Lou Corsaro’s Picks
JBL vs. Big Show
Who will win: JBL
Who should win: JBL
Analysis: Is there any doubt here? Giving the strap to Show would make absolutely no sense, given the apparent plans with John Cena and the feud developing between him and JBL’s posse. Since it’s Smackdown, though, I guess you have to consider the possibility that Show could win, but it would be extraordinarily stupid.
Kurt Angle vs. John Cena
Who will win: John Cena
Who should win: John Cena
Analysis: It’s a shame Kurt has to job in his hometown, but at least he’ll be moving on to a big match against HBK. I say HBK shows up and puts the smack down on Angle to set up their feud and let Cena move on to WrestleMania.
Undertaker vs. Luther Reigns
Who will win: Undertaker
Who should win: Undertaker
Analysis: I’m never betting against Undertaker in a non-title match. This was set up so quickly, it would seem to only be a way to get Taker on the card. And I would think Heidenreich interference – possibly with Snitsky and Kane – would be possible.
Bashams vs. Eddie Guerrero & Rey Mysterio
Who will win: Bashams
Who should win: Bashams
Analysis: I think it’s only a matter of time before Orlando Jordan takes the U.S. Title from Cena, giving JBL’s cabinet three of the four major titles on the show. It would be a good way to legitimize the group leading into WrestleMania. Having the Bashams drop the titles here would be meaningless. There also has to be a glimmer of hope that Eddie and Rey will have some miscommunication and begin a feud, given the earlier jobbing Eddie did to Rey. Of course, this is Smackdown, so who says anything has to make any sense? Still, if Eddie doesn’t feud with Rey, why did they even run that angle for several weeks in a row?
Booker T vs. Heidenreich
Who will win: Heidenreich
Who should win: Booker T
Analysis: Well, since they put Heidenreich in a feud with Taker, then refused to actually put him over, I suppose Heidenreich needs to beat SOMEONE good to be a legitimate competitor. For Booker, this is a shame, since he should have been a heavyweight champ on both shows by now. When Booker is used properly, he can be a dominating force. Unfortunately, WWE refuses to go all the way with him and he will continue to be minimalized.
Funaki vs. Akio vs. London vs. Chavo vs. Spike vs. Shannon Moore
Who will win: Paul London
Who should win: Paul London
Analysis: Where are Billy Kidman and Nunzio? Sigh. I guess I can’t have everything. I am very excited about this match, especially since I’ll be attending live. If any of you have been watching Velocity in recent months, London and Akio have put on some amazing matches. In fact, the one I saw a month or two ago was a legitimate match of the year candidate. It was that good. Every single one of these wrestlers are undervalued by WWE, and one can only hope that the top-shelf matches they put on will start to have an impact with the higher-ups. I’ve heard rumors the WWE really likes London, and this would be the perfect time to put the strap on him. I like Funaki, but I don’t see him as a long-term holder of the belt, so hopefully London will get his opportunity. Somewhere, Spanky is regretting he didn’t have more patience, as he could have been in this position now, or would have at least been tag champs with London by now. Bring back Spanky!
Keenan Graeme’s Picks
Big Show vs. JBL
WHO WILL WIN – JBL
WHO SHOULD WIN – JBL
ANALYSIS – So much about this match just doesn’t work.
For one thing, the outcome is predictable. When that
is the case, you need a tremendous performance from
the competitors to retain interest. I don’t think
you’re going to get that in this one. For another,
we’re seeing the same old Big Show blueprint -Put
talent over, take a sabbatical, come back as un
unstoppable monster, then start putting talent over
again. Kurt Angle had to make Show look good in order
for him to be a legitimate threat to JBL. Once JBL
puts Show away in this one, he will have beaten every
face on the Smackdown roster, save for John Cena. Do
you see where this is going yet?
Kurt Angle vs. John Cena
WHO WILL WIN – John Cena
WHO SHOULD WIN – Kurt Angle
ANALYSIS – If anybody can pull a decent match out of
Cena, it’s Kurt Angle. Cena has already started his
transformation into a legit star. Did you catch his
backstage promo with Angle on Smackdown? It was good!
Kurt will make Cena also look good in the ring going
into his Wrestlemania title match, and if there is any
justice in this world, Cena will return the favor by
dropping the belt to Angle later on this year.
Undertaker vs. Luther Reigns
WHO WILL WIN – Undertaker
WHO SHOULD WIN – Undertaker
ANALYSIS – I’ve followed Big Luther since his days as
the Horshu on the independent scene and the WCW
jobbing circuit. I’ve been waiting quite a few months
now for the WWE to do something with him. A victory
over the Undertaker would go a long way towards giving
him some street cred as a competitor; They’ve pushed
Heidenreich a heckuva lot more than they’ve pushed
Luther, though, and even he couldn’t get the duke over
the Taker. Look for Luther to put in a solid
performance with an hard fought loss to the Deadman.
Rey Mysterio & Eddie Guererro
vs. The Basham Brothers
WHO WILL WIN – The Bashams
WHO SHOULD WIN – The Bashams
ANALYSIS – If Doug and Danny win this one, they have
no potential opponents for Wrestlemania, and Rey and
Eddie do not need to be stuck in the tag team ranks.
Personally I think it’s time Mysterio be given a run
toward the U.S. title. It’s hard to take the tag
team division seriously these days as it is and I
don’t want to see Rey and Eddie’s singles careers take
a back seat to these meaningless gold straps.
Remember Rey’s victories over Eddie a few weeks back?
If they lose here, do we see Eddie turn on his buddy?
I don’t know, but it’s worth watching to find out.
Booker T vs. John Heidenreich
WHO WILL WIN – Heidenreich
WHO SHOULD WIN – Booker T
ANALYSIS – Forget the “evelate younger talent”
argument. If the WWE had anything significant in
store for Heidenreich right now, he would have beaten
Undertaker at the Royal Rumble; besides that, Booker T
did the J-O-B at every Smackdown pay-per-view last
year and cannot afford another high profile loss.
When Book was traded to Smackdown last year, I was
hoping to see a WWE title run. Fighting Heidenreich
on the undercard 10 months later certainly wasn’t what
I had in mind. Still, I don’t know why this match
would be made if they weren’t planning on putting
Heidenreich over.
Funaki vs. Spike Dudley vs. Paul London vs. Akio vs.
Chavo Guerrero vs. Shannon Moore.
WHO WILL WIN – Chavo Guerrero Jr.
WHO SHOULD WIN – Shannon Moore
ANALYSIS – I admit I’m stumped in this matchup.
Shannon is my personal favorite, but I don’t see where
any of the cruiserweights are being pushed real hard
right now. I really don’t think Shannon or Akio stand
a chance of winning but London has a slim shot. I
don’t see Funaki walking out this match with the
title. although he’s getting to be pretty popular on
Smackdown lately. That leaves Dudley and Chavo and
since I can’t stand Spike, I’m picking Chavo to win
it.
Brad Freeman’s Picks
WWE No Way Out 2005 Predictions
Match: JBL vs Big Show
Who Should: JBL
Who Will: JBL
Without a doubt, Big Show doesn’t need a win here, but what would top off JBL’s reign as WWE Champ better than a trip to Wrestle Mania in the WWE Title Match? The answer is nothing! As far as the Barbed Wire Steel Cage goes; I am interested to see how it is utilized. I am also interested in seeing how JBL weasles his way to victory in this one. Too bad I won’t see it!
Match: Kurt Angle vs John Cena
Who Should: John Cena
Who Will: John Cena
Let’s face it, John Cena; although not quite there with his in-ring talent; is very much over right now with the fans. He is the only viable contender on Smack Down that JBL hasn’t beaten and his mic skills are top notch. Plus we all know that HBK will probably have some sort of impact on the match to set up the Angle-HBK Wrestle Mania bout. This one is a no-brainer.
Match: Undertaker vs Luther Reigns
Who Should Win: Reigns
Who Will: Undertaker
Unfortunately this one is a snooze fest. I am a firm believer that the Undertaker has grown so stale that he has become a farce. There is nothing new you can do with him. However since it is booked, would it really be that hard to have Taker job to a younger star who hasn’t seen a PPV win since God Knows When?! Too bad the UnderSeller won’t job to Reigns… Hell a win for Reigns may push him to the level of the U.S. Title!
Match: Booker T vs Heidenreich
Who Should: Heidenreich
Who Will: Heidenreich
Let me first say that both of these guys are being pushed further down the card week after week and now they must battle it out this Sunday. Simply put, Heidenreich has been jobbing to Undertaker for months now and if he is going to save his monster character in any way, it will be with a victory over Booker T. Who is going to believe that Heidenreich is a monster if he can’t even beat Booker? As for Booker, he should be used to jobbing by now!
Match: Cruiserweight Battle
Who Should Win: Paul London
Who Will Win: Paul London
The cruiserweight division; though under-utilized and poorly mis-managed; is still one of my favorite parts of Smack Down. I think it is time to put some new blood into that division with Paul London taking the strap. I can’t think of a bad feud that would come out of this. London’s style would blend perfectly with the Kidman’s, Guerrero’s and Mysterio’s of the Cruiserweight division. It’s just too bad that even if he does win, the WWE will screw this one up too.
Match: The Basham Bros vs Rey Mysterio & Eddie Guerrero
Who Should: Bashams
Who Will: Bashams
In this match, I am looking forward to seeing the WWE possibly set up a great WrestleMania match with Rey vs Eddie. And quite simply put, the Basham’s need a win here and Rey & Eddie really don’t need another Tag Title run. We’ll see how it plays out!
– Brad Freeman
Trevor Hunnicutt’s Picks
*JBL vs. Big Show in a barbed wire cage match for WWE title
Who will win: JBL
Who should win: JBL
Analysis: This is going to be bad from all indications and they’ll need every gimmick in the book to get it over. This is the problem with the company booking so many bad wrestlers into the top spot, because it really pushes them into a corner when it comes to putting together main event matches.
*Kurt Angle vs. John Cena – #1 Contender
Who will win: John Cena
Who should win: John Cena
Analysis: Cena’s getting the rub from here-on-in. A year ago it would be easy to expect a good match, but Angle is only a shell of his former self and Cena has a stunted growth as a wrestler (although that’s been overstated recently). This is narrowly the best promoted match on the card.
*Undertaker vs. Luther Reigns
Who will win: Undertaker
Who should win: Undertaker
Analysis: Bad match. Just put together on Smackdown.
*Bashams vs. Eddie Guerrero & Rey Mysterio for tag titles
Who will win: Bashams
Who should win: Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio
Analysis: We’ll see what happens with this, but it’s going to be a good match, and the Bashams have been written as characters pretty well for the last few weeks.
*Booker T vs. John Heidenreich
Who will win: Booker T
Who should win: Booker T
Analysis: Another bad match. Notice how little promotion there was for this match.
*Cruiserweight title match with Funaki defending against Akio, Paul London, Chavo Guerrero, Spike Dudley and Shannon Moore
Who will win: Does it matter?
Who should win: Funaki, since they haven’t told us to care about the rest of them any more
Analysis: Well, now I’m trained to care more about the marching, nameless whores so I won’t even comment. This company takes actual talent far too much for granted and I take it as a sign of disrespect. There are few jobs that combine talents as well as does the exceptional pro wrestler and this company, by not adequately providing for their talent and by not using and respecting their abilities, has squandered a good thing.
Eddie T.’s Picks
*JBL vs. Big Show in a barbed wire cage match for WWE title
Who will win: JBL
Who should win: JBL
Analysis: Bad.
*Kurt Angle vs. John Cena – #1 Contender
Who will win: John Cena
Who should win: John Cena
Analysis: This can either make SmackDown for the rest of the year, or be the beginning of another tough down-time.
*Undertaker vs. Luther Reigns
Who will win: Undertaker
Who should win: Undertaker
Analysis: Bad.
*Bashams vs. Eddie Guerrero & Rey Mysterio for tag titles
Who will win: Bashams
Who should win: Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio
Analysis: Disrespectful.
*Booker T vs. John Heidenreich
Who will win: Booker T
Who should win: Booker T
Analysis: Embarassing. Why does Booker T still bother with this comapny?
*Cruiserweight title match with Funaki defending against Akio, Paul London, Chavo Guerrero, Spike Dudley and Shannon Moore
Who will win: A-Train
Who should win: Billy & Chuck
Analysis: Since there is no such thing as a cruiserweight division anymore, that match means nothing.
