Survivor Series 2014 Predictions

Survivor Series will take place from the Scottrade Centre in St. Louis, Missouri (Orton, where you at..?) on the 23rd of November 2014.

There are currently 5 matches officially announced for the show (well, you can’t really complain if you’re getting this PPV for free on the Network… or illegally streaming it that is…), I would expect one or two impromptu matches to be added throughout the night, as well as the main event getting a time slot of close to an hour.

The overall excitement around this PPV for being 1 of the "big 4" is clearly lacking, but at the same time, is the whole concept of the “big 4” PPV’s even around anymore? I’ll leave that up to you guys to decide.

Beginning with the “Diva” matches (God, I can never hate that word enough), we will once again be getting a double dose, whether that is a good thing or not, we’ll see on Sunday (let’s be realistic, it will not be). We will be seeing a traditional Survivor Series match - Paige, Cameron, Layla, Summer Rae Vs. Naomi, Natalya, Emma, Alicia Fox as well as a Diva’s Title match of AJ Lee Vs Nikki Bella w/Brie. With a big portion of the roster in the main-event of this PPV, this has given the entire females on the roster an opportunity (an opportunity of maybe 5 minutes if they’re lucky... ha), okay, my pessimism regarding the females of the WWE is really pouring out right now, isn’t it? I’ve been very open with my views on the way females are treated within the company and on-screen today. Just because you may be seeing more women on your screen than we have in a long time, do not be fooled, I am not content with it; a lot of these women can legitimately WRESTLE (yeah, remember that word?) but that is entirely disregarded on WWE TV (bar NXT) and well, as I have already gone there, let me just add that Total Divas has destroyed the division almost entirely and has also made arguably a complete joke of the women that came prior to these “divas”.

The SS match will most likely be quite the car-crash as these Diva tag matches most frequently are (with the benefit of hindsight, that can’t be denied). The fact that Paige will now be involved in these matches, is just disappointing, I can’t even hate on it… It’s overall, simply one big let down. I mean, just let those that can legitimately wrestle a chance by having a legitimate feud e.g. Natalya/Paige/Naomi and let the rest of the “Total Divas” pull each others hair or whatever they do. This match is one big plug for the show with the addition of Layla and Emma in there, just because they couldn’t be left out. Oh yeah, and I don’t care what the result is.

… well, the hate is real, huh?

Before you think I’m a complete hater, I do think that AJ Lee Vs. Nikki has the potential of being really good. Despite the 5 matches currently announced, I don’t have high hopes that they’ll be provided with a decent amount of time to put on a good match, which they are completely capable of. 

Nikki has improved massively in the ring so I have to give that to her and AJ has always been one of the best in-ring female competitors imo, so if you combine these, we may actually see a good wrestling match. Although Nikki is currently on Total Divas and there is an apparent rumour that none of the women on the show can hold the Title, I do see a title change happening here; I do want it to happen, we need change and right now, any change is good change. But, lets not forget that Brie could also cause for some kind of issues for Nikki.

We will also be seeing a Fatal 4 Way match for the Tag Titles – Gold/Stardust will be attempting to retain their titles against Los Matadores/The Usos/Miz+Mizdow.

I do believe that this match will be really, really good, despite the insane amount of times we’ve seen these guys go at it, it any combination of ways, the matches themselves have usually been pretty decent. With all 8 guys on a PPV, we can’t be disappointed. In an ideal world I would love to see Miz/Mizdow getting the victory with Mizdow actually being the one to get the pin; it may be too far fetched but I know that myself along with a lot of you would love to see that happen. Yet, for some reason, I do still see the Dust Brothers retaining here… maybe, I need to be a bit more optimistic… in all honesty, I am ready for The Ascension to debut now and add something new/fresh to the division.

Despite my pessimism, we still get MIZDOW – what do I really have to complain about? If any of you haven’t seen this week's SmackDown yet, watch it just to see what he does. The guy is hilarious.

Bray Wyatt Vs. Dean Ambrose… Okay… I am trying to hold in that pessimism once again… Let me just come out with saying that I am disappointed with this feud and it is NOT due to either of the guys or their talents, I am just not happy right now with how the storyline is developing. The ending of HIAC had me thinking that this feud would be seen as massive, now of course the Authority storyline would take centre stage but I did think Ambrose/Wyatt would get more TV time than it has been receiving. From what we have seen so far, the few minutes on each show have proved that this angle can be incredible, if handled correctly and provided with enough time. I loved the backstage angle on SmackDown last week and Ambrose’s promo this week as well (which I have already seen), which also leads me to saying that, with certain guys, them constantly cutting promos on the other would most likely get repetitive, predictable and boring… But NOT with these two; they are both crazy, unpredictable and they draw fans in. However, as of right now, it has overall been pretty slow… you have a 3 hour show weekly, surely you can give these guys 10/15 minutes… or am I wrong?

In terms of the actual storyline, the addition of Ambrose’s father and personal life from his past has been captivating, it’s a side we haven’t seen in a while and a side of Ambrose we haven’t ever seen; some of the greatest feuds have had that personal touch to it.

This is one of my dream feuds, so don’t get me wrong, I am still extremely excited for this match, mostly to see how both these guys will tell their story… they are incredible talents and one of the things that they are both incredible at, are telling a story inside that ring; this is overall what I am looking forward to most, over the actual wrestling.

This feud without a doubt will be far from over after SS, so I am optimistic about where it can go and my only negativity is how it is being not built as that important. I do see Wyatt winning here by getting the upper hand on Ambrose through his mind-games somehow.

Also, who else is dying to see both guys in the ring just cutting a promo on one another for 10 minutes? Heavenly or what?!

Despite my negativity on how this feud has begun, it can continue and end on a high.

Now for the main event, a traditional 5 on 5 Survivor Series match will see Team Authority (Rollins, Rusev, Henry, Harper, Kane) Vs. Team Cena (Cena, Ziggler, Rowan, Ryback, Show). If Team Authority lose, they’re out of power, if Team Cena lose, the entire team, besides Cena will be fired. The build to this match has been pretty good, despite neglecting basically everything else, the focus and tension surrounding this match has been built well. After finally this past week on Raw seeing the final line up for each teams; I can say that I am overall excited. Excited due to the fact that there are guys on both sides that are being put in big positions that they so rightfully deserve, in order to shine; knowing that Rollins/Harper/Rowan/Ziggler/Ryback etc. are all main-eventing a PPV makes me hopeful that the future is indeed bright and that WWE are realising that they can elevate multiple guys at the same time. Sure, the WWE World Champ isn’t around so it has helped guys in building themselves up, but despite this, it does prove that WWE knows to stop relying on the same crop of talent all the time (despite Cena of course).

I expect the match to go pretty long, and am also expecting a whole lot of twists and turns; this match needs to be highly unpredictable which to their credit, it already is. There needs to be shock value, whether that is Orton coming back for vengeance, someone screwing someone over or a random return, it needs to happen... and I am optimistic that we will get this (see, I can be positive). 

Every guy needs his time to shine but did anyone else think that HHH himself would be in the match? It would have made a lot of sense… I mean, he did get in the ring a few months back just to get rid of The Shield, so why wouldn’t he get in the ring to prevent The Authority losing power, now?... Odd.

Nevertheless, it is difficult to predict the outcome here but I am edging towards the unpopular opinion of Team Authority coming out on top, but only due to some type of screw over, with something massive happening on Raw the next night. Overall, I do see this as the end of Team Authority, but in a very unpredictable way.

Who do you guys think will come out on top? Let me know - @WrestlingMenu

- Zara

Hell In A Cell 2014 - Predictions

Hell In A Cell will take place on the 26^th of October at the American Airlines Centre in Dallas, Texas. The overall excitement behind the PPV is greatly lacking but I do believe that two of these matches have the potential to be incredible and leave us talking about them for weeks to come.

The following are all the announced matches; there are currently 8 matches announced with the first ever “Mizdow TV” taking place on the pre-show, alongside Renee Young, Booker T, Alex Riley & Paul Heyman being featured on the panel; a match is also being advertised but as of yet, has not been announced.  

Beginning with The Miz Vs. Sheamus for the US Title, in all honesty, this alongside the Rusev/Big Show match, I am not too interested in, but if I had to pick one to watch over the other, it would be the former and that is simply because of Damien Sandow. I am sure a lot of people can agree that the way both the IC/US Title feuds (If you can call them feuds) are booked are bizarre to say the least. The way The Miz went from being in the IC title picture to now the US is odd and I genuinely do not remember how it even got to this… that is how much attention I pay to the US title. Sheamus has been an awful Champ but that is hardly his fault, the way WWE have simply thrown this title to the side is ridiculous… but I’ll save that for a separate post. What I really want to see happening in this match is Sandow/Mizdow picking up the win and becoming Champion; I would genuinely love that and I know a few other people have the same idea. If you listen to the crowd, you will realise how “over” he is in comparison to The Miz and that is all down to his talent. Despite how horribly he has been booked over the past year, he fully embraces what he is given and especially this new “Mizdow” gimmick. I have never been a fan of The Miz’s, I would never really pay attention to his matches or be fully invested but now I do, and that is due to Sandow… if you need cheering up on a bad day, go and watch him at ringside with The Miz, seriously great stuff, or even Miz TV with Dean Ambrose; I was nearly in tears from laughing so hard. Respect to him nevertheless. Anway, because of how badly I want it to happen, I see Sandow picking up the win here and eventually feuding with The Miz.

Yet, the only way I see something good actually coming out of the US title is if Rusev eventually becomes the Champ. That would piss a whole lotta people off, especially after seeing how many people get so butthurt over Rusev/Lana’s actions… e.g. the soldier incident. It’s hilarious.

Rusev Vs. Big Show… uh…. Okay, I don’t care; I’ll just come out and say it. There is no way Big Show is winning here, Rusev will be undefeated for a long while to come and he will continue to turn a lot of fans into whining, complaining, over-sensitive folks, and that is that.

Star/Goldust Vs. The Usos for the Tag Team Championships; I see the Dust brothers retaining here in what I believe will be a solid, possibly opening match. I have grown bored of seeing these guys face each other over and over; the tag team division right now is sorely lacking, there need to be new teams, fresh matches and an overall good vibe in the division but we just are not getting that as of right now. And I do not mean simply shoving two random guys together and putting them into a team; I mean guys that legitimately have a story and have chemistry. I have said this a few times now but The Ascension need to be called up… since losing the NXT Tag Titles at NXT Takeover: Fatal 4 Way, I thought that was the way WWE was going but if you keep up with NXT, you will know that their main roster debut does not seem in sight right now; The Ascension will bring something fresh and can shake up the division which everyone can agree, is heavily needed. You can read my full post on NXT call-ups here:

http://thewrestlingmenu.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/who-should-be-called-up-to-main-roster.html

Cesaro Vs. Ziggler in a 2/3 Falls Match for the IC title is one of the 2 matches that I am seriously looking forward too. These guys have previously faced each other and picked up victories against the other but now it is 2/3 falls and the wrestling, not “entertainment” fan inside of me is dying to see this match! I have no doubt in my mind that this could be a show stealer, and given a good amount of time, they will tear the house down. My only issue with 2/3 falls matches is that the first 2 falls are always picked up by each guy pretty quickly, there is not a great build to it and then the 3^rd fall is when the action completely picks up, go back and watch the Harper/Rowan Vs. Usos 2/3 falls match to view that. I’m not complaining though… I would just love to see an all around great finish to all 3 falls and I do see Cesaro/Ziggler doing that. These guys are just amazing wrestlers… Cesaro imo is one step away from being a main-event guy; the way he has been booked this year has been odd… to say the least but he is 100% main-event, WWE Champion material and I am excited to see his rise (hopefully). With Ziggler, no matter how WWE book him, fans will always be behind the guy, rooting for him to be no.1, but will the company ever put him in that spot?... It will take a long time for the IC title to ever truly be “prestigious” again but Ziggler through his talent has brought interest back to it again and if you give these guys a legitimate, genuine feud, you are on your way there.

In all honesty, I do not know how this match will go down result-wise; I am a massive fan of both guys and will be happy to see either pick up the victory but at the same time, pretty sad to see the other face a loss. If I have to pick one, I’m going to say Ziggler will retain here but at the same time Cesaro does need a big victory… it’s a difficult one but an exciting match that I can’t wait to see.

Just to put it out there, if you haven’t, watch Cesaro Vs. Sami Zayn in a 2/3 falls match on NXT; your mouth will be left wide open by the end of it. Simply incredible, I can’t recommend it enough.

WWE have been giving the “Diva’s” a whole lot of time on WWE TV recently which has resulted in there being 2 female matches on PPV’s pretty frequently. HIAC is no different.

Brie Bella Vs. Nikki Bella in a loser becomes the others personal assistant is well, weird and that is not just because of the ridiculous stipulation, but because of the outcome on Smackdown. After this feud that WWE have been building between the Bella’s for a while now (at the loss of our entertainment), Nikki pinned Brie clean… which I believe was completely unnecessary and the two should have been kept away from eachother, but WWE do a lot of unnecessary things sometimes. Nevertheless, I see Brie picking up the win here (after she tries to get herself over with the “yes” chant).

We will also be getting Paige Vs. Aj Lee for the Diva’s title.  Being a female myself, I feel very strongly about how this feud has been booked and there is just so much I could say about it overall that I will not go too deeply into it now but I will do on a separate post. However, I see AJ retaining here and if WWE give them a decent amount of time (which they won’t) it could be a relatively good match. After it has been announced that Paige will now be on Total Divas (sigh) I do not see her being victorious and I’m also guessing Alicia Fox will be involved in this match somehow, possibly accidentally costing Paige the win.

Remember when Paige was in NXT and we couldn’t wait for the day she had a feud with Aj Lee? Oh, how naïve we all were.

Now for the two Hell in a Cell matches…

John Cena Vs. Randy Orton with the winner getting a match against Brock Lesnar for the WWE World Title, does not make a lot of sense to me. So, after Cena was chasing after Rollins and butting heads with Ambrose to get to Rollins, he loses the contract on a pole match and then is suddenly placed in a number 1 contenders match? WWE, you make no sense.

Anyway, in the nicest way possible, GOD FORBID CENA WINS. Please no. Why would we want to see Cena/Lesnar again after he was beaten down and completely destroyed at SummerSlam? Oh, because he miraculously knew how to fight back at NoC?! Ugh… No one, besides 10 year old kids want to see these two have a match again, we have had enough. Oh and whilst were on the topic of having enough, who wants to see Cena/Orton for the 8248340 time?... anyone?... nope?... Yep, that’s what I thought.

Despite them having so many matches/main-event matches together, what makes it worse is the fact that this is their second HIAC match; imo 2 guys should never face each other twice inside HIAC. There is also no need for this match to even be a HIAC, remember when HIAC matches were for intense, legitimate feuds? I’m not a fan of having an entire PPV based around this but Ambrose/Rollins inside a Cell is necessary and for once, makes sense.

Orton needs to win here, so many fans want to see Lesnar Vs. Orton, it would be a must-see match and with his face-turn evidently looming, it would be the perfect time to have him face the champ whilst he is hot. WWE should also thank all those “internet fans” they hate on for making Orton a star, relevant again and getting him over, overnight with the RKO outta nowhere vines, which is what they couldn’t do.

Once again, let’s not end the night on “CENAWINSLOL”. That is if these guys do end the night, which they should not at all… which is what I will be discussing now…

Finally, we have Dean Ambrose Vs. Seth Rollins inside HIAC; which is what I have been waiting a long, long time for. Before I go into it, let me just say, these guys NEED to main event, no “ifs” or “buts” about it. The entire company is stale at the moment, they are too complacent and are losing viewers on a worryingly regular basis. Yet, they can use this match as a way to elevate the future with new stars being built and showing that the company is strong and is going in the right direction with this new generation of guys and all of the guys down in NXT. I will be beyond disappointed if WWE go the easy (and wrong) route by having Orton/Cena main-event… if they do, I hope the crowd shit on the match, just to show WWE what a mistake they made. Ambrose has even himself said, “if we’re not the main-event, then somebody’s making a mistake. They’re going to regret it”. If they are not, then I know that they will tear the house down and show WWE why exactly they will “regret it”.

It also deserves to be the main-event; it is a long, legitimate feud of hatred, backstabbing and vengeance, which is what the Cell is all about… putting all those issues to rest… right? If this is the end of their feud, then I will be perfectly happy with that. I see Rollins going on to feud with Orton later on down the line but I don’t know where Ambrose could potentially go… I would love to see him feud with Bray Wyatt sometime…that would be something to see. Although, WWE could continue to stretch out this rivalry even further, which isn’t seen very often nowadays.

The involvement of Cena really drew the air out of this feud for me and the comedic segments featuring Ambrose have become overdone, he’s a talented guy so he can make them work but they can get a bit too drawn out and a little awkward e.g. the dummy incident. Stone Cold Steve Austin on his podcast even said himself that Ambrose needs to be booked in more of an aggressive way. I agree. Which is what we saw on this past week’s Smackdown. The opening segment between Dean/Seth was finally meaningful, passionate and you could feel the resentment that they have for one another, which is what WWE need right now, they need feuds that are realistic that transcend the TV screen, which is also why I believe this match needs to main event.

The quality of the match is also something that makes this match worth watching… not only does it have a meaningful story behind it but both guys are legitimately amazing in the ring, they have clear chemistry and can put on 5* 30 minute matches (search for their FCW matches). 

Also, the way they have been building this match with all the weapons and words of completely destroying one another, does anyone else think that someone is going off the cell? No, not in a Mick Foley insane type of way but a Rikishi, safe (sort of) landing kind of way…

I want Ambrose to get the victory here and do to an extent see it happening, to solidify that all the chasing was worth it and to finally have the pay off BUT there also needs to be NO interference, just the two of them going at it… no Kane, no Orton, just Ambrose and Rollins tearing the house down.

So, that’s my thoughts; what’re yours?

Apologies that I haven’t been updating my blog as often as usual; After 4 months of Summer, I am back to Uni now, in my final year and as you can imagine, I have a whole lot of work to do (which I am currently behind on), so in all honestly this blog has been at the back of my mind. But, I love blogging about wrestling/discussing it with others, it’s something I will always have a love for so I can never fully neglect it. Thank you to those that consistently keep up with this blog or me on my twitter - @WrestlingMenu.

I will probably miss a lot of HIAC as I have a wedding to attend too, which is 2 hours away, and as I am in the UK, the PPV will start at 1am and I will end up missing a whole lot of it, which I am gutted about. I hate not watching PPVs live and I love to live tweet with you guys! As long as I am back in time for Ambrose/Rollins I’ll be happy…. Which means they have to be the main event (fingers crossed…). Anyway, sorry for going off on a tangent… I love to ramble sometimes.

Peace.

- Zara