Fatal 4 Way Predictions

It's been a wild couple of weeks in WWE. Had it not been for the NXT Invasion, I'd probably say the build for this PPV has been pretty lackluster. But they've given us every indication that they are no longer going to give us the same old-same old. I hope that they are indeed ushering in a new era of WWE and Fatal Four Way will be a part of that.

Now, according to WWE.com, there are only 5 matches for Sunday. Maybe they are giving more time for the NXT angle to play out on PPV(I certainly would hope so), but I'm sure another match or two will be added before show time. I will go with what is listed for now.

Divas Championship - Fatal 4 Way Match: Eve(c) vs. Gail Kim vs. Maryse vs. Alicia Fox
I really don't think Eve is good enough to be champion, but that means absolutely nothing to WWE. It's a crime that Gail Kim has not sniffed a title yet as she may be the best woman wrestler on the roster. I'll go with Maryse though since she is the heel.
The Pick: Maryse wins

US Title - R-Truth vs. The Miz(c)
Truth did very little for me as US Champ. I thought he should have had a run last year when he was starting to build steam. His recent win just seemed random and uneventful. Plus I was hoping, as many were, that Miz would eventually drop the title to the now future-endeavored Daniel Bryan. At any rate, Miz is great with any title so I say they will keep it on him and make it a bigger deal when Truth or even someone else eventually beats him.
The Pick: Miz retains

IC Title - Kofi Kingston(c) vs. Drew McIntyre
This one is tough for me because I don't believe the rumors that WWE has soured on McIntyre. If McMahon likes someone, he likes someone. I still think Drew will be pushed. That doesn't necessarily mean he will go over here though. If he loses they could move him to RAW as had been speculated and he could move on to bigger programs. I still think McIntyre wins though as Kofi has been made to look better. And he is small, so obviously that needs to change... sigh.
The Pick: Drew McIntyre wins

World Heavyweight Championship - Fatal 4 Way - Rey Mysterio vs. Big Show vs. Jack Swagger(c) vs. CM Punk
I think this one is pretty obvious, which again means nothing. I can't see them giving either of the faces, Mysterio or Big Show, the title especially since Mysterio was supposed to be taking time off. A Punk win would surprise me too being that they would be trading a heel champ for a heel champ. Swagger is getting there, but he's not completely over yet. The smartest move would be to have him continue to retain. It's still too early in my eyes for him to drop the title.
The Pick: Jack Swagger retains

WWE Championship - Fatal 4 Way - John Cena(c) vs. Randy Orton vs. Edge vs. Sheamus
This could go a number of ways. I'd never say Cena has no chance to retain. He's still the face of the company and going forward with the NXT Invasion, it wouldn't be illogical to have the WWE championship involved. Still, it would make sense to have the title off of Cena, as Cena vs. NXT is still appealing without the title involved. Then the title could be used to make another feud more important. Now if the winds of change are blowing, you'd think that Sheamus would be the one to come out on top. He may be a former champ, but he's still only been in WWE for a year now. Sheamus winning makes a lot of sense because it gives them the opportunity to have Triple H come back and win it from him at Summerslam for the bizillionth time. The only thing that holds me back is that I wouldn't know where Orton and Edge fall after this. Do they just join up with Cena? I can't call it, so I could still see one of them winning, though I think Orton should be kept away from the title until next Wrestlemania. I'll go with my gut and say Sheamus wins with some NXT involvement.
The Pick: Sheamus wins

I will be attending this event live, so I fully intend to do a detailed review. Time is money though, so we shall see. I can honestly say I am more excited about seeing where the NXT angle goes than any of the matches.

Daniel Bryan (Danielson) Era Comes to a Quick and Confusing End

Daniel Bryan, the WWE Universe hardly knew yee.

I'm still stunned after hearing yesterday that the WWE has wished all the best in future endeavors to Bryan(real name Bryan Danielson) on the heels of his playing a huge part in one of the most shocking and talked about angles in Monday Night RAW history.

The latest updates on the story has it that someone with power outside of the WWE corporation - perhaps a sponsor (like Mattel) or someone on Linda McMahon's campaign team - found Bryan's choking of ring announcer Justin Roberts with a necktie during the NXT invasion on RAW to be too violent and offensive. It is unknown whether the choking spot was a pre-planned part of the angle or something that Bryan thought up on the spot. It is also unknown whether or not Roberts was prepared to handle such a spot. Supposedly since the Chris Benoit tragedy there has been some kind of rule against choking with the ring ropes or similar objects put into place. There is also the WWE's PG rating which I guess is finally being enforced.

The real head-scratcher is that since the Benoit incident and since the PG rating, there have been many similar spots and other even more violent spots performed without any penalty. Batista trying to run-over Cena with a car at Over the Limit and Sheamus with the lead pipe are two that instantly come to mind. Heck, many of the wrestlers employ chokes in their matches all the time for that matter.

The bottom line is that someone who probably knows little to nothing about pro wrestling just got one of the sports up-and-coming stars fired for perhaps the very defining moment of what could have been (and I suppose could still be) the most interesting angles in WWE for years.

So what now? Well, for me the NXT angle becomes significantly less exciting. I like Wade Barret a lot and he is the leader of the group. Gabriel has potential, and you may call me crazy but Michael Tarver has grown on me as a role player. But Daniel Bryan was the man that was going to make that stable legit. He can go with anyone on the WWE roster and was really starting to get over. Now we will never know how all this might have played out.

The initial reaction on the internet was that this was all a work and that we'd see Bryan back on RAW tomorrow night. It's become painfully clear that Danielson is gone from WWE though. His character didn't have a contract in the first place remember? You can't fire a guy who isn't employed. But that is what happened.

For the WWE to do this they must have really had their backs against the wall. Afterall, our last image of Bryan is standing over the WWE's champion, John Cena, spitting in his face, kicking him in the head, and proclaiming that Cena is not better than him. That's not usually how WWE likes to portray guys that are sticking with the company.

Reports also say that this could be temporary and that WWE likes Bryan and wants to bring him back when the backlash blows over. I for sure hope so, and I hope it happens sooner than later. He has a 90 day no-compete clause which means we won't see him in ROH or TNA any time soon. Hopefully in a month Bryan can come back and still be part of the Invasion angle.

The winds of change were blowing, but now they are out of the sails.

RAW Reaction 6-7-10... NXT INVASION EDITION

One of my best friends whom I haven't been in touch with in a few months sent me a text last night that read "raw is unwatchable". I was recording Raw as I usually do so that I could watch TV with my wife (she's not a wrestling fan) so I had not seen any of it yet. Being that my friend is a marginal fan and not really "smart" about the business, I took his comment with a grain of salt. After all, last week's Raw was one of the best in recent memory, When I finally watched the episode I realized that for the first 2 hrs and 50 mins my friend was right - this show was terrible. And then there was that thing that happened... NXT.

I'm going to cut right to the chase, and that is why I titled this post "NXT INVASION EDITION". The last 10 minutes of this otherwise abominable show are the only thing worth discussing. There are so many things to be angry about that I could dissect - Jericho being buried, the horribly unfunny A-Team skits, and the stupid viewer's choice gimmick which set the night up for ridiculous match ups like Hornswoggle/Khali vs. the Hart Dynasty and a Santino vs Kozlov dance-off(I can't believe I just wrote "dance-off"). Even the Edge-Orton stuff was not very good for those two. But I digress. The story that everyone is talking about is what happened at the end of the Main Event. And that is what I'll focus on.

All show I was waiting for the next step in the Daniel Bryan/Miz feud which I thought was one of the best things going in WWE. When Miz came out for a tag match and no mention of Bryan was made I feared the worst and just hoped he'd make some kind of appearance. Come main event time my hope was lost, although seeing Punk get voted in (was that rigged?) was a nice consolation. But then, just as Cena was setting up for the Attitude Adjustment, NXT winner Wade Barrett enters... and so does the rest of the NXT season 1 rookies, including my boy Daniel Bryan. BTW, how cool was that shot of Tarver with the bandana covering his mouth?

My jaw literally dropped as they made quick work of CM Punk and the SES and circled the ring like vultures to go after Cena. I have to be honest, I was not liking this at all. All I could think of is "there goes Daniel Bryan's solo push, there goes a cool angle with Barrett having a title shot". I really felt like Bryan was getting over as an underdog face and I felt like that was the right way to go. But as the angle started to unfold and the NXT crew began wreaking havoc on the ring, the set, the announce team and staff, as well as the top star and champion - I began to get it. I think my mind change when Bryan told Cena "You're not better than me," spit in his face, and kicked his head in. This is war! This is what Daniel Bryan was talking about in his worked-shoot a few weeks ago. For too long the WWE has been pushing big guys with stupid gimmicks who have been at the top of the company for more years than should be allowed, holding down young and hungry wrestlers who deserve a chance. Well, now the young and hungry strike back, and they are doing it on their own terms. Last night was not about turning heel and taking on the WWE's top good guy (afterall they also took out Punk, one of WWE's top heels). It was about taking on a company, a corporate machine. It was about taking on an industry that they love but has held them back. It was about taking the stupid reality show concept with all of its dumb competitions and shoving it right back in the face of the beast that is WWE.

So many fans, including myself have been clamoring for new stars and the WWE just made 8 of them last night. Some people are saying this has nWo-like potential. Well potential is the key work. There are so many ways this thing could play out. Heck, next week they could drop it all together for all we know. So, I'm not ready to christen this a new era or anything, but I will say, I am intrigued.

Will they take on the entire WWE? WIll they show up on Smackdown too? Will some already established stars jump over to the side of the NXT guys? Is there some other mastermind behind this whole thing? Could this lead to some title shots for these guys? Were the NXT guys the ones responsible for Undertaker's attack?

Only time will tell. At any rate, I will be tuning into NXT tonight, and I imagine so will many others (as WWE hopes). What started as a RAW that seemed to go back to the old lame, hokey tricks turned out the same way I felt about last week - fresh and exciting!

RAW Review 5-31-10

After a month long hiatus I'm back to highlight what I felt was one of the best episodes of Monday Night RAW in quite some time. I have been enjoying RAW since the draft as it has felt really fresh. Last night however took freshness to a whole new level. Here's my random thoughts...

- Bret Hart as GM is really working IMO. He's not the greatest on the mic but he's not bad either. He does give the position lots of credibility. And to me it just feels right. He was a wrestling fan's wrestler - who better to manage a wrestling show? Lots of potential if they really dive into his perspective on the business. Now, the confrontation with Vince was pretty confusing. Maybe I'm stupid, but I just didn't get it. I hope it's a one time deal and they are not trying to breathe more life into the feud. I must admit though, the crowd popped for Vince. The character still matters, whether I like it or not.

- Evan Bourne really got a nice little push this episode and he certainly came through. I thought he came off completely legit in the main event alongside Cena. And many props to Cena for giving Bourne the rub. Say what you want about Cena, but he does what is asked of him and seemed really genuine in helping Bourne get over last night. There's no reason why Bourne couldn't and shouldn't feud with Edge. Why not have a little mini-feud between the two over the next few weeks leading to Bourne causing Edge the match at Fatal 4 Way? Do it!

- Speaking of Edge, he was great. I still feel it was too soon of a turn but he's making the best of it. He's a great heel, so in the long run it will work.

- Daniel Bryan Danielson beats the Miz - yes, everything is going according to plan (evil laugh). Okay, maybe not everything, but they've really done a great job with Bryan since burying him and then writing him off of NXT. He and the Miz are the perfect recipe for a feud and I'm glad it is finally happening. This will benefit both of them when it is over because Bryan will win over a lot of people simply for going against a great heel such as Miz and Miz will benefit from Bryan's ability to pull a great match out of anyone. Hope they face off on PPV.

- I've been marking out huge for the Hart Dynasty and I love that they've brought in another 2nd gen/wrestling family tag team to feud with them. Now, one of the Usos (not sure if it was the same both weeks) botched for two straight weeks and from what I hear they may not be truly ring-ready. But I'm just happy they are giving someone new a chance and making the tag belts seem relevant again. Not sure why the Briscoes (of ROH) have not been brought in yet as I thought they would have been a great feud for THD. Either way, The Usos are much more compelling at this point than Carlito and Primo would have been. And David Hart Smith and Tyson Kidd have really stepped up to the plate to show why they deserve this push.

- Randy Orton must be pretty hurt as they are keeping him out of matches, I imagine until Fatal 4 Way. Which begs the question, should he be in the match at F4W? I know he's their number 1 guy right now but I'd hate to see him get hurt worse. Plus, the Fatal 4 Way gimmick seems like the perfect chance to get someone new in the Main Event. I dunno, I just hope they're not being reckless.

- Santino is hilarious. The match was terrible and it's a shame to see a talent such as William Regal be wasted, but man Santino is funny and pretty darn over by the sound of last night's crowd.

- Ashton Kutcher? Not as good as advertised. It was obvious that all the segments were pre-taped anyway. I guess he adds some credibility but what is the point? Don't care if I sound like a broken record - the guest hosts need to stop!

- Okay, so lastly, the Zack Ryder angle was awful. But I love the Ryder character and I'll take it for now, even if he did get punk'd (pun intended) by a diva. Give the man someone to feud with.

Now that was a fresh breath of air. It was not perfect, but they are giving a lot of different workers a chance. I hope it lasts. Ah... it's good to be back in so many ways.

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.