Choke's WWE Raw rant & Smackdown Preview 3/3/2014 - 3/7/2014
Posted by: choke Mar 6, 2014 | 1776 views | 7 comments
RAW Rant
I thought Raw was great this week. You had a hot crowd, and a very well played sweve by the WWE in playing Punks music in the beginning. I think the WWE has done a hell of a job pushing the Orton/Batista title match to being the third most intriguing match for the PPV, and maybe arguably 4th or 5th even. I don't really understand why some still seem so angry over Bryan not getting the title shot when his match against HHH is getting even more shine than that title match ever would have. HHH standing over his lifeless body to close Raw is a better storyline than Orton doing the same for the 40th time this year. I guess a lot of fans just still cling to the idea that the title is everything, but I feel the WWE has over the years made main events out of non-title matches just the same. So we finally got to see the Shield disintegration, and in my Chamber preview I pretty much nailed that it'd be Rollins who ultimately broke them up (well, time will tell). The Usos finally won the belts and thankfully it looks like we might not need to see the New Age Outlaws much from this point forward. Please get the rematch over with on Raw and let's not save it for Mania. I'd much rather see Harper and Rowan in that spot. I like Christian in his new/old heel role though I'm not sure I can bear to see another match against Sheamus. Let's get on with what to expect Friday...
Smackdown Preview
As always this preview is from www.prowrestling.net and contains no spoilers as I myself have not read them yet. Just predictions. If some of these matches aren't listed correctly, blame them!
1. Dolph Ziggler vs Christian: Is Ziggler back?!!? They give him a win over Del Rio, and now he gets a match over a newly heel Christian. I think we'll know if Dolph is going to get another run if he gets a clean win here, or if Del Rio interferes to cost him the match. If Christian goes over clean then Ziggy is right back to where he was pre-Raw I could see the foursome of Ziggler/Christian/Sheamus and Del Rio maybe trading off matches or maybe even thrown into some sort of fatal 4 way for an upcoming title shot? That will make even more sense later... I'll go with Christian getting the win here as a result of Del Rio interference.
2. AJ Lee and Tamina vs Natalya and Eva Marie: Is this to set up Natalya for a future Divas title shot? Since Eva Marie is a natural heel, maybe she turns on Nattie here to set up what could possibly be the least looked forward to feud of the year? WILL EVA MARIE TAKE A FACE FULL OF LEATHER VEST? All intriguing questions. I still like the Bellas, a returning Naomi, or maybe even Emma(?!) to get the shot at Mania over Natalya at this point, so I'll say AJ and Tamina get the win. If Natalya gets the pin on AJ, there's a chance that'll mean a nod towards a Divas title match. Perhaps we get a save by the Bellas or Naomi in a post match beatdown?
3. the Usos vs Curtis Axel and Ryback in a non-title match: With so many other possibilities (Real Americans, Wyatts, Ambrose/Reigns?!) on the horizon for a Mania tag title match, it seems unlikely Rybaxel will get the nod. Maybe we get the Outlaws interfering and causing a schmozz prior to their rematch hopefully happening next week, but either way I think the Usos take it.
4. Sheamus vs Alberto Del Rio: More evidence on the potential for them to mix up Sheamus/Bertie/Christian/Ziggy into each others feuds. We probably get a Christian run in, then Ziggy for the save? Next week The Showmus vs Christian Del Rio in a tag match? book it. Note to self: coming up with a tag name for Del Rio and Christian is tough. I'll say Sheamus wins via DQ.
5. Big E vs Jack Swagger in a non-title match: Is this the week the Real Americans finally break up? I say no. Seems too easy. I actually think that Swagger will get the win here, and then next week Cesaro will beat Big E non-title as well, leading to a triple threat for the IC title at Mania, Big E vs Cesaro vs Swagger. I kinda like the sounds of that actually.
6. Daniel Bryan and Big Show vs Batista and Kane: Well if it wasnt official before, it's official now, Bootista is heel! Okay I know it was official before, but seriously, teaming him with Kane? Looks like we'll get an awful Kane vs Big Show feud heading into Mania. Great. I love how they sold it on Main Event "The Big Show is back!!!!" Like from what, a 2 week hiatus? who the fuck cares? Anyway it's hard to imagine either Orton, HHH, or both of them coming out and someone interfering here. Maybe it happens post-match. Yeah I'll say they give Bryan even more momentum than he has already and give him the pin, only for a post match attack by Orton and maybe HHH.
Overall: I dont know if I'm carrying over some excitement from Raw, but this show looks pretty decent to me. If we didnt have to watch Eva Marie attempt to wrestle, it might even get a lowly 2 jameson shots rating! Because she is though, I'm going 3 jameson shots out of 5.
Rising
1. Dolph Ziggler: I can't believe I'm typing this, really. But a win over Del Rio on Raw, even with the help of the guest host seemed kind of big for Zigs at this point, then a match against Christian tomorrow night? Obviously like I said earlier if he gets pinned clean, dont bother, but if he takes a win or comes out to help Sheamus later, he might be getting thrust back into that mid/upper tier for the time being, and he's probably available in your league and could be worth a pickup as a result
2. Big Show: Big Show is kinda like Rey Mysterio at this point. When he's actually coming out and getting matches, he's a decent point getter, but he's liable to just disappear for weeks at a time and not get steady work. Since they're clearly moving Bryan beyond Kane, it looks like they might be moving towards a Kane vs Show feud. If that happens I'd like to think Show gets a few wins out of it, which could be worth a pick.
3. The Bellas: I'd say Nikki over Brie slightly. The Bellas were pretty nonexistent most of the season, but they were back in full action on Raw and got a win, then Nikki got a win on Main Event. I think with Mania upcoming they'll be making a lot of appearances on the show to try to garner attention from the Total Divas crowd, and one might even somehow work her way into the Divas title hunt for Mania (I know, I know, every week I tell you a new Diva who might be in the hunt for the title.)
Also: I've been talking about Emma/Santino/Summer Rae/Fandango for a while on the rising list, and it still is valid. Santino and Emma got a mixed tag victory just on Raw, and I look for Fandango and Summer Rae to get a revenge match win at some point. If you can play it right, lots of points could be had from this feud that otherwise will be left on the table
Falling
1. New Age Outlaws: The Usos deserved the titles even earlier, and I thought it was an odd spot to just have them win them on the Raw between Chamber and Mania. I think the message was clear though, that they dont want the NAO anywhere near Mania in the title picture. The one caveat to this is from Main Event it looks like maybe they'll throw them into some sort of Los Matadores feud perhaps? Can we start a petition for this NOT to happen?
2. Titus O'Neil/Darren Young etc. I'm not completely giving up on these two yet, but they went from being on a PPV match, then to a Main Event match, then to not on TV at all for a week. What's next in the line from good to bad, showing up on TNA next week?
3. Mark Henry: Dude's been back on TV 3 seperate times or so since his return and 2 of those 3 times he was simply Brock Lesnar's playtoy. Not sure what they can do to try to redeem him before Mania.
Also, where is Miz? When exactly is the WWE saving Rusev for and can you afford to wait and find out?