On the heels of a historic All In pay-per-view, All Elite Wrestling returns Sunday with the second part of its summer-ending double feature, All Out, live from Chicago's United Center.
Before that, 24 hours earlier in Pittsburgh, WWE presents Payback, headlined by world champion Seth Rollins defending against Shinsuke Nakamura and Becky Lynch battling Trish Stratus inside a steel cage.
In preparation for another packed holiday weekend of pro wrestling, here are a few predictions to keep an eye on.
WWE Payback
- WWE World Championship: Seth Rollins (c) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura'
- World Women's Championship: Raquel Rodriguez vs. Rhea Ripley (c)
- United States Championship: Rey Mysterio (c) vs. Austin Theory
- Steel Cage match: Becky Lynch vs. Trish Stratus
- LA Knight vs. The Miz
- The Grayson Waller Effect featuring Cody Rhodes
AEW All Out
- Kenny Omega vs. Konosuke Takeshita
- AEW International Championship: Orange Cassidy or Penta El Zero Miedo vs. Jon Moxley
- TBS Championship: Kris Statlander vs. Ruby Soho (c)
LA Knight enters his match with The MIz at Payback as the hottest star in WWE.
The Megastar has momentum on his side, continues to build tremendous fanfare and is coming off one of the most emotional nights of his career as part of the Bray Wyatt memorial broadcast of SmackDown.
On Friday's show and under the most difficult circumstances, Knight stayed true to his character while paying tribute to a Superstar for whom he was his final opponent. It was a defining moment for the 40-year-old and one management will have noticed, just as it will Saturday in Pittsburgh.
The Miz has long been a measuring stick for every prospective next big thing or breakout star in WWE. He not only helps to elevate his opponents with his promo ability, but he also has a connection with audiences.
Those who work with The A-Lister are instantly more popular, but they also thrive inside the ring because of his smooth and selfless style. He knows how to play to the crowd within the confines of the contest and knows how to put his opponent over.
A good match against a two-time WWE champion on a premium live event would allow Knight to move even further onward and upward.
After a signature win at SummerSlam in the Slim Jim Battle Royal, he is ready to take the next jump toward superstardom in pro wrestling's most prominent promotion.
Not bad for a guy who was fresh out of Maximum Male Models with no clear direction just one year ago.
One of the biggest criticisms of WWE and AEW recently has been the lack of time afforded to their women's divisions.
WWE had the opportunity to present a SummerSlam card that featured three women's matches but decided to leave two of its biggest stars off of the lineup by opting not to book Becky Lynch vs. Trish Stratus.
AEW had six hours of airtime to work with at All In at Wembley Stadium in London and presented just one women's match, which was, predictably, the shortest on the card.
When asked about the booking decision in the post-show media scrum, Tony Khan brushed it off, insinuating that a second match would have adversely affected the flow of the PPV.
For Payback, WWE has announced the feud-ending showdown between Lynch and Stratus inside a steel cage and a battle between former friends as Raquel Rodriguez challenges Rhea Ripley for the Women's World Championship.
Over on All Out, Kris Statlander defends the TBS Championship against Ruby Soho on Sunday.
Based on recent trends and the dismissive attitude of AEW's owner and head booker with regard to women's wrestling in his company, there is not a high probability that another match will be added to the lineup. Even if it is, time will likely be at a premium.
Still, three matches over the course of two shows should have fans of those involved excited.
Lynch and Stratus are top-notch talents who won't struggle to get time for their match. Barring a flare-up of the knee injuries that have limited her in-ring appearances of late, Ripley and Rodriguez should tear the house down if presented 10 or so minutes.
With an as-of-now relatively small card for All Out, Soho and Statlander should have plenty of time to work with, but no one would be surprised if that wasn't the case given the circumstances.
Here's hoping Khan hears the criticisms and gives his talent substantive time to work with because, like the women on WWE, they are more than capable of producing a terrific show.
Orange Cassidy will defend his International Championship against Penta El Zero Miedo Wednesday night on Dynamite, with the winner facing Jon Moxley in Chicago on Sunday.
It's an illogical creative choice, if for no other reason than the fact that Freshly Squeezed won Stadium Stampede for his team and has to defend his title while Moxley gets a free pass to All Out and a title shot despite his team losing.
No matter how we got there, though, the PPV will see the end of Cassidy's historic run with the gold.
His win at All In came via Ring of Honor world champion Claudio Castagnoli rather than Moxley.
The former world champion rarely loses and when he does, it is in tag team action, where another member of the Blackpool Combat Club can take the pin. Moxley and all of his badass bravado is not losing straight-up to Cassidy.
Then, fans who went along for the ride with Freshly Squeezed as he compiled win after win as champion can wonder what the point of it was. After all, Moxley is not a fresh face or intriguing breakout star who can benefit from beating the champion.
Jack Perry was reportedly involved in a confrontation with CM Punk backstage at All In on Sunday, but that won't be providing the backdrop for The Best in the World's next opponent at All Out.
Punk definitely won't be working with the former FTW champion this weekend, but there is no clear idea of what the Chicago native will actually be doing.
Perhaps he will resume the rivalry with Samoa Joe and battle the ROH Television champion in a rematch. Maybe he will target Ricky Starks or Jay White in continuations of rivalries with those two competitors.
Considering Khan's revelation that Moxley will challenge for the international title and Kenny Omega will battle Konosuke Takeshita, it's surprising that Punk has not already been announced for something of significance in his hometown.
The Judgment Day is prominently featured on the promotional materials for Saturday's Payback, and it's difficult to imagine that the faction won't have a major role in the premium live event other than Rhea Ripley defending her title.
Enter, Damian Priest.
We know he has either teased or attempted to cash in on Seth Rollins in recent weeks. Saturday, The Visionary is scheduled to defend his World Heavyweight Championship against Shinsuke Nakamura, who has already alerted everyone to Rollins' back injury, which he hopes to exploit at the PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh.
The Artist will do that, but it will be Priest who takes full advantage and cashes in to win his first world title.
It would be a buzzworthy moment that would generate discussion and a social media buzz on a card that is relatively nondescript to this point.
Perhaps most importantly, it would elevate a heel in the eyes of fans at a time when Raw could use one.
AEW is in the middle of a one-two punch of consecutive pay-per-views and there is no chance WWE allows its rival to steal the headlines on successive weekends.
A major title change to close out the show, pay off the patient rise of Priest and propel the feud between The Judgment Day and the rest of the Raw babyfaces forward is one way to ensure Payback does not fade into the background.
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