Wandavision Recap 3+4

Wandavision Recap 3+4

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by | Feb 9, 2021 | Featured

Some may call the homages to classic television in the first episodes of Wandavision a “slow start” but the same cannot be said of episodes 3 and 4. The show truly begins to unfold into an unsettling mystery and meta sitcom all in one go. We go from the 1970s to the current day and really get into what is going on in the sleepy town of Westview. Spoiler ahead for the series.

Episode 3: “Now In Color”

Wanda and Vision’s journey into the colorized world kicks off with a Brady Bunch theme song homage and a visit from Dr. Nielson, portrayed by Randy Oglesby. The doctor confirms Wanda’s sudden pregnancy and reveals her to be around 4 months along much to Vision’s chagrin. Vision pleads with Nielson to keep this a secret who agrees due to his impending vacation to Bermuda, of all places. From the jump, you can tell that Wandavision is actively choosing to make the show more unsettling earlier in each episode. Following his discussion with Dr. Nielsen, Vision finds his neighbor Herb, who has a penchant for trimming his hedges, mindlessly cutting into the stone partition separating their yards.

 Vision returns inside to find Wanda even more pregnant and reveals an as-of-yet unseen ability–superspeed much like Wanda’s brother, Pietro. As they prepare the room for their child, Wanda puts up a butterfly mobile above the crib that turns into real butterflies revealing that Wanda is subconsciously using her abilities. The baby kicks and thanks to Vision’s thorough research on childbirth, he divulges that Wanda has quickly progressed to being six months along. 

Vision suggests naming their child Billy after William Shakespeare and going on to quote the famous “all the world’s a stage, the people merely players” adage subtly hinting that things are not what they seem in idyllic Westview. Wanda’s powers seem to be getting more unstable by the moment as contractions from the baby cause Wanda’s powers to go on the fritz. The false contraction causes the entire block to lose power and Wanda and Vision to question what is truly going on in the world. However, when Vision begins to openly question their existence the world is rewound and edited once more just like in their encounter with the beekeeper from the previous episode. Wanda’s subconscious once again comes to the forefront, after her rewritten conversation with her husband the sprinklers come on, symbolically representing her water breaking. 

Another “commercial break” takes place, this time for Hydra Soak. The commercial parodies the Calgon commercials of yesteryear and the couple from the previous commercials once again reprise their roles. The commercial ends on the tagline “when you wanna get away, but you don’t want to go anywhere,” which could be a nod to the prevalent theories about the show. Each commercial ties in heavily to Wanda’s past, with this one referencing the experiments conducted on Wanda and her brother by Hydra following the death of their parents. 

Vision takes off with his newfound superspeed to retrieve Dr. Nielsen and while Wanda attempts to mitigate the pain of her contractions while attempting to keep her power in check. Soon after Vision’s departure, Geraldine shows up asking to borrow supplies to clean her home as not only has Wanda and Vision’s home flooded but Geraldine’s as well, revealing more of the scope of Wanda’s abilities. When Wanda begins giving birth her powers go fully haywire causing chandeliers to drop from the ceiling, pictures to spin, and flames to explode from the fireplace. Luckily, Geraldine refuses to question the strange goings on and offers her assistance in birthing the couple’s baby boy, Tommy.  

Vision returns soon after with Dr. Nielsen and surprise, a second child is born, Billy. Vision and Dr. Nielsen’s discussion after he checks up on the twins is an excellent example of how Wandavision uses the lens of television to be creepy, the two discuss Dr. Nielsen’s vacation to Bermuda to which the doctor declares that the trip is off due to it being “hard” to leave a small town like Westview. Vision overhears his neighbors Agnes and Herb having a discussion about Geraldine’s presence in town and the dangers she may bring. When Vision tries to discuss this further, Herb ominously says “she’s here because, we–” but before he could reveal the show’s big secret Agnes’ kooky demeanor dissipates and she chastises Herb into keeping his mouth shut.

Inside, Wanda and Geraldine marvel over the children causing Wanda to finally have a recollection of her life outside of Westview. Wanda tells Geraldine of her twin brother and their Sokovian heritage seemingly sparking Geraldine’s own memory of the events of Age of Ultron. Geraldine inquires about the death of her brother at the hands of Ultron to which Wanda responds aggressively urging Geraldine to leave. Vision, still reeling from the encounter with his neighbors, comes in to find Geraldine missing. As the credits roll on Wanda and Vision, the screen begins to widen to the modern 16:9 aspect revealing a militarized base located right outside of Westview. 

Episode 4: We Interrupt This Program

The fourth episode of Wandavision is a drastic departure from the ones preceding it. It begins with Geraldine aka Monica Rambeau recorpealizing from the results of Thano’s snap, finally giving us a timeline of the show’s events. Viewers have seen the effects of The Blip played humorously during Spider-Man: Far From Home but Wandavision takes a very different approach. The sudden reappearance of millions of people after 5 years is pure and utter chaos with those living through The Blip frantically scrambling to check on their loved ones and those returning showing up in the context of where they were prior. 

What seems like just moments for Monica has actually been 5 years during which her mother Maria “Photon” Rambeau has passed away. Instead of trying to acclimate to the new circumstances in the revelation of her mother’s death and Thanos’s snap, Monica heads back to the S.W.O.R.D. headquarters. There she encounters acting Director Hayward, who explains the renewed direction of S.W.O.R.D. and under the directions crafted by Maria Rambeau herself, restricts her to terrestrial missions only. Monica begrudgingly agrees to assist the FBI with a missing persons case by piloting a S.W.O.R.D. drone. Monica travels to New Jersey where she meets Scott Lang’s favorite FBI agent Jimmy Woo (portrayed by Randall Park). 

Jimmy soon reveals that there is more at play here than just a missing person. When they talk to police officers right outside of town the officers act if Westview doesn’t even exist, even though they are literally right in front of the town’s sign. Monica flies the drone into the town of Westview and it immediately disappears from view once it crosses the barrier into the television dimension. Jimmy tells her that something emanating from the town is preventing him from entering, yet Monica is quickly absorbed inside of the anomaly. 

Kat Dennings makes her return to the MCU as Darcy Lewis who has earned her doctorate in astrophysics since the days of her last appearance in Thor: The Dark World. She quickly deduces that S.W.O.R.D. is out of their wheelhouse and looking for whatever help they can get. The ever astute Darcy slices through the seeming air of mystery in the S.W.O.R.D. base, deflating Hayward, and discovering the bits of radiation emanating from Westview. Darcy notes there’s a broadcast frequency trapped in this primordial radiation and requests an old television to decipher the mysterious code. 

A S.W.O.R.D. operative named Agent Franklin prepares to journey to Westview through the sewer system at the behest of Hayward, despite the logical points of contention made by Jimmy Woo. As Franklin crosses underneath the town of Westview, his tether separates from his uniform and his hazmat suit morphs into the beekeeper uniform we see ascending from the manhole in episode 2. 

After receiving the television she requested, Darcy is able to access the broadcast signal tucked inside the Big Bang radiation and unearths the actual sitcom taking place inside of Westview, New Jersey. As they begin to watch from episode 1, just as the real world viewers did, Woo begins to mark down all the questions we’re asking as viewers on a whiteboard, marking the moment where the show fully embraces the meta. The group watches the show and begins to discern that the people of Westview are real people being forcibly cast into their roles. Using those same broadcast waves, our resident genius, Darcy Lewis, devises a way to contact Wanda inside the insular world. Then our outsiders get a picture of what’s happened to the drone to which Woo asks, “why did you colorize it?” and the officer responds “we didn’t.”

The group at the S.W.O.R.D. base finally has their chance to reach out to Wanda at Dottie’s swim club meeting and takes their shot but instead of seeing Dottie go haywire the episode simply skips forward to the Hydra Soak commercial. They then follow that up with the beekeeper situation and skip right past that much like Wanda did in that episode. Next, they’ve jumped into the 70s where Wanda is giving birth but during the scene with Geraldine, another edit in Wanda’s world causes Darcy to speculate that someone is “censoring the broadcast.” Before they can get to the bottom of this, however, the alarm sounds and we hear over the PA that the boundary has been breached. 

The aspect ratio changes once more and we find ourselves inside of Westview for the first time in the episode. We pick back up at the end of the last episode with Wanda facing down Monica saying “You’re not my neighbor and you’re definitely not my friend.” Monica pleads with the woman that she thought was her friend as Wanda surges with energy saying, “you are a stranger and an outsider. And right now, you are trespassing here. And I want you to leave.” Wanda blasts Monica through the entirety of the house and through the barrier surrounding Westview. Wanda momentarily looks at her hands as if she’s shocked at what she just did but then proceeds to rebuild her home and tend to her sons. Just as Vis returns and inquires where Geraldine is, we cut to Monica’s crash landing in the area outside of Westview. Wanda swivels to talk to her husband and is met, horrifyingly, by a dead-faced Vision, with a gaping hole in his head where the Mind Stone once was. Vision returns to his picture-perfect visage and tells Wanda they can go wherever they want to, to which Wanda responds that she has “everything under control,” seemingly confirming what people have thought up to this moment. 

Outside of the show, we see Monica also seemingly agreeing with that by uttering “It’s Wanda, it’s all Wanda” once she awakens the field between the S.W.O.R.D. base and Westview, NJ.  We return back inside the world where Wanda asks Vision and the boys what they should watch tonight while a slightly disturbed looking Vision looks directly into the camera. 

Feb 9, 2021 No Comments
Wandavision Episode 1 + 2 Recap

Wandavision Episode 1 + 2 Recap

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by | Feb 5, 2021 | Featured

After announcing a new sleight of supposedly interconnected series for the Disney+ platform last year, Marvel Studios has finally delivered it’s initial TV offering with Wandavision. Originally the studio planned to kick off Phase 4 of the MCU with the Falcon and Winter Soldier series that looks to explore the future of Captain America, but the pandemic had other plans. With the shooting for all of the shows halted, a different show starring two Avengers was able to enter the foray. Enter Wandavision,  the time-hopping mystery and ode to classic television starring Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda and Paul Bettany as Vision. What starts off as seemingly as a cute story of two lovers reunited and happily married, becomes a mind-jumbling tale of mystery, death, and magic. 

Episode 1: “Filmed Before a Live Studio Audience”

 After a lengthy absence from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Wandavision may be a jarring re-entry to the world with its homage to classic television. Despite not being the standard action-packed fare of the MCU, Wandavision is filled to the brim with the elite world-building and Easter eggs of it’s silverscreen counterparts. The series first episode begins with a cute opening sequence showing the titular couple moving into a suburban home, set in what appears to be the 1950s. Following their move, they begin pondering over a mysteriously heart-marked date of August 23 on their calendar. Oddly inconclusive on the date’s significance, Vision takes off for work where the character’s analytical nature is on display, immediately questioning the curiosities of this greyscale world’s skewed reality. 

While Vis is off making computational forms, Wanda receives a visit from her new neighbor Agnes who immediately inserts herself into Wanda’s life, urging the Avenger to try some seduction techniques on Vision. Some Bewitched-style hijinx occurs as Wanda and Vision attempt to make dinner for their guests, the humorous fish-out-of-water sequence expertly precedes the episode’s dramatic turn. After being unable to recall their previous lives after a barrage of questions from their investigative dinner guests, Mr. Hart begins choking with his wife looking on laughingly yet creepily begging him to “stop it.” After the command to help from his wife, Vision is able to save his boss by using his ability to phase through solid objects to dislodge the object. Following the departure of Mr. & Mrs. Hart, Wanda and Vision proclaim their love for one another with Wanda creating wedding bands for the couple as their in-universe credits play. Those credits zoom out, revealing that someone is actually watching Wanda and Vision’s own version of reality play out from afar. 

Episode 2: “Don’t Touch That Dial”

Wanda and Vision take a step forward in time as episode 2, a comedic interaction in bed causes Wanda to merge the pair’s twin beds into one, signifying their journey into a new age. The episode’s intro theme draws heavily from Bewitched even going as far as directly mimicking the art style of Bewitched’s opening while including a myriad of easter eggs and potential clues for the astute and well-read comic fan (Wonder O’s, anybody?). In an attempt to assimilate with their neighbors, Wanda and Vision develop a conventional magic act under the guise of “Glamor” and “Illusion,” respectively, as a part of the talent show fundraiser. The two go their separate ways as Wanda goes off to attend the planning committee meeting and Vision heads to the library to join the town’s neighborhood watch group. In leaving their home for the first time, Wanda comes to find a world shattering revelation outside of their home: a colorized toy helicopter lodged in her rose bushes. Just as Wanda begins to process this bright red toy in an otherwise colorless world, neighbor Agnes pops up snapping her back into “reality” as they head to their meeting.

Wandavision not only draws some of it’s best inspiration from the comics, it also deftly handles it’s obvious love for television with Agnes and Wanda’s discussion of the latter’s’ fashion choice being a direct reference to Mary Tyler-Moore’s then-controversial decision to wear pants on the Dick Van Dyke show. Agnes continues her constant pressure on Wanda by introducing her to the town’s popular girl, Dottie (played by Emma Caufield), whom she says controls everything down to school admissions, another of the multitude of references to childbirth in the show and especially this episode. Wanda’s efforts to blend into the group lead to our introduction to Teyonah Parris’ character “Geraldine,” who was revealed to be an adult version of Akira Akbar’s Monica Rambeau from Captain Marvel. Geraldine and Wanda’s bond forms quickly under the stern and demeaning pressure from Dottie. 

Dottie hammers home the importance of the children and requests Wanda’s assistance in cleaning up after the group meeting. Dottie and Wanda’s relationship begins on contentious terms with Dottie harassing Wanda about origins. Wanda’s and Dottie’s encounter results in another jarring moment, a voice breaks through the radio asking “who is doing this to you, Wanda?” Despite Dottie’s inquisitive nature, she gives up on her interrogation immediately after the broadcast. While she still has the combative attitude displayed at the beginning of the episode, Dottie completely seems to forget about the events that just occurred immediately prior.  Meanwhile, Vision’s attempts to fortify the town lead to his discovery that Westview’s Neighborhood Watch program is, in fact, a gossip club. Vision takes a stick of Big Red gum from one of the townspeople which subsequently (after a cute animated sequence) causes Vision to malfunction right before the magic show and act in a drunken manner. 

A commercial advertising a Strucker watch, follows Wanda’s tense encounter with Dottie. The commercial features the same couple that appeared in the last episodes’ Stark toaster commercial leading us to believe these characters have more significance than just characters in an advertisement. The Strucker, the ad refers to is Baron Wolfgang von Strucker, one of the leaders of Hydra, the group that used the Mind Stone to bestow Wanda and Pietro with their powers. The momentary break in the tension helps the show smoothly return to its comedic efforts while also stoking the flames of mystery. 

Vision shows up just in time for the show and finds Wanda and Geraldine backstage preparing for the show. Vision’s inebriation leads him to eschew the sleight of hand portion of the magic act and reveal his true abilities causing Wanda to warp reality to make Visions feats of strength appear as if they were done by conventional means. The act ends up being a rousing success with all of the townspeople lauding Wanda and Vision as comedy geniuses and eerie cheers of “for the children” in unison. The two return home and astonishingly find out that Wanda is suddenly pregnant, their celebration is cut short by a loud noise outside that the couple quickly investigates. Outside, they watch in surprise as a beekeeper suit-clad man surrounded by insects enters Westview through the sewer system. Wanda simply declares “no” and the episode actually rewinds back to Vision and Wanda in their home where, as they celebrate their bundle of joy, color floods the world, propelling them even more forward in the “future.”

Feb 5, 2021 No Comments
NBA Covid-19 Update: How the League Can Stop Postponing Games

NBA Covid-19 Update: How the League Can Stop Postponing Games

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by | Feb 3, 2021 | Featured, NBA

 

When the 2020-21 NBA season kicked off, it was clear that this season would look a lot different due to Covid-19. From the empty arenas to the spread-out benches it has been clear from the jump that the NBA was going to do their best with the spread of the Coronavirus. All NBA players, coaches, and staff members have team rules, protocols, contact tracing programs, and testing methods in place if the effort to limit the chances of the virus negatively impacting teams. However, even with all these systems and plans in place, there was still no way the NBA schedule was going to get through this season without any Covid outbreaks. There is just no real way to prevent the virus from impacting a sports league that is going to travel all over the country to play. No matter if there are fans or not, we haven’t seen any professional sports league in this country been able to pull off a season without having positive cases. Even with health produces and precautions set in place by the NBA, which actually have been the best of any major professional sport, there isn’t a way to stop positive cases from coming up in some way.

 

Up to date, there have been a total of 23 games postponed in this 2020-21 NBA season with no set date of when they will make them up. Players have been sidelined for situations as simple as contact tracing, out for weeks from testing positive, and teams have even had to take the floor with a minimum of 8 players. This has begged the question as of late, is NBA’s Covid Prevention system in place is actually working? Rosters are thinning, and concerns are growing more about overuse and having too long of layoffs around the league. Even with all the postponements and cancelations, the league has no plans on pausing the season. They have mentioned, “tightening” the off-court restrictions but not a plan of pause or cancelation.

 

List of Games that Have Been Canceled this Season

  • Dec. 23: Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Houston Rockets
  • Jan. 10: Miami Heat vs. Boston Celtics
  • Jan. 11: New Orleans Pelicans vs. Dallas Mavericks
  • Jan. 12: Boston Celtics vs. Chicago Bulls
  • Jan. 13: Orlando Magic vs. Boston Celtics
  • Jan. 13: Utah Jazz vs. Washington Wizards
  • Jan. 13: Atlanta Hawks vs. Phoenix Suns
  • Jan. 15: Washington Wizards vs. Detroit Pistons
  • Jan. 15: Golden State Warriors vs. Phoenix Suns
  • Jan. 15: Memphis Grizzlies vs. Minnesota Timberwolves
  • Jan. 16: Indiana Pacers vs. Phoenix Suns
  • Jan. 17: Cleveland Cavaliers at Washington Wizards
  • Jan. 17: Philadelphia 76ers at Oklahoma City Thunder
  • Jan. 18: Cleveland Cavaliers at Washington Wizards
  • Jan. 20: Washington Wizards at Charlotte Hornets
  • Jan. 20: Memphis Grizzlies at Portland Trail Blazers
  • Jan. 21: Washington Wizards at Milwaukee Bucks
  • Jan. 22: Memphis Grizzlies at Portland Trail Blazers
  • Jan. 24: Sacramento Kings at Memphis Grizzlies
  • Jan. 25: Sacramento Kings at Memphis Grizzlies
  • Jan. 25: San Antonio Spurs at New Orleans Pelicans
  • Jan. 27: Chicago Bulls at Memphis Grizzlies
  • Feb.1: Detroit Pistons at  Denver Nuggets

 

 

 

George Hill of the Oklahoma City Thunder responds to a reporter about his feelings toward the NBA “fighting” restriction for players. — FFW 2:30  (via The Oklahoman)

 

 

The Philadelphia Seventy-Sixers are currently the best team in the Eastern Conference at 11-5 but even that hasn’t come without a combination of Covid-19 and injury complications. On January 7th, the Sixers were forced to play their game against the Denver Nuggets with only 7 active players due to injuries and Covid-19.

 

 

“Sixers have Enough Plays” … interesting. Hope this doesn’t happen in the playoffs..

 

Sixers Head Coach Doc Rivers Weighed in to Explain why he thinks it is not in the player’s and league’s best interest to let rosters with just 7-8 active players play:

 

 

This season is not going to be paused or postponed. That part is clear, if the NBA was going to do that they would have already. The NBA is focused on finishing this season as best they can now. It’s clear they are prioritizing safety as best they can as, but it’s only as long games can get played, even if you only have seven players. The NBA is committed to this season but they haven’t offered any type of solution for the teams that are having these unique roster problems. They have played these games with 7 or 8 active players but the 23 postponed games are still going to require active players and who is to say they won’t have similar complications when the NBA ultimately does reschedule?

The NBA should highly consider expanding rosters for this season. Give teams more rosters spots and even have a Coivd-19 reserve list of players teams could sign for times when teams are stripped down to only a few reserves. There are so many capable veteran free agents and young talented players that could help teams not only win games this season but help a team like the Sixers withstand this season so guys like Ben Simmonds and Joel Embiid are not burnt out come playoff time. Expanding rosters by at least 2-3 more spots would be the least the league could do in this pandemic year. It would provide such a great opportunity for players like Isiah Thomas and Jamal Crawford who are clearly capable vets. Imagine if a team like the Sixers or the Thunder on a night with a very depleted roster could rely on a seasoned vet like J Crossover. Expanding rosters might not be logistically as simple as I am making it out to be, however, its no doubt that it could benefit some teams and benefit some deserving players and also help organizations better get through this very strange season.

 

Feb 3, 2021 No Comments
SR – NBA Power Rankings: 2021 Week 6

SR – NBA Power Rankings: 2021 Week 6

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by | Feb 3, 2021 | Featured, NBA

We’re back with another Power Rankings Article as we are gearing up for the sixth week of NBA action in 2021! This week, we saw the Utah Jazz extend their winning streak to 11 games, ultimately having it snapped on the tail end of the week, while the Clippers steadily gain traction on the No.1 seed Jazz. The Lakers are slipping, due to their once-perfect road record getting its first L on the board, thanks to a resilient home win in the last second of the game by Tobias Harris and the Philadelphia 76ers.

Meanwhile, it’s teams like Boston, Miami, and Portland that are struggling with injuries heading into week six, and their record shows that they’re having issues getting into the midst of the fight in their respective conferences. Now that we’re officially in February, we ended January on a fiery note. Bradley Beal and Russell Westbrook both played as the hero in a wild conclusion between the Wizards and Nets in the final 12 seconds that saw the Wizards go on an 8-0 run in a winning effort. A night before that, Damian Lillard drilled a game-winning fadeaway jumper after hitting a deep three with 8.9 seconds remaining to beat Chicago, and the Clippers now possess the best record in the NBA.

Let’s go ahead and find out what that means for the rest of the league in this week’s power rankings.

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1. Los Angeles Clippers (16-5, Last Week’s Ranking: 2)

Ever since the Clippers had been touched by the pandemic’s icy hand, with their most integral pieces being forced to quarantine for a total of six games, the Clippers saw their seven-game winning streak snapped by Atlanta this week as they didn’t have either Kawhi Leonard and Paul George out for that game. Since then, however, they’ve begun a two-game winning streak, have both Leonard and George back in the lineup, and have some big defensive tests this week against the Nets and Celtics.

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2. Utah Jazz (15-5, Last Week’s Ranking: 4)

An 11-game winning streak saw its end for the hottest team in basketball right now, as the Jazz suffered an 11-point loss to the Denver Nuggets. Still, in the losing effort, Bojan Bogdanovic dropped a season-high 29 points, signalizing the second-best scoring effort of his season. A rare double-digit loss indeed, but it’s unlikely that becomes the precedent since Utah’s been a machine at home and on the road, averaging 114.8 points per game this month and more importantly, post the sixth-best defensive rating in all of basketball. Additionally, they’re winning games with the fourth-largest average scoring margin in the NBA, winning all of their games by 7.3 or more points per game.

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3. Philadelphia 76ers (15-6, Last Week’s Ranking: 4)

Moving up a spot from last week’s rankings are the Philadelphia 76ers, who highlighted the week by giving the initially-perfect-on-the-road Los Angeles Lakers their first loss on the season away from the Staples Center, thanks to the late-game heroics of Tobias Harris as the 8th year pro hit a game-winning fadeaway jumper on the left hash of the right goal inside of the Wells Fargo Center, while switched onto Alex Caruso. They’re 8-2 in their last 10 contests, and just like last week, Joel Embiid has been putting the All-Star committee on notice, still averaging 34.0 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 2.8 assists in the Sixers’ last four games.

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4. Los Angeles Lakers (16-6, Last Week’s Ranking: 1)

After dropping consecutive road losses on an Eastern Conference voyage this past week, Los Angeles got their mojo back with two key road wins over offensive juggernauts in Boston and Atlanta to close out a 13-day trip. As they head back home, however, the case for not having a home crowd advantage could be made for their otherwise pedestrian home record of 4-4, one unbecoming of a title-contending favorite this early on. Still at third in the west – a noticeable improvement from their initial fifth seed in the West following their tightly-contested duel with Eastern favorite Philadelphia and head-scratching loss to Detroit in which Anthony Davis did not play, but before their consecutive wins against Boston and Atlanta on Monday night.

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5. Denver Nuggets (12-8, Last Week’s Ranking: 8)

Winners of six of their last seven, Denver is finding its groove and Nikola Jokic is playing the role of the main catalyst to this uptick of productivity. Most significantly, they knocked off the league’s hottest team this past week and didn’t just skate by the Jazz, but rather blew right past them for an 11-point win nary a soul saw coming. Jokic came out firing and stayed aggressive for the 37 minutes he spent on the floor and made his presence felt against a former Defensive Player of the Year in Rudy Gobert, scoring a career-best 47 points and swiping 12 boards off the glass in the Nuggets’ 12th win of the season. Fun fact – Jokic is making history as the 2nd player in league history to have a double-double in every game so far this season.

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6. Brooklyn Nets (13-9, Last Week’s Ranking: 7)

Good news: the Brooklyn Nets have won 7 of their last 10 games behind the spectacular chemistry built by the trio of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden, who currently post the NBA’s highest offensive rating (122.6). They’ve handily beaten the likes of the Thunder and survived the likes of Atlanta just to stay above water, but now it’s time for the bad news: Brooklyn is horrendously underperforming on the defensive end, now posting a 119.9 defensive rating, the absolute worst defensive rating in the NBA. If their defensive inadequacy continues, they’ll be on pace to have the worst defensive rating in NBA history. Their biggest test of the season happens Tuesday night against the Clippers, and that marquee matchup could very well be an NBA Finals preview.

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7. Milwaukee Bucks (12-8, Last Week’s Ranking: 5)

So, it’s not all bad for Milwaukee, but they argue they could have played a lot better to start the year. Surely, you could chalk it up to entering in new pieces, but they’re not complaining as they’ve won six of their last 10 games in lieu of a 12-8 record. But, through 19 games, they’ve uncharacteristically lost eight games, something they didn’t do last year until three quarters through last season.

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8. Indiana Pacers (11-9, Last Week’s Ranking: 9)

In last Wednesday’s win over Charlotte, Domantas Sabonis continued to make his case for his second All-star selection, scoring 20 points and racking up a triple-double while shooting over 90 percent from the field. Additionally in the same frontcourt, Myles Turner continues to rack up an acumen for what should be a year where he, at the minimum, touches an All-NBA Defensive Team with five blocks or more in six games played this season. They have a fairly easy schedule coming up, as they’ll have Memphis and New Orleans but will have to bring their best game to take on the likes of Milwaukee and Utah later this week.

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9. Phoenix Suns (11-8, Last Week’s Ranking: 10)

Phoenix dropped their first two games of the season without Devin Booker, who had to miss time due to a sore left hamstring, but quickly got back into the win column with some noteworthy wins over the streaky Golden State Warriors and slumping Dallas Mavericks. Chris Paul’s impact on this team extends far beyond his floor general presence, and in his mentorship role that he’s become accustomed to, his confidence in his younger teammates to play their best game is not taken for granted. Mikal Bridges is now being trusted to be an off-the-catch, spot-up scorer along the perimeter now, shooting above the league average from deep at 40.4 percent. DeAndre Ayton, CP3’s trusty Pick and Roll man, is becoming adjusted and comfortable with both Paul and Booker helping to get him touches, as he’s averaging 15.3 rebounds, 11.3 points, and 2.3 assists in Phoenix’s last four games.

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10. Boston Celtics (10-8, Last Week’s Ranking: 9)

Injuries are piling up for the Celtics, first losing Payton Pritchard during a freak accident where Jaylen Brown landed on his knee, spraining his MCL which would keep him out for an undisclosed time. One week later, in a primetime battle with the rival Lakers, Marcus Smart went down with what was configured as a strained calf and will miss the next 2-4 weeks. Guard depth is one thing that’ll be missed, but what cannot be replaced is the heart and soul of the Celtics’ locker room, as Smart has helped Boston in a variety of ways as their best on-ball defender. They’ll have a five-game road trip without Smart on the floor, and it won’t be easy, considering that the Warriors, Kings, Clippers, and Suns are up next on their schedule.

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11. Portland Trail Blazers (10-9, Last Week’s Ranking: 13)

Damian Lillard is the superglue to a levy that’s splitting at the seams at every turn, proven in his dropping of back-to-back threes in the game’s final 8 seconds to break the hearts of the Chicago Bulls and winning the game with a side-fading three-ball in the right corner to give Portland their 10th win on the year. Down multiple role players and starters like both Jusuf Nurkic and CJ McCollum, Dame Time has had to given unlimited minutes as their lone All-Star has needed to lead them in scoring (he is) and chariot them through murky waters. Averaging 34 points a game during the stretch of losing both McCollum and Nurkic, expect Lillard to do more of what he’s accustomed to doing during this period where his Blazers will have to face the Wizards, 76ers, and Knicks this week.

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12. San Antonio Spurs (11-10, Last Week’s Ranking: 12)

The Spurs don’t see any movement in this week’s rankings, and just miss out on cracking the top 10, as they’ve been snake bitten by some health and safety protocols. Fortunately, all tests for the players sent to quarantine came back negative. As they returned to action, they beat a Celtics team at home after storming to close a halftime deficit, winning the game by double digits. Also, Derrick White came back from his toe injury this past Saturday, making it the first game he’s played since New Year’s Day. In a return win over Memphis, White led the team in scoring with 22 points in 18 minutes off the bench.

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13. Golden State Warriors (11-9, Last Week’s Ranking: 14)

A positive note: the Dubs finished the week at 3-1 and beating the Timberwolves twice and Detroit by nearly 30 once bolstered the confidence in many of the role players Steve Kerr has on his bench. James Wiseman, their coveted Rookie, has averaged around 12 points and 6 rebounds per game off 50.3 percent shooting and, more impressively, has shot above the league average from deep, shooting 40.3 percent from behind the arc. But, recently the rookie had one of his worst performances of the season against Phoenix, as he only scored five points and had a team-worst -20 in the +/- margin. He quickly bounced back one game later, scoring 25 points in the win over the Timberwolves.

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14. Atlanta Hawks (10-10, Last Week’s Ranking: 16)

The Hawks are a cumulative 4-5 in their past nine contests, and while that may sound unsatisfactory to some, it means a leg up for Lloyd Pierce’s team, who saw Trae Young return to early-season form following his confusing scoring slump. Young dropped 41 points against the Washington Wizards this past Friday, becoming the fifth player in league history to score 40+ points in 14 games in an NBA career. For some perspective, only Shaquille O’Neal, LeBron James, Rick Barry, and Kevin Durant have achieved the same feat. Also, Young has 404 threes through his three-year career, doing so in just 160 games – the shortest amount of time ever needed to reach 400 threes in league history.

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15. Houston Rockets (10-9, Last Week’s Ranking: 25)

Well, what was supposed to be a year that the Rockets would rest on their laurels, play their younger guys, and allow their more tenured pieces in Victor Oladipo, DeMarcus Cousins and John Wall look good enough so they can get shipped out of Houston to build draft capital, turned out to be a year that they can realistically challenge for a playoff spot and honestly, their aspirations are not that lofty. The Mavericks and Pelicans are on a swift downturn, and Houston has won 7 of their last 10 games by just playing hard defense and getting some major contributions from Christian Wood, who will probably be an All-Star, as he is only in company with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Nikola Jokic as the only players in the league to average 20 points and 10 rebounds while shooting 55 percent from the field. Additionally, Houston currently has the second-best defensive rating in the NBA at 102.8.

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16. Memphis Grizzlies (8-6, Last Week’s Ranking: 19)

Memphis hasn’t lost a game since January 7. Okay, great! Since then, however, they’ve been hit hard by the pandemic, not being able to resume any basketball activities until this past week, when they picked up where they left with a win over the Spurs. That extended their winning streak to six games, and they’re still fourth in the West at the moment even with a long layoff. Ja Morant’s health has been in question, but in the past week, he’s looked good at full strength as he dished out 10 assists against the Suns and 11 assists against the Spurs a few nights later.

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17. Charlotte Hornets (10-11, Last Week’s Ranking: 23)

Moving up six spots in these rankings are the Hornets, who might need to start LaMelo Ball a little more often. This past Saturday, the Hornets found a way to upset the Milwaukee Bucks to go 2-2 on the week, as Gordon Hayward finished that game with 27 points in 38 minutes. Consistency has been their issue and while Terry Rozier and DeVonte Graham may have the experience from being Charlotte’s starters in the backcourt for two seasons, James Borrego turning to LaMelo Ball sooner rather than later should have more of a benefit than cost at the expense of the Hornets’ improvement in 2021. Ball also scored 27 points off 8-10 shooting from the field in the win over Milwaukee over the course of last weekend, and earned his first start of the season against Miami on Monday night, scoring an inefficient 14 points but dishing 7 assists and grabbing 5 rebounds in the win.

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18. Cleveland Cavaliers (10-11, Last Week’s Ranking: 17)

After such a momentum-gaining week 5 of play, Cleveland fell back to earth with a 1-3 week, giving up 46 points to the homecoming LeBron James while losing a tight contest to the Lakers. They then unceremoniously dropped two games against the Timberwolves and Knicks, which they couldn’t lose a game to since they are the types of teams that need to be beaten in order to keep the Cavaliers in the playoff hunt. They ended the week on a good note, beating the Pistons as Collin Sexton had yet another insane scoring outing of 29 points off 10-14 shooting with 5 rebounds and 5 assists to boot. They earned a win on Monday against the Timberwolves on Monday night but barely, as Sexton kept up the fiery and energetic stat-stuffing with 26 points, 3 assists, and 3 rebounds.

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19. New York Knicks (9-13, Last Week’s Ranking: 20)

The Knicks lost a tough battle against the Chicago Bulls on Monday, and have lost six of their last 10 games. It was expected that these Knicks would tail off and toil away down in the bottom tier of Eastern teams; the roster just isn’t talented enough to credibly compete. But what has been a sight for sore eyes: Immanuel Quickley should be in consideration for Rookie of the Year at the least. In back to back games this past week, Quickley dropped 25 points in 27 minutes against the Clippers, and on Monday, scored 16 points while racking up 6 rebounds and 7 assists. The Knicks have been pragmatic and optimistic about competing this season as any team should, but they should see the first full month of the Thibs/Rose era in NYC as a right-on-track situation.

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20. Toronto Raptors (8-12, Last Week’s Ranking: 15)

Toronto is another team that’s dealing with a multitude of injuries, as they’ll now be without OG Anunoby due to a calf strain. A 6-4 record in their past 10 games signifies that they are finally getting out of the hole they dug themselves into earlier on the year and with somewhat of a soft schedule coming up with an exception to Brooklyn, the question remains: is this Toronto team good enough to keep up the momentum for the entire duration of what’s left this season, or are they a barely-.500 team, that’s grown anemic from injuries and free agency departures?

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21. Dallas Mavericks (8-13, Last Week’s Ranking: 11)

It’s hard to fathom just how disappointing the Mavericks have looked this season, and no matter the numbers that Luka Doncic puts up, they don’t translate to wins if what we’ve watched over the course of this past week tells us anything. Dallas is the league’s worst 3 point shooting team at 32.8 percent, and they’ve lost nine of their last eleven games. You could say that their roster is just incomplete since they ended up getting Maxi Kleiber back from health and safety protocols, but even he doesn’t immediately solve the issue of how the team looks right now. Scoring looks like a foreign language to them, and the ball at times doesn’t move as much as it’s supposed to in the halfcourt. Dallas needs all the help they can get at the moment.

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22. Miami Heat (7-12, Last Week’s Ranking: 18)

After getting Jimmy Butler back from a sprained ankle, the All-Star scored 30 points in the Heat’s win over the Kings which snapped a five-game losing streak. Meanwhile, there is a bevy of injured bodies on the Heat bench that won’t be activated any time soon, as Goran Dragic tends to a groin strain, Avery Bradley deals with a knee contusion, Meyers Leonard is set to miss the rest of the season to surgically repair a shoulder strain, Mo Harkless has a thigh contusion, and Tyler Herro recently tweeted that he may have been in contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19. Though the season extends to May, they’re walking on eggshells to reclaim the Eastern throne, and a week-opening loss to Charlotte doesn’t do them any favors.

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23. Oklahoma City Thunder (8-11, Last Week’s Ranking: 24)

These Thunder don’t know the meaning of “concede” on the road but know all about it at home. Weird, right? Count OKC AKA Loud City as a key place where crowd sound doesn’t play to the benefit of the home team and the silence is rather discouraging as the Thunder are an abysmal 1-7 inside Chesapeake Energy Arena.  And they’re 7-3 on the road, but those wins don’t translate on home hardwood. Their most recent losses featured ex-Thunder players in Kevin Durant, Jeff Green, and James Harden coming back to where their careers started to drop 147 points on the Thunder, and following that, John Wall, Victor Oladipo, and Christian Wood came back to drop 136 points on this building team to give OKC their 7th loss at home this year.

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24. Chicago Bulls (8-11, Last Week’s Ranking: 22)

Dame Time is something that every now and then just happens. The Bulls played a great game against an undermanned Trail Blazers team that Chicago blew a late lead to, but if there was a silver lining, Lauri Markkanen has shut down all trade talk and could be a viable piece to build around in the era of Arturas Karnisovas, scoring a season-high 31 points in the loss.

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25. Sacramento Kings (9-11, Last Week’s Ranking: 26)

Is Marvin Bagley III turning the corner? Consistency has always plagued him, but in two of the three contests this week for the Kings, the former Duke big man had a week where he scored 16 points and grabbed 12 rebounds against Orlando and scored 17 points on 7-8 shooting against the Heat. The Kings are getting valid help from the likes of De’Aaron Fox and rookie Tyrese Haliburton (combined for 41.5 points per game off 43.7 percent shooting) and if Bagley can find a way to stay consistent, the Kings will definitely have something to compete within the West.

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26. Orlando Magic (8-13, Last Week’s Ranking: 21)

That’s now 11 of the last 13 games the Magic have lost now, after their 4-0 and 6-2 start of the season. The loss of Markelle Fultz and Jonathan Isaac is too damaging to their season and chances to make it back to the playoffs but to make matters worse, Aaron Gordon will be out for 4-6 weeks with a severe ankle sprain. Two games against Toronto follow a heated matchup against the Raptors this week.

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27. New Orleans Pelicans (7-12, Last Week’s Ranking: 27)

If there ever was a restart button to not just the offseason, but the entire coach hiring and drafting process, Pels fans would certainly slam it, right? New Orleans is officially 3-7 in their last 10 games, and pose the sixth-worst defensive rating in basketball while simultaneously being 18th in total offensive rating. Their only positive of this past week: an upset over Milwaukee in which the Pelicans splashed a total of 21 threes against the Bucks’ defense, tying a franchise-best effort.

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28. Detroit Pistons (5-15, Last Week’s Ranking: 30)

After getting shellacked by Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors last week, Detroit has lost 15 of their last 20 games for the sixth time in franchise history. They’ve still yet to win back to back games this year.

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29. Washington Wizards (4-12, Last Week’s Ranking: 29)

In what was undoubtedly their biggest win of the season, the Wizards (ironically) helped the Nets become the worst defensive team in the NBA with a shocking 147-145 home win in the last few seconds of the game; Bradley Beal splashes home a transition three to draw the Wizards within a point, and a Brooklyn inbounder accidentally gives it to Beal, who kicks it out to Russell Westbrook (who had 41 points in the victory) cash out on the go-ahead jumper to give Washington their fourth win of the year. And amidst trade rumors, Beal has stated that his interest is to not leave the Wizards this year.

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30. Minnesota Timberwolves (5-15, Last Week’s Ranking: 28)

Losers of eight of their last 10 games, the Timberwolves have probably already chalked this year up as a year for developing their younger players, most notably Anthony Edwards, who looks to be turning a corner. Over the last two games, the first-overall pick has looked impressive, scoring 25 points against the Warriors while shooting 5-8 from deep as well as having a 23-point night agains the Cavaliers a few nights later. He’s scored in double figures for five straight contests and leads all rookies in scoring.

Feb 3, 2021 No Comments
Kicks Through the Lens (Week 6)

Kicks Through the Lens (Week 6)

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by | Feb 1, 2021 | Featured, NBA, Sneakers

Nike Kobe 6 Protro PE’s have arrived. DeMar DeRozan, P.J. Tucker, Anthony Davis, Buddy Hield, Tobias Harris, and Devin Booker are all leading the surge on new Nike Kobe 6 Protros for the rest of this 2020-21 NBA basketball season. New patterns and designs are being seen on the 6’s scaled upper that we have never seen before. It’s as if each player goes in with Nike and decides what colors they want on it themself and how they want those colors to be implemented. This begs the question, and somewhat of a demand from sneaker enthusiasts, should Nike put the Kobe 6’s back on Nike iD (now “Nike By You”)? The model was previously a staple on the iD platform back during the shoe’s initial run during the 2010-11 season.

The Nike “LeBron Watch” series is back. On the 23rd of each month for the rest of the NBA season Nike will be releasing surprise drops of LeBron retro sneakers. First shoe to drop for this campaign was the Nike LeBron 8 V/2 “Graffiti.” This sneaker was originally a sample made just for LeBron and he sported them in some exhibition-style games back during the lockout that spanned from July to December of 2011. Who knows what Nike has in store for these LeBron Watch drops the next few months ahead.  Look below to see the first wave of Kobe 6 Protros as well as a LeBron P.E. that we hope for sure ends up releasing to the public. This is Kicks Through the Lens Week #6.

 

 

10. Jordan XXXV “Georgetown P.E.” – Jeff Green

 

           

 

 

9. Nike Hyperdunk 08 “United We Rise” – Josh Richardson

 

     

 

 

8. Nike KD 4 “Galaxy AS” – Derrick Jones Jr.

 

     

 

 

7. Nike Kobe 6 Protro “Bahamas” P.E. – Buddy Hield

 

     

 

 

6. Nike KD 13 “Aunt Pearl” (Alternate) – Kevin Durant

 

     

 

 

5. Nike Kobe 7 “What The” – John Wall

 

     

 

 

4. Nike Kobe 6 Protro “Suns” P.E. – Devin Booker

 

           

 

 

3. Nike Kobe 6 Protro “Spurs” P.E. – DeMar DeRozan

           

 

 

2. Nike Kobe 6 Protro “Cheetah Yeezy 2” P.E. – P.J. Tucker

                 

 

 

1. Nike LeBron 8 V/2 “Think Pink” – LeBron James

           

 

Feb 1, 2021 No Comments
Royal Rumble 2021: Potential Storylines That Could Be Created After The Rumble

Royal Rumble 2021: Potential Storylines That Could Be Created After The Rumble

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by | Jan 31, 2021 | Featured

Happy Rumble Sunday! It’s one of the best times of the year as a wrestling fan, and with today, the gas pedal will finally be pressed as we head down the road to Wrestlemania, and tonight’s annual over-the-top-rope bonanza is setting up to be one of the most exciting – and really unpredictable – Royal Rumbles in quite some time.

Taking place at the WWE Thunderdome inside Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida at 7 p.m. ET on the WWE Network, this will be the first time that the historic Rumble won’t have the parameters of a live crowd to draw surprising reactions from. We’re still in the midst of a pandemic that’ll likely keep live shows without fans until WrestleMania this year, at the earliest.

What they say about the Rumble is 100% true – anything that can happen might actually happen whether good or bad and with 30 men (and women) being in the ring, something big is always happening every year. Also, it’s the time for groundbreaking returns no one saw coming, and even without a live audience, a return that rivals Edge’s miraculous comeback this year could possibly be going down tonight.

As is with every pay-per-view, all we can do as fans is kick back, wait and see how the WWE creative team illustrates the stories of one man and one woman outlasting 29 others to challenge the champion of their choice at ‘Mania, but additionally, brainstorm and predict just what extensive storylines which will that conclude in exclamatory fashion at ‘Mania that could be drawn up once the night’s over.

So consider this article an example of that fantasy booking; I’ll be breaking down five potential scenarios in both the men’s and women’s Rumble matches that could happen based on WWE logic, and play out leading up to WrestleMania on April 11. Let’s get down to it.

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Women’s Royal Rumble Scenarios For Both Women’s Titles

1. Bianca Belair Gets The Push Of A Lifetime – 2020 was really good to the EST of WWE. A debut at the Royal Rumble, followed by prime time televised duels with both Rhea Ripley and Charlotte on the USA Network as well as on numerous Takeovers for the Women’s NXT Title, her eventual debut on the main roster at WrestleMania 36 and on Raw and SmackDown, her showstealing masterpiece of a performance she put on in the 2020 Survivor Series Brand vs. Brand 10-woman tag match where she nearly became the sole survivor in her first participation of the event, and her recent victories against Bayley both in the ring and on the obstacle course are reasons enough to believe she is more than over with WWE’s creative crew and target audience.

But, as is with any rookie coming up to the big leagues, the story of Bianca’s career has been an “almost made it” story for a character that has it all together; cite the strong build, innate athleticism, charismatic personality to attract all viewers, but while she’s been involved in some high-profile competitions, she’s never been booked to win the big one. That could change tonight. Vince McMahon and others high up see something in the 31-year-old, and the momentum that she has had in the past two weeks is enough to sell the concept of Belair outlasting 29 other women in the Rumble, as she not only had her own WWE Chronicle documentary on the WWE Network a few weeks ago, but went over clean against Bayley on SmackDown’s go home show this past Friday night.

Logically, the storytelling connection that involves Belair shouldn’t indicate that any swerve should be booked tonight, and if she is to be announced to be headed to WrestleMania, there’s a huge main event involving two all-world talents of Belair and Sasha Banks, the reigning and defending SmackDown Women’s Champion, grand slam champ, and blossoming mega star that’s dabbling in Hollywood as we speak.

Also, it’ll be likely that Sasha returns to her heel character and get some heat to build a believable angle leading up to WrestleMania, where the two will square off for the Women’s title. The challenge remains: since Sasha has never successfully defended a title at WrestleMania and a major emphasis on SmackDown’s writing department is protecting their young stars, who gets over?

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2. Asuka’s Redemption Arc: Charlotte Flair has not had it go her way in the first few weeks of 2021. Barring a questionable storyline featuring her ex-tag team partner Lacey Evans and the heat she’s gotten by having an affair with her dad, who we know as The 16-time world champion Ric Flair, Charlotte’s been the one selected to win most bouts against the tandem of Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler, and, bluntly putting it here, carrying the tag team while Asuka, the current Women’s Champion, has been booked to look significantly inferior to that of the 15-time Women’s champ and daughter of the Nature Boy.

Flair’s segment this past week featuring a backstage spot where Evans attacks her from behind may have worked to tell fans to get behind Flair as she deals with family struggles while simultaneously defending the tag titles against Baszler and Jax during Sunday night’s Rumble. But if we know anything about Charlotte Flair, the genes of the dirtiest player in the game are a part of her code.

When the stress builds in someone, rarely do they ever show it on their faces. Per this storyline and Charlotte’s subtle hints at a heel turn (her pre-match “I’m fine” interviews with Charly Caruso, her “so about that Raw Women’s title” comment toward Asuka during their promo on the first Raw after the TLC pay-per-view for some examples) a loss of the tag titles with Asuka taking the pin from either Jax or Baszler makes sense. Charlotte subesquently raging in anger flips on Asuka and squashes her in the middle of the ring, as artificial booing will emanate from the Thunderdome.

Though there’s not a lot of conceivable resistance to Jax ans Baszler in the women’s tag division, maybe other than Mandy Rose and Dana Brooke, the two are creative enough to keep the tag belts, looking good in the ring while cutting attention-grabbing promos while out of the ring. It’s a plot device that’s been used so many times and while seems a little too predictable, it works.

Charlotte could very well win the Rumble tonight for the second-year in a row, further cementing her Hall of Fame legacy. And should Asuka keep her Raw Women’s title leading up to WrestleMania, which entails her defending it in the Elimination Chamber as well as at FastLane in March, we’re looking at a rematch from 2018’s WrestleMania 34 for the same title.

As we remember, it was Asuka that won the first-ever Women’s Royal Rumble in 2018, and entered ‘Mania in New Orleans with a clean undefeated record, but it was the reigning champion Charlotte that retained her belt and gave Asuka her first-ever loss in WWE. While Asuka’s been kayfabe “underperforming” against the adverse factors of Monday Night Raw’s singles competitors, everyone loves an underdog, and following the dynamic character of Asuka, we know she’s capable in the ring of looking strong against arduous foes as well as telling suspenseful stories leading up to wins.

This could be a battle of two Rumble winners with Asuka holding the belt this time around, and if Raw’s creative team chooses to do so for the first time, The Empress of Tomorrow will go over Charlotte for the biggest win of her career at the Showcase of the Immortals.

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Men’s Royal Rumble Scenarios For Both The WWE and Universal Titles

1. Bobby Out Of Left Field? It’s fantasy booking anyway, so why not throw out some predictions that the common man wouldn’t come to expect? The Rumble is full of surprises, shocks, twists and turns and more often than not, its the big boys that rack up the eliminations in the 30-man over-the-top-rope war. And in regards to the way that the Hurt Business has been booked on an otherwise diasappointing couple of Monday Night Raw programs since October’s Hell in a Cell PPV, they’ve been a sight for sore eyes, and Montell Vontavious Porter’s creative influence on Lashley, Shelton Benjamin, and Cedric Alexander should not go unnoticed or unappreciated.

Winning the tag titles over the New Day at TLC, Bobby Lashley looking dominant against the likes of Matt Riddle and the rest of the mid-card, and with the momentum that the Hurt Business has had, it’s likely that somwhere down the road, Hurt Business CEO Bobby Lashley gets the recongnition necessary to contend for the WWE World Heavyweight Title, so why not at this year’s WrestleMania?

It’s been a while since Lashley has gotten involved in an angle as one of the companies’ most credible-but-hated heel, as 2007 was the last time thay Lashley’s gotten the real chance to challenge the company’s top babyface to win the company’s biggest prize. As said earlier, I could see him winning this year’s rumble with the most eliminations even with the likes of Braun Strowman and (possibly) the Fiend and others trying to stake their claim as WrestleMania headliners. It’s been a while since you’ve had a true heel win the Rumble (Orton in 2017, I mean, if you considered him a heel going against Bray Wyatt at WM33) and this event always showcases good guys winning, therefore switching things up every now and then can’t hurt.

His match against John Cena at The Great American Bash in July of 2007 was revered for its brutish nature, physicality and told story of two big-bodied, war-ready titans willing to risk life and limb to earn the right of calling themselves WWE Champion, and with this strong booking that’s happened in Lashley’s favor, putting one of sports entertainment’s most experienced and well-versed professionals back in a spotlight he’s yearned for since his tenure in WWE started in 2006 and pitting him in a similarly grueling battle against Drew McIntrye (should he retain the title) checks out in the optics department.

Drew’s really improved on the microphone over the course of his first and second title reigns, cutting personal promos with little overexposure as a reliable babyface that fans who’ve followed his pro wrestling career have emotionally connected themselves to. Bobby is believable enough to sound and look like a threat to the Scottish Warrior, and with MVP and the Hurt Business surrounding this potential main event like a pack of rabid wolves, it’d be another story of overcoming overarching odds and another vehicle to push McIntyre to the top of the mountain as the most over babyface in WWE.

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2. One more push for one final ‘Mania event? Yes! Yes! Yes! Someone who isn’t a stranger to the big moment, Daniel Bryan has only been in two rumbles his entire career, but his first one skyrocketed him to superstardom even when he lost via being screwed over by the Authority at the time, since he ended up with both the WWE Championship and World Heavyweight Title in his hands as he stood above 74,295 members of the Yes movement as mardi gras ticker tape fell from the ceiling of the Superdome in 2014.

His return to WWE this full calendar year only says one thing: get that jetpack and strap it to his back, put him into a spot that’s equitable for both Bryan, who wants to enter the Rumble in a rather early spot so he could earn the win tonight, and the fans, who are feening for one final push for the one of the world’s greatest ever performers – and honestly, other than Stone Cold Steve Austin – the company’s most beloved anti-establishment, anti-oppression storyteller and babyface.

One big fact about DB competing in the Rumble: he’s stayed in the ring for the longest time in a Royal Rumble back during the Greatest Royal Rumble in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on January 27, 2018 for a total of 1 hour and 16 minutes. So him really staying in there and earning it is congruent to his character. And though he’s yet to win one, this is the likeliest chance of him winning the only thing that’s eluded him in the 12-year duration of his time in WWE.

SmackDown has done a phenomenal job of protecting him leading up to the Rumble, having him be involved in putting over some noteworthy names like Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura, as well as picking up some big wins against guys like Jey Uso in big ways.

Moreover, it’s the way he’s allowed himself to still be booked as a underdog and babyface going against some of the most dominant foes in the promotion with his promos both in the mic when SmackDown on TV, and recently on Talking Smack, SmackDown’s post show, Daniel Bryan had a significant segment with Paul Heyman, and Heyman alluded to being fearful of Daniel Bryan being the best in the company over Roman Reigns with one final Talking Smack leading up to the Rumble if he were to win at WrestleMania.

You thrust in two of the most believable perfomers in the world in one big feud leading up to the Showcase, and one final emotional Yes movement for Bryan, and you’re looking at the storyline of the year.

Photo Cred: ComicBook.com

Jan 31, 2021 No Comments