Heading into their second biggest PPV of the year, WWE finds itself in a bad spot. While a lot of it has to do with their own mistakes and stupidity when it comes to handling the Benoit case, one could also argue that the company has been struck with a ridiculous amount of bad luck – as in the past few months all of King Booker, Batista, Undertaker, Edge, Shawn Michaels, Triple H, and Rey Mysterio were sidelined with injuries at one point in time or another. While Booker and Batista have made their returns, had Triple H and Rey Mysterio not been able to recover on time for SummerSlam, this could have been the lowest PPV buyrate for a traditionally strong show. It speaks volumes that the company is holding the return of Triple H back for the actual PPV – whereas normally they would spike up a RAW rating with an event like that. Essentially, the return of The King of Kings and the John Cena/Randy Orton match are the two major points the company is pushing for us to buy the event tonight. That added to a Jeff Hardy suspension which keeps him out of action, canceled plans for a celebrity match featuring the Jackass cast, and a UFC PPV event airing the night before, that number is going to take a beating.
The main event sees John Cena taking on Randy Orton in what is supposed to be a title switch. The plan all along was for Orton to win the title and work towards a feud with the returning Triple H. This was actually Hunter’s suggestion that went through, last we heard. John Cena has been a champion for almost a year, and seems to be a few days away from breaking the next record with every week now, whether that record involves main event shows, days as champion, or whatnot. It seems that everyone is sick of Cena lately, which makes sense. He’s always going to have his fan base, no matter what, as kids and women are after her, and those are key groups that hardly turn on anyone in wrestling. Randy Orton is perhaps the weirdest guy in WWE in the last few years or so. The already-experienced youngster has gone through so much with the company, that it’s hard to predict anything when it comes to his future. He’s been behaving well as of late according to just about everyone, but how long will that last and how will a title run affect it is another topic. The match itself should be very good, and WWE are hoping it’ll be a classic, as they plan to give it at least twenty minutes. Their house show bouts have been said to be pretty decent, and the two seem to match well together. Orton has proven that he can carry people, as long as the person he’s carrying is not a total dud and can draw some emotion from a crowd, which fits Cena perfectly. It should be a good match, and unless plans change last minute – nothing unusual in WWE – Orton should come out victorious. Another scenario that just ran through my head could be extending the feud a little without a title change at ‘Slam, depending on what they want to do with Triple H and King Booker. Speaking of which…
Triple H returns to WWE after a torn quad, as he faces off with King Booker. I really enjoyed the program Booker had with Jerry Lawler on RAW. While the good wrestling was lacking – and understandably so – King Booker has really mastered his gimmick. He’s drawn a lot of heat from just about every crowd he’s performed in front of, and has really helped hype up the return of Triple H, in my opinion. This should be a shorter match. Reports are noting Triple H is smaller and leaner from the last we saw him, but with some ring rust and definitely pressure, the company might want to be more careful with what they do. The two work well together, and it should be a decent bout. Most of the offense will be going to Triple H in this one, and it’ll be interesting to see if he gets a clean pin, or they extend the storyline a little.
Umaga defends his Intercontinental Championship in a Triple Threat Match against Mr. Kennedy and Carlito. This match has me really scared. The Carlito/Kennedy bout on RAW was down-right horrible, and after a bad match with Sandman the week before, Kennedy’s stock is quickly falling. While nobody expected him to get a five-star performance out of Sandman, Kennedy should have certainly gotten a whole lot more out of Carlito. Then again the company has buried Carlito so bad, that he’s going through the Chris Masters experience – total loss in confidence which shows a lot in the ring. At any rate, this would be a good place for Umaga to drop the IC Championship, as he obviously doesn’t fit the role, and they could go in many different directions with both the belt and the champion. The Samoan Bulldozer is going face, and his booking will be really interesting in the months to come. As far as Carlito and Kennedy go, they badly need new opponents, but a returning Jeff Hardy next week will help freshen things up. I’d go with Kennedy pinning Carlito in this bout, or vice versa, as I don’t expect Umaga to be pinned, while I do see a new champion.
Rey Mysterio makes his return to action, as he faces off with Chavo Guerrero. This was not a good pairing at all, but it’s the only logical storyline to give Rey on his way back as it was Chavo who “injured him” last we saw the San Diego native. With the Benoit situation, Chavo had been actually getting a lot of cheers at shows, though he’s had to play heel. Another problem is that we’ve seen this match so many times on WWE TV alone (it was Mysterio’s debut on SmackDown years ago, then they’ve had several feuds with each other throughout the years) that there’s nothing exciting here. Also, Guerrero isn’t really up to par to feud with Mysterio, and after giving Rey the World Title last year, how does the company handle him in storylines now? This will hopefully be a one-night deal, and not a long-term feud, but I can see the confusion in WWE already, not knowing who to pair up with Rey, resulting in a rematch. Mysterio should win clear here.
Sadly, we have to witness The Great Khali wrestle live. This will be kept super short, and if Batista can tell the story of how badly he wants the title, then maybe there’s hope the fans won’t crap all over it. This better be planned out and practiced, and you have to believe it’s booked more like a giants clash type of deal where every punch is as powerful as a hundred. I don’t like Khali as champion, and while Batista isn’t exactly the best solution, it’s probably the only one for the time being. Hopefully nobody gets injured in this one.
Matt Hardy and MVP has been taken off the show. They were playing around with the idea of having a Deuce & Domino vs. Hardy/MVP tag titles match, but since nothing has happened on TV, nor have they announced it online, that’s probably scratched.
There is a Divas Battle Royal to determine the number one contender for Candice Michelle’s Women’s Championship. This is probably designed to show some skin, although there should be plenty of storyline ties as well. There’s an article on WWE.com pushing for Michelle McCool and Victoria to unite and bring the title match to SmackDown! which is what WWE wanted – a RAW vs. SmackDown! title match at the next PPV. This makes McCool the favorite. If they go with a winner from the RAW side of things, it’ll probably be Beth Phoenix, though Melina is always an option. It’s amazing how quickly her stock has risen lately, no? Speaking of divas, ECW’s Brooke just wrapped up a shoot for FHM.
In the last-minute addition match, Kane will face off with Fit Finlay, in a math primarily designed for a Hornswoggle comedy spot, and a dorky finish. You can pick anyone here. If they do give them some time, it should actually not be that bad at all, as they’re two hard-knock guys who always give their all.
There you have it, folks. I’ll try to give a review of the show after it airs, as well. Depends what kind of mood they put me in!
