Choke's WWE Raw Rant and Smackdown Preview 6/9/2014 - 6/13/2014
Posted by: choke Jun 11, 2014 | 1631 views | 0 comments
Back in the swing of things! This is hopefully the first of what will again be a regularly scheduled story I'll post each week (usually on Wednesday or Thursday). If you're new this season or have never bothered to read one, I basically give my thoughts on RAW, then give a non-spoiler look at Smackdown's matches as well as give a list of those wrestlers who are rising and falling in the realm of Fantasy Wrestling.
RAW (and the rest of the season thus far) Rant
I've actually been enjoying the product lately. Even though I'm tired of seeing some of the feuds continue to drag on (namely Cena and Wyatt), there have been a lot of good matches overall and some of the storylines are intriguing (I love what they're doing with the mid-card belts at the moment. Which is a far cry from previous seasons). So far the big winner of the season is anyone who drafted Seth Rollins. I'm guessing he was most likely the third Shield member picked out of the three in most drafts, and with him being the surprise heel turn I think he'll end up on top of Reigns and Ambrose for the season. Sheamus and Barrett have benefitted greatly from the WWE putting some shine on those midcard belts, and Sheamus in particular is back to his dominant ways of seasons past. I love that we'll be seeing a MITB match with seemingly several legitimate contenders, though I have a feeling Daniel Bryan may somehow end up winning the match by the end of the night and this is all a big WWE swerve. If not, I still don't think it'll take long for him to get it back after. He definitely needs to do something because those 2 points (!) he's earned this season aren't doing those who drafted him much good thus far. Rusev, Dallas, and Rose continue to rattle off victories in every match they're thrown in, though are any TRULY going over with the crowd? Too early to tell, but I really don't see it with the Rose gimmick. Some other point getter surprises include Rybaxel who are taking advantage of an otherwise relatively weak tag division right now with the Shield and Brotherhood imploding. Alicia Fox who has gotten her fair share of wins and attack points when she takes a loss, and HHH who has had a much more elevated role thus far this season than I think anyone was expecting. Disappointing would have to be the Brotherhood who arent picking up many points even with a heavily featured storyline, Mark Henry who has been invisible since returning, Rey Mysterio and Miz who have been invisible period, and of course Bryan with his measly 2 points even though he entered the season WWE Champion.
UPDATE: Just got word of the WWE Talent cuts. Some surprising names, but probably none that are on your team. Even though they've had zero push or anything to make you think the WWE was interested in them, I'm shocked to see Drew McIntyre and Brodus get cut. But yeah, if you had them on your league you're most likely doing this whole thing wrong. I'm guessing Evan Bourne never got over his injuries? Shame. On another note: Curt Hawkins and Yoshi Tatsu were still employed?!
Smackdown No Spoiler Preview
I typically get my preview from www.prowrestling.net but for some reason this week they didn't have a non-spoiler version listed. I went through other means to pull the list of matches, but don't really have a source for it this week other than to say I trust that the guy wasn't toying with me. Here goes.
1. Roman Reigns vs Bad News Barrett - Will go one of two ways: Reigns goes over clean, or Rollins interferes to give him the DQ win. Either way, Reigns gets the win. Given that Ambrose is in a match later with higher stakes (well, assuming this list is in order), I'll say Reigns goes over here and Rollins instead comes out later. Barrett clearly isn't protected over their top stars, having just taken a loss to Sheamus Monday.
2. Erick Rowan vs Jey Uso: Jimmy took a win over Harper on Main Event, so I say they do the flip flop and Rowan takes this one. All geared towards setting up the title match at MITB
3. Bo Dallas vs R-Truth: Best BoLieve Dallas wins, and that the audience still won't have a clue what to make of it.
4. Cesaro vs Sheamus: Love the matches these two have been having lately. This is a tricky one, as they're both in MITB. Cesaro seemed to be starting a feud against Barrett lately, so maybe Barrett comes out to cost him this match or give him a DQ win? I have no idea. I really don't think Cesaro can take another clean loss against Sheamus and keep his momentum at the same time. I'll roll with a Cesaro win to at least make us think Sheamus is beatable since he hasn't been lately.
5. Adam Rose vs Fandango: Maybe we see Swagger come out? Either way Rose should get a clean win here. Fandango is done.
6. Big E vs Jack Swagger: This match seems irrelevant. Maybe Rusev gets involved to further the feud with Big E? Maybe somehow Rusev and Swagger get into it because, you know, immigrants. Either way, both of these guys seem like they're floundering. I'll say Big E wins.
7. Alicia Fox vs Aksana: Given that Aksana just got cut, I'm guessing Fox takes the win here and advances her, um, story. No clue what they're doing with her still and if she'll get yet ANOTHER match against Paige. It seems insane to me they keep having her lose against her but arent establishing any others to go against Paige for the title. Until they do I'm riding Fox out.
8. Bray Wyatt vs Dean Ambrose (MITB Qualifier): Loving the sounds of this one. I expect Rollins to interfere and help Bray win, which will in turn set up Bray and ultimately John Cena to be in the MITB match.
Overall Show: Man this looks like a really solid Smackdown. Barrett/Reigns, Cesaro/Sheamus part XXI, and Bray vs Ambrose should all be good to great matches. I personally like a lot of matches even if they're filler, providing there's some quality in between. Going 2 shots of Jameson out of 5 (the more shots needed, the worse the show looks)
Rising:
1. HHH: I try to highlight wrestlers who might still be available on your league, and not go obvious with guys who are definitely taken (OMG GET SETH ROLLINS). I was all set to drop HHH after Payback thinking that he'd be much less involved once the feud ended with the Shield. Fortunately for me he's been opening the show almost nightly and getting his fair share of microphone, interference, and attack points. Plus there's still a chance he'll get a match or two occasionally. Definitely a solid anchor to your team right now.
2. Alicia Fox/Summer Rae/Layla/Natalya: The Divas division season in and season out is frustrating and impossible to predict. Obviously Paige is taken, but that might be it in most leagues. Alicia has been picking up solid points and until the WWE stops showcasing her wild post-match antics, I think she'll continue to pick those up. Summer Rae and Layla are at least involved in a "feud" between each other, and each should get a handful of points until it blows over. Lastly, Natalya doesnt show up on the shows frequently, but if I had to pick any Diva that I think will all the sudden be thrust into the Divas title picture (probably as a result of a heel turn), it'd be Nattie.
3. Rybaxel: I mentioned this above, but with the Shield and Brotherhood breaking down and 3MB being shipped out of town, there's a severe lack of viable tag teams in the WWE right now. It's basically Usos, Wyatts, Rybaxel and Matadores. I think that leaves Goldust and his mystery partner of the week as fodder for Rybaxel for the time being.
Falling:
1. Batista: Simply not worth holding onto in the hopes of a return this season IMO
2. Kane: Seemingly on the shelf as long as Bryan is out
3. Bella Twins: Along the same lines as Kane, the Steph/Brie storyline came to a complete halt this week and its hard to tell if they'll pick right back up with it now or wait until MITB is over.