WWE has released a new list (via the WWE Network) of their 2016 “Match of the Year”. The list of twenty, which covers from January 2016 to October 2016, features two women’s matches.
The rivalry between the Lass Kicker and the Spiteful One will continue as a rematch for the SmackDown Women’s Championship will take place next Tuesday.
Last week an impromptu bout took place between the two but was mired in controversy when Alexa Bliss claimed she suffered an injury, leading to a count out victory for Becky Lynch. However, Alexa still retained the title.
Daniel Bryan made the rematch after casting doubt on whether or not Alexa was truly injured, saying that the medical staff see no reason she can not compete:
One of the best things about SmackDown Live is the continuity that the brand brings to the table. Last week’s show set up three huge matches and ahead of the show this Tuesday night, there is a sense of excitement among the fans due to this. This emotion is something that Monday Night Raw has failed to evoke.
As mentioned earlier, the three advertised matches will be the major attraction of this week’s SmackDown Live. Apart from this, the fallout of what happened last week and WWE’s build up to Royal Rumble will also be featured on the show and in this list, we are going to preview the upcoming edition of Tuesday night’s SmackDown Live.
#5 Lunatic champion
Ambrose won the title last week
Dean Ambrose became the new WWE Intercontinental champion at the expense of The Miz last week. The title change came as a surprise to many fans and the way it happened was controversial as well. Ambrose was on the verge of getting the win via disqualification but he made the referee continue the match, which in turn helped him win the title.
Miz expressed his frustration on Talking Smack after SmackDown and to add salt to his wounds, Maryse was fined for slapping Renee Young.
An explosion from Miz and Maryse is what we could expect and as the former is not in good terms with Bryan, he could even demand a move to Monday Night Raw. Alternatively, WWE could even set up the in-ring debut of Renee Young, as the rumour mill has been buzzing about it for a long time now.
After getting destroyed in ratings by SmackDown Live, Monday Night Raw will be rolling out a jam-packed episode in an attempt to get their momentum back.
Aided by two huge returns and an interesting handicap match, the show does look interesting when compared to the past few weeks. But as WWE have a habit of disappointing their fans, it would be unrealistic to keep the expectations high.
The buildup for Royal Rumble and developing the stories of the undercard championships would be other major segments to watch out for on the show. In the list below, we are going to preview the upcoming edition of Monday Night Raw and the possible segments that WWE could give us.
#5 Reason behind HBK’s return
If you need reasons to tune into this week’s show, I got two legendary ones: Undertaker and Shawn Michaels.
Taker and Michaels are all set to make their returns to Raw this week and it would be interesting to see how WWE is going to make use of these two. The efforts that WWE is putting together to sell out Royal Rumble are evident and bringing in these two hypes the show perfectly.
Michaels will most likely be appearing to plug his new film “The Resurrection of Gavin Stone,” and keeping expectations low would thus be recommended. However, Undertaker could be appearing to make a huge announcement that might turn out to be the highlight of this week’s Raw.
WrestleMania is a time for celebration, during which every wrestling fan around the world sits back and basks in the glory of the show of shows. We get to watch with smiles on our faces as some of the top superstars in company battle it out for supremacy in the so-called season finale of the sports entertainment year.
What it is also a time for, however, is moaning. No matter what happens year in and year out at the showcase of the immortals, there is always something that doesn't quite please everyone in attendance.
Whether it's an odd booking decision or a blown spot, it would be a miracle for everyone to make it through an entire Mania without picking out some flaws here or there.
Now whilst some may shrug that off and claim it's to be expected, the superstars need to be given more credit than that. Nonetheless, anything we say isn't going to help the matter so instead, we'll look in more detail at some potential warning signs for the upcoming edition of the show in Orlando.
With sweat dripping down the faces of everyone reading, let's have a quick glance at five potential WrestleMania matches that could leave people hitting the cancel buttons on their WWE Network subscriptions.
#1 Braun Strowman vs. Roman Reigns
Strowman and Reign aren’t ready for a match of this magnitude
Oh, the horror. Just twelve months ago people were moaning to their hearts' content about the possibility of Braun Strowman having a marquee match at WM32, and in the present day we find ourselves in the same situation.
It's a shame really, because Braun really has come on leaps and bounds especially since the brand split.
But the problem isn't him - it's Roman Reigns. Whilst some people choose to just bash The Big Dog regardless of his abilities, it's important to be objective about this. The real problem doesn't lie with Roman because his illogical booking over the last few years has indicated that WWE actually want him to fail.
WWE finally put out a relatively solid episode of RAW after weeks of pure garbage, that included the returns of the Undertaker and Shawn Michaels and the crowning of a new United States Champion, Chris Jericho. The Deadman returned and enrolled himself in the Royal Rumble match, but that wasn’t the only thing he did in the night.
The Undertaker came out after the cameras stopped rolling and confronted Chris Jericho and Kevin Owens. The best friends were celebrating Jericho’s victory over Roman Reigns when the Deadman came out and interrupted the proceedings. Jericho spewed some comedic gold on the mic. Owens too wasn’t far behind either, who claimed Undertaker was his mom’s favorite wrestler.
This was enough to infuriate the Phenom, who went after both the champions. Taker first delivered the chokeslam on Jericho, who was unapologetically pushed by Owens towards the Deadman. Owens was next in line for the same treatment as he was laid out with a chokeslam too.Here are the videos of the dark segment that happened after RAW went off the air:
