Choke's WWE Raw rant & Smackdown Preview 1/20/2014 - 1/24/2014
Posted by: choke Jan 23, 2014 | 1497 views | 1 comments
RAW Rant
Overall the show didn't do much for me. I'm shocked how weak they are having the Wyatt Clan look, constantly taking losses from the Usos and having Bray look a fool when it comes to Bryan. Naomi vs AJ is an uninspired feud, I really don't need to see Del Rio vs Mysterio ever again, the New Age Outlaws getting a tag title shot is a joke, and Batista needs a new stylist. They really haven't hyped the Rumble up properly IMO either. The only thing they're really selling us is Batista as the main attraction for it. I really hope they have some great surprises up their sleeves for it.
Smackdown Preview
(as always from www.prowrestling.net), and as always these are my predictions and I don't know the true result)
Big Show and Rey Mysterio vs Real Americans: Can't see this accomplishing anything as far as storyline. Big Show probably gets the pin to further hype the Lesnar match. Actually I'll make it my LOCK OF THE WEEK. There's no logical reason to give the Real Americans a win here and bury Show before one of the main events for the Rumble
Brodus Clay vs the Miz: Right after I dropped Brodus from my league! Very curious to see how this goes. If he's back as the monster heel he once was, he could be a total dark horse for the rest of the season. If they have him playing the weak heel and even take a loss on his return night from the Miz, probably not. I'll say they give Brodus the win and that this starts an ongoing feud. They could also go the route of having Miz win and then Brodus kills him after, which achieves the same result, just less points. I'd be happy with either to be honest.
AJ Lee vs Cameron: Just to further set up the title match with Naomi on Sunday. Should be a standard enhancement match for AJ, followed up with some Naomi vs AJ hijincks to sell an extra 3-4 PPVs
Los Matadores vs Ryback and Curtis Axel: I really don't understand the tag team division right now. What else is new? You have all these teams that are at least SOMEWHAT deserving of tag title matches or being in the mix, but yet the New Age Outlaws get the nod? And on the preshow? How come we're not embroiled in just mayhem right now with the Usos, the Wyatt Clan, the Rhodes Bros, the Shield, The Real Americans, Rybaxel, etc etc all just trading wins against each other. I would have had the tag belts change hands at least 3 times in the last 6 months if I was running this shit. I know the WWE likes to do these long runs now in an effort to cement the legacies of these champions (or something), but you can also have the titles change hands several times to show how GOOD the division simply is right now. But no, we're getting New Age Outlaws going for the titles on the pre-show. sigh. Anyway, no idea who wins this as it could go either way. I'll say Rybaxel take it
Harper and Rowan vs the Primetime Players: ANOTHER tag match, and wait'll you see the main event.... Well I'd like to say this should be a lock of the week with the Wyatt Clan taking it, but they could always have more Daniel Bryan/Bray stuff to cause them the loss. I'll stick with what SHOULD happen, and say the Wyatt Clan get a much needed victory. IT'S PTP FOR GOD'S SAKE
Kofi Kingston vs Fandango: I think they give Kofi this win to hype his feats of agility at the Rumble. They can never get enough of showing those clips.
Goldust, Cody Rhodes, the Usos, and Big E Langston vs The Shield and the New Age Outlaws in a 10 man tag. Well since the only official match at the Rumble between any of these guys is the Outlaws vs the Rhodes bros, I think you have the Outlaws get the final pinfall and sell the possibility of them winning the belts Sunday. This really could go a million different ways, and don't rule out the possibility of it just turning into a giant brawl Rumble style to be the final image we see before the Rumble PPV. Actually that's probably what'll happen.
Rising
1. Brodus Clay: Looks like he's finally making his return. If he demolishes the Miz on Smackdown, I think he could be worth a pick up
2. Los Matadores: For some reason in almost all my leagues, people are shying away from drafting them (including myself). Right now EACH of them has more points than Cena, Daniel Bryan, Bray Wyatt, etc etc. Obviously this will probably change as the season goes on, but the fact of the matter is they have been getting more matches, with another one coming this Friday, and they're probably worth a pickup if you're holding onto someone posting up a Zero right now
3. New Age Outlaws: I personally am not a fan of their potential for the rest of the season, but what if they win the belts? I really don't see it happening, but it could be a gamble that pays off bigtime if they happen to do so
Falling
1. Damien Sandow: Months after nearly winning the World Title, and weeks after having an excellent rematch with Cena, he just lost to R-Truth on main event. R-TRUTH!
2. Harper and Rowan: It's a shame what the WWE is putting these men through because of the botched Bryan storyline. I still love their long term potential, and hopefully they get a win this Friday, but they've been made to look so incredibly weak over the beginning of this season
3. Cesaro/Swagger: They just feel completely lost in the shuffle right now.