"WWE Bragging Rights" 2009 Talkback (Spoilers)

[The Penguin]

It will be Taboo Sunday night as SmackDown faces off with RAW for Bragging Rights! This first-ever event features a massive 14-man tag match where brand pride will be on the line when D-Generation X leads RAW against Chris Jericho & Kane and SmackDown! Both teams were established using qualifying matches, but until this Friday, Team SmackDown featured Dolph Ziggler, Cryme Tyme, Eric Escobar & Drew McIntyre. Two days ago, they (- Shad) lost to five men they had beaten the previous week and then were replaced by them! In other brand vs. brand action, the Intercontinental and United States Champions will face off and the Divas go at it with the brands' titleholders on opposite sides.

The WWE and World Titles will also be defended tonight after both belts changes hands at Hell in a Cell earlier this month. It is the last time for WWE Champion Randy Orton and John Cena. The winner of the 60-minute Iron Man Match will be the final victor in this rivalry and if that man is Randy Orton, Cena must leave RAW! For SmackDown, World Heavyweight Champion The Undertaker must defend his championship against three men, all former World Champions.

"WWE Bragging Rights" #1
Sunday, October 25, 2009 @ 8 p.m. ET/7 CT on Pay-Per-View
From the Mellon Arena in Pittsburgh, Pa.

SmackDown vs. RAW
Team SmackDown
Unified Tag Team Champion Chris Jericho, Kane, Matt Hardy, Finlay, R-Truth & The Hart Dynasty
with Natalya
vs.
Team RAW
Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Unified Tag Team Champion Big Show, Cody Rhodes, Jack Swagger, Kofi Kingston & Mark Henry

WWE Championship
Iron Man Match, Anything Goes
*If Cena loses, he must leave RAW
Champion
Randy Orton
vs.
John Cena

World Heavyweight Championship
Fatal Four Way
Champion
The Undertaker
vs.
CM Punk
vs.
Batista
vs.
Rey Mysterio

Intercontinental Champion
John Morrison
vs.
United States Champion
The Miz

Women's Champion Michelle McCool, Natalya & Beth Phoenix
vs.
Divas Champion Melina, Gail Kim & Kelly Kelly​

Please remember this thread is to talk about the EVENT. To talk about your picks, go to the Prediction Thread. This includes how you did should you deem it necessary (it's not). This is not the place for "I've gotten two right" type posts.

 

[Azrayel]

Well, I thought this PPV was pretty predictable, but the only thing I did not see coming was The Miz getting a win over his former partner John Morrison, and Big Show turning on Team Raw I should have thought that was going to happen but I guess Big Show will pay tomorrow on Raw

 

[MegaJ]

John Cena being champion again doesn't annoy me as much as the title bouncing around every few months it seems.

 

[email2003]

Good god The Chump is the champ again. What's next? Cena / HHH part............ I mean isn't there anyone fresh to compete for the title?

 

[Azrayel]

Good god The Chump is the champ again. What's next? Cena / HHH part............ I mean isn't there anyone fresh to compete for the title?

Well not really. I don't think Triple H and Shawn Michaels are finished with Jericho and Show espically after Team Raw vs Team Smackdown's match. Randy Orton can't go for the title because the rivalry is "officially" over, and so wwe's only other option is to make a new wrestler rise to the top to compete against Cena.

 

[MDawg]

Good god The Chump is the champ again. What's next? Cena / HHH part............ I mean isn't there anyone fresh to compete for the title?

Would you rather SD be punished by the presence of Cena? RAW took one for the team this time.

 

[bigddan11]

What I liked about this PPV:
They added the ECW into this PPV with a championship match to lead the show in Christian vs. Paul Burchill.

What I didn't like about this PPV:
In all reality it was once again to predictable. Almost everyone expected Big Show to turn on Team RAW, though they didn't expect him to cost them the match. Almost everyone expected Batista to turn heel so he could face Taker next. Almost everyone expected Cena to win. WWE wonders why they continue to loser viewers at the PPV's. It a matter of becoming too predictable, plain and simple. What I hated the most about this PPV though is the only RAW superstar to win is really the weakest member of the team- The Miz. Also, who on earth is Cena going to face next? Mark Henry? Carlito? Chris Masters? With DX and JeriShow feuding for the greatest tag team of all time, those three names are really the biggest stars after Orton on the roster. Then again, I suppose DiBiase or Rhodes could be on their way to becoming the #1 contender.

 

[Condiment King]

What I liked about this PPV:
They added the ECW into this PPV with a championship match to lead the show in Christian vs. Paul Burchill.

I didn't see this from watching it at Buffalo Wild Wings. I showed up at like 7:58 p.m. Was it on the pre-show?

Anyway this was a pretty consistent PPV. Everything was at least pretty good I thought. Morrison vs Miz was a bit underwhelming. It got time, but it felt like it could have been better, and the finish was kinda lame. Miz just knocks him off the top rope when trying to do the starship pain, and that's the finish? The 6-diva match was probably one of the better divas matches in awhile.

I actually didn't see Batista's heel turn coming either. I figured the Taker vs Batista possible feud would be face vs face. Though honestly I think it could be Batista vs Rey now. Certainly would make more sense.

The 7 vs 7 match was pretty great, I thought. Parts were pretty spotty, but I liked it. The Big Show doublecross was a bit predictable, but I wasn't dead sure it would happen. I thought it really worked. Jericho's victory celebration was hilarious.

Some people may disagree, but I honestly thought this Iron Man match might have been the least eventful ever. There was so many boring parts where nothing was happening, and it seemed like regular matches like Cena vs Edge at Backlash or Cena vs Orton at Breaking Point had more memorable moments in less time than this match offered in 60 minutes. I realize it's difficult to do a 60-minute match, but it was extremely underwhelming, and I was looking at the clock, waiting for it to end. The pyro spot was pretty funny, but nothing else stood out to me.

 

[mumbo]

Reading the PBP for the Iron Man match, it sounded pretty cool, but I guess not then.

7-on-7 match was exactly as I predicted.

With Edge likely to return as a face when he comes back - the way he went out and the hints at a feud with Jericho led me to this conclusion - it seems like the right time to make Batista a heel.

Batista vs. Rey looks pretty likely for Survivor Series, I just wonder who will challenge Taker before Batista likely will at Armageddon. Punk again maybe?

Orton's next feud looks like it'll be Ted Dibiase, have no idea who will challenge Cena while DX/Jeri-Show is going on though. Swagger or MVP I guess.

 

[Hobbes829]

quit saying everyone saw batista's heel turn. I thought it was on the table, but i wasn't sure. Even so, is it so bad to have something that's predictable? It's better than having something come out of left field because it didn't make sense. I'm glad he turned. It's a nice change of pace.

I'm glad smackdown won the 7-man even though the sd vs. raw angle is contrived at this point.

What's with the Miz hate? If you hate him, he's done his job.

 

[hobbyfan]

I wrote this in the prediction thread, so I'll repeat it here. I thought the "Trojan Horse" ploy "Jerishow" used was too obvious to the point that it wouldn't be used, and instead tease a further split between the tag team champs. So what happens? They went and did it anyway.

Now, you have DX-Jerishow, likely for the tag titles, for the rest of the year. DX could've had the belts during their feud with Spirit Squad 3 years ago, but the belts were never on the line, suggesting that HHH & HBK didn't need them. The same thing could happen again here, but they need to build up other challengers.

As for Cena being champ again, Jack Swagger is waiting in the on-deck circle. Cena beat him back in April on Raw (draft night, IIRC), so this is relatively fresh. Masters? Fuhgeddaboutit. Cena's been there, done that. Miz? Ditto. While we're all waiting for Legacy to implode, sometime around Survivor Series, you wonder if they'll be given a bone (title shot) vs. Jerishow.

I also wrote on Friday that Miz had never beaten Morrison in singles, and he finally broke the schneid there. Expect them to captain teams at Survivor Series next month. Likewise, it'll be a smaller Raw vs. Smackdown match, with DX & Jerishow as the captains. In fact, I'll go so far as to say Show will return to Smackdown in the aftermath of last night, exchanged for Kane or someone like R-Truth.

Let me put those elimination matches together:

1. DX/Henry/Kofi (if they go to 4-on-4; Evan Bourne for a 5-man team) vs. Jerishow & Hart Dynasty (w/Ziggler thrown in for the 5-on-5).

2. Miz/Swagger/Masters/Chavo vs. Morrison/Hardy/Finlay/Mysterio (Bats will face UT at Survivor Series).

3. For the ladies, it'll be Melina/Kelly/Bellas vs. Michelle/Natalya/Beth/Layla.

BTW, the December PPV isn't Armageddon anymore. It's TLC.

 

[Hobbes829]

Swagger is NOT ready for the main event slot. He's still inexperienced and unpolished. If they are going to put him there, only for a month. Have MVP turn on Henry and feud with Cena. He IS ready.

While he's also not ready, having dibiase feud one month with cena might help facilitate his babyface turn.

It doesn't seem like I missed much on this ppv. I'd still like to see Miz vs. Morrison and the iron man match.

 

[Wade Kruse]

All the negativity is surprising me here. This was a great ppv. Miz vs. Morrison delivered, and showed us that they're the future. Divas tag was very solid, and proved that good women's wrestling is still possible in the WWE. The 4-way and 7 vs. 7 were both lots of fun, and Batista's heel turn was well-executed. The Iron Man match was great. It had lots of good spots without being a spotfest, and kept things going for the entire hour. It completely destroyed my expectations.

 

[Zyzzybalubah]

Have MVP turn on Henry and feud with Cena. He IS ready.

I really like this idea. I remember before I suggested one of Legacy or Jack Swagger feud with Cena for the next feuds, but they all haven't been built up too high (okay Legacy have been a bit, but still need some profile victories to get them over.) It looks like Cody Rhodes and Kofi Kingston are going to be feuding reading from the 7-on-7 and how both of them were involved in the Iron Man. I'm guessing Ted Dibiase will either have a fall-out with Orton tonight leading to some kind of match between the two (likely four-on-four) at Survivor Series OR they'll continue trying to be buddies with Dibiase turning face at Survivor Series. Possibly a similar situation to what happened with Orton winning the title and Evolution turning on him. As for Swagger, I think they'll want to continue with his undefeated streak so I don't think it would be wise to put him in a feud with Cena right away.

As for MVP, while his tag-team with Mark Henry isn't bad, it's only going to keep both men stuck in the mid-card especially since they aren't likely to be chasing after the Unified Tag-Titles this month or next (most likely.) Really, either one of them would be alright to turn heel (I think most of us want MVP though.) MVP is good on the mic, a good wrestler, and works very well in the heel role as he became a big star on Smackdown for doing so. Also, considering if they really do have Cena in a TLC Match in December with the same opponent from Survivor Series, who else would be a decent opponent? Sure you can say HHH or HBK, but if WWE really wants to prepare for the future, they really need at least one more new star.

 

[AJ1]

I am very upset that John Cena won the WWE Championship from Randy Orton, I hate this hot potatoe crap and it's bringing down the prestige of the
title itself. I was please with the 4 Way World Title match though, it was good to see a PPV come and go without the belt changing hands, I know Undertaker is banged up but he should be given a solid run with the title, I feel he can prepare someone for the next big run properly. My favorite match was Miz/Morrison, it was excellent and I felt the ending was a real thriller, just a great overall match from WWE.

 

[Jin Kazama]

Having Cena win and, in turn, start a feud with someone new actually makes sense in hindsight. The WWE is known for pushing mid-card talent into a main-event role during the winter months. Between Survivor Series and Wrestlemania.

Edge won his first world title at a January PPV. They gave Jeff his first one last December. The Umaga/Cena feud comes to mind, as well as Kennedy's feud with Batista leading to the Royal Rumble a few years back. Cena feuded with John Morrison in that whole K-Fed thing. So I can easily see Swagger getting a title shot, even more so with his "never loosing on Raw" vow. He won't win it, but I can see him getting a PPV shot. Don't see MVP, though. He's way too over as a face. It'd be nice if they did, but I don't think they would.

 

[Wonderwall]

MVP way too over as a face? Although he doesn't get Conway popped anymore, his pops really fluctuate depending on where they are as he hasn't really been established properly since being on RAW. I wish they'd push him as he would be a welcome addition to the main event scene, but they gotta give him back his edge.

 

[AJ1]

After seeing Cena defeat Orton and get the WWE Championship belt back I have the gut feeling that he is in for a lengthy title reign, maybe No Way Out or WrestleMania 26. Now, I'm not a Cena fan at all but it would be good to see someone give the belt some stability and hold it for more than 3 weeks, it's been a hot potatoe lately as has the World's Championship.

 

[hobbyfan]

As a result of last night, you can throw my predictions for the elimination tags out the window, with DX challenging Cena in a 3-way at Survivor Series. We can create better matches than the recycling bin crew at WWE.

 

[AJ1]

I love when you can see and hear the wrestlers talking to eachother, it adds a new dimention to the matches, it happened at Bragging Rights during the WHC four way match in a segment between Undertaker and Batista. Right after Batista pie faced Rey out of the ring and then gets chokeslammed you can see and hear 'Taker ask "You okay?" and then Batista replies with "No...", Undertaker goes down for a pin attempt and you hear him say, "We gotta do the Tombstone.". It was kind of cool to see....