WWE SummerSlam 2020 Thoughts

Ryan of Cincy Fan Zone shares his thoughts on WWE SummerSlam 2020. 

Hell in a Cell 2018 Thoughts

Ryan of Cincy Fan Zone shares his thoughts on WWE Hell in a Cell 2018.

Boos for Braun?

There are a few certainties in life. Death, taxes, and Roman Reigns and Braun Strowman will always win cleanly no matter the odds. Almost every time I watch WWE programming, both Reigns and Strowman are usually having their hands raised in victory. The only difference between the two is that Reigns is booked to look like an underdog despite his "Big Dog" moniker. Strowman on the other hand is billed as the "Monster Among Men" and is booked like one most of the time. The two have crossed paths before with Reigns playing the hated face and Strowman taking on the role of beloved heel. However, Strowman has since left the dark side of the wrestling world and has been booked to win almost every match he has. Could this cause Strowman's crowd reactions to mimic that of Reigns?

I think it might. Despite being booked as a monster, WWE made Strowman appear as a bit of an underdog at Money in the Bank. Every wrestler in that match teamed together to eliminate Strowman by attempting to bury the monster underneath a pile of ladders. That was not enough to stop him though as he soon emerged from the rubble like Godzilla rising out of the sea and proceeded to destroy everybody in sight in route to winning the Money in the Bank briefcase. There are only a handful of guys I can think of who can overcome odds like that and win: Hulk Hogan, John Cena, and Roman Reigns. All have previously been booked as unstoppable underdogs and all have previously been booed out of the building. If WWE is not careful, Strowman might be grouped in this category.

Let's look at some of Strowman's accomplishments so far this year. At Wrestlemania 34, he easily defeated the Bar with a kid name Nicholas to win the Raw Tag Team Championships. He then won the Greatest Royal Rumble match in Saudi Arabia. He overcame the odds at Money in the Bank, and even though his team lost the next night on Raw, it was Balor, not Strowman, who ate the pin. In terms of professional wrestling, that is an incredible year so far and we are only in the month of June. There are still six months left in 2018 for Strowman to be booked as invincible.

WWE crowds turn on wrestlers they think are overexposed or never lose. While Strowman is not there yet, he's getting awfully close. A lot of people did not like the decision to have Strowman win the Money in the Bank briefcase as they feel like he is already over enough with the crowd. Despite that sentiment, WWE still booked the monster to win and he has already called out Universal Champion Brock Lesnar. Everybody thinks Strowman will cash in and finally be the one to defeat the beast. I'm thinking that Reigns and Lesnar clash at SummerSlam with Reigns finally taking the belt from the beast only for Strowman to cash in and take the title from Reigns. This sends the crowd home happy and keeps Strowman on the crowd's good side as he will be feuding with Reigns again. But what about when the Reigns feud is finished? We'll have to wait and see what happens. Hopefully WWE handles Strowman better than they have Reigns so that monster does not feel the wrath of the fans.

Money in the Bank 2018 Thoughts

Ryan of Cincy Fan Zone shares his thoughts on WWE Money in the Bank 2018. 

Plight of the Cruiserweights

When WWE announced that they were bringing back the cruiserweight division, I was excited. The Cruiserweight Classic on the WWE Networks was producing unbelievable matches, and it was arguably the best cruiserweight action on television since the days of WCW Monday Nitro. The cruiserweight division that WCW had during the Monday Night Wars featured some of the finest wrestling on television at the time and helped propel guys like Eddie Guerrero, Rey Mysterio, Dean Malenko, and Chris Jericho into superstardom. The bouts were often fast paced and filled with high flying action. People were tuning into WCW for the big name wrestlers and New World Order storyline, but they were staying because of the action that the cruiserweights brought to the ring.

I thought a similar style would be replicated on WWE television. I was wrong. The cruiserweight division is struggling. Instead of being presented as an athletic showcase for wrestlers who meet the 205 pound weight limit, the division barely gets any television time on Monday Night Raw, and the 205 Live show on the WWE network generally features two matches with an in ring segment in between. The action is not as quick or as dazzling despite the fact that many of the cruiserweights are some of the most athletically gifted on the roster. Cedric Alexander is a perfect example of this. He is arguably the most athletic wrestler in the division but was involved in a horrendous storyline with Noam Dar and Alicia Fox and really has no direction that enables him to show off his wrestling skill.

If WWE stripped the division down, gave the wrestlers more television time, and focused more on the actual wrestling, I think it would improve. The Cruiserweight Classic proved that fans were invested in matches because of the action in the ring. Short video packages highlighted each wrestler before the match, but the wrestlers did not cut promos or have an in ring segment to get over with the fans. They let their abilities do the talking, and it spoke volumes. If WWE can make the cruiserweight division more like the cruiserweight classic, I think the plight of the cruiserweights will finally come to an end.

Who Will Walk Out as Champ?

SummerSlam 2017 will boast a huge main event as Brock Lesnar will defend his WWE Universal Championship in a Fatal 4 Way match against Braun Strowman, Samoa Joe, and Roman Reigns. The match should be a war as four of WWE’s most over wrestlers battle it out to determine who is the top guy on Monday Night Raw. So will a new champ be crowned?

Nope. Not at SummerSlam 2017 at least. I predict Brock Lesnar will walk into SummerSlam as champion and walk out as champion. That is not to say he won’t have a tough match ahead of him. Strowman has become the resident monster for the red brand, Samoa Joe was seconds away from choking out the landlord of Suplex City at Great Balls of Fire, and Reigns is the only other guy aside from Lesnar to defeat the Undertaker at Wrestlemania.

Despite the threat that each of the challengers pose to the champ, they will not take the Universal Championship for themselves. I think that Lesnar will win and hold onto the title until Wrestlemania 34 before dropping the belt to Reigns. The seeds for that match will be planted at SummerSlam as Lesnar successfully retains his title.

WWE GBOF 2017 Thoughts

Ryan of Cincy Fan Zone shares his thoughts on WWE GBOF 2017.