WWE: TLC 2017: Believe in the Shield – and what else?

At TLC, WWE is fully committed to the reunification of The Shield and the Main Event match against The Miz, The Bar, Braun Strowman and Kane. The rest of the card is with Finn Bálor vs. Bray Wyatt as well as three women’s and two cruiserweight matches extremely thinly cast. The SPOX prognoses for the raw-exclusive PPV.

Kneisel: The Raw Women’s Division is currently in a transition phase until Asuka arrives at the title race, and you can clearly see that. Due to the absence of Nia Jax there are no serious opponents and so Sasha has to fight with Noam Dar’s ex in the pre-show. I wouldn’t even be surprised if Alicia wins a dirty victory here to prolong this feud. But I’m optimistic about Sasha Banks. Is she gonna be Asuka’s next victim after that?

Schlauchy: Whether she will be the next victim becomes interesting to see. But I think after Emma, Mickie’s gonna get killed. Basically, Sasha is currently hanging enormously in the air. For me, this has less to do with Asuka than with the increasingly shifting feud between Banks and Bayley. This was repeatedly hinted at and then not to begin. A feud with Sasha or Bayley as heel would be refreshing and hopefully you will see it at WrestleMania at the latest. Only Sasha Banks can win here, everything else would be a joke.

Schlauchy: Cedric’s image became more interesting after waiting forever and adapted to his in-ring qualities. Together with Rich he forms a team of the best 205s for me. Accordingly, I strongly assume that Cedric Alexander & Rich Swann will clinch this victory. Even though the match is not very important, you can see that Enzo, as he said, has put the focus on the cruiserweights much more on the game. But more on the subject in a moment. Is the match a clear match for you?

Kneisel: Not quite, I can imagine a victory for the Heels. The question is: What are you going to do with Kendrick & Gallagher after the gentleman’s strange but urgently needed turn? His clowning was getting boring very quickly and so I greeted the new, determined Gallagher. For the duo with TBK, however, there has been little countable so far, as Raw recently did. To legitimize the turn, a victory would be urgently needed and so I bet on Gentleman Jack Gallagher & The Brian Kendrick. For the two faces and especially for Cedric, who I think is as much like you, it would be a pity.

Kneisel: The last few weeks at the head of the Cruiserweight Division I found it incredibly entertaining. Enzo is not surprisingly a great heel and with his posse doing the dirty work for him, he collects a lot of extra heat. I was also incredibly pleased about Kalisto’s long overdue arrival at the division, because the former Samurai del Sol could do so much more than the WWE has shown so far. Now comes the Aber: Neville’s departure. If this one – which I assume was not a work – then it hurts not only the division, but also myself as a fan unbelievably, because the man not only wore the cruiserweights, but also reinvented himself as a great heel. A last glimmer of hope that the real King of the Cruiserweights will show up on Sunday night and Enzo will cost the match is still flickering in me. But realistically seen, the WWE has probably ruined one of its best performers in 2017 and Kalisto will lose the challenge cup dirty to Enzo Amore again.

Schlauchy: Grayed out? Oh, that guy was the division’s flagship. He can’t wait to be five years at a stretch of champ. There is no such thing as a scare. I don’t expect Neville to return. I’m sure he will miss it enormously, because he was an outstanding heel. However, it has to be said in the same breath that the whole story about Enzo makes the departure of the King bearable. Enzo is pure gold as a heel for the cruiserweights. The division is more interesting than it has been since its inception, and not even the famous Neville has managed that. That Kalisto, including Saiyajin outfit, is now allowed to participate in the 205s was the right step and will definitely do him good. Nevertheless, Enzo Amore should win back the title on Sunday. The guy is just hotter than ever (not even in daytime team times) and a regency would do the division’s attention a lot of good.

Schlauchy: Finally! Asuka is phenomenal and will prove this to the non-NXT-lookers soon. It doesn’t take long to get the hang of it. Of course Asuka wins. It is much more interesting to see how to boot them afterwards. Is it straight into the Title Picture, or can she take the division apart step by step? I would prefer the latter for the time being. A quick glance at her opponent: I’ve always been a supporter of the Australian, but her current gimmick is just annoying and won’t take her one step forward. She is at the bottom end of the division with Fox and will not be released in the foreseeable future. Don’t you see it differently?

Kneisel: I only see it differently, because you rightly ousted Dana Brooke and Summer Rae as sediment of the division. For Emma, a job in a PPV match has become the best case. Since we’re not at SmackDown, I have no doubt about Asuka’s victory any more than you do, and I’m just asking myself: ten-second squash, or can the Japanese break up her opponent for a few minutes? The question of how things will proceed with Asuka is much more interesting. She’ll destroy Alicia in the weekly shows, but what then? The push towards the title would also be too early for my taste. They should be allowed to expand their winning streak and Sasha Banks and Bayley should be set up as opponents at the next PPVs.

Page 1: Sasha Banks vs. Alicia Fox and Kalisto vs. amroe

Page 2: Alexa Bliss vs. Mickie James, The Demo vs. Sister Abigail and the forecast