Welcome to the Rasslin’ Roundtable!
Rasslin’ Roundtable
WWE SummerSlam 2014
WWE SummerSlam Pre-Show Match
Intercontinental Championship
The Miz (c) vs. Dolph Ziggler
David Spain: I want Ziggler to have the belt. Fool that I am, I refuse to believe that it is too late for Dolph to rise, and damn it: this is a great chance. But I think we’re going to see a bit longer of a chase before he does it, and that spells a Miz win for now.
Winner: Miz
Justin C: I hate that Miz is doing Tyler Breeze’s gimmick. I would like to see Breeze up on the main roster some time soon, but it is unlikely with them having similar gimmicks. As for the match, the only way you could get people to care about Miz is in a match with Dolph Ziggler. The shine on Miz has been gone for three years. There’s really no reason for Ziggler to win the IC Title again. Miz retains.
Winner: Miz
Chris Sanders: Call it grasping at straws but I’ve got my fingers crossed for a Ziggler resurgence. Sure it’s just a mid-card belt but considering where he was at a few months ago, it’s progress. Punk is gone, Bryan left, toss the internet a bone.
Winner: Dolph Ziggler
Rhett Davis: The Miz has a new gimmick that’s not too much different from the old gimmick. He’s an arrogant jerk that has a lot of connections and money. Oh and Dolph meanwhile drowns in the midcard. Miz wins in Los Angeles.
Winner: The Miz
The Buzzards Swarm Jericho
Chris Jericho vs. Bray Wyatt
David Spain: Jericho’s win last month was a surprise, which I think made this storyline stand out. With the absence of Harper and Rowan from ringside, this is set up to be a far better win for Bray than last month’s would have been. Looking forward to this one.
Winner: Bray Wyatt
Justin C: I’ve been really disappointed in the build to this match. Part of it is because the build seems like the same thing we saw in John Cena vs Bray Wyatt. Bray Wyatt’s character has lost some steam in the past few weeks. I still like it and have hope for him in the future, but Bray seems to be stuck in a rut. As for Chris Jericho, it seems like just another one of his usual returns. I like both guys more than this preview would sound like, but something just isn’t clicking with this program for me. But I think Bray gets his win back here and we get the rubber match at Night of Champions.
Winner: Bray Wyatt
Chris Sanders: It’s Bray’s 1 year anniversary since his first match on the main roster, he lost last month. I think we all know how this will turn out. The Wyatt boys are banned from ringside which is causing a lot of people to assume we will see the debut of a new member of the family interrupt the match. A lot of names are being thrown around, most of them saying Bull Dempsey from NXT. That’s a pretty fitting choice but I will say this: Braddox is a southern gent that is looking quite scruffy these days.
Winner: Bray Wyatt
Rhett Davis: Yawn. I thought the build for this match would be awesome, but it hasn’t. It’s been extremely boring. Bray wins to set up rubber match record.
Winner: Bray Wyatt
Flag Match
Rusev vs Jack Swagger
David Spain: I think this is the best example of an idea that makes sense of paper but is going to look oddly similar to the dumbest thing you can imagine in practice. I feel like the sensible thing is for Rusev to have his dominance stopped in a real match, by a real opponent, rather than get injured by some grinning xenophobe in this turnbuckle-climbing contest.
Winner: Rusev
Justin C: This one is interesting. Technically, if Rusev loses here, they could still talk about how Rusev has never been pinned or made to submit. I mean if we are getting into technicalities, Rusev already has a loss on his record when he didn’t win the Battle Royal on RAW last month. It’s nice to see Jack Swagger get a face run. I thought he could have had a nice one if they turned him face by going after Michael Cole after Wrestelmania 27. Swagger could very much turn into a Kurt Angle-lite type of face. Part of me thinks the Patriot Vince McMahon wants to see the American Flag waving proud at the end. Now of course that could happen post-match, but I’m going with a minor upset and picking Swagger to win here.
Winner: Jack Swagger
Chris Sanders: Let’s all say hello to the one way Swagger could actually beat Rusev without actually pinning him. If that isn’t a metaphor about Iraq, I don’t know what is. Swagger might as well show up on Raw the next night with a Mission Accomplished banner. That’s still a topical reference, right?
Winner: Jack Swagger
Rhett Davis: They are obviously building Rusev to be the next foe for John Cena to squash so why would Swagger win here?
Winner: Rusev
Divas Championship
AJ Lee (c) vs Paige
David Spain: This is an odd one for me, but in a pleasant way: I think they can go either with this, give either woman the belt, and it’s a good way to go. I personally can’t predict so much as guess, but considering Paige is doing the old mindgames, let’s give her the win.
Winner: Paige
Justin C: These two have had a better month of feuding compared to Battleground. And it helps that we now have Paige firmly established in the heel role. It was tough for the crowd to decide who the face was the first time around. I feel like these two know they put on a stinker at Battleground and will look to make up for it here. The result really all depends on A. How long AJ is sticking around, and B. Who would be next up in the Divas Division? I’m sticking with AJ to win here and we end up getting one final match at Night of Champions.
Winner: AJ
Chris Sanders: Still not sure where they’re going with the frenemy thing but I’m alright with it continuing because who else is in the title hunt right now? Exactly.
Winner: AJ
Rhett Davis: I like AJ and Paige, but they need to work better than they did last month. That match just didn’t work. I think AJ wins this one though.
Winner: AJ Lee
Lumberjack Match
Seth Rollins vs Dean Ambrose
David Spain: I think that the chase for this has been going on for some time now, but this is the first real clash we’re getting. A Lumberjack match does not seem to imply feud completion, and offers a good deal of opportunities for the Authority to get their hands mixed up in things. These factors, for me, indicate a tainted win for Rollins.
Winner: Seth Rollins
Chris Sanders: Announcing this as a Lumberjack match was a bit of a “wamp wamp” moment for me because if they were worried about Seth running away, at least make it a cage match or something. I would say make it a hell in a cell but we’re only a few months away from that PPV. I’m gonna say that Seth will have shenanigans go down in his favor and it’ll lead to extending this feud even longer. As long as we get more Dean popping out of giant boxes, I’m game.
Winner: Seth Rollins
Rhett Davis: Dean Ambrose wanted to ensure no that there was no outside interference and he asks for a lumberjack? What the what? Why not take a steel cage match? Anyways, Ambrose wins this one with Seth being thrown off by Lumberjacks.
Winner: Dean Ambrose
The Roman Empire: Fall or Rise of?
Randy Orton vs Roman Reigns
David Spain: Well, it was nice to see Reigns take a beating earlier this month, and I like the build if not exactly the match itself. Orton does not tend to make for an amazing one-on-one contest, and whilst I enjoy Roman, I don’t see him making it a contest to be remembered. Still, this is about the Rise of Reigns, and so I think Roman is going to be spearing the Viper in two this Sunday.
Winner: Roman Reigns
Justin C: This is my lock of the night. Roman Reigns is going to go over Randy Orton here. Reings is being built up as the next top guy in the WWE. He’s not all there yet. And he still needs to work on his promo delivery. But he has time. What happens with Randy Orton after this will be interesting. Does he get kicked out of The Authority? Does Batista come back to feud with him? Orton is a good hand to have around. But as I said in the beginning, Reigns wins with the Spear and continues to dominate on his way to Wrestlemania 31.
Winner: Roman Reigns
Chris Sanders: Unless shenanigans, this will be another stepping stone for Reigns. The guy will have a significant WWEWHC reign within the next year.
Winner: Roman Reigns
Rhett Davis: Uhh, I don’t like Roman and Orton is stale with a boring opponent so meh. Roman wins to become the next big boring thing.
Winner: Roman Reigns
The Boss Gets Her Way
Stephanie McMahon vs Brie Bella
David Spain: I don’t see why I’m expected to care about this. I’ll admit that the build has been quite diverting, but we are all aware that we’re tuning in to watch a mother of three who can’t wrestle wrestle the wife of a man we’d far sooner see wrestle than her, right? I say Steph will probably take the win, because God forbid WWE has to end one of its two ‘women are irrational’ storylines.
Winner: Stephanie McMahon
Justin C: This program was going relatively well, and then they completely screwed it up on RAW. Daniel Bryan cheating? Really? We didn’t need that to become a part of the story. I’m sure the WWE expected us to just not believe Steph, but it was just so unnecessary. But Stephanie McMahon just plays her heel character so well that people want to see her get her ass kicked. Some people think that Nikki will turn on Brie, but I don’t see it happening. I actually think we will end up seeing Daniel Bryan accompany Brie to the ring. And Brie wins with the Yes Lock.
Winner: Brie Bella
Chris Sanders: Things have very much shifted in Stephanie’s favor on Raw this past Monday. I really do hate the new cheating angle that’s been added but I guess it’ll give reason for Daniel Bryan to at least be on camera in the near future so there’s your silver lining. The only thing I wish they would’ve clarified on Monday was if Brie was defended that Bryan didn’t schtoop the personal trainer. I feel like that detail was lost in the shuffle here but it’s kind of an important one. Either way, everything is in Stephanie’s favor right now which usually means things will shift the other way for the ppv match itself.
Winner: Brie
Rhett Davis: This has been the most captivating Women’s storyline possibly ever. I’ve really enjoyed what I’ve seen thus far and look forward to this thing extending.
Winner: Brie Bella
WWE World Heavyweight Championship
John Cena (c) vs Brock Lesnar
David Spain: Are any of us so foolish as to doubt Lesnar now? Honestly, I wish he’d come back to fight Punk, then Taker and now this: erase the Cena and Triple H shenanigans from history and just have this build. Even with Lesnar being a part-timer, I think he’ll do it. They can’t not have him do it: not now. I believe in that screaming psychopath: God help me, I do.
Winner: Brock Lesnar
Justin C: These two put on a good brawl last time. And while the ending may have taken away from the match for a lot of people, it was still fun to watch. Paul Heyman speaking for Brock has made the build very good. And Cena has been good as well. I’m of the opinion that Brock Lesnar is winning here. And I’m perfectly okay with him taking the Title and not being around all the time. To me, the Title has been over exposed in the last few years. If Brock isn’t around all the time it will make seeing the Champ fight or on TV seem like a special occasion, If Brock doesn’t win here it will take away any meaning that his win over Undertaker at Wrestlemania had. The Streak ending will turn out to be worthless. Brock gets the win, and we get a dominant heel champ that we have been dying to see for a long time.
Winner: Brock Lesnar
Chris Sanders: It was a mistake to have Brock lose to Cena back in 2012 but it wasn’t a massive one because it’s Brock and he’s done pretty well for himself since then. All that being said, if Brock loses in his first match since breaking the streak, wrestling fans should be offended. For real, we’ve invested 2 decades in Undertaker’s streak and they finally pulled the trigger this year and I would hope WWE didn’t do that just to build towards a match at Summerslam. I’m not saying that’s what they did but it had to have been in the back of their minds, right? If you really wanted to shock the world here, have Brock convincingly beat Cena clean in 5 minutes and end the show at 10:40pm. The only people you’d piss off were those that had to spend $40 on the PPV and, let’s be honest, Vince doesn’t exactly care about the people that haven’t subscribed to the Network. And if network users get mad at that, calm down, it’s ten bucks a month, stop complaining and go watch NXT.
Winner: Brock Lesnar
Rhett Davis: Uh, Brock wins. Or they may as well cut him.
Winner: Brock Lesnar
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