Above, you're looking at what may have been the greatest steel cage match of all time: Dusty Rhodes v. Ric Flair for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship at the Great American Bash 1986.
There is a slight chance the cage match between Randy Orton and Triple H could one day be mentioned at least on the same lists with that classic battle from the 1980s. But, however it turns out, these two guys in the cage would have the abysmal for this not to be a money match. I doubt that will happen.
Sunday is Judgment Day 2008 from Omaha, Neb. Here's a rundown and a little preview:
WWE Championship Match in the Steel Cage: Randy Orton v. Triple H
This is the match that's worth the price of admission. Two of the top performers in the company are going head-to-head behind the fence. In the past six months, these guys have given us two four-and-a-half star matches, and I expect their match Sunday to be just as good. Orton will be the hungry one this time, and his proven to be able to play brutal when he's hungry. WWE has been pretty bloodless lately, but I'm hoping that goes the way of the dodo with this one. The natural place for this feud to go is the blade job at this point. A main event cage match without blood would be a real letdown.
I am, however, scratching my head why this match is the one in the cage. Couldn't a main event between these two sell a pay-per-view on its own? They've already wrestled in two gimmick matches, wouldn't it make sense to make their third a regular meeting? Not that I'm complaining, I can't wait to see this go down.
Winner: Triple H. The rumor is Orton is looking for time off because he and his wife are expecting a child this summer. That would seem to clear the way for Triple H to keep the belt. However, an Orton victory would make for a great swerve.
World Heavyweight Championship Match: Edge v. Undertaker
This is the match that ought to be in the cage. It's a crime that the third meeting of these performers is yet another non-stipulation match. I've already covered this subject in another blog, so I won't belabor the point here. The other two matches in this series have been underwhelming. Unless they've gone back to the drawing board, it's going to be more of the same.
Winner: Undertaker. It's the only thing that would bring closure to this surprisingly boring program. I just can't see this dragging on for a fourth chapter.
John Cena v. John Bradshaw Layfield
Their "I Quit" match from 2005 may have been the Judgment Day match of the decade, but that's not saying much. While Cena's in-ring skills have improved a bit over the past year or so, JBL's have gotten worse. Without someone awesome carrying Cena (ala Orton, HBK, or Triple H) the prospects here are not good. This is going to be a train wreck.
Winner: John Cena. The guy could use one. I see no reason for JBL to go over here since he's essentially being used as a utility heel, and Cena seems to be on the card so people don't forget about him while he films his movie.
Intercontinental Championship Match: Chris Jericho v. Shawn Michaels
The build for this match has been weird and awkward, but no matter. Shawn Michaels could wrestle my grandmother and turn it into a five-star match. Add Y2J into the mix and you have a potential match of the year candidate. Remember their meeting at WrestleMania XIX? When these guys work together, it's gold. I'm expecting an awesome match here.
Winner: Chris Jericho. HBK has won a bunch of his past few ppv matches, so he's in line to lose methinks. Plus, for some strange reason, the IC title seems like a step down for him at this point. With Y2J staying IC champ it also keeps the door open for that Jeff Hardy program people are clamoring for,
WWE Tag Team Championship Match: Kane & CM Punk v. The Miz & John Morrison
This is another match with a strange build. Actually, there's barely been any build at all, save the champs hoisting their belts into the air one week, and then wrestling their challengers the next. Nevertheless, I'm looking forward to this match. Every meeting between Morrison and Punk has been amazing. The Miz is no slouch either and Kane will add some balance with the smaller guys. As silly as the build was, this should be a great match.
Winners: Miz & Morrison. It makes no sense to double up titles on Kane, and CM Punk already has MITB. It makes even less sense to take the titles off Miz & Morrison just as they're starting to gain some lasting traction in the popularity department.
WWE Women's Championship: Melina Perez v. Beth Phoenix v. Mickie James
I don't normally get excited about the Divas, but I'm starting to warm up to them. There seems to be more than a few that can really wrestle nowadays. These three might be the best WWE has right now, so I'll be paying close attention to see how this goes down. Beth's backstage beat down on Melina Monday did pique my interest. It's rare to see such intensity from the Divas. I hope it keeps up.
Winner: Beth Phoenix. I know, everybody and their brother says Mickie's going to retain her title, but I have this feeling in my gut that Beth is going to pull out a win here. I have no logical reasoning behind it. It simply exists. ****************** It's interesting to note that some big names are not on this card:
Batista (not that I'm complaining)
Big Show
Finlay
Matt Hardy
Mr. Kennedy (I thought there was going to be a match between him and William Regal, did I miss something?)
MVP
Umaga
"Hacksaw" Jim Duggan (just seeing if you're paying attention)
It's one of those debates that will never quite be solved.
Who is the better Hardy? If we ran a poll, I'm willing to bet Jeff would edge out his brother by a large margin. Everyone I've talked to prefers Jeff, and that's usually followed by a tirade about how awful Matt is in the ring.
It's too bad, because the elder Hardy has some mad skills, but his kid brother is constantly overshadowing him. (Hmmm....do I smell the build of a great feud...)
But take the comparison out of the equation, and there's no denying Matt is a great performer. Just take a look at his work with Edge a few years ago. Unfortunately for Matt, that program wound up elevating Edge to the main event, and Hardy found himself safely couched in the mid-card over on SmackDown.
Look at the debate from another perspective. If you had to watch videos of five matches in a row by only one of the Hardy Boyz, which one would you choose?
Given that stipulation, I wouldn't hesitate to choose Matt. While Jeff has much more flash and more potential to put on that five-star match, Matt has more variety in his repertoire. Not only can he put on the eye-popping high spots, but he also can do mat work (no pun intended) chain wrestling, or just about anything an opponent can throw at him. Watching Jeff, by match three we'd be having deja vu all over again.
Now, if we alter the stip and ask if you could only watch one match, I'd choose Jeff. I haven't seen anyone since maybe Mick Foley or Shawn Michaels with the ability to wow and awe a fan with just one tremendous match.
So, who's the better Hardy? It's more complicated than a simple one is better than the other answer.
Which brings us to Jeff's return Monday. What is WWE going to do with him?
The booking team is in a tight spot. His amazing main event run late last year is still fresh in most fans minds. He probably gets some of the hottest pops of the night, sells tons of merch, and is one of the most popular performers in the company, especially with a demographic not often attracted to pro wrestling--teenaged girls.
If you throw back into the main event mix, you're guaranteed to get a tremendous show and a huge payoff. He's also a relatively new face, even though he's been in the business for more than a decade.
On the other hand, he's proven more than once to be unreliable and nobody wants an Ultimate Warrior repeat. If Jeff Hardy is in the middle of a title run and winds up being fired for substance abuse, the fallout could be a disaster, not only for the show, but the entire company.
Still, fans are clamoring for him to have a title run, and common sense says someone that popular should get at least one title run.
Do you go with Jeff? Or, do you stick with old reliables like Triple H, John Cena, or maybe Edge?
Tough call, but if it were up to me, Jeff would be firmly planted on the mid-card until he proves beyond doubt he won't drop the ball again.
I am, however, looking forward to his next program. My vote goes to pairing him up with Chris Jericho, but we'll see what happens.
Or will he? Last week, Colin Delaney got his contract. This week he was squashed...twice.
No problem. I'm happy the best storyline in the history of ECW on SciFi is still chugging along. Maybe one day Delaney will get a shot at the ECW Championship. I can envision some great drama for when/if that happens. In the meantime, I think fans can be satisfied with him being Armando Estrada's whipping boy. I bet there will be a big blow off match between the two sometime in the future. The weird thing is, on this show, that's a money match.
That's not an insult. Even though the booking had little flair tonight, we still got an hour of some solid wrestling, and that's nothing to sneeze at.
Yeah, breaking up the ECW match for Judgment Day into two singles matches isn't exactly the most creative way to sell it. But, we got two above average matches for our time. The Miz v. CM Punk was the better of the two, but Kane and John Morrison put in a worthwhile effort for the money.
What made this show, however, was the crowd. Apparently, Grand Rapids, Mich. had a hot group of fans who popped hard for Punk in the beginning. They also brought down some serious heat on Estrada after he pounded Delaney into the mat, and onto Miz & Morrison after the main event.
That's unusual for an ECW on SciFi show, and even more unusual because the grey show is an opening act of sorts for SmackDown. Most people are milling about, buying popcorn and merch, or looking for their seats.
This crowd was totally into the show--the same show that's considered the third tier brand and almost always scores the lowest television rating of the week. Kudos to them.
And who would have thought an advertised match between Shelton Benjamin and Kofi Kingston would be such an anticipated event, especially since it's their third TV meeting. Score a big one for ECW on that one. Of course, the great performances by both wrestlers have a lot to with that. I'm looking forward to seeing them lock up one more time next week.
Other notes:
Armando Estrada as part of the ECW roster? Why even bother with the announcement? Just have him wrestle...Kane's knee magically healed toward the end of his match. I guess that's one of the benefits of being Undertaker's brother...finally someone acknowledged the funky shirts that Tazz wears on TV each week. Too bad it's Mike Adamle...and speaking of Mike Adamle, did he seem like more of a deer in the headlights than usual this week...so where do Miz & Morrison go from here? Do they go over two major stars and become major stars themselves, or, in the words of The Iron Sheik, will they humbled?
Please tell me that song is not going to be Randy Orton's new entrance theme.
Usually when WWE changes themes, it's for the better. Edge, Triple H, and a host of others all got improvements over the years. The latest three guys to have their themes changed have not.
Jeff Hardy's new song is OK (for wrestling music) but is not as good as the original. Of course the original was for both him and his brother, Matt, so I can understand the change.
Ken Kennedy got a new song that made me scratch my head. It sounded like the original (a nice AC/DC-esque tune) at 45 rpm's. However, I've been buying it more and more as time has gone on. Still, if any change were necessary, I'd say the song needed to be heavier, not faster. In another era, Mr. Kennedy would be jogging out in knee socks and a headband giving high-fives.
But the change for Orton?! What was wrong with "Burning in My Light?" I understand it stems from his post-Evolution face turn in 2004, but the song still fits him.
This new song has no oomph, no color. It does nothing to get people excited that the company's top arrogant heel is going to come out and clean house. In fact the theme sounds like an outtake from the Vision Quest soundtrack, and a power ballad at that.
It doesn't strike fear in the hearts of his opponents. It makes them question his manhood.
I can only hope this was a one-time deal. I remember a few weeks ago when Dave Finlay got a new theme that sounded like Enya. That was quickly relegated to the garbage bin and we're back to his cool Celtic war march.
Orton's new music was only one misstep in a "Monday Night Raw" that was a significant step down from its predecessors.
Is the William Regal power play fizzling this quickly? John Cena tells the mighty Regal that people don't like him...and Regal capitulates?! Regal needed gravitas and authority to be an effective general manager character for Raw. His power trip gave that to him, but his "aw gee, I just want to be liked" attitude tonight puts it in serious jeopardy.
Luckily, the introduction of John Bradshaw Layfield as guest referee in the main event didn't totally squander the Regal heat, but I fear this storyline is going to be squashed. I know I'm in the minority, but I love the new Regal. If his antics are used sparingly, they can be a great storytelling device.
I'm also confused over the Chris Jericho/Shawn Michaels program. Well, I understand what's going on, but their delivery fell flat tonight. !t's safe to say many fans walked away from their segment with those cartoon question marks over their heads. I think WWE is trying to turn Michaels heel, but the angle is not coming across all that well. There's not much room for subtlety in wrestling. If HBK is going to be a heel then have him act nasty. Don't put together an apology fest and then an admission of guilt that doesn't take many people by surprise.
And, I wonder if the cage was meant to come apart tonight when Triple H threw Orton through it. That was a bit of a surprise. I cringed as The Game climbed to the top at the end, hoping the whole thing wouldn't collapse under him.
Other notes:
WWE needs to bring importance back to the mid-card and tag team titles. You can build entire shows around them, but they seem as valuable as the replica belts one can purchase at WWE.com ShopZone. When Lillian Garcia announced "It's for the World Tag Team Championship," you could hear the traffic outside on Detroit's streets...If they're setting up a Santino/Piper program it'll make for gold on the mic, but disaster in the ring...I absolutely loved the Beth Phoenix beat down of Melina tonight. I've never seen a diva so manhandled. I don't normally enjoy the Diva division, but I'm looking forward to the triple threat Sunday...Anyone else notice Umaga's shoulders come up before the three-count? And he still got the win...I've never seen a full OVW show, but I think Cena was doing a throwback to his Prototype character tonight.
Still stoked for the Orton/Triple H match...that is if the music isn't a total buzz kill.
Without a doubt, the highlight of this WWE week was SmackDown. While William Regal's light snuffing antics may be more immediately dramatic, Undertaker being stripped of the title gave us, in Mick Foley's words, a phenomenal night of SmackDown.
Shows where there is a self-contained wrestling goal have always been my favorites. The drama builds throughout and there's a guaranteed payoff at the end. You can't do them all the time, but this week's SmackDown proves WWE should do them more often.
That's not to shortchange "Monday Night Raw." The red show also gave a great night, just not in the in-ring department.
And, oh yes, the one hundredth episode of "ECW on SciFi" slid by this week. If WWE didn't tell us, we'd have never known.
Back to SmackDown, if you didn't see it, Undertaker is booked to get a shot of his recently stripped title at Judgment Day. His challenger would be the winner of a tournament of sorts. Former singles champions would wrestle each other with the winners competing in a battle royal in the main event.
Since the only real storyline to serve was that night's particular show, we fans got some great wrestling. Matt Hardy and CM Punk gave us a great match, and another even handed bout like their meeting a few weeks earlier in Raw's King of the Ring tourney. This time, Matt came out on top without either getting a chance to hit their finishers. It gives us a preview of what could be a great possible program with the guys sometime in the future. I'd love to see them lock up again.
The gem of the night, however, was Finlay and MVP. When the bell rang, I thought it would just be another Hornswoggle gimmick match when the tennis balls came rolling in. That wouldn't have disappointed. Hornswoggle provides some of the best moments in WWE as of late.
Instead, and above all expectations, we got an epic chain-wrestling match between the two. I thought Finlay's last march into obscurity was his WrestleMania program this year, but I am sure wrong. If he can put on something of this kind of quality, and has Hornswoggle at his side to boot, I'm looking forward to seeing him some more.
I've heard there might be plans to put Finlay and MVP in a program for the summer. Seeing their clash Friday, I hope those rumors are true. How great would MVP's top notch mic work gel with Hornswoggle's circus-like performance?
The weak link was Batista. Shawn Michaels may have been able to make him look good at Backlash, but John Morrison is no Shawn Michaels--at least not yet. You could hear the crowd chanting "you can't wrestle" and I doubt that was directed at Morrison.
Of course, Batista got screwed in the end, but c'mon, couldn't you see that coming?
But with all that said, I hope we don't go back to pedestrian SmackDown. Once again, it's going to be Edge/Undertaker in a main event--in the same damn match.
Moreover, for more than a year the formula on SmackDown has been a revolving program with Batista, Edge, or Undertaker, with the odd man out being left up in the air. Think about it. What's in store for Batista now that he lost the chase?
Adding to my enjoyment was Mick Foley on color commentary. He's the rare announcer that can call moves AND tell a story. Plus he gives in-ring analysis that ay fan knows is simultaneously sincere and kayfabe. This guy has given a lot to fans over the years, and he keeps on giving.
I've already covered Raw in an earlier blog post, but I'll add that I love the direction in which the show is going. William Regal was great as general manager before he became a power hungry maniac. Now, he's even better. I love that fans are livid over his decisions to end matches or turn out the lights. He reminds me of an Eric Bishoff with smug British dignity.
Unfortunately, I can't say the same for ECW. Since WrestleMania XXIV, the show has floundered. I'm still scratching my head over Mike Adamle. Is this a work or not? But sorry Vince, I'm not scratching my head nearly enough to tune in with baited breath each week.
I could see this going in a good direction. Maybe Mike Adamle will become a heel announcer. He certainly generates heat from fans. A heel play-by-play announcer is a novel, and perhaps original, concept.
Still, Colin Delaney, the best storyline on ECW since WWE took it over, seems to be fizzling out. That didn't have to happen. I hope his contract score wasn't the climax and end.
Other notes:
I think there's a heel in Cody Rhodes waiting to come out. I heard he was gold on the mic in OVW, but I don't see it here. I could see him be a great arrogant heel ala Randy Orton. Maybe they could even team up as the Superstar sons or something...Good to see Ron Simmons back...and Trish Stratus even if it was only a Toronto one-off...and Roddy Piper. I hope Carlito was taking notes during his appearance, because he has as potential as Piper did back in the early 80s. Loved his shoots too...I had no idea Armando Estrada was so stacked...Shelton Benjamin is getting better on the mic, but he's still got a long way to go...Tommy Dreamer could have had at least a little offense against Big Show...I liked the look inside JBL's limo, different...
Match of the week: Dave Finlay v. Montel Vontavious Porter (SmackDown)
Promo of the week: The Ken Kennedy, Regal, Triple H triumvate that opened Raw
P.S. I read that TNA pulled Kurt Angle from their advertised main event for Sacrifice tonight over an injury he supposedly got in Korea and replaced him with Kaz. If that injury is not legit, then TNA is--sorry to be mean here--as stupid as it looks.
