What Hurts The Show More — No World Title Match or Only One Hell in a Cell Match?
ConnorCasey: Having only one Cell match is odd, but having yet another pay-per-view without a world championship match is starting to drive me up the wall. I get why they had Roman Reigns win both championships, Vince McMahon is all about visuals and having Reigns lift both titles over his head from him at WrestleMania is an all-time great moment. But Raw has been left to basically jog in place ever since and the man being positioned as his biggest star (Rhodes) is expected to sit around and wait for Reigns to steamroll through (reportedly) Riddle, Randy Orton and Drew McIntyre. That means Raw will be left without much momentum until November, at the earliest. And said lack of momentum definitely carries over to this show.
Matt Aguilar: I think only one Hell in a Cell match is what hurts the card most. I tend to be of the belief that if you’re having an event where a stipulation is the focal point, you should at least have two of those types of matches on the card, if not more. You can throw a twist on them to keep them unique mind you, but it does feel odd that at Hell in a Cell there is literally only 1 match in said cell. The no World Title doesn’t bother me mostly because I’d rather give another feud or match-up some shine than just stick to a Title match in here that is a foregone conclusion.
Nick Valdez: Only one current Hell in a Cell match! I think WWE TV has been fine without the main titles for the last few weeks since we’ve had the tag team unification story taking that place. In that time we’ve seen Raw develop a number of interesting stories too, but having only one of these feuds lead to a full Cell match seems pretty wack. Especially so because there’s no women’s division version of it this time around too. It’s a Raw heavy show outside of all of that too, so it’s just odd stuff all around that hurts it more than the main title not being there.
Charlie Ridgeley: Only one Hell in a Cell match. Titles will always be king but WWE has such a talented roster top to bottom that it can have events without a ton of titles on the line. But dedicating an entire night to HIAC and only using it once feels incredibly shortsighted.
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What Should Cody Do After This Final Match With Rollins?
Connor: Win Money in the Bank next month and finally start looking in Roman’s general direction.
Matt: Yeah, it’s time for Cody. He’s the only legitimate threat at this point and so the sooner we can move in that direction the better.
Nick: Cody seems like a lock for the Money in the Bank briefcase (especially because he had the first version of the promo all to himself when it was still being held at Allegiant). It’s time to just go for it.
Charlie: Starting towards the title seems like the right move, given how much of his story in WWE was supposed to be focused on chasing that belt. The only problem is the whole “Roman is probably fighting Drew at Clash at the Castle” situation.
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Who Will The Next Member of The Judgment Day Be?
Connor: Finn Balor. Edge has been placing so much emphasis on Styles to turn that having Balor be the one to do it is a nice swerve. Plus it gets us closer to the “Prince” version of Balor that we saw in his second NXT run from him, which remains the best work he’s ever done with the company.
Matt: Here’s the thing…I initially thought Ciampa, because that would be a stellar addition to Edge’s crew. That said, turning Balor makes much more sense and then you can have Ciampa join Styles and Morgan if you so choose. A return to the Prince is something I am more than happy to see so here’s hoping it happens.
Nick: I hope it’s Balor! The whole dealing with their darker sides thing is a running motif for both Priest and Ripley, and Balor’s got the demon thing WWE can always pull the trigger on whenever they want to. Balor in a club is usually a good move, right?
Charlie: I like trying to be the wild card and swerve when there’s a consensus….but Balor just makes so much sense. There isn’t another name on the Raw roster that would fit, save for Ciampa. The only other alternative is bringing someone in who isn’t currently on the roster. Edge tweeted that image of Paige and I don’t necessarily see it happening, but I would be more than elated about it.
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Does Ezekiel Win His PPV Debut?
Connor: And it is! While I admire Elias’ ability to get this new gimmick over, it does not have much of a shelf life once he gets past the only guy obsessed over his real identity. So have Zeke distract the referee, smash Owens over the head with a guitar and reveal he was Elias all along.
Matt: Nick’s answer is everything and I don’t have anything to add. Ezekiel wins.
Nick: I don’t know why Connor is bringing Elias into it as if Ezekiel were some kind of liar, but Ezekiel wins hands down. At some point, Elias has to show up to help his brother from him, however, so I’m most excited to see how WWE is going to pull that one-off. I’m all in on Ezekiel winning and moving on.
Charlie: Ezekiel wins thanks to interference from an “Elias” run-in.
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Do We Get Austin Theory vs. John Cena for the US Title at SummerSlam?
Connor: If, and it’s a big ol’ if, Cena has the time in his busy schedule to come back for one more match I could see it taking place in Nashville. WWE clearly has a ton of faith in Theory and, win or lose, a match with Cena would be a major step forward for him
Matt: I’m going to say no, at least right now. Granted it would certainly be great for Theory and an impressive win on his resume, and I’d actually like to see Cena tee off on Theory a bit on the mic. That said, Cena has a packed schedule and I’m not sure if he’s got the time to pencil in another month-long feud.
Nick: Maybe someday? But it’s also not something I’m too interested in. I’ve heard all of the Theory and Cena comparisons, but honestly, it seems like such a random connection to me. It’d be fun to see, but not something I hope happens.
Charlie: Of all the talent on the WWE roster, you’re going to bring one of the biggest names in the company’s history for a fight against Theory? We could have John Cena fighting anyone in WWE, and we’re all talking about Theory? They’re considering THEORY?! That’s not from me, dog.
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Who is Roman Reigns’ Next World Championship Challenger and When Does It Happen?
Connor: I have a sinking feeling that, because the show got moved out of Allegiant Stadium and into the MGM Grand, Reigns will be off the Money in the Bank pay per view. It’ll be at summer slam and it will be either against Cody via MITB cash-in or both members of RK-Bro in a triple threat.
Matt: At this point it’s got to be Rhodes. He’s the only one who has been built up as a genuine threat and it would free up the WWE Championship again. I do n’t see Reigns losing the Universal Championship until he faces The Rock (and even then he should actually win), so until then let Reigns have the tw0 titles but lock in Rhodes as the one to take one of them off his hands of the.
Nick: I think Riddle is pretty close right? But honestly, Randy Orton has been picking up a lot of steam thanks to his cool new ‘tude from him. Drew McIntyre’s also annoyingly there, but Orton’s my pick for SummerSlam.
Charlie: I’d like it to be Cody, but I don’t think WWE seems ready to pull that trigger in the next two months. It’ll be Randy and it’ll be an awesome match, even though I hate seeing the Viper lose.
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Predictions
Connor:
- Cody Rhodes def. Seth Rollins (Hell in a Cell)
- Raw Women’s Championship: Bianca Belair def. Becky Lynch & Asuka
- United States Championship: Austin Theory def. Mustafa Ali
- Bobby Lashley defends Omos & MVP
- Ezekiel def. Kevin Owens
- The Judgment Day def. AJ Styles, Finn Balor & Liv Morgan
Matt:
- Cody Rhodes def. Seth Rollins (Hell in a Cell)
- Raw Women’s Championship: Bianca Belair def. Becky Lynch and Asuka
- United States Championship: Austin Theory def. Mustafa Ali
- Omos & MVP def. bobby lashley
- Ezekiel def. Kevin Owens
- The Judgment Day def. AJ Styles, Finn Balor & Liv Morgan
Nick:
- Cody Rhodes def. Seth Rollins (Hell in a Cell)
- Raw Women’s Championship: Bianca Belair def. Becky Lynch and Asuka
- United States Championship: Austin Theory def. Mustafa Ali
- Omos & MVP def. bobby lashley
- Ezekiel def. Kevin Owens
- The Judgment Day def. AJ Styles, Finn Balor & Liv Morgan
Charlie:
- Cody Rhodes def. Seth Rollins (Hell in a Cell)
- Raw Women’s Championship: Bianca Belair def. Becky Lynch and Asuka
- United States Championship: Mustafa Ali def. theory
- Bobby Lashley defends Omos & MVP
- Ezekiel def. Kevin Owens
- The Judgment Day def. AJ Styles, Finn Balor & Liv Morgan
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George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism