By Anish Vishwakoti, Prowrestling.net Staffer, (@AVX_9001)
Join us for live coverage of WWE Super Show-Down on Saturday morning at 4CT/5ET. Jason Powell and Jake Barnett will get together afterward for an audio review that will appear on a special edition of the Pro Wrestling Boom Podcast.
The Undertaker (w/Kane) vs. Triple H (w/Shawn Michaels) For the Last Time Ever. In case you haven’t heard from WWE, this will be the ‘Last Time Ever’ that The Undertaker and Triple H will have a match. First off, it definitely feels weird that they’re adding this monicker to it and taking it seriously, while at the same time teasing the redacting of Shawn Michael’s retirement moniker from his match at WrestleMania 26. Such is wrestling.
Regardless of the circumstances behind this match and what they are trying to achieve, WWE has been going all out with promotion for this match, no doubt to try and sell out the MCG. Having either Taker or HHH on the last few Raws has made this match seem at least somewhat special, and the addition of Michaels does give this match the added kick of nostalgia. Seeing The Brothers of Destruction chokeslam DX was not something I thought I’d be seeing in 2018. In the hope that the match between HHH and Taker will be a great match, I welcome this build, and it’s definitely better promotion that some other spectacle matches for televised live events have received in the past (Brock Lesnar vs. Kofi Kingston or even John Cena’s return on this very card).
I can’t see The Undertaker losing a singles match in the future against anyone not named John Cena. Therefore, I feel that he and Taker will go toe to toe until Kane acts as an edge for Taker, prompting HBK to come out of retirement in of all places, Saudi Arabia.
The Undertaker defeats Triple H.
AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe for the WWE Championship in a no DQ, no count-out match. The Styles and Joe rivalry has taken a very personal twist, all the while maintaining really great matches. Joe seems like a credible threat to Styles at any time. The two muddy finishes in their last matches have set up this match in Melbourne as if there is no way to go but a clean finish, whatever that means in a No DQ match, but I tend to believe we will see one.
Joe’s antics with Styles’ family have made for at least a more compelling feud than Styles has had with some of his rivals, i.e. Nakamura or Jinder. I like the ‘No excuses’ aspect of this match, in that WWE have made this feel like this is their most important encounter, even if it won’t end up being so. Styles has had a lengthy and pretty entertaining second title run, and I believe that his time as champ has come to an end. With this being a No DQ match, Styles can get away with losing for more than Joe can. I feel that Joe will get under AJ’s skin and that when Styles tries to unleash his anger on Joe he will hesitate, leading Joe to hit a low blow or a chair shot or something that will allow him to lock in a submission and force AJ to pass out.
Samoa Joe wins the WWE Championship.
Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair for the Smackdown Women’s Championship. Becky and Charlotte have been doing the best they can given the circumstances. And no matter whether WWE has the orientations in this rivalry wrong, Becky and Charlotte have still been managing to make this feud entertaining. Becky feels like she has a legitimate gripe with Charlotte, and while WWE are doing Charlotte no favors, seeing as she has been getting booed probably more than Becky. It still makes for an interesting story, and at least has me excited to see what they can do in Melbourne.
While I predicted the WWE Championship feud having a little finality to it, or at least AJ’s part of the title run, I don’t see the same here and feel that WWE will more treat this as a transition point in their story. I see Becky retaining, and while I am not sure if she will do so clean, I think both will be kept strong and neither will defeat the other in completely decisive fashion until down the road. I’m sure that the two will have a good match, and I hope the arena in Melbourne can propel this match to above what I believe WWE have slated it to be.
Becky Lynch retains the Smackdown Women’s Championship.
The New Day vs. Sheamus and Cesaro for the Smackdown Tag Team Championship. I can’t really say anything bad about this storyline heading into Super Show-Down because in all honesty I have been enjoying the exchanges between these teams. Their singles matches in the last few weeks have been rather entertaining. That said, this doesn’t stick out to me entirely either, and I find myself often forgetting who the champions are at any point are. I don’t think WWE have a long term plan for the titles right now, and I don’t think The Bar are the solution.
I suspect they will use this match as their big comedy spectacle for the live show. This is still essentially a televised house show, although they are having so many big matches on it, and I think this match will remind everybody about that. I see the New Day retaining, probably with the help of some pancakes or something like that. I don’t expect this to be a five star classic as much as it being the laugh fest of the show, to whatever effect that will be. My hopes for this being at least enertaining are at least somewhat high given the chemistry between these guys.
The New Day retain the Smackdown Tag Team Championship.
Cedric Alexander vs. Buddy Murphy for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship. I’ve really liked the way in which 205 Live has been building up Alexander as a champion. I kind of miss having the cruiserweights on Raw and having a champion like Alexander who just defends in great matches every week could be helpful to the show. They’ve made Murphy seem like a real threat, especially through his matches with Mustafa Ali.
Considering where this match will probably be on the show, which is somewhere in the middle, I see WWE needing the crowd to be happy with the result of this match. Because Murphy is from Melbourne I think this match will get a fair amount of time, and will result in Murphy winning the title in his home town. I know WWE has a thing with wrestlers losing in their hometown, but at a show like this I think they will prioritize the mood of the crowd over that adage. I see Murphy and Alexander going toe to toe and Murphy beating Alexander maybe via pulling the trunks or something simple like that. 205 Live booking hasn’t been too outlandish recently and I hope that before anything, they can just give these guys a good amount of time to have a good match and let the crowd go home happy.
Buddy Murphy defeats Cedric Alexander to win the WWE Cruiserweight Championship
The Shield vs. Braun Strowman, Dolph Ziggler, and Drew McIntyre. The three Shield guys and the heels in this equation have all been doing good work on Raw, I think that although their arc over the last few weeks has felt a little same-y with Ambrose’s turn being teased each week. Regardless, I enjoy all their matches on Raw. I feel that this match will spill out all over the arena and involve someone, probably Ambrose or Rollins, jumping off something very high, or someone like Braun falling through something very big.
With the tease of Ambrose turning heel, the only way for this match to go is by Ambrose affirming his commitment to the group and them getting through this match with the victory. If anything, I think that there will be a misunderstanding between Braun and his teammates, leading to the Shield taking advantage.
I certainly don’t think WWE will be breaking up the Shield on anything other than a bigger PPV or maybe on Raw, and I don’t think there’s really a need for the heels to get the win here. They have the tag titles, so I think they can keep themselves looking strong regardless, and as long as Braun doesn’t get pinned, I think he can cut ties with them and go back to being a monster pretty quickly. Therefore, I see the Shield winning via Triple Powerbomb on Dolph or Drew, probably Dolph to keep Braun and McIntyre especially looking strong
The Shield win.
Daniel Bryan vs. The Miz to earn a future WWE Championship match. I don’t expect Bryan and Miz to blow off their long term rivalry with each other any time soon. Bryan and Miz feel like they have almost been holding back up till Super Show-Down, I feel like their story will get even more time leading up to Survivor Series and that this match is just a set up for Bryan or Miz to ruin the other’s title shot to lead into that.
No doubt the crowd will be excited to see these two, but I think the match won’t be a straight one between the two, but rather Bryan trying to get around the Miz’s antics. Eventually one of Miz’s tactics will backfire, maybe through use of Maryse or brass knuckles again, leading to Bryan getting the victory and giving Miz something to complain about in the future. This will lead into Bryan getting a shot at the WWE Champion that is ruined by Miz down the line, allowing them to build teams for a Survivor Series elimination match. I expect this match to be fun, though not a five star classic.
Daniel Bryan defeats the Miz to earn a title shot.
Ronda Rousey and The Bella Twins vs. The Riott Squad. Ronda’s singles matches are fun, but I don’t think this feud with the Riott Squad alongside the Bellas has been particularly interesting. Obviously it hasn’t been the best for Morgan, seeing as she was KO’d by Brie Bella. I’m not going to go so far as to say that the Bellas have forgotten how to wrestle or anything, as obviously accidents happen in this dangerous business. But their recent matches on Raw haven’t really helped me get excited for this match.
The Riott Squad will get the win in this match after a miscommunication between Ronda and Nikki leads them to lose. This is the best way to give the Riott squad momentum moving forward, and it allows WWE to build Ronda vs. Nikki for Evolution. I don’t see this match being anything special, I think it’s really just here to build the Raw Women’s Championship match for Evolution.
The Riott Squad win.
Bobby Lashley and John Cena vs. Kevin Owens and Elias. I don’t really have much to say about this match. While Elias and Owens are entertaining, and they clearly got a lot of heat on Raw, much of that had to do with the Seattle crowd responding to a regional sports joke. Lio Rush being Lashley’s manager has been a welcome addition to Raw. Obviously, the attraction here is Cena, and I feel that this will just be the John Cena show. Ultimately, the feud between the others will move on to Raw and we won’t really see a conclusion here. I see Cena beating Elias and giving the crowd a nice babyface promo with some vague talks about what he will be doing next.
John Cena and Bobby Lashley win.
Asuka and Naomi vs. The IIconics. I see this match opening up the show. Obviously, with the IIconics both being Australian, there should be a big crowd reaction for them here. I suspect they talk about how they are the best things to ever come out of Australia in an effort to prompt boos from their home crowd. I don’t think this match will go too long. It will be a simple tag match where Asuka makes the save for Naomi and takes out the IIconics in regular Asuka fashion. I’m not especially excited for this, but the IIconics could make this a fun crowd for the start of the show.
Asuka and Naomi win.
>>I certainly don’t think WWE will be breaking up the Shield on anything other than a bigger PPV or maybe on Raw<< Uh…..well that would be everything…way to predict when it happens.