[OFF TOPIC] WWE Thread

[batbobi 21]

WWE Backlash 2020 Results

 

United States Champion Apollo Crews def. Andrade (1/1)

Got the first one!

 

Women’s Tag Team Champions Bayley & Sasha Banks def. Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross and The IIconics (2/2)

Glad they retained, it was an ok match. Looking forward for their break-up.

 

Sheamus def. Jeff Hardy (3/3)

The feud will continue and I'm almost 100% sure we'll have some type of an Extreme Rules Match.

 

RAW Women’s Champion Asuka vs. Nia Jax ended in a Double Count-Out (3/4)

Again, the feud will continue, but sad for Asuka, after the departure of Paul Heyman, her push is stopped.

 

Universal Champion Braun Strowman def. The Miz & John Morrison (4/5)

 

WWE Champion Drew McIntyre def. Bobby Lashley (5/6)

 

RAW Tag Team Champions The Street Profits vs. The Viking Raiders
I'm not gonna count it, because their match didn't actually start.

 

Randy Orton def. Edge (6/7)

An excellent match, but sad for Edge, he suffered a triceps injury so he'll be out 6 to 8 months.

 

It was really a filler PPV, didn't see anything special. No really good storylines. But SummerSlam is coming close, so I hope things will go better.

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Haven't written anything here for some time, so let's make an overview of the last PPV, and the overall storylines.

"The Horror Show at Extreme Rules" was the last PPV, which took place on the July 19th.

 

On the Pre-Show, Kevin Owens defeated Murphy, probably building himself for a future feud with Rollins.

 

Cesaro and Nakamura defeated in a very entertaining match The New Day, as Cesaro put Kofi through not one, but two tables which were stacked on top of each other. With that Cesaro and Nakamura became the new SmackDown Tag Team Champions.

 

Then it came the first of two Women's Championship matches, as Bayley faced-off against Nikki Cross. With a few shenanigans, Bayley was able to retain the title, after Banks was able to slip in her "BOSS" rings, which were used as brass knuckles.

 

The United States Championship was supposed to be defended next, but with Apollo Crews missing the PPV, probably with doubts for coronavirus, the match was scrapped.

 

Next, Rollins defeated Mysterio in a very bizarre match, which had the stipulation, that the only way to win the match is to extract an eye of their opponent. The match was great and could have ended with someone having an eye injure, but the thing WWE came with was just awful. They had a fake prosthetic eye, which fall of Mysterio's face. while Rollins was disgusted by the view and puked on the floor.

 

Next was the best match of the evening, Asuka defending the RAW Women's Championship against Sasha Banks. They had an amazing back and forth match with Banks looking incredible. The finish was a bit off with Asuka having Banks locked into the Asuka Lock. Banks tapped out, but the referee was distracted by Bayley and didn't saw it. Then Asuka went for the Green mist, but accidentally sprayed it into the referee's eyes. While the referee couldn't see anything, Bayley hit Asuka with her title belt, put on the referee shirt, counted the pin and declared Sasha as the new champion. But later, WWE declared on their website that the match is a no contest and that Asuka is still the champion. I really loved the finish, because it reminded me of the old school matches, that WWE had produced in the past. Still I'm very devoted to this storyline between Sasha and Bayley and I love what WWE had created thus far.

 

Next on the line was the WWE Championship, as Drew McIntyre defended against Dolph Ziggler. The match was under Extreme Rules stipulation, but only for Ziggler. Furthermore, had McIntyre gotten disqualified or counted out, Ziggler would have won the championship. Almost the match felt, as a long-term booked one, but it was only a filler, as in the end after a Claymore Kick, McIntyre retained the WWE Championship.

 

And as the main event, we had a pre-taped video match, similar to the Undertaker - AJ Styles match which took place at WrestleMania 36. It was big chaos with lots of past references. Alexa Bliss also was included, probably playing the role of Sister Abigail. With the end we saw, Wyatt using the Mandible Claw to drag and drown Strowman in the swamp. Then Wyatt himself got pulled under the muddy water only to re-emerge as The Fiend.

 

So that's the results of the Extreme Rules PPV. Let's go and check now how the storylines are progressing from the PPV onward.

 

 

[batbobi 21]

Continuing from the previous post, let's make a review for the two RAW and SmackDown shows, following the Extreme Rules PPV.

 

We'll begin with the July 20th episode of RAW. I'll focus only on the main storylines, because reviewing four shows is not that easy thing.

 

In the opening promo of the show, Aleister Black confronted Seth Rollins, which resulted in a match between the two. Rollins picked up the win after a Curb Stomp and a post-match assault followed with Murphy and Seth attacking Black's injured arm. With the segment, Rollins looked really strong and monstrous, which really suits his persona. And Black is left with a possibly arm injure, which could take place in a later point.

 

In a backstage promo, Shelton Benjamin defeated R-Truth, after a kick to the head, to become the NEW 24/7 Champion. Then MVP, Bobbly Lashley and Benjamin went to the ring and addressed MVP's "win" over Apollo last night at Extreme Rules, just to be interrupted by Ricochet, Cedric Alexander and the returning Mustafa Ali. Then they had a 6-Man Tag Team Match in which Mustafa Ali pinned MVP. The main story here is all about the return of Mustafa Ali and that's the reason he picked-up the win for his team.

 

Ruby Riott def. Peyton Royce in a decent match, maybe The Riott Squad will reunite in the future, although Sarah Logan was fired a few months ago.

 

RAW Tag Team Champions The Street Profits def. Andrade & Angel Garza ... meh... there is some feud between these teams, but nothing special for me.

 

Sasha Banks and Bayley are in the ring addressing the result from last night and that they both now have two strap belts. As you watch them, you just know they're having so much fun doing this. They were interrupted by Asuka and Kairi Sane, but then on the titantron Stephanie McMahon appeared to announce that neither Banks or Asuka is the RAW Women's Champion, because neither of them has actually won the match. Then Stephanie announced for next week a rematch between the two for the RAW Women's Championship. After the segment Kairi Sane defeated Bayley in a non-title singles match, probably as a send off, cause Kairi is leaving WWE.

 

Drew McIntyre agreed to a rematch against Dolph Ziggler as this time McIntyre would choose the stipulation.

 

Randy Orton defeated Big Show in an Unsanctioned Match and after the match Orton assaulted Show with a Punt Kick to the skull, cementing his top heel place in the company.

 

OK, that's it from the July 20th episode of RAW, so let's continue with the July 24th episode of SmackDown.

 

Sasha and Bayley are again in the ring celebrating the fact, that they are holding the RAW and SmackDown Women's Championship and the Women's Tag Team Championship. Then they got interrupted by Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross, as Cross demanded a rematch from Bayley, as she was robbed at Extreme Rules. Bayley agrees, but with the condition that Cross must face her friend Alexa and the winner would receive a championship opportunity.

 

Nikki Cross def. Alexa Bliss - with that Cross wins a championship match against Bayley, but what is more important is that we see a rupture between the two.

 

Next is the Firefly Fun House in which Bray is talking about Braun and that he's not finished with him. Absolutely loving that and expecting a SummerSlam match between Braun and The Fiend for the Universal Championship.

 

Matt Riddle def. Tony Nese - don't care really at all

 

Gran Metalik def. Lince Dorado, Shorty G and Drew Gulak as the winner receives an Intercontinental Championship opportunity against AJ Styles for next week. Again nothing special for me here.

 

Jeff Hardy def. Sheamus – Bar Fight. Well that happened.

 

From SmackDown still I'm looking forward for "The Fiend", as he's my favorite character from the whole roster. Also I'm loving the chemistry between Banks and Bayley, still looking forward for their break-up.

[batbobi 21]

On to the July 27th episode of RAW.

 

In the opening segment Randy Orton challenged Drew McIntyre for SummerSlam, which is awesome, because we'll get to see one of the biggest heels in the face of Orton going against the fan favorite McIntyre for the WWE Championship.

 

Nia Jax got interrupted by Shayna Baszler which turned into a brawl, probably the two women will have a short program together.

 

Andrade & Angel Garza def. The Viking Raiders and Ricochet & Cedric Alexander. This was a Triple Threat Match to determine the #1 Contenders for the RAW Tag Team Championship at SummerSlam and I really hope to have a new tag champions in the near future, because I'm tired of The Street Profits and for me they're really boring, comparing them to teams like Rollins & Ambrose and Sheamus & Cesaro.

 

Nia Jax vs. Shayna Baszler ended in a double count-out. They continued to brawl on the outside, WWE official and security had to interfere, but even they couldn't stop them. Referees took Baszler out of the ring, giving the upper hand of the segment to Jax.

 

Next we had an amazing segment, which escalated the feud between Seth Rollins and Dominik Mysterio. Rollins invited Dominik to the ring, but it was all a trap as both Rollins and Murphy started assaulting Dominik. Aleister Black went for the save, but unsuccessfully, as Murphy drove his head and eye in to the steel steps. The segment ended as Dominik attacked both Rollins and Murphy with a kendo stick really going berserk on them.

 

Bobby Lashley def. Mustafa Ali, a strong booking for the MVP's new faction.

 

It's time for the rematch from Extreme Rules for the RAW Women's Championship between Asuka and Sasha Banks. Again an amazing back and forth match, as both were focusing their attacks on the opponent's legs. The finish was again a bit off, as on the titantron is shown how Bayley is assaulting Kairi Sane in the backstage. Kairi is screaming for Asuka's help and Asuka left the ring and went to the backstage to help her friend. Thus the referee counted to 10 and declared Banks the winner and the NEW RAW Women's Champion. Bayley then went to the ring and both celebrated that they are double champions. Kairi Sane is officially out of the company, so definitely Asuka will continue her feud with the role models.

 

Murphy def. Humberto Carrillo ...meh, more Mexican wrestlers

 

WWE Champion Drew McIntyre def. Dolph Ziggler in an Extreme Rules Match. After the match Orton attacked McIntyre with a RKO. 

 

July 31st episode of SmackDown.

 

On the "Firefly Fun House", Bray said that Braun still have something that "The Fiend" is interested in, talking about the Universal Championship.

 

Intercontinental Champion AJ Styles def. Gran Metalik to retain the IC Championship. Nothing unexpected here either.

 

King Corbin def. Drew Gulak. Here we saw that Shorty G, formerly known as Chad Gable, turned heel.

 

Big E def. The Miz

 

Naomi def. Lacey Evans

 

SmackDown Women's Champion Bayley def. Nikki Cross to retain the Women's Title. After the match "The Fiend" attacked Alexa Bliss in a scary segment. Maybe it's time for Bliss to turn heel again, I don't know. This segment left us with lots of questions and I hope we'll get the answers soon enough.

[batbobi 21]

We're just 8 days away from SummerSlam. For now 8 matches are announced, as everyone have from very good to amazing story, besides the one for the US Championship. I'm not gonna talk about the matches, as next week we'll have a prediction post and a live-reaction post. SummerSlam will not take place at the "Performance Center". Originally it was supposed to be held at the "TD Garden" in Boston, Massachusetts, but on May 8, the ongoing pandemic forced Boston mayor Marty Walsh to suspend all large-scale gatherings until September 7, effectively canceling WWE's planned events in the city. WWE was planning to have a live audience and was ready to postpone the event until September 7th, just to have an audience, but later on August 14th was announced , that SummerSlam will take place at the "Amway Center" in Orlando, Florida and would feature a "virtual fan experience".

 

It's very interesting to me, how this "virtual fan experience" will work, because I've never seen something like this. Also I want to say, I'm very happy that WWE finally changed the venue, because I'm really tired of the PC and I'm certain that it's not only me. It looks like this new "virtual fan experience" is already used for the NBA. I've looked at YouTube video for how the VFE works and it's really awkward, but it's still safer than going live. I hope very soon WWE can bring live audience, as I'm pretty sure when that happens the crowd will really explode the place.

 

Ok that's for today. See you at next week, for the RAW and SmackDown reviews and for the SummerSlam predictions.

[batbobi 21]

WWE SummerSlam 2020

 

 

Prediction:

 

United States Champion Apollo Crews vs. MVP

Singles Match for the United States Championship

 

MVP is a legend in the company and his role is more like a manager than a wrestler. He doesn't need the title, so there is no point of giving it to him. Apollo is retaining here and we can see two paths for him - starting a feud with another member of "The Hurt Business" or maybe joining them. But those are just speculations, so for the time being Apollo will stay the US Champion.

 

Prediction: Apollo Crews retains the US title

 

Mandy Rose vs. Sonya Deville

No Disqualification Match. Loser Leaves WWE

 

The original stipulation for this match was - Hair vs. Hair, as the winner must shave loser's hair, but it was later changed to a No DQ, as the loser must leave WWE. The feud between the two was a bit off (for me), but nonetheless this will end it. Probably the stipulation was changed, because one of the two asked for a time off and this is the way to write the wrestler off of TV. It's a 50/50 here, because both women are stuck in the under-card for sometime now. It's still safer bet for Rose to win the match, so I'm going with it.

 

Prediction: Mandy Rose wins

 

RAW Tag Team Champions The Street Profits vs. Andrade & Angel Garza

Tag Team Match for the RAW Tag Team Championship

 

My personal opinion on this is that I'm really pissed with The Street Profits. They are boring, unfunny and I just don't like them. They are holding the titles for 173 days and I think that's enough. Also, besides Andrade & Garza, there is no other heel team that could go on to challenge The Street Profits for the title. Both Andrade & Garza are great wrestlers and putting the titles on them will be a great mix for the tag division.

 

Prediction: Andrade & Angel Garza capture the RAW Tag Team Championship

 

Dominik Mysterio vs. Seth Rollins

Street Fight

 

The saga between the Monday Night Messiah and Mysterio family continues. This will be Dominik's in-ring debut and what an upset could happen if he beats Rollins. But thinking logically, this kid doesn't have any experience and getting beat up by Seth is the most logical thing. But as the match is a Street Fight, there will be a lot of interference by both Rey Mysterio and Murphy. Could we also see an interference by a returning Aleister Black? This is very personal for Dominik, as he is here to defend the pride of his father. For Dominik it's not just a match, but a shot at redemption for his father.

 

Prediction: Dominik defeats Rollins

 

SmackDown Women's Champion Bayley vs. Asuka

Singles Match for the SmackDown Women's Championship

 

This PPV will take the first major step in the dissension of Bayley and Sasha. For that to happen, one of the two must lose her belt to Asuka. Bayley in the past few weeks has been booked very weak and poorly. First she lost clean to Asuka on the August 10th episode of RAW, then was tapped out by Shayna Baszler on the August 17th episode of RAW (it was a tag team match, also involving Sasha Banks and Asuka) and finally, Bayley lost clean to Naomi on the August 21st episode of SmackDown. WWE had put a lot of work for Bayley in the past year and she is the top heel of SmackDown, so after all those loses she'll prove herself, when it matters the most.

 

Prediction: Bayley retains the SmackDown Women's Championship

 

RAW Women's Champion Sasha Banks vs. Asuka

Singles Match for the RAW Women's Championship

 

As I said for the previous match, one of the "Role Models" will going to lose her belt to Asuka. As I predicted Bayley to retain, it's simple to say that Sasha Banks will lose her RAW Women's Championship. The storyline for the night will be something like this - Bayley must defend her title first, as she lost a "Beat the Clock Challenge" to Sasha on the go-home show of SmackDown. After a grueling match, Bayley will be victorious and will walk out with her title. After the match, Asuka will be weakened and Banks will think that she'll easily retain her title too. Well, nope! In the start of the match, Banks will be aggressive, but Asuka will turn things around and will pin/submit Banks to win the title. Maybe next week on Payback, Bayley and Sasha could lose their Tag Titles and the tension between them will grow immensely.

 

Prediction: Asuka to win the RAW Women's Championship

 

Universal Champion Braun Strowman vs. "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt

Falls Count Anywhere Match for the Universal Championship

 

I think WWE have done great work with this feud, which started immediately after WrestleMania 36 and this will be it's final chapter. We could say, this is the rubber match between the two, because at Money in the Bank, Strowman defeated Bray Wyatt. Then at the Extreme Rules PPV, Wyatt defeated Strowman. From this point onward Strowman has started to act a little different, a bit more menace and as you can see, he changed his hairstyle. The story which we were presented was that Strowman doesn't care for his friends anymore and he only wants to end the existence of "The Fiend". In conclusion I would say that Strowman has turned heel, as he tried to injure/kill Wyatt on the go-home show of SmackDown. On the other hand, we have a creature, who even tried to help and save Alexa Bliss from the hands of "The Monster". Could we see a face turn for "The Fiend", we'll wait and see. I'm sure the match, with enough given time, will be awesome and I'm looking also for a interference from Bliss.

 

Prediction: "The Fiend" wins the Universal Championship

 

WWE Champion Drew McIntyre vs. Randy Orton

Singles Match for the WWE Championship

 

Both of them are the best wrestlers on the RAW Brand. From the moment McIntyre won this WWE Championship, he has proven himself to be worthy as a champion and a locker room leader. As of Orton, he's having an amazing heel run as "The Legend Killer" and he's the top heel of the company at this moment, so putting this two together is just brilliant. A few speculations were told, that Orton would go and win the title, probably holding it until WWE can have live audience again, so that Drew can beat him and receive this big pop, which he couldn't had at WrestleMania. Other speculations I heard was that Orton would hold the title until WrestleMania 37 and then drop it to Edge. It's very hard to predict a match like this, because if either man wins, it will be both a shock and believable. My gut says Orton, with the help of Ric Flair (which will be a big swerve), but also having now the "Thunderdome" may tilt the scales in Drew's favor.

 

Prediction: Drew McIntyre retains the WWE Championship

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WWE SummerSlam 2020 Results

 

Soon the PPV will begin and right here, we'll have a live reaction of it. Stay tuned!

[bmo 194]

I turned on SmackDown on Friday during the Bayley & Sasha interview. I turned it off in like 2-3 minutes. WWE is unwatchable right now for me. I don’t know what other people think, but I could care less about any of the summerslam matches (except for Dominik vs Rollins). I have been enjoying AEW as of late. Last nights main event showed just how good they are. AEW reminds me of that 2004-2007 era in WWE. I really enjoy a lot of wrestlers in WWE, but I think Vince has lost his touch. They try and make it appropriate for little kids. Honestly, wrestling should always be PG 13. It’s a bunch of half naked men & women in bikinis running around a ring and punching each other. How is that PG?? Also why is Payback a week apart from Summerslam. WWE just waters down their PPV by having too many. It makes the matches feel less important. AEW is nice because they have 4 PPV per year & 1 weekly show. WWE puts quantity over quality. I’d rather spend my time watching great wrestling, despite it being only 2 hours then watching 5 hours per week of average wrestling. It’s safe to say that I will be sticking to AEW every week from now on. 

[batbobi 21]

@bmoOK man, if you like AEW, no one is stopping you from watching. But I totally must disagree with you that WWE is unwatchable, especially SummerSlam, because every single match have it's own unique storyline, which makes it special. Bayley and Sasha Banks, "The Fiend", Drew McIntyre, they are the best performers at the moment and have the best feuds and storylines, as couple of times I said before  - Bayley and Sasha's storyline is something I adore right now, it's just awesome.

[bmo 194]

1 hour ago, batbobi said:

@bmoOK man, if you like AEW, no one is stopping you from watching. But I totally must disagree with you that WWE is unwatchable, especially SummerSlam, because every single match have it's own unique storyline, which makes it special. Bayley and Sasha Banks, "The Fiend", Drew McIntyre, they are the best performers at the moment and have the best feuds and storylines, as couple of times I said before  - Bayley and Sasha's storyline is something I adore right now, it's just awesome.

I like a majority of the wrestlers in WWE, but I don’t connect to the storylines at all. I enjoy more of the bloody, intense, emotional, hard-hitting matches & AEW provides that more than WWE does. We all like different things & I don’t look down at you because you like WWE. We all have different opinions. Sorry for my rant on WWE though . I enjoy reading your posts as well!