MM: Hey Widro! I’ve been thinking about who Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose’s “mystery partner” might be. Shall we start with the most obvious?
WIDRO: Yes, and I still think the odds on favorite, is Randy Orton
MM: That choice makes sense but also doesn’t make sense. I’m not entirely sure that Randy is the most interesting choice, and they’ve already gone out of their way to not only have him beat down and “written out” of the storyline, but also miss this week’s TV after originally being advertised to appear. I’ve assumed that the rumors of Orton taking some time off are true, so I’m ruling him out. 10-1 odds at best.
WIDRO: Wow ruling him out! You must have had a different “most obvious” choice than I was thinking. Who was your most obvious?
MM: Yeah, I’d like to think that WWE is having the Wyatts injure people – including Jimmy Uso, who I am also ruling out – for a reason and to build to a surprise or at least an interesting partner for Ambrose and Reigns. Also, they have made it pretty clear that Roman wasn’t happy with the Wyatts hurting his cousin. Since Jey Uso is still out injured, and I don’t think they’d book The Rock on a PPV without advertising it in advance, my most obvious answer is:
Roman Reigns’ real-life brother, ROSEY!
WIDRO: I was just thinking that Night of Champions needed a little Three Minute Warning
MM: Yes, for this to have an impact, he cannot, I repeat – CANNOT – come to the ring as a super-hero in training!
WIDRO: Well the Hurricane is still with TNA, so they would probably wait to have them together.
MM: You don’t seem convinced that Rosey is the answer.
WIDRO: I think as a fan, I’d be most excited to see Samoa Joe in that role.
MM: I’d love that… unless of course WWE is using Traditional Logical Booking (TM), in which case the newest Wyatt (BRAUN STROWMAN~!) really should get the pinfall victory here. And I do not want to see Samoa Joe (not to be confused with Roman Reigns, who is also Samoan and named Joe) fed to him.
Speaking of NXT talent, however, what do you think of the apparently photoshopped rumor that the mystery partner is Baron Corbin?
WIDRO: I think that they often have silhouettes of people that the graphics department just puts in as a placeholder and it rarely if ever is influenced by the creative team.
What do you think about the possibility of Erick Rowan being the mystery partner? Reigns & Ambrose playing mind games BACK to Bray.
MM: I love it and hate it!
If you rule out Randy and Jimmy, Erick really IS the “most obvious” answer. He’s about ready to return to action, and fits perfectly into the storyline. The Black Sheep of the family vs. The White Sheep? Vince probably loves that idea. That said, since he was booked as a jobber on the way out, does he get the pinfall win here? Jobbing him here would be useless.
WIDRO: I think he would be the designated jobber so that Bray keeps getting heat on Roman until either he wins or turns
MM: In that case, I have another idea that’s similarly mind-gamey. What if Roman and Dean choose another member of Bray’s family? That is, a slightly repacked (to be less goofy) Bo Dallas – Bray’s real-life brother!
WIDRO: I think that isn’t a bad possibility, but I wonder what that new Bo gimmick would be… with both Bo Dallas and Erick Rowan, they seem like surprises that will take the loss and be a one show storyline
MM: Too bad Bo no longer has that beard!
OK so we’ve gone through: Randy Orton, Jimmy and Jey Uso, The Rock, Rosey(!), Samoa Joe, Baron Corbin, Erick Rowan and Bo Dallas… The Miz said it wasn’t him, Wade Barrett is filming a movie, andGoldust, Tyson Kidd and Christian are on Injured Reserve. Who’s left? Anyone else been off TV for a while or from NXT who would make an impact AND make sense in the storyline?
WIDRO: It’s hard to imagine this being the debut for Finn Balor. I’m not sure what the injury status of Sami Zayn is, but he would be a cool surprise
MM: Oh! I like that! I was trying to figure out if some currently-MIA stars like Kane or Daniel Bryan would make sense.
WIDRO: Kane doesn’t seem to make sense, he was last associated with the Authority, this would be a face turn and a complete story change without resolving the exit.
I think Daniel Bryan is very unlikely due to injury, and much like The Rock, they would be better served announcing that ahead of time.
MM: Great point on Kane, and I agree on Bryan, but if he’s coming back full time, they can get away with not advertising him, and frankly his return could pop the Raw rating.
How about I name a few others and you say the first thing that comes to mind about whether or not they’d be a good fit.
Speed round!
WIDRO: OK let’s do it
MM: Chris Jericho!
WIDRO: I think Jericho would be a fun surprise, he’s always on good terms with WWE and could be a fun moment. That said, I don’t see it happening
MM: Fair. David Otunga!
WIDRO: No chance!
MM: Josh Bredl!
WIDRO: Josh Bredl – who is that?
MM: He won Tough Enough winner, so it’s probably a terrible idea. Although… I CAN see it happening, if only to get the kid a quick follow-up to winning TE, and protect him by being in a six-man. Plus he can take the pin and go away forever.
According to <a href= https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_WWE_personnel#Male_wrestlers target=new>Wikipedia</a>, Otunga is actually a sometime on-air announcer. Who knew?!
WIDRO: yeah he does some pre shows
MM: Damien Sandow!
WIDRO: Sandow would be cool actually
MM: I agree; Sandow would be great, although he needs a new gimmick. Not sure people would buy him as an asskicker after being Macho Mandow, Mizdow and before that, Lanny Poffo. In fact, two of his last three gimmicks were copy-cats of the Poffo family. Perhaps his next one can be Angelo?
Jack Swagger!
WIDRO: Definite no
MM: Brad Maddox!
WIDRO: Brad Maddox is barely on the roster
MM: Let’s not forget that Brad Maddox and The Shield have a history. Both helped Punk during his run – so this could tie together the whole “is the shield and brad maddox working with Heyman/Punk?” storyline!
WIDRO: haha wow
MM: Now all we need is to figure out who was behind GTV and whatever happened to Abraham Washington
WIDRO: They do have history but that is SO long ago, in WWE terms it is pretty much ancient history
MM: And they’d have to mention Punk which I doubt they’d want to do.
Curtis Axel!
WIDRO: Curtis Axel would be interesting with a new gimmick and push but I’m not sure he will get another shot
MM: Plus he WAS once tag partners with Bray…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMoOmTDdtmI
Rhyno!
WIDRO: Rhyno might be a fun pop, and especially if they need a designated jobber for the match, he fits the bill.
MM: And I think we can safely say R-Truth, Adam Rose, Zach Ryder and/or Heath Slater aren’t going to be in that match… Who are we missing?
WIDRO: What about RVD?
MM: Well THAT’S random!
WIDRO: Well I was thinking of good candidates that aren’t signed. What about Jeff Hardy?
MM: I think he’s under contract until year end; ditto Kurt Angle. And we have to rule out people like Brock Lesnar and The Undertaker, because… well, no.
I just figured out who it will be!
WIDRO: PJ BLACK?!!?
MM: Close – CESARO~!
WIDRO: ooh maybe
MM: Right? He’s the only babyface currently on TV regularly who isn’t booked for the PPV.
Plus, who else is even left? Mark Henry?
WIDRO: Big Show
MM: HAHAHAHAA, you’re right! And he IS due for a babyface turn! Then after the match, he can turn heel again and beat up Reigns and Ambrose for no logical reason!
I think we have our winner.
Verdict: At Night of Champions, we will see a six-man tag featuring Bray Wyatt, Luke Harper and Braun Strowman vs. Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose and… Big Show.
WIDRO: BOOK IT!
