WWE One Night Stand PPV preview and predictions: Is this the end of the road for Undertaker? Will Randy Orton regain the WWE Title? Do the gimmick matches help or hurt the show?
Jun 1, 2008 - 02:00 PM |
The following predictions are made without any inside knowledge of the planned match finishes. In other words, I’m guessing just like you are. Check back tonight for "Live Coverage" of the WWE One Night Stand pay-per-view. I've had a little more time to think about the pay-per-view so a couple of my predictions may differ from those I tossed out in my podcast on Friday.
Undertaker vs. Edge in a TLC match for the World Hvt. Championship: Undertaker's WWE career is on the line. After Michael Cole, Mick Foley, and Vickie Guerrero the first hour and 45 minutes of Friday's Smackdown telling viewers that they might have been watching Taker's final appearance on Smackdown, Edge finally clarified the stipulation by stating that Taker would be banished from all of WWE. I don't see Taker jumping to TNA or a masked Midnight Taker gimmick in the works, so I'm going with the Dead Man to win the World Hvt. Title.
Triple H vs. Randy Orton in a Last Man Standing match: I'm guessing the Taker match goes on last given the way they've hyped the possibility that this could be his final WWE appearance. One can only hope that this will be the last time these two face each other for a while. They have good matches, but I think everyone is ready to see some new blood worked into the mix. There are posters for a future pay-per-view with Orton wearing the strap, but I'm just not buying it. As much as I don't think Hunter needs the title, I think the powers that be in WWE are content with him holding it. This should be a very good match and I expect Hunter to retain.
John Cena vs. JBL in a Fist Blood match: We should get the brawl we expected two weeks ago at Judgment Day. I'm guessing they held out on the big brawl because they knew they'd be facing one another again on this show and that makes sense aside from the fact that anyone who ordered that show just to see that match probably isn't going to be ponying up the dough for the rematch. I'm guessing they try to get at least one more month out of this feud, so I expect JBL to win by a fluke.
Shawn Michaels vs. Batista in a stretcher match: I once again find myself most looking forward to a match that doesn't involve the title, yet does involve HBK. I don't want to jinx the guy, but he always delivers on pay-per-view no matter who he is working with. He and Batista already proved that they work well together and I expect this match to be even better. Get ready for outside interference, though. I'm guessing Chris Jericho interferes and follows through with that chairshot to Shawn's head that he teased on Raw. Then again, I've expected outside interference in the last two HBK matches and they avoided it both times. Either way, Batista wins this one.
Jeff Hardy vs. Umaga in a Last Man Standing match: Vince McMahon stated during the recent shareholders meeting that Umaga is most likely moving to Smackdown. In other words, there's no reason for the Raw creative team to protect him. As such, Hardy wins.
Big Show vs. John Morrison vs. Tommy Dreamer vs. Chavo Guerrero vs. C.M. Punk in a Singapore Cane match. The winner becomes No. 1 contender for the ECW Title. Morrison trained for this match by entering the Matrix and you can view the results by checking out the Dirt Sheet at WWE.com. Honestly, I care more about the Dirt Sheet than this match. I'm sure they can make it entertaining, but I done care about the ECW Title, let alone who the No. 1 contender for that worthless strap is. The obvious pick is Big Show since it appears as though they want to set up a match between him and Kane. Is that just a swerve? I don't care.
Beth Phoenix vs. Melina in an "I quit" match. Melina used a submission move to beat Jillian Hall on Monday night. That was the extent of the setup for this match. Granted, they've worked in some Beth and Melina friction ever since they decided to add Melina to the WWE Women's Title last month, but there's no storyline reason for them to have an "I quit" match. Oh well. What's done is done, I suppose. Bet the house on Beth winning this match.
Final thoughts: Most of the gimmicks actually enhance the matches. It's not like they were just thrown in for no reason other than to overbook a pay-per-view, which the company that runs on pay-per-view next Sunday has been known to do. I could do without the Singapore Cane match, but at least WWE didn't book a bunch of zany gimmicks that require lengthy explanations. There are several rematches again this month, but I expect this to be a much better show than Judgment Day last month.
Join me tonight for "Live Coverage" of the WWE One Night Stand pay-per-view. I'm going to watch a coed softball game this afternoon and there will be some beer involved, so things could get interesting tonight.
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