In less than 24 hours, the WWE will put on the first ever Fatal 4 Way Pay Per View. Lucky for me, that show will take place just 20 minutes from my house, so I will be there! Also of note, we will be shooting fan footage and conducting interviews before and after the show, so if you will be at the show, either comment on this article or email me at emc.cordova@gmail.com so I can get you on camera! Now that we have that shameless plug out of the way, let's take a look at the card and shamelessly fail at this month's predictions (with a 25 percent chance of success for 80 percent of the matches, I'm not liking my odds on this one!)
Divas Title Match - Eve(C) vs. Maryse vs. Gail Kim vs. Alicia Fox
I'm glad the WWE added this match to the card, as I wanted to see an entire card of Fatal 4 Way matches to, you know, actually justify the PPV name. These are the 4 single women who are most over, so it makes sense to have them all in the match, but I would have rather had Natalya in somehow. In the limited ring time I've seen of her, I've been impressed. Of course, she trained in the dungeon with the Hart family so I wouldn't expect anything less, but why is it then that she never wrestles? It would be nice to see her actually take to the ring, and I think it would have been a great opportunity to see the storyline between her stable and the Uso stable develop further. All that was necessary was inserting her into the match, Tamina costing her any chance of winning, and more fuel is added to the proverbial fire. As it stands, the only 2 people I can see winning are Maryse and Eve, but I'm going to go with Eve because I don't think her reign needs to end just yet, and because I really don't want to see the talentless Maryse win yet another title.
Intercontinental Championship - Kofi Kingston(C) vs. Drew McIntyre
I feel like this match is purely fodder for the bigger storyline between Drew and Matt Hardy. While Hardy is still suspended from all WWE shows, "The Chosen One" gets a shot at the nearest title competitor. However, I have a feeling that Hardy's presence will be felt in this one, leaving McIntyre very little shot at winning. Unless the WWE feels that this feud needs the title to add more to it (which I don't), I can't see Drew taking the title here. Also, Kofi just won the belts a few weeks ago, and with the WWE looking for a big African American star, it would seem unenviable to unseat possibly the hottest competitor of that genre. Kofi should get the victory here.
United States Championship - The Miz(C) vs. R-Truth
As much as I like the Miz, there is so much I don't like about this match. For one thing, Miz won the belt on Monday IN A FATAL 4 WAY MATCH! Why not just have that match on the Pay Per View! Or even if you have that match on Raw, do it again on the PPV with on change in competitor perhaps. This show deserved to have all Fatal 4 Way Matches, so while we're at it, why not throw Christian and Dolph Ziggler in the IC Title match? It makes no sense to have singles matches at a Fatal 4 Way Pay Per View. This is one concept where doing the match all throughout the card wouldn't make the concept stale. Also, it seems odd that R-Truth lost the belt so quickly, given the search for "African American break out star". I thought they were really trying to push him and give him a chance to earn that distinction. Clearly, they see Miz as the bigger star, as do I, so the belt was put back on him. Let's hope he defends it a lot more this time around, as I see him retaining here. If he doesn't, just shoot me, because having him win on Monday only to lose it back on Sunday would be the most ridiculous thing. Why have him win in the first place in that case?
World Heavyweight Championship - Jack Swagger(C) vs. Big Show vs. CM Punk vs. Rey Mysterio
If Rey Mysterio wins this, I may have to boycott Smackdown until he is relinquished of the title he does not deserve. I know he has a lot of loyal 10 year old fans, but I see no upside to ever putting the title belt on him. The only positive that can come of that is Punk taking the belt OFF of Mysterio. That would mean a continuation of a feud that has been going since March, and I'm not sure interest could be maintained much longer with this one. A better move would be for Punk to win the title himself, prompting others to feud with him both for his belt and their disdain for his self martyrdom. It's between Swagger retaining and Punk winning for me, but I'm going to go with Punk winning. Punk is easily the hottest heel right now, and having him with the title would offer up so many great title match opportunities. Swagger has done well as champion, but with Undertaker set to feud with whoever put him in a "vegetative state", the last major feud for Swagger is out for the moment. There's just more potential with Punk as champion, and I believe WWE will go in that direction sooner rather than later.
WWE Title - John Cena(C) vs. Sheamus vs. Randy Orton vs. Edge
This one is by far the hardest to call. Cena is always the face of the company and would perhaps make the most sense to stay champion with the NXT faction having gunned for him since he was at the top. On the other hand, they have made their battle with management, so Cena seems to be just a pawn. Sheamus could benefit from another title run to completely solidify him as a top heel, while Edge could use the title to get over as a heel, since it seems that his reaction is more mixed than anything at this point. Lastly, Orton could use the title since he is arguably more over than Cena at this point. Capitalizing on Orton's popularity might be ideal, though I think they will ultimately wait on that move. My pick here is Sheamus. He has been gunning for Cena, and I think him taking the title would allow for that program to gain some actual steam. Plus, the potential for Orton to take the title off of Sheamus, who is the most over heel on Raw right now (in the main event, because Jericho and Miz probably get just as much heat) is something the WWE cannot ignore.
The night will not end with Sheamus standing tall though. With just 5 matches on the card, there either needs to be another match or 2 added, which I do expect to happen, but time will most certainly be devoted to the NXT storyline. The last words heard on Raw on Monday were "you have until Sunday to make up your mind", so I have to figure that this will be directly referenced and acted upon at the show. I don't believe for one second that Bret will give them contracts, so to be honest, I have no idea how this will play out. It is a bit humbling to be completely at a loss, but I love it. It's not often that there is true unpredictability in wrestling these days, but this story really has me up in arms. I'm truly excited to see it progress.
So there you have it. Remember to check out Fatal 4 Way Live on Pay Per View tomorrow at 8 and look for me on camera! Just kidding, I have about as much chance at being on camera as Sheamus does in a tan body contest. However, I WILL be on camera before and after the show, mingling with fans of all ages. Look for footage from that hopefully within a week, with pictures and live news and notes coming much sooner. It's an exciting time for the site. Don't miss a minute of it!
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