Three days away from One Night Stand in Jacksonville, and from all indications, look for the talent to pull out all the stops in their extreme matches, as the company knows that this is going to be a down PPV with Judgement Day just two weeks ago. Problem is, in the past two years this has been the ECW brand PPV, and the company realized there was no way they could do just an ECW PPV this time around based on how bad the December PPV was.

The updated card for Sunday is as follows:

WWE Champion John Cena vs. The Great Khali (Pinfalls Count Anywhere Match)
ECW World Champion Mr. McMahon vs. Bobby Lashley (Street Fight)
World Heavyweight Champion Edge vs. Batista (Steel Cage Match)
Melina vs Candice Michelle (Pudding Match)
World Tag Team Champions The Hardys vs. The World's Greatest Tag Team (Ladder Match)
Tommy Dreamer and Sandman will team with Punk in a Six-Man Tag Team Tables Match against Elijah Burke, Marcus Cor Von, and their New Breed teammate Matt Striker.

Word is they were going to do a Chris Benoit vs MVP match, but reports say that has been scrapped in favor of Mark Henry vs Kane. From what I hear your looking at a last man standing match for these two, or a No-DQ match. I would expect this one to be short, as Henry is still working his way back to full-time wrestling after the knee injury he suffered last year on Saturday Night's Main Event in July in Dallas.

Speaking of which, SNME was taped on Monday night before RAW in Toronto, and will be shown at 11:30PM Saturday night on NBC. Based on what I have seen from the card (have not read the spoilers), this is going to be nothing more than matches to set up Sunday. The company realized that with the time slot and the date, they were not going to put much stock into this show as they knew that not many would watch.

With the PPV, I do expect the RVD vs Randy Orton match, which will be RVD's last WWE match, to totally steal the show. Orton is being groomed like the next heel HHH, as the top heel in the company, and you know that Rob wants to leave the company on an up note, with a strong match. Orton will win this stretcher match, but I think that Rob gives a great effort and makes this a good match that will come across great on TV.

Posted by Matt Loede at 8:18 AM | Permalink | Comments

The one hour ECW show on Tuesday night from London, Ontario was an entertaining effort, complete with a solid one-on-one no DQ match with CM Punk and Elijah Burke, as well as what looks to be the last time on TV we'll see RVD with his final WWE match coming up this weekend at the One Night Stand PPV. All along it looked as if that Rob's final match would pit him with Snitsky, but now the opponent will be Randy Orton in a stretcher match, which should make for a solid match considering the bout the two had on RAW Monday night.

The match of the night was Burke and Punk, as they went back and forth and their match was better than their PPV effort at Judgement Day last week. The end was a great visual with Marcus Cor Von giving the pounce to Punk through a table that was set up in a corner. The spot made Punk easy pickins for Burke, who pinned him for the win. Sunday will see a tables match with Burke, Cor Von and Matt Striker taking on Punk, Sandman and Tommy Dreamer.

Kevin Thorn beat Balls Mahoney rather easily, and to think at one point this was a program that the show pushed. Looks like Balls is now your resident jobber for guys like Snitsky and Thorn. It would not surprise me at all if he is shown the door sometime in the last six months of 2007. His act has not exactly been very impressive as of late, or he could just stay in the role of jobber like Sandman has for the last few months.

They did a verbal one-on-one with Vince McMahon and Bobby Lashley, doing a build for their ECW Title match on Sunday. Lashley is not ready for long interviews, let me just say that up front. As for Vinnie, he carried the verbal spar, letting Lashley get his shots in as each promised to give out some shots Sunday at the PPV. No doubt we need Lashley to win here and get the belt back to TV to be defended like it should be. ECW seems to have been in a holding pattern with Vinnie getting the belt.

They are pushing the newly announced "Stretcher Match" with RVD and Orton to be a possible end of Van Dam's career on the WWE website, which means they are going to have Orton win, and you'll see RVD going out taking a likely sick bump to lose the match. Then we'll have him go away, and possibly they can try and get something done to get him a new deal and back on the roster. At the same time, the win will continue the recent push of Orton, who is out of the doghouse after the hotel incident in Europe about a month and a half ago.

Posted by Matt Loede at 7:09 AM | Permalink | Comments

The Memorial Day edition of WWE RAW took place in Toronto, and before they did the taping of Saturday Night's Main Event, which is to air Saturday at 11:30pm on NBC. As for RAW, it was a pretty weak show considering it was the "go home" show for this Sunday's One Night Stand, which is to take place Sunday night in Jacksonville.

The main event of the night was a 3-on-2 match with Shane McMahon, Umaga and Khali vs Bobby Lashley and John Cena. The match was okay, with most of it being focused on Khali being able to handle Cena, and Lashley vs Umaga. The end came as Cena and Lashely were going up against Khali, and Cena was pulled to the outside by Umaga, and then Khali tree slammed Lashley and McMahon got the pin. Basically what you would expect for a heel win heading into a PPV that will have two faces win.

The rest of the show was blah at best, as they buried Rob Van Dam as he was "knocked out" vs Randy Orton. I think the new thing with Orton is to try and push him as the knockout king, as he now has beaten Shawn Michales and now RVD the same way. If all sits right, it also was the last match on RAW for RVD, and what a weak one it was. I can't imagine what it would be like if they would have used RVD the right way over the past few years, but oh well. Now we'll see if he jumps to TNA, or sits back and waits for WWE to call back with a better offer.

They opened with a women's bikini Memorial Day battle royale, which was nothing more than interesting to see if one of the girls would pop out. Sure enough, in that department the winner was Brooke, as you could plainly see her stuffing her body part back in a few times. The match came down to Melina, Michelle McCool and Jillian Hall. McCool overcame the two-one-one odds and won, which I don't really know if that will lead to a future match or what.

They did an 8-man tag with the Hardys and their new pals - Cade and Murdoch vs Kenny, Nitro and the World's Greatest Tag Team. Solid match with the faces winning, which will set up a ladder match on Sunday at the PPV with Hardys vs the Worlds Greatest Tag Team in a ladder match, which should steal the show, as we know the history of Benjamin and the Hardys on ladder matches.

Carlito and Victoria beat Ric Flair and Torrie Wilson in what mostly was a filler, but had a cool looking ending as Carlito gave his former woman, Torrie, the back stabber as he now calls it. I think the entire Flair vs Carlito fued has been a huge dud, and they need to do some things to make it decent before it totally gets buried. They also did an angle with Chris Masters beating on Santino Marella after he was about to push around Maria as she was doing the Kiss Cam. We've seen Marella beat Masters already, so don't know how much they can push this from there.

Overall, I thought the show was weak considering we have a PPV in a few days, and I think from what I head SNME is going to be pretty weak as well. Let's hope that the PPV is not doomed, but honestly, other than the match stips, this card looks just like Judgement Day, which was the weakest PPV of the year.

Posted by Matt Loede at 7:29 PM | Permalink | Comments

The "go-home" edition of RAW takes place tonight before the One Night Stand PPV on Sunday in Jacksonville. Tonight's show is from Toronto, a hot spot for the company for some reason on Memorial Day, as I can recall at least two other shows on Memorial Day up in that city. Tonight they have announced a few things, such as the main event, which will be a handicapped match with John Cena and Bobby Lashley vs Shane McMahon, Umaga and Khali. I look for a heels win here, since its almost a given that the faces will win both the matches at the PPV.

They are also going to announce the draft lottery tonight, with what should go along with it. The lottery, as we told you about yesterday, will take place on the 3-hour RAW that will take place on 6/11. They are stating that Shane will make the announcement, so how that is going to play out in storylines is anyone's guess. They also are having a Divas Memorial Day Bikini Beach Blast Battle Royal, which will be filler for a show they really need to focus on with the PPV six days away.

They are teasing something with Cade & Murdoch as well, as it looks like we'll see a match with them vs either the Worlds Greatest Tag Team, or Kenny Dykstra and Johnny Nitro. Whatever the case may be there, they had better give us some more matches for Sunday, as this One Night Stand card is lacking in just about every way as it stands right now.

Posted by Matt Loede at 12:31 PM | Permalink | Comments

The WWE is set to make some roster shifts, as it has been announced by sources that the upcoming 3-hour RAW on 6/11 will be the 2007 Draft Lottery. This will create a ton of buzz, as to what wrestlers will be making the switch, and if nothing else, this show will be one of the must see RAW's of the year. In year's past, the draft has been a great source of buzz for the company, and it will be interesting to see what direction they go with this one.

Two years ago, they did a lottery with both champions trading brands, as John Cena went from SmackDown to RAW with the WWE title, while on the final night of the trades, as it lasted several weeks, Batista went from RAW to SmackDown with the World Heavyweight Title. While I don't expect them to do that kind of radical switch again, they will have a few big names trade brands, as its the only way to really create some new feuds.

The first draft lottery took place shortly after WrestleMania 18, when they were making the two brands, RAW and SmackDown, their own. It was done between the two GM's at the time - Vince McMahon for SmackDown and Ric Flair for RAW. That had to be done since they wanted each brand to be on its own, and not have wrestlers on both shows anymore.

Now the shows are a bit different, as we have wrestlers, like Matt and Jeff Hardy, on RAW on Monday and then back on SmackDown on Friday. In other words, the strict past of guys or gals not being on both shows as much has been thrown out the windows the past few months. Now with the draft, it will be interesting if they go back to having wrestlers appear on just one show.

There has been some names bantered about as moving brands for quite some time. The two that appear most likely to move would be Chris Benoit from SmackDown to RAW, and Randy Orton from RAW to SmackDown. After that, I would not be stunned to see Mr.Kennedy move from SmackDown to RAW, and a fourth guy that could make the move based on the recent past would be C.M. Punk making the jump from ECW to SmackDown. Just a hunch on each one, but one thing is for sure - more than a few guys will be on the move.

Posted by Matt Loede at 8:38 PM | Permalink | Comments

Press Release Sent out by WWE:

"Saturday Night's Main Event(TM)" Telecasts from Toronto this Monday for Air on Saturday, June 2nd

TORONTO, May 25 - World Wrestling Entertainment(R) (WWE) heats up Global's late night summer schedule as "Saturday Night's Main Event" returns for a special presentation on Saturday, June 2nd, from 11:30 p.m. - 1:00 am ET/PT for one of the biggest, strongest, strangest, smallest 90-minute extravaganzas ever seen on broadcast television.

Key matches include:

- WWE Champion John Cena(R) and the 7-foot, 3-inch 420-pound titan The Great Khali(TM) squaring off in a prelude to the highly anticipated rematch for the WWE Championship at the "One Night Stand(TM)" pay-per-view on Sunday, June 3rd.

- Batista(TM) and Chris Benoit(R) battle World Heavyweight Champion Edge(R) and United States Champion MVP(TM) in anticipation of title match showdowns at "One Night Stand."

Posted by Matt Loede at 4:11 PM | Permalink | Comments

Couple of notes now that SmackDown is over and done with, and the company is in the final countdown for One Night Stand, which will be a week from Sunday in Jacksonvile, Florida.

* Right now we have three official matches for the ONS show, all of which are either rematches or involve the same wrestlers from the Judgement Day show just last week.

- John Cena vs Khali for the WWE Title in a Falls Count Anywhere match. This will be a repeat of last month, but with the Extreme Rules they can do some different things to get Cena over as a monster killer.

- Vince McMahon vs Bobby Lashley for the ECW Title in a Street Fight. Lashley should finally get his revenge vs "The Boss," but you can bet we'll see tons of Shane and Umaga involved before its all over. The Judgement Day 1-on-3 match was a huge letdown.

- Edge vs Batista for the World Heavyweight Title in a Cage match. Another rematch from JD, but in a cage. These two had an okay match two weeks ago, and I expect to see them both step it up in the cage.

Also for ONS, I can see a couple of tag matches, as both shows set up title matches this past week with multiple teams involved. On the RAW side, you have the Hardys, Cade and Murdoch, The World's Greatest Tag Team, and Kenny Dykstra and Nitro. Over on SmackDown, it's Deuce and Domino, London and Kendrick, and Regal and Taylor. If they go ahead with some sort of matches with all these teams, I can see these being the show stealers.

I hate to say it, but it looks as if we'll have another go-around with Chris Benoit vs MVP in some sort of extreme match as well. RVD vs Snitsky in what will be RVD's last WWE match will be on the card as well from all indications. On the RAW side, there is still plenty they can do, and I can see some sort of other ECW match with Punk and or Burke involved.

* WWE has cancelled it's SmackDown/ECW house show on 6/11 in Ocean City, MD. They did this becuase they are going to do a mega 3-hour show on that date for the RAW show on USA. They called that show in Maryland becaue they wanted the entire roster to be at the RAW show that night.

* Word this week is that Vinny Mac is not a happy camper when it comes to Vladimir Kozlov. Sources say that Kozlov was set to make the move from OVW to WWE, but officials say that he is just not ready. Vince threw a fit when he was told of the deal with Vlad. The company gave Vladimir a nice sized developmental deal due to the fact that Jerry Jarrett was looking to grab him first.

Posted by Matt Loede at 1:45 PM | Permalink | Comments

Get ready for another crammed month plus with three PPV's before the end of August. The WWE has been shoving PPV's down the throats of their fans for years, but one has to wonder if the latest stretch of PPV's with Judgement Day just five days ago and another PPV in 9 days is just plain overdoing it.

The company's stance would be that the One Night Stand PPV, set for June 2nd in Jacksonville, is usually an ECW PPV. With that though, the company realizes after the nightmare with "December to Dismember," which was just an outrage to the company, that they could not put the ECW product out there on its own. That is why they will have all three brands on the show, and use "Extreme Rules" matches instead of just making it a normal card.

I will give credit to the WWE for coming up with the idea of doing all extreme matches at the PPV, but again, after just sitting through a lackluster Judgement Day over the weekend, does anyone have the time, energy, or money, to plop down another $40 for One Night Stand? At this point in the year, if you have purchased all the PPV's, you've already spent $250, and add another $40 to that for ONS, and you already are at $290 before the end of June.

I realize that the sport is PPV driven, but the whole reason why the WWE insisted on 12 PPV's a year back when they made that decision a few years back, was because it was involved with a bitter feud with WCW. Now that WCW is gone, the company can scale PPV's back to 9-10 a year, and I think everyone would be happy. Now at 14 PPV's per year, it's just too much. Add up the total spent if you buy each one, including the extra $10 they now charge for Mania , and your throwing down $570 per year.

PPV's do have the tendency to be special, but more often than not now they are just three hour versions of RAW or SmackDown with some special matches thrown in. Take last weekend's effort at Judgement Day. We've seen Chris Benoit vs MVP on free TV, Cade and Murdoch vs the Hardy's on free TV, have seen Carlito vs Flair on free TV, and so on and so forth. We even had seen John Cena and Khali at one point on RAW awhile back. The company loves to not mention things like those matches ever even taking place, but if you watch the shows every week, you start to get into a trend of - "hey, I think I've seen this before."

With that, the PPV train will continue to roll on for the company, fans will maybe have to be a little more selective on how much they can afford to watch of the Pay-Per-Views. For some that have the income to do it, it won't matter. For the rest of us, the WWE should really consider some alternatives for its die hard fans and younger fans who just try to make it paycheck to paycheck.

Posted by Matt Loede at 8:03 AM | Permalink | Comments

Posted by Matt Loede at 6:49 AM | Permalink | Comments

Many pro sports seasons have been destroyed due to injuries, and right now the year in Pro Wrestling, that being 2007, is being hindered big time due to injuries to many big names in the WWE. The injuries have gotten so bad that quite a few programs have had to be shifted, and there already has even been a major title change because of one of the injuries.

The first major injury that shifted plans was the quad tear of HHH that took place on the January PPV. The tear was not as severe as the one suffered by Hunter a few years back, but is big enough to keep him on the sidelines for most of the year. The injury also took HHH out of WrestleMania, where while at that point it was undecided, there were rumors that he and John Cena might have locked up in a rematch of last years WM 22 thriller in Chicago. Upon his return, HHH was to have a program with Edge, but now with his move to SmackDown, plans there will have to be shifted.

Major injury #2 came shortly after WrestleMania 23, as World Heavyweight Champ the Undertaker suffered a torn bicep. Taker was having a huge 2007, and his win of the title at WM was expected to set him on a course to possibly have his best year ever with a long title run and couple of big programs. The injury should keep him sidelined until about Survivor Series, and if things go as planned, I would assume they will put him in a major title program with possibly Edge. If he gets the strap back or not is a question that will have to be answered upon his return.

While Taker's injury shifted the SmacDown title pic, a plan was quickly put into place, giving Edge the title. The way he got that title was by cashing in the Money in the Bank, which Edge got from Ken Kennedy, who also is out right now with an injury. The official injury to Kennedy is a slight tear to his tricep. Early word was that he would be out for a few months, but now it has been determined that no surgery would be needed. Kennedy should be back in about 6-8 weeks, which could help the roster on the SmackDown side a great deal. Of course what he comes back as - a heel or face, should be interesting.

Another injury that recently went down that will hit hard on the RAW side is that of Shawn Michaels - HBK. The word is that Micahels has a "blown out knee" and will be having surgery possibly as soon as today. The injury has been around for sometime, but recently the knee got worse, and after much thought, the decision to have surgery finally could not be avoided. Michaels has been in one of the best programs of the year, a title showdown with John Cena, and now that he will be out till about November, that program is all but dead, and we're forced to put up with matches like Cena vs Khali.

A final injury could be the worst in terms of the injury, but it is to a mid-card wrestler instead of a main eventer. That injury is to Gregory Helms, who this past week underwent neck fusion surgery. It's the same injury that more than a few superstars have suffered, including Steve Austin, Lita and Chris Benoit. The injury will sideline him for about a year if all goes well.

So while the company is doing the best they can with filling programs and using backup plans for these injuries, there is no doubt that losing four main event guys for an extended period as well as losing a mid-card guy like Helms is not going to make for the very best matches would could be seeing in 2007.

Posted by Matt Loede at 6:15 AM | Permalink | Comments

After spending two hours watching WWE RAW on Monday night as well as an hour last night viewing ECW - I can say that I am overly frustrated with where the major storyline for the entire company is going. I wrote this a few weeks ago, but now the point has to be driven home more than ever after the last three hours of TV - and that point is that Vince McMahon needs his character to get off of TV - ASAP!

The last four PPV's, Wrestlemania 23, Backlash, Judgement Day, and now the upcoming One Night Stand, have all been dominated by WAAAAYYYY too much TV time for McMahon. I understand WM 23, and even to a bit Backlash, but the McMahon-Bobby Lashley feud is so stale right now, and now they are going to push yet another match our way at the PPV in less than two weeks.

The focus on RAW this past week was all on that match, as they made Lashley go through four sub-par matches, vs Chris Masters, Vicera, Umaga and Shane McMahon, to earn his title shot in a Street Fight vs Vince at the PPV. Of course Lashley won all four, with the last match vs Shane being billed as the main event, which is another subject all together. So now we get Lashley vs Vince for the ECW strap at ONS in a Street Fight. One word - ugh.

The rest of RAW was just three other matches minus the Lashley gauntlet. Ric Flair and Carlito went to a rare double count-out, Candice pinned Melina in a non-title match, and the Hardys beat Johnny Nitro and Kenny Dykstra. That match also had some post drama, as the World's Greatest Tag Team attacked the Hardys, only for them to be saved by the now face team of Cade and Murdoch. I see a four-way coming for ONS between the four teams involved here.

ECW was a little less focused on the McMahon-Lashley saga, but they did bore down the show with a long segment of highlights focused on Monday night and the upcoming PPV match. All I can is that if McMahon beats Lashley at ONS, this company has completely lost its mind after what was a solid stretch of two good PPV's with Mania and Backlash.

The main event of ECW was RVD and CM Punk vs Marcus Cor Von and Elijah Burke. It was an okay tag, with the faces winning, only to then have the heels both beat on RVD and Punk to end the show. With RVD out of the mix here shortly, there seems to be a growing thought that that face of the show will turn to Punk, who seems to have turned his attitude around and is out of the doghouse with the higher ups in the company.

Matt Striker beat Brett Major in a short match. That match based around the fact that Striker has lost a lot recently, and that Bukre was mad at him for not getting the job done in recent weeks. Kevin Thorn was on the show, and they explained Ariel not being with him by basically saying he wants to go at it alone. Weak. He beat a jobber, who in the ECW.com review was described as a "hapless foe."

The opener was Tommy Dreamer vs Snitksy, which ended with mean Gene pinning Dreamer, only to then post match have to battle RVD, who was slammed with a chair the week before by Snitsky. Look for this to be a possible match at ONS, which is still scheduled to be RVD's last match with the company.

So here we are, now just really days away from another PPV (too much too soon), and the shift in the roster is really taking form. In the last few months, we've already lost a number of major stars due to injury - HHH, Undertaker, Ken Kennedy, and now Shawn Michaels. That is why we've had to resort to guys like Khali in main events, moving Edge to SmackDown, too much Vince, and throwing Mark Henry back in as a main event guy. Let's hope some of the big names get better soon based on the changes the company has had to make.

Posted by Matt Loede at 7:04 AM | Permalink | Comments

With Judgement Day gone and another PPV in two weeks, along with a bunch of backstage news, time again for another news and notes article here on Let's Wrestle.

* One Night Stand has two matches set after last night's RAW in Moline:
Vince McMahon vs Bobby Lashley in a Street Fight for the ECW Title
John Cena vs The Great Khali in a falls count anywhere for the WWE Title

Look for tons and tons of interference in the McMahon vs Lashley match, as they will have Umaga, Shane and others try to help Vince, which in the end won't matter as Lashely gets the strap back. As for the Cena vs Khali match, again, they will use a lot of outside weapons and props to try and get that match over with the fans in Jacksonville.

* Looks like with knee surgery coming up, Shawn Michales will be out till about November. He has needed the surgery for over a year, and was trying to tough it out with the DX storyline followed by the title run with Cena. With him gone, the planned Cena vs Michaels III for a later summer PPV is out the window.

* Could we see two major comebacks at Survivor Series in Miami in November? Both Michaels and the Undertaker are set to be close to or returning about that time. I wouldn't doubt a comeback match for one, and surprise run-in for the other. Likely it would be Taker with the surprise run-in.

* As reported last week, Gregory Helms had neck surgery on Monday to repair two broken vertebrae. He is expected to be out about a year.

* Reports say that the reason why Kevin Thorn manager Ariel was released was due to a backstage argument with Batista. The two evidently got in a shouting match as Ariel was defending herself to the former World Heavyweight Champ. The back and forth took place in front of quite a few roster members, making it even more a scene. Steph McMahon, who now is Executive Vice President in charge of both Talent and Creative Writing, made the call to fire Ariel, who was brought in by Paul Heyman. Of course Steph and Heyman were not best of friends, another reason why the call was made.

* With Ariel gone, look for Thorn to get a new look. I am not sure if the entire Vamp thing will be thrown out, but I wouldn't doubt a total new look for him within the next month or so.

Posted by Matt Loede at 9:15 AM | Permalink | Comments

Posted by Matt Loede at 8:02 AM | Permalink | Comments

Going in, the one thought I had about the latest WWE PPV - Judgement Day, is that it would not hold a candle to the last two PPV's. The card was weaker, some injuries had taken place to weaken the card, and the overall booking of the show was just not that good. With that, last night's show was an okay performance, and I thought that while most of the show was somewhat predictable, they have left the door open for the next PPV - "One Night Stand" in two weeks.

The main event, which was a WWE Title match with John Cena vs The Great Khali, reminded me of an old school Hulk Hogan title defense of the 1980's. It was as if Khali was playing the role of one of many of Hogan's "monster" opponents of those days, and Cena was playing the role of Hogan. You can name probably 10 guys that the company built up in the 80's, only to have them dispatched by Hogan. Big John Studd, King Kong Bundy, Big Bossman, One Man Gang, Andre the Giant, Umaga, Killer Khan, Earthquake were just a few that Hogan would take a beating from, only to recover and somehow, someway, slam them and get the pin.

This is what this match reminded me of. For about 7-8 minutes, Khali did a solid job just beating on Cena, and John took the beating well. His expressions and the way he took Khali's shots were about as good as any that have taken, and overall it made Khali look strong. Then Cena made his comeback, and just like that with the STFU it was over. There was a bit of a letdown with Khali tapping out what seemed pretty quickly, but I guess the bookers felt that was all they could do with the big man, and it was time for him to surrender. The crowd being over with the match also made it better than what it should have been.

Now what they do with Cena from here remains to be seen. A rematch with Khali in two weeks at ONS with extreme rules seems likely, as with weapons involved they could pull off another match. As stated here before, Snitsky is another name that could be brought into the title picture, but that may be a slow build and be more likely for a PPV down the road. For now, look for Cena-Khali II at the PPV in two weeks.

The World Heavyweight Title match was average. The 10 minute match with Edge and Batista was watchable, and both men did what they could with the time given. It was a bit of a letdown with the finish, as they continue to play the card that Batista is hurt and that his knee gave out as he was about to do a spinebuster. I would have liked to have seen these two go longer, but that may happen with another match between the two in a few weeks at ONS.

The match I was really frustrated with was the ECW title match with Umaga and the two McMahons vs Bobby Lashley. Lashley pins Shane McMahon quick, wins the belt back, Vince slides off in the sunset, and we move on to Lashley vs Umaga or Snitsky. No. Lashley does pin Shane in one minute, but then Umaga spikes Lashley, and Vince announces that since he wasn't pinned, the belt is still his. Just bad booking here, and I am sure this was Vince's master call on this one. I was really happy when this was over, thinking that Vince may take himself off of TV for awhile, but no.

My hope here is that Vince simply turns the belt over to Umaga, and he and Lashley go at it for the strap at ONS with Extreme Rules. Otherwise, maybe the plan is for Vince to go on and have like a 7-year title run or something stupid like that. Why not, they've already run ECW into the ground already. Might as well keep it going.

A couple of matches I felt went way too long, and the finishes were sort of a letdown. The opener with Carlito and Ric Flair was one of those matches. The heat that should have been behind this match was not there, and the whole Carlito deal of him working on Flair's arm the whole match sort of was odd, considering that they just threw it out the window at the end. In the end, Flair got the figure four, and Carlito tapped, meaning that we'll see these two again a few more times down the road.

Another too long match was the CM Punk and Elijah Burke match. I had high hopes for this being a show stealing match of the night, and while it was a good match, I thought some spots looked sloppy and overall it didn't deliver like it could have. Maybe it was the nerves of their first PPV match, or maybe they were just off their game. Whatever the case was, it lasted 17 minutes, which was too long, and the end was kind of flat, even though Punk did hit his finisher to get the pin.

The Randy Orton vs HBK Shawn Michaels match should have just been cancelled from the get go, as they played the card that HBK was suffering from injuries to the head the last two weeks, and eventually after about 4 minutes he collapsed when he went to do a superkick, and the ref called the match. Orton did do a RKO to seal the deal, and then they even had Shawn's wife Rebecca hit the ring to show some emotion and cry. While they will play this as a major injury type angle to keep Shawn off TV for awhile till his knee heals, this just seemed to lack in so many ways.

MVP vs Chris Benoit was a bit of a shock, only because it was the first time I have ever seen a best two of three falls match actually only go two falls. I was not stunned to see MVP win, as they have been building towards this change for about two months now, and the door is now open for a few more rematches between these two foes. The story of the match was again the fact that Benoit was almost played down as a lesser wrestler next to MVP, who I guess they are going to give a major build to as a heel on SmackDown with other heels like Kennedy getting hurt. Now we have three face champs on RAW, and three heel champs on SmackDown.

The tag title match with Cade and Murdoch vs the Hardys was almost a repeat of last month, and the Hardy's got the win with a swanton bomb on Cade. Probably the best actual wrestling match of the night along with Punk and Burke. The two teams shook hands again, as they are either turning Cade and Murdoch, which would be fine, or they are doing a slow build to turn them back to heels, as they would then get more over. Whatever the case may be, I'm sure we'll see 1-2 more matches with them again.

All in all, it was kind of a "blah" card, and none of the results were much of a shock. I am interested to see what the build will be like for One Night Stand in just two weeks, and how truly "Extreme" the matches will be. Also it will be interesting to see the role of Rob Van Dam on that show, as it is slated to be his last show with the company.

Posted by Matt Loede at 7:44 AM | Permalink | Comments

Tonight right here don't forget that we will have a live SHOUTBOX chat during tonight's Judgement Day PPV. This is the place to be to discuss all the happenings as they happen live on on the PPV. Log in starting about 8pm when the show gets rolling, and discuss with other wrestling fans all that goes on as the May PPV takes place live! That's tonight right here with a live SHOUTBOX Chat during tonights live PPV!

Posted by Matt Loede at 1:02 PM | Permalink | Comments

Another major blow to another major star in the WWE is being reported. Reports say that HBK - Shawn Michaels, has a "blow out knee," and the injury is considered serious in the inner circles of the WWE. Michaels, who has the last three or so months been in a major program with WWE Champion John Cena, is still going to try and work tonights match at Judgement Day with Randy Orton. That match, which was not one of the pushed matches on the show anyway, may now have angle that may work the injury in to get Michaels off of TV.

The injury comes at a time when the Michaels-HHH team of DX may have been in a flux anyway. There was no doubt that at first upon HHH's return in August that he would have been in some sort of singles program, but now, he may be in that program with no backup from HBK if he is out of action. The early word was that HHH would feud with Edge upon his return, but with Edge now the champion of SmackDown, the next logical opponent would be Randy Orton.

As for Shawn, his feud with John Cena was scheduled to pick up again soon, possibly setting up some sort of major stip match (60-minute Ironman has been talked about since their 60+ minute match on RAW in London) on a PPV - possibly SummerSlam. Now that may be on hold if the knee is not ready enough to get back in the ring

Posted by Matt Loede at 12:59 PM | Permalink | Comments

WWE Judgement Day hits Sunday night in St.Louis with a card that looks a lot weaker than Backlash last month, which was a very nice card coming out of WrestleMania 23. With not high hopes for this card, time to take a look and breakdown the matches that will take place this Sunday:

John Cena (C) vs The Great Khali for the WWE Heavyweight Championship - This match truly could be a train wreck. No doubt that Cena will have to pull off one of the great shows of all-time to be able to carry the very weak Khali to a strong match. They have done a decent job in making Khali look unstoppable the past few weeks, but at the same time, when it comes to him having a strong match, it just does not look likely. Cena has an upcoming program with Snitsky, so look for a win here, possibly by DQ or countout to keep Khali strong for future programs.

Edge (C) vs Batista for the World Heavyweight Championship - The company has undergone a shift with having to take the belt off of the Undertaker last week due to injury, and after much talk, they decided to give it to Edge, who shoud have a decent title run. Batista and Taker had some strong matches, but Taker was given a lot of the credit for carrying those matches. We'll see what he does here against Edge, who also makes opponents for the most part look good. I see Edge getting a win here, maybe a pull of the tights in order to keep the title.

Mr.McMahon (C), Umaga, and Shane McMahon vs Bobby Lashley for the ECW World Championship - This will be a rematch of last month, where the numbers game finally caught up to Lashley as dropped the belt after a four month title run. Look for much of the same here, with the two McMahons getting involved little, and Umaga and Lashley being the two men focused on. With that though, I think that they do the switch here, with Lashley somehow overcoming the odds to win back the belt in dramatic fashion pinning Vince McMahon.

Chris Benoit (C) vs MVP in a 2-of-3 Falls match for the US Title - Something has to give here. They either have to finally give the strap to MVP, or they have to end this feud once and for all. MVP has had numerous shots, all of which the lost, to get the belt. This should be a good match, and I can see Benoit winning the first fall, then MVP getting the second fall. That will lead to the third fall, where MVP finally wins with some sort of either interference or cheat to gain the belt.

Elijah Burke vs C.M. Punk - Both men have a lot to prove here, as they each want to look good to show the company they can pick it up on a PPV and they deserve to be there. Both wrestlers are solid, so the match should be pretty good. There is enough tension in the storyline to translate into what should be a good match. I'll take Burke just to keep this going another month.

Shawn Michaels vs Randy Orton - This is the throwaway match of the night. Two very good, mid to high ranked wrestlers just getting thrown into a match for really no big reason. This will not have the feel of much of a match, and I would be shocked if they are allowed to go more than 8-9 minutes. Michaels should get the win here, as he stays on a roll for the rematch down the road with Cena.

Carlito vs Ric Flair - While we all knew this was coming, it just does not feel all that hot to me. I think the turn for Carlito happend a week to late, as this match feels somewhat rushed, and I think we needed another week of the two going back and forth with promos just to get a better build. Despite that, it should be a decent match, and it will be interesting to see what they let happen here. I'll take Flair in this first meeting, as I think they will have plenty more matches down the road.

Posted by Matt Loede at 8:39 AM | Permalink | Comments

Posted by Matt Loede at 7:50 PM | Permalink | Comments

The WWE has let go of three more wrestlers, the most name one being Ariel, the vampire manager of Kevin Thorn in ECW. The other two were Scotty 2 Hotty, who we have seen only on Heat for quite some time, and Nick Mitchell, who was with the Spirit Squad, and then sent to OVW when they were buried by DX last year.

No word on the reports about RVD already being gone from the company. We reported earlier today that there was talk that this past Tuesday on ECW was his last match. Plans still are for his last match to be at "One Night Stand," which comes up in early June.

There is also word today of a major injury in the WWE, as Gregory Helms has suffered a broken neck according to reports, and will be having surgery and will be out of action for about a year. He will have the same surgery that more than a few WWE stars have had, the most notable being Steve Austin and Chris Benoit. Helms' surgery will be on Monday and will be done by famed Dr. Lloyd Youngblood.

Posted by Matt Loede at 4:03 PM | Permalink | Comments

While the worst kept secret in the WWE and on the internet these days is the eventual departure of controversial superstar Rob Van Dam, reports are popping up that RVD may have already wrestled his last match for the company. Thursday sites were reporting that RVD, who is on his way out once his contract is up next month, could possibly be done effective now. He wrestled on ECW on Tuesday night in Baltimore, winning a DQ decision against Snitsky. The obvious way the match ended seems like there would be a rematch, and with Snitksy reportedly getting set for a program with John Cena on RAW, you would think that he would beat RVD clean to continue his push.

That happening remains to be seen. While RVD remains one of the top three faces on ECW along with C.M. Punk and Bobby Lashley, behind the scenes his departure has been talked about for a long time. He was vocal in the direction that ECW has not gone in since it returned last summer, and now that longtime rival Sabu is gone, it looks as if clean house time for ECW is not far behind. Once RVD is history with WWE, you can almost guarantee that Sandman, Balls Mahoney and possibly Tommy Dreamer will be shown the door next. Vince McMahon has not exactly been happy with the way the brand started out ratings wise or with attendance at house shows, which is why the company eliminated ECW house shows and combined them with SmackDown.

As for Van Dam, his next journey may take him to TNA, where he and Sabu against one another would be a perfect fit. They could either team together, or feud, depending on what direction the company takes with them. The original plan, which still may happen depending on if the report of Van Dam leaving the company or not is true, is that he would wrestle his last match for WWE on "One Night Stand" a June PPV that is set for Jacksonville, Florida. That PPV use to be dedicated to ECW, but now with the new direction of PPV's, it will be a combined effort from all three brands. If RVD is to wrestle in that event, look for him to get a large sendoff from fans and given the chance to win one last time for the company.

Posted by Matt Loede at 6:04 AM | Permalink | Comments

The booking department of WWE has been putting together plans for summer feuds, and one that looks to be next for champion John Cena is....Snitsky. Yes, the former child murder of Kane and Lita's child is next on the list for Cena, as the thought behind it is to put Cena up against bigger opponents to make him look like Hulk Hogan did in the 1980's.

That makes Sunday's Khali vs Cena match at Judgement Day likely a one-shot deal, or possibly a two-shot deal with a rematch the following night on RAW, where then Snitsky would make a run-in, setting up Cena vs Snitsky at the June PPV - Vengence, which will take place at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas.

All this is somewhat absurd, as despite Snitsky blowing through guys on ECW the past few months, he suddenly has been popping up with promos on RAW. He is not on the RAW roster, and no mention of him has really been made on the show, even though now it looks as if he will be coming over within the next few weeks.

Look for Gene to get a clean win over RVD in the next week or so (he lost to him by DQ last week on ECW), just to continue his push. Then he will come to RAW for good to start the feud with Cena, leading to the PPV match in June. Of course the bookers want to push bigger guys vs Cena, yet his best two WWE matches of his career were against HBK and HHH, two guys that are close to him in size and not regarded as huge 300+ pound guys.

This leads to an interesting question about the future of ECW and the roster as a whole. With Sabu gone, RVD leaving, undoubtly Sandman and possibly Tommy Dreamer next to be let go, and then Snitsky leaving for RAW, the roster is as weak as ever. There has also been some whispers about Kevin Thorn moving as well, as there was a promo last week with him stating something about ECW "not being in the cards" for him anymore. He may find a spot on SmackDown as a heel in the not so distant future.

Posted by Matt Loede at 8:59 AM | Permalink | Comments

As expected, a couple more firings have come down in the WWE, one semi-big name, and one who hasn't been on TV for sometime.

The first, the big name of the two, was former ECW Champ - Sabu. Of course many know that Sabu has not been on the good side of the company since the drug bust along with Rob Van Dam back in June of last year. At that time, he and Van Dam were main players in the new ECW, but from there they both quickly took a backseat, and despite still being on TV a ton, Sabu never really got back out of the dog house after that incident.

He also was well aware that he was going to be let go, and some say that he showed up late at this week's TV in Baltimore on purpose. He was set to lose to Kevin Thorn on the show last night, but was replaced by Nunzio. Sabu is a solid in ring guy, but his backstage issues always have been his downfall. Many say that with RVD leaving the company next month (not a well kept secret), the two will wind up in TNA, and will start a feud with each other there.

The second release was Vito, who had a bizarre character on TV last year as he came to the ring as a face wearing a dress on SmackDown. He was on a roll for sometime on TV, but then his push ended and he was quickly off TV and never really came back. The company did put on their website in their ususal statment that they "wish him well" in the future. He is already taking independent bookings.

Posted by Matt Loede at 1:18 PM | Permalink | Comments

Posted by Matt Loede at 7:44 AM | Permalink | Comments

WWE RAW Kicked off the week of TV from Hampton, VA on Monday night, and the focus that the show has had for quite sometime simply didn't seem to be there, making this one of the weaker shows that we've seen for awhile. Consider as well that this was the "go-home" show for Sunday's Judgement Day PPV, and this was a show that lacked direction and didn't deliver on many scales. We had a rag-tag main event of Edge, wrestling his last RAW match, vs Shawn Michaels, who they harped had post-concussion syndrome from last week's beating by Khali.

For some reason, instead of having the new world champ on SmackDown look strong, they buried him with a loss to HBK, and then Randy Orton, Shawn's Judgement Day opponent, ambushed him to end the show. The Orton-Michales match for the PPV is a total waste, as they are doing it with zero build, other than a backstage go around the two had prior to the match with Edge last night. Again, you can tell when things are thrown together, and this seemed like that type of show from the start to the end.

John Cena started the show with a verbal assault on Khali, who for some reason is now allowed to walk around with the WWE title belt. Better hold on tight big guy, it's the closest you'll ever get to having it for real. Khali also has a new translator, which was sort of odd, but for this spot it actually worked. The two traded verbal jabs until Khali called Cena out, and then after John showed up backstage, Khali beat him down again. All this does is ensure that Cena will find a way to overcome the big man on Sunday.

The first actual wrestling match was Jeff Hardy vs Trevor Murdoch, which was not bad but had a rather chep roll-up ending that was kind of weak. As has been the storyline the last few weeks, the heel team of Cade and Murdoch then seemed all respectful and shook the hands of the two champs. Looks too late for these two to have another match on Sunday, so I think we'll wait till the June PPV to have the eventual rematch.

Santino Marella then beat Chris Masters with a very weak sunset flip. The story here is that Marella is the underdog in just about every match, and yet he finds a way to win based on guts and heart. I already have a disliking of this type of champion, and personally think long term that Marella is going to be a major bust. But for now they seem content to waste a major title and TV time on him, so we'll see where it all leads.

Candice beat Victoria in a womens match that may lead to Candice vs Melina for Sunday's PPV. The former playmate has been winning the last few weeks, as I guess they are convinced to let someone other than Mickie take a shot at Melina. I think a Candice vs Melina PPV match would be pretty bad, but then again, most of Sunday's card is already 10 times worse than the last two PPV's.

They also did Coach vs Bobby Lashley, with Bobby winning and then beating down Shane and Umaga, who came in and hit him first at the end. Lashely chased Shane out to his limo, but then was blindsided by Vince with the ECW belt. I still hope that Sunday's 3-on-1 rematch puts an end to this way overdone feud. The other bout was Carlito beating Val Venis. They now have Carlito playing heel again, and they announced the match with he and Ric Flair for Sunday. Flair ran out and Carlito ran into the crowd.

Again, this was a rather lackluster show, and I thought the focus, which should have been on Cena and Khali, was too short. They open the show with it, and then that is the last you hear of it. The PPV on Sunday could be a disaster. Khali and Cena is not going to be the main, as that will go to Edge and Batista, another match with no push, but that's another story. RAW will hopefully start to refocus next week as their next true brand PPV is about a month away.

Posted by Matt Loede at 7:32 AM | Permalink | Comments

Tonight right here don't forget that we will have a live SHOUTBOX chat during Monday Night RAW. This is the place to be to discuss all the happenings as they happen live on RAW. Log in starting at 9pm when the show gets rolling, and discuss with other wrestling fans all that goes on as the road to Judgement Day continues! That's tonight right here with a live SHOUTBOX Chat during tonights live RAW!

Posted by Matt Loede at 3:32 PM | Permalink | Comments

The match we told you about a few days ago between Edge and Batista for the World Heavyweight Title has now become official via the WWE Webiste for Sunday's Judgement Day PPV. The story on the site states that Undertaker, after being attacked by Mark Henry, is injured, and Batista will get the first crack at Edge. They are going to likely continue their program for awhile, as with Taker gone, there is suddenly a lack of big time faces on the show, unless they put Edge vs Chris Benoit in some sort of program after he loses his US Title to MVP in a 2-of-3 falls match at the PPV next weekend. After that, Matt Hardy may be another possible long term contender for the title, as he and Edge have a long history after the whole Lita saga two years ago.

Posted by Matt Loede at 4:24 PM | Permalink | Comments

With one week till Judgement Day in St.Louis, some things are shaping up for the week ahead on WWE TV. First we already have learned via the WWE.com site that Bobby Lashley will take on Jonathan Coachman on tomorrown night's edition of RAW. This match will likely be an ugly squash, but on the other hand, I can see some big time outside interference from Mr.McMahon, Umaga and Shane-O-Mac giving a preview for Sunday's show.

Also reports say that the official announcment will be made tomorrow night for a match we all could see coming for next Sunday - Carlito vs Ric Flair. Last week Flair was not on the show, but he will be tomorrow night, and the two will have a staredown of sorts that will end with the match becoming official.

I would guess that we will also see some sort of showdown between Khali and John Cena, setting up their match next week. I can't wait to see how these two co-exist, as I think that they still need some major work to be done to be able to sell it for fans next Sunday. I see a train wreck coming for this match.

Then we also will have a "good-bye" for Edge from RAW, as now as the World Heavyweight Champion, he is going over to SmackDown, where he will defend the title next Sunday vs Batista. I would think it would be just what it is - a good-bye, and then I wouldn't eb shocked if we see Batista show up for a little beatdown to give their match some steam for Sunday at the PPV.

Posted by Matt Loede at 4:19 PM | Permalink | Comments

Plenty of news and notes as the week of TV draws to a close. Of course the WWE has not been shy in spoiling their own ending tonight, as they have been active in letting their fans know that Edge is on tonight's SmackDown and will at the end of the show walk away with the World Heavyweight Championship. Not since when Vince McMahon beat HHH years ago for the title has the WWE been pushing a spoiler, but I guess they figure with the internet these days, everyone would know anyway, so instead of trying to pretend that the event is live - they went the 180 on it and decided to just let the results slip out. They even have an impressive photo gallery on their own website with highlights of the cage match and Edge in a few shots holding up the belt.

Now that Edge has the belt, more big news has leaked about who he will take on at Judgement Day next Sunday. With the Undertaker out, the company is putting Edge vs Batista as its SmackDown main event for the show. Now the interesting thing about that is what will be the true main event - the John Cena vs Khali sure to be awful match, or the Edge vs Batista match that has been rushed together with the huge injury to Undertaker. My guess is with this being a "SmackDown" PPV, they will put the Smackdown main event as the true main event, despite it being rushed. Also the question has to be posed is can Batista have a good match with Edge? He and Undertaker were having solid matches before Taker got hurt - can Batista stay on track against a different guy other than Taker. Before his series of matches with the Deadman, Batista's bouts with King Booker were downright bad.

Another match for Judgement Day has popped up - as Chris Benoit will once again take on MVP - this time in a 2 of 3 falls match. If MVP is going to win the belt, this has to be the time to do it. I've said that before, but come on - this has to be it. No win here and title switch and you have to move both these guys into another feud. If MVP finally does get the win and the belt, then you'll see them go back and forth throughout the summer. Another match I am thinking we'll see added to the card for JD is the Hardy's vs Cade and Murdoch. Just a hunch.

So now the bookers have a decision to make in terms of what they do long term with Edge, and do they move him into a feud with Kennedy when he is ready to go in about two months? The thinking there was with Kennedy out for 6 months as they first thought, he would for sure get a huge pop coming back, and would be a natural face. Now that it's just 8 weeks, do they push the face turn? Or due they stay the course with him as a heel and move him into another feud? They already seemed to have pushed the Kennedy vs Edge buttons with Kennedy's comments on WWE.com that he would be after Edge once he comes back.

Posted by Matt Loede at 7:56 AM | Permalink | Comments

Posted by Matt Loede at 8:51 PM | Permalink | Comments

Things are suddenly looking up for superstar Mr.Kennedy, who as of 24 hours ago was set for a surgery on his arm that may have put him out of action for a few months. The injury was first reported as a torn tricep, but WWE.Com is reporting now that Kennedy's tricep "was not torn from the bone and will not require surgery."

This is great news for the company, as they have been in panic mode for the last week with the news first that Undertaker was going to be on the shelf for about six months with a torn bicep, then news came down that Kennedy was going to miss a large amount of time as well with a torn tricep.

A quote from a doctor on WWE.Com this evening states the following about the injury: “He’s still vulnerable to injury and the arm remains badly swollen,” said Dr. Rios. “I’d expect him to be out of action for about six to eight weeks.” Kennedy is now on the verge of becoming one of the top faces in the company, and a major feud for the World Heavyweight Title looms with new champ Edge.

Kennedy was quoted on the company site as stating: “This is great news for me; I don’t have a torn muscle,” Kennedy said. “But the good news for me is really, really bad news for Edge. He took something from me…took advantage of my unfortunate situation. Now he and everyone else have just a short amount of time to worry about what I’m going to do when I get back.”

Posted by Matt Loede at 8:48 PM | Permalink | Comments

Well, as they always say, you can never guess what is going to happen next in the world of wrestling. Just within a blink of an eye, the Rated "R" Superstar - Edge, has cashed in his Money in the Bank that he won on Monday night vs Ken Kennedy on RAW and has become the new World Heavyweight Champion. The spoiler isn't much of a spoiler as it was not only sent to WWE Mobile subscribers, but also is the lead story on WWE.com.

The setup was done with Undertaker being attacked by a returning Mark Henry, who Taker feuded with last year leading up to a match at WrestleMania. Henry beatdown Taker, and then Edge hit the ring and pinned the Deadman to take home his first World Heavyweight Title. This is the second time that Edge used a "sneak attack" to become a top champion, as he basically did the same thing last year to John Cena at New Year’s Revolution 2006.

The plans for Taker to have a long title run went down the tubes after he tore his bicep, an injury that is going to need surgery and about 6 months to heal. The planned run was then talked about within the top WWE circles, and instead of just giving the belt back to Batista, whcih was the original plan, they went with the heel champ in Edge. There has been talk about Randy Orton going to SmackDown, and if it were not for his incident in Europe, the title might be on him today.

Now with Edge as the World Champion, the likely series of matches will have him defending against faces like Batista, Chris Benoit, and Kane. Who Edge will take on as champ at Judgement Day is still up in the air, but in all likelyhood, it will be Batista.

Posted by Matt Loede at 3:44 PM | Permalink | Comments

The WWE seems to be in panic mode right now, and that opinon is based on what was one of the more stranger RAW broadcasts that the company has put on in sometime. They are now is rush mode, with a bizarre main event planned for Judgement Day with a champion and a monster that has been hailed as the worst wrestler on the roster.

Then we have the decision to give the Money in the Bank to Edge, and this has to be a move that was made due to an injury to Ken Kennedy that now some say will have him on the shelf for a few months. They give the MITB to Edge, and there are already rumors that he will use it asap after the Undertaker - Batista match on Smackdown that will be taped tonight to capture the World Heavyweight title. Bizarre indeed.

The show had 7 matches, highlighted by the win by The Great Khali that now earns him a title shot vs John Cena at Judgement Day. The win over Shawn Michaels was strange in that it buried one of the hottest programs the company has had in a long time with Cena and Michaels, and quickly rushes in Khali vs Cena, a match that clearly is going to do awful in the PPV buyrate department.

The main event was not much, as Randy Orton took on Cena, and the match suddenly was ended when Khali came out and took Cena's belt. Cena had Orton in the STFU, then let it go, ran up the ramp and got clocked by his own belt. Then, as if we there should have been more, the show went off the air. Again, a strange ending to a strange night.

You also had the new IC titleholder, Santino Marella, top Chris Masters in a rather weak match, Umaga beat the Highlanders 1 on 2 as now the Highlanders are complete jobbers. Hardys beat the Worlds Greatest Tag Team where after the match Cade and Murdoch shook their hands, meaning next week they will turn on them. Then the Edge win over Kennedy to earn the Money in the Bank.

The decision to give Edge the briefcase means a few things - A: Kennedy is out for awhile, then will retun face. B: Edge has a title belt coming, possibly within days. C: The WrestleMania main event with Kennedy will now have to come another way then just using the MITB to snag it.

So where do we go from here? Cena vs Michaels III is now on hold, as I think they may be lining up something huge for SummerSlam. With the 60+ minute match on RAW two weeks ago, I think an Iron Man could be coming - just a hunch. Khali vs Cena is going to be bad, no, make that REALLY bad. And in terms of SmackDown, I think we are going to see Batista vs Edge, or a move to get Edge on that show as the top heel for Batista. Again, just a hunch.

In someways though, the company cannot be totally to blame here. It seems the major injury to Undertaker that will shelf his world title and keep him out till about Survivor Series really has thrown the company for a loop. Almost like losing your starting quarterback, or in the case of Taker being the #2 guy right now in the company - how bout the MVP running back?

ECW tonight is going to be RVD now vs the threesome of Vince, Shane and Umaga. I for one think that routine is getting old, and you can bet that Bobby Lashley has an ace in the hole for Judgement Day and the 3-on-1 rematch to win back the belt. You can sense that the writers are working overtime trying to right the ship of all the moves that have taken place over the last seven days, some I understand, others - you have to simply shake your head at.

Posted by Matt Loede at 9:46 AM | Permalink | Comments

WWE RAW will kick off the week of TV tonight as the crew is on the campus of Penn State University. The show already has two big things in store, as they are going to start the show with the announcment of the brands main event for the May PPV - Judgement Day, which will take place on May 20th in St.Louis. Based on last week, one can only think they are going to go with The Great Khali vs John Cena for the WWE Title, but bookers may be rethinking that decision since now it appears that the SmackDown side of the PPV is going to lack with the injury to the Undertaker.

A better decision would be to put Shawn Michaels vs John Cena III in motion for the title at Judgement Day, and the winner of that could then move on to take on The Great Khali at the June PPV. In the meantime, you could have a great build with Cena and HBK, and then that could carry the PPV while SmackDown gets things back in order with the title change that will take place this week, and trying to get some new storyline built around Batista and a new challenger for the title.

The second big thing on the show they have already leaked on WWE.com is that Randy Orton will take on John Cena. The site does not say if the belt will be on the line, but I doubt it would be despite the fact that it does not matter since this is clearly not a spot for Orton to win it anyway. I still think that Orton will continue to pay for what he did in Europe and the hotel room, and that there is still a chance he may be pushed over to SmackDown.

We'll also see some back and forth with Ric Flair and Carlito after last weeks turn by Carlito, and I would not doubt seeing some interaction with the Hardy's and Cade and Murdoch leading to a rematch either on RAW soon or at the PPV. Don't forget as well that tonights show here will be interactive, as we will have our new SHOUTBOX to the right set up to discuss the show as it is in progress. So be back here tonight to talk about the show as it is going on!

Posted by Matt Loede at 7:55 AM | Permalink | Comments

WWE Friday Night SmackDown put in motion what we already know will happen next week in Pittsburgh, and that is a heavyweight title change as they announced the cage match with Undertaker and Batista. While I expect that match next week to have a ton of heat, I don't think it will be very long, or very good, as they will have to protect the arm of Taker that he will have surgery on for a torn bicep.

The Friday night show was okay, with a somewhat ugh main event of Kane vs MVP, for a right to take on Chris Benoit for the US Title. MVP won when both William Regal and Dave Taylor came out and distracted Kane. It was an okay match, somewhat of a down main event, and it will lead to likely another match at Judgement Day with Benoit and MVP.

The best match of the night was somewhat of a shock, as Matt Hardy beat Ken Kennedy after a very long and very good match. There was a ton of false finishes, and it looked like Kennedy was going to win plenty of times, but in the end, you had Matt hitting the twist of fate for the victory. One thing that I am really getting tired of is JBL saying "ballgame" everytime a wrester hits a big move and it looks like he is going to win. He must of said that 20 times during the show, and it was like - SHUT UP!

Boogeyman started the show with his usually bad match, as he beat William Regal via DQ. For some reason, even though they have already had it, they are setting up another tag with Boogey and Kane vs Regal and Taylor. This coming even after they had that match last week. Boogey is about the worst wrestler on the roster, and the gimmick is just not good enough for me to like him.

The other three matches on the show was a decent singles match with Brian Kendrick beating Domino. They are playing the role of Paul London ebing hurt, and then they will likely have these two teams rematch at the May PPV. I would like to see more of Duece and Domino before I buy into them being champs. Another match was a bizarre awful match with Miz and Finley, where a lot was based on Miz going after Hornswoggle. Miz took the countout, which was just weird. Bad match. Then we had a blah Gregory Helms vs Jimmy Wang match, where the neverending losing streak for Helms continues.

Most of this show was based on the Batista vs Taker build for next week. We have a poll up right now asking the readers who they want to be the next long term champ, and many of you say it should be Batista, or that they should bring Randy Orton over and have him win the belt. Whatever they do, the Taker title drop due to the injury is a big time letdown.

Posted by Matt Loede at 3:39 PM | Permalink | Comments

Posted by Matt Loede at 8:28 PM | Permalink | Comments

The title regin of the Undertaker is about to come to a close, as the Deadman is going to have to shut it down for at least six months as he will have surgery for a torn bicep muscle. The decision was made after Taker saw Dr.James Andrews this past week. Andrews advised Taker that wrestling much longer with the injury was out of the question, and it was at that point the decision to shut him down was made.

With that said, it appears that we will have a new World Champ on SmackDown next week, as Batista is going to get the belt back as the two will go at it in a steel cage. What they do with the belt from there is anyone's guess. I for one think they may shift a RAW guy over to SmackDown, possibly Randy Orton, who is due to be punished for his hotel room trashing in Europe.

Posted by Matt Loede at 8:14 PM | Permalink | Comments

The bad luck injury that looks like it will end the title regin of the Undertaker may have him losing the belt within the next one to two weeks. Taker is suffering from a bicep tear, and the last report saw him visit Dr. James Andrews, and word is he will have to have some sort of surgery and long rehab down the road. Besides losing the belt in this whole deal, one has to wonder how much gas Taker has left in the tank and how much he really wants to comeback after a surgery and rehab. Of course he will not want to go out and have his career end with an injury, but you've got to take his age and wear and tear into consideration.

So the plan according to various reports is for Taker to take on Batista in a cage on SmackDown next week. One would assume that it would be that match that would take the belt off Taker and back on Batista. While that is not official, that is the plan. I would expect them to do a heavy injury angle during that match, and for them to push that injury as being the reason we don't see Taker for a few months. A four to six month rehab could put Taker on the shelf all the way to about the Survivor Series in November in Miami.

Posted by Matt Loede at 6:27 AM | Permalink | Comments

Three matches and a new number one contender highlighted WWE's Tuesday night ECW on Sci-Fi from Alabama. The show was pretty good, as the three main storylines all got a push, the most interesting of which is the booking of Rob Van Dam and what they plan to do with him down the road. The biggest highlight of the night was Vince McMahon, the new ECW champ, making the four ECW Originals all fight each other for the right to fight him next week for the title.

In a short but effective match, Van Dam hit the frog splash on Sandman to get the win, and will have a match next week vs Vince for the title in Pittsburgh. While I think the match will never take place, I think that the company is doing what it can to show goodwill to RVD. It is somewhat common knowledge that Van Dam's contract is up in June, and that he recently turned down a new deal from the company. They pushed him and gave him the win at Mania, and now they are giving him a title match, though no one really thinks he will get the belt. Sounds to me though like the company is trying to show him that they are willing to give him a bit of a push if he decides to stick around, which I think if he is going to continue wrestling, would be in his best interest.

As for former champ Bobby Lashley, he is good to go after a check up from Dr. James Andrews, and will likely get his rematch with Vince at Judgement Day. He (Bobby) opened the show with a promo, and Armando came out in a wheelchair with a neck brace. Estrada said that if Lashely touches Vince, Shane or Umaga, he'll lose his title shot. Of course he never said anything about not touching Armando, so Lashley pushed him out of the chair in a effective 5 minute promo.

The other big storyline is the ongoing battle with CM Punk and the New Breed. It's official that Punk simply used the New Breed, and Elijah Burke sent his man Kevin Thorn out to fight Punk, to Thorn's surprise. After losing to Punk with his finishing "Go to Sleep" move, Thorn and Burke got into it, and Thorn said he's out of the New Breed. I don't see the Vamp going good, but you never know.

The next match was the new tag team of the Major Brothers, who I saw in late March at a RAW house show in Canton, taking on the New Breed team of Striker and Marcus Cor Von. A good effective match that really highlighted the Majors, and eventually to the shock of Tazz, they got the win on Striker with a flying body press. Of course this did not sit well with Burke, who got into it with Striker, who walked away not too happy.

One comment though about tag team wrestling in ECW - what's the point? There are no ECW Tag belts, so why would a team like the Majors want to be on or wrestle in ECW? If they raised the tag team level of the show, they could have some tag belts to at least make it more interesting. It is kind of lame that ECW has just one belt, while RAW has 4 (WWE, IC, Tag, Womens) and SmackDown 3 (World, Tag, US). I know ECW is just one hour, but there are still too many meaningless matches that could be more fun if a belt was on the line or involved.

So then after another stupid dance routine somewhere in there, it was on to Vince in the ring talking about his title win, and then calling out the Originals for what ended up being their four-way match for the right to face him. We'll see about that next week, but my guess is the RVD vs Vince never happens.

Posted by Matt Loede at 6:09 AM | Permalink | Comments

WWE RAW to follow up on what was a very good Backlash on Sunday night threw what could be considered to be a very negative swerve, as it now looks as if we are headed for an ugly title defense at Judgement Day for John Cena, as his new opponent will be none other than - The Great Khali. Yes, it looks as if we are looking at Khali vs Cena, this after Khali laid out the three Backlash challengers - Shawn Michaels, Edge and Randy Orton. The story was that Michaels was to take on Cena, and if he won, he would have a title shot next week. Well, we never got to that since he was laid out backstage by Khali.

Now the shift will turn to Khali, while the awesome back and forth with Michaels and Cena takes a backseat for awhile. All I know is that in watching the back and forth at the end when Kahli came out and was going at it with Cena - it looked ugly. Not good ugly, but "oh my gosh they are giving his guy a title shot" ugly. You could see Cena trying to work with the big man, but the problem is no one can work with Khali and have a solid match, which is why they don't allow him to do very much.

The rest of the show was actually pretty entertaining I thought. We had a great opener with Edge taking on Randy Orton in a match that was supposed to happen last week, but the 60+ minute match with Cena and Michaels, plus the fact that Orton was not even in Europe, made that match impossible to have. The two went back and forth for sometime, with Orton playing the face in the match. He bled hardway on a snake eye move, and then got pinned after a great looking spear. Looks as if Orton is paying for his mistake in Europe, first with the pin at Backlash, then pinned again last night.

The backstage stuff included an interview with new IC champ Santino Marellla, who just kept saying what a dream it was to be IC champ, and that next week he will have his first title defense. At least they stated that he was training to be a wrestler when the "surprise" match took place in Paris, so they are not making it as if this guy has NEVER been in a ring before. They also showed various ECW guys upset about Vince winning the belt. Man does Sandman look old.

Back in the ring, Jeff Hardy won a singles match with Johnny Nitro, with Cade and Murdoch at ringside. The story is that Cade and Murdoch are playing faces, telling the King and JR they respect the Hardys and the better team won Sunday night. I don't buy the face turn for these two, and eventually they will have them do a beat down on the Hardys leading to another title shot down the road. Hardy was offered a handshake by the two after the match, but declined.

They also did Umaga vs RVD, which was pretty good and had a solid ending with the 5-star going wrong as Umaga grabbed RVD by the throat and gave him the spike. Not sure what the point was here with burying RVD, unless they are upset with him for turning down their latest contract offer.

The big turn we all knew was coming finally took place, as Carlito turned heel, beating down (or trying to) Ric Flair duing a tag match vs Hass and Benjamin. Now that the turn for Carlito is complete, I predict we will see these two have a one-on-one at Judgement Day. I like that they dragged it out, but in the end, it really came across as any other turn.

Mr.Kennedy was on the show, stating that he is going to use his Money in the Bank match for WrestleMania 24. Wow, can't actually believe they are going to have him hold it that long. I guess if this is legit, then all we need is a couple of champions, a Royal Rumble winner, and we'll be on our way to knowing the Mania matches. They did a divas tag, Mickie and Candice vs Melina and Victoria. Candice seemed more jumpy in this one, and they let her pin Victoria with a roll up after Mickie saved her from a double suplex.

Then the last segment with the shocker of Khali coming out for the eventual beat down of Cena. As said earlier, for them to put the red hot feud of Michales and Cena aside for this is a huge letdown. I cannot imagine for a minute they think the buyrate for Khali vs Cena is better than that of a Michales vs Cena III. Their thinking on this is beyond me.

Posted by Matt Loede at 7:22 PM | Permalink | Comments

The title regin of the Undertaker may be short lived, as reports from various sources say that the "Deadman" could be down and out due to a torn bicep muscle. The tear took place before Takers "Last Man Standing" match with Batista Sunday at Backlash, so give him major props for working through the match. Monday morning Taker was said to be a in a heavy amount of pain, and he was set to see famous surgeon Dr. James Andrews today in Alabama, the same city that SmackDown is in tonight.

If Taker needs surgery, which is likely, he will be out of action 6 to 8 months. This of course means the company will have to make a decision in regard to a title change, with the early favorite being just to put the belt back on Batista. The torn muscle reportedly rolled up the muscle, meaning that the only way to repair it would be to have surgery, which would mean the lengthy rehab.

The planned main event for Judgement Day pretty much from day one was for Taker to take on Batista in some sort of special stip match, likely a Hell in a Cell match. Sunday's no decision as both men were counted 10 in the Last Man Standing match only put in motion that another match was to take place at a PPV.

Now that the injury seems much worse, that match is off and the bookers are going to have to scramble to get things in motion for a likley title switch and new main event for that show.

Posted by Matt Loede at 6:55 PM | Permalink | Comments