411 PPV Roundtable Preview: WWE Backlash 2006 (Part 2)
Posted by Stephen Randle on 04.29.2006
It's so big, we needed two columns to contain it! IC-MITB and WWE title match predictions within!
Stop! If you haven't yet, go back and read Part One of the 411 Roundtable first!
Shelton Benjamin (c) vs. RVD - Intercontinental Championship vs Money In The Bank
Stephen Randle: Since I put this thing together, I have the time-sensitive advantage of knowing that WWE is considering having RVD face JBL at One Night Stand for the other belt he's eligible to challenge for. Granted, JBL holds the US title right now and RVD can't lose this match and will thus end up with the IC belt for that to happen, so I don't think they've thought this through that well.
Winner: RVD
Andy Clark: Before this past Monday I would have said RVD wins here and rolls towards ONS. However, after seeing RVD get the pin on Shelton in their Six Man Tag, I see Shelton winning here through nefarious means, but then RVD getting the show back (and maybe the title) on Raw in a few weeks, maybe in a Ladder Match.
Winner and STILL Intercontinental Champion and NEW Mr. Money in the Bank: Shelton Benjamin
Ryan Frank: If they're serious about making RVD look like a legit contender at ONS, he Has to beat the guy getting the "Where's Your Mama?" chants.
Winner: RVD
Dan Zurbruegg: I see no reason for RVD to lose this match, though I don't see the point of taking the title off of Benjamin. Haas will definately get involved in the match, and he'll cost Shelton the match. RVD will move on to the WWE Championship picture, and Haas and Benjamin will feud for a month or two.
Winner: RVD
Matt Foster: Everyone wants to see this match, no one wants to see a winner. RVD doesn't need the IC Belt, and Benjamin doesn't deserve the MITB yet. So let's do a crazy 15-minute spotfest, then call it a DQ win for Benjamin when RVD gets angry and busts a Van Terminator right in front of the ref.
Winner: Shelton by DQ
O'Sullivan: I like what they are doing here, because it'll be quite a tense match waiting to see who is going to take it all home. Whatever happens, I hope the IC belt soon goes to the winner of the Carlito/Masters contest.
Winner: RVD
Mathew Sforcina: Let me tell you a little story. There was once, long ago, a man by the name of Brock Lesnar. Now Brock was a big guy, and a superb athelte. And thanks to having Paul Heyman both as his manager, sorry, Agent and as booker, the fact that Brock had no real love for the business was hidden, and people thought he was a truly great wrestler. Now, as Brock rose up the ranks, he won the King Of The Ring, and with it, a title shot at Summerslam. The problem was, there was a PPV between King Of The Ring and Summerslam. And it would not do to have Brock not wrestle on the show. Hence, he got a match against the man that he beat in the KOTR final, RVD. And given that RVD was the IC champ, it was an IC Title match. Problem: They didn't want to give the guy about to win the World Title a secondary one. Hence, the bullshit DQ ended was created. RVD is about to win when Shelton's Mama hits him with a oxygen tank to draw the DQ and keep both things where they are, because they will not do Title for Title at ONS2.
Winner, and STILL Money In The Bank (hah): RVD (DQ win)
Taareq Elsokari: If they wanted Shelton to have the MITB he would of won it at 'Mania. RVD in no way needs the IC Title. It's intriguing to see what they actually do and all i can think is that since Haas is back he has to feature some how. If you noticed in his match with Shelton he was shouting "did you forget about me" alot so they can probably build a very decent feud around the IC title with that as the story.
Winner: Haas snaps leading to a double DQ
Grayson Hamill: Shelton has a feud with Charlie Haas on the burner. RVD has nothing. Whether Shelton is disqualified or RVD goes over clean, there is no way RVD loses this match.
Winner: RVD
Larry Csonka: It makes no sense to take the MITB away from RVD. They have a money storyline with him holding it and using it at ONS, especially with the rumors of the ECW revival. I actually hate that both are on the line, because for the most part, unless they totally swerve us, we have no reason to think that Shelton would win. I figure RVD will win, and then drop the title back to Shelton or maybe even Masters.
Winner: RVD
Sean Garmer: Man this match could be awesome and it would be even better if RVD's MITB wasn't on the line. RVD cannot lose this match if WWE wants to maintain any credibility with that MITB shot. It would not be wise for Shelton to lose the IC belt either because it would be a piece of trash on RVD. Leave it on Shelton so he can have a feud with Charlie Haas over it. There is really only one way this match can end.
Winner: RVD by D.Q. due to Haas, or Shelton's Mamma interference
Nick Marsico: This short feud had a lot more potential than I think was realized over the past couple weeks. The double challenge was really cool and the matches to determine what was on the line for BackLash was fine, but the two men didn't have any interactions with each other (no promo time or anything), and that kind of hurt things. Shelton got a short moment to speak, but he didn't talk about Van Dam, he just talked about how he didn't want to defend his title and wanted a shot at the Money in the Bank. Having Shelton come out after the handicap match against the Spirit Squad for a beatdown on Van Dam, possibly with Haas coming down to make the save and Matt Striker coming down to get Haas out of the way and set up a quick filler match for BackLash would have really done a lot for the feud, especially since they only used three shows to build to it. I'm once again left disappointed in how the build for the match went after the first week excited me, but I am looking forward to them having a very good match on Sunday. I think Van Dam will win it and find a way to lose the title to Masters the next night on RAW. I dunno, just sayin', but it's because I am hoping against all hope that they don't do a no finish and let both men keep their prizes.
Winner: Rob Van Dam
Caleb Newby: RVD should be the one challenging with the MITB title shot. Shelton shouldn't lose his title to RVD. If Shelton gets DQ, both are safe. Either way, RVD keeping the title shot is the most important.
Winner: RVD by one way or another
Bayani Domingo: I wonder how much pot RVD has in that briefcase at any given time? I just can't see him losing it after he just had it airbrushed. Then again, it ain't like we didn't get a tip off Edge was dropping the belt after he didn't even have time to change it back from a spinner belt. Eh… I'm going with history and the fact that Vince would give a pot head a push over a black dude any day of the week.
Winner: Our VD
Ari Berenstein: RVD pinned Shelton on Raw...logic and parity booking says the opposite man picks up the PPV win...but RVD holds the MITB...but winning the IC belt is moot because he would want the WWE title...right, I'm more confused than the Mickey vs. Trish fight. This could be a great match if given time and a decisive winner, but I smell a no contest thanks to Charlie Hass-erference!
Winner: No Contest
Steve Sullivan: Um, let's think for a second. ECW returning. One Night Stand On The Way. No mamma. ECW returning. Money In The Bank. ECW Returning. Hmmmm...
Winner- Rob Van Dam
Ian Smart: I‘m torn on this one because I really want to see a Charlie Haas/ Shelton Benjamin feud over the IC strap, but at the same time, I think that having RVD face Trips at One Night Stand, and for one night beating him, would be great booking. Therefore, I think RVD will win with help of Haas, creating the aforementioned feud between the former WGTT. As far as the IC strap, it will be dropped to Masters in the build-up to ECW ONS.
Winner: RVD
Jeff Small: Considering this is probably the opener, I really hope not for a DQ ending to keep things status-quo. A PPV opener should not leave a bitter taste in my mouth. I'm awaiting the main event to accomplish that. This feud has become more interesting due to the addition of Charlie Haas. While a Haas/Benjamin IC match would reek of awesomeness, it makes no sense to have RVD lose his briefcase.
Winner: RVD
Derek Martin: Here's yet another very good build done by the folks in the WWE. It was a great idea to get Charlie Haas in the middle of this feud, and I hope to see him again at Backlash. I can't really see RVD losing his Money in the Bank title shot so I'll go with....
WINNER and NEW IC Champion: Rob....Van....Dam
Steve Cook: No drama here, which is a good thing because usually we would save it for Shelton's mama.
Winner: RVDizzle
Stuart Carapola: This has match of the night written all over it. These are two of the best workers in the world today, I don't care what you say about either guy. You can bet your bottom dollar that Shelton's not considered a World Title contender just yet, but I also don't see RVD taking the Intercontinental Title from Shelton. I expect some kind of DQ or countout finish here.
Winner: RVD to keep him strong, but by a means other than pinfall or submission
Meehan: Ain't no stoppin' me NOWWWWWWWW!!! Shelton has been made to look like the chump in all of this, and if he's going to retain any of that heat that he was getting prior to this feud, he'll need to leave this match looking as strong as possible. Here's the rub, though - with RVD likely heading up the new ECW (and its PPV), there's *no* way they're giving Shelton the $itB title shot, so the ending seems almost telegraphed, right? Wrong. Look for RVD to win via DQ here, that way Shelton can still keep his title and his credibility while Mr. Monday Night holds onto his briefcase. Though the fans will be pissed, in the long run - everybody wins.
Winner: Rob Van Dam, via disqualification (maybe some Mama-ference?!)
Scott Slimmer: Okay, let's get the easy part out of the way first. Rob Van Dam WILL retain the MOTB and cash it in at ECW One Night Stand II (or ECW Sloppy Seconds as Tommy Dreamer has started referring to it). That's just about the only certainty in this match. I HATE cheap finished and DQ endings on PPV, so I'll go out on a limb and say that RVD wins the match, retains the MOTB, and picks up the Intercontinental Championship along the way. That sets up his WWE Championship victory next month, and the closing scene of One Night Stand is RVD throwing down BOTH the WWE Championship AND the Intercontinental Championship and declaring the rebirth of ECW.
Winner: Rob Van Dam
JT: Okay, let's be honest here. We know RVD isn't winning the IC, and we know Shelton isn't winning the MITB, so let's just sit back and enjoy this match because it should be good.
WINNER: DQ (Carlito or Charlie Hass, either way, it's on Shelton)
John Cena (c) vs. Triple H vs. Edge - WWE Championship
Stephen Randle: I hope he wins just because it's so much fun to watch everyone else get really, really irritated. Plus he's still my boy.
Winner: John Cena
Andy Clark: While keeping the belt on Cena could be a good swerve, I see the King of Kings walking away with this one, although at this point I think there'd be more heat on Cena going into One Night Stand than there would be Triple H.
Winner and NEW WWE Champion: Triple H
Ryan Frank: Oh, this one's tough. Cena would be the best heel champ going into ONS. After all of the verbal burials from HHH, Edge needs the belt to keep his credibility up, and I really want to see him with the belt again. However, HHH has lost so many times in the past year that, sadly, he really does need the win more at this point.
Winner: HHH
Dan Zurbruegg: Logic tells me John Cena will win and then lose the belt to RVD at ECW's One Night Stand. But my gut, for whatever reason, is telling my Edge will win. Whenever I go against Cena he wins, however, so I'll stick with him winning. It should be an entertaining match none the less.
Winner: John Cena
Matt Foster: The best way to look at this is to think who would be the best person to fight a psychotic Kane for the next couple months right before and after his movie comes out. Not John Cena; the black hole of workrate there might actually crush the whole promotion. Not Edge, as I think we are done with Edge-Kane for a while (I hope). So I guess it's down to Trips. Look, we all knew that he was gonna be Champ soon anyway, and there is no one else Vince trusts more than Trips to carry the company. His next challenge is to carry Kane to a big opening weekend.
Winner: Trips
O'Sullivan: I thought HHH's Mania win was a stonewall certainty. However, it didn't happen and it was a nice surprise. Him not winning here though would be an even bigger shock.
Winner: HHHHHHH
Mathew Sforcina: So Cena will get booed out of the building at ONS2, Joey? Excellent, hence the pop will be that much bigger.
Winner, and STILL WWE Champion: John "Mixed Messages" Cena (FU to HHH, STFU to Edge, Just Plain F to Lita)
Taareq Elsokari: We all know Edge isn't winning here and so that begs the question, where does he go from here? and also, Cena, will they turn him? The most interesting part to this is seeing what happens next. The feud has been built well, the mic work has been awesome apart from listening to Lita, and the match should be cool. But to continue...RVD is winning the title at One Night Stand 2, and Vince said on the Rise and Fall of ECW that he regretted jobbing ECW Champ Tazz to HHH, so i think here he will job HHH to RVD as sort of a "hey i put you out of business, but hey, here you go".
Winner and NEW WWE Champion: HHH
Grayson Hamill: No real reasoning. Just gotta go with my boy.
Winner: Edge
Larry Csonka: It's the battle to see who sucks less! I say that due to the booking, parity style, with each man getting a win. It's been blah to see these guys fight so much leading to the PPV, and really killed a lot of the momentum for me personally. I go with HHH taking the title so he can go to One Night Stand to face RVD.
Winner: HHH
Sean Garmer: While the stuff on RAW has gotten mixed reviews I think these guys could pull off something good in this one. We know its going to come down to either Triple H or Cena. Could we finally see the full Cena heel turn? Who knows, but I would bet on Cena coming out of Backlash with the title in his hands just so that ECW crowd can boo the heck out of him next month at ONS.
Winner and still Champion: John Cena
Nick Marsico: A lot of people have been creaming themselves over the booking of this feud, but to be honest it's not been all that great. I mean yeah, it's been more or less the main focus of RAW each week and it has certainly been entertaining, but it has also been painfully predictable and redundant at the same time. I can't say I have been disappointed by it or that I didn't like it, though, and I care a lot more about BackLash than I did WrestleMania, even though the final RAW before the PPV somehow made me less excited for it, since as of the show prior to this week I was actually totally excited for the show. As to who will win this match, I honestly think all three men have a shot, and I'll be avoiding spoilers fervently until the show is available for me to procure later in the evening. I think we're going to have to wait until SummerSlam for Triple H to get back on his throne, though, by summarily defeating RVD and deflating the entire world and all of the hopes that the IWC had for the future.
Winner: John Cena
Caleb Newby: I want Edge to take it. I would be very happy with HHH taking the title as well. I would be saddened to have Cena still champ… again (but, Cena holding onto the title and just pissing people off, only to be dethroned by Batista down the road would be a big time match with a lot of excitement). I'm going with who I want to win. Another title run from the only 100% heel in this match would be good times.
Winner: Edge… (or HHH, I really don't care which)
Bayani Domingo: I have no friggin' clue here. So I'm defaulting here and going with the wrestler who would have the highest number of points in Scrabble if you spelled out his name.
Winner: John Cena (20 pts, plus the extra 50 from the "Bingo")
Ari Berenstein: I admit, I'm behind on the times. I still hate Triple H. I still like Edge and think he should be champion. I take no offense to John Cena, but he by no means is my favorite. I must be reliving January 2005 like in the movie Groundhog's Day.Never bet against the H's. He might lose a few here and there, the odds are always consistent.
Winner: The King goes back on his throne. That being the toilet bowl.
Steve Sullivan: Don't get me wrong here, I appreciate Cena and all but if he walks out of Rupp Arena with that belt still around his waist, I'm going to have unpleasant things to say. The return of ECW nearly gives up what could happen over the next couple of weeks. What I expect to happen and to the dislike of many of my co-writers, is that Triple H is not going to win the title. Triple H has been classic lately. I'm absoultuly loving him. Unfortunately, I can't see them putting the belt on him right now when his baby is coming around soon. What I expect to happen is that RVD is going to use his Money In The Bank contract at ONS and challenge the man who last used the Money In The Bank contract. Edge vs. RVD in June. Mark it down.
Winner and NEW WWE Champion- Edge
Ian Smart: The fans seem to have fully turned on Cena, and Triple H is not going to job twice in a row. In truth, I feel bad for Edge who will no doubt be left in limbo after this match, but the plan seems to be Triple H versus RVD at ONS.
Winner: HHH
Jeff Small: As much as I would like Edge to win the title and have the best possible match with RVD at ONS, it's not going to happen. Even though, logic dictates that you do not bet against Triple H, I personally do not think he wants to be anywhere near a ECW PPV. So that leaves WWE's Golden Boy, John Cena to get cruificed by the ECW Mutants in June. I can't wait.
Winner: John Cena
Derek Martin: Wow, just yesterday I was lukewarm on this pay-per-view - but now that I've gone through all these matches I've come to realize how excited I actually am for this bitch. There are so many possibilities in this match. One of them I can't really see happening is Cena leaving with the title again. It'd be great to see the MOST WATCHED WWE CHAMPION EVER (Edge) leave Backlash with the strap again, but the WWE tends to screw him over in times like this. So that leaves us with...
WINNER and NEW WWE Champion: Triple H
Steve Cook: Not to rain on Derek Martin's parade, but there is evidence that all of the following champions were more watched than Edge:
Steve Austin
Hulk Hogan
The Rock
Triple H
Mankind
Undertaker
Chris Jericho
Andre The Giant
Randy Savage
Ultimate Warrior
Vince McMahon
And that's all just post-1984! Anywho, this should be a fun little match. I'll make the same pick I did last month because 2006 is the Year of the Fatty.
Winner: Triple H
Stuart Carapola: We all know it's coming, but is this where Cena's head rolls and Triple H takes back the title? I think this is Raw's last PPV before ECW One Night Stand II (I may be wrong), so unless the title changes on Raw, I expect Triple H to regain the title here.
Winner: Triple H
Meehan: We'll do this by process of elimination, so here's who WON'T win: Cena is hotter (though more polarizing) than ever, and Triple H is due for a title win. That leaves us with Edge, who (logically) was likely just injected into the mix to help alleviate the 50/50 crowd split. In other words (words that I'm sure Lita has never said)? "Sorry, Adam - not tonight." So we're left with Trips and Cena. Either would make a great foil for RVD going into ECW: ONS II - but one who can actually, ya know, deliver a decent wrestling match whereas the other pretty much epitomizes "Sports Entertainment" over actual "wrestling ability." And ECW fans are MERCILESS to "sportz entertainment"-style performers, so if Vince is smart, he'll keep the strap on Cena to watch the ECW fans go absolutely apeshit when RVD challenges him for the rebirth of the most "Extreme" promotion in wrestling history.
Winner: Cena, because throwing him to the "hardcore" wolves is perfect cannon-fodder to kickstart the ECW reniassance.
Scott Slimmer: Over the past thirteen months, John Cena has been booked to look like the kid that finds a way to win even in the face of the most daunting odds. He's snuck past JBL, Chris Jericho, Kurt Angle, Shawn Michaels, and even Triple H. The ONLY reason he lost the belt to Edge was because he'd just been through a war, and even then he made Edge look like a little bitch just three weeks later. Bottom line, Cena picks up the win here and makes it look like he really may hold the belt forever. That way, RVD's victory over Cena at One Night Stand will look even more impressive. Besides, Cena has proven to be solid in street fight type matches, so I think he may even be able to put on a decent showing against RVD at One Night Stand.
Winner: John Cena
JT: You know. I just can't call it. It's a flip of a three sided coin. People want to see Cena lose, yet they want to see RVD embarass him at ONS 2. People want to see Triple H win to get #11 (because he's over), yet don't feel it's time and/or necessary. People want to see Edge win because he really did draw for 3 1/2 weeks, yet other think he's a complete joke as a champion. All three guys have a pin. All three guys have shown their worthiness to the main-event scene. I'm honestly just hoping that we get a halfway decent 3-way, and truth be told, I will be surprised no matter who wins. Whoever wins will be the automatic heel against an ONS 2 crowd, and all three of these guys fit that bill. Good times.
