WrestleMania 23 Predictions (by Audrey).

WrestleMania Predictions (by my dog).

Instead of giving you a standard WrestleMania prediction column, I am going to shake things up. I asked my dog, Audrey, to chose the winner of each match of WrestleMania 23. How do you ask a dog to choose? Well, a simple and unscientific method was necessary. I took a memo pad, wrote the name of the competitors on opposite sides of the paper (I consistently placed champions on the left side of the paper). Then I placed a dog treat under each person’s name. Audrey sat and watched. I told her to “pick one.” The first one she chose, I figured was the one she picked. Let’s get to it:

Batista vs. Undertaker: Audrey’s pick — Undertaker. I agree with the dog. I think she picked a winner. Undertaker’s undefeated streak is something I don’t think will be broken — especially by someone as old as Batista.

John Cena vs. HBK: Audrey’s pick — John Cena. Another situation where I agree with the dog. This will be an excellent match because HBK will get the best out of Cena. Also, Cena can really tell a story. Cena is McMahon’s golden boy and should win. (I think Cena is undefeated at ‘Mania, too. Why should he start losing now?).

Lashley vs. Umaga: When I wrote on the paper “McMahon | Trump,” Audrey picked McMahon. I was shocked by this pick. I gave her another go. I wrote “Lashley | Umaga.” Then she picked Lashley. I figured she picked McMahon because she though McMahon would lose his hair. So far, I agree with every pick she made.

Money in the Bank: Audrey’s Pick — CM Punk (2nd Pick: Edge). This was a shocker. I took note of her 2nd pick because of the amount of competitors in this match. I don’t believe that CM Punk will win, but then again, I didn’t think that Lashley would be ECW Champion so early in his career. I figure Edge will win again because he’s got the 2nd most high profile WrestleMania undefeated streak.

ECW Originals vs. New Breed: Audrey’s Pick — New Breed. No one in my house picked the ECW Originals to win. I asked my wife about the match and she didn’t know 6 out of 8 of the competitors. I asked, “Do you think that the WWE will let RVD win in his home state of Michigan?” She answered, “No. New Breed will win, then.”

Melina vs. Ashley: I feel bad for a lot of wrestlers that are not on the card (Ric Flair, Carlito, Shelton Benjamin, Charlie Haas, Johnny Nitro, Kenny Doane, Chavo, Kendrick and London, Jimmy Yang, Greg Helms, and maybe William Regal) while Ashley has a championship shot. We all know that Mickie James or Victoria should get the title shot because they can actually wrestle. Audrey’s pick — Melina. I agree with Audrey, I think that Melina should win, but I think that Ashley will win because it will continue the feud to Unforgiven.

Kane vs. Khali: Audrey’s pick — Kane. I found this pick surprising since it is rumored that Kane is going to take some time off after WrestleMania. Maybe Audrey thinks that the WWE will let Kane have a win and then take some time off. I figure that Khali will win because the WWE always screws Kane.

Benoit vs. MVP: Audrey’s pick — Chris Benoit. I guess Audrey does not see a lot of title changes for this WrestleMania. I figure that Benoit is repeating his role as temporary U.S. champion (he lost the title to JBL last year, why not lose it again to MVP?). I’m picking MVP.

That’s it for WrestleMania Predictions. Even though it doesn’t seem like the best WrestleMania card ever, I think it will be a fun show where every wrestler performs their best. This is WrestleMania — the biggest PPV of the year. There will be some great wrestling, some great mania, and plenty of fun.

2006: Reviewing the Year of Wrestling: Part 1.

There are plenty of other articles looking over the past year in wrestling. I’ll be writing a couple of articles about the past year. I’ll look at the year in terms of WWE, TNA, their main event scenes, their undercard, tag team situation and miscellaneous. This will be a multi-part posting considering how long this post could be.

WWE Main Event Scene:

Raw’s WWE Championship scene brought in new main eventers this year. Only three men held the WWE Championship this year: John Cena, Edge, and Rob Van Dam.

Edge has now solidified himself as a believable main event-caliber wrestler. He had some fantastic matches with Cena, but the one match that stands out to me is Edge’s title defense against Ric Flair in a ladder match on Raw. The match was excellent with dangerous spots and showed how badly Edge wanted to keep his WWE Championship. Actually, every WWE Championship match Edge performed in showed how badly Edge wanted to be champion. From good promos to excellent matches, Edge should remain a main eventer (assuming Triple H doesn’t crush him in singles competition).

Rob Van Dam looked to be the new/old face of WWECW. WWE took a chance by having the WWE Championship given to the high flyer at an ECW PPV. WWE’s biggest championship belt rested on the shoulder of RVD. RVD then blew his spot by getting caught on drugs. The ECW and WWE championships were taken from RVD quickly and it looks as though Van Dam will never be a champion again. I expect RVD to go to TNA as soon as his contract is over.

John Cena is the champ and has been quite established as the top face of WWE. I think his ring skills have improved and he does what he can with scripted promos. Raw is stacked with other main event level talent such as HBK, Triple H, Randy Orton, Ric Flair (when necessary), Umaga and Hacksaw Jim Duggan. Okay, I’m kidding about Duggan – just seeing if you were paying attention.

SmackDown!’s World Heavyweight Championship scene was chaotic. Batista vacated his title, Raw’s Kurt Angle filled in as champion (after HBK refused to go over to SmackDown! according to articles online), Rey Mysterio was terribly booked as champion only to lose to the revitalized King Booker. King Booker kept the title with excellent promos, created a stable of wrestlers, but lost the championship to Batista in November. The best thing for the division this year was King Booker. His size and ability allowed him to feud with wrestlers of all sizes and his personality made the fans root for the babyface. Hopefully, he’s solidified himself as a true main eventer after numerous false starts (such as the WrestleMania XIX debacle against Triple H).

SmackDown! needs to position some more main eventers for its championship scene. Finlay’s feud with Batista, involvement in King Booker’s court and his excellent ring work make him a candidate for rising to the main event. Chris Benoit is a main eventer and does not need the U.S. title. Mr. Kennedy has positioned himself at the upper mid-card/lower main event after his excellent feud with Undertaker. If need be, Kane can become a champion with the right push. Mysterio and Undertaker can float around in whatever scene they would like although Taker has more control over his own destiny.

Next Time: I’ll cover either TNA’s main event scene or WWE’s undercard.

Monday Night Raw: August 21st Edition

Edge opens the show with a new tile belt. I was hoping the Undisputed WWE Championship belt was coming back, but the Rated R championship looks alright. I’d rather not see Jeff Hardy in the main event scene, but at least he’s got (say it with me) direction.

The Bearded Idiots vs. The World Tag Team Champions, Spirit Squad
The USA chant was a bit odd since Duggan’s own teammates are supposed to be from Scotland. The Spirit Squad’s tag team maneuvers are refreshing. Nothing like a team acting like a team. Kenny still looks like he’ll be the break out superstar of the group. I’m sick of the face in peril tag team match scenario. How about some back and forth action? How about finding out that one team member is a better wrestler than the other? The double slingshot reverse suplex finisher – I’ll call it the Highlander Leveler.

Informercial vs. Edge
The Bowflex, McMahon DVD and the Marine movie poster? Alright.

Orton whines about losing to an old man. Then he is going to take on another old man (BTW, didn’t Flair and Orton already feud with Orton winning in his failed face turn?). Carlito vs. Orton – now that’s cool. Maybe Carlito can teach Orton a thing or two in the ring.

DX and the New Triple H (Where the three H’s stand for Ha! Ha! Ha!). So H is harassing his father in law? It’s odd seeing HBK as a sidekick. Nothing like vandalism by two guys who are fathers. Hey, howabout some wrestling. I’d like to see some wrestling.

Trish Stratus had a good showing against Victoria. A match that made Trish look strong – what a great idea. Trish has been booked weakly recently and she needs this kind of match. I’m glad the McMahons didn’t interrupt the match.

I thought DX had vandalized the WWE headquarters a month ago. Vince is hurt. Poor guy.

“You called me Vince” Segment with Mick Foley.

10PM Main Event: Edge vs. Jeff Hardy:
Why does Hardy have pyro? Is the WWE serious about this guy again? Edge gets heel heat on demand (he called for the crowd to boo him and they did). The Cena-Edge brawl, while predictable was fun. I enjoy that the WWE lets the main event guys go beyond the ring. I’m aware this kind of stuff was done before (with the Rock and Stone Cold) but it hasn’t been done for a while. After watching Edge get thrown into that body of water I thought – now that’s a champion. A heel champ should get his ass kicked. Cena is very good as an intense face and challenger. His title reigns should be kept short to keep him popular just like the Rock.

Kane vs. Nitro turned into Umaga vs. Kane. I assume that Kane spitting up blood was a work as the show would probably cut away if Kane was really injured.

Aside: The quality of commercials since Raw is back on USA is much better. The lack of energy drink and crappy video game commercials is very nice.

Diva Bathroom Break

The Marine Trailer: I’ve actually watched this on WWE.com. It’s over the top and could be a dumb action movie. That being said, it’s been a while since there’s been a dumb action movie so I think The Marine might not suck. Maybe I’ll cover it on my podcast, Killing Time. (Cheap plug).

Ric Flair vs. Orton. Ric Flair has already cemented himself as the greatest wrestler of all time. In his old age, he’s still having amazing matches. The fact that I’ve seen a Ric Flair ladder match and two hardcore matches shows Flair’s commitment to wrestling. He is a legend in the business and does not need to be a full time wrestler. Ric Flair at his age is still better than probably 80% of the roster. Orton needs to expand his moveset and borrow some of Carlito’s charisma. BTW: Anyone else notice that 3/4 of the Evolution members are now faces?

Kiss My Ass Segment = Main Event? I hate when a segment is the main event instead of a wrestling match. I assume that Melina will turn on Mick and allow Mick to turn face. (I wrote that at 10:53 PM EST). It would be interesting to see Vince act as a guy who runs the company. Vince should be a man who is forced to deal with crap since Vince would rather see some green than personal vendettas being handled. I say this because Vince would be an idiot to fire Melina – she’s money in the bank. So Foley kissed McMahon’s ass. Now what? Yup, the Melina turn.

Raw ends on a sour note. Bleh. This segment should have been the 10PM main event and the WWE Championship storyline should be the true main event. Looks like the WWE Creative was watching American Graffiti and not Mythbusters when they showed the axle being removed from that vehicle by a chain. Mythbusters proved that such a thing was impossible.

Vince screams like Mumm-Ra of ThunderCats.

SummerSlam 2006 Thoughts

Now I had said I didn’t want to pay for SummerSlam 2006 because the card didn’t seem too great. But then I got caught up in the SummerSlam hype. I actually attended the first SummerSlam with the MegaPowers vs. the Megabucks – so I’m a SummerSlam fan.

They got me to pay up the 40 bucks and I watched the show. Here’s my opinion on it: It was a decent show that was quite fun and set up storylines for a while. Did anyone else notice that every match (except the DX one) had the loser enter the ring first?

The night opened up with Rey vs. Chavo because no other match could open. I enjoyed the match and the two have very good chemistry. Chavo selling of Rey’s offense is believable and the two did not disappoint. I think their No Way Out match was better and no Vicki Guerrero interference would be nice, but all in all a good opener with some nice highspots.

Hogan/Orton was what I expected except for the finish of Hogan going over. It’s not like he needs to protect his spot so I don’t understand why he didn’t job to Orton. Hogan played the crowd excellently and he’s the smartest man in wrestling – I wonder how he would do as a booker (assuming he was no longer an on-air talent).

Show vs. Sabu was alright. I was surprised there was no interference by Paul Heyman or RVD or someone. The two didn’t work together that well and the match was sloppy in parts.

The I Quit match was more hardcore than the ECW match. Some crazy bumps had me cringing for both wrestlers. The match ended abruptly with Mick quitting to save Melina and quite possibly means that the feud will continue.

DX vs. The McMahons (+10): I enjoyed seeing Ken Kennedy getting such offense on DX. It would be nice to see a Kennedy vs. HBK feud since the two can be loudmouths very well. Since Kennedy is such a star on SmackDown! it’s only a matter of time before he is sent to Raw. Anyway, the match portion was weak, but I enjoyed seeing the McMahons using tag-team finishers from the past. I was disappointed they did not use the Midnight Express’ finisher. It also set up a Kane-Umaga feud to give both men direction.

King Bookah vs. Batista: Batista needs some conditioning work since he nearly botched the Batista Bomb. Bookah retains and the feud will continue. That’s good for SmackDown!

Edge vs. John Cena: Cena loses in front of his home crowd so Edge will do the job at Unforgiven in Toronto. I’m glad Edge successfully defended the WWE championship at such a major PPV. It was a good match and I still think that Edge is a great champion. He seems like he could lose any match to any opponent (take a look at his ladder match against Ric Flair or his recent match against Carlito). He draws good heel heat and fans want to see him get his butt kicked in the ring.

BTW: I also liked the interaction between the champions. It makes the two shows really seem like two different promotions.