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Choke's WWE Raw Rant and Smackdown Preview 7/21/2014 - 7/25/2014

Posted by: choke Jul 23, 2014 | 1734 views | 0 comments

Battleground/RAW Rant

I think I enjoyed Battleground more than most, but maybe it was just the Jameson and beer talking.   Then again the Usos unexpectedly retaining the tag belts and Jericho's surprise victory didn't hurt either for my league.  RAW was pretty much just one giant setup for Lesnar returning, and it just seemed anticlimactic to me without Cena being there.   As much as I love Heyman on the mic, Brock's return would have been 100x more effective with the visual of him standing over a downed Cena AND Heyman speaking.   Other noteworthy items which I'll cover later on Rising/Falling are Brie Bella's return, the new Nation of Domination led by Xavier Woods, and Rybaxel seemingly becoming the new tag title #1 contenders out of nowhere.  Oh and also Cesaro continuing to be shit on by the WWE brass.   What gives?   Eliminated by Heath Slater in the IC Battle Royal, no more Heyman, and taking loss after loss.  We've seen this happen so many times before but I thought it would all be different for Cesaro because of the shine he got at Mania.   Hopefully this is just a bump in the road and not a sign of things to come a la Sandow.

Smackdown Preview

1.  Uso Brothers vs Rybaxel:   I dont get it.   What does the WWE NOT see in Harper and Rowan?   After the Usos unexpected victory at Battleground I thought for sure we'd just get yet another rematch at Summerslam since Rybaxel was really the only other current heel tag team and they CERTAINLY weren't going to give them the shot.   Then on Monday Rybaxel beats Kofi/Big E and Ryback took a singles win on Main Event and here we are.   Even crazier is I think Rybaxel have a shot to win the belts!   Maybe this is all so the WWE can rush giving Goldust/Stardust the titles, and they didn't want to have the Wyatts lose the belts so soon.   So you give them to Rybaxel, have Brother Rhodes take them from them quickly, then set up a long series between Rhodes/Wyatts.   It's the long con.    And it continues here with Rybaxel getting the win to set up that title match.

2.  Miz TV segment, Bo Dallas and Ziggler supposedly appear.  Ziggler makes sense as they've been hinting that's the Miz's next feud, but Dallas would be an interesting addition to that mix.   Maybe a 3 way dance for the title at Summerslam?   Will Wade be back by then?   I probably shouldn't have made this an entry like it was a match.  Prediction:  attack points.

3.  Dolph Ziggler vs Bo Dallas oh okay so this is what that MizTV segment will lead to.   It'd be cool if it was a #1 contender's match but I dont see them saying it is so I'll assume it's not.   Bo won't lose his streak yet, and certainly not on Smackdown.  I could see Miz interfering with Dolph to cause him the loss and further their feud just between them.

4.  Dean Ambrose vs Cesaro in a no DQ match:  So curious to see how this Cesaro thing plays out.  I like him now going with the Authority, but not sure where he fits in among Kane, Orton and Rollins.   Maybe he can replace Orton as HHH's go to man somewhere down the line.   It's 50/50 whether Ambrose pulls out the "unlikely" win against Cesaro in a DQ match where Rollins, etc can interfere or whether Rollins and the Authority simply make it so lopsided that Cesaro takes it.   I'll go with Ambrose taking the win.   

5.  Paige vs Naomi:   After Monday it looks like we're definitely getting a Paige vs AJ rematch for Summerslam.   Naomi does make this a little more interesting as she's also do for a title shot you'd think in the near future.   Then again Cameron just beat her on Sunday so I think we see Cameron cause Naomi the loss.  Maybe AJ comes out to save her furthering two storylines at once.   How convenient!

6.  Bray Wyatt vs R-Truth:  First things first, Bray has to win (obviously).   Secondly, this has to be also to further the Kofi/Big E/Woods stuff.   Now the question is will they want to have Truth join them or will they just beat him down because he's terrible.   I'll say they want him to join but he'll decline, leading to an inevitable beatdown at some point.   

7.  Roman Reigns vs Alberto Del Rio:  Well there's no logical reason to give Del Rio this win.   Looks like we'll probably have to sit through another month or two of what to me is torturous rehashes of Reigns vs Orton/Kane matches.   Can we just get some sort of Kane retirement match booked for Summerslam already?   Reigns takes it, then deals with the Authority after

OVERALL:    No Adam Rose again!   7 matches, with a pretty decent mix of intrigue and potential for good matches   I'm actually going to say you only need 2 shots of jameson for this one.   If Rose comes out, bump it up to 3.

RISING

 1.  The Miz:   Wow I had him #1 last week.   I don't even remember that.   Well anyway, he won the title and looks like he'll be fairly active as far as wrestling and hopefully defending it.  

2.  Brock Lesnar:  Well that was what we all expected huh?   I should probably have him #1, especially since everyone (including me) thinks he'll win the title from Cena at Summerslam which is major points.   I'm too lazy to cut and paste.  He's #1.

3.  Rybaxel:   Wow, I never saw this coming.   Wyatts lose, and now Rybaxel are primed for the #1 shot at the tag titles, and might even win it!   I'd be racing to pick them up if they were available.  Even if they lose at Summerslam, they'll be winning almost every match leading up to it to try to get us to think the Usos are vulnerable.

4.  Big E/Kofi:   The WWE needs tag teams, and I think pairing up E and Kofi is a good idea since they both have talent and nowhere to really go in the organization as is.   I always enjoyed the Nation of Domination stuff from the Attitude Era and wouldn't mind a rehash of that.   E has already been a monster with points this season for a midcarder, and Kofi has done okay with himself as well.   I think both will get a boost in the upcoming weeks with this new storyline for sure.

5.  Nikki Bella:   My weekly Diva update:    I really like Nikki Bella for the next few weeks.   I think she's eventually going to win one of those handicap matches, and maybe with an added stip that it's for Brie's job setting up Brie vs Steph at Summerslam.    Or maybe they just make the match Nikki vs Steph at Summerslam for Brie's job.   Either way, for the time being I prefer Nikki to Brie

FALLING

1.  Harper/Rowan:  Where do they go from here?   I'm baffled.   Maybe a feud with the Rhodes Brothers while the Usos wrestle Rybaxel?   Or maybe they start setting it up to be a 3-4 team match at Summerslam.   

2.  Cesaro:  Similar to Harper/Rowan in that it seemed a no brainer for this season.    He's picked up good points, but right now his trajectory just seems to be headed right into the ground.  Not sure where they go from here

3.  Fandango:  He's basically the 2014 Brookyln Brawler.   He's on damn near every week and only has 28 points to show for it.   

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