WWE Backlash Results

Another WWE PPV is in the books. Let's see how many predictions David and I got correct...

Ric Flair vs. Umaga
Typical Flair match. A lot of crotch shots and Flair chops. Umaga won with a diving headbutt while Flair was in the Tree of Woe, followed by a running Umaga slamming into Flair's head and a thumb thrust to Flair's neck.
Me: 1/1
David: 0/1

Carlito vs. Chris Masters
An average match. Nothing really memorable. Carlito got the pin while having his legs on the ropes.
Me: 2/2
David: 1/2

Women's Championship
Mickie James vs. Trish Stratus
An excellent match as far as women's matches go. One of the best that I've seen in a long time. Trish won via DQ when Mickie wouldn't break a chokehold by the referee's 5 count. At one point Trish kicked Mickie right in the face. It looked like she could have easily broken Mickie's cheekbone. Trish took a nasty fall during the match and was holding her arm for a lot of the match.
Me: 3/3
David:1/3 (David should have gone with his instinct rather than pick the opposite on purpose.)

Kane vs. Big Show
A below average match from two slow guys. The end of the match came when the whole arena turned red and a cheesy recording of Kane saying "May 19th. It's all happening again...". Kane started rolling around and hitting himself in the head. Big Show then came back into the ring and hit Kane with a chair. Big Show was acting like he had no choice but to hit Kane in order to knock him back into reality. Afterwards Kane just sat there laughing and smiling. I don't think that they announced a winner, but I am assuming the Big Show got DQ'd.
Me: 4/4
David: 1/4

Intercontinental Championship v. Money in The Bank
Shelton Benjamin (c) vs. Rob Van Dam
A very good match. A couple big spots, but nothing huge. Very solid. RVD gave Shelton a Van-Daminator with the MiTB breifcase followed up by a 5-star frogsplash for the win to retain his title shot and win the IC title.
Me: 5/5
David: 2/5

Shawn Michaels & "God" vs. Mr. McMahon & Shane McMahon
After both McMahons came down. Vince introduced God. The lights went out and they started playing some 'heavenly' music ( harps, etc...) and they had a spotlight come on and go down the aisle as if someone was coming to the ring. Vince yelled for the music to stop and then said that this is the WWE and that God needed to come to the ring in WWE-style. Some hip-hop beats came on and the spotlight continued down the aisle and made it's way around the ringside area, up the stair and into the ring. Vince then ordered the referee to check God for weapons. Vince then changed his mind and said that it didn't matter since the match was now going to be a no holds barred match. While it wasn't as good as the WM22 match, this match was pretty good. Near the start of the match Shawn gave Vince a flying body block off of the stage and down onto a pile of boxes and cables. In the middle of the match Vince announced that God was leaving the ringside area and was abandoning Shawn. Near the end Shawn gave both McMahon's a superkick and it looked like the match was about to end, but Shawn pulled 2 tables out from under the ring and threw then into the ring. He then set both men onto them and brought a 15 foot ladder into the ring as well. It looked like it was going to be a repeat of WM22, but instead of jumping on the McMahons he jumped outside the ring and onto the S. Squad who had just come to ringside. They eventually overpowered Shawn. They then removed the ladder from the ring and pulled Vince and Shane off of the tables. The S. Squad then put Shawn through one of the tables and put Vince onto him to get the pin. Afterwards they helped both McMahons away and hoisted them up onto their shoulders. Going into this match I knew that the McMahons had a good chance of winning, but I picked against them.
Me: 5/6
David: 2/6

WWE Championship Triple Threat Match
John Cena (c) v. Triple H v. Edge
A lot of near finishes as expected. Edge spent most of the beginning of the match watching Cena and HHH go at it. They later both went after Edge and had a little game of who can slam Edge's head into the table harder. Cena tried to give Edge an F-U from the top rope, but Triple H hoisted Cena onto his shoulders (who was still holding Edge) and fell backwards. End of the match came when Edge was going to hit Cena with HHH's sledgehammer only to have Cena duck it and go for the F-U. Triple H then knocked Edge off his shoulders and went for the pedigree. Cena pulled HHH's legs out from under him and did a flip to pin HHH and retain the title. After the match Triple H slammed everyone (including the ref) with the sledgehammer and posed as the PPV went of the air.
Me: 6/7
David: 2/7

Total: I nearly pulled off perfect picks and managed to pick 6/7 correct for 85% while David picked 2/7 right for 28%. I should have picked Shawn to lose. The theory proved true once again - Never pick against Cena or Rey. I'm not sure how long it will keep happening though.

Other Notes: Early in the PPV Vince was saying how he can do anything that God can do. He took Shane's water bottle and spilled some onto the floor and started 'walking on water'. Shane later went to take a sip from the bottle and it had been turned into wine. Later in the night Candice came into Vince's office complaining about having a chest cold and asking Vince to use his 'powers' to heal it. She asked him to grab her breasts and when he did both Candice and Vince started yelling and moaning like they were having sex. Shane then interrupted them. Matt Striker did a classroom segment and brought Eugene out since we was from Kentucky (where the PPV was). Striker said that Eugene was the result of two cousins having a baby together and then challenged Eugene to write his name on the blackboard (Striker had earlier written his own name on the board). Eugene wrote 'likes poop' instead so the board read 'Matt Striker Likes Poop'. As the crowd started chanting 'Matt Striker Likes Poop' Eugene started picking his nose and was going to eat it. He later went on to make Striker eat it instead and gave him a Stunner.

Update: I forgot to write that it looks like Jim Ross is once again the lead announcer for the RAW brand beginning at Backlash. From what I have heard, Joey Styles will be focusing on the soon-to-be-restarted ECW brand. I am unsure whether or not he will still be a part of the RAW announce team for the time being and whether or not Coach will still be part of the team either. Styles did however provide play-by-play for the warm-up match that aired on Heat prior to the PPV. An explaination regarding J.R.'s return and Styles' departure is expected at Monday's RAW.

According to WWE.com, the official result of the Big Show v. Kane match is listed as a 'no contest' and not as a DQ victory for Kane as I assumed it to be. This makes no sense at all. Big Show hit Kane with a chair. That should be a DQ. And I'm not just saying that because I picked Kane to win.

I also forgot to mention that there were once again references to DX during the PPV. At the clonclusion of a backstage interview Shawn Michaels said that he's got 'two words' for Vince McMahon which was followed by the crowd yelling 'Suck It!'. Both Michaels and Triple H also did DX-style crotch chops during their matches.

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The Collapse Of John Cena

Guest poster David has something he would like to say...

When John Cena growled the WWE's newest (and very briefly used) catch phase "Ruthless Aggression" and delivered a sucker punch to the jaw of Kurt Angle he set the tone for his entire career. Cena had all the potential in the world. He combined good looks; perhaps the most impressive physique in the WWE and as fans learned later a quick wit and cleverness that would set him apart from the other young talent. Most importantly though was the fact that he was able to connect with the fans. Sure he got cheap pops by wearing the local teams' jerseys. Sure his gimmick seemed a bit dated and Vanilla Icy. Still, the fans loved his cocky style, rugged physical and hyper aggressive matches. Cena was also willing to do the J-O-B as well as risk his body in a match. It seemed like the sky was the limit and so it was… for a while.

My first real inkling that something might be seriously wrong with John Cena was during a rather unmemorable match with Kenzo Suzuki. The match was to start with a rap competition which Cena naturally dominated. Kenzo was at a serious disadvantage having limited skills in the English language but he remained blissfully ignorant, smiling happily throughout despite the fact that his "rap" was by and large incomprehensible. Cena's rap on the other hand was a very comprehensible jingoistic tirade that bordered on racist. After verbally abusing Suzuki, Cena went on to absolutely destroy his smaller opponent and ended any momentum Suzuki may have had going for him. Mind you, Cena was supposed to be the face in the match. Relying on nationalism and anger towards foreigners has unfortunately always been a staple of the WWE in to generate a cheap pop but Cena seemed to take such pleasure in humiliating the Japanese newcomer that it really left me wondering where John Cena the man ended and John Cena the character began.

Another telling moment for me was a segment he did with JBL. JBL had done a miraculous job at reinventing himself in a short period of time. He managed to go from a flabby cowboy named Justin Hawk Bradshaw to a flabby, beer drinking redneck as a member of the inexplicably named tag team "The Acolytes" (ok, the reason they were called The Acolytes was because they briefly served the Undertaker but after years of being done with the angle it made no sense). Anyway, John Bradshaw Layfield was still flabby but he now had a coherent character and some newly discovered mic skills. In fact I would have to say that his mic skills were some of the best in the company so one might expect some good fireworks when Cena, the face, ran a segment in the ring with JBL, the heel. Unfortunately, Cena seemed less like a face and more like a bully as he ruined JBL's suit and cut his tie. Cena barely allowed JBL to talk and looked like a man in need of some tranquilizers. As a lead-up for their PPV match JBL was left looking weak and confused.

From then on Cena's segments degraded badly as did his matches. Cena seemed to resemble a man suffering from a serious case of roid rage. His matches were squashes and as if that weren't bad enough he took to using a weapon in the ring because having an overpowering physique just wasn't enough thus the 'Chain Gang' was born.

Thanks to last years lottery Cena headed off to RAW which for me that was the end because at the time I wasn't watching the Monday night program. Personally I was thrilled to see him gone. As much as I despised seeing Cena on TV I was shocked months later to find out that he was getting booed. There are very few wrestlers who seek the fans adulation more than John Cena and few wrestlers have his potential. Wrestling fans have embraced stiffs like Goldberg and The Ultimate Warrior so it was astounding that such a pandering monster could fall out of favor with fans who generally abided by the heel/face scripting set before them. Fans don't just hate the John Cena character, they hate John Cena. I guess the cockiness and the rapping and the squash matches just grew too tiresome to take. Kudos to the fans for showing some independent thinking.

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WWE Backlash Predictions

After a hiatus of almost a week and a half WrestleBlogger is back and I'm bringing my Backlash predictions with me. I'm also bringing David's picks with me too.

On to the picks...

WWE Championship Triple Threat Match
John Cena (c) v. Triple H v. Edge
I Say: I really don't see any way for Edge to win this match unless Cena and Triple H both get counted out for brawling outside the ring. I don't see that happening though. Against my better judgment I am going to go with John Cena to win and retain.
David Says: Two heels and a face (sort of). This might not be such a good time for the inevitable Cena heel turn since who would he turn on? Unless HHH is planning on turning face but HHH is such a natural heel that I don't see that happening. I think that Edge is still seen as something less than world champ and Cena really needs some retooling so HHH is the likely winner.

Shawn Michaels & "God" vs. Mr. McMahon & Shane McMahon
I Say: I am surprised to see this match on the card. First, I was under the impression that Michaels would be taking time off after WM22. Secondly, I am surprised that Shawn would go along with an angle mocking his religious beliefs. Is God going to show up? I doubt it. Will they do something to make it seem like God is in the arena? Sure. I am expecting an injury angle to explain Shawn's absence while he spends time with his pregnant wife. It will either be at Backlash or on the following RAW. While I wouldn't be surprised to see the McMahons win, I'm going with Shawn. Look for more DX teases. I don't see this match being as good as the HBK/Vince match at WM22, but I see it possibly stealing the show.
David Says: I was worried that they might not persist in the Michaels vs McMahon's angle but here it is. Actually I think the angle is going nowhere. McMahon vs Austin it ain't. I think even Vince McMahon may think twice before creating an angle where "God" gets pinned so I have to give the victory to Shawn. I see this as being a pretty hokey match particularly since they've already established that God is quite literally helping Shawn.

Intercontinental Championship v. Money in The Bank
Shelton Benjamin (c) vs. Rob Van Dam
I Say: I don't see RVD winning the IC title, but I do see him retaining his title shot. I am picking RVD to win. I think that Shelton will get DQ'd so he doesn't have to lose his belt. This match has a good chance of stealing the show. Look for a lot of big spots. Charlie Haas may get involved to set-up a feud between him and Shelton.
David Says: I hate when a wrestler "wins" a title shot and then puts it on the line. It seems so stupid. I see RVD winning this match.

Kane vs. Big Show
I Say: Last time I picked someone to win a match because they were promoting something (Candice's spread in Playboy) I was wrong. I don't think I will be wrong this time though when I say that Kane will win. Big Show will probably come out to the match wearing an eye patch after the events of this past Monday's Raw.
David Says: A THIRD dumb angle. So Kane hates to hear the date of his movies premier??? It's possible that Big Show will win to set up some interest in the feud which might increase interest in the movie (doubtful). Of course Kane might just win straight out to reestablish himself as a monster. I'm going to go with the former. Big Show wins and they try to milk the feud for the next three weeks.

Women's Championship
Mickie James vs. Trish Stratus
I Say: Mickie James is a very talented wrestler and she deserves to hold the title for more than a month. I see an 80% chance of Mickie retaining. I'm going with the 20% though and picking Trish.
David Says: I hate picking woman's matches because they're so irrelevant and I'm always wrong but the mighty WrestleBlogger makes me do it. My pick is Trish so I'm going with Mickey James. THERE.

Carlito vs. Chris Masters
I Say: This match is a toss-up. I'll go with Carlito.
David Says: I am a huge Carlito fan. Chris Masters??? Not so much. I'm going with Carlito because he deserves to win, he's better on the mic, he's better in the ring, he's more over with the fans and he has better hair.

Ric Flair vs. Umaga
I Say: I don't see Umaga being around for that long (At least not as Umaga). I do see Flair putting him over though.
David Says: It's the wild man vs. the old man. Apparently Flair got his nickname "Nature Boy" because he and nature are the exact same age. Umaga may be unpredictable but Flair literally wrote the book on wrestling. Of course he originally had to use a chisel and stone. Umaga's wild nature may throw off most wrestlers but Flair has seen it all, the advent of the industrial age, the invention of gunpowder, the construction of the pyramids. I see Flair getting the win over this forgettable newcomer.

Summary
I Say: Cena, Michaels, RVD, Kane, Trish, Carlito, & Umaga
David Says: Triple H, Michaels, RVD, Big Show, Mickie, Carlito, Flair
We only matched on 3/7 picks.

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RAW 4.17.2006 - News & Notes

Vince came out to start RAW and announced that he has formed a new religion. It's called McMahonism. The basic concept is that everyone has to worship him. Shawn Michaels snuck up behind him and superkicked him.

Kane defeated Rob Conway. After the match Kane tried attacking Lilian Garcia and was going to chokeslam her, but Big Show made the save and went on to chokeslam Kane.

Shelton had to face an opponent of RVD's choosing. If Shelton won then RVD's MiTB title shot would be up for grabs in their match at Backlash. If Shelton lost then his IC title would be up for grabs. The opponent was the returning Charlie Haas. Shelton lost, but later begged Vince to do something about it. Vince made RVD face all 5 members of the Spirit Squad. RVD lost so therefore both the title shot and the IC title will be up for grabs.

Shawn Michaels defeated Umaga by DQ when Umaga shoved the referee. After the match Vince tied Shawn up in the ropes (so it looked like Shawn was being crucified) and went to get a chair to hit him with. When he tried entering the ring an explosion of sparks went off. It was supposed to be as if God was protecting Shawn. Vince started to walk back through the curtain, but decided to try to go after Shawn again. This time a bunch of flames started shooting up from the floor.

Jim Ross had an interview with Chavo. Chavo refused to change his mind about quitting wrestling a few weeks ago.

As I correctly predicted last week, the main event for this week's Raw was Cena and Edge v. Triple H. Triple H lost when Edge speared him and got the pin.

There was a couple other pointless segements on RAW. Nothing worth mentioning.

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Smackdown Thoughts

There is a lot of speculation around the Internet that Randy Orton may never step foot inside of a WWE ring again. People who claim to be 'in the know' are reporting that Orton's 60 day suspension is in fact really an indefinite suspension and that there is a strong chance that the WWE will just let his contract run out while Orton just sits home. Normally with a superstar of Orton's caliber the WWE wouldn't want to take the chance of allowing him to show up in TNA, but their rationale behind allowing Orton's contact to expire is the hope that he will be off of TV for so long that his star power would be close to nothing. Up until the incident that got Orton suspended he was one of WWE's best young stars. For that reason I am led to believe that he probably has multiple years left on his contract and allowing him to just sit out his contract would be a huge waste of talent. Therefore, I am going on record by saying that Orton will be back. I don't see any possible way that the WWE will just let his contract run out. By the way, I was correct when I suggested that the WWE would use an injury angle to explain his on-screen absence. Kurt Angle 'broke' his ankle during their match on Smackdown.

Last week I stated that I hoped that Dalip Singh (who is now known as the Great Khali) wouldn't end up being the next Giant Gonzalez. After seeing this week's Smackdown I think that he will be. I really don't see him having very much of a future in the WWE after his feud with the Undertaker. I just don't see it. When he was on Smackdown this past week he got tried to talk on the microphone and I can honestly say that it was one of the worst things that I have seen in a long time. It's almost as if he can't even speak. It sounding like growling. The only thing I could understand is when he said his name and that was only because I figured that at some point that he might say his own name.

It looks like that they might be using the whole 'king' gimmick for the winner of the king of the ring tournament on Smackdown. They brought out a cheesy looking throne, cape, crown, and septor. I just think that using those things is really stupid. That's all.

Booker T and Sharmell have been playing up the fact that they have gotten a restraining order against Boogeyman. I predict that on the upcoming tour through Canada that Boogeyman will start playing his mind games with Booker T again under the premise that the restraining order is only valid in the U.S.

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RAW 4.10.2006 - News & Notes

Edge came out to start RAW and cut a promo about how he is the favorite going into the Triple Threat match at Backlash because Triple H tapped out and lost at WM22 and Cena got pinned last week on RAW. Cena then comes out and does his usual schtick and Edge tells Cena that the only people who cheer him are 7 year olds (it's true). Cena acknowledges that he's booed and teases a heel turn. Triple H interrupts and does his schtick and eventually says that he got a call from Vince who told him that the main event is a handicap match with Triple H and Cena taking on Edge. My prediction is that next week the main event will be Triple H v. Cena and Edge since they have done a handicap match 2 RAWs in a row.

'Mr. Money in The Bank' RVD defeated Rob Conway. Shelton Benjamin did commentary and challenged RVD to a match with RVD's title shot up for grabs. After the match Steve Romero (filling in for Todd Grisham) asked RVD to respond to the challenge. RVD declined the match, but did say that he would be willing to put his title shot up for grabs if Shelton put his IC title up too. Shelton has a week to respond.

They played a clip of Kane's new movie 'See No Evil' which opens May 19th. Steve Romero introduced the clip with Kane. After the clip ended Romero said that he was hoping to talk to Kane about it, but Kane had left and couldn't be tracked down. Up next was the Spirit Squad defending their tag titles against Kane and Big Show. Kane was then shown staggering down a hallway and acting like he was being haunted or tormented. he did this while they played a really cheesy voiceover of Kane saying 'Oh No. It's happening all over again. It's May 19th. It's all happening again.' It looks like May 19th may be an important day in Kane's life. Maybe they are going to bring back the whole Katie Vick storyline. Big Show eventually approached Kane and told him that they need to get ready for the match.

It looks like all 5 members of the S. Squad are recognized as the tag champs, but only 2 can defend the title at one time. This time it was Johnny and Nicky. The match was actually pretty good. At one point Big Show slapped Johnny in the chest and left a huge hand-shaped welt. The S. Squad won by DQ when Kane went nuts and started throwing steel chairs into the ring. Big Show tried to calm Kane down and then Kane choke slammed him. He lifted Big Show only about 3 inches off of the ground.

Shane and Vince were shown in a church looking for Shawn's tag team partner (God). Vince was going to wash his hands in the holy water, but Shane stopped him. Vince then said to Shane 'Who do I look like?'. Vince then drank some of the holy water and spit it out like Triple H does pre-match. Vince went to the front of the church and started talking to God. He said that he works 7 days per week unlike God who rested on the 7th day. Vince said that means that he has a stronger work ethic than God. Vince then read his own list of commandments. They were things like 'Thou shall not tell the boss to move on', 'Thou shall not splash the boss in urine', and 'Thou shall not put a garbage can over the boss' head and drop an elbow on him'. Shane then read an altered version of the 'Lord is my shepherd' prayer and Vince said that Backlash will become Shawn's apocalypse.

Armando Alejandro Estrada came out and introduced Umaga who quickly defeated a jobber by driving his thumb into the jobber's neck. I was expecting Ric Flair to show up, but he didn't.

Carlito cut a promo about a new diet he is on and how he dropped 275 pounds of dead weight last week...Chris Masters. Masters then came out and announced that he and Carlito would face each other at Backlash. He then talked about how Carlito caused him to lose at New Year's Revolution and how Carltio eliminated him from the Royal Rumble. Master then implied that he hit Carlito on purpose at WM22. Carlito then called Masters an idiot for sabotaging their chances to become tag champions and offered to take the Masterlock challenge. Carlito was holding an apple, but Masters didn't want him to hold it during the challenge. He took the apple away from him and went to throw it out of the ring when Carlito nailed him with a chair.

Next week Jim Ross will interview Chavo regarding him 'quitting' last week.

Mickie easily defeated Maria. After the match Trish came out dressed as and acting psycho like Mickie James (Just like how Mickie now dresses up as Trish). She started jumping up and down and then kissed Mickie. Mickie looked freaked out buy Trish's actions.

Cena and HHH defeated Edge. Cena went for the F-U, but Triple H pulled Edge off of Cena's shoulders and gave Edge a pedigree. Before he could go for the pin, Triple H got an F-U from Cena who then made Edge submit to the STFU.

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Randy Orton Update & Cena Goes Nuts

Over the weekend some details finally leaked out regarding Randy Orton's suspension. I guess Orton is not well-liked backstage and has been known to irritate and aggrevate other wrestlers and WWE employees with his arrogance and immature conduct. He was supposedly scheduled to become the World Champion until his actions backstage at the No Way Out PPV forced the writers to change the plans. The higher-ups in the WWE reportedly wanted to suspend Orton immediately, but decided to let his behavior slide since it was too late to change the plans to have Orton in the WM22 main event. However, last Sunday at WM22 he is said to have done something backstage that left WWE officials with no other choice but to suspend him. The 2 Smackdowns after WM22 (last week's and this upcoming week's) had already been written so the decision was made to start his suspension this Wednesday. WWE.com has posted an interview where Orton responds to his suspension, but doesn't go into great detail as to what he had done to warrant it. I get the feeling that WWE would not hesitate in releasing him outright, but they don't want to risk him going to TNA.

I found this on a wrestling newsboard and thought that I would repost it.

"John Cena was at O'Hare Airport in Chicago on Tuesday morning to get a flight to Tampa. He arrived too late to check in his bag for the flight and was informed by the ticket agents that his bag wouldn't be able to make it. Cena started swearing at the agents and gave them the finger before leaving his bag and departing for the gate, despite knowing his bag wouldn't make the flight. The gate was called and told to not let him to board. Cena returned to the ticket desk and saying "f*** you" repeatedly to the agents present, and he was told to stop using profanity. A manager came to the desk and again told him to stop using profanity. He was rebooked on a later flight."

It supposedly came from an eyewitness. It looks like he's easy to dislike away from wrestling too.

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Orton Update & Upcoming PPV Spoilers

It has finally become clear as to when Randy Orton's 60-day suspension will take effect. The suspension will be taking effect next Wednesday. That leaves just enough time to allow an angle to be shot at next week's Smackdown tapings explaining Orton's upcoming absence. There is still no word as to the reason for the suspension, but I find it curious that his 'unprofessional conduct' as they're calling it is serious enough to warrant a 60-day suspension, but not serious enough to warrant the suspension starting immediately. It should definately be interesting to find out what exactly he did to bring on the suspension, but I'm still guessing that he may have violated the 'WWE Talent Wellness' program (even though I have no proof or reason to back it up)

In other news: It looks like the main event for RAW's upcoming Backlash PPV has been revealed. The match is slated to be a triple threat match between John Cena, Edge, and Triple H (BIG SURPRISE!). Is there any doubt as to who is going to win? Not really, but if there is, all someone needs to do is take a look at the rumored main event for June's ECW PPV. The main event for the PPV is scheduled to be RVD cashing in his Money in The Bank title shot against Triple H. This explains why RVD stated this past Monday that when he cashes in his title shot it was going to be 'EXTREME'.

I for one don't know if this is the best idea. Ask any ECW fan as to what they didn't like about last year's ECW One Night Stand PPV and you are bound to get the following response - The Smackdown & RAW invasion. The fans would have prefered that the PPV featured only ECW alumni. A lot of people felt that the WWE made ECW look weak by suggesting that the PPV would be a failure unless WWE wrestlers (non-ECW alumni) were involved. I can only imagine what their reaction is going to be when the man who many believe embodies the WWE appears on an ECW PPV. Does anybody actually expect that Triple H is going to drop the title to RVD? There is little to no chance that will happen. Sure, he might make RVD look good, but there's no way that he'd let RVD go over on him. It's just not happening.
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Update On Randy Orton

Randy Orton did indeed participate in the Smackdown tapings on Tuesday night as planned. The announced match between him and Rey took place with Rey defeating Orton to retain his title. Smackdown General Manager also announced that the King Of The Ring Tournament is coming back. According to the WWE PPV schedule there are no plans to bring back the King Of The Ring PPV, so I am assuming that this tournament will likely be exclusively on Smackdown. Teddy Long also announecd that the first match in the tournament will take place on next week's Smackdown - Kurt Angle v. Randy Orton. Judging by these events I would be led to believe that the decision to suspend Randy Orton came after the tapings had completed. Either that or his suspension will take effect after next week's tapings. If the latter is the case then I wouldn't be surprised to see an injury angle take place to explain Orton's upcoming 2 month absence. Maybe Angle will 'break' Orton's ankle next week.

Also, as part of the Smackdown tapings Mark Henry returned to action a mere 5 days (Smackdown airs Fridays) after losing to the Undertaker in a casket match. As I stated in my last posting, this makes Undertaker look weak(er). I was under the impression that after losing a casket match you were sent to some 'alternate dimension', before making your WWE return. I guess not. Mark Henry and Undertaker fought to a no contest when Daivari came to the ring with Dalip Singh (a 7'3'' 400 lbs. power-lifter and bodybuilder from India turned wrestler turned actor who most people will recognize from the remake of "The Longest Yard") who laid a beating on the Undertaker. I just hope that this guy isn't the next Giant Gonzalez.

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Randy Orton Suspended

In a very surprising move, the WWE has announced via their mobile messaging service that Randy Orton has been suspended. Few details are known at this time but the reason behind his suspension is described as 'unprofessional conduct'. The length of his suspension is believed to be 60 days. With Orton as a part of the World Title picture, this comes as a huge blow to Smackdown and the WWE in general. With Orton as a major part of Smackdown (and one of WWE's biggest stars) I am pretty sure that the WWE's decision to suspend him must have been a last resort. At tonight's Smackdown TV tapings Orton was scheduled to take on Rey Mysterio in Rey's first title defense since winning the World Title this past Sunday at Wrestlemania 22. I am unsure as to whether Randy was suspended as a result of his actions before the Smackdown tapings or perhaps from his actions during them. If I had to take a guess at what Randy Orton could have done to warrant a 60 day suspension I would probably have to say that he violated the newly-implemented 'WWE Talent Wellness Program' (i.e. drug testing program). Possibly for steroids or drugs. That's just a guess though and I have no reason to believe that it is the case. I am curious as to what happens with the World Title or at least who Rey is going to fued with now. Unless they decide to turn Angle heel (I hope they do) the only other main event level heel would have to be JBL. It had looked like they were trying to push Mark Henry as a top-level guy (which he isn't and never will be), but he just lost to the Undertaker at WM22 and bringing him back so soon after losing a casket match would make 'Taker look bad (not that he needs any help). Randy Orton was the top heel on Smackdown and was scheduled to fued with Rey (and possibly win the World Title), but with these recent developments the title picture looks really cloudy.

If I was booking Smackdown I would just start a fued between Rey and Angle with Angle saying that since he wasn't pinned at WM22 he should get a title shot. That seems like one of their only options with the alternative being to hold a tournament to deternine the #1 contender. Whether or not they turn Angle heel I would have the fued anyways. There doesn't seem to be many options at this point. Just don't give it to Undertaker. They could always try to bring Batista back early and have him feud with (and hopefully take the title away from) Rey. This is just a guess, but I think that they will probably just go with the tournament option. It should also be interesting to see how they explain his suspension storyline-wise.

There is no reason to believe that this is a 'work' or part of an angle.

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RAW 4.3.2006 - News & Notes

Raw started out with Cena cutting a promo to a flurry of boos and chants of 'Cena Sucks!'. He cut a promo and was then interrupted by Triple H who blamed himself for underestimating Cena last night and talked about how he wants another title shot. Edge then came down and he said that Triple H tapped out at WM22 so he (Edge) should get a title shot since he beat Foley at WM22. They both jawed back and forth until Cena proposed that they both should have a match to determine the new number 1 contender. Both Triple H and Edge rejected the idea and instead challenged Cena to a handicap match. Cena eventually accepted.

Big Show and Kane faced Mikey and Kenny of the Spirit Squad for the tag titles. After a ref bump, the S.Squad quintuple-teamed Big Show and Kenny gave him a leg drop from the top rope and pinned him. Mikey and Kenny are now the new Tag Champs. After the match Coach was saying that this was the biggest upset in WWE history. That's a bit of an overstatement in my opinion. What about Lightning Kid's win over Razor Ramon or how about when Barry Horowitz beating Skip/Chris Candido? All 5 members were posing with the belts so I get the feeling that they are going to share the titles similar to when the 3 members of Demolition held the tag belts a while back. It's just a guess though. Afterwards they did a celebratory cheer backstage. I was happy to see the S. Squad get the belts. By the way, Big Show really needs to work on doing headbutts. It's painfully obvious that he's headbutting his own hand and not his opponent's head.

RVD cut a promo saying that he will be cashing in his MiTB title shot sooner than later and that when he does it would be 'EXTREME'.

Chris Masters defeated some jobber in a squash match with the Masterlock. Carlito came out after the match and teased that he was going to spit an apple in Master's face, but instead spit it onto the jobber. After Masters turned his back Carlito gave him a backcracker and spit in his face. I'm not sure who the face is and who's the heel in the feud. I think Masters might be the face, but I'm probably wrong.

Shawn Michaels cut a promo about his match last night talking about how he has done what Vince should have done a while ago - moved on. Shawn also said that the popular thing nowadays is beating up John Cena so maybe he should get a shot at Cena's belt. Shane the interrupted him and introduced Vince. Vince came out with bandages on his head and wearing a neck brace. He talked about how Shane is scarred for life after Shawn rammed his head up Vince's ass last night. Vince also said that Shawn won't get a title shot and that the only reason that he won at WM22 was because of divine intervention from God. Vince then made a match for Backlash - a tag team match between the team of Vince & Shane (who Vince referred to as the 'product of his semen') versus Shawn and God. Yes, you read right. God almighty is Shawn's partner. I suppose that HBK's planned time off will start after Backlash instead of now, after WM22.

Trish and Torrie lost to Candice and Mickie James after a Chick Kick, which Mickie now calls a 'Mick Kick'. Mickie was dressed exactly like Trish. She even dyed her hair blonde and had the same hairstyle.

They showed some highlights of the Hall Of Fame ceremony. Rey's suit looked like it was 5 sizes too big. Bret looks like he has really aged. He didn't looked a lot older than he did on his DVD.

Chavo cut a promo thanking the fans for supporting and remembering Eddie. He also hyped up Rey's title win too. Chavo said that Raw was going to be his personal Wrestlemania because he was going to win the IC title from Shelton and that he was dedicating it to Eddie. Right then I knew that Chavo would win the belt. I was wrong though. Shelton retained. After the match Chavo walked up the aisle looking up to the sky and apologizing to Eddie for losing. After the break they showed a clip from during the commercial where Chavo said that he was a big disgrace to his uncle and whole family. He also publicly quit wrestling (it's a work).

A new feature debuted on Raw. It is called 'This Week In Wrestling History'. They showed highlights from a 2 out of 3 falls match between Ric Flair and Ricky Steamboat from a Clash of the Champions in 1989 (I think).

Ric Flair came out and talked about how even though he didn't win the MiTB Ladder match at WM22, he believes that he will one day become World Champion again. He was then interrupted by a man dressed like the Cuban Ric Flair calling himself Armando Alejandro Estrada (Kazem Ali from Ohio Valley Wrestling where he played an Arab character named Osama). Estrada insulted Flair and then introduced a new wrestler named 'Umanka' or 'Umanga' who came out and beat up Flair. He was wearing some sort of tribal cloth around his waist and had face paint and crazy hair. Most people will recognize this new guy as Jamal from Three Minute Warning (Eddie Fatu / Rikishi's brother). They really shouldn't have fired Rosey. That way they could reform 3MW. This 'Umanka' or 'Umanga' gimmick looks really stupid, but I said the same thing about Boogeyman and look at him now.

The main event was next. The match was a lot shorter than I would have expected. It started at just before 11:00 so they probably had to cut it short. Triple H just sat on the turnbuckle as Edge beat up Cena. Once Cena got the upper hand Triple H started hitting him. Edge the tried to spear Cena, but got Triple H instead. Triple H then spinebustered Edge and as Cena tried a 5-knuckle shuffle Triple H pedigreed him for the win. Officially Triple H and Edge won. Triple H just posed as Raw went off the air with the announcers hyping up the fact that Triple H had just pinned the WWE Champion.

Over the weekend it was reported that Hulk Hogan had stated in an interview that he would be back in Chicago for RAW where he would shoot an angle with Stone Cold Steve Austin. That didn't happen though. Maybe they decided to hold the angle off until next week, but probably Hogan or Austin backed out at the last minute. It's been done before. We'll have to wait and see.

Only 363 days until Wrestlemania 23!

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WWE Wrestlemania 22 Results - 'Medium Time!'

The 'Granddaddy Of Them All', Wrestlemania has come and gone. Let's go though the matches and see who had the most predictions right. For those who don't remember, for the last 3 PPVs (Raw's New Year's Revolution, Royal Rumble & Smackdown's No Way Out) I picked a combination of 11/17 matches correctly while David picked 7/17 correctly.

World Tag Team Championship
Kane & Big Show (c) v. Carlito & Chris Masters
Masters went to hit Kane with a double-axehandle, but hit Carlito by mistake. Kane then won with the chokeslam.
Me: 0/1
David: 0/1

US Title Match
Chris Benoit (c) v. JBL
For JBL's entrance the entire ramp lifted up and JBL's limo drove out. The end saw Benoit apply the crossface, but JBL rolled him over and held the ropes to get the pin and U.S. Title.
Me: 0/2
David: 0/2

Women's Title Match
Trish v. Mickie James
A good match as far as women's matches go. Trish had Mickie in a headlock at one point, but Mickie grabbed Trish by the crotch until Trish let go. Mickie then started licking the hand that she had grabbed Trish with. After a botched Stratusfaction and a Chick Kick Mickie won and became the new women's champ.
Me: 0/3
David: 0/3

Handicap Match
Booker T & Sharmell v. Boogeyman
Prior to the match Booker and Sharmell were shown in the back and Sharmell was telling Booker that he was a magnet for weird people. Booker T said that he wasn't a magnet for weird people. They then proceeded to pass Paul Burchill (who was acting like a pirate), Eugene (who was dribbling a basketball in order to get money from Ted DiBiase, but DiBiase kicked the ball away), Snitsky (who was licking Mae Young's feet), and Goldust (who was dressed as Oprah / Oprahdust). If I recall correctly Sharmell had no involvement in the match until she tried sneaking up on the Boogeyman to hit him with his cane. Boogeyman turned around before she could hit him, pulled a bunch of worms out of his pocket, ate them, and then kissed Sharmell. Sharmell ran away screaming leaving Booker T alone to get powerbombed and pinned.
Me: 1/4
David: 1/4

Hardcore Match
Mick Foley (as Cactus Jack?) v. Edge
My main question going into this match was whether or not Edge would risk injury. He did and then some. Edge speared Foley, but it turned out that Foley was wrapped in barbed wire under his shirt. This resulted in Edge having a large gash on his upper arm. Edge also brought out a bag of thumbtacks, poured them out, and was then backdropped onto them by Foley. Edge must have had 50-100 tacks in his back. Later in the match Foley pulled out Mr. Socko and wrapped it in barbed wire. He then gave the Mandible Claw to both Edge and Lita. Foley also repeatedly hit Edge with a barbed wire covered baseball bat as well as grinding it into Edge's bloody face. Match ended when Edge speared Foley through the ropes and through a burning table that was set up on the floor (above left). At one point Edge was planning on lighting Mick Foley on fire. Edge got the pin. An excellent match.
Me: 2/5
David: 2/5

Playboy Pillow Fight
Torrie v. Candice
Really dumb match. Torrie won with a roll-up.
Me: 2/6
David: 2/6

Casket Match
Undertaker v. Mark Henry
Shorter than I thought it would be. 'Taker won and then Druids rolled the casket away. No Daivari.
Me: 3/7
David: 3/7

Inter-Brand Money In The Bank Ladder Match for a title shot within the next 12 months
Matt Hardy (SD) v. Finlay (SD) v. Lashley (SD) v. Ric Flair (RAW) v. Shelton Benjamin (RAW) v. Rob Van Dam (RAW)
Near the beginning of the match Matt Hardy superplexed Flair off of the top of a ladder. Flair looked like he landed awkward and was helped to the back by refs and agents. His leg looked a like his knee was knocked out of place. Flair came back out a little later and was pushed off the top of the ladder. Not a lot of major bumps. RVD won the match. A pretty good match, but not nearly as many big bumps as normally seen in ladder matches.
Me: 4/8
David: 3/8

No Holds Barred
Shawn Michaels v. Vincent K. McMahon
Before the match all 4 McMahons were shown in the back and they decided to have group prayer. Vince said that he doesn't like God and God didn't like him. He also told God that he was going to send Shawn Michaels to Hell. Just like I said it was going to do, this match stole the show. The best match of the night. Also, just like I had said, Vince came out looking 'blotchier' than he did on Monday. I always tease my friend about how orange Hulk Hogan looks, but he would look like an albino compared to Vince ( a little exaggeration). Nothing eventful happened in the beginning of the match, but then Shane came out and knocked Shawn off of the top rope. Shane then pulled out some handcuffs, but didn't use them. Vince then decided that Shawn should join the 'Kiss My Ass Club' again and promptly dropped his pants. As Shane was about to ram Shawn's face into Vince's ass Shawn elbowed Shane and without Vince realizing it Shawn rammed Shane's head into Vince's ass. Shawn then handcuffed Shane to the ropes outside the ring and beat him senseless with a kendo stick. The S. Squad came out and worked Shawn over. He eventually fought them off. Shawn was about to give Vince a superkick, but decided against it. He instead brought a ladder into the ring and hit Vince in the head with it. As Shawn was about to try a superkick again he decided against it. He then hit Vince with a trash can and put him on a table. Shawn was then going to jump onto Vince from on top of the ladder, but decided that the ladder (which was 10 feet) wasn't high enough. Shawn then got out a 15 foot ladder, put the garbage can over Vince's head, put him back onto the table, and gave Vince an elbow from the top of the ladder (above right), but not before doing a DX crotch chop. After the elbow the ref checked on Vince to see if he was alright. The ref then made an X with his arms to signify that there is a legitimate injury in the ring. As the paramedics came down Shawn pushed them away (the 'legitimate' injury was a work) and went on to superkick Vince right in the jaw followed up by a pin. After the match Vince was carted off on a stretcher and gave Shawn the middle finger as he was being wheeled up the ramp. Also, at one point in the match Vince kept doing a Bret Hart imitation by putting his arms out and shaking them like Bret used to do when he got into the ring after being introduced.
Me: 5/9
David: 4/9

Smackdown Main Event - World Heavyweight Championship
Kurt Angle (c) v. Rey Mysterio v. Randy Orton
A decent match, but nothing special. Rey was to come out first and the band P.O.D. was playing his theme on top of the entrance set. Rey then 'jumped' out of the stage went back through the curtain and appeared on top of the set with P.O.D. When Rey appeared on top of the set he was wearing some sort of headdress. He was also wearing tassels all over his clothes like a mariachi band member. Early in the match Orton was about to give Rey a German suplex only to have Kurt Angle come up behind him to give Orton a German suplex of his own; The result was both Rey and Orton being suplexed at the same time with Rey flying across the ring. Within the first 5 minutes Angle had gotten both Rey and Orton to tapout to the Ankle lock. The referee didn't see either though. As Rey was tapping out the ref was distracted by Orton trying to bring a chair into the ring and while Orton was tapping Rey was hugging the referee so he couldn't turn around. In a bit of a funny moment Rey tried giving Angle a 619 around the ringpost, but his hands slipped and he just flew onto the floor. He however went on the hit Orton with the 619 and West Coast Pop to get the win. Rey is the new World Champion (I think I'm about to vomit). He then went to the top of the ramp and celebrated with Chavo and Eddie Guererro's widow Vickie.
Me: 6/10
David: 5/10

RAW Main Event - WWE Championship
John Cena (c) v. Triple H
The entrances that each wrestler made were a little bizarre. First for Triple H a video played of CGI skeletons followed by clips of medieval fighters swinging shield and swords. Triple H then rose up out of the stage sitting on a giant throne. He was wearing a cape with fur around the top, a silver Maltese cross on a necklace around his neck, a headband with a silver Maltese cross it (which made him look like an old fashioned doctor), and leather sheaths around his legs and forearms. I suppose this was playing off of the whole 'King of Kings' nickname that Triple H has. It looked like a screen test for the next Conan The Barbarian movie. For Cena, they played a video about the Great Depression and Gangsters (The Gangster part I understand a little bit since they were in Chicago, home of Al Capone, but the reason for the Great Depression was lost on me.). Then the stage lifted up just like with JBL and a 'mobster-type' car came driving out. A bunch of guys dressed up like mobsters then got out carrying Tommy Guns and then walked around the ring looking into the crowd as if they were trying to find someone. Cena's music then hit and he appeared wearing a black hat and trench coat like a mobster. He was carrying a Tommy Gun as well. He fired it into the air (it was a prop). If it sounds a little stupid, it was. I was thinking to myself - 'What is it? Halloween?'. Once both men were in the ring Lillian did the introductions and called each guy by all the nicknames that they had ever gone by. The actual match wasn't good at all. Say what you will about Triple H - the one thing that he can do better than most is carry a match. Unfortunately, he could carry Cena. I'm not saying that it's all Cena's fault, but the match was fair at best. For the first 5 minutes of so both guys seemed to take turns throwing each other down and then just standing there staring at their fallen opponent. Most of the rest of the match was rest holds. It seemed like an endless loop of sleeper holds and chinlocks. I'll skip all the details, but there was a few STFU's by Cena, a Pedigree by Triple H, and a ref bump. Triple H eventually tapped out to the STFU. I was really surprised to see Cena keep the title. He won't for long though. Also, Triple H did a DX crotch chop (as did Shawn Michaels) during the match, but I don't think that means that DX is reforming.
Me: 6/11
David: 6/11

Summary: It's a tie. My 6/11 to David's 6/11. I am really surprised that we didn't get more right. It's over 50% though.

Final Thoughts: A good PPV, but nothing truly memorable other than the Hardcore Match and the No Hold Barred Match. As far as Wrestlemania go it was below average. Worth $50? No way. Before Finkel introduced the Hall Of Famers he announced that Bret Hart was uncomfortable participating in the actual PPV so he wasn't there. I recommend getting the DVD only for the Hardcore Match, No Holds Barred Match, and HOF speeches which were heavily edited on the USA Network airing.

The catchphrase for Wrestlemania 22 was 'Big Time!'. I'd say it was more like 'Medium Time!'. Speaking of Big Time, It seemed like they were playing that 5 second clip from the Peter Gabriel song on an endless loop. That song is tatooed in my brain. I was never a big fan of the song to begin with, but now I hope I never hear it again...EVER!

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