411 PPV Roundtable Preview: WWE No Way Out 2007
Posted by Stephen Randle on 02.17.2007
WWE's February PPV hits, and 411 has all their picks for this pitstop on the Road to WrestleMania!
Yes, it's time for the roadblock on the famous Road to WrestleMania, the February PPV known as No Way Out. Often considered the red-headed stepchild PPV, I suppose it's only fitting that it's been the Smackdown brand's property since the brand extension. This month, another inter-promotional tag match headlines yet another Smackdown PPV, and the ECW title is on the line for no real particular reason other than they needed another match. Yeah, normally we'd pretend to be excited about a PPV, but if WWE can't be bothered, why should we?
Here's the 411 staffers who summoned up the courage and wherewithal in order to provide you, the fans, with our thoughts on what's going to go down this Sunday night, as WWE presents No Way Out.
Stephen Randle, The Wrestling News Experience
Stuart Carapola, The Ominous Thoughts News Report
Daniel Wilcox, Schmozzes and Screwjobs
Sat, High Road/Low Road
Samuel Berman, The Indy Mid-Card, also stealing Ari's haiku gimmick
Larry Csonka, Master and Ruler of the World
Mathew Sforcina, The Fink's Payload
Michael Weyer, Shining a Spotlight
Andy Clark, The Shimmy
Michael Bauer, ECW recapper
Neil Borenstein, 411 sports columnist
and Brad Borchardt, Smackdown recapper
Introductions performed, let's get to the card.
Diva Talent Invitational
Stephen Randle: Let me check something. Yep, I still have high-speed internet and access to pornography whenever I might wish. Plus, it has actual nudity and I don't have to pay 40 bucks, either.
Winner: Ashley
Stuart Carapola: I wonder how this is going to work. I always assumed that "Diva" and "talent" were mutually exclusive. Anyway, this is probably just going to be a "who's the hottest chick" competition, so I'd have to say that the winner will be I Don't Care.
Winner: I guess Melina. She's pretty hot.
Daniel Wilcox: Um, do I care? Stu's spot on here with everything he says, but I don't think Melina is hottest of all the Divas.
Winner: Maria
Sat: This is going to be awful, like Jillian's awful singing. The Winner? Ashley because is posing for playboy.
Winner: Ashley
Samuel Berman: I'll be presenting this week's picks in haiku form, courtesy the ancient Japanese:
Divas Talented?
That's a crazy thought says I,
Playboy Ashley wins.
Winner: Ashley
Larry Csonka: Dance 3, looks 10.
Winner: My Pants
Mathew Sforcina: You know, it's just me, but maybe booking segments of your TV shows and PPV buys in a subtle jab at personal issues that 75% of the audience doesn't get and the other 25% doesn't care about is not exactly the most profitable way to do business, when that time could have been setting up, say, Benoit V MVP or something. But what do I know?
Winner: Victoria (My Sheer Will Power. It's gotta work sometime...)
Michael Weyer: Without knowing the competitors, hard to predict totally...Oh, wait. Who's the Diva about to have the big Playboy appearance?
WINNER: Ashley
Andy Clark: I don't care.
Winner: The one with Playboy coming out, although if there were any justice in the world the winner and the Playmate would be Krystal
Michael Bauer: By the boards of WWE Fantasy, this is not counted as a match. So I don't give a damn. Especially since we could have a United States Title match instead of this bullshit.
Winners: Nobody, unless you don't watch.
Neil Borenstein: Well, this is obviously just to get some more attention toward Ashley's whole Playboy Magazine deal, so it would make little sense for her not to win – considering this doesn't make much sense to begin with otherwise. So yeah, Ms. Lip Piercings gets the win.
Winner: Ashley
Brad Borchardt: Ummmm.....if Jillian doesn't sing, she has to win. But Ashley is on the cover of Playboy so....
Winner Yet Talentless: Ashley
Kane vs King Booker
Stephen Randle: The annual "Rumble eliminated/eliminatee face-off" match, that always stems from the Rumble match in order to give them a feud for No Way Out. Hey, it' s not like either guy was going to be doing anything better this month anyway.
Winner: King Booker
Stuart Carapola: They've fought before, haven't they? Well, King Booker is main event now and Kane's just treading water.
Winner: King Booker
Daniel Wilcox: This is an interesting match. I doubt WWE knows what they are going to do with either of these two men at WrestleMania and it wouldn't surprise me to see this feud continue on until Mania itself, in which case logic suggests that the heel would have to go over in this match. Then again I can see Kane competing in Money In The Bank this year and the King being devalued and going after the United States Championship, in which case let's give the Big Red Machine the victory.
Winner: Kane
Sat: I don't have much to say about this match. It seems like it was thrown together. A winner? Let's go with King Booker because it seems like these guys are going to continue the feud at WrestleMania. And the best way to do that is to have the heel win.
Winner: King Booker
Samuel Berman:
Booker needs a win,
Kane treads water one more time,
Royal victory.
Winner: King Booker
Larry Csonka: They set this up at the Rumble, why, because neither man has anything to do. I just do not think that this match will be pretty. Booker is fine most of the time, but I just can't imagine he and Kane having great chemistry. Hopefully I am wrong. Um, well, I'll stick with Royalty.
Winner: KING BOOKAH~!
Mathew Sforcina: Well, let's assume the WWE isn't stupid enough to give DAVE the Streak Breaker. Thus, Taker walks out of WM Champ. He'll need some people to feud with. So we should use this match here to give X a win, in order to set up a rematch at WM for Y to win, in order to do Taker/Y later on. So, who should be X and Y? The former champ with a hot woman and real momentum or the guy who has fought Taker so many times no-one cares anymore? Which one should win at WM, and thus lose in screwy fashion here?
Winner: King Booker (Cheating)
Michael Weyer: Let's check the calender...Yep, time in the Kane push annual cycle for him to get a big loss and set up a rematch at Mania.
WINNER: All hail King Booker!
Andy Clark: While this match may not be pretty, it is a fresh matchup. Kane has been doing really well since the move to SmackDown while King Booker has floundered since losing the title. There's probably more of an immediate use for Kane so I say give him the win.
Winner: Kane
Michael Bauer: So this match got NO hype on the Smackdown before the match. No Kane, no King Booka, no nothing. To me, that means we will have a rematch at Wrestlemania after a lackluster match here. I'll go with Kane for the first fall, because he should not win at the big show.
Winner: Kane
Neil Borenstein: So this is just a slight drop off for King Booker after holding the World Heavyweight Championship. It's completely random to book him against Kane, but as Larry said, there's not much for either competitor to do outside facing each other. It has the ability to be a decent filler match as I'm slightly more optimistic on Kane than most fans, and I'm probably crazy for it. The match has the potential to be okay, though. And I really can't see Booker dropping one to Kane right now.
Winner: King Booker
Brad Borchardt: This feud feels like it's just kind of there. I think the King will pull it out and enter a program with Chris Benoit for WrestleMania.
Winner With Nothing To Do: King Booker
Gregory Helms (c) vs. Scotty II Hotty vs. Jimmy Wang Yang vs. Daivari vs. Funaki vs. Jamie Noble vs. Shannon Moore - WWE Cruiserweight Championship
Stephen Randle: Helms only holds the belt because WWE has jobbed or fired every single cruiserweight on the roster, so much so that they had to move 3 wrestlers back to Smackdown just to fill out this match. The abysmal use of Noble after all he did to get rehired is staggering. The misuse of Yang is almost as bad.
Winner: Daivari
Stuart Carapola: As much as I'd love to see Jamie Noble win the title so I could at least pretend he's getting some respect, I think the longest reigning champion in WWE is going to retain.
Winner: GREGORY
Daniel Wilcox: One year ago at No Way Out, Gregory Helms defended the Cruiserweight championship against the entire Cruiser division which consisted of 8 other guys. We've come full circle and Helms is still defending against the entire division, only now it's 6 other guys. I'm assuming that this is one fall to a finish. And what the hell happened to Scotty being on Raw?! He's been robbed of teaming with Jim Duggan and jobbing to Cade and Murdoch. Anyway, Scotty and Funaki won't win, because they are Scotty and Funaki, Noble won't win because he hasn't made a TV appearance in what, 3 months? Moore only rededuted on SmackDown this week and no-one gives a damn about him yet, so he's gone. Jimmy Wang Yang had his shot, lost and hasn't been seen since so he's gone. Now Davari owns a non-title victory over Helms but is a heel and why bother switching the title to another heel when Helms has been doing fine? So...
Winner: And still Cruiserweight Champion, Helms
Sat: This match is the best opportunity to take the title off of Gregory Helms. He can potentially lose the title without getting pinned. The only problem is that who is deserving of the title. Nobody in my opinion, but I think the WWE tries to create some interest in the division by having somebody win the title. The only two viable option are Jimmy Wang Yang and Daivari. So with these two option, I'll go with Daivari because he's been on TV more than Jimmy Wang Yang.
Winner: Daivari
Samuel Berman:
Helms just owns the belt,
Where's TAKA Michinoku?
He'd be great in this.
Winner: Gregory Helms
Larry Csonka: All right, let's see what we have here. We have the "longest running champion in Smackdown history" that loses all the time defending against: The jobber that hasn't won in forever and was sent to Raw and now back to Smackdown, where he never should have been moved from. Against the Japanese Redneck that lost to the Indian they fired. Against the former evil foreign sympathizer that was sent away from Smackdown to ECW with the giant, and then after a less than spectacular ECW run, and without a real reason was sent back to Smackdown, where he should have stayed in the first place. Against the jobber who people like but don't understand how he still has a job. Against the guy that was part of a good tag team and then got jobbed out and taken off TV for months. Finally against the Emo who was fired, came back, got jobbed the fuck out on ECW and now, without explanation sent back to his original home of Smackdown, where he should have been anyway. Do you have all of that? Apparently they are going to try a CW division again, we'll see about that. Scotty and Funaki don't have a chance, hell who does, no one should win this match, they should all lose. Anyway I figure either Daivari and or Helms will win. Hopefully they get more than 8-minutes and have a fun match.
Winner: Daivari's new body
Mathew Sforcina: My brain hurts. And I understood the TNA Fight For Your Right Tourney Thing!
Winner and NEW Cruiserweight Champion: Davari (Hammerlock DDT, unless that's too cool looking for a small guy to do.)
Michael Weyer: It's WAY overdue for Helms to drop this and with all those competitors, it's an open field of canidates. Amazing that with all those guys we can't get more cruiserweight matches on TV or PPV. For the winner, I'm picking one guy I think could go really over given the right chances...
WINNER and NEW Cruiserweight Champion: Jimmy Yang
Andy Clark: This is pathetic. The Cruiserweight Division looks worse than it did a year ago. And this is the EXACT same booking as last year's No Way Out cruiser match. Helms, Daivari and Wang Yang are the only ones in this match that aren't complete jobbers. Funaki at least has that Barry Horiwitz thing going for him and Scotty had the shortest tenure of someone on a certain brand since the brand extension. Hopefully Helms retains because that's the only thing that's keeping him relevant.
Winner and STILL Cruiserweight Champion: Gregory Helms
Michael Bauer: This match has clusterfuck written all over it, because it probably get no more than 10 minutes and will turn into a glorified spotfest. There is no way Funaki, Scotty, Moore, Daivari, or Knbole win, since nobody has seen them on Smackdown in like 10 million years. I'll pick the upset of Jimmy Wang Yang winning and setting up a rematch for Wrestlemania.
Winner: Jimmy Wang Yang (New Champ)
Neil Borenstein: Wow! Where the hell did this come from? Honestly, it's about time that Helms drops the belt. The whole longest title reign deal was cute for a while, but it's getting a bit stale and it's about time somebody else on Smackdown has the opportunity to strut around with the gold. Out of all the other competitors, it's a bit difficult to pick one guy that deserves the belt over helms. My personal preference would be Jamie Noble, but logic tells me either Jimmy Wang Yang or Daivari have a better chance at the Cruiserweight gold. I'll go with the Asian Redneck on this one.
Winner and NEW Cruiserweight Champion: Jimmy Wang Yang
Brad Borchardt: This match was made so Gregory Helms could lose the title to another heel, Daivari. If they wanted somebody like Yang who has the other only chance of winning it, they would of made it an Armageddon rematch.
Winner and New Cruiserweight Champion but the Smackdown writers won't care about him anyway: Daivari
Finlay vs The Boogeyman
Stephen Randle: Everyone seems to think Finlay will destroy the Boogeyman. Isn't Boogey still essentially undefeated? Even if that's not true, he still holds wins over JBL and Booker, so I don't think Finlay stands much of a chance. Also, if he wins, it annoys JT.
Winner: Boogeyman
Stuart Carapola: I hope that Finlay stomps the crap out of this joker, althoug the possibility of the interaction between the worms and the Little Bastard are somewhat amusing. Plus, I think it would be really funny if Finlay got on the mic and said "I respect you, Boogeyman" and walked out.
Winner: Finlay
Daniel Wilcox: So here's Finlay, one of the best talents on the roster, on the Road To WrestleMania, and here he is, battling Boogeyman?! OK then. Boogeyman's undefeated streak is gone so that gives Finlay some hopes I suppose. Plus, there's the added factor of Mini Boogeyman vs. Little Bastard, and I'm sure they'll both get involved somehow, but ulitmately, I see Finlay going over as he's going to be heading for bigger things on the Road To WrestleMania.
Winner: Finlay
Sat: Either guy could win either because this series is tied 1-1. So, I think that Finlay wins here via a distraction from the fake Boogeyman, who is really the Little Bastard in disguise.
Winner: Finlay
Samuel Berman:
Series tied at one.
I don't care for Boogeyman,
Finlay takes the duke.
Winner: Finlay
Larry Csonka: Ok, i was originally down on this, but with Little Bastard and Boogeyman-Cito officially part of the match, this could be awesome. I want to see Finlay toss around Little bastard AND Boogeyman-Cito for my entertainment.
Winner: Not me.
Mathew Sforcina: I'm surprised this isn't Finlay/Little Bastard vs. The Boogeymen. But really, if they wanted a tiny weird guy to team with Boogey, why not just hire Delirious?
Winner: Finlay (Celtic Cross on chair)
Michael Weyer: What in hell is Finlay doing fighting Bogey? I mean, really? Still, he could get a better match than usual out of Bogeyman and I admit, I'm looking forward to the Little Bastard getting hit with worms.
WINNER: Finlay
Andy Clark: Note to my fellow IWC: stop the fucking whining. I'm sorry Finlay isn't going to be in some technical masterpiece at No Way Out this month, but trust me, you'll live. This match is about the minis anyway, so it should be pretty entertaining. Just consider this as a break for Finlay, getting him ready for a kick ass match at Mania.
Winner: The Boogeyman due to Boogey-Min terference
Michael Bauer: Finlay is already my wrestler of the year for beating The Boogeyman, but then they went ahead and gave Boogeyman a win this week, so we are tied at 1-1 heading into the Pay Per View. I guess this is a good thing, since Finlay could do better things next month. But for that to happen, the right thing here is for Finlay to go over. Bold prediction: Mixed Tag Match – Finlay and Little Bastard vs Boogeyman and Mini Boogeyman.
Winner: Finlay
Neil Borenstein: The Boogeyman's matches are notorious for being short and, quite frankly, absolutely sucking. I do find the whole "Little Boogeyman" deal to go against the Little Bastard kind of funny though, and adding the two to the match makes it a little more appealing. Finlay has the ability to make guys look at least a little better than they are, and with the addition of the little guys to this contest, it could turn out to be pretty decent. Nobody should expect much out of it, but it's a little better than the straight one-on-one the WWE originally scheduled for No Way Out.
Winner: The Boogeyman and Little Boogeyman
Brad Borchardt: I think it's funny how WWE called it a "Mixed Tag". I had Finlay winning the one on one match, but with the addition of the wee little people, I got to give it to the future tag team of Smackdown, the Boogeymen.
Winners and Thanks for wreecking Finlay's series of good pay per view preformances: The Boogeymen
Lashley (c) vs. Mr. Kennedy - ECW Championship
Stephen Randle: Kennedy gets another title match that he can't win, let's see if he can work a good match with an ever greener and sloppier power wrestler than Batista.
Winner: Lashley
Stuart Carapola: If I were to believe that Ken Kennedy was going to win the ECW Title here, I would therefore have to believe that they care enough about ECW to send one of their top guys from Smackdown there on a regular basis. I do not believe this to be true, therefore I do not think Kennedy is going to win the ECW Title. I also don't think he'll necessarily lose, but if he does win it will be by countout or DQ or something. Besides, Lashley has Snitsky The CM Punk Killer looming on the horizon!
Winner: Kennedy (via DQ or countout)
Daniel Wilcox: Seriously, what the hell is this?! Kennedy, one of the shows biggest stars with the brightest future, and yet he has absolutely nothing to do on this show, so he has to challenge another shows champion? When guys like Benoit, Matt Hardy and MVP aren't even on the card! Kennedy is probably looking at a Money In The Bank spot, which means he could probably afford to take a clean loss here. Lashley hasn't been up to much in recent weeks and could use the momentum going into Mania, especially if he's going to be the guy they use in the Battle Of The Billionaires crap.
Winner: Lashley retains
Sat: I'm kind of surprised that Lashley is going to be at No Way Out. Lashley is on a roll and he wins in a match that as the potential to be very good.
Winner: Lashley
Samuel Berman:
EC-Dub on here?
Kennedy is just so great,
But Lashley retains.
Winner and STILL ECW Champion: Lashley
Larry Csonka: Brand Extension, what brand extension? US title match? What US Title match? Is Benoit hurt and we don't know it? At least it isn't Benoit vs. Chavo part 43. I am so confused.
Winner: Um…Lashley?
Mathew Sforcina: Poor, poor Ken.
Winner, and STILL ECW Champion: Lashley (Powerslam)
Michael Weyer: Ah, so they're just giving up on Smackdown as a seperate brand now? Maybe Benoit is injured and we can't get a US title match. I like Kennedy but they're priming him more for Smackdown so this looks like just filler but he and Lashley might surprise.
WINNER and still ECW Champion: Lashley
Andy Clark: I'm actually really excited about this. I know smart money would be on Lashley but I've been thinking. With Batista poised to be the No. 1 heel on SmackDown after Mania Mr. Kennedy will be regulated to being a second bannana. They've also done a good job at establishing that Kennedy CAN be a World Champion. Lashley doesn't need the belt if he goes into the Battle of the Billionaires Match and a post-Mania Lashley-Kennedy feud could be just what ECW needs. Plus, if Kennedy wins here Kennedy-Punk at Mania could be a very real (and very awesome) possibility.
Winner and NEW ECW World Champion: Mistahhhhh Ken-ene-dy......
Michael Bauer: I'll steal Larry's saying here... FUCK THE BRAND EXTENSION! If anyone thinks the title is changing hands, please see my personal shrink.
Winner: Lashley (Still Champ)
Neil Borenstein: Hello world of complete randomness, how are you? How in the blue hell does this title match make even the slightest bit of sense? In fact, I'm pretty irritated at it. Unless Mr. Kennedy is actually moving over to ECW, Bobby Lashley has to win this match and retain the title. But that means Kennedy has to take a big loss at a time when he's really been hot and getting at least semi-pushed on Smackdown. I really hope that both guys look good in the match and it ends in a DQ finish thanks to Snitsky interference against Lashley. And that is the last time you will ever hear me hope for an appearance out of Snitsky.
Winner and STILL ECW World Champion: Bobby Lashley
Brad Borchardt: I'm split on this one. On one hand I think they should keep Kennedy on Smackdown but I feel if Kennedy wins the title, Lashley will have a worthy oppenant for WrestleMania. I think McMahon is desperate for ECW to work and Kennedy will win the ECW Championship.
Winner and New ECW Champion and future member of a brand that will only hurt his career: Mr. Kennedy....Kennedy
London and Kendrick (c) vs Deuce and Domino - WWE Tag Team Championship
Stephen Randle: Notice how all the belts on Smackdown stay on guys forever because they can't build up new challengers? Yeah.
Winners: Deuce and Domino
Stuart Carapola: Yeah, this is much better than the ladder match we were originally supposed to get. I really hope that Deuce and Domino don't win the title.
Winner: Paul London & Brian Kendrick
Daniel Wilcox: I did a long piece on this whole match in my column last week, and I decided that despite the change to the ladder match, no way were the champs losing the gold at this point to these newcomers. One other point, why can WWE find a new formula for tag wrestling on SmackDown? I'm getting seriously bored with this, "new guys come in, beat champs in several non-title matches, then lose at PPV" formula. Change the damn record!
Winners: London and Kendrick
Sat: The right decision was made to give Deuce and Domino a shot because they did beat the champion twice. Even though they have beaten the champion twice, Deuce and Domino lose here and London and Kendrick keep their tag title reign going.
Winner: London and Kendrick
Samuel Berman:
Spotfest was replaced
Means a title switch right here,
Greasers get big win.
Winners and NEW WWE Tag Team Champions: Deuce & Domino
Larry Csonka: Well, the champs lost twice to the 50's team and once in a single bout. I will go with the champs here and hopefully they have a good match.
Winners: London and Kendrick
Mathew Sforcina: L&K won the belts despite beating MNM at every turn. Karma's a bitch, huh?
Winners, and NEW WWE Tag Team Champions: That 50's Team (Cherry Popper)
Michael Weyer: The team with one of the dumbest gimmicks lately has gotten a lot more over than I figured they would. Normally, I'd be hestitant over them winning as they're so new but then again, London and Kendrick have been champs way long and they seem to be prepping them for a TLC match at Mania thus...
WINNER and NEW WWE Tag Team Champions: Deuce and Domino
Andy Clark: Let's put it this way: if you want the tag titles to at least have a fighting chance of being on the Mania card they need to stay with London & Kendrick. If not, go to the new guys.
Winner and STILL WWE Tag Team Champions: Paul London & Brian Kendrick
Michael Bauer: Normal wisdom says that if the champs getting beaten over and over and over again for a month, they retain the titles. But when does the WWE use normal wisdom? Plus, if you are going to pull a hot rematch off the card, you better have a good reason.
Winners: Deuce and Domino (New Tag Champs)
Neil Borenstein: All right, so they killed the ladder match deal. I'm fine with that because this match looks pretty good. I'm really high on Deuce and Domino and they could be a really good tag team moving forward in the WWE. Unfortunately, I have a huge problem with giving belts to wrestlers when they basically just arrive in a company, so I can't be on board with the new guys getting the straps. But I think this could be a pretty good match with the champs retaining.
Winners and STILL Tag Team Champions: London and Kendrick
Brad Borchardt: This is the same program we have seen for the last year. New team challenges the tag champions, win all the non title match, and lose to the champs when the belt are on the line. This time, I think the challengers will win though and we will see Kendrick and London at WrestleMania unless McMahon decides to put MNM and the Hardys back together for the event.
Winners and New WWE Tag Team Champions and will have nobody in the division to face: Deuce & Domino
John Cena and Shawn Michaels vs Batista and The Undertaker
Stephen Randle: Well, at least in theory this'll draw a buyrate. P.S., Saturday Night's Main Event from last March called and they want you to stop booking this like the Mania main event matches have never faced each other as teams.
Winners: Cena and HBK
Stuart Carapola: I would have thought that this match would have had more intrigue if Undertaker held off his decision until afterward, but I guess it works since each champion will be teaming with his Wrestlemania challenger. They should get Lashley to be the guest referee. Is the World Tag Team Title on the line here?
Winner: John Cena & Shawn Michaels
Daniel Wilcox: I think this match may surprise some and be quite good. With HBK and Cena already as tag champs on Raw, I would expect them to go over here, no doubt to some miscommunication on Taker/Batista's part, or of course the heel turn by the Animal. You all know it's coming, it's just a case of wether it will happen during or after this tag match.
Winners: HBK and Cena
Sat: John Cena and Shawn Michaels win here because Batista and the Undertaker got the upperhand on RAW. Also, Cena and Michaels win here because they are the tag team champs.
Winner: John Cena and Shawn Michaels
Samuel Berman:
I see the RAW team
Winning so they're the draw at
Wrestlemania.
Winners: John Cena & Shawn Michaels
Larry Csonka: Well this bad boy will have to deliver big time I feel to make this event worth it. HBK has been on a roll, Taker will work well with both opponents, Cena is superman and good at it leaving Big Dave as the weak link. Also the dissention factor will play a major part in the match, so this could be very interesting.
Winner: Batista and The Undertaker
Mathew Sforcina: I just hope this gets some sort of double turn where the vets say "Screw This" and help each other beat down the brats for like 20 minutes.
Winners: No-one (Double DQ brawl)
Michael Weyer: Man, this should be good. It's hard to predict a winner as we know it'll turn into a wild fight but since No Way Out is a Smackdown show, I don't see them putting the RAW guys over and it'll add to the Mania heat.
WINNER: The Animal and the Dead Man
Andy Clark: I'm definitely looking forward to this one. I think they actually gave too much away this Thursday on Raw, especially the first real physicality between Batista and Cena. This is an excellent idea for a match and should set up WrestleMania nicely. SmackDown needs to win here only because I rationalized that Cena-Triple H went on last at last year's Mania because they defeated the SmackDown main event at SNME, so therefore Batista & Undertaker need to win here for that theory to hold true.
Winners: Batista & Undertaker
....Kennedy!
Michael Bauer: This is really, really hard. On Raw, you get Smackdown getting the upper hand on Raw. On Smackdown, you get no battle between the two teams, just separate tag matches against the people they just beat on Raw. Since Raw has yet to really go over, I give the win to them.
Winners: HBK and Cena
Neil Borenstein: Okay, this honestly is not as big of a match as the WWE is making it out to be. Regardless, it's still pretty interesting and looks like it could be pretty good with a lot of Wrestlemania 23 implications involved. It's hard to really call a winner here and just which set of partners are going to fight with each other more – and which will essentially cost each other the match as a result. It seems like Batista and The Undertaker are more on the same page than John Cena and Shawn Michaels have been, but that could ultimately mean the whole Batista/Undertaker thing really starts to kick off at this PPV. This really could go either way, so I'm going with the RAW guys since I think Smackdown's Wrestlemania main event really starts to pick up during this match.
Winners: John Cena and Shawn Michaels
Brad Borchardt: I'm torn on this but I feel HBK and Cena WILL NOT be RAW's main event at WrestleMania. I have a feeling Rated RKO will interfere on Batista and Undertaker's behalf and cost HBK and Cena the match and making it a Fatal Four Way at WreslteMania.
Winners of another Inter-Promotional Waste of Time As a Smackdown PPV Main Event: Batista and Undertaker
