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WWE will present Bash in Berlin this Saturday on Peacock and the WWE Network from Berlin, Germany. Here is our take on what will happen on Saturday.
Cody Rhodes vs. Kevin Owens for the Undisputed WWE Championship
Dave: David Baldini and I previewed the show on Thursday's episode for those interested. I don't expect a title change here. I expect it to be more about the story as to whether Kevin will fight the urge to turn that he hasn't been able to control in the past. Given the logical way that HHH books, there is no way I see a title change here. Perhaps we will get a run-in from The Bloodline. I wouldn't be shocked if they have Cody in a holding pattern because he may join up with Roman Reigns at War Games. There are a lot of ways that they can go, and I love it.
Mike: When does Kevin Owens flip on Cody? That's the story they have teased, so my guess it isn't not going to happen, although it will be teased. This should be a fun match, but no way should it close the show in my mind. That's GUNTHER's domain. I expect this starts out clean and emotions get high and we get some brawling, but in the end, Owens sees Bloodline trying to get involved, does the right thing, but it costs him.
Richard: I liked how Kevin got this match because while he didn’t think he deserved to be handed a title match, if it meant that Roman Reigns got the match, he figured why not. They teased that Kevin is going to turn on Cody with a video package and then had Kevin charge at Cody last week after their tag match, only to hand him the title belt. This will be a good wrestling match but I don’t see any way that Cody loses this match. I also don’t want to see Kevin ‘turn’ on Cody. I wouldn’t mind seeing Kevin show a darker side to try to win the match but without a turn. Kevin will get a few near falls and chances to win, but in the end Cody hits CrossRhodes for the win.
Gunther vs. Randy Orton for the World Heavyweight Championship
Dave: First off, I have loved Randy's recent run. He is doing everything that a legend and made man should do for the younger talent and he will do it again here. Gunther will be the babyface here, but I doubt Orton will be the heel. I expect a great match from these two where we will probably see a situation where Randy has a pin but it can't be counted, and then Gunther wins in the end and gets elevated by the former Legend Killer, now Legend Maker.
Mike: This is the bout I am looking forward to the most. GUNTHER has been pitch perfect and this will effectively be his homecoming. Orton's current run has been among the most compelling stuff he's done in years. That said, I don't see a title change here. I expect this will be Orton elevating GUNTHER even further by having a knockout fight and giving him the rub. I wouldn't even be shocked if they have GUNTHER kick out of an RKO out of nowhere to truly shock everyone.
Richard: I don’t think this match had the best ‘final stage’ before the PPV with the promo on Monday night, but they don’t talk during the match. Will Gunther be able to inflict the damage on Orton that he usually does on others. Just like with Priest, Gunther is facing an opponent who is his size and it takes away the physical advantage that he has over most opponents. Orton has the ability to get down and dirty and do whatever it takes to win the title. I don’t see Gunther losing in the neighbor of his home country and I don’t think a four week title reign does him any favors when you look at how long he was NXT UK and Intercontinental Champion. Gunther retains.
Liv Morgan and Dominik Mysterio vs. Rhea Ripley and Damian Priest
Dave: I am so glad that Liv turned heel because she has really found her stride. Dom just keeps getting better and better. Since everyone wants to see the faces win, I think that they go the other way. The story is in the chase and that needs to go on for a while. I expect The Terror Twins will have the match won, only to see The Judgment Day come out and cost them the match.
Mike: Liv and Dom have to win here to keep the story going, so we'll see a lot of Rhea and Damian in control early on. Liv's work has been tremendous of late. My guess is that at some point, Rhea finally gets to beat the crap out of Dom, so he sacrifices himself to set up Liv cheating to get the win. This should lead to a singles bout with the women at Bad Blood with a stip involving Dom. Maybe they can hang him in a cage or something to keep him from interfering, or have him and Damian handcuffed together.
Richard: To me this is more of a transition to the next stage in the progression than a ‘match’. While I think Rhea should get the women’s title back, I think that is further down the road and might not happen until 2025. Priest can try to win the title back from Gunther. That leaves Dom and Rhea. While WWE tries to avoid men and women physically interacting in matches, it makes sense with Rhea a lot more than Liv because I don’t see a situation where Liv should face off with Priest unless it leads to a Dom sneak attack (or involvement from the Judgment Day, which will likely happen). Rhea should work over Dom during the match to set up an eventual match between them (why not Hell in a Cell since she is so pissed off at him and keeps Liv from getting involved) Liv and Dom win but after the match, Rhea and Priest get some revenge.
Isla Dawn and Alba Fyre vs. Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill for the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship
Dave: I expect the champs to retain here. Creative has been telling us that their win in Scotland was not a fluke and building them more and more. I also see a split between Jade and Bianca coming since Jade screams heel with her mannerisms. Maybe the miscommunication starts here. In any event, I think it's important for Dawn and Fyre to retain. Hopefully we get one of the patented holy crap spots from Fyre at some point.
Mike: There's no need for a title change here. If they feel they need to do one to pop the crowd locally, fine, but to me, they can get away with a DQ or something here.
Richard: I would be shocked if Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn walk out of Berlin with the title, but we have seen stranger things happen in the world of professional wrestling. It seems inevitable that we will get new champions, but Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn have had some good title defenses in the last few weeks. Jade and Bianca did not get pinned to lose the titles so they have their motivation to get the belts back. If there has not been progression for the challengers, I would rather them keep the titles on Alba and Isla. I don’t see that happening.
Drew McIntyre vs. CM Punk in a Strap Match
Dave: This one is the hardest to pick. It seems like they are headed to Hell In A Cell. Do they go in tied or will Drew be up 2-0? I will go with Drew here after he does something that makes Punk demand the Cell match. But I won't say I am super confident, or even confident, in that pick.
Mike: It's got to be Drew getting the win again, right? Punk gets a measure of revenge beating the hell out of him with the strap but then Drew screws him out of the hitting the last turnbuckle. Then, they can have a blowoff inside HIAC, which is how it's supposed to be.
Richard: The match that is not about a bracelet now evolves to a double bracelet situation. I hope Drew has AJ and Larry’s names on his wrist portion. I don’t like the ‘touch the four turnbuckles IN SUCCESSION’ stipulation for the match because they NEVER FOLLOW IT. These two men will beat the hell out of each other with the strap and while I don’t think they need to do 50/50 booking for this feud, it makes sense to give Punk the win after Drew won at SummerSlam. The finish of the match will be Drew touching the first turnbuckle and walk to the second one with Punk hitting the first one, which should negate Drew’s progress and start Punk’s only to have Drew hit the second one and then Punk. They move to the third with each touching and then as Drew is about to ‘win the match’, Punk will go for the bracelet on the hand going for the turnbuckle only to go past Drew to ‘win’ the match. This is not the end of the feud, but will they pull the trigger on a match in Atlanta or give it some time to build to the crescendo?
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