Is it me, or did the WWE do a miserable job in building up No Mercy? I think so much emphasis was put on Raw moving to the USA network which I totally understand and I feel that WWE did a great job plugging the move. But because of this No Mercy was put on the back burner. It makes me feel kind of sad that all those performing tonight deserve better. Okay let me give you my picks and then I want to close with a few thoughts of last night’s Impact and the latest on JR. And before I start thank you all for sending me your predictions, keep them coming and I’m finding that for the most part the two matches that seem to have different winners are, the U.S. title match and Taker vs. The Orton’s other than that everyone is pretty much in agreement.
Cruiserweight Champion Title Match – Juventud vs. Nunzio
I have to be honest with you, I had no idea this one was taking place. I had left the room when Smackdown was showing the card and I must have missed this. I’m sure Juvi’s buddies, Super Crazy and Psicosis will be at ringside and we all know what they are capable of doing. And Nunzio will probably have Vito right there but it’s going to be Juventud that wins and Nunzio even with Vito will be a dead duck as soon as he hits the ring. This should be a really good match and I have a feeling it might open the show, which would be a good thing. This one should get the fans going and keep them very interested in watching both men in the ring.
Winner: Juventud
Bob Holly vs. Mr. Kennedy
This is one match that I know is a given. Mr. Kennedy is winning. Kennedy is on such a high right now, there is no way that this man will lose. As far as Holly goes, his wrestling has been very sharp for several months and there is no doubt in my mind that this is going to come off as a decent match.
Winner: Mr. Kennedy, Kennedy (I couldn’t refrain from that one)
Simon Dean vs. Bobby Lashley
This is another case of a guy getting a push and there no way he’s going to lose in his debut pay per view match. Broken hand or not, Simon Dean was never going to beat Lashley. And with Dean’s broken hand I don’t know how long this match will be. The fans might not be able to see just what Lashley can do in the ring since Dean isn’t 100 percent, hopefully things will still come out okay and this will turn out to be a good match.
Winner: Bobby Lashley
L.O.D. & Christy Hemme vs. MNM
I was really hoping that this would have been for the tag team titles with just Heidenreich and Animal taking on Mercury and Nitro, with MNM winning. But that’s not the case. I know with MNM in there this should not be that bad of a match. I’m sure Melina and Christy will definitely add to it. I see an L.O.D./Hemme win and then L.O.D. will finally lose their titles at the Survivor Series.
Winner: MNM
Rey Mysterio vs. JBL
See I like this set up. I love watching Rey work against guys way bigger than he is; Rey always manages to hold his own. I’ll guarantee you this will be good. I say that because JBL and Rey work very well together. I see JBL winning and I am also thinking that this is the match where the guys from Raw come out. Now while I’m calling for JBL to win there’s a chance that the guys from Raw might run out and keep this match from continuing. Things here could get very entertaining during this match.
Winner: JBL
United States Championship Title Match – Chris Benoit vs. Booker T. vs. Orlando Jordan vs. Christian
This match should be something. I really think it could be of the better matches of the night. I would expect the match to not be rushed and I think every guy in here will work their ass off to make this a top match. I’m also expecting Sharmel to accidentally kill it for Booker and cost him a win. I would give the win either to Benoit or Christian. But after watching Christian on Smackdown this past Friday, in the main event, I got the idea that while Christian was part of the main event he really wasn’t PART of the main event. By that I mean, while the camera focused on Eddie and JBL, Christian looked so unimportant out there. I have to say WWE has done a great job of making a top guy like Christian look like a total nothing. This guy has so much to offer and it kills me to see how he was treated last Friday. So I have to stay with Benoit for the win, and I see maybe a rematch at the Survivor Series.
Winner: Chris Benoit
Undertaker vs. Bob and Randy Orton
Honestly I can’t say much about this match. This feud died a long time ago, I can’t imagine this being much of a match. I hope I’m wrong about that, but from what I’ve seen week after week on Smackdown, I don’t have high hopes for this one. I will just say I’m going with the Orton’s for a win, and again at the Survivor Series I see Taker coming back and beating Randy, or Randy and Cowboy Bob.
Winner: Randy And Cowboy Bob Orton
World Championship Title Match – Batista vs. Eddie Guerrero
This is another sure thing. Batista is winning, there is no way on earth he is losing to Eddie. And Eddie? I have to say I can’t tell you how much I loved watching him Friday night trying to convince Batista that he’s changed and he’s really his friend. Yeah his friend my ass. Eddie will be brutal tonight and I believe carry Batista to a very good match. This is one match that I wish I could see.
Winner: Batista
So if you are ordering the show let me hear from you and enjoy it. For those that are going to be their live I hope you have a blast. Now let me say this. Last night I watched Impact, all of it. I even kept it on when Jarrett came out. Last week I loved most of what Impact gave us, last night I thought the show for the most part was atrocious. The main event with Team 3-D vs. AMA had the makings of something big, but unfortunately it was short, it was cut for commercials and it had a Jeff Jarrett run in. It was not something that appealed to me whatsoever.
I have always enjoyed Team Canada, but their match against 3 Live Kru did nothing for me. I don’t need to see Ron Killings dancing before he does a move; it’s totally annoying to me. Also Kip James or Billy Gunn as we knew him in the WWE is hard to take seriously when he was only good as one of the New Age Outlaws. And partially that was due to being silly. Seeing him as this tough guy is just not convincing. He lost his appeal when the New Outlaws came to an end. Another thing that I feel cheapens the show is having Shane Douglas interview. He comes off like an amateur; it’s like watching a high school production. I will end with one more negative thing. Ortiz should stick to what he does best, MMA fighting. His mic work was sub par and then you add a Jarrett and Kevin Nash brawl and it’s not a pretty sight. But there were a few highlights like; the Chris Daniels vs. Matt Bentley vs. Austin Aries match was excellent. I was totally impressed with all three. However never seeing Austin Aries before I was in awe of what he was doing out there. I was very impressed with him. Abyss vs. Sonny Siaki wasn’t bad but what I liked about it is that it just reminded me how agile Abyss is for being such a big man. So to sum up Impact. If I the shows continue like last night’s show meaning focusing on Jarrett and the rest I complained about then I can see that I will watch the shows sporadically or do what I did last week, turn it off when things are not good. Now one more thing. I’m sure many of you have read that JR’s days are numbered as Raw’s top announcer. Vince wants to go with the youth movement and look for a younger guy to replace JR. These are rumors, yet JR did mention something about this in his Ross report. The reason I’m mentioning this is for two reasons. One. It’s been reported now that Mike Goldberg the man that was supposedly going to replace JR has decided not to take the job. And, second. What in the hell is wrong with Vince? A few years ago JR lacked something; his announcing wasn’t what it should be. But in the last year, year and a half, JR has been completely on his game. There is no reason at all to replace him when he is probably at his strongest. You know that old saying that if it’s not broken why fix it? And that’s how I feel about this. JR would be the last thing that Vince should want to “improve” on. He needs to worry about strengthening his creative team, not demoting one of the best in the business. And with that said I will finally end today’s column. I’ll be back on Tuesday with my Raw thoughts, and I hope tomorrow night the show is as good if not better than last week’s Homecoming. And here’s a little something from Dory Funk. Please check it out. Press Release from the Funking Conservatory Welcome to !BANG! TV 24/7 at www.dory-funk.com where you can see: Dory Funk & Nakajima vs Abdullah the Butcher & Kamala
Interviews with Bret Hart and Rob Van Dam
Amy Dumas (Known as Lita in WWE) in 2 training matches.
Loads of information on Dory Funk Sr.
Interviews with Johnny Magnum, The Claw & Reece Royal
A whole wrestling card, Red White and Blood
Coming Oct. 12:
Dory Funk Jr. vs a Japanese Superstar
The Claw vs Sumie Sakai
Johnny Magnum vs Big Mike Hall
Reece Royal vs Mannik
More on the web site now are:
Photos of Roy Rogers, Great Muta and Amy Dumas
Photos of Jack Brisco and The Claw
The all time tournament of the greatest of the greats.
Learn to speak Japanese and see a special on Hideo Nomo.
You can also learn valuable information on the Funking Conservatory Pro-wrestling Training Camp where you can become a wrestler and appear on !BANG! TV 24/7 with only three weeks of training.
The Official Home Page of Dory Funk Jr. is located at:
www.dory-funk.com It is a fun place to visit on the web and the fastest way to becoming a professional wrestler, referee, commentator, writer or promoter. For more information you can call 352-895-4658 Coming in Daytona, Florida on Saturday, October 29th at the Checkers Diner Club, Dory Funk Jr. and Jack Brisco will be there for a meet and greet. Johnny Magnum will defend his world title and Blain Rage and Jon Davis will square off in a Hard Core match. Doors open at 6:30 and show time is 7:30pm. For ticket information in Daytona, Call Anthony Vaglica at 386-428-4133
Email lindarobin3@yahoo.com
