DaveyBoy's Wrestling Menu - 'New Years Revolution' Review + 2006 WWE Predictions
Submitted by DaveyBoy on Wednesday, January 11, 2006 at 12:05 AM EST






THE WRESTLING MENU #158

Welcome one and all to the 158th edition of The Wrestling Menu, the column that is sure to satisfy your taste buds when it comes to discussing all things wrestling.

Well, well, well. How close was I to predicting the ending & aftermath to the Elimination Chamber match? If you recall, in column #154 on December-14 2005 (http://www.lordsofpain.net/news/2005_/articles/1134555561.php), I booked Cena to retain the title during the ‘New Years Revolution’ main event, only to be savagely attacked by Edge afterwards. I would have preferred if the match then took place at the Royal Rumble ppv, but as it turns out, we will get that match anyway. The only difference is now Edge will have the title around his waist & not John Cena.

Anyway, enough with the semi-gloating & on to my world-famous PPV Review. As I fear the buyrates may have been quite low for this event & many of you reading this may not have seen the ppv, I will explain the general action involved in most of the matches a little more than usual today.…..

On with the show.....


APPETIZERS

'New Years Revolution' Review

For those that cannot recall my previous PPV review columns, this is the key that explains what the final PPV Rating means:

<50: Ask for a refund for not only your money, but also your time. [F] (Armageddon '04)
50-54: Mediocre & disappointing. [D] (EG: G.A Bash '05)
55-59: Average. [C] (EG: Royal Rumble '04 & No Way Out '04)
60-64: Worth A Watch. [C+] (EG: Armageddon '05)
65-69: Good event that was worth the money. [B] (EG: Survivor Series '05)
70-74: Very good. [B+] (EG: SummerSlam '05)
75-79: Make sure you add this ppv to your video or dvd collection. [A] (EG: ECW: One Night Stand)
80+ : Make sure that the video or dvd is locked in a safe & cannot be erased. Memorable. [A+]

RIC FLAIR defeated EDGE by Disqualification to Retain the InterContinental Title: Correct choice as opener & it was quickly backed up by a good beginning to the bout (especially by Edge) which was fast-paced, intense & entertaining. The entertainment value actually stayed quite high for most of it’s short 7 minute duration, no matter who was in control of this sufficiently back & forth match. And the crowd seemed constantly involved. Lita played her role well also & it was while she was in the Figure 4 Leglock, that Edge got disqualified with a suitcase shot to Flair's head. Edge successfully got further heel heat with multiple suitcase shots that left Flair bloodied & taking an eternity to leave the ring. Solid & entertaining opener, that achieved it’s objective, despite being relatively short & not exactly a classic. Match Rating...7

TRISH STRATUS defeated MICKIE JAMES to Retain the Women's Title: Very well put together Women’s match which proves how important a good storyline can be to a bout. The dynamic between the 2 faces was close to perfect & the story told was a very good one. I couldn’t help but be involved in what was going on, not only in the ring, but in the minds of the 2 wrestlers. It was a good quality match too, with some decent technical wrestling attempted, thrown in amongst some good wrestling moves. Trish gets the win at the 7 minute mark after kicking out of Mickie’s Stratusfaction version & nailing the chick kick. Well done to all involved & the division keeps going from strength to strength. Match Rating...7.5

JERRY ‘THE KING’ LAWLER defeated GREGORY HELMS: Unlike the previous 2 matches, this match had practically no story behind it… and you could tell. With the exception of some sparse chants for Lawler, the hot crowd was pretty quiet & just didn’t seem too interested at all. The match itself lasted just over 9 minutes, but felt like an eternity! Helms dominated most of this slow-paced bout with rather pedestrian offense. But, in typical WWE fashion, Lawler pulled out the win with a top-rope fist drop. Nothing but filler, if not terrible. Up until the result, I may have just passed it. Match Rating...4.5

TRIPLE H defeated THE BIG SHOW: Rather predictably booked match with Big Show dominating early, until he takes a swing at Triple H & hits nothing but ringpost. From here, H works on the plaster until he gets it off. What followed was a methodical dissection of the body part of an opponent, with Hunter using every method legally (& sometimes illegally) possible to make Big Show’s hand injury even worse. As predictable as it and the eventual comeback was, it all told a pretty good story & got both me & the live crowd involved. After a ref bump, TBS had to withstand attacks from both a sledgehammer & a chair. He did, but fell victim to (half of) a sledgehammer shot when attempting a left-handed chokeslam. H finishes it off with an ugly looking Pedigree. 16 minutes in length, but it didn’t feel that long. That’s very much a positive, as this was sufficiently entertaining & told a very good story, despite the obvious inherent problems of the bout. Match Rating...7

SHELTON BENJAMIN defeated VISCERA: This match was made on the spot after Viscera tried to pick up Shelton’s momma backstage in a lunch room… And I don’t mean literally pick her up! During the bout, Shelton’s momma was at ringside & just wouldn’t shutup. She, Daivari & Sharmell are now in a good contest for most annoying roster member! Some of the things she shouted out were good, but it was just constant & over the top. As for the match itself, I was as distracted by the ringside annoyance as much as the fans, commentators & cameramen obviously were. But basically, it was ordinary. Messy at times, it could have been worse I suppose. But even at only 8 minutes in length, it just seemed to drag on too long. Shelton breaks his losing streak following his patented spin-kick, but he didn’t really show much more against an imperfect opponent for him. Not terrible, but I can’t pass it. Match Rating...4.5

ASHLEY MASSARO defeated VICTORIA, MARIA, TORRIE WILSON & CANDICE MICHELLE in a Bra & Panties Gauntlet Match: I don’t care what anyone says, this was just terrible. Maria & Candice start out & after the usual rolling around & a move or two, the ditzy interviewer eliminates Candice at the 2 minute mark. She then follows up by eliminating Torrie, but doesn’t last long against Victoria. Then Mae Young comes out & if she was involved in the match, I suppose she eliminated herself. But she then decides to mistake Victoria’s bra for her top on the way out & almost strangled poor Victoria. Then to cap off this masterpiece, Ashley comes out & performs one move (probably all she knows) to emerge victorious. An awful 11 minutes. The gauntlet stipulation added nothing to it, while B & P matches are just getting too tedious. But even so, this was terrible. One point for some of Lawler’s jokes & another point for Torrie’s suplex. Match Rating...2

JOHN CENA defeated CARLITO, CHRIS MASTERS, SHAWN MICHAELS, KANE & KURT ANGLE in an Elimination Chamber Match to Retain the WWE Championship: For those interested, the introductions for the 6 men took all of 11 minutes! I was initially surprised to see Cena begin the bout against HBK, but in retrospect it was a fascinating & rather clever booking move. Although, I would have preferred it not be against HBK, who seems to be getting more popular by the week. Their initial confrontation was rather ho-hum actually, although it was hard to see how they could have pushed the limit so early, since both men were obviously going to last a while. Then, at the 4 minute mark (wasn’t it supposed to be 5), Carlito enters & hits a nice dropkick & somersault senton over the ropes. Just as Cena & HBK finally agree to team up, Angle enters & goes absolutely suplex crazy on all 3 men. He adds great intensity to the fast pace that Carlito instigated. Angle then places Carlito in the Ankle Lock, but he is saved by new entrant Chris Masters.

Not long prior to Kane making his entry, Angle places Cena in the Ankle Lock, but it’s abruptly stopped out of nowhere by Sweet Chin Music, and HBK unpredictably gets the pinfall on Angle! After a couple of minutes of the 2 remaining heels dominating the battered faces, Kane comes in & cleans house. But the 2 heels get the better of him with teamwork that backs up my prior thoughts that they should team up & head after the tag titles. The 2nd unpredictable elimination comes when Kane is pinned. Make that 3 as Carlito & Masters continue their teaming & eliminate a bloodied HBK (despite just hitting Sweet Chin Music on Cena). The rest almost writes itself as the young heels dominate Cena, until Carlito double-crosses Masters & pins him. Cena then immediately pins Carlito with a roll-up to win the match at the 28 minute mark.

While the match wasn’t exactly a classic & was the weakest of all Elimination Chamber matches that we have seen, I do admire the WWE for attempting a few things during the bout. The shock order of eliminations were unpredictable & will either be liked or hated by fans. But either way, I’m certain that it kept all of us on our toes & interested in what was going to occur. Unfortunately, it probably didn’t help the match quality all that much, as having someone like Angle there at the end could have given it a real lift. But sometimes things must get sacrificed for the sake of telling a story I suppose. Again, it was a decent idea to allow Carlito & Masters to team so successfully, but it didn’t assist the match quality. But I think it’s fair to say that they were anything but useless, which was the word I unfairly used about them last week. Entertaining enough & won’t fully deserve the criticism that it’s probably going to get. Match Rating...7.5

But our night wasn’t over, because…..

EDGE defeated JOHN CENA to Win the WWE Championship: Vince came out prior to the match & announced that Edge was cashing in his Money In The Bank right now. He predictably attacks a bloodied Cena early on with a barrage of punches & kicks. Two spears later & it’s all over at the 2 minute mark! In a rather brave (& to some, unpredictable) move by the WWE, Edge is our new WWE Champion. Edge & Lita celebrate afterwards & the crowd don’t know whether to cheer or boo. Hard to rate due to it’s length & the fact that one man could hardly move, but I’m going to pass it on it’s bravado alone. Match Rating...5

PPV RATING (45/80) = 57

Looking at the key, I have basically given 'New Years Revolution' a 'C' grade & said that it was 'Average'. Hmmm, this is a tough one. I think that grade & comment are fair, although this is one of those occasions where the whole is probably better than the sum of all of its parts. What I mean by that is that the individual matches were sometimes sacrificed for the overall benefit of the storytelling throughout the night. In fact, it was very much a storytelling event, with 3 of the first 4 matches & the WWE Championship scenario all exhibiting very good storytelling. Furthermore, this felt like a pay-per-view & not just an extended television show that some single-brand ppvs have become. Maybe the WWE have returned to the correct thought pattern in actually attempting to make ppv events unmissable! On the minus side, this event did show the lack of depth on the Raw roster. We cannot see another ppv with 2 women’s matches….. ever. While more effort must be put into making us care about ‘Heat’ wrestlers such as Helms & Viscera. In conclusion, I don’t think this ppv will have great replay value, but live on the night, it was a damn good event. Great to see the WWE bravely do what they did here.

Oh, and by the way, my early prediction is that John Cena defeats Edge to regain the WWE Championship at the ‘Royal Rumble’ pay-per-view. But plans may very well change depending on how Edge is received on the upcoming episodes of Raw.


MAIN

2005 Predictions In Retrospect

I enjoy taking a look back at my yearly predictions. It sort of makes me feel accountable for what I write in my columns. I have no problem with admitting that my opinions are sometimes wrong & alternately I never mind telling people "I told you so". So in the lead up to my predictions for 2006, I thought I'd take a look back at the predictions I made for the past year of 2005. My original predictions will be bolded, while my present comments regarding them will follow each prediction. Remember that I wrote these in January 2005 (in edition #115). If you would like to take a look at that column in full, you may do so by clicking on the following link: http://www.lordsofpain.net/news/2005/articles/1106119478.php

- There still won't be an undisputed champion, the brand split will continue, the cruiserweights will be treated the same & Sting won't appear in the WWE during 2005: Check, Check, Check & Check. 4 from 4 there!

- We will unfortunately continue to see the WWE overkill fans with more than 1 pay-per-view in certain months: Another tick, as the quantity of the ppv events actually rose by 1 in 2005 with the addition of a second January pay-per-view. I really wish the WWE would scale the quantity down & concentrate more on quality.

- NWA-TNA will continue to survive through 2005. The quality of their product will be consistent, while word of mouth will see a little more success, but still not enough to challenge the WWE: I think I was spot on with this prediction. It's hard for me to tell seeing as though I don't get to view TNA, but from all reports, they are consistently decent & achieved a little more success in 2005.

- To prove that NWA-TNA are not competition, Vince McMahon will not sign any of their talent, unless the wrestler was a WWE product to begin with (EG: Jeff Hardy): I would have to say that I was incorrect with this prediction. While I wouldn't say the WWE signed any major TNA names (which is more what I was getting at), they showed no hesitation in signing talent such as Kid Kash, Frankie Kazarian & Psichosis, who had all appeared in TNA previously. More recently, you can add Sonny Siaki to that list.

- The draft lottery will once more take place & will help rejuvenate an ailing SmackDown with the likes of Chris Jericho and/or Shawn Michaels: Oh boy, was I wrong with this one! While the draft lottery did indeed take place, SmackDown once more came out of it with a (pardon the pun) raw deal.

- Brock Lesnar will return to the SmackDown brand & gain instant heel heat. He will challenge for, but not win, the WWE Championship: I was really hoping this prediction would come true. Unfortunately, it did not & the WWE are still in court with Brock.

- JBL will lose his WWE Championship to John Cena. The only other man to hold that title in 2005 will be Kurt Angle: Damn, I was close on this one. Despite Cena & Angle changing brands mid-year, this prediction should have occurred. Unfortunately, the WWE didn't feel it was correct to award the WWE Championship to Kurt Angle in October. Nor November (twice), December or even January 2006 for that matter!

- Neither Eddie Guerrero, nor Booker T, will see WWE Championship opportunities on pay-per-view: Ignoring the title name (due to the switch of Batista & Cena during the draft lottery), I am going to say that I was incorrect here, as the strange face turn that Eddie pulled off towards the end of the year saw him get a shot at Batista's title at 'No Mercy'.

- Rene Dupree will win the U.S title by the end of the year: Ummmm, Rene who?

- Rey Mysterio will also win the U.S title by the end of 2005: It seems that the WWE almost thought that Rey was above the US Title with the way they booked him. Maybe in 2006.

- The Undertaker will be far from retired & still be at, or around, the main-event level come the end of the year: I will say it over & over again; The Undertaker is not retiring anytime soon!

- PPV buyrates will continue to drop. While tv ratings will actually increase a little: Without having the proof here in front of me, I think I was correct in both cases here. PPV comparisons seemed to always favor 2004 buyrates, while the move of Raw to the USA Network resulted in an increase in television ratings.

- WWE DVD sales will continue to increase: The WWE are seemingly churning DVDs out every single month. And while their quality remains high, so will sales.

- The practically scheduled ECW ppv will NOT occur: This was one of my 2 long-shot predictions & I obviously was very wrong with this one. Not only did it occur, but I awarded it my pay-per-view of the year!

- The WWE will continue to debut rookies from OVW on the main roster. Furthermore, most will once again debut as heels: Masters, Kennedy, Mercury, Burchill, Antonio, Romeo, Hassan & The Dicks... I think I can say "bing bing" on this prediction.

- Shelton Benjamin will hold onto the InterContinental title until after WrestleMania 21, if not through the entire first half of the year: I'm going to award myself a tick for this prediction. Shelton lost the title to Carlito in early to mid June.

- The WWE will continue with the Muhammad Hassan character & he will attain genuine midcard status come the end of the year: Well, this would have been correct if the WWE had not stepped over the line & UPN didn't (rightly) take a stand.

- Trish Stratus will continue to dominate the Women's division. But sometime during the year, a debuting female wrestler will come in & win the title within 2 months of debut: Well, I got the first part correct. I suppose I was anticipating that Mickie James was going to be that debuting wrestler, but the WWE have wisely taken it slow with her push & set up a very good storyline instead.

- Chris Benoit will not see a World Title opportunity on pay-per-view: Despite Benoit being in the upper midcard for the entire year, this prediction turned out to be correct.

- Evolution will last throughout 2005 in some way, shape or form: I really though it would have been good to keep the stable going with different members. Obviously, the WWE and/or Triple H thought otherwise.

- Those to hold the World Title after Triple H will be Randy Orton, Edge & (finally) Batista: Nope, it looks like Orton & Edge will get the job done in 2006 now.

And finally, the most shocking prediction of them all, which just goes to prove how naive I can be sometimes... Presuming that Triple H still has his World HeavyWeight Title going into WrestleMania 21, whenever he does lose it, he will NOT win it again for the remainder of 2005: Boo-ya. I remember when I wrote this prediction, I got a heap of feedback saying how silly & naive I was. Well, there you go hey! H found it in his heart to stay away from a title reign & even lost 2 rematches for the strap against Batista. I just sensed that the WWE would realize in 2005 that the fans needed new champions & it would even be better for H to stay away from the title. Of course, 2006 is very much a new year.


Hmmm, not too bad at all. I was way out on some of those predictions, but hit the nail on the head with others. Some people may look back & say that some of those predictions were an easy call in retrospect, but I can assure you that at the time, none of them were easy calls. Plus, when has professional wrestling been easy to predict!?!?!? Ok, let's see how I do with 2006, shall we.....


DESSERT - 2006 Predictions

- The Brand extension will continue & we will still not see an undisputed champion.

- Whether it be on UPN or not, SmackDown will continue as a separate roster & brand.

- Only Batista & Randy Orton will be World HeavyWeight Champions throughout 2006.

- John Cena, Edge, Triple H & Shawn Michaels will all be WWE Champions throughout the year.

- Bret Hart will not make an appearance in either the WWE or TNA.

- Brock Lesnar will not make an appearance in either the WWE or TNA.

- Hulk Hogan & 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin will both make brief appearances for the WWE, but their rumored match at WrestleMania will not take place.

- Eddie Guerrero will be emotionally inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame.

- The Undertaker will not be retiring.

- One, if not both of, The Undertaker and/or JBL will move to Raw in the mid-year draft lottery.

- No matter who changes shows, SmackDown will finally get the better out of the draft lottery.

- Rey Mysterio will main-event a SmackDown brand pay-per-view, unsuccessfully challenging Randy Orton for the World heavyWeight Title.

- However, Rey Mysterio will win the US Title at some stage during 2006.

- MnM will remain together as a tag-team throughout the year & hold the titles for the majority of the time.

- Chris Benoit will re-sign with the WWE & unsuccessfully challenge Randy Orton for the World HeavyWeight Title.

- Mark Henry will finally be released by the WWE come the end of 2006, despite taking part in a main-event angle with Batista early in the year.

- Tyson Tomko & Gregory Helms will be released by years end.

- Chris Masters will win the InterContinental Title.

- 3 Minute Warning will win the World Tag-Team Titles.

- Killer Kowalski graduates Ken Doane & Aaron 'The Idol' Stevens will battle it out for the 2006 rookie of the year. I'll give the nod to Stevens.


Ok, that's all I have for edition #158 of 'The Wrestling Menu. I hope you enjoyed the read this week. What did you think of 'New Years Revolution'? Were the WWE brave or stupid with some of their booking decisions...??? Meanwhile, I'm sure there is something that stands out to you in at least one of my 20 predictions for 2006, so (as per usual) please don't hesitate to send me your thoughts. Or maybe you have a different prediction or 2 yourself. In fact, I should be able to leave some column space open for any predictions from readers that catch my eye. Make them as serious as possible, but don't be afraid to make me laugh. You know that I will reply to all feedback. My e-mail address is DaveyBoy123@bigpond.com

Or alternately, if you are an LOPForums member, you may also leave feedback or predictions there, by clicking on the following link: http://www.lopforums.com/showthread.php?t=4889

Next Wednesday in 'The Wrestling Menu', I will post the best of the best when it comes to reader predictions for 2006. I will also touch on a topic where I feel the WWE improved in 2005. Elsewhere, I may review Raw, as it looks like a hot show with the Angle vs HBK decider & more Royal Rumble lead-up. It should be an entertaining read, so look out for it 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.


DaveyBoy's Wrestling Menu. 2002-2006

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