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WWE Money In The Bank 2019 Preview/Predictions
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.
By Nicholas Jason Lopez
The poster of this event is a microcosm of the problems that plague the main roster – the illusion that two’s better than one.
In a panicked reaction to low ratings, Vince McMahon introduced (in a half-assed manner, mind you) the “Wild Card Rule,” where four superstars from Raw could appear on SmackDown and vice versa. McMahon messed up the promo to explain it and then managed to break his own made-up rule as five superstars from SmackDown appeared on that very Raw.
Since its forgettable introduction, it has actually made Raw and SmackDown feel like the same show, with Elias, Roman Reigns, Shane McMahon, The Miz and The Usos being most of the “Wild Cards.”
We’ll get into the bigger problems later, but Money In The Bank comes at a time when the main roster needs unpredictability and luckily, the briefcase holders can contribute a bit of that to their respective Title pictures.
WWE WrestleMania 35 Preview/Predictions
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.
By Nicholas Jason Lopez
NXT TakeOver: New York (or TakeOver: Brooklyn V?) came, conquered and impressed everyone in all its glory.
300-pound Heavyweight Hanson performed a handspring back elbow and a top rope senton to the floor, Velveteen Dream was the GODDAMN STATUE OF LIBERTY and the main event between Johnny Gargano and Adam Cole delivered more wows than a summer blockbuster.
To be frank – WrestleMania will pale in comparison to its NXT counterpart and that’s to put it nicely, despite the fact that Mania will run more than twice the amount of time and contain more than three times as many matches.
Below are our predictions to shape Mania into a halfway decent show. If you’ve followed the Raw side (without falling asleep), the build has been abysmal while SmackDown has held themselves together better thanks to Kofi Kingston’s journey, but there are still some flaws here and there.
Let’s get to it.
Notes In Observance – WWE Raw 3/13/17: Trim The Fat
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.
By Nicholas Jason Lopez
“Notes In Observance” features random thoughts and analysis on television shows. Quick results can be found at the bottom of the post.
(Aired 3/13/17)
Trim The Fat
– The opening video showcased WWE Universal Champion Goldberg’s victory over Kevin Owens at Fastlane. They wasted no time to show Brock Lesnar’s interruption of his promo last week and subsequent face-to-face. All of this was to of course, hype their encounter for the Title at WrestleMania 33. As we remember, Lesnar stood tall at the end with an F5 while Paul Heyman provided the verbal bloodshed. Basically, the momentum shifted from Goldberg to Lesnar. Good time for this to happen with Mania in the wings.
Notes In Observance – WWE Raw 3/6/17: Reclaim The Yard
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.
By Nicholas Jason Lopez
“Notes In Observance” features random thoughts and analysis on television shows. Quick results can be found at the bottom of the post.
(Aired 3/6/17)
Reclaim The Yard
– The opening video recapped WWE Universal Champion Goldberg’s defeat over Kevin Owens at Fastlane the night before that lasted just longer than a National Basketball Association shot clock. WWE United States Champion Chris Jericho – once Owens’ best friend that was betrayed mercilessly weeks prior – cost him the belt that he at one point helped him keep countless times. He did that with his simple presence on the ramp, which deterred Owens from his “mind games” strategy of repeatedly stalling for time. We hoped they’d work in actual footage of Jericho helping Owens time in and time out (Dammit, WWE Network, there’s an archive waiting to be used) but they did give us the line from Commentator Michael Cole, so we guess we’ll settle for that. On the other side of the WrestleMania 33 spectrum, this sets up an inevitable Universal Championship match between Goldberg and Brock Lesnar, just what their third match in history needs.
Notes In Observance – WWE Raw 2/27/17: Post Breaker
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.
By Nicholas Jason Lopez
“Notes In Observance” features random thoughts and analysis on television shows. Quick results can be found at the bottom of the post.
(Aired 2/27/17)
Post Breaker
– We began with Goldberg, who we know challenges WWE Universal Champion Kevin Owens at Fastlane in six days. Cue his classic “walk from the back and snort aggressively” entrance. Goddamn, his pyro gets so bright. Among the fans in Green Bay, Wisconsin looks like an adult woman decked out in WWE Raw Women’s Champion Bayley’s gear. Well, something seems off about that. Not a bad promo from Goldie – “KO talks too much” and “I’m six days away from gold” are things his character should be saying. It’s inevitable, isn’t it? We think people just like to chant Goldberg’s name more than it being an indication that he’s actually over. He sure was throwing a lot of promises out there. Things looked to wrap up there, but we got a KO appearance. Luckily for last week’s sit-down suit promo, we can take the Champ slightly more serious now. Okay, he flubbed “mood” for “mool,” but that can slide. We liked that he sold his credibility and reminded us of how he beat John Cena on his first night on the main roster and scored big wins over AJ Styles and WWE Intercontinental Champion Dean Ambrose. He even name-dropped WWE United States Champion Roman Reigns. The telling line was that he outright said Chris Jericho didn’t matter. Foreshadowing. We’ll say that Goldberg has gotten better at promos than we can remember. “I don’t speak neanderthal” was a very KO response. Ha. Pick on the hometown, classic heel move. “The Goldberg chant dies” was a pretty morbid way to end the exchange, but that set the table for FL nicely. KO ultimately stands no chance in the long run with Brock Lesnar in the wings and his history with Goldberg.
Notes In Observance – WWE Raw 2/13/17: Festival Of Friendship
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.
By Nicholas Jason Lopez
“Notes In Observance” features random thoughts and analysis on television shows. Quick results can be found at the bottom of the post.
(Aired 2/13/17)
Festival Of Friendship
– Raw was in Las Vegas, we had a big WWE Raw Women’s Championship rematch between Champion Charlotte and Bayley and above all else, a “Festival Of Friendship” WWE United States Champion Chris Jericho was throwing for WWE Universal Champion Kevin Owens. Add up all the ingredients and figure out where it can possibly go wrong. Exactly. To start the show, out came Commissioner Stephanie McMahon, which meant we got the old-fashioned 20-minute talking promo. Vintage Raw. She “gave” General Manager Mick Foley “the week off” and emasculated him without his presence this time. She went for the classic hometown cheap pop. Lord. Here comes Roman Reigns. Just why? This “Big Dog” nickname sounds so forced and won’t ever catch on. He demanded Braun Strowman, even though he’s guaranteed to face him at Fastlane on Mar. 5., like bro, can’t you wait? Real world exercise – ask your boss for your vacation and then a month before it approaches, demand it right now. See how that works out for you. From Steph’s point of view, why on earth would she oblige? We’re reminded she’s a heel and gets the crowd worked up for the prospect of it happening and then does the “boss” thing and prevents it because “she cares.” Cue the boos. She does announce that Strowman would face Mark Henry later. That sounds nice. She’s the boss, so she threatened Reigns and teased taking away the FL match and subsequent WrestleMania bonus. Reigns only got more aggressive in his stance, which drew WWE Raw Tag Team Champions, Luke Gallows/Karl Anderson. This can’t be good. They sucked up to Steph and suggested a Handicap match. Why wouldn’t she? Anderson sported a Club shirt that had similar fonts to the classic Bullet Club tee. Oh, subtle copying. Cue a mini-“brawl” where Referees have to pull them apart before we go to break. Let’s get to the match portion of things. Not much to write here, as the “numbers game” ran the pace, though Reigns powered in some offense. For some reason, the Champs ignored requests from the Referee to not beatdown their single opponent and were disqualified. Meh. Reigns fought out of the Magic Killer and then walked away. The Tag Champs don’t look any stronger and neither did Reigns. What exactly was this supposed to be?
Notes In Observance – WWE Raw 12/26/16: Multitasking Mayhem
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.
By Nicholas Jason Lopez
“Notes In Observance” features random thoughts and analysis on recent television shows. Quick results can be found at the bottom of the post.
(Aired 12/26/16)
Multitasking Mayhem
– The opening video pleasantly recapped recent storylines – Braun Strowman will toss everyone around (particularly Sin Cara into Christmas Trees) in pursuit of Sami Zayn, who “defeated” him at Roadblock: End Of The Line. Strowman entered himself into the main event picture to target WWE United States Champion Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins, much to the delight of WWE Universal Champion Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho.
WWE Tribute To The Troops 2016 Reaction
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By Nicholas Jason Lopez
Genrally, WWE’s annual “Tribute To The Troops” is holiday filler with little storyline impact.
2016’s was somewhat different, as they took advantage of Raw’s Roadblock: End Of The Line Pay-Per-View four days away and shaped the main event around it, also in a way that allowed the “patriotic faithful” theme to stay relevant.
Did it need to be two hours though? Add to that Raw’s three hours, SmackDown Live’s two hours and 205 Live’s one hour just two days before, that was a lot to watch.
Either scenario, no going back now.
Notes In Observance – WWE Raw 11/28/16: Woo-men’s Wrestling
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By Nicholas Jason Lopez
“Notes In Observance” features random thoughts and analysis on recent television shows. Quick results can be found at the bottom of the post.
(Aired 11/28/16)
Woo-men’s Wrestling
– The opening video recapped last week’s main event WWE Universal Championship match where Champion Kevin Owens successfully defended against Seth Rollins in a No Disqualification match, with Chris Jericho’s help, donned in a Sin Cara mask and Shinsuke Nakamura hoodie, to spite General Manager Mic Foley’s rules that he’d be banned from ringside. Add an apron powerbomb by Owens and Rollins was done. The KO Show continues.
Notes In Observance – WWE Raw 11/21/16: Diss And Make Up
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.
By Nicholas Jason Lopez
“Notes In Observance” features random thoughts and analysis on recent television shows. Quick results can be found at the bottom of the post.
(Aired 11/21/16)
Diss And Make Up
– The opening video nicely recapped the forgettable five-and-a-half-hour spectacle that was Survivor Series. Primarily, Goldberg’s manhandling of Brock Lesnar in his 12-year awaited in-ring return was at the forefront. It was stillshot city of a monumental upset.
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