Preview of Sunday's PPV - Vengeance
Another WWE PPV is upon us, as Sunday in Houston the company will put on "Vengeance," which in the past has been a RAW brand PPV. The show is highlighted by it being a "night of champions," in which each match on the card has a title up for grabs. Of course the PPV is being totally overshadowed by the ongoing McMahon death storyline, so as far as major heat for any of the matches on Sunday's card, I really don't see it. Plus you have the return in-ring for Mick Foley, who is back on the active roster, at least for now, as he will be in the WWE Championship Challenge Match with four other wrestlers. The long term plans for Foley are still a bit hazy, but for now he's back and again, it's basically a non-story with the McMahon plot overtaking each and every show. With that, here is our official preview for Sunday's card:
* WWE Championship Challenge Match - John Cena vs. Booker T vs. Randy Orton vs. Mick Foley vs. Bobby Lashley - What a cluster this looks like it could turn into. The basic match is really going to come down to Cena, Orton and Lashley, as Booker is still coming back from injuries and Foley is going to take a bump or two, but basically is eye candy for the match. It is a one fall match, so Cena does not have to be pinned, which they will play off of. As far as any heat for this, it's pretty much null and void. This is a classic case of them not having a solid challenger for Cena, so they figured let's throw four other challengers in there with him. Cena gets the win here, beating Orton or Booker via pin.
* World Heavyweight Champion Edge vs. Batista (Last Chance Match) - I guess this means we won't have Edge-Batista IV anytime soon? That's a good thing, as the first two matches in this feud have been under whelming, and this third time around likely will not be all that much better. For sure a time to get Edge on to a new challenger, as Batista seems to have fallen asleep at the wheel again, just like before his WrestleMania feud with the Undertaker. The first match at Judgement Day was not that good, the cage match at One Night Stand was better, let's hope this third match will be the best. Edge wins via pin here.
* Intercontinental Champion Santino Marella vs. Umaga - The more I have seen of Marella, the less impressed I am with him. He truly fits the mode more of a mid-card jobber than of someone who currently should be holding the I-C belt. Umaga has been stuck in the same mode for the past few months after the feud with Bobby Lashley, and I can see him going over here, making up for the mistake that was giving Marella the strap in the first place. Umaga wins the belt back with a clean win.
* United States Champion MVP vs. Ric Flair - Another rushed match with no heat at all, MVP will put the US Title up against Ric Flair. This really just marks Flair's first big match on SmackDown, and once again, it really was rushed with no real backdrop to the match. MVP has been 100 times better than his debut sometime ago, and I expect Flair to give him a solid match. I can see MVP winning with some sort of cheat to keep the feud going.
* World Tag Team Champions Lance Cade & Trevor Murdoch vs. The Hardys - These four have had some good matches, and now that Cade and Murdoch are back to heel, this one should be solid as well. I think the shift though of the Hardy's going back to single wrestling is on, which is why this may be their last shot at the tag gold for awhile. I thought that Matt and Jeff did a solid job in getting some status back to the belts, but now its Cade and Murdoch's time, and after this they have a full program upcoming with London and Kendrick. I give the champs the nod here.
* Cruiserweight Champion Chavo Guerrero vs. Jimmy Wang Yang - Given more than 5-6 minutes, this could be a very good match. I think I have seen Guerrero defend this belt maybe twice since winning it at the Rumble, and now they are giving Yang, who is a decent wrestler but awful character a shot. I don't really hav a clue about the direction they are going to turn with this one, but I can see them giving Yang the belt here. What the heck, I'll say he goes over.
* Women's Champion Melina vs. Candice Michelle - This has actually been a decent womens feud for once, and the direction of this belt is very much in doubt. Candice should go over here, but Melina has the best heat of any woman with the belt in sometime. They took Nitro away from Melina, in hopes of getting her more focused and her mind on the ring. Candice has been much better in the ring, and while I think she deserves to win, Melina will retain.
* ECW Title Match - Chris Benoit vs. CM Punk - This will be the show stealer, as both these guys will go 100 percent and both will have a lot to prove. There are two trains of thought here, one being is they will give it to Benoit based on his experience as well as the fact that may have been the sell for him to go to ECW. On the other hand, Punk is the hottest wrestler in the company, and with Lashley, RVD, Sabu and Sandman all gone in the last three months, he is the biggest face on the show, and he should get a shot with the belt. I'll go with the first thought process, as they will put it on Benoit in hopes of him making the belt legit.
There are rumors as well of a tag title match from the SmackDown side, but that has yet to be made official. Overall, this could be a decent PPV, but with no build at all it will seem very much like a 3-hour RAW, which is something else we have to get ready for Monday night.
