Wrestlemaina 24
I'll be post all the details for WM24.
Stone Cold to appear at WM24??
WWE's creative team was told to come up with ideas to incorporate Stone Cold Steve Austin into WrestleMania XXIV. Two ideas that were discussed were a match with Hulk Hogan and Austin being the spcial guest referee for the Big Show vs. Floyd Mayweather match. It is unknown whether either idea was actually pitched to Austin, but he wont be doing either. He is expected to attend the Hall of Fame Ceremony, so there is still a chance he could appear at WrestleMania.
Jeff Hardy and Y2J feud cut off
-- The working plan was for Chris Jericho to engage in a long program with Jeff Hardy, but due to Hardy's suspension, that's obviously off the cards. Also, the Jericho vs. JBL feud was originally programmed to go longer, but the feud wasn't clicking and stylistically, JBL works better with Finlay and Jericho works better with Hardy.
DaveyBoy’s Wrestling Menu – 4 More WM24 Matches Discussed in Detail
Welcome one and all to the 263rd edition of The Wrestling Menu, the column that is sure to satisfy your taste buds when it comes to discussing all things wrestling.
I tossed & turned on whether to do this column today or next week as there are still some details to be worked out regarding the full WrestleMania 24 card, but it suited me a little better today, so I thought I’d run with it & fill in the blanks whenever needed.
We are getting closer & closer to the big dance & with that comes greater expectation for the event. Let’s just hope that in the final week or so before the show, WWE can cap off the build-up nicely & then have a great night in Orlando on March-30. Of course, it would help if they were able to proceed without any further suspensions & injuries. Man, if it’s not one thing, it’s another over the past year or so!
Today’s column will take a similar structure to last weeks. If you have yet to read my column from last Wednesday where I discussed HBK vs Flair, the BunnyMania tag-team match, the World HeavyWeight Title bout & the WWE Championship Triple-Threat match, you may still do so by clicking on the following link:
http://www.lordsofpain.net/news/2008/articles/1204693551.php
On with the maniacal show…..
[SIZE=+3]APPETIZERS[/SIZE]
[SIZE=+2]Finlay vs JBL[/SIZE]
Back in my original WrestleMania 24 predictions column last November, I shied away from a Finlay match on the card as I didn't quite believe his face turn was going to take off to any great extent. I still am unsure it has by the way, but at the time I had a lot of feedback suggesting there would be some kind of match involving him pure & simply because Vince McMahon was involved in the angle after being revealed as Hornswoggle's father. Just like my readers predicting a HBK vs Flair showdown 9 months ago, they were spot on once more here.
Of course, no-one in their right mind could have foreseen JBL getting involved in this feud, although many did feel that it would be a tag-team match involving Vince & someone vs Finlay & Hornswoggle. In fact, I'm still a little surprised it hasn't been announced as that & left as a singles bout between the 2 wrestlers. Of course, how things eventuate on the night is a completely different matter as I'm certain that the man with the gigantic grapefruits & the little green bearded one will show themselves at ringside throughout the bout.
The bottom line is that this match-up does practically nothing for me. It comes off as too much like lower midcard filler to me & truthfully needs the entertainment aspect which is to be provided by Vince & Hornswoggle to make it in any way interesting. Otherwise, it's practically going to be an old-school big man match, which is not the best thing to suggest when neither man is all that huge. Of course, the recent addition of having this a ‘Belfast Brawl’ does add something. Hell, it probably doubles JBL’s offensive repertoire. But I’m still unsure it will actually make the match any better.
Don't get me wrong, in the correct circumstances, both Finlay & JBL are good wrestlers who provide excellent depth to the main-event scene of any brand that they are on at the time. But putting them together on a WrestleMania card is asking for trouble in my opinion & I can actually see this being used as the bathroom break in between main-events.
Furthermore, this feud has been too rushed. JBL appeared out of nowhere with practically no reason to when Vince was (for want of a better word) "wrestling" Hornswoggle in a cage match on an episode of Raw not so long ago. I know WWE are playing it off as the reasoning was because he knew the truth about Hornswoggle's father, but it didn't come off as sufficiently logical for mine. And being extra picky, I'm totally confused which brand both JBL & Finlay now represent.
I just don't have any great anticipation for the bout. Hell, I don't even care who wins right now... I haven't even thought about the result. Some further stipulation or gimmick may even be added between now & March-30 for me to care more about it & the match may even be fine on the night as long as it is booked wisely. But WrestleMania is often about feud culmination & if anything, I just see this as another piece in what has been a pretty ordinary puzzle thus far. Because need I remind you that Vince could still have a ba$tard son & we may have to go through what we did last year all over again!
[SIZE=+3]ENTREE[/SIZE]
[SIZE=+2]Floyd Mayweather vs The Big Show[/SIZE]
I was hoping to know more about this match-up before I wrote about it today & I actually thought long & hard about holding off on this column until next week because of it. Nothing WWE do in setting up a ppv match should surprise me anymore, but the fact that they haven't been clearer in their announcement of what kind of match-up this will be has genuinely surprised me.
Will it be a straight-up singles wrestling bout...??? Does the announcement of one of The Big Show's television wrestling matches last week as an "MMA Match" suggest they could take that path...??? Or will WWE head back to WrestleMania 2 & hold a staged 3 round boxing match...??? Whichever it is, I would have thought that the company would want to have been clearer about it as this is the match that they are strongly promoting to the mainstream media!
As March-30 gets closer & closer, one would have to think that they are going to go with some kind of standard wrestling match. But don't ask me how they are going to book that to be competitive. I never thought I would hear myself saying this, but I think I actually prefer the boxing match. Not a real one of course, but one that is at least made to look sufficiently real. And this is where real life comes into play, as it would not be too much of a stretch to buy Big Show in the role as he apparently trained to be a boxer for the majority of 2007.
One thing I do understand is that WWE haven't had everything go to plan leading up to this match. Their initial thoughts looked to be some kind of tag match pitting Rey Mysterio & Oscar De La Hoya against the heel team of Mayweather & The Big Show. That had to be scrapped when De La Hoya refused WWE's deal. It then wouldn't have surprised me if they thought they could pull off a handicap wrestling match with the 2 little men against the giant. But then Rey goes & injures his arm to put paid to that idea.
So The Big Show vs Floyd Mayweather is what we have left... It's not a shade on the previous 2 match-ups mentioned & it unfortunately has an inferior dynamic about it as Big Show is playing the heel, but many fans want to cheer him. Furthermore, Floyd Mayweather is playing the face. Now while he initially did a decent job of it at 'No Way Out' & the following night's Raw, he practically ruined his face character on Raw last week during a sit-down via satellite interview, when he came off as a cockier heel than MVP.
I actually wonder if after that segment, WWE have decided to change the direction of the feud and ultimately the match itself. If, for example, WWE had no hesitation in allowing Mayweather to emerge from Orlando victorious, they may now be swayed to go the other way & allow Big Show to kick his a$$ (kayfabe-wise of course). Obviously, this is all depending on the contract that Mayweather has signed as you can bet your bottom dollar that a world class athlete such as himself has got a few sub-sections to the section in there.
Unpredictability is at play in this bout at least, even if it is sort of in a silly & almost corny fashion. What I mean by that is expect anything to happen come the night... & it could well be silly. Maybe Mayweather has to win contractually, so WWE use a run-in to get the job done. There is no obvious interferer, so who knows, it could be Mike Tyson... Or Oscar De La Hoya... Or Michael Buffer. I don't know... Just expect anything... To the point where a run-of-the-mill match will most likely end in disappointment & a lack of interest!
[SIZE=+3]MAIN[/SIZE]
[SIZE=+2]Money in The Bank Ladder Match[/SIZE]
Like the Big Show vs Mayweather match-up, it would have been nice to know all the participants before discussing this match in detail. Where this bout does differ to all others in terms of building up feuds though, is with 8 men involved, even if we only have half the participants known within a few weeks of the event, WWE can still begin the interaction between performers. This can be done to a sufficient level to not only have the match itself hyped, but also have some of the individual little stories within the bout begin to be told.
Ok, first to the main question that everyone wants to know; Who will be the remaining 3 participants attempting to climb a ladder in order to earn a contract that allows the victor a gift voucher for a World Title shot any time within the next year...??? Well, I actually think the fact that we only have 5 wrestlers named may be a giveaway in itself.
The first 2 men I can see being added to the list is ECW babyface CM Punk & ECW champion Chavo Guerrero. WWE were simply waiting for the next chapter of this seemingly never-ending feud with ECW Champion Chavo Guerrero to end. Naming them in the MITBank Ladder Match any earlier may have distracted the attention of the fans away from the ECW Title. Then again, that would presume WWE actually cares about that title enough in the first place, so maybe I am way off with that reasoning. Either way, I think Punk will definitely be climbing away come March-30 & Chavo most likely will be.
I think the final participant will be the man that the company wanted to include in a singles showdown. However, injury sidetracked that idea & this may be the best compromise. The wrestler I am referring to is Matt Hardy. Even if, as reported, Matt Hardy is back to nearing full fitness, can it be risked that basically his first big match back was to be on the biggest stage of them all for a title. I don't think so, as even John Cena was given 2 months worth of time just in case he wasn't quite 100% fit.
Ok, so presuming I am correct, that leaves us with Matt Hardy, CM Punk & Chris Jericho as your 3 faces, while Mr.Kennedy, MVP, Shelton Benjamin, Carlito & Chavo Guerrero get the 5 heel spots in the match. That's decently balanced. Furthermore, it's 8 very talented wrestlers who shouldn't have a great deal of trouble adapting to the match gimmick. And when you think about, the 8 listed above are exactly the type of wrestlers that should be involved in this bout stretching back to practically why the match was started in the first place; A way for midcarders to be given a high-exposure main-event match-up.
But there is another reason that I think is easily forgotten as to why the Money In The Bank match is so important to a midcard WWE wrestler; The opportunity of using the contract over however many months to add to their character. I can't state enough the importance of this as just walking around with that briefcase means that those who are able to can make subtle adjustments to their character which very well could be the difference between main-eventing & midcarding. For a perfect example, see Edge a couple of years back. But even someone like RVD used it very well at the time he had it.
For that reason, the result is crucial here. Make no mistake about it, Jeff Hardy was going into the match as the clear favorite & the most logical to win. But he actually was almost too obvious a winner...??? Remember that losing here doesn't mean you cannot challenge for a World Title. Hell, it is very easy to see a loser in this match challenging before the winner eventually does. So WWE could easily have thrown us a curve ball anyway, have someone else win & then still have anyone else in the bout challenge whoever is WWE Champion over the next couple of months.
But I return to my "adding to their character" comment from before... Who could do with that the most...??? It definitely was Jeff Hardy. But with his recent suspension, that result appears to have been thrown out the window. If I was to name the most obvious 2 it would be Kennedy & MVP, as they could carry around the potentially career-defining briefcase & make proper use of it. But I am still unsure as to which way WWE will proceed. Before the latest breaking news concerning Jeff Hardy, I was willing to suggest it was simply too good of an opportunity to let slip to not have him win. Now, WWE will have to re-adjust just like they have done many times in the past 2 years! I need to think about this one a little more myself.
[SIZE=+3]DESSERT[/SIZE]
[SIZE=+2]Umaga vs Batista[/SIZE]
Similarly to Finlay vs JBL, this is a match-up that is nothing more than midcard filler in the context of a WrestleMania card. Also similarly to the match-up which I discussed first in today's column, this bout as been fairly rushed with little reasoning behind it other than Vickie Guerrero & William Regal having a little bicker over which was the superior WWE brand. Actually, even that last point was done on the cheap as from memory it was in the form of a letter. Couldn't they have bumped into each other at 'No Way Out'...???
That last point suggests that this match-up may not have been the original plan for both men. I said right from the beginning (back in November) that Batista was going to be a difficult man to place on this card. There just didn't appear to be a clearly defined direction for him leading up to the new year & after he took what was always going to be his failed shot at Edge's World HeavyWeight Title.
But where this differs to the Finlay vs JBL bout is that I actually like the match-up. The main reason for my opinion is that not only have both men been kept rather strong of late, but they have both been impressive in the ring. In fact, it's almost a shame that neither had an obvious bigger direction into WrestleMania 24, but at least WWE have rewarded their good work (especially Umaga as Batista was never going to be left off the card) by giving them a singles bout at the biggest event of the year.
Furthermore, I am quietly confident that the form of the 2 men in conjunction with their explosive wrestling styles & characters will result in a pretty darn good match come the night. Sure, it's not going to be a classic & it's unlikely to be the kind of match-up that the bookers set aside a great deal of time for either, but even though it is filler, there should be no reason as to why it couldn't be good quality filler.
The result will be interesting too. Logic dictates that Batista would be a clear cut favorite & I definitely favor him at the moment. But I just wonder if this won't be the end of the feud as an interbrand match would suggest. There has been talk (even if it is just rumor) of both men switching brands over the past 6-9 months & this could be the time to do it as there would be reasoning for it.
In fact, the whole match-up could be on the WrestleMania 24 card simply for that reasoning. Could WWE be thinking about a potential Batista vs Orton feud on Raw? Or how about a heel turn leading to a WWE Championship feud with Triple H? Furthermore, Umaga has pretty much exhausted all feuds on the Raw brand & a move to SmackDown could see him freshened up at just the correct time. Or maybe I'm getting too far ahead of myself & this was simply a match-up to get 2 in-form wrestlers on to the biggest card of the year.
Ok, that's #263 over & done with. Like last week, I’m certain at least one of the matches discussed in detail today will generate a whole bunch of feedback. Apologies if parts of the column don’t seem to mesh properly as I actually wrote most of it on Monday before Raw & then had to rewrite parts of it due to additions & deletions on certain bouts. And I do know of some late changes to the card regarding the ECW Title & the like, so please don’t feel the need to inform me about those. It’s just that I haven’t had proper time to take all the information in, think about where it leaves the card & modify today’s column.
