MNM vs. Legion of Doom & Christy
PK: Since these are the only to real tag teams on SD, I expect MNM to win this non-title match, to continue the feud. I think they need to capitalize on Spanky’s return, and have him and London as a legit tag team, and they finally need to start pushing Super Crazy & Psicosis and Burchill & Regal as tag teams as well.
Winners – MNM
Matthew Michael: One can wish, right? Eh, since this isn’t a title shot, I’ll have to say…
Winner – MNM
Eric Szulczewski: The “Jesus Christ, Can’t We Elevate Regal and Burchill Fast Enough So That They Can Be Legit Challengers?” match. A time-server, both on the card and on this damn feud. If the tag titles didn’t have to be defended, I would actually have preferred to see Hemme versus Melina in a one-on-one match with the boys outside as backup. At least that match wouldn’t pretend to be something it wasn’t.
Winners – MNM by some skanky method that will only prolong this feud
Gordi: “Boredom: the desire for desires” – Tolstoy
Winner: Los Guerreros de la Estupidez
Jeremy Lambert: Ok, the LOD DVD is out and they had their run time to take the titles off of them.
Winners- MNM
Kevin G. Bufton: I don’t care. I used to really, really like MNM, but I would sooner see a straight tag match, where they win the titles back, than this meaningless drivel. That said, I see LOD 2005 and Christy losing, thereby giving MNM a reason to get a much deserved title shot (other than the major reason that there are no other tag teams, anyway).
Winners – MNM
Bobby Lashley vs. Simon Dean
PK: Lashley is getting the monster push. Why didn’t they do the same thing they did with Brock Lesnar? I mean, he comes in as a monster heel and becomes WWE Champion in 6 months. Lashley could’ve been the next ‘Next Big Thing,’ but coming in as a face makes him the next big dud.
Winner – Lashley
Matthew Michael: The more important thing here is how the crowd reacts to Lashley and his monster push.
Winner – Bobby
Eric Szulczewski: Mike Bucci, Everybody’s Bitch.
Winner – Bobby Lashley
Gordi: “I’m so bored with U.S.A. But what can I do?” – The Clash
Winner – El Hijo del Ahmed Johnson
Jeremy Lambert- Never heard of Lashley but he can’t be much considering he’s facing Simon Dean. Lashley will win because Dean was buried from the start.
Winner- Bobby Lashley
Kevin G. Bufton: BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Does anybody think that the former Nova has any kind of chance here? Nope, sorry…this is a one-way journey to Squashville.
Winner – Bobby Lashley
Hardcore Holly vs. Ken Kennedy
PK: Mr. Kennedy is being featured heavily, and rightfully so. Hardcore is a company man…and a jobber for life now that he finally got his PPV Main Event.
Winner – Mr. Kennedy………………..Kennedy
Matthew Michael: Wow, yet another match with no question who’ll win.
Winner – Kennedy
Eric Szulczewski: If there was any justice, and wrestling was anywhere close to reality, Bob Holly would beat the living shit out of FudgePacker. However, there isn’t, it isn’t, FudgePacker’s getting a big push, and Holly’s too good of an employee. Well, let’s just enjoy the fact that Bob Holly’s back on PPV.
Winner – FudgePacker
Gordi: “The life of the creative man is lead, directed and controlled by boredom. Avoiding boredom is one of our most important purposes.” – Susan Sontag
Winner – El Hijo del Bruce Buffer
Jeremy Lambert: Kennedy has to be some sort of rookie which means Holly will stiff the hell out of him. Whatever
Winner- Mr. Kennedy
Kevin G. Bufton: And it’s time for the most entertaining of spectacles…watch Bob Holly stiff the crap out of the new guy. As with Lashley-Dean, this is pretty much a foregone conclusion, though I suspect the match quality might be a little higher.
Winner – Mr. Kennedy…………………….Kennedy!
JBL vs. Rey Mysterio
PK: JBL needs to get back on the winning track, however these men look like they will be on the same side really soon.
Winner – JBL
Matthew Michael: Rey!
Winner – Rey
Eric Szulczewski: Let’s see…High-Quality Speaker Boy is what, a foot and a half taller than Rey-Rey? The only way this thing is going to be interesting is if Rey-Rey is taken outside to a production truck and High-Quality Speaker Boy decides to be Nash for a night. Since that won’t happen, it’s obvious that Rey-Rey’s going to get the win, which establishes his “giant-killer” credentials and causes High-Quality Speaker Boy to go deeper into his “crisis of confidence”. The latter will lead to a Cabinet reformation. Hopefully not with Jordan, of course.
Winner – Rey-Rey
Gordi: “There’s no excuse to be bored. Sad, yes. Angry, yes. Depressed, yes. Crazy, yes. But there’s no excuse for boredom, ever.” – Viggo Mortensen
Winner: El Hijo del Rey Misterio Sr.
Jeremy Lambert: Its the ol’ underdog match. Too bad nobody cares about JBL anymore since his act has grown stale and Rey just came off of one of the dumbest storylines of the year. JBL will take this so he can brag about beating a midget.
Winner- JBL
Kevin G. Bufton: JBL is rapidly becoming little more than a glorified jobber, whereas Rey is on a hot-streak. That should say that Rey wins here, keeping him primed for even bigger challenges ahead. However, it could also mean that JBL needs a high profile win, more than the masked midget, so I’m kinda torn. Fuck it…let the Texan have his moment.
Winner – JBL
Nunzio (c) vs. Juventud – Cruiserweight Championship
PK: The CW Title…defended on a PPV? What is the world coming to?
Winner – The Juice
Matthew Michael: It’s time for the Mexicools push to go into full effect. First the CW belt, then the Tag Titles, then THE WORLD!
Winner – Juvi
Eric Szulczewski: Yes, it’s a shock to me too. A title that last changed hands on a show that’s now being broadcast over the Net is being defended on PPV. We all know what’s going to take place. Seven minutes of flippy-yippie, followed by the inevitable run-ins. Since Big Vito can’t be in two places at once, the Mexicools get the advantage in the interference department.
Winner – Juventud Guerrera
Gordi:”Boredom is rage spread thin” – Paul Tillich
Winner – El Guido Poco
Jeremy Lambert: This match will be on heat, overbooked, or given no time. Take your pick
Winner- Cruiserweights Don’t Matter
Kevin G. Bufton: I predict that this will be the opener, or it’ll be relegated to the Heat webcast. As for a winner – I wouldn’t mind seeing Juvi holding a major belt.
Winner – Juvi
Randy Orton & ‘Cowboy’ Bob Orton vs. The Undertaker – Casket Match
PK: 2 on 1…ya, if the Orton’s don’t win, you might as just write off Randy.
Winners – Orton’s
Matthew Michael: Part of me wants to see Randy & Bob win and even this feud up again with Taker, but the other part feels Randy has to lose, yet again, to set up him ‘killing’ an unlikely legend: Ace.
Winner – Undertaker
Eric Szulczewski: Huzzah, a Handicap Casket Match. And it’ll also be an Angle Advancement Match. That happens when Piper comes out to interfere, causing Cowboy Bob to be planted in the casket. Piper interfering in an Undertaker match…isn’t that one of the signs of the Apocalypse?
Winner – Undertaker
Gordi: “By his very success in inventing labor-saving devices modern man has manufactured an abyss of boredom that only the privileged classes in earlier civilizations have ever fathomed” – Lewis Mumford
Winner – El Hijo del Paul Bearer
Jeremy Lambert: This match will only be good if Bob Orton wears the cast. If not, the match will suck worse than originally planned. I could care less who wins but since its the Undertaker, I say he dominates and no sells.
Winner- The Undertaker
Kevin G. Bufton: Ah, the casket match…the Undertaker’s forte. We have a problem, here, however. I don’t see ‘Taker losing clean to even a pair of Ortons, so how does Randy lose (again) without losing face? The obvious answer is that Bob Orton takes the fall and is severely incapacitated, thereby giving Randy even more reason to hate the Dead Man. This could lead to Buried Alive or Hell in a Cell at Survivor Series, where Randy finally picks up the big win, heading off to face Batista at the Rumble.
Winner – Undertaker
Chris Benoit (c) vs. Booker T vs. Christian vs. Orlando Jordan – United States Championship
PK: Benoit doesn’t have the US strap to drop it in a this match…he needs to build up someone to put over, so I say he retains…this really should be an elimination match.
Winner – Benoit
Matthew Michael: Earlier in the summer, Christian was on a roll, and they cut his legs out from under him. Now, Benoit’s on fire, and they should definitely keep the US title on him for a while, to further establish the belt. Therefore…
Winner – Christian
Eric Szulczewski: I hate Fatal Four-Ways. Put me there with Burnside in wanting an elimination match, for the same reason: get rid of Jordan and have a terrific Three-Way Dance between three guys who know each other very well and have the proven ability to keep up with themselves. But, since we’re stuck with this…look, Our Lord and Savior has spent the time since he won the title proving that he can dominate…well, dominate Orlando Jordan, anyway. This is one match that simply can’t lead to a title change. If they happen to do one…I hate to tell you this, folks, but it’s going to be Jordan winning in a fluke fashion. But we’ll ignore that for the sake of our sanity.
Winner – Chris Benoit
Gordi: “Your true traveller finds boredom rather agreeable than painful. It is the symbol of his liberty – his excessive freedom. He accepts his boredom, when it comes, not merely philosophically, but almost with pleasure.” – Aldous Huxley
Winner – El Hijo del Mr. and Mrs. Benoit
Jeremy Lambert: This match should have taken place at SummerSlam but whatever. I dont even know why Jordan is still in the title hunt after losing to Benoit 100 times under a minute. I think Christian will win and then Hardy shows up.
Winner- Christian
Kevin G. Bufton: Again, I don’t see a title change here. Benoit is the best hing to happen to the US strap since before WrestleMania and I seriously don’t think that throwaway matches like this are the way to go. Have Benoit keep the belt and then have a prolonged feud with William Regal for the gold, you know – seeing as how they’ve tore it up on Velocity TWICE now. Or maybe giving away PPV quality matches on free TV and webcasts that nobody watches is good business sense?
Winner – Chris Benoit
Batista vs. Eddie Guerrero – World Championship
PK: Eddie can carry DAVE to his best match since the draft…although that really isn’t saying much. Batista keeps the strap, but I think this is building to a switch to Eddie in the long run.
Winner – Batista
Matthew Michael: Will be a surprisingly good match, but I don’t think anyone’s expecting DAVE to drop it to such a small Mexican.
Winner – Batista
Eric Szulczewski: Williams and Burnside were right when talking about this title reign in their section on DAVE in the Top 50: there is no real projected end to it. There’s no opponent, no time frame, no anything to point to and say, “That’s where DAVE’s going to job”. He’ll definitely hold on to his title until Wrestlemania, where he’ll be facing either the Rumble winner or Edge (they’ll come up with some bullshit about Money In The Bank only being for Batista’s title). And why not? The guy’s phenomenally popular. He’s that perfect combination of build, looks, and personality that comes along rarely. But he’s old for a wrestler, so they need to strike and strike now with him. Just pencil him in for a WM main event now and live with it.
Winner – DAVE
Gordi: “Life swings like a pendulum backward and forward between pain and boredom” – Arthur Schopenhauer
Winner – El Hijo del Deca Durabolin
Jeremy Lambert: I think Batistas run starts to end here. I cant see WWE making the title switch on such a low PPV so I think everything will point to a Survivor Series rematch.
Winner- Eddie by Dusty Finish
Kevin G. Bufton: Well, as much as I’d like to see Eddie win the big one, I just don’t see it happening…yet. Quite aside from the fact that Batista is the hottest champion that the WWE has had for a while (far more so than Cena), let’s not forget that the last time Eddie held major gold, he kinda self-destructed.
Winner – Batista
WildCard Question #1
Will Raw “invade?”
PK: They tease it, and it will happen
Matthew Michael: Of course they will — they need to set up Survivor Series somehow, and this can be the beginning of a fun new storyline.
Eric Szulczewski: They’re going to have to, aren’t they? I know that Homecoming was the only opportunity to really start a cross-invasion scenario, but can they keep this up until Survivor Series? They have this PPV and Taboo Tuesday to provide large-scale invasions, with Raw and Smackdown to support things. That seems to be too much programming to sustain interest. By the time SurSer rolls around, we’ll be bored with the antics.
Gordi: Los rudos del RAW invada del SmackDown!
Jeremy Lambert: Sure, they have to set up Survivor Series somehow
Kevin G. Bufton: I think it’s not only inevitable, but essential if WWE wants to promote a SmackDown! vs. Raw Survivor Series match-up. When and how they do it is under question, but I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw them interfere in the JBL-Rey match, since both guys are rumoured to be part of the SmackDown! team.
WildCard Question #2
Will Matt Hardy show up?
PK: No way…what will he do, attack Batista?
Matthew Michael: Not yet. Best bet would be to keep him off TV until SurSer where he costs Edge the title in a WWE Championship match where Edge cashes in the MitB. Then Matt can sign with Smackdown, enter the Rumble, continue to feud with Edge, and finally blow the feud off at Mania. That is, if I were booking it…
Eric Szulczewski: No, and there’s a very logical reason for him not to, not just because I don’t want to see him. Who is the logical feud for him on Smackdown? There are only two people off the top of my head: Christian and FudgePacker. FudgePacker isn’t high enough on the ladder, so to speak, for Hardy right now. Christian is involved in the Fatal Four-Way. The best way for Hardy to have an insta-feud is to interfere in a match decision. That isn’t easy to do in a Fatal Four-Way, where things are overbooked to begin with. I say that it happens during a Benoit/Christian US title match within the next couple of weeks. But not here.
Gordi: El diablo angelical hará un aspecto!
Jeremy Lambert: After the US Title Match
Kevin G. Bufton: Yes, probably. I suspect as part of the US title match, or possibly the Cruiserweight one. Or maybe just to atack Edge if he forms part of the Raw invasion force.
