411 PPV Roundtable Preview: ECW WWE One Night Stand 2007 (Part 2)
Posted by Stephen Randle on 06.02.2007
So many stipulations, we couldn't fit it all in one column! World title match predictions inside!
Vince McMahon (c) vs. Bobby Lashley - Street Fight - ECW Championship
Stephen Randle: Remember when Vince won the WWE title from Triple H and vacated it the next day because he "wasn't a wrestler" and thus it was stupid for him to be holding the belt? I wonder if he does.
Winner: Vince McMahon
Daniel Wilcox: Whenever a McMahon is in a hardcore environment, you can pretty much guarantee three things; a nasty blade job, interference and entertainment. This should be no different. Crowds have been really into Lashley recently so the added heat for this match will make it even more enjoyable to watch. I do hope that it doesn't get the usual McMahon twenty minutes like most McMahon pay-per-view matches (with Judgment Day being an exception) because there are other matches on this card that can benefit from a little extra time. And finally, I think this feud is over. *Breathes a sigh of relief.*
Winner: And NEW ECW Champion, Bobby Lashley!
Bayani Domingo: Vince has a way of taking a beating when he needs to, especially in garbage matches like this. I'm expecting interference from Shane, Umaga, Coachman, Chris Masters, Viscera, Max Moon, Giant Gonzalez, Kevin Bacon, the remaining living members of "Wings", William Shatner, and perhaps a few of those monkey lawyers from the Orton/RVD match. In the end this feud has got to end.
Winner: Blackzilla
Matt Adamson: I loathe this angle, and like at Judgment Day, I'll be taking a mad leak during this match. Heck, I might just try and make it last as Lashley isn't one of those guys who can pull off something truly awesome with McMahon like Hogan, Austin, HBK, and HHH have been. Lashley will probably do one unbelievable spot and make everybody go "yay Lashley" but I'm not buying it unless he can be that entertaining through the entirety of a match. I hate being so negative, but Lashley just does nothing for me. Hopefully that will change once he moves on from the McMahon feud. As far as who's going to win? Lashley.
Winner: Bobby Lashley
Stuart Carapola: Normally I'd be more than happy to wish that Lashley lose any match he's a part of, but I think Vince McMahon's second World Title reign will come to an end here. Then again, this match is said to be closing the show, so it wouldn't shock me to see Vince end the PPV victorious one more time.
Winner: Bobby Lashley
Brad Borchardt: I hear this is the main event. Vince McMahon street fights are always entertaining, but this should not be the main event. Even though Vince vs. Foley or Mysterio for the ECW Championship kinda make sense for SummerSlam and I think Lashley will be drafted to RAW, but I still got to go with my gut feeling and say Lashley wins the title back.
Winner: Bobby Lashley
Andy Critchell: The whole point of this feud has been to raise both Bobby Lashley and the stature of the ECW belt by making Lashley have to fight so hard for it. I have to believe that this is going to be the payoff that we have been waiting for. While I doubt seriously that this will be as good as the Vince/HBK street fight, Lashley is an ox and will probably do a good job tossing Vince around.
Winner and NEW ECW champ - Lashley
Michael Bauer: FOR THE LOVE OF FUCKING GOD – END THIS SHIT ALREADY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Winner and NEW Champion: Bobby Lashley
Rob Halden: I struggle to remember a time before this feud. It must have been a glorious age, full of potential and bunnies. The slow, trudging behemoth that is McMahon Vs Lashley crawls slowly towards it's death at ONS. This match would have been huge at Mania. Fuck Trump and his hair, this would have been awesome. We're guaranteed Lashley gets the strap back, Vince bumps like a madman, Shane interferes, Umaga interferes and no doubt Vince does a wicked blade job.
Winner: Bobby Lashley
Samuel Berman: If they want Lashley to get over, shouldn't they, umm, PUT HIM OVER? If Vince wins here, there's no hope for Lashley ever recovering in the fans' eyes. The way this is going, he's not getting turned into the next Steve Austin, he's getting turned into the next Test. I mean for the love of god, just move Lashley back to SmackDown! and give Punk the belt.
Winner and NEW ECW Champion: Bobby Lashley
Ari Berenstein: Who told Bobby Lashley he could talk? Dude was positively Rosie O'Donnell esque at last week's ECW. You couldn't shut the dude up! So while Lashley has become Mr. Yakkity yak, he will also find his way to reclaiming his bill as Mr. ECW. Until he wrestles every match on Raw the next night.
Winner: Bobby Lashley, NEW ECW Champion
Andy Clark: I actually like Vince as champion a lot more then I enjoyed Lashley as champion, but this is where Lashley gets his revenge.
Winner and NEW ECW World Champion: Bobby Lashley
Larry Csonka: This should be the main event, all the tricks in the book and Lashley getting revenge.
Winner: Lashley's lady voice
Michael Weyer: Please, please, PLEASE let this be the end of it. It was fun for a week or so but now it's just ridiculous and taking Vince's usual ego-stroking to the extreme. We get it, Lashely's the big dog in ECW now. So it's time to put the belt back on him so when he loses it to someone, it's more meaningful. Please?
WINNER and NEW ECW Champion: Lashley
Matt Short: This has gone on long enough. I know Lashley has been getting major pops from all this, but the real test is going to be if he can stay over when the feud ends. And this better be the end of this, dammit! I take some solace in the fact that there's probably going to be so many run-ins for this match that neither McMahon or Lashley will look horrible. Vince will bleed like crazy and Lashley will chuck him around like a rag doll. Plus run-ins. Let's leave it at that.
Winner: Lashley
Scotty Flamingo: It has to be said that more people bitched about Jeff Jarrett's title reign last year in TNA than have about Vince being the ECW champion for going on two months. There's something severly wrong with that picture.
Onto the match. This will be more overbooked crap and it is really gonna depend on a few factors as to who will win. What is more important, Vince's ego or building Lashley? I would think that in Vince's mind, he's giving Lashley this huge rub. He used him as the big face at the Mania main event and I think he is what Vince wants for HIS ECW. Also, like I said earlier, I think they are cleaning the slate here, and with RVD and the Originals all losing, they have to do something to send the fans home happy.
Winner: Bobby Lashley
Zac Calhoun: This is undoubtedly the one I'm least confident about, simply because I can see good reasons for both men to hold the title. It probably makes more sense for Lashley to regain the title, as Vince had held it an awfully long time for a non-wrestler. So since I picked Vince in the RE, I'm going with Lashley here so I'm right at least once.
Winner and NEW champ: Bobby Lashley
Sat: I am really having a tough time picking a winner for this match. I think that most people are expecting Bobby Lashley to win because he almost won the title at Judgment Day and the fact that he finally gets Vince McMahon alone in the ring. But, I think that Vince is winning this match because a street fight means that Vince can get some help from Umaga and Shane to win the match. So, I'll take Vince McMahon to win and for Lashley to take the title at Venegence in a Hell in the Cell match.
Winner: Vince McMahon
Neil Borenstein: Man, I so don't even care anymore. I'd be perfectly satisfied if Vince McMahon lost this match by drowning in a pool of his own blood, which is entirely possible. I just don't want this stupid angle going on anymore. Nobody wants to see Vince as the ECW Champion – just go away already. We'll get random Shane McMahon and Umaga interference of course, but in the end, the belt comes home with Bobby Lashley. And maybe this crap gets put to bed? Yeah, I doubt it too.
Winner and NEW ECW Champion: Bobby Lashley
Mike Minotti: I really hope that Lashley gets drafted to Raw. Casual fans who don't watch ECW probably already think he's a part of that roster anyways. If he's going to make that move, he can't be holding the belt, so Vince will retain.
Winner: Vince McMahon
Edge (c) vs. Batista - Steel Cage Match - World Heavyweight Championship
Stephen Randle: While history would suggest that Edge is incapable of having a title reign longer than a month, I think he's finally in the place where they'll let him have a good long run on top. If only to see if those rating spikes from his last two reigns were real or not.
Winner: Edge
Daniel Wilcox: While their encounter at Judgment Day was no great shakes, I see this match being quite good. Edge and Batista have proven that they can work well in a hardcore environment and Batista had a great cage match a couple of weeks ago with The Undertaker so I have high hopes. If the Lumberjack match goes on early, I see Mark Henry interfering to cost Batista the match and the championship setting up the inevitable feud between them while Edge goes on to face someone fresh.
Winner: Edge
Bayani Domingo: Wow, did they ever rush this Steel Cage match. We had one 15 min. match to start off with and now this escalated to a steel cage. That makes no sense what so ever but I guess this means next week we'll get an Iron man match and then a Retirement match. If anything this is all a vehicle to get Edge over as SD's #1 superstar and transition him into someone more suited for him, like Benoit or Matt Hardy. This could have been a really good feud if this wasn't Batista's fall into the upper mid-card. I would love to see him just punk out Edge as being soft and a coward and getting up from a spear and simply laughing at him. Seriously, ‘Tista and Lashley both utilize the Spear as semi-finishers and each of them looks 10 times stiffer than Edge's. Why don't you just give him a new submission move while we're at it? The Edge-TFU. Yeeesh, well Edge deserves a long title reign but this should probably be the blow off once Edge goes up 2 to 0 on The Animal. If this ends up being a clean win for Edge I'm all for it, if Miz-zark interferes in the most predictable way possible then why even bother using a cage unless we want to see the aweseomeness of him ripping a steel door clear off it's hinges. *Sigh*
Winner: The Rated "B" Show Superstar, Edge
Matt Adamson: I really enjoy cage matches. The old kind, not that Hell In A Cell crap. I like to see two guys battle it out inside of the ring where the only escape is over the top. Edge is a talented guy and while I think Batista is green, I think the two will be able to have a great match if they hold the proper pace. I still don't think Batista is going to win the title this soon, and I still hold that Henry is going to cost his the title.
Winner: Edge
Stuart Carapola: I have no doubt that Edge is keeping the title here, but the question remains as to whether he'll be able to carry Batista to a watchable match for a second PPV in a row?
Winner: Edge
Brad Borchardt: This is the match that should be the main event. I also feel this match will be lightyears ahead of their Judgment Day Match and has potential to be awesome as both men work good in this enviroment. No way are they gonna cut the Edge title run here so quickly. He shouldn't lose the title to at least the Fall if not later.
Winner: Edge
Andy Critchell: It still seems to me like Edge just got this belt and a title change right now would be kinda pointless. Batista has stepped his game up but I'd like to extend this eventual change a while longer so both men can come out of this feud the better for it.
Winner - Edge
Michael Bauer: Edge and Batista had a decent match before and now we add a cage, which could add to the quality of the match. It could also make it suck, but it is Edge in there, so it's hard for that the totally happen. In the end, Mark Henry or not, Edge retains.
Winner and still champion: Edge
Rob Halden: Smackdown shows wonderful glimmers of hope. For a start, Edge is vastly important and more interesting that Taker as champ. Secondly, they've gone back to the interesting version of Batista. The one who's cocky and relaxed and not shouting all the time. So yay for them. I want this match to be awesome, I'm hoping 'Tista raises his game again like at Mania and Backlash. Once again he has something to prove.
Winner: Edge.
Samuel Berman: Batista is literally the least interesting wrestler in the world to me right now. I'm not a huge Edge fan, but at least his matches entertain me. I know everyone liked Dave's match with Undertaker at Wrestlemania, but I was not with the majority on that one. Hopefully Edge retains and moves on to a long feud with Benoit.
Winner and STILL World Heavyweight Champion: Edge
Ari Berenstein: Batista is good to great in cage matches. Edge is great to freaking phenomenal in cage matches. Do the math--THIS is the match to get the PPV for.
Winner: Edge retains the World Heavyweight Championship
Andy Clark: Can Batista please get over the "injury" for this one? Didn't we just have a Steel Cage Match? Does anyone actually expect Edge to lose?
Winner and STILL World Heavyweight Champion: Edge
Larry Csonka: Taking the title off of Edge would suck, big time. He needs to retain and rule Smackdown.
Winner: Edge
Michael Weyer: Why is this not the main event? Seriously, this is a much better way to end than Cena/Khali. Batista is getting back into his old groove and Edge is making the title really meaningful as a heel champion. This promises to be an excellent brawl with Edge continuing to reign on top for a bit.
WINNER and still World Champion: Edge
Matt Short: I don't mind them continuing their feud, but I don't like the steel cage stipulation. Not that I don't like steel cage matches, I'm just not thrilled to see these two inside of one. They didn't really click that well at Judgment Day and that has tainted it a bit for me. To be fair, both of these guys have shown how well they can do in a cage in the past so maybe they'll get it to work this time around. Oh and Edge won't be losing here.
Winner: Edge
Scotty Flamingo: Why is this on an ECW PPV? It is bad enough that they've dropped the branded PPV's for Smackdown, but ECW only has two shows a year. If they wanted Edge on the show, they should've had someone from ECW challenge him. But anyway, throw that out and this will probably be ok. I would say great, but Batista has been really unmotivated since his injury last year.
Winner: Edge
Zac Calhoun: This feud hasn't changed at all since Judgment Day, and I don't expect the outcome to be different this time. I recently read that WWE is pegging Edge as the long-term centerpiece of SD, so I don't think a sub-one month title reign would be in anyone's best interest. And the stipulation allows Edge to win the match and keep the title without pinning the Dave. Man, it's almost like they planned it that way.
Winner and STILL champ: Edge
Sat: I was not impressed with the first match that these two had at Judgment Day. I am expecting this match to be a little better because it is a cage match. I'll take Edge to win this match with help from Mark Henry and this leads to the long awaited feud between Mark Henry and Batista.
Winner: Edge
Neil Borenstein: It's still too early to take the belt off Edge, especially with the draft lottery on the horizon and the potential for new contenders to come along. Hell, until Mr. Kennedy comes back and the WWE can book him against Edge with the belt on the line, Edge isn't losing the World Heavyweight Championship. So hopefully this will be a good match with some great spots because the winner is very predictable.
Winner and STILL World Heavyweight Champion: Edge
Mike Minotti: If they wanted Batista to be the champion they wouldn't have bothered with that elaborate plot to bring Edge over to Smackdown to take the belt from Undertaker. It's really as simple as that.
Winner: Edge
John Cena (c) vs. The Great Khali - Falls Count Anywhere - WWE Championship
Stephen Randle: Lord, I know I've been a bad person from time to time, but please don't punish me like this any more. Ironically, at this year's One Night Stand, it's "if Cena doesn't win, we riot".
Winner: John Cena
Daniel Wilcox: Just because I enjoyed the match at Judgment Day doesn't mean I wanted to see a rematch! Oh well. Perhaps we'll have the pleasure of seeing someone get choke-bombed onto some steel steps. Because that would be pretty sweet. But wait, that would pretty much guarantee a new champion, right? Oh crap. I'll settle for a 7"5, 420lbs man receiving an FU then. WORD LIFE, BITCHES!
Winner: John Cena
Bayani Domingo: I hate it when fellow countrymen fight. Would Vince ever put the belt on Khali? I wouldn't put it past him, then again, I know deep down in my Black, Black heart that it will never be. Cena is the Hulk of the new generation and Hulk never jobbed to Kamala did he? Besides, with Cena losing the last few confrontation with Khali and the rumored results of SNME, you gotta know who is going over here. While this wont' live up to the Umaga/Cena match at RR, this should be...passable, which is good enough for me.
Winner: The Dr. of Hulkbookingnomics John Cena.
Matt Adamson: I've tried to care, but WWE has been so pre-occupied with McMahon vs. Lashley that this has been severely put on the backburner. Either way it's really a lose-lose as neither this match, nor Lashley vs. McMahon are looking promising. I also have another issue with this match. Why Falls Count Anywhere? Isn't the point of Falls Count Anywhere matches to make it more amazing, to do things that frankly Khali is not capable of? Yeah, I thought so too, so why put the least mobile of the entire roster into a Falls Count Anywhere match? I hope they sure have at least one really amazing moment planned for this match or it will have been a total waste.
Winner: John Cena
Stuart Carapola: I'm going to go out on a limb and pick Khali to win again. Listen, after Khali, who's left for Cena to defend the title against? Orton's got Triple H for Summerslam, so who? I know that this is a problem for all three brands right now, but Cena's the top guy in the company and is the most important to find something useful to do with, and I can see Khali getting the title here (as much as we'd all hate to see it) and going on a streak of just demolishing everyone in his path before Cena gets a rematch, maybe in another FCA match, and gets the title back. Khali will probably lose, but I think this would make the most sense and I don't think it's something Vince wouldn't do.
Winner: The Great Khali
Brad Borchardt: Thank god for the draft. For a second there I thought this would be our summer title feud or worse, Khali would actually win the damn belt. All you Cena haters, gather together and make a "One Night Stand" to actually cheer for Cena and pray that Khali does not become your new WWE Champion. This match with the falls count anywhere rule will be better than Judgment Day, but not by much.
Winner: John Cena
Andy Critchell: I probably like Khali better than most people but there is no way that he is title material. He's great in his role of being a freak of nature type monster. That being said, Cena is going to get his ass kicked for most of this match only to come out on top at the end. He'll probably bleed a bit too.
Winner - John Cena
Michael Bauer: Substitute Khali for Umaga and you have the feud from January all over again. Cena wins by luck in the first match, take out all the rules and Cena makes monster look like a bitch by the end of the second match.
Winner and still champion: John Cena
Rob Halden: Well by the time this one airs we will have seen it twice already. At Judgement Day and at Saturday Night's Main Event. I reckon Khali will destroy Cena at SNME and then take the obvious loss on Sunday. I was interested in this match at Judgement Day....but less so now. If Cena had lost the title at Judgement Day, this match would be HUGE. Cena could have easily dropped the belt for 2 weeks to make Khali look legit and to actually get people to want to see this match. Oh well.
Winner: John Cena
Samuel Berman: I think this is no submissions, but it won't matter. An FU off of a stage or onto a platform or through a rigging or into a dumpster ought to put Khali down for a three count. If they put the strap on Khali, I'm boycotting RAW until Summerslam.
Winner and STILL WWE Champion: John Cena
Ari Berenstein: Oh yes, I'm calling for it. The apocalypse has cometh. Doom is arrived. Weep and tremble for the world is at an end. I am the herald of the Ravager of worlds. His name is Khali.
Winner: The Great Khali (NEWWWWWW WWE Champion--Zeus never had it so good.)
Andy Clark: I so would have predicted Cena-Michaels III for One Night Stand. This is what happens when he goes down. If they were going to do a rematch I would just as soon have put the belt on Khali last month. With the Falls Count Anywhere stip this should actually be pretty good. But since when can't you use submissions in a Falls Count Anywhere Match?
Winner and STILL WWE Champion: John Cena (FU off the stage)
Larry Csonka: He slays the beast again.
Winner: John Cena
Michael Weyer: I like Cena, I really do. He's an awesome seller and makes the big matches more meaningful. Hell, he made a feud with Umaga thrilling. But this just doesn't look promising. Barring a brainfart on a Vince Russo scale, Cena keeps it..and it won't be pretty.
WINNER and still WWE Champion: Cena
Matt Short: Cena's getting to be one of those guys who can have a great match with anyone. No one gave him and Umaga much of a chance to be any good, but they came through in spades. Cena vs. Khali part one was a million times better than anyone expected. Not that it was a five star match, but the fact that it actually wasn't bad really shows that Cena can make anything out of a match with a guy like Khali. A street fight is perfect for both of them and we'll probably get to see Cena finally FU the giant off of something into or onto something painful. I still maintain Khali should be no where near the title, but there's no way he'll win it here, so it's all ok in the end. It'll be alright people, stop crapping yourselves over a Khali win.
Winner: John Cena
Scotty Flamingo: Vince is using the EXACT same playbook as he did with Hulk Hogan in the 80's. Think about it. You had occasional feuds with great wrestlers like Mr. Perfect or Ted Dibiase, but the majority of the time, it was the Superhero Vs The Monster. This is another Anti-ECW match as both guys are the last people you would've seen headlining in the old ECW. Cena wins here, because like Hogan, he always wins.
Winner: Cena
Zac Calhoun: I'll say this to start: I'm not 100% convinced that Cena is going to keep the title at ONS. However, my sense as a responsible wrestling writer will not allow me to predict Khali as the winner of WWE's world title. I just won't do it.
Winner and STILL champ: John Cena
Sat: The Great Khali had a good match with the Undertaker in a Last Man Standing match. John Cena has shown that he can have good matches in this type of match, such as the Last Man Standing match with Umaga and the I Quit match with JBL. I think that this will be a decent match, but nothing to be proud of.
Winner: John Cena
Neil Borenstein: Oh man, it really is entirely possible the WWE could put the belt on The Great Khali here. It just has that aura. And while I don't despise this feud, I am completely against Khali wearing the WWE Championship, something I think the WWE is probably strongly considering as we speak. I really believe John Cena still works as champion and will for a long time. But the WWE would pull a complete "WTF?" if they had Khali win, and you know that shock value is enough to make Vince drool all over himself. I'm just going to hope these two do something at least mildly respectable at One Night Stand with Cena retaining and this feud gets blown afterward since my tolerance for Cena vs. Khali was really only set to last for a couple of months.
Winner and STILL WWE Champion: John Cena
Mike Minotti: I still can't see them giving the belt to Khali. I mean, if he wins it from Cena, who the heck are they going to have take it off of Khali? Cena again? No long-term good can come from a Khali title reign, and as much as we criticize the WWE, I'm going to have to give them enough credit to realize that.
