Wow everybody! I have definitely failed at blogging this week. Sorry about that. I’ve been buried in pre-show paperwork and school work, thus leaving not so much time for writing about wrestling. Never fear though! Sunday always means random thoughts around these parts.
– I’m actually excited for Triple H’s impending return. I don’t see it happening before the Royal Rumble, but his act will be at least semi-fresh before he comes back, which is a good thing.
– The aesthetics of Old School Raw were amazing. WWE really went above and beyond with everything they did. The universally good reviews of this show help to reenforce my point that changing up Raw on occasion is a really great idea.
– While doing some paperwork this week I popped in King of the Ring 2002 which featured Brock Lesnar winning the tournament and a really boring Triple H vs Undertaker match. Not a bad show, but definitely a different one than we’re used to today. Even then, anyone who didn’t think Lesnar was on the fast track to the championship was blind.
– Once again, we had Ric Flair return to the ring this week. His match was the basic Flair that we’re used to. I’m just surprised as how special Flair wrestling is not. Why have him in your company if you are going to make his in-ring appearances feel like anything special? I’m surprised that he agrees to wrestle at all without it feeling like a major situation.
– Why is Jeff Hardy still using the Swanton Bomb? He was getting over with just the Twist of Hate. The Swanton Bomb as been the major babyface move of the last couple years, so it doesn’t make sense to believe that people will not cheer a heel doing it. A lot of the high risk moves need to be taken out of Hardy’s move set, since he should not be playing for the cheers of the crowd now.
– It’s a little bit sad now to see Hulk Hogan gingerly walk out on Impact. I know he is hurt, but he just looks like a broken man and not a legend.
– So, why isn’t Douglas Williams in Fortune anymore?
– TNA needs to try something new aesthetically. There is no rule that wrestling has to look like WWE. Why not change the Impact Zone and take out the giant entrance stage and such. This would differentiate the product and make it look a little bit more real. Also, then TNA wouldn’t look like WWE Junior.
And now onto my Survivor Series Predictions!
US Championship Match: Daniel Bryan vs Ted DiBiase: I want to point out that Bryan beat DiBiase a few weeks ago on Raw in a match that lasted maybe four minutes. I expect the result to be the same in this match, but the two of them will wrestle for about ten minutes. WWE has really allowed Bryan to shine on PPV these last couple months and I expect this to be no different.
Intercontinental Championship Match: Dolph Ziggler vs Kaval: Kaval showed on Friday night that he had made a connection with the crowd. He will need this match to show that off. It’s important for Kaval to have a good showing here if he hopes to get any sort of push in the future. Without a great showing, I think we’ll see Kaval on a future endeavors list this time next year. Dolph Ziggler will have a decent performance as always and win the match.
Diva’s Championship Match: LayCool vs Natalya: I’ve got to say that I don’t care. It would be silly to have this match again if they weren’t going to put the belt on Natalya, so Natalya wins.
John Morrison vs Sheamus: This match has had a nice slow build on Raw and despite that build including Sheamus losing to Santino, I’ve enjoyed it a lot. I’ve been looking forward to this one for a while and believe that the two of them will mesh well and deliver a good match. Sheamus will win this one and John Morrison has a chance at a breakout singles performance.
Tag Team Championship Match: Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater vs Santino and Vladimir Kozlov: I’m not exactly looking forward to this match. I believe that the tag team titles need to stay on The Nexus, so having them lose would be a mistake. However, Santino and Kozlov are super over at this moment and WWE doesn’t want to lose the chance with them. I’ll go with Nexus to retain by shady means.
Team Mysterio vs Team Del Rio: I’m happy to see a Survivor Series match on this show, even if we have seen elimination matches a lot lately. Team Mysterio has two wrestlers that are capable of much more than they are getting in MVP and Kofi Kingston. They should have a good night tonight. As for who wins, I’ll pick Alberto Del Rio to win and for this match to help catapult him to the future main event picture.
World Heavyweight Championship Match: Kane vs Edge: I hated the Kane and Edge segments on Friday night. What was the point of Edge spilling chicken wings on Paul Bearer? I know this is to torment Kane, but why did Edge throw a ball at Bearer’s head? That hardly seems like a babyface move to me. I expect this match to end Kane’s championship run and for Edge to carry the Smackdown brand on his shoulders like it was 2007 all over again.
WWE Championship Match: Randy Orton vs Wade Barrett: This is the free or fired match with John Cena as the special referee. I don’t feel like they have done quite enou with Cena in Nexus, but no matter what it ends tonight. This should be a really good match. It is no disqualifications, which means that Barrett’s weaknesses will be easier to hide. The Roddy Piper promo on Monday’s Raw was one of the best go-home promos I’ve ever seen, so hopefully this match will deliver. I’ll pick Wade Barrett to win this match and go with a Cena beat down post match, I wouldn’t be surprised to see at The Miz cash in tonight and leave as WWE Champion, but I secretly hope he doesn’t.
That’s all for this week folks! Thanks for reading!
