wrestling / Columns
411 PPV Roundtable Preview: WWE Money in the Bank 2010
Introduction:
Welcome, once again, to another WWE PPV weekend. This month, WWE debuts another new PPV concept, as they expand on what has been a favorite match of many at past WrestleManias, and gives the Money in the Bank match its very own PPV. With a guaranteed title shot in the next year up for grabs on both Raw and Smackdown, eight men from each brand will compete for a chance at a prize that has, up until now, always resulted in the owner walking away a World champion.
But that’s not all, as five titles will be on the line, including both Women’s belts and the Unified Team Team championships. And in the main events, Rey Mysterio looks to overcome the odds and injury as he takes on former champion Jack Swagger, who might have his own problems with a suspicious Big Red Monster. Meanwhile, Sheamus tries to retain the WWE Title against a rampaging John Cena inside a solid Steel Cage. Plus, the threat of Nexus is always looming, even with the precautionary stipulations.
With so many far-reaching implications coming out of this PPV, and a full card already booked, the 411 Staff is here to provide you with their thoughts and predictions as we prepare for Money in the Bank. Let’s see who stepped up to the plate this time.
The Staff
Stephen Randle, The Wrestling News Experience
Kyle Fitta, wrestling video reviewer
Ronnie LaFianza, Raw and Impact recapper
Chad Nevett, High Road/Low Road
Julian Bond, 411 Alumnus
Aaron Hubbard, The Contentious Ten
Michael Weyer, Shining A Spotlight
Michael Bauer, NXT recapper
Steve Cook, News From Cook’s Corner
Andy Critchell, 411 janitorial staff
Alicia Fox © vs Eve Torres
Stephen Randle: Eve is probably the better wrestler (though that doesn’t say much), but Fox is apparently the latest pet project Diva, even though she hadn’t really done anything until winning the title. I feel like I could just copy and paste this for every Divas title match prediction for at least the next while, just changing the names.
Winner: Alicia Fox
Kyle Fitta: I don’t know much about this feud. I know Alica Fox won the title out of nowhere on the last PPV. I will say Eve wins the match. It will be a good match to get take a piss or get a snack.
Winner: Eve Torres
Ronnie LaFianza: Uh, I’m not looking forward to this in any way, shape or form. Whatever. Alicia retains cuz McManagement thinks highly of her.
Winner: Alicia Fox
Chad Nevett: Is there any point to this match? The WWE is high on both of these ladies, but I figure they’ll keep the belt on Fox because she’s sassy.
Winner and STILL WWE Divas Champion: Alicia Fox
Julian Bond: See my “Women’s Championship” pick for my general thoughts…and minus here my knowledge of what the living heck they are doing with the belt here on Raw…decent wrestling…crappy storylines…
Winner and STILL WWE Divas Champion: Alicia Fox (via flip of a coin)
Aaron Hubbard: Hey look, we start out with our bathroom break match! That warms my heart knowing the rest of the card will provide me with important storylines and wrestlers I care about. Thank goodness WWE would never put more than one of these breaks on a show!
Winner: Alicia Fox
Michael Weyer: The program hasn’t been anything stellar and unlikely to change here and I don’t see the title swapping hands just yet as the card’s pretty full.
Winner and STILL Divas Champion: Alicia Fox
Michael Bauer: This won’t be as ugly as the other women’s match, but this won’t set the world on fire either. Hopefully, they keep this somewhat short and give Eve back the title.
Winner: Eve Torres
Steve Cook: No Maryse means I don’t care.
What?
Winner: Alicia Fox
Andy Critchell: Not that I’m tired of seeing these two fine ladies strut across my TV but haven’t they already matched up like 500 times? Whatever, it’s cool. Anyway, I don’t see any reason to switch the title.
Winner: Foxy
Layla © vs Kelly Kelly
Stephen Randle: I love how we get two Diva matches, pretty much because everyone that would normally get this slot is in one of the MITB matches. Actually, I don’t love it because you know both matches are going to be short and not very good. LayCool, at least, is an act that’s noticeable and, dare I say it, over. Until the Phoenix rises again, there’s absolutely no one worthy of unseating the co-Champions.
Winner: Layla
Kyle Fitta: Oh God! Two diva matches on one PPV? Does WWE not want people to pay for their PPVS? I do like Layla’s rude, ignorant, conceited character and Kelly Kelly at least tries, but there is too much lack of interest invested in every PPV diva match. They treat it as filler and insignificant. It’s why the fans don’t care about the division at all.
Winner: Layla
Ronnie LaFianza: Another match that I’m not really caring for, but it has a chance of not being bad. Layla has really been improving in the ring and Kelly’s usually only as good as her opponent. I’m going with Layla, as Kelly has had the upper hand for a vast majority of this rivalry.
Winner: Layla
Chad Nevett: I enjoy the antics of LayCool. I’ll admit it. I think it was their work on NXT that won me over. Kelly Kelly, on the other hand, is a generic blonde woman with zero personality. Now, a title could be the chance for her to stand out, but I don’t think so.
Winner and STILL WWE Women’s Co-Champion: Layla
Julian Bond: I am honest to goodness slowly settling in the thinking that WWE’s current roster of mainstream women’s wrestling is getting close or maybe even equal to those currently of TNA’s. Sure it sure as holy hell not as good as TNA’s glory Knockouts days of Gail Kim/Kong or nearly not as well-done as even the Trish Stratus/Victoria days. But it’s slowly getting respectable well in comparison to the sad efforts of the empty “dead behind the eyes” Diva efforts they’ve tried before. I personally love the annoying (but in a good heel way) team of Team Lay-Cool and think that Kelly Kelly (yep…of ALL people) is actually getting a million times better in the ring everyday. Again…not the level of Kong or even Trish…but at least respectable. So I’m rooting for the continous good run of Lay-Cool.
Winner and STILL WWE Women’s Champion: Layla
Aaron Hubbard: Crap. Well, um, at least you have arguably the two hottest divas in the company in this match! That’s gotta count for something…right?
Winner: Layla
Michael Weyer: Layla’s actually been improving and Kelly is growing on me a bit more but I don’t see the LayCool thing ending just yet so she keeps the belt.
Winner and STILL Women’s Champion: Layla
Michael Bauer: There is no way Kelly Kelly wins the title here. First off, she belongs nowhere near a Pay Per View Title match, even with no other talent on Smackdown. Secondly, I just find this Co-Champions deal kinda interesting and think there is tons of mileage left on it. Bonus: I predict Kelly wins, but Michelle says she didn’t beat both Co-Champions and comes in to make sure they retain.
Winner: Layla
Steve Cook: Kelly’s actually become a somewhat decent wrestler, though I think that her tag team partner Tiffany has more potential. Layla is a good personality and has arguably improved more than anybody in WWE over the past 12 months. I’m not saying this will be a particularly good match, but it should be a lot better than the matches they had when they were in ECW. I’ll go out on a limb and call for an upset here to give Team LayCool something to complain about.
Winner: Kelly Kelly
Andy Critchell: This actually has a lot of interest for me since I find Layla to be the hottest diva (maybe ever?) so I am excited to see this match go down. While I think a title switch would be in the works here, I don’t think LayCool would be as fun without the belt and with as well as LayCool is going right now, no need to rock the boat. But on a more serious topic, is it just me or did Kelly Kelly get implants? Her rack is looking bigger than usual lately. Maybe it’s just a better bra. Either way it makes her look like a better wrestler, not to mention smarter, funnier, and more interesting. Why of course Kelly, I’d love to hear about that crazy lady in your office! You know me Kelly, I’m always interested to hear about what happened at the nail salon!
Winner: Layla
The Hart Dynasty © vs The Usos
Stephen Randle: The fact that WWE hasn’t really let The Usos wrestle a full match on TV yet is subtly damning evidence that this match might not be that good. Frankly, it seems like they got called up to sub for the Colons, and then the writers forgot whatever story they were going to use for the Colons and didn’t give the Usos anything more than “run out and attack them every week”. Sure, the Usos are getting the upper hand, but when it comes to an actual match, I’d expect the Dynasty to showcase their skills.
Winner: The Hart Dynasty
Kyle Fitta: The Hart Dynasty’s title reign is failing. They are too cookie-cutter and unembellished. It’s not all their faults, though. WWE doesn’t really care about them. Smith is a still inexperienced and a bit clumsy. Tyson Kidd’s not too bad, though, but he’s doesn’t strike me as the next big thing or anything. The Usos’ gimmick is a bit different. They are more realistic upon how they act. The match could be good, but like the Divas matches, I don’t think too many people will care or easily get into this unless they do something unbelievable, which isn’t likely. The match will most likely be okay, though. I don’t know whom to pick here. The Usos have no one to challenge if they beat HD. If HD beat the Usos, I don’t know what happens there. Ah, I’m not sure. Let’s just go with Hart Dynasty, I guess.
Winner: Hart Dynasty
Ronnie LaFianza: Again, I’m not expecting much from this match, but it does have a chance at not being bad. A small chance though. Still, The Uso’s don’t really seem like they’re ready for the straps, and the Hart’s still have other teams they can feud with.
Winner: The Hart Dynasty
Chad Nevett: A spotlight match for two young duos. I hope this one is good, but the result isn’t exactly in question. I really like the Hart Dynasty, but haven’t been too impressed by the Usos yet. They’re fine, but I want them to become better and make sure this feud is something worth remembering.
Winners and STILL WWE Unified Tag Team Champions: The Hart Dynasty
Julian Bond: Love the fact that the Hart Dynasty had finally started to get some play by winning the tag titles. Pissed that since then their run has been a serious afterthought with a sad lack of competitors (you know…being the UNIFIED tag champs in all). So I have some hope that maybe the arrival of the Usos will amount to the back and forth quality of the Miz/Morrison vs Colons feuds awhile back. I’m thinking that Harts take the win now only to drop them soon to the Usos to maybe continue the feud.
Winner and STILL WWE Unified Tag Team Champions: The Hart Dynasty
Aaron Hubbard: The Uso brothers haven’t really impressed anyone yet (though they haven’t really gotten the time to do so), so I’m going into this match kind of blind. It will probably be a solid edition to the card, but not much more than that. I don’t think the Dynasty is done yet: Smackdown! has a few teams they can feud with.
Winner: The Hart Dynasty
Michael Weyer: The feud has been well set up but they need more time to really push the Usos more for the fans. This should be a good match and nice to see the Harts getting time as the champs. They should be able to give the Usos more of a rub and set up some rematches that can give the tag division a much needed shot in the arm.
Winners and STILL Unifed Tag Team Champions: The Hart Dynasty
Michael Bauer: The Usos have impressed me about as much as any of the Divas… not much. They don’t look good in the ring, but really were kinda forced into this spot when Carlito got his sorry ass fired. I don’t think they will ever be given the Tag Straps, which continue to fade into obscurity again.
Winners: The Hart Dynasty
Steve Cook: I’m just not feeling this feud at all. When I see the Usos walk out, that’s a signal for me to work on my Wednesday news column, entitled News From Cook’s Corner. The Harts lose a lot of their appeal with Bret gone, but since the Usos haven’t done much to impress I see the Dynasty continuing on.
Winner: Hart Dynasty
Andy Critchell: Funny how as soon as the Harts got the titles they became milquetoast and boring. That’s just an assumption because they are never on TV but I’m sure that’s what happened. The Usos remind me of the Harts when they were heels except that in the Usos case it’s the chick that can’t cut a promo. I’m hoping that a title switch and a nice chase over the summer will liven things up but I’m not really counting on it.
Winner: The Usos
Evan Bourne vs Ted DiBiase vs Mark Henry vs The Miz vs Randy Orton vs Edge vs Chris Jericho vs John Morrison
Stephen Randle: Choices, choices, choices. I’ve been pretty sure that Orton is the massive favourite to come away with the briefcase for weeks, but they’ve almost pushed him too strongly at this point. Plus, Orton can probably earn his own title shot. Ditto for Edge, and probably Jericho as well. Henry and DiBiase are too far of longshots at this point. That leaves the mid-card brigade of Morrison, Bourne, and Miz. Of those three, I think Miz has to be the favourite, but I have to give Morrison an outside shot based on the negative push he’s been under for a few months, in case they wanted to do a shocking win. At this point, I’m going to flip a coin, and…
Winner: The Miz
Kyle Fitta: The MITB match can always be fun. The only one I thought was great, though, was the first one. After doing these matches every year since 2005, they are getting more and more reiterated. But they are generally always fun, even with the overly choreographed spots.
Now, let’s get to who is going to win. Mark Henry has no chance to win. Randy Orton and Edge will continue their feud, sadly. The Miz’s character is fresh and gets heat, but I don’t think he’s ready to be elevated as a main eventer on Raw. John Morrison won’t win, nor will Ted DiBiase. I could see Jericho winning this match, but he doesn’t need a gimmick to get a title shot. Therefore, it would be a waste. Now on to Evan Bourne: The WWE all of a sudden started liking Bourne. Even though I am not a huge fan of hotshot pushes, it is nice to see they are pushing someone like him. Not only isn’t he a good worker, he also doesn’t fit the pigeonhole of the typical WWE main event wrestler. I hope that he can become the next Rey Mysterio in WWE, minus the poorly booked World title reigns of course.
Winner: Evan Bourne
Ronnie LaFianza: Finally, a match that looks really good. I would have preferred that Henry not have been added to this match as I think 7 guys would be better, but I’ll cope. Everyman in this match (excluding Henry) has a solid chance at winning, and I really suck at picking the winners to these things (I’ve never picked the right winner before). I’m just gonna guess that Miz wins this. I don’t really know how he’s going to fit into the main event picture (Cena squashed him last year, Sheamus doesn’t seem like a good opponent) but I think things will change over the coming months to change that, possibly with Barrett entering the title picture. Miz is gonna win, he’ll lose the United States Championship to Bourne at Summerslam, and then cash in at some later date.
Winner: The Miz
Chad Nevett: This one has a strong mix of main event talent and midcard talent, which reminds me of some of the earlier Money in the Bank matches. I’m going to assume that you can write off the three main eventers (Edge, Orton, Jericho) since they don’t need this and Mark Henry also isn’t doing to win, obviously. That leaves four midcard guys that all have a good shot at winning. Evan Bourne has gotten a strong push lately, while the Miz has shown himself to be a consistently great performer. DiBiase has his Fortunate Son gimmick that would work well with a MitB win. And while John Morrison hasn’t exactly stood out lately, a MitB win could be all he needs — like Jack Swagger earlier in the year. I could honestly see any of these four men walk away the winner (actually, I could also see them just giving it to one of the three main eventers…), so I’m going to go with my instinct and choose…
Winner: John Morrison
Julian Bond: This is a kind of a hard match to predict because there are two definite front-runners to win this with Orton and Edge. Edge may do so just for the main fact that he really haven’t done all that much since coming to Raw, while Orton could also take it to add on his many accomplishments (and to maybe do a cool thing with teasing of the MITB cash-in going with his whole “Viper sneaking up and striking” gimmick). But I have a feeling that it will be a shocker with having someone like the slow and upcoming Miz win it to only be maybe the first person in the history of MITB to cash in his briefcase and NOT win the World Title. Bourne just not getting some play so it’s too soon…DiBiase’s still trying to fit his niche….poor Morrison seem to not catch a break (even though he’s a guy…already with his own freakin DVD!!!!!)….Henry’s a last minute replacement…and Jericho’s probably slowly winding his in-ring time down and doesn’t need the big win. And I also think that this would happen because the fact is that the only person who are currently in the World Title pool are Cena, Orton, Edge, and Sheamus and with that line-up already looking a wee-bit stale, the Miz could be the one to pep it up a bit down the line.
Winner: The Miz
Aaron Hubbard: Well, this one is stacked. First off, I love the edition of Mark Henry into the match. In case nobody remembers, he delivered the most brutal and memorable spot at Wrestlemania 25’s MITB. He won’t win, but don’t doubt his ability to contribute in his own way. Morrison and DiBiase are out due to the “existing feud” principle, but Morrison can steal the show. That leaves us with five possible winners: Jericho, Edge, Orton, and the dark horses of Bourne and Miz. Bourne is on a hot streak and WWE could surprise us, but I think he’s just here to deliver great spots and prove he can hang with the top guys. Jericho, Edge and Orton obviously don’t need a briefcase to get a title shot (though they would all love the anytime, anywhere clause), but Orton is likely to face Sheamus at Summer Slam now that the Game isn’t returning. I’m going to cast my vote for The Miz though, just because I think it will be “awesome” to watch him brag about it for months.
Winner: The Miz
Michael Weyer: Both the MITBs are hard to call with all the talent involved and this should be full of some wild spots (although Edge might take it easier to avoid injury). Henry’s just filler while Edge, Jericho and Orton have all had their own main event slots already. Bourne has been rising but unsure if they’d take that final jump. Miz is a big possibility but I don’t see him as long as he has the US belt. That leaves us Morrison, a guy who’s been on the rise and could really take a shot at the main event and do well with it.
Winner: John Morrison
Michael Bauer: Wow, this is a tough one to call. For me, it really comes down to five people. Henry, Miz, and DiBiase are out. I don’t think they will pull the trigger with Edge or Orton, so that feud can hopefully end the right way. Jericho seems like the logical pick, but he really doesn’t need another shot right now, especially if Sheamus remains champion. That leaves Morrison and Bourne and I would mark out like hell if it was Bourne. However, I think Morrison deserves it just a little bit more. So what if we get Bourne’s push take a little longer? We just continue the story of how Morrison was the only Tough Enough alum to mean a damn in the WWE.
Winner: John Morrison
Steve Cook: I don’t really see a clear favorite here. How long has it been since Orton had a title shot? He’s about due for another one. Edge & Jericho both need a little something to step their games up, as neither has done much of importance on Raw lately. DiBiase, Henry, Miz & Morrison are here because they need bodies. Bourne is here to take crazy bumps. Since I don’t really have a good feel on who should win, I’ll go with who I like the most.
Winner: Evan Bourne
Andy Critchell: In the past the winner of the MITB match has been a guy that needed it to make get people interested in him and in that case no one needs this more than John Morrison. He won’t get it though, it’s become clear that right now he’s basically the white Shelton Benjamin; an amazing athlete but not worth a damn on the mic. And I am maybe the biggest Morrison fan out there. Instead, I see this as a three horse race between The Miz, Evan Bourne, and Ted DiBiase. Of course a lot of it is going to have to do with who wins the WWE Title match but also with how much faith they have in Bourne as a main event level guy. I say this is when they pull the trigger on the little guy.
Winner: Bourne via SSP off the ladder
Kofi Kingston vs “Dashing” Cody Rhodes vs Dolph Ziggler vs The Big Show vs Kane vs Christian vs Matt Hardy vs Drew McIntyre
Stephen Randle: Drew is a clear favourite here, since we “know” that he was supposed to win at WrestleMania. Plus, with the champion clearly injured from repeated Ankle Locks, tonight might be the night where the case gets cashed in immediately. I can’t see anyone else in this lineup that WWE might be willing to give that rocket to the top to, no matter how much one might dream otherwise.
Winner: Drew McIntyre
Kyle Fitta: On paper, this match looks much better than the Raw MITB. People might dispute that Kane and Big Show might hold the match down, but Kane’s ironically been good in previous MITBS and Big Show could be entertaining too. Between this or Swagger-Rey will be MOTN.
Now, let’s go through who can possibly win. Kofi Kingston is possible, but I don’t see WWE putting Kofi in a World Title match. Cody Rhodes has a new gimmick, but I don’t think he’s ready yet. Dolph Ziggler hasn’t been doing much lately, so I don’t see him winning. Christian is kind of the red headed stepchild of WWE, so I don’t see him winning this. Matt Hardy wouldn’t make any sense winning. Big Show is perfectly capable to get a title shot on his own, so I don’t see him winning unless Swagger wins the title and Big Show screws him out or something to that nature. Kane’s angle doesn’t involve titles, so I don’t see the purpose. With all that said, it leaves one wrestler left—Drew McIntrye! I know quite a number of people dislike him, and so did I at first, but he’s coming around quickly. I think his heel character is well defined; his promos are pretty good, and his in-ring skills are improving. He’s already had two solid matches with Kingston and to my knowledge – he had another good match on Smackdown with Christian. People can say he’s not ready, but in this era, does that really matter? I say it’s better to be early than too late.
Winner: Drew McIntrye
Ronnie LaFianza: This match, in terms of winners, should be an easier choice. Show or Kane winning seems like a long shot, so it comes down to 6. Hardy winning doesn’t seem likely, although it is a possibility. McIntyre isn’t ready, but WWE management may think he is. Rhodes and Ziggler, while experienced, don’t seem likely to win, although them pulling out the victory wouldn’t be shocking. Kingston is ready but WWE really dropped the ball with him back in March, but he could win and they could reignite his main event push. And then there’s Christian. We all know the story about Christian. He deserves it more than anyone but most likely will never get it. I want to choose Christian (and I really want him to win), but I’m gonna have to go with a heel in this situation. If the rumors of a MITB winner cashing in early are true, they’re most likely going to cash in on Mysterio. Because of this, I’m going with McIntyre, as it really will work within his current storyline and character.
Winner: Drew McIntyre
Chad Nevett: Not as heavily stacked as the Raw match, I think this one has a pretty good mix of competitors, though. It’s almost split in half between guys who almost certainly won’t win and guys who all have a chance at winning. Big Show, Kane, Matt Hardy, and Christian all look like longshots. Personally, I’d love to see Christian win and somehow hold onto it until Edge returns to Smackdown, wins the championship, and then take it away from him. But that isn’t going to happen. Looking at the final four, “Dashing” Cody Rhodes hasn’t established himself with his new gimmick yet and Dolph Ziggler doesn’t look like he’ll ever rise out of the midcard, leaving Kofi Kingston and Drew McIntyre. Kingston was one of the favourites to win MitB at WrestleMania and this could be a good time, especially with him holding the Intercontinental Championship. McIntyre has been on that downward spiral storyline and this could be a good turnaround point. Hell, because of that story, he could probably work as the first guy to cash in MitB and lose with it possibly working to his advantage as he rebuilt himself in the aftermath. Even if that’s not the way they go, McIntyre seems like a good choice.
Winner: Drew McIntyre
Julian Bond: Excited for this MITB match-up here. I’ve predicted it before and I’ll said it again here….I’m 200% sure that the very often-pushed Drew McIntyre will FINALLY get the MITB briefcase here (as I thought he was going to do at Wrestlemania) and then fulfill his “douche-bag destiny” of him being a crazy-over heel and pull a first by cashing it in on the same night and winning the title. If anyone else wins with the huge and good effort they’ve put into McIntyre (plus the main fact that McMahon is definitely willing to pull the trigger on early career World Title wins based on the experiment that is Sheamus), I’ll honestly be truly baffled.
Winner: Drew McIntyre
Aaron Hubbard: YES! My fantasy pick of Big Show in Money in the Bank has finally happened! Bold prediction: the winner will jump off of Show’s shoulders and get the belt without using a ladder. Based on the athletic abilities of the participants, you’ve probably figured out my winner. Hardy and Christian will have a good showing in this match, but fail to win, and start feuding, which will result in some good matches. Rhodes and Ziggler could be impressive, but won’t win. Kane’s too busy with The Undertaker to win this. Drew and Show are both possibilities, but I don’t want either man to win. Give Kofi the ball the shot and have him challenge Rey Mysterio in a fair babyface vs. babyface match. I’d pay to see that.
Winner: Kofi Kingston
Michael Weyer:Another toughie although Show is out and Christian seems unlikely. Ziggler is a strong contender while Rhodes has been rising as well. Kofi I dont’ quite see, not quite that level yet. So I’ll go with McIntyre who’s come close and getting this would be a big boost to a guy already on the rise.
Winner: Drew McIntrye
Michael Bauer: Wow, why is everyone picking Drew to win this? I don’t really care if he is the “Chosen One” of McMahon, I don’t see him winning this. You know else won’t win this? Big Show, Cody Rhodes, Kane, and Dolph Ziggler. That leaves Matt Hardy, Kofi Kingston, and Christian for me. I can easily see Hardy being thrown a bone to keep him from leaving for TNA, but reality is that it won’t happen. I would love to see Kofi get a shot at the gold, but as the Intercontential champion, I doubt they will do it. But why not Christian, seemingly with a possible heel turn blooming, going against Rey Mysterio, who is the “biggest” face on Smackdown. Think of Punk’s heel turn from last year and then you will realize how awesome it could be.
Winner: Christian
Steve Cook: I implied that I was picking McIntyre to win this on last week’s Smackdown Report, and while Bauer makes an interesting case against it, I’m sticking with my original pick.
Winner: Drew McIntyre
Andy Critchell: While I’m sure this will be a good match, I could not care less about it as none of these guys are particularly interesting to me except for McIntyre. Drew seems to be getting the push right now, so he’s my pick.
Winner: McIntyre
Rey Mysterio © vs Jack Swagger
Stephen Randle: Regardless of whether Rey actually walks out of the PPV as the champion, I can’t see him losing this match. Although I really, really don’t see either of these two men ending up champion as the night comes to a close, but maybe that’s just me.
Winner: Rey Mysterio
Kyle Fitta: I don’t understand the hate for Rey Mysterio. I truly don’t get it. He’s been a great wrestler all his life. Even though he’s not what he was in WCW, he can still put on great matches.
I mean people complain about Rey being too small, but they say they miss the Cruiserweights. People say they hate steroid users. I can agree with that, but then they say Joe is too fat. People make fun of Jeff Hardy for taking drugs, but think it’s awesome that RVD emphases he smokes weed. Where does the line cross, and when can fans be just happy a person can put on exciting match and not worry about a wrestler’s physical apparence or what they do in their personal life?
I think this match will have a chance to be MOTN. I expect Swagger to try and mat wrestle Rey, whereas Rey tries to stick to his forte and defeat Swagger with his aerial attacks and rapid speed. They’ve also been building up Swagger’s ankle lock, so I expect them to use that to their advantage for suspenseful purposes. Since Swagger’s been getting the best out of Rey, I see Rey winning here cleanly or by DQ.
Winner: Rey Mysterio via DQ
Ronnie LaFianza: Mysterio just won the title a month ago, and I don’t imagine him losing it this soon. These two should be able to put on a great match, but Swagger winning here just doesn’t seem in the cards as putting the belt on Mysterio would literally make no sense since he has made no impact as champion. Mysterio wins after Kane interferes (Swagger will probably take him out backstage before MITB or during the MITB match).
Winner: Rey Mysterio
Chad Nevett: I know this match will happen, but after the recent events on Smackdown, it shouldn’t. Swagger has attacked Mysterio’s ankle so brutally that he shouldn’t be able to walk (in story) by Money in the Bank let alone compete. With an overly stacked card, maybe they will cancel the match, leaving Swagger to be awarded the title by forfeit. That could be interesting and while it may be a longshot, I think I’ll go with that idea…
Winner and TWO TIME TWO TIME World Heavyweight Champion: The All-American American American American American American American American Jack Swagger
Julian Bond: This should hopefully be a great match here. I think that Mysterio BARELY retains the belt against Swagger only to have Smackdown MITB winner McIntrye FINALLY pull the ultimate d!ck move by cashing in his briefcase on a barely moving Mysterio (probably by a mega post-match beatdown by Swagger).
Winner and STILL World Heavyweight Champion: Rey Mysterio…..only to be have MITB cashed in by Drew McIntyre…and thus…
Winner and NEW World Heavyweight Champion: Drew McIntyre
Aaron Hubbard: Other than the Money in the Bank matches, this has the best shot of being the Match of the Night. If Mysterio loses, the title switch was beyond pointless, but pointless title reigns aren’t without precedent. (Edge’s first run, anyone?) That said, I think Swagger is going to lose here, possibly even getting disqualified for holding on the Ankle Lock too long. Either that, or Rey will surprise him with a roll-up out of the Ankle Lock for the win. My point: Mysterio will not get a dominant win on Swagger.
Winner: Rey Mysterio
Michael Weyer: It seems unlikely they’d drop the belt back to Swagger so quickly so I’ll go with the flow and pick Rey to retain but the MITB winner to cash in immediately for the belt.
Winner and (at least for a few minutes) STILL World Heavyweight Champion: Rey Mysterio
Michael Bauer: I think I just gave away my answer here with the Smackdown MITB Match, so let me just say this. Yes, Mysterio was given the title as a thank you from WWE Management, but it doesn’t mean he is losing it this fast.
Winner: Rey Mysterio
Steve Cook: Rey Mysterio will overcome the odds of wrestling a larger opponent and having a bum ankle and somehow manage to defeat Jackie Swagger. Then everybody will act surprised and vote them #1 in WOTW next week.
Winner: Rey Mysterio
Andy Critchell: While I think Swagger will get the belt back eventually, it’s too soon since Rey has only had it for a month. And I would not be surprised if Kane made an appearance in the match to screw things up for Swagger.
Winner: Rey-Rey
Sheamus © vs John Cena – Steel Cage Match
Stephen Randle: Insanities about “nobody can interfere in a cage match” aside…actually, let’s focus on that since it’s pretty obvious Nexus will prevent Cena’s victory, and Sheamus will stand by and laugh. I’m pretty sure his “saving Cena” routine will result in a backstabbing at the PPV, probably when Nexus appears and the two men grab weapons in a defensive effort. Surprise, Sheamus whacks Cena, and the champ retains! Well, okay, I won’t be surprised, but we could pretend.
Winner: Sheamus
Kyle Fitta: There hasn’t been much build leading into this other than the Nexus stuff. Both men have okay chemistry together, but Steel Cage matches in WWE seem like they’re never great anymore. We’ll see how it plays out. This is another tough choice for this PPV. Since HHH will most likely not be coming back at Summerslam, it makes this trickier to pick. Sheamus just got the title, so going by judgment I think he retains the title. They can also have Sheamus win this match in various ways that give Cena an “out”. So yeah, I’m going with the white guy. Or I should say, the REALLY white guy.
Winner: Sheamus
Ronnie LaFianza: Yay, a gimmick match where the stipulation is actually justified, even if it does sound kind of stupid when you think about it (come on, like the Nexus doesn‘t know how to climb the cage or steal the key to open the door). This match should be good, and I’m interested to see how the Nexus plays into it, if they do at all. This should be an interesting match to cap off the night. I highly doubt that the winner of the MITB match will be cashing in. The winner of this match though will most likely be Sheamus. Sheamus could really use a boost of credibility (last Monday’s Raw didn’t help) and finishing off his feud with Cena (if this really is the end) with a victory would be a good way to help.
Winner: Sheamus
Chad Nevett: Leading up to this match, they keep reminding us that the steel cage stipulation is there to prevent outside interference, so I’d say watch for outside interference, presumably from the Nexus. Seriously, when did a steel cage ever stop anyone from getting involved in a match they weren’t supposed to? I imagine the interference will have Nexus attack both men and, somehow, Sheamus will either escape through the door or land atop a beaten Cena to retain the belt and further the Cena/Nexus feud.
Winner and STILL WWE Champion: Sheamus
Julian Bond: This is a weird prediction cause I really don’t see a clear winner. I see Cena winning…but he’s feuding with Nexus and really doesn’t need the belt right now to do so. And I think that Sheamus retains…even though I really don’t know who he’s going to face next month if HHH doesn’t come back in time. So I tend to really think that Nexus will end up pulling a “we got you trapped inside a steel cage” move with beating the living crap out of Cena, having Sheamus retain and then having everything set up some kind of huge blow-off match for Nexus and Cena at Summerslam.
Winner and STILL WWE Champion: Sheamus
Aaron Hubbard: Let’s see, next Pay-Per-View is Summer Slam? Well, okay then. Cena’s one-on-one with Barrett is pretty much bound to happen there (and don’t think for a second that Barrett will win that one). Sheamus had a natural opponent in Triple H, but he didn’t come back, so this is actually a little more up in the air. Would WWE let Barrett challenge Cena for the title on their second biggest show? I don’t think so. Sheamus retains here and continues being Cena’s kryptonite (I actually think they will have Cena beat Sheamus at Wrestlemania to get the monkey off his back). His opponent will be Randy Orton, with or without briefcase.
Winner: Sheamus
Michael Weyer: Tempting to go with Cena but Sheamus just won the belt and hard to see him losing it. Cena’s busy with the Nexus feud anyway and while it’s tempting to think someone will cash right in for the belt, I see Sheamus retaining to set up a SummerSlam challenger after a brutal affair that should have Cena putting him over nicely.
Winner and STILL WWE Champion: Sheamus
Michael Bauer: Again, I kinda picked my Raw MITB winner based on Sheamus retaining. Cena may be right about Sheamus’ title wins being a fluke, but his title defenses weren’t as much of one in his first reign. Sure, he had the whole Orton face turn ruin his Royal Rumble defense, but that’s not totally his fault. Plus, he lost the title in the Elimination Chamber, which is common occurance. But he does need one truly good defense of the belt, and I think he gets it here.
Winner: Sheamus
Steve Cook: The stipulation implies that Cena will win. But it also implies that somebody will find a way to interfere somehow, because steel cages haven’t really kept interference from happening since at least 1998. I think it’s a little soon for Sheamus to drop the title back to Cena, so look for the Celtic Warrior Fella to pull out the victory by the skin of his poipe.
Winner: Sheamus, FELLA
Andy Critchell: Even with the steel cage I think the Nexus will interfere and cost Cena the championship once again. Those guys are sneaky!
Winner: Sheamus
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