World Heavyweight Championship
Sheamus vs Randy Orton vs Alberto del Rio vs Chris Jericho
Speaking of random… Rumor has it this match was turned into a 4-way because of a percieved lack of interest in a Sheamus/ADR singles match. Good eyes, WWE creative, nobody wants to see that. Sure they had to effectively (and further) end the brand split to make both title matches tonight happen, but it’s worth it just for the extra excitement Orton will bring to this match. I mean…Jericho. Because he’s in this match, right? I can’t see this ending in any other way besides Sheamus vs Randy Orton at next month’s No Way Out PPV. Then again, Vince notoriously hates face/face interactions, so unless they turn one of their golden gooses back into a baddie, we may miss out on what could be a really good match. In fact, I’m not sure if Sheamus and Orton couldn’t re-capture what Christian did last summer, trading the belt over the course of 4-5 months.
Prediction: Sheamus retains. Orton is a better chaser.
WWE Championship
CM Punk vs. Daniel Bryan
Why? Don’t get me wrong, as Jim Ross said in his latest blog entry (*insert cheesy Johnny Ace smile and thumbs up from Wrestlezone.com) these two could easily challenge Triple H and Undertaker for match of the year — GIVEN THE RIGHT SITUATION. These two are going to go out there and put on one hell of a wrestling match, but where’s the drama? Why, except for the afformentioned words “wrestling match”, should I be excited about this? Because it’s Daniel Bryan — the kid who just sprang up because of a chant and an 18-second loss at Mania — and my hometown hero CM Punk? This is like Jericho and Punk all over again; two guys fighting to be best in the world, with no emotion or desperation shown yet from either man. It feels like a panick-move from Creative. If these guys go all summer, then I’m excited to see how it starts tonight. If not, and this is just another one-off Punk/Bryan match to appease the internet, I don’t want any part of it. Except, you know, for the wrestling match…
Prediction: CM Punk retains. Bryan is good, and incredibly over, but there’s no way he goes over Punk yet.
