WEEKLY OVERVIEW – WWE (thru 7/10): Top stories of week, major show lineups, live event results, schedule of live events, noteworthy social media posts, more

July 2, 2020News

PWTorch editor Wade Keller presents a special Thursday Flagship edition of the Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Podcast featuring a WrestleMania 36 Preview with ex-WWE Creative Team member and professional stand-up comedian Matt McCarthy.

(Search “wade keller” to subscribe in podcast app or CLICK HERE to subscribe in Apple Podcasts.)

The following is the latest in a new series of weekly in-depth articles exclusive to PWTorch which will help put in perspective major wrestling promotions with a weekly overview, looking at news and roster developments, results, future line-ups, social media activity, key interviews, plus a timely commentary at the end. We will be featuring similar features on other promotions each week and each will be updated weekly.

•Top Stories of the Week

Rey Mysterio returned from injury and appeared on Raw this week.
Raw ratings still low, but the first to third hour drop off was extremely low compared to the average drop off this year. For more information on the ratings you can read Wade Keller’s article HERE.
Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows have reportedly signed new five year contracts to stay with WWE.

•WWE Weekly Event Results

WWE Live Event – Raw Roster (Washington, D.C.) 7/6/19

(1) Becky Lynch (c) beat Lacey Evans to retain the Raw Women’s Championship
(2) The Revival (c) vs. The Usos ends in a No Contest after Hawkins & Ryder and The Viking Raiders interfere to set up the next match
(3) The Usos & Hawkins & Ryder beat The Revival & The Viking Raiders
(4) Ricochet (c) beat A.J. Styles & Cesaro to retain the United States Championship
(5) Gallows, Anderson, & EC3 defeated Lucha House Party
(6) Natalya & Naomi beat Sarah Logan & Tamina
(7) Seth Rollins (w/ Becky Lynch) (c) defeated Baron Corbin (w/ Lacey Evans) to retain the Universal Championship

SOURCE

WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster (Binghampton, N.Y.) 7/7/19

(1) The New Day beat The B-Team
(2) Chad Gable pinned Shelton Benjamin
(3) Finn Balor (c) defeated Andrade to retain the Intercontinental Championship
(4) R-Truth & Carmella beat Sami Zayn & Liv Morgan
(5) Aleister Black defeated Randy Orton
(6) Ali pinned Buddy Murphy
(7) Bayley (c) defeated Charlotte & Nikki Cross to retain the Smackdown Women’s Championship
(8) Kofi Kingston (c) beat Dolph Ziggler to retain the WWE Championship

SOURCE

WWE Live Event – Raw Roster (Wilkes-Barr, Pa.) 7/7/19

SOURCE

WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster (Glens Falls, N.Y.) 7/8/19

(1) The New Day beat The B-Team
(2) Asuka & Kairi Sane beat The IIconics
(3) Chad Gable pinned Shelton Benjamin
(4) Chad Gable beat Buddy Murphy
(5) Matt Hardy & Ali defeated The Authors of Pain
(6) Aleister Black beat Randy Orton
(7) Ember Moon defeated Liv Morgan & Charlotte in a Triple Threat match
(8) Finn Balor (c) beat Dolph Ziggler to retain the Intercontinental Championship

SOURCE

If you attend a live event, please send results to [email protected]. Thanks!

•WWE TV Match Results

Monday Night Raw TV Results 7/8/19

(1) Becky Lynch & Seth Rollins beat Andrade & Zelina Vega in an Elimination Tag Team match
(2) The Usos & The Miz beat The Revival & Elias in a Two out of Three Falls match
(3) Bobby Lashley defeated Rey Mysterio
(4) Cesaro beat No Way Jose
(5) The Viking Raiders beat Colin Justin & Devon Justin
(6) Ricochet defeated Luke Gallows (w/ Karl Anderson, A.J. Styles)
(7) Ricochet beat Karl Anderson (w/ Luke Gallows, A.J. Styles)
(8) Bayley defeated Sarah Logan in 4:32 in a Beat the Clock Challenge
(9) Nikki Cross beat Dana Brooke in 2:41 in a Beat the Clock Challenge and won the Beat the Clock Challenge to pick the stipulation for the Smackdown Women’s Championship match at Extreme Rules
(10) Shane McMahon & Drew McIntyre beat Roman Reigns & Gary “The Goat” Garbutt
– Gary was selected by Shane to be Roman’s partner. After the match it was revealed to be Cedric Alexander under a mask.

24/7 Championship Update

Drake Maverick retained the 24/7 Championship

Smackdown Live TV Results 7/9/19

(1) Shinsuke Nakamura beat Finn Balor
(2) Nikki Cross defeated Carmella
(3) Otis (w/ Tucker) beat Xavier Woods (w/ Big E) & Daniel Bryan (w/ Rowan) when he pinned Woods
(4) Roman Reigns defeated Dolph Ziggler (w/ Shane McMahon, Drew McIntyre, Elias)

205 Live Results (Aired on WWE Network) 7/9/19

(1) Brian Kendrick beat Sunil Singh
(2) Jack Gallagher defeated Devin Justin
(3) Oney Lorcan beat Ariya Daivari in an Anything Goes match

WWE Main Event (Aired on Hulu and WWE Network) 7/10/19

(1) Natalya defeated Tamina Snuka
(2) Robert Roode beat Heath Slater

SOURCE

•Upcoming Lineups for Stadium/PPV Events

WWE Extreme Rules on July 14 in Philadelphia, Pa.

Seth Rollins (c) & Becky Lynch (c) vs. Baron Corbin & Lacey Evans in a “Winner Take All” Extreme Rules match for the Universal & Raw Women’s Championships
Kofi Kingston (c) vs. Samoa Joe for the WWE Championship
Bayley (c) vs. Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross in a Two-On-One Handicap match for the Smackdown Women’s Championship
Drew Gulak (c) vs. Tony Nese for the Cruiserweight Championship
Daniel Bryan & Rowan (c) vs. The New Day vs. Heavy Machinery for the Smackdown Tag Team Championships
Ricochet (c) vs. A.J. Styles for the United States Championship
The Revival (c) vs. The Usos for the Raw Tag Team Championships
Roman Reigns & Undertaker vs. Shane McMahon & Drew McIntyre in a No Holds Barred match
Braun Strowman vs. Bobby Lashley in a Last Man Standing match
Aleister Black vs. Cesaro

•Upcoming Events

Fri. 7/12/19 WWE Live Event – Raw Roster, Augusta Civic Center, Augusta, Maine
Sat. 7/13/19 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, VSU Multipurpose Center, Petersburg, Va.
Sat. 7/13/19 WWE Live Event – Raw Roster, Massmutual Center, Springfield, Mass.
Sun. 7/14/19 WWE Extreme Rules, Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, Pa.
Mon. 7/15/19 WWE Raw, NYCB Live, Home of the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, N.Y.
Mon. 7/15/19 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, The Majed J. Nesheiwat Convention Center, Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
Tue. 7/16/19 WWE Smackdown, DCU Center, Worcester, Mass.
Fri. 7/19/19 WWE Live Event – Raw Roster, Santander Arena, Reading, Pa.
Sat. 7/20/19 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, Columbus Civic Center, Columbus, Ga.
Sat. 7/20/19 WWE Live Event – Raw Roster, Wildwoods Convention Center, Wildwood, N.J.
Sun. 7/21/19 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, Pensacola Bay Center, Pensacola, Fla.
Sun. 7/21/19 WWE Live Event – Raw Roster, Amway Center, Orlando, Fla.
Mon. 7/22/19 WWE Raw, Amalie Arena, Tampa, Fla.
Mon. 7/22/19 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, Hertz Arena, Fort Meyers, Fla.
Tue. 7/23/19 WWE Smackdown, American Airlines Arena, Miami, Fla.
Fri. 7/26/19 WWE Live Event – Raw Roster, Four States Entertainment Center, Texarkana, Ark.
Sat. 7/27/19 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, Tenn.
Sat. 7/27/19 WWE Live Event – Raw Roster, Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City, Okla.
Sun. 7/28/19 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, Show Me Center, Cape Gigagdeua, Mo.
Sun. 7/28/19 WWE Live Event – Raw Roster, JQH Arena, Springfield, Mo.
Mon. 7/29/19 WWE Raw, North Little Rock, Ark.
Mon. 7/29/19 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, Memphis Navy Exchange, Memphis, Tenn.
Tue. 7/30/19 WWE Smackdown, FedEx Forum, Memphis, Tenn.
Fri. 8/2/19 WWE Live Event – Raw Roster, Allen County War Memorial Coliseum, Fort Wayne, Ind.
Sat. 8/3/19 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, E. A. Diddle Arena, Bowling Green, Ky.
Sat. 8/3/19 WWE Live Event – Raw Roster, Huntington Center, Toledo, Ohio
Sun. 8/4/19 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, David S. Palmer Arena, Danville, Ill.
Sun. 8/4/19 WWE Live Event – Raw Roster, Erie Insurance Arena, Erie, Pa.
Mon. 8/5/19 WWE Raw, PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh, Pa.
Mon. 8/5/19 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, Wings Event Center, Kalamazoo, Mich.
Tue. 8/6/19 WWE Live Event – Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, Mich.
Sun. 8/11/19 WWE SummerSlam, ScotiaBank Arena, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Mon. 8/12/19 WWE Raw, ScotiaBank Arena, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Tue. 8/13/19 WWE Smackdown, ScotiaBank Arena, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Fri. 8/16/19 WWE Live Event – Raw Roster, Bismarck Event Center, Bismarck, N.D.
Sat. 8/17/19 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, Toyota Center, Houston, Texas
Sat. 8/17/19 WWE Live Event – Raw Roster, Alerus Center, Grand Forks, N.D.
Sun. 8/18/19 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, Chi Health Center, Omaha, Neb.
Sun. 8/18/19 WWE Live Event – Raw Roster, Fargodome, Fargo, N.D.
Mon. 8/19/19 WWE Raw, Xcel Energy Center, St. Paul, Minn.
Tue. 8/20/19 WWE Smackdown, Denny Sanford Premier Center, Sioux Falls, S.D.

•Latest TV Highlights

Monday Night Raw

Seth Rollins & Becky Lynch teamed up again this week, this time against Andrade & Zelina Vega in a very confusing match. This match was billed as being an Elimination Tag Team match, which doesn’t make much sense given the fact that WWE doesn’t allow intergender wrestling. So, Becky forced Zelina Vega to submit to the Dis-Arm-Her (thus eliminating herself in a sense) and after Vega tapped, Lacey Evans was shown at ringside. Becky immediately went after Evans and Seth stopped her as they cut to a commercial. After the break, the match continued with Seth & Andrade (& Becky?) remaining. Becky stood on the ring apron as if she could’ve been tagged in. Eventually Zelina attacked Seth at ringside, which prompted Becky to get involved. Andrade charged the distracted Seth and Becky shoved Seth out of the way and was shoulder tackled by Andrade into the ringside barricade. After some more interference by Vega, Seth would hit the Stomp for the three count victory. As Becky and Seth walked up the ramp and turned to celebrate with the crowd, Corbin and Evans attacked them both ahead of their match on Sunday.
As Becky and Seth lay beaten, Paul Heyman walked out to an eruption of cheers and an ECW chant as Raw went to another commercial. Heyman was in the ring after the commercial and reminded everyone of his ties to the word Extreme as well as Philadelphia. He then said his client, Brock Lesnar, will cash in his MITB contract on Sunday on either Seth or Kofi, “and that’s not a prediction, it’s a spoiler.” He then said he’s said that before and it’s never been a lie, so if he were to ever send out some misinformation, now would be a good time for him to use that and lie. So, Brock may or may not be at Extreme Rules on Sunday.
Bayley & Nikki Cross competed in a Beat the Clock challenge on Raw to see who would pick the stipulation for Bayley and Alexa Bliss’ Championship match at Extreme Rules. Bayley beat Sarah Logan, but Nikki beat Dana Brooke faster, so Nikki picked the stipulation. She didn’t wait long, after winning the match, she told Bayley to get in the ring and as Nikki looked her in the eye, she said the match will be a Two-on-One Handicap match. So, it’s Bayley vs. Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross.

Smackdown Live

Smackdown opened with Dolph Ziggler being shown getting out of his SUV earlier in the day. Kayla Braxton walked up and asked him about his issues with his partner last week, Kevin Owens. Ziggler took exception to calling Owens his partner, then started insulting Owens, who then drove up in his rental car and honked the horn to interrupt Ziggler until he got out. The two argued before Owens punched Ziggler and some wrestlers pulled them apart. Shane appeared and told Owens to get back in his car and leave. Back to a live shot, Shane was on camera and announced he was cancelling the planned Ziggler vs. Owens main event. After this we went to a shot of the announcer at ringside who ran down the matchups for tonight when Owens barged his way to ringside and grabbed a mic before berating Shane. Shane came out and told them to cut Owens’ mic and they did. After his mic was cut, Owens grabbed another mic and continued his verbal rundown of Shane going on and on about Shane stealing TV time from people like Apollo Crews, Liv Morgan, Buddy Murphy, Ali, Asuka, Kairi Sane, and AOP. Eventually that mic was cut and security came after Owens who left.
Shane later had a “brilliant” idea when Ziggler approached him backstage. Shane said Owens is barred from the arena, but Ziggler was ready for a fight, so Shane booked Ziggler vs. Roman Reigns as the main event of tonight’s show. Shane also said he, McIntyre, and Elias will join him ringside. Shane joined the announcers on commentary for the match. Drew would interfere at one point, but Roman would eventually win the match after a ton of interference by the three people at ringside. At one point, Shane was in the ring and Kevin Owens reemerged from the crowd, jumped in the ring to hit Shane with a Stunner before immediately exiting the way he came. Roman would pin Dolph shortly after.
Aleister Black’s mystery door knocker was finally revealed. Initially Black sat down for a “satellite” interview with Tom Phillips and an empty chair for his Extreme Rules opponent. Phillips said that his mystery opponent didn’t want to be identified at this time. Black commended his opponent because that’s something he would do too, but it doesn’t matter who it is anymore. As black was talking a mystery man in white dress pants appeared with his hand touching the chair as he circled it. Cesaro then sat down and smiled with his mouth guard in. He took it out and said he’s the man who knocked on Black’s door and he’s here to pick a fight with him. Black responded by saying “Oh so good, Mr. Cesaro” and smiling. Black winked at him, stood up, and walked away as Cesaro put his mouth guard back in and smiled.

•WWE in the Media

Rey Mysterio was on The Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling podcast this week. You can read a written summary of the show provided to PWTorch HERE. You can also listen to the podcast HERE.

•Listen to the latest Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Post-Show – Smackdown Post-Show

PWTorch editor Wade Keller is joined by Peter Rosenberg from “Cheap Heat” and ESPN Radio in New York to review Smackdown with live callers. Then Keller talks to an on-site correspondent to get in-arena insights from Manchester, N.H. Then PWTorch’s Mike McMahon joins Wade to answer mailbag questions on Smackdown including Shinsuke Nakamura, the Women’s Tag Team Titles, more on KO, Aleister Black-Cesaro, and other topics.

-On Tune In Radio HERE
-On Apple Podcasts HERE
-Or search “Wade Keller” on your podcast app of choice

•WWE Social Media Highlights

If you’re going to tag Corey Graves on Twitter, be prepared… Also, I really want to see Corey vs. Pat McAfee now.

As Corey Graves, I would REALLY appreciate if you’d just let my best friend @ReneeYoungWWE and I do our jobs and have fun instead of trying to turn it into a f*cking social issue. https://t.co/WkrzKrgIJY

— Sterling (@WWEGraves) July 8, 2019

I’ll give you a hot dog and a handshake NOT to.

But, if you’re hell bent, I’ll fight you in thumbtacks.

— Sterling (@WWEGraves) July 8, 2019

Same thing with Ali; you tag him, be prepared for a comeback. He’s pretty respectful about it, though.

Muslim American openly talking about discrimination, police brutality, representation, and overcoming preconceived ideas on WWE programming.

Yeah man, such a cringe gimmick. https://t.co/ZOMCEfNxCC

— ALI / Adeel Alam (@AliWWE) July 10, 2019

Sit yo simple minded ass down while I change the game. pic.twitter.com/luQoh0mbia

— ALI / Adeel Alam (@AliWWE) July 10, 2019

Some of the wrestlers tweeted at Kevin Owens to say thanks for mentioning that they get no time on television. Good guy Kevin Owens! First, the video of his promo from Smackdown. Owens also took some time to answer fan tweets on Wednesday and changed his profile picture to him giving Shane the Stunner.

TELL US HOW YOU REALLY FEEL, @FightOwensFight. #SDLive pic.twitter.com/yNPPBRFc2k

— WWE (@WWE) July 10, 2019

The coolest! 😎 https://t.co/QOPrtZlDfv

— Ruby Soho (@realrubysoho) July 10, 2019

. @FightOwensFight is the 🐐

— LIV Morgan (@YaOnlyLivvOnce) July 10, 2019

#NewProfilePic pic.twitter.com/8X4lokvf4E

— Kevin, the Worst in the World. (@FightOwensFight) July 10, 2019

Last night was the most liberating experience of my career and now I just landed in L.A. and I’m on my way back to my wife and kids to enjoy my days off here with them…

I’m having a wonderful day. https://t.co/TbIeSPxcq5

— Kevin, the Worst in the World. (@FightOwensFight) July 10, 2019

It’s simply a supply and demand situation.

Nobody has been asking for them because I’ve been coasting for the last year and half trying not to piss anybody off so they don’t bring them to the shows.

I’m done with that. Make enough noise and they will have to listen. https://t.co/kYvr9b6DwL

— Kevin, the Worst in the World. (@FightOwensFight) July 10, 2019

I’d never be delusional enough to call myself “Best in the world.”

In fact, you can officially call me the “Worst in the world” because I am drastically different than anyone that’s ever called themselves “Best in the world,” especially Shane, and I’m very proud of that. https://t.co/DxTg7fJY1d

— Kevin, the Worst in the World. (@FightOwensFight) July 10, 2019

Becky Lynch takes credit for impregnating Maria… That was still such a weird segment last week. She also trash talked Zelina Vega.

You’re welcome.

— The Man (@BeckyLynchWWE) July 3, 2019

I’m down. @BeckyLynchWWE ? https://t.co/OnXfmB10KZ

— Seth Rollins (@WWERollins) July 3, 2019

pic.twitter.com/3NeSpLwCIj

— The Man (@BeckyLynchWWE) July 3, 2019

Y’all know @BeckyLynchWWE & @WWERollins aren’t men, they are little boys. #Secky is sucky.

— Thea Trinidad Budgen (@Zelina_VegaWWE) July 4, 2019

Look at you, all excited tweeting at The Man.

— The Man (@BeckyLynchWWE) July 4, 2019

Wanna know why we’re going to beat them on RAW? @AndradeCienWWE ‘s in-ring skill is UNMATCHED. And I’ve been trained in a few ways.. lucha, striking & most importantly, the streets.@BeckyLynchWWE & @WWERollins weren’t made for the streets, that’s why they made sidewalks. @WWE https://t.co/zcbxkIiBT3

— Thea Trinidad Budgen (@Zelina_VegaWWE) July 5, 2019

I'm going to batter you. And if you keep making no sense in your tweets, I'll drag you backstage after, and knock "the door" with your face. https://t.co/nCwUapvQRB

— The Man (@BeckyLynchWWE) July 5, 2019

Also, tell Andrade to ask his old lady what it's like to get beaten repeatedly by The Man.

— The Man (@BeckyLynchWWE) July 5, 2019

It’s pretty straight forward BUT expecting reading w/ a degree of understanding from some1 who’s obsessed w/everybody else’s man but her own: Role plays a poor “mans” Connor McGregor, rips off Steve Austin, sad versions of The Rock bottom? Might have been a bit too much. My bad! https://t.co/sxzzzi4zGx

— Thea Trinidad Budgen (@Zelina_VegaWWE) July 5, 2019

Now compare your first tweet to this one. Look at me making you better at this already. And everyone said it couldn’t be done. Pity Lacey isn’t on Twitter or we could have been having this much fun all along. pic.twitter.com/3UYuky0Qok

— The Man (@BeckyLynchWWE) July 5, 2019

Becky also trolled people who said she and Seth have on-screen chemistry.

Yo, @WWERollins, internet says we need to work on our chemistry. Will you Gorilla Press me like this after we win on Monday? pic.twitter.com/i6pO5xVvHx

— The Man (@BeckyLynchWWE) July 4, 2019

UPDATE, @MariaLKanellis. Tried this and almost impregnated myself.

— The Man (@BeckyLynchWWE) July 5, 2019

Unfortunately, the only small child I’ll carry now is Zelina on Monday.

— The Man (@BeckyLynchWWE) July 5, 2019

😥….but also 😎

— Seth Rollins (@WWERollins) July 5, 2019

C8H11NO2+C10H12N2O+C43H66N12O12S2

📸 @kimberlasskick pic.twitter.com/2OunhnCZ3T

— Seth Rollins (@WWERollins) July 7, 2019

(This is the chemical equation for love.)

“Are they getting angrier on twitter yet?” #seckyissucky pic.twitter.com/FKrEa4z00L

— The Man (@BeckyLynchWWE) July 7, 2019

She also challenged Stephanie McMahon to a fight after it was announced she will be on the cover of ESPN the Magazine.

Last year I said I wanted to be the face of this business that I love so much. We don’t always have to accept the status that’s given to us. It’s been quite a year and it’s an honor to be the first @WWE superstar to be on the cover of @espn magazine pic.twitter.com/CO8uwg5fOd

— The Man (@BeckyLynchWWE) July 9, 2019

“The Man” is taking over the world! Check out this month’s @ESPN The Magazine’s #BlockbusterIssue featuring @BeckyLynchWWE and @alisonbrie! https://t.co/ENyDDncsEg

— Stephanie McMahon (@StephMcMahon) July 9, 2019

Thanks Steph, we should fight sometime. https://t.co/oy5jBqITdx

— The Man (@BeckyLynchWWE) July 9, 2019

Hell Yeah!!! RT @WWE: THE MAN becomes the first @WWE Superstar to grace the cover of @espn The Magazine as @BeckyLynchWWE joins @GlowNetflix's @alisonbrie for the BLOCKBUSTER issue, available this Friday! https://t.co/KA8XE3EPwE

— Steve Austin (@steveaustinBSR) July 9, 2019

Thanks Stone Cold, so happy that some people say you remind them of me. #DTA

— The Man (@BeckyLynchWWE) July 9, 2019

💀🤔💀 #DTA

— Steve Austin (@steveaustinBSR) July 10, 2019

•Closing Commentary

– Who’s ready for Sunday? Let’s do some predictions!

(1) Seth Rollins (c) & Becky Lynch (c) vs. Baron Corbin & Lacey Evans in a “Winner Take All” Extreme Rules match for the Universal & Raw Women’s Championships

There is no way Baron Corbin and Lacey Evans win these championships in my opinion. SummerSlam is right around the corner and I can’t imagine they’d want Corbin and Evans walking into the second biggest PPV they have as the champions. Also, emphasizing what losing could do to Becky and Seth’s relationship was a big tell to me that they aren’t losing. WWE too often tries this reverse psychology stuff without realizing constantly doing it like this means it doesn’t work when they want it to.

Prediction: Seth and Becky retain

(2) Kofi Kingston (c) vs. Samoa Joe for the WWE Championship

I think I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again; I am a HUGE Samoa Joe fan. I would love for him to win here, but Kofi’s been booked so strong in the ring I’m just not seeing them taking the title off of him in a match vs. Joe. They’ve done slightly better making fans think Joe could win in my opinion. Don’t forget, Joe handed Kofi his only loss (that I can remember) since winning the championship in a tag team match a couple of weeks ago. I wish they would let Joe win though. He talks a big game, then loses every single time. He’s been able to get his heat back on the mic, but that only lasts so long and I think he’s quickly approaching the time where his words will mean nothing because people will start to notice the trend. In regards to this match, I think the only way Kofi doesn’t leave Extreme Rules as champion is if Lesnar cashes in on him and I’m not very confident that happens.

Prediction: Kofi retains

(3) Bayley (c) vs. Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross in a Two-On-One Handicap match for the Smackdown Women’s Championship

This is so strange. I don’t mind the story, but making the match a two-on-one handicap match doesn’t seem like a match stipulation, it’s just changing the match entirely in my opinion, but whatever. I think there are two possible outcomes here, both include Bayley retaining. My first thought is the Sasha Banks return to help Bayley since she’s outnumbered. Nikki emphasized on Raw and Smackdown that Bayley has no friends, but then Wade Keller mentioned on the WKPWP Post-Raw show that WWE allegedly confiscated a Sasha sign from a fan. This could indicate there’s no way she’s coming back, or it could indicate WWE wants us to forget about her ahead of her return. I guess we will see. The second outcome I think could happen is Nikki costs Alexa the match and Alexa finally shows her true colors and turns on Nikki. If we weren’t about to head into SummerSlam, I’d say there was a chance Nikki pins Bayley to win Alexa the title, but then Nikki starts to think she should be champion and the relationship falls apart that way, but a Nikki vs. Alexa title match at SummerSlam doesn’t feel like a big enough match at this point.

Prediction: Bayley retains one way or another. I’m leaning towards a Sasha Banks return to help her, only to turn on her soon setting up Bayley vs. Sasha Banks at Summerslam.

(4) Drew Gulak (c) vs. Tony Nese for the Cruiserweight Championship

Drew Gulak just won the championship at the last show. I haven’t been able to watch 205 Live recently, so I don’t have much to say here unfortunately. Sorry to the 205 Live faithful. I’m hoping to catch back up this weekend ahead of Extreme Rules.

Prediction: Drew Gulak retains

(5) Daniel Bryan & Rowan (c) vs. The New Day vs. Heavy Machinery for the Smackdown Tag Team Championships

This one is one of the more difficult matches for me to predict. I don’t think New Day have much of a chance, I think it comes down to Bryan & Rowan or Heavy Machinery. I’d prefer Bryan & Rowan, but we all know the tag division isn’t booked consistently. They tend to hotshot whatever act they’re in to at the moment to the championship spot and they’re really in to Otis. They even had Heavy Machinery pin the last two WWE Championship contenders teaming together to get entered in this match to build credibility. If I had to guess, New Day was added to take the fall here, which may lead to a rematch for Bryan & Rowan who can claim they weren’t pinned to lose the titles.

Prediction: Heavy Machinery win the SD Tag Team Championships

(6) Ricochet (c) vs. A.J. Styles for the United States Championship

I love heel A.J. Styles. His baby face run was full of catch phrases and it was so generic. Him back with Gallows & Anderson is also great. If Heyman is actually in charge of Raw, I’d just give them time and let them work. As for this match, I think Ricochet losing this soon after winning will kill any momentum he’s built. He needs to win and beating A.J. is a great momentum builder.

Prediction: Ricochet retains

(7) The Revival (c) vs. The Usos for the Raw Tag Team Championships

This match should be good. Don’t have too much to say about it in all honesty… I think there’s a 50/50 shot this is on the Pre-Show again which would be a shame. Maybe not though since there’s a 205 Live match on this card too. I hate that it’s always a championship tag team match or the Cruiserweight Championship match on the pre-show instead of one of these non-title matches, but oh well.

Prediction: The Revival retain

(8) Roman Reigns & Undertaker vs. Shane McMahon & Drew McIntyre in a No Holds Barred match

I can’t think of a single match I want to see less on this show. Undertaker matches have been horrible lately. Shane McMahon matches are… Shane McMahon matches. We’ve also seen Roman Reigns and Drew McIntyre in a singles match and in some combination of a tag team match for what feels like a full year already. I just pray this ends here, but I don’t think it will. I think Roman will move on, but I (and countless others) are thinking we’re going to get an Undertaker vs. Drew McIntyre match at SummerSlam and it appears that we’re getting a Kevin Owens vs. Shane McMahon match at some point too. Please let me be wrong about Shane…

Prediction: Undertaker & Roman win

(9) Braun Strowman vs. Bobby Lashley in a Last Man Standing match

This match feels like it came out of the blue. How did we go from tug of wars and arm wrestling to attempted murder on Raw last week and a last man standing match here? Should be entertaining, but I don’t think it’ll be all that good. This is just two big men beating each other up all around the arena, this won’t be a match for a wrestling purist. I’d anticipate a big strength spot for one of these two guys, maybe Braun throws the grappling hook and pulls down part of the set again. It doesn’t even matter, these spots are really played out to me.

Prediction: Braun I guess?

(10) Aleister Black vs. Cesaro

For a moment there, I thought they were going to make us wait and speculate about who’s hand we saw before Cesaro sat down in the chair during this week’s Smackdown episode. I think this is a good first match for Aleister after the repackage/re-debut. With how many weeks we’ve seen Aleister begging for someone to knock on his door for a fight, there’s no way on Earth they have him go look like a complete clown and lose in his first match.

Prediction: Aleister Black wins

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