WWE Survivor Series 2020 Thoughts

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

Survivor Series 2019 Thoughts

Ryan of Cincy Fan Zone shares his thoughts on WWE Survivor Series 2019.

Way Too Early Wrestlemania Prediction

Please note this was written before Reigns relinquished the Universal Championship and before Ambrose turned heel.

It's a little early to predict the main event of Wrestlemania, but I'm thinking the Shield will have a triple threat match with the Universal Championship on the line. Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, and Roman Reigns have previously faced off in a triple threat match at Battleground 2016 in which Ambrose retained his WWE Championship over his Shield brothers in an exciting main event. That match was worthy of headlining Wrestlemania. It was odd for WWE to relegate it to smaller pay-per-view in the middle of the summer. Wrestlemania 35 will be the stage for the battle of the Shield round two. Here's how.

As I write this, WWE is building the card for Crown Jewel and teasing a Dean Ambrose heel turn. He most recently left Rollins and Reigns in the ring after being pinned by Drew McIntyre in a six-man tag team match that also featured Braun Strowman and Dolph Ziggler. I think Ambrose will turn into a full-fledged heel by the Royal Rumble but no earlier than Survivor Series. 

If it happens at Survivor Series, I can see him snapping should the Shield lose a match or perhaps he costs his team and is the reason they come up short. Either way, he will be the one to break the Shield. He will then battle mainly Seth Rollins through the Royal Rumble while also having a few encounters with Reigns. I think Reigns will be Universal Champion at Wrestlemania, but how will both Ambrose and Rollins join him in the main event? I have two scenarios. 

Option one has Rollins winning the Royal Rumble and putting his main event title shot on the line against Ambrose. The Lunatic Fringe will win the match via nefarious means and steal away Rollins' title match. Rollins will then be added to the match because of how Ambrose won and the Shield will be set up for a triple threat at Wrestlemania. Option two has both Ambrose and Rollins winning the Royal Rumble via a double elimination. Reigns, being the fighting champion that he is, will agree to face both of them at Wrestlemania and the Shield will headline WWE's biggest event of the year.  

The question everybody will be asking is who will win this potential Wrestlemania 35 Shield triple threat match for the Universal Championship? We all know how the crowd reacts to Reigns as an individual star. While I wouldn't put it past WWE to have Reigns walk out with the belt, I feel like WWE will continue to push Reigns as an unstoppable underdog and having him lose the title will allow the company to continue to position Reigns in that role. Rollins has arguably been WWE's best in ring performer throughout 2018, and the crowd adores him. He gets one of the best pops in the company, and he will undoubtedly garner a huge reaction should he win. He's already done that however, as he walked out of Wrestlemania 31 with the WWE Championship. That leaves Ambrose. While all three have been World champs, Ambrose is the only one who has not won the title in a Wrestlemania main event and there would be no better way to solidify Ambrose as the top heel in the business by having him defeat his two former Shield brothers for the Universal Championship in the main event of Wrestlemania 35. 

That's what I think will happen at Wrestlemania. The Shield will implode, Ambrose and Rollins will somehow both get a title shot at Wrestlemania against Reigns, and Ambrose will walk away with the belt. In my option, WWE has been doing a good job on teasing Ambrose's heel turn. It has been a slow build and hopefully the payoff is memorable. Should it lead to a Shield triple threat at the showcase of the immortals, then it could result in some of the best storytelling WWE has ever produced. If this is the route WWE is heading, I cannot wait to watch it play out on television. 

Too Much of a Good Thing

I love watching professional wrestling, mainly World Wrestling Entertainment. Ever since I was a kid I have been hooked on the battles that take place inside the squared circle. As a kid, pay-per-views were one of the main reasons to come back each week to see what unfolded on Raw and SmackDown. The events of those weekly television shows crafted the stories that culminated at pay-per-views. In today’s WWE, I feel like that is missing because there are so many pay-per-view events held throughout the year.

As I type this, Super Show-Down is set to broadcast live from Australia at 5 AM eastern time on October 6. After that is Evolution, the all women pay-per-view, on October 28. Following Evolution is Crown Jewel on November 2 and Survivor Series on November 18. That is four WWE pay-per-views in two months, essentially one every two weeks. In my opinion, you can’t build up a story effectively in such a short span. For the men, it is not as a big of a deal as they won’t be featured again on pay-per-view until Crown Jewel. It is more problematic for the women as they will be featured on all four pay-per-views.

Due to this packed schedule, the buildup for the matches will be rushed. Stories will have less meaning. Character arcs will be less developed. Twists might not have as big an impact. It is also annoying to see WWE promote multiple pay-per-view events at the same.

 In my opinion, less is more. I think WWE should go back to one pay-per-view a month to allow the storylines to progress naturally without feeling rushed. The road to WrestleMania usually features one pay-per-view a month, and that is generally seen as the time of year when WWE produces its best programming. Wrestling fans love pay-per-views, but having so many throughout the year is too much of a good thing.

Survivor Series 2018 Thoughts

Ryan of Cincy Fan Zone shares his thoughts on WWE Survivor Series 2018.

WWE Survivor Series 2017 Thoughts

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

Return of the King

Every wrestling fans knows about WWE’s “big four” pay-per-views. Wrestlemania, SummerSlam, Survivor Series, and the Royal Rumble are WWE’s four crown jewels in terms of pay-per-view programming as they generally have the biggest buildup and a plethora of marquee matches. However, the “big four” used to be the “big five” as the King of the Ring pay-per-view was once viewed as another of WWE’s signature events. With WWE using the WWE Network to increase the amount of pay-per-views it produces, why not bring back the King of the Ring? In this post, I will explain what the King of the Ring is, why they should bring it back, and how I would organize the new tournament.

The King of the Ring was a single elimination tournament in which wrestlers competed for the prestigious title of “King of the Ring.” Tournament matches were held on Raw and SmackDown with the quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals taking place at the King of the Ring pay-per-view. The winner of the tournament was perceived to be the next big breakout star in the WWE, and history backs up that perception. Previous winners included Triple H, Brock Lesnar, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Edge, and Kurt Angle. All these wrestlers went on to hold world championship gold and became staples in the main even scene. The tournament was kind of like a summer version of the Royal Rumble match and was easily one of the most anticipated wrestling events of the year.

Despite the event having such a rich history, the King of the Ring pay-per-view was last held in 2002. The King of the Ring tournament has been held sporadically since 2002 having taken place in 2006, 2008, 2010, and most recently in 2015. The tournament matches were usually held on Raw or SmackDown with the finals being held at a pay-per-view. The lone exception is the 2015 edition that had its finals take place on a Tuesday night WWE Network special.

It has been 15 years since WWE last held a King of the Ring pay-per-view, and I think that it is time that WWE brought it back. With WWE reviving the brand split to try and create new stars, the King of the Ring tournament and pay-per-view could be a tremendous boost to WWE’s efforts. Rivalries could stem from tournament matches allowing for more airtime for wrestlers as well as intriguing storylines that would have a logical beginning. It would also enable WWE to load its programming with less filler content. WWE fans generally complain about the amount of filler that is featured on SmackDown and especially Raw. The King of the Ring tournament would easily give WWE more content to air on Raw and SmackDown in place of filler.

So how would the new King of the Ring tournament work? If I were in charge, I would have the tournament take place in the summer and split the tournament bracket into a Raw division and a SmackDown division with 8 wrestlers per division. There would then be qualifying matches to determine what wrestlers would participate in the tournament. Once the qualification process is complete, the tournament matches would take place on Raw and SmackDown until the semifinal round. The semifinals and finals would take place at the King of the Ring pay-per-view with the finals consisting of the winner of the Raw division taking on the winner of the SmackDown division with the King of the Ring crown on the line. The victor of the match will not only be the new “King of the Ring” but also earn either a WWE World Heavyweight Championship match or a WWE Universal Championship match at SummerSlam depending on their brand.

In conclusion, the King of the Ring was a fun wrestling tournament that generally saw the elevation of wrestlers from the mid card to the main event scene. Bringing it back would be beneficial for both the participating wrestlers and the WWE as a whole as it would allow for more ample storytelling from the WWE and more screen time for wrestlers on the roster. My format would allow both brands to have competing wrestlers as well as grant the winner a world title bout in addition to being crowned as the new King of the Ring. Hopefully WWE brings the tournament back and utilizes the overabundance of talent it currently has on its roster.

Too Much of a Good Thing?

I am a die heard professional wrestling fan. I was hooked on the violent form of sports entertainment ever since I was a kid when guys like Stone Cold Steve Austin and the Rock were the top stars of the industry. In fact, the professional wrestling industry was at the height of its popularity as World Wrestling Entertainment and World Championship Wrestling were battling for television ratings and the title of the top professional wrestling company in the world. WCW was eventually bought out by WWE leaving Vince McMahon’s wrestling empire as the undisputed champion of sports entertainment. WWE has since gone on to launch the WWE Network, and the amount of weekly programming WWE produces has increased drastically. While more programming sounds good on paper, is it a good idea in all actuality?

I do not think it is. During the height of professional wrestling’s popularity, WWE’s weekly programming consisted of two hours of Monday Night Raw, two hours of SmackDown on Thursday, and a three hour pay-per-view one Sunday a month. Let’s compare that to the current amount of WWE programming.

Monday Night Raw has since expanded to three hours with a 30-minute kickoff show, which is streamed, on YouTube and the WWE Network, that precedes each episode. SmackDown is still two hours long, but it too has a 30-minute kick off show that streams on YouTube and the WWE Network as well as a post show called Talking Smack that runs about 20-30 minutes on the WWE Network. WWE recently launched 205 Live to showcase its cruiserweight division. The show airs on the WWE Network after SmackDown, and the debut episode was about 50 minutes long. NXT, a show featuring WWE’s developmental system, airs for an hour every Wednesday. Pay-per-views have since increased to about two a month that run an average of three hours long. There is also a one-hour kickoff show for each pay-per-view unless the pay-per-view is the Royal Rumble, Wrestlemania, SummerSlam, or Survivor Series in which case the kickoff show is two hours long.

That is a massive amount of weekly WWE programming to watch each week. For hardcore fans, watching that much wrestling a week is not a big deal. However WWE often tries to attract non-viewers and casual fans to its product, and I think this much programming in one week can be overwhelming. I consider myself a hardcore wrestling fan, and I have trouble keeping up with all the weekly wrestling shows WWE produces. I can only imagine what a casual fan must go through when trying to understand the storylines playing out on WWE programming.

I think WWE should consider cutting back on the amount of programming it produces. Perhaps reducing Raw back to two hours or eliminating the kickoff shows could help the situation by eliminating the feeling of being overwhelmed. Back when WWE had its highest ratings, it had only a few hours of programming a week. Maybe WWE could reflect on what made it so popular and try to expand upon that instead of its amount of weekly television shows.

Survivor Series 2016 Thoughts

Ryan of Cincy Fan Zone shares his thoughts on WWE Survivor Series 2016.

Goldberg vs. Lesnar II: Survivor Series or Wrestlemania?

For months, rumors had been swirling that WWE was in negotiations with Goldberg for a return bout against Brock Lesnar, and a recent ESPN interview all but confirmed that the man who had compiled a record of 173-0 in World Championship Wrestling was indeed set to make his return. WWE hyped up the interview on its social media outlets and on its weekly television programs before Lesnar’s advocate, Paul Heyman, issued the challenge to Goldberg. The next week, Goldberg made his return to Monday Night Raw after a 12 year absence and declared that Lesnar was “next.” WWE then announced that Goldberg and Lesnar would square off at Survivor Series in November.

For Lesnar, it is a chance to right the lone blemish on his list of wrestlers that he has been able to conquer throughout his WWE career. For Goldberg, it is an opportunity to prove that he can still hang with the best that the wrestling world has to offer. A match of this magnitude should be reserved for the grandest of stages. Survivor Series is one of WWE’s biggest shows of the year, but is it big enough for Goldberg vs. Lesnar II?

Personally, I don’t think it is. Survivor Series is regarded as the smallest of WWE’s “Big Four” pay-per-view events behind the Royal Rumble, SummerSlam, and Wrestlemania and is known for its traditional five on five elimination tag team matches. Wrestlemania on the other hand is known for its marquee bouts that often feature wrestling legends. Goldberg vs. Lesnar II is a marquee match that should be saved for Wrestlemania. This would allow WWE to slowly build up the story with the payoff match being at its biggest event of the year. They could continue to build up Lesnar as “the beast” by having him steamroll opponents, and they could also build Goldberg up by having him start a new winning streak before putting it on the line against Lesnar.

The slow build would entice fans and help make the anticipation for the match reach a fever pitch. The Wrestlemania setting would also play a natural role in the story as Goldberg defeated Lesnar in their first encounter at Wrestlemania 20. WWE could bill this as a Wrestlemania rematch 13 years in the making, and it would easily increase the amount of buys and hype for the pay-per-view. That is not to say that it would not affect Survivor Series in a similar fashion, but WWE prides itself on having Wrestlemania being the one event of the year that shatters records. Goldberg vs. Lesnar II would no doubt help WWE do that.

That is why I think WWE should save Goldberg vs. Lesnar II for Wrestlemania 33. Survivor Series is a big show, but Wrestlemania is bigger and having the bout take place there would be more beneficial for both the match and WWE. The story could build slowly which would heighten anticipation, the Wrestlemania setting would play right into the buildup of the match, and the bout between Goldberg and Lesnar is defiantly worthy of being contested at the “Showcase of the Immortals.”

Survivor Series 2015 Thoughts

Ryan of Cincy Fan Zone shares his thoughts on Survivor Series 2015.

The Atlanta Screwjob - Take 2

Please note that this was written immediately after news broke that Seth Rollins injured his knee. Therefore, the results of Monday Night Raw were not taken into account in the writing of this post.

Attempting to predict anything is often difficult as there are always things outside the predictor’s control that will ultimately influence the outcome. A prime example of this happening is the knee injury that Seth Rollins suffered in a wrestling match. Last Wednesday night, it was reported that Rollins had hurt his right knee while attempting a top rope sunset flip.  I saw the video, and it was obvious that the prognosis for his knee would not be good. The next day, minutes after I posted “The Atlanta Screwjob” to this website, it was reported that Rollins suffered ACL/MCL/medial meniscus tears in his right knee and will be out for 6-9 months. The WWE World Heavyweight Championship match between Roman Reigns and Rollins was cancelled and a tournament was announced that would be held at Survivor Series 2015 to determine the new champ. While the belt will be up for grabs in a new format than what was originally advertised, I still believe that a screwjob will take place with Dean Ambrose being screwed by his former Shield brother, Roman Reigns.

In my new prediction, I believe that Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns will battle it out in the finals of the tournament for the vacant WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Before the final match, the Authority heads to the ring saying that they will present the belt to the winner of the match. Cue the entrances of Reigns and Ambrose.

After a prematch sign of respect through their trademark fist bump, the bout begins. It is a back and forth brawl with neither man being able to get the decisive fall. Reigns later begins to take control of the match but Ambrose repeatedly kicks out of pins, and Reigns becomes more visibly frustrated. This is when the screwjob goes into motion.

Ambrose begins to mount a comeback and nails Reigns with the dirty deeds before going for the pin. The Authority then makes their move as Stephanie McMahon jumps on the ring apron and distracts the referee. Ambrose gets up and tires to get the referee’s attention but Triple H enters the ring and hits Ambrose with the pedigree. The Game then leaves the ring as Stephanie lets the referee get back to the match. Reigns gets up and goes to one corner of the ring while Ambrose staggers to his feet in the opposite corner. Ambrose turns around, Reigns spears and pins him, and the referee counts to three. Your winner and new WWE World Heavyweight Champion: Roman Reigns. The Authority then enters the ring and celebrates with their new champion and face of the company while standing over Ambrose as the show goes off the air.

To me, this makes perfect sense as this scenario allows WWE to push both Ambrose and Reigns while Rollins is injured. With Rollins out, WWE is in major need of a new top heel, and Reigns is a prime candidate. While he is being cheered as of late, his reaction from the crowd in the past was negative. It is also well known that Vince McMahon is grooming Reigns to be the next face of the company. With the past negative reactions he received along with the obvious want of WWE to make him the biggest star in the company, it makes perfect sense to have Reigns be a monster heel. He could say he was tired of the negative crowd reactions and that he deserves to be the face of the WWE nay, the Authority. WWE should capitalize on this and use it as the reason why he joined the Authority.

Ambrose on the other hand is the perfect guy to challenge the Authority. He has challenged them in the past such as when he battled Rollins throughout the summer, and his character has taken on the trait of being a resilient brawler. He endures a ton of pain and can never seem to be put away in a match. Matches such as his bout against Rollins at Money in the Bank 2015 and most recently the 5 on 5 Survivor Series Elimination match on last week’s Raw showcase this characteristic. He also has that intangible “it” factor that causes audiences to naturally gravitate towards him. He radiates charisma and routinely garners fantastic reactions from the crowd. He got over with the fans without a massive push from WWE, which is the total opposite of Reigns. He is the perfect hero to battle a villain Reigns.

That is what I think WWE should do at Survivor Series 2015. It would be an exciting twist and an excellent way to push Reigns and Ambrose in a massive way. Reigns’ character would be refreshed as a dominating heel, and Ambrose would be the perfect choice to serve as the biggest threat to Reigns and the Authority. Make this happen WWE. The reaction will be nothing short of amazing, and it will be a twist that is talked about for years to come.

The Atlanta Screwjob

Please note that this was written and published before WWE announced that Seth Rollins would vacate the WWE World Heavyweight Championship due to injury.

Survivor Series is one of WWE’s signature events of the year. It is considered to be part of the “Big Four” pay-per-views along with the Royal Rumble, Wrestlemania, and SummerSlam, and it has a long and rich history in the professional wrestling world. It is also a notorious scene for controversy and swerves. Infamous incidents such as the “Montreal Screwjob” at Survivor Series 1997 and the way that the Rock won the WWE Championship at Survivor Series 1998 are arguably two of the most well known examples of the chaotic nature of the event. With the 2015 edition of Survivor Series marking the 25^th anniversary of the debut of the Undertaker, I would expect a huge surprise that will leave the jaws of the Atlanta crowd on the floor. The surprise has nothing to do with the Undertaker though, as I believe it will involve Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, and the Authority. I predict that the Authority will turn on Rollins and align themselves with Reigns in route to helping Reigns win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.

It’s a bold prediction as Reigns has been touted as the next face of the company. That is what makes it such a huge and shocking twist as it is something that nobody will see coming. A heel Reigns would be awesome in my opinion. He will no longer have to go through the typical good guy act and can instead be a monstrous and dominant heel much like he was in the Shield. Rollins on the other hand has been heel for a long time and is starting to get stale. While he is one of the best in ring talents WWE has to offer, his bad guy antics of constantly worming his way to victory through underhanded tactics are getting old. Having the Authority screw Rollins would breathe fresh life into his character as well as that of Reigns, and it would definitely make Raw must see television.

If I were in charge of booking the match, here is what I would do. I would have the Authority come to the ring first and ban every wrestler backstage from interfering in the match. They could say they have invested a lot in Rollins and do not want guys like Dean Ambrose, the guy Reigns had been teaming up with all summer, to get involved with the outcome of the bout. The Authority then remains at ringside for the match as Reigns makes his way to the ring. He walks by the Authority, has a stare down with them, and enters the ring and waits for Rollins. The champ then makes his entrance, gives a prematch hug to the Authority, and gets in the ring to face Reigns. The referee signals for the bell, and the bout begins.

Towards the end of the match, Rollins reverses a move by Reigns and shoves Reigns into the referee knocking out both the referee and Reigns. This allows the Authority makes their move. Triple H enters the ring acting as if he will assist Rollins but betrays his former pupil by delivering a pedigree to him. Reigns gets up and sees what Triple H has done and smiles. The Game smiles back, lifts up the body of Rollins, and holds him so that Reigns can spear the champ. Reigns hits the spear and pins Rollins while Stephanie revives the referee who then makes the 3-count. Your winner and new WWE World Heavyweight Champion: Roman Reigns. The show ends with Reigns standing above Rollins with the championship belt held above his head and the Authority next to him as the “Atlanta Screwjob” is etched into Survivor Series lore.

That is how I would book Survivor Series 2015. Reigns would be the new face of the Authority and Rollins would go from villain to hero. This would allow these two wrestlers to continue feuding while at the same time shaking up the WWE landscape. This could also lead to a potential triple threat main event WWE World Heavyweight Championship match at Wrestlemania 32 between all three former members of the Shield. That is something I would love to see, and it would all start with the “Atlanta Screwjob.”

Rise of the Roman Empire...Again?

Roman Reigns has become a very interesting character in the professional wrestling world. After his victory on Monday Night Raw in a fatal 4-way match to become the number one contender for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, it appears that WWE is once again trying to give Reigns another big push. As I said in my WWE Hell in a Cell 2015 Thoughts video, the crowd reaction to Reigns will ultimately decide if this push is fueled or derailed. After a negative reaction to Reigns destroyed WWE’s plans to have Reigns officially become the face of the company at Wrestlemania 31, will this push succeed or once again force WWE to make a last second change? Allow me to explain.

Let’s start with the initial crowd reaction to Reigns when he debuted with Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins as a member of the Shield in 2012. During his time with the Shield, the faction, which was originally “heel” or villainous, started to get over with the fans, and they began receiving cheers from the crowd that rivaled those of some of the top “faces” or good guys in WWE. Reigns amassed a sizeable fan base as the quiet but deadly force of the Shield, and during the 2014 Royal Rumble match, he was heavily cheered by the Pittsburgh crowd as he and Batista locked horns as the final two combatants before he was eliminated. After the split of the Shield in the summer of 2014, fan reaction toward Reigns began to turn for the worse as small pockets of boos hidden in the WWE crowds turned into a sea of anger and disdain that culminated at the 2015 Royal Rumble.

In what was supposed to be the starting point for Reigns to be the next face of the company, the Philadelphia crowd unmercifully booed Reigns out of the building after he won the match. Not even the Rock, who made an appearance to give a symbolic nod to Reigns, could turn the boos into cheers. At the next pay-per-view, Reigns defeated Daniel Bryan to retain his number one contendership for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship that he earned by winning the Royal Rumble. After the match, Bryan, a wrestler that wrestling crowds love and adore, gave Reigns his stamp of approval, but Reigns continued to receive bad reactions and at Wrestlemania 31, in what had been reported to be a last minute decision by WWE, Seth Rollins entered the main event by cashing in his Money in the Bank contract. He then pinned Reigns and walked out of Wrestlemania 31 as the WWE World Heavyweight Champion.

Since then, Reigns has been put on the backburner as WWE seemingly attempted to figure out a way to turn the boos he received into cheers. They had him team up with fan favorite and former Shield member Dean Ambrose over the summer, and they had him do battle with one of WWE’s best heel acts in Bray Wyatt. The Reigns versus Wyatt saga concluded at Hell in a Cell 2015 with Reigns picking up a huge Hell in a Cell match win. That win is apparently another launch point for another Reigns push as he became the number one contender for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship the following night on Raw. So how will this push be received by fans?

Based on the reaction from the crowd on Monday Night Raw, the crowd has been receptive to the idea of Reigns being the next championship challenger. While there were a few boos directed at Reigns during the match, there were resounding cheers and chants for Reigns during his post match stare down with Rollins. It is still way too early to see if WWE fully commits to its latest push for Reigns, but based on what happened on Raw, I think that the rise of the Roman Empire is coming to fruition. My prediction for the upcoming Survivor Series event next month is that Reigns will defeat Rollins to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Believe that.

How he will win the title is up for debate. Is a heel turn for Reigns out of the question? To see what I think, come back next week as I attempt to book Survivor Series 2015.