Tag: Wrestlemania 37

Wrestlemania 37: Every Match Ranked

And finally, we have reached the end of this week of wrestling. I thought it was a bloody good one. I don’t think this Wrestlemania will go down as one of the all-time greats, but there was undoubtedly a lot more good than bad across both nights, and that’s good enough for me.

No point rambling up here, let’s talk about the matches.

14 – Randy Orton def. The Fiend

This match had interesting implications, but as a match in and of itself, it was crap.

Firstly, The Fiend was literally burned alive, and that didn’t stop him or keep him down, but a single RKO is enough to keep him down for three? That can piss right off. The little action we did get wasn’t particularly exciting either, just the standard stuff we’ve come to expect from both of these guys.

The stuff with Alexa Bliss potentially rebelling against The Fiend has tonnes of potential, and I’m interested to see where it goes, but it didn’t make for a good match here. It was such a weird one to open the show with too, the crowd just didn’t know how to react to any of it, and I don’t blame them.

13 – Natalya & Tamina def. Lana & Naomi, Billie Kay & Carmella, The Riott Squad, Dana Brooke & Mandy Rose
(Winner gets a Women’s Tag Team Championship match on Night 2)
(Tag Team Turmoil)

I’d hoped that this one would be better than I was expecting, but unfortunately, I don’t think this clicked at all. It may have been due to the chaos around the weather throwing them off their game, and I sympathise if that’s the case, but I didn’t enjoy what I saw in the ring.

Almost none of these teams have any natural chemistry, and it showed in this match. The Riott Squad are the only team that I’d say actually worked well together, and that’s no surprise when you see how long they’ve been paired up for. WWE think they can just throw whoever the fuck together and expect them to wrestle decent tag matches, but it just doesn’t work that way. Even outside of gelling with your partner, there are so many different aspects to the psychology of tag matches that you can’t expect someone without experience in that field to do well at it.

On top of that, it didn’t help that each stage of the gauntlet way maybe 5 minutes, if that. I get why there wasn’t time for five full-length matches, but maybe just build a proper tag division, and that won’t be a problem? For all the progress WWE has made in recent years at booking the main-event level of their women’s divisions, the mid-card is still treated terribly. If you’re not the four horsewomen or a select other few, you just get treated like a nobody, and it leads to situations like this where we don’t care about any of these people, despite most of them being great.

Also, Natalya & Tamina was completely the wrong choice to win. I would’ve preferred any other team as I think all of them would’ve worked better with Jax & Baszler.

12 – Nia Jax & Shayna Baszler(c) def. Natalya & Tamina
(Women’s Tag Team Championships)

Case in point…

Again, this match wasn’t terrible, and it showed pretensions of being something greater in places; I just didn’t click with it on a level I consider to be anything meaningful. I can be a bit harsh about it at times, but the truth is I don’t like Jax, Tamina or Natalya in the ring. I think they’re slow, clunky, and their movements are awkward. Conversely, I love Shayna Baszler, but she can’t make this match great on her own.

There were good spots. Towards the end, things got interesting, and there were a few good false finishes. I can’t call this a bad match; I just think it doesn’t compare to much else on the card. I also have no idea where the women’s tag titles go from here. All of these thrown together teams have been beaten, so unless they’re going to go back and fight one of them, there’s pretty much no one. Unless this is what WWE has Becky do straight out of her return, maybe she teams up with Charlotte or Asuka. I think that’d be a bit crap, though.

11 – Braun Strowman def. Shane McMahon
(Steel Cage)

Well, it wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be. However, when you have to say something like that about a match, something’s already gone very wrong.

There wasn’t anything functionally wrong with this match. As stupid as it is to see Shane hold his own against Strowman, the match was worked well and told a decent story in the ring. I just had absolutely zero investment because the story leading up to this match was terrible. The pre-match attack gave a bit of justification to Braun not immediately crushing Shane’s skull in his palms, but when Shane started doing his weak-ass jabs, and commentary started putting over how he’s some elite striker, I just rolled my eyes and lost interest. Apparently, when Shane returned in 2016, everyone in creative forgot that Shane’s character’s whole point back in the attitude era was that, while he won championships, he couldn’t actually wrestle all that well and needed TONNES of help to get wins.

It wasn’t all bad, as there were some cool moments. When Braun did get to look dominant, it felt like the Braun of old, which I want back so very badly. Him ripping open the side of the cage was a cool spot that I don’t think we’ve ever seen before, so big thumbs up for that one. Then, of course, who doesn’t love seeing Shane get thrown off of something tall?

As I said, nothing exactly wrong with it, I just didn’t get on with it that well.

10 – AJ Styles & Omos def. The New Day(c)
(Raw Tag Team Championships)

Despite the relatively low placement of this one, I do think it was a really fun one.

The way the roles played out in this one was interesting. Traditionally, it’s the heels who cut off the ring and prevent the hot tag, but in this case, it was actually the New Day who got to do it. The justification for this was brilliant and played up to the idea that tag team specialists are much better at tag team wrestling. A crazy idea, I know, but it works. Styles was the MVP of this match, and the way he mixed it up with both Woods and Kingston was super fun to watch. The narrative thread of him trying to get the tag to Omos was precisely what this match needed to be compelling too.

Eventually, Omos did get in the ring and…yeah, he was alright. He didn’t do that much, but at this early stage, it’s unclear whether he was just booked that way, or that’s genuinely all he can do; that’s something we’ll get to in the future, though. In this match, it was the perfect way to bring the story to a conclusion. New Day did a fantastic job of making Omos look invincible, not just in their selling of the moves, but in how they reacted to just about everything he did.

I’m 100% behind the switching of the titles, and I look forward to hopefully seeing Omos grow throughout this reign.

9 – Bad Bunny & Damian Priest def. The Miz & John Morrison

I know, a celebrity match ranked higher than an AJ Styles match. Blasphemy, but I think this was a hell of a lot of fun.

In my predictions, I was cautiously optimistic about what Bad Bunny could do in the ring, and I’m pleased to say that my optimism was not misplaced because he really pulled it out of the bag. Obviously, he lacked the polish of a proper wrestler and couldn’t carry the sections between the moves very well, but that’s ok; no one expected him to. Instead, he impressed me with the vast array of moves he busted out and the fire with which he delivered them.

Miz was the perfect person to be on the receiving end of most of this, as his reactions to everything were priceless. He also added the necessary story beats to the match, as he got frustrated that he was getting his arse kicked by this tiny celebrity. The highlight of the match was, of course, Bad Bunny busting out a Canadian Destroyer out of nowhere and no one in the ring quite knowing how to deal with it. As much as it was a bit over the top, and I think the Canadian Destroyer is a dumb move, that moment was just beautiful.

What’s great is that Damian Priest didn’t feel overshadowed either. While Bad Bunny held his own, Priest was always presented as the one who could get in there and finish the match. Once he did get in, it was pretty much a done deal. He kicked out of everything Miz & Morrison threw his way and laid them out in short order.

Was it some wrestling masterpiece? No, but for what it was, I thought it was super enjoyable.

8 – Apollo Crews def. Big E(c)
(Intercontinental Championship)

This was a fun sprint of a match that ended in unexpected fashion.

Weirdly, I think the fact that this match only got 7 minutes was a bit of a boon to this match. I meant that neither men had to worry too much about conserving their energy for the long haul or blowing their big spots too early, they just went for broke right from the word go, and it was a bit of fun to watch. Both men got to show the intensity I wanted from them, and the match moved at a brisk pace through each of the spots.

My personal favourite was right at the beginning when they were wailing on each other with kendo sticks, but there was plenty to enjoy; the gong around the place, the fighting around the stairs and of course, Apollo’s beautiful frog splash through a table. I did not see the ending coming, but I am quite happy with it. Dabba Kato coming in and being Apollo’s heavy out of nowhere works for me. As much as I wanted Big E to retain, I’m thrilled Apollo is getting an IC title run with this great character, and I’m glad Big E didn’t have to lose clean.

The fact that it was so short and did end with interference means I can’t rank it TOO high, but I did enjoy this one from start to finish.

7 – Bobby Lashley(c) def. Drew McIntyre
(WWE Championship)

After the weather delayed the show by about half an hour, it felt like the wind had been taken out of the show’s sails a bit. The impromptu promos from everyone were really good, but given that both men had to keep themselves pumped up and ready to go at a moments notice, I think this opening match really put the show back on track.

It was a world away from their singles match at Backlash last year, and it just goes to show just how far both men have come over the past year. Lashley felt so renewed as a performer and like an absolute force of nature, while Drew’s hunger upped the intensity and led to a match that moved quite quickly. The thread of Drew constantly trying to avoid the Full Nelson made for some pretty dramatic moments, and it was mixed in with a lot of varied offence.

The finish wasn’t the best, but I don’t think it dragged the match down. Drew essentially losing cos MVP just shouted out, “I’m a distraction!” was a bit dumb, but I think it was a decent way to avoid Drew losing clean. On top of that, there’s the fact that he was in the Full Nelson for ages. Normally, it’s an instant pass-out for people who are in it but Drew fought back a couple times and almost broke it at the end. If WWE wants to keep this feud going past Wrestlemania, then this finish definitely gives them grounds to do so.

As for Lashley winning, I’m disappointed in the right way. I don’t think it was a bad decision, I’m just disappointed because the good guy I wanted to win didn’t win. Lashley has easily been doing the best work of his WWE career, and I have absolutely no issue with him getting to continue his reign.

6 – Rhea Ripley def. Asuka(c)
(Raw Women’s Championship)

It was Rhea’s brutality, and it was fairly brutal.

I had trouble ranking one because it was really good, but it did undershoot my expectations a little. It was a different kind of match to what I was expecting. I thought we would get something along the same lines as Rhea & Charlotte last year: an in-depth & balanced technical contest. What we got was more methodical, though, which is often a bad thing, but I think they did a good job of working the slower pace.

Rhea got to look quite dominant in places, which is absolutely what she needed, and Asuka settled into the underdog role really well. The balance of offence was interesting because Rhea had the advantage more often than not, but Asuka got on top sporadically throughout, making it feel more even than it was. With how quickly Rhea rose as a face in NXT, it’s easy to forget that she was a heel for the entirety of her run in NXT UK, and you can see how comfortably she fit into that role in this match.

The ending sequence was a bit quicker and more back-and-forth, with a bunch of exciting counters. Rhea hitting the Riptide out of nowhere was a lot of fun for the final spot, and it left me feeling satisfied with the match, even if it was different from what I was hoping for. Rhea was absolutely the right choice to win. Now WWE just has to avoid instantly giving the title to Charlotte…

5 – Kevin Owens def. Sami Zayn

As expected, these two put on a great match.

Naturally, it touched on a few spots from their previous matches in WWE (of which there have been a few). The classic spot where they just wail on each other was in there at one point, along with teasing the powerbomb onto the apron. With the Pop-Up Powerbomb right at the start, followed immediately by the apron Brainbuster, it feels like the match skipped to the middle and just went from there. Given that they only had 10 minutes, I actually think it was quite a good way to deal with the time constraints.

Sami got to look a lot better than I thought he would, and I’m glad that WWE is remembering that Sami is actually a brilliant wrestler, not just a comedy guy. This felt like the right place for Owens to be following his feud with Reigns, where he lost at every juncture. Not just because he got the win, but because it’s something that felt meaningful to him, he still got to stand up for something and be challenged, only to come out on top in the end.

The post-match stuff was fairly predictable, but I’ll always be pleased with a cunt like Logan Paul getting Stunnered.

4 – Sheamus def. Riddle(c)
(United States Championship)

I did not expect this one to be this good, but I am thrilled we got to see it because it blew my expectations out of the water.

Despite Sheamus putting on some great singles matches so far this year, the concept I had of him from the early 2010s still lingered in my mind. The idea that he was just this boring guy who was alright sometimes but didn’t deserve anything too major. I realised during this match that I was completely wrong to hold onto that vision for so long.

This was a case where two guys just clicked in the ring and led each other to one hell of a match. It was medium-paced but played with a lot of hard-hitting offence that kept the level of intensity bubbling away, only releasing the pressure in a select few high spots. Things like the belly-to-belly off the top, the wide array of counters, and of course, the finishing spot were all brilliant. In almost any other match on the card, a significant botch like the one they had would’ve risked killing it, but it barely felt like a blip on the radar because of how much I was into the match by that point.

The finish was the highlight, with Sheamus kneeing Riddle in the face while Riddle was upside-down attempting a Moonsault. Yes, it wasn’t as good as when Adam Cole & Ricochet did it, but who cares? It still looked brutal and bloody awesome. I would’ve preferred Riddle to win, but after this match, I have absolutely no complaints with Sheamus holding the US title for a while.

3 – Cesaro def. Seth Rollins

As expected, two great wrestlers put on one incredible match.

This one was fast and fun from the word go. It felt extremely balanced, and no man ever stayed on offence for that long at once. Rollins worked to slow the match in places, but it never lasted too long and gave us the rest we needed before the next extended flurry of fun moves. The main story beat here was that this was Cesaro’s first singles match at Wrestlemania, and he made it clear he should’ve been getting them for years before this as he pulled out all the stops.

There were a bunch of really inventive counters too. Rollins managed to turn a Neutraliser into a Powerbomb and then into Pedigree, which absolutely blew my mind because it happened in the space of about 2 seconds. Cesaro busted out a bunch, too, turning a Stomp attempt into a European Uppercut – a move that always looks brutal and impressive. Listing the great spots is all I can do because this match was just full of brilliant action.

Cesaro getting the win is fantastic too. I’m still not super optimistic about whether WWE will turn this into a sustained push, but he has this moment of triumph at Wrestlemania now, and no one will ever be able to take that away from him.

2 – Bianca Belair def. Sasha Banks(c)
(Smackdown Women’s Championship)

This match was tied with the Universal Championship match in terms of what I was most excited for going into the show, and BOY did it deliver. It was everything I’d hoped it would be.

This match was the culmination of Bianca Belair’s rise. Not just from the past year, but from the start of her run in NXT. In the space of about three years, she went from a wrestler who was kind of green but had potential into a fully formed main event star ready to claim her crown. Just looking at her previous major matches in NXT and you can see how incredibly far she’s come, and it’s such a joy to see her reach the spot we’d all hoped she would.

The moment at the very start of the match where Bianca took everything and had to hold back the tears was so precious and heartwarming. It told you everything you need to know about how important this match was to her and how hard she’d worked to get there. When the action kicked off, she was all business and – to the surprise of no one – these two had incredible chemistry from the word go.

Sasha has had a great run as a face, but she’s such a natural heel performer, and that was obvious in this match, where she took the role as the defacto heel, despite not explicitly being a bad guy. Sasha used her experience and confidence to press down on Bianca as much as possible, which was perfect for Bianca to fight back against. Every move felt so significant and carefully crafted to build everything to a brilliant conclusion.

Sasha locked in the Bank Statement surprisingly early, and from then on, Bianca did not let her get it a second time no matter what, which was a brilliant touch. The finish was also fantastic, with Sasha repeatedly finding ways to slip out of the K.O.D until Bianca caught her with no escape, made for such a tense sequence with a cathartic payoff when she hit it and got the win.

It was a beautiful match that steadily built to the perfect climax and gave us the heartwarming win we wanted. Easily one of main roster WWE’s best matches so far this year.

1 – Roman Reigns(c) def. Edge & Daniel Bryan
(Universal Championship)

Say what you like about the rest of the card, but you can’t deny that WWE nailed booking their main event scenes for this show.

By the time all three men made their entrances, I was ludicrously hyped for this one, and it did not disappoint. It didn’t move too fast, instead giving us a more tensely paced match that felt like it could end at any moment. The opening was the fastest section, where all three men just wanted to beat each other up. We then brought the element of Jey Uso in to give Roman the advantage before removing him from the equation for the bulk of the match.

From there, it was all the trimmings that make triple threat matches great. All three men cycled round, coming in and out of the match at certain intervals to ensure that the dynamic never got stuck on one path for too long. Things were constantly shifting and evolving, which not only made it more interesting to watch but kept that tense atmosphere bubbling, with any man potentially coming in and picking up the win at any moment.

The highlights include Edge locking in the Yes Lock, with the aid of a steel bar, only for Bryan to suddenly show up and ALSO lock in the Yes Lock on Roman Reigns before both men proceeded to headbutt the shit out of each other. My personal favourite moment was when Bryan pulled the referee out of the ring on Edge’s pin because I genuinely bought that as the finish before it was snatched away from me.

The finish was really good too. The Con-Chair-To is a brutal looking move at the best of times, but that doubles when done to Daniel Bryan. Edge’s choice to do it slowly gave Roman the opening to turn the tables and end it for Edge, and the way he pinned both men at once was just beautiful. If this was a year ago, the internet would’ve exploded with rage at the sight of Reigns doing something like that, but it was just perfect for his character. It makes Reigns seem truly invincible, and whoever finally beats him (I hope Big E, but it could be anyone at this point) is going to become an instant star.

This match lived up to the hype and will absolutely go down as one of the best main events in Wrestlemania history.

And there you have it! Thank you very much for taking the time to read this and all my posts over the last week. Let me know what you thought of Wrestlemania either in the comments below or on Twitter @SStyleSmark. Finally, make sure to come back here this time on Saturday, where we go back to the world of video games and I talk about the characters that mean the most to me!

Wrestlemania 37: Predictions & Analysis

After what has managed to be both the shortest and longest year of all our lives, we’ve got ourselves another Wrestlemania to enjoy. The build this year has been a bit muted, in my opinion. There’s not that usual buzz that comes with Wrestlemania season. Is it because we had a Pay-Per-View less than a month ago? Who’s to say (it is).

Regardless, there is still plenty to be looking forward to on this show. All of the main event matches promise to be absolute barn-burners in their own way, and the undercard is full of matches with tonnes of potential. On top of that, we’re finally getting fans back in arenas! Whether or not you think it’s a good idea, the fact is, it’s going to do wonders for the atmosphere of this show. While Wrestlemania last year was still great, it felt like it had been taken down a peg by being stuffed into the Performance Centre. Not only did it make it look like an indie show, but it made it look & feel like every other show WWE had because they all had to be out of the PC. With the big stadium and all the fans, things are looking much better for the feel of this year’s show, and I’m looking forward to it.

Enough chatter, we’ve a lot of matches to pick.

Night 1

Lana & Naomi vs Dana Brooke & Mandy Rose vs The Riott Squad vs Natalya & Tamina vs Billie Kay & Carmella
(Winners get a shot at the Women’s Tag Team Championships on Night 2)
(Tag Team Turmoil)

The women’s tag team division has been in dire straight for a long time now. For the first few months of 2021, we’ve had champion & challenger combinations team up to face Nia & Shayna, and one of them even won the titles for a brief spell. WWE doesn’t care about their men’s tag divisions either, but at least they keep a couple of established teams lying around for situations like this. Here, we have one team with an established history but very little credibility and three teams that have basically just formed. Sure, they’ve been vaguely aligned with each other for a while, but they’re not over as tag teams.

I’m expecting this match to be given less time than it should, which does undermind the point I’m about to make a little bit. However, I’m hoping this match serves as a good show-case for the woefully underutilized & underpromoted women’s mid-card. WWE have such a strong & deep women’s division if only they’d try and use it properly. I’m praying that at least one wrestler comes out of this with people thinking, “wow, she’s really good, she deserves more”. The truth is, all of them deserve more, but WWE just isn’t willing to give it to them.

Due to so little build or attention being paid to these teams, it’s pretty up in the air who will win. The title match on night 2 won’t be heel vs heel so that rules out Natalya & Tamina right away. Dana Brooke & Mandy Rose haven’t done anything of note since about this time last year, so I’m casting them aside too. This leaves us with the one established team, who has been doing ok recently, even if they are still under pushed; or the rag-tag team of Naomi, who has been underappreciated her whole career and Lana, who is still a crap wrestler, but at least has some story with Nia & Baszler.

I really don’t know between those last two, so I’m going to go with what I want and say The Riott Squad will get the win.

Cesaro vs Seth Rollins

A few months ago, we were all sure Cesaro was getting this big push, and he’d get to fight Reigns. That didn’t happen, but I’m still thrilled that he’s getting this opportunity.

I’ve been a bit critical of Rollins’ character, and I stand by what I said about his current direction feel stagnant. However, I’ve come to appreciate how well he’s been performing it in recent weeks. The segment on Smackdown last week where Graves oversaw a confrontation between them was excellent, and both men really fed off each other in a way that only wrestlers who know each other as well as these two do can. Cesaro has got to feel like a legitimate contender for the first time in forever. While I’m pessimistic that this will lead to anything significant for him, it gives me hope that he still has somewhat of a bright future ahead of him.

When it comes to in-ring action, you surely don’t need me to tell you how great this has the potential to be. Rollins is one of the best pure-wrestlers in WWE right now (and has been for a long time), and it should never be understated just how bloody brilliant Cesaro is when he’s let loose. I’m expecting a technical affair with plenty of fast, flying action and exciting counters. It feels like the perfect show opener, let two incredible wrestlers do whatever they want for 15 minutes to start things off with a bang.

I’m pretty torn on picking a winner too. Cesaro getting one over on Rollins seems like what would make the most sense to the story. On top of that, Cesaro is seeing a new rise and having him win his first-ever singles match at Wrestlemania would easily launch him forwards for whatever they want to do with him next. Unfortunately, I’m just not sure I have that kind of faith in WWE. They’ve almost pushed Cesaro so many times that I can’t bring myself to believe it’s going to happen. Rollins is the bigger star, and – with the exception of last year – he doesn’t tend to lose at Wrestlemania. I hope I’m wrong, but I’m picking Seth Rollins to get the win.

Braun Strowman vs Shane McMahon
(Steel Cage)

This is the one match across both nights that I don’t see any potential in at all. The story surrounding this match has been utter crap. I’ve complained about it already, but Strowman has been utterly destroyed over the past 12 months, and this is just putting the cherry on top of all the shit he’s been put through this year. We’ve got Shane, who I don’t to see wrestle, taking on an absolute monster of a man for reasons that are still unclear. That’s already bad, but when you throw on top the involvement of slime and report cards and all kinds of other stupid crap, I just don’t even slightly care about this match.

I’ve got no faith in the in-ring action either. I’m not a fan of Steel Cage matches at the best of times, which is far from the best of times. I’m expecting Shane to pull out all sorts of shenanigans and jump off of the cage at least twice. It’ll make for a nice still-shot, but that’s about it. Braun should absolutely wipe the floor with Shane, but he’s probably going to be made to look like an idiot like he has this whole feud.

This should be an easy pick, but I’m expecting the worse. Everything about wrestling logic says Braun should win, but Shane just wins matches when he has absolutely no right to. I can easily see WWE copying from a few years ago and having Strowman throw Shane from the top of the cage to the floor, meaning Shane wins on a technicality. I’m going to take the leap of faith, though and say WWE won’t fuck this up. A risky move, I know, but I’m picking Braun Strowman to win.

Bad Bunny & Damien Priest vs The Miz & John Morrison

Remember when The Miz was WWE Champion? That was a wild Monday.

I think the fact that I see more potential in this match than Strowman/Shane should say everything I need to on how much I’m not interested in that match. Looking at this one, it’s always hard to tell how good a celebrity match is going to be. Maybe they’ll be a Stephen Amell or Pet McAfee and do a really good job. Maybe they’ll be like pretty much every other celebrity that’s wrestled and be crap. At the very least, I definitely feel like Bad Bunny understands what he’s getting himself into, it’s clear he loves and respects pro-wrestling, and I can’t take that away from him.

The Miz as his choice of opponent isn’t very exciting, but it makes sense. From a character perspective, they’re pretty diametrically opposed, and from an in-ring perspective, there are few safer hands to guide Bad Bunny through the match. With Preist & Morrison able to get in the match, I’m expecting this to turn into a shenanigans-fest pretty quickly so Bad Bunny doesn’t have to do too much in the ring. As long as Bunny’s competent in the ring and there’s a couple of fun moments in there, I’ll be happy with this one.

Bad Bunny & Damien Priest is going to win for sure. The Miz has been booked like chump supreme for almost a year now, and there’s no way WWE will bring in a big celebrity like this and have them lose. On top of that, this is Priest’s first major PPV match, and he’s not going to lose. Giving him the celebrity rub like this hopefully means they’ve got big things in mind.

The New Day(c) vs AJ Styles & Omos
(Raw Tag Team Championships)

Well, the tag titles may not be treated with that much respect these days, but at least the Raw ones made the show…

I’ve not been thrilled with the developments in the Raw tag division as of late. Styles & Omos teaming up is a good thing and puts some more star power into the division, but WWE just keeps breaking up great tag teams. I like the New Day, but I don’t care that they’re tag champions, they’ve been the titles ‘default’ setting for years now. They’ve only become 11-time tag champs because there’s no one else to hold the belts. The Hurt Business should’ve kept those titles, and it blows my mind that WWE decided breaking them up would be any kind of a good idea this soon.

Hopefully, this match will be good, it definitely has the potential to be. Kofi & Woods are as good as they always have been. While I’m tired of seeing them as champions, I’m not tired of watching them in the ring by a long stretch. Styles can still turn it on whenever he wants, so I’ve got absolutely no worries there. Omos is the only unknown factor here, but I’m going to choose to be optimistic. He’s been entertaining as Styles’ sidekick, with some surprisingly great comedic chops. He’s got a great look and carries himself like he knows how great he is, which I love. Will he be any good in the ring? Hard to say without seeing any of his work, but he’s going to be in there with a wrestler who should be able to bring the best out of him.

I’m going with AJ Styles & Omos to win because it’s by far the more interesting choice. This is Omos’ debut, and having him lose – even if it’s not his fault – wouldn’t be a good look. There’s the potential here to build a relationship similar to watch Dakota Kai & Raquel Gonzalez currently have in NXT if they win the tag titles, and it’ll do wonders for Omos’ career.

Bobby Lashley(c) vs Drew McIntyre
(WWE Championship)

Bobby Lashley turned into one of Raw’s best wrestlers, so gradually, I didn’t even notice until I became super hyped for his title win. He was thrown about for a couple years following his WWE return with nothing interesting – and also a cucking angle. Once he got together with MVP, the trajectory was only upwards. His run with the US title was really good, and The Hurt Business became far and away the best part of Raw week-on-week. Why WWE decided to break up the faction, I still don’t know, I think it was a terrible decision, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that I’m in love with Lashley right now, and I’m very excited for this match.

Drew has had exactly the kind of year we hoped he’d have when he won the WWE title. He held it for almost the whole year and decisively beat everyone who was put in his path. This past year has solidified Drew as a top guy in WWE for the rest of his career, and I couldn’t be more thrilled for the guy. His style should mesh perfectly with Lashley’s for a hoss fight to end all hoss fights. I’m expecting a lot of high-impact stuff, with a slower pace but meaningful action that draws you in right until the close.

I think the winner is a little up in the air too. Conventional wisdom says Drew is going to win back the title. It seems like WWE want Drew to get the moment he didn’t get last year, winning the WWE title in front of a stadium of cheering fans. I could see Lashley continuing his run, though, and I wouldn’t be against that. As I said, I’m enjoying his work like never before, and it would be a shame if he only got to have a short title run. I’ve got to go with what my heart wants, though, and my heart wants Drew McIntyre to get that title back and spend at least another few months continuing the fantastic run he’s been on for almost a year now.

Sasha Banks(c) vs Bianca Belair
(Smackdown Women’s Championship)

I really hope this is the main event of night 1 because these women deserve it.

Bianca Belair’s rise has been such a joy to watch. I don’t just mean from the Royal Rumble either, I mean from her time in NXT, where she was seen as someone who couldn’t hang in the world’s best women’s division. She’s one of those wrestler where I can so clearly see the monumental improvement she’s gone through in her career so far, to the point where she is absolutely worthy of being at the very top of the wrestling world. Her character as a heel was a joy to watch, but once she turned face, she somehow managed to get even better. Her cocky attitude switched to one of the most hard-working and genuine wrestlers on the face of the planet, and I’m so endeared to her. Her Royal Rumble victory has been the highlight of 2021 so far in WWE, and I’m extremely excited for this match.

Sasha, meanwhile, has spent the six months having the best title reign of her career. Similarly, a fantastic heel character gave way to a somehow even better face character, having a feud of the year with Bayley and defending her title against all comers in good-to-great matches. There are no doubts in my mind that this will be a great match, one worthy of a Wrestlemania main-event spot. Banks has been an incredible technical wrestler for years, and her in-ring storytelling ability is second to none. Belair, meanwhile, is exactly what she says she is, the EST of just about everything.

Bianca Belair has to win this, she just has to. I wouldn’t be totally shocked to see Sasha retain since Belair is still a relatively fresh face, but this story would be so perfect if it ended with Belair on top. WWE has put such an emphasis on how hard she’s worked to get to where she is, and everyone is behind her on this one. I’m praying for the feel-good moment of the weekend when Belair holds that title aloft, crowned as the star she will always be from now on.

Night 2

Kevin Owens vs Sami Zayn

When you’re looking at ol’ reliable matches in WWE, few are as evergreen as this one has been.

As Owens said on Twitter, these two have fought hundreds of times across their career, so for it to finally happen at Wrestlemania just feels right. They haven’t played up the history so much this time, but that’s mostly because they don’t really need to. Zayn’s conspiracy theory stuff has been a really strong story for a long time now, and when you’ve got something as strong as that at the core of your narrative, you don’t need to pull in the other elements. Owens is continuing his fantastic run as a face. I’ve gushed about him several times before already, but there’s something about the genuine way in which he cuts promos and interacts with Sami that makes him one of the best of this era.

This is going to be great in the ring, of course, it is. These two have chemistry like few others because they’ve been inexorably linked in their careers, like you wouldn’t believe. In terms of their WWE history, at least, this has a bit more of a fresh twist to it, as this is the first time the heel/face roles are this way around. I think it’ll be interesting to see how Owens makes himself look more like an underdog against a guy he’s been fairly dominant over in WWE up until this point. I’m sure they’ll nail it though, I have all the faith in the world.

As for a winner, Logan Paul being an outside factor (I’m not going into it) does throw a bit of uncertainty in there. Normally I’d say they wouldn’t have a celebrity align with the heel, but Logan Paul is pretty hated by the mainstream audience, so it wouldn’t be unjustified here. Ultimately, I think Kevin Owens has to come out the winner. While his work in his feud with Reigns was excellent, he did lose A LOT, and you can’t be keeping that up forever. Giving him a win over Zayn will give him a new launching point for whatever endeavours he pursues after Mania. It’ll be a shame to hand Zayn another loss, but his character is pretty resilient against losses right now. I know eventually Vince will lose interest in it, and that’ll be that, but let’s make the most of it while we have it.

Nia Jax & Shayna Baszler(c) vs Night 1 Tag Team Turmoil Match Winners
(Women’s Tag Team Championships)

I’ve already said everything I wanna say about the women’s tag division, so let’s just get down to business.

Will this be a good match? If it gets time, then hopefully yes, but much like with the night 1 match, I’m not confident it will. Each team will bring a different dynamic to the match, so things could be very different depending on who wins on night 1, but as I said, that won’t make much difference if they get less than 10 minutes.

I’m going with Nia Jax & Shayna Baszler to retain, whether it’s the Riott Squad or one of the other teams who challenges. Jax & Baszler are the only properly established team on the roster right now, and flipping the titles onto one of the other teams would only lead to the belts being treated even worse than they currently are. That’s not how it should be, and I wish I could be more optimistic in my hopes here, but WWE has given me absolutely no reason to believe they have any interest in properly investing in this division any time soon.

Riddle(c) vs Sheamus
(United States Championship)

I’m really not sure what to think of this one.

At the moment, I’m pretty firm in that I like both wrestlers. I’ve had plenty of ups and downs with Sheamus, but since his feud with Drew McIntyre, he’s been really entertaining both in and out of the ring. Riddle, meanwhile, he’s good in the ring, but outside of it? I’m just not liking any of it. WWE is forcing this outdated style of stoner comedy onto him that I just don’t find funny. Tom Riddle’s credit, he’s been performing it about as well as it can be performed, but they’ve lost the intense side to Riddle’s character that made me love him so much in NXT. That’s not saying he has to be all serious, of course, one of the best things about Riddle is that he can mesh the serious & the silly to great effect, that’s why his tag team with Pete Dunne got over. I just think that what they’re doing now is uncreative and unfunny.

I’m looking forward to this match from an in-ring perspective, though. Riddle’s style meshes technical manoeuvring with hard striking in a way that I find fascinating, and I’m hoping that’ll mesh really well with Sheamus’ brutish style. I think it’ll be really fun to watch if they can establish a firm balance between a technical and hard-hitting style that plays to both guys’ strengths.

My gut says  Riddle, so I’m going to go with it, but I’m not super sure about myself. Sheamus has been a feature player on Raw since the start of the year, and it wouldn’t surprise me if a US title reign was the way WWE went to keep that going. The argument against that is that A) It’s very similar to what Lashley did with the title not very long ago, and B) Riddle is the younger star, and it’s his first Mania, so he should win. As I said, I’m going with my gut and picking the champion to retain, but this is one of the ones I’m most unsure of.

Big E(c) vs Apollo Crews
(Intercontinental Championship)
(Nigerian Drum Fight)

Weird name aside, I’m really looking forward to this one.

The match between these two at Fastlane showed us a little hint of what they can do, and I wrote in my review of that show that I wanted to see more, and I’m thrilled that more is what we’re getting. Big E has found such a wonderful balance between his eccentric and intense character modes since becoming Intercontinental Champion, and it’s just confirmed what I, and many others, have been saying for ages now, which is that Big E is a future top guy in WWE. Apollo Crews, meanwhile, has been doing the best work of his whole career. His new character direction has made me sit up and pay attention to what he has to say every week, which I couldn’t say at all this time last year.

As for what I want in the ring, I want the stuff we got a hint of at Fastlane but like…more. More intensity, more hard-hitting offence with a fast through-line of action to carry the thing. I’m not entirely ensure what a Nigerian Drum fight entails, but I think it’s fair to assume it’ll be some variation of a street fight. This will likely lead to a slower-paced match, but that could work well with the styles we have at play. As long as I feel the intensity is there and the action keeps me engaged, I’ll be happy with this one; and I think they’ll deliver.

I’m a lot less confident about this match than I was at Fastlane, that’s for sure. It’s a matter of whether I think WWE are ready to push Big E up the card any time soon. I could easily see him being in the Money in the Bank ladder match this year, but the mid-card champions are in those matches all the time, so whether or not he has the belt is largely irrelevant. Crews absolutely deserves another run with a mid-card title, and if you were going to do it, now would definitely be the time. I just think that belt is going to stick with Big E a little longer. He’s had a really good reign so far, and it would be ok if he lost it, I just want to keep this train rolling.

The Fiend vs Randy Orton

There’s no way this can be just a straight-up singles match, right? It just feels wrong. At the time of writing, no extra stipulation has been announced for the match, and it has me quite worried. This feud has involved burning people alive, a possessed Alexa Bliss and vomiting black goop at every available opportunity. If this were to just end with a plain old wrestling match, it’d be such an anticlimax. In an ideal world, we’d get another Firefly Funhouse match, but given that they’ve got a crowd this time, I doubt they’ll do a whole match on VT. It’s a crying shame because last year’s was one of the best things I’ve ever seen on a wrestling show, but it looks to be a one-off.

Truth be told, one of the reasons I don’t want this to be a straight-up wrestling match is because I don’t think it’ll be all that good if it is. Neither of these guys are bad wrestlers, but The Fiend wrestles a very specific style, and it’s one that I haven’t really got on board with when he’s just left to wrestle a regular match. It’s this weird balance that has to be struck because his character-work and overall creative output is utterly incredible, once in a generation kind of stuff, but his in-ring work feels a bit dull. That’s not a knock on Bray Wyatt’s ability, he’s had plenty of amazing matches, and I applaud him for committing to that style with the character, it just doesn’t grab me.

Picking a winner is a tough choice too. It was so long ago that it’s easy to forget, but Orton did win their last match. On top of that, it’s The Fiend, and he has just risen again after being burned alive. It’d be a bit crap to see him eat an RKO and take a pin after all was said and done. On the flip side, it is Randy Orton, and he doesn’t lose too often unless he’s going to be going away for a little while after Wrestlemania. It makes me wonder if there’s some creative way to get out of the situation where The Fiend wins the match, but Randy somehow frees himself from The Fiend and his world, thereby getting a symbolic victory and allowing him to move on. It’s a tough call, so I’m going to go with what I think should happen and book The Fiend to win.

Asuka(c) vs Rhea Ripley
(Raw Women’s Championship)

To think that a few months ago, the plan was Lacey Evans vs Charlotte Flair. That is a match I’d be significantly less excited for.

This is the nicest surprise of the card, as I did not expect to get this match in this form. It’s a genuine dream match for WWE’s current women’s division, and I’m thrilled that WWE is investing in Rhea Ripley again this year, much like they did last year. I’m glad it’s just a one-on-one too. That’s not to knock Charlotte, if the reports are true and she’s really just been left off of the Mania card because of a false positive on a pregnancy test, then that’s awful. However, given how badly WWE has treated Asuka since the end of summer last year, it feels pretty vindicating for her to get a major singles match at Wrestlemania.

I don’t know how these two will mesh in the ring, but I’m confident that I’m going to enjoy it. Both of them are among the best of their generation. Rhea isn’t very technical but has outstanding in-ring flair (pun sort of intended). Her match with Charlotte at Mania last year was the best pure-wrestling match of the entire weekend, and I’m hoping she can work her magic again with Asuka, this time in front of a crowd. Asuka is no stranger to working a hard-hitting style and is great at mixing in the mat-based grappling. On top of that, these are two women who played a huge role in defining their respective eras in NXT, so as far as hype goes, I’m about as high as you can get.

Once again, this is a match that I think could go either way. Rhea is obviously someone WWE want to go far, so putting the Raw Women’s Title on her right out of the gate would be a fantastic movie. On top of that, it lines her up perfectly for a rematch with Charlotte after Wrestlemania. Turning that around, though, it could be argued that it’s way too soon, and given that the original plan was for Charlotte to have the title coming out of Wrestlemania, maybe WWE will just want to put it right back on her? If that’s the case, then it’d be far less damaging for Asuka to lose the title to Charlotte than Rhea. Similarly, will Becky Lynch be coming back any time soon? We’ve not heard anything about it, so I’ve honestly got no idea. If Becky is coming back, though, surely it makes more sense for Asuka to have the title since Asuka never beat Becky to win the belt?

There are many different arguments to make on this one, and all of them make sense. This means that I’m going to do the only thing I can think of and predict the outcome I want to happen. That outcome is Rhea Ripley to be crowned champion.

Roman Reigns(c) vs Edge vs Daniel Bryan
(Universal Championship)

Just look at that lineup. There are few matches more worthy of the Wrestlemania main-event spot than that.

Throughout February & March, I had so many complaints about how WWE was booking Daniel Bryan, and I was made to look like a complete fool when it turned out to be part of WWE’s plan all along. Since the triple threat plan became apparent, I’ve been totally behind this story, and I’ve enjoyed every second of it. The shades of grey they introduced in both Bryan & Edge has been excellent, as both men have excelled as heels & faces in their career. Meanwhile, Roman has continued to do the best work of his career as the Tribal Chief, sitting and overseeing everything.

I cannot wait to see this one get down to business in the ring. You’ve got Daniel Bryan, who is – in my humble opinion – the best in-ring wrestler of all time. You’ve got Edge, who is a fantastic wrestler, riding a great story and the comeback we never thought we’d see. Then finally, you’ve got Roman Reigns, who is arguably the best character in WWE right now who has also evolved into one of this generation’s best wrestlers. It’s a triple threat, so it means the pace is going to be fast and furious throughout, letting us switch between the different combinations of competitors in the ring and building that drama all the way to the second bell.

Who’s going to win, though? Beats the hell out of me. When it was just Roman vs Edge, I was 100% sure Roman was going to win; there wasn’t a single doubt in my mind. Now Bryan’s been thrown in the mix…I honestly think all three men have an equal chance. Bryan has said he’s considering retiring from in-ring competition in the next year, so this could be the last chance to give him another world title run. I don’t think it’d be a particularly long one, but I’d be overjoyed if we got to see it happen. If Edge were to win, it would be a culmination of his comeback story, and even if he is going to be on a part-time schedule, I don’t mind at all if we just get a few dream matches out of his title run before he drops it at Summerslam or something like that. Then you have Roman. As I’ve said, since his Summerslam return, he’s been a highlight of programming in just about everything he’s done. WWE has finally crafted a situation where Roman can be a world champion without everyone hating it. Do you really think they’re going to let that go so easily?

I’ve been turning this over for literally days now, and I’m still no more certain than I was. I want Daniel Bryan to win, I want Edge to win, and I think they both could. I just can’t pull myself away from Roman, though. Would WWE have their top heel retain in the main event of Wrestlemania? It wouldn’t be the first time, but it hasn’t happened in a long, long time. I don’t know. I just don’t know, and it’s tearing me up a little bit that I can’t make this decision.

Roman Reigns. There, I’ve typed it now, no deleting that. I have no confidence in that pick, but I’ve done it.

I’m just so excited to see this one.

WWE Elimination Chamber 2021: Predictions & Analysis

Well, that PPV cycle sure went quick. The Royal Rumble feels like it was just a week ago, and I could’ve sworn this PPV was scheduled for next weekend, but that shows what I know, I guess. The bright side is that this time of year always has me excited for wrestling shows, even if the TV isn’t the best.

This show is a bit of an interesting one because it’s pretty much entirely wheel spinning. Usually, Elimination Chamber will at least set the stage for a Wrestlemania match or two, but this one really has no bearing on the Mania card. I know both of the titles are up for grabs, but if you think either of them are going to change hands on Sunday, then you’re clearly new to wrestling. On top of that, no number 1 contenders are being decided; the only possibility is that Edge will come and confront the champion he wants to face at Wrestlemania, but even that already feels like a done deal.

That said, I really like the Elimination Chamber. It’s not WWE’s best gimmick match by a long shot, but I think (2020 notwithstanding) the past few years have produced a lot of really great chamber matches, and this year promises to add to that.

NOTE: About the Asuka vs Lacey Evans match. WWE still seems to be advertising it as happening, but if it’s true that Lacey is pregnant (which just about everywhere seems to be reporting she is) that match won’t be going ahead. I’m not sure what WWE are going to do about it, but given that I don’t think it’s taking place, I’m not going to predict it. I don’t know who WWE would put up as a replacement, it wouldn’t surprise me if they just didn’t bother, but either way, I think Asuka will still be champion by the end of the night.

Nia Jax & Shayna Baszler(c) vs Sasha Banks & Bianca Belair
(Women’s Tag Team Championships)

Remember when the women’s tag division had actual tag teams to challenge the champs and not just some pairings thrown together on a whim? No, me neither, which is sort of the problem with the whole endeavour right now.

While it’s not been anything incredible, the build has been fairly enjoyable week-to-week, mostly thanks to the overall high quality of Smackdown so far this year. It’s not without problems, though, mainly how the build has focused around Bianca’s uneasy alliance with Banks and that Bianca is definitely going to challenge Sasha at Mania. Jax & Baszler have once again been kicked to the curb a bit in favour of the feuds involving the ‘bigger stars’.

That said, I’m hopeful this will be a good one. This should get a decent amount of time thanks to the lack of matches booked for this show, and three of the four women are among WWE’s best. I’d imagine WWE would be eager to showcase Bianca especially following her Rumble win.

I think it’s a pretty solid lock that Nia Jax & Shayna Baszler are going to retain. They may lose the titles only to get them back when Sasha & Bianca fall out, but they literally just did that with Charlotte, so I don’t see the point in doing it again. I think it’d be much better for Sasha & Bianca to fall out here, and we get going with their Wrestlemania build properly. I’m interested to see how that build goes because Bianca is 100% the face that everyone will be behind, but I don’t think it’d be a good idea to turn Banks heel again this soon. Hopefully, WWE will be smart enough to let Banks skirt the line between heel & face a bit, as she’s more than capable of doing it. Either way, having the women’s tag titles involved would just needlessly complicate things, so keep them on the champs for now.

Bobby Lashley(c) vs Keith Lee vs Riddle
(United States Championship)

This build has been messy as all hell.

Riddle’s been chasing Lashley for quite a while now, even running the gauntlet of The Hurt Business and fighting them off at every opportunity. So it seems really weird for Keith Lee to suddenly step in on his scene like this. I mean, sure, why shouldn’t he? And I love Keith Lee, so I’m not going to complain too much; it just seems like a real dick move to pull on Riddle. The Hurt Business has continued to be the best part of Raw the past couple of months, giving us some much needed entertaining promo segments on a Raw that is currently an absolute chore to get through every week.

I’m looking forward to the match, though. I wasn’t huge on Lashley for a while, but I’ve come around to him now he’s got a faction backing him up and just needs to rely on destroying fools. Riddle & Lee are both excellent, so I can only imagine the chemistry they’ll have in the ring. Additionally, the triple threat factor means that this match should be a lot of fun with a fast pace and high-impact action.

I can see the result going all three ways if I’m honest with you. Putting the belt on Keith Lee would be something I’m in favour of as he’s not been featured very well in recent months, but it might feel a bit out of nowhere for him to suddenly show up and win the title. Riddle winning the title is a possibility too, he’s been chasing The Hurt Business for ages now, and it’d seem a bit cruel for him to not get it here. Ultimately though, I’m going with Bobby Lashley. In a situation like this, picking the champ to retain is always a safe bet, and I think by keeping the belt on Lashley, the door is open for Lee to take the title in a singles match at Mania.

Drew McIntyre(c) vs Randy Orton vs AJ Styles vs Sheamus vs Jeff Hardy vs Kofi Kingston
(WWE Championship)
(Elimination Chamber)

Generally, I’d go through each of the participants for a match like this and give my thoughts on their chances in the match, but there’s really only one outcome here.

In a clear example of the fact that WWE has no idea who Drew’s going to face at Mania, they’ve thrown this match together on a whim, and while it’s pointless, it will probably be very good. There’s the right mix of hard-hitters and high-flyers in this match, and I think we’ll get a lot of varied action as the thing progresses.

The only real problem here is that I don’t have all that much to say about it. The build’s been very short and okay, I guess; gauntlet matches are pretty fun. All that’s really left to talk about is the winner, and as I’ve already made obvious, I’m picking Drew McIntyre to retain. The dude just beat Goldberg clean, so there’s no way they’d have him suddenly drop the title to Jeff Hardy on a b-show PPV. Not to mention the fact that they’ve already put together the Wrestlemania promo package, which shows both Drew & Reigns holding their titles.

The only person I thought had any potential to take the title was Orton, but it’s clear that he’s going to be dealing with The Fiend at Mania, so that rules him out. Styles already lost his shot in December, and while they’re all former world champions, Sheamus, Hardy & Kingston have not been booked on a main-event level at all over the past year and don’t fit the title at the moment.

Kevin Owens vs Jey Uso vs Daniel Bryan vs King Corbin vs Sami Zayn vs Cesaro
(Elimination Chamber)

AND

Roman Reigns(c) vs The Winner of the Elimination Chamber Match
(Universal Championship)

This is the chamber match that I’m far more excited to see because – with one exception – I adore all of the talent involved, and it’s sure to be a blinder of a match. What’s better is the result of this one isn’t super obvious, so I can go through it person by person.

King Corbin – While Corbin is one of those people that could be catapulted into the main event out of nowhere at any time, it’s not going to happen here. He’s been booked like a chump in the latter half of the past year, and with Reigns on top, there’s no room for another main-event heel.

Sami Zayn –Zayn’s work of late has been fantastic, even if I don’t think it’s going to lead anywhere. The conspiracy theory stuff allows Zayn to get the best out of himself and do wonderfully entertaining things like handcuffing himself to barricade for half of Smackdown. That said, I don’t think it’s going to lead to a real main-event push, and, as I said before, while Reigns is the champion, no other heel is getting a look in.

Jey Uso – Jey’s story with Roman was one of WWE’s better stories of 2020, but it feels like it’s reached a status quo for now, at least until Jimmy returns from injury. While it would be entertaining to watch, I don’t think there’s anything to be gained from Uso fighting Reigns again. They could do a finger-poke of doom thing, but that would make everyone very angry, so no.

Daniel Bryan – Now we’re getting into the people I think might win. Bryan & Reigns started building a feud around November, but it got dropped out of nowhere, and they never returned to it. It seemed like it was going to be the Mania match, but now Edge has won the Rumble, and it seems pretty likely he’s going to fight Roman at Mania instead. Bryan would be a good strong win for Reigns, and it’d be perfect for the underdog story of having to go through a Chamber match before fighting Reigns.

I just don’t quite see it. If it’s going to lead to a Mania match (which it might), then I’d be in favour of it, but I don’t think that’s the direction WWE want to go, and given how big of a match Reigns vs Bryan is, I don’t think they’d give it away on a b-show like this.

Cesaro – One of the most surprising aspects of 2021 so far is that fact that Cesaro has actually been getting somewhat of a sustained singles pushed. He’s beaten Daniel Bryan clean twice now, and word was he was originally going to get the ironman spot in that gauntlet match in January. As such, I think he’s in with a shout of getting this one-and-done shot the title on this show. Having Cesaro gut it out in the Chamber, put on an exciting but ultimately unsuccessful showing against might be a brilliant way to build him up even further.

Kevin Owens – The final leading contender here, and this would definitely make the most narrative sense. Owens has addressed the fact that he was totally screwed out of the win at the Rumble, and you’d think that would mean there’s still a loose thread to pull on here. On top of that, Owens has all the momentum in the world, and it would be a shame to see it dropped all of a sudden.

I’m struggling to make my pick here. As I said, Owens seems like the obvious choice, but I’m not so sure. While there is that loose thread to pull on, I just don’t see what can be gained from Reigns beating Owens again. It may be a great performance for Owens, but I don’t think it’ll benefit him any more than the Last Man Standing match did, and Reigns doesn’t look all that great beating a guy he’s already beat twice before, even if it was dirty.

I’ve decided I’m going to go with what I want to happen instead, and I’m picking Cesaro to win the Chamber match. It might not lead to anything huge for the guy, but I think it could be an extremely entertaining story and let Cesaro show that he can hang in the main event, like so many of us have known for years. He’s not going to win, though, and come the end of the night, Roman Reigns will still be Universal Champion.

So there you have it! Thank you very much for taking the time to read this post. Please, let me know what you think is going to happen on Sunday, either in the comments below or on Twitter @SStyleSmark. Finally, make sure to come back here this time on Monday for my review of the show!