Whammers Week Episode 12- Mania Gets Closer

This week, all of the WrestleMania matches were built up to include bigger stakes, more heated rivalries and even star referees. Let's head to Monday Night RAW.

WWE RAW

As if The Undertaker vs Triple H could get any better or even more intense, this week, Undertaker suggested that their headline match should be a No Holds Barred match. Would Triple H accept? We'll see later on Smackdown. The opening match of the night was Randy Orton vs David Otunga, and having already taken out Husky Harris and Michael McGillicutty, this week was Otunga's turn. One RKO to win the match and a punt to the head after was enough to eliminate Otunga from any WrestleMania interference, meaning that only Mason Ryan stands in the way of a straight-up one on one match. Christian then defeated Brodus Clay, who has been retained as Alberto Del Rio's bodyguard and rightly so, and Christian's involvement with Del Rio might mean that he will make an appearance in the World title match. I certainly hope so.

Sunny has been inducted into the Hall of Fame 2011, and as a former manager to the Legion of Doom, why not? Eve then defeated Nikki Bella to retain her Diva's title, which was quite obvious, and it leads me to ask, what's next for the Bella Twins? They can't really be used as serious threats to the title, but they also have each other at ringside to make sure they aren't jobbers. This might take some thought. Snooki is next week's guest star. Wow, that really makes me wanna tune in and share the fun. And JBL was revealed as the special referee for Michael Cole vs Jerry Lawler, until of course Steve Austin Stunnered JBL and signed to be referee himself, meaning another WM match with Austin as ref. I hope JBL sticks around and heads to Smackdown, however unlikely that is, as they need a solid Main Eventer like himself.

Sheamus had a storyline injury that cost him a match to Daniel Bryan by count-out, but a frustrated Sheamus challenged Bryan to a title match next week, with Sheamus's career on the line. I can't see Sheamus quitting, but I also can't see him with the US title, so my prediction is a draw, but I will definitely watch that match next week. CM Punk defeated R-Truth and afterwards, in an attempt to gain heat before his match against Randy Orton, Mason Ryan attacked Truth. I believe Ryan will somehow win the match against Orton, just so someone can be in Punk's corner, and I think that Ryan has some serious potential to boot. Dolph Ziggler has been signed to RAW and on his debut match, he defeated John Morrison in a very technically sound match, but it makes you think, why did they take away a Smackdown Upper Midcarder and just put him on RAW? Smackdown need everyone they can get. However, next week Vickie Guerrero has to defeat Trish Stratus to earn her place on the RAW brand. Not a chance.

John Cena then gave another response to The Rock, as if we hadn't seen enough, only to be attacked by The Miz, who had cunningly told the world he was boycotting RAW due to lack of attention on the champion. The Miz hit a People's Elbow to end the show, which is to leave the fans wondering who The Rock will attack at WrestleMania, when we know it will be The Miz.

WWE NXT

Season 5 is called NXT Redemption and it features 6 Rookies that have been eliminated in previous seasons. The prize is not a WWE contract, it is a place in Season 6, meaning that one Rookie will be in 3 seasons of NXT before they get a contract. The pairings are as follows:

Byron Saxton/Yoshi Tatsu- Will be interesting to see how these two will work out, as both have similar wrestling styles, but not similar characters.
Conor O'Brian/Vladimir Kozlov- Two brawlers. Can see these two doing well.
Darren Young/Chavo Guerrero- No idea why Young is fighting for a contract he's already got, but he'll win, as he's the most popular Rookie, due to already having TV time.
Jacob Novak/JTG- This young man has talent, but he always gets a bad Pro.
Lucky Cannon/Tyson Kidd- Loving the new cocky persona of Lucky, so he could be a dark horse to win this season.
Titus O'Neil/Hornswoggle- Titus is just there for laughs and won't win.

Now you now the competitors, let's get on with the action. We started off the season with the two best wrestlers, Darren Young and Jacob Novak, competing and Young won after a very sound match. Young also won the Boot Camp Obstacle Course to earn 3 Redemption points, to be used if he ties last at any time in the Poll. Lucky Cannon debuted his new gimmick, which I think is an improvement, and he refused to compete in the challenge. With no redemption points, he also lost to Titus O'Neil after some interference from Hornswoggle, and Titus was not impressive, selling like Hulk Hogan. So my pick to win this season is Darren Young, and it's a travesty if he loses this or the next season.

WWE Superstars

Chris Masters defeated Tyler Reks for a third time after another Master Lock, and while it's good to see Masters back on track, it's also a shame to see Reks going nowhere. It's about time that the WWe realised he's a talented big man, and should be on the Smackdown show instead of endless videos from RAW. Zack Ryder earned a rare victory, defeating Vladimir Kozlov after interference from Primo, and I would love to see DZP on RAW. I see a little bit of The New Age Outlaws in them, and I think they would do wonders to the tag division. Mark Henry, The Great Khali and Natalya defeated Tyson Kidd, William Regal and Melina in the main event, after Kidd annoyed his partners so much, they left him to lose to Khali, and then attacked him after the match. I for one think Kidd is much better than a comedy character on Superstars, and he should also be getting TV time on RAW. Bad Booking, Creative Team.

WWE Smackdown

Alberto Del Rio and Brodus Clay attacked Edge and Christian to start off the show, and Teddy Long made the obvious match yet again, Edge and Christian reuniting to face ADR and Brodus Clay. Kane defeated Wade Barrett by DQ after Corre attacked Kane, but Big Show made the save, keeping up his rivalry with Barrett and Co. However, during the break Long banned Gabriel and Jackson from ringside and made Kane team with the Big Show to face Barrett and Slater of The Corre. Yet again, the Corre attacked Kane and Show, causing another DQ victory, and as Corre ran away, Show gained a little redemption by smashing a chair over Kane's back. How in the world are the WWE going to make The Corre vs Big Show, Kane, Christian and Kofi Kingston at WM, like they said they would. Kane would never team with Show after that. We'll have to see how events pan out from now on.

Cody Rhodes, who now thinks he's Quasimodo, squashed JTG, who is another talent not being utilised corrcetly by the WWE. Then, we had an interview with Michael Cole and John Cena, and I have been impressed with Cena's mic skills since The Rock came back. With Rocky's disregard for the PG nature of the show, Cena's had to step up and he really has. He also gave an Attitude Adjustment to Jack Swagger, who is yet another unutilised superstar, after threatening Cole. Layla defeated Kaitlyn, who is yet to win since winning NXT Season 3, and Lay-Cool double-teamed Kaitlyn after the match. First of all, I believe that the WWE will not give Kaitlyn the Diva's title shot that she earned, and secondly, I believe that Lay-Cool will have to split soon, as they have grown stale and repetitive. Rey Mysterio defeated Drew McIntyre and after the match accepted the challenge of Cody Rhodes at WM, which I have a good feeling about. I don't think it will be anything special, but it will be enjoyable enough.

Triple H accepted the No Hold Barred match against The Undertaker, and I can't wait for it. I wish I could watch WrestleMania, but I just have to hope that Triple H breaks the streak, as I think he could be the man to do it. Undertaker needs a reason to retire, and I don't think he can beat Triple H anymore. Our main event was Edge and Christian defeating Brodus Clay and ADR, after a Top Rope Elbow Drop from Edge. (Like Clay would get a win in his first week of action after not even winning NXT) This was a bit of a poor main event and it shows the lack of depth Smackdown has. But it was nice to see Edge and Christian reunite, although they didn't do anything spectacular like the good old attitude era.


Now, my feature this week, the Top 10 Tag Teams in WWE/F history:

10. British Bulldogs
9. Miz and Morrison
8. The Rock 'N' Sock Connection
7. The Dudley Boyz
6. The Hardy Boyz
5. Edge and Christian
4. The Hart Foundation
3. The New Age Outlaws
2. Legion of Doom
1. D-Generation X

I hope you enjoyed Whammer's Week. Please comment and rate.