WWE UK Blog

WWE Hell in a Cell 2015 Preview and Picks

2015-10-25T14:59:00.003-07:00

WWE Intercontinental Championship: Kevin Owens © vs. Ryback

After a smash and grab last month at Night of Champions, Kevin Owens should retain here, but I fear that this feud must continue. If you haven’t already, check out Ryback on Table for 3 with Daniel Bryan and Dolph Ziggler on the Network, it might change your views on him. Might. But there’s a ceiling on how good a match between these two can be in reality.

Prediction: Kevin Owens

WWE Tag Team Championship: The New Day © vs. The Dudley Boyz

As great as The New Day are, it’s time for a title change here. The tug of war of the title can go on into Survivor Series but a tenth tag team title for The Dudley Boyz is the way to go here. If you don’t put the title on them here, you have to wonder where you go with them. Xavier Woods has been so great - if you’re at all interested, check out his color commentary work on Superstars, he’s clearly enjoying himself so much right now.

Prediction: The Dudley Boyz

WWE Divas Championship: Charlotte © vs. Nikki Bella

I see this as a gruelling win for Charlotte, the blow off to segue into the next couple of contenders. Paige and Sasha Banks are lining up for their shot. I assume we see Paige come out at the end to show her intent. Let’s hope it’s half decent.

Prediction: Charlotte

WWE United States Championship Open Challenge: John Cena © vs. ???

Short of this being a ‘surprise’, whether that be an NXT graduate or a return, I would have to assume that this match is against Dean Ambrose after his match was ruined by Randy Orton’s shoulder injury. With Cena taking time off, the title ought to be vacated and they’re short of babyfaces. Ambrose with a title might be a good move. Mind you, has anyone seen Daniel Bryan of later…?

Prediction: Dean Ambrose

Hell in a Cell: Roman Reigns vs. Bray Wyatt

The day that they get Bray Wyatt up against someone where it doesn’t just end up being a weird rivalry, will be a good day. Having said that, in a cell this could be a good match and a win for Reigns where he comes out looking strong could do his path towards WrestleMania some good. We hope for no interference, but the cell doesn’t even guarantee that anymore. I’m ready to see the back of this feud.

Prediction - Roman Reigns

WWE World Heavyweight Championship: Seth Rollins © vs. Demon Kane (If Demon Kane loses, Corporate Kane loses his Director of Operations position)

This would provide the suitable out for Kane to leave The Authority. That story has well and truly run its course. Seth doesn’t need to drop the title yet and Kane certainly isn’t the man to take it. I just wonder if they can make this a good match - Kane is rarely very good in matches, let alone semi-main event spots. Seth is a remarkable performer but is losing and has been facing old guys who can just about still go in the last two months on ppv. We need to see him up against quality opposition and, no, that’s not Sheamus. How they solve that little issue is anyone’s guess.

Prediction: Seth Rollins

Hell in a Cell: Brock Lesnar vs. The Undertaker

So a clean finish here to end this feud is all we’re after. Well, that and a good match after such a meager and mediocre build this month. Lesnar’s the best things they’ve got and Undertaker can still ride off into the sunset at WrestleMania in Texas. It would be a courageous man to call this match any other way and I’m not that man but I do think that this will a really good match. I hope we get some of the old Undertaker. In theory, this could be his penultimate WWE match, so I think he throws everything at it without being too wild or dangerous. The cell at least means that they can avoid to many suplexes, bumps and F-5s for Undertaker in his condition.

Prediction - Brock Lesnar

WWE Superstars September 25 TV results & recap: Lower-mid-card singles action with Swagger v Rose & Truth v Slater

2015-09-27T07:33:00.005-07:00

The Big Takeaway: Jack Swagger beat Adam Rose and his ever-terrible new gimmick while R-Truth dismissed Heath Slater in a quick, entertaining bout. Xavier Woods is still the best thing about this show.

Read the full article here

WWE Night of Champions 2015 Picks and Preview

2015-09-19T08:06:00.002-07:00

WWE Champion Seth Rollins vs. Sting

The match will probably be good, but I don’t see it being much better than just that – good. Arguably, there is no-one better placed than Seth Rollins to make Sting, at 56, look like he still belongs in a WWE ring, but I think the finish will distract from the quality of the wrestling. Does Sting need the title to be a WWE Hall of Famer? In their minds, possibly. But I see Rollins winning – not without hope for Sting along the way. Some outside interference that maybe the likes of Money in Bank holder, Sheamus, could provide, will no doubt colour the finish. This can then lead to them settling the score without disruption inside Hell in a Cell next month at The Staples Centre.

Prediction: Seth Rollins

U.S. Champion Seth Rollins vs. John Cena

This could be the best match on the card. There are so many ways that they could book this but logic would suggest that Cena regains his lost title after being screwed out of it by John Stewart last month. After all the work that Cena did to re-elevate this title is now lost, to some extent, by having Seth hold it whilst also holding the WWE title. With a resilient veteran performance, Cena will dodge the attempted distraction from The Authority and leave them disappointed in their boy.

Prediction: John Cena

Intercontinental Champion Ryback vs. Kevin Owens

Owens doesn’t need to be losing to Ryback and Ryback feels out of his depth here. Ryback has had a resurgence of late and he’s about as over as he’s ever going to get now. The prospect of Owens as IC champion is a fun one, to say the least. They can, of course, settle this in a Cell next month if they don’t do a rematch on Raw.

Prediction: Kevin Owens

Divas Champion Nikki Bella vs. Charlotte

Now that the record has been broken, they can do what they like here. Either Nikki retains because Paige interferes, or Charlotte wins to proclaim a new era for the Divas division. Revolution, or not, I agree with Bryan: Nikki Bella is pretty much completely unlikeable.

Prediction: Charlotte

WWE Tag Team Champions The New Day vs. Dudley Boyz

It has been 10 years since The Duley Boyz were in a tag team bout in WWE, but what a wonderful thing The New Day has become. And who knew? I can’t see them breaking their run just yet, though Woods’ trombone may be about to broken through a table. I think The New Day steals one here, but the Dudleys will put them all through tables after the match.

Prediction: The New Day

Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns & Mystery Partner vs. The Wyatt Family

Braun Strowman gives the Wyatts the monster edge, even if he’s green and has the wrong look. I can see Ambrose being pinned by Strowman with some lights-go-out, hokey, Wyatt-confusion thrown in for good measure. My bet is that the Mystery partner is Randy Orton after all, but I’d be delighted if it’s Daniel Bryan or Finn Balor. Balor and Bray is a feud just itching to happen. If Bryan is ready and they want to use him, I’d bet that this is exactly the level that they see him being at.

Prediction: The Wyatts

Rusev vs. Dolph Ziggler

Both men deserve better than this. The focus on the women must come into play but I have no idea where they are going with all that. Rusev and Ziggler could have a good match if the focus is on them, however. I hope they blow this feud off on Sunday, but I have a bad feeling that they won’t. Ziggler is surely due a win?

Prediction: Dolph Ziggler

WWE Superstars September 12 TV results & recap: Stardust beats Jack Swagger in style; Neville v Bo Dallas; More Xavier Woods commentary fun~!

2015-09-12T06:45:00.004-07:00

The Big Takeaway: Stardust looked good against a Jack Swagger who is in lower-mid-card hell. Neville beat Bo Dallas with his move after being beaten up for 3 minutes. Xavier Woods is still the best colour commentator in the company.

Read the full article here

WWE Superstars September 5 TV results & recap: Neville v Stardust in six-man tag action; R-Truth v Adam Rose; Woods on commentary

2015-09-05T11:02:00.002-07:00

The Big Takeaway: R-Truth dispensed with Adam Rose yet again while the comic book caper from SummerSlam continued when Neville & The Lucha Dragons beat Stardust & The Ascension. Xavier Woods was a welcome addition on commentary.

Read the full article here

WWE SummerSlam 2015 Predictions

2015-08-23T14:32:00.003-07:00

Dolph Ziggler vs. Rusev

I see this one being 8 minutes and pretty much a Dolph squash. Clearly we’ll have a showdown between the women that will distract from the wrestling. I think they might just blow this off tonight. I like Rusev, but like many since WrestleMania, he’s turned into a mid-card nobody. They need to seal this up and move on to a title programme.

Prediction: Rusev

Stephen "Arrow" Amell & Neville vs. King Barrett & Stardust

Clearly Amell coming in for a match, screwing up his jaw and teeth in training and then losing is not going to be the way to go with this. The focus will be on how much there is of Amell in the ring and how much of this is just smoke and mirrors. Otherwise, it will be interesting to see where this is placed on the card because as a match this doesn’t promise anything at all, but as a spectacle for comic book fans it will please, I’m sure.

My Sister-in-law is watching this match and has little to zero interest in the company or in pro wrestling so I guess they’re doing something right here in get new eyes on the product.

Prediction: Amell & Neville

Kevin Owens vs. Cesaro

Cesaro needs to be in programmes like this going forward. He is superb at the moment and is getting recognition from the announce team and, of course, the fans. Owens needs a win after last night if he is to keep any kind of momentum after his meteoric few months on the main roster.

Will we see Cesaro use the giant swing on Owens?

Prediction: Owens

WWE Tag Team Champions Prime Time Players vs. The New Day vs. Los Matadores vs. Lucha Dragons fatal four way

I don’t see a title change here but the bookies are calling for New Day to take it. They are hot right now and it was a mistake to take it off them but they don’t really need the titles. I’d guess, though, that this will be excellent. I think they should open with this. The post Mania Raw saw The Lucha Dragons on the opening bout in front of a hugely hot and expectant crowd and they really delivered. I think with the excellent Los Matadores, too, you have an ideal card opener. I think there’s title changes elsewhere on this card.

Prediction: PTP

Dean Ambrose & Roman Reigns vs. Bray Wyatt & Luke Harper

I say keep the Wyatts strong regardless of whether or not Ambrose or Reigns turns. Ambrose can get pinned without anyone caring but it will be more about where they go from here with this. If Reigns is there guy you have to assume that either you keep these two strong and run for a few months with this. If not, you can have some drama here. I’m not sure if this is the night to do it when put alongside so much other material.

Does the Rock come out here with Reigns?

Prediction: Wyatts

WWE Intercontinental Champion Ryback vs. The Miz vs. Big Show

Miz got so brutally killed on Raw this week that I wonder if they’re putting the belt on him. The hot potato title changes seem to be back on course now that Bryan has vacated the title and that Cena is back in the main title picture. A few months ago I said that they should keep both the US and IC titles on Cena and Bryan and then do a unification match at Mania next year. Perhaps you could do that with Ryback but that is nowhere the match that it would have been if it had been Bryan.

The big men to cancel each other out and Miz to take the glory?

Prediction: Miz

Randy Orton vs. Sheamus

They could do the same thing that they did at Mania here: Orton beats Sheamus and Sheamus can lose because he cashes in later in the night. Sheamus can lose because he has the briefcase. Either way, Orton is a pleasure to watch and I’d rather see him go over at one of the biggest shows of the year.

Prediction: Orton

WWE Champion Seth Rollins vs. U.S. Champion John Cena in a champion vs. champion match

Rollins probably ought to keep the title. Cena doesn’t need both. Rollins doesn’t need both. Why have they booked themselves into this corner? The way out is if Sheamus cashes in. If not, they have Cena getting screwed by Kane/HHH and Rollins gets both and this authority storyline, which is pretty damn dull, carries on.

Cena rarely loses. Flair’s record is up for equaling and apparently he is in NYC. Should be a great match.

Prediction: Cena

Brock Lesnar vs. Undertaker

Well the only thing that I can think here is that they have Sting here to build up his match with Undertaker for Texas next year. It can’t stink as much as their WrestleMania match did so I’m excited to see how they go. Undertaker just looks so old now that it has all lost its magic a little. Brock is unreal right now and frankly shouldn’t be working with The Undertaker at this stage. There’s a queue of people I’d want to see Lesnar work with and with his limited schedule this seems like spectacle over substance.

Prediction: Lesnar

WWE Superstars TV Report 06-04-15: Lucha Dragons prove too much for The Ascension; Jimmy Uso returns

2015-06-06T07:16:00.000-07:00

The Big Takeaway: Jimmy Uso provided colour commentary this week for both matches. The Lucha Dragons went over 10 minutes against the Ascension – much longer than they normally give matches on this show. Harper and Rowan squashed Los Matadores.

Read the full article here

WWE Superstars TV Report 05-29-15: Harper and Rowan cut the Mega Powers down to size; Heath Slater v Adam Rose.

2015-05-31T07:28:00.003-07:00

The Big Takeaway: Heath Slater worked as a babyface, stealing a win from Adam Rose. The new age Mega Powers made it two straight weeks on Superstars, but came up short against Luke Harper and Erick Rowan.

Read the full article here

WWE Superstars TV Report 05-15-15: Kalisto in singles action against Heath Slater; Stardust v R-Truth

2015-05-16T04:46:00.000-07:00

The Big Takeaway

WWE Payback is this Sunday and Superstars helped to build it up this week. Two singles matches saw some average wrestling with wins for Kalisto and Stardust in front of an expectant pre-Raw Cincinnati crowd.

Show Recap

Kalisto beat Heath Slater in a fun 4 minute match. They rehashed the talking points from Raw. Stardust got the win over R-Truth (no plastic/rubber/real arachnids were harmed). Rich Brennan and Byson Saxton hyped up WWE Payback which is Sunday from Baltimore.

Read the full article here:WrestlingObserver.com

WWE Superstars TV Report 4-24-15: Tag team champs in action; Bad News Barrett v Jack Swagger

2015-04-26T13:13:00.003-07:00

Bad News Barrett beat Jack Swagger with the Bull Hammer in 4:22

Rich Brennan returned to commentary this week as he wasn’t on the European tour – last week had seen the return of Michael Cole alongside who accompanied Bryon Saxton completely inexplicably injury-free.

Read the full article here

WWE Superstars TV Report 4-17-15: AxelMania runs wild in London; Zack Ryder v Heath Slater

2015-04-19T12:33:00.002-07:00

Superstars from London was very fun. Michael Cole sat in with Byron Saxton and made the show feel so much better than normal – calling moves makes such a difference.

Zack Ryder beat Heath Slater with the Rough Ryder in 4:40

Slater came out and didn’t play up to the old 3MB Union Jacks gimmick that he used to do when in the UK but has had his hair chopped brutally short and is looking fairly lean/skinny. Given his look and relative roster status, they ought to put Slater with Adam Rose. Ryder, meanwhile, looks heavy in his plight to be considered relevant and legitimate in this company. Oh and Heath Slater has a t-shirt – ho knew? I’m not sure what it said on it but I know that it wasn’t on sale at any of the live events in the UK last week or indeed at the huge merchandise store at WrestleMania this year.

Read the full article here

WWE Superstars TV Report 4-10-15: AxelMania runs into R-Truth; Swagger v Rose

2015-04-12T06:28:00.003-07:00

Jack Swagger beat Adam Rose with The Patriot Lock in 4:30

This week on Superstars, Tom Philips is on colour commentary duties while Byron Saxton takes Michael Cole’s place on Raw. Swagger comes out to a guard of honour from the Rose Buds only they boo him with big grins on their faces. Even though the arena is still only half full, they crowd are really into the ‘we the people’ chant.

Read the full article here

WWE Superstars TV Report 3-27-15: The New Day vs The Ascension; Emma still dancing, still losing.

2015-03-28T08:38:00.003-07:00

Superstars was a fairly meagre offering as a go-home show for WrestleMania this week. If anyone is in the Bay Area, I’ll be at the show Sunday and Raw on Monday. Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Summer Rae (w/ Cameron) beat Emma with a schoolgirl in 4:48

We start off with some early comedy between Summer and Emma, as Rae mimics and mocks the dance – quite right too, it isn’t over. Emma gets annoyed and slaps Rae, uses a drop toe hold and smacks her head into the mat. Off a distraction by Cameron outside, Rae drop kicks and covers Emma and then applies a rear chin lock.

Read the full article here

WWE WrestleMania 31 Predictions

2015-03-26T13:57:00.001-07:00

Brock Lesnar (c) v Roman Reigns WWE World Heavyweight Championship

I’m more excited for this now that Lesnar has resigned. It removes the inevitability of it: the feeling of if Lesnar wasn’t losing it on Sunday, he’d have to be dropping it the following night on Raw. I still expect them to make Reigns sell for 25 minutes before coming back - but I think Lesnar wins. We can only expect him to get a giant reaction from the crowd now that he’s staying with the company.

What happens after? Rollins could cash, though I doubt it – too obvious. Reigns is reportedly feuding with Rollins going forward, so maybe he costs him his title. Rock could be involved but would he really be in favour of hijacking his relative’s moment? I think Lesnar wins, Rock comes out to stop a post-match beat down and next year’s main event is set up.

Make no mistake, though, Paul Heyman is key here. And I’ll also note that having the title off TV for all these months hasn’t really been a popular move…

Pick: Brock Lesnar

The Undertaker v Bray Wyatt

Not interested in this and that’s sad. The Undertaker match last year broke the streak but also broke his run of having the outstanding match at the last 7 or so WrestleManias. I know he got his bell rung early on in the match, but the match was such a disappointment and I wonder whether we can expect much more out of this match.

Wyatt has been booked strong to get him ready for this but has barely worked on TV of late. I hope they’ve rehearsed it to death and I really want it to be good - but other than it being the Undertaker match at WrestleMania that we thought we wouldn’t get after the streak was broken, what purpose is it really serving?

Pick: The Undertaker

Sting v Triple H

Although Sting probably should win and Triple H has quite a poor win ratio at WresltMania, I still think Triple H is going over here. Three reasons: 1) The killing of WCW still seems to actually matter in 2015. 2) It won’t matter if Sting wins a match at SummerSlam. 3) There need to be some heel wins on this show and the way it’s looking, we’re not going to get too many.

They will have run this over again and again and Triple H is such a safe pair of hands - a ring general - that they’ll have a good match I’m sure. Sting hasn’t been great in the ring for some time, however, and he’s really far too old to be doing this anymore. It kind of has a ceiling to how good it can be, going in.

Expect sledge hammers, baseball bats and Steph to play into this,

Pick: Triple H

Rusev (c) v John Cena for the WWE United States Championship

I don’t know why you need to beat Rusev at all, other than to take the title off him. Cena will be a huge babyface here (as will Lana) but this is kind of why they’ve done this – it gives Cena a good reaction, for once, in a feud that fans can really get behind him. An international crowd, however, may block that, but I don’t think Rusev is the kind of heel that fans want to cheer ironically in that hijacking fashion of someone like Lesnar, say.

Maybe they’re hoping to rebuild Cena to some extent here by taking him out of the main event, giving him an All-American feel (a la Hogan in the mask c.2004?), but they can still use him to headline house shows that will be packed with kids clambering to see their hero. It actually makes a lot of sense.

After Mania, they’re rumoured to continue the feud which I’m fine with – what’s next for Rusev is important, though. Lesnar? Wyatt?

Pick: John Cena

Wade Barratt (c) v Daniel Bryan v Luke Harper v Dolph Ziggler v R-Truth v Stardust v Dean Ambrose in a ladder match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship

This could be the match everyone remembers, because you’ve got some great talent in here along with some insane talent in here. Ziggler and Ambrose are really quite nuts when they want to be. Ambrose showed that more prior to signing with WWE but Ziggler is just stupid at times – though, entertaining as hell.

I think that all the talk of Goldust and Cody not wrestling at the show might be a swerve and Goldust may cost Cody here.

R-Truth will do some comedy scared-of-heights spots. Harper will annihilate people. Bryan should win and would get such a huge reaction if he does. But, I’ll just temper that with the fact that a lot of babyfaces would seem to be winning here and plans always change.

Pick: Daniel Bryan

Randy Orton v Seth Rollins

Seth doesn’t need to win this and Orton is trying to get his revenge. If Seth is featuring later, he looks more chicken-shit if he loses here and then weasels his way to the title after the main event. If not, you could have Seth win but then keep Orton strong by having it a win because of interference from J&J or Kane/Big Show.

This could be a really good match, but possibly won’t get the time to be much more than good.

Pick: Randy Orton

Andre the Giant Battle Royal

This is anyone’s. Sheamus might be returning the night after Mania but that information might be changed or out there to put us off the scent.

If they put Finn Balor in, I’d love to see him win.

Miz and Mizdow will probably use this as a platform to showcase the climax of their on-off-on again relationship. People would love to see Mizdow win but where they go with him after he and Miz split is beyond me – does he just change his name back and go back to being a nobody? They need to keep the momentum but I hope they give him a mic if that’s where they go – because he’s nothing special in the ring yet can really talk.

For me, Sheamus returns, destroys a ring full of nobodies and gets the win.

Pick: Sheamus

Tyson Kidd & Cesaro (c) v The Usos v The New Day v Los Matadores WWE Tag Team Championships

Too many title changes seem likely on the show, so I see that they’ll probably make this fast, entertaining and full of comedy as a warm up for the stadium as it fills up and people take their seats, but the champs retain. Los Matadores are great in that role, ditto The Usos. I wonder if they’ll look to the New Year’s New Japan show match for inspiration. Kidd and Cesaro can retain because none of the other teams are over enough to need the title. Kidd and Cesaro have something and they need to give them some more time to work at it.

Pick: Tyson Kidd & Cesaro

I actually think that this will be a really good show. There’s so much negativity out there about the build up to this year’s ppv (and rightly so), but when you start to look at how much time the bigger matches should get and who is involved, you see that there’s every chance that we’ll see some good wrestling on show. And hey, it’s WrestleMania, everyone should raise their game. Well, I hope so… I’m going to be there.

Booking WWE WrestleMania 31 - The Results

2015-03-26T13:45:00.000-07:00

So while last year, I tried booking Mania in October, this year I felt that last year’s fairly poor predictions where something that needed work. So instead, I sat down on the eve of the Royal Rumble and tried to pick a path through to WrestleMania 31. I wanted to predict the card, not the outcomes.

I should note: as with all predictions, I enjoyed being utterly, unreservedly wrong as much as I am pleased at being even remotely right.

John Cena v Rusev – ding!

What I said then - “I think this one is the easy build. Cena comes off looking like a huge all-American hero against the Soviet threat – Rusev is one of those heels who doesn’t get ironic support or respect from the marks because his gimmick is so hateful to American fans. Lana is the key to that. Unfortunately, there’s a far less partisan crowd at Mania but I still think Cena is less likely to get booed out the building here.”

First one right, but an easy one by anyone’s standards. In fact, you’d have to be pretty blind to have missed this one.

Sting v Triple H – ding!

What I said then - “Pretty much a definite, wouldn’t you think? I don’t think it will be much of a match but god knows if you’re going to have Sting work with anyone, the ring general HHH is the man for him to work with. It books itself and I have to say that WWE have done a great job with Sting so far. As long as they don’t use him too much in the run up, and keep his appearances surprises and sparse, this will at least have a great build – even if the match doesn’t live up to much.”

Everyone knew this was the deal. Another safe bet.

Randy Orton v Kane in a loser leaves the company/career match – WRONG!

What I said then – “I’ve been wondering what they do with Orton when he comes back. The strong feeling is that he’s coming back as a babyface. If that’s the case you’d have to assume that they have to address his time under Authority rule and that might lead to him facing Kane. Ordinarily, I’d say that this would suck. And it still probably would. But if you look at how old Kane is (47) and think that they could work in an angle whereby Randy has to face him with something on the line that is as definitive as Kane’s career then they could deliver a really interesting match. Or at least give us something to give two hoots about.”

Well. Lunacy? Maybe. I still think Kane is probably nearing the end of his time in the ring with WWE and there’s only so much more that you can do with him. He’s been neutered so often, he’s no longer the monster he once was and, let’s be frank, looks really quite old on TV – and heaven knows Vince doesn’t like old people being on his TV show.

Anyway, Kane is in the Battle Royal and Randy has Seth.

Brock Lesnar v Roman Reigns – ding!

What I said then - “If you look at history with this company it generally teaches you that they change plans a lot. But what it also teaches you is that if they have a direction for WrestleMania they tend to stick to it, regardless. Last year no one wanted to see Dave Batista win the Rumble and main event WrestleMania against Randy Orton, but he did and they did. Thankfully, the company listened to what we were saying and they put Daniel Bryan in there too.”

Now this one was a bigger call than it probably reads right now. When I predicted this, there was a genuine feeling amongst the wrestling writing community that WWE were going to have to let Daniel Bryan into this match and wait on Reigns. It was a case of Reigns not being ready and I suppose that was why The Rock had to put him over at the culmination of the Rumble and Bryan had to lose to him at Fast Lane. Of course, now that Lesnar has resigned, this match just got infinitely better.

Daniel Bryan v Seth Rollins – WRONG!

What I said then – “Has anyone else seen how much media Bryan has done since his return pushing how much he’d love to fight Lesnar? I think it may be all in vain. But this would make me very happy. Not to mention a lot of others. This could be the title match, who knows. I think it could form the dénouement of a year-long Daniel Bryan v The Authority story. Seth fights for The Authority and Bryan fights to overcome his injuries and injustices for everyone else. They’d tear the house down.”

I guess you can always dream book and that’s certainly what I did here. I picked two missing pieces and put them together. Instead, inexplicably, they have completely demoted Bryan to mid-card hell and have placed Seth with Orton who was always going to return and needed a big match.

Dean Ambrose v Cesaro – WRONG!

What I said then – “You could interchange Cesaro for Barratt and it would still work. After all, Barratt is the IC champion. But Ambrose and Cesaro would have a great match.”

Still wrong, but maybe slightly less wrong than above? Cesaro of course finds himself in a title match elsewhere and Ambrose and Barratt are part of a much bigger match that should probably steal the show.

Undertaker v Bray Wyatt – ding!

What I said then – “I don’t think this is a) going to happen; is b) going to be very good; and c) would be a match the people would care about. But there’s some talk of it that I can’t ignore. Selfishly, I’d like to see The Undertaker wrestle. I actually think Wyatt will be the last one in ring with Reigns at the end of the Rumble but I don’t know who he’d go against this year if this one doesn’t come off. There aren’t many spare parts if you look at the above. He’s faced Cena. He’s beaten Ambrose. Orton? Bryan?”

Easy to say now but as you can see I wasn’t sold on the match, nor am I still. Wyatt did also go on to dominate in the Rumble – as predicted – playing Steve Austin in 1999. For what It’s worth, this isn’t going to be very good. Retirement match for Taker in Texas next year?

A MUCH better showing than last year on my part, but it just shows you that two months out from the show, so much was still up in the air. Why is that? Partly the change in WWE’s mentality, partly due to the Network and the slow death of ppv.

WWE Superstars TV Report 3-20-15: The Lucha Dragons v The Ascension rematch, Adam Rose loses again

2015-03-23T13:42:00.001-07:00

Jack Swagger beat Adam Rose with the Patriot Lock in 3:47

They started the show with a big push on the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania next weekend. After Adam Rose’s entrance, the break the usual format and cut to a promo video looking at Andre the Giant’s career which included talking heads from the likes of William Regal, John Cena and Chris Jericho. As a result, whenever there was a pause for some posturing in this match, instead of looking up and pointing at the WrestleMania sing, there was lots of pointing down at the trophy at ringside.

Read the full article here

WWE Superstars TV Report - 3rd March 2015

2015-03-23T13:40:00.001-07:00

The Lucha Dragons beat The Ascension with a senton in 4:23

NXT came to WWE Superstars this week as The Lucha Dragons debuted on this show and The Ascension made it two consecutive weeks on Superstars. The Lucha Dragons were of course the team who stripped The Ascension of their NXT titles and so Rich Brennan and Byron Saxton do their best to give this some build.

Kalisto and Viktor start things off in the ring and Kalisto takes it to Viktor, showcasing his speed, agility and move-set. He starts off with a headscissors take down, tagging in Sin Cara on his way past and together they perform a wheelbarrow senton on Viktor.

Sin Cara goes up top and hits a flying arm drag takedown followed by a drop kick. Konnor gets tagged in and drags Sin Cara outside by his mask under the bottom rope and then beats him down. Viktor comes and continues to stomp on Sin Cara while Kalisto looks on desperate for the tag.

They isolate Sin Cara until he is able to give Kalisto the hot tag. The crowd is pretty dead for this one but they enjoy Kalisto getting the heat here. He uses a springboard cross body to take Viktor down and then a roll-through kick. He takes him down with a hurricanrana so that Viktor goes face first into the mat. Konnor comes in to break up the pin but is sent over the top rope.

Sin Cara keeps Konnor down outside while Kalisto uses the Salida del Sol on Viktor. Sin Cara then comes off the top rope for a high-angle senton and they get the win. Things do not look good for The Ascension.

Zack Ryder beat Adam Rose with the Rough Ryder in 7:28

In a rematch of last week’s Superstars main event, Ryder and Rose continued their twitter feud and had round two here on this show.

They lock up after Ryder tries to lead the crowd in ‘woo’ chants. Embarrassingly, literally no-one joins in and so Adam Rose just points out towards the crowd and says, “look, no-one cares”.

Ryder gets the early advantage with a shoulder barge, and forearm out of the Irish whip. He works Rose over but then a drop kick attempt is missed and so Rose takes the opportunity to stop, pose and point at the WrestleMania sign. It would seem that they both feel that they can win the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal.

Ryder gets angry at this disrespect and dumps Rose over the top rope. When he comes back into the ring, Ryder clotheslines him right back over again. This time, Ryder points to the sign and we go to a break.

As we return, Ryder is up on the top rope counting punches when Rose takes his legs out from underneath him. He then scoop slams Ryder and drops elbows on him in the middle of the ring. Rose covers him but can only get two. He hits a backbreaker, goes again for the cover but again can only get two. So, he starts to work the lower back and hits another backbreaker and then applies a chin lock. Ryder powers out but runs into a spinebuster. Rose covers him but only gets a two count so he stomps on Ryder in the corner.

Ryder tries a small package, trying to steal one. Rose complains to the ref, charges at Ryder in the corner who gets his knees up. Ryder stays on the middle rope and hits a drop kick, followed by a running forearm to the corner. He sets up and hits a Broski Boot. He goes for the Rough Ryder but it is countered by Rose and turned into yet another spinebuster by Rose. Ryder is then put on the rope and slaps Rose away and then hits a rather messy, clumsy top rope Rough Ryder for the win.

WWE: The Destruction of the Shield – DVD Review

2015-03-09T12:29:00.006-07:00

The thought went through many a head after The Shield’s second consecutive ppv match against Evolution at WWE Payback last year that a DVD collection of their matches, even this early in their career, would actually be a pretty amazing portfolio of work. WWE actually going ahead and producing it was another thing. Credit where credit’s due, they did.

The title might be misleading. This isn’t a look at how they came unstuck and ‘destructed’ as a unit nor is it fully a biopic of how destructive a force they were when they were together. It kind of exists in a hinterland – one that straddles both of the above and one that often treads a slightly awkward line between kayfabe and reality.

The documentary is to some extent already out there: the WWE Network profiled the group in an all-access profile piece called ‘Road to Summerslam’ in August of last year and did a good job in trying to build up that sense of a great stable reaching its’ demise. But don’t make that stop you from investing. This version makes additions that are well worth it. We have some fascinating clips of the three together and as individuals and some talking heads of true quality – Les Thatcher, Gabe Sapolsky, Paul Heyman, Daniel Bryan and a wonderful turn out from Sami Zayn are just some of the experts on hand.

Joey Mercury is also worthy of note. Midway through the documentary feature he boldly states, “if you come through the independent scene into developmental you have a big advantage over everyone else.” The elephant in the room. If you look at where the company is right now, so much of their talent and popularity is bolstered by those who have come out from the indies. And if you look at NXT and developmental right now, to some extent the future is the indies.

Footage of Seth and Dean as indie stars is all over the documentary and matches of all three Shield stars from their time in FCW are here to see. In a time where the Network offers so much, this is clever. Here, you’re getting things that you can’t get on the Network. And its not just there for that reason. These are good matches that are genuinely worth your time. Rollins and Ambrose (who Seth refers to as his “wrestling soul mate”) have three iron man matches that are a lot of fun and there’s even a three way between them with Reigns carrying the inevitably doomed ‘Leakee’ moniker.

The Shield matches speak for themselves. Their first match at TLC 2012 against Ryback, Bryan & Kane is just the tip of the iceberg. There’s their Wyatt’s matches, Evolution bouts, tag team title matches, as well as Ambrose v Rollins in a Falls Count Anywhere match and their post-WrestleMania encounter with The Undertaker. More than ever, this is a DVD set to buy for the wrestling.

The documentary is not to be dismissed, however. Seth’s plight is presented as just that – a plight. He heelishly states that he “knew that [he] was better than everyone else in developmental” but butted heads with the trainers, most notably Terry Taylor who didn’t like his attitude and Triple H tells us, like some kind of headmaster or principal for WWE’s developmental system, that they “had words” and then Seth’s attitude was all-of-a-sudden better. In typical Triple H fashion he is sure to bury Seth by, in no uncertain terms, telling us that he still had a lot to learn: “he wasn’t ever quite where he thought he was.”

If there’s one thing that they push here with Rollins it’s his in-ring ability. And, of course, he took the rebranded NXT by storm and we’re shown that hewas the first winner of their current title. Ambrose, however, is pushed more as the unique character and the kind of persona that no-one else would or could present. Thatcher talks about his self-assurance. Bryan puts over his in-ring work. Sapolsky says “this guy needed to be on our show, if for no other reason but to talk” and Joey Mercury quite simply says that he was “electric, captivating. The most interesting character I’d seen in 10 years.” Ambrose could have such a great future in this company.

And then there’s that elephant in the room. They go to great lengths to tell us about Roman Reigns’ background as an athlete; a football player for Georgia Tech, the Minnesota Vikings and then the CFL. Much of this taken from The Uso’s Network special, ‘10 Hours to Houston’ and kind of puts a nice Band-Aid on the fact that, of the three, Reigns is the muscle who came “from a royal blood line” and who “works incredibly hard” but who wasn’t a wrestler honing his craft around the world for years before he signed for the company. Don’t get me wrong, he just had a fantastic match with Daniel Bryan at WWE Fastlane, but he’s a different kind of WWE talent and not the kind that the hardcore fan generally warms to in the immediacy.

As a trio, we see just how hard they were pushed. They beat the brightest, the best and the legendary. They triple powerbomb The Rock, The Undertaker through the announce table and everyone and anyone who was, and is, anyone in the company. And so when they split, it’s still so evocative watching Rollins smash the chair on Reigns’ back and to watch Ambrose look in utter disbelief, mouthing “what the f***” before being waffled himself.

Watching the three men as singles brings a great deal of relevance back to the documentary. Dean winning the US Title in St Louis (as he notes, “Harley Race territory”) and Rollins and Reigns winning the tag titles which meant such a lot to Roman in emulating his father are glossed over. Watching Reigns’ dominance at Survivor Series and then as he eliminates 12 men at the Royal Rumble in 2014 sets up the documentary’s climax nicely.

Ambrose v Rollins at Summerslam is beautifully poised as we see behind the scenes video of Rollins doing cross fit training and Ambrose out in the Nevada desert shadow-boxing and running through cacti. Think Bret and Shawn before WrestleMania 12 without Bret skidding on patches of ice and without Shawn hanging out with Jose Lethario. Sort of. Meanwhile Reigns faces Randy Orton in what actually turned out to be the slightly better match.

Of course, as I type this I’m aware that all three men are about to be a potentially pivotal part in this year’s WrestleMania: Roman Reigns could be about to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship from the WWE’s toughest, Brock Lesnar. Dean Ambrose could be about to win the WWE Intercontinental Championship in a ladder match against the likes of Daniel Bryan. Seth Rollins could be about to win his match against Randy Orton and then cash in his Money in the Bank contract at an opportune moment on his former friend and partner, Roman Reigns. Even when The Shield have ‘destructed’ they’re still the most dominant force in WWE. So, what better time to release a DVD looking at their trajectory thus far. Kudos to you WWE, kudos.

WWE Superstars TV Report - 6th March 2015

2015-03-09T12:29:00.001-07:00

WWE Superstars TV Report

The Ascension beat The Prime Time Players with the Fall of Man in 4:46

It was only a matter of time. The team with the worst gimmick who have been treated like utter losers since they came up to the main roster, The Ascension, finally appeared on this show. Unfortunately, I think they might find themselves here a lot.

Read the full article here

WWE Superstars TV Report - 27th February 2015

2015-03-09T12:27:00.001-07:00

WWE Superstars TV Report

Erick Rowan beat Adam Rose with a full nelson slam in 2:46

Three weeks in a row for Adam Rose on Superstars. After last week, Rose now just tells the Rose buds to get lost at the start of his match instead of doing his trust fall.

As the bell rings, Rose rolls out of way of the advancing Rowan and then tries to chop him in the corner. Rowan smiles and no sells the chops. So Rose tries a slap to the face instead which is enough to anger Rowan and the match is immediately kick-started.

Read the full article here

WWE Superstars TV Report - 20th February 2015

2015-03-09T12:24:00.002-07:00

WWE Superstars TV Report

Fandango (w/ Rosa Mendes) beat Adam Rose with The Last Dance in 3:46

Two weeks ago on Superstars, the Rose buds ‘dropped’ Adam Rose when Rose did his trust fall from the apron on to them. He flipped out and beat them up. This week, he ordered the Rosebuds away before the match instead of doing his normal trust fall routine. And of course this all played into the finish here.

Read the full article here

WWE Superstars TV Report - 13th February 2015

2015-03-09T12:23:00.001-07:00

WWE Superstars TV Report

Rich Brennan is now on the announce team doing play-by-play with Byron Saxton on this show and this is probably about as safe a training ground that WWE has right now. The huge plus for anyone watching is that Brennan actually knows and, crucially, calls wrestling moves.

Read the full article here

WWE Superstars TV Report - January 24th 2015

2015-03-09T12:20:00.002-07:00

WWE Superstars TV Report

Naomi beat Cameron with the Rear View in 4:07

Naomi comes out first and looks stunning. It’s been 7 months or so since these two were on the same side and Tom Philips reminds us that this is “an old rivalry being made new” here. I’d say that in that time, Naomi hasn’t had the chance to really go up against some proper talent – imagine what she’d be like in NXT, for example. Cameron, for me, just hasn’t really got there yet and what they’re making her wear and do is not helping matters.

Read the full article here

WWE Royal Rumble 2015 Predictions

2015-01-25T14:57:00.002-08:00

This is really a two match card, let’s be honest. They’ve done really well to make the Lesnar- Cena match interesting by adding Seth into the mix and there are so many scenarios that you can envisage coming out of it. What I think is slightly foolish, however, is that its clear that Seth won’t win because otherwise the briefcase is useless.

The Rumble only has about two or three people who have any hope in hell of winning it but I have a soft spot, like many, for this ppv so it doesn’t matter too much. The fun is always in the surprise entrants and where the two of three likely candidates are placed in the 30.

Otherwise, the card is really weak. I had to look up the other matches here because I wasn’t entirely set on who was actually down to work. Sad really – with good ppvs that have been built up well, you can normally reel off the list of matches without too much thought. The only other match that really sticks out is The Ascension-New Age Outlaws match but only because these poor guys have been thrust into the main stream and are already being shit all over.

30-man Royal Rumble match for a WWE World Heavyweight Championship match at WrestleMania 31

Firstly, I really don’t buy any of this heavy-handed, social media teasing that The Rock will be in this match. If he’s there, I’d bet he’s just there for a quick pop but nothing more. I can’t see how he plays into any plans and if he were to win the Rumble it would really be a huge insult to all the guys who are there 24/7.

What I do think, though, is that, just like last year, the original plan stays. I say that Roman Reigns will win. If you think that the only other genuine options are Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton then I would have to say that Reigns is the one who would needs the win. The other two don’t need to win the Rumble to be in amongst the top matches at WrestleMania – you’d expect them to be there anyway. People will be clamouring for Daniel Bryan to win and it could well taint Roman Reigns’ win – Philly are likely going to boo him, unfortunately.

I hope that the Dudley Boyz rumours are true. I think that Bubba Dudley back for once last WWE run would be really good news for the company. He’s a really good character, a great worker now and would just give the roster some more strength in depth. He’s also great as either a heel or a babyface.

Bo Dallas is said to be back – nothing exciting about that, I’m afraid. We have Kofi’s spot to look forward to – I’d guess it will involve the other members of The New Day. RVD is said to be there – (see Bo Dallas) but the Philly pop may be worth it. Someone from nWo – there’s talk it will be Waltman – will be there; I’d say it’s more likely Nash looking at the shape they’re all in. Sheamus could return but I don’t see how that would help him and too many returns and surprises just makes it all a little too messy. Jericho could come in, I suppose, but we’ll see.

I see the final two as being Bray Wyatt and Roman Reigns. Reigns and Cena then tag against Wyatt and Rollins at Fast Lane.

Pick: Roman Reigns

Brock Lesnar (c) v John Cena v Seth Rollins in Triple threat match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship

There are so many ways you could go with this. Firstly, I don’t think that Seth is winning and I don’t think he’s cashing in. It feels too obvious. Obvious is Roman Reigns winning the Rumble, we don’t need obvious here as well. Clearly, Seth shouldn’t win and have title and briefcase - I mean they could do it, he’d have a get out of jail free card to carry around, but it seems pretty pointless. Cena doesn’t need to get pinned and so Brock can pin Seth.

I think that you have to remember just how strong Lesnar has been booked this year. He destroyed Undertaker and her destroyed John Cena. Whoever defeats him needs to be a super hero and I think that they see that as being Roman Reigns. So, here, I think he wins and carries the title to WrestleMania.

Should be a GREAT match. I just love anything with Brock Lesnar (although the less said about his match with Big Show – remember that?! – from last year’s Royal Rumble, the better) and Cena always delivers on ppv. Seth is another level when he’s on his game. Excited for this.

Pick: Brock Lesnar

The Usos (c) v The Miz and Damien Mizdow for the WWE Tag Team Championships

Not too interested in this. I see it that The Usos will retain but we should see the start of the dissention between their opponents. Miz and Mizdow need to go into the Rumble later where they can really start to break up. A match at Mania between them would seem to be a good idea. I actually think having made Mizdow mute for a while will help him, because Sandow is a great talker. If they want to make this split half-decent they can give him a mic and make it into a good little feud. We’ll see.

As for this match, it’ll be a typical Usos match. Lots of high flying moves at the end with a creative finish where they retain. I like The Usos but we’ve had WAY too many matches between a combination of these four in the last few months. This can surely be the blow off?

Pick: The Usos

The New Age Outlaws v The Ascension

I don’t really care. Sorry. The Ascension ought to win here. It’s a horrible gimmick and they’re just taking the piss out of them for it. It’s all a bit weird and unnecessary. They’re not that great in the ring and The New Age Outlaws are just there to plug the fact that the attitude era happened and so Michael Cole can tell you that you can go and watch it all on the Network, I guess. Cynical, me? No! Expect this to be quick.

Pick: The Ascension

So a two match show. But a two match show that has plenty of excitement and intrigue in those matches that I’m happy to pay my Network subscription and I’m genuinely excited to see the ppv.

Booking WWE WrestleMania 31

2015-01-25T11:37:00.000-08:00

Like most WWE fans, I’m preoccupied at the minute with trying to second guess how they are going to book WreslteMania this year and where they’re going given the current poor showing on Raw. But, like most years, there are some things that even by this point you already know are pretty much guaranteed.

Last year, I tried booking Mania in October. Despite Dean from @WrestlingMANIAx maintaining that I called the end of the streak, this had pretty dire results and a shockingly poor success rate. So this year, on the eve of the Royal Rumble, I’m going to try to pick a path through to WrestleMania 31.

I should note: as with all predictions, I enjoy being utterly, unreservedly wrong as much as I like being even remotely right.

But I suppose this year I am again looking at things differently. Apart from attempting to book this much closer to March than I did in 2014, I also have a vested interest because I will actually be in San Jose to watch the event, live. Therefore, as much as these are what I *think* will happen, given what I know at time of press, there’s probably a little of my subconscious that is telling me that some of this is just what I *want* to happen.

John Cena v Rusev

I think this one is the easy build. Cena comes off looking like a huge all-American hero against the Soviet threat – Rusev is one of those heels who doesn’t get ironic support or respect from the marks because his gimmick is so hateful to American fans. Lana is the key to that. Unfortunately, there’s a far less partisan crowd at Mania but I still think Cena is less likely to get booed out the building here.

What will be interesting is whether they make this about the US title. How would Rusev lose it between now at Mania? Cena going for the US title? I don’t think so…

The great thing for fans will be to see whether Cena puts over the monster heel or whether he does what he always does – and wins. Last year at Mania he should never have beaten Bray Wyatt but they just couldn’t do it. They just didn’t dare beat Cena in front of the kids. Of course, if they wanted to, Rusev has never been pinned and you could protect that and have Cena win but Rusev tap out instead, to the STF.

Sting v Triple H

Pretty much a definite, wouldn’t you think? I don’t think it will be much of a match but god knows if you’re going to have Sting work with anyone, the ring general HHH is the man for him to work with. It books itself and I have to say that WWE have done a great job with Sting so far. As long as they don’t use him too much in the run up, and keep his appearances surprises and sparse, this will at least have a great build – even if the match doesn’t live up to much.

Triple H doesn’t actually have a very strong win tally at WrestleMania so I can see him putting Sting over here, but that will all depend on how many more matches Sting feels he has in him. Being in the building for Sting’s first ever WWE match is going to be the thing that they really push but, I have to admit, doesn’t really excited me all that much.

Randy Orton v Kane in a loser leaves the company/career match

I’ve been wondering what they do with Orton when he comes back. The strong feeling is that he’s coming back as a babyface. If that’s the case you’d have to assume that they have to address his time under Authority rule and that might lead to him facing Kane. Ordinarily, I’d say that this would suck. And it still probably would. But if you look at how old Kane is (47) and think that they could work in an angle whereby Randy has to face him with something on the line that is as definitive as Kane’s career then they could deliver a really interesting match. Or at least give us something to give two hoots about.

Brock Lesnar v Roman Reigns

If you look at history with this company it generally teaches you that they change plans a lot. But what it also teaches you is that if they have a direction for WrestleMania they tend to stick to it, regardless. Last year no one wanted to see Dave Batista win the Rumble and main event WrestleMania against Randy Orton, but he did and they did. Thankfully, the company listened to what we were saying and they put Daniel Bryan in there too.

This year, the plan all along has been for Lesnar to lose the title to Roman Reigns at WrestleMania. Whether the title is still involved may change but I think the match is still going to happen. In this instance, plans won’t chance. Reigns wins the rumble. Only issue is that if Lesnar is leaving we’ll all know by March 29^th and there lies one disinterested crowd for your WrestleMania main event.

Yet what I do figure is this: if Lesnar, the conqueror of the streak, the only man who could beat the Undertaker and destroy John Cena , is going to lose then only a huge superhero can do it. They see that man as Roman Reigns. I don’t buy that Lesnar is now a babyface, I think that may be a swerve and we still get plan a) after all.

Daniel Bryan v Seth Rollins

Has anyone else seen how much media Bryan has done since his return pushing how much he’d love to fight Lesnar? I think it may be all in vain. But this would make me very happy. Not to mention a lot of others. This could be the title match, who knows. I think it could form the dénouement of a year-long Daniel Bryan v The Authority story. Seth fights for The Authority and Bryan fights to overcome his injuries and injustices for everyone else. They’d tear the house down.

Dean Ambrose v Cesaro

You could interchange Cesaro for Barratt and it would still work. After all, Barratt is the IC champion. But Ambrose and Cesaro would have a great match.

I feel sorry for Ambrose. He lead the company while people were off or out injured and cut some mighty good promos – “on no, they’ve sent out the Cruiser weight division” – but now he’s at the bottom of a recently-shuffled mid-card deck and feels like an after-thought. He shouldn’t be. But let’s face it, he wrestles in a t-shirt, is going bald under his mop of hair and isn’t conventionally attractive, so there’s only so much that Vince will allow him.

Cesaro is the greatest but they refuse to do anything with him. If the Battle Royale returns, then scrap this.

Undertaker v Bray Wyatt

I don’t think this is a) going to happen; is b) going to be very good; and c) would be a match the people would care about. But there’s some talk of it that I can’t ignore. Selfishly, I’d like to see The Undertaker wrestle. I actually think Wyatt will be the last one in ring with Reigns at the end of the Rumble but I don’t know who he’d go against this year if this one doesn’t come off. There aren’t many spare parts if you look at the above. He’s faced Cena. He’s beaten Ambrose. Orton? Bryan?

There are too many singles matches in the above: even with the addition of the preshow, WrestleMania is typically a 8-9 match card. We still don’t know if they’ll be a Battle Royale. There could of course be a celeb angle - I’d assume against The Miz/Mizdow. The Divas will get a match. And the tag titles will need to be represented – I’d hope in a turmoil or 4-way match.

All told this has the potential to be one of the worst WrestleMania’s since The Miz faced Cena but, equally, if booked right and built right, this could end up being a great show.