Coast 2 Coast: KOmania is Here

Corey: What just happened is WWE seems to have gotten a huge rush of creative adrenaline and did what NO ONE saw coming and I love it! I can literally bet my next paycheck that everyone watching the last 10mins of RAW had no idea it would end like that. Long term plans could eventually lead to an Owens/Jericho feud which, by the way, I cannot WAIT for the promos that will come from this. As for the his first opponent, going back to my last point I feel like Jericho is going to be his first opponent. It would only make sense.

Josh: WWE pulled the trigger on changing everyone’s expectations. I believe most of us probably assumed Seth Rollins would win the title and we’d be satisfied, but perhaps a little wanting. Instead we got a whirlwind of emotions and tons of questions because we have no idea who stands where anymore. I have to imagine this means that Rollins will turn face and maybe face Triple H sometime in the future, but who knows. WWE has a lot of options going forward one of which is to make the first challenger for Owens’ Universal title Sami Zayn. Here me out: Zayn beat Owens two months ago so Zayn has a claim to challenging for the title. Owens needs a challenger that cements him as a heel and there aren’t many people the fans love more than Owens — Zayn is one of them, and it’s an easy program to write and book while they take their time building the other portions of the storyline so there’s a big blowoff several months from now. The slow burn is the best burn.

2) There was a lot that happened in the Raw main event, what surprised/impressed you the most?

Corey: What surprised me the most is that not only Kevin Owens won the Universal title but also the double turn by Triple H. Him giving the Pedigree to Roman Reigns wasn’t surprising since they have feuded before, but him also turning on Rollins was where I stood up off my couch! I would’ve bet money Rollins was going to be the next champ but I admit I was pleasantly surprised.

Josh: That the entire show flowed really well. There were definitely some down period, but it seems they might have figured out this three-hour format. For the first time in a while I actually wanted more at the conclusion of Raw. And that’s a good feeling to have.

3) Will there be and what should be the payoff for the meta-feud between Daniel Bryan and Miz?

Corey: The pay off is going to be one of two things: 1. This whole feud is meant to elevate Miz back to being a main event heel again or 2. This is just wishful thinking, but they could drag out this storyline until the concussion lawsuit is over then bring Daniel Bryan back out of retirement. Now if you would have asked me a month ago I would have thought this scenario was impossible but after the last two weeks I can’t rule anything out.

Josh: My biggest concern is that there won’t be a payoff to how hot this angle is. I think the best possible scenario is taking Miz to the main event status and eventually have him hold the WWE World Championship. He then plays a major figure as almost an inverse of the Stone Cold/McMahon feud, heel champion bucking the face authority. Crazy? Absolutely! But it’s also something we’ve never seen before.

4) Which brand is delivering a better show right now?

Corey: Right now I feel like Raw has the edge, but that could be because they have more stars due to the longer time slot. The main event scene of Raw just took a big lead ahead of Smackdown this past Monday but I’m going to give it another month before I can fully say which brand is better.

Josh: Raw is starting to pull ahead in this brand vs brand race. Smackdown is still in this feeling-out period trying to decide exactly what they are. They have the star power, though a lot less of it since Alberto Del Rio is gone and John Cena is probably moving to a more part-time schedule, it’s just a matter of capitalizing on what they do have and creating a brand that feels unique.

5) Our first two competitors of the CWC have punched their ticket to the semi-finals, who was the bigger standout?

Corey: Kota Ibushi without a doubt! That Neckbreaker on the turnbuckle he took from Brian Kendrick as well as the German Suplex while standing on the second rope that he gave to Kendrick was amazing! Kota was one of Josh’s early picks and from the way it looks he’s a shoe-in for the championship match. Hopefully my pick Zack Sabre Jr makes it to the finals as well so one of us can have bragging rights!

Josh: My man Kota Ibushi, my pick to win the tournament, my next big star for the WWE! Ibushi is amazing, and every match he’s had in the CWC was unique and quality. Ibushi has a real chance to make an immediate impact when he’s eventually moved to Raw. Gran Metalik has also really impressed me especially since I’m less familiar with his work, but that guy can go. This whole division is going to impress a lot of people.

Additional thoughts:

– Honorable mention should go to Brian Kendrick! I was always a fan of his when he was on Smackdown back in ’08 and he’s only gotten better since leaving WWE.

– They really need to help guide Apollo Crews to an actual gimmick and a little bit of personality as well.

– Big Cass being included into the fatal 4 way on Raw was a good touch. He looked like he belonged there.

– I also think it’s so weird that after all of that build up between Ambrose and Ziggler that after he lost at SummerSlam that now he’s instantly back to the mid-card as if nothing happened.

– I hope Brian Kendrick gets one final run on the main roster. His cheating heel character was the most fully-fleshed out character in the CWC tournament.

– This is two weeks in a row where NXT hasn’t really done much of anything. There’s a lot of retooling that has to happen down there since so many talents got called up, but the show is definitely suffering.

– AJ Styles looks like he’s having a blast on Smackdown.

– Somehow Dana Brooke appearing next to The Club made her look way more legitimate. I’m not saying she should be a permanent fixture, but there might be a future for her as a tag team manager.

– Good to see the Headbangers back in the WWE, those dudes look great.