Before I get into the specifics of this card, I just want to take a second to nerd out about the very first Badd Blood, which took place all the way back in 1997. In retrospect, it’s probably one of the most important secondary PPVs in WWE history and not just because it was spelled with Badd Blood for maximum 1990s-ness. It featured the first ever Hell In A Cell match between The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels, which ended after interference from a debuting Kane, who was immediately treated as a monster and beat Stone Cold Steve Austin for the WWE Championship within a year.
If that wasn’t enough of a legacy, it’s also widely considered to be the last PPV of The New Generation Era, as it was the last PPV Vince McMahon was the lead commentator on and the PPV immediately before Survivor Series 1997, which was the infamous Montreal Screwjob where the Mr. McMahon character was born. It also featured a few other legends including Bret Hart, The Rock, British Bulldog, Vader, Owen Hart, Legion Of Doom, Faarooq, among others. So, yeah, there’s a lot to live up to here, and while it would be really unfair to expect this card to be as historically important as the original Badd Blood, there’s every reason to be optimistic that it’ll be an absolute banger, given the matches.
We’ve got CM Punk and Drew McIntyre in a Hell In A Cell match. We’ve got Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes against The Bloodline in a match that’ll (probably) have lingering storyline repercussions for months to come. We’ve got a Women’s World Championship match between Rhea Ripley and Liv Morgan with Dominik Mysterio suspended above the ring in a shark cage. We’ve got Finn Bálor and Damian Priest in a grudge match, and Bayley and Nia Jax for The WWE Women’s Championship with a possible Tiffany Stratton cash-in lingering. There’s something to be excited about in every one of these matches.
Before I get into what I think is going to happen, though, let’s take a look at how I’ve been doing with my predictions lately.
| Event | Wins | Losses |
| 2024 Clash At The Castle | 4 | 1 |
| 2024 Money In The Bank | 3 | 2 |
| 2024 SummerSlam | 5 | 2 |
| Bash In Berlin | 5 | 0 |
| Overall Record | 147 | 47 |
Nia Jax (Champion) Vs Bayley For The WWE Women’s Championship
During this past week’s episode of SmackDown, WWE production accidentally put up Bayley’s Damage CTRL graphic during her entrance. I’m not trying to run down the people in production as mistakes happen and they’re typically great, but I can’t think of a better way to symbolize how stuck in the mud Bayley is right now than that.
She was so hot during her split from Damage CTRL storyline, her Royal Rumble win and the WrestleMania payoff, but she just has not been able to find her footing the past several months. Nothing she’s doing is working, which is why she lost the title to Jax. She’ll get another shot here, but she shouldn’t win anything until she figures out her character. She sometimes laughs in an over the top way like she’s still a heel. She sometimes tries to connect emotionally like she’s a babyface, but since she’s not over like an LA Knight style anti-hero, it just sorta seems off-tone. And I say that as a huge Bayley fan who thinks she’s a guaranteed future Hall of Famer.
Because of all that, I don’t really see Bayley as a threat to win here. So, really, it’s all about whether Tiffany Stratton is going to cash-in. We’ve gotten a lot of teases on that so far and our most overt example of drama between the two on SmackDown. The crowd will lose their minds if/ when it finally becomes Tiffy Time, and I think that’ll happen sooner rather than later. I’m going to be cautious and not directly predict it here, but it’s definitely within the realm of possibilities.
Predicted Winner: Nia Jax
Damian Priest Vs Finn Bálor
I’m really of two minds here. On the one hand, Finn Bálor needs a win desperately. He’s had 2 victories in his last 12 PPV appearances, and they both came in tag team matches with Damian Priest. So, if WWE wants this new version of Judgment Day to actually be a faction people take seriously, he needs to start winning some big matches. The occasional victory on Raw, buoyed by outside interference, is not enough. In addition, if WWE wants this feud between New Judgment Day and old Judgment Day to continue, then Finn really needs to win here. Dominik and Liv already lost to Damian and Rhea at the last PPV. If they both lose again here, it’s over. What’s the point of continuing the feud?
On the other hand, Damian Priest is getting the best crowd reactions of his career, and Triple H clearly loves him. Yes, he dropped his belt to Gunther at SummerSlam, but that was only after big PPV wins over the likes of Drew McIntyre, Seth Rollins and Jey Uso. Gunther was always going to be the future of that belt, and it’s a testament to Damian Priest that WWE delayed it for as long as it did. He could easily survive a loss here to Finn Bálor, particularly if it’s protected, but if WWE is going to have Rhea beat Liv, they may just want to end this Old Judgement Day vs New Judgement Day feud, which means Damian would need to win. It could go either way, but I think there’s more story left to tell.
Predicted Winner: Finn Bálor
Rhea Ripley Vs Liv Morgan (Champion) For The Women’s World Championship
Liv Morgan has been doing the best work of her entire career over the past few months. She’s leaned into all the heat Dominik Mysterio has had and really found a way to push it even further. I can’t imagine anyone on the roster playing this role better than her, but how long can we keep denying Rhea Ripley for? She’s the most popular female wrestler in the history of the business, and personally, I’m a dude that thinks the most popular person should hold the title in most instances.
But this isn’t Cody Rhodes against some random opponent on a second level PPV. There’s a lot of story being told here, and we can’t count Liv Morgan out. As I said in the Damian Priest/ Finn Bálor paragraph, I’m not sure WWE is done with this Old Judgment Day vs New Judgment Day storyline. I think we’re going to see Dominik Mysterio and Rhea Ripley in a singles match at some point, and I also think there’s been too much crowd response to Rhea and Liv to burn this off with just one singles match. I’m going to go with Rhea, but I don’t feel great about it. There’s a strong chance this could be remembered as the PPV where the New Judgment Day stands tall thanks to heelish tactics.
Predicted Winner: Rhea Ripley
Cody Rhodes And Roman Reigns Vs Jacob Fatu And Solo Sikoa
Roman Reigns can’t lose his return match after he was gone for months, right? I don’t know. The hardest matches to predict in wrestling are always the ones where the storyline is very obviously going to continue, and there are so many different directions this storyline could take. Let me throw out a few of them. The Rock could come back and, as heavily rumored, officially side with Solo Sikoa and Jacob Fatu, setting up a new Bloodline vs Old Bloodline Civil War. Roman’s potential allies, Jimmy Uso, Jey Uso and Paul Heyman could show up to officially signal their support for the Original Tribal Chief. All the drama between Kevin Owens, Randy Orton and Cody Rhodes could finally come to a head, costing Cody’s team the match.
Where does WWE want to go with the storyline? Personally, I think we’re working toward The Rock and Cody Rhodes in one WrestleMania 41 main event (although there’s some reason for doubt) and Jacob Fatu and Roman Reigns in the other WrestleMania 41 main event. So, what’s the most important thing WWE needs to do in order to make that happen in the best possible way? To me, that means figuring out how to bring The Rock back and it means establishing the new Bloodline, particularly Jacob Fatu as the biggest threat possible. That means they need some high profile wins. That could and probably should start here.
Predicted Winner: Solo Sikoa And Jacob Fatu
CM Punk Vs Drew McIntyre
This’ll go down as one of the greatest and most memorable non-title feuds in WWE history. It’s been an absolute masterclass from both men, but it needs to end so they can both move on to different things. CM Punk likely needs to start a program with Seth Rollins (after Rollins is done with Bronson Reed), and Drew McIntyre likely needs to focus on trying to win The Royal Rumble and possibly getting a shot at Gunther’s World Heavyweight Championship (which could be a great Mania program for him). So, this needs to have a decisive ending, but ideally, an ending that doesn’t bury either one of them.
Personally, I think Drew McIntyre should win this feud. He’s six years younger and is probably on the best run of his entire career. I think CM Punk’s character can better weather a loss, and I’d like to see him put Drew over. I think that’s best for business long-term, but CM Punk is arguably the more popular performer and he’s the babyface in the feud. So, this match could really go either way.
Predicted Winner: Drew McIntyre