This Friday on Smackdown, the finals for WWE ‘s first ever Smackdown World Cup is set between Santos Escobar and Ricochet. Let’s see how we got here, the surprise win by Ricochet, and my predictions for who will go on to take on Intercontinental champion, GUNTHER.
What Happened in the Semifinals of WWE Smackdown World Cup
This past Friday, we saw Santos Escobar defeat Butch in their match. Although I thought that the match could’ve been better given the two men in the ring, I think that the right man won.
Santos Escobar is the new guy and have other talents attached to his name, so with WWE trying to get them all established, usually the best way to do this is by making the leader strong and make the others strong by association.
Although many people wanted to see Butch vs GUNTHER, there is no storyline reason for Butch to go against GUNTHER. GUNTHER vs Escobar is a fresh match and I think that I has the potential to be very good.
On the other side of the bracket, we saw Ricochet defeat Braun Stroman in the biggest upset of the tournament. Many people speculate that this is a response to Braun’s dumb tweets about “flippy floppy” wrestlers.
With Ricochet being one of those types of wrestlers, I think that combined with the fact that Ricochet has been with the company for so long and has done what’s been asked of him, even under Vince, its nice that he gets something for it.
Predictions for the World Cup Finals
With Ricochet and Santos Escobar being in the finals, it sets up a rematch for Lucha Underground fans who remember the Prince Puma (Ricochet) vs King Cuerno (Escobar) match in 2015.
This time, I think that the roles will be reversed with Escobar picking up the victory. We’ve already seen Ricochet vs GUNTHER multiple times and Ricochet lost.
We haven’t seen GUNTHER vs Santos Escobar yet though, and there is a possibility that we won’t.
GUNTHER vs Escobar would be a heel vs heel match and usually, no matter who they put into these kinds of matches, the crowd is out of it. They don’t know who to cheer for and get behind.
What I think might happen with this is that Braun Stroman may interfere or something happens where there isn’t a decisive winner.
This could lead to GUNTHER facing Braun next while Escobar and Ricochet start a rivalry. Maybe a best out of seven series? What do you think?
CHECK IT OUT: To get The Overtimer’s Hottest Stories, Breaking News and Special Features in your email, CLICK HERE!
