It’s that time of year for the last PPV of the year.  On paper this PPV sounded a little boring but they’re really stepped it up to make these feuds matter.  Let’s get too it.

Kickoff Show

As it seems to be the case, Rosenberg works the Raw shows.  Thus, we get blessed with the presence of “The Last Professional Broadcaster” Sam Roberts.  One day, Rosenberg and Roberts will go one-on-one in Hell in a Cell.

Zack Ryder vs. Mojo Rawley

Jeremy:  It’s a shame that their social media work hasn’t been as highlighted on WWE TV as The Miz Vs. Baron Corbin was.  This is Mojo’s big shot.  If he doesn’t make this heel run work, I think he will get his future endeavors shortly after Mania next year.  If he brings the same intensity to the match as he has with social media, he’ll be fine.  Mojo wins here and maybe amps up the heel antics.

Matt:  I’m extremely excited about this match.  I’m a mark for both of these guys anyway, but the work they’ve done through social media to get this match hyped (see what I did there?) because they weren’t given TV time to do it has been great.  They both work well in the ring, and have the charisma to make this one extremely entertaining.  I think the company is high on Mojo right now, and they’ve never had any level of consistency with Ryder, so I’m going to just assume that Heel Hype Mojo gets the win here.

The Main Card

Breezango vs. The Bludgeon Brothers

Jeremy:  This really should have been months ago when the crescendo of The Fashion Files was happening.  I’ve still enjoyed it but it was obvious that 2B was supposed to be The Bludgeon Brothers all along.  I assumed we were never actually going to get a payoff on this angle.  I’m glad it’s happening.  That said, The Bludgeon Brothers are going over here with their tag team crucifix powerbomb thing.  Fandango will get a huge pop in the match though.

Matt:  The payoff to months of The Fashion Files is going to be them getting squashed by The Bludgeon Brothers.  I’d go so far as to expect this match to be the one that cools the crowd back down before the main event.  There’s no way they derail the Bludgeon Brothers momentum right now, especially when it wouldn’t really hurt anything for Breezango to lose another match.  I do hope that Tyler brings the disguise game, because that makes everything more enjoyable.  The Bludgeon Brothers.

United States Champion Baron Corbin vs. Bobby Roode vs. Dolph Ziggler (Triple Threat Match)

Jeremy:  Corbin doesn’t strike me as a guy that needs the US Championship.  I keep on forgetting he has it.  Bobby Roode needs a championship to legitimize his existence on SmackDown.  It’s the accessory that made his NXT memorable.  Make no mistake, Ziggler is there to eat the pin from Roode and protect Baron Corbin.  Roode pins Ziggler with a Glorious DDT.

Matt:  First, why is Ziggler here?  There is so much value in Bobby Roode right now that it just seems like overkill.  Now, Ziggler’s role might be one of letting the feud continue, with Roode picking up the win over Ziggler and Corbin technically not losing but not retaining.  I don’t imagine this match ends any other way but with a Glorious outcome.

Randy Orton & Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn (Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan as special guest referees)

Jeremy:  I acutally expect this to go on last.  This is going to be a Shane heel turn or at least the point where he starts acting a bit more like a McMahon.  I think WWE having Bryan in the match is to cash in on all the speculation of whether he’ll be allowed back in a WWE ring.  I think it’s possible that they tease a Daniel Bryan Vs. Shane McMahon match.  Or at the very least, this becomes a 6-man tag down the road.  Daniel can take some limited bumps but still have a big money match on a PPV. Basically, I expect some crazy stuff to happen.  Whatever happens in this match is what I expect the internet to be talking about for the next week.  KO pins Orton after a Popup Powerbomb and Shane refusing to count the pinfall.

I’d love for Shinsuke to show off what makes him so special.  We’ve only seem brief glimpses of it so far.

Matt:  I hate the idea of trying to do something clever in my prediction post because they’re never going to actually fire KO and Zayn (well, maybe Zayn, because they seemingly don’t know what the f*^& to do with him anyway).  I think the booking is smart here, because Orton is a legend at this point and Nakamura doesn’t need momentum to be a main attraction.  Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn get a win here somehow, expect inexplicable shenanigans, much like the conclusion of the Survivor Series match…….and while we’re on the subject, could we get a GD explanation on that, because we’re a month out now and I still don’t know why or what the hell any of that was for.

SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos vs. The New Day vs. Shelton Benjamin & Chad Gable vs. Rusev & Aiden English (Fatal 4-Way Match)

Jeremy:  Everyday is Rusev Day!  I expect our favorite Bulgarian Brute to steal this one with his new pal Aidan.  The Usos and The New Day will get too distracted with each other.  Shelton and Chad will try to make their presence known.  But make no mistake, It’s Rusev Day.

Matt:  Not writing any lengthy thing here, because the fact of the matter is that as much as I didn’t like the Usos for a very long time, they literally set the bar for tag teams right now.  Everything they are doing (save for having extremely long promos when they’d be better cutting short) is top notch, and I am having a hard time deciding what of their matches with The New Day will be my number one of the year when we get into our retrospective in a few weeks.  The Usos retain, and I really wish this were elimination, because there’s so much good in this match that I don’t want to get lost in the chaos of having 9 people on camera for the majority of the thing.

SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair vs. Natalya (Lumberjack Match)

Jeremy:  Nattie is going to get distracted thinking about her cats and end up in a Figure 8 and tap out.  The Lumberjills won’t be so kind to Nattie outside the ring.  Charlotte.  Maybe the Riott Squad will mess things up here?  I just don’t see Charlotte not going into 2018 as Champion.  The only exception is if they are doing a Women’s Rumble and they want Charlotte in it.

Matt:  Welcome to the WWE, where our 12 person female roster is crammed into one eleven minute segment in a four hour PPV broadcast……viva la revolucion.  I’ve never been wild about Natalya in the ring, but she’s been more impressive of late.  Charlotte is still The Queen, and neither her opponent nor any of the lumberjack’s (lumberjills?) can do a damn thing about it.  Charlotte all day.  She’s going to moonsault through the entire women’s division.  I can’t wait.

WWE Champion AJ Styles vs. Jinder Mahal

Jeremy:  Jinder should be proud of taking the most of the opportunity he was given last year.  It overstayed its’ welcome but it has reached the natural conclusion.  He kept the Apex Predator at bay, even Nakamura.  He finally lost against the best wrestler in the world.  AJ is going to ensure it wasn’t a fluke.  The Singh Brothers won’t save Jinder here.  AJ is going to look ridiculous hitting a Styles Clash on Jinder, but that’s what is going to happen.  AJ retains.

On a side note, I love the Singh Brothers after listening to them on Talk is Jericho.  I hope they find a good way to stick around, even if it’s back to NXT and the Performance Center.

Matt:  I’m on record saying that I don’t believe Jinder Mahal is in the same league as AJ Styles, I don’t even think they’re playing the same sport.  It is high time Jinder drop his rematch opportunity and move down the card a little bit.  He’s getting there.  His in ring work is solid, a little slower than I would prefer, and he’s got a great look for a super heel.  They’ve just got to give him a little more time to get the promo work to a level where he can carry a championship.  Might start with avoiding racial stereotypes for a character that rallies against the xenophobia against him.  I also think this is a great time for the Singh Brothers to turn on him and break out on their own.  The Bollywood Boyz are far too good in the ring to be left to the hype men role they’ve been stuck in.  Jinder is a valuable asset to the roster, but not as champion, not yet.  AJ Styles retains.

Crazy Predictions

Jeremy:  Tonight, Daniel Bryan sets up matches for Royal Rumble and Mania.  Think about how big him returning to wrestle in New Orleans would be?

Matt:  During the tag title celebration, the lights go out for a bit and then come back on to show The Usos beaten down in the ring, and the entire ring area littered with colored streamers.  Photos of The Young Bucks at a Waffle House several miles outside of Boston show up on social media a few hours later.  #UnderSiege #CeaseAndDesist