In only a few hours time WWE goes EXTREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEME with its EXTREME RULES pay per view, there will be tables, there will be chairs and there will be an amazing Chicago crowd. So what do I think is going to happen? Let’s get down to it and find out.
YOUTUBE PRESHOW
UNITED STATES CHAMPIONSHIP
SANTINO MARELLA vs THE MIZ
I’ve been a big fan of Santino for a while now, outside of the ring he is definitely the funniest superstar on the roster, and inside the ring he is incredibly entertaining, what certainly helps with that is that unlike a lot of other comedy characters, the crowd is behind him in a huge huge way, lets not forget his amazing performance in the Elimination Chamber when considering what he could do. The WWE saw to reward that performance by putting the US Title on him, and it isn’t a move I disagree with, however, there is a real lack of legitimacy to the title due to non-title bouts and generally Santino only feuding with people who wouldn’t be seen to be suitable for the belt (I am looking at you Mr. Otunga) and so WWE need to decide if they want to get behind him in a big way, or pass the title on to someone who can make it mean something.
I’m also a big fan of The Miz, his gimmick needs some fine tuning and revamping, but he has the look and the ring style to be amazing, he is a former US and WWE champion and can undoubtedly bring some relevance back to the title. Sadly The Miz has been in no mans land for 11 months now, doing absolutely nothing of note, even to the point where it was a surprise he found himself on the card for WrestleMania. The guy hasn’t even appeared on TV since then, and now finds himself in the Youtube Exclusive Pre-Show match (much easier when they would be called dark matches.)
The Miz HAS to win this title, if he loses to Santino (as much as I love him) it will destroy all the credibility he has, and with an already packed main event roster (on both shows, should he switch to Smackdown) I cant see any way back, which will be an absolute travesty for someone with his potential.
PREDICTION – THE MIZ
DIVAS TITLE MATCH
NIKKI BELLA vs BETH PHOENIX
Beth Phoenix is the best WWE diva in 10 years and in my opinion, Nikki and Brie Bella are pretty high up there too (I wonder why), but lets face it, for years now, Divas matches have been considered toilet breaks and the only way I can see this being worth a damn is if Kharma returns or the following happens – Nikki defeats Beth due to interference from Brie, Kharma returns on RAW tomorrow night, completely dominates the twins to the point they are written out (and leave, if the rumours are true) the title is vacated leading to a match between Phoenix and Kharma in a months time.
PREDICTION – NIKKI BELLA
INTERCONTINENTAL TITLE MATCH
THE BIG SHOW vs CODY RHODES
I’ll come straight out and say it, as much as I respect the guy for being able to do what he can at the size he is, I am not a fan of The Big Show, I don’t like how he has become such an out and out good guy and it annoys the hell out of me. On the flip side I am a HUGE fan of Cody Rhodes, I honestly believe he and Ziggler are the stars of the shows, and in 5 years time better be on top of the company. When Rhodes lost the Intercontinental title at WrestleMania I think everyone saw that it was his time to move in to main eventing, but things haven’t QUITE gone the way it was expected, yes, it will take some time to establish him as a star, but since WM I don’t think he has won a single match, and was even beaten clean by The Great Khali on this weeks Smackdown, that kind of booking, combined with the already discussed packed main event roster gets me worried for Cody.
So does Cody need the title? Yes, by beating Big Show tonight, clean (well, as clean as a heel can nowadays) it will help to further establish him as someone who can defeat the legends, it will also bring some more legitimacy to the title (since Big Show has barely mentioned it since winning) and a process of pushing Rhodes to the main event while holding the title would be incredibly beneficial, as he would become more and more established, but not be lost in the mix since he is a champion. I’d even like to see Rhodes become a dual Champion along with the World Heavyweight Championship, and in order to advance his heel status, simply discard the Intercontinental title since he has no use for it. The title means nothing around Big Shows waist (or shoulder in his case), as he will compete against main event talent 90% of the time in non-title matches, and the Intercontinental title is quite simply mid-card level.
Will Cody win? It is a toss up, it is generally believed The Big Show is retiring within the next 18 months, and in his 13 year run with WWE he had won every title he was eligible for with the exception of the Intercontinental title, a piece of the puzzle missing to make him a grand slam champion, so was this why they gave it to him? Maybe. Does this mean that now that it has been accomplished, he will drop the title? I hope so. Cody to win, purely because he needs it more.
PREDICTION – CODY RHODES
RANDY ORTON vs KANE
FALLS COUNT ANYWHERE
Lets face facts, both of these guys are two amazing workers, Kane is someone who has been underutilized for 13 years now, and Randy Orton is an intense worker (even if I don’t like his clotheslines) but, this feud has been a piece of crap, no build up, no reason, why should I care? Their WM match was ok, it wasn’t great, just ok, and I was happy Kane got the win that night, but this feud needs to end here and now with this match and it is obvious Orton is going to get the win. This match is going to be absolutely brutal, it needs to be to justify the stipulation, lets just hope that brutality masks the lack of interest in the feud itself.
PREDICTION – RANDY ORTON
WWE CHAMPIONSHIP
CM PUNK vs JERICHO
CHICAGO STREET FIGHT
Chris Jericho has been my favourite star since I saw him at 11 years old on WCW, and to see that he was returning to feud with Punk was EXTREMEly exciting. The two best mic & ring workers in the business facing off against each other, but while their WrestleMania match was all kinds of awesome, the feud has fizzled out due to the boring and tedious nature of this whole “alcoholism” storyline, it isn’t interesting, it isn’t new, and the mic work both Jericho and Punk have been doing for it pretty much sucks. But which way is the match going to go? Jericho has been getting the upper hand since WrestleMania, and if he doesn’t win the WWE title he wouldn’t have accomplished anything since returning and would have lost at 4 straight PPV’s, but on the flip side, Punk is the new generation, he is the reigning WWE champion and I think a lengthy reign (without the name Cena on the belt) is doing the world of good.
There are two extenuating factors though that must be considered, the returning Albert/A-Train/Giant Bernard/Lord Tensai is being pushed in to a feud with Punk, this has already been hinted at by Big Johnny. That knowledge, coinciding with the fact that Jericho is expected to leave the WWE around July to tour with Fozzy means he could win the title, have a decent enough (by todays standards) length reign before going, means that we could see some interference by Tensai tonight, costing Punk the match and the title.
There have also been a number of people stating that Punk will win because it is in home town of Chicago, I wouldn’t be so sure, just because he won his Money in the Bank match last year in his home town, it doesn’t mean he should be undefeated when returning there, a loss in his home town would be far more interesting (and gain a much better crowd reaction) than a win.
PREDICTION – CHRIS JERICHO
WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP
SHEAMUS vs DANIEL BRYAN
2 OUT OF 3 FALLS MATCH
How nice it is to see the return of this stipulation, I love the concept for this and it really builds the intensity as the match goes on, and boy does it need it since the shambles of WrestleMania. I predict that Sheamus will gain the first fall in a repeat of the 18 seconds WM match, but that the next two falls will be a longer affair, Daniel Bryan will obviously cause Sheamus to tap out to the YES LOCK for the second fall, leading in to the decider.
Daniel Bryan has been on a hot stream since before WrestleMania and has turned in to the most entertaining man in the company at this point, his wrestling is always top notch, and his mic work is improving in leaps and bounds week in week out, but it is plain as a day to see WWE want Sheamus to be the future of the company, and so due to interference from AJ, Daniel Bryan will succumb once again to The Great White.
PREDICTION – SHEAMUS
BROCK LESNAR vs JOHN CENA
EXTREME RULES MATCH
The big one, the one that will really sell this card as EXTREME, the return of THE NEXT BIG THING. Brocks return came hand in hand with the best edition of Raw in years, and since he has been back I have been loving him, even his overly long promo last week on Raw, which everyone else seems to be moaning about. Now, I was never the biggest fan of Brock in the past, there was nothing wrong with him, I just had other people I cared for more, nor did I really care when he left, a mans got to do what a mans got to do, but I did follow his UFC career and knew what he was capable of, so I was happy to see him return and spice things up a little.
John Cena, conversely, is exactly where he should be, I don’t like him… At all, but I cannot deny he can draw big, big enough that he doesn’t need the title to be the most important man in the company, which is why I’ve been loving the position he has found himself in lately, staying well away from the title scene (and in truth, barely wrestling) and bringing in insane business for the company while letting other people have a bite of the cake.
Like I said, this match is going to be EXTREME, and with the bit of edge the WWE have been adding lately, a bit of blood on this most EXTREME of nights would not shock me in the slightest. In the end, Brock is going to come out on top, a loss straight after his return would absolutely demolish everything WWE have been doing with him and severely affect the impact he is going to have in the coming months.
PREDICTION – BROCK LESNAR
Additional Thoughts – GET DOLPH ZIGGLER ON THE CARD YOU ABSOLUTE FREAKING MANIACS.
hearing great things about Steve Gerber for many years I grabbed a treasury edition of Howard the Duck where he teams up with The Defenders. I’m afraid to say that apart from the brilliant Byron Burger I had for lunch, I think that’s all I actually bought.
stuff over the last few years so my one regret is that I had only bought one Captain Britain trade with me as my bag had been getting too heavy (bad back!), and that I didn’t go off and buy his Wisdom and Black Widow trades there and then, since I’ve been after them anyway, and go queue up again to get them signed.
