WELCOME TO THE THUNDERDOME ERA...TOP WRESTLERS DURING THE PANDEMIC AND MASKED PREDICTIONS

Last night the WWE started a new chapter in the COVID era with the introduction of the ThunderDome. Back in an arena (Amway Center), lights and pyro, virtual fans and piped in sound, it was a solid attempt at bringing back the pre-pandemic feel of televised wrestling. At least for one week the fans approved as ratings and total viewership for SMACKDOWN noticeably improved.

 

I haven’t done a wrestling post for a while as I have been down on the WWE product and even NXT ain’t what it used to be as it has been sacrificed for Vince’s obsession with AEW. I actually cancelled my subscription to the Network for a few month as sort of a personal protest but I’m back and will be watching the shows this weekend.

 

Before I give my TAKEOVER and SUMMERSLAM predictions I thought I would share with you my rankings of the performers who benefitted the most during life in the Performance Center. I feel that several WWE Superstars stepped up and prospered from the fan-free culture while others (Seth, Corbin, Viking Raiders I could go on) have not. There were opportunities for some to shine as several top performers have been sitting out the pandemic. I have no criticism of them and a special shout out to Kevin Owens for insisting on the masks.

 

In compiling the list, I noticed how many women took the lead during these months. Fans can be especially harsh to the women Superstars so, without that bullshit they were able to shine and really carried the promotion since March.

 

Don’t get me wrong, there’s still a lot of crapola going on in WWE but these performers deserve some kudos for keeping me interested enough to get through these crazy times. So, here’s my ranking of the top WWE COVID wrestlers:

 

10. BIANCA BELAIR

 

I have no doubt that she will be champ one day. She’s got the look, the mike skills and the wrestling ability and I’m also certain the she and her husband (see below) will be front and center of storylines moving forward. Bianca felt like a utility player over the past few months, stepping in whenever she was needed. I’m a huge fan.

 

9. NIKKI CROSS

 

She stepped out of the shadow of her bestie and her energy never subsided. She’s solid on the mike and she can wrestle. Still remember her NXT match with Asuka where they dismantled each other. Don’t know if she will eventually go back to being Alexa’s sidekick but Nikki took full advantage of her opportunity over the past few months.

 

8. DREW McINTYRE

 

You gotta feel for a dude who works his whole like to headline WrestleMania and defeat Lesnar clean for the title and has yet to perform as champ in front of the fans who I think would have embraced him. To his credit he has never appeared to have let it affect him and he has a very natural, confident and laid back approach to his reign. Love that he comes out in street clothes like a regular guy and hope they let him hold on to the title this weekend. He deserves a longer run.

 

7. SONYA DEVILLE

 

Where the fuck did she come from. She has taken full advantage of the moment and her storyline is very believable given what appears to be her shoot friendship with Mandy Rose (who was given a terrible story over these months). She keeps kicking out great promos and I feel this is the start of a great run for her as a top wrestler in the woman’s division.

 

6. CHARLOTTE FLAIR

 

She carried three brands during the early days of this pandemic. Props for that and hopefully she returns at some point. The best wrestler period and she needed this time.

 

5. ZELINA VEGA/ANDRADE CIEN ALMAS/ANGEL GARZA

 

Big fan of Zelina and she has the wrestling skill which she shows off on occasion. Love this faction and the occasional tension among them. Angel Garza feels like a star of the future and Andrade Cien Almas will always be underused but what can you do. Also enjoyed the matches where Zelina was on the opposite side of her husband.

 

4. MONTEZ FORD

 

Yeah, I know he’s part of the Tag Team champs and no disrespect to his partner but this dude is a star in waiting and has thrived over these fan free months. There’s gonna be more gold around that waist and, like his wife, he’s got the total package going. If he could carry off that Viking Raider nonsense imagine giving him a real story.

 

3. ASUKA

 

She has gone from face to heel and back to face growing at every turn, keeping the best of each change and becoming both a fun personality and probably the top wrestler in the WWE right now. Whatever happens this weekend she is at the top of her game and there’s so much more to come. Her reaction to winning MITB and being told by Becky that she was the champ would have been  enough to earn her a spot but she has done so much more.

 

2. ORTON/EDGE

 

They are here because it has been promo heaven for these two pros and Randy has been outstanding over the past few weeks. Hopefully we get the final chapter at one of the big PPV’s down the road but respect to them both for showing everyone else how it’s done.                      

1. THE GOLDEN ROLE MODELS

 

I have always loved Bayley’s work but for whatever reason she has rarely ignited the fans since coming up to the main roster. Of all the talent during this COVID era she has stepped up and become one of the best talkers and the way she inserts herself into the announce table is a blast. She’s also (like KO) a great talker in the ring during the matches. The sum is definitely more that its part when you add Sasha into the mix and these two parading around with all the women’s gold is my favorite storyline. It may all come to an end this weekend…maybe not but then we have Asuka hopefully with both belts and we all know what’s coming down the road for these the GRM’s who kept me entertained during these stressful times.

 

Now for quick Masked Prediction for the two PPV’s

 

NXT TAKEOVER

 

LEGADO del FANTASMA

 

ADAM COLE (what a waste)

 

IO

 

BRONSON REED

 

KEITH LEE (I hope)

 

SUMMERSLAM

 

RIDDLE

 

SONYA (then some shit with Otis and Mandy goes down)

 

APOLLO (boring shit going on with this belt)

 

ANDRADE and ANGEL take the belts

 

SETH or some DQ bullshit with Rey, or Dominik turns…they gotta do something or why

 

ASUKA takes both belts and the Bayley/Sasha feud begins which will be epic although I prefer they hold on to the belts. Either way the best of what’s going on right now in WWE

 

FIEND (I know I’m in the minority but I hate this character, I’m also sort of who cares about Braun) Hoping that Finn (Demon) returns and we get the chaos

 

DREW I know all the reasons it won’t be but Orton doesn’t need a belt to be great and he and Edge don’t need a title to fight for.

 

I’m rusty so probably bet against these picks. On to the ThunderDome we go.