Choke's WWE Raw rant & Smackdown Preview 2/10/2014 - 2/14/2014
Posted by: choke Feb 13, 2014 | 1915 views | 18 comments
RAW Rant
Another ho-hum episode in my opinion. Obviously nothing impresses me much anymore, but it just feels like the same old stuff happening week in week out is the current WWE gameplan. Orton continues to lose to the big names and beat the smaller ones in his Elimination Chamber challenge (odds Cesaro beats him on Smackdown? Not good) Bryan has predictably taken Punk's role in the Kane feud 100%, which excites noone. I dont mind the Shield vs Wyatts but it seems pretty obvious this will ultimately lead to the Shield's dismantling (even though yes, it's been predicted for months) Oh and Billy Gunn shit his pants. Keep it classy WWE.
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
1. Daniel Bryan, Sheamus and Christian vs Rollins, Reigns, Ambrose: Guessing some Kane interference will give this victory to the Shield, which makes sense since they have to continue to get wins on their way to facing the Wyatt clan. Probably have some added Ambrose/Reigns tension to boot
2. Mark Henry vs Rey Mysterio vs Jack Swagger vs Kofi Kingston for the #1 contender for the IC Title: Very interesting match. The obvious choice is Swagger as he's the only heel of the 4 and it's for the rights to face Langston. I would consider Henry and option as there's storyline between him and Big E being friends and they could turn one or the other in the resulting feud, but Henry just won a match against Ambrose for the US so maybe they're planning to go that route instead with him? Gotta go with the Swagger for the simple heel vs face storytelling potential. Kinda makes sense as it'll give him something to do with Cesaro preoccupied with Chamber stuff.
3. Alicia Fox vs Eva Marie: Wow, okay. I doubt anyone who is legitimately involved in their leagues has either of these two so it doesnt matter, but I'll go with Eva Marie because she draws more heat than any other Diva currently. The WWE should use this to their advantage even though she's the worst wrestler I've ever seen in the ring, period.
4. New Age Outlaws, Ryback and Curtis Axel vs Cody Rhodes, Goldust, and the Usos: This should set up the Usos vs NAO for the tags, or at least further the storyline towards that direction, so I'll give the faces a win.
5. Darren Young vs Damien Sandow: Such a shame if Sandow loses this. Gonna say Titus probably comes out and causes Young the loss. Come on WWE, can we throw Sandow a bone here?
6. Fandango vs the Miz: UGH. Well the WWE never gives up on trying to make the Miz relevant, and Fandango is Fandango so the Miz will probably take this
7. Randy Orton vs Cesaro in a non-title match: Orton loses on RAW but wins on Smackdown. Orton loses to top-tier but wins mid-tier. Following that logic, Orton takes it
Overall I'm slightly intrigued by the #1 contenders match, anf there should be some good action in the big tag matches. The rest of the card looks terrible though. I'll give it 4 Jameson shots out of 5 (the more shots you need, the worse the show)
Rising
1. Jimmy and Jey Uso: Looks like they're headed to a much deserved tag title match soon against the New Age Outlaws. I really like their chances to win them as well. I know they've been monsters this season points-wise, but they kinda fell off the map a little the last few weeks while the Shield/Wyatts were doing their thing, and while the NAO/Rhodes Bros got their rematches out the way, etc. I actually had a league where I believe someone dropped them both. I think he'll regret that decision soon
2. Mark Henry: I was a little concerned for Mark Henry's potential not knowing what kind of feud they'd throw him into. Well it looks like mid-card titles are in his sights and I think that's a good thing. He took a DQ win over Ambrose in a title match, and has a contenders match for Big E's IC title on Friday. It's better than him being in a feud against Brock or something where you know he'll get dominated for the most part.
3. Jack Swagger: This is mainly because I'm predicting him to win the #1 conteder's match. If someone else does, disregard. If he does win it, you'd think they'll prop him up over the next couple weeks getting wins leading up to the actual IC title match (presumably at the Chamber PPV). I dont like his chances to win, but if he gets 40-60 points in the next couple weeks, it could be better than your current 6th man.
Also: Big Show is back, but will he be relevant? Will Natalya or one of the Bellas step up in Naomi's place as the top Diva face to challenge AJ?
Falling
1. Naomi - I should have included her on last week's falling list, but I wasn't too informed on her eye injury and didnt realize she'd miss action from it. According to a report from Monday, we should be getting a timetable for her return soon. Either way, I'm not sure they'll thrust her right back into the AJ feud which I assumed would get her a Divas title shot.
2. New Age Outlaws - They've gotten some great points over the week, and I wouldnt drop them just yet, but I do think the clock is ticking on their reign, and that they'll fade back into obscurity afterwards. Best I think you can hope for if you have them on your roster is a retention at the Chamber, but I don't like the odds of that personally.
3. Goldust/Cody Rhodes - If my predictions are correct (it usually isnt), the Usos will win the tag belts next, and if that happens the Rhodes Bros probably wouldnt be next in line for the tags. The long standing rumor is that these two will face each other at Mania. That wouldnt be good news for those who have them in the leagues, as it'd probably result in lots of bickering between the two at taped shows and not a lot of in-ring action or pinfalls. Still worth a hold, but I just think their point potential will be minimized for the rest of the season
Also: Is Cesaro going to be the next Ziggler/Sandow? Los Matadores are on the fast train to Jobberville