DaveyBoy’s Wrestling Menu #245 – Unforgiven Predictions + Ric Flair Poll Results
Submitted by DaveyBoy on Wednesday, September 12, 2007 at 12:06 AM EST
THE WRESTLING MENU #245
Welcome one and all to the 245th edition of ‘The Wrestling Menu’, the column that is sure to satisfy your taste buds when it comes to discussing all things wrestling.
Nothing much to report from this side of the world to be honest. I have been busy doing this, that & the other, but nothing too extraordinary. Counting votes mainly! But we will get to that a little later in the column.
One thing I must mention is that we had some darn good television matches on WWE programming last week. Dare I say it, but finally Punk & Morrison clicked in the ring. Or did they? Maybe the major difference was that there was a hot crowd who realized that it was a genuine main-event & not just a precursor to other title matches from other brands. Of course, a gorgeous split-legged corkscrew moonsault should never hurt a bout in any situation.
Then, come the end of the week, Rey Mysterio & Chavo Guerrero put on another very good bout where yet another layer of character was added to the returning Mysterio. It’s amazing how others will lift around Rey. Chavo probably wouldn’t have even been on the show if Rey was still injured. Yet, there the 2 were in a stellar main-event no less. It’s all about using the resources that you have to make the entire show the best it can be. And I think WWE did a good job of that last week.
On with the show…..
APPETIZERS – Unforgiven Predictions
MVP & MATT HARDY vs DEUCE & DOMINO for the WWE Tag-Team Championships: This has been an interesting little angle that WWE have set up on the SmackDown brand. And as awkward as it seems on paper, the bookers & 2 performers have actually done a rather good job of pulling it off. There has been enough unpredictability about the teaming up of MVP & Matt to make it more than passable, even if I would prefer Deuce & Domino to have been given more time to see where they can fit into the scheme of things. That same unpredictability exists when it comes to the result here. We know that the heel/face team won’t hold the titles for long, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they will lose them here. In fact, I get the feeling that they won’t & we will see Matt one-up MVP in retribution. D & D will then regain the titles some time in the next few weeks, whether it is on SmackDown or at Cyber Sunday. Winners: MVP & Matt Hardy
CANDICE MICHELLE vs BETH PHOENIX for the Women’s Title: While Beth Phoenix has been built up as a female monster of sorts over the past month, Candice has been fairly quiet & taken a backseat. I’m unsure how wise that is as she seems to have lost some of the momentum that she had with the audience. Oh well, nothing a revealing outfit can’t fix I suppose. It’s difficult to tell how well these 2 will mesh with each other in the ring, so we can only cross our fingers. As for the result, it’s a bit of a coin toss. The heel/face win/loss ratio would tell me Beth may emerge with the title, but I feel it may be a little too soon, so look for Candice to be victorious, even if it is by disqualification. Winner: Candice Michelle
CM PUNK vs ELIJAH BURKE for the ECW World Title: Apart from some sort of multi-man match, which we see most weeks on ECW anyway, I think this was the safest title match to go with on this card. These 2 guys have wrestled each other before & put on good performances, so I can’t see why they won’t do so again here. Of course, the problem is that the crowd will be rather silent for the most part, no matter how good the performances are. The big question here is how much time they get… Will the bout last longer than Triple H’s entrance that is to come? As for the result, it’s a no-brainer that Punk retains. Winner: CM Punk
TRIPLE H vs CARLITO: In the monthly ‘Which midcarder will H roll through” sweepstakes, Carlito drew the short straw & as added punishment he had to cut his hair. Actually, in all seriousness, Carlito is one of the few guys on the Raw roster right now that can benefit working with Triple H. There is just something about his character that could play off of the multi-time World Champion well. It’s just a shame that there wasn’t enough time to build the feud up better. Carlito will also hopefully add some nice variety to this bout, even if I am not expecting anything too classic. Do I even need to write down who is going to win this match? Oh, if I must….. Winner: Triple H
LANCE CADE & TREVOR MURDOCH vs PAUL LONDON & BRIAN KENDRICK for the World Tag-Team Titles: 2 tag-team title matches on the 1 card; Now that is evidence of a depleted talent roster! For some reason, I was actually looking forward to this feud…. A couple of months ago. Then, WWE just had London & Kendrick (the same team who held the SmackDown tag titles for almost a year) basically sit around doing nothing after their draft move a few months back. It has sort of slowed down the momentum of the face high-fliers & isn’t exactly at fever pitch come their title shot now. Hopefully this means that the feud still has more life & this will practically be the beginning of it. If that is the case, then the heels retain through dastardly deeds here. Winners: Cade & Murdoch
MARK HENRY vs THE UNDERTAKER: Just the 1 return this month! Last month it was Triple H & Rey Mysterio. As much as WWE probably wanted HBK to join ‘Taker here, the dead man has to go it alone… Well, “alone” if you don’t count the druids. Get ready for another looooong entrance folks. And then when that is finally over, the mat classic that will be this match will begin. Big Mark will grunt & make a good fist of things before the power of the urn (or Chuck Palumbo’s motorcycle) gives the dead man the power to escape Henry’s bearhug & finish off the big gorilla to the raptures of the live audience. Winner: The Undertaker
THE GREAT KHALI vs REY MYSTERIO vs BATISTA in a Triple-Threat Match for the World HeavyWeight Title: Making this a triple-threat is probably the best way to go as it means that Khali can get out of the way for a few minutes. In fact, it’s very rare to have 2 faces wrestle in these kinds of bouts and it will be interesting to see how this match is booked as you would expect Batista & Rey to team up for quite some time at the beginning of the bout. I’m hoping, but not expecting, that Rey & Big Dave can actually rehearse & come up with some interesting double-team moves against the giant Indian, as you may as well make use of his size to attempt something different. This isn’t straight-forward from a result perspective & it would not surprise me to see Khali hold on to the title until Cyber Sunday. But I’ll go with him holding the title for long enough now & suggest that it will be Batista keeping the belt warm until Edge gets back. Winner: Batista
JOHN CENA vs RANDY ORTON for the WWE Championship: I’m looking forward to this one. They put on a good match at SummerSlam & this time Cena has his straight face on & just wants to kick the living shiznit out of Randy! It should make for more than enough variation to this bout & both men’s matches in general. I just hope the bookers capitalize on the storyline & allow the wrestlers (in particular Cena) to add the relevant intensity required. And hopefully Orton will sell accordingly. In a way, this should be the almost exact opposite of their SummerSlam bout with regards to has control of the majority of the bout. But does that mean that the result will be opposite. It’s a toss up, but I’m going to say “yes”. Although, I am still undecided if Orton will emerge with the title around his waist as this is one of those instances where WWE may be able to get away with a DQ ending. Winner: Randy Orton
Ok, so there we have ‘Unforgiven’ as it currently stands. I think it’s fair to say that a lot will once more rely on the 2 main-events. It’s not a terrible card by any means, but it is not exactly one that stands out & screams “BUY ME”. With a bit of luck the 2 tag-team title matches will be solid & if the ECW title bout can follow suit, then it could end up being a good show. Otherwise, Unforgiven may be a carbon copy of last month’s disappointing SummerSlam. If there is another match added, it could be Finlay vs Kane (again) or something involving Jeff Hardy. But we are probably more likely to see Jamie Noble and/or Vince McMahon chasing Hornswoggle around the arena for 20 minutes or so.
MAIN
’Ric Flair’s Last Match’ Poll Results
Ok, these are the end results of my poll that I posted last week regarding who would be in the ring with Ric Flair if his last match was to take place at WrestleMania 24. I received fewer votes than usual this time around, but I was actually expecting that as this was never going to be as clear-cut a poll as something like ‘Who is the best mic worker in wrestling?’ In fact, I even wasn’t certain who I was voting for a few days there!
All in all, I received 200 votes & those votes were spread amongst 28 choices. Of those 28 choices, 8 only received 1 vote. I will only list them, while I will provide brief comments on the 20 answers where I received more than 1 vote. I won’t go into too much detail though as I will do that in the ‘Dessert’ section of today’s column where I will also reveal my choice as Ric Flair’s final opponent.
So without further adieu, here are the poll results for the following question: WHO SHOULD RIC FLAIR’S FINAL MATCH AT WRESTLEMANIA 24 INVOLVE...???
1 – SHAWN MICHAELS (29 votes): The fact that the winner of this poll received less than 15% of all votes counted shows how even this poll was. Match quality & respect for each other was the predominant factor chosen for this match-up.
2 – HULK HOGAN (22): Arguably the 2 biggest wrestlers of all time in one final showdown! The storyline writes itself!
3 – RICKY STEAMBOAT (21): The Dragon is arguably the man that Flair had his greatest matches against, so this would be a nice touch.
4 – STING (20): Probably Flair’s biggest foe throughout his career, Stinger was also the man chosen as Flair’s last opponent in WCW, so could history re-write itself again?
5 – EDGE (16): One last shot at the glory that is the World HeavyWeight Title was the predominant factor chosen for this match-up.
6 – TRIPLE H (15): That classic television match between these 2 from 4 years ago was always going to be in the thoughts of voters
7 – BATISTA (12): Voters were split here as to whether this would be a face vs face respect match or a heated brawl with 1 of the 2 surprisingly turning heel on their friend. This choice definitely would have gained favor with Flair’s recent switch to SmackDown.
8 – THE UNDERTAKER (11): See comments for Batista & possibly add a ‘Retirement Match vs WrestleMania Undefeated Streak’ stipulation to the equation.
9 – RANDY ORTON (8): You can’t be called the ‘Legend Killer’ until the Nature Boy has been retired. Could this “kill” be exactly what Randy needs to send his career to the next level truly.
10T – JOHN MORRISON (6): World HeavyWeight Title… Check. WWE Championship… Check. The ECW World Title could be the final piece to the puzzle.
10T – MVP (6): The feud would be good… The match should be good… And then there is yet another title that Flair has held before as the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.
12 – CODY RHODES (5): Dusty may not move around like he used to (well… ahh, never mind), but his son sure knows how to get around the ring. And would a heel turn (with dad turning as well) add some edge to a rather straight-forward face character?
13 – RANDY SAVAGE (4): Often forgotten foe had some huge battles with the Nature Boy.
14T – DUSTY RHODES (3): If Steamboat isn’t ready to go and Sting & Hogan aren’t available, Dusty may be the next best thing to a nostalgia match.
14T – FINLAY (3): Match quality & length earnt Finlay some votes, even if this would be a rather ho-hum choice.
14T – with BATISTA vs 2 SmackDown Heels (3): Probably the best of a few tag-team choices available. MVP & Edge (or Khali) may be the best opponents here.
17T – MICK FOLEY (2): That feud the 2 had last year just didn’t seem to resolve enough issues.
17T – VINCE McMAHON (2): What better way to go out than by beating the boss.
17T – KEN KENNEDY (2): Superstar in the making would not be hurt by a leg up from a legend such as naitch.
17T – with a new 4 Horsemen vs a Heel Team with Edge as it’s Leader (2): There are always going to be fans wanting to see the horsemen just one last time. And even if it is a long shot, how cool would it be?
21T – SID VICIOUS (1):
21T – WILLIAM REGAL (1):
21T – HACKSAW JIM DUGGAN (1):
21T – ARN ANDERSON (1):
21T – GREG THE HAMMER VALENTINE (1):
21T – CM PUNK (1):
21T – THE ROCK (1):
21T – ‘ROWDY’ RODDY PIPER (1):
DESSERT – My Choice
I tossed & turned & I admittedly changed my mind a few times. I can see why many people that I usually get votes from in my polls didn’t vote here. If I was on the other side of the computer screen, I probably wouldn’t have voted myself. I probably would have given myself more time to think about my answer & then forgotten to respond!
But before I get to my final choice & other options I considered, I may just throw in a few quick observations concerning the poll results. Did I expect Shawn Michaels to win the poll? Nope, I expected him to be in the top 5, but I personally thought that Hogan, Sting & Triple H would be the 3 most popular choices. Apart from HBK, I was next most surprised by the amount of votes that Edge got. But, as I have written before, I do not believe that Flair should be World HeavyWeight Champion again, so I probably did not consider it for that reason, where-as those that voted for Edge were clearly in favor of one last reign.
Conversely, Triple H was probably the only man that I clearly thought would receive more votes than he did. Well, let me clarify that, as I really did think that some combinations of tag-team or multi-man matches would be more popular amongst fans. Just picking some names from a hat, I think something like Flair & Triple H (or Batista) vs Edge & Kennedy (or MVP) would work very well. But I can see why fans shied away from such a choice as Flair definitely made his name as a singles wrestler throughout his career.
But I definitely considered that tag-team option. I also considered 5 of the top 6 (excluding Edge) from the poll as potential opponents, but dismissed them for one reason or another. Although, I must agree with many that HBK would be a terrific match-up no matter how the storyline was built up. You’d be guaranteed a great match & it would be one hell of a spectacle. And while that may seem hypocritical of me considering what I have said in the past few months about face vs face matches, I have always stated that such a match should be kept for an extraordinary occurrence. And if Ric Flair’s last match isn’t extraordinary, then nothing is! Plus, HBK could pull off that tweener role that he did against Hulk Hogan if required, but this time with a happier ending!
I eventually decided that Flair should remain a face for his last match & I eventually bit the bullet & possibly controversially decided that Flair should give a leg up to an up & coming wrestler. I know it may not be the most popular choice when it has to do with the last bout of one of the greatest wrestlers ever, but for whatever reason, that’s the way I have decided to go.
I eventually narrowed it down to 4 opponents & Kennedy was the first choice to be eliminated. He would actually make quite a good opponent, but I am unsure that the opportunity would be there for the 2 to meet, while other storylines impressed me more.
I must say that I was nearly convinced by the ECW World Title argument that a few readers emailed me. Something about Flair winning all 3 World Titles that are currently in WWE did appeal to me. But with both CM Punk & John Morrison, I don’t think the dynamic with Flair would quite be right. Definitely not with Morrison (who did get more votes than I expected) & probably not with Punk unless he was to turn heel (or tweener), which I am unsure is a good idea at this stage of his WWE stay.
So, by a process of elimination, my choice as Ric Flair’s final opponent at WrestleMania 24 would be Montel Vontavious Porter… MVP. While they have already feuded, it was more of a sneak peek to me & I liked what I saw as the (relative) youngster held his own against the Nature Boy on the microphone. In fact, there is a lot of early Naitch swagger in MVP & I almost think that because of that he would make a fitting final opponent. And while I don’t want Flair to win one of the big 2 titles, I do feel it would be a nice touch to go out on top in some way & I can’t think of too much better than the United States Title which also played a rather large role in his career.
There’s another poll in the books & with it goes #245 of ‘The Wrestling Menu’. I hope you all enjoyed it. If you would like to provide feedback on the poll results and/or my opinion of MVP being Ric Flair’s final opponent, then shoot me off an email. Ditto if you think I have my Unforgiven predictions all a$$-about. 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 multiple 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. And for the past 2 weeks, I have reviewed 6 albums in total by 2 bands that I am going to see in concert this coming Friday night. Who are the bands..??? Find out by clicking on the following link & scrolling down: http://www.lopforums.com/showthread.php?t=99&page=3.
Next Wednesday in 'The Wrestling Menu', I will be here with my Unforgiven Review. Apart from that, I am unsure what will be served up, but I could have a further follow-up on Ric Flair (including all these reports that he may have quit WWE) as well finally getting to a few general topics concerning WWE’s Friday night brand. 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.
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