Post by Dominator / Mortimer on May 9, 2018 5:20:58 GMT -5
Since I've just picked out my predicted entrants for this year's Money In The Bank matches, I figured I'd create a thread to dedicate towards fantasy booking for all!
I'm going to fantasy book Seth Rollins' Intercontinental Open Challenge up to and beyond Money in the Bank 2018.
Seth needs to continue this open challenge week in, week out. Having walked away with Match of the Night contenders for Wrestlemania, Greatest Royal Rumble (behind the titular match itself) and the best match on Backlash, he even managed to make Mojo Rawley look good! I'm not discrediting Mojo, because he does have potential (even though IMO he's a bit of a poor man's Ultimate Warrior), but you can't deny that Seth has that magical ability to strike gold with whoever he works with.
As of this moment in writing, there are 5 episodes of RAW still to come before Money in the Bank. I'm going to break down potential opponents and storyline builds week by week.
Monday 14th May: Zack Ryder - After taking out Mojo, who better to continue the trend than his former Tag Partner, Zack Ryder himself. Zack deserves at least a shot at the gold he once held so proudly for a day and it would be a fresh matchup that fans can enjoy as a one-off showcase. There needn't be any more story build in the IC picture at this point, as the main storyline focus will be on the remaining Money In The Bank ladder match slots being taken up.
Monday 21st May: Bobby Roode - This week will serve as a step up from previous weeks, with Roode not advancing to Money in the Bank after losing out to either Elias or Baron Corbin the week prior. I think Rollins and Roode could produce gold! Elsewhere on the card, Sami Zayn would go one-on-one with Chad Gable, with Gable winning after a surprise rollup after Zayn starts arguing with Owens. Rollins and Zayn beat on Gable after the match.
Monday 28th May: Sami Zayn - Now things are getting interesting! I can't remember the last time Zayn and Rollins faced one another in a Singles format. Owens will, of course, accompany Zayn down to the ring. Owens will try to interfere on Zayn's behalf, only for Chad Gable to come out to even the odds. You might already see where this is going. Rollins gets the win, of course, but the heels attack the faces after the bell and leave them laying in the ring.
Monday 4th June: Chad Gable - This makes the most logical sense. Seth and Gable can put on a great match together and will be a real opportunity for Chad Gable to let his abilities shine. Just before the match hits top gear, Owens and Zayn interfere to cause a DQ, but this time the faces get the better of the heels and stand tall. Owens and Zayn get on the mic to challenge Rollins to a Triple Threat next week, which Rollins accepts.
Monday 11th June: Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn - Gable will not be at ringside for the start of this bout. Instead, Zayn and Owens work over Rollins, with the Champ getting in good offense. As to be expected, things start to break down between Owens and Zayn (a GREAT spot would be for Zayn and Owens to try and get the other to lay down for the other) and, of course, Rollins gets the upper hand. Maybe Owens or Zayn could unintentionally get themselves disqualified as a means to end the match to cause further dissension amongst the team, yet the two take out their frustrations on Rollins and Gable once more...
And here's the moment you've all been waiting for... the return of Jason Jordan!
Jordan cleans house, getting rid of the heels and reuniting with both Seth Rollins and Chad Gable. Later in the show, a backstage segment with the three faces and Kurt Angle reveals the championship match at Money In The Bank...
Now there are two scenarios that could happen here. One would be a Singles match between Rollins and Jordan. The other would be a some sort of Five Way involving Rollins, Jordan, Gable, Owens and Zayn. At this point I'd like to see the 5-Way, although that does run the risk of being yet another multi-man match where a lot of multi-person matches are already going to be taking place! That being said, rather than do the Fatal-Five Way that has been done to death recently... WWE should replicate one match that took the WWE by STORM recently... a Gauntlet Match.
And we're going to save Rollins vs. Jordan for another day.
Sunday 17th June (Money in the Bank)
The bout starts with Gable vs. Zayn. Zayn will remove Gable from the contest and then be forced to face Owens who comes out next! Owens will eliminate Zayn. Next comes Seth Rollins. Yes, I know it's a downside that the Champion is entering second last in the match, but rather than start right off the bat with Owens v. Zayn, which would be great to see to further their ongoing story, it serves better to have Rollins come out and have a good contest with Owens and the final entrant; Jason Jordan. As Jordan makes his entrance, he's taken out by Sami Zayn. Zayn and Owens take out Rollins and Jordan, but Gable comes back out to even the score. As the action breaks down, Zayn and Owens take out Rollins before Gable and Jordan go back to their American Alpha roots and hit Grand Amplitude on Owens and Zayn. Finally, Jordan and Rollins get their chance to fight.
The fans might be expecting Jordan to win the match (with the repetition of the eliminations) but Rollins will continue to push through and, finally, pick up the win. Yet again, Owens and Zayn try to ruin the Champion's good time, but Jordan fends them off with a steel chair, before INADVERTANTLY striking Rollins with the chair to end things off. Jordan is apologetic, but Rollins shrugs him off.
From there, we've got just 4 Raws before Extreme Rules. Seth Rollins' Open Challenge will continue, with Chad Gable and Jason Jordan being 'affiliated' with him to some extent;
Monday 18th June
Monday 15th June
Monday 2nd July
Monday 9th July
Sunday 15th July - Extreme Rules
...and I'm going to leave it there for now. I'm going to update this over the next couple of days, but for now, I'll leave you to ponder what happens next, or what might happen beyond Extreme Rules leading to Summerslam.
I'm going to fantasy book Seth Rollins' Intercontinental Open Challenge up to and beyond Money in the Bank 2018.
Seth needs to continue this open challenge week in, week out. Having walked away with Match of the Night contenders for Wrestlemania, Greatest Royal Rumble (behind the titular match itself) and the best match on Backlash, he even managed to make Mojo Rawley look good! I'm not discrediting Mojo, because he does have potential (even though IMO he's a bit of a poor man's Ultimate Warrior), but you can't deny that Seth has that magical ability to strike gold with whoever he works with.
As of this moment in writing, there are 5 episodes of RAW still to come before Money in the Bank. I'm going to break down potential opponents and storyline builds week by week.
Monday 14th May: Zack Ryder - After taking out Mojo, who better to continue the trend than his former Tag Partner, Zack Ryder himself. Zack deserves at least a shot at the gold he once held so proudly for a day and it would be a fresh matchup that fans can enjoy as a one-off showcase. There needn't be any more story build in the IC picture at this point, as the main storyline focus will be on the remaining Money In The Bank ladder match slots being taken up.
Monday 21st May: Bobby Roode - This week will serve as a step up from previous weeks, with Roode not advancing to Money in the Bank after losing out to either Elias or Baron Corbin the week prior. I think Rollins and Roode could produce gold! Elsewhere on the card, Sami Zayn would go one-on-one with Chad Gable, with Gable winning after a surprise rollup after Zayn starts arguing with Owens. Rollins and Zayn beat on Gable after the match.
Monday 28th May: Sami Zayn - Now things are getting interesting! I can't remember the last time Zayn and Rollins faced one another in a Singles format. Owens will, of course, accompany Zayn down to the ring. Owens will try to interfere on Zayn's behalf, only for Chad Gable to come out to even the odds. You might already see where this is going. Rollins gets the win, of course, but the heels attack the faces after the bell and leave them laying in the ring.
Monday 4th June: Chad Gable - This makes the most logical sense. Seth and Gable can put on a great match together and will be a real opportunity for Chad Gable to let his abilities shine. Just before the match hits top gear, Owens and Zayn interfere to cause a DQ, but this time the faces get the better of the heels and stand tall. Owens and Zayn get on the mic to challenge Rollins to a Triple Threat next week, which Rollins accepts.
Monday 11th June: Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn - Gable will not be at ringside for the start of this bout. Instead, Zayn and Owens work over Rollins, with the Champ getting in good offense. As to be expected, things start to break down between Owens and Zayn (a GREAT spot would be for Zayn and Owens to try and get the other to lay down for the other) and, of course, Rollins gets the upper hand. Maybe Owens or Zayn could unintentionally get themselves disqualified as a means to end the match to cause further dissension amongst the team, yet the two take out their frustrations on Rollins and Gable once more...
And here's the moment you've all been waiting for... the return of Jason Jordan!
Jordan cleans house, getting rid of the heels and reuniting with both Seth Rollins and Chad Gable. Later in the show, a backstage segment with the three faces and Kurt Angle reveals the championship match at Money In The Bank...
Now there are two scenarios that could happen here. One would be a Singles match between Rollins and Jordan. The other would be a some sort of Five Way involving Rollins, Jordan, Gable, Owens and Zayn. At this point I'd like to see the 5-Way, although that does run the risk of being yet another multi-man match where a lot of multi-person matches are already going to be taking place! That being said, rather than do the Fatal-Five Way that has been done to death recently... WWE should replicate one match that took the WWE by STORM recently... a Gauntlet Match.
And we're going to save Rollins vs. Jordan for another day.
Sunday 17th June (Money in the Bank)
The bout starts with Gable vs. Zayn. Zayn will remove Gable from the contest and then be forced to face Owens who comes out next! Owens will eliminate Zayn. Next comes Seth Rollins. Yes, I know it's a downside that the Champion is entering second last in the match, but rather than start right off the bat with Owens v. Zayn, which would be great to see to further their ongoing story, it serves better to have Rollins come out and have a good contest with Owens and the final entrant; Jason Jordan. As Jordan makes his entrance, he's taken out by Sami Zayn. Zayn and Owens take out Rollins and Jordan, but Gable comes back out to even the score. As the action breaks down, Zayn and Owens take out Rollins before Gable and Jordan go back to their American Alpha roots and hit Grand Amplitude on Owens and Zayn. Finally, Jordan and Rollins get their chance to fight.
The fans might be expecting Jordan to win the match (with the repetition of the eliminations) but Rollins will continue to push through and, finally, pick up the win. Yet again, Owens and Zayn try to ruin the Champion's good time, but Jordan fends them off with a steel chair, before INADVERTANTLY striking Rollins with the chair to end things off. Jordan is apologetic, but Rollins shrugs him off.
From there, we've got just 4 Raws before Extreme Rules. Seth Rollins' Open Challenge will continue, with Chad Gable and Jason Jordan being 'affiliated' with him to some extent;
Monday 18th June
Monday 15th June
Monday 2nd July
Monday 9th July
Sunday 15th July - Extreme Rules
...and I'm going to leave it there for now. I'm going to update this over the next couple of days, but for now, I'll leave you to ponder what happens next, or what might happen beyond Extreme Rules leading to Summerslam.
