Previewing The Money In The Bank 2017 Men's Ladder Match

Whether the WWE puts the men's briefcase match in the main-event slot or Orton/Mahal, this is the main match of Money In The Bank. It features two guys that were WWE/Universal Champions just a few months ago. It features guys that may very well be on their way up to main-event status. AJ Styles vs. Kevin Owens vs. Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Baron Corbin vs. Sami Zayn vs. Dolph Ziggler.

AJ Styles has already been WWE Champion. But there is more for him to do in the WWE. Will he one day win the Royal Rumble? How about that United States Championship he was going after a few weeks ago? Right now, he has the chance to win the briefcase, which is certainly a pretty big accolade. Some might say he does not need the briefcase to chase after the title because he has already been WWE Champion. That didn't stop John Cena, Kane, Sheamus, and other former World Champions from winning the briefcase. AJ Styles definitely stands a chance.

Kevin Owens has had more title success in the WWE than AJ Styles. He is holding a title right now. He has never won the briefcase. Would the WWE let him hold a title and the briefcase? It could happen. But I just don't think he needs it at all. He was Universal Champion just a few months ago. He won the United States Championship shortly after that. He lost it and won it back. There is no need to always keep this guy in the title scene.

Shinsuke Nakamura just debuted a few months ago to a lot of hype. His debut match was not as great as some would have liked. But he is finding his place. One thing I hate about the WWE these days is that they just rush certain people. They don't give them a proper chance to get established and they do not work out. American Alpha is an example of that. They just handled them the wrong way when they first debuted, killed their push for a while, still gave them a title run, and they have not been featured that well since losing the titles. Go slow with these new guys. Help establish their characters. Pro wrestling should be more about entertaining, not overrating. Will giving Nakamura the briefcase be going too fast with him? Well, it isn't like he will have to cash in immediately. They would still have time to build him, while he holds the briefcase.

I see a lot of people thinking Baron Corbin is a favorite to win. I think that would be a terrible idea. This guy is a midcarder. He is a midcarder that deserves a good push in the midcard, including a midcard title. The problem with giving him the briefcase, and possibly the title, is that they would be rushing too many first-time World Champions. Jinder Mahal just became a first-time WWE Champion a few weeks ago. Nakamura will eventually be a World Champion on the main roster. You are going to end up with main-eventers all over the card. That means less good opportunities for the pure midcarders. And because it often looks pathetic to have a former World Champion hanging around with nothing to do, the WWE will have pressure to give these guys things to do. The WWE needs to slow down on giving titles to new guys and be more selective.

I can repeat a lot of what I just said now for Sami Zayn. He does not need the briefcase and a big main-event push. Give him a midcard title. Worry about a main-event title next year and beyond.

Dolph Ziggler has been a World Champion before and he has won the briefcase before. I would say he is least likely to win here, but at least giving him the push would not be creating a new World Champion. He already has some credibility. Maybe if his storyline about him being a loser had worked out better, this would be the point where they turn things around and started pushing him well again. But I don't think it would be right to do it now.

I will say Shinsuke Nakamura wins. He is not the person I would want to win, but the WWE does have that recent history of rushing people, so I would not be surprised to see him get the briefcase this quickly and eventually cash it in down the road.

One last thing to consider, will the winner of the ladder match cash in that same night? Why bring this up? The card is so thin, the WWE might try something special to take up space. The ladder match would obviously not close the show in this situation. But I don't think it will happen. The WWE will wait a while.

Previewing The Fastlane 2017 Undercard Matches

The Raw Tag Team Championships will be decided between Anderson & Gallows and Enzo & Cass. Enzo & Cass deserve an eventual title win. Last year might have been a good time for it, but New Day happened. Anderson & Gallows just won the titles not too long ago, however, so they should win here. Build up the feud to make the eventual title change mean something more.

Neville defends the Cruiserweight Championship against Jack Gallagher. This is another title where they have just been tossing it around in recent months. I will say Neville manages to hold onto it for a little longer.

Samoa Joe faces Sami Zayn. This is obviously not the first feud the WWE would have liked for Samoa Joe on the main roster. He had a feud with Seth Rollins right in front of him. That would have been a bigger deal than this feud with Sami Zayn. No offense to Sami Zayn. These two can put on a great match, unless the WWE just wants to sell Samoa Joe as a destroyer and have him wreck Zayn. Either way, Joe is going to look strong. I will say he wins.

The feud between Roman Reigns and Braun Strowman is the top Raw feud outside of the Universal Championship feud. Some might say it has been treated even better than that feud. The contract signing for this match closed Raw this week, the last Raw before Fastlane. And it's not like this is football season, where they sometimes do some questionable booking. They could have ended the show with an angle to hype Goldberg/Owens. Even Seth Rollins could have closed Raw. There was a nice brawl between Reigns and Strowman that saw a bit of destruction, but I don't think that meant the segment had to go on last.

It seems like it is a sign that Reigns is still the centerpiece. John Cena frequently went on last even when he was not involved with the main title matters, and sometimes at the expense of CM Punk. But I don't think the WWE should be doing this with Reigns right now. His push has obviously hit multiple snags. Even Cena's rise to the top was smoother than what has been going on with Reigns. I would keep him in the midcard, especially when he is only feuding with Braun Strowman. Wait until he has a bigger feud, like what might be coming for Wrestlemania.

Some fans are dreading that Braun Strowman will lose to Reigns and get buried. They point to Rusev, who has lost to the likes of Cena and Reigns and suffered depushes after. He has now been stuck with Jinder Mahal, a fate worse than being fired. Some guys only get great pushes because they are being built to put someone else over. And after that push, they typically will get some kind of depush. It is just the way things are. It happens all the time in the women's division. It is one of the reasons most female wrestlers did not become very over in the diva era. Once they were done being pushed to serve whatever purpose, they got depushed and lost their momentum. There is more space for men to be featured, so don't cry too much for a depush that Strowman will eventually be getting one day. He can at least get something to do elsewhere.

Who wins this match? Let it be Reigns. If Strowman gets this big win, where would he go after? Would he be the one feuding against The Undertaker? Will he be added to Lesnar vs. Goldberg? Does he have any great possibilities? If not, what's the point in giving him this kind of win? He would have all that momentum and nothing to do with it. Let Strowman just be a jobber to the stars in this feud. If there was a good storyline reason for Reigns losing, then I would say he would lose. I just can't picture it. Reigns wins.

Previewing The Roadblock: End Of The Line Midcard Matches

Can Sami Zayn survive 10 minutes against Braun Strowman? If nothing else, this feud has taken an interesting turn. How often do you get a match like this? But how good will the match really be? Will it just be Sami Zayn trying to avoid Strowman for most of the match? Will he actually take the fight to the big guy? Zayn will obviously have some kind of impressive showing. And even if he lasts 10 minutes, Strowman does not necessarily have to take a pinfall loss. Or will Zayn look weak and eventually end up on Smackdown? That is another issue, but I will say he does survive this Sunday.

There has been an interesting story playing out with Rusev, Lana, Enzo, and Cass. This Sunday, it is Cass facing Rusev. This feud won't end that easily. And this just seems like a feud where the faces should come out on top. Until then, however, Rusev should look strong. He should be beating Cass at Roadblock: End of the Line.

The Cruiserweight Championship will be on the line. Rich Swann defends against Brian Kendrick and TJ Perkins, the only other two people to have held the new title. I have said before that I don't think Rich Swann is really a long-term Champion. The WWE has not put proper work into him. But does the title go back to Kendrick or Perkins? I say Kendrick wins it back.

New Day have their record. Does that mean the reign of terror ends? Cesaro & Sheamus will get another shot at the titles this Sunday. On one hand, New Day really does not need the titles anymore. On the other hand, Cesaro & Sheamus don't feel like they really deserve it right now. Cesaro has held a title or accolade every year he has been on the main roster. He won the United States Championship in 2012 and held it into 2013. He won the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal in 2014. He won the tag titles in 2015. Will 2016 be a dead year for him, as far as titles and accolades go? And Sheamus is Sheamus. The WWE loves giving him title pushes you would not think he actually deserves. I will say these two win the titles.

Survivor Series 2016 Preview: Part 3

I'll start with the Survivor Series elimination match featuring the tag division. A whole lot of bodies will be in this match. It might turn into a spotfest. I don't expect this to be match of the night. I'll say Smackdown's team wins this one.

I previewed the Intercontinental Championship match already, but there has been a change. Miz regained the title on Smackdown this week, so he will face Sami Zayn at Survivor Series. That is some really crappy booking. I did not even expect them to pull this. They better have a very good reason, like Ziggler has some injury, is suspended, or something like that. Yes, it is unfair to Dolph Ziggler. He just had his big moment of 2016 and it ended up being not much more than a moment, much like what happened with Daniel Bryan years ago. But it's more than that. Ziggler was the one that got this whole angle going, in terms of kayfabe. To take him out of this match like this is just terrible. And from the standpoint of match quality, I was expecting Ziggler vs. Zayn to possibly steal the show. Miz might still have a good match with Zayn, but not as good as Ziggler would have had with Zayn. I will stick with my previous prediction of Zayn winning the title.

Onto the elimination tag match that really matters. Team Smackdown will be represented by AJ Styles, Dean Ambrose, Randy Orton, Bray Wyatt, and Shane McMahon. Team Raw will be represented by Kevin Owens, Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, Chris Jericho, and Braun Strowman. This is the match with all the top stars. And it also features a lot of infighting. AJ Styles and Dean Ambrose have obviously been feuding. Randy Orton and Bray Wyatt have been playing mind games with each other for months. Kevin Owens has issues with a few guys on his team. You've been seeing these guys attacking each other in recent weeks, then being forced to tag with each other. This dysfunctional booking has just not been that entertaining and takes away from the overall Raw vs. Smackdown story. The WWE should be glad they have Lesnar vs. Goldberg to lean on. Without that match, I don't think this Survivor Series would be good enough to draw subscriptions. I am not saying a little tension is bad in this situation, but the WWE has just handled things in a completely dysfunctional way that is not that great.

Which team wins? It is a shame nothing is on the line. We know which team The Undertaker wants to win. And I'll say Team Smackdown does win and wins the brand "war" for 2016. Kalisto and Sami Zayn winning their respective title matches will give Raw and Smackdown each one win. The women's elimination tag match will go to Raw. The tag division elimination tag match will go to Smackdown. And this match here will decide the overall victorious brand. Again, I'll go with Smackdown.

Survivor Series 2016 Preview: Part 1

With the exception of Goldberg vs. Lesnar, Survivor Series is all about Raw vs. Smackdown. The multi-person tag matches revolve around that theme. Even the two title matches revolve around that theme. I will talk about those two title matches today. I will also get into a side effect of this Raw vs. Smackdown theme.

With all this inter-brand fighting that is supposed to be happening, that has impacted the feuds going on for each brand. Or has it? You have still seen those issues the last few weeks. In a lot of cases, people on the same team have been fighting each other these last few weeks. These personal issues will obviously boil over at Survivor Series, but it seems to be a bigger issue at times than the actual Raw vs. Smackdown rivalry.

I do not like what is going on. Of course, it is somewhat unavoidable. The Raw and Smackdown superstars have not been appearing on both brands to help push these matches properly. So what are you supposed to do to kill time? If all these wrestlers acted like they really were on the same page as their team members, would there even be any matches? Certainly not many.

It just makes it hard to buy into the Raw vs. Smackdown rivalry. Both brands just look dysfunctional. Dysfunctional behavior was one of the irritating things about The Authority. They just looked terrible and hard to get into with how there would be this inconsistent unofficial feud within the group. Hopefully, this will just end this Sunday and everyone can move on.

What is something the WWE could have done to keep things fresh while still protecting what the common goal of these teams should be? Aside from having some guys from the other brand show up for singles matches or traditional 2-on-2 tag matches, they could have done some feuds exclusive to just Raw and Smackdown. Have some feuds that don't revolve around Raw vs. Smackdown. I am not talking about Lesnar vs. Goldberg. Those two part-timers aren't going to help since they don't wrestle on Raw. And I am not talking about lower-midcard filler with the likes of Bo Dallas. I mean meaningful feuds that would lead to a match at Survivor Series. The focus of these feuds would be clear. There would still be some infighting with some of these teams, but it wouldn't permeate the shows like I feel it has.

Onto the matches. Brian Kendrick defends the Cruiserweight Championship against Kalisto and Dolph Ziggler defends the Intercontinental Championship against Sami Zayn. Not only can titles change hands, they can change brands.

If one title changes hands, it just seems obvious that the other will change hands. I cannot imagine Smackdown ending up with two titles. They don't have space for it. They also are getting all those cruiserweights. Moreover, that just leaves Raw at a huge disadvantage. The whole point of having the cruiserweight division on Raw is that they had that extra hour they needed to fill. The cruiserweight division just made it easier, although they were doing okay in the few weeks prior to the division being born. I also cannot see Raw ending up with two titles. That would be unfair to Smackdown.

The titles will either stay where they are or switch shows. I think there is a good chance the switch happens. People have been talking about unifying certain titles. I will talk about that if the titles actually switch brands and Raw ends up with the two midcard singles titles. Until then, Zayn wins the Intercontinental Championship and Kalisto wins the Cruiserweight Championship.

Brian Kendrick Vs. Kalisto For The Cruiserweight Championship At Survivor Series

Ziggler/Zayn won't be the only inter-brand match for a title at Survivor Series. Brian Kendrick will defend his Cruiserweight Championship against Smackdown's Kalisto. To sweeten the pot, if Kalisto wins, the division goes over to Smackdown.

There is a very real chance this move can happen. Tuesday is becoming a cruiserweight night. It would help if the cruiserweights were on Smackdown. I don't like how these guys in this division are treated like they are chained to it, but that's another issue. It is still a big shake up.

If this title changes shows, I think there is a good chance the Intercontinental Championship changes shows to balance things out. Sami Zayn can win it and actually take it to Raw, instead of coming over to Smackdown. There is still some time to see how things progress and to put more speculation into all the possibilities. I would say the WWE has created an intriguing situation here.

Sami Zayn Gets The Shot At Dolph Ziggler At Survivor Series

The WWE is running an angle where Dolph Ziggler would defend his Intercontinental title against someone on Raw at Survivor Series. They settled it on Raw this week. Sami Zayn beat Rusev to get the title shot. I already talked about whether Rusev should get this push, so I won't talk about that again. Let me look at some other issues.

First, it is kind of lackluster to announce an open challenge and not really make it a surprise by having someone answer the call at Survivor Series. Regardless of whether it was Zayn, Rusev, or someone else, the WWE could have just had that person show up at Survivor Series. Build up some hype on which Raw superstar it would be. The way the WWE handled things, there is no surprise value in this angle anymore.

How about the decision to give Sami Zayn this push? Not a bad idea. He has been lost in the shuffle for a while, lacking a clear direction. He beat Kevin Owens and ended up like this. Pretty sad. I think he needs this push now more than Rusev does.

Is this a way to get Sami Zayn over to Smackdown, where he is likely to be used better? With the cruiserweights on Raw, that means just less time for certain people. Zayn might get a better chance to be featured well on Smackdown, where they still rely on tag teams that were relevant decades ago and chinless jobbers to fill out their roster.

On the other side of that, this match could just be fan service for wrestling fans. Sami Zayn and Dolph Ziggler are two guys capable of putting on the match of the night. Some people consider one of the matches Zayn and Owens had this year to be match of the year. Ziggler arguably had a match of the year with Daniel Bryan a few years ago. Zayn and Ziggler could steal the show at Survivor Series.

Let me go back to the point I made about keeping this open challenge a surprise until Survivor Series. Combine that with Sami Zayn being lost in the shuffle on Raw. They could have turned that into an angle. Let Zayn get frustrated at losing or being left off cards. The WWE would obviously be telegraphing who the "surprise" challenger would be, but there would be a story there that would culminate at Survivor Series. The way they handled things, the story isn't as great.

Previewing The Hell In A Cell 2016 Undercard

Enzo & Cass take on Gallows & Anderson. If the WWE had made a smart booking decision months ago, Gallows & Anderson would have won the tag titles back when they looked like they deserved it. This match would then be for the tag titles and Enzo & Cass would finally win some gold. Instead, this is just a filler match. Enzo & Cass are a popular team that should be winning more big matches than they have been. I would say they win here.

Speaking of the tag titles, New Day defend against Cesaro and Sheamus. This comes down to whether this Cesaro/Sheamus angle has really gotten hot. If it has, those two have a better chance of being booked to win the titles. If it has not, New Day continues to hold the tag titles hostage and every record known to mankind will fall at their feet. Cesaro and Sheamus have not looked that interesting. They will likely lose here. And what will the payoff of this storyline end up being? It might just end up being a feud the WWE tried too hard with.

TJ Perkins defends the Cruiserweight Championship against Brian Kendrick. This feud has been rather enjoyable. I might usually say that the WWE needs to stop taking advantage of real-life drama for storylines. But Kendrick acting like this is his last chance in the WWE and that he needs to win the title has led to a good midcard feud. I think he should win it. If he loses, I can imagine a face turn, but does that really seem necessary? Keep him heel and give him the title.

Even though it has not been made official, I can imagine Sami Zayn vs. Braun Strowman getting put somewhere on Sunday. I doubt Sami is being pushed to overcome Strowman. If this match happens, Strowman wins.

For a match that is supposed to be one of the main events of Hell in a Cell, Roman Reigns vs. Rusev is least likely to close the show. But you can never tell in this era. Roman Reigns just won the title a few weeks ago. Has the WWE gotten what they wanted out of this title reign for Reigns? And if Rusev does regain the title, it will likely be by some shenanigans. I can't imagine Reigns losing cleanly here. Will Lana get involved? I can't really see Rusev winning. The WWE might have someone else interfere to screw Reigns, which would then mean Reigns can move on to feuding with that person and the feud with Rusev would not have to drag on. But I don't see anyone on the horizon that would want to interfere to screw Reigns that he could feud with after Hell in a Cell. I'll say he retains.

Previewing The Clash Of Champions 2016 Undercard Matches

There was a time for a while in the WWE where they just did a poor job building up their PPV cards. They would just put most of their focus on a handful of major matches. Everything else got mediocre development. You would even see random filler matches on these PPVs. The WWE then improved themselves a little bit. But it looks like they might be going back to their old ways with the brand split back. I can hardly believe Clash of Champions is already here, but it is.

Chris Jericho faces Sami Zayn. This is a feud they just threw together in recent weeks. You can say that the injury to Finn Balor shook things up. Chris Jericho cannot continue his tag-team run with Kevin Owens in the manner the WWE might have wanted to. Owens has Seth Rollins, so Jericho is left with Sami Zayn, who had been without direction for a few weeks before that. But this is a feud for Sami Zayn to win. Jericho doesn't need this win. Yes, I said the same kind of thing before Summerslam, where Jericho and Owens beat Enzo & Cass, but I am sure that feud would have continued to give the face team the win later on. I do not think Zayn/Jericho should be an extended feud, so let Zayn win here and move on.

Sheamus vs. Cesaro has been flavored filler. These guys will have the grand finale of their "Best of Seven" series at Clash of Champions. The winner gets a title shot, but it has still been a long feud. Even wrestling fans have been giving this feud mixed reviews. Some love it because these guys can go in the ring. Others hate it because of how stale it is. And I just hate the booking of these matches. Sheamus won 3 straight. The odds were against Cesaro. There was even an injury angle involved. And Cesaro bounces back to win 3 straight. Is Cesaro going to come out to John Cena's theme song this Sunday? The Swiss Cena probably should. That's how this feud is making him look, especially if he wins. I think Sheamus should win this just so he doesn't look pathetic. But I will say the WWE will have Cesaro win.

New Day vs. Anderson & Gallows is another feud that has been going on for a long time. The issue with this feud isn't really staleness. It is just terrible segments and the WWE not knowing what to do with Anderson & Gallows. Are they destructive monsters? Or are they comedians? Destructive monsters that moonlight as comedians? Whatever it is, it hasn't worked out very well. I have talked about them and this feud a lot in recent weeks. The WWE missed their chance to put the titles on these heels when the timing was better. But they will probably win it here. If Jericho/Owens was still a force in the tag division, I would say have New Day retain this Sunday and lose the titles to them. Not going to happen. No other great heel teams on the horizon. Give the titles to Anderson and Gallows. 

The Cruiserweight Championship will be defended at Clash of Champions. TJ Perkins defends against Brian Kendrick. And this just feels like something thrown together. Yes, there was hype for the cruiserweights for months, but this actual match just popped up the week before the PPV. People criticize the WWE for how they handled the debut of the division on Raw this week. Where's TJ Perkins? Where are all the other guys that will be in the division? Where is proper development for the guys that were there? It is like the WWE just tossed them out there to be wrestlers and is not putting in the work to make them stars. The WWE is obviously not planning to sell the PPV on this feud, but the cruiserweight division could have gotten off to a better start. As for the winner of this match, TJ Perkins. Why would they have him lose the title so soon after getting it?

Roman Reigns vs. Rusev for the United States Championship is the only undercard match to get great development. That is because it involves Roman Reigns. This match could be considered one of the top matches for Clash of Champions. It has gotten some main-event focus on Raw. I could have talked about it Friday. But I'll just talk about it here. The only flaw in the development of this feud was Rusev taking some time off. He just got married to Lana a few weeks ago, so I am not going to criticize him for taking time off. I am just saying that there was some time where the feud kind of got lost in the shuffle. That left time for Roman Reigns to be involved in the drama over the Universal Championship. Maybe that added a little to the feud. Rusev ran out last week to screw Roman Reigns out of a match that would have given him another shot at the Universal Championship. Overall, one of the better feuds on the card this Sunday.

Who wins? Rusev seems to have momentum. He attacked Roman Reigns after that cage match this week on Raw. Rollins ran out for the save, mostly to also take out Kevin Owens, not save Roman Reigns. The only way I can picture Reigns losing this match is so he can get involved with Kevin Owens for the Universal Championship after Clash of Champions. A main-eventer like Roman Reigns does not necessarily need a midcard title. He's not at that stage of his career that John Cena was when he won the United States Championship twice last year. And Reigns doesn't feel like one of those former World Champions that gets demoted back to the midcard to win titles there, like Miz. I know it looked like he would get demoted after his suspension and getting pinned cleanly a few times, but the WWE seems to be back to pushing him as a major player. If he does lose to Rusev, it won't be cleanly. And it would have to be in a way that still ends the feud to free him up to face Owens, if they want to go in that direction. I will just say Reigns wins this Sunday.

Previewing The Battleground 2016 Undercard

Recently, the WWE has shown that they will go with certain things that wrestling fans might appreciate, but the general audience may not be able to. For the most part, I don't think they should do that. The feud between Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn is a rare exception I am willing to make. They just have a heated rivalry and a chemistry. You pretty much have to add another chapter to their story on the main roster. The brawls and interactions can get that general audience interested.

Problem is, this match for Battleground seems like a disappointment. I said that Natalya vs. Becky Lynch might have deserved some kind of stipulation, and I will say the same thing for Owens vs. Zayn. How can it not have a stipulation? They are treating this like it is the final battle between the two. It won't be, but how can you not add to the match to make it feel like a bigger deal? Last Man Standing? I Quit? You don't need the Extreme Rules PPV to have these matches. As for the winner, I feel this can go either way, but I will say Sami Zayn.

The brand split may have messed up The Wyatts. Nevertheless, they still have New Day at Battleground. Tag titles are not on the line. People complained last year when the WWE did not have Nikki Bella defend the title at some PPVs, saying they just wanted to have her walk her way to the record for longest run with the Diva's Championship. I don't see anyone complaining about New Day not having to defend the titles here. I'm sure they are out there, I just don't see them. As for this feud, I think it has been rather disappointing so far. There is a storyline with some potential. But the fact that the tag titles are wasted here and the WWE arguably failed to beat TNA at their own game with that segment recently just hurts my interest in it. It annoys me more than it entertains me. Bray Wyatt needs wins more at this point than New Day, especially when their tag titles are not on the line. Wyatts win.

Darren Young gets a title shot against The Miz. These two were drafted to different shows. It seems this feud will end at Battleground. You might say that Miz obviously retains to keep the Intercontinental Championship on Smackdown, but the WWE could have Darren Young and Zack Ryder win their respective matches, switching what shows the United States and Intercontinental Championships are on. Not likely. Miz retains, but what happens to Darren's push after? I am not going to say he started at the top, but this push pretty much started as high as anyone would have expected him to go. Will he be pushed properly in the midcard? Or become a jobber? That would be a waste of Bob Backlund. Will Backlund even last the year in the WWE?

Rusev defends the United States Championship against Zack Ryder. I already said it is unlikely the two midcard titles switch shows by having two lower-midcarders win them on the same night. And Ryder won't beat Rusev just to bring the title over to Smackdown. I can picture Ryder losing this and going back after The Miz and the Intercontinental Championship.

John Cena and Enzo & Cass vs. The Club. AJ Styles will not have his buddies much longer due to the draft. But this match will still happen. Either Anderson and Gallows will likely eat the pin in this match. Face team wins.

What happens to the feud between Cena and Styles after that? Now the playing field is cleared up. Enzo & Cass are not on Smackdown with Cena and Styles. Anderson and Gallows aren't there, either. It will just be Cena vs. Styles. That might make Summerslam their final encounter.

Money In The Bank 2016

Six men are already in this year's Money in the Bank ladder match. Dean Ambrose, Cesaro, Sami Zayn, Chris Jericho, Kevin Owens, and Alberto Del Rio are all in the match. Why not do an early preview?

I see a lot of fans talking like Kevin Owens wins this. I don't see why he should. Of course, it is not unusual for someone that you would not expect to win the briefcase to end up winning it. Did Sheamus really deserve it last year? Kevin Owens can win it and continue his singles feud with Sami Zayn.

Chris Jericho was in the first Money in the Bank ladder match. He has never won one. Even though he is a part-timer, would having him win be so terrible? Imagine him winning it, taking a few months off, then returning out of nowhere to successfully cash in. I'm not saying it will work out like that, but it would be a fun idea.

Alberto Del Rio has won the briefcase before. He wouldn't be the first guy to win it twice, but I do not see him winning this.

How about Cesaro? Wrestling fans love the guy and would love to see him get pushed. Sadly, he was not able to get the Intercontinental Championship from The Miz. Having him win Money in the Bank would be huge for him. I think he is as likely as Kevin Owens to win it.

What can I say about Sami Zayn? He is the newest guy on the roster of the six men here. That is why I doubt he wins. He has his feud with Kevin Owens. He can win a midcard title after that. No need to give him this big of a push at all by having him win the briefcase.

Of the six men in this match so far, Dean Ambrose just seems like the best option. Fans are always eager to see that Shield triple threat. You can have it very easily right now. Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins are feuding for the title. That feud can last a few months. Let Dean Ambrose win the briefcase and eventually insert himself into this feud. I think Ambrose deserves it. And if it can add to the current title feud in a way fans actually want to see, why not?

Previewing The Extreme Rules 2016 Undercard Title Matches

New Day defend the tag titles against The Vaudevillains. I have said before that New Day should have lost the titles already to other teams that had the momentum. I do not think they should lose it here. The Vaudevillains don't look like they are ready. Have New Day retain here and eventually drop it to Anderson & Gallows to give The Club some credibility. 

Kalisto defends the United States Championship against Rusev. Rusev looks monstrous again. They are even running an injury angle with Kalisto. Or is he really hurt? Can't even tell these days. Are they doing all this to make Rusev look dominant and give Kalisto a bit of an excuse when he loses the title? Or is this just to stack the odds against Kalisto so he can overcome them? Speaking of overcoming the odds, I see some fans dreading that the only reason Rusev looks strong again and might win the title is to drop it to Cena when he returns. That doesn't really make sense to me. Cena does not need a title to be pushed well. Beyond that, Alberto Del Rio was the guy that beat Cena cleanly for the title last year and retained it again against Cena prior to Cena's injury. Wouldn't it make more sense to give the title back to Alberto Del Rio so he can drop it to Cena, if the plan is for another United States Championship run for Cena? In any case, I will say Rusev wins the title at Extreme Rules.

The Intercontinental Championship will be decided in a fatal fourway. Miz defends against Cesaro, Kevin Owens, and Sami Zayn. Cesaro just felt like he had the momentum when he returned last month. It felt like he would eventually win the title from Miz. Inserting Owens and Zayn certainly confuses things. These two could have had their own gimmick match at Extreme Rules. Make it a Last Man Standing match, or something like that. Owens and Zayn do have that history together. Leave the title to be decided between Miz and Cesaro, where Cesaro would win it. The WWE can still have Cesaro win it, then feud with Miz, while Owens and Zayn go back to killing each other, but I think a lot of Cesaro's momentum is hurt. I will say Miz retains.

No title is on the line, but I want to talk about Chris Jericho vs. Dean Ambrose. This is an Asylum match. WWE must like Dean Ambrose a lot to let him have his own match. He might just be the new Mick Foley. Foley got a few runs with the WWE Championship, but he was never the centerpiece. That will be the story with Ambrose. He will eventually win the WWE Championship, but he will not take the true top spot. Until any of that happens, he has Chris Jericho. They have been murdering the other guy's favorite inanimate object. Might as well try to murder each other in an extreme environment. Logic might say that Ambrose wins this match since it is his match, but he seems to have too much of the momentum. I can see Jericho winning this to make the rivalry more interesting and extending it.

Two New Champions At Wrestlemania 2016

Zack Ryder won the ladder match to become the Intercontinental Champion. Who saw that coming a month ago? Ryder wasn't even featured on the main roster back then. To state the obvious, his push came out of nowhere. He is a popular guy. This is his second run with a singles title, his first coming off a fan uproar twisting the WWE's arm a bit. Nevertheless, the WWE did not give him a legitimate push and his run with the United States Championship was short. How will this current push go? It is a possibility he is just a transitional Champion. Some fans wouldn't be surprised if he lost it tonight on Raw. Regardless, Zack Ryder got a Wrestlemania moment.

What does this mean for Kevin Owens, the former Champion? It looked like he had a feud going with Sami Zayn. Assuming the WWE doesn't shoot the title back to Owens, this is now a non-title feud, if the WWE even cares to continue it. I don't like that. The WWE has not always been good with non-title feuds for midcarders. And these two are midcarders. These two could have had a great rivalry. Even before Zayn officially debuted on the main roster, this was a feud that had been given a few moments here and there on the main roster. A lot of times, the WWE just continues something from NXT without proper development. It is hard for a lot of casual fans to connect with that. But this is a feud that looked like it could have been something good. With the title momentarily out of the picture, I am not too confident in how it will go.

The other title to change hands is the WWE Championship. Roman Reigns did it. A lot of fans expected it. A lot of fans did not want it. It was also the main event of the show. It wasn't the greatest match. Fans in attendance, as expected, did not like Roman Reigns too much. In the end, I am glad the WWE actually did it. Some of these fans are just not giving the WWE a chance to build stars to draw in other types of fans. Not everything the WWE does is meant to appeal to one type of vocal fans. If Daniel Bryan was still around, or someone as hot as he was, then I would side with fans complaining about Roman Reigns being pushed ahead of the other guy. No one is that hot. That being the case, let the WWE build some new stars.

Of course, I do think the WWE shot themselves in the foot last night. They made a few mistakes that made things worse. First, why did they make this the main event? Shane McMahon lost to The Undertaker, but that match was huge. Not only was so much on the line, but it featured some big spots and carnage. Match of the night will probably go to the divas, but the Hell in a Cell match should have closed the show. Second mistake, why did they drag Wrestlemania on like they did? The show did not end when WWE PPVs typically end. They had The Rock go out there and kill time, including involvement from The Wyatts and John Cena. I know they had to do something with these guys, but I am sure some fans were getting antsy with how long everything was taking. Finally, the match itself was longer than it really needed to be. The WWE should not expose Roman Reigns like that. Spearing Stephanie got him cheered for a while, but he did not win fans over. Some fans were probably just happy the match ended, even if Reigns won. The WWE just should have managed the card better.

Previewing Wrestlemania 2016: The Undercard

The Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal has never led to a serious push for either of the first two winners. Big Show, last year's winner, certainly already has his career made. He's going to be in the WWE Hall of Fame. Cesaro, the first winner, has had his career go up and down. He has gotten a number of titles and accolades in between depushes. I know about the rumors about Braun Strowman winning and getting a big push later on. Since that might hinge on what the WWE does with Roman Reigns and injury issues, I am not picking him to win. I could imagine someone in The Social Outcasts winning. Would that be an insult to Andre? A jobber winning this? Well, is putting this match on the pre-show insulting? The WWE might do some funny things with someone from the group winning. And I do not think anyone else currently in the match can really benefit from this. I'll go with Heath Slater.

The Dudley Boys face The Usos. This match does not feel big enough for Wrestlemania, but at least there are some feuds going on in the tag division that go beyond the tag titles. Since The Dudleys turned heel just a few weeks ago, logic might say they win this match and continue their push. I am going to go against logic and say The Usos win. The WWE has not pushed The Dudleys well since they returned. At the same time, The Usos have not won anything major since they reunited. I'll go with them.

Kalisto defends the United States Championship against Ryback. Ryback went a few years without ever winning a title. There was a time when he seemed credible enough to win the WWE Championship. That never happened, bu he did win the Intercontinental Championship last year. I would say he does not really need another title reign again so soon. On the other hand, how serious is the WWE in pushing Kalisto as the new Mysterio? Having him bring this up in interviews and talking about him like he is the next Mysterio doesn't mean as much as booking him consistently. If his title reign ends this Sunday and he gets sent back to the tag division with Sin Cara, I doubt he will end up as the new Mysterio. I will say he retains the title.

Another multi-man ladder match for the Intercontinental Championship. Kevin Owens faces Sami Zayn, Dolph Ziggler, Zack Ryder, Sin Cara, Miz, and Stardust. Some of these guys are just extra bodies. This match should have just been between Owens and Zayn. I would say those are the two favorites to win. I would have Owens retain and lose the title later to Zayn in a singles feud.

The New Day take on The League of Nations in a handicap match. Just a few weeks ago, The League of Nations destroyed New Day and actually looked like great heels. They actually looked like a group the WWE was serious in pushing again. Since then, it feels like they have lost some of that intensity. I still hope the group ends up winning the tag titles. Until then, I will say they beat New Day. They should. 

AJ Styles vs. Chris Jericho is a match that I do not think needed to happen again. This is the fourth match in a rivalry that is only two months old. This is a rivalry that featured them teaming up and eventually becoming contenders for the tag titles. This is a rivalry that featured the team splitting and one guy turning on the other. All in two months. You would think this kind of story takes a lot longer than this to develop. And yet, here we are.

I want to say a few things about how this feud has been developed since Chris Jericho turned heel. I have seen some fans criticize the WWE for taking so long to make this match official. They waited until the final Raw before Wrestlemania. I do not have a problem with that. The story is that Jericho was trying to avoid facing Styles again. Styles had to get Jericho to agree to it. This isn't bad storyline development.

The other part of this storyline that I want to bring up is the WWE bringing up "AJ Styles" chants. That supposedly annoyed Jericho. The issue I have isn't really the fact that Jericho is pretty over in his own right, even as a heel.This is about Styles. They obviously want the guy over. They are not burying his popularity. But how about they stop pointing out that fans like him and actually take advantage of what makes him phenomenal and develop his character better. Push him better. Fact is, I am not impressed by those chants. Maybe my memory is going bad, but I am sure I remember times when fans have reacted to wrestlers better. Those "AJ Styles" chants can be better. The WWE needs to put more work into AJ Styles. Smarks will cheer for him because he is great wrestler. Marks will cheer for him because he is pushed as a face. Beyond those fans that are either always criticizing the product or buying into it rather easily, how about the general audience? AJ needs to win those fans over. The WWE needs to do more than run a storyline about people chanting for him. He's not Daniel Bryan.

As far as the winner, it has to be Styles. Jericho is a jobber to the stars.

Dean Ambrose vs. Brock Lesnar is a big match, but not one of the likely two candidates to close the show, despite the presence of Brock Lesnar. Not to knock Ambrose, but this feels like the weakest Wrestlemania opponent Lesnar has had yet. It is a great push for Ambrose and will help elevate him, but Lesnar has faced guys with more star power or where there was something on the line in his other Wrestlemania matches. This is still a match many wrestling fans will look forward to.

And it is going to be a street fight. On the one hand, I like that the WWE has really made a storyline out of the match type. Hardcore legends have been utilized to push this feud. On the other hand, I think the WWE could have told a better story. Brock got mad at Ambrose for getting in the way of Brock getting a title shot. He attacked Ambrose in the parking lot the night after that. Just build on that intensity that was there. I feel how the WWE has handled the story these last few weeks has highlighted the match type more than the intense emotion that was there. Either way, should be a fun match.

The wildcard in this match will be The Wyatts. Dean Ambrose obviously has a history with Bray Wyatt. Brock Lesnar, moreover, was supposed to have a mini-feud with Bray. Bray was injured and that match got ruined. I doubt the WWE will have it end like that. They will go at it down the road. Will the WWE use this match at Wrestlemania to build up to that future match? The Wyatts don't have anything else going for them right now. Because there will be no disqualifications in this match, you can definitely imagine The Wyatts getting involved. Will it be a poor way for Dean Ambrose's feud with Brock Lesnar to end to just use this match as a stepping stone for another feud for Lesnar? That's another issue. Let's see how the WWE actually handles the match and what comes after.

Who wins? How often does Lesnar lose? Network specials aside, Brock Lesnar has not had a PPV win in a while. He lost at Fast Lane. He lost at the Royal Rumble. Is Vince McMahon going to be worried about Lesnar possibly starting to look weak? Some fans say that they cannot imagine Ambrose beating Lesnar cleanly. Well, can you imagine it with weapons involved? An extreme spot? It could happen. Of course, as I said, interference is likely. Cleanly or not, Lesnar has not won a big match in a while and I think he will win one here.

The Wrestlemania 2016 Intercontinental Championship Match

Sami Zayn debuted not too long ago on the main roster and continued his rivalry with Kevin Owens, the Intercontinental Champion. It seemed you had a Wrestlemania match right there. A title was on the line. These two had a history together. Don't forget both are good in the ring. The WWE does not seem to be content with just that. They have tossed in a few more bodies. And a ladder. Kevin Owens must defend against Zayn, Dolph Ziggler, Zack Ryder, Sin Cara, The Miz, and Stardust in a ladder match.

I do not like this. They have just tossed in a bunch of random bodies. Even though the personal feud between Owens and Zayn can continue after Wrestlemania, the WWE is ruining a chance to have the rivalry lead to a big match at Wrestlemania on its own. A lot of these guys could have been shoved into the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal. If the WWE wasn't happy with that, the United States Championship match could have been made into the multi-challenger midcard title match. A yearly multi-man Intercontinental Championship ladder match at Wrestlemania does not need to become a tradition. Moreover, I would question if you need this gimmick match this year at all. There is a Hell in a Cell match on the card. Ladders might come into play there, as well as chairs, tables, steel steps, kendo sticks, fire, and whatever else.

Zack Ryder is relevant again on the main roster. Are they serious? Or is he just an extra body? If they wanted to push him, they could just put him in the battle royal. Have him cut a promo on Raw about turning his career around by winning it. Whether they book him to win or not, he would still look relevant heading into Wrestlemania. I would say he would be more likely to win that battle royal than win the Intercontinental Championship.

Dolph Ziggler is also in this match. I was just talking about him yesterday. He was involved in this storyline about Stephanie McMahon trying to make life miserable for him. He goes from failing to defeat Triple H on Raw last week to earn any Wrestlemania match he wanted to ending up in a Wrestlemania title match this week. The WWE dropped the ball here. They could have gone somewhere with this storyline, even if the payoff didn't happen at Wrestlemania. Ziggler could have overcome Stephanie's obstacles and put himself in a match at Wrestlemania. I mentioned two unlikely possibilities yesterday, but there were still other ones that were possible. Or how about he didn't overcome the obstacles? No Ziggler for Wrestlemania? No, he would still get involved. He could interfere to help Shane win. He could interfere to screw Triple H. Or how about he turns heel and aligns with The Authority by screwing Shane or helping Triple H win? That would definitely be part of a huge push for him. As it stands right now, even though he is in a title match, this seems more mediocre than what potentially could have been with the storyline he had going.

I am not saying every match at Wrestlemania needs to be a singles match. The battle royal is fine. New Day vs. League of Nations is a good feud. Considering neither Sasha nor Becky looked more deserving than the other, both going after Charlotte for the title is an obvious choice. I even suggested Tag Team Turmoil to feature all these tag teams they have right now. But I do not feel this multi-man ladder match for the Intercontinental Championship was a good move. Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn could have been good enough. If they want a ladder match so much, make that feud lead to a ladder match at Wrestlemania. Those two are no strangers to ladders.

Sami Zayn Makes Official Debut On Main Roster

Kevin Owens must now start dealing with a familiar face on a regular basis. Sami Zayn made his official debut on Raw this week, attacking Owens. These two have a history with each other, which is obviously why the WWE is jumping right to this feud for Zayn's debut.

Go back to the debut of AJ Styles. I have said for weeks that the WWE dropped the ball with that debut. They could have used it to create a big storyline to help them create real buzz and draw for them. Instead, Styles just debuted at the Royal Rumble and has been a regular ever since. His debut feud against Chris Jericho has been pretty mediocre. It is not over yet and now involves Jericho turning heel, so there is still time to take it to another level. Regardless of what they do, it still will not be a huge angle to create buzz. The only reason I have not criticized the WWE's mediocre handling of this more is because the return of Shane McMahon is that kind of angle that can create buzz.

The debut of Sami Zayn is not something you would expect to get treated with the level of hype as the debut of AJ Styles. Zayn is talented, but Styles is an even bigger name to wrestling fans than him. Despite that, I will say the WWE could very well drop the ball with how they handle Sami Zayn's debut. As I said, there is a history between Owens and Zayn. But most of that is from NXT. It is from a show that most of Raw's audience does not even watch on the WWE Network. How are they going to care about Sami Zayn and this feud? Wrestling fans know the story here and can get all excited for this feud. But many other fans will not be that into it. If the WWE does not develop this feud well, it will not win over those fans. Wrestling fans will eat up the matches between Owens and Zayn, but great wrestling matches are not enough to draw. AJ Styles has not exactly brought a huge ratings bump since his debut. He's definitely a talented wrestler. The WWE needs to put the work in to create stars.

Of course, there is no reason to be too critical of the debut of Sami Zayn. He's a midcarder. This is a midcard feud. The Intercontinental Championship is on the line, so that might be enough to interest some fans that require a little more than just great wrestling. Moreover, the injury issue is not going away. The WWE debuting people from NXT to fill some open spots makes sense. And it isn't always easy to come up with a creative way to debut someone with the issues the WWE has to face. I would cut the WWE some slack, but they cannot get comfortable with just appealing to wrestling fans and thinking everyone cares about what happens on the WWE Network.

Let me look at this week's Raw ratings. Ever since Shane McMahon returned and that big angle involving him facing The Undertaker started, there has been a good reason to pay attention to ratings. If this kind of angle cannot draw big for them, there pretty much is no big angle that can be a huge, consistent draw. The WWE has to start actually changing. This week's Raw averaged around 3.55 million viewers. That is down almost 200,000 from the previous week and down about 300,000 from that Raw Shane returned. It is not a good sign when Raw is around a 2.6 in the ratings for Wrestlemania season. Raw was still able to get over a 3.0 a few times just last year at this time. I doubt the return of Roman Reigns will help. And guys like Sami Zayn and AJ Styles are not going to draw. The WWE is just failing to create big buzz for what is supposed to be the hottest time of the year for them.