Greetings jabronis,
Deary deary me… What a testing time it’s been for WWE fans. As a follower of the product for over 20 years, I feel I can state without any exaggeration that this past month has given us the worst run of RAW episodes ever. They’ve truly been beyond wretched. Smackdown has kept itself a little more separated from the nonsensical storylines and focused a little more on giving us in-ring action, but it’s certainly not guilt free.
WWE seems to have decided that dramatic storyline shifts is what its audience wants. And hey, I’m all for a bit of drama… if it’s done well. But I’d suggest fans are more keen to see storylines that have intrigue and actual pay-offs, not drama for the sake of drama and confusing shifts into territories that just don’t make sense. What’s happened to the mystery RAW GM? Are we supposed to forget he exists? And the same goes for Kevin Nash. He gatecrashes the PPV main event then just disappears without any on-screen explanation? Why are Punk and HHH friends now? And why were WWE talent happy to work for the heel Johnny Ace (easily the worst RAW boss since Mike Adamle) but not HHH? Upon Johnny Ace’s promotion to interim manager, John Morrison entered the building and told him that he sucks. So why even enter the building!? Why not carry on protesting? And this is just the tip of the iceberg…
… But I won’t go into a huge diatribe as to why WWE programming has been so piss poor over the last few weeks because that wouldn’t be fun to read (even though it’s fun to write). Instead, I will try to address some of the issues that have boiled my piss of late as I outlay my predictions for the Vengeance PPV.
Forgive me if this get ugly….
Sheamus v Christian
Amidst all the crap being tossed down our TV tubes, at least we can always rely on solid outings from Christian. But Sheamus is on a monster push of late and I don’t see it ending here.
I enjoy Sheamus as a performer, so I have no problem whatsoever with his push… I just wish it wasn’t at the expense of Christian. Sheamus picked up the victory over Captain Charisma at Hell in a Cell last month, and I see no reason for WWE bucking that trend at Vengeance… Personally I would have booked Christian to win last month, and the Ginger Ninja to win here and in a proceeding rubber match at Survivor Series – but I think it would be wise to assume that both these guys will be involved in the 5 v 5 main event on that night.
I’ve heard whispers that WWE are building towards a Sheamus v Mark Henry match at Wrestlemania… But I think it’s gonna be a struggle to keep the two of them apart until then. The inevitably disasterous buyrate for the Vengeance PPV will surely make WWE think twice about having Mark Henry at the helm. I have a sneaky suspicion we could see Sheamus as champ again before 2011 comes to a close.
Pick: Sheamus
Dolph Ziggler v Zack Ryder
Zack Ryder on PPV! What a treat!
Ryder’s recent wins over Ziggler have largely been communicated to the audience as being flukes, so I didn’t see him as a real threat to Ziggler here.
With that said, I’d have no problem with Ziggler dropping the belt to Ryder here if it is perceived as a fluke once again – because I genuinely believe that Ziggler is ready to take the next step up the mountain and cement himself as a main event player. His in-ring work is very commendable, his character is positively evolving and he’s forming a genuine connection with wrestling fans.
Unfortunately for Ziggler, it seems that beyond Ryder a feud with the laughably awful Mason Ryan is in store. I honestly can’t imagine a wrestler being given news any more depressing than “you’re going to feud with Mason Ryan” … I think even Hornswoggle would be a more preferable option for most
Pick: Dolph Ziggler
Beth Phoenix v Eve
Beth will win. Which is the right decision. But I can’t help but worry that this current divas storyline is planned out to close with the belt back around Kelly Kelly Kelly’s skimpy waist. Which is the wrong decision.
One step forward followed by three steps backwards. That’s the WWE way of late.
Pick: Beth Phoenix
Randy Orton v Cody Rhodes
Randy Orton mixing it up in the midcard, eh? How wonderfully refreshing. I’d be happy if Cena did this once in a while too.
A feud with a main event star is no less than Cody Rhodes deserves. He’s created a character that makes him stand out from the masses, his matches are generally well received and who doesn’t enjoy the wave of nostalgia that comes with his decision to resurrect the white IC title?
However… With Randy Orton coming off the back off two clean PPV losses to Mark Henry, I don’t foresee him staring at the lights for a third consecutive time. So it’s Orton for the victory here… But I’d certainly expect to see young Rhodes headlining a PPV within the next 12 months. I wonder if WWE will attempt to sell paper bags with cutout eye-holes on their merchandise stalls any time soon. A snip at $15 each!
Pick: Randy Orton
Mark Henry v Big Show
I think it’s fair to say that the majority of “wrestling” fans won’t be looking forward to this one. When you’ve got the two most out of shape guys on the roster competing for the title then you know things are bad.
Big Show has been a blobby mess for years now… But I was sincerely shocked by how much weight he’d still managed to pile onto to his already overweight frame during his 2 month hiatus. He must have come back at least 2 stone heavier. I think this match will be more entertaining to see just how quickly the pair run out of breath (I predict Big Shop will be panting after less than 3 minutes).
I’ve made no secret of my disdain towards seeing Mark Henry as champ – but credit where credit’s due, he portrays a monster well and his promos certainly aren’t lacking in intensity. But my gripe remains that his push has come over 10 years too late. This is a guy who must have lost well over 50% of his matches over his 15 year career. Why should we suddenly perceive him as a genuine main-eventer?
But WWE has spend far too much time and effort into building Sexual Chocolate up as an unstoppable force – so there’s no way they’re going to have him drop the strap to someone as meaningless as The Big Show.
Pick: Mark Henry
HHH and CM Punk vs The Miz and R-Truth
Just a few weeks after CM Punk cut his earth-shattering promo, we’re delivered this abomination of a match. I like all 4 guys involved here… But why the Hell are HHH and CM Punk appearing on WWE TV as best buddies?! Last month, HHH was ready to kick the head off of CM Punk for continuously insulting his family and holding the company to ransom, yet now they’re in the ring together sharing jokes? Pur-leeeeease.
In HHH and Punk, WWE had their Austin v McMahon feud for the next generation. Punk was the outspoken rebel who refused to conform and HHH was the company man, who married into the McMahon family and was put at the helm to regulate the product and satisfy the board of directors. Hence: THEY SHOULD NOT BE BUDDIES!
The big problem is, the character descriptions I have given the two above aren’t worlds apart from their actual real life personas. Anyone with a tiny bit of insider knowledge is fully aware that HHH is Vince’s son-in-law and will inherit and run the company one day, and that Punk is a renegade performer who will always speak his mind. My point being – it makes no sense in storyline sense OR in the real world to have these two working as a unit. It’s such retarded, lazy and mind-boggling storytelling that I lack the vocabulary to fully express my anger. The two should be at war with one another until the end of time.
Miz and R-Truth on the other hand have been one of the few bright sparks on RAW. Their promos are entertaining, their entrance is pretty damn funny and they both give it their all in the ring. You get the feeling that their frustration is very real. Of course, the fact that a couple of run-ins by them equated to the company being “out of control” doesn’t make a lick of sense. But that’s not their fault.
In an ideal world, I’d like to see Punk and HHH turn on each other during the match, thus resulting in Miz and Truth picking up the victory. But I get the feeling that long term plans involve both Punk and HHH being babyfaces, so I don’t foresee that happening.
I’m still picking Truth and Miz for the win though. I believe that there is a bigger story with a grand pay-off to come from the Miz and Truth tandem. Though I admit that my hunch is based on nothing but fist-clenching hope.
Pick: The Miz and R-Truth
John Cena v Alberto Del Rio
Again I must reference CM Punk’s landscape-altering promo from a couple of months back. It truly seemed to signal the end of the same main events and scenarios being force-fed to us over and over again. Yet here we are seeing John Cena vs “generic heel” in the main event for a second PPV in a row. It bores me so, so that much I’m struggling to find the enthusiasm to type this.
Cena constantly chasing or defending the title has been pretty much the basis of WWE’s leading storyline for the last 6 years. Fans are sick of it, and lord knows all the other guys on the roster must be sick of it too. Vince McMahon is truly the most stubborn bastard on the planet.
I like Del Rio, he’s a solid and adaptable worker, but I think he’s a tiny bit out of his depth here. Having him drop the belt (to Cena, of course) just 3 weeks after winning it the first time round was a stupid decision – and although the belt was quickly restored to his possession for the Mexico tour (where a Mexican champion presumably equals bigger bucks – hooray for business lessons!), his perception as championship material had already been seriously damaged
I think Del Rio will win here (not cleanly of course) and move onto a feud with CM Punk. So you’d think I might be happy that Cena will be kept out of the title picture for the foreseeable future, right? Well, you’re wrong I’m afraid. With The Rock due back on TV in the very near future, the Cena/Rock feud is gonna be the lead story in WWE, totally overshadowing the world title belts. So whilst it’s always pleasant to see The Rock in the WWE, I think we should be fully prepared for a massive onslaught of John Cena segments and corny “jokes” in the coming weeks as they build for his match alongside The Rock (at Survivor Series) and against The Rock (at Wrestlemania). *Sigh*.
Pick: Alberto Del Rio
Those are my picks jabronis, please add your own below. I love it when you do.
I strongly suspect that WWE will see the worst buyrates of the year for the Vengeance PPV. That’s not me deliberately trying to be negative – that’s simply my honest opinion. The WWE has dug itself into a deep, deep hole of baloney – and it’s gonna need a lot of top drawer ideas to pull itself back out.
The Vengeance PPV is free to watch for all UK viewers this weekend if you subscribe to Sky Sports. How incredibly fortunate we are. I fear that even the fact that it is free may not even be enough to entice some fans to watch it.
Over and out.
