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Gregory Honay: Wonders why the Intercontinental Title isn’t being defended on the show.
Ashling Flynn: Wonders why the ECW Title is being defended on the show.
Cliff Walters: Is happy to see the Tag Team Titles being defended on the show.
Stuart Carapola: Wishes they didn’t change the title of the show.
And let’s get to the card at hand:
Women’s Title Match – Mickie James vs Katie Lea Burchill
Gregory Honay: Can we say Challenger Of The Month? Mickie is the women’s division now, and that’s not changing anytime soon.
Winner: Mickie James
Ashling Flynn: The women’s division has been thankfully stronger recently, though I don’t think this is the best match they could have put on the show. It’s something though, and we’ll get a chance to see what Katie Lea can really do in this match. I don’t think she’ll get the title.
Winner: Mickie James
Cliff Walters: Remember when we were all laughing because the women’s division meant nothing? Guess things have changed just a little bit in recent months, huh? I don’t know if Mickie James becomes the new Trish Stratus, but she’s at least good enough to be Bret Hart until someone even hotter and a better worker comes along.
Winner: Mickie James
Stuart Carapola: Mickie James is the centerpiece of the women's division, plain and simple. That title's not going anywhere until Beth Phoenix, Melina, or next year's Playmate comes looking for it.
Winner: Mickie James
Final Tally: 4-0 for Mickie James
US Title Match – Matt Hardy vs Chavo Guerrero
Gregory Honay: I really hope they don’t take the title off of Matt Hardy already. A major singles title run is a long time coming for him, and it’d really be insulting if they had him lose the title so soon.
Winner: Matt Hardy
Ashling Flynn: Okay, CHAVO IS NOT OVER. HE NEVER WILL BE. STOP TRYING TO PUSH HIM BECAUSE IT W-O-N-T W-O-R-K. He’s spent the better part of three years trying to fill Eddy’s shoes, but he’s not Eddy and never will be.
Winner: Matt Hardy
Cliff Walters: I think if they put Chavo over here, they’ve totally lost their minds. Matt Hardy is huge over, and Chavo isn’t and never has been. The only reason I can see for putting him over would be to put more gold on La Familia, but hopefully good sense will prevail.
Winner: Matt Hardy
Stuart Carapola: I don't think anybody wants to see Chavo beat Hardy for the US Title, but if you really look at it, nobody has ever wanted to see Chavo beat any of the people he's beaten for titles, but that's never stopped anyone before. However, I do think that they'll do the smart thing and keep the belt on Hardy.
Winner: Matt Hardy
Final Tally: 4-0 for Matt Hardy
WWE Tag Team Title Match – John Morrison & The Miz vs Finlay & Hornswoggle
Gregory Honay: We finally get a tag title match on a PPV and we get this? No disrespect to Finlay, but if he’s going to be in title contention, it really ought to be a serious thing and not have him teaming with the midget.
Winner: John Morrison & Miz
Ashling Flynn: This ought to be fun. I’m not sure how GOOD it’s going to be, but it’ll be fun. If nothing else, it’ll be fun watching Finlay abuse the pretty boys.
Winner: John Morrison & The Miz
Cliff Walters: Part of me says that Morrison & Miz are the best team in WWE right now, and there’s no way they’re dropping the title here. The other side says that this is WWE and they thrive on doing stupid things like putting the WWE Tag Team Title on a midget. I’m going to go with good sense and hope WWE does too.
Winner: John Morrison & The Miz
Stuart Carapola: Hey, I'm all for seeing Finlay win some gold...but not like this. I know that Hornswoggle's over and is part of Finlay's gimmick now, but I really wish they'd move Finlay back into a more serious role as a title contender.
Winner: Miz & Morrison
Final Tally: 4-0 for John Morrison & The Miz
World Tag Team Title Match – Hardcore Holly & Cody Rhodes vs Ted Dibiase & Mystery Partner
Gregory Honay: Even with the mystery partner thing, I’m finding it hard to get excited about this match. I have a feeling that no matter who the partner is, we’re going to be disappointed. That said, I think Dibiase and Partner are getting the title.
Winner: Ted Dibiase & Mystery Partner
Ashling Flynn: So I guess DH Smith is out as the partner? The other popular idea seems to be Cody Rhodes turning on Hardcore and going with Teddy Junior, but then he’d effectively be challenging himself for the title, and I would say I don’t think even WWE Creative would do something that dumb, but I’ve been proven wrong time and time again, so whatever. In any event, new champions.
Winner: Ted Dibiase & Whoever
Cliff Walters: For some reason, everybody seems to think that Dibiase’s partner will be a second generation wrestler, or at least another young guy. I’m going to go in the opposite direction and bring out somebody really old. My money’s on his dad’s old slave Nikolai Volkoff. Just kidding. I do see him coming out with a big, dumb, promo-retarded bodyguard type instead of a promising young worker though, and I think somebody like Snitsky would fit that bill perfectly, as much as it would make everybody groan.
Winner: Ted Dibiase & Snitsky(?)
Stuart Carapola: Has anyone considered the possibility of Dibiase buying off Hardcore Holly and having him turn on Rhodes instead of the other way around? No? Just asking. Whatever happens, I think we can all be certain that Dibiase's getting the title. But can he make it mean something?
Winner: Ted Dibiase & THE MYSTERY PARTNER
Final Tally: 4-0 for Ted Dibiase & his buddy
ECW Title Match – Kane vs Big Show vs Mark Henry
Gregory Honay: Yes, they thought it would be better to have this on the show than Chris Jericho defending the Intercontinental Title. Good call, guys. Well, this match will obviously be Workrate Central, and will probably end in some ridiculous highspot from Mark Henry.
Winner: Mark Henry
Ashling Flynn: Yes folks, this match is what ECW is all about. Can you feel the extreme oozing out of this one? No? Me neither.
Winner: Mark Henry
Cliff Walters: Big Show has already done the ECW Title thing, and having him do it again would just be rehash. Not that this has ever stopped WWE Creative before, but nonetheless I think Mark Henry is about to become the unstoppable monster in ECW and get what would be his first serious singles title run of his now 12 year career.
Winner: Mark Henry
Stuart Carapola: Out of these three, I'd like to see Big Show win the title the most, because he was awesome as ECW Champion before taking his little hiatus. However, I think this title is Mark Henry's for the taking.
Winner: Mark Henry
Final Tally: 4-0-0 for Mark Henry
World Title Match – Edge vs Batista
Gregory Honay: Well, it’s pretty obvious that either Edge or Triple H are going to lose the title to a Raw guy on this show. I’m going to say it won’t be Edge.
Winner: Edge
Ashling Flynn: Either Batista or Cena is going to win a title at Night Of Champions and bring it to Raw, it’s just a matter of which it’s going to be. Smackdown has been Edge’s show for a while now, so I have a feeling he goes over to stay on top.
Winner: Edge
Cliff Walters: Either Edge or Hunter has to drop the title this weekend, but I don’t see Edge losing. I think I’d have an easier time seeing Batista come to Raw acting all smug and heelish, talking like he’s going to take the top spot on Raw like he did on Smackdown than I would seeing him come in as the top guy that Cena chases. Besides, it would make no sense having Edge lose to a guy on his way off Smackdown.
Winner: Edge
Stuart Carapola: Okay, so I've got a different idea than everyone else seems to, and it revolves around the two top titles. I'll save my explanation for the next match, and for now I'll just say Edge retains.
Winner: Edge
Final Tally: 4-0 for Edge
WWE Title Match – Triple H vs John Cena
Gregory Honay: Great, let’s get this match over with, get the title back on Superman, and move on with our lives, shall we?
Winner: John Cena
Ashling Flynn: Since I had Edge going over in his title match, it would then follow that Triple H drop the title to Cena here, leaving him back on top on Raw where he’ll have the long-awaited, epic feud with Batista. Smell the sarcasm?
Winner: John Cena
Cliff Walters: So with Edge retaining the World Title against Batista, it would then go without saying that Triple H has to drop the WWE Title to John Cena. Let’s face it, Raw is the #1 show, John Cena is the #1 wrestler on that show, and nothing else makes sense, both in my eyes and WWE’s, than having Cena stay strong, and beating the guy the “other†fans see as the #1 guy on his way off the show would really help sustain that image.
Winner: John Cena
Stuart Carapola: Okay, so here's my big idea: It may be title consolidation time. A major complaint for a couple of years now is that there's too many titles, and the IC, US, and ECW Titles have all become basically meaningless. So here's what I think would be a cool plan: Leave Matt Hardy on ECW, he's the US Champion and will defend the title there. On Raw, you've got the IC and ECW Champions, have them wrestle one another to unify the belts. Then on Smackdown, you have both Edge and Triple H retain, and then unify the titles in the reasonably near future. That way you've got one singles title on each show, and one women's and tag title on both Raw and Smackdown. All of a sudden, presto, you're able to concentrate more on each title and give each a better chance at getting on each PPV. Will it happen? Probably not, but I think it would be a good idea, so there's my vote!
Winner: Triple H
Final Tally: 3-1 for John Cena
* * *
Well, it looks like aside from my lone dissenting vote on the Cena/Triple H match, the predictions are completely unanimous. This could very well be the most predictable PPV in WWE history, but we'll see if our predictions bear out. So there you have it, feel free as always to send your thoughts on our Roundtable or the show itself to stupwinsider@yahoo.com, and we’ll see you soon. Thanks for reading!
