As Mania draws near, "SmackDown!" has decided to attach the proverbial cart behind Batista and Taker. The World Heavyweight Champion against Taker's 14-0 streak. Honestly, I don't see Batista retaining the strap. Fifteen is much more official sounding than fourteen, plus he's the freakin' Undertaker! Austin, Triple H, and even Giant Gonzales (wink wink) were unable to knock him off. Is Batista really the guy that is capable of doing it? I don't think so.
Questionable booking as of late does make me question whether or not Taker's going over. Vince seems intent on shoving the current triple threat of world champs down our throats. He also seems like he enjoys sticking it to the smarks whenever he can. To his credit, however, I like the new direction of all three brands heading toward Mania.
ECW finally has an actual direction. Michaels in the spotlight again on "Raw" has put a smile on my face, and if anyone can drag a great match out of Cena it's the "Show Stopper" himself. I also like the double babyface on babyface main event. Some of the most memorable matches in Mania history has been babyface VS. babyface. Piper/Hart and Hogan/Warrior immediately comes to mind.
"SmackDown!" has truly been the A Show for the past year. I genuinely enjoy watching it each and every week. JBL's commentating makes viewing worth it alone. Did anyone else catch his "Wild" Bill Irwin name drop? You don't hear that everyday. The man's truly a scholar of professional wrestling.
Where the hell is MVP? The man was on fire (literally) and then he dropped off television completely. I'm hoping for a Kennedy/MVP match at Mania.
They've hinted at a showdown between these two a couple times. What better place than on the "grandest stage of them all" for these two future world champions to showcase their talents?
That's it for this week. Sorry about the delay. I'm a very busy man these days. Amongst other tings, Ive been busy dominating all the other writers in the "WWE Fantasy" O Show league. Seriously, I have to actually scroll down the screen to find Dan-e-o and Donnie's names. Number three and climbing!
17 comments: on "Talkin Smack"
Steve Austin and the Undertaker have never faced each other at WrestleMania.
I thought I had heard something about MVP being slightly injured. If it's true, it might be the reason why he suddenly got yanked.
Either that or he's out filming the new Power Rangers movie.
MANIA is finally shaping up to be a real MANIA. We haven't had that classic Mania in a long time, and this one looks like it just might be "the one." I want Kennedy involved, but not necasarily with MVP, while MVP has some promise I'm not quite as high on him as alot of people. He would do good at Mania but I don't think Kennedy is the opponent for him at Mania. Kennedy vs. Benoit would be a good one. I hope and pray that Roidtista doesn't go over in that match. And another thing I've thought about, is how Cena was booed unmercifully last year, the same may happen this year. 2 straight years of facing certifiable greats(3 actually, 4 if you wanna count Show at XX), but these two he's not the same as WM 20 and 21. I'm guessing that this year the boo's will resound as loudly if not louder than last because Michaels isn't even attempting heel heat as H did last year.
Another question though, is there going to be a MitB Ladder Match this year?
I agree that Smackdown has been the A show lately especially with consistency of matches and storylines. i.e. Kennedy Vs. Batista/Undertaker...and Matt Hardy Vs. Mercury....with the icing on the cake being the amazing color commentary by JBL.
-i gotta admit, i was never really a huge fan of him in the ring and he was very over-rated, i actually liked him as Justin Hawk Bradshaw...managed by Dutch Mantell back in 1995 looking like Stan Hansen jr.....anyway his anouncing just blows everybody out of the water he is AWESOME...he puts the matches over and actually adds more depth to the characters in the ring, which is especially good for those wrestlers who dont get a lot of mic time...like Gregory Helms.
As for MVP...i think he is a future player and should not be wasted away in a fued with Vito of all eople, i think MVP's ring gear is very corny...but he is very good as he proved in his promo after he came back from the Armagedon match....heres to hoping he gets put back in time to have a decent spot at Wrestlemania cuz i have a feeling he is going to be tere for a long time.
And Finally, Batista sucks ass right now!!! he was good b4 his injury but the only thing he's got going for him now is his awesome enterance theme sung by Saliva (badass band man!)....but NOOO he should not end Undertakers losing streak hell Undertatke will prob still at last him i give Batista 2 more yrs in da wrestling biz tops.
Yes has anyone heard of a money in the bank match? It would be the obvious way to fit the likes of MVP, Finlay, Super Crazy, Chris Masters, and others into the event.
I had mentioned it in an earlier post, but if you were to watch his stuff prior to his back injury in 2005, everything he did was a lot stiffer and better sold back then. He really made it look like he was trying to beat up his opponent. That was the key to his character; you were supposed to watch him and damn near cringe because of how "O"-ful his power moves were. Now we cringe because of how awful they are.
Money in the bank should be incorporated into 'Mania this year. If I were to handpick 6 guys for it, I would take Jeff Hardy, Johnny Nitro, CM Punk, Chris Benoit, MVP, and MRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR. KENNEDYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!
...Kennedy.
The fear of Cena winning yet again at Mania, and Batista stopping the streak, has me quivering in my bed late at night.
How do Duece & Domino get a shot at the belts in less then a month of being on the roster? And at the expense of the ladder match too?!?
While I like the 6 picks that Hitman had for the ladder match, I'd actually like to see it be the newer guys. Hardy and Nitro could have a great mano e mano match, I think a MitB would sort of cheapen Kennedy's title shot, not really but a little bit. The other 3 I do like though.
Punk, MVP, Benoit, are great choices, and I think they could spice it up with the addition of a Gregory Helms, and how bout Umaga to add an extra element of no f*cking way to the match especially if his big agile ass won it, and a guy I'd like to see but I know it wouldn't happen is T.J. Wilson.(BTW when is the New Hart Foundation supposed to actually happen?) But a realistic 6th pick would be none other than V Onnnneaaahhh. Oh wait no, he's in the doghouse. You know what screw Stephanie(I would in a heartbeat too) they need to push those deserving. But yeah, Hardy(M) vs. MVP vs. Helms vs. Punk vs. Umaga vs. Benoit.
Wow there is one guy from RAW in that lineup.
Ok so my picks are wrong and Hitman's are right, due to the fact of evening up the roster spots filled in the match. There will have to be an odd-man out and my guess is that ECW may not even be involved. Unless Vince wants to push Gene "Can I lick your feet" Snitsky. Or The Alpha Male Montycus Cor Brownvon.
Gregory Helms would be a good fit, but I'd rather see his Cruiserweight Title defended at WrestleMania.
If ECW were to be involved, it would probably only be for bump value; there's no way in hell they'd let an ECW wrestler win. The spoilers are out, and WWE isn't even trying to hide it; the only ECW guy they give a damn about is Blackberg.
Hardy and Nitro put on great matches, but they've had a lot of one on one/tag team matches over the past few months. Throw them in a match like this and they'll deliver.
Realistically, if ECW is not even involved, my pick for the 6th guy would be either Super Crazy or Kenny Dykstra.
I have a dream card in mind, but I'll get into that as we get closer to WrestleMania.
I too would love to see OG in a singles match at MANIA that would most likely steal the show, but honestly I don't think the E gives enough of a damn about that division. Although a GHelms vs. Jimmy Yang or Ghelms vs. Jimmy Yang vs. Rey Mysterio would be damn close to a dream match. And honestly I like Rey in the Cruiserweight division, just not so much in the heavyweight division.
He's super. He's Crazy he's SUPERCRAZY. That dude is money just waiting to happen. And again KD is not a guy I'm to high on, but I think if he'd drop that pink and purple shit I may pay more attention. And somebody tell him he's not Lebron or Mello so drop the damn headband.
Yeah, most likely. Another dropped ball by the E in my opinion. The two could have been a great heel pairing for an EXTENDED amount of time. What I want to know though, is how exactly and who exactly is going to be the face in that match. Surely the E isn't hanging on the big 2 matches enough to not give this one enough time to build. Because 48 days is going to be a squeeze to get one of these guys good face exposure. Unless they go the route of cheap heel heat vs. cheap face pops. Which is probably what they'll do.
I know it most likely will not happen but I'd mark out for a Regal/Finlay singles match, and that my friends would be a classic in every sense of the word.
Yeah Ben, I think we are in agreement on this one. The reasons I think RKO could be so hot may be different or they may not be, but I want to take this chance to stress why I think so.
Orton and Edge are two of the best natural(at least Edge makes it seem natural) heels in wrestling. Orton has that arrogant ass look to him which is a blessing in disguise. Edge has a look about him that makes him stand out in his book he states, "under my cro-magnon-like forehead" that together with his facial expressions he IS viewed as an ass. Well that and boning Lita(work or not) while she was still with V-1 there will always be heat for that. While they may not really matter, I think that the coupling of natural heel ability and the "look" that both these guys possess albeit different looks, they mesh quite well. I'm not saying that Edges forehead makes him a heel, I'm just saying that it's a unique feature about him that gives him a certain look.
Another thing is their mic skills. While Orton stumbled at first back in '04 I do believe, he has evolved(wow an evolution reference not even meaning to have one) into one of the top mic guys in my opinion. Edge also has a mic talent rivaled by very few. The way that both of them use words to irritate fans to no end, paired together could rival the 4-Horseman, even the the horseman have a 4 on 2 advantage.(5 if you count JJ)
Another thing they've got going for them is age. While Edge isn't that young, he is still a good bit younger than most of the top-guys at this point With Cena being the exception the others are at least over 35. Orton is still really young, and being younger than Edge you have potentially the top two heels in the industry if done right and these guys have years and years ahead of them.
The last thing I'll touch on is the fact that wrestling fans don't often forget things. Therefore we all remember Orton becoming youngest World Champ at what 23 or 24. Edge winning 2 WWE Championships in one year. But not only that Orton pinned HHH who was and is the standard bearer for WWE, and marks and smarks both know that H is THE guy. Edge pinned John Cena not once but twice to win both his WWE titles. Even though Cena wasn't the champ in the latter he still pinned him in the triple threat. So fan's realize that these two guys have been to the top of the mountain, and in getting there defeated 2 of the most pushed and longer reigning champs of this era. So they are 2 of the best, and they make fans remember that which brings heat.
So there is MY view on what makes and could make Team Rated R-K.O the best heel unit in wrestling. I'd really like to know what you all think about my opinion on this matter.
The ONLY thing that's gonna hold Orton's character back is that "Legend Killer" shtick. Having him claim that he can beat legends in his promos, then jobbing to them is gonna do more to devalue this guy than if he were to be involved in a feud with Eugene, create a fake "news network" to cut cheesy vignettes of himself with his arm in a sling, or do anything involving Mae Young.
Oh...wait. My bad.
The bottom line is, Orton doesn't get over nearly enough as he should in order to be a main eventer. That's probably the reason why they paired him with Edge; what better way to get a heel to generate more heat than by pairing him with the biggest heel in the business?
That being said...it's not going to do anything. Once Rated RKO splits up, Randy will go back to receiving the kind of pops that midcarders get. Welcome to the glass ceiling, Orton.
That damn glass ceiling. He and Matt Hardy are trapped under that bastard. Wow someone else who remembers the RandyNewsNetwork. The promo from the first Elimination Chamber at Survivor Series was sooo bad, thanking the sexy flight attendant Sherri. I do think however that the "legend killer" thing was ok, for a while. Hogan was the only one he jobbed to, and thats probably because Hogan won't "do business," but they should go ahead and drop it, or just keep it as a slogan nothing more. I do think Randy is semi-over like you said, but I can't put my finger on the thing thats really really holding him back. Maybe if he RKO'ed JR he'd get some good heat. Or RKO Mark Cuban in Dallas again. It's cheap but sometimes it can hold over. Hell give him the mic and/or another 30 minute+ match with Edge when the time comes to end this pairing, which ISNT now.
Undertaker ended up winning his feud with Orton too.
I think what really killed him was that when he was a face, people found out how much of a dick he was backstage, then when they turned him heel, it was a lame-ass and unexplained attempt at him going heel. Then what finally finished him off was the Mysterio storyline. Cheap heat is good, but too much cheap heat hurts you, because people will just stop watching you. That may be what happened to Orton.
One of the main things though that happened to Orton sort of in conjunction with your theory is that when they turned him face it killed him. He has such heel heat for a young guy, and then bam cheer him please. And by the way he's an ass, and only going to be face for this 2 month program. The E misuses more wrestlers than I can mention now, but with proper booking there isn't a guy on that roster that couldn't be a star. Although some have been used up, and some too quick. Especially if Daniel Rodimer is called up. From what I saw and heard he was trash, and isn't much better now. But he's a big dude, so he must have big things ahead.
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