Unfortunately real life has taken over a bit and I've not been able to watch all of the weekly shows so I might be a bit out of the loop if it weren't for recap websites. There is surprisingly no Intercontinental Championship match booked, at least at this stage. It looks like Jason Jordan will be the contender when The Miz next defends the belt. The Hardy Boys are among other notable absentees.
Finn Balor v Bray Wyatt
Finally we're going to see the Demon King on the main roster. And the Demon King v The God should make an awesome feud. It'd suck for Balor to bring out his demon and lose, and he deserves a measure of revenge on Wyatt from Raw, so he gets the victory. This should hopefully be an awesome and creepy match. I've been looking forward to it for a month or so now.
Prediction: Balor
John Cena v Baron Corbin
Man, they have ruined the excellent build that they have given Corbin over the last 2 years by having him throw away the Money in the Bank briefcase. It was ridiculous. They might not have thought he was worthy to be champion, but they could have at least made him lose in a less embarrassing way. If they don't book it as Corbin is super angry and tears Cena to shreds here, then I will lose all faith in WWE Creative.
Prediction: Corbin
Randy Orton v Rusev
I feel sorry for Orton. They just seem to pull him in when they need a stop gap champion and give him a push so that he can then do a job for an upcoming star. Orton will always be a legitimate opponent for any competitor, but has had a meandering storyline since the Wyatt angle finished. He'll probably have a min-rivalry with Rusev which will allow him to attain the main event status that his former tag team partner, Jinder Mahal has accomplished.
Prediction: Rusev
Big Show v Big Cass (with Enzo Amore in a Shark Cage)
Big Cass seems to have got some allies in The Club now. There's no reason for the Big Show to take the victory here. He's at the end of his career and Cass is on the rise, so it makes sense to continue getting him over. I'm confused as to why Enzo is in a shark cage. Usually it's done to stop a heel interfering. I guess they've got something planned. There's no way that Cass isn't getting either a victory or disqualified. Cass and the Club would probably be a great move for both of them.
Prediction: Big Cass
Cruiserweight Championship:
Akira Tozawa (c) v Neville
A slightly confusing title change on Raw - I'd have expected them to wait for the big PPV - has thrown me off my guard. The last time something similar happened, I thought it was so that the rematch could be on the PPV and then the champion could move on to defending and feuding against someone else. I was wrong. I think this again now, though. Neville has had the spotlight of the Cruiserweight division for quite some time with the now departed Austin Aries being his main contender. They need to elevate a couple of other competitors, even if Tozawa defeats them easily. They need a few more cruiserweight stars. So therefore Tozawa wins and goes on to defend against the likes of TJP and Tony Nese.
Prediction: Tozawa
Raw Tag Team Championship:
Cesaro and Sheamus (c) v Ambrose and Rollins
I'm a bit disappointed I missed this week's Raw. The build up to the Ambrose and Rollins tag team partnership has been quite a well worked story over the last month. Predictable, at times, but well worked. It doesn't feel like a rush job. It feels smooth and it feels like the right time. Both of these guys have been sort of ambling around the midcard for a while without any direction. This will give them a focus. Usually a tag team wouldn't get the belts or even a victory in their first match together, but as they have history and should already have chemistry then I can see them getting the win here, potentially. There's also the possibility that Sheamus and Cesaro could screw them in some way which would allow them to continue to build on the storyline but my gut says that this will be the first match on and that the former Shield brothers will get the win to set the night off with a big pop.
Prediction: Ambrose and Rollins.
Smackdown Tag Team Championship:
The New Day (c) v The Usos
After the Usos beat Woods and Kingston on Smackdown, I assume that the New Day draft in Big E for this match and retain. It seems like odd booking, though. Unless this is going to lead to whichever member of the team that lost on Tuesday to start to feel like the weak link and attempt to prove themselves. I assume that the New Day retain here, in what will likely be a good match. But the storyline is confusing.
Prediction: The New Day
US Championship:
AJ Styles (c) v Kevin Owens with Shane McMahon as Special Guest Referee
These guys are three of my favourite performers and out of the whole card, I'm most excited about this match. I can only see two reasons for Shane-O-Mac to be the guest referee. The first is that Owens thinks he screws him and they get into a feud, potentially leading to a match at Survivor Series. The second is that Shane turns heel. I think this is probably more likely. All the GM/commissioners on TV at the moment are face, so it might make an interesting change to have a heel in charge again. It would certainly mix things up a bit and it wouldn't be out of character for Shane as ref to screw someone, as has been pointed out in recent weeks.
Prediction: Owens
Smackdown Women's Title:
Naomi (c) v Natalya
I'm not really sure it matters who wins here, as Ellsworth has teased that Carmella is going to cash in her money in the bank contract. It seems that they want to get both out of the way in the space of a week so they don't need to worry about how to book with them hanging in the background. It seems like a silly thing to do, really, especially as Corbin's shot was completely wasted. I can't imagine they'll have another unsuccessful cash in, so Carmella will likely be the champion coming out of the event. I think that would be the right call. She has been the better entertainer out of the three of these competitors, and will make the title more interesting. I obviously need to pick a winner, so I think maybe it will be Naomi. This is mainly based on the fact that if Natalya loses, she has an incentive to continue beating down Naomi with Carmella to give the Queen of Staten Island an easy victory.
Prediction: Naomi, with Carmella successfully cashing in MITB after.
Raw Women's Title:
Alexa Bliss (c) v Sasha Banks
With Bayley being injured, Sasha has stepped up to be the top face on Raw. There are really no other faces at her level, or even in the same ballpark so she's going to be holding the division together for a while. It makes sense for her to get the belt here, as the division can run on a Banks/Bliss/Jax feud for a while until Bayley returns or someone else gets elevated.
Prediction; Banks
WWE Championship:
Jinder Mahal (c) v Shinsuke Nakamura
Whoever wins here is safe from a Corbin cash in. I have enjoyed Mahal as a champion. I've felt sorry for him really, as his heat has been based on xenophobia when he is really just a proud Indian. The exact same character played by an American would be a huge face. Sometimes the WWE does uncomfortable booking. Whilst I like Mahal as champ, I know that many others haven't. And those that haven't would definitely like Nakamura as champion. Despite coming to the WWE earlier than AJ Styles, Nakamura has lagged behind him in terms of accomplishments. I think he gets the rub here. I hope he does. I love the guy. However, it is important that Mahal doesn't just disappear as it would entirely devalue his title reign.
Prediction: Nakamura
WWE Universal Championship:
Brock Lesnar (c) v Roman Reigns v Braun Strowman v Samoa Joe
I think that this has been booked as a fatal 4-way to make it easier and/or more believable that Lesnar drops the belt. There's rumours that he's going to be back for a one-off fight in UFC at some point and this would be a good way for him to drop the belt to another contender and still appear strong as he doesn't need to eat a pinfall. He has a built in get out clause in that Heyman has said that they are both leaving WWE if he doesn't retain the belt. It's all set up for a title switch. That could be the perfect reason for them not to do it. Apparently Brock's contract lasts through to around Wrestlemania next year. Maybe he is sticking around. Either way, I'm bored of Brock as champ, so I'm saying he drops it. Joe is a bit too new to the main roster to get the belt, I think, and no-one wants it on Reigns. If Strowman doesn't get it in the next year or so then his build will start to stall, so I think he takes it here.
Prediction: Strowman
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