Tag: Shinsuka Nakamura

WWE Fastlane preview & predictions: ‘So you’re saying Nakamura has a chance’

Posted on by Ian Carey

While WWE Fastlane might not look the strongest on paper, it could end up being a solidly decent pay-per-view/premium live event.

WWE has both a Saudi Arabia event and Survivor Series next month, so anything big the company has planned is going to be saved for one of those two shows. Fastlane is definitely a B-level PPV, but there will be some good matches and likely some significant storyline developments as well. 

Whatever happens with John Cena Saturday should be interesting. It feels likely that he will be at Crown Jewel on November 4th, so what happens on Saturday could build to his match on that show. 

It’s also possible that we see someone win their first World title in WWE on Saturday. While Shinsuke Nakamura might not be the favorite to win his match with Seth Rollins, it’s also not impossible he walks away with the belt. “It could happen” seems an accurate way to describe his chances.  

Fastlane will likely set the stage for Survivor Series as well. As far as anyone knows, WarGames is coming back again this year and it appears WWE has been building an angle for the men’s match in recent weeks. A Judgment Day team featuring Finn Balor, Damian Priest, Dominik Mysterio & JD McDonagh vs. Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, Cody Rhodes & Jey Uso is the likely direction and a significant chapter in that story could be written Saturday.

Here’s a preview, predictions and some odds for Saturday’s event from Indianapolis, Indiana:

WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins (-500 favorite) defends against Shinsuke Nakamura in a Last Man Standing match

It’s unlikely that Nakamura beats Rollins to win the title, but it could happen. The oddsmakers aren’t ruling him out, and he’s not even the biggest underdog of the night.

It feels early for Rollins to drop the title, but he could lose the belt to Nakamura only to regain it at Crown Jewel, Survivor Series, or even just on a Monday night when WWE really wants to pull in a good rating.

Several factors will impact whether or not Nakamura wins the belt here. The first and foremost of those is whether it’s Vince McMahon or Triple H booking the show as it’s tough to get a handle on who really has the final say right now. It feels like the shows are mostly Paul Levesque, but with a little Vince sprinkled on top from time to time.

Another factor is what the long-term plan is for the angle that Rollins has been wrestling through a significant back injury. It could be to allow him to lose the title to Nakamura while “fighting valiantly against the odds” thus keeping him strong. Another possibility is this is the start of a larger story where the physical toll of being a fighting champion continues to wear him down. This would be similar to Orange Cassidy’s run with the AEW International title where he gradually got more beat up with every title defense.

I’m not going to go as far as to say I think Nakamura is going to win. It’s still more likely that Rollins retains. Stranger things have happened, though. Nakamura’s definitely got a chance. 

Prediction: Rollins

John Cena & LA Knight (-5000 favorites) vs. Jimmy Uso & Solo Sikoa

To put this in perspective, the betting world feels Cena and Knight are 10 times more likely to beat Uso and Sikoa than Rollins is to beat Nakamura. I don’t know if that’s more of a comment on Nakamura having a chance to win the title or The Bloodline not having any chance at all, however.

Everything here is lined up for a feel-good babyface win. WWE is not going to have Cena get pinned when he’ll likely have a big match in Saudi Arabia next month. It would also be a pretty questionable call to have Knight eat a pin or submit right now. Meanwhile, Uso and Sikoa not seeing eye-to-eye and it costing them the match fits snuggly with their storyline. 

The real interesting part of this match will be how the Bloodline story advances. The result is not in question.

Prediction: Cena & Knight

WWE Women’s Champion IYO SKY (-300 favorite) defends against Charlotte Flair (+400) and Asuka (+400) in a three-way

Flair is never without a title for long and I imagine she’s going to walk away from Fastlane as the champion. If she does, it will be her 15th world title win, inching her closer to both her father and Cena.

WWE is all about monumental achievements and historical championship runs at the moment. With Gunther, The Usos, and Roman Reigns, the story has been about historically long reigns. With Flair, it’s about chasing the total number of times she’s won the belt. This, of course, makes no sense from a sporting perspective but it’s a stat WWE has traditionally said is important.

The logical question is why would a champion be rewarded for frequently losing a title rather than having a lengthy reign consisting of many successful defenses? Regardless, WWE believes this to be an important statistic, and putting the title back on Flair as soon as possible allows them to play it up as something special.

Prediction: Flair wins the title

LWO (Rey Mysterio, Santos Escobar & a mystery partner) vs. Bobby Lashley & The Street Profits (Montez Ford & Angelo Dawkins) (-1000 favorites)

On the surface, a win for Lashley and the Street Profits seems a lock here. After all, it’s a new faction that WWE will want to build up by winning their first big match together, right?

I’m not so sure what the direction is for Ford and Dawkins with Lashley. I’m also worried WWE doesn’t really know either.

They’ve already teased that Ford and Dawkins won’t go to the dirty underhanded lengths Lashley will to get a win. I wouldn’t be shocked if Ford and Dawkins don’t end up staying in this group and are possibly replaced by some other guys who align with Lashley. I’m not sure trying to turn the Street Profits heel was an altogether great idea as it doesn’t feel like the fans want to cheer against them.

I don’t see Lashley and the Profits winning as the slam dunk the oddsmakers do, but I do think they’ll likely win. Still, I feel it’s more likely that Ford and Dawkins end up feuding against Lashley in the long run than staying aligned with him. 

And then, there’s the intrigue about the mystery partner for the LWO. Who could it be?

Prediction: Lashley & Street Profits

WWE Undisputed Tag Team Champions The Judgment Day (Finn Balor & Damian Priest) (-300 favorites) defend against Cody Rhodes & Jey Uso

This match could go either way, but I think it’s more likely Priest and Balor retain the titles. 

There have been teases that Judgment Day is a little unstable right now but I’m not expecting anyone to leave the group or there to be any type of split until, at least, after Survivor Series. 

The real fun part about this will be how it potentially builds to WarGames. Last year’s men’s match was pretty fun and it’ll be interesting to see what Triple H has planned for this year. It feels like Judgment Day will play a similar role in the double ring cage match to what The Bloodline did last year. This is assuming he has creative control at the moment, of course, and that WarGames is being brought back this year.

I’m expecting Balor and Priest to retain, probably with some help from JD McDonagh, which would then motivate Priest to finally accept him into the group officially.

Prediction: Judgment Day

WWE Payback preview & predictions: Judgment Day takes the spotlight

Posted on by Ian Carey

WWE Payback takes place tonight at the PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh and unless something suddenly changes, the show will be void of any Bloodline content — the first pay-per-view/PLE in nearly a year to not feature a match or segment including the stable.

Payback will also not include many of the company’s top stars. Roman Reigns, Brock Lesnar and Logan Paul will not be on the show. Bianca Belair is taking time off, Cody Rhodes will not be wrestling (although he’ll be a guest on The Grayson Waller Effect) and Ronda Rousey appears done with the company for the time being. The Usos, Solo Sikoa, and Paul Heyman are not currently advertised either. Many of the top names that have driven WWE’s major storylines last year and this year are simply not featured this weekend. 

Enter John Cena who was announced Friday as the show’s guest host.

The Judgment Day will be looking to fill any holes left by the stars not booked. They are officially part of two of the six matches on the card, but Damian Priest’s Money in the Bank briefcase could easily factor into a third. The stable has shown they can be a draw, especially for NXT, so it’ll be interesting to see how much of Saturday’s show revolves around them.

Which match headlines this show should be interesting as well. A case can certainly be made for Becky Lynch vs. Trish Stratus being the main event. It’s the blowoff to their feud, in a steel cage, and has two of the company’s most recognizable names. However, the angle has not exactly been on fire of late.

Sami Zayn & Kevin Owens vs. Judgment Day could easily headline the show as well. Seth Rollins vs. Shinsuke Nakamura could go on last as well, but the issue there is that few fans believe Nakamura has any chance at all of walking away with the WWE World Heavyweight title…although the aforementioned MITB briefcase looms large.

The show has drawn well. As of this writing, WrestleTix has 12,475 tickets out for the show with the get-in price being $300. It’s a hot ticket in Pittsburgh. 

Regardless of the stars not booked, there are plenty of good matches that should make for an entertaining show. Below are previews, my predictions and betting odds for WWE Payback (8 PM Eastern on Peacock/WWE Network):

Becky Lynch vs. Trish Stratus in a steel cage match

Lynch is a -1000 favorite.

The idea has always been for Stratus to put over Lynch and I have to imagine this is the blowoff to their story. Lynch should win clean and Stratus will get her comeuppance in the end. 

Lynch’s star power has taken a bit of a hit since her original era as “The Man.” She’s due for a hot storyline to get her back to where she was but unfortunately, this hasn’t been it. I’m not sure when and where this angle lost its luster, but it’s been lacking for a while.

Stratus has put all of herself into this heel gimmick, but it’s hard for fans to hate returning legends. Edge’s heel turn went in a very similar direction. I’m assuming Stratus turns back babyface the next time we see her after Payback, which could be a while from now. She has plenty of projects outside of wrestling that are far easier than taking bumps. This is likely it for her current run, but she could return by WrestleMania.

Prediction: Lynch

WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins defends against Shinsuke Nakamura

Rollins is a -1000 favorite.

It’s nice to see Nakamura in a top storyline, but he’s not walking away with the title. However, Rollins might not be either due to Priest and the aforementioned briefcase.

Nakamura’s videos in recent weeks, which have been excellent, have focused on Rollins’ injured back — likely to be the eventual downfall of his World title run. Eventually, the physical toll of being a fighting champion will be too much for him and a dastardly heel will pick up an underhanded victory against a vulnerable champion.

AEW has been doing a similar storyline with International Champion Orange Cassidy for the better part of a year now, but I’m expecting WWE to pull the trigger on the champion losing much sooner.

I’m not sure if Priest’s eventual MITB cash-in, which could come this weekend, will be successful or not. Balor could easily mess things up for his stablemate as part of their ongoing story.

Prediction: Rollins retains

WWE Women’s World Champion Rhea Ripley defends against Raquel Rodriguez

Ripley is a -5000 favorite to win.

The betting world certainly isn’t giving Rodriguez much of a chance here. Ripley, Dominik Mysterio and the rest of Judgment Day are one of the hottest acts in the company right now and, thus, taking the title off Ripley would serve little purpose at the moment.

However, WWE has always booked Rodriguez strong and they will try to find a way for her to get cheated out of winning the title.

This might not be Ripley’s main story of the night either. She’ll be ringside when Finn Balor & Priest challenge Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn as well. Ripley could even appear during a third match if Priest attempts to cash in his briefcase later in the show. 

Prediction: Ripley retains

WWE Undisputed Tag Team Champions Sami Zayn & Kevin Owens defend against Judgment Day (Finn Balor & Damian Priest)

Zayn & Owens are -1000 favorites.

Not that gambling on WWE results is actually something anyone should do, but if you are going to do it, you might consider putting a little money on Judgment Day. Balor and Priest have not been getting along very well lately and it seems pretty clear an eventual split is coming, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s happening tonight.

Dave Meltzer reported earlier this month that the plan is for Priest to leave the group, likely turning babyface in the process. To me, the likeliest scenario is Balor somehow costing Priest his opportunity to cash in the MITB briefcase. If that’s the case, their split isn’t happening here.

JD McDonagh will likely factor into things here as well as we’ll likely find out more about his standing with Judgment Day on the show.  

WWE loves a good storyline of two people who don’t get along having to co-exist as tag champions. I think we could be headed to exactly that. We’ll see.

Prediction: Judgment Day wins the titles

LA Knight vs. The Miz

Knight is a -2500 favorite.

Unless WWE decides they are going to give Knight the Daniel Bryan treatment, it seems very likely he will win this match.

I thought I would hate this feud, but I don’t. Both Miz and Knight can tell a good story in their promos and the angle that Miz thinks Knight is a copy of the Attitude Era and someone with fleeting popularity has been surprisingly entertaining.

Knight should win clean. 

Prediction: Knight

WWE United States Champion Rey Mysterio defends against Austin Theory

Mysterio is listed as a -500 favorite.

This has the closest betting odds of the night which isn’t surprising as this could really go either way. The story they are telling is that Santos Escobar was supposed to get the shot at Theory, but Mysterio replaced him in a title match after he was attacked and injured. That seems to signify there could be a dissension-type storyline going on with the LWO soon. I mean, similar stories have worked for The Bloodline and Judgment Day, so why not do it with a third stable? 

So far, Escobar seems to be coping with having lost his title shot in a mature and sportsmanlike manner, completely unfitting of a professional wrestler. Will that remain the case? They are going somewhere with this angle, but I just don’t know if an Escobar heel turn is the destination. 

Theory regaining his title here seems possible, but so does Mysterio winning clean and then being respectfully challenged by Escobar. I can’t offer a clear prediction for this one because there are multiple avenues the story could take. However, it feels likely Mysterio will retain. 

Prediction: Mysterio retains

Speak Now: AEW Dynamite and WWE NXT recaps

Posted on by Denise Salcedo

This is a very busy episode of Speak Now Pro Wrestling hosted by Denise Salcedo.

There was a lot that occurred on AEW Dynamite which unfortunately included Hangman Adam Page being stretchered out, a great promo exchange between MJF and William Regal, and a lot more. 

Plus on the NXT side of things, we had a very entertaining go-home show leading into WWE NXT Halloween Havoc. Tune into the show for a good time! 

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NXT Venice, FL, live results: Nakamura in six-man tag action; Big Damo promo

Posted on by F4W Staff

Submitted by reader Matt Johnsen

– Tian Bing def. Steve Cutler

Very basic match. Bing played the babyface and got a win after hitting two high kicks as he missed the first one so badly he had to do a second.

– Ember Moon and Liv Morgan def. Peyton Royce and Danielle Kamela (w/ Billy Kaye)

They got the heat on Liv for a while before the hot tag to Moon who got the win with a handspring into a clothesline. Crowd loved Moon.

– Patrick Clark def. Mada

Patrick has a great gimmick, but this was another very basic match. Mada no sold Patrick and pushed him around until Patrick went to the eyes and rolled him up for the victory.

– Authors of Pain def. Tucker Knight and Otis Dozovic

Pretty good match as Knight and Dozovic are a fun face tag team. Knight and Dozovic got quite a bit of offense but AOP got the win with their finish.

– Cedric Alexander def. Elias Samson

This was the match of the night. Cedric didn’t seem to hold much back here, and The Drifter was able to hang in there with him. Cedric won with the lumbar check.

– Andrade Cien Almas def. Oney Lorcan

The match was just kind of there, and the crowd wasn’t into it either. Almas won with a hammerlock DDT

– Big Damo came out and cut a promo, putting NXT on notice. Crowd had no idea who he was and didn’t care.

– Aliyah def. Mandy Rose

Not a very good match here. Aliyah won with a submission.

– NXT Champion Shinsuke Nakamura, Tye Dilinger and Buddy Murphy def. SAnitY (Eric Young, Alexander Wolfe, Sawyer Fulton)

The heels worked over Murphy and then Tye before the big tag to Shinsuke to start the closing sequence. There was an awkward looking clothesline from Wolfe to Nakamura that seemed to shake him up a bit but he finished the match with no issue. Shinsuke pinned Eric Young to get the win.