WWE Bad Blood preview & predictions: A historic ‘co-existing’ challenge

Tonight’s WWE Bad Blood will feature the blowoff to a major angle and one of the biggest “co-existing” challenges in WWE history.

The event takes place 27 years to the day of both the first-ever Hell in a Cell match and the first-ever Bad Blood. Noted wrestling historian CM Punk will likely have upward of 10-20 homages to previous HIAC matches planned for his match against Drew McIntyre. (Sadly, Bret Hart never wrestled inside the structure.)

The event also features a return to the ring for Roman Reigns, now firmly a babyface. It was a role Vince McMahon and WWE’s previous regime tried so hard to slot him into. They did everything they could think of from having him win matches the audience wanted other wrestlers to win to having him say things such as “suffering succotash.” It was the best stuff WWE’s creative minds could think of at the time.

Reigns’ babyface run begins with him “co-existing” alongside Cody Rhodes on Saturday. WWE has done many “can they co-exist?” storylines over the years, some better than others, but this ranks right up there with the biggest.

The most notable thing that happens at Bad Blood might not involve a scheduled match at all. Cody Rhodes teased during a recent appearance on The Pat McAfee Show that a video package will air that reveals “title implications” for Crown Jewel. I’m expecting that to be something big.

Below are previews, predictions, and betting odds for every match at WWE Bad Blood (6 PM Eastern on Peacock/WWE Network).  

CM Punk vs. Drew McIntyre in a Hell in a Cell match

Punk is a -2000 favorite to win and it’s hard to disagree with it.

This will be the blowoff to a feud that technically started in January when Punk was injured during the men’s Royal Rumble. That WWE has dragged out a storyline for three-quarters of the year with Punk being injured for most of it is pretty impressive.

Since his return to wrestling, Punk has become something of a master at referencing wrestling history throughout his matches. I’m expecting Saturday will be no different given the aforementioned anniversary. 

Punk gave an interview to the new No Contest Wrestling podcast recently and spoke about wanting to deliver a match that takes the HIAC back to its original intention. 

“I feel like I have to deliver a classic and I have to stay true to myself, my beliefs of what good wrestling is, and that cell that I feel like as a company we’ve gotten away from for so long where it just became a toy. Like, ‘We’re just going to have a pay-per-view, call it Hell in a Cell, and everyone’s going to go inside and have matches.’ When in reality that should be presented as the most dangerous, diabolical thing that any wrestler would ever want to do,” Punk said.

I imagine there could be callbacks to Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels, Undertaker vs. Mankind, Cactus vs. Triple H, and possibly even the epic encounter between Punk and Ryback at Hell in a Cell 2012. 

Punk will win. It will be fun.

Prediction: Punk

Damian Priest vs. Finn Balor

Priest is listed as a -500 favorite to beat Balor and probably will. It depends on how long WWE is going to run with a Priest vs. Balor feud and how into pushing Balor Triple H is right now. 

We could see Judgment Day interfere or Balor cheat to get a win, setting up a future match at Crown Jewel with stipulations. The other possibility is that Priest wins, but Balor returns sometime later as his Demon gimmick. We haven’t seen The Demon since WrestleMania 39. We might be due. 

I think Priest will probably win on Saturday, but I believe the main goal of this rivalry as a whole will be to elevate Balor. We will just have to wait and see how they do that. 

Prediction: Priest

WWE Women’s Champion Nia Jax defends against Bayley

Jax is listed as a -450 favorite and honestly, I’m surprised oddsmakers are giving Bayley any shot at all. 

I don’t see why they would build up Jax to beat Bayley just to have her then drop the title back to her so soon after. I imagine the goal here is to further the developing storyline with Tiffany Stratton and Jax, rather than having much to do about Bayley. 

We all know what is going to happen eventually. There will be numerous opportunities for Stratton to cash in over the coming months, building the anticipation for when she actually does. The key is to do it at the right moment and turn Stratton into a giant babyface star in the process. In a nutshell, the person WWE is trying to get over in this match isn’t even technically entered into it. 

The idea of Stratton’s character being a babyface isn’t easy to wrap your head around, but it’s what the people want. It’s why they chanted her name in the Elimination Chamber and it’s why her music initially gets cheers before crowds remember they are supposed to boo her (if they remember at all). I think the appeal of Stratton is just that fans recognize she is a blue chip, can’t miss prospect who has the potential to be a main-event player for years to come. The positive crowd response is from people who recognize her as a star in the making.

The making of that star will continue on Saturday, but I don’t think she’s cashing in for a while still. The oddsmakers agree with me on that with her cashing in listed as only a +550 shot to happen. 

Prediction: Jax retains

WWE Women’s World Champion Liv Morgan defends against Rhea Ripley with Dominik Mysterio suspended in a shark cage above the ring

Morgan is listed as a -700 favorite to retain over Ripley and while I think she will, I’m not as confident as the oddsmakers are. 

Morgan being listed as a heavy favorite is likely due to it feeling a little too soon to take the title off her. This has been a career-changing storyline for Morgan. She’s never been over to this degree. Her title run and feud with Ronda Rousey didn’t come close to making her as big of a star as she is now. It doesn’t feel right to drop it so soon. 

The case against Morgan retaining, however, is that it would be two wins in a row for her over Ripley, so then what do you do with their rivalry? I can’t imagine this will be the last singles match between the two as part of this story, so if Morgan is winning, they will have to find a reason for them to wrestle a third time. 

Dominik Mysterio’s role in his match should be fun. He will once again be behind bars on Saturday, although this time, he will be in a shark cage suspended high above the ring. It’s supposed to prevent him from getting involved, yet in the history of shark cage matches, I can’t think of one where the stipulation was effective. 

The odds of Dominik getting out of the cage are currently listed at -220. He can still get involved while still inside the shark cage, such as by dropping a weapon down.

Prediction: Morgan retains

Cody Rhodes & Roman Reigns vs. Solo Sikoa & Jacob Fatu

Rhodes and Reigns are listed as -400 favorites, but I think there is room to believe The Bloodline could win here. 

I believe there is a chance the aforementioned video package Rhodes teasted for Saturday will feature The Rock. I also think The Rock may wrestle a match at Crown Jewel. I think a lot of wrestling fans have forgotten in recent years just how much money WWE gets for the Saudi Arabia shows. Even a superstar as gigantic as The Rock wants that bag. Of course, this all depends on his availability but it seems like a possibility.

Another prop bet available for this match is if Jimmy Uso returns with the odds stating he’s a -300 favorite to do so. He is said to be cleared and just waiting for the most opportune time. His return, and possible babyface turn, could set up an original Bloodline vs. Bloodline 2.0 angle just in time for November’s Survivor Series: WarGames.

I’m not certain about this, but I also want to book at least one underdog to win so I’m going with Fatu and Sikoa winning. 

Prediction: Fatu & Sikoa