to get the upper hand on Corbin. These are two guys that have potential to be big stars but need the support of creative to do it. Both guys are in their mid 30's so hopefully that support comes sooner rather than later.

Other Thoughts:

The AoP are on a good run right now, running through teams, and I hope it is a few months or so until we see them challenge for the titles. The B Team continue their winning streak, but with Bray's injury (due to his wreckless driving), it will be hard to keep people interested in this feud with just one on one matches.

I am not sure how many suspended wrestlers are given promo time on Raw but that was a good way to keep Ronda Rousey in people's minds. Until she returns, the women's division seems to be on hold. No one expects Mickie James to win and I doubt Nia Jax will defeat Alexa Bliss at Extreme Rules, as the real match fans want to see is Rousey against Bliss.

I would not mind seeing a cruiserweight match on Raw every now and then just to see some fresh faces on this show.

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Wrestlemania 34 Predictions - 4/6/18

WWE Wrestlemania: Predictions
4/8/18
Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans, LA

Match Card:

1. Kickoff Show: Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal
2. Kickoff Show: Wrestlemania Women's Battle Royal
3. Kickoff Show: Cruiserweight Championship: Cedric Alexander vs. Mustafa Ali
4. Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon vs. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn
5. Kurt Angle and Ronda Rousey vs. Triple H and Stephanie McMahon
6. Smackdown Tag Team Championship Triple Threat: The Usos (Jimmy and Jey) (c) vs. Bludgeon Brothers (Harper and Rowan) vs. New Day (Big E, Kofi Kingston, Xavier Woods)
7. Raw Tag Team Championship: Sheamus and Cesaro (c) vs. Braun Strowman and a mystery partner
8. Smackdown Women's Championship: Charlotte Flair (c) vs. Asuka
9. Raw Women's Championship: Alexa Bliss (c) vs. Nia Jax
10. United States Championship Fatal 4 Way: Randy Orton (c) vs. Bobby Roode vs. Jinder Mahal w/ Sunil Singh vs. Rusev 
11. Intercontinental Championship Triple Threat: The Miz (c) vs. Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor
12. WWE Championship: AJ Styles (c) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
13. Universal Championship: Brock Lesnar (c) w/ Paul Heyman vs. Roman Reigns
14. Unadvertised: John Cena vs. The Undertaker

Predictions:

Wrestlemania 34 is probably one of the best match cards since Wrestlemania 30 featuring Daniel Bryan's title win and Undertaker's first loss at Wrestlemania. WWE's roster is stacked right now and they are making the most of it at the "grandest stage of them all". This truly feels like a culmination of storylines and a showcase of some of the top talent. While this does not apply to all matches, this Wrestlemania is going to be a great show.

So far, it looks like both Battle Royals will be on the Kickoff show, which is a good move. This is going to be a long night and fans will not care regardless for these matches, but it is better to get them out of the way early. Looking at the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, the only participants that really stand out are "Broken" Matt Hardy, Baron Corbin, and Dolph Ziggler. Since Corbin already won, I don't see him taking this. Ziggler's return has been as significant as his departure, so that narrows down my prediction.

Prediction: Matt Hardy wins the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal

The biggest story going in to this match is the fact that WWE decided to change the name of the match. The second biggest story is the feud between Bayley and Sasha Banks. I can see Bayley taking this one in order to give the fans a "feel good" moment in the opening moments of the show and hopefully her character will get a fresh restart.

Prediction: Bayley wins the Women's Battle Royal

Speaking of fresh restarts, 205 Live feels like a completely different show. The additions to the roster as well as the tournament have made the show feel important. Matches actually seem to matter now and hopefully that trend will continue. I was surprised to see Mustafa Ali in this role as he was a background character since the Cruiserweight Classic. Cedric seems to be the man that management has their eye on and, given his experience, I believe he should be the one to lead 205 Live as they are still rebuilding.

Predictions: Cedric Alexander wins the Cruiserweight Championship

There have been much speculation as to who Strowman's partner will be. Popular names have been Bray Wyatt, Kane, Big Show, James Ellsworth, and even Alberto Del Rio (Alberto El Patron). This one is rather difficult to pick but I also feel the tag team division is a step down for Braun Strowman. While he plays the comedy role well, he should still be somewhat of a main event character. I am going with Bray Wyatt at his partner, due to the previous "Wyatt Family" connection and see them winning the tag team titles. 

Prediction: Braun Strowman and Bray Wyatt win the Raw Tag Team titles. 

I was a big fan of the Usos/Wyatt Family matches prior to the brand split and there is no doubt in my mind that this match could steal the show. These are the only 3 relevant teams on Smackdown Live (aside from maybe Gable and Benjamin) and I can see a title change here in order to place the Usos in a title chase. The logical team for the Usos to chase would be the Bludgeon Brothers. Harper and Rowan have been kept strong throughout their return and are the best choice to win this match.

Prediction: Bludgeon Brothers win the Smackdown Tag Team titles. 

In a similar situation to Braun Strowman, I see the Intercontinental title as a step down for both Rollins and Balor. Rollins won the world title three years ago and was a main event player. When he returned in 2016, he was the top babyface of the company, even as a heel. Now, he does not have any major storylines and is stuck in the midcard. Jason Jordan's injury might have halted his storyline, but he should still be in a different spot. Finn Balor, at 36 years old, might not have the support from management he needs and unless the Balor Club takes off, he might not move up the card. Miz is great in this role and he actually makes the title seem valuable. However, I feel he needs someone to chase the title on a consistent basis until they finally win it. Miz should keep the title here and keep his feud with either Balor or Rollins going.

Prediction: The Miz retains the Intercontinental title

The U.S. title match is one of the matches I am least looking forward to. The buildup has been pretty standard but it does not make good television. The tag matches involving Jinder have been dragging on television and I doubt management will give him the title. Orton just won the title and the RKO will get a great pop, so he is my pick for this match. 

Prediction: Randy Orton retains the U.S. title. 

Alexa Bliss has become of the best promos on Raw and she has a great partner in Nia Jax. Despite being significantly smaller than Jax, she has made Jax a sympathetic character that fans can connect with. It's interesting to see Mickie James on her side as she was in Jax's shoes during her previous run with the company. I think the feud is great but it is too early to take the title off of Bliss. This feud can stretch out a little more and there is no challenger ready for Alexa following this. 

Prediction: Alexa  Bliss retains the Raw women's title. 

Of the two women's title matches, this is the one that fans are anticipating the most. Despite the weak buildup, this match has a rare "big fight feel" to it. Charlotte is regarded as the best women's wrestler in the business while Asuka's undefeated streak has gotten her incredibly over. Asuka won the first ever women's Royal Rumble and should not lose her Wrestlemania match. 

Prediction: Asuka wins the Smackdown Women's title. 

The biggest story for wrestling fans going in to this show is the return of Daniel Bryan. Fans knew how badly Daniel Bryan wanted to wrestle again and could not wait for his contract to expire so he could return to ROH or wrestle for NJPW. However, WWE did the unthinkable and cleared him to compete. The storyline with Owens and Zayn has taken up the bulk of television time on Smackdown and this feels like the proper culmination of that storyline. Daniel Bryan losing his return in a tag match seems reasonable and extending this storyline might lead to a great match between Bryan and Owens. 

Prediction: Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn win. 

This is the match that WWE's investors want to see. Ronda Rousey is a big signing for the company and will get them a lot of media attention. The storyline between The Authority and Kurt Angle has been built well but I am tired of seeing Stephanie and Hunter in charge. They take away a lot of credibility from people like Kurt Angle who never have a chance to shine against them. Ronda Rousey is not someone that The Authority will put down so there is no way she will be losing here. They will keep Rousey strong for the duration of her tenure until it is time for her to get someone over. 

Prediction: Ronda Rousey and Kurt Angle win. 

Since Nakamura and AJ Styles' signing in 2016, fans could not wait for these two to clash. No one expected it would be a featured match, let alone a featured match at Wrestlemania for the WWE Championship. This match might be the best one on the entire show. With Nakamura winning the Rumble, he needs to win the title in order to remain a top guy. AJ Styles won't lose anything in defeat and can easily bounce back. A rematch between these two would also make for a strong pay per view following Wrestlemania. 

Prediction: Shinsuke Nakamura wins the WWE Championship. 

For years, WWE wanted Roman Reigns to be the guy to defeat Brock Lesnar at Wrestlemania. Giving Reigns the win against Undertaker last year seemed like the obvious foreshadowing that Reigns would face Brock here. However, the storyline instead has seen Reigns fed up with Lesnar's part time status and lack of regard for the business. Reigns delivered his promos well but the crowd is still not firmly behind him. I see the Wrestlemania crowd cheering Brock more than Reigns but that crowd does not stick around for the entire year. Therefore, Roman Reigns is WWE's guy and he is the right guy to win the title here. 

Prediction: Roman Reigns wins the Universal title. 

While this match has not been officially announced, I do believe we will get this match. At the very least, there will be a confrontation between John Cena and The Undertaker which I believe will lead to a match. The feud has been teased and there is no way WWE will not deliver on The Undertaker after weeks of John Cena putting him down. There has also been speculation of the "American Badass" returning, fueled by the induction of Kid Rock into the Hall of Fame. I do not think this version of Taker will return in full but I do believe we will get some combination of the "Deadman" and "American Badass". That said, there is no way he will lose consecutive Wrestlemania matches.

Prediction: The Undertaker will defeat John Cena.

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NJPW New Beginning in Osaka - 2/11/18

NJPW New Beginning in Osaka
2/10/18
Osaka, Japan

Quick Results:

1. Yuji Nagata defeated Katsuya Kitamura
2. Non-title Match: Suzuki Gun (El Desperado and Yoshinobu Kanemaru) defeated Roppongi 3K (Sho and Yoh) w/ Rocky Romero. 
3. Togi Makabe. Michael Elgin, KUSHIDA, and Rysuke Taguchi defeated Suzuki Gun (Minoru Suzuki, Taka Michinoku, Taichi, and Takashi Iizuka). 
4. Chaos (Jay White, Toru Yano, and Tomohiro Ishii) defeated Juice Robinson, David Finlay, and Toa Henare. 
5. Bushi defeated Gedo. 
6. Tetsuya Naito defeated Yoshi-Hashi. 
7. IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship: Will Ospreay (c) defeated Hiromu Takahashi to retain. 
8. NEVER Openweight Championship: Hirooki Goto (c) defeated EVIL to retain. 
9. IWGP Heavyweight Championship: Kazuchika Okada (c) defeated Sanada to retain. 

Blog:

Going in to this show, I do not believe the crowd expected a title change. However, Sanada's (and Okada's) performance in the main event did a great job in making the live crowd believe that this would be Sanada's night. The undercard featured about 3 premier matches while the rest were sort of there to just further some stories.

I like the trial series that Kitamura is going through, as working with veterans is a good way for him to polish up in the ring. His match with Nagata was a solid opener, however I would have liked to see him get the win here. He is in prime shape while Nagata is on the tail end of his career. They could say that Nagata's experience won him the match but I was not a fan of the result.

The Jr. Heavyweight tag match probably would have been a better opener. 3K and Suzuki Gun had a great match that told the story of Sho's back injury, causing his team to lose by submission. This was great, as every time 3K looked to end the match, Sho's back would give out, making him unable to perform a move. This will probably lead to a tag title match for Suzuki Gun but I hope to see 3K retain the belts. 

It was strange that Desperado and Yoshinobu did not stick around for the next match. The babyfaces attacking Suzuki-Gun before the match was a great call, since Suzuki Gun usually jumps them. The match was pretty much a showcase for Makabe and Suzuki, as everyone else did not really contribute much. Makabe will eventually challenge Suzuki for the Intercontinental title. This wasn't a good use of Elgin and KUSHIDA who could have had a better match elsewhere on the card. 

Jay White getting his own entrance despite being a member of Chaos was great and it made him seem like more of a star. His "Switchblade" character is coming along great, despite a slow start. He was the star of this match and his finish via ref stoppage was great. He refused to get the pin and instead kept striking Henare until the referee stopped the match. 

Rey Mysterio appeared on the big screen and challenged Jushin Liger to a match. This is a great get for New Japan and should get them a lot of buzz.

Bushi and Gedo had a better match that I expected. LIJ is very over in Japan so the evil looking Bushi was treated as a babyface. Gedo played heel while trying to rip off the mask while Bushi had hedge clippers to cut off Gedo's beard. As ridiculous as it was, I enjoyed this match.

 Yoshi-Hashi and Naito had the match of the night up to this point (and the same would hold true for the Ospreay/Takahashi match). Yoshi-Hashi dominated most of the match before losing to two Desitino's by Naito. Yoshi-Hashi looked strong here and looks to be moving his way up the card. The announcers brought up how he has never won a title in New Japan and that can be a great storyline moving forward. Naito was attacked by Taichi after the match which the announcers acknowledged but then quickly moved on. A storyline feud between LIJ and Suzuki-Gun can be great but this was a strange start to it.

Will Ospreay continues to impress while Hiromu was able to hang with the "Aerial Assassin". This was a fast paced match in the beginning that slowed down at times to sell an Ospreay neck injury but then it continued. Hiromu had some good nearfalls after blocking the Oscutter twice. While I can't name all the spots in this match, Ospreay hit a reverse rana off the top rope and an inverted 450 while Hiromu hit a great Canadian Destroyer type move. Ospreay finally gets the win following an Oscutter and this was again, the match of the night up to this point.

Evil and Goto had to follow this match which was not an easy task. Goto gets the win but this match was placed poorly here.

As mentioned earlier, on paper it looked like Okada would win but both men worked hard and gave Sanada some believable nearfalls here. Sanada hit a piledriver on the entrance ramp and one in the ring later on in order to weaken Okada and give the sense that the champ was in danger. Sanada even hit a Rainmaker while Okada locked in the Skull End dragon sleeper move. The crowd was buying Sanada as a main eventer here. Okada got the win as expected but this match was unbelievably good. This was a long match timewise but it flew by. They had the crowd from start to finish. Okada will compete in the New Japan cup this year.

Overall, this was another strong card from New Japan. The order of matches could have been changed up a bit but the show itself was great. Most matches served a purpose, whether it was to set up a title match or to highlight a certain talent. The eight man tag was the low point of the show for me while the Jr. Heavyweight and Heavyweight title matches were the two standouts.

Match of the Night: Tetsuya Naito vs. Sanada
Honorable Mention: Will Ospreay vs. Hiromu Takahashi

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