WWE is invading Melbourne, Australia for the first-ever Super Show-Down, a one-time event headlined by The Undertaker vs. Triple H, AJ Styles vs. Samoa for the WWE title and special appearances by John Cena, Ronda Rousey and the Bella Twins.
Credit: WWE.comCredit: WWE.com
Much like April's Greatest Royal Rumble that was held in Saudi Arabia, Super Show-Down is WWE's latest attempt at expanding its presence across the globe. Despite the The Greatest Royal Rumble stirring up quite a bit of controversy, the event reportedly earned WWE somewhere between $40 and $50 million and the company will hold another blockbuster event there this November in Crown Jewel. Super Show-Down will be following a similar path as a major show that is expected to have roughly 70,000 fans in attendance and could set the stage for more marquee live events in Australia in the future.
Super Show-Down will also serve as WWE's last tradtional pay-per-view (Evolution in October will feature only female superstars) before Survivor Series in November, so even though many matches on the card may be looked at as nothing more than off-bouts, the spotlight will be shining bright on Super Show-Down, which will serve as a means to get to WWE's next "Big Four" pay-per-view. SmackDown has been on a roll over the last several months while the quality of Raw is picking back up, and a strong showing in Melbourne could continue WWE's recent uptick in its programming.
As always, though, that depends upon the booking. Here are five smart booking decisions WWE must make at the first-ever Super Show-Down.
John Cena Takes The Pin
Credit: WWE.comCredit: WWE.com
John Cena will be wrestling a rare match at Super Show-Down, when he will team up with Bobby Lashley to take on Elias and Kevin Owens.
In all likelihood, that bout will be a relatively easy victory for the babyface duo, but ultimately, it shouldn't be. Cena is already firmly entrenched as the biggest draw WWE has and is second only to Roman Reigns in merchandise sales even though he's hardly ever around and has lost most of his big matches recently, included a lopsided defeat at the hands of The Undertaker at WrestleMania 34. In other words, Cena is at the stage of his career where losing won't hurt him or his drawing ability, which is why he should take the pin at Super Show-Down.
Owens and Elias have been pinned far too much and booked far too poorly to be able to afford another loss, and WWE needs to capitalize on the momentum they created with their unforgettable segment on Raw. Meanwhile, Lashley has also been the victim of some rather questionable booking that has destroyed the mystique he could have had as an unstoppable Brock Lesnar-like character. None of those three stars should be taking the pin because Elias and Owens badly need to build up credibility as a heels while Lashley needs to recover from a series of terrible creative decisions.
With Cena not advertised for any future WWE shows and there being no word on when he'll be involved in a major feud again, no harm will be done by another loss for "The Champ."
Nikki Bella Turns On Ronda Rousey
Credit: WWE.comCredit: WWE.com
Ronda Rousey vs. Nikki Bella is reportedly scheduled to main event Evolution, the first all-female pay-per-view in company history, which will air on Oct. 28.
The logic is that this bout would pit WWE's two biggest female stars against one another in a match that will attract a wide variety of fans. Despite announcing blockbuster matches like Trish Stratus vs. Alexa Bliss and Mickie James vs. Lita, WWE is reportedly struggling to sell out Evolution, a bit of a surprise that may be fixed by a Bella/Rousey match that features one of them as a heel. The best bet to move to the dark side is Nikki, a much more natural heel, and Super Show-Down could be the perfect stage for her turn.
At the event, Rousey will team with the Bella Twins to take on The Riott Squad, giving WWE an easy and effective platform to move Nikki to the heel role she belongs in. With Nikki no longer being associated with Cena, arguably WWE's top babyface, there is nothing preventing her from being a heel character, especially given how successful The Miz has been portraying a villain on SmackDown but a likable star on Miz and Mrs.
WWE needs to give fans a reason to emotionally invest themselves in Rousey vs. Nikki at Evolution beyond it just being a "big match," and a heel turn for Nikki could certainly accomplish that goal, potentially selling a lot of tickets in the process.
The Shield Dominates
Credit: WWE.comCredit: WWE.com
The most compelling angle on Raw is The Shield's reunion tour and the way that the red brand's heels have banded together in an attempt to take the trio down.
Much of the feud thus far, however, has seen Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose continuously fall short of eliminating their rivals, mainly Braun Strowman, Drew McIntyre and Dolph Ziggler. That should change at Super Show-Down, which should serve as the platform that leads to The Shield finally picking up a dominant and impressive victory over its current foes, which needs to happen so that the trio can be reestablished as the most interesting act on Raw.
After all, what made The Shield incredibly popular, arguably the greatest stable of all-time, a strong merchandise mover and TV ratings draw during their previous run, which ended in 2014, was the way the trio ran roughshod over anyone who got in its path. If the idea behind The Shield's ongoing reunion tour is to ultimately lead to an unforgettable implosion (and everything suggests it will), then Reigns, Rollins and Ambrose should dominate the competition until the only way the stable falls apart is by crumbling from within when everyone least expects it to.
That means that The Shield should ride an incredible wave of momentum for the foreseeable future, which will make their eventual split that much more meaningful if and when it comes like an RKO: Out of nowhere.
Triple H Defeats The Undertaker
Credit: WWE.comCredit: WWE.com
There is chatter that WWE is building toward Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker (possibly at Survivor Series), and indeed, reports indicate that "The Heartbreak Kid" will return to the ring for a tag team match alongside Triple H against Undertaker and Kane at Crown Jewel in November, likely resulting in a huge payday for Michaels.
If that is indeed the case, it only makes sense for Michaels, who will be in the corner of Triple H, to cost "The Deadman" the match at Super Show-Down. There is, of course, a long and storied history between Michaels and Taker after "The Phenom" ended HBK's career in 2010, and there is likely big money to be made with a reincarnated version of one of the greatest rivalries of all-time.
In fact, the Wrestling Observer (h/t WrestlingInc) notes that events like Super Show-Down and the upcoming Saudi Arabian special are bigger moneymakers for WWE than WrestleMania even is, so adding Michaels vs. The Undertaker or DX vs. The Brothers of Destruction to the mix for Crown Jewel could be a great way to increase WWE's revenue, largely due to a a jump in the number of WWE Network subscribers for a show and match of this magnitude.
To get there, however, WWE needs to progress the budding Taker/Michaels rivalry, which means we should see Michaels do something (Sweet Chin Music, a full-blown attack, etc.) that gives Triple H the tainted win, all while laying the foundation for an improbable match that would lure Michaels out of retirement.
Daniel Bryan Becomes No. 1 Contender
Credit: WWE.comCredit: WWE.com
Daniel Bryan has officially re-signed with WWE, which should put an end to any questions about how he will booked going forward.
It's obvious that Bryan, who could have thrived on the indies as perhaps its biggest draw, felt like WWE was the better option at the moment, and that will likely result in him being pushed strongly as we head to WrestleMania 35. Up until this point, Bryan has yet to pin The Miz in their two pay-per-view matches (he lost cheaply at SummerSlam and wasn't pinned at Hell in a Cell), so his inability to get that elusive victory over The Miz should come to an end at Super Show-Downm when he beats Miz to become the No. 1 contender for the WWE title.
Advertisements indicate this tremendous feud will continue through the end of 2018, so Bryan beating The Miz at Super Show-Down doesn't necessarily need to end their rivalry. Rather, it is a necessary next step that could lead to Miz costing Bryan his eventual WWE title match, furthering that feud in a way that could make it even better and extend it perhaps all the way to WrestleMania 35. There's no reason to end this feud just yet, but having Bryan fail to win again would be rather monotonous.
It's time to capitalize on Bryan's popularity by having him beat The Miz and then dangling the carrot in front of fans that suggest he will soon become WWE Champion, only for The Miz to prevent that from happening down the road. That's the best route WWE can take here on a SmackDown brand that is thin on the babyface side and must rely heavily on Bryan going forward.
Blake Oestriecher is an elementary school teacher by day and a sports writer by night. He’s a contributor to @ForbesSports, where he primarily covers WWE. You can follow him on Twitter @BOestriecher.
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