Predictions | Geekscape

The 12 Days of Switchmas: Day 2 – Remember To Accessorize!

by Natalie KipperJanuary 2, 2017

It’s the second day of Geekscape’s 12 Days of Switchmas and that means it’s my turn! For those just joining us, Nintendo is making a big announcement about their much anticipated new console, the Nintendo Switch, on January 12 and the writers here wanted to share in the excitement. We will be taking turns sharing our hopes, concerns, predictions and family recipes, all centered around the Switch. You can read Adam’s Day 1 predictions here!

My main concern actually centers around amiibo, specifically their implementation in upcoming games. In my opinion, the use of amiibo lately has been kind of lackluster and gave the feeling off being tacked on at the last minute. I would hate for them to become obsolete. We already know that the Switch is not backwards-compatible so that already limits some of their use right out of the gate.

My hope is that with this new console, developers will bring about a new renaissance for these accessories. It has been confirmed that Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild not only is compatible with several already-released amiibo but will also be bringing several new amiibo to the table as well. This points to a promising future for amiibo collectors but that is still just one title. It will take more that that to keep amiibo in demand and worthwhile. And while we are at it, maybe they can do something about the way their amiibo have been supplied, in small batches that are easy prey for scalpers. I swear, it was like stumbling onto a pot of gold when you found the amiibo you wanted in-stock. You might want to fix that, Nintendo.

As for predictions, I suspect that launch day for the Switch will have a larger library than the Wii or Wii U. It will have to, if Nintendo expects this thing to succeed. I believe that with a wider range of developers from all around the world throwing their support behind the system, we will see more third-party titles make it to the U.S. Not only that, I predict companies will be more adventurous in selecting which titles get localized. I have particularly high hopes for companies like LEVEL-5, Nippon Ichi Software, and ATLUS, all of whom have announced support for the console in some capacity.

Another prediction I have slightly mirrors what Adam said yesterday about Nintendo making a Launch Day announcement regarding the Virtual Console. I suspect that there will be some big update to the eShop that day that will effect the way our game purchases are recorded. Currently, our purchases are tied to our console but I believe that utilizing some sort of other system (perhaps finally putting My Nintendo to good use?), transferring purchases from one console to the other will be less painful. This ties into the Virtual Console because those purchases would ideally be transferable to the Switch.

If I had to make one crazy, probably-not-going-to-happen wish for this new generation, it would be that Nintendo upgrade the NFC chip in upcoming amiibo to include more than one save file on it. I understand that this isn’t exactly Switch-centric but it is relevant nonetheless. Now, I am not even sure that such a wish is even in the realm of possibility but this is a safe space for sharing our dreams, isn’t it? The reason I bring this issue up is that a good portion of the amiibo already have data saved to them and have I have run across this dilemma in the past. I can already foresee many a Smash Bros. player having a bit of a crisis over whether or not to delete their fighter profile on that Bowser amiibo that they lovingly trained.

And thus ends my portion for the 12 Days of Switchmas. Stay tuned tomorrow for another one of Geekscape crew’s take on the next Nintendo console. Merry Switchmas to all and to all a good night (or morning or afternoon)!

Fantasy Booking: Clash of Champions 2016

by SaintmortSeptember 23, 2016

We’re like two months into this brand split and I’m already feeling drained by having a pay-per-view every two weeks, but here we are. This time it’s the Raw solo pay-per-view. I’m not sure how I feel about this one but I have a feeling in September Smackdown is gonna have the better Pay-Per-View.

Since I have nothing to say here’s a disclaimer from Molly:
You know you’re training to be a professional wrestler when you spend your breaks at your minimum wage retail job writing a fantasy booking column on the back of the hand out you got in the ER when you broke your ankle trying to resorte out of a headscissors chinlock! No, I don’t know why paperwork from 9 months ago was still in my purse. Yes, I really did all of that.

Match #1: Alicia Fox Vs. Nia Jax (Pre-Show Match)

NIA JAX: She is a large, bad-ass and beautiful murder machine who has crushed every local talent WWE has thrown at her and is now ready to take out some established roster members.

ALICIA FOX: There’s been a real lacking of Fox on WWE TV lately but when she is on TV she’s always flipping a shit and it’s always entertaining

WHO WINS:
Matt: Nia Jax is definitely winning this the only question is how quickly is she winning this? There has never been a more fitting Pre-Show Match. A quick no stakes match is perfect pre-show fodder. Way better than when the tag belts or titular survivor series matches are the pre-show events. Alicia Fox is a good wrestler who’s great at playing crazy but let’s be serious here… you don’t build Nia with a series of Squash matches for Alicia Fox to take her out.

Molly: Nia Jax with Muscle buster off the top rope… What, she’s only 2 inches shorter and 10 lbs lighter than Samoa Joe anyway!

Josh: Nia’s too early into her run to lose to a lower card performer like Alicia, no matter how much I love her. Foxy doesn’t have a chance. By the way, I just learned that a group of foxes is called “a leash.” That facepalm was about a decade in the making…

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT:
Matt: Nia is going to continue to dominate. She’s going to crush everyone who comes in her path… until Auska gets called up to the main roster in time for Nia Jax vs. Auska to be a Wrestlemania worthy event. I feel like I saw it in NXT once before (I really can’t remember) but even if I did… that was a different less confident Nia. Main Roster Nia has been dope and I hope she continues to be dope for a long time. Also she should be in the Royal Rumble.

Molly: I hope this match turns out to be better than the crowd expects; better than your average pre-show match. Because honestly, Alicia Fox has impressed me the few times I’ve seen her wrestle recently. Specifically in a house show match I saw live between her and Natalya back in July. Alicia can go, but she’s still considered a ‘total diva’. She’s a great stepping stone for Nia to prove that she’s still a human wrecking ball when her opponent is getting in offense. I wanna see more TV time for Alicia where she’s wrestling and not dress shopping with Paige. Maybe getting involved in the title hunt so the crowd doesn’t get tired of the same 3 horsewomen all the time. But really, if you’re sick of the horsewomen, who the fuck are you. And I hope this starts Nia working her way up with matches longer than a minute. I wasn’t convinced when she was drafted from NXT because I really don’t think Nia has hit her stride and found her comfort zone yet. The longer matches with more experienced opponents unafraid of her throwing them across the ring will only benefit her. If you want her to squash opponents, let her start squashing some lower tier dudes. I might even try to get some hotter heel heat on her by booking her in mixed tag matches with her cousin, Roman Reigns (I’m positive every Samoan is related at this point). Once in a while my quest to book Nia Jax as this generation’s Chyna takes precedence over my need for a sorta-Shield reunion.

Josh: Fox will fade back into obscurity while Nia continues her climb to eventually become a championship contender. If she’s healthy, I can see Paige being her next feud. If not, Fox will probably continue the feud for an extra month.

Match #2: T.J. Perkins vs. Brian Kendrick (For the Cruiserweight Title)

T.J. PERKINS: Just won the CWC and got a trophy almost as tall as half the people in the CWC. He loves to Dab.

BRIAN KENDRICK: Was one-half of one of the longest reigning tag-teams in WWE history (with Geekscape family member Paul London). He looks like the bassist of the Lone Rangers.

WHO WINS:
Matt: I really wish it was going to be Kendrick because he was so fucking amazing in the CWC but it will be T.J. Perkins. The man hasn’t even appeared on the main roster yet. There’s no way he’s losing his debut match.

Molly: TJ Perkins. If there is any logical way for Perkins to flip out of Kendrick attempting another burning hammer and turning it into the knee bar then I need to see it happen.

Josh: TJ is winning, and there’s no doubt in my mind about it. Kendrick was picked as the contender because he’s a reliable guy that the fans recognize, and who better to put over the new champion as a threat while being able to take his move set?

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT:
Matt: Perkins will continue to be champ for a while until Cedric Alexander wins it and becomes the dude everyone talks about for the rest of his life. Meanwhile Kendrick is going to have an awesome run as the aged angry heel that will cheat to stay on top. I am DREAMING of when I get to see him and Jack Gallaher have a match because if CWC taught me anything… those dudes can tell amazing stories with no words and I want to see that story telling mix as soon as humanly possible.

Molly: Last year, if you had told me that TJ Perkins (who I first encountered as Suicide in TNA) and The Brian Kendrick were having a WWE pay per view match for a cruiserweight title in the year of our lord 2016, I would’ve asked how you got in my house before back-handing you into the fucking sun. I am ecstatic that this is happening, and I wanna see both these dudes built into the heavyweights of the cruiserweights.

Perkins just won the Cruiserweight Classic. It would be a pretty huge dick move to undo what he’s worked towards all summer (on top of an 18 year indy career that involved a lot of getting shit on) to put the belt on Kendrick after one match. Though it is most definitely a move I could see WWE pulling. Kendrick’s redemption story is fantastic, especially while he’s still playing the heel fans initially loved him as, and it needs to go as long as possible. Now that the CWC is over, wrestlers previously uncategorizable as good/bad have to start taking a side. I hope this gives us a Kendrick that we want to root for even though he can’t give up his old ways and is still an asshole in-ring. And a Perkins that is such a flashy, glittery, show off of a heel that he literally blinds us when he dabs and we still clap for him while bleeding out the eyes.

Josh: Since the division is still kind of a husk at the moment, it’s hard to make any concrete observations. TJ will definitely carry the title for a good amount of time, but with no characters associated with these acts at the moment, we’re veering towards the division becoming a series of meaningless matches. If I were to pick however, I would make Swan or Cedric the next contender, just to continue to highlight the better workers.

Match #3: Cesaro vs. Sheamus (Final Part of the Best Out of 7 Series for a Title Shot)

CESARO: The man speaks multiple languages, tailors his own tear away suits and is so bad ass that it’s not unreasonable to consider him the reason that girl you like won’t date you.

SHEAMUS: He played a CGI Rhino in a movie out on DVD this week.

WHO WINS:
Matt: Cesaro has to win this right? Like… we can’t give it to Sheamus… if we give it to Sheamus than what the fuck was this all about to begin with? I’m heavily leaning towards Cesaro but if Sheamus wins… I won’t be shocked. Cesaro. Final Answer Regis.

Molly: Sheamus via some shit that proves Sheamus is a strong main event presence despite Cesaro being the crowd favorite

Josh: It all depends what the vague promise of a “championship opportunity” means. If it’s for the Universal Title, Cesaro will pull off the four match streak and become Kevin’s new contender. If it’s for the U.S. Title… I still say Cesaro, because seeing him fight Rusev would be much better than Sheamus vs. Reigns for the tenth time in a year. Queue the sirens, Cesaro is taking this!

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT:
Matt: I’m as confused as to the future of these two as I am who is gonna win. Sheamus just continues to be irrelevant in wrestling world and Cesaro is so under utilized… but if I’m going to fantasy book this one I think Cesaro is next to try to take down Owens. I don’t think he succeeds but he puts in a good series of matches. He then chases mid-card gold and (if Reigns doesn’t do it already) becomes the man to beat Rusev for the U.S. Title.

Molly: Because I need Cesaro to be furious and go on a tear after this series, regardless of who deserves what. “You make me waste my time and talents in a feud going nowhere that no one cares about, and because I lose, that undoes everything I’ve accomplished? Hell no,” Cesaro screams at Jojo. I need Cesaro so enraged that when Survivor Series hits, he doesn’t get tagged in until the very end out of spite from his teammates, and when he finally does, he annihilates the other team, eliminating the majority of them and scaring the shit out of everyone else. There’s a lot of talk amongst wrestling fans over who is most ‘deserving’ of pushes. Fans like Cesaro cause he’s a great worker, not cause he’s heel or face. It’s a mindset that, while very respectful to the talent, makes it difficult to suspend disbelief when watching a wrestling show anymore. The best way to further blur the lines and do kayfabe in 2016 is to have Cesaro disregard all of the compliments from fans and criticisms from those in charge and have him just wreck house. Running in on matches, getting disqualified for excessive violence and the like, while Sheamus is like “that fella’s a bleeding nutcase and almost murdered me, it was not worth winning the series.”

Josh: Like Sami, Cesaro’s character arc is currently around his frustration over being stagnant. In Cesaro’s case however, it’s been much more at the forefront. He gets screwed against the Universal Championship, loses that shot, and turns heel out of frustration. Either that, or he gets traded to Smackdown somehow, but seeing as the only apparent way to switch shows is to lose to Jinder Mahal, I’m not expecting that anytime soon.

Match #4: Rusev vs. Roman Reigns (for U.S. Title)

RUSEV: Remember Rocky 4? He’s basically Drago from Rocky 4.

ROMAN REIGNS: Remember The Rock? He’s related to him. WWE thinks that means we’ll love him. They’re wrong.

WHO WINS:
Matt: This is another one I’m torn on. Reigns as U.S. Champion I could live with but I think Rusev is just killing it right now and the time isn’t right. Rusev should remain champion tonight but I’m very accepting to being wrong. Plus if Reigns has the U.S. Title at least he’s no longer a guest on the Kevin Owens show for a while.

Molly: Roman Reigns. How? Fuck if I care!

Josh: As much as I hate to say it since Rusev is my favorite guy on the roster, Roman has to win here. He’s still the company’s golden boy, and after eating a series of big losses, it’ll be time for the Big Dog to build his momentum back up. Plus, it would give him a reason to stay out of the main title picture until they’re ready to resume the Roman Reigns experiment.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT:
Matt: Rusev is going to continue to crush until Cesaro wrecks him and the entire globe rejoices. Meanwhile Reigns will basically get booed out of every building until he’s turned heel and suddenly everyone loves him because wrestling fans don’t care how good of a wrestler you are… they just care about their opinion being heard.

Molly: I want to care. I really do. But following the misogyny of ‘fighting for Lana’s honor’ and whatever mess that finish was at Summerslam, it’s really hard to care. Rusev’s reign isn’t going anywhere in this feud with Roman because of the tug-of-war going on between fans and writers over Roman’s likability. Best thing is to get Rusev out of it entirely and shake off the terrible storylines he keeps getting put in. He’s a great monster heel; let him be the stone wall Cesaro hits in his rampage. As for Roman, you know what fans liked him doing? Being the silent big dude in the Shield. You know who could use some help now that the Authority hates him? Fellow former Shield member, Seth Rollins. I wanna see them team up again. Seth tries to get Roman to trust him again while Roman’s always positive Seth is just after a title to prove he has worth even if he can’t beat Owens. Plus there are no 2 people on the RAW roster who both hate the Authority more at this point, and Seth could use a heater in his corner.

Josh: A rematch followed by a directionless Rusev. Fortunately, the Rumble will be a few short months away, which is when many of the upper midcard guys get a soft reset as the big matches shape up. Roman will feud with a top level guy like Jericho before finally losing the belt in a way that makes him look strong, before stepping back onto the top of the card.

Match #5 Sami Zayn vs. Chris Jericho (For the enjoyment of seeing two masters go at it)

SAMI ZAYN: If Ska music could be personified it’d be Sami Zayn. With no evidence what-so-ever I’m confident he donated to Five Iron Frenzy’s Kickstarter 5 years ago.

CHRIS JERICHO: Depending on your age he was either your favorite wrestler as a kid… or your dad’s favorite wrestler when he was a kid.

WHO WINS:
Matt: I actually didn’t realize how unsure I am about these matches until working on this write-up. That actually makes me a little excited about this pay-per-view. The fan in me wants to say Sami Zayn wins this … but the fan in me also knows Zayn is best when he ALMOST wins but loses to Jericho.

Molly: Christ Jericho (these are not typos, I know what I wrote, Jericho is God) Does anyone tap to the Walls of Jericho anymore? Have Sami tap and hate himself for it. Have him tap to the lion tamer so I can go from really stoked cause I love that hold to really sad cause Sami lost.

Josh: The running theme seems to be that Sami is directionless. Knowing this, I’m guessing Jericho pulls off the win, further frustrating Sami as his former best friend carries on as champion while he can’t beat the new best friend.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT:
Matt: We’re taking our precious time getting there but I think this is the point that breaks Kevin Owens. Sami Zayn won the “final match” against Owens. I feel like Jericho is going to be too excited about beating Zayn which will cause Owens to eventually turn on Jericho. Let’s be honest here Fozzy has a new album and tour in 2017… they gotta write him off somehow… how about a Pop-Up Powerbomb. Then Sami needs to chase down Owens again and be the one to beat him for the Universal Title, possibly at Royal Rumble but ideally Wrestlemania main event.

Molly: Sami Zayn is “The Man of 1000 Incredible Losses” and he’s in a stride I love right now. Gets a few wins to prove he really is good, but mostly loses when the pressure’s on because screwing up when under stress is a relatable, human thing to do. Unlike Cesaro, who I may or may not want to neutralize me straight into the abyss and out of this wrestling-induced stress-coma I’m writing myself into, I want Sami to be the Bayley of the men’s division. Really talk up his unbreakable will and have him on TV every week so my great aunt can keep texting me “that Sami Zayn’s a very nice boy with a sick tornado DDT”. I want Neville built in a feud with Owens so after Sami loses valiantly in a feud with Rollins, Neville and Sami can rehash a bit of their BRILLIANT NXT feud. Where they’re friends who don’t want to hate each other, but keep getting in one another’s way and making it mad difficult to play nice. As for Jericho, there is nothing I would change about this incredible high he’s on. Keep building the fresh faces while giving us the gift of Jericho. I’m thirsty anyway.

Josh: The WWE loves to break popular guys down, only to (possibly), build them back up down the road. Keeping both him and Owens on the same show certainly means they’ll eventually redeem him by having him go over Kevin again. Whether or not its for the title is yet to be seen, but you can’t keep these guys apart for long.

Match #6 Charlotte Vs. Sasha Banks vs. Bayley (Triple Threat for Raw Women’s Title)

CHARLOTTE: Ric Flair’s Daughter, but she doesn’t like being associated with him, unless she’s reminding you that she’s made of his 16-time Champion Sperm. Spends her free time mocking her “friend” Dana Brooke who is a body builder who has no self respect.

SASHA BANKS: Possibly the best wrestler in WWE today (that’s including men), she’s dope AF. I don’t even have any jokes, she’s amazing, that’s all you need to know.

BAYLEY: Bayley is the wrestling fan in all-of-us. If you had to draw a person to represent the phrase “I’m just happy to be here” it’d be Bayley surrounded by anime characters hugging balloon men and… I think I have a dope idea for a T-shirt.

WHO WINS:
Matt: I’ll probably be wrong on this one but I think Sasha gets her belt back. Bayley can’t win this quickly. Bayley is female Zayn, she has to lose over and over again. Just get close … but not close enough. When she does win it needs to be a HUGE deal. Meanwhile Charlotte is a great heel but Sasha can be a better one. She needs to turn this weekend and I want her to turn … because of Dana Brooke backstab.

Molly: Charlotte by literally pressing the rewind button and causing the audience to collectively ask “didn’t we watch this on NXT but with more, oh what’s the word… enthusiasm?”

Josh: If Bayley vs Sasha is the endgame, it’s too early to draw that out all the way until April, so the best way to pull it off is to have Sasha win this match, have her pass the title back to Charlotte in October, and play out the scenario I’m predicting below.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT:
Matt: Charlotte is going to feud with Dana Brooke and beat her time and time again. Finally at Survivor Series Emma returns to save her friend. Sasha is going to continue to be a mean-spirited as human possible until Bayley beats her at Wrestlemania and wacky wavy inflatable arm men explode out of every corner of the building.
(I realize almost all my predicts are ending at Wrestlemania but we’re basically entering Wrestlemania season where everything is just building to the Wrestlemania matches)

Molly: While yes, it would be a great comeback story for Sasha to win the title right back after back injury issues forced her loss, I think this loss could build more sympathy for Sasha so when she finally does win the title back and becomes the cocky, full-of-herself Boss champ she does best, it’ll hurt so good. I could see having Bayley win by taking the pent up fire she had facing Asuka in her NXT Women’s title rematch and redirecting it to take back her place on top. But Bayley is one character that I would love to see digress a bit; back to hug-happy super fan who needs to prove herself as legitimate once more. Out of respect for the belt and Charlotte’s character, I’d like to see her continue onwards into a feud with Dana Brooke and hopefully Charlotte will drop it to Nia Jax when Nia gets her shot in the not-too-far-off future. Meanwhile, Sasha keeps pretending to be Bayley’s friend in the match until it’s obvious Bayley’s gonna be a problem for Sasha and Sasha just goes the fuck off on her. Then pretend to be her friend some more but keep pulling shady shit until Bayley’s done playing games and Sasha’s done sitting around without a title while a fly named Bayley buzzes in her ear.

Josh: The money feud *has* to be Bayley vs. a heel Sasha at Wretlemania, right? That’s why it’s hard to believe that these two are already in the same match fighting for the title when Bayley has been around for a month. My booking would have had Sasha vs. Charlotte in a singles match, and have Sasha lose. Then have Bayley challenge and win near the Royal Rumble, only for Sasha to get jealous over her “friend” winning instead of her. Charlotte can feud with Dana or something. Maybe even a returning Emma to defend her friend?

Match #7 New Day vs. The Club (For the Raw Tag Team Belts)

THE NEW DAY: If Geekscape needed a wrestling mascot we’d pick The New Day (no offense Paul). They love comics, video games and Anime and talk in pop culture references. It’s like their promos are written by Dan Harmon.

THE CLUB: They were dope in Japan. They came to WWE to lose a bunch and hang out with A.J. Styles. In a perfect world they will be dope in WWE soon enough.

WHO WINS:
Matt: I love the New Day. I love them. But their time as Tag Team Champions needs to stop. The Club needs this win. The club needed this win last month if we’re being honest. If I’m wrong about the Women’s title there needs to be at least one title change and that change needs to be the Tag Belts.

Molly: The Club Please just let them murder the New Day, like, just ‘magic killer’ them on top of one another. I love the New Day and don’t want it to be a total squash cause that wouldn’t make sense, but please let the Club get their shit together and take this one.

Josh: I almost feel like it’s now or never for The Club, especially since all the hype surrounding their debut has all but disappeared. Yet, that’s never stopped the WWE from completely killing guys in the name of their own agenda, which seems to be having The New Day break Demolition’s record. Knowing this, New Day is winning.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT:
Matt: The New Day can continue to do theeir comedy schtick and being the most over thing in the WWE Universe. The Club will be absolute dominating heels and rocking the Tag Team Division until they are beaten by Enzo and Cass at the Rumble (see not all Wrestlemania Predictions)

Molly: The New Day has really done all they can do as a tag team. They’re the most successful team in this era of WWE and I AM LITERALLY. ON MY KNEES. BEGGING YOU. TO DO WHAT YOU SHOULD HAVE DONE. WHEN YOU YANKED BULLET CLUB OUT OF JAPAN. And actually book them to be the no-fucks-to-give, win-by-any-means-possible assholes they are best. On top of doing their comedy bits that made every promo they cut in 2014 absolute gold (it’s not the language barrier that made them funny; it’s how absolutely randomly ridiculous it was for a threatening team with solid matches and a winning streak to be doing Irish whip reversals mid-promo and bringing toilet seats as weapons because they were “going to shit on your life”). It also frees up the New Day to have the feud we’ve been waiting for with Enzo & Cass but with the stakes far less high. Or the feud I’m gonna wait forever and then some for, because literally only I would want cruiserweights to be capable of forming teams to enter the tag team division, and that’s New Day vs Cedric Alexander and Noam Dar. Watch the CWC finale and try to convince me Noam and Cedric shouldn’t be a team for the rest of my waking days; I dare you.

Josh: Man, these teams NEED to get away from each other. This feud has dragged both groups down to the point where its hard to care about either. The problems is that the brand is thin when it comes to tag teams,which means the only way I can see it going is for The Club to feud with Enzo and Cass while New Day has a filler feud with… The Shining Stars? Man…

Match #8 Kevin Owens vs. Seth Rollins (For the Universal Title)

KEVIN OWENS: People love to remind you that Kevin Owens doesn’t have the body of a wrestler. Wrestling fans love to remind you we don’t give a shit because he’s amazing.

SETH ROLLINS: The man who broke up the shield and then got backstaged by his foster father. He’s currently on a road to redemption.

WHO WINS:
Matt: Kevin Owens retains as god intended. Seth almost wins this but Triple H interferes once again.

Molly: Kevin Owens via AUTHORITY SHENANIGAAAAAAAANS

Josh: Seth’s face turn is going to be one of the major focuses of the brand going forward, which means you can’t have him get his revenge this early. Owens wins, possibly with more help from Triple H, and continuing to plant the seeds for the big showdown between master and apprentice.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT:
Matt: Seth’s face turn is fully complete and he begins to feud with Triple H building to a match at Survivor Series. As I already explained earlier, Owens will remain champion until Sami Zayn takes the belt off him at Wrestlemania.

Molly: It’s the Kevin Owens Show and it’s going to stay that way so long as I have an imagination and a laptop… And, someone to format my shit and get it on Geekscape so I never have to return to AO3 again (hello darkness, my old friend). I love that all of Kevin’s ass-kissing has paid off and Stephanie McMahon’s slow distancing herself from Seth has culminated in this feud. I hope this feud keeps going as Seth makes Roman his bodyguard (explained at length earlier in my Rusev vs Roman write-up) and they slowly turn face (well, Seth face and Roman just likable) despite most of the roster not liking them very much. Kinda like how they very much not liked the Shield at first! Kevin, meanwhile, just keeps being Kevin. I personally never get sick of his feud with Sami and if it’s over a belt, even better. But I wanna save that for further down the line, say, the Royal Rumble, when surprise return entrant Finn Bálor wants the title back from Kevin but has to go through his BFF Sami to do it. Anyone else love how much they’ve built Finn and Sami’s friendship following the draft even though they have only interacted at house shows and on social media, never on television. Kind of adorable. They’d make a cute coup- I SAID I’M NOT GOING BACK TO AO3, DAMMIT. So until the Rumble built to break my heart happens, I want to see the space filled in between then and now with matches to build the likes of Neville into a title contender. Shit, maybe have Owens face a new signee cruiserweight that got lucky (JACKFUCKINGGALLAGHER).

Josh: Rollins will keep pushing Steph’s buttons while Mick is caught in the middle. After continuously getting screwed, he’ll keep moving towards that match with Triple H, which is pretty much the same story the main event has told for years now. Kevin will keep looking like the undeserving champion, (no matter how much the crowd says otherwise), until a monster babyface like Roman or even Sami dethrones him. My bets are on the former.

Fantasy Booking: Backlash 2016

by SaintmortSeptember 9, 2016

Not sure how it’s possible (well mostly because of brand split) but just two-three weeks out from SummerSlam and we’re already doing another Fantasy booking. This week we’re focusing on the Smackdown centric BACKLASH. Things are already off to a bad start when the best tag team in WWE (American Alpha) and the most recognizable face (John Cena) both aren’t available, but that doesn’t mean we can’t have a good time guessing what’s going to happen. Let’s start!

(Molly Note: I hope these brand specific pay per views are going to have a more Takeover/televised house show (Beast in the East, Roadblock, etc.) feel. Mostly cause circa late 2014 to late 2015 Takeover specials were the best and hell yeah I’m biased. But truly, if anyone could benefit from longer matches, more character development, and fewer feuds that were taken out of the trash and pieced back together like my senior thesis, it’s the cast of Smackdown.)

MATCH #1 – THE USOS VS. THE HYPE BROS
(Winner of this match will challenge Heath Slater and Rhyno to be the first Smackdown Tag Champion)

THE USOS: Part of the growing list of Rock Relatives. They wear face-paint, give a battle chant, when they say Us we’re supposed to say Oh and until last week they were good guys… now they’re a bunch of bullies.

THE HYPE BROS: The Hypos is basically what happens when a can of Red Bull and a can of Jolt become sentient and decide to pursue wrestling careers.

WHO’S GONNA WIN:
MATT: The Usos have to win this one. They’re clearly building a massive feud for American Alpha vs. The Usos. It’s insane that the first solo Smackdown pay-per-view won’t have American Alpha on it (you know the team that was so good they created new tag belts just to get them on the team) but at least this has potential for more story.

MOLLY: Usos. How? CHEATING BECAUSE HEELS NOW

THE FUTURE:
MATT: The Hypo Bros will continue to be hype and win random matches against The Vaudevillians and other less important teams. Eventually they will break up and no one will notice or care. As for the Usos see the next match below…

MOLLY: The Hype Bros are hilarious once you get past the douchebaggery, so I’m hoping they can become a top comedy team on Smackdown. Mostly so Breezango can run it’s course, break up and Tyler can take his rightful place as Prince (Pretty) of Smackdown… But that’s another write up for another time. The Usos are the more established team going into this, and they’re on a more defined path than the Bros right now, so I wanna see them winning because…

MATCH #2 – (WINNER OF PREVIOUS MATCH) Vs. Heath Slater & Rhyno

HEATH SLATER: Was skipped during the Raw/Smackdown draft but damn it… he’s got like 10 kids to take care of so he’s working his ass off to get a contract.

RHYNO: He looks like a neck with legs and communicates mostly through spears and deep exhales. He’s also the winner of a recent Republican Primary. So that’s a thing.

WHO’S GONNA WIN:
MATT: The Usos win two in one night. If American Alpha isn’t going to be our first Smackdown tag champions it better not be for fucking Heath Slater and Rhyno.

MOLLY: Heath Slater and Rhyno, COME OOOOOOOON, IT’LL BE HILARIOUS. Plus if Rhyno’s run in the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic taught me anything, it’s that two dudes that’ve never teamed together in their lives are better than teams with history and chemistry! The Usos are probs gonna go full heel and throttle them following the match anyway.

JOSH: After what happened on the go-home episode of Smackdown, there’s no chance The Uso’s don’t win both matches. The Hype Bros. don’t have a whole lot of credibility, so they can eat a clean loss. But after much teasing and some close near falls, the fan favorites in Rhyno and Heath will come up short.

DEREK: Hype Bros. vs. Rhyno and Slater for the final… with Hype Bros. definitely taking it home.

THE FUTURE:
MATT: The Usos will carry the belts until an important pay-per-view. WWE still sees them as one of their BIG gold mines. They will expect people don’t watch smackdown and won’t know that they’ve turned heel until they’re on a Pay-Per-View that matters. I could see them holding the titles into Survivor Series and winning against some low-tier tag team (maybe a now face Vaudevillians?) and lose it to American Alpha in the Royal Rumble.

Heath Slater and Rhyno will have a match at No Mercy to determine who gets the next Smackdown contract. Heath’s going to be a Free Agent for as long as Damien Sandow was a stunt double.

MOLLY: Heath and Rhyno are gonna go on a fun little run that won’t last too long cause Heath’s gotta get home to his kids and Rhyno’s gotta beat Trump for the presidency or something. Then a slightly more serious (but not that much more serious) heel team like the Vaudevillians or the Ascension will get the attention they deserve, take the titles off of them and hold on for a good long while. I hope the eventual American Alpha vs the Usos feud will be great. I don’t recall ever seeing the Usos play heel, but I have always wanted them to turn and play lackies to the mythical creature that is heel Roman Reigns in a Samoan Dynasty stable, so if they play anything along those lines, I’m in.

P.S. Sorry it’s not much, folks. But I thought it was gonna be American Alpha vs Heath and Rhyno. I didn’t learn until after writing up a fantasy booking for that that Gable is injured and this is the worst thing that has ever happened to me so I am now too depressed and can’t see through my tears to fantasy book this to it’s full extent #dicksoutforchadgable”

JOSH: Each team will go in a few different directions after this match. Heath will continue his storyline where he tries and fails to earn a contract, (without Rhyno now that the tag titles are gone,) while The Usos keep the titles warm for when American Alpha comes back.

DEREK: Breezango takes it at the next PPV. I can dream, can’t I? Or, you know, American Alpha can take them too.

20160830_backlash_mizziggler-29a1ca6f2c84546d3ccc8c019ebfa330

MATCH #3 – THE MIZ VS. DOLPH ZIGGLER FOR THE I.C. TITLE

THE MIZ: He’s awesome. He’s the best bad guy in WWE without competition. Everything about him is easy to hate but more importantly is fun to hate.

DOLPH ZIGGLER: Dolph Ziggler once mocked the Miz for being an actor. Dolph Ziggler is in a movie called Countdown, it’s terrible. He also will play Shawn Michaels and young Kurt Russell in both of their future biopics one day (at least he will in my fantasies)

WHO’S GONNA WIN:
MATT: Two weeks ago I’d have said Ziggler. If he’s going to lose to Dean he can at least beat Miz for a nice IC title run… but that was before Miz cut the promo of his life on Talking Smack. The Miz is one of the biggest reasons to watch Smackdown at this point. Him as a the cocky champ who doesn’t deserve to be champ is his perfect wheelhouse and he shouldn’t leave it any time soon. If nothing else this should continue the slow descent into Ziggler getting more heelish.

MOLLY: Dolph throws everything at the Miz that he threw at Ambrose. Miz, overwhelmed and unprepared, loses clean in a hard fought match where the crowd was super on Dolph’s side. Then have Dolph berate and turn on the crowd, the belt being the ultimate statement of “I did this without the fans’ help cause they suck but they love me anyway”

JOSH: This feud exists solely to transfer the heat from that infamous Daniel Bryan and The Miz Talking Smack segment, but they have a chance to tie this into Dolph’s character arch from last month. Because of this, (and the lack of any real build,) Miz retains while Ziggler continues to come up short.

DEREK: Though I’d love to see Ziggler get any sort of title time at this point in his career, The Miz and his never ending title run has just been too entertaining to have it come to an end now. After seeing that incredible Miz / Daniel Bryan promo (or was it) a few weeks back, it’s clear that he’s going to remain in the spotlight for some time.

THE FUTURE:

MATT: Ziggler will get more and more frustrated at his continuous loses and eventually goes heel. He’ll lose most matches he has against Apollo Crews and Curt Hawkings but will be victorious over Kalisto or Heath Slater.

The Miz will continue to be champion until they have someone else on Smackdown ready to be the 2nd face of the show (maybe Apollo Crews if they can find story for him) or until Smackdown signs another NXT talent. Can you imagine WWE signing Nakamura and how amazing those matches against The Miz could be?! The A-Lister who doesn’t like to get hit in the face vs the man who’s man offense is kicking you in the fucking face!? It’d be Miz’s finest moment since MizDow!

MOLLY: Ziggler’s been in a weird place, between forgetting his own backstory (why are you berating Baron Corbin for ‘not knowing his place’ when you knocked boots with Vicki Guerrero for years to get opportunities???? I don’t understand, bitch, I don’t understand) and the writers not being totally sure if he’s an asshole or not. Well since it’s MY fantasy booking and I LOVE assholes (the figurative kind, not- not literal… you get it), I dub Dolph the new Intercontinental champ and the title of El Hijo de Shawn Michaels. Clearly Dolph and I both are never going to be totally over Shawn Michaels retiring. Why not actually make use of the good parallels between Michaels and Ziggler? I so look forward to that rudo vs rudo rematch between Miz and Ziggler *rubs hands together while giggling evily*

What I learned from this fantasy booking write up: ‘evily’ isn’t a word… *giggling with evil intent*

JOSH: The Miz will ride this a bit longer, defending his “soft” style against the more athletic members of the Smackdown roster. Meanwhile, Dolph will finally snap and FINALLY turn heel. I mean, doesn’t he have to at this point? Otherwise, everything Dean said about him last month is true, which leaves him dead in the water. Then again, WWE has had a habit of having zero direction in the past, so direction-less Dolph isn’t out of the question either.

DEREK: It’s called The Miz’ Never Ending Intercontinental Championship World Tour. It’s going to continue forever.

MATCH #4 – THE WOMEN’S SIX PACK CHALLENGE FOR THE SMACKDOWN WOMEN’S TITLE

For this I originally wrote that I had no write-up because I didn’t have the time to write up 6 write-ups if the WWE was going to keep shoving all the women in one match. Molly pointed out this is just furthering the issues and provided the following 6 write ups.

NIKKI BELLA: Longest reigning Diva’s Champion of all time, definitely not cause she’s dating John Cena or cause WWE is trying to erase AJ Lee or anything.

BECKY LYNCH: Really likes steampunk and being Irish and making puns. Really doesn’t like being the only one of the 4 Horsewomen that hasn’t won a championship yet.

NAOMI: The girl from Just Dance

NATALYA: Should be the Ric Flair of the current women’s division, since 33 is elderly in female wrestler years, but booking still feels the need to wheel out her uncle, Bret “the Hitman” Hart, to get people to watch her matches (leavethemanaloneandlethisneicewrestlehastheHartfamilynotsufferedenough)

CARMELLA: Enzo and Cass’ former hairdresser-turned-valet cause they got her fired for dumping hair removal cream on a poodle. Now she’s gone full angry Jersey Shore girl cause she’s not over with non-NXT fans (and you can’t teach that!)

ALEXA BLISS: She was NXT’s Princess Kimber Lee, then NXT’s Sunny for the tag team Blake & Murphy, now she’s Miss Piggy if a muppet could also be a gymnast

WHO’S GONNA WIN:
MATT: Because I’m hopelessly in love with her, obviously I want Becky Lynch to win this… but the writer in me says no way it’s not going on a heel and while Alexa Bliss is more talented than anyone will give her credit for… Smackdown’s women’s division is about Becky Lynch and the best person for her story right now is Natalya.

MOLLY: Becky Lynch. Between Takeover: Unstoppable and Wrestlemania 32, Becky is gonna use the collective suffering of her fans to finally pull out the big one we’ve been waiting for… and by big one I mean a REALLY BIG TOP HAT- no seriously, give the woman a title already.

JOSH: Man, this women’s division is kind of pathetic, isn’t it? Because of how thin the roster is, I can’t see anyone winning this credibility wise than Nikki Bella. Becky would be my choice, but she’s direction-less, alongside Natalya, Alexa and Naomi. That leaves Carmella as the only other choice, who is far too new to be the top woman of the show. Then again, being the top woman in a six person division might not be so bad… You know what? I changed my mind! I’m going with Carmella as the winner. You can’t call it a new era or a woman’s revolution while making the face of the vapid Diva’s Division of old the inaugural champion.

DEREK: While I’ve been eager to see Natalya with a belt for some time now (yes, she has mic issues but I love her as an in-ring performer), Becky better win. She’s been so close too many times, and the Lass Kicker deserves it more than anyone else on the Smackdown roster. That said, I could also see Nikki going for one more title reign before she says goodbye to the squared circle for good.

THE FUTURE:
MATT: Carmella and Nikki Bella will have a match in the No Mercy pre-show next month. If there’s a god in the sky we will get Becky Lynch vs. Alexa Bliss on that Pay-Per-View to determine #1 contender for Natalya at Survivor Series (which should be Becky’s time to shine). The rest of the women will have mini but ultimately unimportant spats over the next two months. Whoever is NOT going for the Smackdown or Raw Women’s titles will find themselves in a “Raw Women vs. Smackdown Women” survivor series match in November.

MOLLY: This is where the constant face-to-heel-and-back turns of the women’s division really grind my gears. I would LOVE to see newly crowned champion Becky forced to prove herself and fail against super powerful heel Nikki Bella. If you thought WWE was booking Eva Marie like the Terminator, then Nikki is the T-1000 of the Women’s division. But I guess I can settle for a feud with Bliss to follow a Becky win. Mostly because Bliss made a great first opponent when Bayley became NXT Women’s Champ, and cause if Becky wasn’t the #1 most deserving NXT Women’s Champ that never came to be, Alexa was definitely next in line.

Plus Bliss and ‘Mella could really use a lot of spotlight time to showcase their characters. No one cares that Carmella is apparently heel now cause they never got to see her play clueless heel in her ICONIC series of matches with Blue Pants. Alexa can say more in a snarl and an eyeroll than Seth Rollins can say in a RAW opener, and I ain’t too proud to beg a couple camera guys to start focusing in on that.

JOSH: Nikki and Carmella will continue their feud, where Nikki will inevitably win. Depending on whether or not she decides she wants to be a face or heel that week, she’ll run through the roster until Becky finally gets her moment and takes the belt off of her. Expect some NXT call-ups, or even some new girls signed straight to Smackdown. They can’t maintain a division this thin.

DEREK: If Becky wins, Nikki is coming for that championship, I can definitely sense a rivalry brewing here.

MATCH #5 – RANDY ORTON VS. BRAY WYATT

RANDY ORTON: He’s Mark David Chamption to Cerebral’s everywhere

BRAY WYATT: He’s if Charles Manson starred in Deliverance. He’s a prophet of doom and claims to be a God. He can be dope when used correctly … but that hasn’t been the case for a while unfortunately.

WHO’S GONNA WIN:
MATT: Bray Wyatt needs a win in the same way that I need a girlfriend, because it’s been forever since the last one and we both deserve it at this point… even if just out of pity. I know people are saying after Orton’s match with Lesnar he deserves a win but that is dumb thinking. The New Era shouldn’t be based on 40+ year old guys winning matches against fresh new talent, that’s just plain dumb. Bray has the potential to be the best evil force in years… but he can’t achieve that by losing time and time again.

MOLLY: Wyatt via Familial shenanigans? Erik Rowan makes a run in to try to help Bray. Just to fuck up in ways only Rowan is capable and nearly costing Bray the match. But out of sheer violent rage spite, Bray lays waste to Rowan and his win over Orton is just the collateral damage. Erik Rowan makes a run in to try to help Bray. Just to fuck up in ways only Rowan is capable and nearly costing Bray the match.

JOSH: This match feels like a no-win situation, because both guys need to come out of this match on top. Between the two however, Orton needs it more, especially with his rematch with Brock coming up soon. So unfortunately for Bray, Orton is going to take this one.

DEREK: I’ve not really had the time to grow to love either of these superstars, but after Orton’s bloody (losing) return at Summerslam, they have to give him this one. Sure, Wyatt has been out and injured as well, but Orton for way, way longer, and it won’t take long for the Wyatt family’s squash-fests to continue.

THE FUTURE:
MATT: Randy Orton continues to be a face and gets himself involved in a match against Baron Corbin by November or December. Like think about that for a second? The biggest question is what will make us scream “holy shit” louder … An End of Days attempt turning into an RKO or an RKO attempt turning into the End of Days?

Bray Wyatt will just be an unbeatable beast stomping his way throughout the Smackdown card. After taking out the viper, he should either feud with Dean Ambrose (although a little been there done that) or Apollo Crews to take away his smile a bit.

MOLLY: I’m mostly stoked that I may be getting my booking from Summerslam, and my predictions are NEVER right! (Ask Matt to reenact my NXT Takeover: London freak out when I loudly thought “But what if someone does a Jack the Ripper entrance?” And then Finn Bálor ACTUALLY DID IT). So I still want Orton to be manipulated by Bray into turning into the roughest, most calloused of heels. But following this match, Bray is going to make an example out of Rowan and show Orton how much fun it is to utterly decimate someone. Hopefully this also works to turn Rowan face and break him away from the Wyatt Family for a singles run that doesn’t feel like it’ll inevitably end in a reunion at Survivor Series or the Royal Rumble (but who the fuck am I kidding, of course it will).

JOSH: It’s hard to see either of these guys doing much else until the next big Pay Per View, so I don’t see how their feud doesn’t continue after this. Orton wins this match, loses against Brock, and Bray gets into his head after the second loss, which will lead to Bray winning the feud. This will separate them for the inevitable Orton vs AJ feud.

DEREK: Bray Wyatt is quickly going to move in for that Smackdown championship.

MATCH #6 – DEAN AMBROSE VS. A.J. STYLES FOR WWE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BELT

DEAN AMBROSE: He’s like Uncle Jesse on Full House mixed with Killing Joke era Joker

AJ STYLES: He beat John Cena. Clean. If you don’t know wrestling at all… even you know that’s a super big deal.

WHO’S GONNA WIN:
MATT: AJ Styles needs a belt as soon as possible. I love Dean… but fuck that guy, it’s AJ O’Clock. There’s no one in WWE with a better understanding of how to be a respected wrestler and hatable heel at the same time like A.J. Styles has proven to be the master of over the last few weeks.

MOLLY: Dean Ambrose via the dirtiest of unclean finishes, and I’m not talking “dirty deeds”! … There’s a joke in here somewhere but leave me alone, I’m still sore and tired from Chikara King of Trios last weekend (now available for viewing on Chikaratopia! Yeah I did it #shameless)

JOSH: Styles has FAR too much momentum after beating Cena for him to lose. Being that he’s the most talented guy in the ring, and one of the most talented people on the mic, it’s not a bad transition to make. Unfortunately for Ambrose, outside of his promos with Ziggler, he hasn’t exactly set the world on fire with his run. For the good of the brand, Styles has to walk out with the win. What is it about AJ’s being the best at their craft, anyway? Hmm…

DEREK: As much as I’ve been loving Ambrose in his championship run, Styles simply has to take this one. He’s proven that he’s one of the best by beating ‘The Face That Runs The Place’ John Cena on not one, but two occasions, and it would simply look weird to see him lose against the (very talented) likes of Ambrose after his victory at Summerslam. Yep, Styles takes it… and I’m really glad that I’m not a betting man because I’m also terrible at predicting things.

THE FUTURE:
MATT: Dean will definitely go for a rematch which Bray Wyatt will interrupt to set up a feud between the two of them. AJ Styles will hold the belt and most likely wrestle John Cena again in November or December. AJ deserves as long of a run has humanly possible because he really is on a different level right now… I don’t know if we can thank him or the writers or have to thank both but I’m stoked to see what top notch amazing he brings us this Sunday.

MOLLY: I’m trying to build Ambrose into a pretty strong, in-it-for-the-long-haul champion. I feel like that’s necessary for Smackdown since as RAW has had to deal with so much unpredictability involving the Universal Title (by Clash of Champions there will have already been 3 matches for it and at least 5 former contenders). So I hope Ambrose holds on to the title for now, uses his status to push some guys like Apollo Crews and Baron Corbin into legitimate threats, and keeps up with this “my square, don’t care” attitude. Let him get under the GM’s skin and act more like he runs the place. I’m sure we’re all happy with Ambrose’s impression of Heath Ledger’s Joker but please let me see Ambrose get so full of his own hype that he tries to hold Smackdown hostage and go full Arkham Asylum Joker.

As for AJ, I like that this booking has him playing subtle face to Ambrose’s role of not-really-heel-but-still-kind-of-a-dick. I’d be cool if Ambrose cheated and it lead to a stronger AJ face turn. I’d be cool if this ended in a DQ that doesn’t weaken either guy. Make it clear AJ should have won and we should all be rightfully pissed he’s not champ. So when Ziggler interrupts him the next episode and rubs it in AJ’s face that he could win his match and AJ couldn’t (much like AJ to Dolph following Summerslam), it sets up for an Intercontinental title match in the future to further elevate that title.

JOSH: After the inevitable rematch clause is pushed out of the way, the AJ vs Ambrose and Orton vs Bray feuds will switch opponents. Dean and Bray will give each other something to do until the Royal Rumble, while AJ vs. Orton will carry us into Wrestlemania season.

DEREK: I know that Cena is going to be out for some time (damned TV career), but if Styles takes it, I see the third Styles vs. Cena match being a championship match… with Cena bringing home the belt.

Fantasy Booking – NXT Takeover Brooklyn II

by SaintmortAugust 19, 2016

It’s weird, we’re just a day away from an NXT Takeover and for the first time in a year, I’m not too excited. This time last year Takeover: Brooklyn was arguably the best pay-per-view of the year and there was nothing but top notch anticipation going into it. But this year, with so many NXT Talents being drafted to the main roster and NXT only have about a month to introduce new characters and storylines… something is lacking. I don’t know if it’s this year’s Summerslam card being crazy stacked or what, but for the first time in over a year Takeover doesn’t feel like the must-see pay-per-view. But that doesn’t mean it won’t be amazing.

Let’s Break Down the Card to NXT Takeover: Brooklyn II (or Back II Brooklyn as Molly prefers).

MATCH #1 EMBER MOON VS. BILLIE KAY

Some things you might need to know about these wrestlers:

Billie Kay – She’s Australlian, she dresses in dark blue, her entrance music is from Carmen and she was on Smackdown once. This is the extent of her character development so far. I can’t even tell you if she’s a heel or a face really.

Ember Moon – She formerly wrestled in the indies as Athena and I’m told she was amazing. Based on the vignettes she’s been featured on she’s potentially a cleric werewolf.

PREDICTIONS:

Matt Kelly – Ember Moon is going to win this. I know nothing about her but people so rarely lose in their debut match. If the impossibly popular Tyler Breeze lost to Justin Thunder Liger (in Ligers only NXT appearance) then the barely notable Billie Kay has no chance of survival.

Molly May – Ember Moon. Is it too much to ask for a 2nd or top rope ‘O-Face’ on Ember Moon’s debut night for the finish? I know we had to wait well over a year for Samoa Joe to hit a second rope ‘muscle buster’, but can you imagine if Ember comes in like, “I AIN’T WAITING, CHECK THIS COOL SHIT I CAN DO.”

Josh Jackson – Is there any chance that Billie Kay pulls through? No, didn’t think so. Ember Moon wins in a decisive way with whatever her finisher is going to be.

THE FUTURE:

Matt Kelly – Billie Kay will probably end up being the heel on NXT for a while now and Ember Moon I’m going to assume will be the person to eventually take the belt off Auska (but not right away).

Molly May – Once you’ve checked out the cool shit Ember can do, it’s fair to say she’s poised to be a big player for the women’s division and NXT as a whole. I wanna see her work her way up; put in some solid #1 contender’s matches against the likes of Billie and Peyton before she gets to the final boss, Asuka. You’ve probably caught that I hate the current NXT trend of foregoing character development in favor of assuming you know who these wrestlers are from their independent careers. Give Billie better reason to be evil than “I was on Smackdown once so I’m better than everyone here”. Let the crowd authentically fall in love with Ember so when she gets her match with Asuka, we don’t just care about that, but we cared about the journey she took to get there.

Josh Jackson – It’s obvious that Ember Moon IS the future of the women’s division, especially with the inevitable Bayley call up. I see her racking up the wins while the women’s division down in NXT rebuilds around her, since Asuka will be the only big star left… And that’s assuming her own call up won’t happen some time soon.

MATCH #2 NO WAY JOSE VS. AUSTIN ARIES

Some things you might need to know about these wrestlers:

No Way Jose – Jose is a dancing machine. He looks like comedian Reggie Watts but with Andrew W.K’s flair for life. He’s awesome, trust us.

Austin Aries – Few wrestlers are easier to dislike than Austin Aries. He declares himself the greatest man who ever lived but doesn’t use the weezer song as his entrance music. Like I said, he’s easy to hate.

PREDICTIONS:

Matt Kelly – I want Jose to win because I love the shit out of him but I think story wise Aries has more to lose from losing. No Way is so beyond popular that a loss (and definitely not a clean one) shouldn’t have any negative impact on his career.

Molly May – No Way Jose, but it’ll be a DQ victory from Aries just beating the utter tar out of him.

Josh Jackson – This one is hard to call, because if Austin wins, then he’s right about Jose not being in his league. If Jose wins, then what the hell are they doing with a world reknowned talent like Austin? In the end, I give it the win to The Greatest Man Who Ever Lived via shinanigans. It’s the only way to protect both guys.

THE FUTURE:

Matt Kelly – Jose will continue to become more and more popular and eventually be the unexpected person to hold the NXT Title before going to the main roster where he will most likely get Breezed. Austin Aries should 100% form a tag team with Bobby Roode shortly after Takeover.

Molly May – This is the loss in the streak that’s gonna cause Aries to snap. He can’t believe he’s been made 2nd fiddle to Nakamura, and now he can’t even beat Jose? Aries is gonna start looking for a way to even out his wins/losses record again. And what better way to do that than to link up with an old friend who happens to be on fire and about to take NXT by storm in the form of Bobby Roode. GET IN, LOSER, WE’RE GOING WRESTLING. Aries and Roode rack up a series of tag team wins before their egos get the better of them and it leads to a match between them for bragging rights at the next Takeover.

Jose is just gonna keep being Dominican Andrew W.K. and that’s the best way to go through life honestly.

Josh Jackson – Aries just has to move on to something bigger. Like the previous match, I don’t feel like Joe has much longer in NXT, especially with the brand split creating so many new main roster spots. I feel like a main event push is in his future,while Jose moves on to a midcard feud with someone he can learn from. The loser of the Roode / Almas match, perhaps?

MATCH #3 ANDRADE ALMAS VS. BOBBY ROODE

Some things you might need to know about these wrestlers:

Andrade ALmas – He was a former lucha wrestler and supposedly very good. Until about two weeks ago I forgot he even existed. He took off his mask, started dressing like Lou Bega and maybe wrestled three matches in as many months.

Bobby Roode – Bobby Roode has the greatest wrestling entrance theme in years. This is literally everything you need to know about him.

PREDICTIONS:

Matt Kelly – I’m keeping it short, simple and sweet. Booby Roode is going to win this. End of sentence. Sorry Almas but we all forgot you existed and your entrance song isn’t Glorious.

Molly May – Roode will reverse some sweet lucha shit into some sweet ground-and-pound shit for a victory.

Josh Jackson – This is Roode’s debut match on WWE TV, while Andrade has been a complete failure in the few months he’s been on the NXT roster. Is there any doubt that the former TNA champion won’t deliver with a glorious victory in his debut?

THE FUTURE:

Matt Kelly – Roode will continue to dominate and form a tag team with Aries for the upcoming Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. They might even win it and decide that their combined powers make them so great that it’s glorious. Almas will continue to be under utilized until they find a good partner for him in the Tag Team Classic (maybe someone from CWC) and suddenly we will all be really into his character.

Molly May – Roode is destined to become the successor to Joe’s status as top heel in NXT. Even if you aren’t familiar with his TNA work or any of Roode’s previous career highlights, his introduction promo and face-melter of an entrance theme have established him as the perfect future corporate champion. Cien Almas, however, is just the latest victim of NXT’s “babyface him to death after we signed him for being an incredible heel somewhere else” schtick. I’m not saying turn Almas heel. I’m saying just tell people who the hell he is. NXT has been majorly lacking character development, which is what I believe made it special and unique compared to the main roster for so long. They’ve been relying on the hope that you know his past work as La Sombra, and while that worked for Joe and Nakamura, it’s what really took guys like Zayn, Owens, and Balor to the next level in their NXT runs. I desperately want Cien to take the torch as a top face in the absence of most of the men that made NXT. Pit him in blood feuds with Aries and Roode before you let him at Joe. But you need to tell us who Almas is and why he’s bothering with all this first.

Josh Jackson – I don’t see how Andrade doesn’t turn heel. Rejected by the fans, he has the perfect out to reinvent himself before he becomes permanently damaged. The suspenders and hat need to go, and he needs to sell himself as deserving better considering how big of a star he was in Mexico. Maybe he can be in that Jose feud I mentioned?

Meanwhile, assuming Roode doesn’t get the spot against Jose, I can see him either feuding with a returning Eric Young to play up their history, or gunning straight for the championship. Time will tell, but he’s going to be made into a big deal as one of the cornerstones of the brand going forward.

MATCH #4 THE REVIVAL (C) VS. JOHNNY GARGANO & TOMMASO CIAMPA

Some things you might need to know about these wrestlers:

The Revival – This is our NXT Champions. They don’t look like much but they are crazy amazing and bringing back old school wrestling. Their catchphrase is no Flips Just Fists and if you just saw a picture of them you probably wouldn’t expect much but really, truly, honestly… the Revival is dope as fuck.

Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa – A little under a year ago these two came to NXT as “Team Free Agent” for the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. They were just generic wrestlers in NXT for months but a handful of Promos and a Match of the Year worth CWC Match later they are the team you want to see succeed.

PREDICTIONS:

Matt Kelly – I know it seems too soon for the Revival to end their 2nd reign as Tag Champs but Gargampa are fire right now and need those belts. Smackdown needs a good team for American Alpha to throw around The Revival is that perfect team (who can always look like a threat).

Molly May – The power of friendship… which is generated best by excessive punts to the face and death valley drivers will allow Gargano and Ciampa the victory.

Josh Jackson – If you would have asked me two weeks ago, I would’ve said that our indie darlings would have had a good shot at pulling off the win. After their Cruiserweight Classic match however, it seems like miscommunication will lead to a Revival retention, followed by Ciampa turning on Gargano.

THE FUTURE:

Matt Kelly – Ciampa and Gargano are going to be champions for a while. The Revival will get a “Pre-going to Smackdown” rematch and then these two will be unstoppable until Team Gloriously Great decides that a perfect duo like them deserves the belts to prove they live up the Tag Name I just made up for them.

Molly May – Gargano and Ciampa had one of the best matches of the Cruiserweight Classic so far (and that’s saying something; there are a LOT of worthy ‘best matches’ in that tournament) and it only made them stronger as a team. I love that that match showed what level of aggression they’re capable of unleashing on the Revival. Up until recently, while tag teams across the board have had some decent squash matches, none of them have had the backing that teams like Enzo and Cass, the Vaudevillians, and American Alpha had. I feel like the Revival has really come into their own as characters and as a team. They’ll be just as strong a presence without the belts (although I will miss “clink me”), and I feel Ciampa and Gargano have awesome title defenses against TM-61 and the Authors of Pain on the horizon.

Fingers crossed they #GloriousBomb Roode in the middle of his entrance.

Josh Jackson – The Authors of Pain can’t stay out of the title picture for much longer. No matter who wins, Paul Ellering’s new team will be gunning for the champions. Based on my prediction, I’m guessing Gargano and Ciampa feud with each other, while The Revival find themselves being out-heeled by bigger, badder guys. Does that mean they’re turning? Not necessarily, but I see them being the de-facto faces going forward.

MATCH #5 ASUKA VS. BAYLEY

Some things you might need to know about these wrestlers:

Asuka – You know the Ring? Know how that made Japanese girls terrifying? Asuka is the Ring Girl… but with Rainbow hair. She’s the scariest gorgeous girl ever.

Bayley – Bayley is the definition of face. She loves hugs and wrestling and hugs. She was the former NXT women’s champion and she lost her belt to the brutal Asuka. She’s getting her rematch finally in a quest to be the first ever 2 time NXT women’s champion.

PREDICTIONS:

Matt Kelly – Last year was Bayley’s year and it really started in Brooklyn. If you haven’t seen Sasha Banks vs. Bayley from last year’s Brooklyn match… do so. It represents everything that makes wrestling great. But that was 2016. It’s 2017, it’s not Bayley’s year anymore.

Bayley is going to lose, she’ll put in a good fight but she is going to lose and find herself a new home on Raw or Smackdown.

Molly May – Both women do a lot of damage with their respective submissions, but Bayley eats a few too many roundhouse kicks for Asuka not to get the pin.

Josh Jackson – This one is another hard one to call. We know Bayley can’t be in NXT much longer, suggesting that Asuka will win. But if Bayley doesn’t get the job done, who can they have beat Asuka with next to no build? She would either be stuck in developmental for at least another year despite being one of the best wrestlers in the entire company, or the crowd would completely reject her challenger when they smell the bull crap all the way from Full Sail.

With that said, the only way I see this going is having Bayley win the match after a hard fought back and fourth with a belly to bayley.

THE FUTURE:

Matt Kelly – Asuka will continue to be the NXT Women’s Champ until someone steps up and stops her. Maybe that person will be Ember Moon or maybe someone like Liv Morgan or Billie Kay unexpectedly catches on and gets that moment. Either way, when Asuka loses it will be a BIG moment that means something. Bayley is going to the main roster where she will eventually be the WWE Women’s Champion, potentially by next Summerslam if not sooner.

Molly May – Bayley is off to greener pastures on the main roster. Even though she’s a good choice for first 2-time NXT Women’s Champ, there’s really not much left for her to do. Assuming this is Bayley’s last NXT match, laying down to let Asuka get the pin and continue to be the murder princess she is is the admirable thing to do. The women’s division is in good hands with the likes of Asuka, Ember Moon, Billie Kay, Peyton Royce, Nikki Glencross, and so on. I’m hoping this will be the show stealer, ala Nakamura vs Zayn, that it deserves to be.

Josh Jackson – From there, they can either say that Bayley is hurt from the match, or even promise to take on all comers, only to be dethroned on NXT TV by someone unexpected. Ember Moon would be the only real option. From there, Moon would have to destroy the women’s roster to build to a match with Asuka, where if all goes according to plan, Moon can win without it seeming unrealistic.

MATCH #6 SAMOA JOE VS. SHINSUKE NAKAMURA

Some things you might need to know about these wrestlers:

Samoa Joe – Envision a big dude who you can tell immediately has the ability to beat the piss out of you. Now envision that despite his size he’s super acrobatic. Now envision that this walking murder machine also is wired in a way where he can justify every terrible thing he wants to do to you as being 100% the right (and only) option of attack. Scared? you should be.

Shinsuke Nakamura – Nakamura is a wrestler who dresses and moves like a weird hybrid of Michael Jackson and Freddie Mercury. Sounds awesome? Good because he fucking is.

PREDICTIONS:

Matt Kelly – Shinsuke and Joe will be a match that people will remember for years on end. It will also be remembered as the match that Shinsuke lost, or at least didn’t win the belt. This match will end with a DQ when Hideo (who should absolutely have had a match on this Takeover but someone remembered Andrade Almas existed instead) runs in and attacks Samoa Joe and reveals Joe to be who attacked him over a year ago.

Molly May – Hideo Itami interferes to pull Nakamura into a pin attempt on Joe. Joe still kicks out and defiantly gets Nakamura to tap to the “Coquina Clutch” while refusing to break the hold and staring Itami down.

Josh Jackson – Joe has been one of my favorite talents for years, long before he arrived in NXT. Which is why it pains me to say that I don’t see him walking out of New York with the NXT Title. Nakamura is on fire, and while someone with the credibility of Joe would be the only one who could beat him at this point, he has accomplished everything there is to do in NXT. I expect Shinsuke to take the win with a… KINSHASA!!! You know, except we won’t get Corey Grave’s awesome call.

THE FUTURE:

Matt Kelly – Vince wants that sweet Nakamura cash on his main roster and he wants it there bad and ASAP. Nakamura will leave NXT without ever being the champ, but that’s okay. He will be the biggest thing in the known universe this time next year. Meanwhile Joe and Hideo are going to feud it out and because he’s a bad bad motherfucker… Joe will destroy Hideo and continue to dominate until he loses to the unexpected No Way Jose (over 50% serious)

Molly May – Anyone else think it’s kind of weird how Hideo Itami doesn’t have a match at Takeover? I mean, he’s one of the names credited with building NXT to what it is today, he was in the title picture pre-injury, and his return got some pretty good hype. As much as I would LOVE the swerve of Hideo showing up to kick Finn’s ass at Summerslam for injuring him, I think it makes plenty of sense for him to get involved in the NXT Championship match. There’s enough history between him, Joe, and Shisuke for him to take a side, so should he come out and help Nakamura, it wouldn’t be a big surprise.

The surprise would come the next episode of NXT, when Itami reveals that it was Samoa Joe that attacked him before he debuted that night at Takeover: Unstoppable. Joe comes out to defend himself and tells Itami, “Wow, Hideo, I took you for smarter than that… You really think I acted alone?” 😉 DUN DUN DUUUUUUUUUN

Josh Jackson – Joe gets a rematch and loses on TV as his official goodbye, then moves on to take the main roster by storm, (hopefully with his sights set on a certain beast). Shinsuke on the other hand, will hold the title until Wrestlemania weekend, where Roode or Aries will take the title off his hands before his own main roster debut.

NXT TAKEOVER: BROOKLYN II is airing Saturday August 20th at 8:00pm EST only on the WWE Network.

Geekscape Roundtable: Our Predictions For E3 2014!

by GeekscapeStaffJune 6, 2014

Another year has passed, and E3 is nearly upon us once again! As always, we’ll be covering the event live and remotely, so stay tuned for tons of announcements, trailers, and news that you expected to hear, and hopefully a whole lot of reveals that you weren’t anticipating.

Each of us here at Geekscape have our hopes raised for things that may or may not come to pass, but we’ve also got some predictions for games and announcements that we’ll be seeing next week. You can take a look below for each of our thoughts, and be sure to stay tuned throughout next week for all of our live coverage!

Don’t forget to let us know what you hope to see next week in the comments below!

Shane O’Hare

I feel like this year’s E3 is going to be one of the best. All the new consoles are out and have a certain level of pedigree, so this year’s E3 is all about flexing the power of each unit. We will definitely see more on Halo 5 and a whole lot of Kinect garbage we won’t care about from Microsoft. Sony is going to be hyping (hopefully) The Last Guardian. Nintendo should be bringing the heat with Smash Bros, and I think it is time they fill out their roster and let us all know some hard release dates. It will also be interesting to see what they bring to the table in regards to their new NFC gaming device. Also, fingers crossed for some more Bayonetta 2 news. My French homies over at Ubisoft would be stupid not to have something new for The Division. There was a casual statement from a developer on that project and he said “We barely have our engine, 2015 might be pushing it as far as a release date”. JUST GIVE US SOMETHING UBI! ANYTHING!

Juan Carlos Marquez

Nintendo has tremendous momentum heading into E3 this year. With over 1.2. million copies of Mario Kart 8 flying off store shelves last weekend (here’s our review), this may mark the much-needed turnaround for the Wii U–very much like Super Mario 3D Land pulled the Nintendo 3DS from its funk. That being said, expect Nintendo to continue the positive upswing with a couple of huge announcements.

#1 Gamecube Virtual Console HD Games Announced

The Virtual Console for the Wii U offers NES, SNES, N64, Gameboy, and Gameboy Advance games. The only thing missing from the equation (other than the Virtual Boy) is the Gamecube. While not a sales juggernaut, the Gamecube offered an impressive library of games. Due to the success of Wind Waker HD and the recently announced Gamecube Controller Adapter for Wii U, I wouldn’t put it past Nintendo to roll out some of the best GameCube games available on the Virtual Console, such as Super Mario Sunshine, F-Zero GX, Viewtiful Joe, Time Splitters 2, and Wave Race: Blue Storm. While GameCube systems may be cheap to purchase today, their games are not. Used copies of Smash Bros. Melee start at $6o. A used copy of the brutal shooter Ikaruga goes for $55, and for those wanting to play Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance need to spend $125 for a used copy! While brilliant these games may be, not everyone has the means to purchase them. An updated Virtual Console service which includes GameCube games would only boost the Wii U’s library.

#2 Youkai Watch Announced for 3DS

It is part Pokémon/part Dragon Quest…and Japanese gamers love it. With its own manga series and a successful anime, Youkai Watch could very well be a huge hit here in North America–and Nintendo is going to bank on that. Nearly 1 million copies of the first Youkai Watch game quickly sold in Japan and it has been a constant presence atop video game sales charts. A sequel is slated for release this July and chances are North American gamers will be able to play it themselves. Level-5’s trademark filing for Yo-Kai Watch for North America lends me to believe that the Japanese megahit will be making its presence at E3.

#3 F-Zero AND Star Fox coming to Wii U

Mario Kart 8, New Super Mario Bros. U, Super Mario 3D World, and Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games–four different Wii U games featuring everyone’s favorite princess-saving, mushroom–eating plumber, yet some of Nintendo’s other core franchises have been painfully absent. It has been nine years since a new Star Fox game has landed on a Nintendo system and a decade for an F-Zero game. A decade!

At the Nintendo investor’s meeting last April, Saturo Iwata stated that the company would allow licensing of their characters to third parties, and I would fully expect an announcement in the realm of a new Star Fox from Platinum Games or an F-Zero game from SEGA. It appears that Iwata realizes Nintendo not utilizing many of their IP’s, and allowing other third parties to take some of these franchises–just as we are seeing with Hyrule Warriors— would keep a healthy supply of games for Wii U owners to look forward to. All I know is that fans have been clamoring for a new title from either series for years, and I can’t imagine after the popularity of Captain Falcon and Fox McCloud that neither would be denied their own games, just as they were for the Wii.
The saying goes that you don’t get a second chance to make a first impression, but Nintendo finds themselves in that exact situation. The Wii U has suffered some pretty negative press–some deserved, some not-so deserved. E3 2014 allows Reggie Fils-Aime to hit the reset button and showcase some of the fantastic games the Wii U has to offer and show the industry, gamers, and the press that not only does the Wii U have games, but games and experiences consumers will want to take part in this year.

Jake Lopez

Better and Smoother Looking Titles

While the Kinect may not have taken off as Microsoft planned, an argument can be made that the accessory is still widely used outside of playing a game. Regardless, a recent change regarding the system’s GPU can mean better looking and smother games for the Xbox One. You should expect to hear “1080p” and “60 FPS” tossed around too. Here’s what Microsoft has to say on the matter:

For consumers, simply unplugging Kinect will not impact the performance of Xbox One. The June SDK released to developers gives them access to additional GPU resources previously reserved for Kinect and system functions. Accessing the additional GPU resources is done by the developer, and how developers choose to access the extra GPU performance for their games is up to them.

For titles that ship in the future, if a developer has taken advantage of this SDK change they may access this additional GPU resource. We have started working with a number of developers on how they can best take advantage of these changes, and we’ll have more to share in the future.

What does this mean for us? Well, should the developers take advantage of the additional GPU space at their disposal, we could potentially see sharper textures and smoother frame-rates.

Transmedia Projects

Yes, Microsoft excessively used “TV” during their presentation last year, but wait, where are the shows?! Well, expect to hear AND see more of their transmedia projects, starting with Halo. It has been reported that a Halo project has begun filming in Belfast, Ireland.

This new project has Ridley Scott as the executive producer and Battlestar Galactica’s Sergio Mimica-Gezzan as director. It’s important to note that this project is entirely separate from the Steven Spielberg Halo project that was announced last year. Rumor has it that Ridley Scott’s project may not entirely feature Master Chief at all. In any case, prepare yourselves for a teaser.

With Halo out of the way, one could expect to hear about other transmedia projects Microsoft has in the works. Each show should correspond with first party titles. Expect announcements and/or teasers!

Video Games

Obviously, we’re getting a Halo 5: Guardians teaser, but the Halo won’t end there. I’m sure we’ll get another detailed announcement of Halo: The Master Chief Collection. This collection was rumored here on Geekscape way back in January.

#Halo3, #Halo4 will be included in #Halo2 Anniversary War Chest Edition, along with a #Halo5 Beta among other items. #XboxOne #343i

— Jacob Lopez (@jake_108) January 30, 2014

Beyond that, we may get word of a Halo 5 Beta to be included with purchase of Halo 2. We may also get an in-depth look at Halo 5’s story and word of another Spartan Ops season.

Gears of War is a franchise we don’t have to look too far back to remember. After turning over everything Gears of War related to Black Tusk Studios, the franchise appears to be ready to make the leap to the Xbox One. One thing to keep in mind during the presentation is a point of interest for Rod Fergusson, Studio Manager at Black Tusk Studios:

This isn’t a great way of phrasing it but I always talk about shipping a sequel to customers as ‘managing betrayal’. They want something new but they don’t want something so new that it doesn’t feel like what they want. But if you put out something that’s very familiar and is the same as the game they just had, then it’s like ‘I’ve already had this. This isn’t new enough.’

You actually have to betray them enough to give them something new and surprising but not so much that they disconnect, and I think that is a big thing that we have to focus on,” Fergusson added. “It’s how we can innovate and bring something new to the franchise while at the same time really proving that we understand Gears – that this is the franchise that you know and love.

I also wouldn’t be surprised if we revisited old franchises such as Crackdown, Dance Central, or maybe even a resurgence of Rock Band. In all, I have a feeling they might save the best for last: A new Mass Effect title. However, this might be instead showcased during the EA press conference.

Josh Jackson

Pokken will be real. And it’ll be awesome.

For months, there have been rumors swirling of a Pokemon fighting game. Ever since an image of an HD Lucario and Blaziken about to face off surfaced, it’s been a huge topic of discussion in the Pokemon community.

Since then, word has been that the guys behind Tekken are the ones who are developing this potential title, which will be a full fledged fighting game featuring various Pokemon, all set to the mechanics of the popular 3D fighter.

It makes perfect sense considering how many popular fighting type Pokemon are in existence, how buddy buddy Namco and Nintendo have been as of late, (including their fighting game devs helping with work on the upcoming Smash Bros.), and even appeared in the credits of Mario Kart 8. Plus, we haven’t seen a core Tekken game since Tekken 6, with their last game being Tekken Tag Tournament 2: Wii U Edition, which introduced Nintendo items and costumes into the King of the Iron Fist Tournament. Coincidence? I think not. Will it be another killer app for the Wii U’s groing library? Who knows? But I know I’ll be first in line when it DOES get announced.

Super Smash Bros. will get six character reveals, three of which will be new.

Super Smash Bros. is easily the most hyped game of the year for Nintendo, (sorry Mario Kart), so what better way to build up excitement right before their live streamed tournament than to reveal a sizable amount of new characters?

As far as new characters are concerned, I’m guessing we’ll see… Paulatena, Chrom and Pac-Man, assuming Ridley is still off the table. They’ll want to end with a big reveal, so that would be the perfect time to show him. If not, I fully expect Pac-Man to take his spot as a gaming icon and knock down drag out brawler. Hey, he’s shown up in Street Fighter X Tekken, stranger things have happened!

Oh, and old characters need to be ones people are afraid are gone for good. C’mon, Mewtwo, Ice Climbers and Snake!

The Legend Of Zelda: Majora’s Mask 3D Will Be A Reality!

At this point, Zelda is essentially an annual franchise for Nintendo between its console and handheld releases. I can’t think of a better way to hype up the upcoming core Zelda title for the Wii U with a remake of one of the most polarizing entries in the series this side of Zelda 2.

Fans have been begging for it since Ocarina of Time 3D hit stores, and considering that Nintendo has been far less tone def since the surprising success of Xenoblade Chronicles, you better believe that this title is in the works. No better time to announce it than the present!

Microsoft will be all about games. For real this time!

Saying Microsoft has had a rough year with its Xbox One would be a huge understatement, and most of it stems from the controversy last year over their attempt at console DRM and forcing Kinect on everyone who buys the console. A little over six months later, and Kinect is gone while DRM is a distant memory that the company hopes that we forget. They were blasted for catering to frivolous features over its core functionality of gaming, so they’re going to do whatever they can to change that perception.

Will that result in a new Crimson Skies or Mech Assault like I’ve been begging for for years? Maybe an update to Banjo Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts? Or maybe someone over there will remember that they have an incredible list of first party titles that they’re just sitting on? Although we’ll probably just get a ton of 3rd party timed exclusives. But hey, you have to start somewhere.

The Vita will officially become a PS4 controller.

Last year alluded to it, the recent PS4/Vita bundle furthers it… we just need official confirmation from Sony.

Let’s face it. As a handheld system, Sony has all but given up on the Vita. For the last two years that I’ve owned the thing, I’ve waited on baited breath for the company to announce something… ANYTHING in the way of quality first party titles.

But aside from the occasional bone thrown our way, (like Gravity Rush and Soul Sacrifice), we’ve had to rely on niche game companies like Atlus and NIS America to do well by us handheld gamers. With the announcement of the bundle on top of everything we know about Sony’s plans, I don’t expect much of anything to be shown game wise aside from maybe a game we know about like Gravity Rush 2, only to be bombarded with buzz words and hype about how amazing the Vita is… as a controller.

And they still won’t drop the price of memory cards!

The majority of the press will say that Nintendo was disappointing while Sony and Microsoft blew them away regardless of the content of their conferences.

True Story.

And lastly, The Last Guardian Will Be Announced For The PS4, while Shenmue 3 won’t.

But they have one thing in common. They’re never coming out. Sorry!

Derek Kraneveldt

I really wish that I was down in LA for this year’s E3, as I feel like we’re set to get some HUGE announcements and revelations this coming week that would be absolutely shocking to see in person. Instead, I’ll be reading about them online and receiving confusing messages from my in-person co-Scapists… but that doesn’t mean I’m any less excited. I hope that it’s a great expo for everyone headed there, and I can’t wait to see what’s coming down the pipeline!

Here’s what I think (or at least really, really, hope) we’ll be seeing this year.

The PS3 is dead… at least to Sony

The PS4 has had a huge start, and with six months behind it and more than 7 million units sold, Sony is ready to say goodbye to its tough start-great finish Playstation 3. Sony is likely to reveal a PS3 title or two that’ll be making the jump to its newest console, but other than that, they don’t even want to look at the thing.

E3, Ubisoft, and other developers have announced continuing support for the console, but I wouldn’t expect anything new from Sony anytime soon.

We’ll get more details on Playstation Now.

Including pricing, more release date details, and hopefully when other countries will be able to jump in. I want this so much, but they haven’t talked about Canada yet at all.

The Last Guardian will be re-revealed.

This has to be the year. It just has to. The third game from Team ICO was first announced all the way back in 2009, and has really never been spoken about again. Until recently, when someone stated that the game was on an indefinite hiatus, and then Shuhei Yoshida himself said that it was still in active development.

This is my biggest hope for E3. Sony, make it happen or I’m smashing my PS4 and dusting of my Vita so I can smash it too.

http://youtu.be/EHzHoMT5eRg

The Vita will get a price cut.

And will be essentially not spoken of otherwise. Unfortunately great hardware means nothing when there aren’t any games coming out.

Bethesda will announce Fallout 4.

A long shot, but my fingers are crossed so hard that it just has to happen. New Vegas came out in 2010, so it’s time to reveal the future of the series.

We won’t get the huge Wii U Zelda reveal that we’re all hoping for…

Nintendo will confirm they’re working hard on the title, but that it’s not yet ready for primetime.

…But they will reveal Majora’s Mask 3D (which we’re also all hoping for).

If they want to continue printing money like they have been with Mario Kart 8, that is.

Nintendo will have a huge NFC reveal, and it’ll blow us away.

Seriously, it’s way cooler than Skylanders.

Way more Definitive/Remastered Edition games announced for all platforms.

Let’s face it, none of our favourite current-gen consoles have the game libraries that we were hoping for at this point (well the Wii U has a pretty sweet collection so far, but we all know what everyone seems to think of that console), and brand-new games are just so expensive to develop that we’ll likely see a influx of remastered editions of PS3/Xbox 360 games.

This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as having remade games released is better than releasing no games at all (especially for someone who missed out on the titles last-gen), but it is a little annoying to see a good chunk of games for our newest consoles be retextured rereleases.

That being said, I can’t wait to play The Last of Us (again) on PS4, and I missed out on most of Halo, so this rumoured Master Chief Collection is right up my alley.

S.J. Borger

There’s a lot of buzz around E3 this year—with the two new consoles out and going strong, companies—from the big AAA guys like Bethesda and Ubisoft to the smaller independent studios—will be out to show they’ve got the games to go with the hardware.

Let’s not forgot Occulus Rift, either. We saw at GDC that VR is something all the big studios are looking at when it comes to next gen gaming; Sony announced its Project Morpheus in March and Microsoft is rumored to be working on a VR system as well. A number of games have Rift-support now, but we haven’t seen very many that were meant to played with a VR headset—EVE Valkyrie being the one major title, and we had to chance to demo that at GDC and it was amaze-balls. So, exciting to see what the next major title will be to enter the Rift-enabled world will be—and how it will look.

A few other items of excitement:

Bethesda: Fallout 4. Oh, please, let it be Fallout 4. With the announcement last year that Fallout 4 is definitely in development (read all about it here), E3 is the right time and the right place for Bethesda to announce the game we’ve all been waiting for FOR SO LONG.

Square Enix: Square Enix has a number of super-secret, hush hush titles—including an MMO—that will be announced at E3. I’ve gotten a sneak peak at some of them and all I can say is OH MY GOD. And Kingdom Hearts will hopefully get some love.

Projekt Red: The Witcher team announced the release date for The Witcher 3 just this week, as well as the closed Beta for The Witcher Adventure Game. But they also said they had more waiting to be announced at E3—what could that be??

In a related note, Good Old Games will announce their new gaming client GOG Galaxy, which is a DRM-free, completely optional game client that includes the ability to allow players to socialize with their friends who are using a different game client.

EA: They will roll out their expected salte of new games to loud roars of approval. I mean, Sims 4. Dragon Age: Inquisition (have you SEEN THE latest trailer? Holy pretty, Batman…)…these games look amazing. They will also tout how nice they are, now that they too give away games every once in a while on Origin. No mention will be made of SimCity.

Microsoft/Xbox: They will make much of their new Live Gold membership—free games! (I predict that a lot of the platforms and clients will be talking about all the FREE GAMES you’ll get if you sign up for their client). And HALO, of course. We’ll hear a lot about HALO, and maybe some about how they are branching out into content creation (Microsoft recently started a new content team out here in LA).

That’s it! Those are our predictions for this year’s E3! Be sure to check back next week to see what we were right about, and where we failed horribly!