I have to ask. They are bluntly naming most PPV’s (Money in the Bank, Fatal Fourway, Elimination Chamber), and eliminating other concepts that I loved (Night of Champions, Breaking Point). So, why do we have Extreme Rules still, when the term “Extreme” is used almost ironically?
Regardless, it’s upon us. I know, I can’t believe it either. Some interesting news has hit the IWC, however, and certain debuts are implied. So, what will this PPV bring us?
WWE Championship Match- Triple Threat Cage Match
The Miz(c) vs. John Cena vs. John Morrison
Steven Gepp: This match will be all hype and little substance. Cena will bring the glitz, Morrison with bring the flash, and Miz will bring the crowd along. So, here’s how I would like this to go. Cena does not win. But because whoever does win will get a big pop, this will start that much talked-about heel turn (hasn’t that started already? Or is he just trying to be Stone Cold John Cena?). Thus Wrestlemania is set better.
How extreme will this be? Somewhere between extreme ironing and sleeping outside in summer with no insect repellent.
Winner: (just because it’s my pick) Morrison
Mike Gojira: I’m gonna go ahead and give the win to The Miz here, as R-Truth will cost Morrison the match and del Rio will take out Cena to get involved in a feud with him.
Winner: The Miz (over the top of the cage)
Chris Biscuiti: OK, remember all those times when R-Truth was attacked from behind and taken out of matches? Well, since the R in R-Truth now stands for REVENGE, I see him attacking John Morrison and hurting him so badly before the cage is locked in place that Truth actually reclaims the spot in this match that he lost overseas. Not that he’ll win, or anything, as Miz needs to pin someone not named John Cena and retain his Letter M title here.
Winner and still Letter M champion: The Miz
Chris Sanders: I think R-Truth is going to interfere with this match and that will nullify Morrison so with that said I’m not exactly sure where that leaves us. The thing is, we didn’t really get a whole lot out of Miz or Cena in the past week. Cena is probably gonna be what Rock concentrates on the next night so him having the title is irrelevant so that process of elimination leads me to one choice.
Winner: The Miz
Rhett Davis: This match should be a good one, but I can’t help but to forget that this match has John Morrison in it and that it is a Steel Cage. JoMo has been more involved with R-Truth than he has Miz or Cena. Have Cena and Miz even had any involvement with JoMo since he took the #1 Contendership from R-Truth? I don’t think so, but regardless the JoMo/Truth feud is soon to come to a head and giving it a title isn’t really necessary. Therefore I’m down to Cena and The Miz. The Miz will probably win just because it’s a Steel Cage match and he can get a conniving win that way. Such as Cena climbing over the cage when Miz pins JoMo.
Winner (and STILL WWE Champion): The Miz
Matthew Michaels: I can definitely see WWE putting the belt on Cena and having him defend it vs. The Rock at Mania next year, but this soon? Miz is just too good as champion. Oh and Morrison doesn’t have a chance. IF Cena wins, he pins the other John, I’m afraid. (ONLY reason I can see Morrison winning is if they randomly want to play up his Tough Enough history, but they can do that with Miz too.)
Winner: The Miz
Kelly Floyd: What a sad day. One of my favorite wrestlers is the champ, and I can’t muster up any excitement over it. I can’t really say what I think will happen, but I can say what I hope won’t.
How many beers I’ll need to enjoy this match: 6
Winner (fingers crossed): The Miz
World Heavyweight Championship-Ladder Match
Christian vs. Alberto Del Rio
Steven Gepp: No matter what we get a new champion and that is only a good thing. I have got the feeling they are going a little cold recently on Del Rio. Not sure why, it just seems to me that’s what’s happening. And to give the crowd some sort of feel-good thing after Edge’s going away party, I think he’ll interfere.
How extreme will this be? Chris Benoit/Jeff Jarrett WCW ladder match extreme (minus the blood).
Winner: Christian
Mike Gojira: Before del Rio was sent to Raw, I believed he would finally take the gold. It’s not out of the realm of possibility for the WWE to give us two world champions on one show, but it looks like this is finally Christian’s time to shine.
Winner: Christian
Chris Biscuiti: Could this FINALLY be Christian’s time to hold the Big Gold Belt? God I hope so…
Winner and new champion: (cue old-school heel Christian theme music and say:) CHRISTIANNNNNN, CHRISTIANNNNN, AT LAST, YOU HOLD THE GOLDDDDDDD
Chris Sanders: Here’s where Christian is going to get the “thank you” that he deserves. I’ve been saying after Edge retired a couple weeks ago that Christian has been doing pretty much all the grunt work that WWE didn’t want to risk Edge doing. I believe WWE is now going to say thanks to Christian for kinda being the glue that held everything together to get Edge to Wrestlemania. As for Alberto Del Rio, maybe a new rivalry with unfold as he moves to Raw.
Winner: Christian
Rhett Davis: I love both of these guys and I’d be content if either of them win, but with ADR going to Raw, it only makes sense that Christian wins. Plus it could also be a sort of homage to Edge.
Winner (and NEW World Heavyweight Champion): Christian
Matthew Michaels: If Del Rio moving to Raw is a swerve to make us all think Christian will win – since SD MUST have a title right? – then I guess I fell for it. Only way I see Del Rio winning is if the plan is to merge the two belts on Raw, and go back to the 2002 “Champ defends on both shows” gimmick (which I’d be fine with by the way).
Winner: Christian
Kelly Floyd: Just because some of their ideas are stupid (okay, most), doesn’t mean that the WWE IS stupid. I’m sure, since del Rio was moved to Raw, that they know everyone has already congratulated Christian in their minds for finally earning the strap. I could see something tricky going on where Alberto wins, and I hate when the Roundtables are unanimous. So once more, I’m going to be obnoxious and choose del Rio. Suck it, logic!
How many beers I’ll need to enjoy this match: 0. I want to remember everything about this match.
Winner: Alberto del Rio
Tag Team Country Whipping Match
Jerry Lawler & Jim Ross vs. Michael Cole & Jack Swagger
Steven Gepp: So we get this match and no Corre, no Daniel Bryan, no Kofi Kingston, no Natalya, no Beth Phoenix? Please don’t let this go longer than 5 minutes, but I am dreading this one immensely…
How extreme will this be? Extremely stupid.
Winner: Not the audience… what? Okay… Lawler/Ross and can this feud PLEASE go away now?
Mike Gojira: Ugh. Way to take a novel feud and “TNA” it. JR and King need this win to finally shut Cole up and make up for all the crap he’s put them through.
Winners: King and JR
Chris Biscuiti: Please. End. This. Feud………NOW.
Winners: Lawler and Ross LLC (sounds like a law firm, doesn’t it?)
Chris Sanders: For once the “bathroom break” match isn’t the Diva match. I’m not sure anybody wants to see this happen again especially this time with JR in the mix. But with that being said, I’m sure WWE wants to milk this for as long as they can.
Winner: Michael Cole and Jack Swagger
Rhett Davis: Great… this is almost as terrible and embarrassing as the Jarrett feud. It’s time to get this dumb match, this dumb gimmick, this dumb feud, and dismiss it. As for my pick I’m choosing the guy who lost at Mania after everyone figured he would win.
Winner: Jerry Lawler & Jim Ross
Matthew Michaels: Lawler and Ross have to win right?
Winner: JR & King
Kelly Floyd: Ugh.
How many beers I’ll need to enjoy this match: 13
Winner: My cigarette.
Last Man Standing
Randy Orton vs. CM Punk
Steven Gepp: You know, I think Orton has done well in getting himself over the way he has. However, as an in-ring performer, he is rather dull. Punk, on the other hand, can really bring it. However, Punk’s recent reluctance to extend his contract could see this go 2 ways – either he is jobbed out, or the company says “we want you†and he finally gets the win.
How extreme will this be? Street luge. But wearing padding and helmets and with straw bales at the side of the road.
Winner: CM Punk
Mike Gojira: With rumors swirling that Punk is done with the ‘E once his contract runs out, expect a punt from Orton to send him packing. Let’s face it: Orton has dominated this feud; to lose now after being drafted to Smackdown would only add fuel to their fire and not bring proper closure.
Winner: Randy Orton
Chris Biscuiti: Let’s see — Punk may be on his way out of WWE in a few months, and Randall Keith Orton is now SmackDown’s top face. Orton will need to be protected here, so perhaps to put a spin on this whole thing the New Nexus just decimates Punk during this match to signal the end of this failed experiment with Punk as their leader.
Winner: Randy Orton
Chris Sanders: There’s a few things that could happen here. On one hand, the two could have a great match where nobody gets any sort of edge and then Nexus comes out to interfere and Punk will win OR Nexus can come up and attack CM Punk to play up the dissension between Punk and the Nexus. The dissension showed between Punk and Mason Ryan happened a few weeks ago but little has been made of it since so there’s a possibility that it will be overshadowed. However, I’m sure WWE wants Orton to lead the way into Smackdown strongly seeing as how he’ll probably become the go-to guy over there.
Winner: Randy Orton
Rhett Davis: I’ll go ahead and say that this will be MOTN. I expect this match to get really nasty and horrid, which is great for me. But since Orton has won EVERYTHING between these two, I think Punk will win this match with only partial help from Nexus. I would agree that Orton needs the legitimacy, but Punk needs the win more so.
Winner: CM Punk
Matthew Michaels: If Punk’s contract is up anyway, whether or not he comes back eventually, might as well let Orton win this feud outright and move on. Plus Orton’s gonna be the top dog on Smackdown along with Christian so a win’s more important to him here.
Winner: Randy
Kelly Floyd: Am I just biased? Why do I only care about the Blue Crew? Anything from Raw is just…there. Even though I have the Randy Orton Fatal Fourway poster hanging in my room and the CM Punk Night of Champions poster (and I’m not ashamed to admit it!), I can already see myself checking my mobile Facebook. I really don’t see Randy losing this, as his victory will be a high five to him on his way over to Smackdown.
How many beers I’ll need to enjoy this match: 2
Winner: Randy Orton
Falls Count Anywhere
Rey Mysterio vs. Cody Rhodes
Steven Gepp: This two have some great chemistry together and I would love to see them be given a decent amount of time to really work the match. With Mysterio going to Raw, this should essentially be the blow off to this entertaining little feud, and that makes the call even harder to judge.
How extreme will this be? Somewhere between car surfing and ghosting.
Winner: Rey Mysterio
Mike Gojira: I think Cody will take the win here but be unable to capitalize on his threat due to Sin Cara’s interference. Why do I believe this? With Rey’s win not long ago on Smackdown, it seems like the ‘E was giving him a measure of revenge so the feud wouldn’t be one-sided.
Winner: Cody Rhodes
Chris Biscuiti: Cody got the huge push and the big WrestleMania win, so now it’s time to keep Rey happy and put him on a roll now that he will be one of Raw’s top faces. With that said, I’d LOVE Cody to do something sick here and really cement himself as a real top-tier force to be reckoned with on the blue show.
Winner: Rey Mysterio
Chris Sanders: Not a whole lot has been added to this storyline since their Wrestlemania match so I don’t really see the end changing much. I still think Mysterio is gonna take some time away soon and a long grueling match with Rhodes is a great way to begin that. Getting rid of Mysterio would be a great heel move for Rhodes and could lead to a great return/revenge story for when Mysterio would return. I say its a win-win but I’m merely speculating so who knows what the end-game is on this.
Winner: Cody Rhodes
Rhett Davis: This match will also be a great match. I’ll expect Cody to win to thoroughly increase the push of Cody throughout the rest of the SmackDown! Rey could win, but there would really not be much of a reason for it unless it’s to build him up for his big trade.
Winner: Cody Rhodes
Matthew Michaels: Give it to Cody!
Winner: Cody
Kelly Floyd: Cody, Cody, Cody. We watched him grow from the lisping statue behind Randy and Tedward, to this magical goldmine. Rey is moving over to the A-Show after this is all said and done, and doesn’t really need this win. But Cody could use it for some good momentum, especially with the deja vu that is the Legacy reunion.
How many beers I’ll need to enjoy this match: 1
Winner: Cody Rhodes
No DQ, Loser Leaves WWE
Michelle McCool vs Layla
Steven Gepp: Is Mrs Taker losing her first real singles feud? Really? Look, McCool may actually be able to wrestle, but I fear the same cannot be said for Layla. I expect this to vie with the tag match for worst match of the night honours, and if it wasn’t for the 90 second title match at TNA (the one where Hardcore Country won), it could well be the worst PPV female match of the year.
How extreme will this be? Monopoly X-Treme
Winner: Michelle McCool
Mike Gojira: Layla loses. Why? She’s not sleeping with Mark Callaway.
Winner: Michelle McCool
Chris Biscuiti: With rumors swirling around that Michelle McCool might be on her way out of WWE (baby Takers perhaps?!?!), two things have become clear: 1. Layla will win this match; 2. KHARMA (Kong) will be the reason Layla wins this match, especially with the No DQ stipulation that Layla slyly suggested on SmackDown.
Winner: LayCool becomes LayKong and Michelle McCool leaves WWE (for now) to resttttt, innnnnnn, peaceeeeee.
Chris Sanders: Here’s one of the few Diva storyline that people actually are somewhat interested in. I don’t think McCool is leaving Smackdown anytime soon so on that logic alone, I’m gonna assume Layla will lose.
Winner: Michelle McCool
Rhett Davis: This match…. will be a typical Divas match that no one cares about and everyone takes a smoke/bathroom/snack break. I could see either winning, but the loser leaves WWE. I guess that means that Layla will be winning so McTaker can go spend time with her hubby.
Winner: Layla
Matthew Michaels: Layla needs this more, plus there’s that rumor I keep reading about…
Winner: Miss El
Kelly Floyd: This match sounds great. Which, of course, means it’ll probably be cut down to under a minute.
How many beers I’ll need to enjoy this match: 5
Winner: Layla
