Rev your engines as WWE heads to Detroit for SummerSlam.

I’m slightly disappointed about the lack of women’s matches that is on this card. We could have had 3 or four, but we have a mere 2. One which was thrown together with a random stipulation and a title match.

And can Finn Bálor regain a title that he never lost, 7 years later?

Let’s predict.

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Non-Title Matches

• SummerSlam Battle Royal presented by Slim Jim
  • PREDICTION: Only 12 of the 25 entrants have been announced and out of the lot announced so far… LA Knight, YEAH!
• Ronda Rousey vs Shayna Baszler in a ‘MMA Rules’ match.
  • PREDICTION: We don’t know what the ‘MMA Rules’ stipulation entails but this is really a nothing match and I only see Ronda Rousey winning this.
• Logan Paul vs Ricochet
  • PREDICTION: This is going to be the match of the night. The two will probably pull off a banger of a match. Logan will win to get the rub.
• Cody Rhodes vs Brock Lesnar
  • PREDICTION: Brock Lesnar – I don’t believe Cody will pin Brock. If he does, it would only be by shenanigans.

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Title Matches

• Gunther (C) vs Drew McIntyre for the Intercontinental Championship
  • PREDICTION: Gunther – WWE wants the record to be broken and Gunther is the guy to do it. Sorry Drew, maybe at Wrestlemania.
• Asuka (C) vs Charlotte Flair vs Bianca Belair in a Triple Threat Match for the WWE Women’s Championship
  • PREDICTION: I despise Charlotte Flair… why is she here. She actively ruins my enjoyment of the women’s division because we KNOW the result before it even happens. Charlotte Flair is going to win. Asuka or Bianca should retain/win, but you know it is not going to happen.
• Seth ‘Freakin’ Rollins (C) vs Finn Bálor for the World Heavyweight Championship
  • PREDICTION: A re-match from Money in the Bank and having Finn winning it, would work storyline-wise. He won the title at SummerSlam 2016 but vacated it the next night on RAW due to injury. 7 years later and he could get it. I hope he gets it. Finn Balor to win
• Roman Reigns (C) vs Jey Uso in ‘Tribal Combat’ for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship
  • PREDICTION: If this had been against anyone else, you could have easily put your money on Roman. But this match is serious. The culmination of a 3-year story and the potential end of Roman’s VERY long title reign. I can see it happening. I can see Roman losing tonight but it will not be clean. Solo will turn on Roman, Jimmy may come back to attack Roman. Ref bumps, visual pins but Jey will get it done. Jey Uso to win the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship

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How are you seeing these matches fare?

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It is that time once again to find out who will be this year’s Mr. and Ms. Money in the Bank.

Hailing from The O2 Arena in London, England for the first time ever, the Money In the Bank PPV is traveling outside of the United States.

Other than the 2 ladder matches, there are 3 title matches including the World Heavyweight Championship.

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Non-Title Matches

• Damian Priest vs BUTCH vs Santos Escobar vs LA Knight vs Shinsuke Nakamura vs Logan Paul vs Ricochet in the Men’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match.

  • PREDICTION: LA Knight to win… YEAH!

• Iyo Sky vs Trish Stratus vs Zoey Stark vs Bayley vs Zelina Vega vs Becky Lynch in the Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match.

  • PREDICTION: Becky Lynch to win.

• Cody Rhodes vs Dominik Mysterio in a singles match.

  • PREDICTION: Cody Rhodes

• The Usos (Jimmy Uso & Jey Uso) vs Roman Reigns & Solo Sikoa in the ‘Bloodline Civil War’ tag team match.

  • PREDICTION: The Usos to win.

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Title Matches

• Gunther (C) vs Matt Riddle in a singles match for the Intercontinental Championship

  • PREDICTION: Gunther to retain.

• Ronda Rousey & Shayna Baszler (C) vs Raquel Rodriguez & Liv Morgan in a tag team match for the _WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships)

  • PREDICTION: Raquel & Liv to win and become champions.

• Seth ‘Freakin’ Rollins (C) vs Finn Bálor in a singles match for the World Heavyweight Championship

  • PREDICTION: Finn Bálor to win and become champion.

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And those are my predictions.

DID YOU KNOW: All my posts are now FREE for all to view and share and what-have-ya. Check out all my previous predictions to see what I chose for previous WWE shows.

Oh look, it’s that time again for another Predictions post. As you may know, because of my distaste for the Saudi Arabian Government having this deal with WWE, I am making this post free for all. Have at it.

These are my predictions for Saudi Blood Money IX aka. WWE Night of Champions 2023.

Non-Title Matches

• Becky Lynch vs Trish Stratus
  • WINNER: Becky Lynch
• Cody Rhodes vs Brock Lesnar
  • WINNER: Cody Rhodes

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Title Matches

• GUNTHER (C) vs Mustafa Ali in a singles match for the Intercontinental Championship
  • WINNER: GUNTHER to retain
• Rhea Ripley (C) vs Natalya in a singles match for the SmackDown Women’s Championship
  • WINNER: Rhea to retain.
• Bianca Belair (C) vs Asuka in a singles match for the RAW Women’s Championship
  • WINNER: Asuka to win and become champion,.
• Sami Zayn (C) & Kevin Owens (C) vs Solo Sikoa & Roman Reigns in a tag team match for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship
  • WINNER: Sami & Kevin to retain.
• Seth ‘Freakin’ Rollins vs AJ Styles in a singles match for the Inaugural World Heavyweight Championship
  • WINNER: Seth ‘Freakin’ Rollins to win and become the inaugural champion.

And those are my predictions.

Live from Puerto Rico and hosted by Bad Bunny, it is WWE Backlash!

Here are my predictions for the show:

Non-Title Matches

• Seth “Freakin” Rollins vs Omos in a singles match.
  • Omos doesn’t need the win here, Seth winning this match would elevate him for the World Heavyweight Championship (WHC) that is upcoming. Seth to Win!
• Matt Riddle, Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn vs The Bloodline (Jimmy Uso, Jay Uso & Solo Sikoa) in a 6-man tag team match,
  • This should be a fun 6-man tag regardless of the decision. Storyline would say that Matt, Kevin & Sami to win which would be the conclusion of this storyline with Roman and The Bloodline.
• Bad Bunny vs Danian Priest in a San Juan Street Fight
  • First ‘hardcore’ match for Bunny as he draws weapons for Damian. Damian and the rest of The Judgement Day shouldn’t lose this as it would look bad for TJD but my gut is telling me to ‘pop the crowd’ – Bad Bunny to win
• Cody Rhodes vs Brock Lesnar in a singles match.
  • This should be a brutal match. Brock is going to go to town on Lesnar so it would only make sense that Brock Lesnar wins

Title Matches

• Austin Theory (C) vs Bobby Lashley vs Bronson Reed in a Triple Threat Match for the United States Championship
  • I feel this could go either way. My money would have to be on Bronson Reed to build him up as a credible thread. Bronson Reed to win
• Bianca Belair (C) vs IYO SKY in a singles match for the RAW Women’s Championship
  • As much as I like IYO, I cannot see her winning this. There is no credible threat to Bianca for the title as of yet. Perhaps with the WWE Draft going into effect on Monday, there will be new challengers for Bianca on Friday when she goes over to SmackDown. Bianca to retain
• Rhea Ripley (C) vs Zelina Vega in a singles match for the SmackDown Women’s Championship
  • Just like with Bianca, Rhea is going to be on RAW and is holding the other brand’s belt, BUT I can see Zelina getting this monster push and solidifying the LWO by giving her the title in her home country of Puerto Rico. Zelina to win

Last night on Monday Night RAW, Triple H revealed a new World Heavyweight Championship belt. The inaugural winner of the title will be decided at WWE Night of Champions on May 27th in Saudi Arabia.

A number of people have been vocal about the title design. Some good and some bad.

The good, which I agree with, seems to be blending the old ‘Big Gold’ and the more modern ‘WWE Network’ titles into one.

Others are saying that the logo being front and centre like it is, devalues the title compared to previous designs (See ‘Big Gold’ above) and ‘Winged Eagle’ (see below)

But WWE is not the only one that has placed its logo front, and centre and make it the focal point of the title. This has become a bigger trend over the years.

UFC’s title belts since 2001 have had their logo on the belt and you didn’t need to squint to find out what company the title was from.

UFC updated the title back in 2019 and arguably, it is more prominent than the previous design.

Let’s go crazier, Singaporean MMA Promotion, ONE Championship has MASSIVE belts with their name across them.

And to give it some context as to the size of it.

That thing is massive and you cannot miss the ONE logo on that.

Let’s go back to Pro Wrestling and check out All Elite Wrestling’s World Championship.

That title looks great and having the logo in the middle and being the focal point is not a bad thing. It looks great and it sets itself apart from the WWE, UFC, ONE and other countless promotions with their titles.

My overall thoughts are that the new World Heavyweight Championship is fantastic. A mix of old with some new bits in it really makes it the champion’s belt. And still retaining the customisation of the side plates is a nice touch. That is something that WWE did right in a Sports Entertainment-oriented product.

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It is that time of year again, it’s Wrestlemania week and for the 4th time that the show has been held on 2 nights.
Emanating from the SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, California, it is the 39th edition of WrestleMania.

Before I jump into the predictions for WrestleMania, let’s go over to the Crypto.com arena for the matinee show NXT Stand & Deliver.

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NXT Stand & Deliver 2023 Predictions

• Wes Lee (C) vs Dragon Lee vs JD McDonagh vs Ilja Dragunov vs Axiom in a Fatal 5 Way for the NXT North American Championship.
  • PREDICTION: Dragon Lee to win and become the new NXT North American Champion.
• Fallon Henley (C) & Kiana James (C) vs Alba Fyre vs Isla Dawn for the NXT Women’s Tag Team Championship
  • PREDICTION: Alba and Isla to win and become the new NXT Women’s Tag Team Champions.
• Chase University & Tyler Bat vs Schism in an 8-person mixed tag team match and the winner gains control of Chase University.
  • PREDICTION: Schism wins.
• Roxanne Perez (C) vs Zoey Stark vs Gigi Dolin vs Tiffany Stratton vs Lyra Valkyria vs Indi Hartwell for the NXT Women’s Championship
  • PREDICTION: Roxanne retains the NXT Women’s Championship.
• Gallus (C) vs The Creed Brothers vs The D’Anngelo Family in a Triple Threat for the NXT Tag Team Championship
  • PREDICTION: Gallus to retain the NXT Tag Team Championship.
• Johnny Gargano vs Grayson Waller in an Unsanctioned Match
  • PREDICTION: Johnny Gargano wins.
• Bron Breakker (C) vs Carmelo Hayes for the NXT Championship
  • PREDICTION: Camelo Hayes to win and become the new NXT Champion.

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Wrestlemania 39 – Night 1 Predictions

• Austin Theory (C) vs John Cena for the United States Championship
  • PREDICTION: Austin Theory wins and retains the title.
• Charlotte Flair (C) vs Rhea Ripley for the SmackDown Women’s Championship
  • PREDICTION: Rhea Ripley wins and becomes the new SmackDown Women’s Champion.
• The Usos (C) vs Sami Zayn & Kevin Owens for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship
  • PREDICTION: Sami & Kevin wins and becomes the new Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions
• Becky Lynch (C), Lita (C) & Trish Stratus vs Damage Ctrl in a 6-woman tag team match.
  • PREDICTION: Becky, Lita & Trish wins.
• Seth ‘Freakin’ Rollins vs Logan Paul
  • PREDICTION: Seth ‘Freakin’ Rollins wins.
• Rey Mysterio vs Dominik Mysterio
  • PREDICTION: Dominik Mysterio wins.
• Brawn Strowman & Ricochet vs The Street Profits vs Alpha Academy vs The Viking Raiders in a Wrestlemania Showcase Fatal 4-way Tag Team Match.
  • PREDICTION: Street Profits to win.

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Wrestlemania 39 – Night 2 Predictions

• Bianca Belair (C) vs Asuka for the RAW Women’s Championship
  • PREDICTION: Asuka wins and becomes the new RAW Women’s Champion.
• Brock Lesnar vs Omos
  • PREDICTION: Brock Lesnar wins.
• Edge vs “The Demon” Finn Bálor in a Hell in a Cell Match.
  • PREDICTION: Finn Bálor wins.
• Gunther (C) vs Drew McIntyre vs Sheamus in a Triple Threat Match for the Intercontinental Championship
  • PREDICTION: Sheamus wins and becomes the new Intercontinental Championship (And gets his Grand Slam)
• Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez vs Natalya & Shotzi vs Ronda Rousey & Shayna Baszler vs Sonya Deville & Chelsea Green in a Wrestlemania Showcase Fatal 4-way Tag Team Match
  • PREDICTION: Ronda Rousey & Shayna Baszler wins.
• Roman Reigns (C) vs Cody Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship
  • PREDICTION: Cody Rhodes wins and becomes the new Undisputed WWE Universal Champion

And there are my predictions. Shout out what you think of them on my Mastodon @padraig@mastodon.ie