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Post by rocketking on Mar 1, 2017 9:56:11 GMT -5
Fastlane is this Sunday. Predict, opine, squabble, pontificate and gripe as you see fit.
This show is all about setup for Wrestlemania, so I take no credit for correct predictions and expect no points for originality. There could be a surprise or two, but everything seems pretty well laid out to me, which is a good thing. My picks…
Goldberg d. Kevin Owens: WWE would be crazy to make Goldberg look anything less than indestructible. So, while I don’t rule out the possibility for a DQ or otherwise schmozzy finish, I’ll pick Goldberg to come away with the strap.
Braun Strowman d. Roman Reigns: The two schools of thought seem to be “build up Roman leading into a match with Taker” or “crush Roman and have him challenge Taker to redeem himself.” I choose the latter, mostly because I think beating Strowman would be a mistake.
Neville d. Jack Gallagher: I enjoy watching Gallagher, and I hope he doesn't get stuck as a comedy character forever. But Neville needs a long run as Cruiserweight Champion.
Gallows and Anderson d. Enzo and Cass: These belts don’t really matter right now. In my opinion, if you’re going to put them on Enzo and Cass, you might as well wait until Mania.
Charlotte d. Bayley: I think Charlotte’s streak is one of the dumber things in WWE right now. But it’s not ending at Fastlane.
Sasha Banks d. Nia Jax: I always get these “middle of a feud” matches wrong because I always pick the heel. So let’s try something new.
Samoa Joe d. Sami Zayn: Sami Ziggler… err… Zayn makes Joe look like a million bucks and then gets pinned clean.
Rich Swann and Akira Tozawa d. Brian Kendrick and Noam Dar: I only know this match is happening because Wikipedia currently says so. When in doubt, pick the babyfaces on the preshow.
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Post by Christian Small on Mar 1, 2017 11:44:47 GMT -5
I kind of agree with Dan's view that Brock could cost Goldberg the title. I really think that it hurts taking the belt of Owens and onto Goldberg, I'm just thinking long term and you'd go from Goldberg to Brock as champ (both aren't really helping you). Owens could use the title more but I can easily see Goldberg leaving as champ. Braun can sure use the win more than Reigns although if you don't have any Mania plans for Braun you might as well use him to build Reigns for Taker. I'm still picking Braun though. I don't mind the Charlotte streak gimmick but it could mean so much more if she didn't lose the title all the time on TV. Like Jay said that moment of Bayley winning would have meant to much more at Mania. So sadly I see Charlotte winning it back but I see it with Sasha turning heel to cost Bayley as they're playing up the "best friends" thing a bit too much on TV and online. Although it'd make little sense with Sasha being the one to help Bayley win it in the first place. I pretty much agree with the rest of your picks as well. I'm also expecting Joe & Zayn to be your match of the night.
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Post by rocketking on Mar 1, 2017 12:25:56 GMT -5
You pointed out exactly what my problem is with Charlotte's streak: she still comes off as so damn beatable. If a basketball team wins all of its home games but loses almost all of its road games, it's just a mediocre team that probably won't make the playoffs. I'd be curious to see the (television) win/loss records of different wrestlers during Charlotte's streak. I'd bet she's somewhere around middle of the pack.
Anyway, maybe that's just too much thinking and not enough enjoying on my part. Charlotte is a great wrestler so any time she has a marquee match - be it on TV or pay-per-view - I'll happily tune in.
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Post by john casey on Mar 1, 2017 17:35:01 GMT -5
Regarding Owens VS Goldberg, 1 month ago, I would have easily said that Goldberg destroys Owens, however seeing as Owens seems to be associated with Triple H. I believe that there is no way that Triple H would allow Owens to be beaten quickly. Therefore I believe that there are many more options available (In my opinion is not a bad thing)
Goldberg crushes Owens Brock Lesnar (Being a hothead) costs Goldberg Goldberg beats Owens by DQ due to interference by Samoa Joe Jericho and/or Rollins get involved and cost Owens (Rollins to get at Triple H by costing Owens the title)
What I think may happen is that Joe or Lesnar interfere and Owens wins or so we think until Mick Foley comes out and re-starts the match (Which allows him to get the upper hand for change) This is turn is the start of Foley being written off.
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deezy
Misawa
Posts: 2,334
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Post by deezy on Mar 1, 2017 18:08:20 GMT -5
Brock having anything to do with the Goldberg/Owens finish that costs Goldberg buries himself.
Nobody is pissed off enough to fuck up their own chances at personal glory.
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Post by RKing85 on Mar 2, 2017 0:17:10 GMT -5
some people would love it, some people would hate it, but I would love for both Brock and Jericho to interfere, both trying to get their Mania opponent the W. Would make the title seem important.
Goldberg to win the title Strowman to beat Reigns (not clean) Neville to retain Gallows and Anderson to retain Charlotte to win back the title and pass Ric's 16 reigns Banks to win Joe over Zayn preshow cruiserweights it doesn't matter.
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Post by rocketking on Mar 2, 2017 6:31:38 GMT -5
some people would love it, some people would hate it, but I would love for both Brock and Jericho to interfere, both trying to get their Mania opponent the W. Would make the title seem important. One of my favorite Raw matches of all-time was Bret vs. Sid in a cage shortly before Wrestlemania 13. It turned into both guys being helped by their rival (Austin helping Bret and Taker helping Sid) to try to turn their Mania match into the title match. I'm sure it was neither the first or last time this had happened, but it was the first time I had seen it and, even at 12 years old, I had to tip my cap to what felt like a case of uniquely logical booking. The last few minutes of the match are here: www.wwe.com/videos/bret-hart-vs-sycho-sid-wwe-championship-steel-cage-match-raw-february-17-1997I'm sure the whole thing is on the Network if you're so inclined.
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Post by rocketking on Mar 4, 2017 15:24:47 GMT -5
After listening to a week's worth of podcasts and other punditry, I'm starting to lean toward Owens somehow retaining. As usual, I won't change my pick for the sake of fake posterity, but I think there are too many schmozzy possibilities to ignore.
For the record, despite interference or whatever else, I still think it's a mistake to have Owens walk away with the title. Goldberg should be able to overcome any sort of interference or outside circumstance. So unless they do a really blatant DQ via run-in by Brock, Jericho, Joe, etc. (which would suck for a PPV title match), he should still get the pin here in my opinion.
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Post by Christian Small on Mar 4, 2017 15:57:19 GMT -5
You could still do a blatant DQ and have the fans leave some what happy if Goldberg then goes crazy and kills absolutely everyone. I get why Goldberg should walk away champ but to me it's the same argument that we got when Rock won the belt and the most recent Brock run. Why would you give the title to someone who is rarely there when you have a roster of guys who are at every show and deserve that reward. I'd also say that's so much more important now with the Universal title which isn't even a year old, to then have it disappear with Brock for months (since this is all building to Brock beating Goldberg at Mania) fans could forget it even exists. Plus like its been mentioned that match doesn't actually need the title, right now I'd be thinking about how to do that match. Much like this upcoming match, are you gonna try to push Goldberg to go a bit longer or are you just going to kill someone?
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Post by RKing85 on Mar 5, 2017 0:06:44 GMT -5
I just don't feel that Brock/Goldberg needs the title. the title would help the Owens/Jericho match more than it would help the Brock/Goldberg IMO.
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deezy
Misawa
Posts: 2,334
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Post by deezy on Mar 5, 2017 2:39:05 GMT -5
So Owens takes Jericho's US title at Mania.....What's the difference?
Also whatever fuckery happens at Fastlane, won't hold a candle to that UFC mainevent.
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Post by Chris P. Lettuce on Mar 5, 2017 3:35:59 GMT -5
Brock having anything to do with the Goldberg/Owens finish that costs Goldberg buries himself. Nobody is pissed off enough to fuck up their own chances at personal glory. In most cases I think that logic would be sound, but I'm not sure if it applies to Lesnar. This is a character who really hasn't expressed interest towards the title in a longass time. He challenged Rollins for the title after losing it in 2015. Since then, he has been preoccupied with feuds against people like Undertaker, Ambrose, and now Goldberg without any mention from Heyman or him about a desire to get back the title. He may express interest in becoming champion again later, but right now, it doesn't look a priority of his. I believe his character's motivation is simply that he's pissed off at Goldberg for humiliating him and wants nothing more than to get revenge on the man who made him look bad. Following that train of thought, it makes sense that he'd have no problem costing himself a chance at winning the title, just to get back at Goldberg. It's Goldberg who cares about the title, not Lesnar. Therefore, Lesnar would happily jeopardize his championship match opportunity just to infuriate the man who repeatedly infuriated him.
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deezy
Misawa
Posts: 2,334
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Post by deezy on Mar 5, 2017 5:10:08 GMT -5
If Brock wants to get his best revenge, it would taking the biggest prize from the guy who humiliated him twice. So even at his most hulk smash angriest, he would benefit more from not costing Goldberg a title.
Sorry Owens fans, there's no justifying this type of scenario.
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Post by Christian Small on Mar 5, 2017 8:58:57 GMT -5
So you may rule out Brock but there's still a lot of outside factors going into this match. You've got the tease of a new faction with Owens, Joe and Triple H. You also have Chris Jericho who you could put the same Brock argument onto as well. There's more than just Brock effecting this match.
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Post by RKing85 on Mar 6, 2017 0:17:05 GMT -5
I am the last person in the world to go "Worst PPV Ever"
But that really was the worst PPV ever.
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