MVP vs Jeff Hardy

This has the potential to be a real show stealing undercard classic. Both these guys were on fire at the start of 2008, with Hardy alledgedly booked to win the WWE Title at Wrestlemania before getting himself suspended for drug abuse, while MVP enjoyed a fine run as United States champion before eventually dropping the title to Jeffs brother Matt at One Night Stand. This is a very tough one to call, both men have been given their fair share of success over the other in the build up and both would be worthy of a push up the card. However, as good a heel as MVP is, and I feel his time with the US Title will come again soon, it would be such a shame to waste the staggering popularity Jeff Hardy (arguably the best in the company) is enjoying in midcard matches. I feel he’s served his time for his offences and has worked well since returning with everyone he has been booked to face, and as such deserves another shot at the ultimate prize. As a result I’m going to give this one to Jeff Hardy.

Jeff Hardy

Winner Takes All Intergender Tag Team Match for the Intercontinental and Womens Titles
Kofi Kingston (IC Champ) and Mickie James (Womens Champ) vs Santino and Beth Phoenix

In my opinion this has been one of the best little storylines on WWE TV this month. Santino and Phoenix have played the mis-matched comedy duo role to perfection while James and Kingston are just immensely likable fighting champions. The general consensus is that Santino and Phoenix will get the win based on the fact the womens division probably needs Phoenix as it’s dominant force again but personally I’m hoping it goes the way of Kingston and James, because I really like Kingston as IC Champ and I’d love to see him feuding over it with someone like D-Lo Brown. If Kingston was to lose the title I just don’t know what they’d do with him. However I feel that’s the reality I will have to face, and I’m going for Santino and Beth Phoenix.

Beth Phoenix

ECW Title Match
Mark Henry (c) vs Matt Hardy

Well I got what I asked for when Matt Hardy dropped the US Title to Shelton Benjamin at Great American Bash and he is now involved in an ECW Title match. Hardy is by far and away the biggest draw on the ECW roster and having him carrying the top title on the show would probably get a lot of people interested in watching again. However I fear the writers want to run with Mark Henry as the dominant guy for a while yet so Matt may have to wait his turn. I’m going for Mark Henry. He’s not getting a picture though. Bastard.

Shawn Michaels announcement

There is quite a large school of thought here that is suggesting Michaels may actually be going to announce his retirement, but I’m not buying into it. I don’t doubt his body is as bruised and broken as ever but we are talking about one of the biggest icons in pro wrestling history, and I just can’t see him walking away with his last ever match being his weakest match in his feud with Chris Jericho at the worst PPV of the year. He’s due one last big faceoff with Jericho at least and if Ric Flair can have his big emotional send off at Wrestlemania, then so can Shawn when the day finally comes. The only way I’m buying him bowing out at Summerslam is if the ‘Legend Killer’ Randy Orton returns and beats him into it, turning himself into a level of heel that even Edge would struggle to compete with. I’m sticking with my gut feeling though that Michaels is going to be around for a while yet.

World Heavyweight Title Match
CM Punk (c) vs John Bradshaw Layfield

Well there’s no way they’re putting Punk at the top of the card is there? I imagine JBL will dominate throughout but I think this will be the night Punk finally gets given his win. It won’t mean much as I imagine he’ll lose the belt to the winner of Cena and Batista in the not so distant future but hey, barring any interference from Kane or whoever a CM Punk win is a CM Punk win.

CM Punk

WWE Title Match
Triple H (c) vs The Great Khali

If it was up to me this would be the opening match of the night and over in 2 minutes. But at least it will probably be billed below the Hell in the Cell match and the Cena bout. Unless anyone really blows their spots in any of the other matches this will be by far the worst match of the night but mercifully Khali’s physical limitations should prevent it going on too long. Triple H win.

Triple H

Hell in a Cell match
The Undertaker vs Edge

Dear God I can’t describe how much I’m looking forward to this one. Barring a disaster this should be the match of the night if not the year by a mile. The ‘Taker may be getting on in years but he showed in the TLC match between the two earlier in the year that he can still take some good bumps, while Edge is one of the best in the business at performing the risky high spots. A lot of people expect Undertaker to win this one in his specialist environment, and especially with it being his first match since returning. However I’m not so sure. Edge hasn’t been the dominant force on Smackdown since the arrival of Triple H despite headlining the show every week and if he is to remain the top heel in the business, which is absolutely vital for the progression of Smackdown, he really can’t be getting his ass kicked again. People will stop taking him seriously and his heat will be lost. Undertaker could lose every match for a year and he’d still be adored. It wouldn’t shock me if the WWE writers pandered to popular demand and gave the win to ‘Taker but I’m going to tip them to be bold and give it to Edge.

Edge

John Cena vs Batista

They are bound to give this match the top billing despite the fact there is nothing on the line. Rumour is rife that Batista is going to be turning heel in the near future (a rumour also following CM Punk), however I really hope the WWE writers show some balls here and turn Cena heel instead. It would be HUGE. Cena could generate tremendous heat as a heel (he already does as a babyface) and it would make him a far more interesting champion when he inevitably picks up the title in the future. They could align him with Randy Orton and the heat would be incredible. I’m expecting Orton to return during this match at Summerslam (I’m not buying the stories about him being re-injured) and cost someone the match and that someone will remain babyface. I think it will be Batista and the win will go to John Cena.

John Cena

So there you have it. I’m not holding my breath over the Edge or Cena predictions coming through, and I’m hoping Shelton Benjamin gets a late slot on the card defending his title because he deserves it. But whatever happens it’s going to be a wild ride. And I can’t make it through this wild ride alone people. Let’s hear your predictions for the ‘biggest blockbuster of the summer’. Are we going to see the return of Orton? The end of HBK? A winning return for the Deadman? So many questions, so little time…

Rey Mysterio

As expected Batista and John Cena dropped the tag titles straight back to Rhodes or DiBiase, although needless to say the writers couldn’t resist insisting Cena and Batista got to dish out a beating afterwards. They then brawled between themselves as the show went off air. Great. I just can’t get myself pumped for this match…as I said before it just seems so wasted with such a weak build up, and putting it above two world title matches on the card is just stupid. I did love Batistas mocking of Cena at the start of the show, and his comment that a lot of people over the age of 15 want to see Cena get his ass kicked was one of the best quotes of the year so far. Never a truer word spoken my friend.

CM Punk was relegated as ever to midcard duty, this time in a farcical ‘drinking contest’ with JBL. Needless to say the straight edge Punk declined the challenge and instead laid out JBL (admittedly only after throwing a drink in his face). This was a frustrating segment though as it was largely dominated by JBL who has been inexcusably over-exposed recently, although when Punk was given a chance on the mic he didn’t disappoint, and summed up by feelings to perfection when he said all this talk about Batista vs Cena to decide who’s the main man on RAW was stupid because HE is the main man. Damn right. The champion should always be the main man and no amount of Vince and the writers trying to force feed me John fucking Cena will ever change that.

So what do you make of this new Kane/Mysterio angle? Who will you be cheering on when Cena and Batista go at it? And will Summerslam be the night CM Punk finally makes it as a true champion? I wanna hear it y’all.

What else…oh yeah, Khali and Triple H began their build up to the WWE Title match with an Indian Broken Glass Arm Wrestling Match. Hmm. Needless to say nobody actually suffered at the hands of the glass and instead Khali just took Hunter out with that comically stupid head squeezing move of his. I hope The King of Kings destroys him.

Jeff Hardy and MVP continued toward their collision course at Summerslam as MVP took out The Legend Thriller during his non-title match with US champ Shelton Benjamin. Shame the match had to have a DQ ending because Hardy and Shelton were putting on a helluva match but all extra heat for MVP ahead of Summerslam I guess.

Edge’s brilliant psychotic turn stepped up another notch as over the course of the night he took out various members of ‘The Family’ including Hawkins and Ryder before, in the middle of the ring in front of Vickie, delivering a brutal con-chair-to to a helpless Chavo Guerrero. Summerslam excitement grows.

The shows main event (you didn’t really think the Punk match would be the main event did you? He’s just the World Champ after all) saw Cena and Batista inexplicably win the tag titles of the superb team of Rhodes and DiBiase. Now we’ve seen this before, two guys who hate each other winning the belts together and I imagine Rhodes and DiBiase will win them back next week but it’s just such a stupid storyline…it halts the impressive momentum of Rhodes and DiBiase and in my opinion really adds very little to the hype ahead of Batista and Cena’s Summerslam showdown. It’s the sort of match that belongs at Wrestlemania after months of hype, not on Summerslam after a few weeks of very weak promo. WCW did a similar thing years ago during the Monday Night Wars when they gave away Goldberg v Hogan for nothing and WWF/E pasted them in the ratings and eventually put them out of business. TNA must be bloody delighted.

Finally glad to see my wish come true regarding Mickie James feuding with Santino and Beth Phoenix, and even better that they have got Kofi Kingston involved as Mickie’s ally. Not sure about the winner takes all match at Summerslam…it’s probably time for James to drop the Womens Title to Phoenix but if that means Kingston having to drop the IC Title to Santino too it’s a sacrifice I’d rather not make.

Do you think JBL is the right guy to be facing Punk at Summerslam? Are you glad to see Cena and Batista carrying the tag titles? Let’s have your thoughts sports fans.

Also nice to see the Jeff Hardy and MVP feud getting some proper hype rather than just being used as filler material. Although obviously it was a bitch to see Hardy getting beaten by Khali. But that’s just a small quarrel and these two should put on a belter at Summerslam. They also seem to be hinting at a Big Show vs Umaga showdown (I imagine that might be a Summerslam dark match) which should be good, and I’m enjoying the continued push of Brian Kendrick which will hopefully lead to greater success in the not so distant future.

Now a lot has been made of this appointment already and most of it has been very negative but I actually think it’s a pretty smart move by the WWE. It means he can no longer ruin ECW shows with his godawful commentary abilities and hey, he could make a great heel. So let’s see where it goes.

Elsewhere there was the customary beating for CM Punk. He managed to retain his title despite a battering at the hands of the returning King of the Ring William Regal only to be laid out after the match instead by Kane and JBL. Either take the belt off him or use him as a proper champion, this is getting ridiculous.

Chris Jericho delivered yet another masterclass in microphone work as he presented supposedly the last ever ‘Highlight Reel’, dedicating it not to the apparent end of the career of Shawn Michaels but instead to the apparent end of Jerichos ‘Y2J’ persona he claimed has held him back from getting back into the heavyweight title picture. He claimed that the fans constantly egging him on during his old comedic ways stunted his potential and he suggested that they didn’t deserve him and they didn’t deserve saving. Textbook heel work.

Y2J era Chris Jericho

It was also announced that despite Jerichos proclaimations Michaels will actually be on RAW next week for the first time since his Great American Bash defeat to discuss his future. Can’t wait for that.

Elsewhere the ever entertaining Kofi Kingston easily defeated Jamie Noble (why is he getting so much TV time?), D-Lo Brown and Kelly Kelly were beaten by the hilarious duo of Santino and Beth Phoenix and Mickie James continued her feud with Katie Lea Burchill, who laid the womens champ out after her win over Jillian. I hope they get James in a programme with Santino and Phoenix soon, it would be brilliant.

So what do you think about Adamle being appointed the new RAW GM? Are you excited about seeing Cena and Batista finally go at it? And what’s going to be the news from Shawn Michaels? POST. YOUR. THOUGHTS.

Elsewhere new US Champ Shelton Benjamin enjoyed a fairly routine victory over Jimmy Wang Yang, hopefully they will find someone for him to feud with leading into Summerslam because he deserves a proper title run. My suggestion would have been Jeff Hardy although he now seems set for a feud with MVP after their altercation. And besides I would want Hardy to beat Benjamin, which sort of defeats the object of giving him a decent title run. Maybe Mr Kennedy…

It seems Jesse and Fetus have been chosen as the team that will feud with Hawkins and Ryder over the tag belts after Fetus beat Hawkins in singles competition. Please god don’t let Jesse and Fetus win the titles, I beg of you…

Brian Kendrick seems set for a push, he’s found himself a new body guard called Ezeikel and enjoyed an impressive victory over Shannon Moore. With a bit more honing Kendrick could really become a good upper card heel. Wish I could say the same for Vladimir Kozlov. People might get behind the idea of his long unbeaten run if he was actually beating anyone worthwhile but a win over Stevie Richards, who let’s remember was a part of the J.O.B. Squad, just isn’t going to capture anyones imagination. Whack him in a programme with The Big Show or Umaga.

The biggest sour note of the night was the result of the Battle Royale to decide who would face Triple H for the WWE Title at Summerslam. The Great Khali? Are you kidding me? You are trying to turn Smackdown around from a faltering secondary show into a serious flagship programme and you decide the best way to do it is have Smackdowns biggest match of the night on the WWE’s second biggest PPV as a match between Triple H and Khali?! The guy can’t wrestle! His promos suck, his matches suck, his gimmick sucks, there is not one person who I have yet heard that is excited about this match. It is going to be terrible. The one saving grace is that Khali by his own admission is nearing the end of his career, his knees are giving up on him and it would make absolutely no sense to book him to win the title when he could get injured at any time. So we can expect a fairly standard Triple H win.

But there were some good guys in that Battle Royale…at one point I thought the WWE creative boys and girls were actually going to give the crowd a match they wanted to see for a change and give Jeff Hardy the win but as I’ve mentioned before Hardy seems destined to pay for his drugs suspension for a while yet. The crowd would also have gone pretty crazy for a Mr Kennedy victory but he seems destined never to compete for the big prize. MVP was never likely to win it but I’m surprised they didn’t give it to Umaga or Big Show…I don’t think either would have put on a classic with Triple H but the crowd would sure as hell be more into it than the shitstorm they are going to have to endure.

Match of the night…probably Michaels and Jericho, although it didn’t sparkle like we know the two are capable of. However it was a very different and equally engrossing type of match between the two, with a new, almost unhinged Jericho gradually brutalizing the injured eye of HBK and forcing the match to a surprisingly believeable stoppage, with Shawn, despite pleading to continue, an absolute bloody mess. Jericho then claimed on RAW in a typically brilliant promo that he had in fact ended the career of the legendary Showstopper…so we can expect to see them tear the house down at Summerslam then.

Chris Jericho (2001)

Elsewhere on the Bash snoozefest Michelle McCool became the first holder of the hideous looking new Divas Title, Hawkins and Ryder were able to end the long run of Miz and Morrison and claim the WWE Tag Team Titles and Tommy Dreamer proved that no matter how good you are, you can’t make a Mark Henry match entertaining as the Worlds Strongest Champion retained his title after Dreamer was betrayed by his long time friend Colin Delaney.

Elsewhere, Shelton Benjamin brought the US Title back to Smackdown with an impressive win over Matt Hardy while as I expected Cena and JBL put on the worst match of the night in their Parking Lot Brawl. No crowd noise, no commentary, a match that looked more like a low budget Hollywood action flick than a PPV wrestling match and finally a horribly weak finish when the pair fought back onto the arena stage where Cena was tamely thrown onto a car windscreen (something that had happened several times already) yet somehow was hurt enough to allow JBL to get the pinfall victory. Now don’t get me wrong it was a bit of a novelty to see JBL given a victory over Cena on PPV but they then ruined it by having the victorious JBL helped pitifully to the back by paramedics while Cena, the LOSER of the match, was allowed to walk, pose and leave unaided just to try and get him that little extra pop. No, sorry, but unless a loser has been particularly heroic (see Mankind in Hell in a Cell) then they fucking well don’t get to enjoy a televised pose at the end of the match. Show some bottle WWE and stop trying to ram Cena down our throats.

Shelton Benjamin

The good news from the Bash…CM Punk is still World Heavyweight Champion! The bad news…the creative staff still can’t quite bring themselves to give him a clean victory. In fact he was heading for a loss at the hands of Batista when Kane got involved forcing the DQ. Before laying out Punk. Seriously, even Rey Mysterio wasn’t made to look this weak. It got no better on RAW when Batista demanded a re-match. Punk accepted and for a few brief moments I thought they were finally going to paint Punk as a decent fighting champion. But no, again Punk is completely dominated only to again saved by DQ, this time as JBL hit the ring after earlier insisting he was the only one worthy of a title shot. Cue Cena hitting the ring and (accidently apparently) hitting Batista aswell. So we are left to close the show with Cena and Batista going at it while Punk, the Heavyweight champion, lies pathetically on the outside of the ring. It makes me sick.

Oh but on a positive side note can I just say how delighted I am to see D-Lo Brown back on WWE television. Good win over Santino (how funny is this Santino/Beth Phoenix angle going to be!) and while he didn’t get the biggest pop ever on his entry he did at least get a few chants during the match. I remember D-Lo as a very good Intercontinental champion during his first stint with the company and he put on a very good feud with Jeff Jarrett. Although it did lead to Mark Henry claiming his first singles title, so you have a lot to redeem for D-Lo. Earning yourself a programme with Kofi Kingston would be a good start.

D-Lo Brown (1999)

What did YOU think of the Great American Bash? Are you happy with the winners and losers on the night? Have we really seen the last of Shawn Michaels? And are you as happy as I am at the return of D-Lo?! Leave me your pearls of wisdom people.

WWE Tag Team Title Match
John Morrison and The Miz (C) vs Finlay and Hornswoggle vs Ryder and Hawkins vs Jesse and Festus

A match that highlights how shockingly weak the tag team division is these days. Finslay and Hornswoggle is a novelty team as to an extent are Jesse and Festus, while Ryder and Hawkins have been portrayed as nothing more than no-marks who clutch onto the coat tails of Edge. Morrison and Miz have made a great duo and excellent champions but I imagine the creative staff will deem it time for a change. Can’t see Jesse and Festus carrying the gold so it’s a toss up between Finlay and Hornswoggle and Ryder and Hawkins…and seeing how Edge hasn’t really got their back anymore I’m not convinced Ryder and Hawkins will pull it off, so I’m going to go for the winners and new WWE Tag Team Champions…Finlay and Hornswoggle.

Finlay

US Title Match
Matt Hardy (c) vs Shelton Benjamin

I speculated a while ago over whether these two would face off for the title and I’m delighted they are because it should be a classic undercard title match. Hardy has been on a good roll despite his recent non-title defeat to Benjamin and the crowd will be right behind him as always. However as mentioned before I think Vince wants the US Title back on Smackdown and I think a good run as US Champ against guys like Jeff Hardy and Mr Kennedy would do Sheltons heel status a world of good so I’m going to go for a new US Champion in Shelton Benjamin.

ECW Title Match
Mark Henry (c) vs Tommy Dreamer

It makes me sad to even have to think about this match because there is such a depressing inevitability to it. The remaining ECW faithful will be out in force for Dreamer as always and I’m sure he will put up a plucky performance as always but there is just no way the WWE writers are ever going to book him to win a World Title so sadly I’m going to have to say Mark Henry will retain the ECW Title. God ECW sucks. What I wouldn’t give for a Jerry Lynn, Rob Van Dam or Raven right now.

Rob Van Dam

Chris Jericho vs Shawn Michaels

This is the one. This is the match of the night right here. Now I don’t expect the feud to end at the Bash, I think they’ll save any kind of big blow off until Summerslam, but since they didn’t meet at Night of Champions these two will really want to put on a show and justify their standing in the eyes of many as the hottest feud in pro wrestling right now. I’m sure there will be inevitable interference from Jericho’s new protege Lance Cade but I don’t think even that will detract from such a blockbuster matchup. A very tight one to call, both men lost on their last PPV outings (Jericho to Kofi Kingston and Michaels to Batista) so neither can really claim superior form although Michaels is carrying the ‘severe eye injury’ inflicted by Jericho on RAW recently…but I’m going to go for a narrow win for Shawn Michaels.

Shawn Michaels

WWE Divas Title Match
Michelle McCool vs Natalya

Who cares? The sort of match that has soiled this PPVs reputation year after year. I imagine Natalya might win it but it’s a meaningless match for a meaningless new title and the PPV would have benefitted far more from having the likes of Mickie James, Beth Phoenix or Katie Lea Burchill representing the Divas division.

World Heavyweight Title Match
CM Punk (c) vs Batista

Firstly, why the hell is this match below Cena and JBL on the card? World Heavyweight title match or a ‘Parking Lot Brawl’? Give Punk and the belt the status they deserve. Assholes. Anyway, the build up to this PPV has offered absolutely no suggestion that Punk is even remotely likely to offer any real resistance so barring the WWE writers offering up a shock (but pleasant) underdog story or some dodgy DQ finish you’d have to say the winner and new World Heavyweight Champion will be Batista.

Batista

New York City Parking Lot Brawl
John Cena vs John Bradshaw Layfield

An awful concept of a match between two guys I’m resenting more and more with each episode of RAW they are horribly over-exposed on. The only reason Cena is up against JBL is in a desperate effort to get him fully over with the fans against a guy they really don’t like. So why have the match in a parking lot where the fans can only watch via the big screen titan-tron and there will be no play by play commentary putting him over? This is going to be a complete dud of a match and will almost certainly be won, as with the last SIX PPV matches between the two, by John Cena.

WWE Title Match
Triple H (c) vs Edge

Now this is an interesting one. For a main event World Title match it has had one of the most underwhelming build ups you will ever see, with the pair only really properly crossing paths once since the match was booked a few days after Night of Champions, and even then there was no physical altercation. Instead the past few weeks on Smackdown have been focused almost solely on the turbulent relationship between Edge and his ‘wife’ Vickie Guerrero. This has overshadowed what could have been an outstanding psychological battle between two of the best in the business at selling their matches and making sure the fans are well and truly psyched about seeing them in action. However this just has all the hallmarks of a stopgap match. The Undertaker is supposedly returning to the ring at Summerslam and it’s more than likely he will be booked to face Edge, so chances are Triple H and Edge is a feud that isn’t destined to run just yet. As such I can see what should have been a classic turning into a bit of a damp squib, with Triple H retaining the title and probably getting stuck in a programme with Umaga.

So there you have it. Do you agree with my Bash predictions? Or do you have differing thoughts on who’s going to be laying the smack down on who this Sunday? You know what to do.

Main event duty as ever fell to John Cena, who seems to have aligned himself with the inexplicably popular Cryme Tyme in yet another attempt to stop sections of the crowd booing him. Message to the creative staff. Give Cena control over how he handles his promos rather than forcing him to spew out the same old tired crap week after week. THEN you will have your top babyface. I hope they realise this soon because when you’re up against JBL and you’re still getting booed you know something has gone seriously wrong.

If you guys and gals have anything to say about this weeks RAW then vent your spleens here…go!