Be sure to check out WWE Superstars this Thursday August 27th at 8:00pm EST on the WGN America television network.

On the next episode of WWE Superstars the crowd could be drawn as a decent Number One Contender’s match for the Intercontinental Title is taking place. The combatants are Mike Knox, Finlay, and recent Summer Slam Intercontinental Challenger Dolph Ziggler. One of these men will be qualifying for the new WWE Pay-Per-View “Breaking Point” to face Rey Mysterio so let’s break down what’s at stake.

For Dolph Ziggler we already know. He put forth a valiant effort against a seasoned WWE vet in Rey Mysterio at Summer Slam. If he wins this Number One Contender’s match, he’ll undoubtedly need to beat Mysterio this time to move further in his notoriety.

For Finlay it would be a spot back in the limelight we call Pay-Per-View. This fellow has been knocking on the ECW Championship’s door but never gets the chance to be put over. Perhaps a crack at the Intercontinental gold will be it for him.

Finally, for Mike Knox, it gives him his real first shot at glory. Up until now he mainly suffices as an exhibitionist. However, if any of you remember his feud with Rey Mysterio not too long ago then there is definitely reason to believe that he could cash in on this opportunity.

Aside from this main event, the show will be featuring The Hurricane in a grudge match against Paul Burchill and a highly intriguing matchup between Primo Colon and Jack Swagger. Swagger and Colon’s styles are very different and it should make for an interesting night along with the Number One Contender’s bout.

This is the "face" that could make this Pay-Per-View.

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.

Prepare for Judement Day Sunday May 19th on Pay-Per-View or whatever website you can stream it off of.

After Dave Batista practically cost Triple H his WEE Championship at Backlash on April 26th when he nearly got his team disqualified by raising a chair and prompting Triple H to stop him, Batista now gets a chance to face off against Mr. Randy Orton . Perhaps causing this chain of events was the best thing that could have happened to Batista, as it earned him a Number One Contender’s match against the Big Show on the most recent Monday Night RAW which he won (thanks to John Cena). Now Batista has an instant opportunity to regain the belt he so to loses once again… but will he? Probably not.

It is much too early for Orton to lose his title, and I feel that a few month stretch of supremacy is in store for him. Orton’s character has been built up too highly for him to enter into a transitional phase. Truth be told, I think this saga ends with one last match against Triple H somewhere down the road.

All in all, it should be a decent match. I don’t think these two guys have duked it out too many times and perhaps never. Expect to see many thunderous counter moves and an appearance by team Legacy (Cody Rhodes & Ted DiBiase).

Time to "duke it up" one more time... Cena and Edge style!

I’m sorry to say this and I feel many non-kid diehard fans may disagree, but this Last Man Standing bout between John Cena and Edge is a blockbuster. I don’t care what anyone says though because back when the first time these two feuded, the matches were often times strenuous and brutal, and with a last man standing stipulation, should be the same.

I even remember the time after the first feud ended when the two would randomly match up. It was almost a treat to see because of the history of their story. And the great thing about it was that the choreography exuded this by inserting a lot of grappling and mat wrestling maneuvers into the fights.

Now the two will duke it out to see who is the last man standing and the intrigue for this match is just the same as always; Cena dealing with that pesky opportunist, Edge. It will be interesting to see how things play out afterward if the expected (Cena winning) actually happens. What will Vickie Guererro do to keep her “loved one” in contention for the World Heavyweight Championship? And are Cena and Edge going to create a part two to their feud?

Can’t wait to find out.

Going for 17-0 with nothing tangible to be gained never sounded so sweet.

On April 25th at this year’s Wrestlemania, HBK will look to break a new record… not his own though. Michaels will be stepping into the squared ring to face off against the Undertaker and his 16-0 record at Wrestlemania. This bout looks to be one of the highlights at this year’s event, and it should be a great match.

You know how the WWE likes to make matches go a long time whenever they’re being billed as top flight. This is definitely being treated as such so expect numerous near pin falls, some great counters, and kick outs after finishing moves. I can’t even imagine how wild it will be if Shawn Michaels was actually able to kick out of a Tombstone at one point.

As far as predictions go, the safest pick seems to be the Undertaker. It would be a big deal if his record is finally thwarted, however, it would be a bit sudden if Shawn Michaels were to be the one to do that. It is not as if these two men have been feuding for a long time now, so it is hard to understand why Michaels would just walk into Wrestlemania and hand Undertaker his first loss there. I just can’t see that happening.

So, once again, expect a great match, but in the end, it just doesn’t seem fitting for the Undertaker to lose this way.

Let’s start with the Champion. Edge has been dubbed the Ultimate Opportunist. I don’t care what anybody says. That jerk can wrestle! How many times did he pull of a sweet counter against the Undertaker in last year’s Wrestlemania match? It had to be about eight times. Plus his spear, although a very common move, is still a devastating one and almost always looks awesome whenever he hits it.

Don't count out this crazy broad to get in the "middle" of things either.

The Big Show is also a good crowd pleaser. He’s a big, tough, brutal, and bald man. He’s got the choke slam, and when you can lift anyone as high as he can, those always look thunderous. Now he’s added the “right hand” which is nothing more than a right jab/hook which is acted out by the receivers to look like the hardest punch since any of Mike Tyson’s.

Finally, there’s John Cena. His in-ring ability has always been the subject of criticism. His only true body slamming ability is the one side slam he tends to deliver in every match right after his two straight shoulder lunges. Even though his repertoire could use more moves, he will still be in the ring with two hard-nosed heel characters. And really, he has always had the ability to look like he is putting forth a hard-earned effort whenever he is in the ring, which is how I think he makes up for his wrestling ability.

I think this is the one match that should not be overlooked by the “WWE Universe,” as I’m sure it won’t. It probably won’t be the last of the two main events, as I’m sure with the way things are unfolding, that slot will be left for Triple H and Randy Orton for the WWE championship.

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.

How about this unpredictable No Way Out Pay-Per View? Both the WWE Championship and World Heavyweight Championships changed hands in the elimination chambers, thoroughly setting up an intriguing card for Wrestlemania.

Now that the Game is back in the main event of Wrestlemania, who can the WWE put him in the ring with to actually make things interesting. Triple H is great, and necessary for the WWE to succeed, but he’s getting old as a Wrestlemania main eventer. But even then, with all of the sporadic title changes going on, who even knows if he’ll be headlining it.

As for Edge, what the heck man? Why does he get to have the RAW title? That makes no sense. I mean, it’s kind of interesting, but sometimes the WWE likes to bend the rules of their own game too often. I can’t even begin to think who he should be facing at Wrestlemania.

I doubt it would be Orton, even though a heel vs. heel match would be interesting. Orton would most likely wrestle Triple H of course due to their Evolution background. But that wouldn’t be too entertaining. Those times were way too long ago.

Whatever the WWE decides to do for the big show this year, I say it will either be highly disappointing or greatly unprecedented.

John Cena... The Champ is truly here.

It’s time for some rivalry renewal this year at the Royal Rumble. These two have fought already in 2008, but not for any titles like they did when Cena won his first ever WWE Championship. They had their New York Parkling Lot Brawl match, and a few other scuffles in the summer of 2008. Now the tides have turned and JBL’s got a lot more than swagger in his corner. He has his newest “employee” in Shawn Michaels.

Having Michaels playing puppet for JBL certainly heightens the intrigue of this match. If it had just been JBL by himself going up against John Cena, the obvious outcome would be Cena holding his title. Now with Shawn Michaels in the fray, things could definitely be interesting.

One would certainly have to think that a late Sweet Chin Music by HBK toward the end of the match could end up costing Cena his title, especially after what transpired during the contract signing on Monday Night Raw this week.

John Cena was trying to explain to Michaels that he still saw the good in him. Michaels didn’t even flinch, showing no hint that maybe he’ll change his ways at the Rumble, and then followed that attitude up with a tough punch to Cena’s face. This then resulted in a super clothesline, or “Clothesline From Hell” as JBL likes to call it, from the Texas, excuse me, New York redneck.

Now for prediction time. I look for a bunch of momentum changes to occur in this match as usual. Cena may even take a Super Kick from HBK, but it’ll be while JBL is on the mat, giving Cena just enough time to regain his strength and kick out. After that, with a little more fighting, I see Michaels going for another Super Kick, Cena getting out of the way somehow, and then Cena capitalizing on this good fortune by picking up the pinfall.

It’s a great storyline, but I still think it’s too early for Cena to lose his belt this early in his title reign.

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.