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The Match
What an incredible performance! The most impressive thing about Cushing’s win here is that she got a TKO against JTE, who answered 73% of his questions right. 73% is enough to win some matches, and would almost always take a player to the last question! JTE played a really good game here, missing only 3 of his individual questions, but it was on steals that Rachel killed him. As I mentioned in my preview, Rachel shared strengths with Mike, and this played big, with Rachel taking his category, and stealing when it was Mike’s turn to answer. Plus, she hit every question. 100%. That’s huge. JTE didn’t beat himself – he played a good game, but Rachel was unbeatable. Mike, on the other hand, did indeed beat himself with a terrible performance. We’ve seen better from Kalinowski, and I hope that we will in the future. I’d schedule an Innergeekdom match to improve his confidence.
Honestly, there’s not a lot more to say about the match – Cushing was simply really impressive. I’ll talk more about Levine vs Cushing II below, but I should mention the entrances quickly. Great to see Cushing and Kalinowski put in a lot of effort – both hit short, inventive and fun intros that worked really well. JTE’s entrance was great too, simply because Napzok is the best heel in the Schmoedown, and here he showed it once again. What was interesting is the reference to Dagnino being ‘away’. I suspect that machinations may be underway for the Napzok/Dagnino vs Cushing/Wolfe watch, as, when he found out about the match at Spectacular, Bobby Gucci seemed surprised. Might we see Napzok teaming up with someone else, wearing the Finstock mask? I’m not quite sure who else would have beef with Wolfe and Cushing, as well as being both a heel and willing to associate with the Lion’s Den, as well as being good enough at trivia to give them a run for their money, but the moment seemed suspicious nonetheless. It could just be the case that JTE or Sneider wear the mask. Perhaps this is a part of my often-mooted Napzok-takes-over-the-Den storyline! No? Well, I’ve been fleshing that one out into a full storyline/theory lately, so look out for a full article at some point.
Cushing
Looking ahead to her title match with Levine, it’s fair to say that Cushing is the favourite. However, that doesn’t mean that this is a done deal – she was the favourite in her match against Levine the first time, and didn’t pull out the victory. If Cushing plays like she did here, the belt is hers, but Cushing has had one or two less than stellar matches: there are some early Nerd’s Watch matches in which Rachel was a little under par (Nerd’s Watch vs Above the Line and Nerd’s Watch vs Rotten Tomatoes), and while the odds were against her, Cushing didn’t play her strongest game against Blofeld’s Cat. The uniting factor here is that these were all big matches for either storyline or stakes, and the Title Match will be one such event. I don’t want to be a party pooper, and it’s certainly fair to look at Cushing as the favourite, but this isn’t a done deal. I think that Cushing will hold the Singles, Teams and Innergeekdom belts in the future, but I’m likely to root for Levine in this one, because a win for Levine would mean a record breaking 6 match winning streak. Also, Levine has hinted that he might step back from singles if he loses, and I’m not ready for that to happen yet! For more discussion on the implications of a Levine win or loss in his title match, check out last week’s segment on ‘The State of the Titles’, which you can find here.
The big thing here is, of course, the Shirewolves! As predicted, Clarke Wolfe is Cushing’s new teammate, and in the end, it just made sense. I’m excited to see the pair decimate Dagnino and Napzok, but the bigger question is: will this team be part of Fyffe’s faction? Many have speculated that Fyffe was on the other end of the phone call during the post-credits scene, and I’m minded to agree. But if Cushing does join up with Fyffe, what happens to the #1 contender spot? Will the Shirewolves get a #1 contender team match? Potentially: if the Patriots still hold the belts, it seems likely that Cushing and Wolfe would go after them, especially as the Den are Fyffe’s number 1 target. Even if the Patriots lose the belts, they’re guaranteed an immediate title shot – maybe Fyffe could cash in her #1 contender match to force the Patriots to play the Shirewolves first? There’s also Innergeekdom – there’s every possibility that Cushing will be given the chance to compete to play Inman. If Cushing joins Fyffe’s faction and wins the Singles belt, it seems unlikely that Andreyko would need a #1 contender spot for a belt that would already belong to the faction, so, unless Levine wins that title match, the signs seem to be pointing to the Shirewovles getting that #1 contender spot!
JTE
Rocha vs JTE! Pleased to have predicted this match, and it’s a big one, with huge implications. We’re unlikely to see the loser in singles for a while, and the winner will edge closer to a title shot. Looking at the announced matches, there are two ways that the path to the belt could go. If Andreyko is getting the #1 contender match spot from Fyffe, then I would expect the winners of Rocha/JTE, Bibbiani/McWeeny and Sneider/Ellis to play in a triple threat match, with the winner playing Andreyko for a title shot. In this scenario, there are so many potential matchups – Rocha could be playing Bibbinai (former Horsemen), Sneider (Patriots rivalry) or Ellis (a loss to avenge); JTE could have sequel matches against Bibbiani, McWeeny, Sneider or Ellis. Lots of potential to further a lot of rivalries, including the Above the Line/Patriots rivalry if McWeeny wins his match. Almost all of these competitors also have beef with Andreyko, who knocked Bibbiani, McWeeny and Rocha out at the Free For All, while JTE and Sneider would be looking for revenge after Andreyko left the Den. If Andreyko doesn’t get that #1 contender spot, we could still have a triple threat, with the winner playing the loser of Cushing/Levine for a title shot: again, there are an absolute ton of storylines there. If not a triple threat match, then perhaps the loser of that title match could play the winner of Ellis/Sneider, while the winners of Rocha/JTE and Bibbiani/McWeeny could play. The point is, there are a lot of players that are on a collision course, and that’s really exciting!
There’s not a lot else to talk about regarding JTE. We might see him again on Tuesday, as the Patriots are likely to crash the interview of the new #1 contender in Teams. While he’s there, expect JTE to call out Rocha, and start the buildup to their big singles match. Finally, it’s just worth noting that, when he called out Rocha, JTE said that he wanted to get one more match in before the Free For All. While this isn’t confirmation that JTE will compete this year, it’s a pretty strong hint that he expects to, so look forward to that!
Kalinowski
There are two big questions hanging over Mike: what next? And what’s going on with Brianne? Back when Kalinowski tweeted that Chandler was joining the league, I thought we had this figured out, but now I’m not so sure. Kalinowski is, afterall, an actor, and so is exactly the sort of person to whom Harloff would look to build a storyline. One thing that I’m fairly confident about: Kalinowski isn’t going to be competing with Chandler on a team. Chandler isn’t competing right now, and has repeatedly hinted at a new role. When she mentioned an upcoming team match, Reilly asked her if she would be playing on a team with Kalinowski, and she obfuscated. It’s this ‘new role’ comment that intrigues me – I can’t come up with anything that fits all of the facts. The fact that the League wasn’t present in this match was telling, but it may have been a diversion.
Kalinowski may be going heel, Miss Movies having turned him. This could lead to a nice heel arc, and then a redemption arc. Or not – I really don’t know! I’m expecting a Kalinowski vs Howard singles match, in which all of this is revealed, much to surprise of Washington. Perhaps our team match could be a one-off Kalinowski and Chandler team up, in which they play a Washington and Howard team? I’m so torn on this one, but I’m going to go ahead and predict that Kalinowski is going heel. That’s as far as I can take my prediction, and I’m already starting to doubt it: don’t we already have enough heels? Can’t wait to find out the answers to all of these Kalinowski questions!
Top 10 vs Top That
Honestly, there’s not a lot of storyline to look out for here, in my opinion. The biggest question I have is: will Rocha take the start of a new season as an opportunity to alter the Outlaw character? Ahead of the Action/Top 10 match at Spectacular (expect lots of references to that here, by the way!), Rocha teased the return of the old-school Outlaw, but that never really materialised in the match. I think this might be the opportunity to present Rocha with the intensity and motivation he had during his 2016 run, but without the heel behaviour from the start of 2017, as this is something Harloff and Rocha appear to want to move away from. Honestly, the outcome of the match might play a factor in these character questions. Let’s look quickly at both outcomes. If Top 10 win, they get a shot at the Patriots. Despite not playing incredibly well against Action, beating a team like Top That will surely necessitate a strong performance, so Top 10 aren’t automatically going to lose to the Patriots. I also don’t have a problem with a third bout between them: Reilly got his third match against Rocha, and won, after all. Should Top 10 lose to the Patriots, and I wouldn’t expect them to get another title shot while the Patriots hold the belts, but that may be a conversation for next week. The question is: what if Top 10 lose to Top That? You can’t really break Top 10 up, since they survived that at Spectacular, but there would be nowhere for the team to go, other than on a break. This looks like a must win match for Top 10.
In terms of Top That, I’m excited to see them back: they’re a fun team! If Goldman plays like he did against DC Movie news, this might be a done deal, but I think that, while Vejvoda may outplay Rocha and Goldman might outplay Knost in Round 1, a poor round 2 spin for Top That could put them in trouble. Thing is, they’ve never had a poor round 2 so far. Is this a team without weaknesses? Rocha and Knost had better hope not. This match will hopefully provide a jumping off point for Vejvoda into singles, and Goldman into Innergeekdom, especially if they are our new #1 contenders.
Prediction: Top That to win
A tough call, and I will be rooting for Top 10 here. A good day for either team could swing it, and it’s fair to say that, in defeating a tough opponent, either team would look fairly strong going into a match against the Patriots (although the Patriots will surely be the favourites).
Harris vs Hall
Not the screengrab I was going for, but it suits their characters!
This should be a fun match! I’ll spoil my prediction right out of the gate:
Prediction: Harris to win (fairly easily)
Beyond that, I’m really excited to see the development of the ‘Professor’ character. I was pleased to see that Harris had a costume at the awards, and it’s clear that the Schmoedown is taking his character development seriously. Cody as ‘the student’ looks to be a fun dynamic, but the question is: where will Harris go from here? I’m hoping he’ll join the Growling Commandos after beating Hall, but we’ll see. I know I’ve banged on about that dream scenario enough. It does seem clear that the Professor will have a big role this season, so maybe we’ll see a new team formed. My prediction? Harris teams up with Alonso Duralde. It would make a lot of sense, and fit the ‘Super Team’ definition that Harloff promised for Duralde. Whether this happens in Friday’s match or not, I think that a Harris/Duralde team is coming, and that they would be the perfect duo to round out the Growling Commandos faction. Please, Kristian!
Join us next week for all of the reaction and speculation following these matches, as well as previews and predictions for upcoming matches!
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