DaveyBoy's Wrestling Menu - Rumble Predictions, SSlam '02 Review + 2005 Reader Predictions
Submitted by DaveyBoy on Wednesday, January 26, 2005 at 12:01 AM EST






THE WRESTLING MENU #116

Welcome one and all to the 116th edition of The Wrestling Menu, the column that is sure to satisfy your taste buds when it comes to discussing all things wrestling.

Well, it looks like my mention of world sports in my introduction last week got some good feedback, so with yet another huge week, I may as well continue on a good thing. Firstly to England where I mainly got laughs for being a Southampton Saints supporter. Well, if they can beat Liverpool 2-0, they might just indeed survive relegation this season. And hey, who doesn't get some sort of entertainment out of a 6-8 striker loping around bamboozling the opposition?

Over to America where we're down to 2 teams remaining in the NFL. I think it's fair to say that the best teams in their conference have won through to the SuperBowl. Of course, with the conference system, we will never know if the Steelers or Colts were actually better than Philly. As for my prediction for the game, the score is completely inconsequential, as the Patriots just know how to win. Whether it's 30-0 or 21-20, the Patriots know that the only thing of importance come this time of the season is the win. I am presuming that Terrell Owens is still a chance to play, and that at least makes for some great drama.

While in the NBA, my Spurs rushed to the best record in the league. Their comeback overtime win in Phoenix was a sight to behold, as Manu Ginobili & a bench player or two helped Tim Duncan make the impossible very possible. You know another reason why I love the Spurs? Their interest in drafting foreign talent in the lower rounds. Ginobili & the 2 Slovenians have been contributing all year. While there is also a New Zealander & an African on the roster. Hell, are Duncan & Parker technically Americans...???

By the way, just on that Spurs vs Suns match, I saw another bit of showboating in an NBA game that simply amazed me. It happened at a crucial time in the last quarter as Amare Stoudamire was fouled going to the basket. Just because he could, he continued to show us his strength by completing a few push ups & flexing for the crowd. Mr.Stoudamire earns my "You Idiot #1 award this week for doing that. I've always found that free throws are about touch & feel. The last thing you want to be doing is tensing up your biceps..... especially at a nerve-wracking time of the game. Two missed free throws later & I ask what the score would have been at full time had he made just one of those shots!!!

But there isn't just 1 "You Idiot" award winner this week, as I simply cannot ignore a comment made recently. Those that follow the NFL may know that the New York Jets have just signed a potential Aussie punter to a 1 year deal. In confirming this, the General Manager of the Jets referred to Ben Graham (a very good AFL player who has just retired to chase his NFL dream) as an Australian Rules rugby player. For this comment, Terry Bradway earns my "You Idiot #2 award this week. Australian Rules Football & Rugby are 2 completely different sports. But then again, expecting some people to take their blinkers off & look overseas is simply asking too much.

Ok, that went on a little longer than I thought it would. Let's get to the WWE. On with the show.....


APPETIZERS

2005 Reader Predictions

Before I begin, I'd just like to thank not only those who have emailed me over the past few weeks, but also all those people that have been reading my columns. My past 4 columns have all had over 6,000 hits, which is something I can't remember my columns achieving in the past. Not only is it flattering to me, but I also think that it proves that fans are currently being entertained by the WWE. Whether it was the Elimination Chamber, Batista's current push or the upcoming Royal Rumble, I believe the WWE are on an upwards surge right now. Hopefully, they take advantage of it leading up to WrestleMania 21.

Before I share with you a whole bunch of predictions for 2005 submitted by my readers, if you are yet to view my own predictions, you may do so by clicking on the following link: http://www.lordsofpain.net/news/2005/articles/1106119478.php

There were a few ways I could have done this topic. My initial thought was to take the best 5-7 predictions that readers emailed me with & comment on them. But then I thought that I would waffle on & on and take up too much time. So what I have decided to do is take what I think are the best 25 predictions that I received & simply list them. No comments from me at all, just 25 predictions with the name of the contributor in brackets at the end of the prediction. Please note that the order shown here is the order in which they were received, not the order of which predictions I think are best:

- Nearly all of the newly acquired "Divas" will not be employed with WWE by the middle to end of 2005, with the two exceptions being Christy Hemme and Amy Weber. (Floyd Herbert)

- When Batista and HHH finally do part ways, Flair will side with Batista, and they will recruit Orton to form a face Evolution ousting HHH. (Floyd Herbert)

- The Undertaker will get a last title run before quitting at WM 22. (Pascal)

- Brock Lesnar will return to Smackdown, where he will languish in mid-card hell for the remainder of 2005. The fans, hostile to him at first, will eventually clamor to see him get a push, which the WWE will ignore. (Scott Hartman)

- Big Show WILL Be WWE Champion Sometime During The Year (Mathew Rost)

- With Paul London winning the Cruiserweight Title, the division will fire up big time. (Dan Johansson)

- Due to his failed main event push and being way past his prime, 2005 will be the last year we see Booker T wrestle. (Dan Johansson)

- Evolution will dissolve. With the stable down to two following the Batista face turn, HHH will go into paranoid mode which will eventually alienate Flair as well. (Todd)

- The draft lottery will not take place again unless 2 or more stars decide to just up and leave around Wrestlemania again. (C49PJM)

- RAW will suck more and Smackdown will be much better since they seem to alternate every year on which show is dominant. (C49PJM)

- HBK to go Heel sometime this year and reunite DX when Evolution folds. (ChrisTheKing)

- Steven Richards, Val Venis, Mark Henry, Heidenreich, S2H & Holly will all be fired. (ThePilot)

- TRL will be GM for the whole year, but will turn heel after WM21. (ThePilot)

- Some new wrestler will win Kurt's gold medal. (ThePilot)

- The RAW superstar to be drafted and main event on Smackdown will be Y2J and he will win the WWE Championship in 2005. (Carl Renda)

- Carlito Cool will hold the US belt over half the year starting in May. He will win the belt from Cena who like the Ultimate Warrior in 1990 will hold the two top belts. (Chad Perry)

- The Eugene gimmick will be gone by the end of the year. (Chad Perry)

- Randy Orton will replace Batista in Evolution. (Ann Allen)

- Rey Mysterio will win the InterContinental Title, because I think the WWE will begin to push Rey as a contender (not a Cruiser), and the best way to do it is to send him to RAW. (JazzmanDan)

- Eugene will turn heel. (Jerichoholic619)

- John Cena will go back to being a heel (once he loses the WWE Championship) & Christian will become a face. (Christopher Moore)

- The following wrestlers will be cut in 2005: Garrison Cade, Rhyno, Rob Conway, Rosey, and Victoria from Raw and Shannon Moore, Rene Dupree, Jesus Aguileria, and Akio from Smackdown. (Jason Fitzgerald)

- In an effort to boost ratings against football the WWE will use Steve Austin, Rock, and Mick Foley as some sort of team in the Survivor Series. (Jason Fitzgerald)

- Monday Night Raw will return to the USA Network. (Jason Fitzgerald)

- Josh Matthews will defeat Kurt Angle in his gold medal invitational. (Jason Fitzgerald)


MAIN

SummerSlam '02 Review

Please note that this is a continuation of my monthly series on the 1990's. Over the past year or so, I have reviewed SummerSlam '90, WrestleWar '91, 1992: The Year In Review, 1993: The Year In Review, 1994: The Year In Review, SummerSlam '95, King Of The Ring '96, Survivor Series '97, Halloween Havoc '98, No Mercy '99, Royal Rumble 2000, WrestleMania 17 & Invasion 2001. Once more, I will include my monthly 'PPV Rating' system, so that we can make some sort of comparison on the quality of ppv cards between now & 2 years ago.

'Nassau Coliseum'. Uniondale, New York. August 25, 2002.

KURT ANGLE defeated REY MYSTERIO: Very very good opening bout of the evening. Right from the beginning, Rey continued playing the pesky, but competitive, opponent to the ex-WWE Champion. While the pace wasn't super quick for a 9 minute match, it fit the storyline well. Furthermore, this encounter had above average psychology, some excellent reversals, and most importantly, 2 great performers. Match Rating...8

RIC FLAIR defeated CHRIS JERICHO: I remember at the time really being disappointed with the way the WWE set this match up. It could have been classic, yet I wasn't looking forward to this match as much as I should have been. Having said that, I usually enjoy watching Jericho perform & Flair gave quite a performance considering his age. Although, Flair's variety of moves had already diminished at this stage (chops, low blow, chops), the match was better than I expected it to be. It was a surprise that Flair won, and at the time, I thought the feud was going to go on to bigger & better things (ie: who is the dirtiest player in the game). Unfortunately, it never really did. Match Rating...7

EDGE defeated EDDIE GUERRERO: Another match where I was a little disappointed with the set-up to what was obviously going to be a great feud. But these guys really did let their in-ring work do the talking. Twelve minutes was only just enough for these two, but in that time, they showed that they were both going to be worthy of future WWE Title reigns. The pacing of this bout was excellent, as was the variety of moves. There was also good psychology, where Eddie worked on Edge's shoulder like only the heel Eddie can. Some critics won't like the way Edge bounced back from the attack & defeated Eddie, but it didn't bother me a great deal. If you recall, Edge was slated to get a WWE Title shot at the end of 2002, so he had to pull out the victory somehow. Match Rating...8

LANCE STORM & CHRISTIAN defeated BOOKER T & GOLDUST to retain the Tag-Team Titles: This was the classic (hated) heels vs the (over) faces tag match. The UnAmericans were getting a huge push at the time & the WWE were basically doing anything & everything to get them heel heat. The bout included everything we could expect from the match, without being anything spectacular. Test interfered to keep the title away from the super-over faces, and I could have sworn that referee Nick Patrick was staring straight at him at the time. Match Rating...7

ROB VAN DAM defeated CHRIS BENOIT to win the Intercontinental Title: At the time, this was a Raw vs SmackDown match, as Benoit had jumped ship to SmackDown with the InterContinental Title. The slowish pace at the start of this match told me that these two were going to get at least 15 minutes (they got 16). Because of this, the crowd was surprisingly quiet at first, but came to their feet after Benoit gave RVD 3 Northern Lights Suplexes!!! These 2 then continued to give a stellar performance. I thought their styles might clash, but RVD really seemed to work off of Benoit's intensity amazingly well. A surprise win to RVD resulted. Match Rating...8

THE UNDERTAKER defeated TEST: OK, who put this match so late on the card? I wasn't expecting too much of a match out of these two, but really thought the WWE might try something different. They didn't, but it was definitely watchable. However, The Undertaker manhandling 3 opponents seemed to contradict the push that The UnAmericans were getting!!!. Match Rating...6

SHAWN MICHAELS defeated TRIPLE H: This is the match that critics love to argue over, as when viewed with a microscope, it does have holes in it. I will go on record now as stating I don't really give a crap. This was a match that was supposed to be viewed for entertainment purposes, and in that light, is purely amazing. Firstly, kudos to the WWE for the production on the preview before the match. It has to be remembered when viewing this bout, that it was HBK's first match in 4 years!!! I remember expecting the quality to be average with both men being really careful & maybe concentrating on 2 or 3 big spots. But exactly the opposite occurred. This 28 minute contest had it all & was reminiscent of the April '96 match between HBK & 'Diesel' Kevin Nash. After the upset victory to Michaels, Triple H increased his heel heat by clubbing Shawn Michaels in the back with his sledgehammer. My 2002 Match Of the Year. Match Rating...10

BROCK LESNAR defeated THE ROCK to win the Undisputed World Heavyweight Title: There are a lot of things to discuss about this match. Firstly, the WWE needed to have some sort of a segment before the match to cool the crowd down from the excellent HBK-HHH match, thus the silly segment involving Finkel & the ladies. Secondly, the New York crowd did to The Rock what they did to HBK at Survivor Series '96 & booed him constantly, which surprised the hell out of me. Considering this, it was very difficult for both wrestlers to play off the crowd the way they would have planned to before the match. Considering the circumstances, I thought they both did ok (especially The Rock). After 16 minutes of good action, Brock Lesnar hit the F-5 to become the youngest ever WWE World Champion, only 5 or so months after his debut. On original viewing, I rated this match a 7. However, I thought I would view it later on to judge it independently from the event (due to the HBK-HHH match). On second viewing, it was a very good match, with some real competitive action befitting the most prestigious title in the business. If anything, I was a little disappointed that Brock Lesnar didn't pull out the Shooting Star Press to win the title. Match Rating...8

PPV RATING (62/80) = 77.5

Looking at the key, I have basically given 'SummerSlam' 2002 an 'A' grade & said 'Make sure you add this ppv to your video or dvd collection'. This is the pay-per-view that I have rated the highest since I've been using my PPV Ratings System (edging out WrestleMania 17's rating of 74). What more can I say? Simply a phenomenal card that employed the 'back to basics' approach of how to set up & put together a ppv event. From what was basically a cruiserweight opener through to the amazing main event, nothing was done wrong. I will talk a little more about it in next week's column, but in the meantime, this is so highly recommended, that I can guarantee that it's worth the purchase price to add to your DVD collection.


DESSERT

Royal Rumble Predictions

Ahhh, it's that time of the year when we can pretty much expect a good pay-per-view. The Royal Rumble, with it's fun battle royal plus usually one other good match at least, always seems to satisfy myself & the majority of fans. However, this year is a little different as the WWE have really stacked the card. Hell, any of the 4 matches outside of the battle royal could legitimately be a ppv main event. That surely means we'll see a very good ppv, won't it...???

SHAWN MICHAELS vs EDGE: I'm one of many people that am a little surprised that this match has been rushed onto this card... Especially since an Angle vs Undertaker WM21 match is heavily rumored. The only place I can see the WWE going then is a rematch between HBK & Edge. If so, can I suggest a Ladder Match to settle the score. But getting back to the present, I'm really looking forward to this bout. It will be the opener as both men are involved in the battle royal. It's 'step up' time for Edge & I have confidence that he can get the job done. Plus, there's no better man to be in the ring with than HBK when you need to pull out a great match. The result should be interesting. I do hope that Edge comes out of the feud on top, but with me foreseeing a rematch down the track, that won't be here. Winner: Shawn Michaels

THE UNDERTAKER vs HEIDENREICH in a Casket Match: I can't say I'm expecting too much from another 'Taker vs Heidenreich match. All the casket match stipulation adds is some potential comedy with Heidenreich's supposed fear of the casket. I really want a clean 'Taker win to end this feud here, but am fearing some interference from the likes of Heyman, Angle and/or Snitsky, to keep up the pain that us fans have had to endure with this long drawn out feud. I was one of the few that were sufficiently happy with their Survivor Series match, but everything afterwards has been a bit of a shambles. Winners: The Undertaker

TRIPLE H vs RANDY ORTON for the World Heavyweight Title: I'm unsure what to think about this bout. I really have no idea what to expect. Will the WWE just go with a by-the-numbers match that does nothing but keep the title on Triple H & get Orton out of title contention? Or will they have something big occur to further the Evolution angle towards WrestleMania 21? For some reason, my expectation is not high, and I can see a good, if not spectacular match revolving around Triple H attacking Orton's knee continuously, and ending with the usual Triple H victory. Winner: Triple H

JOHN BRADSHAW LAYFIELD vs THE BIG SHOW vs KURT ANGLE in a Triple Threat Match for the WWE Championship: The sleeper match of the card & quite possibly the barometer (although one could make a case for the Triple H vs Orton bout) for this event. A couple of weeks back, I would have put the house on JBL to retain his title. But the WWE have done a really good job of building up the challengers & filling this triple threat match up with mind games. Angle would have to be at his best to get a great match out of these 2, but the dynamic could just be there for it to happen. As for the result, I think it will be played safe. Winner: John Bradshaw Layfield

ROYAL RUMBLE MATCH: As per usual, I don't think there are a great deal of possible winners of the battle royal. In fact, the list of contenders this year may be thinner than ever. Obviously, a lot has to do with what happens earlier in the card, but I'm going to presume that both Triple H & JBL will retain their titles, as predicted. This immediately suggests that a face (or at least a heel about to turn face) should win this year's event. So the contenders from Raw would be Jericho, Benoit, HBK & Batista. While from SmackDown we have Undertaker, Cena, Eddie & Booker. I'd immediately cross off that list Undertaker & HBK (who have matches earlier in the night), as well as Benoit & Booker (who have fallen out of favor of late). With no real huge WrestleMania rumors surrounding Jericho & Eddie, I can't see them winning the Rumble either.

So that leaves us with probably the 2 guys who are currently getting the biggest reaction on their respective brands right now: Batista & John Cena. My opinion concerning Batista is well known from my last few columns, so a Cena win would be quite refreshing & a little unpredictable. If the WWE decide to go forward with a triple threat match between Triple H, Orton & Batista at WM21, I can actually see Cena winning this. However, I don't think the WWE can push their luck with the length of this Batista turn. While I don't think this win will immediately turn him face, it should be used as the starting point. Winner: Batista


Ok, that's about it for edition #116 of 'The Wrestling Menu'. Hopefully The Royal Rumble will be it's usual high standard. Please do not hesitate to let me know what you think of my Royal Rumble predictions. Remember that you can't say "I told you so" if you didn't actually tell me so. Any opinion on SummerSlam '02, or any of my readers' predictions for 2005, would also be appreciated. You know that I will reply to all feedback. My e-mail address is DaveyBoy123@bigpond.com

Next Wednesday in 'The Wrestling Menu', I will have my usual 'PPV Review', as well as talking about a method of WWE booking that they often forget. It's so basic, it's not funny. And if they could do it at SummerSlam 2002, I can't see why they can't do it a few times per year. Apart from that, I'm not sure what will pop up... Maybe something that occurs at The Royal Rumble, or feedback to the readers predictions in this column, will need to be discussed in detail. Look out for that column same Wednesday time & same LOP channel next week. Until then, this is DaveyBoy signing off & asking you to remember that dinner is best served in 3 courses.











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