KICKOFF MATCH: CEDRIC ALEXANDER & LINCE DORADO & SIN CARA VS. TONY NESE & DREW GULAK & ARIYA DAIVARI
As far as a match to excite the crowd, this is as good of a choice as any. The Cruiserweight Division is still very much a work in progress with guys thrown together in tag matches but here is a way to showcase a few guys. Of the six in this match, Alexander is the one with the most star potential and I believe he will get the win here in what should be a fun opening match. BAYLESS’ PICK: ALEXANDER & DORADO & CARA
BAYLEY vs. DANA BROOKE
This feud is struggling to get over. The crowd started a “boring” chant during an arm wrestling segment on RAW this past Monday. Then again, booking an arm wrestling segment like that in 2016 is a terrible idea to begin with. Bayley’s popularity is lessening on the main roster and while the company is reportedly high up on Dana, she has really struggled inside of the ring. I do think they will go back to the Dana/Charlotte relationship at some point and if that happens then I assume its going to be a face turn for Dana so she can afford to lose here. BAYLESS’ PICK: BAYLEY
ENZO AMORE & BIG CASS VS. LUKE GALLOWS & KARL ANDERSON
The premise for this feud is that Gallows & Anderson are now sick and tired of all the joking around in the Tag Team division and are now targeting Enzo & Cass. Anderson has been pinned twice the past two weeks in singles matches and that usually means in WWE booking world they would be getting the win here. However, any mystique Gallows & Anderson had is gone and the team is no longer portrayed as a threat and they are facing one of the most popular teams in the company. I think this match is tough to predict because Gallows & Anderson losing again would not shock me at all but since these teams seem to be married to each other for a little bit, Gallows & Anderson winning makes the most sense and I think they win by cheating. BAYLESS’ PICK: GALLOWS & ANDERSON
RAW TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH: SHEAMUS & CESARO VS. THE NEW DAY (C)
The stories heading into this match are the New Day’s long title reign and their opponents, who do not like each other. The Sheamus & Cesaro pairing has not been catching on and I think Cesaro ends up going over to Smackdown at some point soon as that has been teased for a while. I really do not see why the New Day should drop the belts here and I think they win due to miscommunication by Sheamus & Cesaro. BAYLESS’ PICK: NEW DAY
RAW CRUISERWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH: BRIAN KENDRICK VS. TJ PERKINS (C)
Heading into this match we have the Cruiserweight champion Perkins upset at the antics his former friend and mentor Kendrick has been displaying in recent weeks as Kendrick will apparently be unable to feed his family if he comes up short again in winning the Cruiserweight Championship. The storyline took an interesting turn this past Monday when Kendrick got pinned by Rich Swann then cried and begged for Perkins to lay down for him at the PPV. It seems like they are building to a Swann/Kendrick program after this and that could be for the title. They’ve built up Perkins more than anyone else in the Cruiserweight Division but after several weeks his character is not catching on like they would have so even though its only been a short while, I could see him dropping the title. I guess I’ll go with Kendrick here as he feuds with Swann and others in the Cruiserweight Division after cheating to win the title. BAYLESS’ PICK: BRIAN KENDRICK
UNITED STATES CHAMPIONSHIP HELL IN A CELL MATCH: RUSEV W/LANA VS. ROMAN REIGNS (C)
This feud is ready to end. It has been decent enough and Rusev really shined as the fans were actually starting to get behind Reigns, which is no easy feat. I suspect a good, long match taking place that will probably be the most “barbaric” of the HIAC matches. I do not see Reigns dropping the title so soon as he retains with both guys looking to move on to other feuds. BAYLESS’ PICK: ROMAN REIGNS
WWE UNIVERSAL CHAMPIONSHIP HELL IN A CELL MATCH: SETH ROLLINS VS. KEVIN OWENS (C)
I can see this going one of two ways: Jericho tries to help out and costs his best friend Kevin Owens the title or Triple H makes his return and ends up costing Rollins the match to start up a feud. The Owens title reign as not exactly set the world on fire but neither has Rollins in his new role. This feud is cold heading in but I think the belt is going to remain on Owens here and these two continue to feud heading into Survivor Series. BAYLESS’ PICK: KEVIN OWENS
RAW WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP HELL IN A CELL MATCH: CHARLOTTE VS. SASHA BANKS (C)
This is the most hyped match for the show. Maybe even too hyped up. Either way, I think these two are going to tear the house down. They’ll give it their all and probably try some crazy stunts but at the end, Sasha retaining the title is how I see this ending up. They might even revisit the Dana/Charlotte relationship here as Dana could cost her the match but Sasha losing the title again after all this would be a bad idea. And after that, Sasha will have to find someone else to feud with. Possibly even someone like Nia Jax. BAYLESS’ PICK: SASHA BANKS
