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Welcome to "Fast Forward," yet another debut column for the PWTorch website. This segment will come out each Saturday in the Specialists section. With this I will be predicting where some of the top feuds in the business will be heading down the road. It will be broken up into four categories: (a) Main Event Prediction - predictions where some of the top events in the business are going, (b) Mid-Card Prediction - predictions where some of the lower tier events in the business are going, (c) Fingers Crossed Prediction - predictions for something I hope to happen, and (d) Please Not That! - predictions for something I hope does not happen. I will try not to put much focus on the "how we got here" portion (since that is covered pretty thoroughly in other columns) and put more emphasis on the events that could come in the future. So let's get to it, shall we?
MAIN EVENT PREDICTION:
C.M. Punk's World Title Reign: When C.M. Punk won the World Title from Edge a month and a half ago by cashing in his Money in the Bank briefcase on Raw it was anybody's guess as to how long that title run would last. Many people thought it would last just a week while others were going the opposite direction in thinking he would go into WrestleMania 25 as the champion.
I really don't foresee this title reign being cut off anytime soon. Punk as champion still has a lot of unexplored depth to it. This past Monday's segment with JBL showed us that. Many people thought that JBL outshined Punk in the segment, and I am not necessarily disagreeing, but the fact still stands that it was something that hadn't been seen before and kept me glued to the television.
So where will we go from here? Punk will beat JBL on Sunday and beat him clean. He will go on to Unforgiven with momentum and, more importantly, faith from the front office to not have the underdog character that Rey Mysterio had, but one more similar to the one that Bret Hart had when he was facing monsters such as Diesel or the Undertaker.
We will see him in a program with Jericho and then Orton when he is ready to make a comeback. So in short, Punk's title reign will last until Survivor Series, if not through to 2009.
MID-CARD PREDICTION:
Matt Striker as a Commentator: There has been little to no criticism of the job that Matt Striker has done on ECW for the past two weeks as color analyst. Really, everything that comes out of his mouth is absolutely perfect.
He shows intelligence of moves, a sense of past wrestlers and events, and wit that it takes to be a success in a very difficult on-air roll. He really is the complete opposite that Mike Adamle was. He does not so much command respect as he flat out earns it.
Matt Striker is not going anywhere anytime soon. He has found his niche as ECW color analyst, and as long as ECW has a place on television Matt Striker will be calling matches. I believe with all of the changes made to the commentator teams as of late that the current line up will stick for at least two years, if not longer.
Striker could find himself on a different show sometime in the future, but I feel that his time as an active wrestler are in the past and his time as a commentator has just begun.
FINGERS CROSSED PREDICTION
John Cena vs. Batista: Ever since their showdown at the conclusion of the 2005 Royal Rumble, it looked like this was the year. At WrestleMania 25, John Cena and Batista would have their epic, first time encounter that would be the culmination of a slow build similar to that of Batista vs. Triple H or Kurt Angle vs. Shawn Michaels. But wait! WWE decided to give the go ahead early and make the match with just three weeks of build?
This could have been a money feud so obvious that a three year old could have written it better than WWE has seemed to. So how should WWE fix this mess and give the wrestling fans the epic encounter that they have known was coming for so long? I still believe that this match should be showcased on the biggest stage of them all this year.
For this to happen, that match must be set up differently than their SummerSlam match. Raw is full of faces these days, so it makes sense that one of the top two would turn heel. I have my fingers crossed that it will be Cena. It would be fresh and surprising and I think Cena could pull it off quite well.
If it were up to me I would have Mike Adamle come down to ringside during their match on Sunday. Lawler would tell fans watching at home that he probably wanted a closer look at this monumental "Adamle Original". Towards the end of the match, he would do something that would cost Cena the win. From there, Cena would suspect that Batista has aligned himself with Adamle and accuse Batista of doing so, such as how the storyline played out with Lex Lugar and Tatanka back in 1994. Batista and Cena would have a rematch at Unforgiven or No Mercy in a No Disqualification Match.
In that match, Adamle would come to ringside and look as if he was going to hit Cena with the chair, but instead knock Batista with it. Cena would then reveal that he is the one who actually aligned with Adamle and he goes on to assault Batista with the chair, thus putting him out for a couple of months. Batista would return at Survivor Series, costing Cena the World Title.
Both men would appear in the Royal Rumble where they would eliminate each other and from there they get scheduled in their long awaited rubber match at WrestleMania 25.
If this scenario was to take place, we would still get these two in a very high profile match at WrestleMania that might actually have even more depth to it than the standard "first time ever" match that we are getting on Sunday. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
PLEASE, NOT THAT! PREDICTION
More Kip James: I was in complete disbelief when Kip James showed up on Impact alongside the Beautiful People as their stylist. There is no place for him and his Mr. Ass garb on television anymore. But now that he's back and has a new roll, where is he heading?
Well, as much as I hate to say it, I don't think Kip James is going anywhere anytime soon. For some reason, TNA will hold onto ex-WWE talent with an iron grasp. So for the foreseeable future, anywhere the Beautiful People go, Kip James will be right there, flamboyantly flaunting his haggard body in outfits more revealing than anything either of the girls will be wearing.
Now, anytime that the Beautiful People are feuding with someone, we will be treated with mixed tag matches featuring none other than Kip James. Could there be anything more stomach turning?
ONE FINAL PREDICTION
Despite doing his best to look like a tough guy, Slick Johnson will get bumped by Velvet Sky and act as if he was shot with a cannon, staying down for five and a half minutes.
So that does it for the premier of "Fast Forward". Feel free to leave any questions, comments, opinions, or anything you may think of to kylehodgdon@hotmail.com. Thanks for reading and remember, the past has passed, so keep moving forward! Send feedback on this article to pwtorch@gmail.com and we'll regularly publish reader feedback in the "Torch Feedback" category on the Main Listing.
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