Predictions from the Faculty
February 21, 2010
Introduction by: David Stephens of WrestleView.com
Conclusion by: Anthony J. Valvo of WrestleView.com
Predictions by: WrestleView columnists, recap specialists, and other columnists
Introduction (By: David Stephens)
Yes it is I, WrestleView’s ECW Recapper and Columnist of ?That’s a Wrap? & ?WrestleView Road Trip?. Back once again to gently ease you into this week’s PPV Prediction column. With more surprises than an Ed Ferrara WCW Script (and arguably more inconsistent) comes the WrestleView Faculty with predictions in hand.
Last year’s Champ, Joe Baiamonte, has found himself near the bottom, in 12th position, after posting a disappointing (2-7) record for Against All Odds. Talent scouts were present expecting to recruit Joe, but instead they found their attention drawn to two other residents of the UK. Daniel Browne has captured the #1 position with a (6-3) showing that shocked audiences around the world. Well, to be fair it wasn?t so much shocking as it was disappointing for Mr. V and myself to look at our own records. Seriously V, you got (1-8)? How’s that even possible? Not that I?m proud of my (3-6)… I guess we?ll just use the excuse that it is great to see the rest of the faculty and students succeed? but that’s a cover. Seriously, watch your backs. V & I are coming to get you. Kind of like the Boogeyman, but younger, and with less worms.
So Daniel Browne takes the top spot followed closely by, (i.e. tied with) Chris Kelly. For those of you who haven?t read Browne’s column ?For Queen and Country? I highly recommend you take the time. Daniel is one of the few writers, or columnists, that I have come across and just stopped to note how gifted they are with language. His command and mastery is honestly flooring, and a pleasure to read regardless of the topic. Tied with Browne is yet another UK citizen (something is fishy with all of them winning if you ask me). Chris Kelly does? something for WrestleView. I guess. No idea really. But hey, he is tied for first so good job on that one mate.
Let’s not start counting ANYONE out (I still have a shot!), because we are only one PPV into this year long project. Last year’s forerunner managed to maintain the lead for almost the entire year, and ultimately was the victor. Will Daniel or Chris manage the same? Or will we find another ?Jose Marrero? to emerge from the pack as a dominate predictor? Only time will tell! Take it away, V.
Standings (reported by Anthony J. Valvo)
Before we present our predictions, here are the current standings as of TNA’s Against All Odds predictions
1) Daniel Browne (For Queen and Country)??????????..6-3 (6-3)
2) Chris Kelly (Wrestling Radio Entrepreneur)????????..?6-3 (6-3)
3) Jose Marrero (Wrestling Rumblings)?????????..???.?5-4 (5-4)
4) Mike Siciliano (Co-Host of Pro Wrestling Rewind)??????5-4 (5-4)
5) Student of the Week (The Best Student from Prev. PPV)?5-4 (5-4)
6) Josh Boutwell (Viva La Raza and TNA Recapper)…????.?4-5 (4-5)
7) WrestleView Students (The Loyal Readers)?????????..4-5 (4-5)
8) Sean Hurley (The Sharpshooter)??????????????…4-5 (4-5)
9) David Stephens (That’s a Wrap and ECW/NXT Recapper). ?3-6 (3-6)
10) Matt O?Brien (Notes From The Nosebleeds)??????????3-6 (3-6)
11) Doug Lackey (Reality From Ringside)????????????.3-6 (3-6)
12) Joe Baiamonte (Baiamonte’s Casa/2009 WV Champion)….2-7 (2-7)
13) Josh Piedra (The Shoot)?????????????????????.2-7 (2-7)
14) Mike Tedesco (Smackdown and Superstars Recapper)??..2-7 (2-7)
15) Anthony Valvo (From the Desk of Mr. V/ROH Recaps)???.1-8 (1-8)
**T.J. Patton is the Student of the Week this round. He will be providing picks in the ?Student of the Week? portion. Everyone else that provides me with picks will be listed under the ?WrestleView Students?.
Predictions (By: WrestleView columnists, Staff, and Student of the Week)
**FOR THE DIVA?S CHAMPIONSHIP**
Maryse vs. Gail Kim (title is vacant due to Melina’s injury last December)
Daniel B. ? MARYSE.
Chris K. ? MARYSE.
Jose M. ? MARYSE.
Mike S. ? MARYSE.
T.J. P. ? GAIL KIM def. Maryse. They need this fued to go into WrestleMania and Gail has to win for that to happen. There is nowhere else for Maryse to go other than a cross-promotion match and Smackdown has enough of their own issues unresolved with Mickie, Layla, McCool, and Beth Phoenix. Maryse will win the re-match At WrestleMania.
Josh B. ? MARYSE.
Sean H. ? MARYSE. She is hot and potentially crazy.
David S. ? GAIL KIM got a pretty nice rub from Bret Hart this past Monday on RAW (that’s NOT what I meant). I have no basis for this, but my gut says Gail, so that’s my pick.
Matt O. ? MARYSE.
Doug L. ? MARYSE via … seriously… you want me to give you a reason? Do you honestly think the people with the ‘dry-erase board’ are satisfied with Gail Kim’s past 3 matches?
Joe B. ? MARYSE.
Josh P. ? Women’s match… time to get out the ol’ coin. *flips* It’s heads. MARYSE
Mike T. ? I’m picking MARYSE here.
Anthony V. ? First off, I am ?on tilt?. I can?t believe I almost went 0-fer (and I could very well tonight). But with this match, I see something here. It might be a tell, I don?t know. Maryse is playing nice with Gail and then speaking in French. I never studied it, but I am assuming that it is smug. I am going with GAIL KIM because I think Maryse is too confident on getting her title back. Let Maryse chase for once.
Consensus: MARYSE 11; Gail Kim 3.
**FOR THE INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPIONSHIP**
Drew McIntyre (c) vs. Kane
Daniel B. ? DREW MCINTYRE.
Chris K. ? DREW MCINTYRE.
Jose M. ? DREW MCINTYRE.
Mike S. ? DREW MCINTYRE.
T.J. P. ? DREW MCINTYRE def. Kane- Kane is pretty much just building guys up which is what he’ll do here.
Josh B. ? DREW MCINTYRE.
Sean H. ? DREW MCINTYRE.
David S. ? As much as I always pull for Kane, I doubt that he’ll be the next Intercontinental Champion. The Powers that Be have a lot of faith in DREW MCINTYRE, and I don’t see that ending anytime soon.
Matt O. ? MCINTYRE.
Doug L. ? MCINTYRE via preparations for his epic downfall in Phoenix. There have been plenty of Drew-bashings for the past couple months, complaints about what exactly everyone sees that we don’t… maybe we could see it at WrestleMania 26. If not? Sounds like a win-win for all, doesn’t it?
Joe B. ? MCINTYRE Retains.
Josh P. ? While Kane would normally be my choice of preference here, I am going to say that it’s a little too soon to take the championship off of the handpicked newcomer of Vince McMahon. DREW MCINTYRE
Mike T. ? DREW MCINTYRE for sure. If he loses it’ll be by DQ.
Anthony V. ? Kane will make DREW MCINTYRE look good for once, but the champ retains.
Consensus: MCINTYRE 14; Kane 0.
**FOR THE WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP**
The Undertaker (c) vs. CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho vs. Rey Mysterio vs. R-Truth vs. John Morrison
Daniel B. ? CHRIS JERICHO.
Chris K. ? CHRIS JERICHO.
Jose M. ? CHRIS JERICHO.
Mike S. ? CHRIS JERICHO.
T.J. P. ? Unless Edge is beating the streak, Undertaker is losing since he’s taking time off. R-Truth and Morrison (if he wrestles, which this is probably how Michaels gets in a storyline w/ the Undertaker) are pushed just by being here and aren’t going to suddenly headline WrestleMania. Punk and Mysterio seem to be headed towards a fued with each other rather than a title. Leaves the obvious choice, CHRIS JERICHO with the built in story against Edge, as the new champion.
Josh B. ? CHRIS JERICHO.
Sean H. ? Although he got the upper hand at the end of Smackdown, I’m going with CHRIS JERICHO.
David S. ? Undertaker loses… but to whom? I’m going to give the belt to CM PUNK!
Matt O. ? CHRIS JERICHO.
Doug L. ? JERICHO via the inevitable… JoMo replaced by HBK… HBK and ‘Taker having a nice heart-to-heart in the confines of the chainlinked tit… Rey executes ‘crash and burn maneuver #25’… CM and R-Truth do something, not sure what but I’m sure we’ll talk about it for potentially 5 seconds… Jericho picks up the pieces…. which leads to the reasoning for Canada’s chubby… Jericho-Edge for the World Title at WM26.
Joe B. ? JERICHO.
Josh P. ? With the Undertaker possibly taking time off after WrestleMania, and this consistent storyline of Shawn Michaels turning heel over the fact that he is losing his chance at a rematch with the dead man, I am going to eliminate him from this match. Punk, Mysterio, Truth, and Morrison don’t have a chance here since they are all cannon fodder. Shawn Michaels WILL play a role in this match and Chris Jericho will steal the championship, leading to Edge/Jericho at mania. CHRIS JERICHO
Mike T. ? CHRIS JERICHO BABY!
Anthony V. ? Once again, Mr. V calculated the odds. I will say zero chance to CM Punk and Rey because of a rumored feud going into WrestleMania. I say R-Truth is just filler because of lack of face power on the Blue Brand, and John Morrison as well. Both have no chance. Taker or Jericho? Well, I think Shawn Michaels will do something to get a piece of Taker and though Taker has a 30% chance at winning, I give the greatest odds of winning (70%) to CHRIS JERICHO. Edge vs. Jericho could very well be the best WM Main Event in a long time (remember, Taker vs. HBK was not the Main Event).
Consensus: CHRIS JERICHO 13; CM Punk 1; The Rest did not get a vote.
**FOR THE WWE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP**
Sheamus (c) vs. HHH vs. John Cena vs. Kofi Kingston vs. Randy Orton vs. Ted DiBiase, Jr.
Daniel B. ? SHEAMUS.
Chris K. ? SHEAMUS.
Jose M. ? SHEAMUS.
Mike S. ? SHEAMUS.
T.J. P. ? Sheamus needs to drop the belt before Mania as his title reign hasn’t been impressive enough to continue into the top show of the year. Best place to drop it is here. Orton and DiBiase probably are in here to further the breaking of Legacy. Don’t see Kingston head-lining WrestleMania, yet, though he’s headed that way.
I could see either HHH or Cena winning it as they’re always in the mix for a main event spot. I’m going with what I think is the storyline. JOHN CENA wins the title. It is revealed on Raw the next night that Batista’s “compensation” for helping McMahon with Hart and the reason he opted out of the Elimination Chamber qualifier is he was given the other Main Event spot for Wrestlemania and will wrestle Cena since Edge is facing Jericho.
Josh B. ? TRIPLE H.
Sean H. ? This is either going to come down to Snitsky 2k10 (credit: Countingthelights.com) or Triple H. If we’re going to have Sheamus/Triple H at Mania, I’d much rather see Trips chase Sheamus. Also, Sheamus needs to get one strong win under his belt if he even wants to pose a threat to Triple H for their Mania feud (it won’t matter anyway, as Trips will make sure everyone thinks Sheamus is a joke and that wrestling him would be a waste of Triple H’s time). Anyhow, I’m going with SHEAMUS. Also, “Snitsky 2k10” doesn’t do justice to Counting The Lights. If you’re a wrestling fan who’s looking for irreverent, crude, caustic opinions, a constant thread of honesty laced through prose of a high order, you will thoroughly enjoy Countingthelights.com I know Mr. V does! (Mr. V Note: I will admit if you need a good laugh on some terrible wrestling, give this little site a look at.)
David S. ? Hmm, this is tough. JOHN CENA? Sure, why not.
Matt O. ? SHEAMUS.
Doug L. ? SHEAMUS via ‘don’t ruin such a good thing’ mentality. Orton and Lil’ Ted will have a slight spat of sorts… Kofi MIGHT make it to the steps this time around… Cena and HHH will be too busy reliving the last 267 matches they’ve had together… Sheamus kicks the WWE Universe in the noggin reminding them who the f#$k he is! BRILLIANT!!!
Joe B. ? SHEAMUS.
Josh P. ? Hmm.. this one is a tough call.. I like this, though, because it adds unpredictability, which is something a lot of wrestling companies are sorely missing these days. The big question here is whether or not the WWE wants to have Sheamus headline WrestleMania.. if that’s the case, then he would either win here, which would require a storyline to set up his match, or lose here with him challenging the winner for a rematch. Given the current situation in the WWE, HHH and Orton are out. Their past might end up eliminating each other. DiBiase is there to look like a breakout star, and perhaps, it will be DiBiase eliminating Orton (the more likely scenario). We also have the Kofi card with Orton so with three people in there with a history… Orton is gone no matter how much you look at it. This leaves, Cena and HHH as I’m sure DiBiase and Kingston will either eliminate one another or get eliminated by HHH or Cena. Because of their match on Raw, I am going to say that either HHH or Cena will eliminate one of the other, or distract each other long enough for Sheamus to eliminate HHH. When it boils down to it… it will be Cena and Sheamus as the final two and regardless of outcome, they will meet again at mania… I’m going to say WWE pulls out the shocker and has Sheamus retain only to drop the belt to Cena at mania. SHEAMUS
Mike T. ? Eh SHEAMUS I guess…
Anthony V. ? This Chamber match is more difficult to pick then the other. First off, I am taking Kofi and Ted Jr., and Orton out of this equation because Kofi is going to steal the show but not win (kind of like MITB at WM 25). Ted Jr. and Orton have to build up their pending feud. I can really see Ted Jr. helping Orton, then turning on Orton when his back is turned. That leaves me with Cena, HHH, and Sheamus. I think what we will see is HHH pedigree-ing Cena for the pin and Sheamus kicking HHH out of nowhere to retain. So, SHEAMUS will win this battle, but HHH will win the war come WrestleMania.
Consensus: SHEAMUS 11; John Cena 2; Triple H 1; The rest did not get a vote.
Conclusion (By: Anthony J. Valvo)
Well, that does it for the first edition of Predictions from the Faculty for the 2010-2011 season.
And remember students, this is YOUR column too! Please present to me your choices for the winners of any PPV by e-mail at mistervwv@hotmail.com or by sending me an inbox message on Facebook. Winner of each PPV receives a coveted (and NEVER duplicated) Gold Star in my latest column and is named the ?Student of the Week? for the next Predictions article.
Well, that does it for us, class. On behalf of my peers on WrestleView I bid you farewell. We will be taking a six day break and will be back for our predictions for WWE’s Elimination Chamber!
As always, thank you for reading our predictions. Now go enjoy Valentine’s Day class! You are all???DISMISSED!