If you're like me, you've probably looked at the Judgement Day card, marked out like crazy and realised for once its a definite buyable PPV.
But the most surprising thing about this year's PPV and its solid matches this year... is the fact that Smackdown has 4 matches on there, out of 7.
Considering the draft was supposed to strengthen RAW, by having SD! have to rely on its midcard its created some matches that simply couldn't be left off PPV.
Though lets look beyond the amount of matches that each brand has on Pay Per View (because if we simply did that, we'd just feel a bit of pity on ECW's part). Which brand has announced its strongest matches wrestling-wise, had the best build-up, and may have the lasting impression on this Pay Per View?
I'm going to do a bit of a short analysis on this.
They say a PPV is only as good as its opening match, and considering there's a few contenders in the ECW Championship match (featuring the established veteran and the ever reliable Swagger) or the Morrison/Benjamin athletic showcase... ECW and SD! both have a chance to shine here.
CM Punk / Umaga also has a chance to be used quite early on here but I doubt it considering the end of SD! last night featured them heavily brawling. I can't predict how well that match may be as the build-up hasn't featured Umaga in any in-ring action and has simply featured Umaga stopping Punk cashing in his MITB week after week. There doesn't appear to be any instantly recognisable motive for this. In terms of wrestling, I personally haven't seen these two go toe to toe before but I just hope they don't make CM Punk come across as an underdog in this match. WWE should learn from CM Punk's title reign even and realise that if they're trying to build up a legit main eventer, they can't have him win (especially as a face) by a lucky break. Nevertheless, this unpredicatability has got me routing for SD! once more, because in today's WWE product... predictability is a given (Except for when they swerve JUST to swerve people when they realise its becoming too predictable).
Matches I'd expect to see in the middle of the card are: Mysterio/Jericho (SD!) and Big Show/Cena (RAW). Now first of all, the unpredictability in this Smackdown contest intrigues me again. This could go either way. If they wanted to pull a feud out of this then having Chris win the title dirty would be perfect foundation. I originally thought Mysterio would go cleanly over, as the Intercontinental Title could do with a few big-name defenses to help build up the prestige, but it may be switched as a precaution due to Mysterio's recent (and recurring) knee injury and see based on Mysterio's health whether the feud can continue from there or have Jericho move onto a new feud with the IC title intact. Wrestling? We know these two can put on a show from their WCW days. Jericho is at the top of his game and Mysterio ever since No Way Out seems to have rediscovered his skill which had been lingering between short stints of being at full health.
As for Big Show/Cena, this match does nothing for me absolutely. If Big Show wins, he's purely getting the Cena rub simply because Cena is set to be filming a new movie shortly. If Cena wins it will look unrealistic unless its by DQ. After all, do you really expect a guy who has been slammed through a spotlight causing an explosion, and has barely been able to walk even... to beat a seven foot giant? The build-up has been terrible for this. The best part of it all has been The Miz with those epic promos, and he's not even involved in this contest legally (although an interference could happen). As for The Big Show, he can manhandle the company's #1 Face but as we saw on Superstars he can't hold his own against a perverse gold freak, after a throwaway match with a midget! The match will have some good storytelling as Cena will be selling a big injury, but it won't make for an entertaining one wrestling. And if Cena just doesn't sell the injury at all, it might make a better match but will have made all the build-up beforehand absolutely pointless. So I do not give credit to RAW for this match whatsoever.
As for the main events, despite being an Orton fan... Legacy has done nothing for me so far. And Batista hasn't impressed me ever since he came back from injury after vacating his title for the first time years ago. I can only hope Legacy will stay out of this match to leave a good one-on-one match but at the same time, if they are left out then how can they get over? Hopefully with the mix of styles, Batista's power and Orton's all-round offense could create something quite interesting. But make no mistake, it won't be spectacular. With a potential HHH appearance I think this match has a bit of potential to be strong enough to be on par with some matches on this pay per view, but like I just mentioned... don't expect it to be groundbreaking.
As for Jeff Hardy/Edge, I haven't enjoyed this build-up. Its just brawling after brawling. Though in the ring we do know these two can really battle it out. Royal Rumble was phenomonal even though in the end it simply became a way to kick off the Matt/Jeff feud. I would have appreciated this match more if it wasn't for rumours of Jeff leaving the company... it really just puts a dampener on things, knowing that someone is competing for the brand's top-tier title who could well be taking a long time out. For a main event match, it is solid and will do exactly what you expect: be a great wrestling match. I don't think this will be Jeff's last match with the company, I think if he decides not to resign then the fitting finish would be a match at Extreme Rules with Edge. Therefore don't be surprised if there's an unclear finish which takes this match to another pay-per-view.
So matchwise the obvious choice looks to be SD! Raw has a few surprise factors. For example, don't be shocked if we see the US title gaining some sort of exposure in the form of a segment etc. Also, we could well see a HHH return. Maybe even The Miz could interfere in Big Show/Cena, or god forbid Goldust. As for ECW, they'd best start building up this Tommy Dreamer angle at some point so there could well be an interference from Tommy here. Though SD!, in my has the biggest surprise factor in the fact that CM Punk could well cash in his MITB creating another solid match in Edge/CM Punk
In my opinion, this is the SD! Showcase, and with the new look brand featuring a lot of midcard exposure... I for one will fully enjoy some fresh matches as opposed to the same old faces with a real lack of chemistry (and while the main event isn't fresh faces... the in-ring chemistry remains).
Therefore, I feel you could take away any two of SD!'s matches, give ECW another match (For example, Finlay and Evan Bourne vs Tyson Kidd and DH Smith which would be superb) and you still couldn't fault Smackdown.
VERDICT: SD!
What are your thoughts? Which brand wins Judgement Day on paper?
But the most surprising thing about this year's PPV and its solid matches this year... is the fact that Smackdown has 4 matches on there, out of 7.
Considering the draft was supposed to strengthen RAW, by having SD! have to rely on its midcard its created some matches that simply couldn't be left off PPV.
Though lets look beyond the amount of matches that each brand has on Pay Per View (because if we simply did that, we'd just feel a bit of pity on ECW's part). Which brand has announced its strongest matches wrestling-wise, had the best build-up, and may have the lasting impression on this Pay Per View?
I'm going to do a bit of a short analysis on this.
They say a PPV is only as good as its opening match, and considering there's a few contenders in the ECW Championship match (featuring the established veteran and the ever reliable Swagger) or the Morrison/Benjamin athletic showcase... ECW and SD! both have a chance to shine here.
CM Punk / Umaga also has a chance to be used quite early on here but I doubt it considering the end of SD! last night featured them heavily brawling. I can't predict how well that match may be as the build-up hasn't featured Umaga in any in-ring action and has simply featured Umaga stopping Punk cashing in his MITB week after week. There doesn't appear to be any instantly recognisable motive for this. In terms of wrestling, I personally haven't seen these two go toe to toe before but I just hope they don't make CM Punk come across as an underdog in this match. WWE should learn from CM Punk's title reign even and realise that if they're trying to build up a legit main eventer, they can't have him win (especially as a face) by a lucky break. Nevertheless, this unpredicatability has got me routing for SD! once more, because in today's WWE product... predictability is a given (Except for when they swerve JUST to swerve people when they realise its becoming too predictable).
Matches I'd expect to see in the middle of the card are: Mysterio/Jericho (SD!) and Big Show/Cena (RAW). Now first of all, the unpredictability in this Smackdown contest intrigues me again. This could go either way. If they wanted to pull a feud out of this then having Chris win the title dirty would be perfect foundation. I originally thought Mysterio would go cleanly over, as the Intercontinental Title could do with a few big-name defenses to help build up the prestige, but it may be switched as a precaution due to Mysterio's recent (and recurring) knee injury and see based on Mysterio's health whether the feud can continue from there or have Jericho move onto a new feud with the IC title intact. Wrestling? We know these two can put on a show from their WCW days. Jericho is at the top of his game and Mysterio ever since No Way Out seems to have rediscovered his skill which had been lingering between short stints of being at full health.
As for Big Show/Cena, this match does nothing for me absolutely. If Big Show wins, he's purely getting the Cena rub simply because Cena is set to be filming a new movie shortly. If Cena wins it will look unrealistic unless its by DQ. After all, do you really expect a guy who has been slammed through a spotlight causing an explosion, and has barely been able to walk even... to beat a seven foot giant? The build-up has been terrible for this. The best part of it all has been The Miz with those epic promos, and he's not even involved in this contest legally (although an interference could happen). As for The Big Show, he can manhandle the company's #1 Face but as we saw on Superstars he can't hold his own against a perverse gold freak, after a throwaway match with a midget! The match will have some good storytelling as Cena will be selling a big injury, but it won't make for an entertaining one wrestling. And if Cena just doesn't sell the injury at all, it might make a better match but will have made all the build-up beforehand absolutely pointless. So I do not give credit to RAW for this match whatsoever.
As for the main events, despite being an Orton fan... Legacy has done nothing for me so far. And Batista hasn't impressed me ever since he came back from injury after vacating his title for the first time years ago. I can only hope Legacy will stay out of this match to leave a good one-on-one match but at the same time, if they are left out then how can they get over? Hopefully with the mix of styles, Batista's power and Orton's all-round offense could create something quite interesting. But make no mistake, it won't be spectacular. With a potential HHH appearance I think this match has a bit of potential to be strong enough to be on par with some matches on this pay per view, but like I just mentioned... don't expect it to be groundbreaking.
As for Jeff Hardy/Edge, I haven't enjoyed this build-up. Its just brawling after brawling. Though in the ring we do know these two can really battle it out. Royal Rumble was phenomonal even though in the end it simply became a way to kick off the Matt/Jeff feud. I would have appreciated this match more if it wasn't for rumours of Jeff leaving the company... it really just puts a dampener on things, knowing that someone is competing for the brand's top-tier title who could well be taking a long time out. For a main event match, it is solid and will do exactly what you expect: be a great wrestling match. I don't think this will be Jeff's last match with the company, I think if he decides not to resign then the fitting finish would be a match at Extreme Rules with Edge. Therefore don't be surprised if there's an unclear finish which takes this match to another pay-per-view.
So matchwise the obvious choice looks to be SD! Raw has a few surprise factors. For example, don't be shocked if we see the US title gaining some sort of exposure in the form of a segment etc. Also, we could well see a HHH return. Maybe even The Miz could interfere in Big Show/Cena, or god forbid Goldust. As for ECW, they'd best start building up this Tommy Dreamer angle at some point so there could well be an interference from Tommy here. Though SD!, in my has the biggest surprise factor in the fact that CM Punk could well cash in his MITB creating another solid match in Edge/CM Punk
In my opinion, this is the SD! Showcase, and with the new look brand featuring a lot of midcard exposure... I for one will fully enjoy some fresh matches as opposed to the same old faces with a real lack of chemistry (and while the main event isn't fresh faces... the in-ring chemistry remains).
Therefore, I feel you could take away any two of SD!'s matches, give ECW another match (For example, Finlay and Evan Bourne vs Tyson Kidd and DH Smith which would be superb) and you still couldn't fault Smackdown.
VERDICT: SD!
What are your thoughts? Which brand wins Judgement Day on paper?
