A Week in Preview 5.26.08

Monday May 26th – Sunday June 1st

Welcome to another edition of A Week in Preview. This is your guide to wrestling this week from the biggest promotions in the United States, where I look forward to the next week in the unique world of professional wrestling. I look at all the “must-see” shows and moments that are confirmed for the following week, as well as predicting some things that may transpire.

Well, I thought Raw was very enjoyable this week, to be honest, save a few segments. Naturally, the number one priority was to set up One Night Stand, and they did that perfectly with the main event and the beat down that followed. Randy Orton picking a Last Man Standing match makes perfect sense, since in kayfabe terms he knows how to beat HHH there, and any rematch from No Mercy is very much appreciated.

JBL and Cena’s rivalry continued this week, as I expected, and as predicted they seem to be blowing it off with a first blood match. To take the opposite end of the spectrum to most people, I’m a bit concerned with how many defeats Cena is taking lately, so he really needs to win this feud (as he will) and feud with HHH for a bit, even if he doesn’t win the title.

One of the big stories of the week was Kennedy defeating Regal to “fire” him from Raw. While we all know why this was the case now, I think it’s done wonders for Kennedy as he looks to be built as a face. Right now, he’s the hottest act in the company that hasn’t held a world title before, and it’s going really good for him. The set up and execution of the match was perfectly done, I feel, since it had to be booked quickly, and the fact that Kennedy got an awesome pop out of it means that WWE have made good of a bad situation.

The best match of the week came this week from Batista when he took on Chris Jericho just to get a match with Shawn Michaels. This worked on many, many levels, since it gave us our match for One Night Stand, we got a good match out of it, and we (the viewer) knows how much Batista wants to hurt Shawn Michaels. And the stretcher match stipulation works as well, which makes this even sweeter. Actually, with the exception of the Singapore Cane and arguably the First Blood match, I’d say that all the stipulations for One Night Stand all make perfect sense in correlation with the feud.

Also on Raw, the women’s division is actually getting a bit of build, and we have more than just one story going on at once, which is always good. I know I am, and a lot of others, are quite enthusiastic about the rejuvenated women’s division, even if it will only be until Night of the Champions. I’m glad they’re pushing Katie Lea as a wrestler, and not her and Burchill as the new generation of Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia. Elsewhere, Jeff Hardy fought Umaga once again this week. These two just click perfectly, and I can’t wait until their match at One Night Stand, because they have great chemistry. Seriously, I don’t mind how many times they’ve fought; their matches are wonderful to watch.

For the second week in a row, I have no complaints about ECW this week, outside of Kofi Kingston vs. Shelton Benjamin. I’m glad Benjamin won, as new guys shouldn’t always go on a huge undefeated streak, and feuds are more likely to get him over at this point than wins, which probably doesn’t make a lot of sense unless I explained it properly. Still, I wish they could have had more time because their match was getting good, but instead we got a diluted version of a far better match. At least Kofi looked really impressive this week.

This week on Tuesday Nights was all about setting up the number one’s contender match for One Night Stand. I thought it was brilliantly done with a fun tag match and then a really great beat down by Big Show at the end, which gives Show some good direction, something he’s not had in a while, so it all works in my book. The actual match at One Night Stand seems a bit random, I’d rather they drop the Singapore Cane stipulation and change it to just an Extreme Rules match, so they have more chance to be innovative. Really hard match to call a winner too, which always helps. In all honesty, Dreamer or Chavo has to take the fall here, there’s just too much potential in the other three right now.

On the Blue side of things, once again I’m saddened by the lack of build to new storylines. When looking up and down at WWE’s most recent cards, they seem to be very Raw-heavy, which is understandable for the ECW brand, since its roster is light, but SmackDown! is getting nothing here either, and even ECW has more stories happening right now. Where’s Michael Hayes when you need him?

So naturally, I’m basically left with scraps here to talk about. The only dominant feud is Undertaker and Edge, which developed again this week with Undertaker taking out Chavito very quickly, while Vickie looked to stack the decks on Undertaker by announcing a TLC match (which Edge dominates in ahem despite the fact he’s lost nearly as many as he’s won). To top it off, Vickie says that if Undertaker doesn’t win, he’s fired. From a storyline standpoint, this makes perfect sense, and people don’t seem to recognize that as much as they should. People jumped the gun and said “well, now its obvious ‘Taker’s winning”, and they do have a point, so it’s a double edged sword. There’s making sense, and then there’s unpredictability. Still, more Edge vs. Taker is fine by me! The only way anyone can see Edge losing is by swerving us and having Taker getting fired, which would only work if Teddy Long came out and reversed it, which I’d probably mark out for, since I’m a big Long fan. Yeah, I said it.

SmackDown! did continue the Shelton-Kofi feud, as Kofi managed to get his win back on Benjamin, which I’m fine with. Heck, imagine if they got a match at One Night Stand! I know, we’ve got about as much chance as Hulk Hogan getting his son out of jail.

Batista, who this week was one of the best performers, continued his hot streak by defeating MVP (after interrupting his VIP lounge) just four days after beating Y2J in order to get a match with HBK. So many three letter words. Anyway, that match was set up nice and quickly, and Batista, right now, needs momentum to put over that he’s A WRECKING MACHINE, and wants to kill Shawn Michaels. Seriously, I have no complaints with MVP losing. Since when was losing to Batista a big deal, he’s the second biggest face on SmackDown.

I do have to give credit to SmackDown! though. No storyline advancement outside of the ones already mentioned, but we were treated to some more really good matches. WWE’s free TV matches are starting to get consistently good, so I would love this to continue. All we need now is less predictable stories and original ideas. I mean, how awesome would it be for CM Punk to cash in Money in the Bank after Triple H’s last man standing match, beat him with the Pepsi Plunge (admit it, you’d mark for it), and then give this awesome heel promo about how people called him a loser, and that his fans were nothing more than Indy fan boys? It’s that kind of thing that WWE really need, because their in-ring product is fine right now.

iMPACT. Rocked. This is what people love to see. The beat down of AJ made absolute total sense, and was the highlight of the week for me. AJ looked like a star, and Angle looked like the baddest motherfucker on the face of this earth, and the inclusion of Karen Angle even worked. Kudos to TNA, it seems like they’ve actually found a good booking method. Keep up the good work, but I have to say the eventual AJ and Kurt match will kick so much ass, they couldn’t possibly have a bad match, and could potentially have a classic.

Also this week we had two announced entrants into King of the Mountain match, with Robert Roode and Booker T. The qualifying matches were pretty lackluster due to the lack of time given to the matches (and for the latter’s, the general poor quality of the match), and both were pretty predictable (I know I called AJ to be in it last week, but I knew T had to be in the match).

Once again, the tag team brought the awesome this week. LAX got absolutely destroyed this week again by Team 3D, even getting a second blade job in as many weeks, which is good going. I doubt LAX are losing on their first defense, so they might as well make it a well built up match, that’s for sure. I’m really looking forward to seeing where this one’s going.

Comments:

Good column, Stuart. I especially enjoyed the tributes to Davey Boy (one of my
favorites) and Owen (another great). Owen was such a professional in his
craft. Whether given a lame gimmick or shitty story line, he didn’t bitch and
made it work. Compared to Owen, Bret Hart should be ashamed of his prima donna
ways. As far as I’m concerned, the wrong Hart brother died that day.

Great job.

Well, while I can’t say I agree with the wrong Hart brother comment, I do have to admit that Owen was a hell of a professional and really should have been a WWE Champion well before his death. I’m glad you liked my special tributes, and you liked the column. Keep the comments coming.

Ok ok, you lost me with the Jeff Hardy/push/give him a chance bullcrap. So we
shall move on to (as you said) the real issue on Raw: Orton’s music… ugh,
terrible.

I agree 100% with Morrison this week, they can keep him as a tag wrestler who
gets some big wins then eventually pull the trigger on his singles push

To be fair, I actually said I am impartial on the Jeff Hardy situation, and I stand by that point. Hardy is a fine competitor, and a solid worker, but he did screw up. However, on the other hand, there’s always the fact that he is mega over, and WWE will really want to keep it that way, so it makes sense for them to capitalize on that. Like I said, I’m impartial, and if he starts going over the likes of Punk, Kennedy and Jericho (who, in all honesty, should be main eventing by this time next year) then it becomes a bad situation. But Jeff Hardy has gone through his suspension. Yes, he fucked up, but I think losing out on the biggest opportunity and win of his life is punishment enough. I’m not trying to justify his actions, because he was an idiot, but Jeff Hardy lost out on the chance to be WWE Champion. But I think its time to forgive and forget – sure, if he does it again, then he’s a total cock and deserves what’s coming to him (and if I remember rightly, he’s getting fired), but for now, he’s done his time, and now it’s into the healing process. People berating him isn’t going to help anyone get over this.

But in response to the rest of your comment, I have to say I do hope they pull the trigger on a Morrison push, particularly for the ECW Title. I don’t see the title as meaningless as others do, and so far the reign of Kane has been very entertaining, as the quality of ECW’s programming has shot up with him as champion. Good shit.

I have to disagree with you about Cade and Murdoch. While they were not the most
over wrestlers, by the end of the segment, the fans just HATED Cade. It also got
Murdoch some sympathy. They were not over going in, but Cade betraying Murdoch
helped a bunch.

Unfortunately, I just can’t see the positive side to the Cade and Murdoch situation. Yes, the fans hated Cade, but they haven’t followed it up well at all. Even a mini-Raw feud with Jericho would have sufficed, but they’ve blown it, I feel. Which is a shame, since I can actually see a lot of potential in Cade.

Bull a da woods…HOLY SHIT! –
So very wrong, yet so very right i guess!! I would have phrased it
differently but yer right on that one in a bizzaro compliment kinda way… Owen
ruled! the king of Harts!!
Cade & Murdoch is a fun angle, i dig it…. let’s re-hash the Murdoch-
Mickie James connection & have Murdoch attack Cena for his date w
Mickie…. that will never happen but it would be fun.
Morrison ( & Miz) truly are great to watch, CMZZzz could learn alot from
those 2… CMZzzz’s best bet is to be Mr$ITB w Miz & Morrison as his allies,
a new stable!
that will never happen either i guess… want to like Kane but he’s been
bitched out too many times, he needs to lose to someone like shelton… why the
hell not?
Tommy Dreamer blows now, that’s a shame, we’re from the same area & he
get’s crapped out all the time….
…& what’s w Big-show telling Henry to “pick on someone your own
size”? shit? Rey Mysterio & Mayweather? wha? WWE fans attention spans
aren’t that short are they?
…what was i saying?

You make some interesting points to do with the Big Show (seriously, two months for us to forget everything has to be a record), Dreamer’s been a nothing factor for a while, unfortunately, but I don’t agree with the CMZzzzz comment. I find Punk really entertaining, and I see him as a really hot prospect for the future – after all he is only 29, and his best years are still to come.

More comments this week on anything I’ve mentioned here, I’m happy to reply to them!

RAW

This week is the go home show for One Night Stand, and with a lot of build up this week, look for Raw to push really hard at the pay-per-view. After the good show that WWE put on last week, and considering that this is the go-home show before the pay-per-view, makes this a must see show, for me at least. Don’t expect any more matches made, with the exception of maybe a woman’s match, since Raw already has three matches.

Look for Randy Orton to absolutely kill HHH this week. Since HHH is almost certainly looking at a victory at One Night Stand (unless they really wanted to put Orton over), Orton’s going to need a lot of heat to build to the match, and show off his vicious streak. This will likely blend into whatever JBL and Cena is doing, with HHH perhaps trying to save Cena from JBL, and Orton taking out HHH.

As well as this, I expect Cena to try and fail to get revenge on JBL this week, or perhaps JBL costing him a victory. I’m fairly certain that Cena’s going to be beating JBL this week at One Night Stand, so in true WWE formula, the other guy (JBL) is going to be getting a beat down. This might not be the greatest build, since it will probably look like a replica of HHH/Orton, but on the other hand they’ve not got much time to really tell anymore of a story, so we can let them off for that, can’t we?

Batista and Shawn Michaels are bound to have another interaction, possibly with Jericho involved again. The beauty of this story is that it’s unpredictable, and totally out of the norm for regular WWE stuff. I doubt they’ll have Batista “hurt” HBK yet, but I can see him trying to psych out the Showstopper in various ways. I’m also hoping for some good promos, so get them going you two. But this is my number one reason to watch Raw and SmackDown! this week, so I honestly can’t wait to see what twists this is going.

Like most people, I’m really hoping WWE elaborate on the women’s title situation. The match at Judgment Day was really good for the time given and they could probably do a lot better given the right time, but I’m praying they don’t give them a craptacular stipulation like a pudding match. Don’t be surprised to see a match made, but if not, don’t be surprised to see the women’s influence being slowed down a bit in order to promote the rest of One Night Stand. Heck, WWE might even have JBL beat up Mickie with Katie Lea, or Beth until Cena comes out to save the day.

One of the big questions this week is where does Kennedy go from here? Kennedy, since Regal got suspended, will have nothing to do, and with just a week until One Night Stand, it’s unlikely that he will actually get a new program. On the other hand, Kennedy has awesome crowd reactions right now, and I could see them capitalizing on that by having him beating one high-profile wrestler this week.

Another feud that WWE will be pushing is Umaga vs. Jeff Hardy. While I doubt we’ll see a third match in three weeks, particularly since they have a match (which I’m very much looking forward to) at One Night Stand, I do expect them to have a wicked brawl this week, probably with Hardy having a match and Umaga destroying him halfway through it. So far, neither man has looked weak in this feud, which is especially good, and I look forward to see how this one develops also.

ECW

In the land of Extreme, the main focus this week will be to push hard at the number one contender’s match for Night of Champions. With Big Show dominating the other four combatants last week, it would make sense for the other four to gang up on the big man, before turning their attention to one another. As I said earlier, this is the hardest match to predict for ONS, and I hope they don’t do anything to change that. As a note, I’d love to see Morrison win at ONS, especially after his really fun match with Kane a couple of weeks ago.

In other news on ECW, I’m really hoping that they do a Kane-Miz match for One Night Stand. While the match might not be anything special, and only ten minutes (at most!), it’ll still do wonders for Miz’s development, and with him not in the number one contender’s match he looks like the weak link in his team with Morrison (and while he is, WWE shouldn’t want this to be obvious).

Also on ECW, we still do not have any decisive victor in the Kofi Kingston vs. Shelton Benjamin feud, so look for that to continue. Hopefully they allow things to get a bit more heated, so the crowd can get more into the matches. Look for Shelton to return the favor for Kofi defeating him on SmackDown!, possibly leading to a match at ONS (not likely though) or just extending the TV feud for now. One thing’s for sure, is that last week they had a fun TV match, and if that continues then I will be happy, but let’s just hope these guys get a bit of time soon to develop a *proper* story.

The saga of Colin Delaney will also continue this week, as his feud with Estrada begins to heat up. This feud is actually really interesting to me, and I’m a sucker for Cubans and jobbers, so I can’t wait to see this again. Look for another Delaney beat down, the third in as many weeks, but don’t expect the tide to turn just yet and for Delaney to hit back at his nemesis. Long may this go on!

SmackDown!

For the third consecutive week, I feel I’m left with scraps to talk about. Everyone knows that the Edge vs. Undertaker feud is going to be pushed hard throughout the show. I believe that this week Edge will once again get the upper hand, probably with even more handicap matches, in order to stack the deck further against the Undertaker. For whatever reason, Undertaker playing the rebel to authority and constantly having to overcome the odds doesn’t quite have the same effect as it should – I don’t feel like he’s being screwed at all, whereas if it were to happen to somebody like Batista, I think it’d be fine. Right storyline, wrong character to play it. Expect them to hype the fact that Edge has won three TLC matches in his career, despite the fact that he’s also lost two. Now if Vickie really wanted Edge to win, she’d put him in a buried alive match. How many’s Undertaker won? One?

Also for the third week in a row, I highly expect to see some good matches coming out of SmackDown, from the likes of MVP, Palumbo, Hardy and Finlay. Now if only there were some kind of midcard title they could all fight over this week it’d be fine … But since there isn’t, just look for some more good TV matches this week while these guys sit in purgatory for a bit longer. I doubt they will push a US Title feud right now, and will probably just wait until next week to do so.

Also on SmackDown!, look for HBK to make a “surprise” appearance, in order to really push the pay-per-view. With only one SmackDown! match booked for ONS, they need HBK to be there in order for the viewing public to be influenced to buy the event – it’s the hottest feud in the company right now, in my opinion, and needs to be capitalized on whenever possible. Heck, throw Jericho on this week’s SmackDown!, because it would be wonderful. They can have a tea party.

iMPACT

One of the main objectives for this week’s show will be the final participants for the King of the Mountain match. Joe, Roode and Booker is great in my opinion, but they really need some guys that will bump around for them to make this ladder match great (and really, nobody bumps in a ladder match quite like Christian Cage) and a guy like James Storm would be brilliant in here too, since he’s a top class brawler. That leaves Tomko and Rhino out of the running, unfortunately. However, if they’re pushing for a total brawl KotM match, then throw Tomko instead of Cage in there, and then Slammiversary will have a totally unique ladder match to the recent years. Expect more Joe and Booker T confrontations this week as well.

However, the main reason to tune into iMPACT, and the reason I, personally, am tuning in is the Kurt Angle vs. AJ Styles feud, and how that develops. I highly expect we get some words from Karen Angle this week, begging her husband to stop this ruthlessness, only for Angle to destroy AJ again. This is one of the best-booked feuds in wrestling so far, and I can’t wait to see how it develops even more. Hopefully Angle keeps beating down AJ, with Styles struggling (and failing) to come back, since it will emphasize that AJ has no friends right now after his months of evil deeds.

As I had predicted last week, LAX and Team 3D turned into blood feud territory last week, which is ideally what this feud needed. Now, with two weeks of beat downs by the heels, you have to wonder where they go from here. Do LAX put 3D through some tables, to set up a table’s match for Slammiversary, or will we get more of 3D getting the best of LAX. What can be expected is that the match between these two teams is confirmed for Slammiversary, and it should be a really good one that I’m looking forward to. LAX are my favorite tag team in wrestling right now, and I’m still a big Team 3D mark, so this feud is really fun for me, and I love the idea of them being allowed to just go at it in no DQ stipulations.

The Knockouts story is really starting to heat up, with the Beautiful People really taking things too far with the hair shaving. Roxxi is still out for revenge, and the viewers still haven’t seen it yet, probably waiting until Slammiversary. Good stuff, keep teasing the revenge without totally ripping the customer off = good booking indeed. Then there’s the Kong challenge that’s been made lately, which is intriguing because they can take it several directions: they can have a debutant beat her shockingly, have Kim help someone win (ala Lashley and Santino) or have Kim enter herself.

Finally, expect more of the same with the footages of Chris Abyss, which is getting fairly repetitive now, and the Dutt, Machismo and So Cal Val story continuing this week. These things aren’t as important to me as the other parts of iMPACT, which is a shame, since I like all the people involved, its just I’m not getting any reason to care about them.

Oh and did you know there’s an X-Division championship match at Slammiversary? One video package does nothing for me right now, unfortunately, I’d really like to see some more. The video package was cool though.

Overall:

This week, again, promises to be a fun week. One Night Stand looks to be one of the better PPV cards of the last two months, except the prospect of so many rematches puts a lot of people off the event. WWE will be looking to hype the event as much as possible, so don’t expect to see too much actual wrestling this week from the ‘E, but do expect some kickass promos and some fun beat downs. On the TNA side, look for a mixture of both this week, with more wrestling than last week and less promos and backstage vignettes.

One Night Stand Predictions:

Triple H over Randy Orton
Undertaker over Edge
John Cena over JBL
Batista over Shawn Michaels
Jeff Hardy over Umaga
John Morrison over Big Show, CM Punk, Chavo Guerrero and Tommy Dreamer