Batson's Blog

I have a bit of an unusual way to end WWE's Evolution event. I'm still not happy about the Ronda Rousey vs. Nikki Bella match, but it's obviously happening, so may as well make the most of it right? I also mentioned the fact that Charlotte vs. Becky Lynch may not have been the best route to go, simply because they've faced each other so many times in the past couple of months. But that match is also happening. Again, I may as well accept it. The question becomes: how do you end Evolution? Many people suggest that Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair is the way to go. Others point to Ronda Rousey vs. Nikki Bella being the most logical choice to close the show due to their name value. I agree on both points. Becky and Charlotte deserve to close the show more so than Rousey and Bella, but they don't have the name value to the casual fans. I think there's a way to have the best of both worlds, though. Becky and Charlotte will compete in the first (ac...

WWE's Evolution pay-per-view / WWE Network live event is this Sunday. It's the first ever all-women WWE event, so it's been hyped up for several weeks. Considering the hype, you'd think that WWE would've done a better job shaping the card. Take a look at what it is right now:  -    Last Woman Standing match for the SmackDown women's championship: Becky Lynch (c) vs.        Charlotte Flair  -    Raw women's championship match: Ronda Rousey (c) vs. Nikki Bella  -    NXT women's championship match: Kairi Sane (c) vs. Shayna Baszler  -    2018 Mae Young Classic finals: Toni Storm vs. Io Shiari  -    NXT U.K. women's championship match: Rhea Ripley (c) vs. Isla Dawn  -    Trish Stratus and Lita vs. Mickie James and Alexa Bliss  -    Sasha Banks, Bayley and Natalya vs. The Riott Squad  -    Women's battle royal fea...

So, what did everyone think of this year's Rumble? I was curious to see a few things: how the pay-per-view would feel with two Royal Rumble matches on the same night, if Ronda Rousey would show up, who the women's Rumble surprise entrants would be, if they would put the Universal Title on Strowman and if they'd give Roman Reigns another Royal Rumble victory. Pre-show match: Bobby Roode vs. Mojo Rawley I came in halfway on this match, so I didn't see much of it.  Seemed like a throw away match to get Roode on the card (surprised he wasn't in the Rumble, itself).  Mojo is as good an initial opponent as any I guess. Handicap match for the WWE Heavyweight Title: A.J. Styles (champion) vs. Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens What can you say?  It was a good match.  Styles always delivers.  Sami and Kevin are both good workers themselves.  Great match.  Great athletic showing -- if not a bit of a spot fest.  Good match though. 2 out of 3 falls match...

There are always some surprise entrants in the Royal Rumble, but there are sure to be surprise entrants in the first ever women's Royal Rumble. If you look at the rosters, you've got 21 women on the roster. Raw: Alexa Bliss (champion), Alicia Fox, Asuka, Bayley, Dana Brooke, Mandy, Mickie James, Nia Jax, Paige, Sasha Banks, and Sonya DeVille Smackdown: Charlotte Flair (champion), Becky Lynch, Carmella, Lana, Liv Morgan, Naomi, Natalya, Ruby Riot, Sarah Logan, and Tamina Inactive (pregnant): Maria, Maryse Take away 2 of those women (the champions) and you've got 19 women on the active roster. That leaves 11 open spots to fill in the first ever 30 woman Royal Rumble. So who does WWE use? Outside names not signed to the company? Former wrestlers? NXT standouts? Yes, yes and yes. Here are some of the women I'd like to see show up, some of the women who are likely to be in the match and some of the women who WWE should not utilize in this match. Li...

It was a huge Wrestlemania weekend just over a month ago. Between dozens of wrestling events in Orlando, the WWE Hall of Fame, NXT TakeOver, Wrestlemania 33 (the retirement of The Undertaker!) and, of course, the Raw after 'Mania. One of the bits of news that came out over the weekend was the announcement of a 32 woman WWE tournament.  Details aren't completely clear yet on this tournament.  Will it involve women from the independents?  Will it strictly be women from the independents? Will it be women who are currently in WWE?  Nobody is really sure at this point because WWE didn't release all of those details. I've got to think that it will be similar to the Cruiserweight tournament and the UK tournament.  In both of those situations, almost all of the participants were from the independents and not signed to contracts.  Sure, you had Tajiri (a familiar face from his previous WWE run), but most of the guys were indy darlings -- not having worked in...