DaveyBoy’s Wrestling Menu - Backlash Predictions + Wrestling Commentators
Submitted by DaveyBoy on Wednesday, April 23, 2008 at 2:22 AM EST






THE WRESTLING MENU #267

Welcome one and all to the 267th edition of The Wrestling Menu, the column that is sure to satisfy your taste buds when it comes to discussing all things wrestling.

You know what...??? I am still perplexed at the thought that some wrestling fans would buy a Chavo Guerrero t-shirt. But I suppose I better build a bridge & get over it.

Speaking of Chavo, he is unfortunately going to come in for some more criticism from me in my 'Dessert' section today when I discuss commentators. I know... I know... Surely there is a more obvious target to direct my negativity on when it comes to ECW & commentators (he who describes a drop-kick as both a "kick" and a "big kick"), but I will give Mike Adamle at least one week's worth of grace!

Actually, to continue the theme on commentators, is anyone else getting a kick out of Jonathan Coachman making fun of his own (lack of) commentating abilities...??? In a strange way, I am. I am unsure how long the novelty will last, but I've given Coach and his partner Michael Cole a few chuckles over the past fortnight regarding this.

Anyway, I will get back to the commentating side of things later. For now, it's on with the (in more ways than one) backlash…..


APPETIZERS

The Importance of Backlash

Maybe this topic is better titled 'The Growing Importance of Backlash'. Oh well, you will hopefully get the point as I go along. I actually have had this topic earmarked for this column for about 4-5 weeks now and it began with another discussion over email with one of my readers. We were casually chatting about our WrestleMania 24 predictions before the card had even been finalized and found ourselves mentioning the 'Backlash' pay-per-view on more than one occasion. For mine, it was rather telling in a way.

Remembering that we were only discussing WrestleMania 24 in a kayfabe sense in terms of predicting the eventual results of the night, we almost used Backlash as a means to justify some of our choices. What I mean by that is that in some of the match-ups, we both looked even further into the future and predicted which of the feuds were going to carry over to the late April ppv. If we could do that correctly, we would have a better chance of correctly predicting the outcome of the individual match at the big dance.

Now while most fans perceive that the recent nature of the Backlash event is a negative, I am not so sure. Naysayers suggest that WrestleMania 24 should be the culmination of feuds, while new match-ups should begin immediately afterwards. This would then obviously mean that we would see very little (if any) rematches at Backlash. In theory, that is indeed a good plan to base the months of March & April around. However, WWE and the professional wrestling industry as a whole constantly evolves and I actually think the company has changed with the times rather well in this scenario.

One argument I am going to use here is one that some fans may actually not have thought of. Especially with the growth of the World Wide Web & readily available information, fans have become wiser to the WWE product over the years. This includes being able to predict which direction WWE will go with feuds, match-ups & results. This may actually be more so with regards to the annual WrestleMania event as fans know it is the biggest show of the year. So if that is where feuds culminate and fans will usually know who is to come out on top in a feud, then wouldn't predicting WrestleMania each year be easier? And if that was the case, wouldn't it lessen the impact of the card?

But with some feuds now carrying over to the following month's Backlash pay-per-view, then it is less likely for fans to know which of the match-ups will and in turn who will win the WrestleMania bouts. In what is not the best example (due to the multi-man matches), let us use Triple H & Randy Orton for instance. If we were to be 99% certain that the 2 would not meet again for a year or so after WrestleMania, then one would have to presume that H would emerge victorious. But by stretching the feud out to Backlash, it gives WWE greater flexibility with the booking of the match(es). The same can be said of Edge vs The Undertaker... And when there is a huge WrestleMania winning streak involved in the mix, then that is even more so!

This can also work the other way around of course. Due to its ordinary & rushed build-up, there were many that presumed the feud between JBL & Finlay was to continue after WrestleMania. So while most figured that JBL would eventually emerge victorious, their prediction as to who would win in Orlando was Finlay... With JBL getting his revenge at Backlash. But nope, (thankfully) the feud has ended and JBL got the W right from the beginning.

And really, who is upset that Backlash has become a mini WrestleMania of sorts? Probably the same people that whine that we have too many throwaway pay-per-views. I would much prefer to be seeing Edge vs 'Taker again than 'Taker defending his title against a lame duck like Khali or Mark Henry. When it all comes down to it, it is all a matter of balance. Throw in Matt vs MVP and Batista vs HBK and there is more than a sufficient amount of freshness on top of the WrestleMania rematches that should be enough to keep fans happy, yet have an above average ppv as well. The proof will be in the pudding this weekend, but just remember what even it was that I rated the PPV of 2007!


MAIN - Backlash Predictions

MVP vs MATT HARDY for the United States Title: To quote a Matt Hardy catchphrase, this is a feud that just "won't die". It has basically lasted for 9 months and many fans felt it was indeed the feud of 2007. I am still fairly certain that it was booked to culminate at WrestleMania 24, but Hardy's injuries put paid to that. The big question is now whether or not WWE end it here so both men can progress to bigger and better things. While other plans would suggest this would be wise, I think it can be dragged out for one more month. As per my opening topic today, I do believe the end result will be Matt finally winning the U.S Title, but my belief is that it should now happen at Judgment Day, not here at Backlash. Have something controversial occur here after 15 minutes of great action, but have MVP retain just so Matt come back even hungrier in 3 weeks time. Winner: Matt Hardy

MICKIE JAMES, ASHLEY MASSARO, MICHELLE McCOOL, KELLY KELLY, MARIA & CHERRY vs BETH PHOENIX, JILLIAN HALL, LAYLA EL, NATALYA NEIDHART, MELINA & VICTORIA: I believe this will be a standard tag-team match, if a bout involving 12 people can be called “standard” in any way. I am still a little bemused by the recent title change that had Mickie score the upset win in London, but I suppose they simply replaced Candice with Mickie, as I am almost certain Candice Michelle was originally slated to win the title around this time of the year. What does it all mean for this particular bout? Probably not much. This could actually be entertaining as there will be a lot of moves hit rapidly before tags being made. As for the result, I usually like the non-champion in multi-person bouts like this, so….. Winners: Beth & the Heel Team

KANE vs CHAVO GUERRERO for the ECW Title: This could last anywhere between 8 seconds and 8 minutes. It is for the ECW Title, so never write off the shorter duration, especially on pay-per-view. Pretty much a nothing feud, this is likely to be pretty much a nothing match. Usually, I would be extremely confident of a Kane win, but with Chavo’s new bodyguard, that isn’t necessarily a given now. I still think it wouldn’t totally be correct to give Kane yet another short title reign though, so I’ll stick with the face... Possibly by disqualification, even if I prefer it be via clean pinfall. Unfortunately, the feud is likely to continue. Winner: Kane

THE BIG SHOW vs THE GREAT KHALI: I am still trying to work out why we saw a goat in a wrestling ring 2 weeks ago. On top of that, I am also trying to work out if the gigantic Indian Khali bombed Big Show last week or Big Show did it to himself. Go back and watch the replay to know what I mean. Anyway, I think it is an understatement to state that this will be your typical big man match... And it probably won't be pretty. WWE may have a more multi-layered purpose to this feud, but to me it is simply filler to get The Big Show over in what appears to be a face role. I don't actually remember him turning face, but anyway... Either way, the big fella... The American one wins. Winner: The Big Show

SHAWN MICHAELS vs BATISTA with Special Guest Referee Chris Jericho: Like an alcoholic entering rehab, I have begrudgingly learnt to accept face vs face match-ups. It appears they are simply going to be a reality in the modern day WWE, so there is no point complaining about how they occur every other week nowadays. Hey, I should look at the bright side; They are better than heel vs heel matches! But it now seems that I could have to learn to face another demon; A face vs face match-up with a face special guest referee! What Jericho is doing in the mix here, I really don't know. But I'm hoping that there is an acceptable reason when all is said & done.

In reality, the build-up for this feud & match has been text book. Week after week, the segments involving these 2 combatants have been excellent. And adding Y2J to the mix didn't harm the situation either. While I would have preferred to see a little more wrestling from the participants, I can see many a reason why this feud was kept verbal and that could end up working in the feud's favor. I say "could" because this match really could go in a number of directions and have a number of repercussions for the next few months of WWE programming. And, in what is a positive attribute, I really have no idea what the hell is going to occur. If anything, I will be disappointed if all 3 men remain face after all is said & done. This match should be pretty good wrestling-wise, but maybe more importantly it will simply be interesting. As for the winner, toss a coin... Winner: Batista

THE UNDERTAKER vs EDGE for the World HeavyWeight Title: This is one of those instances where a WrestleMania rematch is definitely a positive. I hate to be boring, but the directions should be pretty simple here; Have exactly the same match as the main-event of WrestleMania, except have it be about 5-7 minutes shorter and obviously take that time off the opening half of the previous bout that seemed as if it was going to grind to a halt at one stage. While the result could theoretically go either way, I am not a fan of short title reigns and that goes doubly so when a wrestler wins the title at WrestleMania. Edge has plenty of time to regain the title later in the year. One thing I will say is that if Edge regains the title this soon, I would have to presume that it was initially intended that he end Taker's WrestleMania winning streak! Winner: The Undertaker

RANDY ORTON vs JOHN CENA vs TRIPLE H vs JBL in a Fatal Fourway for the WWE Championship: This is one match where I am not so sure on the booking. For starters, JBL looks totally out of place & uncomfortable here and that should not be the case when there are 2 heels & 2 faces involved in a Fatal Fourway. As much as I liked the dynamic involved in the WrestleMania triple-threat, adding JBL to the mix actually detracts from it. And that isn't necessarily a knock on JBL either, it's simply that his character has not had enough time to be built up once more, especially on Raw. Is this match simply a way of having Triple H or Cena win the title after the swerve that was Orton retaining at WrestleMania? Or is it a continuation of the 'Orton is the new WWE super-hero' angle. Again, I am not so sure and in a way it will be interesting to see where WWE heads. As strange as it sounds, I think Orton might retain here, so that it looks better for his eventual conqueror in a singles bout down the track. Winner: Randy Orton

Ok, so there is 'Backlash' as it currently stands. It seems to be a nice mix of this, that and the other. While it doesn't stand out as a "can't miss" pay-per-view event, it is one of those shows that may actually turn out to be can't miss, as a number of the matches could go in a number of different ways and have serious repercussions for the next few months of WWE programming. I think the word I mentioned a couple of times during the predictions was "interesting". Throw in some unpredictability and all looks fairly fine.

So far, there have been the above 7 matches promoted for the card. Will there be any more added? It is a little difficult to tell. I would probably suggest that there will be an 8th, especially since there are a couple of bouts on the card that could be rather short, But there are also a couple that could go past the 20 minute mark as well, so who knows. Maybe it will all be determined by the distance from the locker-room to the ring, because we all know that The Undertaker isn’t exactly an Olympic sprinter during his entrances!


DESSERT - Wrestling Commentators

This is yet another topic I was going to write about a month or so back, but to say that I am pleased that I held off is an understatement! When I say 'wrestling commentators' by the way, I am referring to those current wrestlers who occasionally stroll down to the announce desk to help out with color comments. While many ignore these occurrences for the most part, I think that you can read a lot more into these instances than one might think. And I am going to use 6 examples to prove my point here. Funnily enough, not one of them occurred on Raw, but what can be deduced from that, I am not totally sure.

The first example occurred a while back on ECW and to be honest I cannot recall it very well. The 2 color commentators on this occasion were The Miz & John Morrison. One of the locker-room leaders at the time (I think it was JBL) chewed them out on their performance. While I could see where he was coming from, I didn't think the current WWE tag-team champions were too bad. If anything, the conclusion to be reached by their performance was that they are young, inexperienced and a little full of themselves. Well, that is their characters anyway, so it is difficult to be too harsh on them.

In the lead up to WrestleMania 24, both Shelton Benjamin & Batista spent some time at the announce desk. Good God, I really had to push the mute button on my remote control when these 2 guys were speaking. I am not as harsh on either man's mic skills as most, but when faced with the rather difficult assignment of adding color comments to an actual match taking place in the ring at the time, then they failed miserably. I don't want to hear either of these 2 in the same predicament again.

Next up in the hot seat was Chavo Guerrero. Now there were actually parts of his commentary that were decent. He played the role of his character well enough and he was clear & charismatic in his speech. But talk about totally ruining a match by saying the wrong things at the wrong time. He started sentences when a big spot was clearly about to occur, he underplayed big moves and overplayed insignificant moves. If I didn't believe it was actually quite a difficult task, I would think Chavo to be simply dumb. It was great to see Tazz put him in his place a couple of times actually.

I am now going to fast forward to last Friday night on SmackDown when Matt Hardy played the role during a match between MVP and Tommy Dreamer. To use golf terms, Matt went through an entire 18 hole round parring every single hole. He didn't do or say anything too wrong, but nor did he do or say anything too right. He just came off as a good guy who is rather smart. Unfortunately, by not standing out a little more, it's actually the kind of performance which leads me to having doubts as to whether or not he will ever genuinely main-event… Because professional wrestling is not an industry where a par score makes a superstar.

One more example left and I have deliberately left it until last. Now go back 2 Fridays on SmackDown when the roles were reversed. Matt was in the ring & it was MVP behind the microphone. Seriously, this could have been the best commentating by anyone in WWE all year. In fact, MVP's performance was so great that it genuinely made Jonathon Coachman look really bad. Now I know some will be saying that's obvious each week anyway, but it was so much more apparent here as Michael Cole & MVP were bouncing off each other so well that it actually improved Cole as a commentator.

I will never forget the in-ring promo between MVP & Chris Benoit early'ish last year. It was the night I really stood up & took notice of MVP. Well, this commentating performance was yet another time. He did everything absolutely right... And yes, that included comments on the match in front of him. MVP consolidated & added to his character, he entertained and maybe most importantly he thrived at being put in a difficult position and excelling. While talking and wrestling are 2 different things altogether, MVP's performance of the former basically made me feel that he can succeed at the latter.

While the reverse isn't always the case (That is, Batista, Benjamin, Hardy, etc... may still be able to be great superstars in the ring), I can't help but think that a performance behind the announce desk such as the one I heard from MVP 2 weeks ago simply states too many things positives about him to not mean he will one day become a genuine main-eventer. Now let's get Mr.Kennedy in the same role and start comparing notes!


Ok, so that is #267 of ‘The Wrestling Menu’ done & dusted. I hope you all enjoyed it. It is an understatement to say that work is busting my balls at present, but I usually somehow manage to respond to all feedback that I receive. You may just have to be a little more patient than usual over the next week or so though as I have very little spare time up my sleeve. Having said that, fire away with relevant feedback, ideas & thoughts. 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=159

I have got a few ideas still buzzing around in my head for column topics next week, so in addition to my Backlash review, expect anything from King of the Ring based-topics through to fatherhood!!! And no, I don't mean I'm going to be a father, so hold back the false congratulations please. As always, 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.

In the meantime, if you need more DaveyBoy goodness to read, feel free to take a peak at my latest album review, the Grammy award winning ‘Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace’ from The Foo Fighters. Simply click on the following link and then scroll down a little before clicking on the appropriate link: http://www.feeltheword.net/magazine/music/


DaveyBoy’s Wrestling Menu. 2002-2008

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