411 Fact or Fiction Wrestling: Will Kevin Owens Retain at HIAC?

Welcome back to the latest edition of 411 Fact or Fiction, Wrestling Edition! Stuff happened, people loved/hated it and let everyone else know. I pick through the interesting/not so interesting tidbits and then make 411 staff members discuss them for your pleasure. Battling this week are 411’s Justin Watry and Mike Chin!

Questions were sent out Monday.

Participants were told to expect wrestling-related content, as well as possible statements on quantum physics, homemade pharmaceuticals, the Turtle Total Trip Theorem, pizza and hydroponics.

1. Kevin Owens will retain the WWE Universal Title at Sunday’s WWE Hell in a Cell PPV.

Mike Chin : FACT – I can see either man walking champ, and, unfortunately, I’m not saying that in the sense that this is a heated feud with a ton of intrigue, but rather that the program has felt stalled and directionless, and clearly needs to end. There is a question as to whether WWE will go full-tilt on the Rollins face run and put him on top now, or press pause on all of that for the character to get his bearings again (I really like Rollins, but if I hear him say Sparkle Crotch one more time, I may throw in the towel on this face run altogether). An Owens victory here can legitimize his reign nicely. I’m not expecting for him to remain champ into ‘Mania season but, for example, the prospect of arrogant heels Owens and AJ Styles captaining their respective brands going into Survivor Series could be a lot of fun, and there’s always the potential of Owens feuding with Chris Jericho over the title sooner rather than later.

Justin Watry: FACT – Kevin Owens should retain the Universal Championship this Sunday night at Heck on a Deck, and I believe he will. My theory goes back to July when the WWE Draft split up the rosters. Heck, it goes back even a month prior. If the company wanted Seth Rollins to be holding a title, he would be. Minus the two-minute victory at Money in the Bank, they had multiple opportunities to crown him champ. The Shield triple threat…lost. Summerslam…lost. Raw Universal Title four way…lost. Clash of Champions…lost. Pretty clear at this point they do not have plans for him to hold a title, and that is fine. He spent much of 2015 with gold. All in a standstill until his feud with Triple H really kicks into high gear. Kevin Owens wins inside the cell and hopefully battles fellow Canadian Chris Jericho at Survivor Series. Do NOT put him in the brand extension clash with Smackdown.

2. You are excited about FloSports’ announcement that they will be starting a streaming service, with independent wrestling as a featured part of the service.

Mike Chin : FACT – I’m cautiously optimistic on this one. As it stands, I don’t follow the indies faithfully enough to justify subscribing, particularly for twice the cost of the WWE Network, but I very much like the idea of big shows from more promotions being available to a larger audience and having a reliable, consistent streaming service to navigate these shows when the most exciting ones hit. Hopefully, a service like this might lay the groundwork for more wrestling to become available on this or similar services, and for the monthly fee to move down, and in which case this could really be a winner.

Justin Watry: FICTION – Well, being somebody who knew of the announcement before it was made (follow me on Twitter for more), I initially was pretty jacked up over the news. What it could be, what it may mean, what it would do for talents, etc. I had big visions of the announcement and ripple effects throughout the industry. Then the press release came out, and meh! First off, you are not going to compete with WWE or even make a dent in their business with a price point double theirs and far less name/brand value. That isn’t going to happen. Now, even when you eliminate any idea of competing, there is still the fact that a lot of fans of independent promotions still like to illegal stream content. Not to bring up this whole mess again, but my belief is the WWE Network basically cut MOST of that junk out…for WWE. For other smaller companies? Not so much. I doubt they will be forking out 20 bucks per month rather than just be cheap and steal. Sorry. My opinion may change with more developments; we’ll see if I’m wrong though!

3. Of the three Hell in a Cell matches on Sunday’s PPV, the Rusev vs. Roman Reigns is your least anticipated match.

Mike Chin : FICTION – I am significantly more excited for the women’s Cell match than either of the men’s matches, and I get that, given the talents at hand, Rollins-Owens should have a better upside than the US title match. Reigns and Rusev are a couple of bruisers, though, and if WWE lets them work a stiff brawl with a conclusive finish, I actually think this one could be pretty great, and hopefully in a way that allows each man to leave this feud the better for it.

Justin Watry: FICTION – It is a toss up between Roman Reigns vs. Rusev and Seth Rollins vs. Kevin Owens. Just by a hair, I am going FICTION here because of their previous bouts. Believe it or not, Clash of Champions featured a really cool and entertaining Reigns/Rusev battle. Rollins and Owens will just be another waiting game as to who will interfere for the heel. Chris Jericho? Triple H? Braun Strowman? The Boogeyman? No idea. Not a whole of intrigue to the match to be honest. Just know that Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte should headline the event because that will have a clean and decisive finish with the face winning. The others are questionable.

SWITCH!

4. Monday’s episode of Raw was a poor go home show for Sunday’s WWE Hell in a Cell PPV.

Justin Watry: FICTION – The entire point of a go-home edition of RAW is to get your main event matches hyped to the maximum level and give one last push to potential customers. Look at the main Heck on a Deck matches (because that is the selling point). Sasha and Charlotte had a fairly decent contract signing with a GREAT closing line. Okay, that did its’ job. Rusev and Reigns had two good segments with them building up the cell. Since we have seen enough physicality from the past two months, that was the right call. Triple H and The Undertaker also did NOT appear live on the go-home Raw before WrestleMania 28, for those curious. Anybody care? Nope. Did not matter one bit as they put on a classic. Then there was the confusing main event “triple threat” feud…it was fine. Owens put down Rollins, which makes you want to see him get revenge. Basic Pro Wrestling 101 before a pay-per-view. Works for me.

Mike Chin : FACT – On this go home Raw, WWE gave away the tag title match, and had the number one contender to the Cruiserweight Championship lose clean to a guy who isn’t in the title picture. Reigns and Rusev were relegated to uninspired pre-taped segments. The biggest promo of the night, featuring Paul Heyman and Brock Lesnar, leap-frogged Hell in a Cell in favor of Survivor Series. All that, and the challenger for the Universal Championship pinned the champ and his sidekick simultaneously in a handicap situation to end the show. Raw had its moments. I liked Owens’s post-match beatdown on Rollins, New Day vs. Sheamus and Cesaro was at least a good match, and I found the Women’s Championship contract signing pretty strong. But as the last Raw before arguably the biggest of the B-PPVs, this episode felt lukewarm and unfocused.

5. Charlotte will defeat Sasha Banks to regain the WWE Raw Women’s Title at Sunday’s WWE Hell in a Cell PPV.

Justin Watry: FICTION – Um, what? Even if Charlotte does have a ridiculously awesome record on PPV in one on one matches, there is just no good reason why she should win on Sunday. Like Rollins, we are done with him as champ for a while – same with Charlotte. We already went through that, and I loved it, but this is a new chapter. Time for Sasha Banks to NOT get injured and enjoy her time in the spotlight. Start the countdown clock on her heel turn and feud with Bayley at WrestleMania 33. In Boston, inside the steel structure, in a feud ender, as potentially the first ever women’s main event?!?! Zero logic behind a heel getting the victory. Yeah, Sasha Banks is winning this one. Just please keep the risks to a minimum, please?

Mike Chin : FICTION – I wouldn’t be shocked either way, but in a back-and-forth rivalry that I’ve got to assume WWE is blowing off for the time being, I’m hoping that Sasha Banks gets her first PPV win over Charlotte, and gets to do the Cell justice with an epic victory in front of her hometown crowd. As far as I’m concerned, the priorities are that WWE take the leashes off and let these two have an NXT-caliber women’s classic and that they make the Cell essential to the story of the match. As a Banks mark, a victory for The Boss would be the cherry on top of all of that, and if WWE is looking for a feel-good moment–particularly if this match goes on last–I can think of no better outcome than Banks retaining.

6. What is your excitement level for Sunday’s WWE Hell in a Cell PPV?

Justin Watry: 6 out of 10 – Like Always, I get more excited as the show gets closer. Now, I am thinking a 6 out of 10. When it comes time for the Packers to beat the Falcons and all that, my opinion will change to a 7 or 8 maybe. There is more focus on next month’s Survivor Series. However, there is still enough there for RAW to make a statement and give fans a great show. Hopefully, it is better than Clash of Champions and features a tiny bit of buzz. The Raw vs. Smackdown stuff does not do it for me, so there will have to be an extra ‘something’ for the pay-per-view. Bill Goldberg vs. Brock Lesnar will being in the viewers, but that is only 15 minutes of a planned three-hour PPV next month. We will need more to get us through the event. Raw, the floor is yours…

Mike Chin : 6 out of 10 – Despite the lackluster booking, each of the three Cell matches has the potential to be great, and great in genuinely different ways. The undercard matches are largely redundant, but each could deliver in the ring. In short, there’s hope this could be a great show. And, if this PPV follows the trajectory of the current booking, the show could be flop. So let’s split the difference. I’m reasonably excited, and will be turning, in particular, for the Women’s Championship Cell Match.