411 PPV Roundtable Preview: WWE Bragging Rights 2009

Posted by Stephen Randle on 10.23.2009

This Sunday, Bragging Rights are on the line in three big Raw vs. Smackdown interbrand matches! Plus, The Undertaker faces three contenders for the World Heavyweight title, and John Cena and Randy Orton face off in a 60 minute Iron Man match with massive consequences for both men! The 411 Staff has all their picks for the PPV inside!



Introduction:

Well, here we are again, as this Sunday WWE presents another in their long-running series of Pay Per View events. This time, the lines of brand loyalty have been drawn, and ECW has been completely ignored, as Bragging Rights are on the line in a PPV filled to the brim with interbrand matches, coinciding with the release of Smackdown vs. Raw 2010 for all major video game consoles.

P.S. The game rocks.

The PPV will be headlined by a massive seven-on-seven tag match featuring the top stars of both Raw and Smackdown in a big battle for brand supremacy. Whatever that means.

But that's not all, as the World Heavyweight Championship will be defended in a fatal four-way match, with the Undertaker defending against Batista, CM Punk, and Rey Mysterio. And in the centerpiece of the show, Randy Orton and John Cena have promised that the final match of their feud will take place at Bragging Rights, in a 60 minute Iron Man match, where there will be no disqualifications and no countouts, with decisions only occurring by pinfall or submission. In addition, if John Cena fails to win the match, he must leave Raw, and if Randy Orton loses, he will not receive a re-match.

What brand will reign supreme? Who will come out of this Sunday with the World and WWE titles? Will John Cena be on the move? With all this on the line, the 411 staff is here to tell you what they think the outcome will be. And here they are.

The Staff

Stephen Randle, The Wrestling News Experience

Shawn S. Lealos, 411 Movies' Alternate Takes

Daniel Wilcox, 411 Music's The Great Rock News Report

Andy Clark, The Shimmy

Jeremy Thomas, Wrestling's 4R's

Julian Bond, Against The Grain

Michael Weyer, Shining A Spotlight

Michael Bauer, 411's ECW recapper





Melina, Kelly Kelly and Gail Kim vs. Michelle McCool, Beth Phoenix and Natalya

Stephen Randle: I'm not entirely sure how much brand loyalty either Melina or Beth Phoenix have at this point, but hey, what do I know. Anyway, the only real story in this mess is the fact that the newly arrived Phoenix thinks that McCool won't be holding her title for long, so I say we go with some good, old-fashioned, Glamazon dominance.

Winner: McCool, Phoenix, and Natalya

Shawn S. Lealos: Let's see, on one side we have two decent wrestlers and an average one and on the other side we have two great wrestlers and a decent one.

Winner: Team Smackdown (McCool, Beth and Natalya)

Daniel Wilcox: All six women involved in this match are capable workers, even if Gail Kim has been really sloppy in her latest WWE tenure. The match may be surprisingly good, and as long as they can keep the crowd into the match it should be enjoyable. As for the outcome, it's a bit of a toss-up and when that's the case, where the Divas are concerned I would always lean towards the faces.

Winner: Melina, Kelly and Gail Kim

Andy Clark: I'm not sure why they didn't just blow off the Melina-McCool feud in a Champion vs. Champion Match instead here. Raw has the weaker team, but since I'm picking Morrison to win later I'd imagine they want the score tied up heading into the main event.

Winners: Melina, Gail Kim, & Kelly Kelly

Jeremy Thomas: This could be really good, but it could be a disaster as well. That depends on which boots Melina and Triple K, and Gail bring. I've always been a huge Melina fan but the girl's been off her game the last few weeks, and Gail's been a bit spotty since she came to the 'E again. However, they all have the ability to look decent to great in matches, and hopefully they'll really step it up here. Generally I would go with the faces here, but it would be more realistic for the heels, who two of least have been booked as very credible, to go over. Ultimately I think the deciding factor is that they'll want things to be even by the time they get to the main event between the two brands, and for the reasons of my other picks that means a Raw win.

Winner: Melina, Triple K and Gail Kim (Melina pins Natalya)

Julian Bond: A nice little flip of the coin here....

Winner: McCool, Phoenix, and Natalya

Michael Weyer: This should be a great matchup, all the ladies know their stuff and the mix of different battles promises some real action here instead of messy slapping and such. Hard to choose offhand but I'll go with the faces

Winners: Melina, Kelly and Kim

Michael Bauer: Let's see, Melina is on one side with Kelly and Gail "Forgot how to Wrestle" Kim. The other has three established women's wrestlers. Seems easy enough.

Winners: The Divas of Smackdown

The Miz vs. John Morrison

Stephen Randle: People say that Miz has improved and while I agree he's pretty good on the stick, he's fairly bland as a wrestler. Fortunately the first one counts for a lot in WWE. Meanwhile, Morrison seems to invent a new move for every high profile match he's in, is better at promos than he gets credit for (he'd be even better if they just let him do his own thing instead of overscripted face promos, as the Dirt Sheet last week showed) and it's fairly obvious which guy the creative team is really behind.

Winner: John Morrison

Shawn S. Lealos: WOW! This is the match a lot of people (me included) have been waiting for. I have said it once and I will say it again, I always thought Morrison was going to be a star and Miz would drop to the mid card - at best. Miz has proved me wrong. He has improved leaps and bounds in the ring and is one of the best there is on the mic. Morrison is better in the ring but Miz is a God on the stick. This match takes place in the ring though, so...

Winner: John Morrison

Daniel Wilcox: These guys are more like Edge and Christian than the Rockers, in that both guys should have successful singles careers, although one may become a bigger star than the other. That said, it's too early to tell which will be the bigger star. Morrison is the better worker, but Miz is capable and a better talker. I can see either guy picking up the win here, and while both would really benefit from the victory, I think that a clean loss would hurt The Miz, who has only recently begun to build up a head of steam again. Plus, Morrison can be protected assuming Miz goes over via heel shenanigans, as I predict he will. Look for this to be a damn good match as well, considering Morrison's recent repertoire and the match Miz had with Kofi, a similar opponent, a few months back.

Winner: The Miz

Andy Clark: I was quite looking forward to this match when it was announced, but the build over the last week has been very nice so I'm even more excited. I suppose there is the possibility of The Miz winning thanks to interference from Dolph Ziggler (I'm pretty confident he was just collateral damage in the main event replacement), but if we get no interference this is surely a Morrison win.

Winner: John Morrison

Jeremy Thomas: This has a lot of really good potential to it. Morrison's been spectacular during his singles run, and Miz has really started to come into his own as well. Their verbal banter last week on SmackDown did a lot of great work toward me being interested in this one, and I think that these guys will put on a really good match given time. Then again, they could wind up with a match that is the equivalent of the Matt vs. Jeff match when they first broke up. Somehow I doubt it though. I think they want to push Morrison a bit higher and I think he goes over here to solidify that, and give the Blue Brand a win.

Winner: John Morrison (Pin following Starship Pain)

Julian Bond: Hoping that the long-awaited face-off between these two goes pretty well. I'll go with the Miz here for an "upset" win over his former buddy.

Winner: The Miz

Michael Weyer: Surprised it's taken so long to get the former partners against each other but it should be worth the wait. Miz has really taken off as a singles guy and Morrison is still on his game so they should both be able to bring it on. Hard to pick but I'll go with Miz as he's been on fire and would get some great crowing beating his former partner.

Winner: The Miz

Michael Bauer: This match was pure awesomeness written all over it. The build has been pretty good, but come on now. Can anyone think Miz winning this match is legit? You know what? I can. Miz has been on a roll lately and Raw needs the boost to their heel side more than Smackdown does to their face side.

Winner: The Miz


The Undertaker © vs. CM Punk vs. Batista vs. Rey Mysterio - Fatal Four-Way

Stephen Randle: A lot of people seem to predict that Taker loses the belt here to Batista, but I think if that were the real plan they never would have bothered having Punk lose it to Taker in the first place. I, along with a lot of people, hope that we're headed for a Batista heel turn on Rey, what with all the obvious motivation (increased emphasis on being family, Rey beating Batista on Smackdown which actually increases his losing streak), and I think Batista costs himself the title here in some way involving Rey. I am hoping for Punk to sneak in and steal the belt, kind of an admission of the fact that WWE wrote themselves into a corner for Hell in a Cell, so I'll go with that.

Winner: CM Punk

Shawn S. Lealos: This match is setup so Undertaker can lose the belt without being pinned. First, there is no way Rey wins the belt here. After the entire suspension and his speaking out about it, he is not winning this title. I see Big Dave winning the belt for one reason - $$$. Batista is still a big draw and his DVD came out this week. Batista wins and they promote the shit out of his DVD all the way to the bank.

Winner: Batista

Daniel Wilcox: There's a whole host of ways this one could go. Logic dictates that they take the title off of the injured Undertaker, but the only guy I don't see walking out with the title is Mysterio, not only because of the recent suspension but simply because there are far better options out there. That said, Rey and Punk will carry the bulk of the match and with two capable guys in Taker and Batista, this match should be more than competent. Many people are predicting a Batista/Rey feud in the near future, with Batista going heel. The seeds may be sewn for that in this match, but I just can't see that rivalry being for the world title. If Punk wins, the feud with Taker surely continues, but they've done Hell in a Cell, where can they go from here? If Taker wins he feuds with Batista next, and vice versa. For the completely illogical reason that I can't chose between the three favorites, I'm going to predict an upset with Mysterio winning the title, which serves as motivation for Batista's heel turn.

Winner: Rey Mysterio

Andy Clark: This is an interesting match. I'm really not sure what Taker can do with the title and I'm thinking they just booked themselves in a corner with the Hell in a Cell Match. It just doesn't seem right for Punk to win the title back so soon so I'll eliminate him. That leaves Batista and Rey Mysterio. While most may call it a longshot, I think Mysterio stands a decent chance of winning. It could be a peace offering for the Wellness suspension, build back their Hispanic audience for SmackDown (although with MyNetwork TV no longer counting that isn't quite as important), and give Punk someone that can work well with him at the top of the card. I'll go with the upset.

Winner and NEW World Heavyweight Champion: Rey Mysterio

Jeremy Thomas: You know, I just don't see the Dead Man winning this one. Not if the rumors are true…and the way they held him off TV for two straight weeks following his mild Hell in a Cell match with Punk. Rey Rey's not got much shot for several reasons, the most important of which is that the 'E just won't think he's a credible champion. That leaves us down to Big Dave or Punk. I want to say it'll go back to Punk, but somehow I think this match is Batista's to lose. I think this match will be good but not great, and that Batista pins Rey Rey, possibly to start a heel turn.

Winner: The Manimal (Pins Rey Rey following Batista Bomb; NEW World Heavyweight Champion)

Julian Bond: Should be good here. See that a bunch of people are predicting that either Mysterio or Batista will take the belt here, but I think that Taker holds onto it just a little bit longer maybe until next month.

Winner and STILL World Heavyweight Champion: Undertaker

Michael Weyer: Well, I see now the logic of getting the belt onto Taker last month. I would love to see Punk win it back here but think they're holding off for a bit. Instead, Batista gets it back to set up a feud with Punk, which should be good and Rey should also help make the match great.

Winner and NEW World Heavyweight Champion: The Animal

Michael Bauer: I see many picks for Batista and Mysterio... um, did everyone forget about CM Punk? Yes, I agree it makes no sense to take the belt off of him just to win it back, but this is Punk. He can go the route of not pinning the Dead Man, maybe helping a miscue of Mysterio and Batista to set that supposed feud off, and get ready for an unforseen challenge. Yeah, I said it.

Winner: CM Punk


Randy Orton © vs. John Cena - 60 Minute, Anything Goes Iron Man Match
If Cena loses, he must leave RAW; If Orton loses, he gets no more rematches against Cena.

Stephen Randle: If Cena loses, he must leave Raw, eh? Yeah, I don't really see that happening. I am worried that we'll get less the potential MOTYC, and more "they go outside the ring and spend a lot of time brawling and crawling around instead of wrestling or getting decisions".

Winner: John Cena

Shawn S. Lealos: This stipulation is stupid for one reason - If Orton loses, he gets no more rematches against Cena. Why the hell is a champion not going to get a rematch for his title? That is just wrong. Doesn't matter because Cena will lose and go to Smackdown and join Batista in pushing CM Punk further down the pecking order and Randy will feud with Triple H or Ted DiBiase.

Winner: Randy Orton

Daniel Wilcox: For whatever reason there seems to be an awful lot of people predicting that John Cena is about to make the switch to SmackDown. Bottom line, it's not happening. Orton has a feud with DiBiase in his near future, and I think that'll help give Cena the win here, and his sixth world title reign.

Winner: John Cena

Andy Clark: This match should be awesome. Many people are burned out on the Orton-Cena feud, but I think this is a great blowoff. They've done a good job at making it seem like Cena could leave Raw, which probably means he won't lose, but you never know. The great thing is that both men have finishers that can come out of nowhere so the quick finishes that normally annoy me in an Iron Man Match will at least be explained somewhat. I'm not sure if this goes on before or after the Interpromotional Tag, but either way it should be awesome. Hard to pick a winner.

Winner and NEW WWE Champion: John Cena

Jeremy Thomas: Well, at least they're ending this feud. I kid, somewhat. Yes, they've feuded for far too long, but their PPV matches have been decent to good, a far cry better than the Orton/'H matches. There's no way that Cena loses here. He can take his title back and go feud with someone else while Orton battles with Ted. I think this is going to be better than a lot of people believe, and that in the end Cena will eke out the win and stand tall.

Winner: John Cena (3 falls to 2; NEW WWE Heavyweight Champion)

Julian Bond: There be some haters that doubt this match will be any good. But no matter how many damn times these two repeatingly go after each other, they do manage to find a way to make their matches entertaining in some kind of way. So here's hoping to them putting one of their best ones here. I think that Cena gains the belt back one more time to put the nail in the coffin in their long-storied feud.

Winner and NEW WWE Champion: John Cena

Michael Weyer: I am tempted to think Orton wins and Cena goes to Smackdown to shake things up but doubt it. The guys should be able to make it a great battle as always with multiple falls and switches about. In the end, Cena gets it and finally back on top to move on with a new feud.

Winner and NEW WWE Champion: John Cena, 5 falls to 4

Michael Bauer: Ok, based on every pick I made already, this one has to go to Orton. I kept thinking about a time limit draw, but that would piss so many people off and would not give us the definitive ending to the feud. Cena winning means he faces who exactly? Swagger? Please. Orton winning opens up more doors to more deserving people and Cena to Smackdown gives us a nice Cena/Punk feud. I'm going with the obvious pick here.

Winner: Randy Orton (3-2 in Overtime)

D-X, The Big Show, Cody Rhodes, Jack Swagger, Kofi Kingston and Mark Henry
vs.
Chris Jericho, Kane, Matt Hardy, Finlay, R-Truth, and The Hart Dynasty

Stephen Randle: Well, somebody will have to explain to me the logic of replacing the entire Smackdown team TWO DAYS before the PPV, especially after the huge brawl segment to end Raw in which the original team held their own, but I don't think anyone's going to deny that the current team is a much more even matchup than the original Smackdown Seven. I mean, did anyone buy Escobar, McIntyre, and Cryme Tyme against the super-powered Raw team? Hell, Big Show and Henry together probably outweighed the original squad. I think Cody Rhodes will be the downfall of the Raw team, because every time they do one of these "brand supremacy" things, they seem to tend towards letting Smackdown win, just so they can say "see, it's not the "B" show". Congrats, Smackdown, you win brand supremacy. As soon as that means something, we'll let you know.

Winner: Team Smackdown

Shawn S. Lealos: Nothing against Dolph Ziggler but this match looked like shit until the shakeup on Smackdown. I'm still not sure why both members of Legacy are not in this match since both members of the Hart Dynasty are. The entire Raw team looks like a clusterfuck. R-Truth is in there for no other reason than to take the pin. And why is ECW not included in any of the Bragging Rights matches?

Winner: Team RAW

Daniel Wilcox: Cody Rhodes and Big Show will both turn on DX here, and screw over Team Raw. Look for DX vs. JeriShow in the near future.

Winner: Team SmackDown

Andy Clark: It's ashame that this isn't Survivor Series and this isn't an Elimination Match, but I'm still really excited. While it did bury some of the new guys changing Team SmackDown at the last minute it really is a much more appealing match now. When they've done these things in the past they tend to lean heavy on SmackDown I suppose to overcompensate for their actual priorities. This go around I think Raw gets the win, perhaps with Jack Swagger even scoring the pin.

Winner: DX, Big Show, Mark Henry, Kofi Kingston, Jack Swagger, & Cody Rhodes

Jeremy Thomas: With it all tied up, it'll come down to this match. I won't even go into the fact that they bait and switched us with the SmackDown crew, because the one good news is that this is a better crew for this match. I think that this will be a long, hard-fought wild brawl that will let everyone get their periods of control, and if done right it can certainly be very good. However, I don't think the outcome is in any doubt. Whatever we IWC fanboys think, Raw is the 'E's flagship show, and Raw is the team that will be winning. I don't have a problem with that, especially if it's someone that isn't DX. Honestly I see Cody stealing the win here by nailing 'H or Shawn after a Pedigree or Sweet Chin Music, then pinning the Blue Brand member for the win to propel him ever higher.

Winner: Team Raw (Cody pins Kidd following HBK's Sweet Chin Music)

Julian Bond: Should be an interesting bout here (now especially since they replaced the weird-looking original Smackdown team). Me thinks that the Raw team takes it here.

Winner: Team Raw

Michael Weyer: The sudden switch of the Smackdown team shakes this up a lot as having Jericho and Show on opposite sides will be interesting. I actually see this as a case of the veterans backing up to let the young guys like Swagger, Smith and Kidd show their stuff. Hard to pick totally but I'll go with team RAW as you can't pick against DX.

Winner: Team RAW

Michael Bauer: Ok, there are so many ways this can go. Smackdown looks really odd with the whole qualifying deal to just replace the whole team. But this team is light years ahead of who they replaced, with the exception of Mr. Ziggles. The DX vs Jeri-Show feud has to come soon, so smart money says some tom-foolery happens to extend that. Not to mention, anytime these "brand dominace" matches happen, Smackdown always seems to come out on top. That is a proven fact.

Winners: Team Smackdown

Remember to join 411 for our LIVE PPV coverage, starting at 7:30pm Sunday night!

411 on Twitter!

http://www.twitter.com/411mania
http://www.twitter.com/411wrestling
http://www.twitter.com/411moviestv
http://www.twitter.com/411music
http://www.twitter.com/411games
http://www.twitter.com/411mma