WWE SmackDown 5 Predictions For September 19, 2017

2. Dolph Ziggler Gets Called Out By Bobby Roode

There’s a rumor floating around that Bobby Roode’s first feud on the main roster will come against Kevin Owens, which means they could be holding Roode’s first match on SmackDown Live  until after Hell in a Cell once the match between Owens and Shane concludes. I think there are too many threads in the KO-Shane story that will need to be unwoven, so I am still of the belief that the WWE will just give us the same old Ziggler vs. new main roster star feud that we’ve seen for years.

I’m a noted Ziggler mark, but this consistent booking does nothing for anybody. It never makes the new guy look any better, and it certainly doesn’t make Ziggler look any better. It’s hard enough for most fans to take him seriously due to all the losses, but it’s even worse now with his new Damien Sandow-inspired gimmick. Except, you know, they actually gave Sandow a chance to shine. I get why they set new stars up with Ziggler; Dolph is one of the best in the business, and the invaluable wisdom he imparts always makes the new main roster talent better off for it.

Ziggler and Roode have been fighting at house shows this month and are consistently advertised as opponents in live events. Hopefully, they are just using Ziggler’s knowledge and charisma away from something that might affect television storylines, but I have a suspicion that they are not interested in changing their approach.

Because of this, I believe Roode will mercifully end the Ziggler entrance experiment tonight, calling Dolph out for the shade he’s been throwing at the former NXT Champion’s outlandish ring attire and entrance.