Ahead of Sunday’s WWE Payback at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois, here are some predictions on what to expect from the action.
Roman Reigns to beat AJ Styles to retain the WWE World Heavyweight title
Now, this should be interesting. This will be a good match, with the excellent Styles being paired with Reigns to help give the new champion a strong match.
I have liked the characterisation of Reigns since he won the title at WrestleMania 32. Neither a face or heel, just very confident in himself, with no attempt to force himself down audiences throat as a top babyface.
The intriguing element here is the role Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson will have, given their link to Styles and fact they have attacked Reigns in the build-up.
The swerve here is I think the duo will attack Styles during the match, not out of association to Reigns but for their own agenda and whoever else they are working with.
Reigns will capitalise and take the win, maintaining the darker edge to his character. He has done nothing wrong, but he does not help Styles, and this should serve the purpose of giving him a good start to what should be a long title reign, while keeping Styles strong.
I do not think there will be a reveal on who they are working for on Sunday, as the WWE would be wise to tease that out, though it is no coincidence that Finn Balor has just dropped the NXT title to free himself up in theory to make a move to the main roster.
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Dean Ambrose to beat Chris Jericho
Ambrose, judging by the manner in which he lost to Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 32, is not going to be world champion anytime soon, no matter how over he is with the crowd.
There was no surprise that he lost to Lesnar, and that was the right result, given the WWE wants the Beast Incarnate kept strong for the inevitable rematch with Reigns that he will likely lose, but for Ambrose to lose so quickly and with little resilience has hurt him.
Jericho is a great foil for him, and since turning heel last month, has really become a force on the roster.
Hopefully this is the start of a long feud, but Ambrose needs a winning start to give himself some fresh momentum.
The Miz to retain the Intercontinental title in a disqualification finish against Cesaro
The Miz is doing a great job as the Intercontinental champion, his heelish antics with his wife Maryse one of the highlights of WWE programming right now.
Cesaro has just come back from injury and he will get the title off the Miz, just not yet as this feud feels like it has only just started.
Expect some nefarious behaviour from The Miz to ensure that he may lose on the night by getting disqualified, but that he leaves with his title still around his waist.
Kevin Owens to beat Sami Zayn
I expect this feud to run all summer between two guys who have a long history together from their days in the independent scene, and most recently when they fought over the NXT title.
This could be match of the evening and I expect Owens to prevail here, with nefarious tactics, to build on Zayn being the underdog to create the situation where when Zayn does pick up thewin it will mean that much more.
Charlotte to retain the WWE Women’s title against Natalya
The WWE have done their best to put over Natalya as a threat to Charlotte, having her pin her in both tag and singles matches in recent weeks.
But Charlotte is going to be champion until at least SummerSlam when a likely rematch with Sasha Banks awaits, and she will win out in a match that should have outside interference with both Ric Flair and Bret Hart due to be at ringside.
Baron Corbin to beat Dolph Ziggler
Corbin has been promoted from NXT after winning the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania 32, and the WWE has big hopes for him.
Ziggler, whose stock has fallen since he won the World Heavyweight title in 2013, is there to make him look good, and this should be a competitive match that ends with Corbin standing tall.
The Vaudevillains to beat Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady in a tag match to become No 1 contenders for the WWE Tag Team titles
Enzo and Cass have been strongly over with the crowd since debuting the night after WrestleMania 32.
I am not sure the WWE will want them to feud with the New Day just yet, considering the New Day have just turned face and the meeting of these two teams, who are both great in the ring, and superb on the microphones, should be held off.
Expect the Dudleys to interfere, given their past history with Enzo and Cass, to give Vaudevillains the win/
It is a win-win scenario. The Vaudevillains get main event exposure in the tag division, while Enzo and Cass look strong in a feud with the Dudleys, before getting a title shot at SummerSlam.
Ryback to beat Kalisto to win the United States title
This feud has spluttered on since WrestleMania 32 and Ryback badly needs to win here if his attempt at reinventing himself as a frustrated man, taking matters into his own hands, is not to simply be frittered away.
The WWE have done little to develop Kalisto’s character since he first won the championship in January, and a title switch could be good for both men here to move things forward.
WWE Payback will be televised on the WWE Network, which is available through OSN, on Monday morning in the UAE from 4am.
gcaygill@thenational.ae
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Uefa Champions League semi-final:
First leg: Liverpool 5 Roma 2
Second leg: Wednesday, May 2, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
TV: BeIN Sports, 10.45pm (UAE)
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Nepotism is the name of the game
Salman Khan’s father, Salim Khan, is one of Bollywood’s most legendary screenwriters. Through his partnership with co-writer Javed Akhtar, Salim is credited with having paved the path for the Indian film industry’s blockbuster format in the 1970s. Something his son now rules the roost of. More importantly, the Salim-Javed duo also created the persona of the “angry young man” for Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan in the 1970s, reflecting the angst of the average Indian. In choosing to be the ordinary man’s “hero” as opposed to a thespian in new Bollywood, Salman Khan remains tightly linked to his father’s oeuvre. Thanks dad.
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
The Limehouse Golem
Director: Juan Carlos Medina
Cast: Olivia Cooke, Bill Nighy, Douglas Booth
Three stars
Scores
Scotland 54-17 Fiji
England 15-16 New Zealand
Europe’s rearming plan
- Suspend strict budget rules to allow member countries to step up defence spending
- Create new "instrument" providing €150 billion of loans to member countries for defence investment
- Use the existing EU budget to direct more funds towards defence-related investment
- Engage the bloc's European Investment Bank to drop limits on lending to defence firms
- Create a savings and investments union to help companies access capital
England v South Africa schedule
- First Test: Starts Thursday, Lord's, 2pm (UAE)
- Second Test: July 14-18, Trent Bridge, Nottingham, 2pm
- Third Test: The Oval, London, July 27-31, 2pm
- Fourth Test: Old Trafford, Manchester, August 4-8
A State of Passion
Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi
Stars: Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah
Rating: 4/5
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Know your Camel lingo
The bairaq is a competition for the best herd of 50 camels, named for the banner its winner takes home
Namoos - a word of congratulations reserved for falconry competitions, camel races and camel pageants. It best translates as 'the pride of victory' - and for competitors, it is priceless
Asayel camels - sleek, short-haired hound-like racers
Majahim - chocolate-brown camels that can grow to weigh two tonnes. They were only valued for milk until camel pageantry took off in the 1990s
Millions Street - the thoroughfare where camels are led and where white 4x4s throng throughout the festival
MO
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECreators%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMohammed%20Amer%2C%20Ramy%20Youssef%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMohammed%20Amer%2C%20Teresa%20Ruiz%2C%20Omar%20Elba%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Tailors and retailers miss out on back-to-school rush
Tailors and retailers across the city said it was an ominous start to what is usually a busy season for sales.
With many parents opting to continue home learning for their children, the usual rush to buy school uniforms was muted this year.
“So far we have taken about 70 to 80 orders for items like shirts and trousers,” said Vikram Attrai, manager at Stallion Bespoke Tailors in Dubai.
“Last year in the same period we had about 200 orders and lots of demand.
“We custom fit uniform pieces and use materials such as cotton, wool and cashmere.
“Depending on size, a white shirt with logo is priced at about Dh100 to Dh150 and shorts, trousers, skirts and dresses cost between Dh150 to Dh250 a piece.”
A spokesman for Threads, a uniform shop based in Times Square Centre Dubai, said customer footfall had slowed down dramatically over the past few months.
“Now parents have the option to keep children doing online learning they don’t need uniforms so it has quietened down.”
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
