Looking Ahead – 27th June 2006
Hello there my fine, sexy looking and not too shabby readers. How are you all feeling today? Good? Not bad? Terrible? Well, come rain or shine, I’ll always try to take you away to a place where you can forget your worries, escape your troubles and let your imagination run riot.
Let’s take a journey…
But First!
Check these fine articles/columns/whatever the hell you want to call them out. All worth a gander.
PK with “You Don’t Know Jakks”
Sproll – Soft Science – Romanada reviews a band I’ve never heard of, but they sound alright so I’ll probably check them out. So should you.
The Rabble once again brought to you by James Hatton. Good read.
Kyle David Paul reviews Dashboard Connfessional’s “Dusk and Summer” disc. Well worth a read, and a listen.
Look on the Bright Side with Steve Murray. I Love this column.
SMACKDOWN
Next PPV – Great American Bash; 23/7/06
The Announced Card
No Matches Announced Yet
Speculation…
Batista vs. Mark Henry
I’m still going for Mark Henry vs. Batista for Big Dave’s first feud back from injury. This is pretty obvious, unless they go for the swerve heel turn from Batista on Rey. I can’t think of a reason (other than the title should be “his”), but I think it’d be pretty attention-grabbing, and might shift some of the focus of the casual fans (if they exist anymore) to SmackDown.
Rey Mysterio vs. The Great Khali OR Mark Henry – World Championship
I really can’t see what direction Mysterio is heading to. He’s not really feuding with anybody, and he’s still toying with the “little guy-who-scrapes-a-win” gimmick, so I’ve no idea who to put him up against. He apparently got his first win over Mark Henry last week, so Henry might be looking for revenge. But then where does that leave Batista?
I can also see The Great Khali somehow getting a shot at the title at the GAB, which would be a perfect place for The Undertaker to make his return and cost Khali the victory. That sets up the Khali-Taker match for SummerSlam, and let’s Rey keep his title for a bit longer. The latter is probably the safest.
Bobby Lashley vs. Booker T
This feud is one of the best things I’ve seen in months. You know when you can just feel that something magic is happening? I have that feeling. Plus, you know that Lashley is the future of the brand, and so do the bookers. Which means, my friends, that we’ll be seeing feud after feud after feud pitting Lashley against experienced workers that can bring out the best in him, but that can also teach him new skills and polish up his act. Once he’s disposed of King Booker at SummerSlam, maybe a program with William Regal would be a good idea. Or, moving on from the Royal side of things, a few months feuding with Mark Henry might be an idea. Yeah, I know I said that they should pit Bobby against people who can bring out the best in him, but it could be a tester-feud to see if he can carry a match on his own yet.
Super Crazy vs. Psicosis
The eventual Crazy – Psicosis split gives one of them a reason to jump to ECW I suppose, but really, did they have to split them up in the first place? They were going so well, and were the top face tag team on SD until Kendrick and London passed them in the ranks and got the titles. I’d have turned them both heel and thrown them into a program with Kendrick & London for the tag straps. Can you just imagine the quality matches we’d see from them if they went that route? (minus the crappy “not getting along” shit we saw last week).
Ken Kennedy vs. Simon Dean
Kennedy’s just starting to get on a roll again, with his win over Funaki last week. Knowing the WWE, he’ll go over a few more people before he bothers to start a program with anybody. Why they just can’t kick-start a feud straight away I’ll never know. The guy can talk, so why not just let him interrupt somebody’s interview time and start a small feud that way?
Anyway… tangent over. I’d put him over Simon Dean, just to get some face time in, then move him onto a feud for SummerSlam. Kennedy vs. King Booker would be a treat just for the verbal attacks alone.
RAW & SmackDown! (& Probably ECW)
Next PPV – SummerSlam; 20/08/06
The Announced Card
N/A
Speculation…
Rey Mysterio vs. Chavo Guerrero
Whether the World Belt is around the waist of Mysterio or not, this is a great match for the PPV. It’s one of the “Big 5”, so is the perfect stage for a feud of this nature. If it ever happens, which I believe it will at some point.
Batista vs. King Booker
They can play off the “fight” they had a while back, and it keeps Batista away from the World Title scene while Mysterio drops it to somebody. Hell… it could be Chavo who he drops it to. Hmmm… They could go the route of having Chavo knob Reys’ wife, which would give Rey a reason to leave SmackDown for a short time due to stress or something like that (while he goes to have knee surgery). Batista could then pick up his World Title hunt, as revenge for Chavo doing what he did to Rey. Batista beats Chavo for the title, which puts Batista in the World Title frame again, and leaves the Rey-Chavo feud to pick up again without the World title to hamper them.
Sorry for that, but I love letting my mind wander.
Back to Batista vs. King Booker. Yeah… they might as well.
The Undertaker vs. The Great Khali
Die Khalil Die… Die Khali Die… Die Khali Die…
Ok, so I don’t really want the guy to die, but I do want him to go back to OVW for a good few months. Ney, years. Ney, decades. He might improve slightly if he does.
Bobby Lashley vs. Mark Henry
As explained earlier on, this would be an opportune time to see if Bobby can carry a match by himself yet. A win over Henry would also look good on his early résumé, plus it’d help propel him towards the main event, where he should be this time next year.
DX vs. The McMahons
It looks like we’ll get this match at SummerSlam, if the actions on this week’s Raw are anything to go by. It should be a fun trip until then too. I loved the skits on Raw last night, long may they continue!
John Cena vs. Edge vs. RVD for the WWE Championship
I can’t see RVD dropping the WWE World Title anytime soon, so SummerSlam is the best place to end his run and let him stay on ECW. From my calculations, then 12 week run of ECW on Sci-Fi ends sometime around SummerSlam, so we may or may not see a few ECW matches on the card too. Whatever happens, (hopefully a new ECW TV deal NOT on the Sci-Fi channel) RVD should drop the title back to either Cena or Edge. I’d prefer Edge, so they can have Cena challenge for the title again (a position that best suits him).
Johnny Nitro & Melina vs. Carlito & Trish
I’m just going by what we saw on Raw yesterday, but it’s safe to say we’ll see a combination of a Carlito vs. Nitro match on the card. Making it a mixed tag match gets Melina and Trish on the card too, freeing up some space for another match along the line.
RAW
Next PPV – Unforgiven; 17/9/06
The Announced Card
Naff all announced yet, and it’s a bit too early to start speculating. Maybe next week we’ll have a clearer view of what direction Raw is going in.
Due to problems with my Sky TV box I’ve still not seen Vengeance (in the process of downloading it though), so I can’t comment on it, which I was going to do here. So I’ll wrap this up.
Top 5… Old-School Finishing Moves
5. Doomsday Device – LOD
4. Figure Four Leg Lock – Flair
3. Cobra Clutch – Sgt. Slaughter
2. Legdrop of Doom – Hogan
1. DDT – Jake Roberts
Stay easy…
Danny Wallace.
