It would seem that my Money in the Bank predictions were not so money after all.
Perhaps I got too cocky those first few months of 2019. Perhaps WWE booking has simply become an unpredictable pool of chaos. Whatever the reason, I’ve once again had a terrible result to my PPV predictions.
What I got right: Bayley won the WMitB, Becky Lynch defended her Raw title but lost her SD Title, Tony Nese retained the Cruiserweight title, Kofimania rolled on with a successful WWE title defense, and Seth Rollins retained the Universal Title
What I got wrong: The Usos defeated the newly crowned and trying to establish a whole new division SD tag champs? Elias lost all credibility and momentum by falling victim to what was essentially a squash from Roman? Shane found a way to steal ANOTHER win from Miz? Rey won the US title from Joe? Why? Not that it matters since Rey is likely injured yet again. Worst of all, why Brock???
That gives me a 6 and 5 record for the night, and a 38-21-3 overall record for the year. Perhaps next week’s TakeOver will help me build that win column up a bit more.
Injury Report
Ruby Riott had surgery on her right shoulder this week. She sent out a smiling photo from her hospital bed with the caption “one down, one to go.” She’ll eventually be getting the same surgery on her left shoulder.
Ric Flair is at home recovering from the procedure that he underwent last week. He did end up cancelling a gig, but is expected to make a full recovery.
AJ Styles
AJ Styles recently spoke with Newsweek and told them that his most recent contract will be his last. The exact details of his new contract are unknown, but it’s believed to be a 3 year deal. Styles says that he’s very happy in the WWE’s PG environment which his family can attend and enjoy. AJ will turn 42 this summer, and even though he’s still competing at the top of his game it makes sense that he would no longer want to be on the road full-time when he reaches his mid 40s.
New Title
Hall of Famer Mick Foley appeared in Raw this week to introduce a new title to the mix. When you think of Foley, you think Hardcore. Alas, in today’s PG environment reintroducing the old Hardcore Title just isn’t a viable option. WWE instead too one of the more interesting aspects of that title, its ability to change hands 24/7 as long as a referee is available, and made a new title built entirely around that concept.
This could potentially be a fun addition to the WWE mix, but unfortunately it felt almost immediately irrelevant. The live crowd actually booed and the group of wrestlers scrambling to get their hands on the new belt could best be described as “the guys hanging around that haven’t been given anything better to do in forever.” There’s still potential for this to inject a bit of fun in WWE programming, but they got off to a fairly rocky start.
Owen Hart
20 years ago this week I was at a friend’s house where we gathered for all PPV events surrounded by our crew of fans for what we thought was just another PPV Sunday. Unfortunately, all of us who tuned in that night were witnesses to one of the most tragic nights in the history of sports entertainment. The Blue Blazer was supposed to make a super hero entrance, but something went terribly wrong. Owen Hart fell over 70 feet from the rafters to the ring. He was pronounced dead at the hospital approximately 30 minutes later.
To this day, Owen Hart is still one of the most beloved performers to ever step in the ring. Known as not only one of the most talented performers but also as one of the best human beings in the business. He was famous for pulling pranks on his coworkers and keeping smiles on their faces. He was also a family man who put aside his own fears about the stunt he was asked to do for the sake of the job that supported his wife and children.
Two decades may have passed, but there remains an Owen sized hole in the heart of the wrestling world.
PPV Plans
NXT TakeOver June 1
-NXT Title: Johnny Gargano© vs Adam Cole
-NXT Women’s Title: Shayna Baszler© vs Io Shirai
-Tag Title Ladder Match: Burch & Lorcan vs Undisputed Era vs Forgotten Sons vs Street Profits
-North American Title: Velveteen Dream© vs Tyler Breeze
-Matt Riddle vs Roderick Strong
Saudi Arabia Show June 7
As has been the case with previous shows in Saudi Arabia, some of the talent are choosing not to participate. Thus far, 4 top stars have made it known to WWE officials that they are unwilling to travel to the country. Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, Daniel Bryan, and Aleister Black are sitting out the trip, some of them for the 2nd or 3rd time since they started running shows there.
-Goldberg vs Undertaker
-Triple H vs Randy Orton
-Braun Strowman vs Bobby Lashley
-Roman Reigns vs Shane McMahon
-IC Title: Finn Balor© vs Andrade
-WWE Title: Kofi Kingston© vs Dolph Ziggler
-50 man battle royal
WWE Stomping Grounds June 23
Extreme Rules July 14
NXT TakeOver: Toronto August 10
Summerslam August 11
