DaveyBoy’s Wrestling Menu – Feedback + WrestleMania 23 Hype & Predictions
Submitted by DaveyBoy on Wednesday, March 28, 2007 at 12:41 AM EST
THE WRESTLING MENU #224
Welcome one and all to the 224th 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’s that time of the year wrestling fans… It’s WrestleMania! No matter what people think of the card, the wrestlers involved or the match-ups booked for the show, there is that certain aura about WrestleMania that will always exist. Sure, it does result in the event not meeting expectations sometimes, but I think that’s a small price to pay for a show that is consistently one of the best of the year & has given us many memorable moments over the years.
As I will further elaborate on in the hype section of today’s column, despite the thoughts of some fans, I do feel that the WWE & the bookers go the extra mile when WrestleMania time comes around. Whether it’s the fact that more viewers are watching, their wallets will be filled a little more, or to gain respect, the wrestlers also step it up a notch. And when everyone is on the same page & all clicks, then WrestleMania always has the ability to be a classic, memorable & entertaining pay-per-view.
But I shouldn’t get ahead of myself as I have some feedback to get to from my column 2 weeks ago. This was the column where I discussed the Money In The Bank Ladder Match, squash matches in general & this year’s Hall Of fame inductees (http://www.lordsofpain.net/news/2007/articles/1173849222.php). That will kick things off today & will be followed by my WrestleMania 23 predictions. Finally, I will discuss some of the hype surrounding Wreestlemania this year.
On with the grand-daddy of them all…..
APPETIZERS - Feedback
MONEY IN THE BANK LADDER MATCH
I don’t want to spend too much time discussing this 8 man showcase bout on the WrestleMania 23 card, as it will also be looked at in the other parts of this column. However, I did receive quite a bit of good feedback regarding my thoughts & it was rather interesting in that a lot of it was geared towards the winner of the match. It was fairly unanimous amongst readers that there was no real need to lift the number of participants to 8. Even those that didn’t mind the change thought it was negligible & wouldn’t actually improve the quality of the bout. But many readers had real issues with the participants chosen this year & didn’t totally agree with me on my comments regarding the potential increased importance of the bout this year, as opposed to 2005 & 2006.
While I feel that adding the likes of Orton, Edge & Booker gives the match more prominence, many fans would rather that the match remained a midcard bout as such. Whether it was for excitement or elevation reasons, many fans that emailed me suggested the match would see more positives come from it in both the short & medium term if the match continued to include only midcarders. So, for example, the likes of Shelton Benjamin & Kenny Dykstra should be involved instead of the likes of Edge, Orton, Finlay & Booker.
That’s a difficult point to argue with, but my comeback would be that it’s much of a muchness. I feel that the use of the veterans will hopefully add another element to the match on the night, while I also think that everyone excluding Edge is yet to cement their place as a true main-eventer. For that reason, it will be interesting to see if the WWE continue Edge’s WrestleMania streak on Sunday. Furthermore, it will be interesting to see the reaction of fans if they do indeed choose that result!
SQUASH MATCHES
I received extremely high praise for my topic on squash matches 2 weeks ago. I know when I have written a good discussion point topic when I have people praising me for an opinion that they disagree on! Personally, I feel I write better when I have an idea buzzing around my head for a few months, which definitely was the case with regards to this topic. The feedback itself was good & interesting, but at the end of the day, I am unsure that a conclusion was reached. In fact, I’m not too certain that I myself came to a conclusion last week apart from the fact that squash matches can be effective when booked correctly. But as for whether or not their number should increase from the average 1 a show that we currently see, I’m not so sure.
In general, I suppose the consensus amongst feedback was that the amount of squash matches we see on WWE programming could not be increased due to the fact that modern fans are now too used to getting a number of competitive matches each & every week on all 3 brands of the WWE. Any increase in squash matches would decrease the ratings. And that was simply not feasible & acceptable to Mr Vince McMahon.
Of late, the WWE have actually been using some squash matches on their shows. Of course, The Great Khali has an occasional squash on Raw. But they almost don’t count as I think it’s fair to say that the amount of competitive matches that Khali has is limited in the first place. Snitsky has also had 2 or 3 squash matches on ECW & I think these are heading down the right track. Not only is he snarling & looking ugly in the correct maniacal way, but he occasionally throws in a high-impact move. I would probably prefer one or two more big moves though so he can get noticed by the fans a little more.
The more interesting squash matches of late have belonged to MVP on SmackDown. The reasoning for having these is correct in my opinion. And while they haven’t been totally useless, I’m unsure they have been used to their full potential. Has he really impressed anyone in these bouts? I would have to answer “no”. If anything, they have been predominantly used to remind us of what his finisher is. And while it looks flashy, it isn’t the greatest of finishers anyway & he will most likely not to get use it at WrestleMania, even if he wins the match!
Speaking of finishing moves & squash matches, Lance Storm actually did elaborate with comments regarding this topic on his website. It’s a good read & he comes up with some decent examples from his own wrestling career experiences. If you would like to read Storm’s thoughts, you may do so by clicking on the following link: http://www.stormwrestling.com/102906.html
HALL OF FAME
Not too much to contribute here to be honest. Most fans who emailed me suggested that this year’s group of Hall Of Fame inductees was quite underwhelming & the WWE really should be looking to induct at least one huge name next year in order to keep the legitimacy of the Hall Of Fame intact. I’m unsure I totally agree with that, but I can also see where many people are coming from with regards to this opinion, since there are still many big names that have yet to be inducted for unknown reasons.
Like myself, many readers felt this was a perfect year to induct Ricky ‘The Dragon’ Steamboat & Randy ‘The Macho Man’ Savage, since it was exactly 20 years after their classic confrontation for the InterContinental Title in the same city at WrestleMania 3. There just has to be reasons why the WWE have not done this & I really do have to wonder if the conspiracy theory rumor regarding Randy Savage is true!
And since my column 2 weeks back, along with The Sheik & The Wild Samoans being inducted as predicted, the WWE have also announced that Jim Ross will be as well. So not only do we get one current commentator inducted, but we get his offsider as well. I really am not so sure on that decision & wouldn’t be at all surprised if it’s actually a last ditch attempt by the WWE to get some modern fan interest in this year’s induction ceremony.
MAIN
WrestleMania 23 Predictions
CHRIS BENOIT vs MVP for the United States Title: Every man & his dog thinks this will open the show & I am probably leaning that way myself, even though I don’t think it is a foregone conclusion. The feud has been given some time over the past 3 weeks, but I would say that it has been insufficient. Maybe more importantly, I wasn’t a real fan of the way the feud started. The 2 men were merely pawns in a 6 man tag match & the confrontations seemed to unconvincingly sputter from there. It really does seem like this is simply another example of the WWE feeling that Benoit’s feuds don’t need the set-up time because he will effectively put over his opponent on the night anyway. That’s just lazy booking for mine, but the annoying thing is that they are partially correct; This bout will be fine, if nothing earth-shattering. Result-wise, this clearly looks to be a match-up to put over MVP. I would say that 75% of fans expect the heel to win here. But something tells me it may be a little too rushed & I actually expect him to win the U.S Title on an upcoming episode of SmackDown. Plus, you have to keep the crowd happy early on. I will go the upset here….. Winner: Chris Benoit
TOMMY DREAMER, ROB VAN DAM, SABU & THE SANDMAN vs ELIJAH BURKE, KEVIN THORN, MATT STRIKER & MARCUS COR VON: It will be interesting to see the placement of this 8 man match as I fear that it may be watered down if it is anywhere near the ‘Money In The Bank’ Ladder Match. Then again, I’m sure that many ECW fans feel it is a foregone conclusion to be watered down anyway! The thing is that there is enough talent & variety included here that this could actually be very entertaining… & it wouldn’t take too much thought to book the bout to reach this conclusion. But whether that happens or not is another question! Like the majority of fans, I really can’t see the ECW Originals winning this bout. They may have a chance if this opens the show, but otherwise, I see the New Breed going over with typical heel shenanigans. Winners: The New Breed
KANE vs THE GREAT KHALI: The match that everyone is dreading! Kane better be switched on here, or else this will indeed be as bad as most people feel it will be. Going back to Khali’s one & only long & competitive bout previously, The Undertaker worked very hard just to make the match watchable. So if Kane phones this in (& he has treated a few bouts like that of late), then this could fail to reach a passing grade. I’m almost certain Kane’s movie-prop hook will come into play, but it looks rather awkward to me & it is going to be interesting to see what role it has. Maybe this match can be saved with one “holy $hit” (for want of a better word) spot, but I really am not expecting much out of this. As for the result, unless the WWE are about to have Khali deported back to India, then he will win. Winner: The Great Khali
EDGE vs CM PUNK vs KING BOOKER vs JEFF HARDY vs KEN KENNEDY vs FINLAY vs MATT HARDY vs RANDY ORTON in a ‘Money In The Bank’ Ladder Match: I have already spoken a lot about this match but, in all honesty, I haven’t taken the time to play booker & come up with some booking ideas to get the most out of this bout. I don’t get paid for that, so I will leave that to the professionals. Needless to say, with 8 men & ladders involved, it is going to be damn tricky for this not to get very confusing, include many separate mini-matches & have any storyline whatsoever. I really hope that all 8 men plus the bookers have been planning this bout out for a couple of weeks now. It will most likely be entertaining in a spotty kind of way, but it really does have the ability to drop or lift a rating point depending on how the match is booked.
While many would love to see a Punk or Hardy upset occur, I only see 3 possible victors myself; Edge, Orton or Kennedy. It makes sense for either Raw competitor to gain bragging rights over the other & then have a match for the contract at Backlash. I also would love to see Edge’s WrestleMania streak continue leading to a battle of the streaks against The Undertaker next year. But I’m going to predict that Orton & Edge will actually cost each other the bout. The rather subdued booking of Kennedy on SmackDown of late leads me to believe that he will sneak up on everybody & emerge victorious here. And with that contract in hand, get ready for some classic promos from Misterrrrrr Kennedy & his true elevation to main-event status some time soon. Winner: Ken Kennedy
MELINA vs ASHLEY MASSARO for the Women’s Title: Since the WWE totally cocked up Mickie James’ face turn, then they almost had no other choice but to fall back on this option for the biggest card of the year. Sure, they could have reinstated Victoria in the title picture or even had Jillian move over to Raw rather sing her way to the unemployment line on SmackDown, but I don’t see either or those 2 gracing the cover of Playboy any time soon! Well, both myself & the WWE will be hoping the very same thing; That Melina & Ashley have both improved in the ring of late & wrestle the best match of their lives come the night. Unfortunately, I have my doubts. And so could the WWE if the rumors are true that they are going to turn this into a LumberJill Match! One thing I suppose it has going for it is unpredictability as I could see either lady scoring the win. While Melina would have to enter as favorite, rumors of backstage rumblings as well as a heel-face result imbalance on the card leads me to going for another upset. Winner: Ashley Massaro
JOHN CENA vs SHAWN MICHAELS for the WWE Championship: I wouldn’t be totally surprised if this was the main-event, because it could very well be the bout that most wrestling fans are most looking forward to seeing come the night. But I don’t think it will be. No real reason as to why, although I do wonder what the WWE feels will be the crowd reaction towards both men. I’ll go into this bout & the dynamic between both wrestlers in more detail in the ‘Dessert’ section of this column, but I personally am in the minority & do not feel that the end result for all the time invested has been all that successful. But even I must admit that I feel that the match itself will be very good & maybe even something special. You just get the feeling that HBK could really be on his game this year & has something to prove. If Cena sees this as his opportunity to shoot to super-stardom, then these 2 could very well steal the show. While I have predicted a title run for Michaels this year, I don’t see the win coming at such an important time as WrestleMania. Winner: John Cena
UMAGA (with Vince McMahon) vs BOBBY LASHLEY (with Donald Trump) in a Representative Hair vs Hair Match: The match that has been made to gain mainstream exposure has been all over WWE programming for the past 6 weeks or so. To most wrestling fans, it has been over-promoted & the feud is actually on the downward curve. While that may be true, I don’t think it will actually affect the match on the night. While Umaga has actually impressed in big matches of late, Lashley has been inconsistent. Furthermore, it’s always difficult to tell who he will mesh well with & who he won’t. For that reason, I’m not making any prediction on how good this bout will be. I will only say that they should be helped out a little by the shenanigans of Vince, Trump & Stone Cold… If only to extend the match length a few minutes. To me, the result is beyond conversation… Vince is getting his head shaved, probably because of Austin! Winner: Bobby Lashley
BATISTA vs THE UNDERTAKER for the World HeavyWeight Title: This should be the main-event as one way or another, I think the finale will be more fitting than that of the Cena vs Michaels match. That doesn’t mean this will be better or more entertaining, but some sort of big conclusion will be more of a defining moment for this WrestleMania. Whether that is another title win for the face Undertaker, the ending of his streak, or a genuine heel turn for Batista, I’m unsure. Who knows what the quality of this match will be, but I am really hoping that Batista stands up & proves his naysayers (including myself I suppose) wrong. ‘Taker has actually been good in big matches over the past 2 years, with good storylines contained within his bouts, so I’m certain he will step up on such a big stage. But can Big Dave? As for the result, look for Batista to keep his title somehow if this is not the main-event. Otherwise, I’m going for an Undertaker win. It will probably be a pinfall title win, but the WWE could maybe get away with a DQ win if Batista goes psycho heel to keep his title & some huge spot is included at the end. Winner: The Undertaker
Ok, so there we have the current line-up for WrestleMania 23. As strange as it may sound, those 8 matches may be all that there is to this event. Sure, that means almost 30 minutes being spent around each bout, but when you consider entrances, rapper performances, Hall Of Fame announcements & countless replays of Trump pushing Vince, then the time will literally fly by. There is rumored to be some sort of tag-team battle royal taking place, but that is most likely to be a dark match of sorts that gets put on the DVD as an extra. The depth is there with London/Kidman, Carlito/Flair, Cryme Tyme, Deuce/Domino, Regal/Taylor & Cade/Murdoch, although it would have been better if the WWE waited until after WrestleMania to release Joey Mercury, so MnM could also take part. London & Kidman should get the win if this bout takes place.
DESSERT
WrestleMania 23 Hype
As per every year, there has been a lot of talk amongst fans regarding this year’s WrestleMania. And as per the last couple of years, this talk has seemed to be predominantly negative. Although, if anything, the inclusion of John Cena vs Shawn Michaels on to the card has probably resulted in less negative talk than last year. It is arguable though that this year’s event still has the same problems as WrestleMania 22 last year; (1) There isn’t a super drawing match (although I suppose the inclusion of a hair vs hair Trump & McMahon battle will draw in some casual viewers), and (2) There isn’t a match that is sure to deliver high quality.
That second point is an interesting one & I am sure many would argue that Cena vs Michaels will indeed deliver, even if it’s unlikely to be a perfect 10. When you look at it, a lot of this card revolves around the Cena vs HBK WWE Championship bout. Not only is it the most likely match of the night, but it also could be the most interesting crowd involvement wise. Furthermore, it probably has the most questionable dynamic of any match on the card.
I have definitely been in the minority regarding the booking of this match, as most fans seem to feel it will be a great WrestleMania match-up. Don’t get me wrong, I think these 2 are so professional that all will be more than fine on the night. Plus, the build-up has been sufficiently booked to get the crowd involved in the feud. But personally, I felt that it was originally very awkward & took a damn lot of time for it to get moving to a point of great interest. I don’t know… Maybe I misread the entire feud & the WWE did a great job of building up the crescendo to climax at exactly the correct time. But personally, I have felt that the dynamic between Batista & The Undertaker has been a lot better. Whether it shows on the night though is totally another question.
And what of what will most likely be the main-event of the night? Well, I think Batista vs ‘Taker has been booked very well myself. It may have been booked simply, but it has been rather effective. I think right from the time that the match was announced, the feud was going to be just fine… It was the match on the night that was going to be the big question mark. As I stated in the ‘Main’ section of today’s column, this bout will have to have some sort of big & memorable ending that follows a solid match. Hopefully, the WWE realize this & have planned accordingly, as there is nothing as disappointing than an under-achieving WrestleMania main-event.
The feud that may have peaked too early is all the shenanigans surrounding Vince, Trump, Umaga & Lashley. I can see why the WWE felt the need to over-promote it to be honest, so I won’t berate them too much for that. Plus, the feud hasn’t been really hurt by the over-promotion, it was more the individual shows that felt the brunt of it. Pardon the pun, but the bottom line is that this match-up has been ready to go for a couple of weeks now, so it’s just a matter of getting the job done on the night now. And like I said before, Vince, Trump & Stone Cold should be able to help out the 2 relatively inexperienced combatants sufficiently.
The Money In The Bank Ladder match is the fourth most important match on the card & despite some misgivings regarding the number of entrants & who they are, it is sure to be as entertaining as always. Are there enough potential winners in the match? Probably not, but 3 is better than 1 or 2 & the actual winner will still hold some interest due to the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. I suppose the only thing that I wish for here is to have one of the wrestlers (pardon the pun) step up & maybe kick start some (pardon the pun again) elevation of their career. CM Punk and/or Matt Hardy are the most likely to be that wrestler.
And then comes the major deficiency of this card; Depth. To be honest, nothing really stands out about the other 4 matches from an interest standpoint. Furthermore, the level of match quality delivered by all 4 bouts looks to be very questionable & it wouldn’t at all surprise me to see 2 of the matches not reach a pass rating. Most believe that both Kane vs Khali & Melina vs Ashley are going to struggle come the night, while the remaining 2 matches will have to be booked & performed above expectations to be anything more than decent.
This is where solid midcard contests have always come into play in my opinion. Benoit vs MVP is a good attempt at such a match-up, but for whatever reason, it still feels like a lower-midcard bout to me, despite the fact that the United States Title is on line. This is why I was really pushing for a Benoit vs Kennedy match that would be more like an upper midcard bout. The same can sort of be said with the InterContinental Title not being defended on the Raw side of things, but then again, I can’t recall the last time that the IC title was defended on a WrestleMania card anyway!
I’ll leave it there. I think it’s safe to say that I am a little less confident this year than most with regards to the WWE getting the job done on the night. I do think it will still be a solid card, but it may not be what we usually expect from a WrestleMania. Hopefully, the slightly lower expectations will result in me (us) liking the card even more, especially if all involved lift their game on the night, like they have done in years past. To those planning on watching WrestleMania 23; Enjoy. To those that are not; You always have my review to look forward to next Wednesday!
Ok, that’s all I have for edition #224 of ‘The Wrestling Menu’. Please don’t hesitate to let me know what you thought of my WrestleMania 23 predictions. I am not expecting too much to be different to be honest, but it will be interesting to see if anyone agrees with my Benoit and/or Ashley upset victories. If you would like to provide feedback, you may do so by emailing me on DaveyBoy123@bigpond.com. However, if you are an LOP Forums member, it would be much appreciated if you could leave feedback on my thread at http://www.lopforums.com/showthread.php?t=217&page=5. I should be able to reply to all feedback, although it may not be as prompt as usual over the weekend.
Apart from my review of WrestleMania 23 next Wednesday, I will most probably have some sort of ‘Where To Next?’ section. I also may have a Raw review as the Raw the night after WrestleMania has always been notorious for being a big show with lots of happenings. I’m unsure it will be this year though as we may just see 2 hours worth of a bald Vince McMahon crying. As per usual, my column will be posted at the same Wednesday time on the same LOP channel. Until then, this is DaveyBoy signing off & asking you to remember that dinner is best served in 3 courses.
Oh, hang on a tick, I have just signed back on… I have some BaD News… literally! Contractual obligations here at LordsOfPain/WrestlingHeadlines have meant that I must contribute to one fellow writer’s column every year. After thinking for a while, I decided to help out the columnist who clearly needs the most help. And that is none other than LOP’s Crazy Quebecer Big Brother. So look out for his column here on the main page in the next couple of days. Not surprisingly, it will be titled ‘BaD News’. Get it, the ‘B’ stands for Big Brother & the ‘D’ stands for DaveyBoy. Sure, Big Brother’s girlfriend Degenerate is also along for the ride, but she is pretty much irrelevant & her mumbling can be ignored for the most part!
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