Choke's Post-Rumble Fantasy Catch-up (Raw & Smackdown 1/28-2/15)
Posted by: choke Feb 17, 2013 | 1417 views | 0 comments
I play catch-up from the past two weeks
First off, sorry for the lack of stories over the last few weeks. I've been stuck in Jury Duty and trying to do my stories via my iPhone on shaky internet access (thanks Clark County!) wasn't really my idea of a good time.
Rising:
1. Mark Henry: With so many returns as of late, I think Mark Henry will ultimately have the biggest fantasy impact. It simply won't make much sense to have him lose many, if any, matches in the next few months. WIll that lead to an Elimination Chamber victory and a World Title shot? We'll see tonight
2. Chris Jericho: I might not pay enough attention to wrestling rumor sites, but his return at Rumble was a complete surprise to me, and maybe even more surprising to me is how often he's already wrestled and become a prominent force on the shows. If Ziggler cashes in prior to Wrestlemania it's quite possible Jericho will be involved in that WWE title match.
3. Jack Swagger: I wouldn't have been as sold on this 2 weeks ago. But clearly he's receiving a big push and with the addition of a new manager with a perfect setup to have a match against Del Rio, he has a shot to win Elimination Chamber. It's hard to picture Swagger in one of the title matches at Mania so shortly after his return, but even if he doesn't get there, it looks like he'll be dominating the mid-card ranks for the next few months
4. Lord Tensai: Dug out of the worst FUNK of his career to be thrown together with Clay with a legit shot to win the tag belts in the future. Weirder yet, it kind of works. I expect it to be stale and intolerable within a month though (see: Hell No)
5. Bo Dallas: Not really sure what they're doing here, but it HAS to end with Bo Dallas winning some sort of IC title shot right? Maybe at Mania? Seems a bit of a stretch to have him in the biggest show of the year, but I don't understand why they're taking this storyline so slow, no matter where it goes
6. Sin Cara: Okay I have no clue what they're doing with Rey and Sin Cara, but the only reason I'm throwing him in here is Sin Cara has been teaming with Khali at house shows, and if the WWE goes that route (3 comedy tag teams, can you imagine how AWFUL this will be?) I can see him picking up some point. I wouldn't draft him just yet though.
Also: Lesnar's back (though I dont think he's on TV enough to be a legitimate long term hold, unless you're desperate) Tamina finally gets her Divas title shot but with absolutely zero buildup or fanfare, still she's the 2nd best Diva to hold right now. Will Fandango finally debut after Chamber? Will he actually win? I think he's worth a pickup and should probably be #6 before Sin Cara, but I'm lazy and don't feel like changing it
Falling:
1. Rey Mysterio: Seriously, what is happening with this guy? For the past few years he's been the most inconsisten wrestler on the roster. He'll show up for a week and convince you he's going to win a title, then he disappears for a few months. Buyer beware.
2. Rhodes Scholars: It's been the fantasy season of the face, with very few heels getting major points. While Rhodes and Sandow have had decent seasons, neither reached their full fantasy potential as they ultimately never won the tags, and both have lost a lot more than they've won lately. I do think Rhodes is stronger for the time being with the moustache gimmick, but their stock has fallen a bit IMO and there's no real titles for either to go after with the IC and US belts being held by heels currently.
3. PTP: Terrible usage of these two all season
Also: Ziggler has been gettin buried, but is that all going to culminate in a successful cash in soon? Punk doesn't seem to have much of a chance beating the Rock tonight, but where will he go from there? I thought the Shield would be involved in more matches this season, and consider the run in and attack points ultimately disappointing overall.