Of course, the WWE is kind of in a bind with this PPV anyways. Randy Orton and Chris Jericho, who were scheduled to fight each other at the PPV, are both suspended. Alberto del Rio, who was suppose to fight Sheamus for the World Title, is out with a concussion. And we can't have a Tag Title Match because R-Truth is out with a broken foot. These last couple months have been pretty much a throw away for the WWE. I expect things to "reset" after this PPV and the WWE to begin their big summer push in July in the build up to Money in the Bank and the 1000th episode of RAW.
But we still have one more PPV to get through before the summer starts, and I will review it here.
Brodus Clay vs David Otunga
This is on the preshow on YouTube. John Laurinaitis banned Brodus Clay from RAW and he can now only appear on Smackdown. That poor man! Well now Clay gets to take out his frustration on the right hand man of Laurinaitis, David Otunga. That's the backstory to this match. The luster is starting to fade away from Brodus Clay. While he's still undefeated, there's just nothing else to him. I liked what they did with him calling out Big Show, but nothing has resulted from it yet. Clay wins here. Otunga is not beating him.
WINNER: Brodus Clay
Tuxedo Match: Santino Marella vs Ricardo Rodriguez
This match was just recently added before I wrote this. I guess this will be the comedy portion of the show. This feud dates back, oh I don't know, like a few weeks? I think it started on one of the WWE's new online shows. Santino thinks Ricardo is a bad ring announcer and has been the comedic foil for Ricardo in recent weeks. Ricardo is good for what he is. He always gets a laugh out of me. But he is not winning this one. Santino wins and reveals that Ricardo is wearing a pair of Justin Bieber underwear.
WINNER: Santino Marella
Divas Championship: Beth Phoenix vs Layla (c)
When was this match announced? See what I mean, this just feels like another throwaway PPV. The WWE has too many of those. The Divas have barely been on TV that last couple weeks and now they have a PPV match? Again, why should people care about it? What every fan is really waiting for is the return of Kharma, which the WWE continues to put off. My guess is that she comes back by the 1000th episode of RAW, and we get a Beth Phoenix/Kharma match at SummerSlam. Lets go with Beth winning the Title here as the anticipation for Kharma returning increases.
WINNER: Beth Phoenix
Intercontinental Championship: Cody Rhodes vs Christian (c)
Hopefully these two get a longer match than what they had at Over the Limit. I didn't get why Christian decided to turn face all of the sudden, but surprisingly, his explanation was believable. Christian "saw the light" when he inducted Edge into the Hall of Fame in April and decided that he no longer wanted to be a whiner and someone who blamed others for their mistakes. See, that's the kind of explanation I can believe because it makes sense.
Cody Rhodes immediately called him out on it and said that Christian stole the Title that he brought prestige back to. Rhodes has kind of been fading a bit in the last couple months. I think he needs to become a focus on WWE TV in the summer. I actually think Rhodes is above the IC Title now. The Title on Christian is fine. He's a mid to upper mid card guy, and assuming its a young heel that takes the Title off of him, it gives that heel a nice win under their belt. Rhodes is way past that stage and is ready to move on to the next stage of his career, which hopefully includes a main event spot.
Cody is probably my early favorite to win the Smackdown Money in the Bank Match, unless Wade Barrett is ready to return from injury. But I don't believe he is ready to come back until August. That puts Cody in the front of the line. Hopefully these guys get at least 12-15 minutes to put on a decent three star match. They are both capable of it and hopefully this time the crowd gets into it. I expect Christian to retain the Title here. The two will probably have another match down the line while both prepare for the Money in the Bank match in July.
WINNER: Christian
Triple H Promo
Hey, why does HHH get a special Twitter hashtag on his picture? This has been added to apparently try to get people to buy the PPV. Why? If I really wanted to, I could just read the transcript or a report on it after the show. Even though there is apparently still NUCLEAR MEGA SUPER heat on Brock Lesnar, everything is still going forward with the planned Triple H/Brock Lesnar match at SummerSlam. Triple H will be addressing his arm injury and the pending "lawsuits" that Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman have against him and the WWE. I don't know what exactly he is going to say. My guess is that Paul Heyman shows up to interrupt the promo. The WWE has to limit Brock Lesnar's appearances since they already used a month's worth in April. My guess is that it ends with Heyman saying Lesnar will appear on some date to answer to Triple H and "work things out." Or maybe Heyman agrees to drop the lawsuits if HHH agrees to some kind of demands. I don't expect anything big to happen from it. At most, HHH says his arm will heal and invites Brock to the 1000th episode of RAW to challenge him and or work things out.
World Heavyweight Championship: Sheamus (c) vs Dolph Ziggler
Well, I guess this is the next best option. As I'm sure you already know, Alberto del Rio is missing this match with a serious concussion suffered at the hands of, in reality, Sheamus. Storyline wise it is being blamed on Great Khali. But Del Rio was actually hurt when Sheamus threw him into the stage. I still haven't been that into Del Rio since his return. There is just something about his gimmick that seems off. Maybe its that it is just too one dimensional. He was suppose to come back with an aggressive side but I haven't seen it yet.
The best option out of everything the WWE had in front of them was Dolph Ziggler. If there wasn't already a triple threat match, I would have considered Sheamus/Christian/Rhodes. But we get Dolph Ziggler instead. That isn't a bad option. Sheamus and Ziggler should have a good match. But you know what would have made it even better? If the WWE hadn't booked Ziggler like shit in the last two months. Ziggler has been jobbing a lot the last couple months. Do people really think he will beat Sheamus? Most probably wouldn't have thought so anyways, but maybe if Ziggler was built up better in the last two months people might think there is a shot of him winning. But instead he is just an emergency fill in.
Sheamus hasn't been all that great as World Champ either. He fell victim to bad booking in the Daniel Bryan program. And now he faces another guy marks love in Dolph Ziggler. I still think Sheamus has potential but it needs to be brought out fast. With Randy Orton suspended, Sheamus has the opportunity to claim the top spot as the #1 face on Smackdown. He works well in the ring for his size, now he just needs to work on his promos and character a bit more. Don't turn into a corny jokester like John Cena. Keep your mean and serious side. Don't turn into another WWE face.
Hopefully these two get at least 15 minutes. I expect Ziggler to put on a good showing, but Sheamus wins in the end with a Brogue Kick FROM OUT OF NOWHERE.
WINNER: Sheamus
WWE Championship: Kane vs C.M. Punk (c) vs Daniel Bryan
Why isn't A.J. in that graphic? She's been the center piece of this weird storyline drama the last couple of weeks. As much I would like to see C.M. Punk and Daniel Bryan just go at it again for another 20+ minutes, at least Kane being involved in the match makes sens from a storyline perspective. Both Punk and Bryan tried using Kane to get an advantage on the other, and now they have to pay for it. I don't think Kane wins this match. Kane is at the point of his career where he should never win a major title again. The other reason I don't have a problem having Kane in the match is because he is the guy that should be taking the fall in this match, and it more than likely gives us another Punk/Bryan match.
Punk and Bryan had a great match at Over the Limit. I like how the rivalry between the two has developed. I liked their promo exchange on RAW. Bryan was right on with calling Punk out for being a sellout. As much as we all love C.M. Punk, he's starting to turn into another typical WWE face. He's lost some of the edge he had a year ago. He's almost nothing like C.M. Punk of a year ago. Daniel Bryan's work has been great. He plays into the YES chants the right way. He acknowledges them but still uses them in a heel like manner. I don't think anyone saw Bryan developing into a top guy like this. It's been fun to watch.
Oh, and how have I gotten this far without mentioning that adorable little nut job A.J.? I have no idea what is going on with her, all I do know is that I would like to do terrible, terrible things to her. She's the kind of girl that you want to go on walks in the park with, but then do other things with her later on. But seriously, what is going on? Is A.J. playing all three of them? Is she working with Daniel Bryan? Or has she fallen for C.M. Punk? Or does Kane continue to get lucky and score with a WWE Diva? This one has me seriously puzzled.
I still don't see any reason for C.M. Punk to lose the WWE Title, so I think he retains here. Kane is ready to chokeslam Punk but A.J. jumps on the apron. Bryan tries to grab her off but Kane knocks him off. Kane turns around and walks right into a GTS from Punk for the win.
WINNER: C.M. Punk
Steel Cage Match: John Cena vs Big Show
Why couldn't this match have been an 8,000 WATT SURGE LIGHT MATCH!!! I'm sorry, but I love coming back to that point in the storied history that is the John Cena/Big Show rivalry. It seems like every couple of years these two have to feud for some reason. I'm sure when John Cena eventually hits the Attitude Adjustment on Big Show, we will hear the announcers say that they CANNOT BELIEVE THAT JOHN CENA JUST DID THAT. I know the announcers have to sell things, but sometimes they just need to keep quiet.
Big Show's heel turn at Over the Limit could have been seen from outer space. It was set up way to obviously. Now Big Show has an iron clad contract and can do whatever the hell he wants. He doesn't want to smile and pander to the fans anymore. He finally wants to be an angry giant that he knows he can be. Well, its only about 10 years to late in his WWE career. Big Show's promos have been pretty good during this program. Everything he has said made sense. No one came to the defense of him after he was fired, including John Cena.
John Cena's promos have of course made no sense whatsoever. Why should we believe that a new GM would have automatically hired Big Show back? Cena then said himself in his promo that Show has been a joke most of his career. Wouldn't a new GM take that into consideration when they were to look at bringing back Big Show? Just typical John Cena skirting his way around the truth of the matter.
Oh, and the best part is that the job of John Laurinaitis is on the line again! That now makes three out of the last four PPVs. And as revealed on Smackdown Friday, if John Cena loses he is fired. Another John Cena could get fired angle! Are the writers out of ideas? And now we have Vince McMahon involved. He spiked the ratings last week so I would expect him around for a bit. Hopefully he's okay after the wind from that missed Big Show punch missed him by about a foot. Technically, if R-Truth is knocked out from Show's KO Punch, Vince should be out even longer. But that won't happen.
So how does this end? Big Show goes to escape through the door but Vince McMahon comes down and slams the door on Show's head. Laurinaitis gets in Vince's face and eats a punch. Cena then walks out the door and picks up the win. Laurinaitis is fired and the fans get to chant goodbye.
WINNER: John Cena
There you have it. Baring any unforeseen circumstances, I should have live coverage of No Way Out here Sunday.
Until Next Time,
Justin C
Follow Me On Twitter @JCWonka
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