Breaking News: WWE
Champion Seth Rollins suffers an ACL tear that will sideline him for 6-9 months.
If you’re bad at math let me Sp-Sp-Spell it out for you! Seth, unless he has
John Cena healing powers, won’t be 100% until Summerslam. While I won’t rule out
that at his age and conditioning he could make a roaring recovery for WrestleMania, given his style of wrestling that seems doubtful and a bit dangerous. Most likely they won't rush Seth back as he's not a Cena commodity.
That means the WWE title
landscape is about to shake up for better or worse for the next several months.
WWE has announced a tournament where the winner will be crowned champion at
Survivor Series, making this perhaps the most anticipated Survivor Series since
1998, which saw The Rock defeat Mankind by turning heel, thus capturing the
vacant title and beginning his legendary run as The Corporate Rock. This can be looked at as a moment where The Rock finally
became The Rock that we grew to love, and maybe history can repeat itself and
give someone who isn’t quite at the Superstar level a championship boost and
give the WWE what it’s sorely been missing.
So who will win the WWE World
Championship? Will it be an old trusted standard who will serve as just a
placeholder until someone better comes along, or will it be a young upstart,
that’s what every wrestling dirtsheet will be pondering for the next three
weeks. No one knows what Vinny Mac is thinking, but let’s try to break it down,
not just from the popularity standpoint but also from what’s best for business
considering that this person will most likely need to headline the biggest show
of all time WrestleMania: Texas!
WHO WILL BE CHAMPION
Bray Wyatt: His
feud with The Undertaker has been built in only two weeks, with more
importance than his entire WrestleMania program with the Deadman had last year.
Despite a clean loss to Roman Reigns, Bray has regained his mojo, and putting
the belt on The Eater of Worlds gives the WWE a much needed heel who can be
built (given the Undertaker/Kane stolen power angle) as unbeatable until Taker
(the true power) or Brock (the man that conquered that power) returns. However,
it may be too early for this experiment as Bray’s inconsistent big match record
makes him almost at the Miz in terms of wins. To suddenly put your biggest prize on a man
that’s lost more than he’s won lately doesn’t really elevate the title.
Verdict: 50% Likely
Kevin Owens: The
IC Champion is the top “Cool Heel” to the point where he even silences the
Cesaro section. After being buried with loses to Finn Balor and John Cena,
Owens has rebounded by being virtually unstoppable in IC title matches… but his
lost to Roman Reigns only a week ago shows that the team backstage doesn’t have
him as high on their list as Roman in terms of running with the ball. The money
could be in a Brock Lesnar Vs. Kevin Owens match, but only if Owens is billed
as an old school Ric Flair like heel that not only can go in the ring, but will
always cheat to win. However, Owens notoriously doesn’t have the look that
Vince is said to be in love with, so that may hold him back.
Verdict: 40% Likely
Dean Ambrose:
Still hot with the fans, Mr. Unstable could use a gimmick jump-start. What a
better way to do that than turning heel ala The Rock and beating Roman Reigns
for the title? The problem becomes, we’ve seen that with Seth Rollins. If
Ambrose is to become his own character and not some weird Stone Cold/Marc Mero
Hybrid he needs a fresh storyline that sees him win the belt in a way we're not used to seeing. The good thing is
that WWE has never shied away from repeating itself, and Ambrose may be the
transitional champion they’re looking for to simply keep the belt warm.
Verdict 70%
Daniel Bryan: This
is the fantasy-booking darling, but let’s be realistic, even if Mr. Brie Mood
is ready to get back in the ring full time; the company would be taking a huge
risk by putting their top belt on someone who is one concussion away from being
retired.
Verdict 10% Likely
Finn Balor: I do
not doubt that at least one NXT star will be in the tournament, and if Sami
Zayn were healthy, he would be a great underdog choice. The current NXT
champion is still finding his footing. Unlike Bo Dallas, Kevin Owens, or
Neville, Finn has yet to truly define himself in NXT outside of solid matches and an
unbelievable entrance. If Finn is going to become a main roster star, he needs to
get over more on NXT as a character. His current feud with Samoa Joe could do
that, so I doubt that Triple H would risk NXT’s future so WWE can tease a first
time WWE & NXT simultaneous champion that won’t happen.
Verdict 5% Likely
The New Day: Freebird
rule baby! The New Day is by far the hottest thing outside of Cena chants and
Brock Lesnar suplex pop’s, and they did it on their own, taking a horribly cheesy
gimmick and turning it into comedy gold. The problem with New Day is that since
the beat down of Cena and Ziggler, they haven’t shown that mean streak side
they teased. To win the WWE World Title and defend it three-ways would be the
most fresh and unique thing WWE’s done since the Attitude Era. However, ask yourself
when’s the last time WWE has actually stepped out on that much of a limb
creatively with the world title.
Verdict 60% Likely
The Mid Card Gods:
Ziggler, Ryback, Rusev, Cesaro – These guys could be World Champions… in
TNA, and that’s not a knock. They deliver in the ring and get the reaction they’re
meant to, but none of them stands out more than the next. Ziggler doesn’t have
the heat to sustain a serious title run where it’s believable that no one will
be able to beat him. Ryback has been damaged in the past two months by looking
like a moron compared to Kevin Owens who kept outsmarting him. Rusev needs time
to get back to where he was last year before the Cena defeats and the Lana soap
opera marginalized his character. Finally, Cesaro could be that Mankind people’s
favorite who could make it to the finals of the tournament, but in the end Cesaro
Vs anyone, will not draw at WrestleMania as a main event.
Verdict 5% Likely
Sheamus & Alberto
Del Rio: Sheamus has the Money in the Bank contract. Which means he could
walk out of Survivor Series as champion, but in terms of actually winning the tournament-- Doubtful. Alberto needs to pay his dues all over again, and given the way he
left WWE last time, bitter and with accusations of racism, it’s a surprise he’s even on
the roster. Del Rio is a gatekeeper at this point, not a world champion threat.
Verdict 1% Likely
John Cena: Where’s
SuperCena? Off filming a TV show in Los Angeles. BUT! He’s still contracted to
the WWE, and they always take precedent, so if they can work out a Survivor
Series PPV appearance on his day off, and find a way to keep him off TV for
another month, I’m sure he would do it. Nevertheless, that’s not fair to Cena
*Bobby Henan Voice*. As someone who has done more favors for Vince than anyone
this century, Cena was given this opportunity to grow his own brand, so he can
have something once his wrestling career winds down. I doubt that WWE will ask
him to once again save the day… but it’s happened before and desperate times
usually translate to = Another Cena Title Run!
Verdict 80% Likely
Roman Reigns: It didn’t
work last year, and maybe it was because Lesnar, Daniel Bryan, and the memory
of CM Punk were so fresh in the minds of the fans that they just didn't give him a fair shot. This time around the Boos
aren’t that loud, and maybe WWE can pull off Roman Reigns as a baby face
champion. Bray Wyatt did a great job in elevating Reigns in terms of savagery
in the ring. No longer is he just a three-move powerhouse with a lame
catchphrase, he’s shown that dark 80’s Samoan style that got his Uncles over.
At this point Reigns may even be able to pull off a Heel turn that doesn’t seem
forced. We all know he must have a lot of pint up frustration, which he hasn’t
been able to let out in a promo towards the fans. Team him with the Usos and
they can form a cool Heel stable that’s not as silly as New Day tends to be.
Either way, heel or baby, Reigns gives WWE their best option for WrestleMania. Reigns
Vs. Brock rematch. Reigns Vs. Daniel Bryan in a David Vs. Goliath, Corporate
Champ Vs. People’s Champ match. Reigns Vs. Cena in a passing of the torch
match. It even opens up Reigns Vs. The Rock.
Verdict 90% Likely
These are just our odds in terms of what makes sense, there
can always be a surprise. A wrestler like Chris Jericho getting another shot
isn’t that far fetched. They could pay Brock big money to come back a few
months early. Sting, if healthy, finally winning the big one could work. If
could be a chance to turn Bubba Ray into Bully Ray. Maybe Jeff Hardy finally
returns from the depths of TNA Hell. NXT has a handful of guys who could come
in and make an immediate impact. Randy Orton’s injury may not be as serious as
promoted, and he could be right back in the hunt. The point is, WWE has many choices, but they don't have a "Male Sasha Banks" who could was being groomed to be the top dog that the fans truly love.
Roman Reigns stands alone as
the one guy who was their “In Case of Emergency” backup plan for when Cena,
Orton, Bryan, or Seth went down. You may not want him as champion, but he definitely
fits the description. Believe That.
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