Around the Ring: Hoping the rise of the WWE continues next year
This week's Raw actually wasn't too bad. We saw some stuff during the program that we knew was eventually coming and a few surprises.
We knew that the whole Carlito/Flair feud was going to happen sooner than later, although we would have liked to have seen it prior to Wrestlemania and let these guys tear down the house. Carlito left the ring in disgust with Flair for not being there to help him get out of the pin. Now we'll see Carlito and Flair probably go at it at Backlash while their tag match sets up Murdoch and Cade to now go after the Hardy's tag team gold for some silly reason.
We also knew from the promotional poster for Backlash, that was released prior to Wrestlemania, that even if Edge lost the money in the bank match (which, both he and Orton did), that he would be involved in a big way in the next PPV. Well, the poster was right because we get to see Orton vs. Edge vs. HBK vs. John Cena for the gold at the next PPV. As much as I don't mind Cena, I think the WWE will be out of their mind for not having someone else walk out of there with the gold.
The surprise of the show came when Shane McMahon showed up to challenge Lashley for the ECW title in exchange for a head shave (if he lost). In true WWE form, the match didn't last all that long which gave Vince, Umaga and company the opportunity to embarrass Lashley in the ring. This now sets up Umaga and the McMahon's vs. Lashley at the next PPV. Don't be surprised if this finally gets the gold off of Lashley for awhile - mind you, for this to work well, they need to get the IC belt off of Umaga somehow first.
Smackdown was pretty good, too, with the Undertaker getting jumped by King Booker and then pummeling him. Mr. Money in the Bank, Kennedy set up a pretty good feud with Finlay and the leprechaun guy (I never remember his name). I'm sure that now that all the WWE PPVs featuring all the brands (and having each brand's superstars making guest appearances on other brands), I'll be watching Smackdown more and ordering more PPVs this year.
Speaking of PPVs, TNAs next PPV, “Lockdown,” will have already aired by the time you read this. I think the event will be great and it features every match inside a steel cage. I'm anxious to check out Team Angle vs. Team Cage in a “Survivor Series” type match and Team 3D go against LAX again in an electrified cage match. That must be a first.
Well, as this is my last column for this school year, let's all hope that TNA gets better, gets more time and that the WWE continues the rise they're on this year. See you in September.
We knew that the whole Carlito/Flair feud was going to happen sooner than later, although we would have liked to have seen it prior to Wrestlemania and let these guys tear down the house. Carlito left the ring in disgust with Flair for not being there to help him get out of the pin. Now we'll see Carlito and Flair probably go at it at Backlash while their tag match sets up Murdoch and Cade to now go after the Hardy's tag team gold for some silly reason.
We also knew from the promotional poster for Backlash, that was released prior to Wrestlemania, that even if Edge lost the money in the bank match (which, both he and Orton did), that he would be involved in a big way in the next PPV. Well, the poster was right because we get to see Orton vs. Edge vs. HBK vs. John Cena for the gold at the next PPV. As much as I don't mind Cena, I think the WWE will be out of their mind for not having someone else walk out of there with the gold.
The surprise of the show came when Shane McMahon showed up to challenge Lashley for the ECW title in exchange for a head shave (if he lost). In true WWE form, the match didn't last all that long which gave Vince, Umaga and company the opportunity to embarrass Lashley in the ring. This now sets up Umaga and the McMahon's vs. Lashley at the next PPV. Don't be surprised if this finally gets the gold off of Lashley for awhile - mind you, for this to work well, they need to get the IC belt off of Umaga somehow first.
Smackdown was pretty good, too, with the Undertaker getting jumped by King Booker and then pummeling him. Mr. Money in the Bank, Kennedy set up a pretty good feud with Finlay and the leprechaun guy (I never remember his name). I'm sure that now that all the WWE PPVs featuring all the brands (and having each brand's superstars making guest appearances on other brands), I'll be watching Smackdown more and ordering more PPVs this year.
Speaking of PPVs, TNAs next PPV, “Lockdown,” will have already aired by the time you read this. I think the event will be great and it features every match inside a steel cage. I'm anxious to check out Team Angle vs. Team Cage in a “Survivor Series” type match and Team 3D go against LAX again in an electrified cage match. That must be a first.
Well, as this is my last column for this school year, let's all hope that TNA gets better, gets more time and that the WWE continues the rise they're on this year. See you in September.
