Hello WWE fans, today we will look at the results of recent WWE shows, and some of my booking ideas for Royal Rumble and WrestleMania.
RESULTS
WWE Friday Night SmackDown
12/15/23
Carmelo Hayes defeated Grayson Waller in a, "WWE United States Title #1 Contendership Tournament First Round" match
Kevin Owens defeated Austin Theory in, "WWE United States Title #1 Contendership Tournament First Round" match"
The Kabuki Warriors (Asuka & Kairi Sane) defeated Michin & Zelina Vega
Randy Orton defeated Jimmy Uso
WWE Raw
12/18/23
R-Truth defeated JD McDonagh (w/Dominik Mysterio) in a, "Miracle On 34th Street Fight"
WWE Intercontinental Champion Gunther defeated The Miz
Katana Chance & Kayden Carter defeat WWE Women's Tag Team Champions Chelsea Green & Piper Niven to become the new WWE Women's Tag Team Champions
Ivar (w/ Valhalla) defeated Akira Tozawa (w/ Maxxine Dupri)
Jey Uso defeated Ludwig Kaiser (w/ Giovanni Vinci)
WWE RAW Tag Team Champions / WWE SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Judgment Day (Damian Priest & Finn Balor) (w/ Rhea Ripley) (c) defeated The Creed Brothers (Brutus & Julius Creed) (w/ Ivy Nile)
WWE NXT
12/19/23 (taped 12/13/23)
Fallon Henley defeated Tiffany Stratton
Lexis King defeats Dion Lennox in a, "WWE NXT Breakout Tournament First Round" match
Izzi Dame & Kiana James defeated Chase U (Jacy Jayne & Thea Hail)
WWE NXT North American Dragon Lee defeated Charlie Dempsey and Joe Coffey in a, "Triple Threat" match
WWE NXT Breakout Tournament First Round Match
Tavion Heights defeated Luca Crusifino in a, "WWE NXT Breakout Tournament First Round" match
Nikkita Lyons defeated Tatum Paxley
Gallus (Mark Coffey & Wolfgang) defeated Hank Walker & Tank Ledger
Ilja Dragunov vs. Ridge Holland ended in a No Contest
MORE WWE
With 2023 coming to a close, Royal Rumble is right around the corner, and WrestleMania will not be far away after that. I have been thinking about what I would do if I were booking those two events. My plan would be one that would swerve expectations.
I would book CM Punk to win the Royal Rumble, which many fans expect, with it being assumed that he will choose to face Seth Rollins for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
In an unexpected twist, Punk would choose Roman Reigns. Acknowledging WWE history, the reason would be that Reigns would be the ultimate challenge- while Punk has defeated Rollins in singles competition, Punk's only singles match with Reigns resulted in Reigns being the winner.
However, the next month at Elimination Chamber, AJ Styles would defeat Roman Reigns, because AJ Styles should be the wrestler to end Roman Reigns' WWE Universal Championship reign. This means that instead of facing Reigns at WrestleMania, CM Punk would face Styles. It is well-documented that they have had issues with each other that have nothing to do with WWE, so a Styles-Punk match would be of great interest to fans who have been hoping for a WrestleMania match between Punk and Seth Rollins due to them reportedly having heat with each other. While it is being debated whether there truly is heat between Punk and Rollins, there is no debate that the longtime heat between Styles and Punk has been real, which would make a match between them even more interesting for fans than a match between Punk and Rollins.
Also at Elimination Chamber, Cody Rhodes would win an,"Elimination Chamber" match to face Seth Rollins for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania. Rhodes would win the championship, but being that the WWE Championship (which is currently jointly held and defended with the WWE Universal Championship) is what he truly wants, Rhodes would not be completely satisfied. This would lead to him having a unification match with the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion.
Whoever holds the top singles title in WWE is supposed to be considered the best- yet WWE has three top singles titles. I think there should be one top singles champion, and that champion should defend the title on both brands, which is the closest that WWE can get to having a touring champion. This would raise the value of the championship, as the champion defends it against the best of both brands.
Website: Harold-Williams.com
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