Choke's WWE Raw rant and Smackdown Preview 8/5/2013 - 8/9/2013
Posted by: choke Aug 7, 2013 | 2029 views | 6 comments
My review of RAW and a no match result spoilers preview of Smackdown
First things first is the major news on Sheamus being out for potentially the rest of the year. This shouldn't have too much of an impact on this season as he wasn't heavily being featured at Summerslam anyhow, but naturally it does adversely impact anyone who had him as he was good for a few matches a week and would win the majority he was in as well. Obviously if this would have happened sooner it would have drastically changed the season as we know it. This will definitely affect next season more as he probably won't even be a viable draft pick.
RAW was ho hum to me. I enjoyed some of the matchups but it didn't seem important. Does WWE know Summerslam is coming up in a week and a half? Doesn't seem like it. Punk/Lesnar is good, and I'm looking forward to the Bryan/Cena match and the Orton potential cash-in, but everything else just seems substandard. They couldn't have done a worse job keeping the hype for Wyatt/Kane than what they did. Why wouldn't they have just had a hot moment with the Wyatts beating up someone like Kofi only for Kane to run down and make the save? Or have Wyatt blow out the lantern and then when the lights come up Kane should have been standing right in front of him. I dont know, anything than what they actually have done the last two weeks. Anticlimatic. Not sure what they're going to sell us for the Divas in the coming weeks. Looks like it'll be a mixed tag match at Slam involving AJ with Big E and Dolph/Natalya? Not sure where Layla is going to fit into that, or anywhere in the near future. Also what are the Shield going to do for Summerslam? I hate when the WWE tries to focus solely on one or two matches and leaves the rest of the card to just mediocre buildup, or not even announcing the match until the days leading up to it.
Here's what's coming up on Smackdown (no match results)
1. Randy Orton vs RVD: I just did a little bit of "research" to try to figure out where they were going with having this match. Either they will pair these two off for a match at Summerslam (most likely), or maybe the Shield will come out and break this up and they'll pair them up in a tag match for Summerslam against the Shield. Neither of these guys nor the Shield have matches set up at Slam, and you've got to expect they'll do something with them there. I'll go with some sort of no contest (WWE loves this now!) to set up a rematch at SS.
2. MizTV with AJ and Big E. Well certainly we'll see Dolph and Kaitlyn at some point during this segment and they might become an "item" soon. Definitely a mixed tag in our future in the least.. This should all be a giant swerve by Dolph/AJ/Big E/Layla/Vince/Stephanie/Eugene to screw Kaitlyn over. Like every single thing that has happened over the last 2 years in the WWE were just to make Kaitlyn cry. AGAIN. YOU TAPPED OUT.
3. Kofi Kingston vs Fandango: I predict a Kofi Kingston vs Dean Ambrose match in our future. Then again I guess they could do Kofi vs Axel. I could see either of them interfering but more than likely we'll just see Fandango take the job as usual (either by being beaten or by walking away, either or)
4. Daniel Bryan vs Wade Barrett: SHAVING GRUDGE MATCH. Are they trying to force Wade Barrett to just up and quit? This is insane what they're doing to this man. Daniel Bryan needs the win for momentum, and Wade Barrett is Wade Barrett. LOCK OF THE NIGHT
5. Kane vs 3MB in a handicap match. Did I just use my LOCK OF THE NIGHT? Fuck. This also would qualify. Obviously the Wyatts should come out at some point, probably after Kane gets the point laden pinfall to finish 3MB off.
6. Alberto Del Rio vs Christian in a non-title match: Huh?? So Summerslam is a week away, and you're going to give us the World Title match scheduled for that PPV in a non-title version beforehand? I really, really dont understand this, unless there's some angle to turn it into a triple threat with RVD, which I could easily see happening. RVD beat Del Rio on RAW, if Christian loses to Del Rio on Smackdown, I could see them saying that they both sorta deserve the shot, plus Del Rio vs Christian doesnt exactly get the blood flowing now does it? So yeah, I'll say either Del Rio wins or RVD causes a schmozz, forcing a triple threat at some point to be announced for Summerslam
Rising
1. Kofi Kingston - He's back, and a little earlier than I think most anticipated. Though I did mention him as #2 on my rising list last week, I know none of you are paying attention and probably missed out
2. Layla - I dont know how many more wins she'll get, especially with so little to go before Summerslam, but her teaming up with AJ and becoming sorta the 2013 version of Lay-cool can mean nothing but good for her at this point.
3. the Wyatts - just had to give them a mention because I don't expect any of them to lose a match for quite some time, a la the Shield when they first arrived
Falling
1. All mid card heels - No seriously, drafting heel squads is just such a terrible move (trust me, I've tried twice). They BURY them all. Fandango, Wade Barrett, Cesaro/Swagger, 3MB, Ryback to an extent now, Sandow pre and post-MITB, all just fodder for your top card guys to go through. I know I sound like a broken record, but it's just so damn frustrating to know that Fandango or Barrett are going to lose every single time they come out against a guy like Christian. Can we just get an occasional win to make us BELIEVE they can do it?
2. The Miz - "the host of Summerslam"? REALLY?!
3. The Shield - the next level above those mid-card heels. Sure they had an AMAZING start to the season, as I predicted, but now they're sort of old news and dont even have matches made up for major PPVs scheduled until the week prior, and are constantly getting DQd. Next season the Wyatts will have the sort of run the Shield did (spoiler alert for my Survivor Series Season draft preview special), and the Shield will probably not start incredibly high on the draft board. PREDICTIONS SUBJECT TO CHANGE AT ANY MOMENT