Wrestlemania

The Valero Verdict: Joey Janela’s Spring Break 3 Part I

| Richard Valero

Joey Janela has one of the hottest things going Wrestlemania weekend, I had the opportunity in attending last years event in New Orleans and it was amazing. So I couldn’t help but be hyped for Part 1 of Janela’s 3rd Spring Break.

Joey Janela vs. Marko Stunt

Janela in his first match back and he held nothing back as these two went above and beyond from the start. The match had some great high-spots but this match went about 15 minutes too long. It really overstayed its welcome.

The Verdict: ** out of ***** stars – It was great to see Janela back in the ring and I was really impressed with Stunt as this was my first time seeing him.

Tony Deppen vs. Dustin Thomas  

Deppen was on the mic for what felt like 4 days, and he takes his act out to the crowd and out of no where he starts beating the hell out of a dude with No Legs.
The crowd started chanting Let’s Go No Legs, I really love indie crowds.
Thomas as we have now come to now, was insane. Tornado DDT’s, 619, and a spring-board 450? ABSOLUTELY INSANE.

The Verdict: ***** out of ***** stars – Deppen wins the match but WOW, they really stole the show. Thomas insane with his abilities with no legs and Deppen did a damn good job from start to finish.

Spring Break Scramble

Jake Atlas vs. A-Kid vs. Australian Suicide vs. Slim J vs. Shane Mercer vs. Jungle Boy

This match was INSANE. A-Kid was very impressive, all over the place. High Flying from all parties involved. Shane Mercer who looked really out of place to start this match but man he really was on fire. He walked the ropes with a man on his shoulders, he did a flipping body slam off the ropes, just WOW.

The Verdict: **** 1/2 out of ***** stars – Jungle Boy with the victory. Very fun match with guys flying everywhere.

GCW Heavyweight Championship
Nick Gage (c) vs. Shinjiro Otani

Gage is one of the most over men on the planet. I would say he really is Stone Cold lite for modern day, he is a don’t give a shit, fuck the world attitude is very relatable to a lot of people and they eat it alive.

Now for the match, it was just okay. I wanted to see more hard hitting between these two beast and it just didn’t happen

The Verdict: ** out of ***** stars – Gage wins with a roll up and the pull of the tights. Highly underwhelming and disappointing.

Invisible Man vs. Invisible Stan

Bryce Remsburg showed he is the best Referee on the planet. I truly believe he is the only guy in the world that can pull this match off between two Invisible people and make it entertaining.

The Verdict: ********* out of ***** stars – Invisible Man picks up the victory. I would give this a trillion stars if I could. I would never in a million years expect to enjoy a match between two invisible men but here I am.

Taka Michinoku vs. Orange Cassidy

The interaction between the two to open was brilliant. Cassidy is a comedic genius with his new hands in the pocket deal. Taka confusion from the get go was classic and using his own ways against him.

The Verdict: *** out of ***** stars – Taka with the Michinoku Driver out of nowhere for the win. Once this got going from all the comedy, it was a real treat. Taka is still able to go at a good pace and Cassidy is a damn fine wrestler.

Ethan Page vs. A Mystery Opponent

The mystery opponent ends up being “Starman”. He rolls up Ethan Page in a matter of moments for the 3. The big reveal and it’s freaking Virgil.

Doesn’t he look thrilled to be in the ring

The Verdict: Squash Match.

Jimmy Lloyd vs. Masashi Takeda

THIS WAS WILD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Moments into the match and Lloyd was bleeding like a mad man. Light Tubes being smashed at every second of this match, an absolute crazy Weed wacker spot in which Takeda hits Lloyd with it.

The Verdict: **** out of ***** stars – Takeda wins with a pin. This match was absolute NUTS!!!!!! Just bloodshed from both guys, a couple of crazy insane spots with light tubes and a pair of scissors I thought for sure Lloyd had embedded in his neck.

Overall Show Verdict:

**** out of **** stars

The show was a whole lot of fun. Janela is a smart man when he lays out these matches and who and what he gets to show up and show out. Gage/Otani was the lone dud in the show, outside of that it was guns a blazing.

Tell me what you thought of the show, hit me up on here or talk to me on Twitter @RickyValero_

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Wrestlemania 30 Predictions

| Matt Wincherauk

Hello and welcome to The Sports Script’s Wrestlemania 30 predictions piece! The Grandest Stage of them All is only a day away now, and things are really starting to heat up. Let’s look at Ricky and myself’s predictions for Sunday:

WWE Tag Team Championships: The Usos (c) vs The Real Americans vs Los Matedores vs RybAxel

Ricky: This match is going to be DUD of the night for me (outside the womans title match). RybAxel and the Los Matedores are just useless and wasting space. The Usos are on a nice run right now and will easily win this match after a mishap between Swagger and Cesaro. Look for a Cesaro awesome Giant Swing for a little while to showcase it during Mania.

Matt W: I like four-way tag team matches like this, but unfortunately, I don’t particularly like this combination of teams. Absolutely give me The Usos and The Real Americans, but it’s a head scratcher seeing RybAxel and even more so with Los Matedores in it as well. It is a real slap in the face to guys like the Rhodes Brothers left out. Regardless, give me the Usos to retain.

Andre the Giant Memorial 30 Man Battle Royal

Ricky: This is a throw away match. Give me someone to win it and Rusev to do a Bad News Style beat down on the winner.

Matt W: I love Battle Royals, and also love oversized trophies, so this match is definitely for me. I think it’s a neat concept putting Andre The Giant’s name on it, and it will be a nice little rub for someone, and hopefully something that continues on in future Wrestlemanias. Give me Alexander Rusev accompanied by his hot valet Lana to win this match.

Divas Championship Invitational: AJ Lee (c), Naomi, Cameron, Brie Bella, Nikki Bella, Tamina, Emma, Summer Rae, Natalya, Aksana, Alicia Fox, Layla, Rosa Mendes, Eva Marie

Ricky: God I really could careless about this match. Give me a Bella twin, just because.

Matt W: I’m in full agreement with Ricky on this one. I just don’t understand this whole thing, especially with it being single fall, with 14 girls. Unless we get Paige coming up as a surprise, or maybe a Kharma surprise return, I’ll go with Naomi to win.

The Shield vs Corporate Kane and The New Age Outlaws

Ricky: This is going to be a fun match for sure. The Shield are my favorite thing going (outside Wyatt). I like the Shield to win this because there is no reason for them not too.

Matt W: Now things start to get really good. This match should be really good considering the Shield can do amazing things with anyone. The Outlaws and Kane get one last good Wrestlemania match in, and the Shield’s face turn gets validated by looking like the badass swat dudes that they are. Bonus points to them if they repel from the top of the arena.

Bray Wyatt vs John Cena

Ricky: This will be match of the night and it will tear the roof off the place. Wyatt is amazing and Cena is really good himself. Give me Cena to win this with a beat down afterwards extending the feud.

Matt W: Match of the night candidate alert! John Cena is a top 3-5 worker in WWE right now, even if people won’t give him credit for it, and after Bray’s match with Bryan at the Royal Rumble, we know that he can seriously go as well. I’d love to see Wyatt win here, and become almost a new generation version of the Undertaker, but I won’t even be too upset when John Cena inevitably wins.

The Undertaker vs Brock Lesnar

Ricky: Beast vs. Streak and I just don’t care. Not much left in the tank for Taker and this match has had a mediocre at best build to it. Both guys are going to kick out of each others finisher 50 times and Taker will prevail somehow.

Matt W: Some people are really down on this match, like my partner in crime Ricky, but I still like it, because it’s Taker. It’ll be a very good match regardless, even if Undertaker has every single bone in his body broken by Bork Lazer. Give me the obvious here, and Taker moving on to 22-0.

Daniel Bryan vs Triple H: Winner Gets Added to WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match

Ricky: HHH should dominate this match from start to finish. I think Bryan will win on a rollup of some sort out of nowhere. We spoke about this on the podcast as well. This needs to be the Semi-Main leading up to the Main Event to really get the people going about how he will “overcome” the odds.

Matt W: One of my all-time favourite builds to a match of all time. From Triple H’s sarcastic baby voice, to that video package of him “burying” everyone, to even his choice of vocabulary, this has been everything I love. Triple H and Stephanie McMahon have never been this damn good. Daniel Bryan will win, but not without getting the everliving stuffing kicked out of him.

WWE World Heavyweight Championship: Randy Orton (c) vs Batista vs Bryan/Triple H

Ricky: With Bryan inserted into the match, I really can’t see anyway that we don’t see Bryan winning. The only outside slim chance of something else happening is if we see CM Punk. Punk could really make a return and just really blow this thing up big time. But give me Bryan to win this and standing tall screaming YES YES YES to 65+ thousand fans.

Matt W: Time for Daniel Bryan to finally get his big payoff, that we’ve been waiting for since SummerSlam. Daniel Bryan finally wins the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, and triumphs over 3/4 of Evolution. This is going to be one of the greatest moments in Wrestlemania history with something like 70,000 people YES-ing to their hearts content.

So there are our predictions for the biggest PPV in wrestling history, Wrestlemania 30. We did a big Wrestlemania 30 Podcast extravaganza earlier this weekend with myself, Ricky and Mike “Promo” Combs, so make sure to check that out right here!

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/thesportsscript/2014/03/30/wrestlemania-preview-show-1

So enjoy the spectacle of Wrestlemania 30, and we will be back here with the aftermath of everything, and our impressions of the show, including best match, best moment, best entrance etc.

WWE Elimination Chamber Predictions

| Matt Wincherauk

Welcome back to another edition of our WWE PPV predictions, this time we have one of my favourite gimmick matches in the Elimination Chamber. We’re only weeks away from the grandest stage of them all, Wrestlemania, so a lot of important things will be happening on Sunday. We’ve got a star studded match inside the Chamber, that has only seemed to look even better as the weeks passed, and we also have one of the most anticipated matches in WWE history, and that is not an overstatement in The Wyatt Family vs The Shield. But first, let’s get to the pre-show…

Pre-Show: Cody Rhodes and Goldust vs RybAxel

Matt B: RybAxel wins this one as there is no reason for the Rhodes brothers to win. I think this match will end with some friction between the two brothers that leads up to their rumored match at WrestleMania.

Ricky: RybAxel is such an awful name honestly. Can anyone believe how Goldust has looked on this run he has had over the last few months? He has looked great in the ring and wrestled well. It’s nice to see an “older” star keep it together and still is able to go every now and then. Ummm toss a coin here and give me the brothers.

Matt W: Of all the tag teams in WWE right now, the one that I can’t truly enjoy, is RybAxel. I’ve grown to like Ryback more, but they don’t have anything special together. I think the Brotherhood wins this one, but not without some friction, think Cody or Goldie tagging in blind and stealing a pin. Nothing to send it over the edge, but enough to create discomfort.

Darren Young vs. Titus O’Neil

Matt B: This is by far the worst match on the card and I don’t even understand why two guys that no one enjoys watching on Raw even make it to the pay-per view card. I think Titus O’Neil wins this match, but there is much better talent in the WWE locker room worthy of a match on this PPV.

Ricky: Titus is getting the big push and should handle Young rather easily in this matchup. O’Neil has the size and the look but not sure it will really amount too much.

Matt W: I’ve really liked what Titus has brought these past few weeks, he’s super entertaining, full of confidence, and is decent in the ring as well. He wins this one.

Alberto Del Rio vs. Batista

Matt B: Does anyone really think Alberto Del Rio has a chance to win this match? NO!

Ricky: It’s really interesting to hear the rumors of Del Rio maybe leaving when his contract expires soon. With that being said he has no chance in this match at all. I would have a better chance of winning this match. (I would destroy Batista, Well maybe with a little help from Matt Bell and Matt Wincherauk we could get him). But yeah 45 Batista bombs later and Batista wins.

Matt W: I think the Sports Script trio could take down Batista, considering he can hardly move, but in this match, BOO-tista will win. Let’s just hope he doesn’t tear anything trying to Batista Bomb Del Rio.

WWE Tag Team Championships: The New Age Outlaws (c) vs. The Usos

Matt B: I’m going to just go with my hopes here and that is that The Usos win and the New Age Outlaws get back out of the rings. They are entertaining, but they are old and the tag team division has to much talent for them to be holding the belts.

Ricky: The Usos have been getting a nice little side push (for the 80th time) but give me the NAO to keep the belts heading in WrestleMania.

Matt W: I wish I could say that the Usos are going to win this match, but they aren’t. They’re setting up a big moment at Wrestlemania for the New Age Outlaws to drop the titles, and it won’t be to the Usos. Unfortunate, but these guys will eventually get their run after Mania some time.

Intercontinental Championship: Big E (c) vs Jack Swagger w/ Zeb Colter

Matt B: Big E wins this one as Jack Swagger has a potential feud building with Cesaro and Zeb Colter. Big E still has a lot he can do for the Intercontinetal division and it makes little to no sense for Swagger to take that as he’s in a let down stage for Colter.

Ricky: Big E is one of my favorite up and coming wrestlers. I really wish they would adapt the “count to 5” thing he had going on in NXT. He has a great look and I swear should be pushed to the moon. Swagger has been in a bit of a slump as of late and I think that continues here. Give me Big E with the W.

Matt W: Big E has supplanted Damien Sandow as my personal favourite. His charisma is really shining through, and once he start five-ing it up, then he’s going straight to the moon. Jack Swagger has been really good of late despite losing a lot of matches, so he should be a lot of fun even in a loss. Two personal favourites of mine, and Zeb Colter should mean for a fun match.

The Wyatt Family vs The Shield

Matt B: I actually will be watching the PPV just for this match as I think it could be a nice brawl. The Wyatt Family will walk away with the win in the end though as I believe we start to see The Shield coming to an end as they’ve already shown signs of making these guys individual stars.

Ricky: The match I am really looking forward to the most. The potential is endless for this match and it’s been a really long time since we have seen a match between two “bad guy” teams like this and I am truly excited for it. Dean Ambrose is one of the best things going for the company and Roman Reigns is the “next big thing” no offense Brock. I think the Shield should win as the Family doesn’t “need” this victory. But maybe some arguing between Shield members or a walk out by Reigns sets up a Wyatt Family win.

Matt W: No joke, one of the most anticipated matches in WWE history, these two are going to blow the roof off the place. All the tense moments in the past week, Bray and even Luke’s awesome talking, the friction between the Shield, Roman Reigns somehow becoming more badass, and Ambrose playing the role of the poser to perfection, this match has everything. This is why I’m tuning in, even above the Elimination Chamber match.

WWE World Heavyweight Championship Elimination Chamber Match: Randy Orton (c) vs John Cena vs Daniel Bryan vs Sheamus vs Christian vs Cesaro

Matt B: This has a ton of talent in the match, but it all comes down to who WWE thinks they can build a WrestleMania card around. Randy Orton wins the match and goes on to feud with Batista for a showdown at the Big Show. I’m looking for them to build Cesaro in this match as he will perform very well, not pick up the win. I can see Christan becoming the bad guy in the match sitting up him and Sheamus for a match and don’t be surprised if the Wyatt Family cost Cena somehow.

Ricky: I am so excited that they left Cesaro in this match. THIS GUY IS A STAR!!!!!!! I have seen this guy in person (trained with him a little) and he is strong as an ox. But yeah Christian isn’t going to win as he isn’t the “IT” guy anymore, Sheamus really has no place in this match (nor do I like him), Cesaro I think comes down to the final 3 but gets eliminated by Bryan. Which leaves us with Orton, Cena and Bryan, Cena will be eliminated somehow by Bray Wyatt interference and I think that would lead to a final two between Bryan and Orton. As much as I would like to see Bryan win the title and head into the WrestleMania Main Event champion, that’s just not going to happen. The WWE wants Batista vs. Orton way too bad at Mania and that’s sadly what we are going to get.

Matt W: Now this is going to be a phenomenal match. Four guys that I love are in this match, and two that I think are doing really good things as well. Cesaro is almost as hot as Daniel Bryan right now, and I’d look for him to continue to be strong, Bryan should be a finalist, Cena might get a Wyatt beating, Sheamus fits perfect inside the Chamber with his physical style and has been having quality matches just under that Bryan-Cesaro-Shield level of late, I’d hope that Orton plays the role of a snake and sneaks out with a win, and Christian… Well he’s there too. This has the makings of the best Chamber match in years, so you cannot miss it.

Burning Question:

The Wyatt Family and the Shield are the hottest thing going in WWE right now, and will have an epic clash at Elimination Chamber. Where do these two teams go afterwards? Who does Bray Wyatt target, and how does this Shield breakup scenario play out?

Matt B: Bray Wyatt is going to be matched up with Cena at WrestleMania and I believe that all starts here as they attack him in the PPV. The Shield will probably continue to show dysfunction into Raw on Monday possibly sitting them up for a match at WrestleMania after one turns on the others.

Ricky: As I said earlier I think Wyatt interferes and cost Cena the title during the Chamber, so I think that’s where they are going.

As for the Shield you really see the whole break up happening which is truly sad to see. I really think they should have a “make up” with them and maybe go after someone else and play it up and eventually heading into next year’s Mania we get Ambrose vs. Reigns. Ambrose and Rollins are going to get lost in the shuffle once the feud with Reigns is over. Reigns is going to turn into a massive baby face for the company and someone I could see them feuding Orton or maybe Batista down the road. I could even see him helping out Cena with the Wyatt family and getting that nice little rub from him.

ALSO LETS GET THE WWE NETWORK ROLLING!!!!!!!!!!

Matt W: I think that Bray Wyatt gets involved with John Cena, in a feud that could really put him over the top, if he wasn’t there already. As for The Shield, the obvious answer is that they move into full breakup mode. I’d like to see these guys not completely break up, but kind of stay friends while going there own ways. That being said, that probably won’t happen, but I’ll be fine if I see a Shield Triple Threat match for the US Title at Wrestlemania.

Enjoy the PPV folks, and we’ll see you back here in a few weeks for our Wrestlemania extravaganza!

WWE Royal Rumble Predictions

| Matt Wincherauk

Welcome back to another WWE pay-per-view predictions piece, this time we have the Royal Rumble, probably my favourite PPV in the WWE calendar. The card so far is a bit underwhelming in my opinion, with a “traditional” match between WWE World Heavyweight Champion Randy Orton and challenger John Cena. We also have Brock Lesnar making his return vs the The Big Show, Bray Wyatt takes on Daniel Bryan to end their feud, but of course we save the best for the last, the 30 man over the top rope Royal Rumble match, which once again promises to be a great match.

WWE Tag Team Championships: The Rhodes Brothers (c) vs The New Age Outlaws
Matt B: What in the world are The New Age Outlaws doing back right now? I haven’t been able to figure it out, but I actually expect them to win this match. The Rhodes brothers are going to split up and compete at Wrestlemania.
Ricky: I belive we are going to be setting up the Cody vs. Dustin match for Mania. I’ve been super impressed with how Billy Gunn is wrestling and he and Punk had a great match on RAW. So give me the New Age Outlaws to get one more run with the Tag Team titles.
Matt W: I’m not going to change this trend, and I’ll pick the New Age Outlaws to win this match. I think we’ll see the Rhodes Brothers face off at Wrestlemania, and this is the beginning. They’ll challenge for the tag titles again at Elimination Chamber, and that’s when we’ll see them break up.
Daniel Bryan vs. Bray Wyatt
Matt B: Daniel Bryan isn’t in the Royal Rumble match and is the biggest thing going right now for the WWE. That being said I don’t see anyway he loses to Wyatt this Sunday.
Ricky: This should be one heck of a match. Both guys have built a very nice program and despite the weird Bryan being bad and now being good crap. But this should end in a Bryan win via DQ and the Family coming out and beating the crap out of Bryan.
Matt W: I think it’s time that this fantastic feud come to an end. We saw Daniel Bryan turn from the Wyatts and come back even more popular than before. It’s time for Bryan and Bray to move on to bigger, and better things.
The Big Show vs. Brock Lesnar w/ Paul Heyman
Matt B: Lesnar will win against the Big Show as he’s going to be one of WWEs stars heading to Wrestlemania. What better way to build him up than have him beat up a giant in the Big Show.
Ricky: This has MEH written all over it. Not looking forward to this match really at all. Could be a fun little match in the battle of the big man but Brock can’t lose as we get closer to Wrestlemania.
Matt W: I’m not too excited for this match, but it is always fun to see two massive human beings crash into each other, and although he’s done it before numerous times, it’ll be great to see Brock Lesnar get Show up for the F-5. Give me Brock Lesnar.
WWE World Heavyweight Championship: Randy Orton (c) vs John Cena
Matt B: Randy Orton will defeat John Cena on Sunday at the Royal Rumble something many fans are not used to seeing. Cena doesn’t hardly ever lose matches like this but I just feel WWE will be better with Orton holding the title heading to Wrestlemania  as a true heel character.
Ricky: The whole Corporate thing is just dumb to me. I am really tired of seeing Orton as champion. I don’t like the guy really and he just is boring. Cena has to win here and move this along and hopefully this is the last time we have to suffer through this two wrestling each other.
Matt W: I’m going to stick with Randy Orton in this situation, because of how badly they’ve made him look in the past few weeks. I’m ready for this feud to be done for good, so how about we pretend to like this match, and WWE never gives it to us again.
30 Man Royal Rumble Match
Matt B: The Royal Rumble will be won by Batista as many predict. He will be left with just CM Punk when all is said and done.
Ricky: Honestly it comes between two guys Batista or Daniel Bryan. I really don’t see them letting Bryan winning this thing, so I am leaning Batista. A few surprise guys that it’s possible are either Brock or CM Punk. But if I had to choose one guy it would be Batista as he tosses Bryan out for the win.
Matt W: The Royal Rumble is my favourite gimmick match in wrestling, with Money in the Bank coming a close second. I was on the Daniel Bryan bandwagon for months, even when he was part of the Wyatt Family, but because he’s not even guaranteed to be in the match itself, I’ll take Batista, who will meet Brock Lesnar at Wrestlemania.
Burning Question: 
This past RAW saw the return of the “Animal” Batista. What do you guys think is the plan for Batista as we get on the Road to Wrestlemania? Are you excited to have Batista back in the WWE?
Matt B: This leads to my burning question as yes Batista has always been one of my favorites in the WWE. He will headline mania against Randy Orton when all is said and done.
Ricky: Excited? Maybe depending on how they use the guy. I am not overly fond of watching him wrestle but he is surely a fresh face compared to terrible Orton. I could see him easily winning the Royal Rumble and being in the title picture come Wrestlemania. I don’t see any other reason they brought him back except to get the title around his waist.
Matt W: I am. It brings me back to the good old days of Smackdown 2006. Batista might be older that Triple H, but he brings back great memories, and he’ll be around full-time, for a very long time. So yes, I’m quite excited for him to be back.

WWE TLC Predictions

| Matt Wincherauk

Alright folks, we’re back to bring you some WWE pay-per-view predictions, this time it will with Tables Ladders and Chairs! WWE has put together a very nice card, headlined by the enormous match between World Heavyweight Champion John Cena, and WWE Champion Randy Orton in a TLC match to unify the two championships. The undercard is looking pretty good with Damien Sandow and Big E Langston clashing for the Intercontinental Championship, and a fatal fourway for the Tag Team championships as well. But let’s take a look at the predictions, and our burning question!

Pre-Show: Dolph Ziggler vs Fandango

Matt Bell: It’s funny almost how far Dolph Ziggler’s act has fallen after being champion just a short time ago. Fandango burst onto the scene this year, but apparently that’s not working out either since he’s “pre-show”. I’ll take Dolph Ziggler in this one as I see no reason for WWE to have him lose to Fandango.

Ricky: Ziggler seems to be getting back on the right track and I like him to win this match.

Matty W: Both men have fallen from the graces of the WWE brass, but both are fantastic workers and will put on a very enjoyable pre-show match. Love both of these guys, but I’ll go with Ziggler just because faces almost always win pre-show matches.

Handicap Match: The Wyatt Family vs Daniel Bryan

Matt Bell: What is up with the handicap matches at this show? I really am not a fan of the 3 on 1 handicap matches as it makes 0 sense for 1 man to beat 3 huge animals in the Wyatt Family. Bryan probably puts up some sort of fight maybe he wins by DQ, but the Wyatt family has to win the make this look real in my opinion.

Ricky: Shenanigans is bound for both of the Handicap matches but I think somehow, some way Bryan comes out victorious in this match.

Matty W: Here we have the first of two 3-1 handicap matches, with Daniel Bryan taking on the entire, monstrous Wyatt Family. Obviously Bryan is meant to be the super underdog here, and I don’t think he’ll pull this one out. But that’s not why I’m interested in this match. Things are going down between Bryan and the Wyatts. This could go a number of ways, so see the next handicap match to see where I think they’re going.

Handicap Match: The Shield vs CM Punk

Matt Bell: If you look at everything I just said about the other handicap match well throw it out the window for this one. I think we are seeing the end of The Shield somewhat and some type of miscommunication will lead to a CM Punk win. They are going to build CM Punk back up as Wrestlemania is just around the corner .

Ricky: As I spoke earlier about Shenanigans having a huge part in both Handicap matchups. I am personally not a fan of the whole Handicap matchup for either but the angle they are running right now is a lot of fun. Punk and Bryan are two of my favorite wrestlers in the WWE. Give me the Shield but I think it could go either way for the match.

Matty W: The next handicap match sees the mighty Shield take on everyone’s favourite anti-superstar CM Punk. In this one I see CM Punk coming out with the win just because the Shield have begun to show cracks in their armour. Personally, I could see WWE doing a match at ‘Mania with the entire Shield going for the US Championship. As for Punk, I feel we’re heading towards a Bryan vs Punk showdown, and my guess is it will be at Royal Rumble.

Divas Championship: AJ Lee (c) vs Natalya

Matt Bell: AJ Lee has held the title for quite some time now, but WWE is all about Total Divas right now and with that being said I’m taking Natalya to win this match. The women’s title being focused on during Total Divas would sure help the show.

Ricky: AJ will you marry me? No. Bummer. I think Natalya ends the reign here and beats Natalya. (Hope AJ can forgive me for that)

Matty W: AJ is the only redeemable thing about the Divas division right now, besides Kaitlyn who’s to busy being buried at every turn (Who gets pinned off a dropkick?). Anyway, I see AJ retaining here because WWE has gotten into the bad habit of the champion losing all his/her non-championship matches, and winning all the championship matches. We’re all just sitting here, waiting for Paige to come up…

Intercontinental Championship: Big E Langston (c) vs Damien Sandow

Matt Bell: This is an interesting match and both men are receiving pushes from the company right now. My question I’ve pondered is that with the unification of the titles does the IC title become more relevant now? I think it does and to me with both guys getting a push it makes no sense for Big E Langston to lose this match. However, with Langston winning I don’t think this feud will end after this match and look for a rematch maybe even on Raw the next night.

Ricky: I’ve been watch Langston since he was in NXT. He has big star potential and has a big future in front of him. Sandow is a solid guy to have on the roster as well but Langston is getting the big push right now, I like him to retain.

Matty W: Probably my two biggest crushes right now as competitors, besides Roman Reigns, are Big E and my Intellectual Saviour. E is well on his way to the upper card of the show, so I don’t see him losing this quickly into his first reign. Should be a decent match, as both are very capable workers. 

WWE Tag Team Championships: The Rhodes Brothers (c) vs The Real Americans vs RybAxel vs The Big Show & Rey Mysterio

Matt Bell: This match is just something they’ve thrown together to get the Tag Team belts on the card. I’ll take the Rhodes Brothers as they seem to be really working out well for WWE right now.

Ricky: Seems the more you hear the more talk about reviving the Tag Title division. I really can’t wait for this to happen so we don’t have more of these matches. None of these teams really make too much sense to win other than the Rhodes Brothers, so give me them.

Matty W: I love what WWE has done with its tag team division. With the Shield and Wyatts in other matches, they still managed to put two great teams, (The Rhodes Brothers and The Real Americans), a solid team, (RybAxel) and an interesting team that was just thrown together (I’ll call them ShowSterio). None of these teams have what it takes to believably take the titles from the Rhodes save for the Real Americans, but now isn’t their time, so give me The Rhodes Brothers to retain.

Championship Unification TLC Match: WWE Champion Randy Orton vs World Heavyweight Champion John Cena

Matt Bell: I’ll start off by saying whoever wins this match will walk into Wrestlemania the champion of the WWE. I love the fact that both belts are now going to be just 1 belt. I think WWE can keep a more interesting storyline going with Orton as champion and Cena trying to win the title. If they let Cena win it’s hard for me to imagine a scenario where the main event at Wrestlemania would be something we haven’t had before. I’ll take Orton in this match, but look for thie feud to continue through Royal Rumble.

Ricky: Not a fan of Orton at all and don’t think he should be in the Heavyweight title picture. But since we are here I have seen a lot about how they will both come down with the belt and blah blah but I think Cena wins (or something weird happens) and is the only logical choice here.

Matty W: I’ll be honest, I had no interest in this match until that final RAW segment, and now I actually care to see Cena vs Orton for 1000th time! This is going to be a big match, maybe not as big as WWE has been pushing it, but big nonetheless. Randy Orton has looked so inept these past few weeks that I think it has to be him, to throw us a swerve. I also wouldn’t put it past WWE to guarantee us new champions and then just have them grab each others titles, making Cena WWE champ, and Orton World champ. Fingers crossed that doesn’t happen.

Burning Question: The end of RAW this week was phenomenal cluster of chaos, with CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, Triple H AND Shawn Michaels all getting involved to go along with the two World Champions. Where is this going with the Road to Wrestlemania almost upon us?

Matt Bell: This is all just setting up some future fueds for Mania! CM PUNK will take on ORTON or will it be CM Punk and Daniel Bryan against DX? I’m not 100% sure where that is going, but I do have to say I loved the way Raw ended and it actually left me ready for Sundays PPV.

Ricky: I wouldn’t be surprised to see a Punk turning on Bryan thing setting up Wrestlemania but look for a Triple H vs. CM Punk potential Wrestlemania matchup. With the set up coming this past week on RAW between the two. I hope Michaels stays retired in all these scenarios but I like what they are doing now more than I did a few months ago. It should be an exciting build towards WM indeed.

Matty W: This is full of amazing scenarios. The one that will happen is Triple H vs CM Punk so Punk can get revenge from over two years ago. The other possibility that has a good chance in my books, is Bryan vs Michaels, which might be the best thing of all time. The final scenario I see as a very slight chance, is to have The Meta Powers (Bryan and Punk) take on D-Generation X (Triple H and Michaels) at Wrestlemania. This would be too amazing, so I don’t see it happening. But whatever happens, it’s going to be very good.

So there you guys have it, our final predictions for Sunday’s TLC! The Road to Wrestlemania is nearly upon us, and this will be a fantastic way to kick things off. Up next… The Royal Rumble!

WWE Hell in a Cell Predictions

| Matt Wincherauk

After a one pay-per-view break at Battleground, we are back with more WWE PPV predictions for the upcoming Hell in a Cell, one of my personal favorite gimmick matches or all time. WWE has put together a very nice card after the very disappointing Battleground, so be ready for some great matches, and the end to some great feuds. Matt Bell, Ricky Valero and Matt Wincherauk are here to give you their thoughts on the matches on the card, as well as one big burning question that every WWE fan has on their mind. So, let’s hop right into it with the pre-show.

Hell in a Cell Predictions

Curtis Axel (Champion) vs Big E Langston – Intercontinental Championship

Matt B: The intercontinental championship means nothing apparently as the pre-show match. I’ll take Big E Langston in this one and they put in on pre-show to get Axel up to the top-level by losing on the pre show so he doesn’t get seen by many.

Ricky: Big E Langston was a huge star when I use to watch him on NXT. He really is going to be the next big thing for the WWE. I see Langston taking over the IC Title and heading into a big fued with Ryback.

Matt W: I love Big E Langston. This guy is a star waiting to happen, with his incredible athleticism, power and personality. Curtis Axel has… None of these attributes. You wonder how Mr Perfect screwed this one up? Anyway, Langston is primed for a big run as a face, and it’s about time the title was removed from Axel’s waist. This is only the beginning for Langston, and if Axel doesn’t find something great within himself, it might the end for him.

AJ Lee (Champion) vs Brie Bella – Diva’s Championship

Matt B: The Divas Championship will come down to some outside interference. AJ Lee will be the victim by accident and will lose the title. Brie Bell is your new Divas champion.

Ricky: I am a huge fan of AJ Lee and she has had a great run as Woman’s champ but I think it comes to an end this sunday.

Matt W: I still really like AJ and all, but Brie has really been growing on me in recent weeks. She has become more than eye candy, and has turned into a very good in ring performer. Looks like Daniel Bryan has rubbed of on her. That being said, I think her dominance over AJ in recent weeks says that she will not get that title right now, and AJ will hold onto it for a little while longer. Hopefully so the Anti-Diva herself can take it off her…

Goldust and Cody Rhodes (Champions) vs The Shield vs The Uso Brothers – WWE Tag Team Championships

Matt B: Tag Team Titles will stay with Goldust and Cody after they find a way to handle the Shield one more time. The Usos will be no factor in the match.

Ricky: I don’t think any of these teams benefit from this victory more than the Shield. So give me them to win the match and hang onto the titles for a little while longer.

Matt W: Team Brhodes is just getting started, and even the great Shield can’t slow them down. Goldy and Cody are two of the hottest things in WWE right now, and if their new mixed theme has anything to say about it, they’ll hold those belts awhile longer. But be prepared for an off the charts match with three insanely talented teams.

CM Punk vs Ryback and Paul Heyman (2-on-1 Handicap Hell in a Cell match)

Matt B: I don’t know exactly where WWE is going with this Punk and Heyman series honestly, it seems to be running out of gas. I’m going to say something happens and allows Heyman and Ryback to win this match, but really anything is possible.

Ricky: This is really about Heyman and CM Punk. Punk will win this matchup and I think an after match beat down by Ryback will lead to Big E to come out and start an anticipated fued between the two.

Matt W: I love CM Punk. He’s my favorite wrestler. I love Paul Heyman. He’s my favorite personality. Something’s got to give here, and my guess is it’s Heyman and Ryback. Whenever you see the deck stacked against a babyface like this, I always expect the babyface to come out on top. Punk won last year in the Cell vs Ryback, and I expect another win this year. From there on, I see this feud ending, and Punk getting back into the WWE title picture, unless he takes time off to heal his injuries.

(C) Alberto Del Rio vs John Cena – World Heavyweight Championship

Matt B: Cena’s arm is not ready for full-time wrestling and for that reason I feel ADR win this match somehow. They will never make Cena look bad, so you can expect something like a ref stopping the match because they don’t want the arm damaged.

Ricky: So does John Cena come back and win the Heavyweight title or does he lose the match because of some weird finish. I think he doesn’t win the belt back but wins the match via DQ.

Matt W: I call shenanigans. Something is going to happen here, and I don’t think it will be Cena walking out cleanly with the World Title. Del Rio’s time has come up, and I think we need a new savior, an Intellectual Savior if you will. That’s right, I think tonight is the night that Damien Sandow walks out with the World Heavyweight Title, either over an exhausted Del Rio or beat up Cena. The Era of Intellect is almost upon us…

Daniel Bryan vs Randy Orton – Vacant WWE Championship

Matt B: The WWE  Championship match is the one I’m looking forward to the most obviously. I don’t have a really good feel on how this plays out, but I’m going to say we still don’t get a clear-cut champion. Michael’s does something to help Bryan and HHH over rules it. There will be no clear-cut winner.

Ricky: Bryan should win, period. Will he? I am not sure. I think Michael’s helps Bryan win the title with some Sweet Chin Music to Orton.

Matt W: Time for this little feud between Bryan and Orton to be over, but the feud between Bryan and the Authority to continue. There are so many ways this match can go. What does Big Show do? What about Triple H and Stephanie McMahon? How does HBK, or HB-Shizzle, referee this match? I’ll just keep it simple and say that Daniel Bryan walks out WWE Champion on Sunday, but his beef with the Authority isn’t over yet.

Burning Question: COO Triple H and Shawn Michael’s had their first confrontation on WWE TV this past Monday Night Raw, over Randy Orton and more specifically Daniel Bryan. With these two best friends a bit at odds with each other, how do you see their situation playing out down the line?

Matt B: I think they build up a feud between HHH and Michael’s as they are desperate for a huge feed right now and don’t have the talent. I see it some how playing into a match with HHH and Michael’s involved.

Ricky: I can really see Michael’s turning on Bryan and giving him the ol Sweet Chin Music and helping Orton win the title. But I don’t think it benefits him to be a bad guy on TV unless he is coming back for a regulary role week to week. I hate either of these guys being the vocal point of the program but I think they are here to stay, I look for Michael’s to help Bryan win the Title and building something up to Wrestlemania.

Matt W: This is going to be a slow burning kind of deal. I honestly believe that Shawn Michaels vs Triple H, will be one of the marquee matches on the Wrestlemania 30 card, but we have a way to go before then. We’ll see these two become more and more at odds with each other as we inch closer to Wrestlemania.

The Return: What is Rob Van Dam’s Future in the WWE?

| Matt Wincherauk

On June 22, the WWE dropped a bombshell of a promo. The Whole F’n Show, Mr Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday Night, a Hardcore Legend Rob Van Dam was scheduled to make his long-awaited return to the largest Sports Entertainment enterprise in the world. Not only was he returning, he was doing it in his town Philadelphia and in his match the Money in the Bank Ladder match. What better way for Van Dam to return? But now that he’s finally back and what exactly does RVD mean to the WWE? What can he bring to World Wrestling Entertainment in his last run with the company? I will try and give you an idea of what’s in store for ROB. VAN. DAM! (Insert thumb motions here)

Lets start with the very near future, Money in the Bank. On July 14th, Rob Van Dam will be competing in his second Money in the Bank Ladder Match with 6 other superstars in what has been dubbed as the “All-Stars” Ladder match.  All 6 (Kane has been ruled out after being attacked by the Wyatt Family) of the men in the match are former World Champions. What are his chances? Probably not very good considering that RVD won’t be a “full-time” competitor. Now this doesn’t mean that he won’t be around a lot, I mean this isn’t Brock Lesnar or The Rock part-time. He most likely isn’t going to be part-time holding the WWE Championship we all know how well that went over with fans last time… But he should provide the unique dynamic that only Van Dam can offer. We’re going to see Van Daminators, Van Terminators, Rolling Thunders, Monkey Flips and all those signature kicks we’re used to seeing. And you can bet your bottom dollar we’ll at least see one Five-Star Frogsplash. In all reality, Van Dam was brought in to sell tickets and give this match even more credibility and the fact that he will really rile up the Philly crowd, who will be more than excited to see their ECW Legend back in action.

So RVD won’t be winning any briefcases at least I don’t think so, what’s next after that? Well, we will most likely see him in a limited role similar to Chris Jericho’s of the past year or so. Sporadic dates, but should be around for a good number of taped shows but just not a lot of live appearances. After Money in the Bank, we should see who his Summerslam opponent would be. One name that comes to mind is the newest Paul Heyman Guy Curtis Axel who is the Intercontinental Champion. Rob Van Dam has a ton of history with Heyman over the years being a key part of Heyman’s ECW promotion and the resurrected version in 2006. With that history, I’d love to see those two go at it with Curtis Axel representing Heyman. We could see a very good feud as Heyman tends to do with everything he’s involved with and a solid wrestling match as well. Most likely, Axel will retain as we know that WWE has big plans for him ever since he made his re-debut, so Van Dam will have to do his best to put over the young star, something he should probably get used to on the big stages.

After that, it’s tough to really tell where RVD will head in terms of a feud. He will most likely be staying within the mid-card as I can’t see him being in play for a World or WWE Title shot. Perhaps we could see him do something with the Shield, as I would love to see what magic he can work with a hardcore guy like Dean Ambrose or the high-flying Seth Rollins, either would be great. Maybe even a United States Title feud could work. We’ll most likely see RVD be a part of the next three big PPVs after Summerslam in the Survivor Series (which has become a shell of its former self), the Royal Rumble, and of course WrestleMania. RVD can provide some credibility to the Rumble match itself, but don’t go as far as to think he’ll be winning it. And after that, expect him to have a big name feud at WrestleMania with an established superstar. Chris Jericho? Sheamus? I’m just spitballing at this point, Mania is 9 months away.

Expect fans to take to him again right away, I’m pretty sure the only pop at Money in the Bank that can rival Van Dam’s, is CM Punk’s who is also beloved by the Philly crowd. He’s going to provide solid, not great matches with the guys he’s put in the ring with. He may be at the tail end of his career but RVD can still go with the best of them, and now that he seems to be far more motivated than he was with other promotions over the last few years, expect him to be in great wrestling shape. In terms of drawing, he’s can still pull in some tickets from the older generation of wrestling fans. The old-school ECW fans and early 2000’s WWE fans will flock to see him for perhaps the last few times. He should make a nice impact in terms of sales for Money in the Bank, as WWE did a fantastic job of promoting him. RVD even stated that he gained 10,000 followers in two days after the first promo, and had people asking him why he’s returned to wrestling, when he in fact been wrestling for all these years! All in all, I’m incredibly excited to see one of my all-time favorites to make his much-anticipated return to the WWE squared circle. RVD has produced some amazing moments in career, let’s hope he can add a few more in this final run.