*WWE and pro wrestling discussion topic*

[Obecorp]

[Rob1981]

From what I've read: Money in the Bank will have 8 people this year.

Tonight on Raw: another qualifying match takes place, Jeff Hardy vs Shelton Benjamin. I can bet Benjamin wins, due to Hardy being a part of a Hardys vs MNM match at Wrestlemania. So with that said: it should be the following (along with the already confirmed Edge, CM Punk and King Booker):

Randy Orton, Ken Kennedy, MVP and Chris Benoit.


Well if Rey isn't going to be at WM: I would think Helms/Chavo might be in a cruiserweight match along with Jimmy Wang Yang and others I would assume: a heel/heel match isn't something that ever happens at WM. On Smackdown: Helms was watching the Chavo match, so it seems like he is still stuck in the cruiserweight division.

With both Foley and Hogan both out of Wrestlemania (as of now at least), that removes some star power that would've helped the show out.

Wrestlemania needs to improve. They have about one month to improve it, otherwise buyrates will certainly be down.
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[Rob1981]

Some new TNA DVD's were announced for this year (no exact dates as of yet):

Click, Doomsday: The Best Of Abyss
Instant Classic: The Best Of Christian Cage
Best Of The Bloodiest Brawls, Volume 2
Kevin Nash And Alex Shelley Present: The Best Of Paparazzi Productions


Eh...nothing too impressive. Depending on what's on the Christian DVD, I might pick that up.

Coming in March: Best of the tag teams volume 1. I read the match listing for it: it's mainly 2006 matches, with only 1 2005 match. If that's accurate, that's a pretty pathetic "best of" DVD. It's basically these teams: America's Most Wanted, Team 3-D, Voodoo Kin Mafia and Latin American Exchange. The DVD looks alright, but just being most of 2006 is disappointing.

TNA has their old footage, yet they hardly use it. TNA had plenty of great matches before they got actual TV time on FSN, then Spike. I don't see why it can't be used much. With the exception of Greatest TNA moments, TNA: the early years (not out yet I don't think). I can't think of anything older on DVD (except for possibly some 2004 PPV's). I admit TNA wasn't perfect in it's earlier days: but they still had good matches. They people in charge of making DVDs could've easily found some of the better tag matches of the past.


In WWE hall of fame news: Jerry Lawler is the newest inductee. He joins Dusty Rhodes and Mr. Perfect. Expected other inductees include: Jim Ross, Afa+Sika (The Wild Samoans). I would guess, maybe a few other smaller names will be added.

In Money in the Bank news: Ken Kennedy qualified by beating Sabu on ECW, Jeff Hardy qualified by beating Shelton Benjamin. Now I can bet Matt Hardy, Nitro and/or Mercury will be in MITB to continue the Hardys/MNM feud. 4 spots left: Randy Orton, MVP, Chris Benoit and Johnny Nitro (or Mercury) is what I think they should be.


In ECW news: Test was fired. No big surprise there.
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[Obecorp]

Two more participants for the Money in the Bank match will be announced in Smackdown tonight, which will make the official count for that match to 7. 4 Smackdown guys, 2 Raw guys, and 1 ECW guy. I'm willing to bet the last qualifier will have to be from Raw. So, my best guess for the last spot will have to be Randy Orton.

I have read the spoilers for Smackdown (because I'm not sure if I will be able to watch it this week). One of the participants that is announced, I don't agree with, because they could have put some other guy in that spot.

[quote]

[Rob1981]

Wrestlers were on the game show "Deal or No Deal" earlier tonight. I didn't see it, but I heard about it. It was pretty lame. Edge and Randy Orton booed the contestant, while Lashley+Cena cheered him on and helped him.

In ECW news: a tag team division (with titles even..) is planned. Dusty Rhodes apparently was the one to push for the idea. Vito+Nunzio (FBI) and Lance Cade+Trevor Murdoch are expected teams, along with La Resistance.

I don't see how this will be helpful at all. Raw has a poor division, yet they want to improve ECW? Seems pretty stupid to me. On Raw currently: there is Cryme Tyme, Highlanders, Haas+Benjmain, Cade+Murdoch as regular teams... plus Rated RKO (alot of singles compared to tag for them), and the champs of Cena+Michaels (which are likely to drop them anytime now I bet). Further proof WWE is failing, they would rather improve ECW than Raw. The teams on Raw are alright, but it seems like more tag matches make it to Heat alot of the time compared to Raw itself.

Matt Hardy and Finlay are the latest people to qualify for Money in the Bank. Come on.. Finlay?! I guess it adds something (not much though) to the match, and is better than a Boogey Man/Finlay match once again.

The last qualifying match is on Raw. I have a guess who it probably will be, it's a little obvious if you think about it.
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[Obecorp]

Since Carlito and Ric Flair's match ended in a "No Contest", the final participant for the Money in the Bank Ladder Match has still not been announced. I'm not exactly sure how they plan to announce the final participant (or if they'll announce him on Smackdown), but ultimately, I still believe Randy Orton will be the final participant to set up a possible story line with Edge. Orton had a match with Michaels on Raw, so that may have been why the match was a no-contest. Although, Carlito would've been my second choice to be the final participant (and I would've seen him beating Flair for it).

As far as a possible winner in the MIB ladder match, I know it's a little early to be making picks, but I'm picking Matt Hardy to win it. Maybe it will finally get him over as a main eventer. But depending on how he responds if/when given the ball, if he still doesn't improve his interview skills (which aren't that great), he will still be mediocre. I want CM Punk to win it, but since he's still relatively new to the WWE, he probably won't win.

My opinions about having tag team titles in ECW, believe it or not, I think it's a good idea. The tag team division in Raw is so much of a joke, that it would be a decent idea to give some diversity in ECW. There are a lot of titles in the WWE, but I don't think one more could honestly hurt. As long as the titles themselves, and the people holding them are properly utilized, it shouldn't matter how much titles there are.
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[Rob1981]

Monday on Raw: Randy Orton vs Ric Flair vs Carlito is the final MITB qualifying match.

My guess is Orton winning the spot, then Flair vs Carlito at WM.
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[Obecorp]

I have seen the Ashley Playboy pics. They look pretty good. I would have preferred it if she didn't have the lip rings though. But believe it or not, many people may not know this, but this is NOT the first time Ashley Massaro posed for Playboy. She was part of the 50th Anniversary Playmate Search in 2003, and had a picture in the December 2003 issue, posing under the pseudonym Mackenzie Ryan. She was also a Cyber Girl of the Week during January 2004 under the same name. I actually have the Playboy Special Edition that she was in also. She's coming to my area on Monday, and she has a signing appearance. I'm thinking about trying to show up and get her to sign the Playboy that I have of her.

But, it is official now that Ashley will fight Melina for the Women's Championship, just like I've thought. Even though Melina is a decent wrestler, and Ashley has gotten better since she first started, this is probably gonna be the "bathroom break" match for many people. Trish and Mickie James fought for the women's title in last year's WM, and even though they are both really good women's wrestlers, there were still a bunch of botched spots (especially the ending).

Another match that I predicted would happen was the ECW match. This match doesn't look too exciting either, but I'm sure it will have a few spots on it (because RVD and Sabu are competing). I'm sure it will also give a lot of the new ECW talent a chance to shine (most especially Elijah Burke and Marcus Cor Von).

MVP and Chris Benoit looks like it's gonna happen too (like I also predicted). Am I a psychic or what? lol. But if Benoit loses this match in Wrestlemania, I don't think it would be right since he's such a great wrestler, and he's jobbed in the past two Wrestlemanias. There may be a good chance he will lose though, since he's had that belt for a while.

They are still building up the card, but it still looks weak for Wrestlemania standards. But, I hope within the next few weeks, they would show a few things that may get people excited to pay $49.99 for a PPV. I hope they add a tag match or two involving one or both of the tag-team titles.
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[Rob1981]

Smackdown last night had decent matches (except for Batista/Kane), but certainly lacked ALOT.

Benoit, MVP, Kendrick+London, Deuce+Domino, Chavo, Helms and so on... didn't compete. MVP was the only one to appear: in a brief segment backstage, asking for a match against Benoit. I doubt MVP will be defeating Benoit at WM.

Instead we get useless garbage like Khali attacking Kane backstage (to hype up a useless WM match), and Miz's interview segment (which hopefully doesn't last long, there is much better people that should have segments instead).

WWE is too predictable, guessing matches for PPVs is usually an easy thing to do.

TNA Destination X is tomorrow. I must say, it looks pretty decent. The only match I have a huge issue is: James Storm+Jackie Moore vs Petey Williams+Gail Kim. The match is a double bullrope match. I'm not a fan of Jackie's matches, and I'm a bit sick of Williams/Storm feud. Chris Harris should wrestle Storm: end this feud, and put Harris with Williams as a new team.

A match that might be garbage is Voodoo Kin Mafia vs Christy Hemme's mystery team. My guess is it's the Bashams. I'm not a fan of VKM, and I'm thinking VKM will get the win here. TNA needs to stop pushing stale useless talent. Team 3-D is another washed up team that needs to be jobbing alot more than they do. The sad thing is... Team 3-D will probably be the next tag champs.
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[Obecorp]

[Rob1981]

As I expected: Randy Orton qualified for MITB. This leads me to believe: Carlito vs Ric Flair will be a Wrestlemania match.

Something that struck me as strange was: a Wrestlemania reversal was shown for next week. Shawn Michaels vs JBL, John Cena vs Chris Benoit will be matches on Raw. So unless it was a mistake, WWE spoiled things once again. If JBL does indeed return to the ring at Wrestlemania: he better win the U.S title. Returning to job to Benoit doesn't seem like a good idea to me. But this leaves MVP with no match, and probably just as a manager of JBL or something.

Kane used a chain type weapon on Raw (I guess to replicate the weapon he had in See No Evil... not sure, I didn't see Raw). This makes it seems like the WM match might be a chain match or a hardcore match of some sort. Eh... it improves Khali vs Kane a little if that's the case, but it's still one of the worst matches on the card.

Mr. Fuji was announced as the newest hall of fame inductee. It's about time, he has been retired (from WWE at least) for a while now. One of the all time best heel managers in history, in my opinion.
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[Obecorp]

[Rob1981]

It was a bit disappointing JBL didn't wrestle on Raw. From what I read: he needs surgery, then might return to the ring fulltime if things go as planned. Why even hype a JBL/Shawn Michaels match, if all they do is have Shawn superkick him? Have Shawn actually wrestle someone, instead of doing this crap.

Also on Raw: Edge retained his MITB spot by winning a battle royal. This was pretty stupid in my opinion. Edge is hurt for real, and it's been noted that he will be fine by Wrestlemania. Why risk it by putting him in a match? He did very little in the match: but either way... risking further injury shouldn't be happening.

Next week on Raw: Lashley vs McMahon, and a No Way Out rematch: John Cena+Shawn Michaels vs Undertaker+Batista. Eh.. the tag match is fine, but Lashley/McMahon will be lame.


WrestleMania seems to be almost complete in my opinion. I think the only things that could be added are: Flair/Carlito, Smackdown tag titles and possibly a cruiserweight title match.

In TNA news, their version of "War Games" is coming up for Lockdown. It will be Kurt Angle's team vs Christian Cage's team. I enjoy these types of matches, hopefully the others in the match will be quality wrestlers.
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[Obecorp]

I think it was a little bit messed up that they had Benoit, one of the best technical wrestlers of all time, tapping to Cena's STFU. I know Cena has gotten a little bit better skillwise, but having Benoit tap out to him is still a slap in the face of true wrestling fans in my eyes.

It looks like the card for Wrestlemania is pretty much set. Since Cena and Michaels still have the tag belts, and they already have a match booked for Raw, it looks like the World tag team belts may not change hands. Unless, they do an impromptu match before their match with Taker and Batista and lose the belts then, or, if they defend those belts in the Smackdown before Wrestlemania, they will probably keep the belts. I would have liked to have seen a match between both brands respective tag-team champions. It looks like that may not happen though.

Speaking of tag-team matches, they might not have a pure tag-team match in Wrestlemania. Honestly, if they don't have the match above, I don't see London/Kendrick having a tag-team match, since there would have been no buildup between them or any other team. The only way they can have a match and have it be okay with no buildup, if it's sort of like an exhibition (like the match I have mentioned above), or if they do an open challenge. If there is no tag team match in Wrestlemania, it's a shame because it just shows how pathetic tag-team wrestling in the WWE has become. (The ECW 8-man tag match in Wrestlemania is not a "pure tag match").

As far as general Wrestlemania news, Wrestlemania 24 is gonna be in Orlando, Florida, in the Citrus Bowl Stadium. I find this very interesting, because Orlando is TNA country. It certainly will be discouraging for TNA, if the WWE manages to get 70,000+ to show for WM 24, especially in their own home territory.
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[Rob1981]

Benoit losing to Cena clean in anyway is a slap in the face to wrestling fans. Cena has gotten better over the years, but not that good.


In the latest firing by WWE: Rebecca, the interview girl is now gone. I doubt she will be missed.


Aretha Franklin will be singing at WrestleMania, which is a surprise. From reports I've read, she hated singing at WM 3. Ludacris is also scheduled to perform at WM.
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