Sunday, October 22, 2017

WWE TLC Predictions

It looks like it's time for the annual mild Alicia Fox push. They never work because she's flat out no good. Sasha Banks hasn't been much better in 2017, so putting this on the Kickoff Show makes sense. I'm way more interested in Drew Gulak's Powerpoint presentation on the Kickoff show. I could see the match going either way. Sasha could win, because she's Sasha, while Alicia could win to set her up as Asuka's next victim. It depends on how slowly they want to take the Asuka stuff. I'll go with Sasha.

Winner: Sasha Banks

The cruiserweights have TWO main card matches. Stop the presses. This has actually been built up quite well and Jack Gallagher's heel turn has gone smoother than expected. His pairing with The Brian Kendrick has been interesting, while Cedric Alexander and Rich Swann are probably the two best babyfaces in the division. I'm still waiting for Alexander to get the push he deserves. I'd love to see him as the Cruiserweight Champion. I'm gonna say the heel duo wins to help further establish them. Swann and Alexander will be in the same position with a win or loss.

Winners: The Brian Kendrick and Jack Gallagher

Holy shit. Viral meningitis saved Finn Balor. Instead of the horrible pumpkin demon against Sister Abigail, we're getting Finn Balor vs. AJ Styles. That's basically the biggest upgrade one could ask for. Since both men are faces, this doesn't need some kind of significant build. Just let them do it as a dream match and enjoy it. It should be the kind of match Finn has been dying to have on the main roster and could be the first true great AJ PPV match since WrestleMania. Though AJ's apparently next in line to job to Jinder, I'm gonna say Finn wins this. AJ's the kind of guy who can afford losses at this point, while Finn needs it more.

Winner: Finn Balor

If given time to produce an actual match, this could be the show stealer. I do worry that this will be nothing more than a squash that goes under a minute to establish Asuka. However, I can see them picking Emma for this match because she's worked Asuka a bunch and could have a good match with her. Either way, Asuka starts 1-0 on the main roster.

Winner: Asuka

I still don't get why Enzo dropped the title so quickly. I didn't agree with him winning in the first place, but if they had to do it, I'd have gone with him in a Jinder like role. A guy who the crowd doesn't like and holds the title for a while. Enzo as the guy everyone hated worked well. The match should be fine, and I suspect Enzo regains the title with help from his new buddies. It could set up a cruiserweight tag at Survivor Series.

Winner: Enzo Amore

Poor Mickie James. She had the Piggie James angle and now she has a title feud built around being old. This is Raw, so I could totally see them doing another pointless title swap here, but I'm gonna give them the benefit of the doubt. This feels like a filler feud for Alexa. Nobody has come out of feuds with Alexa looking better than when they went in (see: Becky Lynch, Bayley, Sasha Banks) and I'm gonna say Mickie takes the loss. This all has to end with Asuka beating Alexa. Right?

Winner: Alexa Bliss

I don't see the point of making this a 5-on-3. I love The Miz, but wouldn't this show have been better off if he defended his Intercontinental Title in some other match? Then, The Shield could face Braun and The Bar in a fucking war. Alas, this is what we get. Well, it's what we would've had if Roman Reigns didn't get hurt. Instead, we get the return of Kurt Angle. As much as I was looking forward to seeing the Shield in action again, this is quite the interesting replacement. Can Kurt still go? The good news, is that even if he can't, the match should be chaotic enough to cover that up. His appearance in the match doesn't really change my prediction, as I'm gonna say the Olympic Shield takes this.

Winners: Dean Ambrose, Kurt Angle and Seth Rollins

2017 Prediction Record: 62-35
2016 Prediction Record: 72-41
2015 Prediction Record: 60-35