Predictions for John Cena’s Opponent at the 2009 Royal Rumble

After the December 22nd edition of Monday Night Raw, the pool of possible opponents to challenge for John Cena’s World Heavyweight Championship at the Royal Rumble dwindled down to four. Shawn Michaels Super Kicked Kane in the face and got the pin. Then JBL was about to be 619’ed before his newest “employee” Shawn Michaels pulled him out of the ring and slapped him in the face to get JBL the win by having his opponent Rey Mysterio disqualified for interference. Then the douche bag, Randy Orton advanced by default because apparently his punt on Batista on the last Raw was too much for him to handle. After that, Chris Jericho advanced by way of a mid-air Code Breaker on CM Punk.

Now the four winners will meet next week on Monday Night Raw in a Fatal Four Way match where the winner will face John Cena at the Rumble. Of the possible four, you have to eliminate first and foremost, Shawn Michaels. He has been relegated to the role of puppet to JBL, and will be forced by his new master to do everything in his power to help JBL win. The next man out is Chris Jericho. He has already had the opportunity to beat Cena in the last two Pay-Per Views, Armageddon and Survivor Series. The WWE Universe does not want to be subjected to the obvious outcome of a Jericho loss again.

Finally, we have two men left. JBL and Randy Orton. This is so tough to call. First of all, the Randy Orton and Cena feud was never able to come to fruition as Cena suffered his first of two pure injuries prior to last year’s No Mercy, where he was set to face Orton in a Last Man Standing Match. However, Orton wouldn’t be a bad pick to win the Rumble for that same reason so that he could face Cena at WrestleMania (Truth be told, I think Batista will win it).

JBL on the other hand is a good option because we know he’s not going to win the Rumble, and he would obviously lose to Cena if they fought because there is no way the bookers would let Cena put JBL over. At least not yet. Furthermore, the Royal Rumble is the king of all WWE Pay-Per Views where the title-holders retain their belts.

So for me, I am going to say that the big-talking New Yorker from Texas will be coming out victorious on next week’s edition of Monday Night Raw. Then after that it will be some showman trash talking mic skills being spewed from JBL’s mouth on John Cena for almost an entire month as the Royal Rumble won’t take place until January 25th, where he will eventually, and undoubtedly, lose.

Vladimir Koslov Needs to Lose!

I am getting very tired of Vladimir Koslov not getting the chance to finish up a match on Smackdown, and even at the Pay-Per View last week, Armageddon. It seems like every time he faces off against a big player, Undertaker, Triple H, Jeff Hardy, etc… he doesn’t get to finish a match.

There are better ways to bring up new talent in pro wrestling than having a guy constantly win or remain undefeated by countless disqualifications. If his undefeated record keeps staying alive, then by the time the bookers decide he’s ready to lose, he’s going to go under like guys like Umaga and Great Khali, where they only get title matches that feature more than two contestants, and they’re in it solely for “Oohs” and “Ahs” because of the caricature nature of their persona or gimmick.

Plenty of guys have made names for themselves without having to start their careers with long winning streaks. John Cena lost his first match, and lost a few title matches before he got into the limelight. Guys like Triple H and Edge weren’t in the running for Supercards until years later in their careers. And the latest example of this is Jeff Hardy.

All of these stone faced characters that are being brought up as early unbreakables fall hard after their first losses and they then become closer and closer to becoming full-time jobbers as they steadily lose their luster.

WWE Seems to Only Sell its Title Matches

What’s up with the WWE these days? I remember a time when almost every match and storyline was worth watching or following respectively. This was a time where Pay-Per Views didn’t have to lean on having nearly every match be a title match, and start mixing brands. Nowadays you have the RAW title holder, Smackdown title holder, ECW title holder, and whatever Womens/Divas champion all defending their belts on the same night at almost every Pay-Per View.

There are good aspects of this and bad. The bad is that it has to suggest that separate Pay-Per Views for each brand (RAW, Smackdown, ECW) were not enough to draw TV purchases. But the good is that those matches sucked besides the title matches were starting to be all that anyone really cared about. I mean, when you had one Pay-Per view that was just Smackdown feuds, the only stuff that really mattered was a U.S. Title match, the main event for the World Heavyweight Championship (now on RAW), and perhaps one pretty good grudge match like Undertaker and Great Khali. Other than that, every other match would be a bunch of filler for the most part. Stuff that the kids will enjoy.

However, now with the Supercards having mostly title matches or actually intriguing grudge matches, the Pay-Per Views really have become more purchase-worthy. But don’t put some new marketing changes past the WWE anytime soon. For any of those who have been watching lately, I’m sure you’ve noticed the blatant exposure that Monday Night Raw has been trying to create for their Intercontinental Title with their 8-man tournament for the title against William Regal.

All in all, any real wrestling fan will not let this stop them from at least keeping up with the goings-on of their beloved program. The WWE may seem to be in a rut (especially when Vince McMahon has to give away millions of his own money to fans) but in truth, nobody gets more down and dirty than Pro Wrestling at its finest, and for those of you who already watch, you know what I’m talking about!

Three Full Hours of Monday Night Raw for Your Sports Entertainment Enjoyment

The three hour special of RAW looks like it will be pretty good. They’ve got three Pay-Per View worthy matchups and a three hour time slot for the WWE Universe’s enjoyment. But if you ask me, the most entertaining stuff will be whatever gimmicks and comedic skits they come up with because I have a strong feeling that the three top-flight bouts, Cena vs. Edge, Batista vs. Triple H, and Chris Jericho vs. Jeff Hardy won’t end in “one-two-threes” or tap outs.

 

First up, we have John Cena vs. Edge in a champion against champion match. Chris Jericho will most likely have already had his match against Jeff Hardy as well as Batista and Randy Orton. I am more than certain they all will interfere in this match as all six fighters have in one way or another between themselves at Armageddon.

 

 I can see it now. Cena and Edge duking it out in what so far will have been an entertaining struggle. Then comes Jericho who faces Cena for the World Heavyweight Championship at Armageddon, and Orton, who faces Batista for no reason at Armageddon, interfering by beating up Cena. After that it’ll be Batista taking out Orton who he faces at Armageddon, and then Triple H and Jeff Hardy running to the ring and messing with Edge, who they both face in a Triple Threat.

 

Even so, the show should not be missed as most three hour RAW specials are usually high quality.

WWE Championship to be Defended in a Triple Threat Match at Armageddon

The Triple Threat match for the WWE Championship that has been booked by the WWE board of directors for this coming Armageddon was so blatantly fixed up that… it should come as no surprise. When Triple H was attempting to pin his opponent, Shelton Benjamin, in the third of last Friday night’s installment of Smackdown’s Beat The Clock matches, it was plainly obvious that the referee was looking up at the clock. Now a match that should have been a one-on-one battle between Jeff Hardy and new WWE Champion Edge is a Triple Threat between the former two and Triple H.

 

Although the match may provide for plenty of excitement, the outcome is inevitable that Edge, with his new bearded look, will remain champion.

 

In recent years, the WWE has seemed to love the idea of setting up a Triple Threat match following a new champion’s reign with the new champion defending his title. Anyone should see that Edge is not going to relinquish his belt just yet and he’ll probably win in a manner befitting one of his nicknames other than “Rated R Superstar” with that being “Ultimate Opportunist.”

 

So, basically, either Hardy or Triple H will look like they’re about to score a big pinfall, Edge spears the attempted “pinner,” and Edge covers the wounded contestant for the pin. Once again, this matchup should be of no surprise to anyone who watches the WWE, as it has been booked solely for the intentions of building up a notorious heel character in Edge.