Neville (C) vs. Enzo Amore – Cruiserweight Championship
So Enzo Amore got big booted by Big Cass every week, was kicked off WWE tour buses, got verbally castrated by The Miz for that very same reason and got destroyed by Braun Strowman, and I’m supposed to believe he has the slightest chance of winning? Now, having a Cruiserweight being destroyed by heavyweights isn’t exactly the way I’d book a CW title match, but this is looking grossly one-sided and is just something for Enzo to do in the interim. All I’ve garnered from this feud is that Enzo isn’t meant to be taken seriously as a competitor and Neville is simply at a superior level Enzo at this point in time will not reach. I don’t know if we can consider Enzo’s title shot a miniature impunity from his backstage heat, but I’ll be damned if Neville loses to Enzo. That would be an even bigger troll-job than our current WWE Champion. If Neville can get at least a ** match out of Enzo, then it’ll be a miracle.
Winner: Neville
RAW Tag Team Titles: Seth Rollins (C) and Dean Ambrose (C) vs. Cesaro and Sheamus
WWE might as well have just had a triple threat match involving The Club considering how they’ve integrated themselves into the beef between the two primary competing teams. There really isn’t any exciting reason to watch these teams again because they’ve seemingly just gone through the motions and there haven’t been anything too out of the ordinary or too unique in terms of the booking. There’s not much else to say, other than the fact that I can’t see a good reason to put the tag titles back on Cesaro and Sheamus. They’ve served their roles well and cocky heels, but I’m thinking Seth and Dean’s reunion is meant to last much more with the titles. Sheamus and Cesaro also won a triple threat match on RAW, and according to the laws of reverse momentum, that would favor The Shield.
Winner: Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose
The Miz (C) vs. Jason Jordan – Intercontinental Championship
The underlying story here is that Kurt Angle is an irresponsible father, Jason Jordan has that privilege which has garnered him matches against John Cena and Roman Reigns in recent weeks to get him some exposure, and The Miz wants to put him in his place. That would be all well and good if not for the fact that Jordan was made the official number 1 contender this past Monday, making it hard to get invested in this feud. last year at No Mercy, The Miz had the match of his life with Dolph Ziggler over the same IC belt. Now, one year later, The Miz finds himself on the oversaturated RAW brand, where he has been grossly overlooked and where his work has paled in comparison to what he did for Smackdown since the brand split. Jordan has looked pretty solid in his singles matches, but I don’t think Jordan should win the title Sunday. If you ask me, the negative reception that he’s been getting should be used as something to facilitate a heel turn, but at the same time, I can’t see anyone else taking the title off of him at this point in time. For the interim, I’d think The Miz will retain here.
Winner: The Miz
Finn Balor vs. Bray Wyatt
I was just about to post these predictions and I literally forgot this match was taking place. That pretty much goes to show you the scope of what this feud has been. Bray Wyatt one day decided to attack Finn Balor, because of course, he does, and then Balor naturally responds, and these two hate each other and why are these two feuding? The worst rivalries in WWE are the ones in which you don’t know why they hate each other. Bray apparently wants to prove Balor is just a man, taking the face paint that Balor wears too personally. That’s literally why Bray hates Finn. Their matches have been relatively average, and I really could not care less about who wins, because there are no stakes, and neither of these men looks to be doing anything productive in the immediate future. I suppose you could say Bray Wyatt needs the win more because he’s been lost in the shuffle in a way on the RAW roster in lieu of the top guys. Balor’s just another guy on the roster as of right now. If I had to pick, based on the context of the feud, I’d say Finn wins to defend all those who express themselves with alter egos, like Goldust, but honestly, who cares?
Winner: Finn Balor
Alexa Bliss (C) vs. Bayley vs. Sasha Banks vs. Nia Jax vs. Emma – RAW Women’s Championship
Best way to break down this match would be to break down each women’s chances. Emma has run a campaign, believing that since she was the self-proclaimed originator of the Women’s Revolution, she should be granted a title match. While she didn’t get exactly what she had in mind, she will be in fact getting an opportunity at the RAW Women’s Title. She scored a pinfall victory over Sasha Banks in tag team action (after Nia did the heavy lifting), so that goes for something. Despite that, Emma hasn’t been built up to hold the Women’s Championship, and to me, she was just thrown in there to remind us of her existence. Bayley just returned last week, and while she has some unfinished business with Alexa, I can’t see her winning the title immediately after she just returned. Also consider the fact Alexa has already defeated Bayley twice, so it would be very weird to put the title back on her.
Sasha Banks has never successfully defended her title as champion, so if she were to win, it would only be a matter of time before she lost it again, and the last thing she, or the RAW Women’s Championship needs, is a frequent, place-holder champion. If there’s anyone to take the title off of Alexa in this match, it would be Nia Jax, because of she, other than Emma, has yet to win the RAW Women’s Championship, and she has never gotten an extended period of time to face Alexa Bliss one on one for the title. However, that’s better suited for one on one action, and would probably have more meaning that way. I have Alexa retaining here. I mean, she was on the promotional material of No Mercy to begin with.
Winner: Alexa Bliss
John Cena vs. Roman Reigns
This fourth-wall shattering feud would be better suited for a Big 4 PPV, but regardless, this feud has made Roman look kind of stupid. John Cena has one-upped him in every single one on one confrontation and the only time Roman gained an advantage was this past week on RAW, when Cena wasn’t even there. Roman has also fallen into the trap of thinking that using nasty words will get his promos over. While it’s good every now and again to gain an extra edge, making it a part of your promos suggests more desperation than actual ability. Cena has exploited Roman Reigns’ deficiencies in promo-cutting and lack of self-awareness, while Roman has primarily taken aim at Cena’s part time-status and his history of burying talent. While there is merit to each of their claims, there is still a match to be had and that will determine who the winner is.
I’m not sure if you would call this a passing of a torch sort of deal, but it’s hard for me to see Roman losing here. He’s slowly being built up as the next major face of WWE and according to reports, he’s due for a one on one bout with Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship at WrestleMania this year. A lot of his believability goes down if he loses against a relic of the past in John Cena. Cena has won the WWE Championship 16 times, has main event countless WrestleManias and is forever etched in WWE as an icon, though that term is ambiguous. Roman needs the victory much more, because while he is no doubt the next big thing in WWE’s eyes, he can’t move forward if he loses in the past. This isn’t to say that a loss here would hurt Reigns, but it certainly won’t do him any favors coming off his loss at Summerslam. All that “Big Dog” and “my yard” rhetoric goes straight out the window if he loses here, so I’ll take the Big Dog in this WrestleMania-caliber matchup.
Brock Lesnar (C) vs. Braun Strowman – Universal Championship
WWE’s booking team will face one of their biggest challenges of the year. Braun Strowman has arguably been the top performer in WWE this year, and he is faced with the biggest matchup of his career. A one on one battle of behemoths against the Universal Champion, Brock Lesnar. Now, there aren’t many people, if any, that can make Brock look like a stereotypical underdog, even within the confines of WWE reality. Put it this way. If Brock Lesnar is Goku, then Braun Strowman is Broly. WWE will have to get bold here, because now they are in a position where they can have Braun Strowman win the title after over a year of build-up, and it would be appropriate. However, the only person that could believably take the title off of Braun once he wins it would be Brock Lesnar or Roman Reigns, and they’re set for WrestleMania next year unless there’s a drastic shift in plans.
Many people have stated that WWE may ruin everything for Braun by putting the title on him now when there’s another match for the Universal Title already in the works, and a short, forgettable reign would work against him. WWE’s objective here is to find a creative way to keep the title on Lesnar without having Braun look weak by comparison. Strowman laid out Lesnar at Summerslam and showcased his dominance again on RAW last week. My ideal way would be to have perhaps Heyman cost the match for Braun or have Brock resort to a low blow or shady tactics to win. the believe Braun is ready to be a champion, but it is also about timing, and now isn’t the right time for me. However, his time will come and it will be something special. Just not this Sunday.
Winner: Braun Strowman
