Quick Extreme Rules Predictions

I'm not particularly thrilled about tonight's PPV as I've said. It seems so insignificant. I think the fun really starts after the draft. That's when the real "season" of WWE programming begins. I wouldn't even mind if they took off for a month and a half following Wrestlemania. I think it would behoove the wrestlers and the writers and allow them to recharge, and it would give the fans some excitement for its return. Alas, it will never happen as the money machine keeps on cranking away. So here's my thoughts on tonight's show...

JTG vs. Shad Gaspard in a Strap Match
Still cannot believe they are giving these two PPV time. I'm glad they are and I hope they really shine. I don't know that either one of them will be breaking out into Supestardom, but at least they are being given a chance. Now the "strap" stipulation seems really forced, like they just needed another gimmick match on the card. Whatever, I think it's pretty clear they want to push Shad as a solo guy. So I expect a wee bit of flashy offense from JTG before Shad overpowers him and wins.
The Pick: Shad Gaspard

Women's Championship Match: Beth Phoenix vs. Michelle McCool(c)
I have not a clue what an "Extreme Makeover Match" is. These are, IMO, two of the better female wrestlers in the company, so it could be decent. I'm not expecting a lot of titles to change hands, so I think this may be the match where it does, as unimportant as that may be in some people's eyes. Beth wins.
The Pick: Beth Phoenix

Rey Mysterio vs. CM Punk (Punk's hair is on the line)
Well it seems they have completely dropped the stip that if Rey loses he has to join the Straightedge Society, a shame because that could have made for some great TV and really propelled this angle to the next level. With the only thing on the line being Punk's hair, I think it is clear as can be that he loses. He has been willing to lose his long locks for a while now as a mask vs. hair match was originally planned for Wrestlemania (and there is NO chance that Rey was going to lose his mask again). This just leaves me scratching my head as to why Punk lost at Wrestlemania. It seems the WWE has forgotten how to book simple "good guy" vs. "bad guy" feuds. You're supposed to build the heel up as unstoppable and as always one step ahead until the blow off match where the babyface finally gets his revenge and puts it to rest. Instead, Punk (if he loses again), who is one of the top heels in the company right now, will be made to look like a chump two PPVs in a row. We'll see. At least they should be given more time than they were at Wrestlemania to put on a better match.
The Pick: Rey Mysterio

Triple H vs. Sheamus in a Street Fight
I believe Sheamus wins here and HHH gets his rumored time off. Trips can always come back in a few months, claim that Sheamus' last win was a fluke, and bury him. I don't mean to hate on HHH, but c'mon you can see that happening!
The Pick: Sheamus wins

Edge vs. Chris Jericho in a Steel Cage Match
This match does intrigue me. I think it's clear that Edge will win and get his revenge from last month. The real question is will it be as good of a match as people had expected them to put on at Wrestlemania? Many were disappointed being that Edge and Jericho are two of the better workers on the planet right now. I think they can and will hit a home run tonight. They should get more time, plus the cage will make for some exciting spots. With the title out of the picture, they have a real chance to steal the show. I hope they do.
The Pick: Edge

WWE Championship Match: John Cena(c) vs. Batista (Last Man Standing)
Some people hate the last man standing stipulation. It doesn't bother me at all. In fact I think it really makes both competitors out to be tough guys. The only way to win is to beat the other guy until he can no longer get up. That's tough. Even the loser can be made to look strong in this match. At any rate, Batista is also supposed to be taking time off (sayonara!) and Cena has only been champ for a month (although, that sadly does not mean much any more). I'll go with Cena to retain.
The Pick: John Cena wins

World Heavyweight Championship Match: Randy Orton vs. Jack Swagger(c)
Jack Swagger... welcome to the big dance! Swagger's first title defense on PPV and it is against the biggest face in the WWE right now. All signs would point to Randy winning if we were going on storyline alone. Swagger's been beaten clean 3 times in non-title matches by Orton, Undertaker, and John Morrison since winning the title and really been made out to be a fraud champion. I guess that is WWE's plan though. Most fans will expect Randy Orton to walk out as the new champ tonight, but I believe luck will finally fall in Swagger's favor and he will just eke out a clean win tonight. He'll think that he is out of the clear until tomorrow night's draft when Orton gets drafted to Smackdown, extending this feud for a month or two when Orton will eventually get the strap. Otherwise the WWE has Orton win and just buries their athletic young star in a matter of weeks. I can only hope that does not happen.
The Pick: Jack Swagger retains

Catching up - WWE TV, Extreme Rules, Recent Releases, and a New TNA Champion

I've been super busy, working morning until night and just haven't felt inspired to post to be honest. Call it the big exhale after Wrestlemania. But there is a lot going on, so I'm going to share some thoughts on the past 2 weeks in wrestling.



- I've got to start with the recent releases, most of which are not surprising or particularly bothersome. There's one that really stings though. If anyone has been following this blog you know that one of my favorite wrestlers is Shelton Benjamin. Well, 2 days ago he was wished well in future endeavors by the WWE. As I've said before, I felt like he was the most athletic worker on the roster. He was a legitimate amateur wrestler and it showed. He seemed to always work hard and throw in a cool new spot or two in all his matches, even the ones on ECW and Superstars. And he made a lot of matches more watchable. Now, I know he wasn't great on the mic and I know he lacked that WWE Superstar look, but how could it hurt to have a guy like that on the roster? I mean, he was in Money in the Bank for 5 years and was one of the stars of the match every time! He'll be missed and I really hope he gets picked up by Ring of Honor where his work can be appreciated.

- RAW and Smackdown have been pretty confusing. Sometimes for better, and sometimes for worse. I already made a Jack Swagger post so I won't bring that up again. By why are they having him lose clean so much? This is the kind of booking I just don't understand. I get that they don't want to job out Undertaker, but why does he have to go clean over the Champion. It's clear as day that if your Champion doesn't win then people are not going to take him seriously is that what they want?

- Overall it just seems like they can't wait until the Draft is over and they can start fresh. Nothing appalling happening, it's just been kind of lackluster.

- More Hart Dynasty please!

- I wonder what was supposed to happen on RAW being that the roster was stuck in Europe. I guess we'll never know!

- My DVR didn't tape NXT for the last 2 weeks so I missed it. I understand Daniel Bryan keeps losing and they keep putting the rookies through stupid challenges. Not good. Does anyone else get the feeling that the show is already starting to run its course?

- I will offer my Extreme Rules predictions this weekend at some point, though I really am only interested in a few matches. I don't think this PPV will have any major ramifications. I certainly hope the titles stay right where they are. What a joke it would be if a month after Wrestlemania there was already 3 title changes.

- Lastly, I don't usually comment on TNA because I rarely watch it and I loathe most of what I do get to see, but one of my all-time favs RVD won the TNA World Title, so I'm making an exception. Now, I have no problem with him winning the title. He's still in his prime (though certainly pushing towards "past his prime" time), is still capable of putting on main event quality matches, and is still a known commodity with a solid history. I get that. But I have to wonder why they would rush a quasi-dream match (at least to smart fans) such as Rob Van Dam vs. AJ Styles on an episode of Impact with little promotion if any. This match could have been built up for a while and culminated in a big PPV event. This is the kind of booking that helped WCW go out of business and the same thing will happen to TNA if they don't wise up. I've never bought a TNA PPV, but I would've actually considered it had they built this up properly and gave it time to be promoted. But with it already having been given away for free on TV and with all the shenanigans you can expect with the likes of Hogan and Flair being involved, I will continue to spend my money on WWE. Good for RVD as he has the easier schedule that he wanted and a company who seems to be very behind him (unlike if he returned to WWE where I don't believe he would have ever sniffed main event status again). But bad, very bad for TNA.

Jack Swagger... World Champion

Obviously the big news of the week (aside from Shawn Michaels saying farewell) is Jack Swagger cashing in Money in the Bank and winning the World Heavyweight title from Chris Jericho. I have a lot of opinions on this but let me preface them by saying I am a Jack Swagger fan. I think the guy has much bigger potential than Sheamus or Drew McIntyre (the other young, bigs who have been thrust into the limelight recently). He's a good wrestler and has the potential to be great, given his amateur background. He's kind of a poor man's Kurt Angle meets a poor man's Brock Lesnar. His gimmick is good enough, similar to Angle's annoyingly and boastfully patriotic character. I think he can be funny(the lisp helps) and yet serious if he needs to(the lisp doesn't help). So, it's not him... entirely... that bothers me about this situation. First of all, Jericho deserved a longer reign (as I've been saying). He is the top heel in the company right now (especially with Orton turning face) and he should have kept the belt and let the faces chase him for a while. Beating him would have meant so much more if Jericho were champ for longer. Which brings up my second point. Why do they insist on having title changes every month? It really cheapens the honor of being champion. Third, I will just never be able to buy the title changing by someone running into the ring with a ref, doing their finisher, and making the cover for the win. The concept has more than worn out it's welcome in my eyes. And what really scares me is that they will be doing an entire Money in the Bank PPV! I love the match and I love that it is for a title shot. But they need to change the stipulation so that the title shot must be determined for a later date - like they did when RVD won and challenged Cena at One Night Stand. The way it is now it reminds me of that goofy 24/7 rule with the hardcore title. That was fine for a gimmicky title, but not for the biggest prize in pro-wrestling. And last, couldn't they have built up Swagger just a little more before giving him the title? Maybe I'm wrong but it did not sound as though the crowd was really into it (and I do understand he's a heel). I LOVE that they are pushing new guys, but you gotta give them some momentum before you stick the titles on them. Otherwise you set them up to fail. Remember how much the WWE Universe was clamoring for Steve Austin, the Rock, and Triple H to win their first titles? That's how it should be, every time.