The Happy-Go-Sucky Wrestling Report 1.23.08: Chavo, Bobby Lashley, ROH Undeniable, & The Royal Rumble
Posted by Steve Sullivan on 01.23.2008
Chavo Guerrero is X-Treme! Bobby Lashley is apparently done with the WWE. Ring of Honor's Undeniable is worth every cent and my Royal Rumble predictions!
And welcome back to the most interestingly named column on the Internet today, the Happy-Go-Sucky Wrestling Report! We've got new champions! A predicatable Royal Rumble and one hell of a pay-per-view. So I'm not even going to waste time.
Let's wrassle!
News: Chavo Guerrero wins the ECW World Title on ECW.
Happy: It all makes sense now as to why C.M. Punk is being shown in the Royal Rumble advertisments. Rank this one up there with one of the big shockers of 2008. Good for Chavo, who has been through a personal hell the last few years with the death of Eddie Guerrero and the surprise murder case of his buddy Chris Benoit.
This will also be great for the ECW product. As much as I like C.M. Punk, he was not a good champion for ECW. ECW needs an experienced heel champion that can lead the younger, new talent to bigger heights. C.M. Punk is still a bit rough around the edges and I don't really think he was ready to be a major world champion when he was added the championship. However, with the loss, it looks as though the plan is to move C.M. Punk over to Smackdown and possibly get into a feud with Edge and maybe the World Heavyweight Title. Things could get interesting in the Rumble now.
Go Sucky: There's not much bad that will come out of this. A hard worker, be it that he did get involved in the Signature Pharmacy scandal, nevertheless, still pulled a bit of weight around as a veteran wrestler, now finally gets his one and probably only chance at being a World Champion.
The one bad thing you could find in this is this. If you've done your research...all 3 WWE World Champions are now people who were on the Signature Pharmacy Scandal list. Very interesting.
News: Bobby Lashley says he is done with the WWE.
Happy: I know that Bobby Lashley wasn't all that great on the mic, but he was a beast in the ring. With that being said, he was injury prone and didn't bring much "entertainment" value to the show. I mean, have you really missed him since he's been gone? He's already nearly forgotten and I don't think that his departure will be that big of a loss for the WWE.
Go Sucky: Regardless, Bobby Lashley was a young athlete who had the world at his hands. This is a man who has every opportunity to become a legend in the business and win several World Titles. Instead, he's taking off with his tail between his legs and something tells me that this has something to do with his relationship with Kristal, which apparently has been a horrible influence on Lashley's attitdue. Regardless, good luck to Bobby Lashley and get ready for all the Bobby Lashley to TNA rumors. *sigh*
News: ROH Undeniable debuts last Friday on PPV.
Happy: This is news because for the 2nd time, I have caught an ROH show. I missed Man Up but caught Driven. The significance in that is that I have not bought a WWE PPV since Wrestlemania and haven't bought a TNA PPV since Bound For Glory '06. ROH is becoming my one and only show I will purchase PPV's for due to their reasonable prices and great showcase. Once again, ROH is bringing wrestling back to the wrestling business.
By far, the match of the show is Austin Aries vs. Roderick Strong. If you've never watched a ROH show, you'll remember these guys from TNA. This match represents everything that other wrestling companies are lacking. The match was never in hand for either man and there was no way of predicting who would win. I found myself marking out over this match, which is something I rarely do anymore as a wrestling fan. Great job ROH.
Go Sucky: The only part I was a little perturbed over was the ending of the ROH World Title match. I knew the outcome, but had expected a bit of a better ending to get Nigel McGuiness over Takeshi Morishima. The match was still far better than any of the WWE or TNA main events in the last few months.
News: Triple H qualifies for the Royal Rumble.
Happy: I know there's a lot of happy Triple H fans out there. Triple H is by far the hands on favorite to win this Rumble due to a lack of any push for any other major superstars. A lot of the fans will love the fact that Triple H will win despite everything McMahon does and says. And that's about as Happy as it gets.
Go Sucky: This is probably the most predictable Royal Rumble since Stone Cold Steve Austin won his 2nd Rumble. Triple H main eventing and winning the title at Wrestlemania does nothing for the WWE or any of its young talent. This could end up hurting the WWE overall and hurt their ratings during the road to Wrestlemania.
Speaking of the Rumble...here's the official Happy-Go-Sucky Rumble Winner ratings! Basically, how I think the fans would react to each person winning the Rumble.
Triple H- (Go Sucky)
Umaga- (Go Sucky)
Snitsky- (Go Sucky)
Hardcore Holly- (Happy)
Mick Foley- (Happy)
Cody Rhodes- (Go Sucky)
Santino Marella- (Happy)
Carlito- (Go Sucky)
Shawn Michaels- (Happy)
Ken Kennedy- (Happy)
Hornswaggle- (Go Sucky)
The Undertaker- (Happy)
Batista- (Happy)
Kane- (Happy)
Finlay- (Happy)
Jamie Noble- (Go Sucky)
The Great Khali- (Go Sucky)
Mark Henry- (Go Sucky)
Chuck Palumbo- (Go Sucky)
John Morrisson- (Go Sucky)
The Miz- (Go Sucky)
Shelton Benjamin- (Happy)
Big Daddy V- (Go Sucky)
Top 5 Favorites To Win
1) Triple H
2) Batista
3) Shawn Michaels
4) The Undertaker
5) Hornswaggle
Top 5 That SHOULD Win But Wont
1) Ken Kennedy
2) Santino Marella
3) Kane
4) Shelton Benjamin
5) Finlay
And with that, I leave you once again! Enjoy the Rumble! Keep your fingers crossed and go ahead and invest 15 bucks in Ring Of Honor's Pay-Per-View Undeniable. And don't forget, Wednesday's get "Sucky" soon! Until then my friends, may your life be Happy...or Go Sucky!
Santino should win? The man is amazing on the mic, but we have yet to see him show us any main event caliber matches, and since the winner will be one of the 2 wrestlemania main events I can't see how you can justify saying that Santino is 1 of 5 that should win but won't.
Posted By: Aryeh (Guest) on January 23, 2008 at 05:31 PM
i hope jamie nobel will not be one of the first 5 to be elimanated he's pretty good mabey number 6 lol
Posted By: Mazzacane (Guest) on January 23, 2008 at 05:56 PM
I miss Bobby Lashley in a non gay way.
Posted By: Isaac (Guest) on January 23, 2008 at 06:04 PM
Santino Marella is entertaining. If there is one young up and comer on the roster that could get a big boost out of a Royal Rumble victory, it would be Santino. It's more of a push for the future.
Posted By: Steve Sullivan (Registered) on January 23, 2008 at 06:24 PM
One very go-sucky part of Chavo winning the title off of Punk is that it made Punk look like a complete... well, Punk. Three weeks in a row he failed to pin Chavo, just as he's failed to pin anyone but Jamie Noble for about three months, and when it comes down to the moment of truth, Punk goes down 1-2-3 and drops the title he's barely had to defend in recent memory. Sure the odds were stacked against him, but he's the CHAMPION. Any babyface champion who doesn't overcome the odds on a fairly frequent basis comes off as a chump, and that's what they've made Punk look like ever since October when he got squashed by Big Vis. His lack of decisive victories have made him look weak, and Chavo pinning him and taking his title not only makes him continue to look weak, but in my opinion it makes the title look weak, especially now that the ECW champ is the World Title holder's bitch. I think that with a strong rebound Punk can still keep some of his buzz (oh wait, he's "XstraightXedgeX"... yeah that sucked) but we'll have to see what they do with him after this...
Posted By: KanyonKreist (Guest) on January 23, 2008 at 06:34 PM
why is ROH showcasing a title switch that happened months ago? or I'm I missing something?
Posted By: SYC (Guest) on January 23, 2008 at 06:36 PM
What if the Lashley stuff is a work?
What if he enters at number 30 and dominates, wins, then "leaves" the company?
Then you have this whole issue with a "rogue" wrestler trying to get back at the company that wronged him.
Of course, he'd have to be a hell of a lot better on the mic than he was the last time we saw him.
And, it won't happen.
Anyway. I'd love to see Cody Rhodes win. I don't know why, but I like the kid.
And, if Shelton would win, he would HAVE to go for the ECW title. And that would be awesome. Can you see it now? Shelton vs. Chavo headlining WrestleMania!
Posted By: thegoat (Guest) on January 23, 2008 at 06:46 PM
Seriously, what's with all this Kennedy love? The guy is just plain terrible in the ring lately, and can't stick with a bloody finisher for longer than three months. Sure he is decent on the stick, but he still sucks over all.
Posted By: Travis (Guest) on January 23, 2008 at 06:47 PM
The name is still not Hornswaggle.
Posted By: Hornswoggle (Guest) on January 23, 2008 at 07:37 PM
Yeah I don't get the Kennedy love at all.
Santino should be a manger he is great on the mic but his in ring work is the epitome of "go sucky"
Posted By: Brett (Guest) on January 24, 2008 at 12:14 AM
Yeah I don't know what this guys deal with Santino Marella is, but despite him being funny, its in an Al Snow type way, and if Marella became champion its about as credible as David Arquette at this point. I'd rather see a nobody win.
Posted By: Tony (Guest) on January 24, 2008 at 12:17 AM
I do get the Kennedy Love, It's called Charisma & solid talent. There are two types of wrestling fans, the guys who love entertainment and want to see cool characters and spectacle. and there are Technical fans who don't care about mic skills so long as the guy can tie a man in knots and/or do cool moves from the top rope. the Entertainment fans are why the Rock became a star, the Technical fans are why Chris Benoit was popular.
Kennedy is good at Entertainment, he'll show up and talk until the crowd want's to kill him for being an ass (as opposed to disliking becuase he's boring) and then he'll wrestle (and he's good, not Benoit level, but he can pull off an entertaining match) and if he wins fans want to see him again becuase they want to see him get beat, and if he loses their happy because they hated him, and still want to see him get beaten again. Kennedy has that heel heat that makes him almost likable, your glad to see him because you know you'll be entertained, (Taker Austin & Rock fall into this category). I actually think it's good he switches around his finishers, keeps him from seeming perdictable, we don't need another wrestler with 5 moves of doom, We've got Cena and Khali for that,
Oh and Santino is pretty good, watch his matches on Heat, he's got some solid technical skill, he done a camel clutch, a triangle choke, a swinging neckbreaker, and an STO. He also has a background in Judo and MMA.
Vince seems to botch guys with good acting skills and great wrestling skills with bad gimmicks, Eugene was compared to Chris Benoit (why was the best technical wrestler also the one with the most trouble) in OVW, and Santino could be really good, but instead these guys got comedy gimmicks that won't propel them. McMahon's love for Gimmicks can really be a bitch.
Posted By: davy (Guest) on January 24, 2008 at 12:57 AM
Kennedy is decent enough and assuming he dosn't screw up AGAIN will one day main event but he isn't there yet. His work with HBK has been solid but that has been with HBK. Lets see how he works with someone who can't carry a broom stick to a 4 star match. Cause since moving to RAW his in ring work has failed time and time again when not put with the top 3-5 workers on the brand
Posted By: Brett (Guest) on January 24, 2008 at 01:02 AM
HHH should tear a quad and be out of action for good. His backstage politics are just plain insulting for EVERY WWE fan out there. The WWE blew great potential fueds for Mania suck as Jeff/Matt, Orton/Y2J, Edge/Undertaker (with Taker as champion and Edge winning the Rumble) but no! all that down the drain so Hunter the BarBARRIER could have one more Wrestlemania main event which he DOESNT NEED!
Posted By: natedoggcata (Guest) on January 24, 2008 at 01:05 AM
Hey Natedogg, you're a moron. If you don't like Triple H, don't. But to say 'go tear a quad' is play immature. What if you tore a quad working your janitor job or someone close to you got injured, wouldn't be so funny then. I'm a little bias because I love Triple H, but I will call a spade a spade. Him burying London and Kendrick one week on RAW did nothing for him. He's not Austin where he can attack ANYONE and get cheered. I thought it was a heel turn. I love the guy, but yeah, lay off on burying people. Bury Snitsky though, please. Nobody likes him and nobody ever will. I'm glad Lashley is gone. I don't care, never took to him. Black Lesnar was what he was. Vince taking someone else's gimmick and putting a different face to it. He was like an alternative to Batista. Both did spears which I can't stand because that's Edge's finisher. I don't get the Kennedy love either. And I'm not one of those stuck up wrestling purists. The asshole elitists who hate everyone. I do hate Cena, but that was long before it was the "in thing" to do. I hated him since his debut vs. Angle. Same with The Rock, always hated him too. Kennedy should be a ring announcer. Because he's decent on mic, but not a GREAT talker. He couldn't hold his own with the likes of Flair or Piper. Or even Michaels when he's got a fire lit under his ass. Even his matches with Michaels weren't that great, he's not a great worker, and like Travis said, he can't stick with a finisher. And they've all sucked. Now a Flatliner? That takes him forever to set up and hit. Kennedy was given chance after chance and blew them all. So he's got no one to blame but himself. Injuries are different but they don't help keep your spot. He's lucky he's still in the limelight. But to get on the right track, Kennedy should beat Hardy for the IC title, probably at Mania since Hardy's not gonna beat Orton. Kennedy and Hardy at Mania for the IC title would be good since the IC title has NOT been defened at Mania since WM 18. I don't like Kennedy, but if he gets the IC title and builds himself up more, then maybe he'll make something of himself. Austin, Michaels, Bret, Triple H etc. All big names, all started off winning tag titles or IC title first. It's the natural progression. And Santino winning the Rumble? Don't get me started lol.
Posted By: Derrick (Guest) on January 24, 2008 at 01:49 AM
i would love to see shelton benjamin win the rumble, he is easily the most over looked, talented wrestler in the WWE. the best thing the WWE could do is have a complete shock winner, shelton would be a perfect candidate for that role. we've seen him put on good matches with top wrestlers on RAW, with limited time. But we know its gonna be the same ol thing with the predictable following through. one day id love to see the WWE take everyone for a ride and surprise us
Posted By: Grrrant (Guest) on January 24, 2008 at 02:07 AM
I like Lashley, but I don't think he should be main eventing like last year though, keep him in the upper mid card with Kane, Umaga, Finlay, JBL, Big Show, etc. They should ship Punk off to Smackdown, fued with Edge some then move onto guys like MVP and Matt Hardy. I like Kennedy, but like Lashley I don't think he's ready for the top yet, maybe in a year or two. Anyways my 5 faves for the rumble are Undertaker, Batista, Michaels, Jericho and Punk
Posted By: Jones (Guest) on January 24, 2008 at 02:24 AM
I really don't get the "should win" list, because everyone you mentioned (possibly except Finlay) are just way too inconsistent to have a good, solid push. For instance, Mr. Kennedy is a guy that has a lot of potential but has a lot of bad nights, maybe not a LOT, but too much for a guy of his standing. And Santino? Look the guy's entertaining and does have the somewhat required prerequisite of being a former IC Champ, but he hasn't even had one decent match during his tenure. And I don't think the rumble is that predictable. His win in 2002 was, so was Lesnar's in 2003, but this year it seems they really are pushing more people like Undertaker and Batista. Plus Flair may be added, which could be really interesting.
Posted By: Henry (Guest) on January 24, 2008 at 02:57 AM
If tripple tosser ( hhh ) wins the rumble I WILL NOT BUY WRESTLEMANIA
that guy is a grade A ego knob and frankly is the worse thing to happen to wrestling
Posted By: Anti HHH (Guest) on January 24, 2008 at 03:27 AM
Two things a) Bobby Lashley could never make it as it is becuase of his lack of charisma, mic skills and the fact that his first name is Bobby....not Bob or Ravishing Robert but Bobby. he's about as intimidating as a 5 year old girl so good riddance...
b) Mr Kennedy will win the rumble. He's starting to get the push again following his Shaun Michaels feud and remember that when he won money in the bank, he was due to main event WM before he got injured and lost that chance to Edge....
Posted By: AKH (Guest) on January 24, 2008 at 10:07 AM
Mr Kennedy's gonna win the rumble!?!?? Please! Can you possibly see Orton v Kennedy in the main event AT WRESTLEMANIA?! And ur top 5 shows the possibility that it's gonna be Hornswoggle v Orton? Gimme a break. It's gonna be a smackdown guy to go against Edge at Wrestlemania, so who do u think it's gonna be? Rest.In.Peace. (only legends like Hogan, Austin, HBK can win the rumble on 2 separate occasions- who else is legendary enough to add to that list?)
Posted By: Derek (Guest) on January 24, 2008 at 12:12 PM
I remember when it was really cool to hate HHH's guts back in 2003-2004 when he had his long title reign (and at the same time "kept all the talented guys down" - how did he find the time??) It seems like ever since three years ago when he last held the title for more than two hours, that every time there's any mention of putting the title back on him, the anti-HHH crowd, represented quite literally by this "Anti HHH" chump, rears its head and goes on about the Game keeping guys - many of whom would simply never be a viable world champion - down. I think this crowd's logic relies WAY too much of the fact that Hunter happens to be married to the Billion-Dollar Princess. It's as if they have an idea that BEFORE Triple H married Steph, Vince consistantly pushed technically-talented 220-pound guys as the headliners. I, for one, have no memory of this era. That said, I always had kind of a problem with Triple H's heel character: the bad-ass heel who's not actually afraid of any of the babyfaces and whom nobody actually boos. When Orton got his '03-'04 push, the story goes that the Game tried to cast him in that same fearless heel role, working against a lot of the great ideas that ended up making Orton's feud with Foley one of the greatest of the decade. There's something to be said about the heel who actually doesn't want to have a punching contest with every beast on the roster, and I think Edge is now reminding us a lot about what makes a great top heel. I guess that what I'm getting at is, I WANT MICK FOLEY ON WWE'S CREATIVE TEAM!
Posted By: KanyonKreist (Guest) on January 24, 2008 at 12:20 PM
Mr. Kennedy should win. I'm gonna say it - he is the best thing in WWE at the moment. Great in the ring, great on the mic.
Posted By: Harry (Guest) on January 24, 2008 at 02:21 PM
Aren't WM main events supposed to be special and happen sparingly? HHH vs Orton has been done numerous times, and I really do believe if that does turn out to be the main event, expect some scary low buyrates for the "Granddaddy of them all".
Posted By: Guest#8396 (Guest) on January 24, 2008 at 02:56 PM
In response to KK, I'm sorry, I guess the whole HBK/Hart era never happened.
Posted By: Guest#4619 (Guest) on January 24, 2008 at 03:32 PM
SHAWN MICHAELS IS GONNA WIN HE IS WAY BETTER THEN ANYONE ELSE
..1) Ken Kennedy
2) Santino Marella
3) Kane
4) Shelton Benjamin
5) Finlay(ALL OF THESE GUYS SUCKS
Posted By: theresa (Guest) on January 24, 2008 at 03:54 PM
i liked lashley. however i smell another former world champion signs with tna thing again. oh and hhh will win the rumble. however kenedy should win, or taker.
Posted By: brian (Guest) on January 24, 2008 at 05:14 PM
it is a fact that they only make a big deal out of someone qualifying for the rumble because they're going to win. It's foreshadowing. Triple H will win, although Batista should because if they're going to keep the belt on Randy it's the only really fresh matchup, and would mean a big deal. I would prefer someone with some wrestling ability to win, but it's WWE, I watch RoH for the wrestling because i know i wont get it in WWE
Posted By: Matt (Guest) on January 24, 2008 at 10:25 PM
i say let jeff beat orton.let matt win the rumble.lets have a bret/owen type fued at mania with the hardy's.only unlike the harts,let matt beat jeff at perhaps backlash.this of course couldnt hold the main event at mania.that belongs to edge vs undertaker.
Posted By: kevin "charger" ramsey (Guest) on January 24, 2008 at 10:45 PM
It all depends on the final 4 in the rumble. I could easily see it coming down to TAKER vs HHH vs BATISTA vs SHAWN MICHAELS, and Vince comes out for the distraction HHH gets distracted turns around to Sweet Chin Music HHH flys over top rope, and Batista and Michaels going at near ropes Taker flips both guys over the top for the win
Posted By: DANFC002 (Guest) on January 24, 2008 at 11:22 PM
How in HELL is THE UNDERTAKER ONLY number FOUR ?????
It's amazing how 411 Mania keeps ignoring the WWE Real MVP of 2007 on PPV (which did a frickin massive DOUBLE Rumble/Mania Title Gold Win !!!!!)....
Michaels has MORE chances than The Dead Man this year ?
Huh last year he had equal chance and ended up pwned forever by The Phenom .
This year Both HBK and Kennedy will eliminate each other and will terminate their own feud in the EC at NWO .
HHH is the obvious choice for RAW and Taker the one for SD !
Tista is somewhat a "sleeper hit" in disguise here, he definitively can win it but ONLY to challenge RKO at Mania definitively NOT EDGE (Edge vs Tista for the billion time ? What would be the point there ?)
Edge Vs Taker and RKO vs HHH or/and Tista at Mania
Posted By: Kyle Hyde (Guest) on January 24, 2008 at 11:50 PM
I also feel that Kennedy should win the rumble.. as it is perfect for his face turn and continue his feud with edge.. but i think next year he will be more over than now, and has a better chance
Posted By: joko (Guest) on January 25, 2008 at 12:32 AM
re: Kanyon Kreist
the thing about Triple H is that he has been undoubtedly the top dog on Raw for the past couple of years now. So being one of the most established talents on the roster, it is your duty to help "put over" the younger talent i.e. the Carlitos and Shelton Benjamins of the roster. those guys who are athletically gifted but just need the rub to be seen as championship material. Triple H hasn't done this since the brand extension. on the SmackDown side, look at how many stars have been made by guys like the Undertaker, Big Show, and JBL. Kennedy, Mark Henry, John Cena, Rey Mysterio, Bobby Lashley, Edge, the list goes on. Other champions have at least attempted to put guys over. Triple H has done a poor job of it over the years. If you look at most of the championship material right now in the WWE, the vast majority have been "made" elsewhere and not by Triple H.
Posted By: bighustle (Guest) on January 25, 2008 at 05:36 PM
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