We’ve already taken care of the superstars missing from Roadblock: End of the Line, but who are the lucky few who will not only perform, but likely steal the show in some capacity?
Whether it’s in a scripted or a non-kayfabe sense by factoring in everything from wins/losses, how much of an emphasis WWE puts on that superstar, their momentum heading into the next television episode, match performance and everything between, here’s the shortlist for who I think will be stealing the most spotlight:
Kevin Owens
Bottom line, there’s no way Roman Reigns is winning the Universal Championship, so Kevin Owens will leave with the title in-hand when all things are said and done.
First off, Reigns is already the United States champion and WWE rarely has dual champions. Sure, it’s happened before, but mostly out of necessity and that’s not the scenario we’re in for this match. Second, despite the persistence to push Reigns, they’re not stupid and they know nobody would stand for him being the main event of WrestleMania yet again this year.
Reigns will have a good showing, but ultimately by hook or by crook, Owens will retain the championship and gloat the following night on Raw.
Seth Rollins
I’m convinced Chris Jericho will face off against Kevin Owens at the Royal Rumble, so a win over Seth Rollins at Roadblock is not out of the realm of possibility for Y2J, but even if that’s the case, it isn’t a necessity. Plenty of times in the past, someone’s worked themselves into a title shot without being on the winning side of momentum. Jericho can lose this match and have another argument with Owens, leading to a match being declared while Rollins sets his eyes on winning the Royal Rumble.
The fact that Rollins mentioned wanting a match against Triple H means WWE wants the audience to not forget about it, as it’s clearly in the cards for WrestleMania. Therefore, Rollins getting a win over Jericho here makes him look strong heading into the Royal Rumble loss, as he won’t win it to challenge for the championship since he’ll be tied up with The Game. Jericho will likely be leaving WWE after WrestleMania, but in the meantime, while he’ll be a big player on Raw, he won’t be the biggest priority of the bunch. This match is one for Rollins to be victorious in, despite how Jericho may somehow get a title shot out of the loss.
Sasha Banks
I refuse to believe WWE would have Sasha Banks defeat Charlotte on Raw and then drop the Women’s Championship back to her the following pay-per-view three times in a row. I don’t care if Charlotte has a pay-per-view streak to keep intact, I don’t care if they ultimately like her better, and I don’t care if any shenanigans would be the result of the title change—in any situation that results in Charlotte winning the championship back, I’ll be calling it quits on caring about Raw’s women’s division.
Flair and Banks have feuded for so long that I’ve grown tired of it a long while ago and this 30-minute Iron Man match needs to be the finale for at least some time, rather than just another chapter in the ongoing hot potato game. Sasha doesn’t need to be dominant, but she needs to retain, and I think she will. At the very least, I hope that’s the case.
Braun Strowman and Sami Zayn
This is almost a 50/50 situation where I think both Strowman and Zayn will walk out looking like a star, despite how I don’t expect either of them to officially win their match. The 10-minute time limit that seems to be lingering around this match should be the factor that cuts this off before Strowman is able to pin Zayn, which will in turn make Zayn look tougher than expected for having put up with all the punishment, although at the same time, Strowman will not have to lose in order for that to happen.
If I had to pick one or the other, I’d lean towards Strowman still being the one who walks out with his arms held high, whether it be after the match where he beats Zayn within an inch of his life out of frustration for it being a draw, or he simply beats him a little before that 10-minute mark.
In either scenario, Zayn isn’t going to job out like a total loser. The story being told is one of him finding the passion and guts to withstand the beating from someone significantly bigger than him, so if he were to just get destroyed within the two minutes Strowman normally deals with, Zayn will have nowhere to go but SmackDown if Daniel Bryan’s still willing to do that trade for Eva Marie.
The trick is to make Zayn look tough without diminishing Strowman in any way, and I think with this stipulation of time, they’ll be able to pull it off.
Those are my picks, but who do you think will end up being the primary focal points? Drop your predictions in the comments below!
