DaveyBoy’s Wrestling Menu – Raw Is Fun, Khali’s Reign + SSlam Predictions
Submitted by DaveyBoy on Wednesday, August 22, 2007 at 2:30 AM EST






THE WRESTLING MENU #243

Welcome one and all to the 243rd edition of ‘The Wrestling Menu’, the column that is sure to satisfy your taste buds when it comes to discussing all things wrestling.

Hmmm, it seems I have been having a tough time of late to ramble on about things in this introductory part of my column. Work sucks… Next. My Aussie football team needs to win one of their remaining 2 matches to make the finals (playoffs)… So stay tuned there. The NFL is about to start… But I am a little uninterested about that at the moment, so hurry up & start the season.

I know one thing that I can mention; The English Premier League season has started & it’s already interesting in that reigning champion Manchester United only has 2 draws & a loss from their 3 games. Now that makes it a little more interesting.

And another thing that has made this season a little more interesting (for me) is the local cable network down under instigating the Viewers Choice system where at the push of a button, you can choose which of 5 simultaneous games you want to view. Of course, my daring self chooses to watch the split-screen version of all of them. Great fun, if not great on the eyes! Of course, the fact that the games are at midnight doesn’t help. But if you’re one of those people that think there are not enough goals scored in soccer, then watch 5 games at once & you will change your mind quickly!

On to my column today… It seems that of late, I have thrived more on writing about topics where I feel that my opinion may be in the minority. So once more, that’s what you will get today. To what extent, or if at all, I am in the minority is still to be seen…

Ok, with all that said, it’s on with the cross-eyed show…..


APPETIZERS – Khali’s Reign

Dalip Singh… The Giant Singh… The Great Khali… The Big Oaf… By whatever name you call him, I think it is fair to state that the current World HeavyWeight Champion is not the most popular man amongst WWE fans nowadays. In truth, I have had quite a bit of feedback over the past month or so suggesting that the fact that Khali is champion in the first place is proof positive that WWE has lost the plot & it’s product is at possibly its lowest point since the early to mid 90’s!

Now please don’t get me wrong with what I am about to say… I am not a fan of The Great Khali. His wrestling style doesn’t enthrall me & I am unsure how it could entertain many people at all. In a perfect world, he should not be the World HeavyWeight Champion. In a perfect world, he would be used just like he was on Raw earlier this year, where he looked like a huge threat to John Cena’s WWE Championship reign, only to fall short at the final hurdle.

But this is not a perfect world that we live in. To say that the injury sustained by the then World HeavyWeight Champion Edge was ill-timed is an understatement & a half. While Edge himself tripped into the title reign due to an injury to the prior champion The Undertaker, the fact that he was practically hand-picked to switch brands & carry SmackDown’s #1 title says a lot in itself. So you can imagine how distraught WWE must have been when he in turn went down with an injury that was going to sideline him for many months, just when he was finally going to get the long title reign he deserved (& I do believe the rumors/reports that this was indeed going to be a rather long reign).

While I am still a little unsure that WWE had to strip Edge of the title immediately, I am certain they had their reasons. Maybe he required surgery then & there OR maybe they felt they had to set up the next pay-per-view with the eventual triple-threat title match that they went ahead with. Who knows for certain? But once they made the decision to crown a new champion immediately, they had to make a quick decision. And they eventually decided to put the title around the ample waist of The Great Khali.

As I have already stated, this was not a popular decision amongst WWE fans. And that’s not because Khali is a heel. It’s more because he is a very limited wrestler, whose major positive is his almost unbelievable size. But, and here is where my minority opinion comes in, I actually didn’t mind the decision at all. At the very least, I can see the reasoning behind the move & don’t specifically believe it to be hurting SmackDown to any great extent, despite the brands regression over the time he has held the title.

To be blunt, there wasn’t exactly a great deal of wrestlers that WWE could have put the title on at the time. Here are a few I will list & provide brief comments on:

- Matt Hardy: Probably too big of a jump & I would rather he be tested as a main-event singles challenger first.
- Ric Flair: I am a firm believer that Flair should not hold the title he has held so often over the last 30 years as he is well past his best.
- Kane: I am a great fan of his, but his character has been jobbed out way too often of late to make him a truly credible champ.
- Mark Henry: No different to The Great Khali.
- Batista: I will chat about him in a moment…

So, unless yet another wrestler switched brands, which wouldn’t have been the perfect scenario as the draft had only recently taken place, there wasn’t a great deal of choice there for the company. Batista would indeed seem the obvious replacement, but I can see why he wasn’t given the title. The timing just wasn’t correct & he was just getting comfortable in his position as the hunter & not the hunted. Chasing the title is actually doing Batista some good for mine & is freshening up his character a little.

So, in conclusion, while The Great Khali is by no means the perfect champion for any of WWE’s brands & we may look back in 5 years time & think what the hell were they smoking, the unfortunate circumstances that resulted in the reign should not be forgotten. So, in my humble opinion, as long as he doesn’t hold the title into October, I am not against the current World HeavyWeight Title reign that we are seeing.


MAIN – Raw Is Fun

I should begin this topic with a couple of notes:

- The ‘Raw Is Fun’ heading of this topic is not so much a definitive editorial opinion, but rather a play on the old ‘Raw Is War’ title that was given to one of the hours of Monday Night Raw back in the day.
- While I have just ben reading the recap of the most recent episode of Raw, I have yet to actually see the show. So for all I know, it could be absolute garbage that totally contradicts what I have to say here. If so, then them the breaks!
- I initially was going to write about the SmackDown brand in general today, but my thoughts regarding WWE’s Friday night show has been a little unclear of late, so I may just leave that for another time.

It has now been almost 2 months since the Chris Benoit murder-suicide. In my follow-up column after the tragedy, I stated the following question: Would fans view WWE in the same way? And while many of us have attempted to wipe the name of Chris Benoit from our minds, I believe that the majority do not view it exactly the same. In a roundabout example of proof, I used to have my columns planned well in advance, but even I have had more trouble than usual getting my columns posted on time of late. And judging by fellow LOP columnist Wevv Mang, who used to be like clockwork as well but just posted his first column in quite a few weeks, I am not alone.

Maybe more relevant to this topic though is the following question & answer that I stated in that same column: Will wrestling promotions such as WWE continue to deliver the same wrestling product…??? I genuinely think that the answer to that question is “No”. And I think that this is most evident on WWE’s Monday Night Raw brand of late where the content appears to have changed, even if the extent is up for debate.

For mine, there is clearly an element of ‘fun” that has attempted to be infused into episodes of Raw over the past 4 or 5 weeks. While the ratings haven’t shown it to be a success & while fans appear rather divided as to the effectiveness of WWE’s delivery, I actually think it has been a welcome change & rather efficiently written & performed.

Now I should state here that I am not necessarily suggesting that the Benoit tragedy has been the only reason for this change in policy of sorts. But I do think that many of the reasons could be at least indirectly attributed to it. For example, maybe the main reason as to why WWE are trying something is due to increased pressure from the USA network due to declining ratings. But it could very well be debated successfully that the main contributing factor to the reduced ratings was indeed the Benoit tragedy.

Anyway, for whatever reason, I believe that Raw has been a more fun show of late. Yes, that does mean more sports-entertainment & less wrestling. But when the 2 factors are combined efficiently, I feel that it does indeed make for a better & more interesting product, despite the fact that I have always personally preferred the wrestling aspect of professional wrestling.

The obvious addition to Raw of late that has added some fun has been the television game show skits that have parodied ‘The Dating Game’ & ‘American idol’. Just reading some general opinion on both skits, it seems the former went down very well, while opinion of the latter was mixed. Personally, I think that both segments were terrific & much kudos should go to William Regal for being a key contributor to the success of both segments. It’s great to see that his switch to Raw has been put to use, as I was admittedly openly negative about the move when it was first rumored.

The other obvious attempt at fun that has been showcased predominantly on Raw of late is the ongoing soap-opera that is ‘Who is Mr.McMahon’s illegitimate child?’ Again, I have actually enjoyed these segments. Even if the strike rate of hit & miss has been 50-50, they have been sufficiently short & sharp to make them successful. Because in reality, while some would pessimistically like to think that these segments are taking away wrestling time, it is closer to the truth that they are actually taking away long-winded promo time!

So, in conclusion, I am currently in favor of at least attempting to add more fun to the Raw brand. I think it makes for a better balance to the show & I don’t believe that feuds have necessarily suffered because of it. However, there are 3 issues to come out of this & I believe that WWE must address these to continue the effectiveness of the ‘Raw Is Fun’ moniker I have bestowed upon the Monday Night brand:

(1) The gap between ‘The Great American Bash’ & SummerSlam has allowed WWE the time to add these fun aspects without harming the build-up for ppv matches. Will this be able to continue when 3 events hit us in the September-October period…???
(2) Can WWE’s creative department & writers continue to serve up the fun with passable quality…???
(3) I think the fun aspect would work better on Raw if SmackDown continued its above-average wrestling content. Of late, this has not been the case & the complementary nature of the 2 brands hasn’t worked as well because of that.


DESSERT – SummerSlam Predictions

PLEASE NOTE: The first predicted match listed here is only rumored to take place at SummerSlam…

FINLAY vs KANE: You know, I was thinking the other day that Kane is one unlucky bugger. It’s not just the fact that he has had to take part in some ridiculous storylines over the past 5 years or the fact that he always seems to end up on the wrong side of the win/loss column when the payoff match comes around. No, what I am referring to is the fact that he always seems to be standing nearby when a cup of coffee is brushed aside or thrown. Not for the first time, this has been how a Kane feud has started! LOL! Following on from the coffee incident, this feud has been booked the old-school way with the heel Finlay sneak attacking with his ever-present weapon when given the chance. Usually, the filler bouts are easy to predict, but to fit in with the rest of the card, this is a 50-50 proposition. I would usually feel that this may be an opportune time to hand Kane a ppv win, but with the balance of heel/face results I have elsewhere on this card, I will go the other way… Winner: Finlay

UMAGA vs CARLITO vs KEN KENNEDY in a Triple-Threat Match for the InterContinental Title: There is no standout as the opening match on this card, but I feel that this may be the closest thing to it. While the match-up was only put together this week, it isn’t totally impromptu with especially Carlito having lots to do with Umaga of late. Kennedy being moved into the match makes sense to as rightly or wrongly, he is at approximately that level on the Raw roster at the moment. Plus, it basically is a reason to begin a Kennedy vs Umaga feud for the title to last a couple of months. For that reason, I give Carlito little chance of victory here. While a Kennedy win wouldn’t surprise me, it may be best left until next month since this is basically his first contact with the recently turned face Umaga. I expect this to be a rather entertaining match & of fairly good quality. Winner: Umaga

JOHN MORRISON vs CM PUNK for the ECW Title: I’m unsure that this feud has taken off as it should have & I really am unsure why. Whatever the reason, it sort of doesn’t reflect well on the 2 wrestlers, despite their obvious talents. In order for this feud to be lifted to the next level, I believe that some sort of gimmick match would have been fitting here. Something has to be changed or else we will basically see what we have seen on the past 2 pay-per-views. Or will WWE believe that a different result will constitute freshness…??? The fact that this bout has remained gimmickless does lead me to side towards Punk, as otherwise I am very 50-50 on the result here. Winner: CM Punk

CHAVO GUERRERO vs REY MYSTERIO: These 2 talents will reignite their rivalry here in Rey’s return to our screens. As this will be his first appearance (excluding house shows), it’s a little difficult to predict what is going to occur here. But my guess is that Chavo will work on the leg for most of the match, with the occasional Rey offensive flurries. Don’t be too surprised if this is more of a storyline bout though to set up a month or two long feud between these 2. For that same reason, the result could be absolutely anything here with the countout & disqualification options a larger chance than usual. Winner: Rey Mysterio

DIVAS BATTLE ROYAL: This match is apparently open to women across all of WWE’s 3 brands & is to crown a #1 contender to Candice Michelle’s Women’s Title. In the past, when such a match has been booked, it has given an opportunity to run a cross-brand title match some time in the near future. But no heels on SmackDown or ECW stand out apart from Victoria and as much as I am a fan of hers, I doubt WWE will put her back into the title mix. And while Michelle McCool has been pushed strongly of late, a Candice vs McCool match does absolutely nothing for anyone. With a face champion, there are really only 2 potential winners here; Melina or Beth. I’ll go for the fresher match-up. Winner: Beth Phoenix

KING BOOKER vs TRIPLE H: In the 2nd bout in which a main-event level wrestler returns to our screens, a battle over the “king” moniker takes place here. To be honest, I really don’t have much to say on this match. I expect it to be rather conventionally structured with nothing too outstanding happening. It should also be kept under 15 minutes & have a couple of crowd-popping moments for the face. In other words, this will be interesting rather than extraordinary. As for the result, it actually wouldn’t surprise me as much as most if Booker somehow emerged victorious. But I can’t predict it here & will have to play it safe. Winner: Triple H

THE GREAT KHALI vs BATISTA for the World Heavyweight Title: This is the obvious match-up that WWE were leading to as soon as Khali won the title. And to be honest, I haven’t minded the way the feud has played out with the champ getting the upper hand on the majority of occasions, resulting in Big Dave getting a little agro of late. I much prefer his promos when he gets angry & throws stuff compared to those where he talks & tries to act cool! Obviously, no-one will be expecting a 5 star classic here & they will do well to get it up to a 7 rating. The result interests me. If you had asked me 2 or 3 weeks ago, I would have thought Batista was an absolute certainty to win the title here, but of late I get the feeling that WWE may attempt to stretch this out until the next ppv with the heel retaining here. It’s a close call & I’m actually going to predict solely on who did not get the upper hand at the end of SmackDown. Although it would not surprise me at all to see Batista win by DQ & have Khali retain his title. Winner: The Great Khali

JOHN CENA vs RANDY ORTON for the WWE Championship: This feud has been built up rather nicely & it should help to add some feeling into the bout come Sunday night. Let’s hope so, because if it doesn’t, this could be a rather standard main-event. It still may be unfortunately, because I have the feeling that this feud may be lasting a couple of months… So they may not want to show us everything they have here. For a couple of months now, it has been rumored that Orton will be relieving Cena of the WWE Championship. So much so in fact that I have come around to the thought that it is now a given. But while those same rumors have suggested that Cena will be doing the job here at SummerSlam, I simply don’t see that as the best avenue to travel here & I believe WWE will realize this & hold off on the title change for at least another 3 weeks. Here’s hoping for a quality end to the show with this match. Winner: John Cena

Ok, so there we have ‘SummerSlam’ as it currently stands. And I must say that no matter what you think about the quality of the card on paper and/or how good you think the event will turn out, it was not an easy show to predict results on. I remember taking a risk with ‘The Great American Bash’ by predicting many heel wins & it paid off. One reason for my correct thoughts was because I felt that SummerSlam would see many face victories & title wins. But now that the show is upon us, I am not so certain, with the appeal of stretching some feuds out until the next pay-per-view possibly too appealing to ignore.

This card immediately does hold some interest in that it sees 2 separate returns to the ring by main-event level talent. That is a good & clever selling point by the company, but I am unsure it will help the quality of the show come the night to be honest. Hopefully, WWE can properly balance the in-ring quality aspect of the show with the anticipation & interest factor to make for a good event. I am quietly confident, if only if it is because that this is a ‘Big 4’ ppv event. As for the possibility of any extra matches being added, I think 8 may be the correct number of bouts to have, but if Kane vs Finlay doesn’t take place, I can maybe see Boogeyman vs Big Daddy V on the card. If so, I would predict a heel win there. The other option is to have either a match or some sort of segment revolving around MVP & Matt Hardy. If it’s anything non-title, Matt will emerge victorious, but if it is actually a title match, then I feel MVP should retain.


Okely dokely, that’s #243 in the books & I hope you all enjoyed it. If you would like to provide feedback & let me know whether I am in fact in the minority with some of my opinion on any of the 3 topics that I have discussed today, you may do so by emailing me. My e-mail address is DaveyBoy123@bigpond.com. But 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=7.

And while you are on the LOP Forums, why don't you check out my weekly contributions to the Album Review thread. So far, I have reviewed 2 albums each by groups such as My Chemical Romance, Muse, Rise Against, Razorlight, The Killers, Kasabian, The All-American Rejects, Kaiser Chiefs, AFI, Panic At The Disco, Fall Out Boy, Jet, Hinder, LostProphets, Trust Company & Orson. Just click on the following link & scroll down: http://www.lopforums.com/showthread.php?t=99&page=3.

Next Wednesday in 'The Wrestling Menu', I will be here with my SummerSlam Review. Apart from that, I am unsure what will be served up, but maybe I will get to SmackDown & a few topics concerning WWE’s Friday night brand like I have been meaning to do for a fortnight now. 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.


DaveyBoy’s Wrestling Menu. 2002-2007

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