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.

Make things Interesting – Have CM Punk Lose after Cashing in Money in The Bank

Looks like the Pepsi logo tattoo laden CM Punk, aka Money in the Punk, is so eager to live up to his name one more year by becoming champion like a punk. Last year, Punk capitalized on Batista’s beat down of Edge on the opening segment of an episode of Monday Night RAW the night after a Pay-Per-View which saw Edge cheat like a mother heffer just to beat him. At the time, World Heavyweight Champion Edge was “incapacitated.” Then out came the biggest Punk of all… CM Punk, cashing his Money In The Bank, administering a GTS, and scoring the pin fall to become one of the lightest Heavyweight Champions in recent WWE history. What a crock, and what a punk.

 

This past Friday on Smackdown, CM Punk was looking to cash in his briefcase again. The night’s matchup card already had Punk facing Edge in an exhibition contest in the main event. Punk then made a stipulation where if he won the match, he was going to instantly cash in his Money In The Bank, hit a GTS, and then pin that punk (not himself). However, shortly after CM Punk got Edge to go to sleep, Umaga came in and pummeled him before the referee cold ring the bell to start the match.

 

Here’s the thing. I don’t mind it too often when wrestlers slime their way into title opportunities and reigns. In fact, I think it’s quite hilarious. However, when the man being dubbed the Straight Edge Superstar keeps doing it, I just don’t see how it helps his reputation. CM Punk is a pretty big fan favorite, but when he keeps weaseling his way into titles like this, I feel his character loses respect. Because of this, I hope that when he finally does cash in his opportunity that he screws it up. I hope whoever he attempts to pin counters his GTS with their own finisher, and lays him out cold for a quick pin. And no matter what anyone thinks, that probably will happen eventually to one of the Money In The Bank winners just to keep things unpredictable. I just hope it happens to CM Punk.

Two Hardys and a Hardass!

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 Championship to be Defended at Survivor Series November 23rd

Well, it finally happened. Triple H will officially be defending his title against the upstart “Moscow Mauler” Vladimir Koslov on Sunday November 23^rd at Survivor Series. I for one am very happy with this decision by whoever it is that books the matches on Smackdown. I wasn’t going to be pleased with some triple threat, guaranteed victory for Triple H involving Koslov and Jeff Hardy.

 

I think this should be a great match. I expect some well thought out and tediously calculated choreography to be displayed in the ring between Triple H and Koslov. Everyone knows what Triple H can do; spine busters galore, pedigrees, and he can slug it out too. And although I’m not a big fan of the Koslov finishing move (the head butt) I must say that the more I watch him, the more versatile his repertoire of moves becomes. He can mat wrestle, place wrestlers in submission holds, pull of some impressive counters, and of course some tough and devastating tosses.

 

The only thing that has hurt Koslov thus far is his undefeated streak. I would not be the only one to agree that the guys who come out on a tear from their inception into Pro Wrestling tend to fall off hard when they suffer their first loss. There is a big difference between losing to a veteran jobber your first time and a perennial Super Card Main Event player like Triple H.

 

Look what happened to Umaga after he suffered his first two losses to John Cena, both of which were title matches. Where did he go after that? He has since become nothing more than an “Oohs” and “Ahhs” drawer from the crowd (perhaps his “goo-goo, gaga” big baby ranting hasn’t helped him much either). Plus, the only time he gets a title match is when it involve at least two other participants, and mainly in Chamber matches and other stipulations of that nature.

 

The one thing I will give Koslov is that his character doesn’t seem to be too stale. I mean, don’t get me wrong, his accent and premature English speaking skills could use some work. But the “on a mission” MO of his character and the fact that when he enters the ring, although he has proven cocky at times, still keeps an honest look on his face like he knows anything is possible and that he could potentially lose a match when he gets in the ring, especially when pitted against the non-jobbers, Undertaker and more “formidable” opponents like the Great Khali, intrigues me about him.

 

Triple H should pick up the victory, but it does very slightly appear like Koslov may have a chance. Either way, Triple H will do what he does, and we should get to see more of what Boris… eh hem, Vladimir Koslov can do.