900 to 1

Next Monday, WWE celebrates the 900th edition on Monday Night Raw. Whether this is or isn't the exact 900th ep (their 800th one was a little off) and whether you like WWE or not, this is really is a marvelous achievement.

I was curious to see, though, how exactly the first show would be able to compare with the most recent offerings, so I got into to my high tech, patent pending McNichol Time Expander (a subsidiary of the McNichol Eliminator company) and went back to January 11th, to the Manhattan Center, for the first ever Monday Night Raw.

Here are my findings.......

So, we're ready for the first ever Monday Night Raw. And who will be the first ever guy we see on the Broadcast? Vince McMahon? Shawn Michaels? Bret Hart?

Nope, it's legendary announcer Sean Mooney. There's a trivia question to ask your friends. Mooney tells us it is cold in New York, but hot in the building. Or something. He stumbled over the word 'Elements', which was sort of funny because it came over a little bit like "elephants" - "braving the elephants" would have been a fun gimmick for the opening night.

Mooney is interrupted by Bobby Heenan trying to get into the building, but Mooney tells him Rob Bartlett is hosting. Who? I don't remember him at all. Wait, stop the tape, Google time.........

Wow, Bartlett hosted along with Vince and Savage for the first 3/4 months of the show. I genuinely have no recollection of the guy. Admittedly during this time we didn't get Raw in this country, but we were shown highlights on WWF Mania, with Todd Pettengill (ooh, I wonder if we'll get Pettengill, the poor man's Borash, on this show?)

Back to the tape, and Heenan is upset because he can't even buy a ticket. Nice (not very) subtle way of saying they are sold out.

After some dubious theme music - I think Raw have had some great theme tracks, but not this one - we hear the familiar "welcome everyone" of mid-90s Vince. He intros the show over a very annoying siren. I assume that's the fashion police come for Savage's garish gear and Bartlett's appalling sunglasses.

Bartlett does an Adamle, and tells us it's going to be Koko B Ware v YokozuMa. Not Jeff Harvey then? Actually Adamle did his faux pas in MSG, so maybe it's a New York thing.

Sure enough, here is Koko, quite oddly to Owen Hart's music. I always think of Bird Bird Bird and Piledriver when it comes to Koko, but I forget he teamed with Owen for a bit in High Energy. Indeed, Yoko also teamed with Owen, winning the tag belts.

Yoko comes out, and he is pretty sizable. Yoko was a big star and a multi-time WWF champion. The other was a jobber. Which one is in the Hall of Fame?

McMahon says that Yoko has a combination of all of the martials arts. Yeah, he was a real high-flier, with some great kung fu style kicks, wasn't he? (Note sarcasm) Bartlett says Yoko is "One big butted Oriental." McMahon replies "In a manner of speaking, yes." I assume in the manner that he has a big butt, and not oriental, since he was Samoan. Bartlett says ass, and Vince and Savage piss themselves a little bit. Remember when WWF was PG and you couldn't say 'ass'? Oh right......

From this point, just assume that Bartlett does a weak Yokozuna - sorry, YokozuMa - size joke every twenty seconds, and suffixes it with "eh Vince?"

Vince gives a plug at this stage for the Royal Rumble (it was thirteen days later) and says tat Yoko will be in it, as will Savage. In fact they were the last two remaining.

Yoko has a big bruise on his left, erm, breast, but it doesn't stop him, erm, standing basically still, but throwing Koko all over the ring. Eventually he drops a leg, hits the splash in the corner then the Banzai Drop. The ropes look really loose, by the way.

After a Rumble hype video and an ad break, it's back to Vince and co, with a swift cutaway to a gratuitous shot of a young lady in a leotard holding up a Monday Night Raw board. Wearing a one-piece, still PG.

They cut to a Bobby Heenan-in-front-of-a-curtain promo (despite him being outside the building). He talks up his new charge "Narcissus", who is yet to be named as Lex Luger. He would be unveiled at the Rumble, and he'll be going after Mr Perfect. Good stuff from Heenan, though he ended up going well overboard at the Rumble.

Steiner time next. Bartlett exposes idiocy a little bit more by asking which is Scott and which is Rick. I didn't catch the names of their opponents, who are such uber jobbers, it seems, that they don't get clear announcements and are under hoods, too. I'm guessing they are called The Executioners, because they did that gimmick a fair bit back then, with different outfits.

(As soon as I typed that, Vince called them Executioners)

Just as this match starts, with Scotty hitting a hard looking tilt-a-whirl slam, Doink appears in the background, with Vince referring to him as "That goofy-looking clown." and not by name, initially. Eventually Bartlett calls him Dork the Clown, and Vince actually agrees, and has to be put right by Savage. Quite the turning of tables.

The Steiners destroy their opponents with an array of good (and painful) looking moves, including a finisher of a bulldog version of the Doomsday Device. I miss these old squash matches. They only take up a couple of minutes, and really get over the moves of the wrestlers in question.

Cut back to Mooney outside. (I like how they wouldn't let Heenan in, but Mooney is on the team and still has to stay outside) He sees a security guy stopping a 'woman' who claims to be Rob Bartlett's aunt. Of course it's Heenan, and it's ludicrous, but it's funny because Heenan was just a riot.

In house adverts next. Bret putting over IcoPro (it was a supplement that WWF promoted), Savage putting over Slim Jims, and Lord Alfred (badly) putting over WWF video games. I think he said Bert The Hitman Hart.

Next it's Razor Ramon, who was number one contender at the time, doing his Bad Guy Cuban shtick. He does draw some cheers for this with the (slightly) raucous NYC crowd, but overall it isn't a big sell promo considering he is a world title match less than two weeks later.

Some promotion for Headlock for Hunger charity event later, it's time for the IC champ. Which was.....any guesses.........? Yes, you at the back, well done, it was Shawn Michaels.

Before HBK, we get the entrance of Max Moon, who gets no music and seems to firing off some balls of fire. Bizarrely, though, this is shown from a very long range camera. The music starts and the focus comes in as he enters the ring and does a couple of forward rolls. That's Paul Diamond (Kato) in the suit by the way.

Michaels has his old music, the one Sherri sang, and a blue strap to the IC belt. The crowd are getting a little behind Shawn (the heel) as Vince says "Thus far it seems to me Max Moon is outclassing Shawn Michaels." I guarantee that is the only time that sentence has ever been used in the history of man.

Mid match break, and it's back with Michaels on top, and a little plug for Shawn v Marty Janetty. This is all over the place now, because Doink is back out, while Bartlett does a bizarre Mike Tyson impression for about five minutes, with Vince 'interviewing' Tyson and including a reference to two royal divorces. I wonder if they played this to Iron Mike (Tyson, not Sharpe) when they got him on board in 1999.

Michaels, near the end of the match, hits Sweet Chin Music, but this is before he put lead in his soles, or whatever, because it is simply called as a "savate kick", and he actually finishes Moon with a side suplex, which was his finisher at the time. Imagine someone having a side suplex as a finisher now.

After a WWF Mania plug, it's Gene Mean and his little mustache to give us a Royal Rumble Report. Promos from Shawn and Marty, and a run down of some of the Rumble competitors. At one point Fuji talks for his charge, and says YokoZuma fives times. Not just Bartlett then.

A guy with a big beard and ringlets tries to get into the building. Hmm. No joy there for Bobby Heenanstein. Which is nearly the name of the other ballroom, funnily enough.

A flashback to Superstars shows a Kamala face turn, when Reverend Slick tried to stop Kimchee and Harvey Wippleman berating the Ugandan Giant, and Kamala turned on is captors. Man, face turns were easy back then.

BONG! Taker is here......I think. The crowd cheer the weak sounding gong, and the camera stays on Damien Demento, Undertaker's opponent for the evening. No lights out, nothing. Suddenly Taker is getting in the ring. We just take that entrance for granted now.

Taker swiftly beats Demento, as Vince plugs Santana v Flair and Perfect v Shango for the following week's show. He also plugs Woody Allen v Mia Farrow in a steel cage, which I assume was a one hit joke, as I don't remember a Donald v Rosie style segment, though I may be wrong.

Finally, we get Doink (dork?) with Vince outside the ring. Vince asks why Doink makes kids cry. The clown says they have no sense of humour. Vince says Crush is after him, to which Doink sells no fear. Crush comes out to threaten the clown. I don't remember too many Crush promos. I now know why. Doink squirts the big Hawaiian with a water gun. Crush chases him (slowly) around the ring a little, then gets into the ring, and his music plays. Is that it? Remember this angle would play out at WRESTLEMANIA.

The show ends with Bobby Heenan finally being allowed into the building. The joke being that the show is over, and Bobby doesn't realise it. Har dee haha.

So that's it. How does it compare to today? To use an Eric Bischoff phrase, it's apples and bricks. There are aspects of wrestling that worked in that era that could still be used, like the squash match, but we've evolved so far we often don't even realise it. From a production standpoint, this looks so different. There are less big stars, a lack of quality in the ring. The crappy Vince humour is prevalent in both, mind you.

I quite enjoyed this little stroll down memory lane. Maybe I'll take a look at some other old shows in weeks to come. Thanks for joining me in this little jaunt. Mind your step, now.

Who Will Win the Royal Rumble?

Raw this week – a very solid affair, I might add – was heavily focussed on the build to the Royal Rumble, which has always been my favourite Pay Per View.

We have started to find out some of the competitors, and it appears that the line-up is quite strong for the big over-the-top match this year. My big hope is that whoever wins the Rumble that they do not move their title shot to the next PPV, the one before Mania. It really lessens the impact of the Rumble. It is not supposed to be merely earning a title shot, but being in THE MAIN EVENT AT WRESTLEMANIA. It ought to remain sacred.

It’s high time to look at the contenders for this year’s Rumble. I know not all of the competitors have been announced, but I don’t think it’s a stretch to assume that all of the names discussed will be entered in the 30-man over-the-top bout.

We’re putting aside the names Christian, Zeke Jackson, Randy Orton, Sheamus, Undertaker, Rey Mysterio, since they are booked for title matches at this point.

I shall discuss, in no particular order, who I believe are the only people, barring a shocking return/debut, that can win the Rumble, and then go onto those who are in the Rumble and ought to have a storyline development in the match. Then I’ll give a prediction of a winner and tell you who I would book as the winner.

Shawn Michaels

It seems right to start with HBK, since his was the name that started the Rumble talk on Raw. Having asked Taker for a match at Mania and been denied, Shawn declared his intention for the Rumble.

He has history in the match. He was the winner in 1995, entering as number one and winning overall. (If you are checking stats, it was only 60 second intervals that year) He won the following year, having turned into arguably the number one babyface in the company and returning from injury. Then, in 2007, he was the runner up to , of all people, the Undertaker, but still went on to wrestle John Cena for the WWE Title at Wrestlemania.

Shawn and the Rumble fit like hand and glove – so much so that they could do anything they want with him. They could have him enter late as they often do with big names, and build to his entrance. They could put him at an early number and play off his resilience and longevity again.

He is the most likely contender at this moment, potentially, when you consider the build up to a potential match with Taker.

But is it too obvious? It does seem to be a slightly telegraphed, and doesn’t suggest great storytelling if he says on TV “I’ll win the Royal Rumble then” and just goes and does it. Seems a little easy. Not that the people would care. HBK is probably the most beloved babyface in the WWE.......and maybe the world. People want HBK/Taker II, and if he wins the Rumble, they’ll get it, provided Taker retains the gold.

Triple H

Also entered is Shawn’s DX running buddy Hunter Hearst Helmsley, who was trying to tell Shawn something throughout Raw, then did so by throwing HBK over the top rope in an act designed to suggest that Hunter is the stronger member of DX. It was also a measure which perpetuated the suggestion that DX may split.

They (WWE) are in a fantastic position with Triple H, Taker and Shawn, in that they could have a match involving any combination of the three. I would hope they wouldn’t do a three-way, but Shawn v Taker we’ve talked about. Hunter v Shawn is possible, with Trips possibly costing Michaels the Rumble, continued dissention and a break-up leading to a Mania blow-off.

But don’t rule out Hunter v Taker. WWE have a trick up their sleeve in that they could achieve two birds with one stone – they could build up an intriguing match in HHH v Taker (which they never pulled the plug on despite the pair being on Smackdown together for a long time) whilst strengthening the storyline of breaking up DX. The ace in WWE’s pack is Hunter being able to say “Shawn isn’t the only one to have lost to the Undertaker at Wrestlemania” because HHH lost to Taker at WM17. (Like last year’s Mania, also in Houston, funnily enough)

That would make for great TV, seeing HHH chasing Taker, and not knowing if Shawn wanted Hunter to win or not. They could prolong that for ages, and if they didn’t want to break DX up, they don’t have to for a long time, if ever.

To that end, I think Trips a strong contender for winning this. Add to the HBK/Taker scenario the fact that Sheamus currently holds the WWE belt, and is said to be very close with Paul Levesque. Trips could go to Mania to face Sheamus and as a friend, put him over to make Sheamus look good (like Hunter has done for Cena and Batista in the past) or to be the big babyface win that Mania tends to have.

Hunter has a big Mania albatross round his neck after last year’s majorly disappointing match with Orton, so may well be keen to at least partially erase that memory.

Chris Jericho

You have to factor Jericho into proceedings because he has just been so damn awesome for the past two years that a Wrestlemania main event would be just what he deserves. His character would be so suited to a sneaky late entry and capitalisation on other events, and I could see him lording it over HBK and Hunter that he has won the right to wrestle at Wrestlemania and therefore can choose which brands champion he will wrestle – thus allowing him to appear on Raw again.

Ultimately he would need to choose The Undertaker and produce his first meaningful feud with the Deadman. The decision would really be whether Jericho could be taken seriously to win the title and end the streak, and whether this pairing, accepting that you’d be maybe looking at Cena/Sheamus for the other title, HBK/Shawn and maybe Randy v Ted or Cody as the rest of the line up is strong enough to sell the PPV. I fear it wouldn’t be, even though I’d love to see Jericho given the opportunity. He does deserve it.

John Cena

Any match that John Cena is in, you have to consider him a favourite for. When you weigh up the star power in the Rumble, his star shines as bright as any, and when you break down the Road the Wrestlemania, he will have to figure prominently somewhere.

Cena’s stock in terms of winning the Rumble is high through three major reasons. The first two lie in the fact that he is a feasible opponent for either Sheamus or Undertaker if they keep their title until Mania. A Sheamus rematch is surely owing to him after the way he lost the title and then failed to regain it in controversial style. I have thought for a long time that Cena v Undertaker is perhaps the last of the dream matches and as high as Cena is regarded now, he could be elevated even higher by having a great match with Taker and ending the streak.

It could also be the catalyst for a Cena heel turn. “I beat the Undertaker” might be met with boos, and eventually he could snap and say “I gave you everything and you still cheered The Undertaker.” When they want to do it, Cena will be a massive heel.

The third pointer might be the lack of an obvious opponent for John Cena at Wrestlemania. He is too big for the Money in the Bank match, so won’t be thrown into that mix. Last year he was sort of strong-armed into the Big Show/Edge mix to get him into a title match. If it is easy enough to fit Triple H, Michaels and Orton into matches then Cena might be allowed to win the Rumble and set up a title feud.

The other options are, for him not winning the Rumble, that someone would win the Rumble and pick Taker, leaving Cena to win the Raw Elimination Chamber or that he is ousted from the Rumble by someone with whom he could feud until Mania, the identity of whom has not been, erm, identified...........

Batista

......until now? It’s not definite, and doesn’t quite carry the same aura as it might have done at one point, but Cena v Batista is a strong possibility, especially considering the position we’ve talked about for Cena.

However, I think it is less likely than Batista carrying on the Mysterio programme all the way through to Wrestlemania. Strikes me that a logical progression is to have Batista cost Mysterio the match against Taker, then for Mysterio to distract Big Dave, causing him to be removed from the Rumble. The two would then both be likely to meet in a Smackdown Elimination chamber, with their final match being at Wrestlemania.

Batista might win the Rumble, and his name and marquee value means he has to spoken about with the names in with a chance of winning. However, it is hard to state a case for him above most of the other contenders.

CM Punk

Punk is, once again, on a roll right now. His almost Cult-leader-like character has really drawn some heat on Smackdown, and it would be fantastic to watch him use that shtick to try to bring down the Undertaker.

Sadly, I don’t see it. In many fans’ eyes Punk v Taker will be a letdown after building up and teasing a HBK rematch, and when you could throw HHH or Cena at Taker, Punk might not be seen as the right choice. Add this to the fact that Punk has wrestled Taker within the last year and been portrayed as a lesser entity, it just isn’t that likely. I’d love to see it, but I fear the powers that be would not concur.

Big Show

The Big Man is obviously set to be an imposing presence in the match, but realistically he shouldn’t be a Rumble winner to go on to a major main event at Mania. I know he was in a Triple Threat for the World Title last year, but the Rumble winner’s programme is generally bigger, and I don’t think Show has the adequate profile.

Maybe Shaq will be back before Mania, and Show can have the ‘wrestling the sports star’ slot again.

Kofi Kingston

I don’t think Kingston is in the position to yet win a Royal Rumble, but he definitely ought to be someone who enters the match early (maybe even at one or two) and lasts a very long time, with the announcers talking up his tremendous feat.

I still like the idea of Kofi winning Money in the Bank.

Miz/MVP

The best thing about Raw two weeks ago, these two suddenly have quite a hot feud which it will be interesting to see how it develops. I would think that surely one will eliminate another in the Rumble. Miz getting rid of MVP adds more heat on him, but on the flipside of that MVP throwing Miz out would make for a big pop if done correctly.

Legacy

I think that there is a strong chance that Sheamus will beat Randy Orton and it will be due to the interference of Legacy in some fashion. I can see a Cody distraction while Ted runs around the back, but misses hitting Sheamus and hits Orton instead, possibly leading to Randy v Ted at Mania.

Both Cody and Ted are in the Rumble, and have at times threatened that they will step up and go solo, so there is a chance that these two will fight, or at least have a moment where they let each other down.

John Morrison, Dolph Ziggler, Drew McIntyre

The three above names, all Smackdown guys, have had a good 2009, and 2010 could well be a time for them to step up and look even stronger. Morrison is definitely an outside chance for a surprise title run at some stage, and the other two have done enough with IC title efforts to suggest they are upper midcarders with bright futures. I’d like to see all of these guys have a reasonable showing.

So, Rob, who is going to win?

I’m glad you asked.

I think the winner, really, will come from a select group of three – John Cena, Triple H and Shawn Michaels. I don’t anticipate Undertaker or Sheamus losing the title before Wrestlemania.

It makes more sense for a babyface to win that a heel. A heel winning sets up either heel v heel against Sheamus, which I don’t see them doing after doing it at the Rumble with Orton. I don’t think any of the top heels in the Rumble (Punk, Batista and Chris Jericho) make any sense in a match with the Undertaker.

It leaves just the trio mentioned above. I’m going to plump for Triple H. I think that it is time for him to get serious and go after a title again, and him winning the Rumble not only signals that but can set wheels in motion for a DX break-up, and perhaps a possible match at Summerslam, which ironically was where HBK and HHH had a brutal Streetfight to mark Shawn’s first match back after his extended layoff.

Who would you book to win?

I think I’d have to say Cena. I’m a big fan of storylines overlapping, and I think if you give the Rumble to Cena, you can have him stall as to which champion he chooses to face. You then have a touch of Cena v Sheamus and Cena v Undertaker, as well as tension between Cena and Michaels, as HBK tries to convince Cena to wrestle Sheamus so that HBK can continue to chase Undertaker. Triple H then comes into play, as someone who’d like a title shot against Sheamus. So then whomever Cena chooses, it would benefit one member of DX but not the other.

The beauty of booking Cena to win the Rumble is that you can take your time in deciding where you are going to take the story.

There are so many possibilities – maybe you have your own theory. I’d love to hear it.

Survivor Series Live Notes

01.03am
Here we go, then, Survivor Series 2009, and it's from DC. I didn't realise that. I wonder if there will be any kind of mixed reaction for Batista.

01.04am
Robo-Roberts reads out the rules for the Survivor Series matches, but says that the "remaining teammates on the team will be sole survivors." Erm, no. If there is more than one remaining guy, that isn't a 'sole survivor' is it? I fear this is an unwinnable 25th Anniversary of Wrestlemania argument again.

01.07am
Miz leads out his team, with Swagger, Ziggler, Galloway and O'Shaunnessy for company. Sheamus might well be an interesting element to this match. Might he simply attack someone and walk out, or get DQ-ed for excessive punishment? Odds on it's Evan Bourne who is his scapegoat, and a squash will follow on Raw.

01.10am
By contrast, Morrison brings up the rear for his team, with Bourne, Finlay, Hardy and Benjamin preceding him. Finlay can't seem to make his mind up whether he wants his original music or his "diddley-dee" Hornswoggle music.

01.12am
Hate to be picky, but Cole reckons that because this match features many future superstars that we are "looking into a mirror". OK. That means I'm a future star, because I have a mirror next to my desk, and when I look into it I see my handsome mug looking back. I think he means crystal ball.

01.14am
Air Bourne to Ziggler gets rid of him, but McIntrye follows with his cradle double arm DDT to make it 4-4. Good to see finishers being used to eliminate, and not the usual soft moves which would normally only just warrant a two count.

01.16am
Sheamus eliminates Finlay with a bicycle kick after a staredown. South defeats North there. 4-3 to the heels.

01.24am
Swagger is gone after Starship Pain, and we have a new ref in the ring. Seems Scott Armstrong has got injured. They didn't make enough of it to be storyline, so I'm guessing it was legit. I hope the guy is alright, but goodness knows we can cope without him.

01.25am
3-2 in the heels' favour after Miz rids the ring of Shelton after an SCF and an assist from Sheamus. Incidentally, they have shown Armstrong getting a knee to the back of he head from Sheamus.

01.28am
The highly-thought of (by me, at least) Drew McIntyre hits his DDT on Matt Hardy and it's 3-1, with only Morrison remaining. King says John has a 1 in 3 chance.

Actually, he doesn't, because statistically, using equal probabilities, he has a 1 in 2 chance of winning the next fall. Then, should he win that it is a 1 in 2 of the next, and the next. Accumulative, it's 1 in 8. Clearly Matt Striker wasn't a Maths teacher, or he's have picked King up there.

01.31am
Remember AJ said that Morrison steals moves? He just hit a Pele. Offense was short-lived, though, since Sheamus then laid him out. Game over, and the heels win with three men - Miz, Sheamus and McIntrye - remaining. "Sole" survivors, apparently.

01.36am
Cool little segment with Christian acknowledging he was 'different' from his team mates. The elephant in the room was the fact he was the only white guy, but he said it was because he was the only ECW guy or the only Canadian. He then said Canadians could rap, and went on to (try and) prove it.

"Team Kofi Kingston, looking for a fight.
Four of us are black, and one of us is white.
WASSUP?"

Awkward moment, then they all joshed with each other. Some will sniff at this, and say its racist or a lame attempt at humour, or maybe that the white-run WWE are trying to pretend they are cool. I tend to think that we ought to accept that this is a kids show now, and that this is actually a reasonable message to kids - that the good guys all get on despite any superfluous differences.

01.42am
Rey in the ring, and it's grudge match time next. Fair enough little storyline this, but I'm so fed up of Rey wrestling big guys. He has spent the last two years wrestling Kane, Mike Knox, JBL, now Batista...... save for a great feud with Jericho, Rey has had to work very hard with limited bigger guys. His match with Morrison before his suspension showed he can still go and create awesome matches - I wish he was allowed to do it more.

01.50am
Matt Striker is a superb, vaguely heel, colour guy. He is a majr asset to tonight's broadcast team, which is Cole, Lawler and Matt himself. Here is a gem.

Striker defending Batista's actions prompted Cole to remark "I'm glad I'm not your friend." Striker shot back with - "You are." Brilliant.

01.51am
Batista wins after hitting a methodical combo of spear, spinebuster and three Batistabombs. Ref had to stop it rather than a pinfall occuring.

Post match, big Dave gets a chair and spinebust Rey on said implement. The irony of all this was that the cheers for Batista, in his hometown, remember, actually grew as time went on.

02.01am
Orton, along with his team - Cody, Ted, Regal and Punk - are out first, with Cole making a nice deal of Orton having a good record of being a survivor at this event. I like that, it's what proper sports commentators would do.

02.07am
All the faces - MVP., Henry, KR-Truth Krush Kwik, Christian and Kofi - are out, and Punk does a brilliant job of going after Truth, still mad at him after ruining his fun on Smackdown.

02.09am
Heels gang up, and Henry is gone without even tagging anyone else into the match.

02.11am
Very Kwikly, Killing the Truth is gone, thanks to Punk. 5-3 now, and the heels look great so far. I'd expect Cody and Regal to go soon though, possibly to an incoming Kofi.

02.13am
Nope, it's the second Marine who departs, falling to Christian's sunset flip. Meanwhile, Cole uses the nonsense phrase "controlled frenzy" and gets called out by Striker, who says "What does that mean?" Cole can't explain. Striker is AWESOME tonight.

MVP does for Regal, and nearly rolls Cody up, too. This match, despite the added star power, has not been as good as the first SSeries match thus far - and the first one was no better than ok.

02.18am
Painful looking CrossRhodes to MVP, and it's 3-2, with Kofi and Christian battling Cody, Punk and Orton.

02.19am
Equilibrium restored, as Christian pins Cody. Could go either way this.

02.21am
Killswitch looks to have Randy beaten, but Punk makes the save before and RKO gets shot of the Legend Killer. Kofi is left, but Orton tags out to avoid the confrontation. Former tag partners Punk and Kofi to face off.....

02.29am
The Kingston bandwagon rolls on. A reversal of a roll-up for three on Punk leads to Orton coming in, and getting met with a Trouble in Paradise. Kofi beats both men quickly, and wins the match for his team.

The cheer was major, the announcers went crazy. They are doing GOOD job with Kingston. Next step is a solid PPV effort with Orton. I wouldn't say he'll win the Rumble, but he ought to have a big run in it. Kingston for the Money in the Bank, I'd say.

02.38am
Three main men in the ring for the World title match. Smart money has to be on Taker's retention after Jericho accidently (or otherwise) costs Show the match.

Should go back and mention that the Survivor Match we just had did pick up from the point where I said it was inferior to the one before. From the point where it was Christian and Kofi v Orton and Punk it was very sound indeed.

02.55am
I don't really know what to make of that. It was very watchable, and reasonable executed, but it was like most Triple Threats you'll see. Quite slow, methodical, and unable to really shock or grip me.

Undertaker wins after a succession of finishing moves didn't do the job, and reversed a chokeslam by Big Show into a Hells Gate. I would fully expect the Raw triple threat to top that.

03.03am
Here comes the girls, now. Kelly eliminates Layla quickly. Pathetically, the talentless Michelle McCool quickly gets rid of Gail Kim. I think the success of Michelle McCool is quite possibly the most ridiculous thing in WWE right now.

03.06am
An unco-ordinated section between Eve and Jillian ends with the former hitting a top-rope sunset flip, before Beth demolishes Eve then Double Kelly. Surprisingly, though, Beth is pinned via a Mickie crucifix. Beth decks Mickie before leaving.

03.09am
Mickie removes Alicia with an untidy Thesz press from the top, before Striker undoes his night's good work in one fell swoop by suggesting that McCool could be in the Hall of Fame one day. Urgh.

03.13am
Melina puts this one away with her (much) modified Canadian Destroyer. Mickie and Melina survive - and I suspect the Verizon Center just sold more beer and popcorn, with people nipping out for the last time before the main event.

03.17am
DX Music hits. I'm surprised. I would have said this match merited seperate entrances for Triple H and Shawn Michaels, and not the DX music and hoopla. No video package building up the storyline for this one.

Because there hasn't been one.

03.23am
I was just in the process of typing that Cena has this one wrapped up because Michael Cole just led the commentary trio in declaring that either Trips or Shawn HAD to win.......when HBK turned and kicked Hunter in the face. Great moment.

Shawn and Hunter now battling away, but the real story is when HBK gets back in.

03.25am
Correction to the above, I obviously got my HBKs and my Hunters the wrong way around.

03.29am
O-ho! Hunter is back up, saves Shawn from Cena who was about to plunge HBK through the announce table, then a heavy duty spinebuster sends Michaels and the table sprawling.

It's interesting, no doubt, but it's taking away from the match a little because they are doing the old trick of having one of the three lie down for a while as the other two duke it out.

03.45am
Cena gets the win after a tense one. Lots of finishers and pauses as we approached the finish, before Michaels Superkicked Hunter, only to walk into an Attitude adjustment. Cena dropped HBK onto HHH, and the champ pinned The Game.

The intrigue in the match superceded the action here, and I would say that the booking of Shawn to kick Hunter in the face at the start of the match was an inspired decision. It's hardly an original or clever point to make when I say that the build to this was weak, but as soon at that first bar of chin music played you had to tune in.

So will they continue the DX break up? Possibly, and if they do it remains to be seen if it is a gradual or quick thing. I'd do a jump ahead to Mania and suggest that Michaels v Helmsley would be a great match at Mania, along with Cena v Taker and Edge v Jericho. I'd suggest you get to DiBiase v Orton by then, too, and you are in good shape for the PPV when March in Phoenix rolls around. Won't be long, you know.

Breaking Point Live Blog

01.02am
Shall I start with a moan? Yeah, why not.

What are the point of those little packages at the start of PPVs? Who has ordered the PPV that doesn't know the storyline or the matches? Even if they haven't watched, you've got 'em anyway. I don't mind if they are really arty or hard hitting, but that was just wishy washy standard dialogue with generic music in the background.

I won't be negative all night, it's just I really want to see Christian v Regal, and I'm still pissed off that they wasted time at Summerslam with tanks and all that nonsense then didn't let Christian and Regal do their thing.

01.10am
Slow start to the match, but I'm more interested in the crowd. Very mixed. Mixed reaction for JeriShow, decent pop for MVP then a really good reaction for Henry. All this on entrance.

No discernable support for Jericho in Canada, then a Big Show chant, now a Y2J one. Cool spot with Henry catching Show in the corner.

01.19am
Meh. Passable opener. MVP's flip onto his feet followed by a DDT was special, but the rest of the match was largely forgettable.

I am not a big tag team wrestling guy, so I'm biased, but I can't help watching Jericho and thinking he is wasted doing this. Nothing too much against the Big Show, it's just Jericho is THE man for my thinking. The biggest thing about Taker winning the World Title is that he might get to face jericho soon. It's not brand new, but Y2J could do big business with Cena, Triple H or even Batista if he comes back. Any brand, any babyface.

I hate the big punch as a finisher. Why wouldn't he just punch someone all the time? It isn't stopped for being illegal.

01.23am
Interview with Cody and Ted. Cody is getting much better on the mic. What the hell did Ted DiBiase have in his ear???

Miz and Kofi in the ring. Nice little bit of average French to get the crowd against him. Seemed to work.

01.36am
I'm surprised at the retention of the title, but not as surprised as I am about the quality of the match. I said I thought it would be alright and that Miz is improving, but this was beyond my expectations. Really, really good action. Well done. Potential show stealer there.

01.46am
Credit to Montreal for not ponly being a hot crowd, but one with timing. They waited until Triple H paused during his standard rallying speech to do a "You Screwed Bret" chant. To Hunter's credit, after a pause, he came up with an answer (pointing at Shawn and stating "it was all his fault") which I think he ad-libbed. Also, he was careful not to diss Bret and get the crowd even more offside.

02.09am
Oh me oh my. Where to start? So what was that, the best past of a thirty minute match? That was a fantastic brawl. It so perfectly illustrates the art of the gimmick match if sparingly used. That kind of arena-wide brawl was ten a penny eight or nine years ago, but now they are rare, and this was brilliantly put together.

And chalk one up to me for predicting a Legacy victory. Miz has let me down, otherwise I'd be 3-0. That could be a career maker. It had all the ingredients of a great match for Legacy. Give and take was evident in the match, the heels gradually got the better of the situation, and the babyfaces had mini-comebacks to spike the crowd. Perhaps Shawn's fire was a little overdone, but on the whole that was a terrific effort. I liked how Legacy looked like proper bullies while going about their business.

02.14am
Whoa, tremendous promo from Randy. I thought he was channelling the Godfather early on. I thought that was captivating, and you had to sit up and take notice. I still think he'll lose, but it was a great promo.

02.23am
I took Khali to equalise this feud, but I prefer Kane winning. It makes more sense, because he can go on to now work with some mid-to-top babyfaces rather than Khali being elevated.

Match pretty much sucked, as you'd expect. Bad enough for them without following DX/Legacy.

02.25am
Nice speech from Punk backstage. Very sarcastic and condescending. Still taking shots at Hardy, even mentioning the mugshot. Doing the Jericho thing of coming up with words to have a go at the local fans (he called them derelicts). Cool effect for JWY (Yang) turning lights off and then getting his head kicked in.

02.34am
There is a trivia question. Striker says Regal would be the 9th person born outside the US to win a world title in the last 15 years. I'm assuming that doesn't include TNA, so lets try to work it out.
I've got Benoit, Bret, Christian, Edge, Khali, Eddie, Masato Tanaka, Chavo Guerrero. That's eight. Have I missed one, or are they being accurate?
Yokozuna is just outside 15 years, Rey and Jericho born in the US.

02.42am
Someone sent a tape of this to Lance Storm, he'll be delighted with this effort. Good match.

Well, I predicted four out of five title changes tonight, so far none through three matches.

Pressure on the big title matches, because aside from the combined bulk of Henry, Show, Kane and Khali dragging things down, the undercard has been very good.

02.54am
Pat Patterson hit the ring in his hometown to presumably bring out Morrison, but Ziggler came out to humiliate Pat with various age jibes. Crowd went with "shut the f up" and "what" taunts. At least they were reacting. Ziggler kicked Pat in the stomach and then shaped to do more, but Morrison interupted. I would have had Ziggler then attack Morrison from behind, because then Morrison would have more of a problem with Ziggler.

Small point, why was Dolph in his gear and Morrison wasn't?

03.24am
You know what, that Cena v Orton match will have it's critics, and I certainly won't rush out to buy the DVD for this one match, but I'll give them a lot of credit for doing something different.

I surmise that they must have taken a look at the show as a whole seen this: DX/Legacy were doing a big brawl, Miz/Kofi the fast pace, Christian/Regal the wrestling and one assumes Punk and Taker will have a more typical main event. They couldn't match any of the other styles, so they did their own thing. They played off their facial expressions, used Orton's sadistic character and Cena's resiliant equivilent and built the match around emotion.

It might not be your thing, you might not have enjoyed it, but you have to, surely, give credit where it is due.

03.51am
I guess that was sorta creative. It looks very much like WWE just did Montreal in Montreal. Having Long come out and reverse the decision on Hell's Gate was a terrific idea. I love the continuity in that, and was a great get out for not having the Undertaker win. To have Scott Armstrong call for the bell quickly and everyone to scarper was odd, but presumably done to once again recall the incident of November 1997. (Oh Google it if you don't know - everyone else does)

Storylines sit easily enough don't they. Brace yourself for a bunch of rematches in three weeks time. Punk and Taker are unclear of how they stand - rematch in the cell. Orton demands a rematch. It happens in the Cell. And now DX and Legacy are one apiece. Into the Cell for them too. To accompany - Ziggler v Morrison, Christian v one of Regal's henchmen and perhaps Batista and a partner v Jericho and Show?

Hope you enjoyed that folks. I did more than I expected to. Creative stuff, if nothing else.

Good Day to You.

Wrestlemania 25 Preview and predictions

A quick note before you read - I've written this over about three days, so some was written before I saw Raw and before I heard about certain things, including Tazz's release. I'm just too busy/lazy to go back and edit!

Enjoy, Rob

----

Right, now this is me doing predictions for an event more than about five hours before the show. Don’t get used to it. I just thought that since I’m going to be in Houston (have I mentioned that? I have? Oh, ok...) for Wrestlemania and can’t do the live blog I would give you a few days heads up on my predictions. It’s the least I can do.

Let’s get straight into it.......

Intercontinental Championship – JBL (c) v Rey Mysterio
This is a late addition filler match to the show, and I’ve opened with it for that reason, and because I feel WWE may do similar and have JBL, like last year, start us off.

I can only envision a straightforward three-star type of match here. I don’t see these two clicking in a major way, and there is no storyline animosity to build to it, just JBL quickly winning the IC strap from Punk and then Rey making the challenge.

The buzz surrounding the match, if any, is the promise of something historic. Apart from what I’m going to guess at in a second, the only thing I can think of is that perhaps JBL might the only man to take part in matches for the WWE, US, Tag Team and Intercontinental titles at Mania, but I couldn’t be certain.

I think, especially if this goes on first, that it’s got a babyface win written all over it. Mysterio to walk away from Mania as the new champ makes sense, and an opening match being taken by the fan favourite sets a good tone.

So, how about the historic JBL moment? I’m saying that Rey wins, JBL throws a fit, gets angry, gets the microphone and starts to talk. He says that he promised everyone something historic, and he hoped he was going to be being the first person to defend the IC title successfully at Wrestlemania since Chris Jericho did it in Houston eight years previously.

Instead, since he lost, he will do something historic and be the first person to quit live on air at Wrestlemania. Mic down, outta here. Gone.

There have been rumours that JBL is suffering from injuries again, and of course he doesn’t need to wrestle with the money he has from outside ventures. I’m taking that to be the historic announcement.

Prediction: Rey Mysterio to win, JBL to retire post-match



25 Diva Battle Royal
I think we may see a mixture of a fun event and some horrible action combined in this one. The fact that even the least qualified divas plus some girls from the past who may well be out of ring shape are in this are in this is not conducive to exciting wrestling.

As for those that will be making a cameo appearance, Sunny is pretty much confimed, at least according to herself, but there have been many others who have turned it down, it seems. You’d think that Trish would be a likely entrant, but I’m worried that entering a 25-diva match waters down the prospect of her reappearing again in the future.

Torrie, Jackie Gayda-Haas and Victoria seem likely returnees. Obviously it would be cool to see Stacy Keibler, but I can’t see it.

As for who will be crowned Miss Wrestlemania, I’m sensing that this can be used like King of the Ring or the Slammies as a tool for hyping someone up. Because of that it ought to go to a heel diva, and having a champion win makes little sense. I can only see it being Beth, to be honest. Imagine the fun we could have with a Santino acceptance speech and ongoing bragging about how his Glamazon is Miss Wrestlemania. Plus it builds her up nicely as a challenger for a future title shot.


Prediction: Beth Phoenix to win – and Santino to milk it


Tag Team Championship Unification – Mizorrison v The Colons, Lumberjack Match.

Firstly, a sensible decision. We don’t need two sets of tag titles. (We don’t need so many titles full stop, but that’s a subject for another day. In fact, you can read about it in a future edition of Fighting Spirit Magazine. Cheap Pop.)

I’m not so crazy about the feud, as I think it ran it’s course a few weeks ago and they’ve gone a little too far with it now. However, I like the concept of this match being at Wrestlemania, as it features a set of guys who I think will be extra keen to put on a great show. This is also a contender for opening match.

I’m not sure a lumberjack match makes complete sense, but it’s probably using the theory that they try to get as many guys as possible involved in Wrestlemania, and since the girls are having a battle royal I assume that’s why they aren’t doing that in the pre-show like last year.

Until I started writing this I’d have said Mizorrison to win and cement themselves as the top duo in the company, but the more I think about it, the more I think it makes sense to draft them separately and let them try to sink or swim as singles guys. I don’t see what else they can achieve as a team.

Prediction: Primo and Carlito


Jeff Hardy v Matt Hardy (Extreme Rules)
To me the strangest thing about this contest is that it’s extreme rules. That implies that it’s a blow-off match, and while you want that kind of thing at Mania, you would also think that Jeff and Matt would be pencilled in for at least two goes on PPV.

This might still be the first match of a more-than-one series, and if it is my instinct is to pick Matt Hardy. It makes sense for the ‘evil’ heel brother to get the best of his more successful, babyface sibling, before the latter exacts revenge. Perhaps, though, one of them is due for a Raw switch in the draft and they are being separated.

This is another contest, like the last, which you can line up as a match in its own right and say that its participants will go like crazy to put on a great show. Matt and Jeff must have been dreaming of wrestling each other at Wrestlemania all their lives, and will likely be desperate to make sure they can live up the hype which may have been on TV for two months, but has probably been in their minds for 25 years.

I really hope it’s a good match. I think Matt deserves it for years of hard and sometimes unappreciated work, and Jeff needs a standout contest to get him back into the title picture where he deserves to be.

Prediction: Tentatively Matt, because I think that this may be stretched to more than just this match.


Chris Jericho v Rick Steamboat, Roddy Piper and Jimmy Snuka
First thing to do is to state that I am not nearly as critical about this match as many seem to be. No, I don’t think it’s the most exciting match I’ve ever seen, or that is even on this card. However, I do not put the blame at the WWE’s door as many do.

Be fair to them, they tried four other situations before they got to this one, I’m sure of it. Some of the segments on TV featuring Chris Jericho have been special. Real, high-quality TV which the men involved should be proud of, and the audience should be grateful for. I think that they wanted Chris Jericho v Mickey Rourke, and the star of The Wrestler got cold feet. They wanted Flair to step in for one night, and he (rightly) opted to keep his retired status.

The other two scenarios are more speculative, but I believe them to be true. I think that they would have asked Steve Austin, the headliner of the Hall of Fame 2009 induction group, to lace the boots one last time, in Texas, but he turned it down. They probably even had tentative talks with that Stark Raving Hulkster himself, dude, but he they couldn’t sort it out, brother.

This isn’t the worst thing in the world. It’s not going to be that amazing a match because Snuka and Piper at least are long past it, and although we know less about Steamboat’s physical condition it can’t be that terrific. Look for this one to be given about 25 minutes and for there to be about 7 minutes “wrestling”. I’d expect huge deals to be made out of the entrances of Snuka, Piper and Steamboat. Oh, and Flair.

The following message goes for the whole of Wrestlemania, but especially this match. You are a wrestling fan. I know that because you are reading this text. Because you are a wrestling fan, remember that you watch WWE to be entertained. So at Wrestlemania, please try to sit back and relax, and enjoy it as a fan. Don’t worry about the booking; don’t worry about where they go from there. On the night itself, just revel in the entertainment.

I think this will be a lot of fun. Yes it’s not where it could have gone, and yes it’s a bit of a waste of Chris Jericho, one of the best wrestlers in the company. But it’s still likely to be a nice piece of nostalgia mixed with some modern-day feelgood action.

We now know that this will be a gauntlet-type match, so one would assume that Jericho would be beat Piper and Snuka, and somehow they contrive that Steamboat gets the final victory for the legends.

Prediction: I think the Legends will win, eventually, somehow, with Jericho drawing heat from nefarious tactics and then bitching about it being three-on-one (or four with Flair, or five with Rourke) to keep himself as a strong heel.

And another thing: There is a draft coming, and I’d like to point out that Chris Jericho has had very little interaction with the Undertaker over the years. That might be fun.


Money in the Bank Ladder match

Bring me the McNichol Eliminator, as seen in the film 12 Rounds. (Well it isn’t really, but no-one has seen it, have they? They’ll never know.)

Mark Henry
Surely not. A surprising entry to this match anyway, if Mark Henry claims the briefcase then this match concept will effectively be over.

Finlay
A sensible addition to the match, since Finlay is an experienced and strong hand. I suspect he will assist in the organisation of the bout and will be a reliable cog in making sure it is an exciting showpiece. However, he can’t win. It may no sense to give a title shot to man in his fifties who is in his ideal spot, helping future stars. A Finlay title reign is not in the offing.

Kane
He’s been the dominant figure on TV in the run up to this match, but surely as a concession to the fact that he won’t win it. A bit similar to Finlay, it doesn’t seem appropriate to give a man (or at least a character) who has spent 12 years near the top of the card. Surely MITB is designed to give someone a leg up, and you can cite Edge, Kennedy and Punk as examples. Kane winning will be a huge error, and the McNichol Eliminator concurs.

Shelton Benjamin
Seems doomed to stay in this one spot. Has always been a standout figure in this match, but the winner of MITB has to be someone ready to step up and hit the main event. Shelton has always suffered from a lack of having the big match feel and having the necessary vocal skills. I love to watch Shelton, and I’m sure he’ll pull off some of the moves of the match – but he won’t win.

MVP
You may be surprised to see this name eliminated so early, but I really don’t think MVP wins this. I don’t see the logic of giving him the United States title before setting him as a number one contender. The second black mark against him is the fact that I don’t believe his face turn has really come off as expected. If you look at this match composition I would say that MVP is the least over babyface in it. I’ve eliminated all heels already, so I’m obviously picking a babyface, crowd-pleasing win. If this is what is intended, I don’t see MVP being the man. I believe he has what it takes, but not as a babyface.

CM Punk
He is only this low because he won last year. For quite a while I had him down as the likely winner, as it wouldn’t be too outlandish for WWE to have him win twice in a row. I’m still not ruling it out, but at this point I’m looking at likely winners, rather than dismissing people. I believe that two people hold larger claims than Punk, so he is at #3, but to me he is one of three people who can win it.

Christian
This was a real toss-up, and I’m going against my own instinct here. Christian is by far and away the contender who has the best set up of overness, character, promo ability and wrestling quality to step up to dine at the top table. I said a long while ago that I thought Christian would come back and get involved with the Matt/Jeff Hardy situation and drag Edge in, but if he didn’t, then I thought he would win Money in the Bank. This was before he re-debuted. So the fact that I am now betting against him may seem odd. I just look at his position in WWE and feel that if the rumours of Vince not being behind him are true (which I have every reason to believe they are) then I don’t see him getting the necessary push to be a World Champion in WWE, which has happened for all who have cashed in the briefcase thus far.

Kofi Kingston
Weren’t expecting this one, were you? In fact, I wasn’t completely expecting it myself. It’s based on three things. One is that he is WWE made. WWE will love the fact that they have discovered and produced this guy and built him up. The second reason, following on from a point I made about MVP, is that with the possible exception of Punk, Kofi may be the most over babyface in this match. And finally, Kofi was put over Kane to get into the Elimination Chamber, a sign of intent, and had a superb pair of matches with Chris Jericho and Edge in one week of TV. I believe that was a trial to see how he would get on with the big boys, and he came through.

Admittedly, Kofi does not have the promo ability, one of the reasons I dismissed Shelton Benjamin. However, the marks against Punk and Christian to me are bigger than this knock on Kofi.

Prediction: Kofi Kingston – because the Eliminator said so.


Shawn Michaels v Undertaker

So who really is Mr Wrestlemania? Well, it doesn’t matter. What matters is that the build-up to this match has been spine-tingling at times, and I cannot wait to be sat inside Reliant Stadium and hear the BONG signalling Undertaker’s entrance. Perhaps it is raising expectations too highly, but I anticipate a classic here. Michaels never disappoints in this kind of contest, and I expect him to play heel to some extent here. Undertaker matches are not at faultless as HBK’s but when he has a smaller, able opponent (think Edge) it’s normally the signal for one hell of a match.

Taker will win, but that, for once, is not the important thing. It’s going to be about soaking up the atmosphere, celebrating these two modern day wrestling icons who may well be the best in the world at what they do.

As for putting this on last, I don’t think they will, and I don’t think they should. Not only has Undertaker closed the show with a victory for the last two years, but it would effectively be tantamount to admitting that their builds to the title matches have been less than perfect.

Prediction – Undertaker, of course, because HBK does not need to end to the streak, and the streak needs to be kept as a hook for future Wrestlemanias. The overriding prediction is for a spectacle to blow your mind.


World Title Match – Edge v Big Show v John Cena

And apparently, Vickie Guerrero is (kayfabe) pregnant. Oh my. Didn’t she get speared a week or two ago? That’s a tough baby.

I’m not crazy about this feud or match, but the big hook for me is that I don’t know where it is going. All competitors have legitimate claims to win, really.

Cena winning is another one of his overcoming the odds stories, and there is a possibility that Orton will win, so they may want to have one babyface title win.

Big Show winning would mean a ‘Vickie turns on Edge’ story, which makes more sense than her staying with Edge, really. For her to stay with her husband they can only really go with the explanation that she changed her mind about Big Show, because if they say it was a plan all along, then why would she introduce Show to the equation?

Edge is a strong champion, and I’d be more than happy if he prevails. Maybe a better storyline would be Edge somehow winning out and actually turning Vickie down, sending her packing. The problem with that is that Edge would then end up being babyface, and I don’t see that working, really.

I’m going to have to take Cena to win, since it’s the percentage bet and it covers me just in case Orton wins.

Prediction – John Cena, because if you predict him all the time, more often than not you get it right.

And another thing......As a saver bet, what about Edge winning the match after copious Vickie interference, ref bumps etc., in the last match of the night. Then, down to the ring runs Christian, having won Money in the Bank, and pins Edge to win the World Title. We go off air with a major celebration, a babyface win and a shock ending. Then, back on regular TV, you can have either Edge chasing his ‘brother’ for the belt, or Vickie siding with Edge and maybe even Christian being her baby’s father. Reveal could be that Vickie didn’t care who won the title match, but built it up so that whoever won would be exhausted, leaving the door open for Christian.

It’ll probably never happen, but it’s a fun concept isn’t it?


WWE Title – Triple H v Randy Orton

To me this is the main event, and should be on last. Yes they have wrestled lots of times, and yes the build up at times has been less than stellar. However, let’s look at the positives, of which there are two major ones.

The first is that although yes these two have wrestled loads of times, their matches are normally very exciting. The prospect of the main event title match being a really solid wrestling match is very appealing. Secondly, the last two weeks of TV involving these two, and those peripherally involved, has been tremendous in my opinion. I thought that Orton’s destruction of Triple H and attack on Stephanie was chilling, and the Triple H revenge mission alongside his brother-in-law and father-in-law worked perfectly. The response it got from the live crowd was huge.

This really could go either way, and logic would probably dictate that Triple H would go over. He hasn’t won many matches at Wrestlemania over the years, and none at all as a babyface. Maybe he is due this one. It certain would be the fitting payoff after the treatment he has received.

I would love Orton to win. I think his egotistic, arrogant heel is a tremendous portrayal, and a win over Triple H would simply increase this position. I’m not feeling it, though. Some have suggested that one of the McMahon’s will defect and help out the Legacy group. Makes no sense to me. I could see it if they hadn’t all been physically attacked, but they have all been given some rough treatment by Orton, and this simply doesn’t make sense. I know WWE often do stuff that makes no sense, but I can’t see them going that far.

Here’s how I see things panning out over a couple of months. Triple H wins and retains. However, he may well get a certain amount of assistance at some point, however small, which will make Orton demand a rematch. He’ll wreak some sort of havoc to get it, and the booking will be thus. Vince, Shane and Trips v Randy, Cody and Ted. If Triple H’s team wins, he retains. If Orton’s team wins, Randy is World Champion.

Orton’s team win this, with Randy pinning Vince. Triple H will then blame Vince, who booked the match and lost the fall, and we spark an “I never liked you anyway, you’re not good enough for my daughter” row between Triple H and Vince, and all focus is back on the McMahons.

Prediction – Triple H at Wrestlemania, and then McMahonomania will run wild once more.

There you have it. I hope you enjoy Wrestlemania. Once again, I urge you to just sit back and enjoy. It’s what I intend to do, although I reserve the right to start questioning stuff when I return to England!

Ok, I have to go and pack. I can’t guarantee any correspondence from Houston, but enjoy the show, I know I will.

Take care,
RMc

Raw Thoughts, March 30th - Final Raw before Wrestlemania delivers, big style

· So that’s 18 Divas in the opening contest. Was there anyone from WWE (other than those injured) who was not represented? I guess that means 7 guest spots open.
· Vaguely pointless match. But Santino’s appearance got a huge pop in the arena and in my house for the Jack Tunney reference. Daft stuff, but mildly amusing.
· Jericho and Lawler serves as a passable piece of TV to continue the build to Jericho’s Mania match, but showed exactly why the thought of these two facing each other at the big one itself was rightly ditched at an early stage.
· Another nice little touch by Michaels. Didn’t ham it up, but just appearing and saying “expecting someone else”. I’ve loved this build-up, and can’t wait for the match.
· They showed Lawler coming back to ringside, and I couldn’t help but think that Jericho should have attacked him from behind. That would have been just perfect. Jericho backs out of a fight after the match, and then cracks Lawler from behind like a coward. Makes sense to me.
· I don’t like showing a match on Raw that will feature on the Wrestlemania card, especially since it basically went nowhere, had a break in it, and featured some action at the start of the match you would expect to see near the end.
· I would suggest the idea will be that the Rey winning means a few people will tale this to mean that he’ll win at Mania and thus will buy the show for the joy of seeing Myserio win a title.
· Dull match with Cena and Show, but interesting to see Show win clean and perfect character booking for Edge to appear and feast on Cena’s carcass post-match. I really don’t know who’ll take this match, you know.
· Another tremendous HBK/Undertaker segment. Although there were a few extra points I’d like to make:
o Kudos to Shawn for mentioning 24 years and not 25.
o Where did he get that black eye and cut on the nose from?
o Nice nod to history in that the attacked always comes from the casket, and this time it looked that way twice and didn’t happen.
o Shame the Superkick missed.
· Fun little Battle Royal. Common sense to have Kane win it as he has traditionally been good in that kind of match. I was disappointed they didn’t reference Punk’s elimination of Kofi, seeing as they won the Tag Titles together not long ago and now Punk is throwing him out of the ring.
· That final segment - the final segment of Raw before the biggest show of the year, remember -was absolutely tremendous.
· I thought Orton’s structure explanation of all his actions was cold, calculating and well put to get the fans to strongly book him. Then, the Limo arrival, which I have to admit had me fooled. I fancied a Triple H sneak through the crowd, a demolition of Rhodes and DiBiase before an RKO and a closing scene of Orton standing tall over Hunter with the title belt. Instead, we got Shane and Vince, with a crowd going batshit insane.
· Perfect pacing, beautiful setup, and I couldn’t be more ready for Wrestlemania.
· Taxi! London Heathrow airport, please. I’ve a plane to catch.

Raw Thoughts - 16th March

aw T· It was great watching that Edge/Show/Vickie/Cena segment again to kick off Raw. Show’s face and the slap on the ass are just hilarious. I think I like that idea more now than I did last week.
· Michaels and Undertaker as a team to start off Raw, Cena v Edge with Vickie as ref, presumably to close. Wow, that’s a heck of a line up.
· Phenomenal work from Undertaker and Shawn Michaels.
· I loved the use of conventions and then the subversion of them, taking UT’s reach back in preparation for a Goozle as a precursor for a tag, and then his look back to the ring to set up for a Superkick.
· It’s a very nice build from these two. It’s really feeling like something special. The subtle looks between the two were quality, and I loved the attempted stomp by Taker after Michaels got the pin. Fantastic opening segment.
· Nice Edge and Vickie backstage seg, and a good old-fashioned set up for a stacking of the odds against the babyface in the main event of the show.
· At least they explained the Triple H and Orton situation to sufficient lengths that we aren’t all wondering why he isn’t locked up. It’s not the most watertight of explanations, but it’ll do. I can see a “No DQ” clause, or something similar, being added for the Mania match. I just hope that, after all this aggression by each man towards the other, they don’t end up doing a face off then locking up at the start of the match, as opposed to launching into one another and scrapping straight away.
· Nice stuff with Santino and Rosa, did you see it? Beth handed Santino the slammy, and he acted deferential, but then surreptitiously handed it to Rosa. That’s obviously the Glamourella hierarchy.
· Ah, a cage. That’ll likely be the extra stip for Mania, then. Not that I want to see that.
· Ridiculously call, though, by Cole. “Orton and DiBiase have no way in.” Can’t they climb over?
· Okay, they have to stop doing stuff to contradict me after I’ve typed it! Now they are trying to climb, but Trips is stopping them. I quite like that.
· I enjoyed that whole segment, once it got going. Nice setup to show Trips as smarter, not tougher, than Legacy. That works nicely. I’d assume DiBiase will be picked off in due course, leaving just the participants in the title match.
· I’m not crazy about the idea of JBL v Rey just for the hell of it. Rey is best to watch when putting on great, high-flying encounters with guys like Edge who can move and keep up. He has spent the last six months with Kane, Mike Knox, and now he may have to wrestle JBL. Poor Rey.
· Jericho – the Narcissist????? Is the legend he faces going to be Luger? J
· I think I’d have had Flair come out in the robe and then take off to reveal a suit. Just to play the moment.
· So it’s going to be, what? Steamboat, Piper and Snuka in a Handicap match? I’m not sure I really care for that. I think the WWE have been a bit unlucky, because they’ve set up for Jericho and Rourke, then Jericho and Hogan, and then Jericho and Flair. All have fallen through, and they are going to gamble on a payoff to hot feud with a not-so-hot match.
· Throwaway tag match building for the Money in the Bank match, but nice work on commentary by the whole team, talking up the hopes of the individuals involved. I would doubt that Kane, Henry or Finlay would win, but Christian, Punk, MVP, Kofi and Shelton are all possible. I may have to upgrade the McNichol Eliminator to be able to cope with the decision come Wrestlemania.
· Another nice piece of extra storytelling, having Stephanie be the explanation for why Triple H was able to call for the cage to be lowered........but if she was there and fit, why isn’t she GM
· A bit of a soft ending, really. A non-match with a little action after the bell, but token gestures really. To be fair, both this and the other title match are ready to be taken to Pay Per View, really. Because of the nature of PPVs coming thick and fast these days, build-ups are generally quicker, and actually they are probably ready to go right now. The next couple of weeks will be quite a challenge to create interesting TV, with little left to achieve.

No Way Out - Live Blog

00.59am
Good morning, good evening, good afternoon, wherever you are in the world, and welcome to my No Way Out ongoing blog.

Comments during my last effort, the Royal Rumble live notes, asked for a little more detail on who won matches and how, so I'll endeavour to do that. If you have any suggestions, questions, predictions, joke, observations or anything, feel free to contribute - robthegreen(@)hotmail.com is the email address to use.


01.02am
Decent opening video, as it usually is. encapsulated what we needed to know - although if you didn't know and you are watching the show, whats up with you??

By the way, this will be the last live blog for about two months, because (whisper it) I'M GOING TO WRESTLEMANIA. Not really a whisper, that, was it? Anyway, yes, there will be no Mania live blog because I will be in Houston, Texas on that day. Sorry about that.

Actually, I'm not really sorry. I'm going to Mania, baby!


01.04am
I was expecting 'diddly-dee' style Irish fiddles and pennywhistles to open this show. Not an ominous BONG! The only person who would have expected this night to start with a bong would have been RVD.

Chamber to start, then, and the match I had pegged for main event is on first. So, will this point to the Raw chamber having a shocking twist and not be Cena emerging victorious? Or maybe Orton and Shane on last with something major happening there?

Don't forget at this event last year Floyd Mayweather turned up and clocked Big Show. No-one expected that at all.


01.08am
Speaking of Big Show, here he comes, and my attention turns to whether my fantasy booking of this one works out. I'm bound to get something wrong,because I said Taker and Trips would start, I think. Oh well.

No time for an attack on Jeff before this match, either. Maybe Matt will show up during it?


01.12am
Jeff and Edge to start then. Hardy survives the opening pyro, which is a bonus. Interesting to see that Jeff starts, so perhaps can use the excuse that he got punished throughout, where others didn't wrestle as long, if he doesn't win the match.

Also interesting to see that Edge, who you might feel (I certainly did) might be set to enter late and play up using his stroke with the GM.

Presumably they've asked the two more mobile workers to last the duration and have the rest make impacts in snatches. I don't expect Koslov to last long.


01.20am
Damn! Do you think Edge has failed a wellness policy test or something? A fast start, including an early Twist of Fate and failed Swanton by Jeff set Edge for a spear. Hardy countered it into a cool looking small package and pinned him. Edge is gone.

Some might call this short-sighted. Right now I call it shocking, and a moment I genuinely gasped at. We're going to have a new champion.

Koslov is next.


01.23am
I make it another minute or so before a new guys comes in. Koslov has dominated this section. Crowd are chanting for Undertaker.


01.26am
Show comes in next with both Koslov and Hardy down. Show dominates Hardy, then Koslov is up, but the big guys work together. Pace has slowed to a walk from a blistering start. Triple H and Undertaker major, major favourites now.


01.31am
Triple H is in. Just a small point about commentary. JR called the Harley Race Knee as he often does, but then went with the "Double A Spinebuster" when Hunter levelled The Big Show.

Not only did the move look awful because Show jumped into the Game's arms, but the whole point of the "Double A" reference in the spinebuster is that Arn Anderson used to turn through 180 degrees to hit the move. Triple H didn't. I know that's really picky, but I hate calls like that. JR is still the best, but I wish he a) wouldn't be so predictable and b) if he is going to be predictable, at least be accurate.

More action going on now, although the pace still isn't that quick. Perhaps because of Show. He does not look in good shape.


01.35am
Taker in, and wow, what an entrance. Bursting to get out of his pod, straight into Big Show, and then a stiff kick for Koslov after the big Russian didn't go high enough for Snake Eyes. All Taker right now. I still think Trips will win, though.


01.38am
And there goes Koslov, pinned by Undertaker. Sorry to be picky again, but I am often a critic of Undertaker's matches (not necessarily the man himself) because they are so formulaeic. When are his foes going to learn to not mount the ropes for the ten-punch in the corner, since it always ends in the last ride.

Show on top as I type, after stiff looking bumps by Triple H and Jeff Hardy on the steel outside the ring.


01.43am
And there goes Big Show. Undertaker with a great superplex from the corner/pod, then a pedigree sets up Show in position for a Swanton by Jeff from the top of a pod, after he had logically ended up there. The second great spot of the match, and Triple H covers to eliminate Show.

Down to the three most likely contenders, really. Triple H is taking a beating, by the way.


01.45am
I seem to remember this happening last year, actually, in the Smackdown chamber. It started real slow and plodding (ignore the Edge elimination for a second) before ending really well. We've just seen a great combination which got rid of Jeff Hardy.

Taker got crotched on the ropes trying an old school, with Jeff in the ring and Trips on the outside. Taker on all fours meant a springboard for Jeff to hit the od poetry in motion to the outside on The Game, but Jeff leaning back on the ropes meant Taker could flip him over and pedigree him. Awesome looking spot, and they've done well with Jeff, because he hasn't looked weak.

Anyway think he'll beat Matt at Mania then go to Raw? Hardy v Cena, Hardy v Orton, Hardy v HBK. All appetising contests and feuds. .


01.50am
I was about to lessen the mark for this match (not that I grade them) for basically stealing last year's finish of Batista and Taker with UT using the ropes to roll into a Tombstone, but Trips got a foot on the ropes. Taker now kicks out of a Pedigree, and we are still going here. Crowd are very pro-Taker - first boos for Hunter in months.


01.52am
It's over. Triple H wins and is champion once again. Step one of the plan to take Randy to Smackdown goes in, if you believe that particular theory. Triple H, the cerebral assassin, went with the aforementioned punches-in-the-corner-into-last-ride combo, but evaded the powerbomb and hit a second pedigree with Taker sold terrifically. Match over.

Nearly an hour for the segment of the first match, 35-40 mins being the bout itself. If the Raw chamber goes that long then the 5-match card is a great decision.


01.54am
Correspondance to bring to you - Colin in Fife writes.....

Rob, how's it going mate? You're doing well already I see! Trips kicks out of a chokeslam, gets the leg up on a tombstone and Taker has just kicked out of a pedigree! Anyone would think you had inside info.....

Anyway, I'm wondering if I'll get to the end of this email before HHH gets the win??!!

Answer, Colin, not quite. Or at least it hit my inbox AFTER the bell.

No inside info, but I'd defer any praise since my 'crystal ball' booking took in the end of the match, but very little else.


01.58am
Decent match. Not as good as I remember the ones last year, but then time can sometimes make things feel better. I enjoyed the end of that, and it was booked as logically as could be really. Some really nice spots and a shock elimination of Edge kept things lively.

Orton v Shane is next, so Raw will surely provide the main event with their Chamber. Big swerve? Mike Knox for champ? Rourke as guest ref?


02.07am
KillaB365 writes

Rob, seriously, only 'decent'?? That was so good chamber match. What more could you ask for? Shock early champ elimination, kicking out of tombstones, swanton from the cell, sick bumping? That was an excellent match.

Ok, I'll upgrade 'decent' to 'good'. Maybe 'very good'. It was not 'excellent' to my mind, mainly because it had ten minutes of Koslov and Show plodding. If you break it into sections, the first was terrific. The second and third very boring, the four, after Trips entered, it picked up. The after Taker came in it was very, very good. The down periods brought it down, but I'm certainly not having a go at the match. I enjoyed it and am praising it.

Meanwhile, are you Brunzell or Blair? I gotta know......


02.14am
Woah. Orton is busted open, and that's got to be hardway because the camera was on Orton the whole time as he got smashed in the head with a monitor while Shane was clearing the announce table.

However, Shane is withstanding a three man attack, in essence, because Cody and Ted have interjected. They stopped Shane going for the big elbow to the table he is famous for, but he fights them off by spinning a Cody chair shot intended for him into Ted, then hitting a DDT onto said chair and a coast to coast to Cody.

Missed the big elbow attempted now, though. A heavily bloody Orton avoids contact and goes to check on Cody. Tells Ted get Cody checked out. Which is odd considering the left side of his face looks like someone has tattooed a red forked lightning effect on it.

Match goes on.....


02.27am
Ok, you've got two schools of thought here, and you can tell me at robthegreen(@)hotmail.com which one you belong too.

On one hand, the most dominant heel in the business, as of three weeks ago, needed help and about half an hour to beat a part time 38 year old greying son of the boss. Shane has nothing to lose, isn't going to be built for a title shot and become a future megastar. Orton could have beaten on him, alone, for 15 minutes straight then pinned him, and it simply makes him a bigger star. Shane can afford to be brushed aside whereas other babyfaces on the roster can't.

He didn't need to kick out of so many nearfalls, Orton didn't need to have help assist him, Shane didn't need to get so much offense in. A wasted opportunity.

OR..........

What a great match. Forget the build to anywhere else, forget logical booking and enjoy the match for what it was, which was an incident packed, hard-hitting back and forth contest which ultimately had the right ending. And the spots - The monitor, the coast-to-coast, the missed elbow, several chair shots, the suplex through the table and a phenomenal looking RKO to round things off. If you replace Shane with, say, HBK, and watch it as a one-off, people would be talking about a match of the year candidate.


Which side do you fall on?


02.34am
Grisham and Striker just reference Jack Swagger as the 'second youngest ECW champion' - anyone care to venture the youngest. I can't think of one.


02.39am
Lots of mat wrestling in this one. Crowd are not heavily into it, but perhaps they need a break after two quite emotional and high octane matches. And they may have two to come.

Meanwhile, although I've suggestions of Lashley and John Morrison, I'm thinking maybe it'll be in the old ECW, so maybe Mikey Whipwreck?


02.42am
Swagger takes it reasonably clean. The champion pushed Finlay into the ropes as Hornswoggle jumped onto the apron, knockng the leprechaun off. Swagger soon grabbed Finlay and hit his gutwrench powerbomb. Straight 3-count and the win. No sign of Christian. Very little mention of him, either, save from an early call from Striker and a "we want Christian" chant near the opening bell.


HBK v JBL next.


02.50am
The bell rings and this "all or nothing" match is underway. Rebecca, Shawn's wife, is at ringside.

I have a way for Shawn to start saving money - stop your missus using fake tan. Rebecca is a shiny orange hue which is not natural, not for a human being. An oompa-loompa, maybe. Not a person.

Still, Rebecca took the best punch of the year in 2008 from Chris Jericho, so I'll let her off.

Meanwhile, nice early touch in the match, as JBL offers Shawn a chair and tries to induce the DQ. Remember if he wins, Shawn is his bitch for life. They didn't say that in these PG days, but that's what they mean.


02.56am
Too late to change a prediction. I've a feeling JBL may win. I can see this going a couple of ways.

JBL said to Shawn "One mistake" hinting that he thinks HBK will try to hard, make an error, and get beat. That's one possibility.

Or what about Rebecca herself running in to stop it. She has been on camera and mentioned so much by the commnentators it seems like they are building something up. How about JBL beating on Michaels so bad she hops the rail and hits Bradshaw, or covers up her husband?


03.05am
I actually thought of a third reason for JBL to win during the match, but before I got to it, Shawn won. I should have shut up about changing predictions. Rebecca did get involved, though - should it have been stopped? Perhaps JBL will argue that her intervention should have meant a DQ was called for.


OK match without being sensational. JBL matches are never that amazing, so this was perhaps a better one. Fair enough ending (if it is so) to the saga, allowing Michaels to go to.........face Taker?


03.08am
Jericho did a promo in which he sort of challenged Ric Flair to a match at Wrestlemania. He then took it back, so lets hope that's not true. We don't need to see that.

Meanwhile, Cole just said that the frequency of champions losing the belt in the chamber is 67%. I'm not sayin he is wrong, because I may have my numbers wrong, but I was under the impression that figure was 2 in 4 and therefore 50% before the first chamber match tonight. Edge lost, so that would mean 3 in 5. I'd make that 60%, then. What have I, or Cole, got wrong?

Cena and Knox are podded, so far.


03.15am
Quite the night for surprises, then. It seems Rey and Jericho will start this one, but the story is that EDGE struck Kofi down, and gave him a conchairto against the steel steps. He then places himself in a pod and for some reason the refs allow it. Edge is in the match. Wow.


03.21am
Great looking spot as Mysterio missed the shoulder charge in the corner and ends up headbutting Kane's pod. Whether head or hand that hit first, the sound was great.

Ever better spot as Rey ascends the chamber's chain link wall and leaps off onto Jericho, hitting a huracanrana.

Meanwhile, the commentators continually refer to Edge. Getting this much attention.......can he afford to lose this? I'd suggest he could very well win now.


03.23am
Loads of you (well, two) have asked what my other JBL theory was. Well, I wondered if maybe someone would appear out of nowhere and attack JBL, seemingly feeling sorry for Michaels. This would mean JBL winning by DQ and getting Shawn's services. You could then play this for a week or two before revealing that the guy who did the run in was paid off by JBL. Shawn cries foul, and it sets up another all or nothing match, perhaps in a cage.

Still, it's irrelevant now, isn't it?

Kane's in by the way.......and now out 619 by Rey then Codebreaker by Jericho. It looked like they'd left Kane to survive, but Rey ascended a pod and hit Kane with a......."seated senton". That isn't the right description, but you know what I mean.

Now here comes Mike Knox.


03.30am
Domination by Knox for several minutes, but Jericho comes up with a Codebreaker and Knox is history. I may have had Knox attack Rey again before he left, just for the hell of it.

Penultimate entry.......and it's Edge. Instantly attacked by Rey. That's why Knox didn't attack Rey.


03.37am
Some cool interaction with Rey, Edge and Jericho, and now Cena is in. And there is not much love for him. This match has a much bigger feel to it with Edge in. His presence throws the seemingly obvious Cena victory into doubt.


03.38am
Oh I say. 'pon me word, Cena is history. What did he last, two minutes? After a few unanswered moves, he had Edge set for an FU/Attutude adjustment, but fell foul to a Codebreaker, then 619 and then spear. 1-2-3 and he's out.

03.40am
The hits keep coming. Tremendous sequence as Rey goes for a double 619. He only gets Jericho. Edge misses a charge on Rey and hits the turnbuckles on the outside. Rey springboards in 'seated senton' position but Jericho into a Walls. Reversal into a cradle by Rey and Jericho is gone.

While I was typing that Rey has had two really nearfalls. Oh my, this is quite some match now.


03.50am
So Edge is the champion.......but on Raw. I've got to give WWE credit. That was compelling storytelling, and it was a terrific match. Some crazy action, including another phenomenal Rey bump into a pod after my last update, propelled by Edge over his own head. One spear later and this one is over.

Good stuff on commentary too. Asking questions like "Is Edge really champion?" "Does Raw have a world title?" and so forth ought to create a bit of intrigue for tomorrow's broadcast.

Mega thumbs up from me. Five matches, of which only Finlay and Swagger really disappointed, but that was likely only because the two matches before it were so good. HBK/JBL was good enough, with a satisfactory ending. Orton/Shane, if you remove the emotion that the booking of Shane is ludicrous, was a very good standalone match and spectacle. The first chamber exploded into life for a superb ending, and only fell short of a better rating from me because it dragged for too long.

And what can you say about the last match? As soon as Edge entered you fancied him to win, but until Cena was eliminated you couldn't say it with any conviction. Even afterwards Rey had sufficient nearfalls to raise the heartrate. Even if you are sitting there and saying "I knew Edge would win" when it was just he and Rey, I put to you that you are in a minority, judging by the live crowd, who were oohaing and aahing for every Rey nearfall.

Killab365 - that was Excellent, my friend. That match right there.

Fantastic main event to end a great show. WWE keeps it going with these awesome PPVs.

No Way Out preview

I, like most wrestling fans, love this time of year. The Royal Rumble is my favourite PPV there is, and who can’t emotionally involved in the build to Wrestlemania, positioned at the biggest show of the year?

It used to be great that there was nothing between the Rumble and Mania, but since the calendar was flooded with PPVs, that is no longer possible.

Until a few years ago, No Way Out was a pain-in-the-backside, somewhat redundant, show which actually trod on the toes of the other two. The Elimination Chamber was used at this event last year in two matches, and apart from the obvious synergy with the title of the Pay Per View being an expression apropos for the situation, it was a good fit.

The John Cena comeback storyline dominated the Rumble and the subsequent show, so the Chambers determining the number one contenders was a reasonable decision.

Having the matches as title encounters is an interesting call, but a plausible one and not one which I have a problem with. Some say that the Smackdown line-up is stronger than Raw, which is a statement I would tend to agree with, but I’d put to you that a match which involved Big Daddy V, Khali, Finlay, MVP, Taker and Batista last year was a belter. No reason that the Raw chamber match won’t be as exciting as that was, even though we probably know the destination of the belt.

There are only five matches on the card, so before I get to those, I’ll try to pinpoint where any other matches or segments can be added.

There is an obvious Raw bias to the card. Aside from it’s chamber match, they also have the high stakes JBL v Shawn Michaels bout and high profile Shane McMahon v Randy Orton encounter. ECW has Swagger v Finlay, while Smackdown isn’t represented other than their main event.

Smackdown is the logical destination for more activity. Neither the US Champion Shelton Benjamin nor Primo and Carlito, the tag champs, are involved at the moment, so perhaps they could find themselves in action.

This is where TNA have a strong suit in their X division, because if they want to add a spectacle to the shoe, they can put a bunch of guys out there and let them have fun. Because the Cruiserweight division is no more, it doesn’t really work for WWE to stick a bunch of guys together. Plus, they have the Money in the Bank, so they may feel they are watering down the concept.

Other potential matches may involve wrestlers who are in line for a certain push. Umaga is not in the chamber, so could potentially be given a chance to beat someone, although obvious contenders are at a premium. Khali, perhaps? It wouldn’t be pretty, but the message of Umaga being a monster would be reinforced.

Mr Kennedy is on his way back, so he may get involved somewhere, and other notable matchless individuals are (in no particular order) Matt Hardy, Christian, CM Punk, William Regal, R-Truth, Mark Henry and Mizorrison.

Here’s a bold suggestion, since I was on the money with them last time – I’ll take a backstage attack by....someone, with the suggestion it’s Matt Hardy, on Jeff Hardy. This would either mean Jeff can’t compete, or more likely that he competes injured, putting paid to another title effort. Another step towards the logical Matt v Jeff match at Wrestlemania.


Jack Swagger v Finlay – ECW Title match
This has to be a strong contender for opening match, and you’d think will feature Christian (just Christian. It’s hard not to write Christian ‘Cage’) in some respect. I think they’d be well served to sit him on commentary if the idea is to have him face the winner. It would allow him to re-ingratiate himself with the audience, give an opportunity to explain the kayfabe reasoning for the return and build some foundation to a feud with either man.

You’d think Swagger wins here. It’s hard to see why they’d give him the belt to have him drop it, and if Christian’s destiny is the ECW title, winning it from Swagger makes more sense. Not that I wouldn’t like to see Christian v Finlay, mind you.

My big problem with Finlay, which I’ve probably stated before, is that as great a wrestler he is, he hasn’t won a match cleanly for about three years. He always has to use the bloody shillelagh, and I really dislike heel tactics being used for a babyface as a regular habit, because it waters down the heat for the heels. Imagine if, for example, Regal started to use brass knuckles again. The commentators would moan about the nefarious tactics, but fans would be thinking about Finlay getting away with using foreign objects too.

Anyway, that aside, I think Swagger will win, and win clean.

Prediction.....err, what I just said.


Shawn Michaels v JBL – “All or nothing”

This has been one of the oddest feuds in recent history. A weak setup and now quite a flimsy, possible blow-off match, but has been punctuated by tremendous promos filled with well-conveyed emotions.

I don’t anticipate a fantastic match here, because watching JBL wrestle isn’t nearly as interesting as listening to him talk. However, expect a well told story with umpteen false finishes. They can afford to play with the ending more because the other three main matches involve different setups, so this the biggest straight up one-on-one wrestling match on the agenda, if you see what I mean.

WWE have a luxury with these guys, because they can take it wherever they want the storyline to go, and not worry about either guy losing momentum. JBL is a gifted orator, and can get his heat back at the drop of a hat. He could lose every week and still get the right reaction. Michaels, meanwhile, is so loved because of his history, he will likely be cheered forever, so could afford to lose also.

I tend to think HBK will triumph, here. I don’t see them having JBL beat him straight up, so unless they have something up their sleeve whereby Bradshaw has an accomplice who can help him win and set up Michaels v Accomplice at Mania, you’d think the babyface has to prevail.

Prediction: Shawn wins, and by this time next week has had an incident with another superstar, building to a big Mania match.


Randy Orton v Shane McMahon – No Holds Barred, Hardcore, Street Fight, No DQ match

Shane only competes in matches where the rules are flung out of the window, so this’ll be however they are currently defining a match in which they can do what they like.

Logically Randy would go over here in a nasty one, but logically Shane wouldn’t be so dominant in the last couple of weeks, either.

I still think Orton will win, but I have an unsettling feeling that he’ll rely on Cody and Ted to help him out. I’m going to be quite non-committal on the details of the match, but I’ll say that after Orton gets his hand raised he contrives to kick Shane in the head....sorry, SKULL, and put him out of commission.

The setup is then there for it to go a couple of ways. One theory that I’ve seen doing the round is that Randy will brag to have rid the WWE of two McMahons, and that Steph’s response will be to unleash her husband, Triple H, as the man to stop Orton. This is logical in a couple of ways. One in the sense that it would recognise the relationship and have Trips stand up for his wife, and also in that Randy has the main event slot at Wrestlemania, and could choose to head to Smackdown and challenge The Game.

I have an alternative one, in the spirit of trying to come up with extra ideas. Try this one.

Orton wins and destroys Shane, then does the aforementioned menacing speech to Steph. He is interrupted by champion John Cena, who defends the honour of the Raw GM. We build to Mania with Orton v Cena, and have Cena beaten down a couple of times by Legacy. Maybe a couple of Raw superstars try to stand aside Cena, like Kofi or Rey, and Legacy take them out.

Randy them threatens Cena on the last Raw before Wrestlemania, and says that he’ll win the belt, and that his backup will help him. “You’re three on one, John, the odds are against you,” Randy will say.

Cena refutes this suggestion, and says that he indeed will have someone in his corner at Wrestlemania. Cue Vinny Mac to return, and the last raw ends with Vince and Cena aligned.

At Mania, a give and take match has the obligatory ref bump, and Mr McMahon steps in to try to revive the official. As he is bent over, Orton gets ready for a big punt. He doesn’t get a chance to, and Vince stands up and gets in Orton’s face. As the two men face off, Cena staggers to his feet. Vince grabs a weapon, and levels the Champ. Ref recovers, Orton covers, and we have a new champion.

Vince’s reasoning for helping Orton could be that when Orton slapped him and realised that Orton had that characteristic that Vince likes: Ruthless Aggression. Leaves things open for a Cena chase of the belt and Vince trying to hold him back. I know it’s been done, but most other stuff isn’t working right now.

Plausible, no?

Anyway.....

Prediction: Orton to win, probably not as convincingly as he should do


Raw Elimination Chamber – John Cena (c), Chris Jericho, Kane, Kofi Kingston, Mike Knox, Rey Mysterio.

I’ve not really hidden who I think will win this, but then I don’t think I’m being revolutionary in picking John Cena to retain. I’d go so far as to say the only people who are predicting anyone else are doing so out of either boredom or simply taking a chance that if a shocking swerve happens that they can claim they predicted it.

I’d break out the patented, much sought after McNichol Eliminator, but I don’t want to overuse it. I may use it on the next match. Tell you what, I’ll use the travel version.

Knox, Kofi and Kane won’t win. No-one beginning with K. Outside chance of Mysterio, but frankly very, very unlikely.

Chris Jericho is the only real candidate, but with his Wrestlemania future looking like it will have something to do with Flair, or Mickey Rourke, or some such escapade, he doesn’t need the WWE title for this. Cena, meanwhile, has nothing obvious lined up, and makes more sense as a headliner.

As for the match composition, I’d go with two of John Cena, Rey Mysterio and Kofi Kingston to start the match. Add Jericho at three, and have five minutes of these guys bumping around and having fun. Kane or Knox enter next, and do the monster thing of dominating the smaller three. This takes up most of the time until Cena is next, destroying all and eliminating Kane/Knox. The final monster is introduced last and gets rid of Kofi, evening the babyface and heel quotas. Rey then falls, leaving two heels to beat on Cena. Jericho sneakily rolls up Kane/Knox, and leaving him and Cena. We all know what happens then.

Prediction – Hmm, seems I jumped the gun again. I’m enjoying the fantasy booking, though


Smackdown Elimination Chamber – Edge (c), Big Show, Triple H, Undertaker, Vladimir Koslov, Jeff Hardy.

What’s that? No waffle this time, just get into how you’d book it? Ok, you’re the boss.

We start with Triple H and Koslov. Standard action for five minutes, before Jeff comes in next. Jeff has been selling injuries from an earlier beating, but seems to overcome this to be the star of the match to this point. Show is next, and Jeff takes one chance too many, missing a move and running into a Big Show KO punch. Jeff is history. Big Show dominates, and Taker enters next. The Deadman stands tall, eliminating Koslov as he goes. Triple H, Taker and Show battle while Edge lies in wait. Perhaps accusations of favouritism from JR as Edge has the best draw.

The three in the ring hit big moves on one another, so when Edge enters they are vulnerable. Spear on Show, and the big guy is history. Edge doesn’t leave it there, mocking Show, who forces his way back into the cell with a steel chair. He smashes Edge with it, sending the Rated R Superstar into Takers waiting clutches. A Tombstone later, and Edge is gone.

We are left with Triple H and Undertaker, with the former kicking out of a chokeslam/or reversing a Hells Gate, while Taker survives a Pedigree. Gotta make both look good, haven’t we? Eventually Triple H gets hold of the chair Show left in, and cracks Taker. A cover, but Taker still kicks out. Taker gets back in charge, but somehow Trips engineers a Pedigree on the chair, and finally wins it.

Prediction – Triple H. I don’t see two champions retaining in the Cells, and it strikes me that Cena must do, and therefore this one is the most open for the title to switch. Edge and Show seem to be building something, and it strikes me that they are likely to tangle in some manner at Wrestlemania. I can’t see Koslov winning, and Jeff, as previously discussed, has his issue with Matt. That only leaves Taker or Triple, both with great records in the Cell. The only problem with Triple H winning is where that leaves Undertaker for mania, and vice versa.

Maybe Triple H v Taker at Mania? I’d like to see that, although not for the belt, since Taker’s streak v someone’s title has been the theme of the last two years.

Anyway, we’ll soon see. I’m really looking forward to this show, and hope you are too.

Don’t forget, live coverage will take place on this here blog, with my continuing updates keeping you posted on the action, as well as offering my opinions and predictions. Those that followed live last month will recall that I called the Matt Hardy turn during the show, down to very close detail. Maybe I’ll be equally prescient tonight.

Hope to see you during the show – you can join in the blog by emailing me at robthegreen at hotmail dot com.

Enjoy No Way Out

Rob