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Another week, another set of outside the box predictions for the week in WWE. With Elimination Chamber behind us, attention focuses on SmackDown Live and Fastlane.
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, the revamped crystal ball was both on the money and kind of out of whack. It may not be a stretch to say that Buddy Murphy put on a show on 205 Live last week – whether or not he’s your new favorite wrestler remains to be seen. While the Gauntlet Match on Raw wasn’t exactly the chaotic affair I predicted, it was one of the best matches in recent Monday night history. And as far as SmackDown Live and the Top 10 List, well, it’s still kind of silly.
With an above average Elimination Chamber pay per view now finished, it’s time to shift attention to the Blue Team. Fastlane is just two weeks away (jeez, really?). Only four matches have been officially announced thus far. But something tells me there may be changes to some of the card already in place.
We can’t forget about Raw completely, though. Sure, Elimination Chamber is done, but what about the fallout? The newest signee to the brand, Ronda Rousey, likely has to answer for putting Triple H through a table. And surely Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman will have something to say to Roman Reigns.
So let’s jump into our WWE bold predictions for the week of Feb. 25, 2018.
Ronda Rousey: “Regular” Superstar
During her contract signing at Elimination Chamber, much attention was focused on Rousey’s contract itself. Apparently, per her request, Rousey will receive zero special treatment – she wants to earn her spot in the company, rather than get it handed to her. No perks, no special dressing room, no private transport – nothing.
So of course, my prediction is that “regular” superstar Ronda Rousey is absent from Raw this week.
Special treatment or not, very few WWE superstars make their in-ring debut at WrestleMania. But I can’t envision any scenario where Rousey has a match in the next six weeks. And if she’s not going to compete, why bother having her around until Mania?
It does no favors for anyone if Rousey is just hanging out on Raw every week and doing no physical activity. She’s already put Triple H through a table. Going back to her first in-ring appearance three years ago, she took care of both Triple H and Stephanie McMahon. Anything that would happen between now and NOLA would be a major step down – and on the Road to WrestleMania, things need to keep building.
Instead, Rousey will be off television for most of the remaining shows before Mania. Maybe a video promo here or there, but whatever her WrestleMania match ends up being will be booked by the other participants.
Is Braun Finally Done With Roman?
As was expected by pretty much everyone, Roman Reigns was victorious in the Elimination Chamber. With the victory, The Big Dog punched his ticket to a fourth straight WrestleMania main event – a record Reigns will now share with Hulk Hogan, provided he and Lesnar close the show.
What wasn’t really expected was the performance of Braun Strowman inside the Chamber. Before the match was over, Strowman eliminated every other superstar in the match besides Reigns. The Monster Among Men withstood multiple coordinated attacks by his opponents. Notably, he kicked out of a four man powerbomb (and accompanying four man pin).
But when the dust settled, Reigns dug deep enough to connect with a pair of spears (knowing one wouldn’t be enough) to put Strowman down. After the wars waged between the two superstars over the past year or so, it was fitting that it would come down to Braun and Reigns in the end.
With Roman heading on to face Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania, Braun seems to be out of the picture. His post match assault on Reigns was likely the book closing – for now. Finally, Braun is finished with Roman. I would expect Strowman to be in the championship picture following WrestleMania, but for now, he’s got to take a step back.
You Get a Main Event Spot at Fastlane! And You Get a Main Event Spot at Fastlane!
WWE’s modus operandi lately seems to be “take everyone on the roster and put them in the same match.” At Elimination Chamber, there was a six-woman match, and a seven-man match. There’s been no shortage of six- and eight-man and woman tag matches in recent months. And the Fastlane main event, as it stands, is a fatal five way match.
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Why not take it to the next level? There’s more superstars on the SmackDown Live roster who we can squeeze into the match, right?
As of this writing, superstars such as Jinder Mahal, Rusev, Shinsuke Nakamura, Tye Dillinger, Sin Cara, and Mojo Rawley are all without matches. Nakamura is set for his WWE Championship match at WrestleMania, so he likely won’t factor in at Fastlane. But Rusev and Mahal, at very least, could get added into the Fastlane match.
That way, the Blue Team would equal Raw‘s seven-man main event, albeit without the cage. It’s not a good idea at all, but if the plan is to cram everyone into a single match this would be a way to do it. SmackDown is in a bad state of affairs right now – and with co-branded pay per views on the way, it’s more likely Tuesday’s crew will be the ones to suffer. Maybe more people in the main event could provide a shot in the arm for the brand.
Next: WWE Elimination Chamber 2018: Review
What do you think is a possibility in WWE this week?