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The event happens at the Thomas & Mack
Center on the campus of UNLV in Las Vegas this Sunday and here are my
predictions of how the evening should shake out. We have two Elimination Chamber
matches on the card-one that will determine the challenger for the Raw title
belt one that will determine the challenger for the Smackdown belt. With that
happening this is one of the thinnest PPV cards in a while but could be a good
one.
EDITOR'S NOTE: The "Bo's Prediction" part of the review below was
posted on Saturday afternoon (021708). |
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ECW CHAMPIONSHIP
MATCH:
Chavo Guerrero vs. CM Punk
BO'S PREDICTION:
The recent changes in the writing staff on ECW have left them with a puzzle. Do
they put the belt back on Punk or have Punk make the obvious move to Smackdown?
Do they put the belt back on Chavo and build a Hispanic faction on ECW? I would
bet that the belt is going back to Punk here and the two will put on a decent
match. Punk has a different style than Chavo but somehow the two put a match
together well. If they let the two of them have 15 minutes then we could see the
second best match on the card.
BO'S REVIEW:
The first match up featured Chavo Guerrero defending his ECW title against CM
Punk and it was the best choice to start the show with. The two were given
enough time to get some spots in with Chavo working his way out of the GTS and
turning the move into a tornado DDT. Punk got a near fall but Chavo had his foot
on the ropes. The match ended when Punk tried a top rope hurancanrana and Chavo
held onto the ropes. Chavo hit Punk with the frog splash (which Chavo is getting
better at but needs to use another finisher) right after that and retained the
belt. It was interesting to see this week’s ECW show and not see Chavo but Punk
who got to work with Ric Flair. That booking decision shows that Punk is
considered the bigger star of the brand even without the belt.
Next we saw Mike Adamle interview Rey Mysterio and show his arm. We could see
the damage and I was amazed that Rey even came to the show considering how his
arm looked. Boxing champ Floyd Mayweather then came on screen and said he was
pulling for Rey.
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ELIMINATION CHAMBER MATCH-SMACKDOWN:
The Undertaker v.Batista v.Finlay v.MVP v.The Great Khali v.Big Daddy V
(Winner gets World Heavyweight Title Match at WrestleMania 24)
BO'S PREDICTION:
I have no idea how they are going to squeeze Khali and V into those pods but it
is something I am looking forward to seeing. Hopefully those two don’t start the
match or it will be dead right at the start. Finlay is becoming a fan favorite
(and if his interference in Monday’s match was going to get him fired then why
was he wearing a new T-shirt?) so his time in the match could be ended by Vince
or Regal. There will be a team effort to take out V but Taker is likely going to
eliminate him with his new submission finisher. Khali will be taken out by
either Finlay or Batista. MVP is moving up the ladder but this match is for
Batista or Taker to lose. That suggests that the last men standing are Batista
and Taker and we could see the return of The Big Show here to eliminate one of
them. I would bet that since Taker was going to have the belt at this point
anyway before his injury that he wins the shot here.
BO'S REVIEW:
Fans then got to see the first Elimination Chamber match; this one involved the
Smackdown brand. The entrances went as follows: MVP, Big Daddy V, The Great
Khali and Finlay. This meant that the first two opponents in the ring were
Batista and The Undertaker. Taker pulled the cage shut and the two men went at
it with fists. The first man out of the chamber was V (each entrance was set up
with an overhead shot) and he ended up knocking Taker out of the cage (which
tells you why Taker closed the cage). V wasn’t in that long because Batista
eliminated him with a spine buster before Khali was let out of his pod. Khali
got his limited offence in and his handler, Singh was kicked to the floor from
inside the cage by Taker. Taker eliminated Khali with his new submission
finisher (that he stole from being a huge MMA fan) before Finlay was let free.
Finlay hits Taker with the Celtic cross but Taker kicked out. Finlay then tosses
Taker thru one of the pods. When MVP’s time to enter the ring happens Taker
blocks him from getting out then beats him down. Taker is the first to bleed. He
does a version of old school on the top of the damaged pod with MVP and drops to
the ring but Finlay is the one who eliminates MVP. Hornswoggle pops up from
underneath the ring and hands Finlay a shillelagh. He gets some offense in but
Taker pins him with a choke slam to the cage floor. Batista is now bleeding but
he and Taker just start hammering each other with fists. Taker gets the Batista
bomb but kicks out. Batista takes the Last Ride but he kicks out. Batista spears
Taker into the cage but when he tries to do it again Taker catches him and flips
him into the ring for a tombstone for the win. After a while the bloody Taker
struggles to his feet and points to the WrestleMania sign.
We then see Edge, Ryder and Hawkins watching the finish on TV before Teddy Long
tells Ryder & Hawkins that they are banned from ringside. That is followed by a
video package of Ashley and Maria at the Playboy Mansion.
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CAREER ENDING MATCH:
Ric Flair vs. Mr. Kennedy
BO'S PREDICTION:
We already know that HBK is wrestling Flair at WM 24 but don’t know if the match
is his last match being done as a favor (HBK goes to Flair and asks for the
match) or HBK challenges him and Flair loses on the big stage. It would be
better for Kennedy to take Flair out because that cements his heel status and no
matter what he does from that point on he would be known as the man who
‘retired’ Ric Flair. This should be a good match with give and take on both
sides but the finish may not be decided until the day of the show.
BO'S REVIEW:
Kennedy and Flair are up next. Kennedy comes out first and the two go at it.
After a while he goes after Flair’s knee and works on it for a long time. He
even uses the Bret Hart sharpshooter from outside the ring on Flair. When the
two get back into the ring Flair slaps Kennedy but he gets put into his own
figure four. Kennedy does the rolling cradle for a near fall but Flair gets out
and starts chopping Kennedy. He then gets the figure four on Kennedy for the win
and rolls out of the ring to declare himself the winner. A pretty good match but
if you really wanted to make Kennedy Flair should have lost.
We see Finlay backstage getting taken care of before Vince appears to set up the
cage match for Raw. We also see JBL wandering around backstage.
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WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP
MATCH:
Edge(c) vs. Rey Mysterio
BO'S PREDICTION:
Rey is going into this match with what could be a torn right biceps. He suffered
the injury in a match in Santiago, Chile and flew back to the U.S. to meet with
Dr. James Andrews. He doesn’t want to miss WrestleMania but if he needs surgery
he won’t have much choice. It’s not as if he was going to beat Edge here anyway
but since he is going in hurt it will be interested to see how this match goes.
I would expect liberal interference from Ryder & Hawkins as well as Vickie
Guerrero. If the diagnosis is okay then Rey will lose clean but if the tear is
as severe as it can be then he will be injured in the match.
BO'S REVIEW:
From here we get Mysterio vs. Edge. Rey has his arm wrapped up and so Edge works
on it for the bulk of the match. Edge takes the first nut shot of the night when
he slides ass first into the ring post. Rey hits a moonsault on Edge, hits him
with a DDT then a 619. (Rey curses after because his arm is killing him) When
Rey tries another high spot Edge spears him in midair for the win so we have
Edge/Taker at WM. As Rey is on the floor we get the return of The Big Show, who
walks out to the ring. Show is bald and from his own account he has lost over
100 pounds. As he is telling the fans how good it is to be back he keeps looking
over at Rey before pulling him into the ring and abusing him. Show threatens
Mayweather and the fighter (and entourage) comes into the ring. After some back
and forth Show gets on his knees and takes three shots from the fighter before
Mayweather and his people jump out of the ring and into the crowd. Show chases
them and when he gets close he is stopped by Shane McMahon (who has been working
on getting the fighter in for a year). When they reenter the ring area and walk
to the back we can see that Show is bleeding from the nose and his mouth is
filled with blood. So far, two PPV’s and two shocking returns this year.
We see Jeff Hardy getting ready before Adamle pimps Cena/Orton.
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WWE CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE MATCH:
Randy Orton(c) vs. John Cena
BO'S PREDICTION:
The plan so far is still HHH vs. Cena so with that hanging over our heads the
end of the match is quite clear. From all reports Orton has grown up a lot and
he has to know that he wasn’t supposed to have the belt anyway so losing it
isn’t going to make him that upset. He has been the perfect opponent since
having the belt and has made everyone who has been thrown up against him look
strong. Cena will be around most nights since he has Sundays and Mondays off
while shooting his next WWE film so that isn’t a drawback. He is also going to
be the focus of a major advertising campaign for Gillette and so he needs to be
the one carrying the strap. HHH wants to go heel again (which won’t work since
he has drifted into Flair/Austin/Taker status where fans just refuse to boo him)
and going up against Cena is easier for him.
BO'S REVIEW:
Cena spends the early part of the match going for quick falls. The crowd at the
start is more tilted towards Cena but then we get the back and forth chant for
each man. Orton kicks Cena in the head. Of the two men, Orton is playing to the
crowd. He works on Cena’s ankle then does the Garvin stomp on him. He also works
on the surgically repaired pec muscle before locking in a sideways version of a
sleeper hold. Cena works his way out and takes a glance at the WM sign. Orton
gets out of the FU and leaves the ring. Cena follows and the two both get back
into the ring at the count of 9. Cena misses a top rope move then he blocks an
RKO before getting Orton in the STFU. Orton gets to the ropes then goes out of
the ring. As he lies on the floor he tells the ref to count him out but when
Cena comes out to the floor he hits him with the RKO on the floor. Cena gets
back into the ring on 9 but then Orton slaps the ref to get himself
disqualified. Cena pleads with the ref not to do that but he has no choice. Cena
then hits Orton with the FU then the STFU in frustration. He looks at the WM
sign again then leaves the ring without his WM match. Orton gets up and walks
out with the belt as both JR and the King question his manhood.
HHH is getting ready before HBK enters and the two say that friendship or no
they are both going for the win.
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ELIMINATION CHAMBER
MATCH-RAW:
Triple H v.Jeff Hardy v.Shawn
Michaels v.Chris Jericho v.John
"Bradshaw" Layfield v.Umaga
(Winner gets WWE Title Match at WrestleMania 24)
BO'S PREDICTION:
The ending of this match is a foregone conclusion but let’s go thru the
participants anyway. Jericho has been in more Elimination Chamber matches than
anyone else in this match but that may not help him. HBK is wrestling Flair at
WM 24 so he isn’t winning. JBL hasn’t finished his feud with Jericho yet and
does anyone really want to see him headline WM 24? Hardy is as JR said on Monday
“the hottest star on Raw today” but he won’t headline WM unless we turn the main
event into a three-way. Umaga is the main monster on Raw and hasn’t gotten to
the level of headlining the biggest PPV of the year yet. HHH shouldn’t even be
in the chamber but they found a way to wedge him in and so he is the winner.
There are two ways to book this-have HHH and HBK be the first ones out or start
with Jericho and JBL. Umaga, by the way he is booked needs to be the last one
out and then we will see who will be the first to bleed. The chamber makes
flying moves damn near impossible (RVD almost crushed HHH’s vocal cords when he
dived from the top) so Hardy is at a disadvantage. It may come down to him and
HHH one on one with HHH getting his win back. HHH also wants to go heel again
(which won’t work since he has drifted into Flair/Austin/Taker status where fans
just refuse to boo him) and going up against Cena is easier for him in that
role.
BO'S REVIEW:
The Chamber is down and the busted part is fixed so HHH, Umaga, JBL and Jeff
Hardy enter their pods. This means that the first two are HBK and Chris Jericho.
The two begin with a chop fest before alternating falls. HBK tries the Macho Man
elbow but Jericho blocks it with his knees. He then tries a sharpshooter but the
move is blocked. The two cross body into each other and take each other out as
Umaga is released from his pod. Umaga does a double Samoan drop on them (a move
that takes some working out) and the three take turns trying to take each other
out. Jericho puts Umaga into the Walls of Jericho and HBK locks in a crossface
on Umaga before JBL enters the ring. JBL goes right after Jericho. HBK has been
busted open. HHH enters and goes right after Umaga. He throws the Samoan into
JBL then DDT’s JBL before throwing Umaga into one of the steel pod walls. JBL
hits HHH with a clothesline but is hit with the codebreaker by Jericho and
eliminated. When he wakes up and realizes that he has been eliminated he leaves
the ring but goes back in with two chairs that he uses to clock HBK, Jericho and
then Umaga. Jericho starts bleeding right before Hardy enters. Hardy goes after
Umaga first then spreads the love. Umaga kicks Hardy’s head off then attacks
everyone else before driving Jericho through a pod (yes, the same one that had
been busted in the first match). Umaga is eliminated after taking all four
finishing moves with Hardy hitting him with the swanton. Hardy eliminates
Jericho. HHH hits the pedigree on HBK and eliminates him. Hardy and HHH go back
and forth with each kicking out of or missing finishers. HHH starts to bleed. He
tries to use one of the chairs in the ring but Hardy hits him with a nut shot.
The match ends when Hardy is back dropped into the chair and pedigreed onto it.
HHH gets his win back and he points to the WM sign as the show ends.
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Not a bad show when it is all said and done. The backstage stuff
was kept to a minimum and the matches were put together well. It was a given
that HHH was going to win but the match was entertaining. You knew that Taker
was going to win but Chavo keeping the ECW belt was a minor shock. As for the
Orton/Cena match when I saw the finish I knew the Raw title match was going to
be a three way dance. The road to WrestleMania now has four matches on it after
this event and the planned Flair/HBK match and JBL/Finlay will be added soon.
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Photo ©
2008 WWE/World Wrestling Entertainment
Article © 2008 Alternate Reality, Inc. |