WWE Divas Championship: Lalya vs. Beth Phoenix
Several readers have tweeted to me that the WWE seems to be on the verge of a new “divas movement”. I wouldn’t go that far — even Trish, Lita, Victoria and Molly weren’t a “movement” — but I do think there’s potential on the horizon. Layla is great in the ring. Kelly is a pretty face (and everything else) for the company, and that is necessary. Natalya and Beth are fantastic to have around for the sake of good matches. AJ is adorable, and her time with Bryan has made her surprisingly relevant. And then there’s Kharma… The creepy bi-polar elephant in the room. I can tell you, the live crowd at Extreme Rules was not happy that they teased a return, and did NOT give us Kharma. I like Layla, but that crowd is going to want the real “awesome one” more than ever tonight.
Prediction: Layla retains
WWE Tag Team Championship
Kofi Kingston & R-Truth vs Dolph Ziggler & Jack Swagger
I like Kingston and Truth as a team. I even like Ziggler and Swagger’s chemistry, built over time. But I can’t help but feel the midcard is suffering from the absence of four (ok, three) of its best competitors. How many Tensei/Ryback/Clay squashes do we have to sit through before these guys come back to us? I had thought that post-Mania Ziggler would end up breaking away from the pack; we could see that tonight, or we could see more of the mediocre Swagger chronicles. On a positive note, it’s nice to see the belts getting more exposure than normal. It’s not hurting these guys any, but it certainly isn’t helping them as much as any strong singles push would right now. I am interested, however, to see where this A.W. group goes, and how they will implement Mason Ryan going forward.
Prediction: Kingston & Truth retain
