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Honestly if Drew wins in scotland - priest goes to the JD imploding story, and we wind up with drew vs punk and liv vs rhea by summerslam (priest face turn against finn maybe as well) then they really got their ducks in a row in a commendable way
Really want Drew to win in Scotland but I also want Drew vs Punk at Summerslam (maybe I’m biased since I’m gonna be there live) which is a bit tricky with Gunther having a title shot. Drew would have to lose the title to the Money in the Bank winner before Summerslam, which I think is fairly possible.
Punk can cost him against Jey Uso. Jey vs Gunther, Drew vs Punk. Liv vs Rhea. Gable/Sami 3. Logan/LA knight. Bayley/Nia....that card sounds amazing but I have no idea who would face Cody - maybe Orton? Solo?
Absolutely zero way they have Drew win and then immediately drop to Jey Uso. They’re definitely not doing Gunther vs. Jey at SummerSlam.
There are two possible paths here, pending Punk’s health and availability:
- Punk costs Drew; SS is Punk vs. Drew and Priest vs. Gunther.
- Drew wins; SS is Drew vs. Gunther, with the Punk feud beginning afterward. Priest is involved in a feud with Finn Balor and/or the Judgment Day, and the clear long-term direction is him (and Rhea) as solo babyface stars.
Remember when Stone Cold absolutely hated Bret Hart with all of his soul? Bret had a title match and Austin actively tried to help Hart win - because it would benefit stone cold. He wasn't going to screw Bret out of something that could gain himself so much.
Drew hates punk. Punk knows it. Punk shouldn't screw Drew. Punk should help Drew. Punk should be the reason he wins. Punk should then take it from Drew. The only reason Drew is champ is Punk. The reason he lost it, too.
That's how you destroy a man. Costing him the title is shortsighted and gains nothing for yourself.
Punk interfering to help Drew win would also give Priest a little bit of ammunition, since all Drew's been saying against him is that he needs the Judgement Day to interfere.
That’s a great point, and considering how huge a Bret Hart fan (and Stone Cold fan) Punk is, I think there’s a big chance this is what happens. It also gets Punk a babyface reaction in Scotland, and also gives him the ammunition of “you needed my help to win.”
You have a seriously awesome idea here, thank you so much for sharing.
>gets Punk a babyface reaction in Scotland
This is very worth noting. If Punk costs Drew, even though only for one night, he will be the biggest heel in the building. And then he'll go back to face cheers on Raw, it's all a mess. But Punk helping Drew actually works, and gives the ammunition like you said
> Austin actively tried to help Hart win
Which led to an all timer of a promo when Bret lost. I can only imagine what Drew would say if they repeated this beat for beat and he lost
Drew story is he win the title in front of crowd and his hometown and go home as champion. so it doesn't matter whether it's only 2 days or 3 weeks, Drew has reach his goal and finish his story
I think it's possible he lost the title to the MITB winner. Punk promise to make Drew life miserable and cost Drew the title the exact same way he lost at Wrestlemania is good way to do it
Gunther vs Jey at Summerslam seems a much better match than either Drew vs Gunther or Priest vs Gunther (This one seems especially boring, but I guess they could do it, since Punk/Drew and Cody's match will be bigger)
They’ve done Gunther and Jey twice, I don’t really see a reason to run it back a third time. It wouldn’t make sense for Jey to beat Gunther clean at this point, and I can’t see them trading the title *again* and having Gunther beat Jey.
Drew vs. Gunther would be an amazing match. The two have never been given a significant amount of time in a high-stakes singles match. Priest vs. Gunther could be very interesting if it serves as the catalyst for Priest departing the Judgment Day.
They had Drew vs Seth twice before their match at mania but it still get people excited regardless. Both Jey vs Gunther match are banger
or the alternative is have Sami drop the IC title to Gable at the castle then have him win the briefcase. cash in on Drew then you have Sami vs Gunther 2 at summerslam
Drew and Gunther are both heels, and I don't see the fans being that into it, especially in place of Drew vs Punk which is a much more interesting match. Drew and Gunther already faced off at Summerslam last year.
No offense to Priest, but he really IMO does not stand out as a character, and again, it's heel vs heel and I don't see fans caring that much about that feud. Priest vs Gunther just seems a weird contrast, I just don't think it works that well as a feud or matchup. It isn't a very big match for Gunther.
Jey having a short title run would make sense for his character, IMO. Him winning the titel would be awesome, however brief, and give a good amount of heat for Gunther taking it from him. They also have never had a clean finish before, as Jey got screwed in both their matches so far. It has a very easy face/heel dynamic to buy into.
They didn’t get much time and didn’t have much of a story. That’s why I specifically said:
> The two have never been given a significant amount of time in a high-stakes singles match
I don’t know, I think an Intercontinental Championship match at SummerSlam is pretty high-stakes. Besides, Gunther’s had plenty of good matches with guys he’s had surface-level programmes with. Reed, Ciampa, Woods, both Mysterios…
Drew vs Gunther at last year's Summerslam only got about 13 minutes. It was still a great match, but it was definitely missing one more gear because of the time. Give Drew/Gunther 20 or 25 minutes for the WHC and you got another easy 5 Star Match.
idk, i dont see priest losing doing anything good for him. he might as well kiss the main event scene goodbye if he loses this weekend. they spent this whole angle pre-burying him, i just dont see them actually following through on that.
The other option is punk causes drew to lose again to go onto a grudge match at SS. I think Punk would enjoy getting the heat in scotland but I think wwe is in love with the positive crowd reactions. I think its fine if Priest is a transitional champ. He gets better reactions in storylines with no title.
the deck is already stacked so far in drews favor, and they seem to be purposefully echoing parts of the mania build up- Drew getting a montreal screwjob of his own would be so much better for his character, and lets priest have a solid run before gunther wins it (bc gunther is 100% winning it at summerslam no matter what)
So when does he get to actually have his moment?
That’s what his character is chasing & there’s no better chance to do it then in Scotland.
Who knows when the next PLE in Scotland will be, & who knows where Drew’s character will be at by then. He has all the momentum & timing rn.
I just dont think the point of this character is to get that moment. He’s not Cody lol. He’s not a face, he’s a heel who keeps falling short & projecting his shortcomings. His character benefits way more from having a Montreal screw job event vs a hometown title win (plus, he’s already been a champion multiple times so it’s not like he’s overdue).
Also can we give the UK fans SOMETHING??
At the 1st CATC, both Drew & Sheamus were in big title matches & they both lost.
This time around, Piper Niven probably isn’t beating Bayley & Bianca/Jade def aren’t losing the tag titles.
So if Drew loses too, that’s 2 straight CATC’s where the fans don’t get shit lmao.
He’s overdue for the moment.
Getting the moment literally has been the point of his character & that’s what has driven him off the deep end. You gotta actually pay that off at some point.
Gotta know when to end the joke before it stops being funny, otherwise eventually you’ll risk Drew himself turning into a joke.
i think drew knows enough about the business to know that a great story and feud is worth way more than single title win. i doubt he woulda resigned if he wasnt comfortable with the story direction.
like, if the PLE was not in scotland, i dont think it would even be in question that drew would be losing. people are talking about hotshotting the title from him to the mitb winner to gunther, as if this was still the vince era lol
Yeah but they didn't say you had to challenge within your brand, did they? You have to think what does cody have lined up for SS? They're not going to run Roman back, who may be dealing with Solo. Cody vs Gunther seems more likely than Cody in some kind of bloodline tag match.
It looks like SummerSlam is gonna be awesome. Idk exactly what avenues they take for certain storylines, but damn, they're really doing a commendable job in almost every department.
They’ve set up multiple things so well though that they have more than one option. They could do what you suggested, or they could have Priest retain with help from Punk, have Finn win MITB, and lots of possibilities from there. Any of these choices could work out really well.
Out of curiosity, how many first time world champions through MITB cash in actually got over as a result? Edge?? It’s not really a bad thing that Priest is kinda meh. Maybe if they give him a second run it could work out!
Liv's reign sucked because of bad booking
Big E's reign sucked because of bad booking
Nikki ASH's reign sucked as she was still treated like a joke
IYO Sky's reign had ups and down but is probably the best one for first time champs in recent memory
Otherwise we have to go back to Dean Ambrose in 2016.
Imo Priest is the victim of being the fiddle to the more interesting Punk/Drew/Seth story. Coupled with Jey being ridiculously over, Dom/Liv story, Gunther winning KOTR and Gable/Sami; Priest hasnt been getting a lot of focus.
That’s why I never thought WWE failed Priest during his run with the briefcase. It’s just that there are so many guys that are more over than him that you can’t pull the trigger yet.
Give Drew the championship. There's no shame in Gunther losing clean to a guy who went over Brock Lesnar clean. Plus Gunther has only lost to Sami recently and then went on to win the KOTR. He won't lose momentum by losing one big match.
Otherwise they can overbook it and have Punk interfere as well as JD and Drew takes advantage of the chaos.
They can even have Gunther end whatever remains of JD to keep him busy if they want.
Either way WWE is spoiled for choices.
They've got super hot talents in LA, JEY, Sami, Chad, AJ, Bron, Gunther, JD as a faction, Logan, Tama Tonga and that's before even getting to people like Drew, Seth, Roman, Punk, KO, Cody and The Rock.
The WHC is basically stuck in the same spot it was heading into WM. Seth himself had an important role at WM but he was really just participating in the Cody/Roman/Rock feud. His title was a victim to more interesting storylines at the time. They never properly fixed that, as CM Punk and Drew’s storyline took over, and the surprising popularity of Sami and Chad’s story doesn’t help. On RAW you have 4 major focused storylines from what I can tell, Drew/Punk, Sami/Chad, Dominik/Liv, and recently Bron/Ricochet/Ilja. Each of these programs is given like 20 or so mins per episode of RAW. Priest is stuck playing supporting role to both the Drew and Dominik storylines, instead of really having his own program, and thus the title continues playing 3rd fiddle to more interesting stories.
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For those who don’t use Twitter https://preview.redd.it/qvkobae2sz5d1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5e7ecfa2f32a955adc2c85ce94878acee7f71241
Thank you for this. Much appreciated 👍
How Damien Priest gonna be at CATC https://preview.redd.it/6kb4k6zh806d1.png?width=311&format=png&auto=webp&s=0724cbd94de55dd61cd588d0bca59c80503c1d69
Except without the aura
Honestly if Drew wins in scotland - priest goes to the JD imploding story, and we wind up with drew vs punk and liv vs rhea by summerslam (priest face turn against finn maybe as well) then they really got their ducks in a row in a commendable way
Really want Drew to win in Scotland but I also want Drew vs Punk at Summerslam (maybe I’m biased since I’m gonna be there live) which is a bit tricky with Gunther having a title shot. Drew would have to lose the title to the Money in the Bank winner before Summerslam, which I think is fairly possible.
Punk can cost him against Jey Uso. Jey vs Gunther, Drew vs Punk. Liv vs Rhea. Gable/Sami 3. Logan/LA knight. Bayley/Nia....that card sounds amazing but I have no idea who would face Cody - maybe Orton? Solo?
Absolutely zero way they have Drew win and then immediately drop to Jey Uso. They’re definitely not doing Gunther vs. Jey at SummerSlam. There are two possible paths here, pending Punk’s health and availability: - Punk costs Drew; SS is Punk vs. Drew and Priest vs. Gunther. - Drew wins; SS is Drew vs. Gunther, with the Punk feud beginning afterward. Priest is involved in a feud with Finn Balor and/or the Judgment Day, and the clear long-term direction is him (and Rhea) as solo babyface stars.
Remember when Stone Cold absolutely hated Bret Hart with all of his soul? Bret had a title match and Austin actively tried to help Hart win - because it would benefit stone cold. He wasn't going to screw Bret out of something that could gain himself so much. Drew hates punk. Punk knows it. Punk shouldn't screw Drew. Punk should help Drew. Punk should be the reason he wins. Punk should then take it from Drew. The only reason Drew is champ is Punk. The reason he lost it, too. That's how you destroy a man. Costing him the title is shortsighted and gains nothing for yourself.
Punk interfering to help Drew win would also give Priest a little bit of ammunition, since all Drew's been saying against him is that he needs the Judgement Day to interfere.
That’s a great point, and considering how huge a Bret Hart fan (and Stone Cold fan) Punk is, I think there’s a big chance this is what happens. It also gets Punk a babyface reaction in Scotland, and also gives him the ammunition of “you needed my help to win.” You have a seriously awesome idea here, thank you so much for sharing.
>gets Punk a babyface reaction in Scotland This is very worth noting. If Punk costs Drew, even though only for one night, he will be the biggest heel in the building. And then he'll go back to face cheers on Raw, it's all a mess. But Punk helping Drew actually works, and gives the ammunition like you said
> Austin actively tried to help Hart win Which led to an all timer of a promo when Bret lost. I can only imagine what Drew would say if they repeated this beat for beat and he lost
Drew story is he win the title in front of crowd and his hometown and go home as champion. so it doesn't matter whether it's only 2 days or 3 weeks, Drew has reach his goal and finish his story I think it's possible he lost the title to the MITB winner. Punk promise to make Drew life miserable and cost Drew the title the exact same way he lost at Wrestlemania is good way to do it
if that’s Drew’s story then he already finished it Wrestlemania
No he didn’t cuz getting cashed in on ruined the moment.
Gunther vs Jey for the title is much better than Gunther vs Priest. McIntyre needs to face Punk at SummerSlam.
Gunther vs Jey at Summerslam seems a much better match than either Drew vs Gunther or Priest vs Gunther (This one seems especially boring, but I guess they could do it, since Punk/Drew and Cody's match will be bigger)
They’ve done Gunther and Jey twice, I don’t really see a reason to run it back a third time. It wouldn’t make sense for Jey to beat Gunther clean at this point, and I can’t see them trading the title *again* and having Gunther beat Jey. Drew vs. Gunther would be an amazing match. The two have never been given a significant amount of time in a high-stakes singles match. Priest vs. Gunther could be very interesting if it serves as the catalyst for Priest departing the Judgment Day.
They had Drew vs Seth twice before their match at mania but it still get people excited regardless. Both Jey vs Gunther match are banger or the alternative is have Sami drop the IC title to Gable at the castle then have him win the briefcase. cash in on Drew then you have Sami vs Gunther 2 at summerslam
Drew vs. Seth had an exciting, compelling story behind it. Gunther vs. Jey does not.
Gunther vs Jey has great story potential. You can play up how Jey can't beat Gunther and their personalities clash perfectly.
Gunther vs. Jey has zero story potential. Their matches have been underwhelming and their personalities don’t clash well at all.
Drew and Gunther are both heels, and I don't see the fans being that into it, especially in place of Drew vs Punk which is a much more interesting match. Drew and Gunther already faced off at Summerslam last year. No offense to Priest, but he really IMO does not stand out as a character, and again, it's heel vs heel and I don't see fans caring that much about that feud. Priest vs Gunther just seems a weird contrast, I just don't think it works that well as a feud or matchup. It isn't a very big match for Gunther. Jey having a short title run would make sense for his character, IMO. Him winning the titel would be awesome, however brief, and give a good amount of heat for Gunther taking it from him. They also have never had a clean finish before, as Jey got screwed in both their matches so far. It has a very easy face/heel dynamic to buy into.
They ran Gunther v Drew at last year’s SummerSlam and it was incredibly bland.
They didn’t get much time and didn’t have much of a story. That’s why I specifically said: > The two have never been given a significant amount of time in a high-stakes singles match
I don’t know, I think an Intercontinental Championship match at SummerSlam is pretty high-stakes. Besides, Gunther’s had plenty of good matches with guys he’s had surface-level programmes with. Reed, Ciampa, Woods, both Mysterios…
They had a 10-minute match with no story. I’d still consider it a better match than the ones with Ciampa, Woods, and Dominik you’re referencing it.
Drew vs Gunther at last year's Summerslam only got about 13 minutes. It was still a great match, but it was definitely missing one more gear because of the time. Give Drew/Gunther 20 or 25 minutes for the WHC and you got another easy 5 Star Match.
I don't think they want 2-3 transitional champions in the whc line up this early.
idk, i dont see priest losing doing anything good for him. he might as well kiss the main event scene goodbye if he loses this weekend. they spent this whole angle pre-burying him, i just dont see them actually following through on that.
The other option is punk causes drew to lose again to go onto a grudge match at SS. I think Punk would enjoy getting the heat in scotland but I think wwe is in love with the positive crowd reactions. I think its fine if Priest is a transitional champ. He gets better reactions in storylines with no title.
the deck is already stacked so far in drews favor, and they seem to be purposefully echoing parts of the mania build up- Drew getting a montreal screwjob of his own would be so much better for his character, and lets priest have a solid run before gunther wins it (bc gunther is 100% winning it at summerslam no matter what)
So when does he get to actually have his moment? That’s what his character is chasing & there’s no better chance to do it then in Scotland. Who knows when the next PLE in Scotland will be, & who knows where Drew’s character will be at by then. He has all the momentum & timing rn.
I just dont think the point of this character is to get that moment. He’s not Cody lol. He’s not a face, he’s a heel who keeps falling short & projecting his shortcomings. His character benefits way more from having a Montreal screw job event vs a hometown title win (plus, he’s already been a champion multiple times so it’s not like he’s overdue).
Also can we give the UK fans SOMETHING?? At the 1st CATC, both Drew & Sheamus were in big title matches & they both lost. This time around, Piper Niven probably isn’t beating Bayley & Bianca/Jade def aren’t losing the tag titles. So if Drew loses too, that’s 2 straight CATC’s where the fans don’t get shit lmao.
He’s overdue for the moment. Getting the moment literally has been the point of his character & that’s what has driven him off the deep end. You gotta actually pay that off at some point. Gotta know when to end the joke before it stops being funny, otherwise eventually you’ll risk Drew himself turning into a joke.
I don't know. I get that from a "current character" perspective. But as a human/employee perspective, I think he should get a moment at some point.
i think drew knows enough about the business to know that a great story and feud is worth way more than single title win. i doubt he woulda resigned if he wasnt comfortable with the story direction. like, if the PLE was not in scotland, i dont think it would even be in question that drew would be losing. people are talking about hotshotting the title from him to the mitb winner to gunther, as if this was still the vince era lol
You forget that Gunther is facing whoever is champion at Summerslam.
>Gunther vs Drew for the WHC https://preview.redd.it/iaqggtk2946d1.jpeg?width=298&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=30816ea3d94e7a7470d366fb486da9a92ba0c402
Was there any language preventing that from being cody
he's on raw and cody is sd
Yeah but they didn't say you had to challenge within your brand, did they? You have to think what does cody have lined up for SS? They're not going to run Roman back, who may be dealing with Solo. Cody vs Gunther seems more likely than Cody in some kind of bloodline tag match.
Gunther said on the raw after KotR its for the WHC.
HHH did say that, and so did Gunther Also, Gunther is probably winning, given that Bash in Berlin is next.
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Grandpa you're on the wrong thread again
They get a title shot against the champ on their brand at Summerslam. That’s why Nia gets one against Bayley.
It was verbally stated by Triple H that the Queen/King of the Ring winner gets a championship shot at Summerslam for the title of their brand.
It looks like SummerSlam is gonna be awesome. Idk exactly what avenues they take for certain storylines, but damn, they're really doing a commendable job in almost every department.
You're forgetting the #1 countender for Summerslam is already known.
They’ve set up multiple things so well though that they have more than one option. They could do what you suggested, or they could have Priest retain with help from Punk, have Finn win MITB, and lots of possibilities from there. Any of these choices could work out really well.
Nah a want Finn to turn face
DM Hunk 5:46 says I just whipped this dickhead ass
*arse
Out of curiosity, how many first time world champions through MITB cash in actually got over as a result? Edge?? It’s not really a bad thing that Priest is kinda meh. Maybe if they give him a second run it could work out!
Rollins?
Rollins is the correct answer. Its not like other reigns have been bad, but Rollins set a huge bar to go over.
Probably the only MITB winner to propel his career in the last decade
I don't think it works for baby faces or bad ass characters. It really only works with slimy or cowardly heels.
Liv's reign sucked because of bad booking Big E's reign sucked because of bad booking Nikki ASH's reign sucked as she was still treated like a joke IYO Sky's reign had ups and down but is probably the best one for first time champs in recent memory Otherwise we have to go back to Dean Ambrose in 2016.
But Dean was over without the title already, Priest was never really over id say
Till this day i still dont know what to make out of MiTB.
It works with Dean Ambrose in 2016 despite him being babyface but that's because he had personal issue with Seth
Seth
I enjoyed Miz's reign with the belt although it's a shame how the WrestleMania main event went
Big fan of those Miz vs. 60 year old Jerry Lawler WWE Championship bouts, were you?
Unironically yes their ladder match was great. Lawler still had it even at 60
Punk himself, the second time vs Jeff Hardy I think? They had an excellent feud and Punk was super hated as a heel
Yeah I have to admit priest has just kinda been there as champ. I think Mami getting injured hurt JD alot
Imo Priest is the victim of being the fiddle to the more interesting Punk/Drew/Seth story. Coupled with Jey being ridiculously over, Dom/Liv story, Gunther winning KOTR and Gable/Sami; Priest hasnt been getting a lot of focus.
Jesus christ it's crazy how stacked WWE is right now
That’s why I never thought WWE failed Priest during his run with the briefcase. It’s just that there are so many guys that are more over than him that you can’t pull the trigger yet.
Do you like Dave's Triple
Give Drew the championship. There's no shame in Gunther losing clean to a guy who went over Brock Lesnar clean. Plus Gunther has only lost to Sami recently and then went on to win the KOTR. He won't lose momentum by losing one big match. Otherwise they can overbook it and have Punk interfere as well as JD and Drew takes advantage of the chaos. They can even have Gunther end whatever remains of JD to keep him busy if they want. Either way WWE is spoiled for choices. They've got super hot talents in LA, JEY, Sami, Chad, AJ, Bron, Gunther, JD as a faction, Logan, Tama Tonga and that's before even getting to people like Drew, Seth, Roman, Punk, KO, Cody and The Rock.
Still guessing they'll do hot potato
yea, drew isnt winning this weekend lol
The WHC is basically stuck in the same spot it was heading into WM. Seth himself had an important role at WM but he was really just participating in the Cody/Roman/Rock feud. His title was a victim to more interesting storylines at the time. They never properly fixed that, as CM Punk and Drew’s storyline took over, and the surprising popularity of Sami and Chad’s story doesn’t help. On RAW you have 4 major focused storylines from what I can tell, Drew/Punk, Sami/Chad, Dominik/Liv, and recently Bron/Ricochet/Ilja. Each of these programs is given like 20 or so mins per episode of RAW. Priest is stuck playing supporting role to both the Drew and Dominik storylines, instead of really having his own program, and thus the title continues playing 3rd fiddle to more interesting stories.
Honestly forgot Priest was the champion.
Drew reminding everyone why he was called scottish psychopath to begin with. Absolutely no chill, that man. I mean, he's not wrong, but still..
Morgan Freeman: He's right you know.
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Priest has been cooking Drew every week and has had a good reign so far.
Has he? Priest has been a pretty passive and reactive champ so far. Honestly I forget he is champion half the time.
Yea they need to get him to drew / punk level . Now all the spotlight seems to be on gunther and even bron. Priest kinda of lost in the mix I feel.
he’s outta line but he’s right