Hello! It's been a while. We're here for the Royal Rumble, and with what's been rumoured for tonight, combined with what we've already seen- tonight could potentially be a night that completely re-energises the product on the "Road to Wrestlemania". As I did last year, I'm going to book an entire Royal Rumble Match. So, when I'm inevitably slagging off the Royal Rumble match tomorrow after Vince has won- I can say with proof that I'd have done better. On top of that we've got some really interesting matches on the card tonight, and as previously alluded to- this could turn into one hell of a PPV.
I think it's been pretty obvious that there's been another posting gap, and I can only apologise. For those of you that read these regularly, I'm sorry- but now I'm back and I'm going to be trying my best to stay here. Over the last few months I've been generally feeling like shit and my Chronic Fatigue's been affecting me for the most it has in easily 2-3 Years. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't still feeling a bit "off", but I'm definitely going to try my absolute best to get back in the routine of doing these regularly. With that in mind, apologies in advance if there's any typos, spelling errors etc. and lets kick on with the Royal Rumble Predictions.
Pre-Show: The Dudleys v Damien Sandow & Darren Young v The Ascension v Jack Swagger & Mark Henry
It's not necessarily a guarantee, but I can't see anyone other than The Dudleys winning this match. The only other team I could even remotely see happening is The Ascension, and that would only be if they were planning on doing a Stardust Eliminated by Ascension and returns as Cody spot- which as you'll see in my Rumble later I'm not doing. That combined with the obvious rule of the Babyface winning on the Pre-Show and you've got The Dudleys winning this match with a 3D. Most likely on Sandow, because that'll show him.
Winner: The Dudleys
Dean Ambrose v Kevin Owens- IC Title Last Man Standing Match
Firstly, I'll say that this match should be absolutely great. Whether it will or not is another matter entirely, as has been proven time and time again in the WWE. Especially with one idea that I've got in mind for the Rumble, Kevin Owens may or may not be winning. Frankly I don't really care who wins this match, and depending on how much faith they have in Owens- he may or may not lose this match with some sort of shenanigans. Think Cena duct-taping Batista shenanigans. Kevin Owens is going to play a definite role in the Rumble Match- and it basically all depends on how much gas Kevin Owens, or rather how much gas those in charge think Kevin Owens has in the tank. I do definitely think Ambrose is winning though, for the simple fact that Owens' next feud doesn't "need" the Title- but it's for that reason that he still might end up winning.
Winner: Dean Ambrose
Becky Lynch v Charlotte- Divas Title
I haven't been able to quite work out what's triggered my recent bout of illness. With that said, I think the fact there's a well-booked Divas feud may have just sent my whole body into shock. I've loved the Becky Lynch/Charlotte feud, who'd have thought if you gave the Women booking that made sense and played to their strengths they'd get over eh? If you've read my Predictions before, or simply worked out what I'm doing in-terms of layout you'll know I'm predicting Becky to win this. This isn't the only Title switch I'm predicting for tonight, and on the "Road to Wrestlemania" (take a shot every time the Commentators say that tonight) I do think Title changes are the way to go in some cases. As is the case here, if- for no other reason than to keep this feud going for at least another Month.
Winner: Becky Lynch
New Day v The Usos- Tag Titles
I do think New Day's time to drop the Titles is coming pretty soon. I've still loved New Day for the most part over my Posting Break(s), and their funeral for Francesca was just great. However, I am starting to worry about them becoming a bit stale. It's not even necessarily the fact they need to break-up. They just need to freshen up again. In many ways, New Day are a victim of their own success. When they started out being great around May of last year, they didn't have many "parameters" with which they had to play in. Now, New Day are actually successful they're getting "hella merch" as I suspect Big E would say and with more exposure and more merch- the narrower the parameters.
I don't know if they should have New Day "snap" as I thought they were going to do around Summerslam, but they need to do something. With The Usos not as the favourites (at the time of writing), if I were betting on the Rumble- I'd say The Usos were worth a punt. However, for some reason I just don't think New Day are losing the Titles yet. I realise this is usually the type of logic that makes my Predictions fall apart- but still.
Winner: New Day
Kalisto v Alberto Del Rio- US Title
I did make jokes about Kalisto's US Title run, as I'm sure everyone else did. However, upon reflection- depending on tonight's outcome I might be all for it. My whole thing with the Kalisto Title win was within kayfabe it could be written off as a "fluke" win. This is where I believe "lightning doesn't strike twice" or any of those other sayings comes into play. If Kalisto beats Del Rio tonight, he's proven the first win wasn't a fluke. As is shown I'm predicting Kalisto to win tonight, but that's more to do with getting the Title off of Del Rio than putting it on Kalisto heading into Mania season. I do think of the Titles heading into Mania, the US is the one likely to end up on the Pre-Show- but for tonight I won't really care provided Kalisto does in fact win. If Del Rio wins then I'll have just rambled on for no reason.
Winner: Kalisto
Royal Rumble Match
Right then, it's what we all came here for. It's MY (most likely better) Royal Rumble match. As I've already said, I did this last year and I had a lot of fun.- and I don't see any reason why it shouldn't be this year. If you don't want to read the whole thing, there's going to be Bullet Points with the key goings on at the end. Without further ado, here's the Entrance Order;
#1- Roman Reigns
#2- Kevin Owens
#3- D-Von
#4- Ryback
#5- R-Truth
#6- Kane
#7- Sami Zayn
#8- Heath Slater
#9- Kofi Kingston
#10- Tye Dllinger
#11- Adam Rose
#12- Stardust
#13- Big Show
#14- Bo Dallas
#15- Luke Harper
#16- Curtis Axel
#17- Rusev
#18- Braun Strowman
#19- Xavier Woods
#20- Bubba Ray
#21- Big E
#22- Chris Jericho
#23- Erick Rowan
#24- Dolph Ziggler
#25- Bray Wyatt
#26- Brock Lesnar
#27- Sheamus
#28- Alberto Del Rio
#29- AJ Styles
#30- Samoa Joe
Let's get into the actual match then. I had to laugh at the fact my prediction for last years Rumble had Daniel Bryan entering at #1 as a result of shenanigans from The Authority- and here we are this year... with Roman Reigns at #1... as a result of shenanigans from The Authority. As I already mentioned I think Kevin Owens is going to have a big role in the Rumble, and he's entering at #2 for a reason.
Let me bring you back to December to Dismember in 2006, I know- I'm sorry. In the build to the match I believe Paul Heyman was pushing for Punk to enter the Extreme Elimination Chamber against The Big Show and beat him early. Guaranteeing a new Champion no matter what else happened in the Chamber. See where I'm going with this? The Royal Rumble during the last two years has just gone to shit because it's been way too predictable. While it's always only ever going to be a handful of people, the last two years have just been SO bad. With that in mind, I've got the hook to keep people invested right from the off.
Roman Reigns and Kevin Owens are squaring off and generally getting each other in various holds for the first 15 or so seconds. Then Triple H's music hits, and he's not in a Suit- he's got "Street Clothes" on and is armed with a Sledgehammer. Triple H is going to attack Roman and between him and Owens, Reigns is going to be overwhelmed and generally killed- and after about 45 Seconds-1 Minute of this Triple H and Owens are going to pick Roman Reigns up. Throw him over the Top Rope, and Eliminate Roman Reigns before the #3 has even come out. (Roman Reigns eliminated by Triple H/Kevin Owens). Then Triple H is going to follow him out and Pedigree him through the Spanish Announce Desk.
I know there's all the rumours about Triple H/Reigns for the Title, and while it's an obvious possibility- I personally don't see Triple H winning the Rumble. Also, Triple H/Reigns doesn't "need" the Title. With all that in mind, we're heading into the #3 Entrant with Roman Reigns already eliminated.
Especially with the number of injuries the WWE currently have, there's going to be notable "lulls" in-terms of Entrants. I've figured (with exceptions) it's best to get them out of the way early and build to a big crescendo. With that in mind, let's give Kevin Owens a Mic. Of course, after he's swiftly dispatched of D-Von. (D-Von eliminated by Kevin Owens). Kevin Owens will be talking about the "Kevin Owens Show" and how he's going to win the WWE Title, Headline Mania and all that stuff for the remainder of the time before #4. Same again when it comes to The Ryback, albeit with him putting up a bit more of a fight. (Ryback eliminated by Kevin Owens). Then we get to the first of a few of the traditional comedy spots in the Rumble. Enter R-Truth at #5. I've seen varied ideas when it comes to Truth, including him coming in at #31 which I have to admit I was considering. However, here's my idea. Truth's going to come out, rapping and dancing and generally... being R-Truth. As soon as he enters the ring he eats a Superkick from Owens and gets thrown over the Top Rope. (R-Truth eliminated by Kevin Owens). That'll all happen in about 25-30 of the 90 Seconds. Truth will get back to the back pretty quickly because he's "dazed" and then just as Kevin Owens is about to talk again "Y'ALL KNOW WHAT TIME IT IS!" and Truth's going to come out rapping and dancing and generally... being R-Truth. Once the Ref's have explained to Truth that he's not in the Rumble any more he'll do the "My Bad" stuff and go back to the back.
This leaves us with Kevin Owens as the only surviving entrant heading into #6, and a bit of a dip in-terms of eliminations. In comes #6, and Kane making his traditional Rumble appearance. Owens and Kane are just going to go back and forth for the majority of their time- but toward the latter stages of this section Owens will catch Kane with a Pop-Up Powerbomb. Owens is going to be looking at getting another elimination and generally being smug when the Countdown hits zero and Sami Zayn's music hits.
I don't think this'll be that much of a surprise, but I still think the reaction to his return will be absolutely great. Zayn's obviously going to go straight after Owens, as is tradition and they're going to have a heated brawl with them going back and forth for a while. As the time before the next entrant counts down, Sami will throw Owens over the Top Rope- but not eliminate him. After another brief brawl Owens will put Sami over the Top Rope with him- and they're going to trade punches on the Ring Apron. Sami will get the advantage and Owens will be backed into a Corner with his Head near the Ringpost. Seeing an opportunity Sami lines up the "Helluva Kick" on Owens into the Ringpost, but as Sami hits the Kick- Owens hits a Superkick and they eliminate each other. (Kevin Owens eliminated by Sami Zayn/Sami Zayn eliminated by Kevin Owens). However, it doesn't stop there. With Sami and Owens brawling to the back- and at least for now out of sight.
With one of the main angles of the Rumble out of the way, it's Slater Time Baybay! This is going to be the time period where the ring fills up with jobbers to eventually be killed by others for the most part. As such, nothing much will happen in Slater's Time- other than some kicks aimed at Kane and general show-boating. Then comes Kofi Kingston, who's going to be one of the best participants this year in-terms of time in the Rumble- but as before with Slater nothing much will happen with him yet. Moving onto #10 and- WAIT DID SOMEONE SAY... 10?! It's Tye Dillinger! Tye deserves a throwaway spot in the Rumble with how long he's been around, but just a throwaway. Tye's going to be doing his "10" stuff all the way down the Ramp, he'll get in do more "10" stuff- and if they've timed it right- from the time Dillinger enters the Ring to the time Kane eliminates him (Tye Dillinger eliminated by Kane) Tye would have lasted 10 Seconds.
Now keeping up with the "fill the ring" mentality, Adam Rose enters- to also make it two Social Outcasts in the Ring. However, not much will happen in Rose's time. Then comes Stardust, and the same will happen with him and his time. The favourite for the Royal Rumble, The Big Show is out next- and aside from him chopping everyone in sight, generally being a Giant and squaring off with Kane not much will happen with him. Now to add another Outcast into the mix we get Bo Dallas, but he's going to be doing everything within his power to not engage with Show, Kane, Kofi and Stardust during his time. Next comes Luke Harper, and with so many "monsters" in the ring now, the Outcasts, Stardust and Kofi have become pacifists and are in the Corners watching Harper, Show and Kane all sizing each other up. After a brief three-way brawl Harper's going to Superkick Kane over the Top Rope (Kane eliminated by Luke Harper).
Then out comes the 4th Outcast, for the first of the completed factions and it's Curtis Axel! After RAW, and now the Outcasts have the 4-on-1 they're going to go straight after Big Show. However, instead of getting knocked out by Show- they're going to eventually overwhelm him and eliminate him. (The Big Show eliminated by The Social Outcasts). Not content with just eliminating Big Show, they're going to employ a similar tactic on Stardust and eventually eliminate him as well. (Stardust eliminated by The Social Outcasts). Rusev's out next, and apart from Superkicking Harper after a brief back and forth he's not going to do much- because the Social Outcasts will once again overwhelm him. However, he won't be eliminated by them and he's going to hang on.
During this part of the match, which isn't massively important in the grand scheme of things- they're going to cut backstage to Zayn and Owens still fighting and eventually Owens and Zayn will end up brawling in the Crowd. Owens and Zayn will make their way toward the technical area, think the end of Cena/Wyatt Last Man Standing and Kofi Boom Dropping Orton through a Table at MSG. If it were up to me, I'd have Owens Package Piledriving Sami through a Table here. However, it's WWE- so I'll take a Sit-Out Powerbomb resulting in both guys being completely out and a bit later on when there's a lull in the fighting (which will become obvious) they'll once again do the Split-Screen thing and it'll show Sami and Owens being stretchered out.
Braun Strowman is out next, and if you're been following me on Twitter you'll know I'm predicting big things (emphasis on big) for Strowman in this Rumble. It's going to start with The Outcasts trying to overwhelm him as they did Rusev as soon as he enters. You know the "Roar" spot, "Giants" do when there's a load of people on them at once. I've always wanted it to result in eliminations. So, Strowman's going to do the "Roar" Spot- and he'll have done it with such aggression that all four of the Outcasts will end up going over the Top Rope and being eliminated. (Adam Rose, Curtis Axel, Heath Slater & Bo Dallas eliminated by Braun Strowman). However, Axel is of course still in the 2015 Rumble. So he'll start freaking out shouting "THAT WAS LAST YEARS" before running back in and immediately being Superkicked back over the Top Rope by Harper. Next Harper and Strowman will go after Rusev, and after a brief struggle (Rusev eliminated by Strowman/Harper). Next out is Xavier Woods, and as soon as he enters he's going to look around for Kofi and see him out in the Corner and then see Harper and Strowman and panic and after a very brief struggle Strowman's going to murder and Harper's going to Superkick him out, leaving Xavier dead on the outside (important for later). (Xavier Woods eliminated by Luke Harper). Kofi's still going to hang on for now- and especially because this is his first Rumble as a Heel, he can afford to do various "cheap tactics" e.g. hanging onto the Bottom Rope for dear life. The next entrant, Bubba Ray won't be so lucky. He's going to come out and have a brief flourish- he's going to call for the 3D, look at Kofi hanging onto the Bottom Rope and Kofi's just point blank going to refuse to move. As a result, Bubba's going to turn around, eat a Superkick and get eliminated by Luke Harper as the clock counts down to zero. (Bubba Ray eliminated by Luke Harper).
Next out is Big E, and he's going to put up more of a fight- even to the point of actually taking Harper out and squaring off with Strowman. Now Big E's in, Kofi's a bit more confident in leaving the Bottom Rope as well- and Big E and Kofi are going to briefly get the advantage over Strowman and Kofi's going to Trouble in Paradise Strowman into a Corner so he can take a breather. The reason they won't try and eliminate him is the next entrant, Chris Jericho. Jericho's going to run wild for a bit on Kofi, Big E and Harper- and after a bit of a struggle he's going to eliminate Big E (Big E eliminated by Chris Jericho). However, immediately after Kofi will throw Jericho over the Tope Rope- but not eliminate him yet. After some brief punches it looks like Jericho has the upper-hand. But, Xavier's back on his feet- and he has a new Trombone. Again, as with the Owens/Zayn stuff if it were up to me and it were 10 Years ago I'd have Xavier throw Kofi the Trombone and Jericho take a Trombone to the Head. However, it's 2016 so I'll take Xavier hitting Jericho in the Legs to eliminate him. (Chris Jericho eliminated by Francesca 2). As soon as Jericho hits the Floor Big E will pick him up and give him the Big Ending.
However, as Kofi's celebrating the elimination of the MURDERER- he'll turn around and see Braun Strowman and Luke Harper. I'm not entirely sure how they'd do it, and it could very well go wrong but I want Strowman to press Kofi over the Top Rope- and Kofi to somehow end on the Barrier on the Hard Camera side. Yup, it's the Kofi Spot. With Big E and Xavier still out there, Kofi's going to use them as Stepping Stones to get back on the Ring Apron. As this is happening Erick Rowan's entering and as soon as Kofi's back on the Apron, Rowan will barrel into Big E and Harper will Superkick Kofi eliminating him. (Kofi Kingston eliminated by Luke Harper). Once that's happened we've got 3 of the Wyatts in the ring, with Bray the only one yet to enter- with The Family waiting for the next entrant.
That next entrant comes in the shape of Dolph Ziggler, and it goes without saying he's not going to last long. After a brief struggle he's going to succumb to the Family and be eliminated. (Dolph Ziggler eliminated by The Wyatt Family). Next in is the leader of The Wyatts- and Bray is going to take his time coming in and once he does he'll do his "WE ARE ..." type stuff and how he's going to win the Rumble and it's "his". Basically, it looks like Bray's going to win- and with his whole Family in there with him it's looking pretty good for him. Enter Brock Lesnar. I had Wyatts/Lesnar as a sub-plot in this before RAW, but now it just doesn't look crazy. Brock's going to enter and... be Brock. The goal of the Family is to protect Bray- meaning all three of them will be taking Suplexes regularly. Rowan will be the first to go*
*Quick aside, for the Kofi Spot I had an idea for Brock to German Suplex Kofi over the Top Rope- with Kofi landing on his back with his Legs in the air before transitioning into a Head-Stand Kip-Up back onto the Apron. Then I thought more and realised Brock German Suplexing Kofi over the Top-Rope to the floor would be 99% likely to kill him.
(Erick Rowan eliminated by Brock Lesnar), next on the Chopping Block is Luke Harper who won't last much longer- but as you've seen I reckon he'll have a good showing tonight. (Luke Harper eliminated by Brock Lesnar). What we get next might be the foreshadowing of a Mania match, although I still doubt it quite a bit. With Strowman and Brock squaring off. All of this with Bray laughing in the Corner, because he fucking loves this sort of chaos. Just as they're about to actually fight each other, the Countdown hits zero and Sheamus enters. Sheamus will come in and it's Brogue Kick City. Hitting Strowman with one to knock him into a Corner, before hitting Brock with one- but with that not knocking him down he goes for another one and as he's running back for it Bray will do the thing where he basically just runs into someone. Apart from that not much will happen, as we now build to the "big finish". After Sheamus, we get his League of Nations comrade Alberto Del Rio. Del Rio will run wild for a bit with Enzuigiri's and Superkicks on everyone before doing the thing where they just start kicking someone in a corner for a while, most likely Brock to "keep him down".
Next, in the moment we're all anticipating tonight- AJ Styles will enter at #29. I've seen a lot of talk about the Styles Clash- a lot of I'm assuming is joking. However, there has been some people legitimately saying that the WWE won't let AJ use the Styles Clash- to which I point out Joe is still using the Muscle Buster after Tyson Kidd. Anyway, STYLES CLASH'S FOR EVERYONE! Well, not everyone. AJ will gives Styles Clash's to Del Rio and Sheamus, and not long after eliminate Del Rio. (Alberto Del Rio eliminated by AJ Styles). With everyone down, and Del Rio just eliminated- AJ will do the Glove Pose to the Hard Camera. Just as he's got his Hands up, the timer hits zero and Samoa Joe's Music hits. This whole angle depends on the Commentators, and it's for that reason that I might even prefer it not to happen. However, Joe and AJ have a history that can't be ignored- and heading into a Mania with so many injuries an entirely new feud (in WWE) is something they shouldn't pass up. What we'll then get is a Mini-Match of sorts with both AJ and Joe attempting various "high impact" moves on each other. Until Bray and Strowman intervene and attack both into different corners.
There we have it, that's the 30 Entries- and after the 30 we're left with Braun Strowman, Bray Wyatt, Brock Lesnar, Sheamus, AJ Styles and Samoa Joe to fight it out. With Strowman and Bray back in control of the match, it's time to change that- with Brock returning to the action. He'll give Bray a German Suplex and then Strowman an F5 before eliminating Strowman. (Braun Strowman eliminated by Brock Lesnar). Next to go is Sheamus, also by Brock (Sheamus eliminated by Brock Lesnar) leaving us with the Final Four of Brock, Bray, Joe and AJ.
You could probably get really good Odds on this being the Final Four, looking at Paddy Power individually it's 1/25 for Brock, 4/11 for Bray, 13/5 for AJ and 18/1 for Joe. Unfortunately I can't do an Accumulator, thanks Paddy Power. Anyway, I genuinely believe this should be the Final Four. This years Mania is going to be huge in-terms of the landscape of the WWE going forward, so having three of the Final Four of the Rumble be relatively "new" stars who can play a big part in the WWE over the next 2-3 years- and in Bray's case even longer.
Right then, the Final Four has to become a Final Three- and the first to go will be Bray Wyatt at the hands of Brock after a bit of a fight. (Bray Wyatt eliminated by Brock Lesnar). My logic for putting Bray Wyatt out first is that we've already had Lesnar/Wyatts teased this week and in the match. On the other hand, I'd have Joe kicking and punching AJ in the Corner while Brock is eliminating Bray- before turning around. *gasp* It's Brock Lesnar and Samoa Joe facing each other. This is a fucking dream match, at least for me. If they do end up teasing this tonight, regardless of position in the match I'll mark out. Anyway, after a stiff as anything brawl Brock will F5 Joe and throw him over the Top Rope. (Samoa Joe eliminated by Brock Lesnar).
This leaves us with Brock Lesnar and AJ Styles. Another Dream Match, and the best bit? It's a no-lose situation in-terms of the winner. The crowd will not give a fuck if Brock or AJ win, because either way he's one of "their guys". The result,? A crowd actually invested in what's happening in the ring. After we get some back and forth, I'd have AJ setting Brock up for the Styles Clash- but Brock fights out of it and German Suplexes AJ. Brock goes for the F5, AJ fights out and eventually hits the Styles Clash on Brock.
Then we get the thing where the person who is about to be eliminated weighs 1 Million lbs and AJ struggles to get Brock up and over the Top Rope. Just as AJ is about to win, Brock comes around like the Beast he is, F5's AJ and then throws him over the Top Rope.
Winner: Brock Lesnar
Key Parts
- Sami Zayn debuts & he and Owens eliminate each other and brawl all over the Arena
- Social Outcasts eliminate The Big Show
- Braun Strowman eliminates all 4 Social Outcasts at once
- The "Kofi Spot" is Kofi using Big E & Xavier as Stepping Stones back to the Ring
- Brock/Wyatts is one of the main angles in the Rumble
- Final Four is Brock, Bray, AJ Styles & Samoa Joe
- Final Two is Brock & AJ
I've said this throughout, and I still believe it now. Brock Lesnar is winning the Royal Rumble. After this Rumble there's so many potential matches for Mania, and just off the back of this match you could easily get;
Roman Reigns v Triple H
Brock Lesnar v Bray Wyatt- WWE Title (or The Rock if they could work something out)
Sami Zayn v Kevin Owens
New Day v Chris Jericho & The Usos
Samoa Joe v AJ Styles
That's 5 matches on the card right there, 4 of which would be absolutely great.
If you're interested in stats, or if you've got a "Most Eliminations" Bet here you go;
Most Eliminations- Brock Lesnar (7)
I could be completely wrong with this, and Triple H might end up winning the Rumble as the Bookies seem to indicate. However, I just don't see it happening for some reason- and I think putting the Title on Triple H, only for him to drop it back to Roman at Mania is a waste. You'll have also noticed I didn't do any "Legend" returns, for the simple fact that I wasn't sure where to fit them in and who they would be. Although, Barrett's absence may or may not be down to Papa Shango.
Thanks for reading as always, I hope you had fun reading my Rumble. At around 4am tonight, we can come back here and re-read my Rumble and realise what could have been. As I said, I hope you liked it- and even if you didn't/completely disagree with with my Predictions feel free to tell me. Thanks again for reading, let's hope that at the very least tonight is a lot of fun- and the Rumble match is actually good. Which, after the last two years may not be a guarantee. Just remember folks, tonight we're going to witness Heath Slater Main-Eventing a PPV for the WWE Title.
Sunday 24 January 2016
Tuesday 5 January 2016
RAW Review: 4th January
Hello! Right then, let's get the elephant in the room out of the way LAST NIGHT WAS THE BEST RAW OF THE YEAR! Now we can move on. I'm not even quite sure why, but I was genuinely quite hopeful for last night's RAW and the Royal Rumble build. I'll discuss the big Royal Rumble match news a bit later on, but it's definitely shaken things up- and will definitely have divided opinions and gotten people talking. I won't say I "enjoyed" RAW last night, but at the same time I did like a lot of what they did last night so in that respect it was a successful night for the WWE. Let's look at exactly what I enjoyed then eh? THE FIRST RAW REVIEW OF 2016 BEGINS!
OH FUCK, STEPHANIE WAS IN THE FIRST SEGMENT OF 2016.
Roman Reigns & Stephanie McMahon Promo
"The Morgue" why couldn't Roman have told Stephanie she'd be picking Vince up from "The Morgue". I realise it's PG, but come on. I think that little adjustment can sort of sum up Roman Reigns at the moment. In that, there's a lot of potential- that I don't think many people are disputing he has. But, at the same time- he's just not quite "there" yet. In my posting break, Roman did of course win the WWE Title. I was in two minds over whether I wanted Roman to win the Title, but after his TLC showing I was willing to give it a go. I'm yet to make my mind up when it comes to Roman as WWE Champion. The main problem for me is the fact they're making EVERYTHING about Roman, as I'll discuss later. As we've seen a million times in the WWE, if the WWE try and push something down our throats- the fans will push back. I didn't mind this segment, without ever "liking" it at any point.
Kevin Owens v Neville
I really liked this match. It was never going to be "Match of the Year" fare. However, for what it was- it was really enjoyable. Neville looked great in defeat last night, and provided they keep Neville on his current path I do have some hope for his future. Neville isn't going to be Main Eventing any time soon, however he's definitely getting pretty consistent pops at present- and if he keeps doing stuff like he did in the match last night those pops will only continue and grow. Ambrose was fine on Commentary, apart from at one point when he got completely lost. The stuff with Ambrose and Owens after was really good, and overall this segment did its job really well.
Vince McMahon Backstage Promo
The stuff Vince said was fine, but I think it would have been infinitely better had he entered in the Limo shouting "HAPPY NEW YEAR!" and his entire Interview with JoJo just consisted of "HAPPY NEW YEAR!".
Titus O'Neil v Stardust
I'm pretty sure they got the scripts mixed up, and this was in fact supposed to be on Superstars. Everything they did was perfectly acceptable, and the match was decent in a very "standard" way. I suppose that's all that you could really expect from the match in all honesty. So, fair play to both guys.
Becky Lynch & Charlotte Backstage Promo
I liked this segment, and it set-up what followed nicely. It's not a good sign that I can barely remember what's happen with Charlotte over the last two months, but this segment definitely worked.
Becky Lynch v Charlotte
I just need to write this down to make it a lot clearer in my head. Becky Lynch and Charlotte had a decent match, they told a good "story", Becky won with shenanigans after Charlotte attempted to do so making it "fair game", Charlotte then snapped at Becky and fully turned on Becky by killing her. WHAT IS GOING ON WITH THE DIVAS DIVISION?! ACTUAL STORIES?! CHARACTER DEVELOPMENTS THAT MAKE SENSE?! After this match last night, I legitimately want to see Becky go after Charlotte for the Title. This was one of the best Divas Segments we've had in recent memory, and we can only hope we get 51 (or more) more of them this year.
Vince McMahon & Sheamus Backstage Promo
Apparently the bloke Vince was belittling as they cut to him backstage was the Head Writer of NXT. This segment was pretty standard stuff, which would have been made better had Vince simply told Sheamus HAPPY NEW YEAR over and over.
Ryback v The Big Show
At leas the actual match was mercifully short. Before the announcement after the Main Event, I was convinced Braun Strowman was going to fuck shit up in the Rumble Match. While he still might, Roman's involvement as well as Brock, Cena, Owens, Ambrose- it all dilutes Strowman's potential impact on the match. I am still looking forward to The Wyatts in the Rumble match however, because chances are we'd be getting The Wyatts/Brock at some point during.
Alberto Del Rio & Rusev v The Usos
I've been a big critic of Del Rio's return, but I legitimately think this was the best match of Del Rio's return. With the only other contender being his match with Roman at Survivor Series. It wasn't perfect by any means, but a lot of what happened just "worked" last night. We actually got a great false finish for once, with the Uso Splash after a Superkick on Del Rio- and for the first time since his match with Cena I've actually liked Del Rio's finish. Why did I like it? BECAUSE IT FUCKING MADE SENSE! The problem, among others with the Corner Stomp is the fact Del Rio's opponent literally has to hold themselves up for Del Rio to hit it. That wasn't a problem last night with Jey draped over the Second Rope. So overall, I really enjoyed this match. MORE PLEASE!
Heath Slater v Dolph Ziggler
The match was nothing really. I thought Dolph looked a bit "off", but that may well be down to the fact he was losing to Heath Slater- albeit with interference. I genuinely, all joking aside love the "Social Outcasts" idea. I have no doubt it'll be dead by at the latest the Royal Rumble, but on the off chance it isn't- I'm really looking forward to what these four can do. I know there'll be 4MB Jokes, JOB Squad jokes and more, but I can legitimately see myself getting behind the "Social Outcasts" concept. I'm not getting my hopes too high for them, because there's a reason they're- well Outcasts in the WWE landscape. However, for now- LET ME DREAM!
Vince McMahon & Roman Reigns Backstage Promo
As with the Sheamus stuff it was pretty standard. HAPPY NEW YEAR, ROMAN! HAPPY NEW YEAR! HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Chris Jericho meets The New Day
For once, and I mean once- I didn't really like The New Day's individual Promo Segment. I'm not even really sure why, it may have been the absence of a Gong they previewed in their little Backstage Segment beforehand. Then New Day's Countdown was interrupted by Jericho's and some stuff happened. Firstly, New Day's gift they were counting down to was a fully healthy Daniel Bryan ready to wrestle- so you can thank Jericho for Bryan not wrestling at Mania. I realise the crowd wasn't great last night, but the pop for Jericho was kind of depressing. It wasn't silent by any means, but still.
Remember, this all my personal opinion. I'm getting bored of "Happy, Smiley, Catchphrase" Jericho returning for a Month, leaving and then just repeating that cycle. Especially with the lack of one of the Top Heels in the Company for Mania in Seth Rollins, when I heard the Jericho rumours I thought we'd be getting Heel Jericho this time around. We still might, but I think it's unlikely- and that's annoying. The stuff with Jericho last night was especially annoying to me, because HE WAS BURYING ONE OF THE VERY FEW THINGS ON RAW THAT'S ACTUALLY CONSISTENTLY GOOD! So, overall this could have gone better. I'd also like to hear from anyone who would argue that Jericho's return in the Rumble wouldn't have been better as a surprise.
The New Day v Kalisto & The Dudleys
This match was pretty standard stuff on the whole, with some good individual moments scattered throughout the match. I know it's Wrasslin, but Bubba literally running away from D-Von- leaving him at the mercy of Kofi and Big E in order to chase XAVIER! THE WEAKEST MEMBER OF THE NEW DAY just blew my mind with its stupidity. There's bigger things to worry about in the world, but for some reason this really annoyed me.
Roman Reigns v Sheamus w/Vince McMahon as Special Guest Ref- WWE Title
There's a number of different angles to cover after this match, so I'll go through them all chronologically. The actual match itself was weird. I can't say good- but at the same time they didn't do an awful lot wrong from a match perspective. However, from an angle perspective WHAT IN THE ACTUAL FUCK WERE THEY DOING IN THIS MATCH?! I know they were doing the whole "Corrupt Ref" gimmick, but there's a limit to what the Slow Counts should be for. Judging by this match, among other things Sheamus would have been pinned by a SAMOAN DROP! SHEAMUS, THE #1 CONTENDER FOR THE WWE TITLE WOULD HAVE BEEN PINNED BY A SAMOAN DROP!
The finish really pissed me off. Roman wasn't losing, I think that was an accepted fact. However, when they did the Double Brogue Kick spot there was an inkling of doubt. Especially with Vince STARING DIRECTLY AT WHAT WAS GOING ON. I know they were trying to sell Vince as being "dazed" but give me a break. I have to assume Vince was at the very least out of position. The finish would have been infinitely better had Vince not have been looking directly at Sheamus pinning Reigns in an apparent "daze". All of this after Roman Superman Punched Vince, and then when pinning Sheamus he was confused as to the lack of a Referee there to count.
Right then, the Royal Rumble match news. There's so many different angles to cover- that I can't cover them all. I will say, the Royal Rumble match being for the WWE Title is a good move in the sense that having people return/debut going after the WWE Title makes sense. It also makes sense in-terms of Brock going into the Rumble match. If as rumoured AJ Styles is showing up in the Rumble match it makes sense in that regard as well given anyone would want to go for the WWE Title.
I've seen a lot of people complaining that the Rumble match has been made too predictable for the third year running- to which I'd argue it was predictable beforehand, and is less so now. Before the announcement last night- at least to me it was common sense that Brock was winning the Rumble. Now, it's Roman or Brock. Brock can win and then we get the Rematch at Mania- or Roman can win and Brock can still go after Roman. I do still have reasonable hopes for the Rumble Match, and especially with Brock in the Match it should definitely be fun.
Overall, I did enjoy parts of last night's RAW- which is better than what could have been said about some of the Episodes. We had Divas Segments that made sense, some decent matches and crucially stuff that would make me want to tune in next week.
Thanks for reading as always, after my break toward the end of December- these Reviews are now officially back for the new year. I don't think we can get a much worse year than 2015, but I do have reasonably high hopes for 2016- it at least on paper has a lot of potential. Thanks again for reading, and remember- after last night we're one step closer to Heath Slater as WWE World Heavyweight Champion.
OH FUCK, STEPHANIE WAS IN THE FIRST SEGMENT OF 2016.
Roman Reigns & Stephanie McMahon Promo
"The Morgue" why couldn't Roman have told Stephanie she'd be picking Vince up from "The Morgue". I realise it's PG, but come on. I think that little adjustment can sort of sum up Roman Reigns at the moment. In that, there's a lot of potential- that I don't think many people are disputing he has. But, at the same time- he's just not quite "there" yet. In my posting break, Roman did of course win the WWE Title. I was in two minds over whether I wanted Roman to win the Title, but after his TLC showing I was willing to give it a go. I'm yet to make my mind up when it comes to Roman as WWE Champion. The main problem for me is the fact they're making EVERYTHING about Roman, as I'll discuss later. As we've seen a million times in the WWE, if the WWE try and push something down our throats- the fans will push back. I didn't mind this segment, without ever "liking" it at any point.
Kevin Owens v Neville
I really liked this match. It was never going to be "Match of the Year" fare. However, for what it was- it was really enjoyable. Neville looked great in defeat last night, and provided they keep Neville on his current path I do have some hope for his future. Neville isn't going to be Main Eventing any time soon, however he's definitely getting pretty consistent pops at present- and if he keeps doing stuff like he did in the match last night those pops will only continue and grow. Ambrose was fine on Commentary, apart from at one point when he got completely lost. The stuff with Ambrose and Owens after was really good, and overall this segment did its job really well.
Vince McMahon Backstage Promo
The stuff Vince said was fine, but I think it would have been infinitely better had he entered in the Limo shouting "HAPPY NEW YEAR!" and his entire Interview with JoJo just consisted of "HAPPY NEW YEAR!".
Titus O'Neil v Stardust
I'm pretty sure they got the scripts mixed up, and this was in fact supposed to be on Superstars. Everything they did was perfectly acceptable, and the match was decent in a very "standard" way. I suppose that's all that you could really expect from the match in all honesty. So, fair play to both guys.
Becky Lynch & Charlotte Backstage Promo
I liked this segment, and it set-up what followed nicely. It's not a good sign that I can barely remember what's happen with Charlotte over the last two months, but this segment definitely worked.
Becky Lynch v Charlotte
I just need to write this down to make it a lot clearer in my head. Becky Lynch and Charlotte had a decent match, they told a good "story", Becky won with shenanigans after Charlotte attempted to do so making it "fair game", Charlotte then snapped at Becky and fully turned on Becky by killing her. WHAT IS GOING ON WITH THE DIVAS DIVISION?! ACTUAL STORIES?! CHARACTER DEVELOPMENTS THAT MAKE SENSE?! After this match last night, I legitimately want to see Becky go after Charlotte for the Title. This was one of the best Divas Segments we've had in recent memory, and we can only hope we get 51 (or more) more of them this year.
Vince McMahon & Sheamus Backstage Promo
Apparently the bloke Vince was belittling as they cut to him backstage was the Head Writer of NXT. This segment was pretty standard stuff, which would have been made better had Vince simply told Sheamus HAPPY NEW YEAR over and over.
Ryback v The Big Show
At leas the actual match was mercifully short. Before the announcement after the Main Event, I was convinced Braun Strowman was going to fuck shit up in the Rumble Match. While he still might, Roman's involvement as well as Brock, Cena, Owens, Ambrose- it all dilutes Strowman's potential impact on the match. I am still looking forward to The Wyatts in the Rumble match however, because chances are we'd be getting The Wyatts/Brock at some point during.
Alberto Del Rio & Rusev v The Usos
I've been a big critic of Del Rio's return, but I legitimately think this was the best match of Del Rio's return. With the only other contender being his match with Roman at Survivor Series. It wasn't perfect by any means, but a lot of what happened just "worked" last night. We actually got a great false finish for once, with the Uso Splash after a Superkick on Del Rio- and for the first time since his match with Cena I've actually liked Del Rio's finish. Why did I like it? BECAUSE IT FUCKING MADE SENSE! The problem, among others with the Corner Stomp is the fact Del Rio's opponent literally has to hold themselves up for Del Rio to hit it. That wasn't a problem last night with Jey draped over the Second Rope. So overall, I really enjoyed this match. MORE PLEASE!
Heath Slater v Dolph Ziggler
The match was nothing really. I thought Dolph looked a bit "off", but that may well be down to the fact he was losing to Heath Slater- albeit with interference. I genuinely, all joking aside love the "Social Outcasts" idea. I have no doubt it'll be dead by at the latest the Royal Rumble, but on the off chance it isn't- I'm really looking forward to what these four can do. I know there'll be 4MB Jokes, JOB Squad jokes and more, but I can legitimately see myself getting behind the "Social Outcasts" concept. I'm not getting my hopes too high for them, because there's a reason they're- well Outcasts in the WWE landscape. However, for now- LET ME DREAM!
Vince McMahon & Roman Reigns Backstage Promo
As with the Sheamus stuff it was pretty standard. HAPPY NEW YEAR, ROMAN! HAPPY NEW YEAR! HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Chris Jericho meets The New Day
For once, and I mean once- I didn't really like The New Day's individual Promo Segment. I'm not even really sure why, it may have been the absence of a Gong they previewed in their little Backstage Segment beforehand. Then New Day's Countdown was interrupted by Jericho's and some stuff happened. Firstly, New Day's gift they were counting down to was a fully healthy Daniel Bryan ready to wrestle- so you can thank Jericho for Bryan not wrestling at Mania. I realise the crowd wasn't great last night, but the pop for Jericho was kind of depressing. It wasn't silent by any means, but still.
Remember, this all my personal opinion. I'm getting bored of "Happy, Smiley, Catchphrase" Jericho returning for a Month, leaving and then just repeating that cycle. Especially with the lack of one of the Top Heels in the Company for Mania in Seth Rollins, when I heard the Jericho rumours I thought we'd be getting Heel Jericho this time around. We still might, but I think it's unlikely- and that's annoying. The stuff with Jericho last night was especially annoying to me, because HE WAS BURYING ONE OF THE VERY FEW THINGS ON RAW THAT'S ACTUALLY CONSISTENTLY GOOD! So, overall this could have gone better. I'd also like to hear from anyone who would argue that Jericho's return in the Rumble wouldn't have been better as a surprise.
The New Day v Kalisto & The Dudleys
This match was pretty standard stuff on the whole, with some good individual moments scattered throughout the match. I know it's Wrasslin, but Bubba literally running away from D-Von- leaving him at the mercy of Kofi and Big E in order to chase XAVIER! THE WEAKEST MEMBER OF THE NEW DAY just blew my mind with its stupidity. There's bigger things to worry about in the world, but for some reason this really annoyed me.
Roman Reigns v Sheamus w/Vince McMahon as Special Guest Ref- WWE Title
There's a number of different angles to cover after this match, so I'll go through them all chronologically. The actual match itself was weird. I can't say good- but at the same time they didn't do an awful lot wrong from a match perspective. However, from an angle perspective WHAT IN THE ACTUAL FUCK WERE THEY DOING IN THIS MATCH?! I know they were doing the whole "Corrupt Ref" gimmick, but there's a limit to what the Slow Counts should be for. Judging by this match, among other things Sheamus would have been pinned by a SAMOAN DROP! SHEAMUS, THE #1 CONTENDER FOR THE WWE TITLE WOULD HAVE BEEN PINNED BY A SAMOAN DROP!
The finish really pissed me off. Roman wasn't losing, I think that was an accepted fact. However, when they did the Double Brogue Kick spot there was an inkling of doubt. Especially with Vince STARING DIRECTLY AT WHAT WAS GOING ON. I know they were trying to sell Vince as being "dazed" but give me a break. I have to assume Vince was at the very least out of position. The finish would have been infinitely better had Vince not have been looking directly at Sheamus pinning Reigns in an apparent "daze". All of this after Roman Superman Punched Vince, and then when pinning Sheamus he was confused as to the lack of a Referee there to count.
Right then, the Royal Rumble match news. There's so many different angles to cover- that I can't cover them all. I will say, the Royal Rumble match being for the WWE Title is a good move in the sense that having people return/debut going after the WWE Title makes sense. It also makes sense in-terms of Brock going into the Rumble match. If as rumoured AJ Styles is showing up in the Rumble match it makes sense in that regard as well given anyone would want to go for the WWE Title.
I've seen a lot of people complaining that the Rumble match has been made too predictable for the third year running- to which I'd argue it was predictable beforehand, and is less so now. Before the announcement last night- at least to me it was common sense that Brock was winning the Rumble. Now, it's Roman or Brock. Brock can win and then we get the Rematch at Mania- or Roman can win and Brock can still go after Roman. I do still have reasonable hopes for the Rumble Match, and especially with Brock in the Match it should definitely be fun.
Overall, I did enjoy parts of last night's RAW- which is better than what could have been said about some of the Episodes. We had Divas Segments that made sense, some decent matches and crucially stuff that would make me want to tune in next week.
Thanks for reading as always, after my break toward the end of December- these Reviews are now officially back for the new year. I don't think we can get a much worse year than 2015, but I do have reasonably high hopes for 2016- it at least on paper has a lot of potential. Thanks again for reading, and remember- after last night we're one step closer to Heath Slater as WWE World Heavyweight Champion.
Saturday 2 January 2016
Fulham v Sheffield Wednesday Review: Wet, Wallace & More Wet
Let's just get the two obvious and most likely overused jokes out of the way early. JOKANOVIC OUT! and WE HAVEN'T WON A GAME ALL YEAR! Great, now we can move on. That's right the Reviews are finally back after a bit of a gap. To be blunt, it just got too depressing as December went on. I was feeling just really drained when it came to Fulham- and that combined with me being affected by my Chronic Fatigue was the cause of the break. I was tempted to do a Rotherham Review, but I just thought I'd leave 2015 as it was and bring them back today.
Right then, I got quite wet today. When the Clothes you're wearing are visibly darker by the time you've left the game- you know it was a wet one. Unfortunately, there wasn't a lot in the way of good performances on the pitch to take minds off of the awful conditions. With that said, we also didn't do an awful lot wrong on the whole today. Today's game was, to me- a 0-0 game all over. Unfortunately for us, Ross Wallace produced the only bit of proper quality from an attacking perspective in the game and it cost us.
Ross Wallace has been a nightmare for us this season, and I can only hope Carvalhal shows some mercy and rests him in the Cup next week. He got all three Assists in the Away game back in September, and then he goes and does that today. It was just such a quality goal. You can possibly make an argument that we should have closed down Nuhiu and Wallace quicker/better in the build, but sometimes you just have to acknowledge a quality goal when you see it. I'd be surprised if it's not a Goal of the Season Contender for Sheffield Wednesday, and it'll likely be in the Goal of the Day Poll on Sky Sports News- so #SSNHQWallace.
Andy Lonergan, despite conceding, really was quality today. He could do absolutely nothing for the Wallace goal, and throughout the game he made a number of really important saves to keep us in the game. It's going to take a lot of defensive work on the Training Ground, but if Jokanovic can get us completely together as a defensive unit I've got faith that Andy Lonergan can hold up his end of the bargain in goal- and Clean Sheets will follow. Even in the Rotherham game, I thought Andy Lonergan should have been one of the MOTM Contenders on the Vote. Now, after today- and especially with no Matilla on the Vote there's only really one winner for the Award today.
It wasn't perfect today from a defensive standpoint, and there were times when our obvious defensive problems flared up- however I do think there's been some improvement. There were times when we were carved open and had to be bailed out by Lonergan- one in particular in the 2nd Half with Gary Hooper, but on the whole we looked okay in my opinion. You know, in the pouring rain in January- what we all want to see is two Trees wrestle each other. That's essentially what we had with Nuhiu and Dan Burn today. Before anyone accuses me of bias, Dan Burn did perform really well against Derby and Rotherham- fair play to him. Burn just didn't reach the same level today. I'm not saying he played badly today, but Burn managing to get turned by Atdhe Nuhiu simply isn't good enough.
The Transfer Embargo will have an obvious effect on our January dealings, however if Jokanovic/Rigg/Whomever else has a say in Transfers can find a Centre-Back to sign on Loan with a view to a permanent deal in the Summer then we need to jump at the chance. We already need to have one eye on next season, and the right Loan signing in this Window could go a long way to preparing for it. I'm not saying Stearman's immune from being dropped, but in my opinion we need 3 proper Championship quality Centre-Backs in the Squad- and we have (at a push) one at present. Speaking of Stearman, I thought he- as with Burn was far from perfect today, but definitely looked better on the whole.
Tim Ream and Jazz Richards definitely had their hands full today, and Ream in particular looked quite shaky at times. However, as with Burn and Stearman- while looking quite fragile at times today I do think there was signs of life in them. The problem for us with the Full-Backs today was the fact neither Richards or Ream are exactly "attacking" Full-Backs. With that in mind, playing effectively a 4-3-3 wasn't ideal.
In my Posts before Christmas, I was pushing for two things- for us to play a 4-3-3 and for Sakari Matilla to be brought in as a "proper" DM. I got both today, although it wasn't exactly what I wanted from the formation standpoint. I thought Matilla was really good today. Matilla isn't going to be everyone's favourite player- and chances are he'll be overlooked (including by me) in some games where we've scored/won. However, in a game like today with not many genuine positives- Matilla stood out to me. Especially with our defence being as it is at present, Matilla could (albeit briefly) turn into a key player for us both in-terms of protecting the Back Four, but also the balance of the Team. He just needs to leave the Long-Shots to other people.
In my Posting break, Emerson Hyndman's come back into the Team- and become a real positive point. I thought he was great against Rotherham, and while he didn't reach the same level today- he still did quite well. Sheffield Wednesday did well in suffocating our Midfield today, in that it was rare we'd get a clear chance created- and Hyndman did suffer from that to an extent. Jamie O'Hara was a weird one today. I wouldn't say he was "bad", but at the same time he needed to do a lot more to make a proper impact on the game. O'Hara is a good option to have in the Squad, in an ideal world with a 4-3-3 Cairney would come in for O'Hara- but I just have to assume Cairney was left out as a result of carrying a knock today. We just missed Cairney today, especially his creativity. Hyndman and O'Hara just can't quite create like Cairney can- and in tight games like today's Cairney could have made the difference.
In a genuinely rare occasion, we ended up looking quite toothless up-front. My "ideal" 4-3-3 is a somewhat rotating one, meaning at any given time the two opposing Centre-Backs will be dealing with McCormack, Dembele and Kacaniklic. All three are entirely different propositions, and at least on paper would cause a lot of problems. What we got today was a "fixed" 4-3-3, and as a result in my opinion Ross McCormack was wasted in the game. It wasn't quite Stuart Gray putting McCormack at Centre-Mid, but McCormack playing on the Left wasn't a good move today. Especially with Sheffield Wednesday being as defensively sound as they were, McCormack was just suffocated today. On another day, McCormack would have scored one of the two or three Free-Kicks he had today- but we can't bank on McCormack scoring a Free-Kick to bail us out in every game.
I can only assume Moussa Dembele is still carrying the Hamstring problem he had that meant he was left out on Tuesday. He just didn't look "right" today, and on a day up against a well set-up Sheffield Wednesday it meant he rarely had any sort of meaningful possession. There was some good link-up play with McCormack at times, but on the whole there won't be anything added to the YouTube Compilations that no doubt Man Utd, Spurs and a Half a Dozen other Clubs' fans will be watching when they're linked with him in this Window. Alex Kacaniklic is not the perfect player, but he does offer something different than the majority of the Squad. He's without a doubt a good option to have in the Team, and causes defences problems. As evidenced particularly in the Bolton game he lacks some composure with finishing off chances, but he's definitely worth his spot in the team at present.
I actually thought we looked worse after Jokanovic's Subs today. Scott Parker just didn't look up to it today. I don't doubt Parker still has some value to the Squad, but he's definitely winding down this season- and I'm not going to be at all surprised if Parker hangs up the boots come May. Personally I wouldn't have taken off Matilla for Garbutt. I realise we were pushing for a Goal, but a straight-swap isn't always a bad thing as we would have done with Ream going off for Garbutt. That would have allowed everyone else to push further forward, and Matilla would have been covering them. As it was, Garbutt came on for Matilla and didn't really do much. Not today, but I do think we've started to see signs of Luke Garbutt and the player he can be over the Christmas Period- so it would be a shame if Jokanovic doesn't use him in a more prominent role going forward. Unfortunately Woodrow couldn't repeat his Rotherham performance when he came on. Without question, Dembele when fit is better than Woodrow. However, if Dembele is still carrying a knock as I suspect- I'd rather we just started with a fully-fit Woodrow.
Today's game, and result in particular of course wasn't an ideal start to Jokanovic's reign. However, the massive positive for me was that everything Jokanovic said after today's game made absolutely perfect sense. Jokanovic clearly has a vision for the team, and although we saw signs of it today- it would have been impossible for him to implement said vision fully in less than a week. One positive for Jokanovic on that front is (assuming there's no FA Cup Replays) we only have two Saturday-Tuesday/Wednesday-Saturday weeks in January and February. This of course means Jokanovic doesn't have to "rush" preparations for many games and he gets time to work on the team on the Training Ground.
The sad fact of today's game, is the simple fact we've lost to an absolutely sublime goal. All we can do is look at the game in that respect and move on quickly.
Thanks for reading as always, even with the result today- I do genuinely believe that under Jokanovic 2016 will be a really positive year for Fulham and in-turn there'll be more positive Reviews. Next up is the FA Cup and of course Sheffield Wednesday, and the Previews will be back for that game on Friday so stay tuned for that. Thanks again for reading, and despite today's result let's just keep positive for now. We can start to get miserable again around Mid-February/March.
Right then, I got quite wet today. When the Clothes you're wearing are visibly darker by the time you've left the game- you know it was a wet one. Unfortunately, there wasn't a lot in the way of good performances on the pitch to take minds off of the awful conditions. With that said, we also didn't do an awful lot wrong on the whole today. Today's game was, to me- a 0-0 game all over. Unfortunately for us, Ross Wallace produced the only bit of proper quality from an attacking perspective in the game and it cost us.
Ross Wallace has been a nightmare for us this season, and I can only hope Carvalhal shows some mercy and rests him in the Cup next week. He got all three Assists in the Away game back in September, and then he goes and does that today. It was just such a quality goal. You can possibly make an argument that we should have closed down Nuhiu and Wallace quicker/better in the build, but sometimes you just have to acknowledge a quality goal when you see it. I'd be surprised if it's not a Goal of the Season Contender for Sheffield Wednesday, and it'll likely be in the Goal of the Day Poll on Sky Sports News- so #SSNHQWallace.
Andy Lonergan, despite conceding, really was quality today. He could do absolutely nothing for the Wallace goal, and throughout the game he made a number of really important saves to keep us in the game. It's going to take a lot of defensive work on the Training Ground, but if Jokanovic can get us completely together as a defensive unit I've got faith that Andy Lonergan can hold up his end of the bargain in goal- and Clean Sheets will follow. Even in the Rotherham game, I thought Andy Lonergan should have been one of the MOTM Contenders on the Vote. Now, after today- and especially with no Matilla on the Vote there's only really one winner for the Award today.
It wasn't perfect today from a defensive standpoint, and there were times when our obvious defensive problems flared up- however I do think there's been some improvement. There were times when we were carved open and had to be bailed out by Lonergan- one in particular in the 2nd Half with Gary Hooper, but on the whole we looked okay in my opinion. You know, in the pouring rain in January- what we all want to see is two Trees wrestle each other. That's essentially what we had with Nuhiu and Dan Burn today. Before anyone accuses me of bias, Dan Burn did perform really well against Derby and Rotherham- fair play to him. Burn just didn't reach the same level today. I'm not saying he played badly today, but Burn managing to get turned by Atdhe Nuhiu simply isn't good enough.
The Transfer Embargo will have an obvious effect on our January dealings, however if Jokanovic/Rigg/Whomever else has a say in Transfers can find a Centre-Back to sign on Loan with a view to a permanent deal in the Summer then we need to jump at the chance. We already need to have one eye on next season, and the right Loan signing in this Window could go a long way to preparing for it. I'm not saying Stearman's immune from being dropped, but in my opinion we need 3 proper Championship quality Centre-Backs in the Squad- and we have (at a push) one at present. Speaking of Stearman, I thought he- as with Burn was far from perfect today, but definitely looked better on the whole.
Tim Ream and Jazz Richards definitely had their hands full today, and Ream in particular looked quite shaky at times. However, as with Burn and Stearman- while looking quite fragile at times today I do think there was signs of life in them. The problem for us with the Full-Backs today was the fact neither Richards or Ream are exactly "attacking" Full-Backs. With that in mind, playing effectively a 4-3-3 wasn't ideal.
In my Posts before Christmas, I was pushing for two things- for us to play a 4-3-3 and for Sakari Matilla to be brought in as a "proper" DM. I got both today, although it wasn't exactly what I wanted from the formation standpoint. I thought Matilla was really good today. Matilla isn't going to be everyone's favourite player- and chances are he'll be overlooked (including by me) in some games where we've scored/won. However, in a game like today with not many genuine positives- Matilla stood out to me. Especially with our defence being as it is at present, Matilla could (albeit briefly) turn into a key player for us both in-terms of protecting the Back Four, but also the balance of the Team. He just needs to leave the Long-Shots to other people.
In my Posting break, Emerson Hyndman's come back into the Team- and become a real positive point. I thought he was great against Rotherham, and while he didn't reach the same level today- he still did quite well. Sheffield Wednesday did well in suffocating our Midfield today, in that it was rare we'd get a clear chance created- and Hyndman did suffer from that to an extent. Jamie O'Hara was a weird one today. I wouldn't say he was "bad", but at the same time he needed to do a lot more to make a proper impact on the game. O'Hara is a good option to have in the Squad, in an ideal world with a 4-3-3 Cairney would come in for O'Hara- but I just have to assume Cairney was left out as a result of carrying a knock today. We just missed Cairney today, especially his creativity. Hyndman and O'Hara just can't quite create like Cairney can- and in tight games like today's Cairney could have made the difference.
In a genuinely rare occasion, we ended up looking quite toothless up-front. My "ideal" 4-3-3 is a somewhat rotating one, meaning at any given time the two opposing Centre-Backs will be dealing with McCormack, Dembele and Kacaniklic. All three are entirely different propositions, and at least on paper would cause a lot of problems. What we got today was a "fixed" 4-3-3, and as a result in my opinion Ross McCormack was wasted in the game. It wasn't quite Stuart Gray putting McCormack at Centre-Mid, but McCormack playing on the Left wasn't a good move today. Especially with Sheffield Wednesday being as defensively sound as they were, McCormack was just suffocated today. On another day, McCormack would have scored one of the two or three Free-Kicks he had today- but we can't bank on McCormack scoring a Free-Kick to bail us out in every game.
I can only assume Moussa Dembele is still carrying the Hamstring problem he had that meant he was left out on Tuesday. He just didn't look "right" today, and on a day up against a well set-up Sheffield Wednesday it meant he rarely had any sort of meaningful possession. There was some good link-up play with McCormack at times, but on the whole there won't be anything added to the YouTube Compilations that no doubt Man Utd, Spurs and a Half a Dozen other Clubs' fans will be watching when they're linked with him in this Window. Alex Kacaniklic is not the perfect player, but he does offer something different than the majority of the Squad. He's without a doubt a good option to have in the Team, and causes defences problems. As evidenced particularly in the Bolton game he lacks some composure with finishing off chances, but he's definitely worth his spot in the team at present.
I actually thought we looked worse after Jokanovic's Subs today. Scott Parker just didn't look up to it today. I don't doubt Parker still has some value to the Squad, but he's definitely winding down this season- and I'm not going to be at all surprised if Parker hangs up the boots come May. Personally I wouldn't have taken off Matilla for Garbutt. I realise we were pushing for a Goal, but a straight-swap isn't always a bad thing as we would have done with Ream going off for Garbutt. That would have allowed everyone else to push further forward, and Matilla would have been covering them. As it was, Garbutt came on for Matilla and didn't really do much. Not today, but I do think we've started to see signs of Luke Garbutt and the player he can be over the Christmas Period- so it would be a shame if Jokanovic doesn't use him in a more prominent role going forward. Unfortunately Woodrow couldn't repeat his Rotherham performance when he came on. Without question, Dembele when fit is better than Woodrow. However, if Dembele is still carrying a knock as I suspect- I'd rather we just started with a fully-fit Woodrow.
Today's game, and result in particular of course wasn't an ideal start to Jokanovic's reign. However, the massive positive for me was that everything Jokanovic said after today's game made absolutely perfect sense. Jokanovic clearly has a vision for the team, and although we saw signs of it today- it would have been impossible for him to implement said vision fully in less than a week. One positive for Jokanovic on that front is (assuming there's no FA Cup Replays) we only have two Saturday-Tuesday/Wednesday-Saturday weeks in January and February. This of course means Jokanovic doesn't have to "rush" preparations for many games and he gets time to work on the team on the Training Ground.
The sad fact of today's game, is the simple fact we've lost to an absolutely sublime goal. All we can do is look at the game in that respect and move on quickly.
Thanks for reading as always, even with the result today- I do genuinely believe that under Jokanovic 2016 will be a really positive year for Fulham and in-turn there'll be more positive Reviews. Next up is the FA Cup and of course Sheffield Wednesday, and the Previews will be back for that game on Friday so stay tuned for that. Thanks again for reading, and despite today's result let's just keep positive for now. We can start to get miserable again around Mid-February/March.
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