Well this one is easy. Tye beat English handily on Smackdown recently and I expect a similar outcome here. it should be more competitive though, which means it could be pretty good. Tye has been consistently strong for over a year now, and English is solid. Plus, I love his singing gimmick and am glad it's back. Like I said though, Tye wins.
Winner: Tye Dillinger
Another rematch of a recent Smackdown outing. Once upon a time, this feud sounded interesting after the original Wyatt breakup. They got back together, split again and had a few singles matches with no build, so it's lost a lot of luster. Rowan was highly entertaining on Talking Smack this week and I think Harper is one of the most underutilized guys on the roster. He's so damn good. Harper seems to just put people over though. Maybe not tonight.
Winner: Lou Parper
Another seemingly easy prediction. Sami Zayn is the most natural babyface the WWE has seen in a long time but the guy just loses on a consistent basis. Has he even had a big win since beating Kevin Owens last summer at Battleground? In a YouTube clip, he showed a ton of frustration after losing the Six Pack Challenge, but it hasn't translated to TV. I suspect Corbin, who has been awesome since being drafted to Smackdown, is a potential challenger for the WWE Title down the line. I could see Sami stealing a win but I'll go with a Corbin win.
Winner: Big Banter
Man, how much more fun would this have been if Nakamura feuded with Miz instead of Ziggler? I like the idea of saving Nakamura's first main roster match for a PPV. It makes him feel like a big deal. The issue was that the PPV was too far away. He debuted on the main roster almost two months ago. Some segments have worked, but some have just been bad all around. The match should be good and the outcome is clear. Let's just hope we get a Nakamura who brings his "A game" (think major NJPW matches or the match with Zayn) instead of phoning it in Nakamura (the rest of his NXT run), during his main roster run.
Winner: Shinsuke Nakamura
I could see this going either way. The heels should win since Carmella seems to be headed towards a Women's Title match. I'd have her pick up the win, maybe over Becky since she keeps pinning Naomi. However, this is the WWE and the babyface team has lady BIG DOG. Charlotte seemingly has to win nearly every match and look dominant while doing so. She could win and a throw a wrench into everything, beating the very expendable Tamina or Natalya. I've said it before, but I never bet against the female Roman Reigns. Charlotte wins.
Winners: Lady Big Dog, Becky Lynch and Naomi
Has anyone transformed themselves more than the Usos in the past year or so? They went from good, but very stale tag team. They turned heel, changed their style and attitude and feel fresh. Their recent promos have been good and different from pretty much all other promos in the WWE. Meanwhile, Breezango have been tremendous in their Law and Order spoof segments. These are the two most fun tag teams on Smackdown, since American Alpha does a lot of nothing, and the match could surprise many. The Usos retain though.
Winners: The Usos
This should be the clear match of the night. These are two of the best guys in the company (with Styles being the best wrestler on Earth) and this absolutely should go on last. It'll make the United States Title feel important and the crowd will eat this up. Technically, I'd say Styles should win because he's a recently turned babyface and Owens got the better of him most recently. I don't think it happens though. Owens already had a short reign with the title and I don't think it happens again. Unless he drops it and moves onto a WWE Title feud, while AJ makes the US Title relevant. However, I don't think this ends here. Owens retains and wins by cheap means or loses by DQ. I'm gonna say he loses by DQ.
Winner: AJ Styles via DQ
This match and rivalry is absolute dogshit. Randy Orton as WWE Champion in 2017 is a joke. He was fun with the Wyatts but without them, he's back to the same dull guy we've known for years. To make matters worse, he doesn't even get a good opponent for his first defense. He gets Jinder fucking Mahal. A guy that has been in the bottom five of performers in the WWE since his debut. He hasn't improved and doesn't deserve to be here but he is. Orton should retain. Not because I want him as champion, but because he's a better option as champion than someone as horrible as Mahal. Though don't be surprised if WWE puts the title on Mahal to spite everyone.
Winner: Randy Orton
2017 Prediction Record: 25-19
2016 Prediction Record: 65-37
