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Another week, another set of outside the box predictions for the week in WWE. What does the crystal ball see for Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens?
One of my favorite pastimes as a WWE fan is to try and guess what’s going to happen in the future. I don’t go out of my way to spoil myself. But trying to get into the heads of the creative department is a good way to kill some time.
Last week’s Royal Rumble fallout had major implications on the Road to WrestleMania. With the Raw brand lacking a challenger for Brock Lesnar and the Universal Championship, Kurt Angle began the process of finding one. Three qualifying matches took place for the Elimination Chamber, where the winner will go on to face Lesnar at WrestleMania. Elias, Braun Strowman, and John Cena have already qualified, but three spots remain.
There’s also going to be an Elimination Chamber match for the Raw Women’s Division – and it’s going to be a championship match, to boot. Alexa Bliss entering to face five of the best Raw has to offer. Who will step up to the challenge?
The SmackDown brand already has its big WrestleMania match between WWE Champion AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura. But that’s only if Styles makes it to WrestleMania as champion. With Fastlane on the docket for March, the superstars of SmackDown have one last stop before hitting NOLA. With the Yep Movement about to face off for a shot at the WWE Championship, what does it mean for Fastlane – and WrestleMania?
So join me as I peer into my crystal ball and fight the lousy reception to give you some bold predictions for the week of Feb. 5, 2018.
Roman Reigns Loses His Elimination Chamber Qualifier
Raise your hand if you think Roman Reigns is going to face Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 34. Most of you, okay. Now, raise your hand if you think it’s so obvious that WWE is going to try and swerve us to make us think it won’t happen. Just me? Well, then…
Per WWE’s official Raw preview, Reigns is going up against Bray Wyatt in a qualifying match for the Elimination Chamber. Smart money would be on Reigns winning because a) Reigns is very clearly heading towards a WrestleMania match against Brock Lesnar to finally dethrone The Beast and b) Bray Wyatt has as much forward momentum as the Cleveland Browns.
So why would WWE waste everyone’s time with a match that has such a blatantly obvious outcome? Maybe they won’t. Regardless of the outcome, Reigns and Wyatt usually have good chemistry in the ring; their matches are usually decent until the way too obvious finish. Perhaps Wyatt gets a surprise victory this week, leaving the golden boy Reigns in a sorry state before Elimination Chamber.
But with so much time before the Elimination Chamber, there’s other ways for Reigns to get in. Maybe he goes the Braun Strowman route and just destroys everything in his path until he gets his way. Or maybe he challenges someone in the match to put their spot on the line.
What if Reigns doesn’t get in the Chamber at all? There’s nearly six weeks between Elimination Chamber and WrestleMania – maybe Reigns takes on the Chamber match winner with the WrestleMania spot up for grabs. Maybe it’s Reigns vs. Cena, and the Undertaker somehow gets involved, with Roman winning and Cena getting angry and challenging the Undertaker for a Mania match.
Asuka Enters the Elimination Chamber
Based on the ever-present Stephanie McMahon segment that kicked off Raw last week, It seems Asuka is basically headed straight to WrestleMania with no shenanigans along the way. Her victory at the Royal Rumble seems to give her carte blanche to coast until New Orleans. She still hasn’t chosen her opponent on the Grandest Stage of Them All – what if it’s because she expects to already be champion?
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We know Alexa Bliss is defending the Raw Women’s Championship inside the Elimination Chamber. We don’t know who will be challenging her. There are five spots for challengers, with Sasha Banks, Nia Jax, and Bayley likely getting three of the five. What’s to stop The Empress of Tomorrow from taking one of the final two?
The trick with that would be the undefeated streak. Asuka’s match against Banks last week was great, even if the likelihood of a Sasha victory was the same as the Miami Marlins winning the NL East in 2018. And if Asuka entered the Chamber, would anyone believe that the streak would end there? With WrestleMania so close?
So Asuka would have to win the title if she entered the Elimination Chamber – what about her Royal Rumble victory? Maybe she challenges Charlotte at WrestleMania, and becomes a dual-brand champion. Stranger things have happened in WWE over the years.
Last year, there was no intrigue with Randy Orton winning the Rumble, so there was no threat of someone jumping ship from one brand to the other for their guaranteed title match. That opens the possibility for yet more groundbreaking from the Women’s Divisions.
Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens Have Played Everyone
WWE hasn’t uploaded an official preview for SmackDown Live as of this writing, but they did publish an article about the scheduled match between Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens. Last week on SmackDown, cracks began surfacing between the two best friends. Miscommunication during a tag match against AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura led to a loss, after Zayn walked out on Owens.
After the match ended, Renee Young caught up to Zayn backstage and asked if his friendship with Owens was over. While Sami was emphatic that he and Owens were still friends, he stated that it was his turn for an opportunity. The language he used caught my attention – “This is about opportunity, Kevin knows that;” “Kevin’s been champion… I’ve been overlooked.”
With Sami saying that Owens “knows” that it’s Sami’s time to be champion, what if we get a rehash of one of the absolute worst decisions in WCW history – The Finger Poke of Doom?
While that may have been one of the most poorly conceived ideas in professional wrestling, it may fit with the current Yep Movement storyline. The original Finger Poke of Doom was a world title match between the two leaders of warring factions – Zayn and Owens are still friends going through a perceived rough patch. If Owens lays down for Sami, it could demonstrate how much he’s grown as a human being since ending his friendship with Chris Jericho. Honestly, just being friends with Sami after everything they’ve been through over the years shows he may be a changed man.
So if Shane McMahon is so hell bent on punishing these two, but Daniel Bryan keeps giving them opportunities, maybe this is finally where the master plan comes to fruition. The controversial ending at the Royal Rumble may just have been a monkey wrench in the plan – Bryan announcing this match is his way of showing he’s trying to help out and is in on the plan.
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What do you expect to happen in WWE this week?