Predicted Card
Match 1: Dolph Ziggler (c) v John Morrison - United States Championship
Match 2: Team Barrett v Team Orton - Traditional Survivor Series 5-on-5 Match
Match 3: Beth Phoenix (c) v Eve Torres - Diva's Championship
Match 4: Mark Henry (c) v Big Show - World Championship
Match 5: Alberto Del Rio (c) v CM Punk - WWE Championship
Match 6: John Cena & The Rock v Awesome Truth
I'm fully expecting those first two matches to combine for the entire first (at the very least) 45 minutes of the show, if not the first hour. Ziggler/Morrison could be a 20 minute instant classic, but I'm expecting an 8-13 minute match, while the 5-on-5 match will easily go on for a half hour or more.
As far as Ziggler/Morrison goes, I know how I want to see it go down. Zack Ryder screws Ziggler out of the US Title and then John Morrison turns heel by attacking Ryder and cutting a promo saying "I never needed your help Ryder, go back to your internet show," or at least something to that effect. I think Ziggler needs to go immediately into a feud with John Cena to determine the #1 contender for the WWE Championship. Ziggler is on a hot streak lately. Not in the same sense as Wade Barrett - no, Barrett is on a winning streak, but he's still pretty average in my opinion. Ziggler hasn't been winning, but there is not a single superstar in the WWE who makes losing look better than Ziggler. He sells better than anybody in the company. He bumps better than anybody in the company. He even talks better than anybody in the company not named Punk or Cena. Dolph Ziggler is athletic, charismatic, articulate, and has a unique sense of humor that has never been showcased on WWE TV before. And now that I'm done gushing, I do think that Ziggler's time as US Champion has run its course, and the only person I can think of who would make that belt look better than it already does is John Morrison. That's my fantasy booking, though. My prediction is simple...Ziggler retains.
Speaking of Barrett, I do believe that his team will end up victorious when the dust settles on Sunday. Barrett has been on a legitimate tear for the last month or so, and there is no better way to capitalize on that than for a team with his name on it to go over a team with Randy Orton's name on it. I don't think Barrett and Orton will be the last men standing, though. I think Cody Rhodes and Barrett will be left with Orton being the only one remaining on the other side, then Orton will eliminate Barrett only to get Cross Rhodes'd for a Team Barrett win, thus furthering the Orton/Rhodes feud that we haven't gotten nearly enough of since Vengeance. In order, I think the eliminations will look something like this:
-Hunico (eliminated by Sin Cara)
-Jack Swagger (eliminated by Mason Ryan)
-Mason Ryan (eliminated by Dolph Ziggler)
-Dolph Ziggler (eliminated by Kofi Kingston)
-Sin Cara (eliminated by Wade Barrett)-Kofi Kingston (eliminated by Wade Barrett)
-Sheamus (eliminated by Wade Barrett)
-Wade Barrett (eliminated by Randy Orton)
-Randy Orton (eliminated by Cody Rhodes)
I fully expect them to play up Barrett's intellect, leadership abilities, and strategic thinking. He's going to send Hunico out first because he's the least experienced, and as soon as Hunico steps out, Sin Cara takes notice and wants a piece (which he gets) to continue their feud. Swagger jumps in and Mason Ryan feels opportunistic (and he is) so he takes care of business. As soon as that big monkey Mason Ryan starts celebrating his elimination, Ziggler hits him with the Zig Zag for a quick elimination. This is where I expect the match to get interesting - there might be a solid 10-15 minutes after this point before anybody else is eliminated, but I do think Ziggler will be the next guy to go, simply because of how much more of a prominent role Barrett and Rhodes play, as far as storylines go, in comparison. It's pretty obvious that Kofi & Sin Cara will both be eliminated before Orton & Sheamus, but I can't say for sure which of the two (referring to Kofi & Cara) will get eliminated in what order. I think Cara is less important to the match (Kofi can do just as many high spots, but works better otherwise) so I'm predicting Kofi will last longer. I already predicted my ending: Rhodes pins Orton to win the match for Team Barrett.
Diva's match? Beth Phoenix vs Eve for the Diva's Championship? Sounds all too familiar. I think Beth Phoenix will retain. Maybe Eve wins and we finally get that Kelly heel turn that I've been calling for, but I highly doubt it. Honestly, I think the best angle the WWE can do with the Diva's Division is to push tension between Nattie and Beth, leading up to a full-on Natalya face turn at the Royal Rumble. Hype leading up to Chamber is Beth vs Nattie, where Beth cheats to retain. Wrestlemania match would be Beth Phoenix v Natalya in a Falls Count Anywhere match for the title, where Natalya (depending on what kind of a reception she'd have been getting at arenas leading up to that point) would go over and become the new face of the Diva's division. Kharma returns in May, and Natalya vs Kharma would be the first legitimate, HUGE angle that the Diva's division has seen in YEARS after Nattie retains her title against Beth in their rematch at Extreme Rules. THAT, my friends, is how you save a division in wrestling.
Mark Henry v Big Show for the World Title could be very interesting depending on how it is set up. I would LOVE to see Kane return and beat the living hell out of Big Show backstage, essentially stealing his World Title shot, turning heel, and putting on a World Title match that isn't a repeat of Vengeance. All fantasies aside, if Wrestlemania 28 is the event that the Undertaker will wrestle his last match at, his opponent NEEDS to be Kane. Not just any Kane, though. A ruthless, emotionless killing machine that wants nothing more than to bring his big brother down to earth by putting an end to the one thing that defines The Undertaker: his winning streak at Wrestlemania. Kane needs to come back with no emotion, no remorse, no nothing. Hell, even bring Paul Bearer back just for Kane to bury him alive or put him in a casket and light it on fire, just to PROVE that Kane has evolved as a monster, and devolved as human being. Kane needs to show that he has no emotional attachments to this world that the Undertaker could potentially use as a weak spot. Kane needs to look like the only man alive that The Undertaker might actually fear. Regardless of whether it's Kane or Big Show, Mark Henry is walking out World Champion.
By the way, guys, there is a WWE championship match on this card, too. Hard to believe, since there's been so much effort put into promoting the fact, but there is, indeed, a WWE championship match. CM Punk said it in his June 27th promo: I'm hardly promoted. Talk about the proof being in the pudding. I do think Del Rio will retain this match, but not cleanly; Punk will not tap out to Alberto Del Rio. Not again. Del Rio will either get himself disqualified or counted out, or Ricardo will be a distraction, or worst yet: Michael Cole will cost CM Punk the match while Ricardo has the ref's attention. Cole got a WWE exclusive and he wants to sue Punk, so much like what he did to help Miz retain the title against Jerry Lawler, I wouldn't be surprised if Cole costs CM Punk and MAYBE EVEN goes on to become Alberto Del Rio's new manager. It all adds up...both Punk and Cole himself hinted at him leaving the booth. JR is a fan favorite and actually tells stories about what's going on in the ring, not irrelevant stories about himself. Michael Cole is the ultimate heat magnet, and that is what Del Rio is lacking: heat. If Del Rio picks up Cole as a manager, he might get that heat back, even if by association. Either way, I do think Del Rio will retain, but in a way that ensures a Punk/Del Rio match at TLC, where (unless Cole has garnered Del Rio so much heat that taking the belt off of him at TLC would be too early) CM Punk would become a TWO TIME WWE Champion.
And finally, the match everybody is talking about: The Rock makes his epic return to team with John Cena in order to take out a team that is so phenomenally average that they had to get themselves disqualified against Cena due to him beating them in a handicap match by himself. Cena could be teaming with Zack Ryder and everybody would still think that their team would win over Awesome Truth. If anything, Rock is a worse partner for Cena because they have tension that could cause them to implode. So, what do I expect to come out of this match? A Rock heel turn. Yes, I said it, I think The Rock is going to turn heel. The WWE's writers are far too naive to learn from the mistakes that they made in the past, and The Rock is far too gracious to pull what Hogan did in 2002 and turn the crowd to his side. The Rock will play his heel role full well knowing that when his shoulders are down for the three count, he has just given the business the only thing that he had left to give: John Cena being accepted by everybody. This entire match is built around the basis that Rock had "it" - and by "it", I mean mass appeal - he was loved by the entire crowd, and the only time he was ever booed is when he was a heel. The WWE wants The Rock to put Cena over at Wrestlemania in hopes that more of the crowd will accept Cena like they did Rock. Cena gets a 3 count, stands up, helps Rock up, they shake hands, Rock cuts an inspirational promo putting over Cena when it's all said and done, and people go soft for Cena. I'm cool with it, as long as it actually works. The Rock will turn on John Cena at Survivor Series and The Miz and R-Truth's double team will just be too much for Cena alone. It's that simple. It's that unoriginal. It's that corny. It's the WWE writing team, and they know that they've booked themselves into a corner, so this is the most believable way out without Cena/Rock squashing Miz/Truth and making them look bad.
Be sure to post a comment if I touched on anything in this post that you'd like me to elaborate on. I feel like I've thoroughly explained everything that has substance to it, but I might have missed something under the assumption that you know what I'm thinking whether I type it out or not. "Comment now, or forever hold your peace".
I'm going to Raw the day after Survivor Series - I'll be front row center, wearing a shirt with a vertical orange-to-blue gradient, and I'll be the one holding up the #HEEL sign, as well as a few other choice signs that I've made. If you see me, say something! Or better yet, if you watch the show on youtube and see me, make a clip of it and send it to me!
12.4.11 - The World - And the WWE's Developmental System - Gets turned upside down.
Another solid post, and even though the predictions didn't all come-up trumps, you gave great rationalle for everything. Love it.
ReplyDeleteP.S. I did see the #HEEL sign on Raw! :D