Sunday 28 January 2018

WWE Royal Rumble 2018 Preview

Royal Rumble 2018 Postee.jpg

The 31st Royal Rumble will be taking place at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. Not only will we get 5 Championships on the line; but we will have the 1st ever Women's Royal Rumble Match. So, who will get a Championship opportunity at Wrestlemania 34? Let's take a look at the card.

Bobby Roode vs TBA
United States Championship 
At the time of writing, we do not have a challenger for Bobby Roode. Regardless, I feel that the Glorious One will be victorious.
Predicted Winner: Bobby Roode

Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson vs The Revival
Whilst The Revival are awesome, I can't see them winning. Therefore, I think that Gallows and Anderson will win.
Predicted Winners: Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson

Kalisto, Lince Dorado and Gran Metalik vs TJP, Drew Gulak and Gentleman Jack Gallagher
This should be a good match and I think that Luchador Trio will be victorious. I expect to see TJP spit the dummy afterwards.
Predicted Winners: Kalisto, Lince Dorado and Gran Metalik

The Usos vs Chad Gable and Shelton Benjamin
2-out-of-3 Falls Match for the Smackdown Tag Team Championship
This is one match that I'm really looking forward to. It's a tough one to call but I think The Usos will just pull it off.
Predicted Winners: The Usos

Seth Rollins and Jason Jordan vs Cesaro and Sheamus
RAW Tag Team Championship
Another tough one to call but I think that Cesaro and Sheamus will win. The question is: will this start Jordan's heel turn or will they delay the inevitable?
Predicted Winners: Cesaro and Sheamus

Brock Lesnar vs Demon Kane vs Braun Strowman
Triple Threat Match for the Universal Championship
This should be a short, brutal match and I think that Lesnar will retain here.
Predicted Winner: Brock Lesnar

AJ Styles vs Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens
Handicap Match for the WWE Championship
This will be an interesting match to watch. It does depend on whether Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan will get involved. Despite that, I feel that Styles will overcome the odds.
Predicted Winner: AJ Styles

The 2018 Women's Royal Rumble Match
So far, the following are confirmed to take part: Naomi, Asuka, Ruby Riott, Natalya, Sasha Banks, Bayley, Mandy Rose, Sonya Deville, Carmella, Tamina, Lana, Liv Morgan, Sarah Logan, Mickie James, Nia Jax, Becky Lynch, Alicia Fox and Dana Brooke. Hopefully, we will get to see some returning legends and some NXT wrestlers take part as well. Despite that, I pretty much guarantee that Asuka will win this.
Predicted Winner: Asuka

The 2018 Men's Royal Rumble Match
So far, the following are confirmed to take part: Elias, Randy Orton, Shinsuke Nakamura, John Cena, Finn Balor, Baron Corbin, "Broken?" Matt Hardy, Bray Wyatt, Rusev, Aiden English, Apollo Crews, Titus O'Neil, Hollywood Miz, Tye Dillinger, Big E, Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods.  Unless we get a surprise, I feel that it will be between John Cena and Roman Reigns. I'm going for Reigns to win because WWE want us to feel miserable.
Predicted Winner: Roman Reigns

I will hopefully get to see it during the week so the review will be up by the following week. Until then, I hope you guys enjoy the show.

Friday 26 January 2018

NXT Takeover Philadelphia Preview

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The first big event of the year, NXT Takeover Philadelphia, will be taking place tomorrow evening at the Wells Fargo Center. This has some really interesting matches so let's take a look at the card.

Kassius Ohno vs The Velveteen Dream
I'm a fan of Ohno but Dream is one of the best things in NXT right now. After some high profile losses to Aliester Black and Johnny Gargano, I think that he has to win this.
Predicted Winner: The Velveteen Dream

Adam Cole vs Aliester Black
Extreme Rules Match
Even though the stipulation guarantees that Kyle O'Reilly and Bobby Fish will help Cole, I'm still not sure if he will win. There is a possibility that SaNitY will make an appearance but that could happen in the NXT Tag Team Championship match. It's a tough one but I think that Black will win just.
Predicted Winner: Aliester Black

Authors of Pain vs Kyle O'Reilly and Bobby Fish
NXT Tag Team Championship
I feel that O'Reilly and Fish will win but there is no way that they will do that clean. SaNitY could turn up and maybe Adam Cole as well. I like the Authors of Pain but I feel that it's time for them to get called up.
Predicted Winners: Kyle O'Reilly and Bobby Fish

Shayna Baszler vs Ember Moon
NXT Women's Championship
Baszler has been portrayed as a dominant bully but I can't see her winning in only her second television match. That and the fact that I can't see Ember losing when she spent last year chasing the title. Therefore, I'm going for Ember to win but I don't think it will be a clean victory.
Predicted Winner: Ember Moon

Johnny Gargano vs Andrade "Cien" Almas
NXT Championship
This can go in many different ways. I think that Almas will win thanks to the return of Gargano's ex-best friend Tomasso Ciampa
Predicted Winner: Andrade "Cien" Almas

The review will be up at the beginning of the week. Until then, I hope you guys enjoy the show.

Wednesday 24 January 2018

Lo-Down Wrestling Awards 2017

It's that time of the year again where I give out my awards for wrestling in 2017. I have only watched the WWE and most of it has been pretty good. Anyway, who was a Lo-Down Wrestling Award for 2017?

Feud of the Year
The Usos vs The New Day (June - October)

Image result for the usos vs the new day
Since The Usos turned heel last year, they have been a joy to watch and their feud with The New Day was one of the highlights of the year. Their matches on PPV have been some of the best of the night, with their one at the Summerslam Kick Off Show a particular highlight.

Best Newcomer
Pete Dunne
Image result for pete dunne championship

Pete Dunne made his debut at the UK Championship Tournament in January. Since then, he has amazing to watch and his matches with Tyler Bate have been some of the best matches of the year. Dunne ended the year as the UK Champion and long may that continue.

PPV of the Year
WWE TLC

WWE TLC 2017 Poster.png

WWE TLC was the most enjoyable event of the year for me. We got to see AJ Styles take on Finn Balor plus the return of Kurt Angle as he helped Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose defeat Hollywood Miz, Bruan Strowman, Kane, Cesaro and Shaemus. Who would have thought that people being sick would lead to a good thing?

Most Surprising Moment of the Year
Sami Zayn's Heel Turn at Hell in a Cell
Image result for sami zayn saves kevin owens

This occurred at the end of the Kevin Owens/Shane McMahon match. Shane is about to do an elbow drop from the top of the cell to the announce table. However, Sami pulls Owens out of the way, sending Shane crashing through the table. Then Sami helps Owens get the win. It was a shocking moment, especially as him and Owens have been feuding on and off for the last 2 years. The best bit was on the following Smackdown where Sami explained his reasoning. You have to admit, he has a point.

Douchebag of the Year
Shane McMahon

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Shane McMahon has been such a jerk this year, culminating in his feud with Kevin Owens. Even though Owens and Zayn got their comeuppance numerous times, it wasn't enough with Shane resorting to blatant cheating to try to get them fired. Not exactly the behaviour you would expect from a face.

Moment of the Year
AJ Styles Winning the WWE Championship in Manchester
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The main reason for this is this I was lucky to see this match live. I've been a big fan of his since his time in TNA and I thought he would never be in the WWE. Seeing him become the first person to win the WWE Championship in the UK was such a honour to watch.

Worst Match of the Year
House of Horrors Match, WWE Payback
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Oh dear God, this was probably the worst WWE match of all time. The feud between Randy Orton and Bray Wyatt had the potential to be pretty good. However, it went through numerous lapses in logic; Orton burning down a house, which is a bizarre way to turn face; and two really terrible matches. This match was the moment that I started to give no fucks towards the both of them. Shane's behaviour towards the end of the year is the only reason why this two are the not the Douchebags of the Year.

Tag Team of the Year
The Usos
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Over the last year, The Usos have been such a joy to watch and they had some of the best matches of the year with The New Day. They are currently involved in a feud with Shelton Benjamin and Chad Gable as faces. Whilst I wish they could have continued their heel run for a little longer, I'm looking forward to seeing where the feud will go.

Most Improved Wrestler of the Year
Braun Strowman
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I admit it took me a long time to become a fan of Strowman. I didn't think much of him since he debuted as part of the Wyatt Family. However, over the last year, he got leaner; been involved in high profile matches; and is a genuine Championship contender. Here's hoping the Monster Among Man continues on that path in 2018.

Match of the Year
Pete Dunne vs Tyler Bate, NXT Takeover Chicago
Image result for tyler bate vs pete dunne nxt takeover chicago

There were some really good matches this year but I think this one was the best of them all. Bate and Dunne have had some great matches in 2017 with them being the highlight of the night. I still can't believe that Bate and Dunne are 20 and 24 respectively. 

Female Wrestler of the Year
Alexa Bliss
Image result for alexa bliss raw women's champion

What a year for Alexa Bliss. After a 2nd reign as Smackdown Women's Champion, she was transferred over to RAW and blossomed even more. Bliss became RAW Women's Champion and, except for 8 days, stayed that way for the rest of the year/ Plus she is probably one of the best characters on RAW right now and is someone to look forward to on the show.

Male Wrestler of the Year
AJ Styles
Image result for aj styles wwe champion 2017

It was another great year for AJ Styles. He and Cena had a tremendous match at the Royal Rumble and he just seems to get better and better. That and he gave Brock Lesnar and Jinder Mahal their best matches of the year as well. Styles is undoubtably the best wrestler in the WWE right now and I hope that continues for a long time.