The final WWE PPV before Royal Rumble 2017 and the beginning of the “Road to WrestleMania 33” will be Roadblock: End of the Line, headlined by WWE Universal Champion Kevin Owens defending his title against United States Champion Roman Reigns. While there’s certainly plenty of time for the Universal Championship to change hands on multiple occasions between now and WrestleMania 33, whoever leaves Roadblock 2016 with Team Red’s biggest prize will certainly have momentum on his side as all eyes look towards Orlando on April 2, 2017.
There is a total of seven matches officially booked for WWE Roadblock, with the Raw Women’s Championship being defended in a 30-Minute Iron Match and the WWE Cruiserweight Championship being defended in a Triple Threat Match. What follows are previews and predictions for each of the matches confirmed for the final WWE PPV of 2016.
Raw Women’s Championship Match: Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte Flair [Image by WWE]
The New Day (c) vs. Cesaro and Sheamus — Raw Tag Team Championship Match
This match came about as a result of something that happened at WWE Tribute to the Troops, an annual event that rarely has any sort of impact on current story arcs. However, the event included a Fatal 4-Way Tag Team Match to determine new No. 1 contenders to face The New Day at Roadblock. Cesaro and Sheamus were able to outlast The Shining Stars, The Golden Truth, and Gallows and Anderson.
Currently in the midst of the longest tag team title reigns in WWE history, there’s really not much more that The New Day can accomplish as a tag team. After an epic Monday Night Raw in which they successfully defended the titles in two separate Triple Threat Tag Team Matches, Roadblock will likely prove to be the End of the Line for The New Day’s epic title run.
Prediction: Cesaro and Sheamus defeat The New Day for the Raw Tag Team Championship
Big Cass vs. Rusev
It has long been suspected that Vince McMahon and the WWE want to see Colin Cassady eventually make a singles run, to see if he would make a good main event performer without Enzo Amore. Defending his friend’s honor on Sunday, Big Cass will get a chance to show the WWE Universe how well he can perform in arguably the biggest singles match of his career.
Ever since dropping the WWE United States Championship, Rusev’s career has remained rather steady. He hasn’t been booked especially strong, but he hasn’t been getting buried either. Since most of the Bulgarian Brute’s heat comes from his accent, his disdain for America, and his intentionally obnoxious wife, he can take a loss at the hands of someone like Big Cass without it doing any significant damage to his own standing.
Prediction: Big Cass defeats Rusev, with plenty of shenanigans from Enzo and Lana at ringside
Sami Zayn vs. Braun Strowman
As SmackDown General Manager Daniel Bryan continues to run into issues with guys like The Miz and Baron Corbin, it seemed likely that Sami Zayn would, indeed, be traded to SmackDown LIVE. In fact, it wasn’t until Zayn was told he was being traded straight-up for Eva Marie that he showed Mick Foley he had the fire to make it through a match with Braun Strowman. A trade was never really in the works.
A special stipulation was added to the match: Sami Zayn must last at least 10 minutes in the ring. What happens if he fails? The WWE Roadblock preview doesn’t bother to elaborate. If he only lasts eight minutes, will he be traded to SmackDown? Will he be fired? Will he be given a stern scolding?
Prediction: Braun Strowman defeats Sami Zayn in just over 10 minutes
Rich Swann (c) vs. TJ Perkins vs. The Brian Kendrick — WWE Cruiserweight Championship Triple Threat Match
Since the title’s inception on September 14, three men have already been the WWE Cruiserweight Champion. Those three men come face-to-face-to-face at Roadblock in a Triple Threat Match for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship. While the division hasn’t taken off quite as well as many had hoped, it has provided some high-quality title matches.
If the Cruiserweight Division is being booked anything like the Raw Women’s Division, then the belt will probably continue to be passed around like a game of hot potato. But at some point, there has to be a dominant title reign, to give the championship some legitimacy. Rich Swann, though lovable, doesn’t seem like the kind of athlete around which WWE generally builds a division.
Prediction: TJ Perkins captures the Cruiserweight Championship and The Brian Kendrick takes the fall
Seth Rollins vs. Chris Jericho
Chris Jericho’s current on-camera presence is exactly what the WWE needs from its legendary superstars who are past their prime but still able to perform at a high level. Much like Kane, Rhyno, and The Big Show, Y2J’s role in the WWE is to use his experience and status as a former WWE Champion to help put over the younger talent. He put over Fandango at WrestleMania 29 and hasn’t held a world title in WWE since 2008.
In most ways, Seth Rollins is still the top guy on Raw. The fact that he’s headed for a feud with Triple H is a way to leave Rollins in a big-time feud without giving him the title. If one of the big matches at WrestleMania 33 is going to be Seth Rollins vs. Triple H, then Rollins is going to look very strong over the next few months.
Prediction: Seth Rollins defeats Chris Jericho
Sasha Banks (c) vs. Charlotte Flair — Raw Women’s Championship 30-Minute Iron Man Match
Sasha Banks has been lucky enough to be involved in groundbreaking matches in both NXT and on the main roster. Her 30-Minute Iron Man Match against Bayley for the NXT Women’s Championship was the first women’s match to ever headline any PPV of any sort put on by WWE. Then, she headlined Monday Night Raw on two occasions, and even headlined WWE Hell in a Cell — all in matches against Charlotte Flair.
Between the two of them, the title has changed five times. Charlotte Flair, however, has yet to lose on a WWE PPV. This Iron Man Match will be the end of their feud for the foreseeable future, as a “no rematch” clause has been included as a stipulation.
Prediction: Sasha Banks breaks Charlotte Flair’s PPV winning streak
Kevin Owens (c) vs. Roman Reigns — WWE Universal Championship Match
The main event of WWE Roadblock: End of the Line can end in two ways. In what would ultimately be a relatively uneventful outcome, Kevin Owens could leave with the title and walk into Royal Rumble 2017 as the Universal Champion. In what would cause an absolute uproar online, Roman Reigns could leave Roadblock as a double champion, being the first WWE Superstar to hold both the Universal and United States Championships at the same time.
The chemistry between Owens and Jericho is too good for the WWE to put to an end to Jeri-KO. Y2J won’t let his best friend lose the title to Roman Reigns.
Prediction: Chris Jericho helps Kevin Owens defeat Roman Reigns
RELATED REPORTS BY THE INQUISITR
Where To Watch WWE Roadblock: End of the Line
WWE Roadblock: End of the Line will air live on the WWE Network on Sunday, December 18, at 8/7c. The Roadblock: 2016 Kickoff will begin at 7/6c. The fallout from Roadblock will be played out the following night on Monday Night Raw.
Seth Rollins on Monday Night Raw [Image by WWE]
Episodes of WWE Monday Night Raw air live on the USA Network at 8/7c. Replays of WWE Raw aren’t made available on the WWE Network until several weeks after the original air date. However, a 90-minute version of Monday Night Raw is available to stream on-demand the following day with a Hulu subscription.
[Featured Image by WWE]