WWE 2019: No Wildcards

[Roy Mustang]

With Dakota Kai out of action what happens to Team Kick?

Tegan will most likely do some singles stuff until Kai is back unless EWR keeps her old for a very long time

 

[Tg11]

Tegan will most likely do some singles stuff until Kai is back unless EWR keeps her old for a very long time

Then Tegan has even more of a reason now to go after the MMA Horsewomen

 

[Roy Mustang]

 

[Tg11]

- AJ Styles is back in WWE...last time we saw AJ on a WWE broadcast was WrestleMania 36 when he lost the WWE United States Championship. I mean we haven't seen AJ in months and on his first night back he rejoins The Club and The OC in even greater numbers becomes stronger not just with AJ Styles but another new member in Big Cass of all people.

- Big Cass hasn't been in WWE in forever and AJ is the one who brings him back to WWE...imagine that. Last time Cass was on a WWE broadcast was 2018. So in this diary we are in 2020 latter part of 2020. That's 2 years Cass has been gone. History shows that the last time he was here in WWE was before Survivor Series 2018 when he got fired from WWE. So I wonder how Styles was able to pull this off?

- The Club has 6 members now in Balor, Styles, Gallows, Anderson, Murphy and Cass.

- I just have a feeling in The OC they end up turning on WWE United States Champion Finn Balor and they end up aligning themselves back with AJ essentially kicking Balor out of the group. For some reason I just see this coming. Especially given Gulak's last word on foreshadowing when he said that Balor surpassed AJ. Yeah I can see that striking a nerve so much in Styles that it causes him to turn on Balor. An OC Civil War.


- I definitely see Roman clashing with our Smackdown GM Shawn Michaels a lot especially because Roman prides himself on being The Tribal Chief and Michaels sees himself as The Sheriff around here. Michaels has been doing a great job as Smackdown GM getting order of this show.

- For some reason I just see this turning into a 6 Man Tag at No Mercy...The Bloodline vs KO & The War Raiders

- A No DQ match between Bianca Belair & Mandy Rose...personally I would have made that match Falls Count Anywhere because they wanna brawl all over the arena

- The Ungovernables are still Smackdown Tag Team Champions beating Riddle & Gulak to retain but for how long are Dijakovic & Nakamura to remain as Champions? Because they are a marked team especially now that The Club is growing in numbers and Gallows & Anderson want those titles back. Not to mention The Bloodline with The Usos they can easily target those titles as well. Alpha Academy could target the titles again as well as The Church of Rollins with AOP going after the titles.


- Strowman has never been WWE or WWE Universal Champion so that was him basically declaring himself for the King of the Ring tournament

- I wonder if Kross enters King of the Ring as well?

- Daniel Bryan...I love that he's becoming more like his AEW character of The American Dragon even if he is a mix of his YES gimmick and he more or less is accusing Nakamura of becoming soft...well he has been because he has basically been an afterthought ever since joining The Ungovernables really. Yeah sure he is one half of the Smackdown Tag Team Champions but what has Nakamura done since becoming NXT Champion back in NXT? Yeah sure he won the Royal Rumble Match back in 2018 but he crashed and burned literally right after that. He was on his way to being a main event guy but he isn't anymore. He is okay with being a sidekick.


- Edge vs Rey for the WWE Universal Championship...I have a feeling Seth Freakin Rollins gets involved in that match and he causes a No Contest in that match attacking both men

 

[Tig]

GENERAL THOUGHTS
I like the layout of this project a lot and I think you’re making good use of the word doc trick. The cold open is not used enough in weeklies and this is very well done here. Hell of a match to open. Love this version of Alpha Academy and The Ungovernables is a great name. Think this is a super good use of Vega. The Church is another cool stable. You have done a stellar job of putting people together. Things simmering nicely in the women’s division with this Sasha push and the big no dq match for next week. I’m not huge on Crews but he could easily be a decent player. It is unusual but refreshing to see so many groups in a WWE btb. big fan of that. Reigns has to look strong but Owens dropping him was a good move and Hanson also looked formidable. Multiple angles in the women’s division are great to see. Love The Medusa Complex name. Really enjoyed the sitdown interview between Bayley/Ember - I think these are great segments especially when a champion is involved. Mansoor and Jeff are such a strange pairing lol. Good main event - the show was really bookended by two great matches - and I look forward to Rey challenging Edge. Nice cliffhanger to end as well.

TOP 3 MOMENTS
- AJ interrupting The Club and then swerving leading to the showdowns with Alpha Academy
- Bayley/Ember Moon sitdown interview w/Corey Graves
- The main was good but the opener really seemed like a doozy

3 PREDICTIONS
- Think we're going to get a Dijakovic/Bryan match/feud down the line.
- Stable wars are going to erupt and take over the programming... multi-team War Games at Survivor Series?
- Sasha will be the next N1C and I think there's a huge chance she'll be the next Women's champion in the project.

THINGS TO NOTE
I feel like the match headers could be a little clearer. It kind of blends. for eg - I didn't realize straight away that the opener was a Tag Team Championship match. Kind of a similar point but there were a couple of instances of missing words in sentences. Nothing big or detrimental just something I noticed, a quick glance over would probably catch most of them. I love all the groupings and stables and they are all getting shine and screen time going by this episode which is great but a larger point I'd like to make is that it seemed like there were nearly too many segments on the show. It was entertaining to read but by the time I finished I had forgotten some of what happened, the writing is good and the booking is excellent (setting up matches for next week & the PPV) but maybe certain things would pop more if there were a little more breathing room.

Overall, I really enjoyed this edition of Smackdown. Jam-packed would be an understatement and I really hope I'm right that there are some massive stable wars brewing. Great job on this Roy and I look forward to continuing to follow along.

 

[Roy Mustang]

 

[Tg11]

It explains why Big Cass joins The Club but I will say at first I didn't understand Cass' connection to the group but either way I mean The Club are pretty strong now because you have AJ, Balor, Gallows, Anderson, Murphy and now Cass...that's 6 guys

I mean they should stay at 6 but one of them is bound to be kicked out...either it will be AJ or Balor

 

[Roy Mustang]

69%​

 

[Tg11]

- Looks like Cesaro & Sheamus went to war...that Falls Count Anywhere Match was a real war but Cesaro beating Sheamus makes sense since he is #1 Contender for the WWE Championship at London Calling facing McIntyre...I can't wait


- Melina vs Alexa Bliss...I definitely wanna see it


- I wonder if The Street Profits set their sights on the World Tag Team Championship? Setting up Profits vs New Day perhaps? Or will The Hurt Business any of the members decide to go after the World Tag Team Championship?


- Dragunov looks to be breaking away too

 

[Tg11]

But a pay per view in this diary that I am really excited about and can't wait for is King of the Ring in November because you would have 16 superstars in the King of the Ring tournament and of the 16 guys the added caveat that none of them is a former WWE or WWE Universal Champion and the winner gets a WWE or WWE Universal Championship match at Survivor Series


But if I had to make a prediction for the 16 guys (4 guys from RAW, 4 guys from Smackdown, 4 guys from NXT and 4 guys from NXT UK) then my ideal 16 I would go with:


RAW superstars (4)

- Cesaro (because I have a feeling he loses at London Calling)

- Xavier Woods (of the New Day; he somehow gets in this and Woods has never been a World Champion)

- Samoa Joe (of The Hurt Business; he gets in this because Joe in this diary has never been WWE or WWE Universal Champion)


- Sami Zayn (current IC Champion; Zayn again being a star that's never been World Champion)




Smackdown superstars


- Braun Strowman (also a superstar who hasn't been World Champion)


- Karrion Kross (a guy who hasn't been World Champion)


- Jey Uso (of The Bloodline; he gets in this and Uso has never been World Champion either)


- Chad Gable (former WWE United States Champion; he gets in this tournament)




NXT guys which I have 4 of them getting in this and those 4 being:


- Damian Priest

- Keith Lee

- Johnny Gargano

- Adam Cole of the Undisputed Era; I mean even though he is NXT Champion he's never been a WWE or WWE Universal Champion so have to put Cole in the tournament



NXT UK guys

- Gunther/Walter...he gets into the tournament

- Jordan Devlin

- Mark Andrews

- Ligero



That would be my 16 guys anyway

 

[Roy Mustang]

But a pay per view in this diary that I am really excited about and can't wait for is King of the Ring in November because you would have 16 superstars in the King of the Ring tournament and of the 16 guys the added caveat that none of them is a former WWE or WWE Universal Champion and the winner gets a WWE or WWE Universal Championship match at Survivor Series


But if I had to make a prediction for the 16 guys (4 guys from RAW, 4 guys from Smackdown, 4 guys from NXT and 4 guys from NXT UK) then my ideal 16 I would go with:


RAW superstars (4)

- Cesaro (because I have a feeling he loses at London Calling)

- Xavier Woods (of the New Day; he somehow gets in this and Woods has never been a World Champion)

- Samoa Joe (of The Hurt Business; he gets in this because Joe in this diary has never been WWE or WWE Universal Champion)


- Sami Zayn (current IC Champion; Zayn again being a star that's never been World Champion)




Smackdown superstars


- Braun Strowman (also a superstar who hasn't been World Champion)


- Karrion Kross (a guy who hasn't been World Champion)


- Jey Uso (of The Bloodline; he gets in this and Uso has never been World Champion either)


- Chad Gable (former WWE United States Champion; he gets in this tournament)




NXT guys which I have 4 of them getting in this and those 4 being:


- Damian Priest

- Keith Lee

- Johnny Gargano

- Adam Cole of the Undisputed Era; I mean even though he is NXT Champion he's never been a WWE or WWE Universal Champion so have to put Cole in the tournament



NXT UK guys

- Gunther/Walter...he gets into the tournament

- Jordan Devlin

- Mark Andrews

- Ligero



That would be my 16 guys anyway

Just to confirm it is going to be 32 people in the tournament and there will be 14 from Raw, 14 from Smackdown and 4 from NXT

 

[DTP]

Jumping in to the most recent editions of SmackDown and RAW...

It's interesting to see you use adopt an AEW Collision-like cold open theme to kick off the show with these brief inserts. Jeff Hardy in 2020 was portrayed exactly how he should have been, but I am interested in what his comments towards Rey Mysterio was intended to convey. I can only imagine a face-vs-face meeting ahead.

Strong choice to open the actual show with the WWE Tag Team Championship match. Shinsuke Nakamura and Dominik Dijakovic is an interesting pairing, whereas Matt Riddle and Drew Gulak forming Alpha Academy makes for a fun contrast in styles. I really liked how you handled the finish with the close call.

Edge's promo for Seth Rollins came across really well. I really believe their rivalry had a lot more legs than the WWE booking truly gave it, given their history on-screen with one another. I suppose pairing Seth with Karrion Kross and Scarlett looks good for the Church, but I'm still unsure what to think of these characters aligning. It just comes across as a little too different, like I'm not sure how they would coexist long-term. Perhaps that's the idea. Scarlett talking in tongues was a really nice touch, though.

I have to wonder if Braun Strowman is about to join the Church, or at least be embedded in a feud with Karrion Kross. That, oddly, is a feud I could see working.

Sasha Banks over Marina Shafir was for the best, as Sasha is on a whole other wavelength to Shafir in 2020.

Bianca Belair and Mandy Rose would have decent chemistry if they had a match, I'd bet. I like the sound of their No-Disqualification match next week, even if it does sound like a red herring for a plot device. Something tells me it won't be their resolution.

Damn, you really brought back Primo and Epico to re-establish they were jobbers to the stars, huh! Apollo Crews needs all the help he can get. Let's hope you find him something he can truly stick his teeth into.

I figure we are establishing Finn Bálor's reign as the leader of the new-and-improved Club. His promo came off a little meta to me, but it worked in the grand scheme of things. Buddy Murphy is the modern example of a faction guy, that's for certain. I'm not too sure about AJ Styles and Finn being in cohoots, but clearly we're witnessing a facelift of the O.C. under AJ and Finn's leadership, between Murphy and Big Cass. Alpha Academy strike me as ideal opposition, but it will only really work if they are used to get this new version of the Club over.

Much like Apollo Crews, hopefully you can pull off a miracle and get Xia Li something with legs.

Kevin Owens and Jey Uso worked to get to the desired conclusion of the disqualification. It built into the next match pretty ideally, and I do enjoy your booking of Shawn Michaels as the by-the-books authority figure. I'm surprised Roman Reigns and Hanson never had a match, but then again their characters never had much reason to intertwine when on the same brand. Obvious result, but again serving as a backdrop to Reigns and KO's impending match.

Age is definitely on the side of the Medusa Complex, and I certainly like the idea of Millie McKenzie and Charli Evans as a combination in the sorely-starved women's tag team division.

Corey Graves' sit-down interview set up Bayley and Ember Moon's impending rematch for the WWE Women's Champion.

Something of a weak main event with Rey Mysterio and Jeff Hardy having their face vs face match. It set up the WWE Universal Championship match, which again sets up a face vs face match. I was surprised to see you put Rey over, but even moreso to see no storyline come out of it. Just a five-man celebration of faces. I suppose it doesn't matter when factoring in the cliffhanger ending, with the evil supervillain meeting between members of the Church.

Onto RAW, I think it's funny seeing Omos tie himself to another smaller client in Dolph Ziggler. It definitely works best for Omos of 2020 standards, considering how little he's progressed in the past few years. Mustafa Ali is all over the product this week, isn't he? Very interesting to use Big Show to school Omos at this juncture, which I feel could have been avoided for a decent chunk of time, building to a colossal match. Maybe that's the idea based off the post-angler interview setting the stage for London Calling.

Your emphasis on the cruiserweight division is really admirable, and I like to see Tyler Breeze still getting fair shake. Lio Rush winning may have been the best choice, as he is the most impressive of the three. Had he not departed I think he would have been NXT Cruiserweight Champion by the end of 2020. I wouldn't mind seeing Oney Lorcan go on to do some things.

As much as I've never really vibed with Flash Morgan Webster as a personality, there is something about Subculture as a group that could really resonate with that demographic of fans.

I'm not sure how I feel about the MMA Horsewomen as the official name of the group, but it's good to see Shayna Baszler front the group. I'm thankful that Piper Niven dispatched Jessamyn Duke in no time. I suspect the Horsewomen have beef with Charlotte Flair based on their name. This was funny to read considering what's going on in my own Pandemic Project between Flair and Shayna Baszler.
I'm still very fond of the push you have given to Swerve Strickland. Pretty action-packed line-up with the promo between the Hurt Business and the four enemies. Wade Barrett is a left-field choice for an authority figure, but I can roll with it. Tyler Bate and Cedric Alexander would have a fun match, and that finish sounded pretty remarkable.

It was strange to see Dolph Ziggler and Omos a second time in one night, but it served the purpose of putting Omos over Kalisto. I just found it hilarious to see Big Show and Mustafa Ali get one over on them a SECOND time in one night.

Noam Dar and Kenny Williams make for a choice pairing, given their Scottish heritage. I won't lie, their match with Fandango and Titus O'Neil had very change-the-channel energy. It worked for what was needed in getting them over and thickening the tag team division even further, but I feel like we needed more here, and with perhaps more star power.

Ilja Dragunov's win over Xavier Woods was fine, but served as a backdrop to tensions between the New Day members and the Ungovernables, who are an interesting line-up of guys I would not have really considered joining forces - especially not Eva Marie.

The Street Profits going over the Singh Brothers was academic, but again pointed out the flaws of a three-hour show every week. There wasn't too much to digest here, beyond the Profits wanting a WWE Tag Team Championship shot. There are times like these one has to question whether roster cuts may be needed with the amount of bulk we have under one company.

Cesaro and Sheamus would have been a clobber-happy main event, with the fascinating twist factored in of the falls count anywhere match stipulation. It geared Cesaro up for his impending WWE Championship match with Drew McIntyre, which in London is a great idea to headline - between a Scotsman and a Swiss native.

 

[Roy Mustang]

Jumping in to the most recent editions of SmackDown and RAW...

It's interesting to see you use adopt an AEW Collision-like cold open theme to kick off the show with these brief inserts. Jeff Hardy in 2020 was portrayed exactly how he should have been, but I am interested in what his comments towards Rey Mysterio was intended to convey. I can only imagine a face-vs-face meeting ahead.

Strong choice to open the actual show with the WWE Tag Team Championship match. Shinsuke Nakamura and Dominik Dijakovic is an interesting pairing, whereas Matt Riddle and Drew Gulak forming Alpha Academy makes for a fun contrast in styles. I really liked how you handled the finish with the close call.

Edge's promo for Seth Rollins came across really well. I really believe their rivalry had a lot more legs than the WWE booking truly gave it, given their history on-screen with one another. I suppose pairing Seth with Karrion Kross and Scarlett looks good for the Church, but I'm still unsure what to think of these characters aligning. It just comes across as a little too different, like I'm not sure how they would coexist long-term. Perhaps that's the idea. Scarlett talking in tongues was a really nice touch, though.

I have to wonder if Braun Strowman is about to join the Church, or at least be embedded in a feud with Karrion Kross. That, oddly, is a feud I could see working.

Sasha Banks over Marina Shafir was for the best, as Sasha is on a whole other wavelength to Shafir in 2020.

Bianca Belair and Mandy Rose would have decent chemistry if they had a match, I'd bet. I like the sound of their No-Disqualification match next week, even if it does sound like a red herring for a plot device. Something tells me it won't be their resolution.

Damn, you really brought back Primo and Epico to re-establish they were jobbers to the stars, huh! Apollo Crews needs all the help he can get. Let's hope you find him something he can truly stick his teeth into.

I figure we are establishing Finn Bálor's reign as the leader of the new-and-improved Club. His promo came off a little meta to me, but it worked in the grand scheme of things. Buddy Murphy is the modern example of a faction guy, that's for certain. I'm not too sure about AJ Styles and Finn being in cohoots, but clearly we're witnessing a facelift of the O.C. under AJ and Finn's leadership, between Murphy and Big Cass. Alpha Academy strike me as ideal opposition, but it will only really work if they are used to get this new version of the Club over.

Much like Apollo Crews, hopefully you can pull off a miracle and get Xia Li something with legs.

Kevin Owens and Jey Uso worked to get to the desired conclusion of the disqualification. It built into the next match pretty ideally, and I do enjoy your booking of Shawn Michaels as the by-the-books authority figure. I'm surprised Roman Reigns and Hanson never had a match, but then again their characters never had much reason to intertwine when on the same brand. Obvious result, but again serving as a backdrop to Reigns and KO's impending match.

Age is definitely on the side of the Medusa Complex, and I certainly like the idea of Millie McKenzie and Charli Evans as a combination in the sorely-starved women's tag team division.

Corey Graves' sit-down interview set up Bayley and Ember Moon's impending rematch for the WWE Women's Champion.

Something of a weak main event with Rey Mysterio and Jeff Hardy having their face vs face match. It set up the WWE Universal Championship match, which again sets up a face vs face match. I was surprised to see you put Rey over, but even moreso to see no storyline come out of it. Just a five-man celebration of faces. I suppose it doesn't matter when factoring in the cliffhanger ending, with the evil supervillain meeting between members of the Church.

Onto RAW, I think it's funny seeing Omos tie himself to another smaller client in Dolph Ziggler. It definitely works best for Omos of 2020 standards, considering how little he's progressed in the past few years. Mustafa Ali is all over the product this week, isn't he? Very interesting to use Big Show to school Omos at this juncture, which I feel could have been avoided for a decent chunk of time, building to a colossal match. Maybe that's the idea based off the post-angler interview setting the stage for London Calling.

Your emphasis on the cruiserweight division is really admirable, and I like to see Tyler Breeze still getting fair shake. Lio Rush winning may have been the best choice, as he is the most impressive of the three. Had he not departed I think he would have been NXT Cruiserweight Champion by the end of 2020. I wouldn't mind seeing Oney Lorcan go on to do some things.

As much as I've never really vibed with Flash Morgan Webster as a personality, there is something about Subculture as a group that could really resonate with that demographic of fans.

I'm not sure how I feel about the MMA Horsewomen as the official name of the group, but it's good to see Shayna Baszler front the group. I'm thankful that Piper Niven dispatched Jessamyn Duke in no time. I suspect the Horsewomen have beef with Charlotte Flair based on their name. This was funny to read considering what's going on in my own Pandemic Project between Flair and Shayna Baszler.
I'm still very fond of the push you have given to Swerve Strickland. Pretty action-packed line-up with the promo between the Hurt Business and the four enemies. Wade Barrett is a left-field choice for an authority figure, but I can roll with it. Tyler Bate and Cedric Alexander would have a fun match, and that finish sounded pretty remarkable.

It was strange to see Dolph Ziggler and Omos a second time in one night, but it served the purpose of putting Omos over Kalisto. I just found it hilarious to see Big Show and Mustafa Ali get one over on them a SECOND time in one night.

Noam Dar and Kenny Williams make for a choice pairing, given their Scottish heritage. I won't lie, their match with Fandango and Titus O'Neil had very change-the-channel energy. It worked for what was needed in getting them over and thickening the tag team division even further, but I feel like we needed more here, and with perhaps more star power.

Ilja Dragunov's win over Xavier Woods was fine, but served as a backdrop to tensions between the New Day members and the Ungovernables, who are an interesting line-up of guys I would not have really considered joining forces - especially not Eva Marie.

The Street Profits going over the Singh Brothers was academic, but again pointed out the flaws of a three-hour show every week. There wasn't too much to digest here, beyond the Profits wanting a WWE Tag Team Championship shot. There are times like these one has to question whether roster cuts may be needed with the amount of bulk we have under one company.

Cesaro and Sheamus would have been a clobber-happy main event, with the fascinating twist factored in of the falls count anywhere match stipulation. It geared Cesaro up for his impending WWE Championship match with Drew McIntyre, which in London is a great idea to headline - between a Scotsman and a Swiss native.

Thanks for the feedback as always. I 100% agree on the Titus and Fandango pairing was a bit change the channel vibes. Honestly the biggest struggle I find on a regular basis is to realistically do 3 hours a week without doing gauntlets too often. Also the Cold open is stolen from Collison as it is my fav thing about the way they format that show going back to that show and gives it something different to Raw.

 

[Roy Mustang]

 

[Tg11]

- Seth Rollins is truly evil...that was God damn heinous not only invading a man's home the home of Edge's best friend in this whole world Christian and attacking Christian in front of his wife and child with The Church invading their home...but that is 1 definite way to send a message to the WWE Universal Champion Edge

- I mean who will The Church go after now? Beth Phoenix, Edge's wife and Lyric & Ruby, Edge's daughters I shudder to even think

- Edge vs Seth Rollins for the WWE Universal Championship has to happen now...and the only way this can end is if one of these guys does not walk out... No Mercy for the title inside Satan's structure inside Hell In A Cell...that is the only way to do it

- Bayley vs Ronda Rousey for the WWE Women's Championship is practically all but set for No Mercy especially after Ronda not only returns right after the match where Bayley successfully retains her WWE Women's Championship against Ember Moon but Rousey and her MMA Horsewomen teammates the WWE Women's Tag Team Champions Shayna Baszler who is also the WWE Women's Universal Champion and Natalya and Shafir & Duke all lay waste to Bayley, Kairi Sane, Ember Moon and Sasha Banks...yeah needless to say that title match is happening


- Karrion Kross & Braun Strowman are on a collison course with one another and I can't wait because I wanna see these 2 monsters go at it


- I love that The Bloodline just keeps growing because not only do you have The Usos and Naomi but you have Tamina also in the Bloodline and it makes sense because she's family so seeing her join Roman too...I love it. Why? Because Naomi and Tamina both can bring gold to The Bloodline by winning the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship and The Usos can also go after the WWE Tag Team Championship too and Roman can ultimately go after that WWE Universal Championship

- The Tribal Chief getting his family together to deal with Owens & The War Raiders...I love it because if there is any faction who should be leading this show on the blue brand, it is The Bloodline


- Matt Riddle becoming the new #1 Contender for the WWE United States Championship by winning a Fatal 4 Way Match to get this opportunity...meaning we get Riddle/Balor for the title, I wonder what Gable thinks about that seeing as how they are teammates in Alpha Academy?


- Gable/Styles at No Mercy in a WrestleMania 36 rematch...I can't wait