Extreme Rules Outlook – Seems Somewhat Bland

This year’s One Night Stand, which has been preposterously renamed to “Extreme Rules,” seems to feature a bunch of matches with extra stipulations under the cover of an “Extreme” labeling (although nothing was worse than renaming John Cena’s “FU” to the “Attitude Adjustment”).

The matches include WWE Champion Randy Orton vs. Batista in a steel cage, Intercontinental Champion Rey Mysterio vs. Chris Jericho in a no holds barred match, World Heavyweight Champion Edge vs. Jeff Hardy in a ladder match, Miss Wrestlemania Santina Marella vs. Vickie Guererro in a hog pen match, John Cena vs. Big Show in a submission match, CM Punk vs. Umaga in a Samoan strap match, and ECW Champion Christian vs. Jack Swagger, vs. Tommy Dreamer in a triple threat hardcore rules match.

Of all these matches, only no holds barred and the hardcore triple threat are truly extreme. I think in honor of Tommy Dreamer the latter ought to be the main event of the night. I doubt it will be though. I also am not too happy with the send-off for Dreamer being a triple threat. Let the guy go toe-to-toe with one man for his final bout. If you want to create real drama, have it be against another good guy… Christian (like Ric Flair’s final match against Shawn Michaels).

If you want to get old ECW fans interested (because I doubt they’ll truly ever be won over), don’t cop out of going over the edge with a bunch of rare matchup stipulations being held under an old ECW card. Oh well.

WWE Is Serving Up Hot Titles

In the last year the two main titles of the WWE, the World Heavyweight Championship and WWE Championship have been changing hands quite frequently turning everyone into transitional champions. It’s almost maddening.

 

Last year on Smackdown the WWE title went back and forth between Edge, Triple H, and even Jeff Hardy had a brief stint as champion. And you know that would be ok if the other show (Monday Night RAW) had a little bit more of a consistent champion. But ever since Chris Jericho yanked the World Heavyweight Championship off Batista, who only held the title for a week, even that title has been bounced around like a hot potato; First, Cena came back from injury and got the belt off of Jericho. He held it for a good two or three months, then lost it again to Edge in the Elimination Chamber. Then, about a month or so later, Cena wins it back off Edge at Wrestlemania 25 only to lose it again last Sunday at Backlash.

 

Although a lot of these title changes have made for some interesting Pay-Per Views, one key question (at least to me) is raised. What is the point of Wrestlemania? Wrestlemania is supposed to be “the grandest stage” as the WWE likes to put it. But if you have two competitors, Cena and Triple H, winning and defending their titles respectively on the “grandest stage, only to lose the titles a month later to the same guys they faced at Wrestlemania… then what is the point? I would think of the Mecca of all WWE Pay-Per Views to be the end-all-be-all. However, when Cena wins the title and the WWE makes a big deal of how he took out the Big Show and Edge at the same time then loses 30 days later, and the Triple H and Orton feud is not resolved at the final showdown of the WWE season, then it’s almost like winning at Wrestlemania has no finality to it.

 

And perhaps that’s not what it is meant to be. But if this keeps up, at least in my mind, it makes Wrestlemania look like just another WWE Pay-Per View.

Thoughts on This Year’s WWE Draft

Last night on Monday Night RAW the WWE “shook things up” as they’ve been calling it by holding a draft wherein any random wrestler can end up being drafted between the three brands of RAW, Smackdown and ECW (in order of significance of course). Even though the draft is a complete crock where you almost always see big names come back to RAW like Batista and Rey Mysterio did last year, and chump jobbers like Vladimir Koslov (ECW’s only draft pick) go to the land of extreme, it is still interesting.

I thought it was a great idea to get Jericho and Mysterio over to Smackdown now that Triple H is back on RAW because of one simple great reason; every championship contender on Smackdown now actually looks like they matchup. In fact, the only guy that doesn’t match up other than the other true superstars (Chris Jericho, Jeff Hardy, Rey Mysterio, CM Punk, Edge, and perhaps a few others) is Kane who also was drafted from RAW to Smackdown. None of those guys would be much more than transitional champions as long as Triple H were around. Plus, Kane is a bum and can be used to create some awesome “David vs. Goliath” type matches. And honestly, let’s not get started on Great Khali. He could be thrown in to stir some ratings, but no title for him. I also think that the moves make way for guys like Shelton Benjamin and R Truth.

Another thing I liked was the switch between the middle titles; Rey Mysterio takes his Intercontinental Title to Smackdown, and MVP takes his US Championship to RAW as he was drafted from Smackdown last night. In all truth, I think that US title is the sweetest looking belt of all the WWE and will look much better on RAW than on Smackdown. Finally, you got that chip off the big chin block Vladimir Koslov over on Sci-Fi where he can scrap it up a few matches and make others like Christian, Jack Swagger, and Finlay look good. I wouldn’t mind seeing Koslov go at it with Tommy Dreamer either.

All in all, I think it was a decent draft, and there weren’t really many head scratchers. Pretty good job WWE.

Thoughts on Wrestlemania 25

I have to say that after spending $54.99 or whatever it was on Wrestlemania that I was not too impressed. None of the matches seemed to have much luster, and some seemed to end a bit quickly as well. All in all, just like the last few years have been, it was a little disappointing at times.

 

One match that really seems to have lost its edge is the Money In The Bank Ladder Match. I think watching seven guys try to get a brief case at the top of ladder in the middle of the ring gets old after a while, even if it only happens once a year. However, it is especially repetitive when once again there are a handful of contestants who we absolutely know will not win the match.

 

Another match that left a sour taste in my mouth was the match between the two Hardy’s. First of all, I was not completely enthralled by the storyline leading into the matchup. I feel that it was too sudden and too forced upon us viewers. That alone just made the match unadmirable, and with Matt Hardy winning it did not offer any closure to the brotherly-hate saga like an event of Wrestlemania’s caliber should.

 

But the biggest let down of all was the second main event which was for the WWE Title, and also respect, between Triple H and Randy Orton. Now I’ll give the match some credit because H and Orton did show their “dislike” for one-another by punching the crap out of each other when one man had the other down and nearly getting disqualified each time, but because of its length, and unpunctual ending, I have to give that one a thumb down.

 

I wonder what everyone else thinks.

It’s Official: World Heavyweight Championship Will be a Triple Threat

Last night on RAW, the bookers put the final stamping on the battle for Smackdown’s title, and added John Cena to the match (as if that wasn’t inevitable). The WWE’s attempt to convince us that Cena had a good reason to be added by Vickie Guererro was quite comical. “Apparently” Cena exposed a steamy love affair between the Big Show and Guerrero, but before doing so, he used it as black mail to be entered into the match. I guess that shows the bratty side of Cena’s character: blackmail the acting General Manager into placing you in a high-profile bout, wait until it’s official, then expose your bargaining chip anyway. Even though this plotline is intriguing (yet unoriginal even for the WWE’s standards), I feel many fans may agree that they are being short-changed by this turn out.

 

I think for the most part, everyone knows that Wrestlemania this year would not have been the same thing without mister Cena headlining. However, the storyline is not juicy enough for a Wrestlemania. The outcome is painfully obvious with that being Cena coming out victorious. But even with its apparent conclusion, things are not what they seem.

 

At the previous Pay-Per View, No Way Out, Cena looked flat out like a scrub. When he was released from his chamber, he showed off a few of his moves in one volley of positive momentum as if he had been down-graded to an up-and-coming superstar, and then received three straight finishers; a Code Breaker from Chris Jericho, a 619 from Rey Mysterio, and finally a spear from Edge who pinned him right after. So, it’s not as if Cena had been cheated when he lost his title. He lost it fair and square, and Edge’s last minute entry into that Elimination Chamber doesn’t have anything to do with that. And that’s fine. I like a little twist every now and then, and I don’t think I would be alone in saying that no one expected Cena to get bounced from a match so quickly, especially being the one defending the title.

 

However, if the WWE is trying to make it look like Cena deserved to be in that spot I just do not see it. This storyline is nothing more than a big dumb brute (Big Show), a spoiled brat (Edge), and a knucklehead punk (Cena) all claiming they deserve the title, with neither having some kind of destiny-filled storyline befitting a Wrestlemania. They’re just three little kids in the schoolyard bickering about who is the best and who ought to be starting quarterback.

 

Overall I feel the decision for the match being a Triple Threat just goes to show the lack of star power that the WWE has right now when most of the same people who head-lined last year’s event are doing it all over again this time around.

Ric Flair Makes an Appearance on Monday Night RAW

What’s up with Ric Flair stepping back into the ring for an episode of Monday Night RAW? I wonder if there’s some sort of storyline they are trying to develop, but if so, it can’t be that good. It kind of also means that some of what Chris Jericho was getting on him about tonight is true.

To open up RAW Ric Flair got into the ring and started riling up the crowd. Nothing really memorable was said here, and nothing that hinted at a possible storyline for the future or Wrestlemania. He just kept assuring the crowd that he would not return to the ring but that he still loved the business. Then comes in Jericho, bashing him about being a sellout and contemplating how long it would take Flair to return to the ring.

Jericho also went as far as to accuse Flair of living the life of the character that Mickey Rourke portrayed in the move “The Wrestler.” Finally, Flair couldn’t take it anymore and he cold-clocked Jericho in the face and onto the canvas.

Whatever Flair’s “return” means, I still don’t see the point of it. Even if he says he’s no sellout, does his “storyline story” really mean anything? But it probably does comes down to just a 50+ living cash cow coming back to do his thing.

The Nature Boy Rick Flair is under arrest! (Feb 2009)

I am putting Rick Flair under citizens arrest, for being sooooo old and still some how finding a way to get back on Raw…Next week this guy is going to get in to a big battle with who else but Chris Jericho. Honestly, I hope that this doesn’t mean “The Nature boy” comes out of retirement and I have to watch his wrinkly butt attempt to bang with the likes of Jericho. He can’t possibly think it is worth it, can he? All Jericho did was say that he was washed up. Is it really worth it? I mean he’ll probobly get his head kicked in or something like that. Either way, I really never liked Ric Flair so maybe I am just really biased. All I know is next week on Raw you may see the rebirth and death of a legend, so stay tuned in and  “WooooOOOOOoo!”

Royal Rumble 2009 is Upon Us: But Who Will Win?

On January 25th, the 2009 Royal Rumble will be taking place on Pay-Per View. This is a really hard Rumble to call. Last year’s was too, but as soon as Cena showed up as the 30th and final entrant into the match, it was murder she wrote, and everyone knew Cena was going to win. But this year is not the same case.

There aren’t any side stories or feuds that suggest who may win. Orton and Cena never finished their feud, but I just don’t think that would be Wrestlemania worthy. The Undertaker has wrestled the past two Manias in main events, and I think they have to let the torch pass down on that one. Big Show is once again becoming the “Oohs” and “Ahhs” drawing jobber that he was before he left, JBL is fighting Cena for the World Heavyweight Championship, and his employee, Shawn Michaels is not allowed to participate in the Rumble.

This leaves a few surprises for me. Chris Jericho was recently fired. Maybe he comes into the Rumble as a surprise contestant and pushes the last man over after he has already used up all of his energy? Triple H definitely comes to mind, but I still do not think he has had enough build up to win this year’s Rumble. Even Vladimir Koslov could be a trendy pick, but he hasn’t worked hard enough to pull that kind of thing off.

But, I’m going to go with my boy Jeff Hardy to come in and do the unthinkable. I know he got hurt, but I have a feeling it’s all part of the plan. As long as you can defend your title within 30 days, you’re straight. So he can participate in a Rumble and still be well below that mark.

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.

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.

John Cena… A Man to Be

How in the world is John Cena on top of the RAW food chain once again? It must be a combination of his stunning charisma and persistence to be one of the main, if not the immediate, faces of the WWE. After his second injury in under a year, Cena has fought just one match and become the new World Heavyweight Champion in the WWE above other top superstars that have been attempting to build their reputations on the raw roster in recent weeks and months; Randy Orton, Dave Batista, and Chris Jericho would be the main names to call out.

 

Nonetheless, it is John Cena who remains and regains his role as… the Champ. He is what many people would agree is the new Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. He’s got the same uncanny comeback ability, the crowd-pleasing mic skills and character, and of course his own version of “The People’s Elbow,” the “Five Knuckle Shuffle.” When it comes to dedicated WWE roster superstar, bordering on corporate lapdog, John Cena is that at its finest.

 

However, I really can’t call John Cena a lapdog. You can see it in his body language that the guy truly lives and breathes the WWE. Whether it be the fame that draws him, or that he wants to prove his plenty doubters wrong, he is always lingering or hovering at the top and has been since his first WWE Championship reign. I could even describe his desire to be at the top as somewhat greedy and even maniacal, as he is always the front man in pictures and even WWE pay-per view promo art where he was still injured and was not even going to be wrestling, and much less present at whatever show was being promoted.

 

But the fact of the matter is that John Cena has put his time in and he has earned the right to be where he is, even if he hasn’t had as long a tenure as his other fellow wrestlers. His goal from the outset of his trip to California after graduating college was not to become a WWE namesake. He wanted to be a body builder for crying out loud! He was then presented the opportunity by an acquaintance at a gym to join the ranks of the professional wrestling world, and then most likely and unexpectedly, he fell in love with the whole aura of the business.

 

So, with all that being said, even though it seems odd that Cena can just come out of an injury induced hiatus to instantly be at the top spot of professional wrestling once again, don’t ever take away the fact that he has worked hard and spewed his blood, sweat, and tears to be where he is right now and continue to preserve his image.

Team Michaels vs. Team JBL is Pure… Feudery?

Well, the WWE has finally set up its first traditional Survivor Series Elimination Tag Team Match with just under two weeks before the Pay-Per View, pitting Team Michaels against Team JBL. The fact that the participants on each team have been feuding with their opponents is still not enough to make this an intriguing matchup.

Here is the lowdown. Shawn Michaels has a mini-feud with JBL that stems from Cyber Sunday when Michaels was the guest referee and did not give the three count in Chris Jericho’s favor who promised JBL a title match if he beat Batista, and Monday Night Raw in London when JBL took Michaels down with a chair in his Last Man Standing Match with Chris Jericho. Cryme Tyme has been feuding with The Miz and John Morrison over bragging rights for “Word Up” and “The Dirt Sheet,” Kane has been feuding with Rey Mysterio over the whole “unmasking” deal, and MVP would like to have it in for The Great Khali after he interrupted his “MVP Lounge” on Friday Night Smackdown. To this I say… who cares.

The last few Survivor Series Pay-Per Views have been all about the title matches. When is the next time the WWE will put a more meaningful traditional Survivor match like team Stone Cold against Team Bischoff, or team WCW against team WWE (WWF back in the heyday)?

Hopefully the other traditional matchup(s) the WWE creates will have some kind of meaning to it. Until that happens, Survivor Series is going to be all about John Cena versus Chris Jericho for the World Heavyweight Championship, and whoever Triple H defends his title against, and that is just a shame for long time pro wrestling fans.

 

Chris Jericho set to Defend World Heavyweight Championship against John Cena at Survivor Series

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Batista set to Defend Title in Steel Cage vs. Chris Jericho in RAW’s 800th Episode

The time and the day has come for WWE’s Monday Night Raw 800^th episode. And boy have the WWE bookers created a great one in pitting Chris Jericho against Dave Batista in a Cyber Sunday rematch next Monday night. Chris Jericho invoked his rematch clause this past Monday assuming he would get to face Batista in a traditional match. However, General Manager Mike Adamle came up with another one of his “Adamle Originals” and declared that the match be staged in a steel cage and it should be a good one.

This time, Jericho won’t be playing keep-away to save his title from a clearly superior opponent in Batista. He will have to scratch and claw for it, especially in the steel cage, so expect for Jericho to launch a spirited assault on the Champion. Do not be surprised if Batista is caught off guard in the early going by whatever strategy Jericho will employ in their rematch next week.

Now, with that being said, the main title will rarely change hands on television. That is a scenario that is typically delegated to the Supercards (aka Pay-Per View). Either way, the match should, for sure, feature much excitement. The WWE should never be counted out to deliver when they are celebrating one of their benchmark achievements, and I would say that the three hour special 800^th episode of RAW should not disappoint.

WWE Cyber Sunday Chris Jericho vs. Dave Batista – Referee?

Furthermore, Chris Jericho just won his title, and this isn’t CM Punk, so I think it’s still too early for him to lose it. But, everyone knows that Jericho doesn’t have the power to pin Batista straight up or win convincingly. So what will the WWE do?

With all that being said, I can’t wait to see what Vince McMahon, Shane, Stephanie, or Mike Adamle have planned for this. I am going to predict the following. Anyone should know that Chris Jericho will retain his title. But how?

I predict that on one of the Monday Night RAW shows before the Pay-Per View that Stone Cold will get into it with Batista, prompting Austin to screw Batista over in the match.

Or…

Some kind of a crazy disqualification involving either of the three during the match. Maybe one of them bumps into Steve Austin and he gives them a Stunner? Perhaps Lance Cade gets involved? We’ll see.