Vengeance: But for whom?
Another weekend and another WWE PPV, boy they come round quicker than the football season these days. Is this the weekend Triple H wins another World Heavyweight Title, can Eugene win a tag title belt? Let’s see what I have to say about Vengeance.
World Heavyweight Title: Chris Benoit v Triple H
Could this be the end of Chris Benoit’s title reign? He won the belt at Wrestlemania of course and has done reasonably well so far. He still hasn’t had that PPV one-on-one with Edge or Shawn Michaels that had been rumoured but now he faces his toughest task to date. The Game is back on the title chase and after plenty of mind-games with Eugene (has he got a mind?) he has his chance to get back the one thing he desires more than anything in the world, yes even more than Stephanie McMahon, well perhaps not.
Triple H’s in-ring performances have improved of late and this could well be a classic match. Benoit doesn’t know how to put on a bad show so as long as Trips stays on form then this could be one hell o a match, but who’s going to win it?
I have a feeling that Benoit is going to keep the belt this Sunday but in a way that will allow his opponent to get a return match at Summerslam and that’s where the title change will take place.
Intercontinental Title: Randy Orton v Edge
I haven’t been that impressed with Edge since he returned to action but he’s a fresh name in a way after his long lay-off. Orton is definitely on his way to the top and therefore must be losing this belt at some time in the future. Don’t feel sorry for him when that happens, as Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart know only too well, the IC title is just a stepping stone to the World Title, but only if you have the talent.
So what’s going to happen this weekend? I’m not sure if that title change will happen here, it’s best for the feud, which is still in its early days, to get some more heat attached to it. I go for a controversial Orton win (are there any other kinds?).
Tag Titles: La Resistance v Eugene and Ric Flair
Poor Ric Flair, not only has he got a book to publicise but now he’s stuck with Eugene. Are you fed up of Eugene yet? If the answer is no, then give it a few weeks more of this intensive push and you soon will be. There’s no heat in this match whatsoever which says a lot about the tag division on Raw. Look at the past couple of weeks, teams just thrown together for no reason at all to give La Resistance a match. Name me the top three challengers to the tag title belts and not just teams that have never even tagged together before? Hard isn’t it?
So will there be a title change here? I have a feeling that there will be and Eugene will have a big shiny belt to put round his waist on Monday, won’t Eric be pleased. William Regal will probably play a part in this somewhere trying to persuade Eugene that he’s being used, but then again he’d know all about that wouldn’t he?
I go for Eugene and Flair to win the belts in a comedy match, just be thankful that poodle is on Smackdown!
Matt Hardy v Kane
And so the pregnancy story continues. I’ve looked at this storyline in more depth in this weeks Main Event in the TWO Newsletter. Poor Kane, one minute a world title challenger, next minute stuck in a stupid pregnancy plot with the appalling acting of Lita to suffer. What is it with Vince, why does he give all the stupid stories to Kane? I go for Kane to win this and Lita to probably get involved in such a way we’ll have to worry till Monday about whether she keeps the baby.
Chris Jericho v Batista
A card filler for sure with the man who was at the top of the tree against the man who never will be. Poor Batista, he’s still the one in Evolution who hasn’t quite got what it takes to get a big match on a PPV. As for Jericho, it seems he’s still treading water on Raw, go on son go to Smackdown and have some battles with Cena, Angle and even Bradshaw. There’s not a tremendous amount of heat here and it doesn’t say much for the talents of Tyson Tomko who Jericho met at the last Raw PPV. I go for a Jericho win here but unless he’s scheduled to get that IC run against Orton, just where is he going?
It’s not a fantastic card is it? The World Title and IC title matches could be good but the rest could stink to high heaven. I’m sure some more matches will be added on Heat this Sunday. Perhaps a woman’s match with Nidia and Molly, probably a tag match to get as much crumpet on screen as possible but elsewhere there’s not that much happening on Raw is there?
Well the clock is ticking down to the launch of my new fanzine ‘Piliedriver’ Confirmed for the first two editions this week are interviews with wrestlers featured in ‘The Backyard’, a review of ‘Bodyslams’ and an interview with Chris Hamrick. For more info on the fanzine, email me at Stephen@Wrestling101.com
Stephen Ashfield