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Fastlane, the final pay-per-view before WrestleMania is in the books. So is this week's episode of RAW that was good and bad in equal parts. But what surprises does SmackDown Live have in store for us all? Let me try and guess and few of them in this article.
SmackDown Live has consistently put on better shows than RAW ever since the brand split. Of late, it has suffered in quality owing to a variety of reasons. Thanks to the 'New Daniel Bryan' and 'KofiMania', things seem to be back on track once again.
But what surprises could WWE and Vince McMahon have in store for us in the Fastlane fallout episode? Let me list a few possibilities in this article.
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Be sure to let me know what you think of them all, in the comments.
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#5 Samoa Joe challenges John Cena
So R-Truth is scheduled to take on Samoa Joe this week for the US Championship he once held. We've heard him talk, time and again, about being influenced as a child by John Cena. Because R-Truth is significantly older than John Cena, one wonders how this is even possible.
Nevertheless, I see that this could potentially be a ruse to set up a match between Samoa Joe and John Cena for the US Championship at WrestleMania this year. This is the rumour that has been doing the rounds and considering that both men came up in the business together, this would certainly be poetic justice. But how is this match set in stone?
I think Samoa Joe assaults R-Truth this week during their advertised match and then calls upon John Cena to save his friend. By doing this, Cena will be forced to answer Joe's WrestleMania 35 summons for the US title.
#4 Putting Kofi Kingston in yet another handicap match
For some reason that is impossible to gauge, Vince McMahon has been a perennial thorn in the side of one Kofi Kingston. The Chairman of the board promised him a WWE Championship match at WWE Fastlane. When Kingston stepped out to compete, it turned out to be a two on one affair with Kingston against Cesaro and Sheamus.
Vince McMahon may decide to pit Kofi Kingston against two similarly evil opponents again this week, in Rusev and Shinsuke Nakamura. Kingston could fall again but in doing so, earn the love and the respect of the WWE Universe. The same WWE Universe that will spur him on to gold and glory at WrestleMania.
You must remember that Rusev and Shinsuke Nakamura assaulted The New Day during the Kingston vs. The Bar match. So the two teams do have unfinished business to sort out.
#3 Vince McMahon books New Day vs. Kofi Kingston
A lot of you are thinking at this point, oh no, even Vince McMahon would not do this. He would not ask Kofi Kingston to take on his own brothers in a grudge match, but he certainly could do so.
Bear in mind that Vince McMahon is in complete heel mode now and he will do just about anything to keep Kofi Kingston away from the WWE Championship. In fact, he could stipulate that unless The New Day were able to defeat Kofi Kingston in a handicap match, they would potentially lose their WWE jobs.
A match between Kofi Kingston and Big E with Xavier Woods would certainly be quite the treat for the WWE Universe. The three men know each other inside and out and they can certainly put on a show.
So maybe this stipulation won't be all that bad then.
#2 Shane McMahon attacks The Miz's father on SmackDown Live
Shane McMahon and The Miz had become a cohesive team on SmackDown Live, although they both seemed like a makeshift unit at first. The Usos picked up a comprehensive victory over the duo at WWE Fastlane, retaining their SmackDown Tag Team Championships. And then, Shane McMahon unleashed a side of his personality that nobody had seen.
Shane McMahon would attack The Miz's father right in front of him. And I can see this mean streak continuing all the way to SmackDown Live, especially if The Miz's father shows up again. We need a concrete angle for The Miz to go from disappointment to anger, leading to a WrestleMania match being booked very soon.
I'm quite excited to see where the heel turn for Shane McMahon leads because he did seem comfortable in the role. I'm equally interested to see The Miz as a babyface.
#1 End of Fire n' Desire
We'd seen the cracks begin to form already at WWE Fastlane and they are certain to deepen on SmackDown. Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville have been together since their days in Absolution. They have been quite a cohesive unit, coming ever so close to becoming WWE Women's Champions. But after Sonya Deville accidentally cost Mandy Rose a win, the issues truly began.
Expect the two women to wage wars in the weeks that follow. This could be Sonya Deville's chance to shine because the spotlight has been focused on Mandy Rose for the past few weeks, ever since she first started getting a push. The two women could, perhaps, even have a match at WrestleMania 35.
Of course, there's always a possibility that this was all a ruse and the two are united on SmackDown Live. These are just some of the surprises that could take place during the show this week.
Chime in with your comments.
