Photo Source: WWE.com
Another week, another set of outside the box predictions for the week in WWE. Fastlane is almost upon us for the SmackDown Team, and Roman Reigns pushes towards WrestleMania.
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 crystal ball once again proved to be in tune with the spirits from beyond. Those otherworldly spirits guided me to a twist most probably didn’t see coming – John Cena getting added to the Fastlane main event. Most – myself included – figured he’d challenge Shinsuke Nakamura for his spot in the WrestleMania main event instead. But the WWE Championship match at Fastlane is now a six pack challenge. Score one for the seers out there!
Big swing and a miss, though, on the Ronda Rousey prediction. Rather than disappear for a few weeks and let the supporting characters build towards WrestleMania, Rousey was on Raw last week to apologize. Oops. But Braun Strowman does seem, at least for the time being, to be done with Roman Reigns. So the Raw predictions were kind of a wash.
This week, there’s only a few days before Fastlane. How will the Blue Team shake things up leading into their big pay per view? And what about Raw? Will Brock Lesnar respond to being called out by Roman Reigns last week? Is Asuka ever going to make her choice as to which champion to challenge?
Here are our bold predictions for WWE for the week of Mar. 5, 2018.
Alexa Bliss Continues to Assume Asuka is Her Opponent, No One Corrects Her
Ever since Ronda Rousey interrupted the proceedings at the Royal Rumble, the Raw Women’s Championship has been kind of in limbo. Everyone assumes Asuka will cash in her Rumble victory to face Alexa Bliss at WrestleMania. But, to date, the Empress of Tomorrow has yet to make her intentions clear. That’s 36 days of conjecture, speculation, and possible willful misdirection on the part of WWE.
At some point, it seems the Raw team has just decided that Asuka chose to stick with Monday nights, and they’ve been pushing the Mania build as such. Bliss has already started focusing on Asuka as WrestleMania approaches. And WWE even booked Nia Jax vs. Asuka at Elimination Chamber with the stipulation that Jax would be added to the Raw Women’s Championship match at WrestleMania if she won.
Rather than actually make the match official, WWE has gotten in too deep with the confusion and has to ride it out. Now, if there’s going to be any kind of “swerve” regarding Asuka’s opponent, it’s going to have to wait until at least after Fastlane. Do you really think it makes sense to detract from Charlotte Flair’s match against Ruby Riott by throwing the specter of Asuka on top of it?
In fact, right now, the longer WWE waits to “correct” the misinterpretation of who Asuka is facing, the better. Let Bliss prepare to face an unbeatable superstar, and on the final Raw before Mania, throw a monkey wrench in her plans. Hell, make the change at WrestleMania – why not? It’s not like any care is place in the booking outside of a few matches.
Thin Fastlane Card Doesn’t Add Too Much Bulk
As of this writing, there are four matches scheduled for Fastlane. There’s the Six Pack Challenge for the WWE Championship, a United States Championship match, a Women’s Title bout, and a Tag Team Championship clash. You would think that, with only one more show to air before the pay per view, that Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan would have figured out how to fill three hours – let alone the Kickoff Show.
Let’s take a look at the superstars who have yet to be booked onto the card. Former WWE Champion Jinder Mahal can’t get a match. Nor can Royal Rumble winner Shinsuke Nakamura. Also absent? Mojo Rawley, Aiden English, Rusev, The Fashion Police, The Bludgeon Brothers, Chad Gable and Shelton Benjamin, Becky Lynch, Carmella, Naomi, and Natalya. If we want to go further down the card, The Ascension, Tye Dillinger, Liv Morgan, Sarah Logan, Lana, Zack Ryder, and Sin Cara are also MIA.
Even if WWE wants to get another two or three matches on the Fastlane card, what is there to really work with? Let’s say Nakamura vs. Rusev gets added to the show. What other match of any substance could also make the cut? Lynch vs. Naomi? Or Carmella? Or Natalya? Outside of Charlotte vs. Ruby Riott, there’s been no focus on the women of SmackDown of late. None of those potential matches would be worth anything, other than maybe a god, but heatless match.
Perhaps it’s the “condensed” showtime of two hours, but SmackDown has done a very poor job of storytelling over the past few months. There’s some halfway decent stuff mixed in with the main event scene. But if Shane and Bryan aren’t involved in your story, you’re screwed. Maybe the post-Mania pay per view changes will force the writers to be more focused.
Roman Reigns, Top Babyface of Raw
Last week, Brock Lesnar “no-showed” Raw, prompting Roman Reigns to deliver a stellar promo lambasting the Universal Champion. And although The Big Dog entered the arena to his usual 60/40 mix of boos and cheers respectively, by the time he finished speaking he was cheered by the majority of the crowd.
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The Lesnar absence from Raw is likely going to be lumped in with The Beast’s appearance at a house show in Chicago this weekend. Lesnar faced Kane in a match that lasted a grand total of 35 seconds, give or take a few. Many of the fans in attendance were not happy, to say the least – they paid good money to see Brock in action, and instead they felt cheated.
With news of that match hitting the hardcore fans who lurk on Wreddit and social media, the odds that it will be a part of the WrestleMania build are going up. When all is said and done, I wouldn’t be surprised in the least if Reigns refers to Brock as a “less than a minute man,” because reasons.
Attacking Brock for his quick victories is kind of stupid – after all, he is the Universal Champion, and one of the most dominant forces in WWE today. But stupid doesn’t mean off limits, and the creative team will use every tool in the box to get Reigns cheered like they want. Make a crack about disappointing the fans? It may get some cheers.
If Roman gets turned loose like he did last week, mentioning the Brock drama may get him closer to that “face of the company” top babyface spot that he’s been groomed for since the first time he faced Lesnar.
Next: Predicting the WrestleMania 34 Card
What do you think is set to happen in WWE this week?