CBlog XXXV- Christian's Return and WWE No Way Out 2009 Predictions

Hello and welcome to the 35th edition of the CBlog. In this blog, I will be discussing the two big items of discussion in the WWE as of late- Christian’s Return on ECW and tonight’s No Way Out pay-per-view.
First, Christian’s Return- Regardless of how his return to the WWE was handled, I am just glad that “Captain Charisma” is back in the fold in the WWE. With the WWE Draft being announced for April 13, I think Christian will get drafted to RAW or SmackDown, preferably RAW for me. I see him taking the ECW Title off of Jack Swagger in the mean time and holding it until he is drafted, then he will forfeit and/or vacate the title. I think having him return on ECW was a smart move. Who could have expected that WWE would have had his return take place on ECW? A brand that no one really cares about with a title that is not even a World Title. The ratings for this week’s ECW should be interesting now that everyone knows that the “Cap” is back.
Speaking of the WWE Draft, I will be saving those for when it is closer to that time, possibly after WrestleMania.
Now on to my predictions for tonight’s No Way Out pay-per-view:
WWE Championship Elimination Chamber Match: Edge (c) def. Triple H, Big Show, Jeff Hardy, Vladimir Kozlov, & The Undertaker
I do not see WWE taking the title off of Edge this early in his reign. They did it late last year, so it would seem wrong to do it again. This prediction is not “solid” in my mind, as the match could go any number of ways. Right off the top, I do not see Vladimir Kozlov winning the title, that’s pretty much a given. I expect to see his undefeated streak end in the Chamber, as it pretty much has to as he would have to be pinned to no longer be undefeated and having him submit would make him look too weak. Triple H winning the title is a good possibility. If that is the case, I could see Orton jumping to SmackDown to challenge for that belt. They could work it into the McMahon angle by having Orton do it to escape The McMahons. That begs the question of what to do with Cody Rhodes & Ted DiBiase. Perhaps they could continue on as a team on RAW until the Draft and then they could be reunited with their leader. Big Show winning seems more and more likely as each SmackDown passes, seeing the interaction between him and Edge and, after the look exchanged between himself and Vickie this past Friday Night, I could see Edge Vs. Show for the title at ‘Mania. If not, I am going with Undertaker Vs. Show (if Undertaker Vs. Umaga does not happen). Speaking of Undertaker, I do not think that WWE would give the title to ‘Taker at this point, seeing as he (allegedly) has arthritic knees. I could be wrong, as I have been before. Jeff Hardy regaining the title is about the second most likely outcome (after Edge retaining), as I could easily see Hardy Vs. Hardy at ‘Mania for the WWE Title. Having a Hardy Vs. Hardy encounter at WrestleMania almost guaranteed is good enough, but if it was over the WWE Title, it would be that much better. I would like to see this feud go like the Kane/Undertaker feud of 1997/1998 where Undertaker keeps refusing to face Kane as he refuses to “fight his own flesh and blood”, however Kane keeps attacking Undertaker and eventually they clash (with Jeff in the Undertaker role and Matt in the Kane role). I really hope that Jeff does get the title again soon, but I do not see it happening at this point. To make things interesting, I am going to predict the eliminations as well (though not in any particular order)- The Undertaker elim. Vladimir Kozlov, The Undertaker elim. Big Show, Edge elim. Jeff Hardy, The Undertaker elim. Triple H, Edge elim. The Undertaker.
World Heavyweight Championship Elimination Chamber Match: John Cena (c) def. Chris Jericho, Kane, Rey Mysterio, Kofi Kingston, & Mike Knox
This one is much more straight-forward to predict, given the lack of main event talent in this one. Rey, Kane, Kofi, & Knox will not win the title, that I am sure of. Rey is not at the main event level anymore and I think WWE realizes that his reign as Heavyweight Champion in 2006 was a mistake. Kane is not at that level anymore either and is not really a favorit to win the title. Kofi will not win for obvious reasons, same with Knox. So that leaves Cena & Jericho. Jericho may win the title and defend it against Flair at WrestleMania, but I see Cena retaining in a short Chamber Match. Eliminations- Kane elim. Kofi Kingston, Rey Mysterio elim. Mike Knox, John Cena elim. Kane, Chris Jericho elim. Rey Mysterio, John Cena elim. Chris Jericho.
No Holds Barred Match: Randy Orton def. Shane McMahon
This could be the show-stealer in Seattle and I expect it to be an epic encounter. In the end, I see Orton walking away with the win.
“All or Nothing”: Shawn Michaels def. John “Bradshaw” Layfield
This seems like more of a WrestleMania match (and it still might be), but I do not see this angle continuing for the rest of HBK’s career, unless they plan to have him retire soon. I would love to see HBK gain his “freedom” and then have a “show stopping” match with Undertaker at WrestleMania in his home state.
ECW Championship: Jack Swagger (c) def. Finlay
Like I said above, I see Christian taking the title from Swagger whenever they meet in a title match. I keep expecting Christian to be added to the match for a Triple Threat, but as of 12:41PM (central time), there has been no such announcement. Maybe it will happen on the show itself. This will definetly be the opening match and I expect to see Hornswoggle getting involved and possibly even Christian.
I will probably be posting another blog after tonight’s show. Until then…