Regal winning was indeed a surprise, but I think it was a nice move on the surface. Punk beat two established guys clean, avenging his loss to Jericho in the process, so I think he came out stronger than he did going in. Regal, on the other hand, reminded everyone just how much ass he can kick by winning the tourney after an awesome bout with Orton last week. I'm all for Regal getting a push as a main event heel seeing as how theres a lack of legit main event heels right now. Really, only Orton and Edge are championship contenders with JBL, Kennedy, and MVP on deck. Jericho is still a tweener, so he doesn't count.

I'm lookin forward to seeing where they take him, but knowing WWE, he'll be jobbing out to Trips or Cena next week.

I missed Raw tonight, and just saw the match results. Before I bawwwww my mind out, can someone who watched it explain what happened.

At 4/15/08 06:36 PM, Outlaw88 wrote: wtf, why are they replacing styles? He's an awesome commentator! Unless they are going to put him along side Cole instead of Coach, WWE has lost their mind. Who the hell is Adamle?

I haven't heard anything regarding that. Joey still has some years on his contract.

That was a nasty suplex, typical Regal style too, but if thats the sickest thing you guys have seen in years, try watching matches from Japan or involving Japanese wrestlers. They got that strong style that just kills.

I really enjoyed the Regal/Orton match last night, as well as the Umaga/Jericho match. Beyond that was just icing on the cake with the over-the-top title switch and establish just who are our number one contenders for the tag belts. I'm anxious to see who participates in the King of the Ring, but I don't want to see Jericho go in. After three hard fought championship matches in recent weeks, the IC belt seems to be on the right track back to the top. The KotR tournament seems a little beneath him now.

Which begs the question, who should be in the tourney, and how many participants should there be?

At 4/14/08 10:58 PM, aviewaskewed wrote:

At 4/14/08 10:35 PM, The-Redangleprince wrote: Joe winning the title, well, I'll tune into TNA a little more often to see what they do with him, but with King of the Mountain coming up, I can definitely see them using the opportunity to have him lose the belt without being pinned. In fact, I'm not all against that as long as Joe wins it back shortly thereafter and retains it at BFG.

You'd Orton him if you took the title off this soon. Plus, since very few champions retain at King of The Mountain, perhaps because they don't understand the convoluted rules, it'd be a much better idea to have Joe pull off the victory.

I wouldn't be surprised whether he won or lost at KotM, because a story could be told either way. One, he loses without getting pinned or made to submit so in theory, he got screwed (which is an elementary flaw with this match, or two, he wins and has overcome insurmountable odds to retain.

Either way, as long as he gets it back, it doesn't much matter to me.

At 4/14/08 09:42 PM, aviewaskewed wrote: Oh, and as for Regal? I think it's just a case of they're in England, they know Regal can go, they know fans will be into it...and Regal is friends with a certain challenger for the WWE title at Backlash (Youg guess who I mean ;P).

Hes been wrestling for 25 years, so hes bound to win one of these days, right?

Joe winning the title, well, I'll tune into TNA a little more often to see what they do with him, but with King of the Mountain coming up, I can definitely see them using the opportunity to have him lose the belt without being pinned. In fact, I'm not all against that as long as Joe wins it back shortly thereafter and retains it at BFG.

At 4/13/08 10:51 AM, HeartbreakHoldout wrote: Maybe Raw should poach some of the Smackdown creative in the next draft, rather than wrestlers.

Screw you, you leave our writers alone >:^} ( Live with your Bunnymania and Snitsky.

At 4/13/08 12:50 AM, aviewaskewed wrote: Plus, ratings aren't great under Orton. Not that I'm necessarily blaming it all on him, a bad product is a bad product no matter who's on top, but SD! ratings are consistent, even with a heel champ on top, RAW fluctuates, so I think while you can't pin declines and what not squarely on Orton, you can at least say that the guy is not bringing any new interest in, or helping to really maintain what interest is there.

But who could? You think Cena or Trips regaining the belt is going to bring viewers in? Jeff had a shot, but he screwed himself over and the ratings didnt exactly jump when he was suddenly in the hunt. Jericho? Kennedy? Umaga? Santino "Hey, I've got a shirt now" Marella? I really don't see any one man being able to bring up the ratings.

At 4/12/08 03:50 PM, Dream-of-Duke wrote:

Yeah... That Russian guy sucks.

I said it in his debut. He is making Masters look good. Hey, at least Masters had a good entrance.

"I've got an idea of what we're gonna do with you...we're going to send you out there with no music, no lights, no explanation, and a lot of anger. No worries, you'll get over huge!"

obviously, he didn't complain.

At 4/11/08 08:56 PM, aviewaskewed wrote:

At 4/11/08 06:12 AM, The-Redangleprince wrote: I think whats best for Punk is SD! as well. He could work against Palumbo, Kennedy, or Khali, then move up to MVP or Umaga. I DO believe that working against Trips or Orton would be a quick fix, but it'd be better to build him up like they did with Jeff.

He'd have to be booked very strong, and the H won't do that with him. Orton wouldn't give him much momentum unless he beats him because people don't like Orton, and that's from a "god take the belt off this undeserving prick" standpoint, not a "I really hate this guy and want him to get beat" standpoint. Basically, he wants Edge-heat, but he's got X-Pac-heat

Man, you best stop picking on my man Orton brudda. Hes a good heel, despite what you and your buddy Dave Scherer think. No, hes not Edge, but its not like he could be with Trips, Cena, Michaels, and Jericho running the show over there. RAW is the land of dominant bayfaces. For Orton to thrive in that environment, I'd say he's doing pretty good for himself.

Besides, you know I've got a soft spot for those quiet, cold eyed heels. There have never been too many of em and thats a damned shame.

I think whats best for Punk is SD! as well. He could work against Palumbo, Kennedy, or Khali, then move up to MVP or Umaga. I DO believe that working against Trips or Orton would be a quick fix, but it'd be better to build him up like they did with Jeff.

At 4/10/08 05:07 PM, boloneyman wrote: I had a pretty good idea earlier.

After Backlash Edge will be looking for another way to get a title shot, so he challenges CM Punk for the MITB brief case. They can feud over it with Punk coming out on top. Since Punk has already lossed to Edge a few times, it will give him a push in the right direction. Personally I don't think it will hurt Edge too much either.

It would hurt Edge a ton, seeing as hes pinned Punk clean I think twice in the past months and Punks still just barely beating Miz. Besides, why would he challenge for a shot at the title when he could just go straight for the title to begin with? I mean, hes got the GM in his pocket so he can get a shot anytime he wants really.

At 4/8/08 09:15 PM, aviewaskewed wrote: This really should be H vs. Orton one on one based on the booking, because H has not been clean pinned by Orton of late.

You really wanna put Orton v Triple H on Backlash? I agree, the booking dictates that, but they could have easily done some sort of screwy number one contenders bout instead. Or why not have Matt v Orton at Backlash? The booking makes sense, you could explain it as Trips "letting" Hardy have his chance at revenge but he'd be after the winner regardless. Plus, that would give us a chance to see how Hardy would do in the Main Event.

Then with Trips, Cena, and JBL you could have a Triple Threat #1 contenders bout. Have Cena pin JBL, set Cena up as having his one last shot at Orton and then have JBL interfere again setting up a long term feud with them while positioning Trips to get his one on one finally at Summerslam.

But anyways, I agree that inserting JBL as the most deserving #1 contender is a crock.

No.

You know what I do?

For Backlash, I give Orton v Hardy AND Hardy v MVP. Matt can beat MVP and lose to Orton clean. Matt has to face two men so losing to Orton clean later doesn't hurt him. Hes protected, and Orton gets another win.

Also, Triple H v JBL v Cena for the next shot.

The next PPV in May, I put Orton against Cena in a last shot deal. But first, I have Triple H vs JBL with Trips going over. Backstage, JBL beats down on Cena saying he cost him his shot. Cena comes out banged up and takes Orton to the limit, but Orton gets the clean victory.

June PPV, Triple H v Orton. I have Trips close in on the title, pedigree the champ, Orton kicks out, another pedigree and then...

CM Punk cashes in his title shot before Trips can get the pin. Punk pins Orton, steals the title, turns heel, and now Trips has been cheated again.

Next night I have Punk explain how he was never going to get his shot unless he did something like he did last night. Orton comes out pissed, Trips comes out pissed, and Punk ducks em both. They both say they have a right to a re-match, so tonight they go one on one to face Punk. Instead, Punk lays em both out after another long Main Event.

Eventually we get another Triple Threat. Punk v Orton v Trips at the July PPV. Have Trips hit the Pedigree on Orton, Punk kicks him off ala Mania, Covers Orton, Orton kicks out, Trips comes by, goes for a Pedigree on Punk, Orton hits the RKO and Punk hits the GTS and pins Orton.

Summerslam Triple H vs CM Punk

Punk, just by having a short feud with Trips, would be elevated to the next level. Maybe not the main event level, but it would be a damned good start, turning him heel and giving him a short title reign under his belt. If the purpose of the MITB briefcase is to elevate the talent, then its purpose is served and Trips gets the big title victory.

The idea is kind of raw (no pun intended), but what do you fellas think?

Did I, Did I...WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, did I hear someone say "heel"?! If so, then that is a mighty coincidence. I've been feeling another one building up inside of me ever since last week when we were exposed to the seeds of a heel v heel championship match, so its about time I let it out.

To put it mildly, we are rich in heels today and I don't mean quantity. You look around, and you'll see all kinds of heels. We've got our comedic heels in Santino, Regal, James Storm (For champ). We've got our badass heels in Roode, Edge, and Team 3D. And then we have, my favorites, the arrogant, cocksure heels like JBL, MVP, and Orton.

But I've talked about them all before, right? Do you REALLY wanna hear me, or anyone else for that matter, talk about these guys again?

Course you do! Too bad though, because its high time the young aspiring heels of todays undercard got their due. With top quality heels running amuck everywhere its hard for them to break free and establish themselves. However, you never know when one will get a chance, and don't you wanna be there the day they hold the World Title high in the air and be able to say "Man, I was a fan before everyone else" ?

Let me start with the TNA crowd

AWESOME KONG: Well, one could argue that shes already one of the top heels today. I would be hard pressed to argue, if she was living up to her potential. I heard from places that she had proposed feuds with Angle or Hernandez but they both got shot down. A monster woman going up against equally monster men? New, different, I'd but a ticket for it. Sadly, it'll never happen, so Awesome Kong can just be awesome beating on lil girls.

James Storm (For Champ): All he needs is more opportunities. In fact, TNA should give all the opportunities they have locked up in the closet, and give them all to Storm.

Sonjay Dutt: Pull the trigger on him stealing away SoCal Val, give him the belt, and have him use nothing but evasive maneuvers and roll-ups in his matches. He could play up his peace "guru" gimmick and then use brass knucks in the matches where roll-ups don't work. He'd be great! Don't tell Lethal though, he still thinks the Black Machismo gimmick is running wild.

So yeah, TNA doesn't have many heels to speak of other than Roode and Storm. Well, unless you wanna get into tweeners and offensive heels like Reign and Rellik (ugh). Although, I will say the blonde duo of bitches is a decent tandem...for chicks at least.

Onto Smackdown/ ECW

Miz: I never thought I'd ever like Miz, ever, when he first came on the scene. He sucked, he annoyed me, get him outta here. It wasn't till about a year and a half ago when he started to turn around his in ring work did he really become worth anything at all to me. Once they teamed him with Morrison, well, I actually began to, dare I say it?, like him. No, he'll never be a great technician but as long as he stands there looking obnoxious, sounding obnoxious, and being obnoxious, he'll have his place as a lifetime lower-mid card heel. And, hey, thats a lot for someone who never should have been in the ring to begin with.

Morrison: Intercontinental Champion? Check. Tag Team Champion? Check. Gimmick Change? Oh brudda, check that three times. As anyone can see, Morrisons been doing well in the mid-card for a while now. Hes got the moves and the look, but he really needs to work on his talk. If he can, I don't see why he couldn't be brought up to the main event level. and no, ECW championship doesn't count.

Domino: Deuce has got his place, somewhere, as Snuka Jr. But Domino...Hey man, you keep ripping off that shirt and I'm sure someone will notice you. He needs more definition as a character, but I think WWE has a diamond in the rough with him. He comes of real natural, to me, as a legit bad guy, and its just wide open what he could do when he steps out of the 50s.

Elijah Burke: When he gets done paying his dues, Burke could really be played up to be a threat to top tier guys. I really don't see him ever getting to be Main Event, but they could give him a gimmick where he teams with top heels all the time as liked a hired assassin who could legitimately knock you out. I'd like to see it.

Zack Ryder: Another tag team guy I can see getting the better of his partner. One problem though....he looks a little too much like Edge. Well, its too bad because hes shown double the charisma of Hawkins and as far as I can tell they're equal in skill.

The Great Khali: lawl

There ya go, just a few guys in my estimation who have the ability to become top heels given the time and opportunities. You'll notice a few names that you may think are able, to be missing from the list, and that is because of one reason.

There is stoppin' Benjamin noooooooooooooooooow.

Ef the F, Eich the H.

At 4/2/08 01:38 PM, aviewaskewed wrote:

I'm just saying my feeling is he could have done it had he chose to and I don't think it would have been an issue for him.

I agree, but something about that gong ringing out at a retirement ceremony just isn't right....especially since Flair is pretty old. It would have been like saying "Ask not for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee Ric Flair"

To elaborate, after Raw went off the air, Undertaker supposedly came out in full garb and music and did his bow in front of Flair. Vince followed and gave Flair a hug and raised his hand.

Afterwards Flair called his family back in the ring so he could do the strut and drop the elbow on his jacket one more time. He then went up the ramp and when he was at the top of the stage, the wrestlers in the ring and all along the ramp were bowing to him. I heard it was a very cool moment and I hope someone where got footage of it all.

At 3/31/08 07:21 PM, aviewaskewed wrote: Edge was really great last night, as he cut his promo last night, I turned to my friends and said "this guy is the heir apparent to Flair's heel legacy" this guy is just the absolutely most hateable son of a bitch I've seen in years, I love it. So of course, he's gotta be Red's favorite wrestler right now.

When I was talking about it at work, someone asked me "So who is you're hero going to be now?". Without a doubt, its Edge.

Awesome Raw last night. Cryme Tyme made their surprise return, Matt Hardy made his next step towards the Main Event level, we made a very scray step toward Orton v JBL, and Punk fell to Jericho.

And honestly, thats how it should be. Listen, no, don't bawww at me, I know whats up. Listen. Jericho is the Intercontinental Champion. At this point, thats above the ECW Championship, a belt Punk lost cleanly to Chavo Guerrero, who in turn lost it in 3 seconds. Jericho is also the guy who would be WWE Champion had it not been for JBLs' interference. Realistically speaking, Jericho is still a believable top tier guy who could be slipped back into the Main Event at any time.

CM Punk, on the other hand, is still mid-card at best. Sure, hes got the briefcase now, but he still needs to get built up. A one-and-done with Jericho isn't exactly the way to do it, but like I said, Jericho was the one who should have won that match.

Hey, also, what happened with Kendricks heel turn? That lasted long....

That aside, we had a Wrestlemania going on. A pretty damned entertaining Mania too. We got some surprises and a lot of what we expected.

Kane won the 24 man Battle Royale. Expected.
Kane squashed Chavo in what rivals Diesels victory over Backlund way back when. Surprising.

Matt Hardy made his big return in a big way. Expected.
CM Punk won the MITB. Seriously, he was just above Carlito on my list to win, making him second from the bottom. Skepticism courses through me now though. They probably did this just to say later "hey look, not every MITB winner wins the title!"

JBL and Finlay had a fun BRAWL. Expected.
JBL wins and the feud will continue. Eh? Dammit, go after Coach instead and save us from Cole!

Umaga vs Batista was laughable. Expected.
Batista got booed. Awesome. He didn't come to work tonight, so he deserved to get booed.

Bunnymania allowed me to piss and refil my drink. Expected.
Lawler attacked Santino to avenge his sandwich. I lol'd.

So with a pretty entertaining Mania thus far, we entered into the second half of the show with out 3 "Main Events"...The Triple Threat, Show v Mayweather, and Taker v Edge.

First off, It was awesome to see Taker and Edge getting to close the show. It was a big concern of mine because I knew they were all about that Triple threat. But, tradtion dictates a singles match and tradition dictates a babyface title victory, so we got what we wanted all around.

The Triple Threat, I thought, was pretty damned good. It was leagues ahead of that Orton/Angle/Mysterio debacle from a couple years ago. Orton retaining here was a bit of a surprise for me, but honestly, I was fine with whatever the outcome was. I suppose an FU or Pedigree is in his future though. Or maybe a GTS (oh man, its even funnier typed out). Orton laying out Trips with his kick and pinning Cena off the pedigree kept both challengers looking strong while, at the same time, putting the champ over as the man who played the match best.

Show v Mayweather was AWESOME. Going in knowing that Show was not going to win made this very enjoyable. Show got to beat on Mayweather a little and we even got some laughs from the posse (YOU AIGHT? WE OUT!). In the end, it took Mayweathers posse, a shitload of chair shots, and brass knucks around the best fighter in the worlds' fist to finally put down Show. In the respect, Show was well protected and Mayweather got the win (and publicity) he was looking for. Jim Ross saying he was now 40-0 made me laugh like crazy.

Taker vs Edge was match of the night. Theres a lot that can be said here, so instead I'm just gonna tell you to go and watch it, or in most cases, watch it again. Fun stuff, both men come out strong, and Taker reigns supreme in Orlando, 16-0.

The streak continues, The Orton Dynasty reigns, and Michaels brought about the end of an era. This was the best Mania since XX in my opinion. Nothing was terrible, anything bad was kept short, and there was plenty of good stuff for everyone. Worth spending $55? Get a few friends and enjoy it together. If you wanna see it by yourself, I won't say wait till the internet works its magic, but I'm sure you can find your way.

You'll have to excuse me, I've been avoiding this place like the plague as well as all wrestling related web sites for the past month or so. The reason being is because I didn't want to hear anything about anyone going into Mania. I wanted to maximize my enjoyment by going in dumb and blind and, for some measure, it worked.

Now, I'll get to Mania in just a moment, but theres something that I need to say. If Aview is Dave then call me Buck because this is going to be similar to something he wrote about THE man.

When I was three, there were things I knew for certain. The sky, it was blue. The grass, well thats green. The sun rises each day and it will for sure rise in the east and set in the west, and with it take a day along with it and bring in the night. And finally, I knew, as a child, that someplace somewhere, Slick Ric was stylin' and profilin' as the Worlds Heavyweight Champion.

Nobody told me about Flair. I didn't see him on tv, I didn't hear him on the radio, nothing...I just knew.

I grew up like that, knowing who Ric Flair was without being a wrestling fan. Sure, any kid will tell you growing up they knew who Hogan or Savage were. And why not? They were cartoons, characters, heroes. But Flair....Fliar was someone I respected before I knew what respect was, and it was because I KNEW! I KNEW I KNEW that he was the man. He was the Worlds Heavyweight Champion. Slick Ric. Whooooooooooo!

From childhood to adolescence, my life went on regardless of the world of professional wrestling, but still Flair wrestled. I finally became a wrestling fan come 1998, 1999, but I only paid attention to the WWF...and still, Flair continued to wrestle.

He wasn't where I was watching, but I knew he was out there.

Come the end of WCW and the brand extension. For the first time as a fan, I got to see The Nature Boy, LIVE, on my tv!

But....damn...hes old. This...this is Ric Flair? This is the guy who supposed to be stylin and profilin? This is the former Worlds Heavyweight Champion?

Meh.

What more can I say? Sure, hes entertaining....I guess, but, this guy certainly wasn't what I thought he was. I mean...come on.

Years went by, I grew as a fan and Flair, still, continued on. I learned how to use torrents, and youtube emerged. A rich history was finally available to a poor young fan like myself. I poured myself into the Attitude era, ECW, and WCW.

Flair continued on.

Whats this....NWA? What is NWA?

Flair Whooooooo'd

Ricky Steamboat? Dusty Rhodes? Harley Race? Say, I've heard of these guys before...somehwhere.

Flair styled.

Whoa, its the Road Warriors!?

Flair profiled.

Hot damn! Magnum TA? I heard was really cool.

Flair walked that aisle!

Tony Schiavone and Dave Crockett welcomed their guest to the interview table

Jet Flyin! Limosine Ridin! Kiss Stealin, Wheelin Dealin' SPACE MOUNTAIN, WHOOOOOOOOO, SUNUVA GUN!

Theres JJ Dillion, Arn and Ole Anderson, Tully Blanchard and...some..fluffy haired, sun glasses wearing....custom suit sportin'...World..Heavy..Champion Holdin'...no....it can't be.

THE MAN! RIC FLAIR!

I literally spent hours, days, WEEKS, completely taken in by this "Incandescent meteor breath". I got my hands on everything I could, from his cage match with Harley Race to his Rumble performance in 92 to his promos against Bischoff in WCW and more. But it was his promos, WHOOOO, that really got me. Sure, I had always known that Flair could cut a good promo but this was on a ridiculously higher level.

I tuned in on Monday nights from then on and watched Flair with that unfounded respect I once had as a child. However, it was no longer unfounded, and I was old enough to understand it. It took me his past to respect his present.

Even still, in my head, when I watched him go on Monday, every once in a while, a blurry over-image of that Worlds heavyweight champion surrounded the tanned sag of an old man. It came to a point where nostalgia turned into longing for the past turned into pain.

It was time. While he was still able to go out and have one last great match, it was time. There was no better person to have this match with. Not Steamboat, not Sting, not Luger or Hogan or Arn or Trips or anyone else but Shawn Michaels. The story told, the emotions that were conveyed.....there was just no other way, in my mind, this could have gone down any better.

But what did it for me....was that delayed vertical suplex. Take a moment and think about....not the move, but what it meant. Flair, he wasn't suplexing Michaels....he was holding up the weight of a legacy. He was holding onto all that he once was. He holding that up for THIRTY-FIVE YEARS....

And as Michaels' body began its descent to the mat...I swear I saw it all go away. Ric Flair had finally let go.

The career that spanned four decades, held 16 World Championships, hundreds of amazing matches and thousands of divine promos...had fallen to the mat in the form of Shawn Michaels' body.

The rest of the match was all about making it official. They told the story of Michaels not wanting to do it, but in the end having to...but for me it was that suplex.

To be the Man....you have to be Ric Flair.

At 3/17/08 06:31 AM, PantyWipe wrote: I know Im coming late but I just watched A.M. Raw and saw it for the first time.

Big show turning face and money mayweather goin heel?

YES. YES, YES, YES, YES, YEEEEEEEES.

They fucking FINALLY did something so perfect.

Now go get the jets ready, yo.

Wheres my slowpoke.jpeg when I need it?

I'm back folks. What a trip...tired.

Read all about Jeffs home. Theres more to this than meets the eye. This is not a coincidence. I wonder if we'll find out what happened over there.

I should cancel my elite subscription. I get all of Daves' commentary for free, straight from The Prof.

Hey fellas, I'll be out for a few days. Goin to a concert in Philly. Have fun without me. Oh and, enjoy SD! tonight.

SPOILERS BELOW - Regarding Money In the Bank

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I just read a few SD! spoilers. What was billed as the 'final' qualifying match, Morrison beat Miz. The graphic displayed afterwards showed only 7 participants.

That, of course, is subject to change with WWE. What I just don't understand is why they'd do this between Morrison and Miz when they got tag team competitors out the whazoo......unless, they lose the tag belts tonight. Then it might make sense.

Burke would be good in the spot, but out of all of them, I'd like too see Burchil and Hardy the most. Burchill has got a lot of talent and would benefit most from being in there since hes "fresh", a new face so to speak. Theres a story in Stevie getting in there on his comeback trail, but with so many other deserving guys, I doubt he gets a chance. Everyone else is kinda "meh". If they get in, fine, if not, oh well.

Oh brotha.....theres no one to blame here except Jeff himself. God dammit, he screwed himself over. What a dumbass.

On the bright side, now the Money in the Bank match is wide open. Not only that, one lucky guy will get Jeffs spot who otherwise would not have been on the show. Lets look at who we got in, who we got left, and who could win.

Qualified

Mr. Kennedy - Definitely a dark horse. Even though hes kinda out from under the microscope thanks to Jeff, I doubt the company wants to take a risk investing in anyone thats had problems with the wellness policy in the past for now. However, the hes still in good with the higher ups and his work has been steady. I don't see him winning, but he has a better chance than most.

Carlito - Other than a couple spots, I don't think Carlito is going to be getting much in this match. Sure, its a step up from the comedy skits hes been a part of the past few months, but unless he gets a chance to really show off, hes just taking up a spot. Least likely to win.

Shelton Benjamin - Spot Master. The only problem here is that we may be expecting too much of Benjamin. If he doesn't deliver, then its a "poor" showing. If he does, its just him being on par. Still, a lot of people can recognize that his "par" his exceptional. As for his chances of winning, I'd put him, for now, 3rd from the top.

Chris Jericho - He doesn't need it. Hes a big name with a cult following. He could believably be in the Main Event at any time. However, history has shown us that WWE likes to play it safe, so that may turn out to be in Jerichos' favor. The IC title hasn't been a problem for challengers in the past, so I don't see why it would be here.

MVP - The new lead favorite. I still think MVP needs about another year to believably reach that top tier, but with the 1 year stip, I think he could pull it off. Hes got the talent all the way around and if hes not at his prime, hes close. Now would be the time for him to step up.

Possibles

CM Punk - Hes got a qualifier tonight against BDV....I would say hes in. As for his chances to win, well, barely. Maybe if he hadn't lost, clean, to Chavo a few weeks back and quickly last night on Raw, his chances would be better.

BDV - lawl, naw.

Matt Hardy - If Matt does come back for Mania, hes in this match to get to MVP. Will he win? I could see it....he'd be a dark horse for sure. He could win it and then he and MVP feud with both the briefcase and the US Title being on the line. That would make MVP want to face Matt and vice versa. They could even just switch the two by some nefarious booking (like the Euro-continental Triple threat match).

Kane - There is no big man in the match yet. Out of all of them (Khali, Henry, BDV) Kane is definitely the most athletic, the most popular, and hes been around the longest. Plus, hes not doing anything else, so why not put him in there? Very little chance of winning, but having a power guy in there with a bunch of flyers and brawlers makes sense to me.

Snitsky - Because Vince loves dat Snits-dick

Longshots

Santino Marella
Paul Burchill
Chuck Palumbo
Chavo Guerrero
Elijah Burke
Stevie Richards

That was one hell of a Raw last night. Plenty of great matches, some awesome angles and a couple humor spots in there as well. Do you think it was coincidental that WWE pulled this out the night after TNA put on an awesome PPV? Maybe, maybe not. The only thing I can complain about here is that they didn't give us that Wrestlemania 1 Tag Match! I can't be the only person who wanted to see four fat, out of shape "legends" go at it for something like 5 minutes,...am I?

The Hardy/Jericho match was phenomenal. Jericho proved hes still got presence as the "Y2J" chants eventually drowned out the "Hardy" chants. The crowd seemed to be pulling for both of at the end, which made for an electric finish. This, in my opinion, was Jerichos best singles match since his return. Hardy looked a bit sloppy, but hes not really a technical guy like Jericho and thats the kind of match Jericho wanted to work.

Geeeeee, wonder why.....?

Big Show and Mayweather had an AWESOME angle. AWESOME. WWE finally let the reins go and allowed Mayweather to play the heel and Show to play wrestler/wrestling fans-representative. Mayweather interacted with the crowd well and pulled a nice heel move on Show (flicking Benjamins at him casually throughout his promo....which Show picked up and promptly gave to Hass, Super Crazy, and other HEAT guys. Best payday in years for them eh?) while Show got his lick in at the end by TOSSING Mayweather out of the ring. Sure, he landed on Chuck Palumbo and crew, but who cares? I'm surprised Mayweather would take that risk. The visual of the two "posses" getting into it (And almost breaking into a legit brawl) was really good. After the angle, I thought to myself that maybe they might pull out that scenario from the Rocky movie where Rocky, the underdog, wins over the Russian crowd by hanging in there and upsetting the hometown hero. If they do, they got to stage that match punch, kick, hold (whatever they're doing) for punch, kick, and/or hold. I think it COULD work, if done right, but I don't think it will be done right (if at all)

Just some random thoughts. Anyways.......

It'll be interesting to see how MVP works with a ladder. Hes more of an ol school/technical/brawler type of wrestler like Angle, Benoit, or Joe.

Ah, wwe.com also confirmed it earlier tonight. Looks like its official.

At 3/9/08 11:31 PM, Outlaw88 wrote: I've looked at a few sites and none of them have mention of MVP being in the MITB. Where did you get that info from? As long he isn't officaly in the match there is still hope for a US title defense at Mania.

I read it on PWInsider. He defeated Jamie Noble on a house show. Knowing WWE's track record with house show qualifiers meaning anything, its not an exactly guaranteed thing....yet.

At 3/9/08 02:14 PM, DannyIsOnFire wrote:

At 3/9/08 10:39 AM, Outlaw88 wrote: So tommorrow is a three hour Raw with WM re-matches. I wonder which one's we will see?

I'm hoping for TLCII ;)

Minus the Dudleys, and Christian? Not happening.

My guess is that Matt is somehow getting into MitB at the last minute and they'll use that match to re-ignite their feud. It might work a lot better than hotshotting them into a singles match again, so I'll let it develop before taking a crap on it.