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Archive for March, 2009

Just looking at the field of Money In the Bank match participants, it’s hard to pick a favorite. After all, you have some guys who are obviously not “in it.” Guys like Finlay, Mark Henry and Kane. Those guys will fill up memory cards with all their “jobs.”

But who among the more realistic prospects could be the best wiinner?

There’s last year’s winner, C.M. Punk. Then there’s Christian, Shelton Benjamin, Kofi Kingston and MVP.

Of that field, I’d have to say I favor MVP; he’s been a great young talent on SmackDown and seems Raw-worthy to me. He has the cocky attitude you want in a good heel, and yet a shiftable enough personality that he could be turned face easily.

Punk winning it two years in a row could be fun; and Christian could be a good holder of the honor, if you want him to work a program opposing Edge. Time will tell who will actually get this honor, but it’s nice that it’s not too obvious.

WWE is still under contract with MyNetwork TV running through 2011, but the risk is great that the network could falter before then; already, the network is rebranding itself to cut costs, forging agreements to air reruns of popular shows from bigger networks, rather than running original programming.

SmackDown is safe at the moment, despite MyNet’s status smelling of moth traps, but WWE recently announced a deal with WGN that could give SmackDown a broadcast home if MyNet goes the way of the dodo.

And at WrestleMania this year, the big opponent for Chris Jericho will be… three men, all WWE legends and all past their prime. In a special handicap match, Y2J will face off with Jimmy Snuka, Roddy Piper and Ricky Steamboat.

He might get a better match out of a set of Plum trees. Not a one of these guys is still in even his 40s.

Of course it’s bound to be disappointing considering what the rumor mill threw out there: Steve Austin, Ric Flair, Mickey Rourke, even Hulk Hogan. None of them came to fruition. While the handicap match is sure to be a setup for making the fracas seem more competitive, it’s just disappointing considering the alternatives.

Where’s Mick Foley when you need him, Vince?

Oh yeah. Pissing his legend away over on TNA.

Former ECW worker Jerry Lynn is no fan of WWE’s version of his old stomping grounds, calling it sad, among other things. Said Lynn:

“He (Vince McMahon) is just using it as a place to put wrestlers he can’t figure out what to do with on Raw and Smackdown.”

While ECW is definitely the company’s third-tier show, the real problems are the shift on the creative side; moving the promotion from hardcore to “just another WWE show” has definitely limited the appeal of ECW under McMahon’s ownership.

Maybe Lynn and McMahon should hang out in some comfy bean bag chairs and work out their differences?

I respect Intercontinental Champ CM Punk, sans UGG boots, but for several years now, the IC belt he currently holds has been absent from being at stake in the biggest WWE PPV of the year. In fact, the last time it was up for grabs at the Show of Shows was at WrestleMania 18.

That trend appears about to continue as CM Punk won the first bid to be included in this year’s Money In the Bank Ladder Match. Putting the IC Title holder in the Money In the Bank match has happened four other times, but really robs WrestleMania of a potential draw.

Traditionally, the IC Title is held by a wrestler the WWE considers “the next big thing.” While Punk certainly qualifies, his involvement in the Money In the Bank match pretty much guarantees he won’t be in any other match with the IC Title at stake.

The wrong-headedness of this was underlined by the announcement this same week that Ricky Steamboat would become a part of the WWE Hall of Fame; Steamboat was part of the classic Wrestlemania 3 match with Randy Savage that nearly stole the show from the Hogan-Andre the Giant main event.

Placing Punk in a match for the IC Title against a completely legitimate second-tier contender who is also considered a “next big thing,” such as perhaps Ted DiBiase Jr. or Cody Rhodes, where the two younger stars can put their all into a WrestleMania showcase, would make for some terrific viewing, in my opinion.