Hey there tatfans and welcome to possibly the most difficult preview articles I’ve ever had to write. Usually I would discuss the matches, and usually try to pick a winner but this Pay Per View is different; Taboo Tuesday is the first interactive event held by the WWE.
So what is the basis of Taboo Tuesday? Well, the WWE offers a choice of matches, a choice of opponents and choice of match stipulations and it’s up to the fans to get online and vote for what you want to see. Triple H will defend his title against one of three people. You can choose who, out of a plethora of popular talent, will fight Chris Jericho for his Intercontinental title. You can choose the setting for Ric Flair vs Randy Orton, the loser stipulation for Eugene vs Bischoff and much more.
So is it rigged? To an extent, probably. Now don’t get me wrong, I really, really don’t believe that the WWE are cold hearted enough to allow the fans to vote for their matches and then just dismiss them in favour of what the bookies wanted to do all along. I am quite serious about this. Where I believe “rigging” may be involved is with the contingency plans with regards to gold.
Taboo Tuesday will be regarded as a monumental waste of time of the highest order if no titles change hands. The fans may feel good about being allowed to participate in the booking but they won’t be pleased if all they get is non-rammificational exhibition stuff. They want to feel like their vote contributed towards something big happening during the show. And there is nothing bigger than gold changing hands.
So which titles are the most likely to change hands? I really cannot see Triple H allowing himself to be beaten so soon after winning the belt off of Orton after he had just won it off Benoit. Having Triple H retain against the fans’ choice can set up a great Triple H vs The Fans rivalry going into 2005. How about the Intercontinental title? Maybe. The Women’s title? Probably. The Tag Team titles? Almost certainly. But we’ll get to that when we preview the matches.
Triple H defends his gold vs one of HBK, Edge or Chris Benoit. We’ve seen plenty of Benoit this year, and lots of Triple H vs HBK matches, and not a lot of Edge in the main event, and I can’t see that changing. I strongly believe the fans will want to see Triple H vs HBK again, and I think this will be the main event. The reason WWE did not include fan favourite Randy Orton in the selection is because they are counting on the fans picking HBK. If HBK is voted to be in the main event then we will have new Tag Team champions.
La Resistance defend their Tag Team titles against the two superstars who are not voted to fight Triple H. In an earlier TAT (Summerslam, I think) I suggested that the WWE were keen to promote Benoit as a Tag Team wrestler. Edge, just is not cutting it with the fans as a genuine title threat but he also makes a fantastic Tag Team wrestler, so I can see the WWE giving the very strong team of Edge and Benoit the Tag Team Titles, like they held earlier on in the year, of course.
In what could be one of the most entertaining matches, we get to choose whether Ric Flair faces Randy Orton in a Submission Match, a Falls Count Anywhere Match or in a Steel Cage. This will also probably be a non-rammificational match which may just end up as a Submissions Match but will probably be in a Cage. This should be a strong match-up, especially if it’s a Submissions Match. Either guy tapping out would do wonders for the other!
Y2J Chris Jericho defends his Intercontinental title against pretty much anyone else that’s left on the roster. This has sparked some voting campaigns all over the internet. Will this be “rigged”? Maybe. What I do think I know is that if the person who is voted to fight is a surprise choice then Y2J will retain, if the person voted is a genuine strong challenger then a title change may just happen. Personally I like Jericho as champion but am happy to announce that Shelton Benjamin has my vote!
The rest of the matches are a meli-melo of comedy matches, silly stipulation matches and the Women’s card. Fans can decide as to which weapon Kane and the detestable Gene Snitsky will beat the hell out of each other with, which should make for a good match to be fair. The divas are having a sexy Battle Royal to decide who wins the Women’s Title; fans choose the outfits, a nurse, French Maid or Schoolgirl. I can’t see Trish retaining because I have been hearing rumours all summer that Victoria and Gail Kim are set to embark on a properly vicious feud over the title. Perhaps the big, strong Victoria will triumph? Eugene and Eric Bischoff fight with the loser becomes the other’s servant, wears a dress or gets his head shaved. Finally Diva Search misfits Carmella and Christy face off to see who the biggest TV camera whore is. Possibly.
As I’ve said, expect pre-determined results that are dependant on the voting. If the WWE fans go against the grain and vote Edge to face Triple H, and Rosey to face Y2J, then maybe your votes will count for nothing. The WWE have a plan alright; they want titles to change and they want the fans to be satisfied with their newly-gained power, but they just want you to do it their way.
Thanks for reading,
Boyo