Smark Out Moment

Another month, another ppv. You ready for Hell in a Cell? I know I am. Sure, Breaking Point did the exact opposite for me and made it so I don't believe that these gimmick style pay-per-views are a good idea, but I mean, come on...look at this card. On paper, this looks like it could be really great, and when you're already a fan of the Hell in a Cell gimmick, it sweetens the deal. So let's get the hell out of here and start looking at what they're presenting us with...

As of writing this Friday night, on tonight’s Smackdown, Batista announces that he and Mysterio will try to win the unified tag titles. We’ve heard reports saying they were worried about a lack of star power with Hardy, Edge, and Mysterio gone, but now that Mysterio is coming back, was there a point in moving Batista over? It was two weeks of a difference and Batista is no miracle cure. Batista is working a lighter house show schedule, is he not? No upgrade there.

Then there’s the issue of what they consider “star power”. For a while now in the WWE, we’ve had a group I’ve grown to call the “Foursome of Focus” (HHH, Cena, Orton, and Batista) who seem to be in an everlasting struggle to determine who gets to eat up the most amount of fast-forward time on my DVR each week. If one of these four aren’t on your screen, chances are, you’re on a commercial. It might seem like a good thing that Batista isn’t on Raw, as now that would open up time for someone else to fill in that position, right? Think again. Batista’s been out with an injury for a while now and did we see any of the younger guys move up the ladder at all? Swagger, Miz, Kofi, Carlito, Bourne, Carlito, Masters, MVP, Henry, Primo…ALL these guys have been struggling just to find 3 minutes of airtime each week, let alone being placed in proper feuds that the creative team has put genuine time and effort into crafting. So with Batista off Raw, it’s not like there’s a breath of fresh air coming up, as we’d have seen it before. The only difference now is that Batista will be taking time on Smackdown away from the guys that were receiving steady airtime. You can say goodbye to that John Morrison main event push, as now that Batista is there, he’ll be fighting with Matt Hardy over the #4 face spot.

That’s another thing annoying me about this move. WWE thought that Smackdown was in need of someone else to fill in the ranks, but decided to go with another face? From my count, they’ve got Undertaker, Mysterio, Morrison, Hardy, Finlay, Khali, and R-Truth. Who do they have for heels? CM Punk, and then Kane, Ziggler, and Knox. You can’t count McIntyre as he has no legs to stand on yet, and you can’t count Jericho as he’s always going to be in a tag team feud until he loses those belts. When Kane is your #2 heel, you’ve got a problem. Meanwhile, Swagger, Carlito, Masters, and Miz are all treading water on Raw as none of them are being put in positions where they can blossom. Why not move Swagger or Miz over and let them test that upper midcard boundary, in the process also relieving Raw of its “overcrowded and underutilized” section? I certainly don’t see Matt Hardy in any feuds right now. Swagger or Miz could have been put in a feud with him and bingo, all your spots are filled, you’re helping to push another star up the ladder so he can be a future member of the “star power fallback team” and guaranteed your ratings won’t be slipping in the process.

Does Batista make money for the WWE? Yes, apparently. Does that mean he deserves some focus? Of course, and if you disagree with that, you’re either trying to look at the WWE in a non-business sense or you’re just blind with hate for the guy. But unless Batista’s move to Smackdown somehow generates an increase in revenue for the company, it’ll result in a loss. Dropping .1 in the ratings on Raw and adding .1 to Smackdown does nothing positive and if its at the expense of belittling the potential of some of the up and comers from being people that can make you money in the future, you’re looking at a negative response. I just don’t think that the WWE thought this one through, as they typically don’t think of the consequences of their actions before doing them (cough*booking yourself into a corner with the Punk/Taker match*cough) and I have a feeling that not only will they be suffering come this time next year with the draft, but the WWE fans will be suffering from seeing a diminished quality on Smackdown - possibly even WrestleMania. I don’t think the answer is to unleash the Animal on Smackdown, but release the Animal from Smackdown and let them continue providing the quality entertainment they’ve been doing for weeks now.

I'm always open to someone's arguments though. Its ultimately up to the WWE to change my mind, but those who support this move, let me know your opinions. Either that or you can just send me feedback about how you agree with me, which is also great, as my ego’s always game for an upgrade.

So Lilian Garcia has left the WWE as previously established. Glad to see she got the chance to address her fans and say goodbye. With that, they need another announcer. It appears they've made their choice, with this new girl Lauren Mayhew:

SWEET! Lol. Ok, biased, because she's hot, and I haven't heard her voice at all, I'll admit it. Apparently, she's a singer, so that will help out the WWE as Lilian would always sing the national anthem. Plus, she may be working Smackdown instead of Raw due to her inexperience, which makes perfect sense, as Justin Roberts is more than qualified to move to Raw (and I'm assuming that's what will happen). Hopefully she has a passion for the WWE and isn't just looking at this as a random gig, because they need someone who is willing to really get excited about the product and not feel burned out within a year's span.

We'll have to wait and see if she's worth the position, but right now, I'm game. I wouldn't mind seeing this on my TV before every match:

Well here we are: another month, another pay-per-view. It's time to break down Breaking Point.

Unified Tag Team Championship: The Big Show Chris Jericho (c) def. MVP Mark Henry
Is it just me, or does anyone else really like the duo of Mark Henry and MVP, especially when they're given a really great set of matching attire to go along with it and make them seem like a legitimate tag team? I don't think we can look for MVP making any giant leaps and bounds into main event status, nor do I think they will ever give Mark Henry that spot outside of to job now and again, so I wouldn't mind if these two stayed together for a little while. The problem is, they've had enough encounters with Jericho and Big Show that really, who else is there for them to face? This match was a good opener, but I do have one bone to pick. I think they're running this "Big Show is on the outside and punches someone so Jericho can pin them" match ending on its last leg. They can do better than that after they've done it several times already.


United States Championship: Kofi Kingston (c) def. The Miz
Well this came out of the blue on the card. They really could be building this as a real good feud, but it seems like they refuse to put any effort into it. The Miz and Kofi are two people that the WWE will be banking on in the future, how often recently have they not even been on the Raw card, let along getting the proper time it requires to get the fans to care about the two of them facing each other? And the worst part of it is that they proved tonight that they can put on a match that would deliver if you'd give them a little bit of steam, but they're clearly going to waste. I definitely want to see more of this and less of, well, a lot of things on Raw.

Submissions Count Anywhere: Legacy def. DX
Sadly, I was disappointed. This match suffered greatly from how haphazard it was. Between the camera work, the poor lighting in some areas, all the crowds, and the fact that they couldn't follow the action for more than 2 seconds before cutting to someone else, I had no idea what was going on for 75% of the match. The parts of the brawling that I could actually see were ok, but the two highlights of this match for me were the very beginning with the joke about the Montreal Screwjob, as well as the very end. I was just recently talking about how I miss how Bret Hart used to do the figure four on the ring post and how the spike piledriver was one of my favorite moves that I regret that I can't see in the WWE anymore, so they brought the excitement level up. Having HBK submit with that figure four PLUS the Million Dollar Dream in no way hurts his credibility and it makes Legacy look very skilled.

Singapore Cane Match: Kane def. The Great Khali
A tedious Orton promo, a commercial plug, and then this match? Man is it obvious that they planned this as the bathroom break. There isn't much to say about a match like this that consists of a few strikes, some lumbering around, and then the finish. The only thing to really point out is that Kane pulled off a decent chokeslam and that I'm very glad he came out of it victorious, as Kane loses too much for his own good, and maybe this will be an upward climb towards trying to get Kane back into being worth it.

Jimmy Wang Yang vs. CM Punk
Ok not really, but hey, Jimmy Wang Yang is on the ppv! Poor guy. His ring attire might as well say "punching bag" on it, because any time he's on camera, you know he's getting whooped.

ECW Championship: Christian (c) def. William Regal
I'd say that this was their best match so far, but I'm still not a fan of this feud in the slightest bit. I severely wish a pink slip upon Kozlov, and I think Regal is one of the most overrated wrestlers out there and very sloppy. Still, it kept my attention, and I went into it not knowing who would win, so you can't discredit everything. Hopefully they don't simply have Christian move onto feuding with the two lackeys for the next 5 months, but I don't know where they're going after this.

Intercontinental Championship: John Morris...wait
So they felt the need to take away this match because supposedly, they couldn't think of a way to end it without making someone look bad. Have they forgotten about the possibility of letting them both get counted out while they brawl on the outside? Have they forgotten about double knockouts, quick pinfalls, DQs? Instead of a match between two talented superstars, we get Pat Patterson rambling until he's cut off by the Dolph Ziggler Comedy Hour. I'll admit, I laughed at some of the jokes, but did anyone else feel that it went on a bit too long? Morrison probably would've had a decent reaction if they'd have played his music and had him come out to cut a promo, instead of just sliding into the ring to do the stereotypical "are you ok, buddy" gesture to Patterson. I don't get a good match between these two because its replaced by what would be a poor segment even for Smackdown? Even Michael Cole said, literally, "let's get back to Breaking Point" as if this segment really was a part of something else. Highlight of this part was the chant going on in the background, which I won't repeat here because after all, WWE is PG right?

WWE Championship (I Quit Match): John Cena def. Randy Orton (c)
The first two minutes into this match, I began hating it. The energy was low and I was seeing nothing I hadn't seen before. Once the handcuffs came into place, however, things really picked up and became much more interesting. What I liked about this was how it was different. Sure, it wasn't even close to a technical wrestling masterpiece, but it was a good demonstration of what an I Quit would really be like. Why go through a bunch of arm drags and sunset flips when you can handcuff your opponent to the ring and beat the hell out of him with various objects? It made sense, it was something fresh, and some of those shots really seemed painful as you can tell from the welts on Cena's chest by the end. The safe bet wins, of course, with Cena not quitting, which isn't surprising in the least. What did surprise me was how they seemed to forget that that wasn't the last match on the card and let the victory celebration last for what, 20 minutes? That was annoying. I'm sure I wasn't as annoyed with that though as the anti-Cena crowd is going to be with him having a sixth title reign, though.

World Heavyweight Championship: Undertaker def. CM Punk (c)
Ok so I wouldn't go so far as to say it became the train wreck I said it could have been, but I really never got into this at all. Maybe it was the combination of a bunch of let downs during the night or maybe these two just don't have a whole lot of chemistry together, but I actually was bored watching this. The Undertaker is one of my favorites and I find CM Punk to be entertaining, but that just wasn't the case tonight. Also, what was up with the ending here? People were complaining about the Orton/Cena match at SummerSlam having the "worst ending ever" which I didn't agree with, but anyone who wants to tear into this one, feel free. Another screwjob? Come on. Save me the storyline promo on Friday night and just have Vince McMahon come out, tell the fans "I didn't think ahead of time when I booked this match and I couldn't think of a way to keep the belt on Punk, so I panicked, I'm sorry, here's a Hell in a Cell match for next month" because that's really all this seems to have been.

Remember how I said I was hesitant about these gimmick themed pay-per-views and how I think they'll cheapen the matches as well as prevent Creative from being able to book things logically? Yeah, this event didn't change my mind one bit. Very disappointing overall. I guess SummerSlam was a needle in a haystack.

Well it looks like we found out why Jeff Hardy wanted to leave the WWE...

Jeff Hardy has been arrested for possession of anabolic steroids and a number of pills, reports ThePilot.com, a local newspaper from Moore County where Jeff Hardy is located. "Hardy, 32, of 265 Boys Camp Road, Cameron, was arrested after a search of his residence yielded 262 Vicodin prescription pills, 180 Soma prescription pills, 555 milliliters of anabolic steroids, a residual amount of powder cocaine and items of drug paraphernalia..." He's currently in Moore County jail with bail set at $125,000. Hardy was charged with felony trafficking in opium, two counts of felony possession with intent to sell or deliver a Schedule III controlled substance, felony maintaining a dwelling to keep controlled substance, felony possession of cocaine and misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia.

If this is true, which it seems to be...c'mon, Jeff. Get your act together. Way to make it seem like not only can you not be trusted, but you can't stay clean for more than a year without snapping back like a rubber band the moment you're out of your contract and free to do all this without a suspension.

Jeff Hardy is a talented superstar. I like watching his matches. But Jesus is he a liability when it comes to his personal life. Its a real shame that Matt Hardy, the clean, sober, hard working Hardy brother, doesn't have the look and talent that his brother does, while his talented brother has all these problems.

Thumbs up, Jeff, for proving your detractors right.

Coming off the heels of what I would say was an overall great pay-per-view in SummerSlam, does Breaking Point have the ability to keep the momentum going and match or top the quality? On paper, maybe so. I'm hesitant to believe in this strategy that they're using now of having match themed pay-per-views, as I feel it has the potential to seriously cheapen the importance of said gimmicks, so it is up to Breaking Point to prevent me from biting my nails for Hell in a Cell and TLC...

WWE Championship (I Quit Match): Randy Orton (c) vs. John Cena
At first glance, you would think that John Cena will beat Orton with the STF, right? That's certainly the safest bet and the most likely one to go down. However, WWE just threw a curveball out there by announcing that Batista has a big announcement next week on Raw. What does this mean? In the back of my mind, I still think WWE wants to have Cena defeat Batista at WrestleMania XXVI for the WWE title, so I don't think they'll be feuding around Survivor Series as that will kill said idea. Of course, this doesn't mean that Orton has to retain, nor does it mean Batista's big announcement even has to involve the belt. He could very well come back and start some heel turn and a feud with HHH, or he could come back and say he just banged the Bella twins. Who knows? I do think its safe to say that if Batista isn't going to be in the title picture, then Cena will pick up the victory, and if he IS, then Orton will retain.

PREDICTION: Cena wins via STF.

World Heavyweight Championship (Submission Match): CM Punk (c) vs. The Undertaker
Someone brought up a viable idea in regards to this match: Punk could use chloroform or something like it to "beat" Undertaker without having Taker actually tap out. I can definitely see something like that happening here, as it just doesn't seem right for the Undertaker to submit to Punk, nor does it feel right to have Punk drop the title so soon. These two could mesh well just as equally as they could be a train wreck together. For Punk's sake, I'm hoping its the former, as Taker has nothing to lose by having a bad match, but Punk could find himself in a bad position when it comes to future title reigns if he can't pull off a good match with a seasoned vet.

PREDICTION: CM Punk somehow, cheaply, retains.

Intercontinental Championship: John Morrison (c) vs. Dolph Ziggler
I actually wouldn't be too surprised if Morrison lost the title this quickly. I don't necessarily think he will, but I wouldn't be astounded. If we were to have Rey against Ziggler, Dolph most likely would have won the title, so they probably had plans for that, however, they needed someone else to take Rey's place at the last minute and went with Morrison, who I'm assuming was scheduled to be Ziggler's first challenger. Who knows? This is a tough one to call. It should be good if given a proper amount of time, though.

PREDICTION: I'm 50/50 on this, but I'll go with Morrison retaining, for now.

Submissions Count Anywhere: DX vs. Legacy
I'm very excited about the potential that this match has. Falls Count Anywhere matches are usually very fun, and I've yet to see a scenario like that but with submissions, let alone involving my favorite faction against two talented up and comers. I'll admit as well that I'm a bit curious to see if Legacy will get cheered against HBK due to how much Canadians still resent him. He's my favorite and I'll always root for the guy, but I found myself oddly pumped up when the crowd was recently chanting for Cody Rhodes, and HBK has nothing to lose at this point in his career. What am I hoping goes down here? I'm hoping DiBiase makes HHH submit with the Million Dollar Dream. That would put an enormous grin on my face.

PREDICTION: Legacy wins, but how, I'm not sure.

ECW Championship: Christian (c) vs. William Regal
The main thing with ECW that bothers me is that I can't see any plans that they're making for WrestleMania with this roster. You definitely can't have someone like Tyler Reks be a part of a singles match for the title at the biggest ppv of the year, nor can you trust Kozlov to be worth the spot anymore. Regal and Christian are feuding now, and Dreamer won't get a spotlight at Mania. It looks like they keep teasing Shelton turning face, so would they really do Christian vs a face Shelton? I don't know. But just to switch it up a little, I'm assuming Regal wins here, just so he can have a title defense against Dreamer, another against Hurricane, and then drop it to a face Shelton or back to Christian, with Christian feuding with Ryder and Sheamus in between.

PREDICTION: Regal wins the title after Kozlov and Ahmed Johnson..er..Ezekiel, interfere.

Signapore Cane Match: The Great Khali vs. Kane
Bathroom break. Hopefully this is the last time these two go at it, as I find Khali much more entertaining when he's not on TV and I can forget that he even exists. His theme has a catchy beat though, I'll give the character that. Kane would be better served feuding with someone else like...well, the only one left is Matt Hardy, so I guess him by default.

PREDICTION: Hoping Kane wins, but Khali probably does via Khali Bomb.

Unified Tag Team Championship: Chris Jericho & The Big Show (c) vs. MVP & Mark Henry
Too soon to take the titles off JeriShow. MVP and Mark Henry actually sort of work together as a team, I feel. Maybe its the matching red jumpsuits? Haha. Maybe not. Still, MVP brings a little bit of energy and technical wrestling to the team while Mark Henry brings the power presence, much like how the Jericho/Big Show team works. The build up hasn't been spectacular, but at least we had a good MVP promo out of it as well as a bodyslam contest that, albeit was a bit boring, but was still something that we don't see too often. For the most part, their matches haven't been real bad, so this could be fun.

PREDICTION: Jericho and Big Show win via Codebreaker.

Despite the lack of a serious build for most of these matches, I think its safe to say that on paper, the card has a great chance at being worth the watch. The potential is there. We just have to hope that they all tap into it and deliver both behind the scenes and in the ring. Will Breaking Point shatter expectations or will it be so bad that the WWE will be forever Unforgiven? Ok, you have to admit that as lame as that joke was, it was too corny to resist. Go easy on me.