411 PPV Preview: The Road to No Way Out 2007

GREGORY HELMS VS. SCOTTY 2 HOTTY VS. JAMIE NOBLE VS. DAIVARI VS. JIMMY WANG YANG VS. FUNAKI FOR THE WWE CRUISERWEIGHT TITLE

Background: Daivari returned to Smackdown on February 9th and lost a match to cruiserweight champion Gregory Helms. On February 16th Helm and Scotty 2 Hotty went to a no contest when Daivari, Jamie Noble, Jimmy Wang Yang and Funaki interfered. Helms have had an iron grip on the cruiserweight division for over a year and they are tired of it.

Match Up: Helms has been a dominant champion. However, that has led him to build up a lot of enemies. Everyone else will be looking to take out Helms. His best course of action is to try and lay low in the match and steal the win or somehow pit all his foes against each other and steal the win that way. For a challenger to win he has to let everyone else focus on Helms and then take the win when focus is elsewhere.

Outcome: The cruiserweight division is almost as bad off as the women’s division on RAW. Helms makes a fine champion, but he has no challengers. Daivari and Yang could be built up and match up well with Helms, but Daivari is not a natural face and Yang’s gimmick is already running out of gas. The cruiserweights are often thrown onto pay per views in large cluster matches like this just to fill time and make it look like they care about the division. Helms should hold on easy.

BOBBY LASHLEY VS. KEN KENNEDY FOR THE ECW TITLE

Background: Teddy Long appeared on ECW on Sci-Fi on February 13th and asked Bobby Lashley to come to Smackdown that week. Lashley complied and was booked in a No Way Out match against Ken Kennedy. Kennedy and MVP lost a tag match that night to John Cena and Shawn Michaels of RAW.

Match Up: Neither man has a lot of time to prepare for this match. That favors Kennedy as the better strategist and ring general. However, he’s also more cocky and overconfident. Lashley approaches matches with a blue collar attitude. He faces the opponent he’s given and works hard to win. Lashley will rely on his power game as usual. Kennedy will need to play keep away and get Lashley off his feet. Kennedy has shown flashes of unorthodox moves in the past and wrestling Lashley like a cruiserweight with heavyweight power would be a great way to go.

Outcome: This is an odd match. WWE seems committed to Kennedy and Lashley, but don’t know what do with them. Putting them in a match together might not be the best idea. Some storyline for either Lashley or Kennedy should come out of this match, but it most likely won’t. Lashley is poised to face Snitsky or Holly at Wrestlemania with Kennedy likely to be the frontrunner in a money in the bank ladder match if they have one this year. It’s unlikely that Kennedy would be moved to ECW as champion, unless WWE feels they need to do something that radical to hold up the brand. They just might.

DIVA TALENT CONTEST

Background: JBL hosted a bikini contest on the February 2nd Smackdown between Kristal, Ashley and Jillian. Jillian was not wearing a bikini and instead wanted to sing. Her singing talents were not great and JBL let her know it. Ashley and Jillian then got into it. On February 9th Kristal sought Long’s opinion on her lingerie. They were interrupted by Hall and her woeful singing. Long then decided to book a diva talent contest for No Way Out with divas of all brands invited.

Match Up: It’s not known what all divas will compete in the talent contest or talents they will bring. It’s obvious that Jillian Hall can’t sing, so she’s out before the contest starts. Most of the girls will probably rely on their sex appeal with dancing or gymnastics of some sort in scantily clothes. The diva who shows some sort of real or unusual talent will be the one to watch for.

Outcome: Ashley is the lead diva at this time in order to hype her appearance in Playboy. She’ll win no matter what. We can only hope she does something out of left field like spinning plates or ventriloquism.

BOOGEYMAN AND MINI BOOGEYMAN VS. FINLAY AND LITTLE BASTARD

Background: Finlay challenged Chris Benoit for the US Title on the February 2nd Smackdown. Finlay attempted to pull Little Bastard from under the ring for help, but some unseen force was holding him back. The force beneath the ring was revealed to be the Boogeyman. This startled Finlay and Benoit rolled him up. Little Bastard ran to Finlay for protection and refused to go back under the ring. Boogeyman and Finlay locked up on February 9th. Little Bastard tried to steal Boogeyman’s worms and this allowed Finlay to take out the monster’s knee with his shillelagh for the win. Boogeyman evened the count by beating Finlay on the next Smackdown. To counteract the interference of Little Bastard he produced his own mini Boogeyman.

Match Up: Finlay is the perfect mix of a violent brawler and solid mat wrestler. Yet, hardly anyone matches up well with the enigma that is the Boogeyman. Finlay has shown that he can weather the storm of the monster and cheat to win, but Boogeyman has regrouped and has a new mini ally. Look for him and Little Bastard to mix it up and provide distraction now that the bout has been made a mixed tag. The little guys are just cannon fodder for the big men. Finlay is the best suited to take advantage of that distraction now that he knows what he’s up against unlike the last Smackdown

Outcome: Introducing a mini Boogeyman on the last Smackdown throws the contest his way in order to get his new buddy over. Boogeyman’s popularity is waning and not even Finlay could probably get a good match out of him. Adding the midget partners just turns the bout into a comedy match, but don’t be surprised if the contest is decent and well booked.

KANE VS. BOOKER T

Background: King Booker and Kane eliminated each other in the Royal Rumble. On the following Smackdown Booker T was presented the key to his hometown of Houston. The ceremony was interrupted by Kane seeking vengeance. Booker T demanded an apology from Teddy Long for what happened on the February 9th show, but he instead booked Booker T and Kane for No Way Out.

Match Up: King Booker is coming off one of the most successful years of his long wrestling career, but that could mean he’s on a downturn. Booker might come off as cowardly at times, but he’s shrewd and Sharmell is a great wild card for him. Kane is a seasoned veteran too and no longer the mindless monster he once was. Both men mix power wrestling with a good knowledge of mat technique and are more agile than one would think. This is a pretty even match up on paper despite appearances.

Outcome: Booker T and Kane are two of the biggest names on Smackdown and this is just to give them something to do on the pay per view. A rematch for Wrestlemania is likely without any other challengers for them. Both are seasoned veterans that can adapt and blend the style of the other into their own. Look for Sharmell to help her man win and lead to a rematch.

BRIAN KENDRICK AND PAUL LONDON VS. DEUCE AND DOMINO FOR THE WWE TAG TEAM TITLES

Background: Deuce and Domino with Cherry debuted on the January 19th Smackdown. After taking out nobodies for two weeks they were put in a non-title match with tag team champions Brian Kendrick and Paul London. They scored a pretty clean victory over the duo with a vicious kick to the mouth on Kendrick. The upstarts won again the following week. Originally for No Way Out a rematch of the Armageddon TLC match was booked with London and Kendrick putting the belts on the line against the Blue Bloods, MNM and the Hardy Boys. Word from WWE.com was that Deuce and Domino protested to the WWE governing board that they should get the pay per view title shot due to their recent wins on the champs. They agreed and the bout was changed. On the February 16th Smackdown Deuce went over Brian Kendrick in a singles match.

Match Up: Deuce and Domino are still a green team, but you can’t argue their recent success against the tag team champions. Kendrick and London have held onto the tag belts longer than any team in recent memory and they have done so by winning when they had to. The teams don’t match up well. The greasers are pure brawlers while Kendrick and London implore the highflying, unorthodox style of modern cruiserweights. Deuce and Domino will do what they have lately by isolating one man and beat him down. The champs haven’t been able to capitalize when proceedings broke down, so they have to be focus and be on their game to take advantage of that here. They come up big in big matches and that intangible could mean the win.

Outcome: Deuce and Domino have beat the tag champs at every turn and done so pretty cleanly and convincingly. That also mandates that they hold onto the belts here. Kendrick and London were teased to break up for weeks and then it was dropped. That could lead to a shock turn here, or be drawn out to Wrestlemania. The break up of Strike Force at Wrestlemania was a huge angle at the time based on taking place at the biggest event of the year. Kendrick and London should retain with the challengers looking good, but Kendrick and London looked likely to lose in the past when they didn’t so don’t be shocked by the opposite here.

JOHN CENA AND SHAWN MICHAELS VS. THE UNDERTAKER AND BATISTA

Background: Undertaker threw out Shawn Michaels as the last man in the Royal Rumble. Michaels then started RAW the next night stating that he wanted the title shot at Wrestlemania against John Cena if Undertaker didn’t take it. Michaels was interrupted by Randy Orton and Edge who both thought they should have the shot. Vince McMahon then appeared and booked Rated RKO to put their tag titles on the line against Michaels and Cena in the main event. Michaels was later asked about teaming with Cena and all he could say was that he was no Triple H. Ric Flair then went to Cena and warned him to keep an eye on Michaels. The pair won the tag titles. Michaels seemed poised to hit Cena with a super kick, but Cena caught him. They were then interrupted by an appearance by the Undertaker. On the February 2nd Smackdown Batista took the ring and demanded an answer from the Undertaker. However, he got John Cena instead and then Michaels came out. Vince McMahon finally showed and booked the men from RAW against the guys from Smackdown in a tag match for No Way Out. On the following RAW Undertaker confronted Cena, Batista and Bobby Lashley in the ring. He chose to face Batista and then choke slammed him. Michaels felt that gave him the title match against Cena at Wrestlemania. However, McMahon booked him to face Orton and Edge in a triple threat match that night for the spot. Michaels won. On the February 9th Smackdown Undertaker made an example out of the Miz while Batista held onto his title against Ken Kennedy. On the February 12th RAW Batista, Undertaker, Cena and Michaels had to coexist and go against Orton, Edge, MVP and Kennedy. They won, but there was tension. Both teams established their dominance on the February 16th Smackdown. Cena and Michaels beat Ken Kennedy and MVP while Batista and Undertaker defeated Rated RKO.

Match Up: Cena and Michaels are the tag champs on RAW, but have not paired up often. Undertaker and Batista seem like a dream team. The four men are on opposite brands, but have locked up enough times individually to know each other well while still making the match up fresh. Undertaker and Michaels do have a long history. The main element to look at is that Cena vs. Michaels and Batista vs. Undertaker are your main event matches for Wrestlemania. Tensions will be high. The team that can coexist best will be the one to win. If neither team can, then all hell will break loose.

Outcome: You don’t want either team to look weak since they are your main events for Wrestlemania. A schmozz or draw of some sort is likely with all four men brawling with each other. Cena and Michaels have a slight edge if a clear winner is needed as they are the tag champs on RAW.