Chokes WWE RAW Rant and Smackdown Preview 7/1/13 - 7/5/13
Posted by: choke Jul 4, 2013 | 1624 views | 1 comments
A review of RAW from this week and a preview of this Friday's Smackdown (no match result spoilers)
Not a very exciting RAW for my tastes even if it was a good episode for my personal team/league. Nothing really felt important, even though they tried to hype the Del Rio/Cena match as best they could. Obviously the Wyatt family debuting is a huge deal for next week, but it really spoke volumes that the show ended with that and not any of the current storylines they're trying to sell us on. That announcement ended up being the most exciting thing of the entire 3 hour show.
Here's what's coming up on Smackdown (thanks as always to prowrestling.net for their no spoiler preview they post each week)
1. Usos vs Rhodes Scholars: I think they need to accomplish 2 things this match. First, Usos have to look strong especially after the loss they took in the 6 man on Monday, but mainly because they're the #1 contenders for god's sake. Secondly they will probably show some further dissension between the Rhodes Scholars. I ultimately think they're going to try to turn Cody semi-face and have him against Sandow. Though it could just be a temporary story (the dissension) to do the whole "it's every man for themselves!" angle at MITB. Both of these add up to a clean Usos pin. Nowhere else on the internet can you find a paragraph predicting the result of a match which has already happened and which 90% of wrestling fans already know.
2. Kaitlyn vs Alicia Fox: Further showing Kaitln as the strong challenger. She should get a squash victory and then AJ will come out. One could make the case for AJ possibly causing Kaitlyn a match much like Kaitlyn cost AJ the match on Smackdown, but I disagree. You can give the heel champion a non title loss prior to a PPV, but you cant give the #1 challenger a loss to a lesser opponent no matter the circumstance. Well okay unless it's a "she's going crazy" angle and gets DQ'd, that can still work for the purpose of the storyline. Yeah, anyway, Kaitlyn wins in a squash
3. Randy Orton vs Christian: There's no Daniel Bryan or Kane scheduled for this show, so you've got to think this is where they'll make an appearance. I also think they should try to make Christian look strong since he's in the All Star MITB. Hard to picture either really going over clean. Gonna go with a schmozz as a prediction. If there's a winner, I think it'll be Christian as a result of Bryan interference.
4. Dolph Ziggler vs Drew Mcintyre: Lock of the week Dolph Ziggler. I'd predict we might see Del Rio, but since he's closing out the show against Punk, I'll say they save that confrontation for the end
5. Fandango vs Justin Gabriel: Since Gabriel isn't in the MITB match, there's zero reason to give him a win here. Fandango should go over. This list of matches is depressing.
6. Alberto Del Rio vs CM Punk: Well this has potential at least. Doubt we'll see a clean finish. I'd love to call for a Lesnar run-in, but more than likely we'll just see Dolph. Not sure what they'll do for Punk though, will he just watch the interaction between Del Rio and Ziggy? Maybe we'll see Axel, but since he's got a match with Miz for MITB I dont know what purpose that would serve. I'm missing something here.
Rising:
1. Bray Wyatt: Well, this was earlier than most of us were expecting. The gamble SEEMINGLY paid off if you picked him up early. Then again maybe this will just lead to them coming out and addressing the crowd for weeks and no in ring action for a while. You've got to expect he won't lose for quite some time once he does start though.
2. Luke Harper/Erick Rowen: Very curious what they will do with these two as a tag team. If the Shield retain as most must think, will they go heels vs heels? Will the Wyatt clan even be heels? No matter what they have them doing to start off, I love their potential for the next couple of months of the season
3. Jack Swagger: Didn't think he'd be back so soon either, but it looks like they're still planning to sell him fairly hard to us. I also like the potential for them to team up Swagger and Cesaro for a tag title push. Then again I gotta ask like I did above, how many heel tag teams can there be?
Falling:
1. Ricardo Rodriguez: If you havent heard, RR was suspended by the WWE for violating the Wellness Policy. It's "only" for 30 days, but for him that's an eternity as he's one of those consistent small point getters. I dont think he's worth holding onto. Though you might want to swoop him up again once August nears
2. Wade Barrett: Sure he's in the MITB match, and he's probably worth holding onto until there's a better idea of what's next for him, but he's lost his last 5 matches (and maybe more) and hasn't been on TV since his rematch loss to Axel.
3. Sin Cara: Officially a jobber, even with the lights!