Wrestlemania has come and gone and I want to thank Iain for covering for me last month while I was in Houston. Smackdown doesn’t have a champion, ECW has a title match on PPV and the WWE Championship is up for grabs in a Russoesque tag match. The card looks strong and here’s what the Pulse team thinks.
WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP:
Last Man Standing Match
John Cena (c) vs. Edge
Ivan Rushfield: This really isn’t about who needs the belt, or whether the chase or the reign for a face would draw more money. Instead, it’s about settling into some kind of post-Wrestlemania status-quo, as Raw currently holds both belts, and HHH’s can only go to Orton, another Raw star, which would suggest that the belt has to go to Edge if only to gain some sense of balance and normalcy. There’s always the possibility of CM Punk pulling some Money-in-the-Bank related shenanigans, but unlike many others, I don’t see that happening tonight. Instead, I think Punk will cash it in for Judgment Day, which is going to be in his hometown of Chicago, Illinois. Anyway, back on track. Somehow, I say that Cena wins, because I can’t even recall Edge beating Cena in any one-on-one context unless Cena had been stampeded on by elephants for an hour beforehand. It defies all sense, as Smackdown needs a title belt, but it just feels so unnatural for Edge to go over clean in a match where there’s really no such thing as cheating, unless Edge shoots him or something. Smackdown goes beltless once again until the Edge/Cena/Punk Triple Threat in May.
Winner: Cena
Kevin Innarelli: I always pick Edge in these matchups and I always lose. However, they need to get the strap to Smackdown somehow. I know they’ve somewhat given up on the Friday night show, but I still think they need to fight for something to make it a watchable show. Then again, everyone seems to be on everyone else’s show these days. Seriously, why even have a draft. Anyway, I foresee this going down one of two ways. One: Edge wins and brings the title back to Smackdown with his ninth title reign. Or two: Cena wins and in an incredible heel turn, CM Punk cashes in the MITB after the grueling match. Two is more fun, so let’s go with that.
Winner: John Cena (perhaps a CM Punk cash-in following)
Raffi Shamir: Both Edge and Cena really shine in this type of matches and it’s going to be a great one, but the question remains – what to do with the championship. The World Heavyweight title has changed hands six times in the last seven months. It needs some stability. But on the other hand, it also needs to go to Smackdown. On one hand, this could finally give Edge a legitimate title wins instead of all the times he stole the championship. On the other hand, Edge with a 9th title reign? They missed their chance to do a good double-turn in Wrestlemania, had they gone with a Vickey-Cena alliance that would have screwed Edge (and Big Show). If they don this on Sunday And Vickey actually has a reason to do so because as GM she’ll want the title to remain on Raw) , they also must give the victory to Cena and then Smackdown is still title-less. I would love to see Overrated turn heel and cash in his MITB briefcase against Cena, as he’s just so bland and boring, but will they actually go with it? I’m doubtful. I’ll go with the safe pick.
Winner and new champion: Edge
Andrew Wheeler: Alright, so the WWE is really trying hard to sell this as the “greatest rivalry†in the company. I, like everyone else, will concur that Edge and Cena have had a great rivalry. While it isn’t Rock/Austin or Hart/Michaels, it certainly has provided some great moments. On the other hand, I think it’s a mistake to book this under the heading of “greatest rivalry†when this show already has HHH/Orton, which is supposed to also be the “greatest rivalryâ€. I admit, it’s a nitpick, but still… Anyway, there’s a match to talk about, so lets focus on that. The WWE Title match and the World Heavyweight Championship match are intriguing because anything really can happen. The WWE could put the belt on Edge and Orton or they could keep the title on Hunter and give Edge a strap to take back to Friday Nights. In the end, this all comes down to one man, CM Punk. You see, Punk’s MITB briefcase means he can challenge for either title and bring it to Smackdown, so if the WWE was feeling brash, they could leave it up to Punk. In a perfect world, Cena keeps the gold here and Orton wins and that sets up Orton/Punk. But we don’t live in a perfect world. Either way, I think that Cena has got to walk out of the arena with the World Heavyweight Championship. Everyone is expecting Edge to win the gold and take it back to Smackdown, but is it wise to have the man who just won the belt at Wrestlemania job it back to his rival after getting knocked out for a ten count? Edge is right now teetering on the brink of insanity. He lost his wife to RAW. His ally Big Show was nailing his lady. His friend Chavo’s gone. His team of Hawkins and Ryder is split up. La Familia is dead. Edge is alone and has one shot at getting his gold back. By having him fail, this should lead to yet another awesome turn by Edge. On the other hand, Edge winning the gold on Smackdown sets him up for several interesting matches with diverse challengers. We could yet again see Edge/Hardy at the top of the card, assuming Jeff doesn’t blow it and leave again. We could get Edge/Punk, and see if CM still has legs at the top of the show. Hell, we could get another round of Edge/Taker. I think that John Cena is going to keep the title. I think that Cena is somehow, some way going to keep Edge down for the 10 count and move on to the challenges on RAW. While I’d like to see Cena win the spinning belt that he so nicely defaced a few years ago, I have an inkling that we aren’t done with John’s current title run.
Winner: John Cena
Brad Curran: Cena’s not walking out with the belt here. Orton, Triple H, and Batista will probably feud over the big gold belt for months, and Cena needs an excuse to be written out to work on his next movie. Well, that and Smackdown needs a world title (although, given they don’t run solo brand PPVs any more, why?). Either Edge wins or Punk cashes in MITB. I’m calling the latter, just because I would want to see it if I was buying the show, and really want to go with my gut this round. My head only usually gets 75%.
Winner: John Cena, then CM Punk via MITB
Paul Marshall: Option A says that Cena beats Edge in an intense match that goes about a half hour, then CM Punk cashes in Money in the Bank and beats a tired Cena to bring the title to SmackDown. Option B says that Edge beats Cena and CM Punk doesn’t cash in Money in the Bank. While I love option A better, I’m going for Option C that I didn’t say…and that is Cena beats Edge. (This causes RAW to have both titles again, but they could build a feud with Punk/Cena for Judgment Day just to give the hometown crowd something to cheer about, but that is wishful thinking).
Winner: Cena
Matthew Michaels: Either Edge wins or Punk does; not sure which. I think Edge with outside interference, perhaps by someone on RAW who doesn’t want Cena to get the belt.
Winner – Edge
WWE CHAMPIONSHIP:
HHH (c), Batista & Shane McMahon vs. Randy Orton, Ted DiBiase Jr. &
Cody Rhodes
Six-Man Tag Match; If Orton’s Team Wins, He Becomes Champion. If Triple H’s team wins, he retains.
Ivan Rushfield: Everyone’s thinking that Batista or Shane turns here, but I think it has to be Shane if anyone. Being that the whole concept of Orton’s group is being “Born Better,” Batista turning has no merit, as he has no pedigree to speak of unless they try to convince everyone that he’s the son of Don Muraco or something. Which he’s not. HHH winning here doesn’t make sense, as this seems like the ultimate opportunity for the company to put the belt on Orton without making Trips look weak. However, I don’t think that Shane will openly turn on his brother-in-law just yet. Instead, I’m figuring that Shane either makes a mistake that costs HHH the title or gets himself, and thus his team, disqualified. They’ll stretch out the questions about Shane’s loyalties for a month or so more, but I’m pretty sure that Orton is leaving with the belt.
Winners: Orton, Dibiase, and Rhodes
Kevin Innarelli: This is where Orton finally gets the title belt he richly deserves. The only question is how it is going to go down. If they win clean, Triple H is still protected. This is a no-brainer for a heel turn by Batista or Shane-O-Mac at the same time. I think Batista will be the one who turns if it goes that way. Since I already called a big heel turn in CM Punk, I’ll just call this a clean Legacy win.
Winners: Legacy
Raffi Shamir: This match calls for a heel turn, either by Batista or Shane. Batista would make the least sense since he’s not a second generation superstar and Orton is the one who too him out. Shane also makes little sense after the fierce battles he’s had with Legacy, but at least he’s a third generation McMahon and he can justify his turn by saying that Triple H isn’t worthy of being a McMahon.. But let’s say that he does turn and cost Triple H the title, what next? He’s not a full time wrestler and Legacy doesn’t need a mouthpiece. SO where do they go? I think Legacy will win but I just don’t see a good turn here.
Winners: Legacy
Andrew Wheeler: Man do I hate this match. I hate almost everything about this, from the premise to the stipulations to the build-up. Legacy has been jobbed out every step of the way (with the exception of Orton’s win against Hunter), and Cody and Teddy really do look like the 2009 version of Team Angle. When Shane McMahon is being allowed to get over on guys, you know you’re in trouble. The intrigue here is that Team Hunter needs to work together for Triple H to keep the belt. The WWE has spent countless hours trying to let us know that the WWE Title is somehow the McMahon family crest, and that Orton holding it would be a disgrace. Then they bring back Batista too early and burn us out on him in record time. This match, plain and simple, should have been the match we got on RAW this past week. We should have seen Orton and Hunter go one-on-one in a no-DQ match and somehow have Randy win the title. Regardless, Randy is winning the title here. How? Well, even though its now horribly telegraphed, either Batista or Shane is going to cost him the belt. In the end, either Shane or Dave has to turn heel to keep things interesting, but since I’ve rallied for years for a Batista heel turn, I’ll go ahead and say that the WWE is going to turn Shane. Shane McMahon as the benefactor heel who is helping Legacy makes this story even better. Suddenly the erstwhile son is striking out against his own father and family heritage, and like I said in my Mania column, it makes the most sense. Shane is the guy getting slighted by Hunter’s success, why not back another horse? Regardless, challenger Hunter should work out fine. What about Orton? My guess is that if the WWE wants to do another great “momentâ€, they’ll have Punk challenge Orton for the title at the Garden and win it, taking the WWE belt to Smackdown (you’ll remember that Orton cost Punk the WWE Title last year). This way, Cena is the champion and his challengers are Hunter, Orton, Batista and Show. Suddenly, RAW got a whole lot more interesting.
Winner: Randy Orton
Brad Curran: Honestly couldn’t care less about this match, storyline, or any of these guys right now. I’ll guess someone turns on the Hs and gives Randy the title. I’l l say Super Shane so they can tease Dave’s much needed turn and because he fits the Legacy criteria for membership. Unless they say Dave was the Warlord and the Barbarian’s illegitimate love child or something.
Winner: Legacy
Paul Marshall: Option A says that Trips loses the title via team disqualification when Shane or Batista can’t control their emotions. Option B says that Trips loses the title via a heel turn on Batista or Shane McMahon. Option C says that Trips retains the title by pinning someone not named Randy Orton. If any of these scenarios give us Trips/Orton Hell in a Cell at Chicago next month, I’ll be tempted to make the four hour drive to see it up close and personal. Let’s make Orton win.
Winner: Orton
Matthew Michaels: With Harry Smith going to ECW, I can’t see the Legacy winning (since I think they only beat the McEvolution if they add a fourth member, and who’s it gonna be otherwise, Chavo?).
Winners – Team Hunter
ECW CHAMPIONSHIP:
Jack (c) Swagger vs. Christian
Ivan Rushfield: I’m still not 100% sold on Swagger, although I understand why they see something in him. The guy has had strong matches with strong wrestlers (Christian, Matt Hardy, Cena, etc.), and he’s young and athletic, giving him a tremendous upside as long as he stays healthy. I get it. Still, it’s time to pull the trigger on Christian or get him off of ECW. He gave Swagger a great match in their championship bout last time, but he’s consistently ended up on the losing end of this feud. If he’s not going to be given the title here, he’ll officially be a choker, and Vince McMahon can point out the sure-to-be-diminished crowd reaction, and relish in his correct assumption that Christian isn’t over. Christian absolutely needs this, so I’m going to say that he gets it and feuds with Swagger for another month.
Winner: Christian
Kevin Innarelli: I hope these two feud throughout the summer. I love watching both of these guys. Christian lost the first title match between these two and I see him losing again. WWE doesn’t seem to have a lot of confidence in Christian holding the belt, and I also think you damage Swagger more by having him lose here. Besides, Tommy Dreamer is waiting in the wings for his retirement run and I see him doing a program with Swagger rather than Christian.
Winner: Jack Swagger
Raffi Shamir: Christian deserves better than what he’s been through so far, and the ECW championship is a step up. On the other hand, Swagger hasn’t really had a chance to prove himself as champion and I think that with the right opportunity, he can prove he deserves this spot. Perhaps a prolonged feud with Christian is what he needs. Besides, ever since I got my picture with him on Axxess I kinda like Swagger. I say they should keep the feud going, having him win now and then Christian can beat him next month.
Winner: Jack Swagger
Andrew Wheeler: I have admitted in my column for the past several months that I’m a Swagger fan. I think that Jack is a talented kid with a bright upside. I even liked his match on the Draft show against Cena. The kid has “itâ€, and has everything Ricky Ortiz didn’t. I’m also glad that Christian is still on ECW. ECW is a show with young, hungry superstars (along with some stiffs), but I really think right now is the time for the Tuesday night show to rally around Jack as the face of the company. Swagger/Christian is the “big money†match that ECW has. The company is going to get at least two PPVs off of this match-up before making the switch. Christian can take the loss here and bounce back next month. My guess? They want Swagger to be the guy to retire Tommy Dreamer, so he still needs the gold in order to do that. We’ll see Swagger/Christian again, but I think this match is about Jack proving to Vince and Creative that he can work a “big†match.
Winner: Jack Swaggah
Brad Curran: Two guys Vince seems to not have faith in. I’ll pick Christian, again because I want to see that and am trying to will it in to existence. Well, that and Swagger one upped him on the go home show. Sometimes that means the face is winning!
Winner: Christian
Paul Marshall: Option A says that Jack Swagger retains the title only to lose it to Tommy Dreamer before his contract expires. Option B says that Christian wins and he faces new challengers for the title. That’s all you need to know. Let’s go with Christian.
Winner: Christian
Matthew Michaels: I want Christian to win, so he and Edge can have a moment – both brothers leaving as champs! Take THAT Hardyz!
Winner – Christian
I QUIT MATCH:
Jeff Hardy vs. Matt Hardy
Ivan Rushfield: I don’t want to see Jeff Hardy leave wrestling, as I’ve actually grown to like the guy in his recent WWE run, even though his promos are still excruciating to listen to. Still, Matt has been dynamite since his heel turn, and he may, MAY have the potential to become a main-event level threat, although I’m still skeptical, especially as he has a physique that is more casual than sculpted. Yet, much like Christian, Jeff Hardy NEEDS to win this match after suffering two straight losses to Matt. Plus, with “I Quit” matches, the face actually quitting is very rare, so I’m going to say Jeff. The only way that Matt wins is if Jeff beats the tar out of him, then just picks up the microphone and says, “I quit” over the prone body of his brother and walks off in some bizarre storyline.
Winner: Jeff Hardy
Kevin Innarelli: Normally, I would call Jeff here without hesitation. Matt has won all the meetings between these two so far and faces rarely lose an I Quit match. However, Matt is the one drafted to the dominant brand in Raw, and Jeff may not renew his WWE contract. This feud has to end somehow, though. Feuds usually end with they babyface winning. Therefore, I’ll go…
Winner: Jeff Hardy
Raffi Shamir: Matt has been dominating this feud and rightfully so. I was pleasantly surprised to see him win in Houston and even more, the stretcher match. Now Jeff must win in order to save face and give this feud a good payoff. And what’s better than hearing the evil brother say “I quit”? Even if the rumours about him wanting to take a break from WWE are true, I don’t see it influencing the outcome.
Winner: Jeff Hardy
Andrew Wheeler: Look, there are the rumors about Jeff leaving, but I won’t buy them until he’s actually out the door. Matt Hardy pinned Jeff in an extreme rules match, he wheeled him up on a stretcher and he rolled him up in a tag match. Matt’s left Jeff lying on several occasions, including during a match with Show. So what? Jeff Hardy needs to win the feud so he’ll make his brother submit. This allows Jeff to save face and let Matt be all angry on RAW. Jeff Hardy is in the position to be the #1 guy on Smackdown while Matt is in position to feud with MVP. Who do you think is gonna win?
Winner: Jeff Hardy
Brad Curran: Jeff has to win the blow off, whether he’s leaving or not. Matt can still claim victory in the series and go one to feud with MVP once he gets done hitting on Sherri Shepherd.
Winner: Jeff Hardy
Paul Marshall: This feud ends since the draft becomes official after Backlash. With that said, sorry Matt…you gave it your best.
Winner: Jeff Hardy
Matthew Michaels: Jeff’s gotta win, right?
Winner – Jeff
Chris Jericho vs. Ricky “The Dragon†Steamboat
Ivan Rushfield: I love Ricky Steamboat, and I think it’s great that the guy can still go, but the perfect cap to the Jericho feud would have been for him to turn down Jericho’s offer of a match, as it would have shown that a man can indeed retire gracefully. Instead, this just backs up Jericho’s assumptions, which I suppose fits his character as a man that tells the truth and is reviled for it, but it still just seems to be a situation of striking while the iron is hot. Steamboat showed that he still has a modicum of the skill that he once possessed, fans are impressed worldwide, and so they get a few more matches out of the legend before he goes back to his role as a road agent. I don’t know what the point of it is anymore. Being that Steamboat is still essentially a retired wrestler, the match SHOULD go to Jericho, but I think they’re going to give Steamboat his win back from Wrestlemania, even though it doesn’t help anyone that really needs it. The only better option would be Jericho brutalizing Steamboat on his way to becoming a major heel on Smackdown, but I don’t trust WWE to ever actually take the better option.
Winner: Ricky Steamboat
Kevin Innarelli: Jericho has to win here. I think Steamboat will put on another great show, but Jericho has to go over.
Winner: Chris Jericho
Raffi Shamir: It’s amazing what the Dragon can do at his age, especially since he’s been retired for a while. Still, he’s just a vehicle to put Jericho even more over than he already is, while getting a proper sendoff and one more standing ovation.
Winner: Chris Jericho
Andrew Wheeler: Gonna be honest, I forgot about this match. Oh well. I didn’t want to see Ricky go one more time, because while it was great seeing that he still has it, he had his big moment on RAW. This is overkill. If Steamboat wins, where does Jericho go from here? If Jericho wins, where does Jericho go from here? The Jericho versus Legends storyline should have died at Mania, where it did in fact die in the ring. Chris should have gone to Smackdown and done something fresh. He’s the #2 heel on the show now, act like it. Steamboat should not be allowed to beat Jericho, no matter how “feel good†it is. Ricky, speaking as a longtime fan of yours, please don’t get in the ring after this match. Leave your record unblemished (assuming we forget his “Dragon†costume).
Winner: Chris Jericho
Brad Curran: I don’t know whether to be excited about this or mortified. Hopefully this lives up to Steamboat’s awesome WM performance and doesn’t make us wish he’d bowed out permanently after his Raw curtain call. Especially because I’m picking him to win the Jericho v. Legends blow off.
Winner: Steamboat
Paul Marshall: Please give this 15-20 minutes. We all know Ricky can go. This should be match of the night if they give the two the time. With Jericho going on after this match, it’s only fair to let the legends have the last laugh.
Winner: Steamboat
Matthew Michaels: I guess one could argue that Ricky should get his heat back from last time, right?
Winner – Dragon
CM Punk vs. Kane
Ivan Rushfield: It’s a Kane match. On a Pay-Per-View. Tell me that last time Kane won an important match of any kind. Can you do it? Bet you can’t. Plus, there’s nothing to win in terms of goals or objects, and there’s ultimately no feud or story here to speak of. Thus, I’ve very little to write. Perhaps this match gives Punk a bit of wear and tear before possibly issuing a challenge at the end of the night?
Winner: CM Punk
Kevin Innarelli: This little feud is actually pretty interesting. I think this will probably be the opener of the night. CM Punk will win and go on to have a historic night.
Winner: CM Punk
Raffi Shamir: The only justification I can find for this match is if they plan on having Overrated cash in his MITB later that night. Last time he won the title it was in a heelish way, after Edge was badly beaten by Batista and Overrated just had to pin him. This time, if he cashes it in, they could say that he had to go through the Big Red Machine and he was still able to beat the champion, having to fight twice in one night. I just hope they don’t do the weird thing the did with Overrated the past year, where they’d give him a mild push for one month, bury him for two month and then repeat that.
Winner: Overrated
Andrew Wheeler: So this match is tacked on, so what? Punk and Kane have showed that they can put on a decent match against one another, so let’s seem them do it again. Kane’s gotten the upper hand twice, Punk only once, which by WWE math means Punk is winning here. You can’t make your MITB winner look weak, and Kane has always been a reliable JTTS when needed, so it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure this match out.
Winner: CM Punk
Brad Curran: Kane wins here to make Punk cashing in the briefcase more of a surprise, a la when Edge did it on PPV. It’s gonna happen!
Winner: Kane
Paul Marshall: This match will give us an idea on if Punk cashes in later that night. If Punk wins quickly, he’ll cash in. If not, he won’t.
Winner: Punk
Matthew Michaels: PUNK.
Winner – Punk
Santina on Khali Kiss Cam
Ovan Rushfield: You think this is bad? AFTER these guys kiss, just wait until the inevitable Santina/Khali Punjab wedding live on Raw. As funny as Santino Marella is, I have the feeling that this is going to be stretched out for a few months more, just to see how badly Santino wants the Ms. Wrestlemania title, and how much he is willing to do to sustain that illusion and hold on to that lie.
Winner: Santino Marella gimmick-wise, and the rest of us lose irreplaceable minutes of our lives.
Brad Curran: Do we pick this? Okay.
Winner: Khali and bladders around the world
Raffi Shamir: Santina is sexy. Khali is not. She can do better.
So now you know what the Pulse team thinks is going to happen on Backlash. Don’t forget to join us on Sunday night for live ongoing coverage of WWE Backlash, right here on Pulse Wrestling.
