All photos curiosity of wwe.com
Friday, WWE returns to Jeddah at 2 p.m. Eastern time for their third WWE Network special in less than two years. While Super Showdown does not have as cool of a name as Greatest Royal Rumble or Crown Jewel or the controversy that surrounded the latter, it is stacking up to be a fun afternoon for fans of professional wrestling. While the card on paper does not feel equivalent to Wrestlemania like WWE has built it up to be, I’m expecting a solid PPV with good wrestling.
Undertaker vs Goldberg
For the first time ever, two icons of the wrestling industry will clash when Goldberg goes one-on-one with The Deadman himself. Goldberg has not wrestled since losing the Universal Championship to Brock Lesnar at Wrestlemania 33 in what was supposed to be his retirement match while Undertaker has not stepped inside the ropes since the last time WWE appeared in Jeddah, losing to D-Generation-X alongside his “brother” Kane. These two will never have another match I wouldn’t think, so the question is: who walks out the winner?
I think you could make an argument for both. To me, Goldberg should win. Realistically, if the Undertaker takes a Spear and a Jackhammer from Goldberg at his age, he may not get back up, but as we all know, this is WWE, so reality is out the window, which is why I will pick Goldberg to rest in peace after Taker hits him with two Tombstone Piledrivers to end the night.
Seth Rollins(C) vs Baron Corbin. Universal Championship.
After Brock Lesnar pleasantly shocked me and returned at Money In The Bank to retrieve the briefcase, he has targeted the Universal Champion and teasing a cash-in. Corbin earned this opportunity by winning a Fatal-4-Way match on RAW two weeks ago, but it seems to me Corbin here is just being used as a pawn. I might be the only member of the WWE Universe who actually likes the man who claims to be Jeddah’s favorite son, and I do think he has the potential to be a great Universal Champion by 2020, but Friday will not be his night.
This is the way I see this match going: Corbin will come out first. Mike Rome will introduce him, and Corbin will gloat that Rollins can not compete, and that the title should just be awarded to him. Rollins, who was taken to the hospital via an ambulance on RAW after Lesnar brutalized him, will show up gingerly limping to the ring.
The bell will ring, and Corbin will dominate most of the match until Rollins finds a way to hurt a Curbstomp out-of-nowhere for the victory. After the match, similar to how it happened on RAW, Corbin will attack Rollins, leave the ring and then The Beast’s music will hit, and Lesnar will again destroy Rollins and refuse to cash-in the contract as this bizarre, yet fun storyline continues into Stomping Grounds and ultimately, Summerslam.
Kofi Kingston(C. W/ Xavier Woods) vs Dolph Ziggler. WWE Championship.
IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN ME!
Those are the words of Ziggler two weeks ago on Smackdown Live after Ziggler destroyed Kingston. Ziggler claims it should have been him getting the Wrestlemania moment and not Kingston because he’s done a lot more in a lot less time. On Smackdown Live Tuesday, Kingston brought up that Ziggler beat him to win his first ever Intercontinental Championship, and his first ever United States Championship. Thanks Kingston because I forgot!
That’s an interesting piece of history. Will Ziggler beat him for his first ever WWE Championship? I doubt it, considering Ziggler is only in this match because Kevin Owens refused to go to Jeddah out of respect for Sami Zayn, but this should be one of the best matches on the card, and I am looking forward to a wrestling clinic between these two, who have told a great story on the microphone leading in to this match.
Triple H vs Randy Orton
16 years after Evolution formed, “The Game” and “The Viper” are still going at it. The video packages for this match have been edited to perfection, and I can not wait to see these two legends square off for the first time since 2009. Triple H has already put down one former Evolution mate this year in Batista, and I think he does the same thing to Orton.
Roman Reigns vs Shane McMahon(W/Drew McIntyre).
This feud all started on the Smackdown Live during the Superstar Shakeup when Reigns delivered a Superman Punch to the boss and McMahon’s father. McMahon tried to use Elias to stop Reigns, but that did not work at Money In The Bank as the Big Dog won a squash match against Elias after the latter attacked Reigns with a guitar before the match. Now, McMahon has enlisted the help of Drew McIntyre, the same person who Reigns defeated in his first one-on-one contest since overcoming leukemia at Wrestlemania.
Since Reigns vs McIntyre has already been announced for Stomping Grounds, I do not think we get a finish in this match. I see Reigns about to win before McIntyre interferes, causing McMahon to get disqualified. McIntyre and McMahon will end the segment on top after attacking Reigns, and Reigns will vow to get his revenge at Stomping Grounds on the following RAW or Smackdown Live.
Finn Balor(C) vs Andrade(W/ Zelina Vega). Intercontinental Championship.
Finn Balor’s alter ego “The Demon King” will make his first appearance in Jeddah for his first championship defense since winning the title from Bobby Lashley at Wrestlemania. This match has had little to no build. They had two matches prior to Money In The Bank, splitting the results, and now this is the tiebreaker.
Balor has barely been on TV since taking all those nasty bumps in the Money In The Bank ladder match, one of them was a Sunset Flip Power-bomb courtesy of Andrade. The only time Balor has been on TV in that time was this Tuesday on Smackdown Live when him and Andrade had a little scuffle that Andrade won.
“The Demon King” is supposed to make Balor virtually unbeatable, so I think Balor will retain the title, even though I would like to use a new champion here. Andrade is a great worker, and it is time he takes a title that has been forgotten about over the last six months back to prominence like the way Ziggler and Rollins did with their fantastic feud throughout 2018 because Balor certainly has not been a great champion in my opinion. Balor’s a great wrestler himself, but I think it’s time for him to move on to a feud with a guy like Orton, and that feud certainly does not need the title.
Braun Strowman vs Bobby Lashley
It’s amazing to me what has happened to Braun Strowman. At this time a year ago, Strowman won the largest Royal Rumble in history, he threw Kevin Owens off a Steel Cage, and he was about to win the Money In The Bank briefcase. Now, he’s turned into just a dumb, gentle giant. Strowman has Universal Champion written all over him, and for a while it looked like he was going to win the strap.
Maybe it’s because he forgot some of his spots in the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal at Wrestlemania, but Strowman has not felt relevant now for months. Since Strowman lost to Lesnar for the Universal Championship the last time WWE appeared in Jeddah, it feels like Strowman and Lashley have been going at each other for no reason at all. I’m picking Strowman to dominate Lashley, and here’s to hoping Strowman moves on to bigger things. I’m thinking he could challenge Samoa Joe for the United States Title, considering they started teasing a feud between the two before the Superstar Shakeup.
Lars Sullivan vs Lucha House Party. Three On One Handicapped Match.
“The Freak” Lars Sullivan will compete for the first time on the main roster Friday when he takes on Kalisto, Lince Dorado and Gran Metalik in a handicapped match. This match came about when Sullivan destroyed the Lucha House Party in a squash segment at Money In The Bank. Over the last couple of weeks, the three luchadores have been successful at drop-kicking “The Freak”, but they will fail Friday at taking down the monster. I will be surprised if this match lasts more than five minutes.
50 Man Over The Top Rope Battle Royal
The first time WWE stepped foot in Jeddah, Strowman won the largest Royal Rumble in history as mentioned above. Now, WWE is doing the largest Battle Royal in history. Here’s to hoping R-Truth wins it, and they do an angle with the 24/7 Championship, which is arguably the most interesting championship in WWE right now.
The Usos vs The Revival(Kickoff).
This match is pretty much meaningless and is just a way for the fans to enjoy some action before the actual show starts. The Revival attacked The Usos after the six-man-tag on RAW involving them, Roman Reigns and Shane McMahon, so I will pick the Usos to get revenge in a fast-paced, fun matchup.
Brandon Lewis is the Web Director for blacksquirrelradio.com. Follow him on Twitter @brandonlewis_7