Opinion
Cook’s WrestleMania Backlash 2021 Gambling Picks
I’m going to be 100% honest with you guys.
I’ve been watching most WWE shows. My schedule has opened up more on evenings when the local baseball team is out of town, and I can catch Raw, SmackDown & NXT more often than not. The issue? It often serves as background noise while I’m working on Internet writing, and rarely holds my interest when I look up from my laptop. Smackdown does the best, with NXT second and Raw a very, very distant third.
So am I the most informed person to get your WRESTLEMANIA Backlash betting tips from? Probably not. But if there’s one thing we know about predicting things, it’s that sometimes it’s better not to go in thinking you know everything about everything. That’s when you lose big. This month, we’re going to go with our gut. Our gut knows more than we give it credit for sometimes.
As always, we’re getting these odds from BetOnline and remind you that these picks are for entertainment purposes only.
Lumberjack Match
Damian Priest (-400) vs. The Miz (+200)
Priest dropped from -700 to -400 within a day, so there’s some money coming in on Miz here. Is there good reason for there to be? Sure there is. The story could definitely lead to Miz using the chaos of having tons of lumberjacks at ringside to come out on top and foil Priest’s plans to move on to bigger things.
But the smart play is hoping that Damian Priest price drops even further, since he’ll be the one winning here. He needs to beat Miz to move up in the world, Miz is going to be just fine doing his thing no matter what happens here.
SmackDown Tag Team Championship
Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode (+150) vs. Rey & Dominik Mysterio (-200)
BetOnline knew this match was coming at some point, as they had odds on it for the WrestleMania card even though it was never announced and obviously didn’t happen there. Obviously WWE was making us wait for this one with bated breath. I think Rey & Dominik are bound to be champions at some point, but Dolph Ziggler losing to them two weeks in a row tells me that the Dirty Dawgs are due for a rebound on Sunday.
How do we feel about the “Dirty Dawgs” name? WWE obviously doesn’t like it, but at least Dolph & Robert are trying.
SmackDown Women’s Championship
Bianca Belair (-950) vs. Bayley (+500)
Yeah, there’s no real reason to be throwing money on this one. You could put the title on Bayley to get some heat, but Bianca Belair needs to have a nice long run with this championship. She’s a great person to have out front representing WWE in its various endeavors, and her in-ring is solid. I wouldn’t think of taking the strap off of her until SummerSlam at the earliest. No need to get cute here.
Raw Women’s Championship
Rhea Ripley (-200) vs. Charlotte Flair (+175) vs. Asuka (+500)
Nothing against Rhea or Asuka, who are stellar competitors who don’t have the best of chemistry with each other, but they’re not even in the top three of Raw women’s storylines right now. What are they? Glad you asked:
1. Alexa Bliss possessing people
2. Eva Marie’s Eva-Lution
3. The existence of Charlotte Flair
I mean, there’s a reason Asuka is such an underdog here. The Internet loves her, WWE creative moved on months before she lost the championship. I’m a big Rhea fan and wouldn’t be shocked if she retains, but any time you give me a chance to make money off of Charlotte Flair I’ll take it. It’s time for the Queen to reclaim her throne.
WWE Championship
Bobby Lashley (-200) vs. Drew McIntyre (+175) vs. Braun Strowman (+500)
These days, Raw is all about the three-ways. People didn’t want the same match they saw at WrestleMania, so WWE has added Braun Strowman to the proceedings for WrestleMania Backlash. I assume some people are more interested now. Me, I liked the first Bob/Drew match and wasn’t really interested in Braun mucking up the rematch. Not as much an issue now that Raw has run Bob vs. Drew two weeks in a row.
I see absolutely no reason to take the title off of Bobby Lashley. Drew’s cooling off by the week and Braun’s nowhere near the level he was at back when people wanted him pushed to the moon. They tried with the go-home segment this week, but I’m still not sold. Roll with Lashley until you’ve got somebody better.
Universal Championship
Roman Reigns (-600) vs. Cesaro (+350)
I think it’s really cool that Cesaro is finally getting a shot at a major title on a PPV/Peacock event. Long overdue, and I’m excited to see what he can do with Roman in a match that will get plenty of time.
Do I expect him to win? Absolutely not. We don’t bet against Roman Reigns around here.
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Opinion
Chris King: The Wyatt Sicks’ Wasted Potential By WWE
Chris King takes a look at the WWE and their wasted potential of Uncle Howdy and the Wyatt Sicks faction.
Chris King takes a look at the WWE and their wasted potential of Uncle Howdy and the Wyatt Sicks faction.
It’s that time of the year again, folks; it’s unfortunate and downright awful that so many WWE superstars got released today. I’m not going to list all of them, but I am going to talk about one of my favorite factions,
The Wyatt Sicks. Nikki Cross, Joe Gacy, Erik Rowan, and Bo Dallas (Uncle Howdy) were something special. After Bo’s brother Bray Wyatt’s tragic passing, WWE felt like there was a hole that needed to be filled. Wyatt was one of the most creative and brilliant characters, and Bo would be taking over his brother’s concept and bringing it to life. In 2024, at the end of an incredible documentary highlighting Wyatt’s career and struggles, Bo appeared on the screen portrayed as Uncle Howdy. The last time Uncle Howdy was seen on-screen was at the 2023 Royal Rumble, where Wyatt defeated LA Knight in a Pitch Black Match. Howdy jumped off a structure onto Knight.
This post-credit scene sparked so much speculation and excitement that Wyatt’s brother would carry on his legacy and possibly debut the faction that was Wyatt’s concept. On the June 17th episode of Monday Night Raw, The Wyatt Sicks made their dramatic debut ,destroying the backstage area as well as “murdering” Chad Gable. It was such an iconic arrival for Howdy as he made his menacing walk from the back into the audience who were chanting “Holy Shit.” The Sicks and American Made (Chad Gable and The Creed Brothers) battled for months, with The Sicks being victorious. On the September 9th episode of Raw, The Sicks defeated them, with Howdy getting the win with Sister Abigail.
The following year, The Sicks would move over to Friday Night SmackDown, and it seemed like WWE had a plan in place. They would win the tag team championships from The Street Profits and start to look dominant. Now, what should have happened next is Howdy should have won the United States title. The Sicks could have held all the gold over on the blue brand, but it never happened. The Sicks entered into a never-ending feud with The MFT’s (Solo Sikoa, Tama Tonga, Tonga Loa, JC Mateo, and Talla Tonga.) It started off exciting, and the WWE Universe was red-hot for their interactions.
After months of repetitive matches and The MFT’s stealing their lantern, the feud grew tiresome and boring. Even Tama asked Solo why they are still holding onto the lantern, as it was destroying them as a whole. Finally on the SmackDown before Mania, Tama
gave the lantern back to Howdy against Solo’s wishes. Please explain to me why both factions fought almost every single week instead of just having one final blowoff match at WrestleMania.
It should have been either a massive street fight or a falls count anywhere match on the grandest stage of them all. Instead, it turned into a meaningless week-after-week extravaganza that benefited no one. The MFTs won the rivalry, and The Sicks don’t even work for WWE anymore. This was the same criminalized creative process that Wyatt dealt with during his first run in the company.
We’ll never know how much of a dangerous force The Wyatt Sicks could have been in the WWE. For all their careers’ sake, I hope they stay far away from the company for as long as possible. Every superstar that was cut deserves better!
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Opinion
Chris King: Bloodline Saga: Is This the Right Call For WWE?
Chris King questions the WWE’s logic in setting up Jacob Fatu as the next challenger for World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns
Chris King questions the WWE’s logic in setting up Jacob Fatu as the next challenger for World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns
Roman Reigns is once again World Heavyweight Champion after his dominant win over CM Punk at WrestleMania 42. On the following night on Monday Night Raw, The OG Bloodline came back together as a well-oiled machine as The Usos stood side by side with Roman. With the WWE Universe asking who would be the first to challenge “The Tribal Chief,” Jacob Fatu shocked the world by answering the call.
Fatu is running hot after his impressive win over Drew McIntyre and feels like he is ready to become the new world champion. This bloodline segment ended Raw, and it picked right back up on SmackDown with even Solo Sikoa and the MFTs involved. This is now two shows that have been centered around The Bloodline saga, and it’s made me question whether or not WWE should be retelling this story.
The Bloodline (Roman Reigns, The Usos, and Solo Sikoa) ran WWE for over four years as Reigns’ henchmen, doing his dirty work to retain his title. Even though Roman has declared he doesn’t want Jey and Jimmy to serve him, it sure seems like WWE are spinning their wheels. Fatu could add a whole new chapter into the story, even if he’s not able to beat Roman at Backlash. “The Samoan Werewolf” could be forced to do the same thing as Jey did all those years ago and fall in line.
In my opinion, I feel like Fatu should be challenging for the Undisputed WWE Championship because that’s a title I feel like he should win. I understand standing up to your blood and trying to prove you’re the best, but I don’t think this is the right move. It feels like 2022 all over again, as The Bloodline is the central focus on both shows. If Fatu doesn’t win, what happens to all his momentum he’s been building over the last two years?
Why did WWE make this the best choice for storyline purposes? Why couldn’t creative have come up with a different challenger for Roman? There are so many other superstars that could challenge The Tribal Chief, such as Rusev, Bron Breakker, Gunther, or even a returning Sheamus.
I just can’t help but question WWE’s logic here, and it kind of reminds me of all the times The Shield reunited. Could WWE be pushing the same storyline too many times here? Could the WWE Universe get tired of this rinse and repeat cycle of The Bloodline Saga?
Are we about to see all the weekly episodes solely focused on The Bloodline again? Will it be cinema… Yes. Is there still money in The Bloodline… Yes. Was it the right call? That’s to be determined!
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SUNDAY - 30 Mindless Minutes
CHAIRSHOT RADIO NETWORK PODCAST SPECIALS
Attitude Of Aggression Podcast: The Big Five Project (chronologically exploring WWE's PPV/PLE history) Unidentified History (Ufology) & Game Gone Wrong (Game of Thrones Universe)
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