Choke's Season Thus Far Review: Who to consider picking up or dropping this week
Posted by: choke Jan 15, 2015 | 1763 views | 8 comments
WELCOME TO WRESTLEMANIA!!!!!
(season on Dropthebelt.com)
Sorry for my absence, but I recently got a new job which has drastically reduced the time I have to spend writing stories about Adam Rose and the Bunny. As I settle in here, that should change. I thought I'd start with a quick "story thus far" recap of what we know from this season.
The Good
So far there are some real surprises from the first week and a half of programming. Bad News Barrett winning the IC belt night 1 was probably the most impactful. I think he was on most players radars heading into the season as a solid mid round pickup, but winning that belt shot him to the top of the roster temporarily. The question is: is he just holding onto it until Dolph gets un-fired? That has to happen before the Rumble right? Even if Dolph gets it right back, BNB still figures to play a prominent role in the storyline the upcoming months (once he dispatches of Sin Cara that is... #groan) If this is all leading up to Dolph wearing the Sin Cara mask in a title match, I'm quitting wrestling
In what is a bigger points surprise, NEW DAY! is surging in points. Big E is tied with Viktor and Konnor of the Ascension right now for 3rd place on the entire roster. Yes, you read that right. Kofi and Woods have a respectable 47 points each right now as well. It's crazy to think that someone with the entire New Day and Bad News Barrett would be absolutely crushing someone who has Ambrose, Wyatt, and Daniel Bryan. I know, I know, it's early.
The Bad
For biggest disappointments you obviously have Ziggler, Rowan and Ryback all being fired in the first show. Even worse is they're guys you absolutely can't drop from your teams because they'd be snatched up by another team, so you just have to eat 0 points until the storyline brings them back. Nikki Bella, the Divas champion has also disappointed early, with Brie, Natalya, Paige, and another huge surprise, Alicia Fox picking up most of the points so far for the Divas this season. This should hopefully change once she gets some title defenses under her belt.
Trade Window Preparation
Just a reminder, the trade window will open earlier now that Smackdown is moving to Thursday. Trades will be processed Friday morning. So set your trades early!
Here are some recommendations for picking up and dropping. I try to focus on wrestlers that may not be commonly held for picking up. Telling you to pick up Roman Reigns would be useless.
Pick up
1. Natalya/Paige: Paige has a non-title win over Nikki, and I have a feeling Natalya will get one tonight. If this happens we may see a triple threat for the title between them, and it's not beyond the realm of possibility that Nattie or Paige could win it. Also, as FnJimmy astutely pointed out in the Wrestlemania preview video, when Total Divas is on the WWE tends to have a bigger spotlight on them.
2. Alicia Fox/Naomi: Yes this is an all Divas special! I focus a lot on the Divas in my stories because I feel they are hugly underutilized in this game. So Fox has a ton of points so far this season, mostly at the expense of Naomi, but I have a feeling that will shift soon and Naomi will get some revenge points. Actually Naomi is a real sleeper right now as I think we're eventually going to see her getting title shots very soon.
3. New Day: As I said above, New Day has been racking up points and they seem like they're a regular fixture on the shows already. All 3 went undrafted during our league's draft, but you've got to admit Big E looks pretty tempting sitting at the third highest point getter while you're sitting on someone like Jack Swagger.
Drop
1. Jack Swagger: He's finally where he belongs
2. The Bunny: Looks like for now this might be over? Hopefully?
3. Goldust/Stardust: They're getting absolutely zero push right now, and it's hard to see that changing in the near future