WWE Wrap-Up
This week in WWE: Chamber card begins to take shape and Fastlane gets its main event
Feb 7, 2018, 6:33 pm
AJ Styles’ involvement in the main event got him placed in a Triple Threat Match at Fastlane. Photo by WWE.com
This is a weekly look at the action in the WWE:
Raw
For once, Raw opened with a match, rather than a 20 minute promo. Bray Wyatt and Roman Reigns faced off in a qualifying match for the Elimination Chamber. Wyatt’s Sister Abigail was countered into a Spear, and Reigns picked up the win to qualify for the Chamber. Matt Hardy appeared in the ring to congratulate Wyatt with a Twist of Fate. Finn Balor and Karl Anderson defeated The Revival after Balor fit Dawson with a Coup De Grace. Backstage, the passive aggressive tension between best friends, Bayley and Sasha Banks, rose after Bayley reminded Banks that she can beat her. Cedric Alexander and Mustafa Ali defeated Tony Nese and Drew Gulak in some awesome cruiserweight action. New 205 General Manager, Drake Maverick, sat on commentary to promote the tournament to crown a new Cruiserweight Champion.
Kurt Angle announced that Bayley, Mandy Rose, Mickie James, Sonya Deville, and Sasha Banks will be Alexa Bliss’ opponents in the first ever Women’s Elimination Chamber match. Alexa Bliss was not at all happy with Angle’s decision to place her in that match, and claimed that she should be treated like Brock Lesnar, who does not have to defend his championship that PPV. Angle, simply, reminded her that she has not defended her championship since October. Bayley put up a valiant effort against Asuka, but, unfortunately, she was unable to upset the Empress of Tomorrow. Asuka defeated Bayley after locking her up in a second Arm Bar. Apollo Crews’ athleticism kept him in a very competitive match against The Miz in a qualifier for the Elimination Chamber. It would eventually burn him, though, after getting caught up on the ropes, the Miz hit him with a Skull Crushing Finally to qualify for the Chamber.
Jason Jordan was unable to compete in his tag team title rematch with Seth Rollins, so Angle allowed Roman Reigns to take Jordan’s place, much to the chagrin of The Bar. Reigns and Rollins were on an absolute roll, and The Bar realized it, so they tried to leave the ring. Jordan came down to try to force them back into the ring, and struck Sheamus causing a disqualification for Rollins and Reigns. Nia Jax defeated an enhancement talent. She had a message for Asuka after the match, when she’s done with her, she’ll be “The Empress of Yesterday.” Alexa Bliss, of all people, rushed to save Mickie James after Absolution tried jumping her. A Triple Threat Match between Cena, Elias, and Strowman closed the show. The winner of the match would win the right to enter the Elimination Chamber match last. Elias was able to steal the match from Strowman, but The Monster Among Men got the last laugh after hitting both men with a mirage of Running Power Slams.
Highlight of the night
The animosity between Bayley and Sasha Banks is building. Banks eliminated her best friend from the Rumble, and now Bayley got the chance to throw some shade at her backstage. Both of them losing to Asuka seems to be the beginning to a story where they turn on each other.
SmackDown
McMahon and Bryan opened the show with the same disagreement they have been having for months. McMahon accused Bryan of trying to vicariously live through the careers of Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens. AJ Styles explained to both that he is tired of dealing with them, and asked them to stay out of the way. Nakamura found Styles backstage and, simply, told him that he is “gonna beat him at Wrestlemania.” Charlotte Flair defeated Liv Morgan, submitting her with the Figure Eight. The Bludgeon Brothers destroyed another enhancement tag team. Daniel Bryan revealed the first “Top 10 list” of the SmackDown roster. Both Zayn and Owens were not on the list, nor was Rusev.
Bobby Roode defended his United States Championship against Rusev. It looked like the challenger would steal it from the Glorious One, but the champion countered a Accolade into a Glorious DDT for the win. After the match, Randy Orton surprised Roode, English and Rusev with RKOs. Benjamin and Gable continued their journey to “bring prestige back” to the tag team division by defeated The Ascension. Owens and Zayn put on a hell of a main event match. Zayn provoked Styles, who was sitting at ring side, and the Champion got up and attacked both men causing a disqualification. Thus, Bryan announced that BOTH Owens and Zayn will be challenging Styles at Fastlane for his WWE Championship.
Highlight of the night
Sami and Kevin were putting on a great match, as they should have. I am honestly a little burned out by their bickering with Styles, but a Triple Threat Match at Fastlane will be a worthy payoff.
As we get closer to Wrestlemania, more grains of salt are sprinkled in. This week did its job because it made things just a little more clear. There’s animosity between Banks and Bayley, Randy Orton made some new enemies, Styles placed himself in a predicament. These could all be red herring, but I think, as the weeks continue to pass us, we will get a clearer sense of direction.
As far as Elimination Chamber is concerned, this week did a great job of putting more of the pieces together. Asuka got in a match, we know who will challenge Alexa, and Elias got the nod. The PPV, which will air on February 25th, will be Raw’s last PPV before ‘Mania. So far, it looks like it will do the job to get us there. Fastlane, the last PPV for the blue brand, is still over a month away, but we already know what our main event will be. It should be the match that finally gets us to Styles vs Nakamura, but I have a feeling we may be getting a swerve. We will have to wait and see.
This is always my favorite time of the year. Speculating on what is next is fun, and even our predictions do not pan out, the WWE always finds a way to put on a compelling show for Wrestlemania. This year should be no exception.
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If the Astros were going to win one series and lose the other on their six-game road trip out of the All-Star break, they got it right in taking two out of three games at Seattle then losing two out of three to lousy Oakland. Had they inverted those results, the Astros would not be alone atop the American League West starting this weekend’s series against the Dodgers at Minute Maid Park.
By the schedule the Astros’ sledding now gets tougher. The Dodgers are rolling toward their 11th National League West crown in 12 years, despite their pitching staff having been battered by injuries every bit as much as the Astros’. The Astros will face three rookie starters this weekend. National League Rookie of the Year candidate (non-Paul Skenes division) Gavin Stone goes Friday. Saturday it’s Justin Wrobleski making his fourth big league start, Sunday River Ryan makes his second. 325 million dollar addition Yoshinobu Yamamoto last pitched June 15. Tony Gonsolin is out for the year without throwing a pitch. Clayton Kershaw’s first pitch Thursday marks the first of his season. Tyler Glasnow’s Wednesday return from the Injured List means the Astros won’t face him this weekend.
Aside: Astros’ fan favorite Joe Kelly is back in the Dodgers’ bullpen. He was activated from the IL out of the break, so the opportunity to welcome him back to Minute Maid Park looms!
After the Dodgers, the Pirates hit town with Skenes slated to pitch Monday opposite Jake Bloss. Gulp. Hey, in one game, you never know. Skenes has been the most electric rookie pitcher since Dwight Gooden with the Mets in 1984.
Sleepless in Seattle
The Mariners’ unraveling has reached historic proportions. It’s not easy losing six straight matchups with the lowly Angels but the Mariners were down to the challenge and pulled it off. The M’s have stumble-bummed their way to a 9-20 record over their last 29 games. That’s actually a better winning percentage than the Astros’ had after staggering from the starting gate to a 7-19 mark. Like the Astros did, the Mariners can right their ship, though if they don’t add quality offense before Tuesday’s trade deadline it seems unlikely. Seattle has scored more than two runs in one of its last eight games, the only win among those eight when the Mariners got to Ronel Blanco and Seth Martinez Sunday to avoid an Astros’ sweep. Meanwhile, the Texas Rangers whipping up on the laughingstock Chicago White Sox this week has their World Series title defense very much alive and a threat to overtake both the Astros and Mariners.
The trade deadline is this Tuesday
Tick-tock toward Tuesday’s 5PM Central Time trade deadline. General Manager Dana Brown is on the clock. Let’s start with starting pitchers. Tarik Skubal! Garrett Crochet! Jack Flaherty! Any would be a fabulous addition. If Brown acquires one, he will have done phenomenal work cajoling the trade partner into thinking the Astros’ offer the best. Frankly it seems impossible. The Orioles are in the starting pitcher market. Their farm system runs laps around what the Astros have. Numerous other teams on the hunt for pitching have higher rated minor league talent. The Triple-A Sugar Land Space Cowboys are having a fabulous season, but until the Astros Thursday moved up soon to be 24-year-old Jacob Melton (who was batting just .248 with a .307 on-base percentage at Double-A Corpus Christi) there was not one non-pitcher of any consequence younger than 25 on the roster. Pedro Leon, Shay Whitcomb, Will Wagner, and include Joey Loperfido: it would be shocking if any of them can be the best player in an offer good enough to land one of the potential big trade fish. All four of them wouldn’t be enough to land a Skubal or Crochet.
On the hitter side, if the Blue Jays shop Vlad Jr. and/or the Rays take offers for Paredes, of course Brown better try. Either would be a sharp upgrade over Jon Singleton, and Guerrero can’t become a free agent until after next season, with Paredes under team control through 2027. Reality check time. Seattle’s offense is in dire straits. The Mariners have four prospects rated higher than any Astros’ prospect. If the Mariners didn’t make a winning offer over what the Astros proposed, Seattle GM Jerry Dipoto would look like a timid clown.
That said, there will be several second and third tier starters and relievers moved who would boost the Astros. If Spencer Arrighetti and Jake Bloss are both still in the Astros’ starting rotation after the deadline, Dana Brown will have failed. That said, the Astros could well stand pat and win the Mild, Mild West. They could also finish third.
Go for the gold!
With the Olympics underway, a medal podium-style ranking of the Astros’ greatest trade deadline acquisitions:
No medal but cannot be omitted: Randy Johnson. It was a brief fling with “The Big Unit” in 1998 but it was spectacular. It elevated Houston as a baseball city. In 11 regular season starts Johnson went 10-1 with a 1.28 earned run average. He threw shutouts in his first four Astrodome starts. He spiked attendance like no other player in franchise history. Even though the San Diego Padres beat Johnson twice (Johnson pitched fine, the Astros scored two runs total in the two games) and bounced the Astros in a National League Division Series, and prospects Freddy Garcia and Carlos Guillen included in the deal both went on to have excellent careers, it was a trade that in hindsight you make 100 times out of 100.
Bronze: Jeff Bagwell. Reliever Larry Andersen was outstanding in helping the Boston Red Sox win the AL East in 1990, but the BoSox got swept in the ALCS and Andersen left as a free agent. Bagwell has the greatest offensive resume in Astros’ history (I know, I know, postseason aside) and is quite arguably one of the 10 greatest first basemen of all-time.
Silver: Yordan Alvarez. He has longevity to prove but to this point in his career, while not the all-around player Bagwell was, Yordan is clearly the more destructive force in the batter’s box. Throw in his three monstrously significant home runs in the 2022 Astros’ title run, and his awesome 2023 postseason, and what could still lie ahead for him and the Gold could be his if we revisit this topic 10 years from now. Imagine the Dodgers if they hadn’t gifted Yordan to the Astros for Josh Fields.
Gold: Justin Verlander. Astros’ World Series championships pre-JV, zero. With him, two. Even though his World Series resume is terrible. The finishing piece to the Astros’ initial championship winner in 2017 with a 1.06 ERA in five starts ahead of winning the 2017 ALCS MVP, a second crown in 2022, two Cy Young Awards and a Cy runner-up. Interesting decision to make for the cap on his Hall of Fame plaque. Much more body of work with the Tigers but the championships and legend cemented with the Astros.
*Catch our weekly Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast. Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and I discuss varied Astros topics. The first post for the week generally goes up Monday afternoon (second part released Tuesday) via The SportsMap HOU YouTube channel or listen to episodes in their entirety at Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.