Over 50,000 fans packed themselves into Cleveland Browns Stadium Saturday night. It was a good night of wrestling with all the bells and whistles worthy of The Biggest Party of the Summer. It was a night of surprises; screw job finishes and one massive return.
Now that SummerSlam is in the rearview where does WWE go? Bash at Berlin is only a few weeks away so there is no time for the product to slow down. What should they do? Here are some predictions.
Bloodline vs. Bloodline
In a return that many expected Roman Reigns came out to cost Solo Sikoa his main event match. Solo had been taking shots at Reigns for the past few weeks, so it makes sense to see Reigns cost his former compatriot.
Reigns vs. Sikoa will be the big-money program heading into the fall. WWE won’t pull the trigger just yet, but expect a lot of in-ring promos between the two men. Reigns will bring together his group to combat Sikoa’s new Bloodline in a possible WarGames match.
Cody Needs A New Challenger
Now that The Bloodline 2.0 will be occupied with its former leader, Cody Rhodes will need a new challenger. There are many viable candidates on the roster but the one who needs to do it is Randy Orton.
This writer has pounded the table for Orton to turn heel for a while but now might be the most natural time to do so. Cody needs a new opponent, and the program would write itself. There is oodles of history between the two men and Orton needs something meatier to sink his teeth into.
This could very well happen, since there’s history there, once Orton is done with next competitor on this list.
Who Will Be The First To Step To The Ring General?
Gunther has become the WWE World Heavyweight Champion. Since his move to the main roster fans were waiting for the time when he would reach the mountain top. Now that he has who will be his first challenger?
Logic would dictate that Damian Priest get his rematch but with his impending feud with Finn Balor, more on that later, it seems like someone else will get their chance.
Of all the men on the roster to get a shot, Drew McIntyre would be the best option. McIntyre and Gunther have already been in 5 star matches and there is no doubt that they would put on another banger.
McIntyre is coming off a big win at SummerSlam and could easily claim he has earned a shot. Plus, it would give CM Punk another chance to cost McIntyre the championship, thus added more fuel to their eventual rematch. On Monday night, Randy Orton threw his hat into to challenge the new world champion.
However, it’s safe to assume that Gunther will be holding onto the strap to get to these potential matchups.
The Judgement Day Implodes
It’s safe to say that The Judgment Day is over. Finn Balor cost Priest his World Championship and ‘Dirty’ Dominik Mysterio went dirty on Rhea Ripley. This ends the Judgment Day in a massive flurry.
For the next months, WWE should focus on the implosion of the group. There are two major stories to follow, and it will be interesting to see how they book the angles. There is no doubt that they will dominate Monday Night Raw’s programming.
Specifically, how will Carlito and JD McDonagh react to these betrayals and who will they side with?
Rhea, Dom, and Liv Morgan Will Continue Their Drama
Dom’s turning on Ripley may have been a bit telegraphed, but it was still a great way to keep this feud going. Seeing Dom and Liv Morgan together is anger-inducing and the betrayed look on Ripley’s face shows that this is far from over.
Who knows how long this will be drawn out, but the segments between the three will be great going forward. Liv is great as a manipulator and Dominik will always be the man we all love to hate. Maybe this will be stretched to WrestleMania.
Nia Jax Will Embark On A Dominant Run
It was a bit of a shock to see Nia Jax win the WWE Women’s Championship, but not a terrible shock. She has improved with her character and in-ring work and now is the best time to see what she can do as the top dog.
A rematch with Bayley will be inevitable but Jax will prevail in that. WWE needs to have her go on a run of dominance over the next few months.
She could be the monster that they have always wanted and give way to a huge win for whichever babyface finally dethrones her. Please let her keep the title until WrestleMania.
CM Punk And Seth Rollins Will Pick Up Where They Left Off
Drew McIntyre got his win on Saturday. He may not be done with CM Punk but the story coming out was the impending animosity between Seth Rollins and Punk.
Punk and Seth Rollins were the men who were penciled in to wrestle for the WWE World Championship before Punk went down with an injury. WWE did a great job of bridging that gap for the past year, but it looks like we are back on track.
Both men had some tense moments during the match on Saturday and the mic’s picked up some vicious barbs thrown back and forth.
After Punk attacked Rollins, it was all but sealed that this would be a main program on Raw going forward. It will build off real-life issues and should produce some fantastic matches.
What To Do With The Mid-Card Championships
Predictably both mid-card titles changed hands on Saturday. Bron Breakker and LA Knight are first-time championship winners and will be fantastic holding down the mid-card for a while. It will be interesting to see who will be stepping up as their first challengers, but here are some ideas.
Breakker will probably face Sami Zayn one more time, but after that, Bronson Reed should be the next man to wrestle for the IC championship. Seeing Breakker use his strength to pull off power moves against Reed would be fantastic.
It would immediately establish Breakker’s dominance and build him up as an unstoppable force.
As for Knight, the waters are a bit murkier. There are no clear challengers for the United States Championship so why not go to something Knight knows? AJ Styles would be the perfect first challenger for Knight. He has a history with the star and would be a huge first defense for the man looking to establish himself.
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