[WWE SummerSlam 2013 Prediction] Damien Sandow vs. Cody Rhodes

Damien Sandow vs. Cody Rhodes

                There is no established heel or face in this match.   What’s funny is that, both of these guys are heels right now.   Damien Sandow is carrying on like normal, and he’s always been booked as a heel.  Cody Rhodes, despite splitting up with and being mad at Sandow, has still done some heelish things, or at least nothing to make him seem like a face.

                I do believe that the whole idea of Cody Rhodes being upset at Damien Sandow over the “every man for himself” MITB ladder match just seems like sour grapes.   Now, if Sandow wasn’t in the match and came out and cost Rhodes the match he’d have more grounds to stand on.  But throwing the MITB briefcase in water doesn’t make Cody Rhodes look any better than someone whining and crying when they don’t get their way.

                So aside from breaking up Rhodes Scholars and giving Damien Sandow something to do until he cashes in, does this feud have a point?   I would assume when it’s over that Cody Rhodes is still going to be a heel, as nothing can really pull him out of his slump right now.   It also wouldn’t surprise me to see Rhodes Scholars reunited yet again, but let’s hope not.

                The one fairly crazy scenario I’d like to see play out is going to be my prediction for this match, just because aside from this happening the match won’t really matter.

                I’d like to see the WHC match go on first (It could happen anyway) which would lead to a Christian win somehow.  But before Christian can celebrate his hard fought victory, Damien Sandow cashes in.   Vickie Guerrero (the new Smack Down GM… again) reminds Sandow of his match with Cody Rhodes for later on and informs him that it is now for the WHC. 

                Cody Rhodes would win this match in that storyline, giving him the WHC, and having Damien Sandow, Christian and ADR all with cause to chase the title and seek a rematch.    This would involve the title changing hands thrice in the same night, but hey, it’s almost got less value than the IC Title any way, so I could see WWE doing it.  

                Do I honestly believe Damien Sandow will cash in at Summerslam?  No.   But I do like this idea playing out, so I’m sticking with Cody Rhodes winning and leaving the night as your new World Heavyweight Champion.  

[WWE SummerSlam 2013 Prediction] Alberto Del Rio vs. Christian

Alberto Del Rio (World Heavyweight Champion) vs. Christian *World Heavyweight Championship Match*

                Clearly I cannot be the only one who remembers when Alberto Del Rio previously won the WHC from Edge, only because Edge was forced into retirement by injuries, and then Christian held the WHC for about a day before turning heel and complaining about it.

                WWE Creative might be hoping that I am among the minority who remember what happened before last year or what they want us to remember.    So it would seem like a rather cheap move, yet still something that WWE would do, to put the title on Christian at Summerslam, then have him lose it the following night (or Tuesday for the Smack Down tapings) via Damien Sandow cashing in the MITB briefcase.  

                I honestly don’t think that WWE would be that… uncreative, but I also don’t put it past them.

                What WWE needs to do here is simple:  Christian needs a heel turn.    ADR is a heel and hopefully will stay one, and it’s unclear whether Cody Rhodes or Damien Sandow will take the face push, but having Christian turn heel wouldn’t really affect any of the balance out there.   Dolph Ziggler is a face now, Big Show could return as a face and even Mark Henry seems to be turning face.

                So yes, the time is now.  Christian needs to turn heel and for him to do that, he needs to lose this match.    Let’s say that interference by Ricardo Rodriguez backfires (Since he and ADR hate each other now or whatever), costing Christian the match.   Del Rio just kind of laughs it off and leaves with the title, while Christian plants Double R with the Unprettier.  Seems easy enough, right?

Hail Sabin!

                It’s the day after Chris Sabin became the TNA Heavyweight Champion of the world and my only question is:  Where does TNA go from here?   Similar to last year with Austin Aries, Sabin got the nod from Hulk Hogan and vanquished the top heel in TNA.   But much like Austin Aries’ title run came to an end via Jeff Hardy winning the Bound For Glory series, will Chris Sabin suffer the same fate?

                While TNA may have questionable booking at best, I want them to know that there are options out there for them, and I’m going to take you right now through a three part program that can make this whole situation not go down the crapper.

                First and foremost, Chris Sabin needs to keep the TNA Title until Slammiversary.   I can take you that far, TNA, but beyond that it’s up to you to figure out where to go.   So who does Sabin defend the belt against at Slammiversary?   Why the winner of the BFG series of course, who will hopefully be Austin Aries. 

                Aries and Sabin are two solid workers, the only two thus far to cash in the X Division Title for the TNA Title shot and, well, they had some drama leading up to the match with the mask and all, so this will make for a most excellent feud and series of matches if portrayed correctly. 

                At this time, the other two factors we need to consider are both Aces & Eights and the Main Event Mafia.   These two factions pretty much take care of each other.   The time for Aces & Eights is through.    They need to break up, but it doesn’t need to be pretty.

                First off, there can be some dissension between Bully Ray and Devon, with Devon noting that he still has gold.    Bully Ray needs to break off though (at least for now) and go feud with Hulk Hogan and Brooke.    Initially, Hulk Hogan could have someone fight on his behalf.   I’m not going to name any names because TNA has a lot of stars they need to build up, but even if Bully Ray was to lose a big match to Hogan’s protégé, Ray could still give the guy a hardcore beat down afterwards, forcing Hogan to step in and finally face Bully Ray to get the divorce and blah blah blah.   Look, I think we all know this is ending with Hulk Hogan getting back in the ring, right?

                So then what is there for the rest of the Aces & Eights members?   For some reason, I feel like Devon and Mr. Anderson should have a decent feud over the TV Title.  I don’t know exactly who else is left after that.  DOC (aka Luke Gallows aka Festus aka whatever his real name is) got released and so did D-Lo Brown.   Does that leave anyone besides Mike Knox and Wes Briscoe?  I feel like it does, but anyway, throw Knox and Briscoe into a tag team and call it a day for Aces and Eights because it has been long enough.

                On the flipside of this, we have the newly reformed Main Event Mafia.   Wouldn’t it be nice if they could just all say that they got back together to get rid of Aces & Eights, they did that, so now they’ll go their separate ways?   Sting can go back into semi-retirement until he is needed to come back out and fight evil once again.   Rampage Jackson isn’t ready to wrestle yet anyway so I have no idea why he’s even in the MEM.   Samoa Joe and Magnus can go back to tag team purgatory, where they might even bump into Mike Knox and Wes Briscoe.   Kurt Angle, well… He can do pretty much whatever he wants because he’s Kurt freaking Angle.

                                This should set up things rather nicely, as a potential Slammiversary card could see Sabin vs. Aries, Devon vs. Anderson, Bully Ray vs. Hogan’s protégé, and then, you know, how hard would it be to come up with something for Kurt Angle, AJ Styles, Jeff Hardy, etc.??   Those guys should be the easiest ones to make matches for since they have so much history.  

Money In The Bank: WHC Ladder Match Predictions (Part 2)

                As I’ve been following WWE throughout this final week leading up to Money In The Bank, I think it is important to note that WWE seems to be hinting at someone cashing in on that very night.   Randy Orton made mention of it, but what a swerve it would be if someone from this MITB ladder match did it.  Think about how perfect it would be:  Dolph Ziggler finally regains the WHC and one of these heels takes it from him.   It’s so good it practically writes itself.

                Now, onto the final three participants and my #1 pick to win this thing.

(3) Cody Rhodes – Despite my opening comments, I think Alberto Del Rio could retain the title in a hard fought match with Dolph Ziggler (Let’s say AJ Lee or Big E costs Ziggler the title shot), Cody Rhodes could come out and take the title from Del Rio to really shake things up.   Cody, while primarily a heel, could become a great fan favorite by crushing Del Rio.   Not to mention the fact that his mustache has given him some credibility amongst the fans.  

                So what would happen if Cody Rhodes were to win the WHC, you ask?   Simple, really.  It’s the match/feud WWE has been building to for the past few years.   Cody Rhodes would acknowledge that he took advantage of Del Rio, but just did what anyone else would do, making him a tweener and not giving him the full out face push.   Then, he’d be reluctant to give a title shot to his deserving buddy and former tag team partner Hardcore Holly… Umm, I mean, DAMIEN SANDOW, and through a series of events on Smack Down!, probably involving Teddy Long and tag team matches, Damien Sandow will challenge Cody Rhodes for the World Heavyweight Championship.   And no matter who wins or who loses, this will be a story for the ages. 

(2) Damien Sandow – Should Damien Sandow win the MITB contract, I could see him cashing in on Dolph Ziggler.   It’s just a matter of intelligence to attack the champion when he is most vulnerable and it’s about time we got a champion who could talk on the mic and draw heat by insulting the crowd.   Sandow has that Rick Rude heat, while people are still not too keen on Alberto Del Rio as a face or heel. 

                Put Damien Sandow in a feud with Dolph Ziggler and you shall sell pay-per-views.   Have Damien Sandow partake in a long term storyline involving him winning the Royal Rumble and being blinded, then this would be even more perfect.

                You see, it’s not that long until the end of the year and we need to start thinking about the Royal Rumble.   Damien Sandow could take the title from Dolph Ziggler this very night, then give him (and possibly even Del Rio) a rematch at Summerslam, then continue a singles feud with Ziggler for a little bit.   Or Damien Sandow could hold the briefcase and wait to cash in until he’s good and ready.  

                When should that be?   Why, after the Royal Rumble of course.  I’d book Sandow to win the Rumble.  The next night on Raw, he announces he will challenge for both the WWE Title via his Royal Rumble victory and WHC via his MITB contract at Wrestlemania 30.   WWE would probably never book that though.

 (1) Dean Ambrose – Dean Ambrose is the biggest player in this match, and yet he also seems to be promoting this match the most in media interviews as well.   Wouldn’t it be something for him to win MITB in his former stomping grounds of Philadelphia?   You have to imagine he’ll have some fans in attendance.

                So what would Dean Ambrose do with the MITB briefcase?   Simple:  Whatever he damn well pleases.   To prove their dominance, Dean Ambrose will become the World Heavyweight Champion and The Shield will become unstoppable in WWE once again.   That is my bold prediction for this pay-per-view.

                Look, whether Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns win or lose, you know they’ll probably be out to help Ambrose.   Or they could at least help him win the title later on.   Either way, you know the title should be coming home to Dean Ambrose because I believe in The Shield and this guy is the future of WWE.  Unfortunately for his opposition, the future is now.

Money In The Bank: WHC Ladder Match Predictions (Part 1)

                The World Heavyweight Championship Money In the Bank ladder match features seven men going for a title that six of them have never held.    I have broken this into two parts, but it is my list from 7 to 1 of who I’d like to see win this match, why and what effects it could have on the wrestling world.

 (7) Jack Swagger – The theme of the World Heavyweight Championship side of the MITB match is “up and comers” and, well, Jack Swagger is anything but an up and comer.  The guy has already won MITB and been World Champion.   He “headlined” Wrestlemania this year against Alberto Del Rio in a losing effort.  So what would giving the briefcase to Jack Swagger really prove?   Nothing.   Swagger is in this match because he is a workhorse and one of the bigger guys to counteract with the smaller, high flyers.  (Think of him as this side’s version of Kane, though there will be no surprise upset) My only hope is that since Jack Swagger’s manager Zeb Coulter is also aligning himself with Antonio Cesaro now, this might give him a chance to turn good in this match.   An anti-American Swagger did not work, obviously, but imagine the reception this guy could get as a face.   You know, years back Jack Swagger was in the corner of Michael Cole at Wrestlemania and I fully expected Swagger to turn on Cole, launching him into a huge babyface push that never quite took off.   So while I do hope that this match will help change the direction of Swagger’s career (or at least give him some direction), I’m not too hopeful given the WWE track record with him.

(6) Fandango – Regardless of what anyone may believe, Fandango is not really ready to become World Champion at this point in his short lived career.  That doesn’t mean WWE won’t put the title on him, but there isn’t really a big upside to having Fandango as champion now versus, say, in a year from now.  In some ways, guys really need to lose a MITB match before they can win one.   Just ask Kofi Kingston (Remember him?)  I could see Fandango taking part in a good midlevel feud coming out of MITB and then if his character really can stick, he can look into becoming the champion down the road. 

                 Isn’t it odd how not that long ago the speculation was Fandango becoming IC Champion and now he’s in the World Title picture?   What if Fandango had not gotten injured and pulled from the triple threat IC Title match?  Would Curtis Axel instead be in this match and Fandango be the current IC Champion?  One has to wonder. 

(5) Wade Barrett – I don’t know what it is about Wade Barrett that people like (or like to hate when he’s a heel) but to me this guy had the peak of his career when he first came into WWE as the leader of Nexus.  He had all the cards in his favor, yet somehow fell into a sinkhole since that time.  If Wade Barrett was ever posed to become a major champion, that would have been the time to do it.   Right now, Wade Barrett becoming World Champion accomplishes nothing.   Sure, Barrett is stagnant in his career and this might push him into a direction that makes him seem, I don’t know, better, but what can really happen here?   Let’s say Dolph Ziggler eventually gets the World Title back as a face, and then the heel Barrett cashes in on him and just destroys him like a monster would.   Okay, that’d be kind of cool and make Barrett look threatening in some ways, but where would they go from there?  I guess Ziggler and Del Rio could work a program while Barrett defended the title against Randy Orton or Sheamus or someone, but, um… I don’t know.  When has the World Title ever really had meaning in WWE anyway?  Most of the time it’s just there to float around and you tend to forget about it anyway, so maybe it is a good title for Barrett after all.   But I’m not really expecting Wade Barrett to win MITB this time because I think he needs to do some major career overhauling if he’s ever going to become champion.  He needs to be a character that people are invested in. 

(4) Antonio Cesaro – What a coup it would be if the Cesaro and Jack Swagger were climbing the ladder and Zeb Coulter helped Cesaro win the MITB  briefcase.   Even without being World Champion yet, Cesaro would already have a feud set up with Swagger, where Zeb could say that Swagger let him down and he let America down.   This could play out well with the Swagger face turn and go back to where WWE seems to want to go with the idea that “foreigner = heel”.  The only thing is that, um, Antonio Cesaro doesn’t really need to win MITB to make this feud happen.  In fact, this seems like a much better feud that could play out for whatever reason without the World Title/MITB briefcase being a part of it.  Yeah, these two guys could cancel each other, leaving the spot open for someone else to seize.  I’d love to see Antonio Cesaro as World Champion.  He has all the qualities one needs, including stand out matches with Randy Orton.   I’m just not sure if now is his time or if he does get a Zeb Coulter backed push now if it will end up any differently than Swagger at Wrestlemania. 

                Realistically, Jack Swagger needs to regroup but so does Antonio Cesaro.  If WWE is serious about bringing glory days back to the tag division, Antonio Cesaro needs Chris Hero.  Weren’t they signed together for a reason, WWE?  

Five Reasons Why WWE and Samoa Joe Need Each Other

                One of the biggest names associated with wrestling that has yet to enter WWE (for real) is undoubtedly Samoa Joe.   A lot of the reasons why I feel Samoa Joe would be a good fit for WWE work just as well for both sides.   So, here they are, for both parties, mutually beneficial. 

1)      TNA is Misusing Samoa Joe

                Really, since his string of matches with Kurt Angle, Samoa Joe doesn’t seem like he’s had that big feel in TNA.   It’s funny how when you look at WWE, you can see former champions that are big men being put into positions like Joe is in TNA, yet somehow, in WWE they seem less lame.  

                One example that comes right to mind is Kane.   Kane came into WWE as an unstoppable force, out to destroy The Undertaker, and even though he’s lost a lot of his thunder since his debut, he still has a place on the card where he can be seen as not only a threat but also a vital part of the roster. 

                As far as being a former champion goes, Samoa Joe is being used less in TNA such as someone like Kane in WWE and more like The Great Khali, who recently lost to Heath Slater.

                Bottom line: Kane & Daniel Bryan > Samoa Joe & Magnus, so Joe is on the wrong side.

2)      Samoa Joe Has Nothing Left to Prove in TNA

                While many people can argue that this would be just as true with WWE (After a while, he’d have nothing left to prove there), I might direct your attention to one Chris Jericho.   Jericho has done everything in his wrestling career.  He has nothing left to prove in WWE, yet he comes back.  So even if Samoa Joe reached the point in WWE that he is in now with TNA, I could still see him coming back and doing more because he wouldn’t have done everything in WWE for maybe five to ten years.

3)      New Match Ups

                Samoa Joe has faced seemingly everyone in TNA.   WWE is running out of fresh ideas for matches so they should always be looking to bring in new talent.   Samoa Joe meeting some of his indie friends would be great, as we could see him face Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, Chris Hero and Daniel Bryan.   Samoa Joe vs. CM Punk could main event Wrestlemania and Summerslam.    At this point in time, even Samoa Joe vs. Kane seems somewhat appealing.   And that doesn’t go without saying Samoa Joe vs. Randy Orton, Sheamus, Wade Barrett, Sin Cara, The Miz (I’d like to see him destroyed), John Cena, Ryback, Dolph Ziggler, Jack Swagger, and the list can just go on and on.   If presented correctly, Samoa Joe vs. Brock Lesnar could also be a huge money match.

4)      WWE Wasn’t Ready for Samoa Joe Before, They are Now

                When you think of WWE, you think of the cookie cutter mold of wrestlers/wrestling that is, basically, Batista.   But WWE isn’t a bunch of Batista clones running around anymore (Stay gone, Mason Ryan!)   CM Punk has climbed to the top.   Daniel Bryan is on his way there.  Samoa Joe would be a perfect fit now more than ever before.

5)      WWE Needs to Do Something Huge Again and Joe Could Be It

                In this day and age, everyone seems to know everything about everything… except RVD being announced to come back to WWE.   That seemed to stay away from the internet, right?  So if Samoa Joe stays off of Twitter for a little while and no one leaks anything, Samoa Joe could be a huge surprise.  I’m fairly certain that TNA doesn’t have no compete clauses either, so realistically, Samoa Joe could be on a TNA show one night and in WWE the next night.  This could work perfectly if Joe was part of a TNA pay-per-view on Sunday then on Raw Monday night, but I’d rather see Samoa Joe debut at a pay-per-view and I’ve always wanted it to be the Royal Rumble.

                What would happen if Samoa Joe debuted in the 2014 Royal Rumble?   What if he not only debuted then, but he won the Royal Rumble and went on to fight for the title at Wrestlemania 30?   It’d be very easy for WWE to talk up Joe as a path of destruction because he could destroy entire factions on his own, or even just kill Ryback.  And people who are familiar with him would know he was stagnant in TNA, but hopefully also accept that he is capable of so much more than that.   He could even be played up as finally being released from his cage.

                So let Joe skip developmental.   Put him into the mix right away and change the face of wrestling forever again.    We all know both WWE and Samoa Joe need this. 

It's Totally Extreme, Brah // WWE Extreme Rules 2013 Predictions

WWE Champion John Cena vs. Ryback (Last Man Standing Match for the Title)

                The only gimmick I can’t stand more than Fandango right now is Ryback.  This guy has never done anything good, couldn’t win the title as a face, so now they’ve turned him heel in the worst of possible scenarios.   On top of that, his new heel catchphrase of “Ryback Rules” was clearly stolen from “Billy Madison”.   Does this match matter even?   Is WWE just giving John Cena a night off until they can come up with a better contender?  But that’s just the point—who else is there for Cena?  Big Show?  Jack Swagger?  Randy Orton? Mark Henry?  Zach Ryder?  That kid in the third row in an old Cena shirt because his parents paid for pay-per-view tickets so they can’t afford the new Cena shirt?

Winner: John Cena, because he is a machine and Ryback is a third gimmick loser.   Does it matter how he wins?  Ryback should gas out after ten minutes. 

Brock Lesnar vs. Triple H (Steel Cage Match)

                Since coming back to WWE, Brock Lesnar has lost once to John Cena and twice to HHH.   Yes, Brock Lesnar is the biggest, baddest, most office destroying monster on the planet… who is 0-3 and if he was in UFC still he’d be released from his contract by now.    HHH needs to go do the corporate thing, yet he just cannot seem to go away.   Why do they keep bringing back the face of WWE (HHH) to defeat what they feel is the face of UFC (Lesnar)?   In four matches since his return, Brock Lesnar will have had three of them against the same opponent.  Wouldn’t it be better for business for him to have, you know, a new opponent?   At this point in time, Brock Lesnar has already lost to HHH twice.   This would be the rubber match, except Lesnar doesn’t have a win against HHH.  If Lesnar wins, HHH can still say, “Yeah, but I’m still 2-1 against you, so I win the series”, so really what is the point of this match?

Winner:  HHH sets Brock Lesnar up for the Pedigree and win.   Just then, the ring cuts open (This match be last) and out comes Randy Couture to make the save.   Lesnar gets the pin and finally the win.   Randy Couture brags about being in a movie with Batista. 

Alberto Del Rio vs. Jack Swagger (#1 Contender to the World Title / I Quit Match)

                These two guys had a match at Wrestlemania.   And no one cared.  Jack Swagger lost, though it seemed like he was being pushed to win.   Then Dolph Ziggler cashed in his Money in the Bank contract, won the World Heavyweight Title and then suffered a concussion which got him pulled from the threeway ladder match they had been building toward.   So mainly, we’re looking at a second match when we could have just been done this feud by now.   Does it matter who wins this?  Will the loser still somehow get back into the match and give us the promised threeway once Dolph is better?   I bet so.

Winner:  Jack Swagger has Alberto Del Rio defeated.   In his native tongue of Spanish, Del Rio says he quits.   Though he technically doesn’t say “I Quit” in English, so the match continues until Jack Swagger kills the referee, Ricardo Rodriguez, Zeb Coulter and the entire Spanish announce team.   No contest because they do have a schedule to keep.

Mark Henry vs. Sheamus (Strap Match)

                The only thing that could be worse than this would be if instead of a “Strap Match”, this for some reason was a “Strip Match”.   Mark Henry is pissed, but he’s not really winning since making his comeback.   Sheamus is just drifting along until the future becomes today.  

Winner:  Mark Henry with the help of his Hand-Son with Mae Young (Russo Swerve Surprise Attack!)

Big Show vs. Randy Orton (Extreme Rules Match)

                I’m not sure which is worse:  Having no stipulation when the pay-per-view is supposed to be without rules or having your stipulation being the name of the pay-per-view.   Here are two wrestlers that WWE has no idea what to do with.   They’ve run out of opponents and even facing each other still seems pointless.   Big Show goes from this terrifying monster heel (not really) to a fun loving face, but either way he’s usually on the losing end of the match and has had no real direction in his character since he debuted some odd years ago.     On the same side, we have Randy Orton… I read this comparison once about Chris Benoit, and I think it was the mighty Derek Burgan who said it, but forgive me for paraphrasing when Burgan said that Benoit was “on a treadmill to nowhere”.   I feel like Randy Orton isn’t even moving on a treadmill but rather is waiting in line at the DMV or something worse.   The career of Randy Orton has simply stalled.

Winner:  Let’s say Big Show, so he can keep some heel heat and maybe lead us into another pointless Big Show vs. ADR feud if Jack Swagger wins the #1 Contender match.  (Which I don’t predict he will, but who knows how WWE thinks, right?  It’s WWE, it doesn’t have to make sense)

Chris Jericho vs. Fandango

                I don’t get Fandango and I don’t care.   This match happened at Wrestlemania and now Chris Jericho has stuck around to further try and develop a star who may or may not ever get off the ground.   Worst of all, this match doesn’t even have a stupid stipulation.   If Chris Jericho is going away to tour with Fozzy, then it makes no sense for him to win this match.  Though that’s what I said for the Wrestlemania predictions.    But it doesn’t make sense that Chris Jericho is working with a guy who won a show that no one watched, didn’t get his tag team title shot and then poured milk over his head when no one cared, all the while Antonio Cesaro goes unnoticed. 

Winner:  Chris Jericho so Fandango can just go.

WWE Tag Team Champions Team Hell No vs. The Shield (Texas Tornado / Tag Title Match)

                Wouldn’t it be awesome if all three members of The Shield, who are more or less undefeated (They win more than lose, which is more than I can say for most in WWE) were to hold gold?  I think this would be the time to do that because not only are The Shield hot but it’s time for Kane and Daniel Bryan to go their separate ways.

Winners:  Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins are not having their debut action figures released together while Dean Ambrose has his alone by coincidence.   The Shield will all wear gold by the end of this pay-per-view. 

U.S. Champion Kofi Kingston vs. Dean Ambrose (U.S. Title Match)

                Why doesn’t this have a special stipulation?  Probably because everyone knows that Kofi Kingston will lose, so why much things up by making it a ladder match or something else.  When people complained that Antonio Cesaro seemingly lost the U.S. Title randomly to Kofi Kingston (who has a winning and losing streak in WWE), now they realize it was only done to put the title on another heel, as Cesaro vs. Ambrose wouldn’t have made sense.  Much like Jay Briscoe, Kofi Kingston is a transitional champion… sigh, again.

Winner:  If this goes on before the tag title match- and it should because Kofi wasn’t even on the Wrestlemania card this year- I expect the rest of The Shield to get involved.   They may not actually knock Kofi out or anything, but they could at least distract him to help give Dean Ambrose the win.   Either way, Ambrose is going over and then a pissed off Antonio Cesaro is coming out to fight for the U.S. Title.   When The Shield gang up on him, we get a debuting Chris Hero and the Kings of Wrestling are reborn because WWE wants to re-establish their tag team division, right?

The Miz vs. Cody Rhodes

                This match has been restricted to the pre-show and given no real stipulation.  Should anyone care about it when both wrestlers involved are often on the winning or losing end?  It’s become so interchangeable that I doubt either man picking up a victory puts them in line toward… not being a jobber?

Winner:  When Damien Sandow tries to interfere on behalf of Cody Rhodes, John Morrison makes his surprise return to WWE to help out The Miz.   Teddy Long predictably makes a tag team match for Extreme Rules and the PPV is looking like it could be full of surprises.

From This PPV We Are Missing:  The recently returned Sin Cara, The IC Champion Wade Barrett, Antonio Cesaro, R-Truth, Justin Gabriel, 3MB and JTG.   No one will miss Brodus Clay & A-Train, Khali or the women’s division.