Pre Show Match: Kofi Kingston vs The Miz
JT: Kofi and the Miz had an excellent series of matches in 2012 over the Intercontinental Championship, but this time around it’s just a brief build of one week that made this match worthy of the kick off show. I expect the “new” heel Miz to get the win here. The match won’t go long or be remembered by next week, but they’ll give us a solid eight minute competitive match.
Seven on Seven Divas Match: The Funkadactyls, The Bellas, JoJo, Natalya and Eva Marie vs AJ Lee, Tamina Snuka, Kaitlyn, Rosa Mendes, Summer Rae, Aksana and Alicia Fox
JT: This hasn’t been confirmed to my knowledge as being an elimination match, which means it should just be one quick fall to end it. It won’t go very long and it won’t be anything special, but I’m guessing one of the Total Divas will pin AJ Lee for the victory. The disappointing thing about this match is that if you took out the divas who couldn’t wrestle well and made it an elimination match, we could actually have been treated to something quite special.
Traditional Elimination Match: Cody Rhodes, Goldust, The Usos and Rey Mysterio vs The Shield and the Real Americans
JT: As much as I want the tag team match with Punk and Dbry to shine, I believe the traditional elimination match here will be the best action we see all night. This match showcases two veterans in Mysterio and Goldust working with a lot of young and fresh talent and really gives you a good insight on the new generation in WWE. This is the only match on the card that actually has me quite excited. I expect one or two members of the Shield to be the Survivors of the match.
Intercontinental Championship: Big E. Langston vs Curtis Axel
JT: Axel is apparently a flop in the eyes of management, and that bothers me a great deal. The guy may not be the most charismatic, but he can flat out wrestle a match as well as any of the current veterans on the roster, if not better. Big E. is just awesome to me, and I’ll be the first to admit that I doubted his in ring ability with how limited he was in NXT. Well, he’s changed my mind with his athleticism and growth and I believe he’s got a bright future ahead in WWE. Big E. retains here in dominant fashion.
CM Punk and Daniel Bryan vs Luke Harper and Erick Rowan
JT: I personally believe that Bray Wyatt is still nursing another injury and that is why we aren’t seeing him compete on the show tonight. That aside, Harper and Rowan will have a solid match with Punk and Dbry, but where do we go from here once this match is over? Does the feud continue into TLC? What does it really do for Punk and Dbry? Granted, it’s nice to see Harper and Rowan elevated to this status, but what is the overall build to? Punk and Dbry will come out on top here.
World Title Match: John Cena vs Alberto Del Rio
JT: These guys again? It’s hard to be excited because these two have had solid pay per view matches in the past, but the originality of their chemistry just isn’t there. There won’t be anything new tonight in this one, and John Cena will come out on top as long as no twists of new debuting stars come about(like last year with the Shield).
WWE Championship Match: Randy Orton vs The Big Show
JT: Big Show in the WWE Title picture doesn’t excite me. He’s limited in the ring. Randy Orton can have great matches with just about anyone, and THAT DOES excite me. These two haven’t main evented any shows together in the past(the best I can remember anyway), and the potential for a great match is definitely there. I’ve been calling for ANOTHER heel turn for Big Show, but I don’t believe it will happen here as Orton WILL stake his claim as the face of World Wrestling Entertainment and defeat the four hundred plus pound giant.
I was originally planning on attending the show tonight, but plans changed(I work as a therapeutic house parent and live in a home ten days at a time supporting troubled kids) and this is not my weekend off from work. That said, I’m glad I’m not able to attend as the card is somewhat of a dud overall in my eyes. It just doesn’t have that big pay per view feel to it that I’m always looking for this time of year. It’s like TLC overshadows the Survivor Series each of the last three years.
I expect a mediocre show with a couple good matches. There isn’t much more to say beyond that without sounding too negative. I’ll be reviewing tonight’s show probably tomorrow morning. Until next time, you’ve been ThunderStruck!
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