Predictions from the Faculty Lounge
PPV: WWE Backlash (April 26)
Written by: Anthony J. Valvo
Predictions by: WrestleView.com staff and readers
Well, this finally concludes what will be the busiest month for the Faculty, Backlash. I am sure we are all tired after having to work three extra Sundays to give you, the WV students, our educated predictions for the 2nd PPV for the WWE in April. We are giving you our best guesses as to who will be victorious after the night is over. So, my students, Sunday School begins right now. This year’s Backlash will be held at the Dunkin? Donuts Center in Providence, Rhode Island (mmm?donut?). Have a seat, relax, and keep your eyes on the computer (or if you printed this out, on your paper). Class begins, right now?
As of today, WrestleView’s Joe Baiamonte continues his reign as ?Dean? of WrestleView by having a one game advantage over ECW recap artist David Stephens and three games ahead of the WrestleView students. With different predictions by both these guys we will have a change in power? Or will Dean Baiamonte hold his title longer than HHH has been world champion? Will the students be the leaders for the first time? Well, anything can happen, as this PPV picks can be unpredictable. As of 8am Eastern Time, the top 8 WV columnists have posted their picks. Here is a complete list of the standings as of Sunday:
Standings as of 4/25/2009
1) Joe Baiamonte (Baiamonte’s Casa)…..24-14 (Present)
2) David Stephens (That’s a Wrap and ECW recaps)…..23-15 (Present)
3) WrestleView Fans (Pro Wrestling’s Loyal)…..21-17 (Present)
4) Anthony Valvo (From the Desk of Mr. V)…..19-19 (Present)
5) Matt O?Brien (Notes From the Nosebleeds)…..18-12 (Present)
6) Josh Boutwell (Viva La Raza! and TNA recaps)…..18-20 (Present)
7) Jose Marrero (Wrestling Rumblings)…..18-20 (Present)
8) Phil Chroniger (On Second Thought)…..16-17 (Present)
9) Josh Piedra (The Shoot)…..9-9 (Present)
10) Sean Hurley (The Sharp Shooter)…..8-13 (Excused)
11) Doug Lackey (Reality From Ringside)…..4-4 (Excused)
12) Mike Klubnik (Stylin? and Profilin?)…..3-5 (Excused)
13) Ryan Droste (Ask WV)…..0-0 (Excused)
World Heavyweight Championship (Last Man Standing): John Cena (c) vs. Edge
Joe B. – It’s a tough one. I don’t see why they would put the title on Cena just to take it back off him a month later. But then again, SD doesn’t have a world champ. I say CENA wins here and somehow gets drafted to SD soon.
David S. – This is tough. The logical pick would be Edge who would take the Title to Smackdown. But then again I remember what happened with Punk last year when he brought the Title back to RAW when Smackdown had two. I’m really twiddling my thumbs on this one. Alright maybe I should go Edge. Screw it I’m going Cena, well hmm, um….. EDGE, Final answer.
Anthony V. – Wow, this is going to be pretty tough. The obvious choice is Edge because of the fact that Smackdown needs a world title. But we all know how much Vince hates it when Mr. V is correct. However, since this is a No DQ contest, it does change the odds a bit. I am going to go with my gut here and say that EDGE will be the new champion.
Matt O. – CENA
Josh B. – EDGE takes the belt back to Smackdown with him and Superman goes after the WWE strap.
Jose M. – JOHN CENA- I dont know why I am feeling this way but I think WWE wants this whole Smackdown dont have a title deal to go for at least another month so I am giving this match to Cena.
Phil C. – EDGE will win this
Josh P. – This is going to be hard to predict. Either Edge will win and bring the title to Smackdown, or John Cena will win and CM Punk will cash in his money in the bank and beat Cena, bringing the title to Smackdown. Either way, I see the title going to Smackdown, but due to the over usage of the cheap MITB wins, I’ll say Edge beats Cena and wins his 9th world title, only to hold it for less than three months before Punk beats him and becomes the face of Smackdown. EDGE
Consensus: In a very close decision, the faculty predicts a title change in the works in this Last Man Standing Contest. Based on the votes, EDGE will be bringing a world title to Smackdown, based on our 5-3 vote for The Rated R Superstar.
WWE Championship: Legacy (Orton/Priceless) vs. Team HHH (HHH/Batista/Shane)
**If anyone on Orton’s team wins, Orton is new champ**
**If anyone on HHH’s team wins, HHH retains championship**
Joe B. – LEGACY win after a Batista heel turn. Orton wins the title.
David S. – LEGACY wins. I’m expecting a Shane heel turn as he is the only 2nd generation star on the HHH team. Plus it is this time of year that igloos start melting.
Anthony V. – I sense that we see the Legacy welcome a new member..Shane O?Mac. Shane hits Cody on purpose with a chair to give ORTON (LEGACY) his long-awaited title run.
Matt O. – LEGACY
Josh B. – LEGACY. Now does Shane turn?
Jose M. – HHH- It just feels so hokey that Orton wins the title in this match. I feel something has to give where we can have the long awaited battle of Evolution next month.
Phil C. – LEGACY wins, Orton is your new champ.
Josh P. – HHH, Batista, and Shane all want Orton. They teased miscommunication between them and after the horrid debacle they put Orton through with Wrestlemania, this has to be a no brainer here. Someone from Legacy (preferably Orton) pins someone from the super team (preferably HHH) and wins the WWE Title. RANDY ORTON
Consensus: In this continued rivalry, anything is possible. With a 7-1 vote, We are predicting a NEW WWE Champion, as Randy Orton and LEGACY almost took all our predictions. The majority of the faculty strongly believes a heel turn is in the works, by either Shane or Batista. Jose Marrero made a case for HHH (and it is a very strong one), but the faculty still believes there will be a change in power tonight, and the Age of Orton will begin.
ECW Championship: Jack Swagger (c) vs. Christian
Joe B. – I don’t think they’re ready to take the title off SWAGGER just yet, so I say he wins this one. Possibly by DQ or some kind of dirty finish.
David S. – CHRISTIAN. The real winners here are the viewers. That’s the case anytime my ECW guys wrestle.
Anthony V. – I love Christian and I expect him to be the next ECW champion. However, I picked 2 title changes already and I don?t think three is going to happen. I hate to say this, but I am going to say that JACK SWAGGER retains the title here, at least for the maximum two months. I hope I am wrong though 🙂
Matt O. – CHRISTIAN
Josh B. – CHRISTIAN. 3 new World Champs? doubtful but im pickin it! The Instant Classic should put on another classic with the All American American.
Jose M. – CHRISTIAN-This PPV needs a title change pure and simple and since I didnt have any of the other belts switching I have to give this one to Christian. I don?t see him doin a job for Jack Swagger twice on PPV.
Phil C. – As much as I would like to see Christian win this, I think SWAGGER will win in very cheap fashion, or retain but lose by DQ. Either way, Swagger will come out of this as champ, but will leave the door wide open for Christian to chase the title some more.
Josh P. – Oh God Oh God Oh God I want it to be Christian. Everyone and their mother wants it to be Christian, but I just have this deep down nagging feeling that Christian is going to come up short in this match. I really really want to pick Christian, but.. ugh. Screw it… I pick Christian even though Swagger will retain. CHRISTIAN
Consensus: Three title changes in one PPV? By way of a 5-3 vote among the faculty members, do not be surprised, as Captain Charisma, CHRISTIAN, is projected to defeat the All American American. Even with the majority leading to Christian, don?t be surprised if ?The Wrestling Prodigy? retains the silver title. However, I guess we could say that the peep-u-lation will rejoice! Your ECW savior will be the champion!
I Quit Match: Jeff Hardy vs. Matt Hardy
Joe B. – JEFF all the way.
David S. – JEFF HARDY Matt’s leaving for RAW so the feud should end. Come on Matt doesn’t need FOUR victories over his brother during the course of a month.
Anthony V. – MATT HARDY will win in a very violent contest with a Knockout. I think that Jeff is going to crash and burn on one of his extreme moves. Besides, Matt has a decent chance to get over and sadly, it potentially could be at his brother’s expense.
Matt O. – JEFF HARDY
Josh B. – JEFF HARDY. Jeff has to get some type of revenge in this feud, right?
Jose M. – JEFF HARDY -I know everyone is making a big deal about Jeff possibly not resigning and WWE jobbing him out but I dont think WWE would have a match like this and have the heel go over. I mean quitting is what a heel does. I think Jeff goes over here and well then I cant really say what happens for either of these brothers as they are on separate brands.
Phil C. – MATT HARDY will beat the everloving crap out of Jeff in a match that will involve high spots and blood.
Josh P. – Matt has beaten Jeff so many times that this match is really kind of pointless. I think if they want to push Matt Hardy, they will give him the rub here, although, the PPV is called Backlash and Jeff can’t get buried too much. Then again, this is the WWE and smark knowledge tells me that they are having contract disputes so I’ll just say that Matt Hardy will, once again, beat baby brother. MATT HARDY
Consensus: In yet another close call by the Faculty of WrestleView, we believe that the end of this Hardy feud will go to younger brother JEFF HARDY. In a vote of 5-3, we think that Jeff will finally get the upper hand tonight in a very good ending to a pretty solid feud this year.
CM Punk vs. Kane
Joe B. – Punk isn’t losing his first PPV match after winning MITB. So I’m going for the PUNKER here.
David S. – CM PUNK You can’t squash the money in the bank holder this soon after ‘mania. A lot of people are counting on CM Punk turning heel and cashing in the briefcase. For my own sake I hope that is false cause I hate when I’m spoiled by obvious scenarios.
Anthony V. – I am not feeling this match too well. But since I have all the heels winning their matches, I think it is time for the good guys to win and I am going to pick CM PUNK with the win at around the eight minute mark, by way of the G2S.
Matt O. – CM PUNK
Josh B. – PUNK. I don’t even really know what this feud is about nor do I care.
Jose M. – CM PUNK- Kane has been kind of getting his shots on him as of late and to me that shows that CM Punk is going to get the duke here. I am starting to believe the company is really wanting to put some sort of mustard behind Punk as they have so many guys who are going to be on there way out in 1-2 years and they feel now is the time to elevate him.
Phil C. – I’m going with PUNKER on this one…should be a good ol’ fashioned potato-fest.
Josh P. – He’s money in the bank and he’s beaten big guys (Snitsky) before. Kane seems like a stepping stone these days rather than someone who can make an impact. I’m also a ROHbot with blood that bleeds black and red so I’m going for Mr. Straight Edge Means I’m Better Than You. CM PUNK
Consensus: Well, the Faculty can agree on a couple things here. 1) That Wrestleview.com continues to be the best professional website in the known universe and 2) CM PUNK is going to destroy Kane, acquiring all of the Faculty’s votes (8-0). This was a pretty easy decision.
Ricky Steamboat vs. Chris Jericho
Joe B. – Y2J picks up the win here.
David S. – CHRIS JERICHO If Jericho beat three Legends including Steamboat at ‘mania, then there is no logical way he should lose to Dragon in a singles matchup. On the other hand, this IS the WWE…
Anthony V. – If Jericho loses to the very impressive Ricky Steamboat, I think Jericho will have one foot in the grave as he debuts on Smackdown. I hope this is a great match, as I think deep down it is Jericho’s dream match, facing his idol. I think JERICHO will win with a code breaker as Steamboat attempts a crossbody.
Matt O. – JERICHO
Josh B. – JERICHO. This should be a really fun match, Im pullin for the Dragon but I got Y2J in this one.
Jose M. – CHRIS JERICHO- It would make no sense for Steamboat to be able to beat Chris Jericho now when he couldnt do so last month with 2 other men on his team. The only way Steamboat can go over is if someone like CM Punk maybe interferes on his behalf and sets up a feud for Jericho the following month.
Phil C. – I love Steamboat, and he is one of my favorite workers of all time…but Jericho needs to win in order to move on and keep his momentum going as he heads to SmackDown, so JERICHO for the win (even if it is kind of cheap).
Josh P. – I would not be shocked at all if Steamboat got the win here. The thing with Jericho and the legends is kind of over or dwindling down. A loss here for Jericho won’t really hurt him because if Steamboat wins, it will make the most sense as it will close the angle off and finally get Jericho to shut up. It will be the most logical way to close the storyline without hurting Jericho’s status so I’m going with the dragon. RICKY STEAMBOAT
Consensus: The Jericho/Legends feud will end tonight. Even though Steamboat stole the show in WM 25 against Jericho, the WV faculty says that ?The Dragon? will not have a happy ending, with the majority of the picks going to Chris Jericho (7-1).
WRESTLEVIEW?S STUDENTS PICKS
I am very surprised with the dozens of e-mail I already received from the student body here at WrestleView. Thank you so much for your early predictions and for the those that still have not made your picks, you may e-mail me your picks at mistervwv@yahoo.com. The student with the highest score will receive a gold star on my next column, From the Desk of Mr. V. Best of luck to all of you and as of 8am EST, here is a list of who the students have picked to be the winners of each contest:
Edge vs. Cena : EDGE (by a wide margin)
Legacy vs. Team HHH: LEGACY (close margin)
Christian vs. Swagger: CHRISTIAN (close margin)
CM Punk vs. Kane: CM PUNK (wide margin)
Matt vs. Jeff: JEFF (by one vote)
Y2J vs. Steamboat: STEAMBOAT (wide margin)
My apologies for keeping this very short and to the point. I am sure though that it will be an easy read for all of you. WV students, keep in mind that the WV Faculty casts a confidential ballot, so we do not see our votes until they are posted on WrestleView (makes it a great read for columnists and readers alike). To our loyal readers, thank you for looking into this piece. Also, if you want to show your continued support, read all the columns here on WrestleView (Mr. V has and thinks that all the columns are excellent, A+ for all of you.). Without the readers, there are no columnists. So, on behalf of the columnists who made their picks today, thanks for reading and if you would like to be a part of this game, please e-mail me your picks at mistervwv@yahoo.com.
Take Care and we hope you enjoy Backlash 2009!
Thanks for Reading. Until the next faculty meeting, you are all…DISMISSED!