Welcome back to another Monday Morning Q&A where I toss out some questions to get a feel of how you guys and gals are feeling about certain topics.
So here are 5 questions I’d like to toss out for this week. I’ll give my answers, too, but the key here is that I want to know what YOU think! So make sure you chime in!
1) I can’t believe we have to go over this again, and in an even more frustrating way. After what happened on SmackDown, are you upset about Cody Rhodes being pushed aside for The Rock? Happy about The Rock taking over that spot? How do you feel?
I’m entirely #WeWantCody. And that’s not to say that I don’t want to see The Rock vs. Roman Reigns. In fact, I wanted to see it for NINE YEARS and they continually didn’t do it. Now, at the worst possible time, they’re shooting themselves in the foot in multiple ways just to do it at this particular moment?
I hate it for a multitude of reasons that I’m sure I’ll be typing out and saying on podcasts for the next bunch of years. This article isn’t about to get bogged down with that. Suffice it to say, I think the way they did this angle was horrendous and it has made The Rock look like a terrible politicking egomaniac, it reemphasizes why people are frustrated with Roman Reigns, it makes Cody Rhodes look like a dumbass, it will screw up his “story” whether or not he wins that Runner Up Championship, it makes that belt look like crap and it makes Seth Rollins seem like a loser.
I don’t think any positives are coming out of this and it’s going to be looked at as the modern day equivalent of Bret/Yoko/Hogan, and, unfortunately, yet another notch on the Batista/Bryan, Goldberg/Owens, etc list of “mistakes WWE clearly shouldn’t have made for WrestleMania, but were too blind and stubborn to avoid.”
2) Mick Foley wants to have one more death match. If it happens, who would you prefer to see him fight?
If he’s limited to the indies, I don’t really know anyone I would want to see get that honor facing him. I don’t follow any of those feds and I especially wouldn’t know the deathmatch types.
But if I had to pick from any promotion and put it on a different card? Easily, Jon Moxley. They had that idea of feuding back when he was going to be first brought up to the main roster as Dean Ambrose, before the days of The Shield. It’d be cool to see them revisit that, and since Moxley is such a well known talent and loves to do these types of matches, he’d be the perfect fit.
3) What do you think Tony Khan’s announcement will be?
Mercedes Mone. Actually, to be more specific, I think he’s going to do the pseudo-announcement thing where he says there’s a big show coming up in Boston in March and will heavily imply that she’ll be there. That way, he’s not outright saying it, but it becomes an almost guarantee. Essentially, the CM Punk tease with Chicago.
If not that, I think it will be something incredibly bland, like when he announced that tickets for All In would go on sale in a month. Hopefully, it isn’t something like that, where he just says the location for Double or Nothing and acts like that’s something worth hyping ratings up for.
4) Assuming WWE books a women’s Elimination Chamber match to determine who fights Rhea Ripley at WrestleMania, would you rather the participants all be from Raw, or throw in some SmackDown talent to make it cross-branded and allow for overall bigger stars?
I’m torn. As much as I like the idea of keeping it Raw-specific for the pure logic of it, I do see a lot of value in bringing in some SmackDown people to make it an even bigger match.
The way I see it, if it’s limited to Raw, then I think we’re looking at Becky Lynch, Ivy Nile, Liv Morgan, Shayna Baszler, Zoey Stark and your pick of Natalya or a returning Sonya Deville. That’s not a bad crop of names by any means, meanwhile Nia Jax fights Rhea Ripley in a singles match.
But if you book those 6 against each other in qualifying matches, and you have 3 qualifying matches on SmackDown, you can then book Bianca Belair, Michin, Naomi, Tiffany Stratton, Zelina Vega and Shotzi, to do the same.
Best case scenario in terms of star power, the lineup would be Becky Lynch, Liv Morgan, and I guess Sonya Deville (or if she’s not ready, Shayna Baszler) for Raw, and SmackDown bringing Bianca Belair, Naomi and Tiffany Stratton to the mix.
5) Based on NXT Vengeance Day, what is your projected card for NXT Stand & Deliver?
- I had thought Trick Williams vs. Carmelo Hayes vs. Ilja Dragunov for the title. Now, I’m not so sure. I’m starting to believe Trick and Melo will have a street fight or something while Dragunov will defend the title against someone else. What’s difficult is that I can’t think of anyone who makes sense to fight Dragunov.
- Maybe there’s a push in mind for Josh Briggs to beat Dragunov? I think Dijak is fighting Dragunov at Roadblock and not S&D.
- The Wolf Dogs will either be fighting The Family for the tag titles, or they’ll have already beaten them for the belts at Roadblock and will defend against a more flashy team for the show like DIY.
- Roxanne Perez will likely just fight Lyra Valkyria in a rematch. Lame. Maybe Tatum Paxley and Lola Vice are involved and it’s a Fatal 4-Way? Still not all that great in my book.
- Oba Femi will straight-up retain the North American Championship. If I had to venture a guess, I’d say he fights Von Wagner or Joe Gacy.
- Instead of Noam Dar defending the Heritage Cup, I think we’ll see a Lexis King match where he’ll end up in a mixed tag paired with Jacy Jayne fighting Riley Osborne and Thea Hail. Shot in the dark prediction.
Let us know your thoughts about these questions by answering them in the comments!
In this week’s Monday Morning Q&A, we delve into five wrestling-related questions and share our thoughts on each topic. We also encourage readers to chime in and share their opinions. So, let’s get started!
1) The first question revolves around the recent events on SmackDown, where Cody Rhodes was seemingly pushed aside for The Rock. The author expresses their disappointment with this decision and highlights several reasons why they believe it was a mistake. They mention how it makes The Rock look like an egomaniac, frustrates fans who have been waiting for a Roman Reigns vs. The Rock match for years, and undermines the credibility of Cody Rhodes and the championship belt. The author predicts that this decision will be seen as another in a long line of mistakes made by WWE for WrestleMania.
2) Mick Foley has expressed his desire to have one more death match, and the question asks who readers would like to see him face. The author admits that they are not familiar with the deathmatch scene in independent promotions, but if they had to choose someone from any promotion, they would pick Jon Moxley. They mention that Moxley and Foley had the idea of feuding in the past, and Moxley’s reputation for excelling in these types of matches makes him a perfect fit.
3) The third question revolves around Tony Khan’s upcoming announcement. The author speculates that it could be related to Mercedes Mone, with Khan hinting at her appearance at a big show in Boston in March. They also mention the possibility of a more underwhelming announcement, similar to when Khan announced ticket sales for All In.
4) Assuming WWE books a women’s Elimination Chamber match to determine Rhea Ripley’s WrestleMania opponent, the question asks whether readers would prefer the participants to be from Raw only or include some SmackDown talent for a bigger match. The author is torn on this issue, acknowledging the benefits of both options. They provide potential lineups for each scenario, highlighting the star power that could be involved if SmackDown talent is included.
5) The final question asks readers to project the card for NXT Stand & Deliver based on the recent NXT Vengeance Day event. The author shares their thoughts on potential matches, including Trick Williams vs. Carmelo Hayes vs. Ilja Dragunov for the title, a possible tag team title match involving The Wolf Dogs and The Family or DIY, and various other matchups involving wrestlers like Roxanne Perez, Oba Femi, Noam Dar, and Lexis King.
Overall, this week’s Monday Morning Q&A covers a range of wrestling-related topics and invites readers to share their thoughts and opinions. It provides an engaging platform for fans to discuss and analyze the latest happenings in the wrestling world.