Great American Bash Reaction

Have Smackdown's belts been rendered meaningless? Will Cena be champ for much longer? Will CM Punk no longer be the centerpiece of ECW? The answers...

All titles except for the Cruiserweight Championship were retained at this years Great American Bash. Let's go match by match and see what each outcome entails:

MVP def. Matt Hardy to retain U.S. Championship
- MVP is a great champ and WWE recognizes his potential, so it's no surprise to see him get a clean win here. This feud could be a great one, though, so look for it to continue into SummerSlam for a rematch.

Hornswaggle wins Cruiserweight Championship
- Well, the Crusierweight belt hasn't meant that much in recent years, but it's probably reached a new low. It's not as bad as giving the Great Khali a world championship, but it's getting there. If anything, Hornswaggle at least brings more attention to the belt and it should be cool to see how this storyline is handled. Hornswaggle vs. Chavo at SummerSlam? Surely not...

Carlito def. Sandman
- Apparently, even though this was a Singapore Cane match, the cane was never even used. Also, Sandman had no beer when he came out of the crowd. Is WWE censoring him? I hope not. This feud will most likely evolve into Sandman and Hacksaw vs. Carlito and William Regal for a gimmick match at SummerSlam.

Candice Michelle def. Melina to retain Women's Championship
- It seems that WWE is set on Candice being champ for a while, which is fine by me. It's tough to see where things will go from here though...Mickie James is clearly the most popular diva, so why not give her a title shot? At the same time, though, Jillian Hall and Beth Phoenix are two good heels. I'm thinking Mickie James becomes the #1 contender.

Umaga def. Jeff Hardy to retain Intercontinental Championship
- No real surprise that Umaga gets the clean victory over Jeff Hardy here. Now this is the question: will Umaga carry the belt into SummerSlam? I don't think so...remember that Umaga will be fighting against the Jackass crew, and what better way to get him angry at them than their interference forcing him to lose the belt?

John Morrison def. CM Punk to retain ECW Championship
- Morrison's set for a long title run here. He really deserves it: he's a great wrestler but he needs to get better on the mic. I think CM Punk is a better wrestler and a better speaker, but he will be champ before long. I'm not so sure that this feud will continue. We've seen house shows advertising Morrison vs. Tommy Dreamer, even though we saw Dreamer lose to him just a couple weeks ago. Regardless, I hope that this feud does go through SummerSlam: WWE needs to have its future (CM Punk) on the card.

Randy Orton def. Dusty Rhodes
- This was easy to pick: does anybody see DUSTY RHODES getting a push? Orton has been on a roll lately in order to set up for...a championship run and a feud with Triple H. Orton will beat Cena (finally) at SummerSlam to win the belt. Look for Cody Rhodes to start feuding with Santino Marella, Santino being a heel.

Great Khali def. Batista and Kane to retain the World Heavyweight belt
- This is absolutely sad. But here is what we're headed to: Great Khali vs. Batista at SummerSlam. This is so dumb.

John Cena def. Bobby Lashley to retain WWE Championship
- This was easy to see coming, or HEAR coming. Take one listen to Bobby Lashley on the mic and you know that he is miles short of being WWE Champion. He's been pushed too hard and too fast...I'm glad he finally got beat clean. He'll feud with Kennedy now and (hopefully) put him over.

There we go! What are your thoughts about the Bash or the upcoming SummerSlam?

Drew Arnold, writing for The Irish Whip

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Edge To Drop His Title On Smackdown

Over the past several hours, it's been reported that Edge will be dropping his World Heavyweight Championship on this week's Smackdown due to a torn pectoral muscle. This is yet another case of the injury plague for the WWE. The big question is, who will win the title? Batista? Kane? Mark Henry? MATT HARDY?

Here's my prediction: Smackdown will hold a battle royal main event this week to find the new champion. The winner will end up taking on Kane at the Bash.

Who do I think should win? Kane. He's a fantastic wrestler, he's great to watch, his entrance is awesome, and it would be fun to watch him terrorizing the Smackdown locker room during his title reign. Also, as much as Kane has dominated in the WWE, he only has one world title reign to show for it...and it lasted only a day.

Who do I think will win? I'm putting my money on Batista. I can see a Batista-Khali title feud followed by a Batista-Henry feud. This is sad, since I feel like we've seen this all before.

At this point, I think that even Matt Hardy would make a better champ than Batista. Batista just doesn't do a great job with the belt...Cena does much better. Why not give someone else a shot? Hardy would be a great way to go.

Who do you think will be champ? Slap a comment on the board.

Drew Arnold, writing for The Irish Whip

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Ideas on what happens next in the WWE...

Unfortunately I did not get to see last nights Vengeance, however whilst moping about how I couldn't get the PPV, I had some thoughts about a few of the guys participating, in particular Lashley, Foley and Kendrick/London.

Before I go into details, I hope whatever kept Benoit off Vengeance last night is sorted with no harm to anyone. He is a great talent and looks like he is finally getting a brand built around him, which he deserves for his patience and hard work.

First up, seeing as how Raw is screaming for a dastardly heel, why not make Lashley one? Granted he hasn't got the mic skills, but that's where my big plan comes in. Why not stick him with Sgt Slaughter as his manager? They both have "military" backgrounds, though Lashley's is genuine.

Next up, why not have Foley back for a bit longer this time and have him feud with Cena. Foley has stated a thousand times that he likes to put the new up and comers over(even though Cena is pretty much over). What I can see however, is give the title to Foley and make him go heel, perhaps as Cactus Jack. Let Cena become the hunter not the hunted as he has beaten every other challenger. That way there is a new title holder, it pleases the smarks, Cena gets more over as a plucky babyface against the dastardly(god, I love that word!) Cactus Jack. Hell, why not bring Terry Funk back into the picture?

And finally, how cool would it been to see the Hardys take on London/Kendrick? The old school highflyers vs the new school. That way, London and Kendrick can put themselves over as the massive babyface tag team, leaving the Hardys to perhaps "fall out" and split the team up, giving Vince and the Creative team the singles runs that they crave so much.

Anyway, looking forward to Raw tonight, maybe they will end this silly angle!

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WWE Draft Preview And Predictions

I don't think that I've ever been as excited about RAW as I am now. WWE has the real opportunity to get their programming on the right track and return to being an integral part of pop culture with this draft.

Firstly, I want to say what I think the format of the draft will be like. Most likely, we will see each brand get a certain number of random picks, as was done in the 2004 draft. Smackdown will be robbed of its talent and it doesn't make sense that they would let this happen if they were doing the picking.

Let's get to it...with the realization that predicting the WWE Draft is more of a crapshoot than anything. Everything depends on which direction WWE wants to go in.

To RAW:

Batista - If RAW needs some more star power, then this is certainly a good way to go. Batista will lose his "Do or Die" match against Edge at Vengeance and move permanently to RAW. This would set up for a fantastic feud with John Cena later this summer.

Chris Benoit - It's been reported for a long time now that Benoit has already been told he's moving to RAW, which makes this an easy pick. I would think the ideal feud for him would be with Randy Orton.

William Regal - Never underestimate the strength of HHH's backstage politics. It's well-known that Regal is good friends with HHH and that he has requested a move and a heel push on RAW. He'll get it.

To Smackdown!:

CM Punk - He is one of the best pure wrestlers in the company (if not for Benoit, he might be THE best) and he is also a great entertainer. He will "move up" to Smackdown in order to put him on a bigger stage. Intuition seems to be telling everybody that he'll feud with MVP for the U.S. belt, and I think that's correct.

Matt Hardy - He's already on Smackdown, right? The point of this is to split up the Hardys as a tag team and make them singles wrestlers again. McMahon has always liked them better as singles.

Kevin Thorn - They've been putting him over on ECW the past few weeks with some squash matches, but who are they preparing him to feud with? With seemingly nobody on ECW that comes to mind, I say he moves to Smackdown.

To ECW:

Rey Mysterio - He'll add top-tier talent to the show and replace CM Punk as the reason to watch ECW. Also, he'll be feuding with none other than Mr. McMahon by the end of the summer, so look for him to warm up on some of the ECW heels.

Shelton Benjamin - His singles push gets a restart on ECW and Charlie Haas gets dropped. Benjamin is one of the most talented athletes in the company and needs to be utilized. Quit wasting space with him on RAW!

Super Crazy - His singles push on RAW has all but diminished. We haven't seen him in weeks even though he has reportedly recovered from his injury. ECW is a perfect fit for this guy, and he would be a great wrestler to put over some of the up-and-coming heels.

If the draft were to take place as I see it, Smackdown would clearly be raided of its talent and ECW would become a very watchable show. I have one problem with my predictions: there's nothing shocking about them! No title switches between brands, etc. I think a great move by WWE would be to swap MVP and Santino (and their belts) between RAW and Smackdown. But we'll see.

How do you see the upcoming draft? Post your responses.

Drew Arnold, writing for The Irish Whip

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Matt Hardy Is Delusional, Untalented

In a recent article in the Miami Herald (I guess it was a slow news day...), an interview with Matt Hardy states the following: "While he has fun teaming with his brother on Raw, Hardy is intent on pursuing his lifelong dream: a run with the world title. Hardy said he asked management to give him high profile singles' matches. With a victory over rising star Mr. Kennedy and his arch-enemy Edge now holding the belt on SmackDown!, a title shot is very possible."

Even more unbelievably, Matt is then quoted as saying "Right now Jeff and I are the tag team champions, but I can't lie. I want to win the [world] title," said Hardy. "I think for me I just need some tweaks to my character to add a little depth to it and get more mic time and continue to improve on my personality. I think as far as my skills go in the ring and my mechanics, I definitely think I have what it takes to become a world heavyweight champion."

Is he serious? If he had the mic skills, the ring skills, and the size to compete for the championship, he STILL wouldn't get the shot over guys like CM Punk and Mr. Kennedy. This isn't even taking into account that he's not even the best wrestler with the last name of Hardy. Matt getting a title shot would produce such a weak match that it'll make Khali-Cena look like Benoit-Angle.

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WWE Draft Preview And Predictions

I don't think that I've ever been as excited about RAW as I am now. WWE has the real opportunity to get their programming on the right track and return to being an integral part of pop culture with this draft.

Firstly, I want to say what I think the format of the draft will be like. Most likely, we will see each brand get a certain number of random picks, as was done in the 2004 draft. Smackdown will be robbed of its talent and it doesn't make sense that they would let this happen if they were doing the picking.

Let's get to it...with the realization that predicting the WWE Draft is more of a crapshoot than anything. Everything depends on which direction WWE wants to go in.

To RAW:

Batista - If RAW needs some more star power, then this is certainly a good way to go. Batista will lose his "Do or Die" match against Edge at Vengeance and move permanently to RAW. This would set up for a fantastic feud with John Cena later this summer.


Chris Benoit - It's been reported for a long time now that Benoit has already been told he's moving to RAW, which makes this an easy pick. I would think the ideal feud for him would be with Randy Orton.

William Regal - Never underestimate the strength of HHH's backstage politics. It's well-known that Regal is good friends with HHH and that he has requested a move and a heel push on RAW. He'll get it.

To Smackdown!:

CM Punk - He is one of the best pure wrestlers in the company (if not for Benoit, he might be THE best) and he is also a great entertainer. He will "move up" to Smackdown in order to put him on a bigger stage. Intuition seems to be telling everybody that he'll feud with MVP for the U.S. belt, and I think that's correct.


Matt Hardy - He's already on Smackdown, right? The point of this is to split up the Hardys as a tag team and make them singles wrestlers again. McMahon has always liked them better as singles.

Kevin Thorn - They've been putting him over on ECW the past few weeks with some squash matches, but who are they preparing him to feud with? With seemingly nobody on ECW that comes to mind, I say he moves to Smackdown.

To ECW:
Rey Mysterio - He'll add top-tier talent to the show and replace CM Punk as the reason to watch ECW. Also, he'll be feuding with none other than Mr. McMahon by the end of the summer, so look for him to warm up on some of the ECW heels.


Shelton Benjamin - His singles push gets a restart on ECW and Charlie Haas gets dropped. Benjamin is one of the most talented athletes in the company and needs to be utilized. Quit wasting space with him on RAW!

Super Crazy - His singles push on RAW has all but diminished. We haven't seen him in weeks even though he has reportedly recovered from his injury. ECW is a perfect fit for this guy, and he would be a great wrestler to put over some of the up-and-coming heels.

If the draft were to take place as I see it, Smackdown would clearly be raided of its talent and ECW would become a very watchable show. I have one problem with my predictions: there's nothing shocking about them! No title switches between brands, etc. I think a great move by WWE would be to swap MVP and Santino (and their belts) between RAW and Smackdown. But we'll see.

How do you see the upcoming draft? Post your responses.

Drew Arnold, writing for The Irish Whip

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RAW Results

Tonight's RAW was just plain odd: it didn't really create new story lines or feuds nor did it extend or improve upon those existing ones. Instead, it was a bizarre reactionary tale derived from patches of One Night Stand, Judgment Day, and Backlash. Two hours of matches I've already seen intertwined with an unusually long McMahon fit never sits well with me.

During the initial Cena promo, I didn't even know what was going on. This was partially due to the fact that my girlfriend kept asking me when I was going to grow out of wrestling (answer: never), but I'm relatively sure that nothing important happened. It became obvious in the early goings that the night was going to be one of stagnation. I think that the WWE is afraid to do anything too drastic right before the draft.

Cryme Tyme was back in action which I like to see (I guess they got better in the ring?) and had a nice match with Kenny and Nitro. Santino Marella was forced to put the belt on the line, which he did (against Chris Masters), and retained in typical "I'm still pretending I don't know how to wrestle fashion." Orton and Flair fought for some reason (see the point about not doing anything drastic or starting new feuds), with Orton taking care of Flair in a typical HBK-RVD rewind. Carlito beat up a girl again, which makes sense, considering backstage reports suggest he isn't playing nicely with the other boys...and girls.

In the only real development of the night, Cade and Murdoch beat The Hardy Boyz for the belt and then turned on them (point for Drew) suggesting that the Hardys may return to singles action after the draft (another point for Drew). Never mind that this was a match we had seen twice in the last three months at Backlash and Judgment Day.

Jonathan Coachman came out to tell us everything we needed to know about the draft which amounted to absolutely nothing new.

The Main Event wasn't bad, but I just didn't need to see Cena fight Umaga (so New Year's Revolution/Royal Rumble 2007). And I certainly didn't need to see Cena fight Khali (didn't they fight...yesterday?). The match itself was relatively entertaining, but if I hear about The Great Khali's shoe size one more time, I'm going to start watching TNA. RAW ended with one thing being very clear: the WWE needs this draft more than ever.

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One Night Stand Predictions

Tomorrow night's PPV has the best card that we've seen since Wrestlemania. A lot of these matches are tough ones to call, but let's get down to it.

Kane vs. Mark Henry
Lumberjack Match
Why do they keep making a great entertainer like Kane lose to such crappy wrestlers? I don't know, but I think it will happen again.
Winner: Mark Henry

Randy Orton vs. RVD
Stretcher Match
This should be an awesome match. Now, it's "common knowledge" that this will be RVD's last match with WWE (at least for a while) but it is also known that Vince McMahon doesn't like the fact that everybody knows this. I don't think that will make a difference. Look for RKO to "kill the legend" of RVD.
Winner: Randy Orton

CM Punk, Sandman, Tommy Dreamer vs. Elijah Burke, Marcus Cor Von, Matt Striker
Table Match
This should also be a good match, but I think it's a pretty easy one to call. Look for CM Punk's push to continue and for the New Breed to continue to fall apart.
Winners: CM Punk, Sandman, Tommy Dreamer

The Hardys vs. World's Greatest Tag Team
Ladder Match for the World Tag Team Championship
This, along with the stretcher match, will probably be the match of the night. Now it would not surprise me at all if Haas and Benjamin won the belts somehow, seeing as WWE wants the Hardys to each be singles wrestlers. I think that Matt and Jeff will keep the belts at One Night Stand, though.
Winners: The Hardys

Melina vs. Candice Michelle
Pudding Match
It was made a non-title match...because Candice Michelle will win it
Winner: Candice Michelle

Edge vs. Batista
Steel Cage Match for the World Heavyweight Championship
This match seems pretty straightforward. Edge has been guaranteed a long title run, and it is extremely possible that Batista will be drafted to RAW soon. So...
Winner: Edge

Vince McMahon vs. Bobby Lashley
Street Fight for the ECW World Championship
I really don't like this storyline, but thankfully I think it will end tonight. Bobby Lashley "overcomes the odds" and wins the ECW title back.
Winner: Bobby Lashley

John Cena vs. The Great Khali
Falls Count Anywhere Match for the WWE Championship
I really think that they'll go all out in this match. Cena can be more hardcore than people give him credit for, and I think we'll see that in this match. I also think we'll see him retain, setting up for a Cena-Batista feud in a few weeks.
Winner: John Cena

There it is! As always, please post your responses and especially your disagreements. I will write a One Night Stand reaction and see how I did.

Drew Arnold, writing for The Irish Whip

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The Feuds We Could Be Seeing

Jared's post really got me thinking: is it the WWE's fault that the programming sucks or is there just not enough talent to go around? After a quick trip to the Superstars page, I'm convinced that this is all their own doing. Let's take a look at some of the feuds we could have:

WWE Championship: Edge and Shawn Michaels. The styles of these two guys go together perfectly. Remember how good Michaels made Cena look a few weeks ago in their Iron Man Match? Well, picture him with Edge, one of the most improved wrestlers of the last 5 years. They would absolutely kill each other for the title, both have really good mic skills, and are recognizable figures in sports entertainment (unlike The Great Khali, who I still can't believe we're being forced to waste space on).

Intercontinental Championship: This is where I would like to see guys such as John Cena and Randy Orton. They're decent wrestlers with decent mic skills...fighting for a decent belt. I've always been a fan of stacking this division with the fearsome foursome (Jeff Hardy, Shelton Benjamin, Johnny Nitro, and Carlito), but I don't think any of them other than Jeff are ready for it. They've all held the belt and have been absolutely forgettable as champions. Perhaps this is due to a lack of matches which showcase their abilities (ladder, cage, etc.), but for now, I'd rather see them holding the...

Tag Team Championship: Yep, I want all of the foursome in the Tag Team division. I remember when Tag Team matches were the highlight of RAW, compared to now, where they're stuck in the basement. Reintroduce Cryme Tyme and get them some serious ring work. They remind me of the Dudleyz and would fit perfectly with Matt and Jeff Hardy. I would then put Nitro and Carlito together to make some super-heel team (as Cryme and Hardyz are strong faces) and stick Shelton Benjamin with a new partner altogether. The result would be four strong teams. Fatal Four Way anyone?

My point is that the WWE has enough talent to go around, it just needs to figure out how to use it.

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Overrated/Underrated Superstars

Since the Matt Hardy post generated a good deal of commentary and Drew reminded us all of the classic literary form of the list, I thought it would be fun to combine both and take a look at the most overrated and underrated wrestlers currently employed by the WWE.

Overrated wrestlers:
5. King Booker. He used to be a good wrestler in his WCW days, but age and a terrible gimmick have taken a serious toll on the man who used to delight us with that spinning thing. He shouldn't be anywhere near a title shot.

4. Umaga. I know he's from the family that produced The Rock, Rikishi, The Wild Samoans, and Yokozuna, but he's just not interesting to watch. Thank God that the powers that be prevented him from ever beating Cena for the title.



3. Matt Hardy. See previous post.

2. Batista. Another one of McMahon's over-muscled favorites, Batista features a limited move set and virtually no mic skills. Without his huge push, he'd just be another Chris Masters.

1. John Cena. The current champ spends his time defeating future legends with a crappy finisher and generally not being able to wrestle. His good mic skills make him a serviceable champion, but not a good wrestler, and certainly not the Hall of Famer he is painted to become.

Underrated wrestlers:
5. Kenny. I think Kenny has been mishandled. First, he was put with the misfit Spirit Squad. Next, he was forced to wear pink tights and main card RAW. What we really have here is a young Owen Hart: whiny, athletic, and trained by the best (Stu Hart and Killer Kowalski, respectively).

4. The Undertaker. I know, I know. How could one of the most decorated champions of all-time make it onto my underrated list? Well, people still doubt The Dead Man. Every year, there are more and more groans about the age and ability of Taker, and yet he continues to show up, most recently evidenced by his over-the-top-rope dive onto Batista at WrestleMania 23.

3. Shelton Benjamin. Another case of names gone wrong (Does anyone know anyone named Bobby Lashley or Kenny Dykstra?!). Benjamin, a two-time state wrestling champion and Ohio Valley product, has all the moves and the looks to make it big in the WWE. Now all he needs is a name and a push.

2. Carlito. Carlito has a downright nasty move set and yet he's stuck with Ric Flair. I know that the Flair dynamic was supposed to make him a better wrestler and more recognizable, but he didn't even make WrestleMania this year. Missing chances to perform on the greatest stage in the world is going to hurt Carlito in the long run, keeping him as one of the most underrated wrestlers.

1. Mr. Kennedy. Yes, the future of the sport (according to Drew's list) is also the most underrated (according to me). Again, I have a problem with the generic yet odd gimmick name. Mr. Kennedy has a unique mix of power, speed, and flight which is seen in few wrestlers. Some of the most versatile (Rob Van Dam, Shawn Michaels) can combine two, but not three. Kennedy needs to develop a more defined personality so he can avoid showing up on this list in a few months.


Please comment on the board with your own lists.

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"Matt Hardy is the most overrated piece of crap on this roster."

Have truer words ever been spoken? Sharp-witted Edge made this fairly obvious assessment during the November 27, 2006 episode of RAW. Does Matt Hardy suck for a reason or was he just born untalented? The answer, sadly, is both. His career is marked by instance after instance in which Matt was close to some sort of recognition, but ending up falling short. Unless he has his brother Jeff to drag him along, Matt is useless and clueless by himself.

Following a successful tag team career, in which Jeff Hardy won matches and Matt Hardy wore the belt, Matt embarked on his own singles path. This involved a very impressive...European championship run. Matt then turned on Jeff Hardy after being frustrated for not receiving a number 1 contender shot to face RVD. I don't even think Matt Hardy's mother was surprised that he didn't get that spot. But Matt was.

After confusingly naming himself "Matt Hardy-Version 1.0," he went on to win the highly competitive Cruiserweight championship, one of the most storied and sought-after titles in professional wrestling. Past champions include Tajiri, The Hurricane, Spike Dudley, and Funaki.

Then, on April 11, 2005, Matt Hardy received the most attention to his character to date as he was released by the WWE. This action followed Matt's realization that his girlfriend of five years, Lita, was having a legitimate affair with the more successful and better looking Edge.

Hardy would return to the WWE a year later, only to lose to Edge in a loser leaves RAW match. He then went on to compete in the 2006 King of the Ring tournament, losing in the first round to Booker T. Matt then was taken out of action due to a recurring staph infection.

So there you have it. A career defined by piggy-backing off of a more talented brother, losing to just about everyone in the business, being cheated on by a better wrestler, and becoming infected. Twice. If that laundry list doesn't scream "WWE Hall of Fame," then I don't know what does.

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