By Jason Powell
Nobody really wanted it, but you are getting it anyway… WWE kicks off its latest attempt at offering separate Raw and Smackdown pay-per-views tonight. And what better night to begin this crazy experiment than on the first Sunday of the NFL season? Hey, at least WWE has their built in network subscriber count. TNA actually wanted to run Bound For Glory on pay-per-view tonight for reasons I will never understand, but fortunately they were forced to reschedule. Does Smackdown have enough talent to deliver a quality three-hour show? Yes, at least for now. Let’s check back in a few months once they get through their initial feuds.
Dean Ambrose vs. AJ Styles for the WWE Championship: Styles is the next WWE Champion. I don’t know whether it happens tonight or if they drag this out a little before he takes the championship, but he has to be the guy who takes the title away from Ambrose. I’m all for it happening tonight. Styles is fresh off the big win over John Cena, and he’s the guy who can carry the Smackdown main events. He obviously has future dates with Cena, and he can also have a strong program with Randy Orton. I’m not sure where Ambrose goes from here since there are not many strong heels for him to work with, but more on that later.
AJ Styles wins the WWE Championship.
Randy Orton vs. Bray Wyatt: I don’t see them going right to Styles vs. Orton. One can only assume that they will be going with a Styles vs. Ambrose rematch next month, and I’m guessing we get a rematch of this match too. I could see this being a DDQ. If I need to pick a winner, then I’m going with the heel to prolong the feud.
Bray Wyatt wins.
The Miz vs. Dolph Ziggler for the Intercontinental Championship: Dolph Ziggler’s big push resulted in him having yet another secondary championship match with The Miz. The more things change, the more they stay the same. Fortunately, I get the feeling that Ziggler is about to snap. I mentioned earlier that Dean Ambrose needs a dance partner, and perhaps a heel Ziggler can be that guy. I just hope that WWE creative doesn’t think winning a secondary title as a babyface is a good payoff for Ziggler’s recent storyline. We’ve been there and done that too many times for that to be meaningful.
The Miz retains the Intercontinental Championship.
Becky Lynch vs. Nikki Bella vs. Naomi vs. Alexa Bliss vs. Natalya vs. Carmella in a Six Pack Elimination Challenge to become the first Smackdown Women’s Champion: I am all for the Smackdown women getting their own championship, yet I don’t really have a strong desire to see anyone in particular win the title. A case could be make for anyone in the match winning or losing. Alexa has kept a bit of a low profile throughout the build. Is it because they don’t have big plans for her or because they want to put the title on her? It wouldn’t shock me if she won, and it wouldn’t shock me if she was the first woman eliminated. Nikki and Carmella have the only real feud of the division right now and they don’t need the title. I would prefer to see them save a Lynch win for a bigger payoff down the road, but she can be the face of the division and be counted on to have good matches.
Becky Lynch wins the Smackdown Women’s Championship.
The Usos vs. The Hype Bros for a spot in the tag team championship tournament finals: The logic of the Usos being defeated in less than a minute and then injuring a member of the team that beat them only to somehow be rewarded for this by getting their slot back is baffling, especially when you consider the babyface authority figures made the call. They need to win this match because there’s really no reason to book Hype Bros vs. Rhyno and Slater in the finals.
The Usos advance.
Heath Slater and Rhyno face The Usos (or The Hype Bros) to become the first Smackdown Tag Team Champions: The Usos going over and then defending the tag titles against American Alpha going forward makes the most sense. I just don’t know if WWE can resist the urge of having a big family celebration for the Slaters. I could see Slater and Rhyno going over with help from American Alpha. How about a reunited Luke Harper and Erick Rowan defeating Slater and Ryno to win the tag titles once Harper returns? Ultimately, though, I’m going with the safe pick.
The Usos win the Smackdown Tag Team Championship.
Powell’s Bold Predictions for WWE Backlash
-There will be an early departure in the women’s elimination match so that JBL can work in a shot about the length of CM Punk’s UFC 203 fight.
-The event will be the same length as other WWE live specials/pay-per-view events. Keep in mind, they are still selling this event on pay-per-view on some cable systems, so I can’t imagine the company scaling way back on the time when some fans are still paying $44.99.
-I mentioned Luke Harper in the tag team scenario. If he’s ready and they want to place him on Smackdown, they could always have him play a part in Bray Wyatt defeating Randy Orton. Heck, for that matter, they could turn Harper by having him cost Wyatt the match. Okay, so that’s not really a prediction as much as throwing out a bunch of scenarios. Besides, Harper was reportedly at UFC 203 last night, so this probably isn’t his return night.
-A losing heel will falsely claim that a babyface tapped out in moment borrowed from the UFC 203 main event.
-Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan will get plenty of air time. WWE has to fill three hours somehow.
-Nothing interesting will happen on Fear the Walking Dead tonight. Nothing interesting ever happens on Fear the Walking Dead.
-I am going to triple down… Okay, I still believe WWE will increase their pricing for the network now that they are running two pay-per-views most months, but I have no idea when that will happen.
-The live crowd will chant “Yes!” Hey, I have to get one of these right every once in a while.
-Dolph Ziggler will continue his odd streak of ’80s glam rock tributes by wrestling in a schoolgirl outfit as he pays homage to Britny Fox’s “Girlschool” music video.
Be the first to comment