Wrestling Thursday: Seth, Johnny, Tournaments, Chamber

Well, it's has been quite a week on the WWE rasslin shows, huh? We are very much on "The Road," and it shows.

Raw

Raw has had gauntlet matches before, but I don't remember anything like this, because there's never been anything like this. This match went on for close to two hours, but it's the first hour that is the obvious standout. Seth Rollins basically wrestled an Iron Man match, except his opponent switched about halfway through. This was an epic performance, and a clear sign that he's finally at 100 percent and ready to resume his position at the very top of the card. Once Elias pinned him, the rest was fairly predictable, but fine and competent. Everyone got a chance to shine. I'll talk about the Chamber at the end here, but this match made it much more interesting.

Some clips. First, Seth vs. Roman

Next, Seth vs. Cena

The Seth interview

I don't know what's going on in the Bray/Hardy feud. If anyone has any idea, lemme know.

The build up to Nia vs. Asuka has been a note for note copy of the build up to their match in NXT, which no one is talking about. It's funny that Coach said Asuka has never had to deal with someone like Jax during her streak, when she beat her both in NXT and on Raw.

I don't know for certain who will be in the Mania Raw tag title match, but I can't imagine it'll be The Bar vs. Titus Worldwide, so I think this is passing time until the Good Brothers step up. Or The Revival. Or both. Probably both.

The women of the Chamber match didn't get anything close to the showcase the men got, reminding us how right Alexa was when she called out Kurt Angle. This was a nice little match, but I don't know if it's the build up I would have liked

In the end, this Raw will stand out for the gauntlet match, and pretty much nothing else. But so many Raws won't be remembers at all, and it was a hell of a match.

Smackdown

Another week, another "well, Smackdown also happened." At least we got AJ Styles back.

Back when I actually cared about Dolph, a Ziggler vs. KO match would have been a big deal. And both are still supremely skilled athletes. But I... just... don't... care. The only thing I really cared about here was the Sami distraction.

Speaking of Sami... no one is buying this, right? Are they... are gonna turn KO face when Sami turns on him at Fastlane?

If I don't talk about Roode/Jinder/Orton, will it go away?

Ruby Riott is so good, she is dragging this feud to relevance, despite no one believing she can beat Charlotte for the title.

Oh, look, it's "People who lost to the Usos fighting to see which of them will lost to the Usos in Fastlane." Everyone here is great, but if they're not going to let Gable and Benjamin win, what's the point? Just move on to Usos vs. Bludgeon Bros already. That's the Mania match, and they could use a match before Mania to remind people that Harper is one of the best big men on the planet, and that when those four guys go, it's awesome.

How great at wrestling is AJ Styles, huh? He got a really good match out of Baron Corbin, that's how great he is. Phenomenal isn't just a buzzword, it's the truth.

Here's the problem with the SD men's division, apart from everything I wrote last week: Their Mania main event HAS to be AJ vs. Shinsuke. It just has to be. That's the money match. And that makes the Fastlane shenanigans kinda pointless.

Mixed Match Challenge

And so, the first round ends.

Out of six matches, I got 4 right, and one of the two I got wrong was an unlikely result to begin with.

The second round is much harder to predict, but I'm gonna give it a shot.

Finn/Sasha vs. Miz/Asuka

How evenly matched is this? Asuka isn't taking the pin, but Miz can. My heart wants Finn and Sasha, but my head says Miz and Asuka go over.

Alexa/Braun vs. Usos

I'm done predicting Alexa/Braun losses for a while. They're going over.

Ravishing Rusev Day vs. Robe Warriors

This should go to Charlotte and Roode, but the Rusev resurgence is real. This will be my upset pick, as Lana and Rusev go over.

205 Live

Another first round of a tournament is over, as the 205 Live Title tournament moves onward.

The Murphy vs. Daivari match didn't really hold my interest. Not buying Murphy as a face, and never thought Daivari had a chance.

Jack Gallagher vs. Mustafa Ali, on the other hand, was great. Mustafa Ali being booked as the purest of babyfaces works GREAT, and is like an entire anti racism campaign in one person. With Jack receiving a character makeover, I fully expected him to go over, and the booking was super aware of this. This match worked SO well against expectations. I just wish the crowd wasn't utterly worn out after watching SD, MMC, and the first half of 205.

Looking at the bracket for the quarter finals, 3 out of 4 matches are hard to predict, which is quite nice!

Click image for full size bracket

Cedric vs. TJP

Is it the TJP resurgence or the Cedric inevitability? Hard to call, but I say Cedric goes over.

Strong vs. Kalisto

Another tough, tough call. Also a potentially GREAT match. I'm gonna say Roddy goes over, but it's a toss up.

Ali vs. Murphy

I think Ali should go over, but I really have no idea, as Murphy looks strong, and is likely to work heel here. Ali mostly goes over, to my mind, because he's the logical opponent for my one lock:

Gulak vs. Andrews

Drew wins. Probably brutally.

NXT

Look around, look around, at how lucky we are to be alive right now.

Dream and Nikki continue their inevitable ascendancy. But those were appetizer matches.

The second biggest thing to happen on NXT was the announcement of the third Dusty Rhodes Classic. The first one gave us Finn and Joe as winners. The second one had AOP win. This time? TM61 and War Machine are early favorites. Let's wait and see the bracket when it's released.

And, finally, the match of the night, and a match of the week on most weeks that don't have Seth Rollins wrestling for an hour. It's Almas Vs Gargano IV.

I had very clear expectations of the match. I figured Ciampa would interfere, losing to a Cien DQ and thus keep Johnny in NXT and ready for his Ciampa feud, and keep Cien champ. I did NOT expect Ciampa's interference to lead to Johnny losing. So, now, Johnny Wrestling is leaving NXT... right?

Probably not. I expected Regal to come out and say "nah, it's not going down like that" (but, y'know, more British like). That didn't happen. They let the moment stand, and this was how it ended:

Ciampa and Gargano really are the perfect heel and the perfect face. I expect them to fight, and to do so at TakeOver New Orleans. And again at TakeOver Brooklyn. Unless NXT wants to give us a Candice v. Ciampa match first, which I would support.

Elimination Chamber Preview

I suspect at least one more match will be added. Possibly two. One for the preshow (although that could be Bray and Matt) and one for the event itself.

Asuka vs. Nia

I expect them to open the show, so the result can have an impact on the rest of the show. I think Asuka goes over. I don't think this is where the streak ends.

Bray vs. Hardy

I mean... who the heck knows? Hardy should go over, by regular booking rules. But they haven't shown that they know what they're doing with Broken/Woken Matt. Are they willing to let him book himself? They should.

Ronda Rousey Signing

Rumors have been that she's going to do something with Steph. I don't see it. I think Steph will be involved, but I think the opponent will be, fresh of a loss to Asuka and eager to redeem herself, Nia Jax.

Men's Chamber Match

Roman is supposed to go over here. Roman was always going to go over here. But I'll give the booking credit: I'm no longer sure he's going over. Seth or Finn could go over. Braun could go over. Elias isn't going over. Neither is Cena, I don't think. This is going to be a fun match, and... well, Roman is probably going to win it.

Women's Chamber Match

I only see two possible outcomes here. The likeliest is Alexa going over, with a Sasha Banks heel turn leading to a program with Bayley. The second likeliest is Sasha going over with a heel turn. Either way, heel Sasha should finally happen here.

All images and videos: wwe.com and the WWE youtube channel.

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