Thoughts on Big Show vs. Edge’s for World Heavyweight Championship Title at Wrestlemania
March 3, 2009 by AlexV · Leave a Comment
Last night on Monday Night RAW, Vickie Guerrero finally honored Cena’s contractual obligations by giving him his rematch against Edge. However, Edge did what he’s always done, what he’s done since he got to Smackdown, and what he did in his first feud with Cena… cheat.
I’m all for cheating in the WWE. It’s kniving, clever, and keeps stories interesting. You can’t wait until that guy finally gets caught, or he defends his title with stipulations where the title changes hands on disqualifications. And a lot of the time I even like seeing a guy get screwed over by some cheating too. But this time it was too obvious and so unoriginal it was a slap in the face to the so-called WWE Universe.
Edge didn’t cheat in any special way. He did what many champion cheaters do and that’s use their belt as a weapon. It just puzzles me. Why would the WWE restart a feud that lasted quite a long time already the first time around, and rehash the same tricks as the last time?
Now the bookers are trying to fool us by having Vickie Guerrero, acting RAW General manager, name Big Show as number one contender for the World Heavyweight Championship. That’s crap. Nobody is going to believe that outside of the little kids who still think it’s real. If this Wrestlemania matchup does not get altered somehow by the time it goes live, I will be astounded. And if it actually does end up being the Big Show and Edge, I will be forced to predict something unprecedented to happen.
For now though, my prediction will be that Cena somehow will qualify for the match and it will be a Triple Threat. We’ll see though.
Predictions for John Cena’s Opponent at the 2009 Royal Rumble
December 23, 2008 by AlexV · Leave a Comment
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.
Two Hardys and a Hardass!
December 16, 2008 by AlexV · 2 Comments
How about those three champions in the WWE! On ECW we have Matt Hardy holding the ECW Championship. This guy had been jobbing pretty hard perhaps a year, and then some, or so ago on Smackdown before MVP made his debut and they began their feud and Tag Team Championship reign. The enigmatic Jeff Hardy gained his first main title by winning the WWE Championship this past Sunday at Armageddon with his lights-out performance. And then we have the ultimate hardass… John Cena. And I don’t mean hardass in the sense that he’s a jerk. If anything, Cena is one of the prime examples of a face player… and he has the World Heavyweight Championship. I’m talking about an unbreakable good guy hardass.
Speaking of faces, all three of these guys are face characters for the WWE. I just think it’s a little different and interesting to see them all with the titles of the brand they wrestle for. For guys like the Hardys, this type of success was a long time coming. The Hardy boys were constantly subjected to drawing “Oohs” and “Ahhs” from the crowds purely on wrestling ability, and both had a history of coming up short as singles competitors whenever they weren’t tagging it up.
However, in that time that Matt Hardy began to rise on Smackdown in the time of the MVP feud, the Smackdown brand did a decent job of giving him some mic time so that the fans could get a feel for the personality of the guy who had always played second fiddle to his brother Jeff.
Similarly, Jeff began to voice himself up when he returned to the WWE on Monday Night RAW. He came out and had a plenty of title matches, held the Intercontinental Championship a few times, had big battles with the likes of Umaga, and once again, had been coming up short in championship opportunities. The only difference in his second stint has been the sense that his time would eventually come to be a brand champ.
Then we have Cena. I already did my story on “The Champ.” (See ‘John Cena… A Man to Be’). He looks like he’ll be hanging onto his belt for quite a while. But with the recent heightened frequency of titles changing hands on RAW and Smackdown, perhaps neither of the three is a lock to hold onto their belts for an extended period of time. Either way, all three reigns have the potential to be very exciting.
WWE Seems to Only Sell its Title Matches
December 11, 2008 by AlexV · Leave a Comment
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!
Feud Brewing between Mysterio/Bourne Combo and Kane/Henry Duo
On the latest installment of Monday Night Raw, the WWE showcased the high-flying talents of Evan Bourne and his childhood wrestling hero Rey Mysterio when the two faced off on the canvas. The two “little engines” that can went volley for volley when Mysterio finally reversed a roll up and got the three-count for the win. The two shook hands and showed that there were no hard feelings.
The same could not be said for Kane, who lost to Mysterio in the no-holds barred match at Cyber Sunday, and Mark Henry, Bourne’s ECW roster mate. Shortly after the Mysterio and Bourne match, the two oafs came down to the ring and put a hurting on both competitors. This could mean that an intriguing tag team match up will be booked between both would be tandems at Survivor Series. If that happens, it could shape up to be a very compelling match.
To witness two wrestlers under feet and five inches tall going against two 300 plus pound behemoths, one over 7 foot tall (Kane), and the other a former World’s Strongest Man Champion (Henry), in a ring is usually a good draw for ratings. It would be a classic of two “Davids” going against two “Goliaths,” and the choreography for this kind of contest has a lot of promise.
Batista set to Defend Title in Steel Cage vs. Chris Jericho in RAW’s 800th Episode
October 28, 2008 by AlexV · Leave a Comment
The time and the day has come for WWE’s Monday Night Raw 800th 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 800th episode of RAW should not disappoint.