Eyes On WWE: Top 5 Wrestlers On RAW

By @TrueGodImmortal

If you haven't noticed, the quality of RAW has improved a little bit over the last few weeks or so. A lot of that can be attributed to the growing number of good matches on the show, while some would give the credit to the booking of some of the top wrestlers on the show. Whatever the case may be, there are a number of wrestlers who make the WWE what it is and truly showcases what RAW should be about. Who are the top 5 wrestlers on the show? Let's take a look.

5. Finn Balor 

-He hasn't quite found his footing on the show yet, but Balor is getting there. Perhaps a heel turn is important. Or maybe, he just need a title shot that pushes him over the top. Whatever the case, Finn is a very good wrestler, and his character has improved much more since joining forces once again with Gallows and Anderson to form The Club. Will Balor gain momentum going into Mania? That remains to be seen, but right now he is definitely top 5.

4. The Miz

-The current Intercontinental Champion is the best all around performer on the show. His promos are top notch, and his match are mostly good. However, when we look back on the period of time that he was out of action, you realized just how important Miz is to RAW. In terms of in ring work, Miz has become top 3 and as a promo cutter, he is easily the best on the show. The only thing keeping him out of the top 3 is momentum and a push, otherwise Miz might be the best on the show.

3. Roman Reigns 

-I am not a fan of Reigns. I have never been. He still isn't extremely over with the crowds, and he still isn't consistent in big match situations, but I can really tell that he's improved in the ring beyond measure. A majority of the good matches on RAW seem to come from Reigns, it just is unfortunate that his matches almost always end with him winning. He's had solid matches with Miz, Seth Rollins, and more over the recent months, but the only thing that keeps him out of the top two is that his character is still ridiculously stale and his promos are still pretty boring. If Reigns can just improve on those last two things, he could actually take the top spot.

2. Braun Strowman 

-The most over wrestler on the roster now. Braun deserves a monster push that the WWE isn't ready to give him. Braun has improved in every way, and despite him not being the best wrestler in the game, he is the most popular wrestler in WWE. That is not something to take lightly considering his roots and where he started from. Braun delights crowds every time he steps into the ring and the crowds go wild. If Braun can get his merchandise and catchphrases to continue catching on, this might end up being the best hope for the WWE to return to prominence on RAW. Well, he's one of the hopes. The other?

1. Seth Rollins 

-It is quite simple. Seth Rollins is the man. He just proved it with the gauntlet match and he's been doing it in the tag team division for RAW. I'll be honest, the only watchable matches at the RAW shows were the tag team title matches that took place during the Shield vs The Bar feud. Seth Rollins has been putting in work for months and has been the most underappreciated wrestler on the show and now that he's able to get back to singles competition, he seems ready to become the MAN once again. If Seth Rollins isn't the WWE or Universal Champion by the end of 2018, the company failed. He is the centerpiece going into the rest of the year.

-True

Read More

Eyes on the Ring 1:04 AM  No comment

Eyes On WWE: Who Should Win The 2018 Royal Rumble

By @TrueGodImmortal

The Royal Rumble is coming soon. In about a month or so, the WWE will host the Royal Rumble yet again, and apparently there will be two Royal Rumble matches for the first time ever. While the men's Royal Rumble is making another appearance, the first time ever Women's Royal Rumble will take place this year. While both Rumbles have the potential to be interesting, the scariest thing about the WWE now is their decision making. It's been that way for quite some time. With that being said, one has to wonder what their plan will be going forward with these two matches. Will we see surprise entrants for both? Who wins? Who will be the final four? Well that leads us to this discussion. Who should win the 2018 Royal Rumbles? Let's take a look at each Rumble and give a list of who should.

The Women's Royal Rumble
While we could say that this is a bad idea, and I don't doubt that it could be a bad match, what impresses me about this is that this is the first time in WWE history where they've had enough women on the roster to pull it off. The number of women around in the WWE is special and the fact remains, there are a number of surprises in store for this first ever Rumble. I think we'll see a legend or two return for this match perhaps like a Trish Stratus or even Lita. I think we could see the debut of Ronda Rousey as well, as it is the perfect time to do so. Who should win the Women's Royal Rumble? Let's take a look. I have four picks. I'll eliminate a few choices just like I'll do for the men's Royal Rumble. I don't think any NXT woman should win, nor should Natalya, Naomi, Bayley, or Mickie James. Here are my choices to win (and also my final four). 

*Sasha Banks
-I think Sasha definitely should be able to walk away with a victory here as she is overdue for another title reign that isn't actually 2 or 3 weeks. However, I don't expect Sasha to get a win, but I do hope they allow her to be one of the final four women and get eliminated last or second to last. Alexa Bliss will soon drop the Women's Title, but the question is, who will be the challenger come Wrestlemania. If Asuka is the champion come Mania, then I would love Sasha to win this and be the challenger for the RAW title. Chances of that happening however? Unlikely.

*Becky Lynch
-There is only one choice over on the Smackdown side to win the Rumble and it is simply Becky Lynch. Ruby Riott isn't ready and I don't think that she has the tools to carry the division and defeat Charlotte. I think the best possible match for Smackdown at Mania is Charlotte vs Becky, but the truth is, we really don't know what to expect. Ronda Rousey vs Charlotte could end up being the match they go with for whatever reason, but truthfully, Charlotte vs Becky is the way to go. If they want to surprise the world and have a sleeper pick win, Becky is the one who should take it.

*Paige
-I think this is a likely choice, though I see her winning the title before Mania. I think the plan is to go with Asuka vs Paige, but getting to that point is the part that really is tough to figure out. Will Paige be champion? Will Asuka be champion? I think it is likely for Paige to dominate this Rumble with the rest of her squad, until they are left to pick the bones of what is left of Asuka. Either Paige gets rid of Asuka (Paige's partners will have been eliminated prior but come back to help out), or Asuka overcomes the odds. Regardless, if I had to pick the final two of this match, I would go with Asuka and Paige.

*Asuka
-The clear cut choice. There doesn't need to be much of an explanation in terms of that, but the truth of the matter is, if anyone should win easily, it is without a doubt Asuka. Her momentum needs the biggest boost possible, and she remains undefeated. The plan should be to protect her at all costs and to make sure she doesn't lose any time soon. If anyone should enter the Rumble at no. 1 or 2 and finish as the winner, she is the choice. While these other ladies listed are good choices, simply put, the winner has to be and should be Asuka.

The Men's Royal Rumble
This one is a little different. There are two choices to me and those choices more than likely won't be the one who wins. The WWE might force us to see another unnecessary win from John Cena or Roman Reigns... or even Randy Orton.... AGAIN. While I hope that's not the case, let me give my choices for the final four and who they should be.

*Sami Zayn 

-It is simple: AJ Styles vs Shinsuke Nakamura vs Sami Zayn for the WWE Title. This would only be achieved by Sami winning the Rumble and Nakamura winning the title at Fastlane while AJ cashes in his rematch at Mania. I don't see this happening honestly, so with that being said, I think Sami won't win, but I can see him eliminating Owens or not being able to save Owens then getting tossed out by one of the other final four. Still, Sami winning would be really interesting and I wouldn't be mad at that at all.

*Samoa Joe 

-Unlikely, but a 20 minute Brock vs Samoa Joe title match would be better than that piece of shit 6 minute PPV match they gave us in the summer. I don't want to see another Brock vs Reigns match and I'm not alone in that so perhaps it is time to switch things up. Joe vs Brock 2 could be bigger than Reigns vs Brock 2 if done right. Joe is over, he's a strong heel, and a Rumble win gives him the momentum that he truly needs. Can WWE finally do something right? I doubt it.

*Finn Balor  

-This man is one of the most over stars in the entire company and truth be told, there's no denying that he deserves a title shot since he's never got his Universal Title shot, but for some reason, WWE just doesn't want to give him the green light. Or could they be leading us on to think they don't want to give him the shot only to change course and give Balor a huge surprise win at the Rumble. Unlikely, but once again, this is who SHOULD win, not the most likely. Balor deserves a win for being consistent, and the story behind Balor vs Brock would be great to see unfold. Will WWE pull the trigger on this? I doubt it, but the truth of the matter is, he should be the last man eliminated if not the last man standing.

*Shinsuke Nakamura  

-Last but certainly not least. This is the most likely choice. It's the only choice outside of Balor. Nakamura is the man. There is only one choice for the Wrestlemania main event and it is AJ Styles vs Shinsuke Nakamura. I would love to see Nakamura enter at no. 2 or 3 and last through the entire match. The final image we should see at the end of the Rumble is simple: Nakamura punching his ticket to Wrestlemania by outlasting 29 other men. Simply put, NXT alumni should stand tall for both Rumbles, with Asuka and Nakamura, two former NXT champions, raising their hands in victory.

-True 

Read More

Eyes on the Ring 1:18 AM  1 comment

Eyes On WWE: 5 Great AJ Styles Matches In 2017

By @TrueGodImmortal

Simply put, I think AJ Styles is the best wrestler in the game today. I could put Okada, Omega, and some other names at the top of the list, but if I had to make one choice, it would be AJ. So far this year, he's definitely been the best wrestler in the WWE and today we wanted to take a look at 5 of his best matches this year. Let's get into it.

*John Cena vs AJ Styles
Royal Rumble 2017

-When we look back at the shows this year, one show that is still confusing to me is the Royal Rumble. I would say this match is a true match of the year candidate, as it was just as good as the Summerslam 2016 classic between these two, but honestly, my only knock against this match is the fact that we see far too many finishers here, but honestly, outside of that, it's a great match. I've said time and time again that the best wrestlers bring out the best in John Cena and this was no different. I hated seeing Cena win unnecessarily just to get his 16th title run, but all in all, this match was great to watch and a great culmination to what I feel is one of the best rivalries of the last year or so in AJ vs Cena.

*AJ Styles vs Shane McMahon
Wrestlemania 33

-I was pleasantly surprised by this match, I'll be honest. I didn't expect this match to end up being as good as it turned out and I'm glad that it exceeded my expectations. The action in this one is truly amazing, as AJ literally carried Shane to what might be his best overall match in his career from a wrestling standpoint. AJ ends up winning as he should, but Shane actually  was up to the challenge and gave AJ all he could handle. AJ and Shame went about 20 minutes and stole the show and had what I consider to be the best match at Wrestlemania 33.

*AJ Styles vs Kevin Owens vs Chris Jericho
Smackdown 

-This match was the best match of the feud between Owens and AJ, and funny enough, it featured a third element in Jericho. Jericho showed up as a surprise, and was instantly placed into the match. This was to make it so Owens didn't take the pin in the match so the feud can continue and also add a much needed extra element for a match. Jericho was an excellent addition, as these three men let their chemistry shine, and AJ walks away with the big victory and retains his US Title.

*Finn Balor vs AJ Styles
TLC 2017

-When we look back at this match, I think we'll remember that the WWE had an opportunity to make this even more special and give it at least 22 minutes, but they only gave them 17-18 minutes and AJ and Balor delivered a near classic match. This dream match finally came to life randomly and due to a big health issue to Bray Wyatt, we got a match that will be discussed in many WWE match of the year conversations I'm sure. Balor and AJ took each other to the limit and with little prep time for the match and not much of a build to it, they stole the show and had match of the night with relative ease. Balor won the match, but AJ put on an amazing performance as well, making this a win for the fans more than anyone else.

*Brock Lesnar vs AJ Styles
Survivor Series 2017

-His most recent big time match and yet another dream match for many. Let's think about it. Brock hasn't faced many people we wanted to see him face over his 5 years back in the WWE, as only CM Punk, Samoa Joe, Braun Strowman, and now AJ Styles stick out as names that really intrigued us for matches at times. AJ vs Brock could have went one of two ways, and I'm glad it went the way I wanted it to. I personally would have preferred to see AJ win this match, but of course, WWE wasn't going to let that happen. Still, what we get is something special, as we see Brock taken to the limit by AJ in a very competitive match that exceeds the usual time limit for a Brock match (a one on one match at least).  There was a lot of offense by AJ throughout and Brock barely won this match which made it even better. Brock and AJ didn't have a classic, but they did have Brock's best one on one match since Summerslam 2013 against Punk, which says a lot about the level of work that AJ put in.

-True 

Read More

Eyes on the Ring 12:12 AM  No comment

Eyes On Extreme Rules: PPV Preview

By @TrueGodImmortal 

Baltimore, MD will get another PPV and it happens to be the Raw exclusive Extreme Rules. Usually, Extreme Rules comes with a lot of great matches and excitement and honestly, this year it is devoid of it. Why is that? Well, aside from the absence of a Universal Title match, it lacks the star power, the actual Universal Champion, good stipulations, and it feels like a forced card honestly. With a few rematches that came from Payback, this PPV doesn't look too promising, but could we be wrong? Could we see the next chapter of Goldust and R-Truth and their breakup? More Enzo/Cass vs The Revival business? Only time will tell. Let's take a look at the announced card so far.

*Rich Swann and Sasha Banks vs Noam Dar and Alicia Fox

-This feels like an attempt to get Sasha's help in getting the Cruiserweight storyline over. I'm not interested in this match at all, but I think it could really have some good momentum and could be a fun watch for all. Swann and Noam have in ring chemistry and this could be fun to see. I don't expect Sasha and Alicia to get much ring time, but I do expect Swann and Sasha to pick up the win. Hopefully Swann gets another shot at the Cruiserweight Title, but I find it unlikely after this match. Swann and Sasha pick up the win.

*Submission Match 
Cruiserweight Championship
Austin Aries vs Neville 

-Aries and Neville have a solid feud. I like both and I think they could put in quite the classic feud if given the right push and promotion. However, it's been relegated to not being as prominent and honestly I hate the idea of a Submission Match instead of the other two choices I had. A Ladder or TLC match sounds like the perfect culmination to this feud or any title feud in the Cruiserweight Title picture, but unfortunately, that's not the plan here. I think Neville ends up retaining unfortunately, and Aries somehow gets one more rematch, in a 2 out of 3 Falls contest at "Great Balls Of Fire" in which Aries finally wins. Neville retains.

*Steel Cage Match 
Tag Team Championship
The Hardy Boyz vs Cesaro and Sheamus

-The Hardyz aren't Broken yet. They need to be. It seemed like we were getting the Broken Hardyz after Cesaro and Sheamus turned heel, but they've held off due to the Impact lawsuit and battle. Honestly, I'm surprised Cesaro and Sheamus are still together, and honestly, I don't expect them to win this match. I think the team to defeat the Hardyz are the team that is currently out of commission until the next month or so, The Revival. I predict the Hardyz retain here in a solid yet slightly sloppy contest and then Cesaro and Sheamus move on to feud with another face team, or they do what I thought they would have by now and broke up. The Hardyz will retain the championships.

*Kendo Stick On A Pole Match
Women's RAW Championship 
Bayley vs Alexa Bliss 

-There's not a match on this cars that been horribly built quite like this one. After the terrible promo between the two on RAW this past Monday, and the lack of empathy for Bayley as a main roster face, one has to assume that the eventual plan is going to be Alexa vs Sasha Banks, the biggest star on the roster for women. Bayley just isn't working as the sympathetic face and while I expect her to get her share of "revenge" in this match, I think we see Bayley come up just a tad short and Alexa continues her blissful reign.

*Intercontinental Championship 
The Miz vs Dean Ambrose 

-Nothing says Extreme Rules like a match that could end in a disqualification..... and cause the champion to lose his title. It's honestly a stupid stipulation and that's the basis of this entire card really. Nothing on this card really sticks out to me as being solid minus the mega main event and this match was one we watched for months on Smackdown just a few months prior so it was very pointless for it to be here yet again. The stipulation makes me believe Ambrose will win cleanly and retain, making the Miz look weaker by design since he couldn't even get Ambrose to get himself DQed. However, I'd rather Ambrose retain cleanly than to lose it on a disqualification. So, I predict Ambrose to retain.

*Fatal 5 Way Match For No. 1 Contender Spot
Samoa Joe vs Finn Balor vs Bray Wyatt vs Roman Reigns vs Seth Rollins 

-The only match I'm interested in seeing on this show really. This match will be the MOTN and in reality, there's essentially nothing about this match that is predictable. The booking has been done very well, and it seems that even after unnecessary wins over Finn Balor and Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns still isn't a favorite to win. Samoa Joe has momentum, Bray Wyatt has momentum, and even Finn Balor had momentum too. This match essentially could go either way, but based on the Heyman and Balor promo, there's a small feeling within me that Balor will end up walking away with the victory and going on to face Brock at the next PPV. Still, there's money in a huge Samoa Joe vs Brock match as well, and those two are my top choices. Either Joe or Finn win, and we get an actual dream match of sorts no matter how it turns out with those two. If Reigns or Bray actually do win, it would actually feel slightly like a waste, but you never know with WWE. Seth is the long shot to win, but he could pull out the victory too in a slight swerve. However, I predict Finn Balor wins, with Samoa Joe as my fallback pick. It should be a great match regardless.

There may be more matches added as the week progresses, but as of now, Extreme Rules doesn't seem to be very enticing, but who knows, WWE tends to surprise from time to time. Will this end up as a great event? I guess we'll have to tune in and find out.

-True

Read More

Eyes on the Ring 1:44 AM  No comment

Eyes On Extreme Rules: The Fatal 5 Way No. 1 Contender's Match

By @TrueGodImmortal 

I'm not excited at for WWE Extreme Rules. There's a chance I could be in attendance since it's in my hometown of Baltimore, BUT the likelihood of this is getting smaller by the day. The only thing that has me considering finding a way to go is this main event that was just announced for the PPV on Monday Night RAW. In what was a shocking, but somewhat necessary move, the WWE shifted focus from Braun vs Reigns (due to a Braun injury) to this newly found concern for a Universal Title shot. Forget the fact that both Seth and Finn asked for a shot the week prior and instead competed in a great TV match for a shot at the IC Title. Forget that. Conventional wisdom doesn't matter in the WWE really, it seems like the WWE had to regroup fast and they basically did the best they could.

However, when you take a look at the competitors in this match, who deserves the victory? This is a tale of 5 different stars put into one mega main event, and their victories would mean many extremely different things. So who deserves to face Brock Lesnar at likely, wait for it, Great Balls Of Fire? Let's take a look.

*Samoa Joe

-The biggest shock in this match honestly needs to win it. This is my first choice for winning the match. Do I think he will win? Not necessarily, but going with what the WWE needs in a marquee match, just the concept of Samoa Joe vs Brock Lesnar is enough to put asses in seats as they say. However, this is WWE and his chance of realistically winning is about 20%. He will likely lose and go on to fight Seth Rollins at that PPV, which would be a bit unnecessary and drags the feud on a bit too long, but once again this is WWE. If I had to choose however, I'd pick Samoa Joe as the guy I want to win most.

*Finn Balor

-Honestly, this is a really top pick to win. Granted, I'm not really expecting him to win this honestly for one reason: Bray Wyatt. The worst part of this entire match is that the winner is more than likely going to be Roman Reigns to set up the Brock vs Reigns rematch that we don't want. However, it's assumed that the winner of this match will go onto Great Balls of Fire to fight Brock, so it's very possible Finn gets a huge surprise win to fill in for Braun Strowman, who will be gone for about 6 months. Brock Lesnar vs Finn Balor is a huge matchup and Balor never lost the Universal Title, so he already has a claim to the rematch. If WWE wants to give the fans what they were asking for the night after Mania (since the fans were asking for Balor), then this is the route to go. Whether WWE pulls the trigger is really hard to tell.

*Seth Rollins 

-I honestly think the best overall performer on RAW is Seth and the truth of the matter is, there's no denying that he could pull off a big time matchup with Brock at a B show. However, here is the issue: Seth has had a triple threat and a one on one match already with Brock. I think he has about a 25% chance of winning this match (not going to go Scott Steiner with the math here), but when you look at the fact that Brock will likely be coming back as a monster face (probably), I think Seth being fed to Brock in a losing effort is not a good look for him. Plus, Samoa Joe vs Seth Rollins will likely continue after Extreme Rules. So, I don't see Seth winning, but another Brock vs Seth match could be fun.

*Roman Reigns 

-So..... let me just say this. No. Not a chance. I don't want Reigns to win at all. He doesn't need to win. He doesn't need another match with Brock nor does he need a title run. It's just NOT WORKING. However, this is WWE, so if the plan is to build to two huge matches and a feud for Brock in the summer, I expect them to make Reigns win, and have the title match end in something controversial at Great Balls Of Fire, leading to a huge rematch at SummerSlam with a No DQ stipulation. Unfortunately, since WWE is pretty stupid about booking Reigns the right way, I fully see Reigns winning this match, likely with a pin over Bray Wyatt if this does go how I expect it.

*Bray Wyatt

-The sleeper pick. Notice how Bray is riding a wave of momentum? Honestly, I think they will halt his one on one feud with Finn, if he is able to win this match and finally give us that Bray vs Brock match. However, that match just doesn't feel like it's necessary now. Bray has really a win over Orton in House of Horrors and he's been standing tall on RAW recently, but I just can't see him in the long run staying as a huge contender to the top title, even when it's regularly defended again. Bray could win the match, but Brock vs Bray is just not a match that really jumps out at me now after their momentum both went down. I don't see Bray winning, but all signs would point to him walking away with the victory if the WWE push system stays consistent.

So who wins? Logic would say Balor or even Joe, but WWE logic says Bray or Reigns (the two options I don't want to see). I'd love to see Balor vs Brock or Joe vs Brock, but something tells me WWE nor Brock sees the money in those matches, so we will likely see Roman Reigns win.... AGAIN. Unfortunately. Guess we'll see on June 4th.

-True

Read More

Eyes on the Ring 1:53 AM  No comment