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Part 2 of Pro’s from the Palace’s review of the brands

World Wrestling Entertainment

I’m not going to take the time to rip anyone here. I have to believe that WWE will figure out how to take the positive vibe they got from the tribute show last night, and continue its momentum in to 2008. With the loss of Cena till close to after Wrestlemania, it’s going to be difficult in the beginning of the year to see how things pan out. It’s obvious Cena’s mark on the company is apparent…..You tell me how else you’re going to get Michaels out of his house, Jericho to agree to come back now, and JBL to come out of retirement. Regardless of how Jericho’s comeback has been portrayed as of current, the fact that three major players in the attitude era came back to active competition shortly after Cena’s injury shows how much the company was leaning on Cena for a foundation. With that foundation gone, WWE has had to dig down for some main event calibre talent to fill in the void……I’m kind of saddened by Jericho being bounced out of the title picture so quickly, but I think this feud with JBL will be very good. Both men are experts on the mike, and eventually, their ring work should catch back up to themselves, and we should see some good product here. Orton will probably have some midcard challenger come down the pike for the next PPV, or perhaps the beginning of the babyface title reign of Triple H. We all know H is due for the title, and I suspect with JBL coming to the brand, H’s eventual heel turn will be put on indefinite hold, because two heels of that immense ego qualities will cancel each other out. Besides, H vs. Orton, with the roles reversed, is definitely something to see….And here we go, I said it elsewhere, I’ll say it here. Book it now. WWE Championship at Wrestlemania 24 in Orlando, Florida. Triple H defending the title vs. John Bradshaw Layfield. Mark it down, right now. It fits the puzzle, perfectly…..The tag team scene continues to be a major cluster. I REALLY like Hardcore Holly & Cody Rhodes as tag team champs, but who else is there, outside of Cade & Murdoch? There are some legit tag teams on Smackdown, but not many out there on Raw that I can think of . There was Haas & Benjamin, but Shelton has gone in to obscurity on ECW, and hence, the team is done, again…..Can we see the Highlanders get a run? Possible. They haven’t wowed anyone significantly since joining up with the big roster, but hey, the time may be now or never. Time will tell…..The IC title seems to have been placed on the back burner while Jeff challenges for the big prize. Anyone with a pessimistic approach will say Jeff loses the challenge at the Rumble, and then, from there, probably renews business with Mr. Kennedy, in a do or die feud with Kennedy for his life at WWE. Kennedy needs to impress, big time, and his star is dropping hard. He could slip in to this setup to try and get him back in to the swing of things, at Jeff’s expense. I am happy Jeff has gotten this push, but I don’t see a pay off in the near future. Hopefully, I’m wrong…..Women’s title, Beth vs. Mickie is one I hope will continue for some time, leading to potentially a three way for the title at Mania with Phoenix, James, and the former champ Candice Michelle. In the meantime, the two best candidates to be title holders are fighting for the belt, and if I’m WWE, I keep it that way, for the forseeable future…..Smackdown. Edge vs. Taker for the World title at Mania. Mark it down. Matt vs. MVP at Mania is a lock if Matt comes back in time. I don’t know his schedule. I won’t be surprised either if he does come back in time that MVP holds the US title until then, and then drops it to Matt. Expect time fillers to go down until then for the World Champ and US champion. I doubt anyone else will provide serious challengers. That’s it for the two main belts on Smackdown……A friend emailed me with a hell of an idea for the vacant cruiserweight title. Turn it in to the ECW television title, or a bi-brand TV title would also fit. It’d be good to show off both shows more prominently both on tuesdays and fridays. It’s too creative, so it’ll never happen, but hey, one can dream, right?….Uncrowned tag champs are Jesse & Festus. The team is terrific. I like the gimmick, and I suspect they’ll take the belts from Miz & Morrison in the near future. They’re already fighting for it, and it’s been fun to watch. Deuce & Domino would be well served for a change of scenery to Raw to run roughshod over that division, but when London and Kendrick went there to get a shot, they got steamrolled, outside of a three day reign as champions, and I don’t know how D&D would fare there as well, but they need to do something, because jobbing to Festus in a Santa outfit is just out of control, if you ask me…..ECW, Initially I thought Shelton Benjamin was the uncrowned ECW champion, but now, it’s perhaps going to be Mark Henry before maybe having Bobby Lashley come back and feud with Henry and reclaim the land of extreme as his own. Who else would be able to take Henry down, unless you give Dreamer a shot to do it, as the absolute underdog. Personally, Punk has been a good champion, but the brand is in trouble. I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if it’s folded before 2008 comes to a close.
My time is getting short, so let me run out of here. I offer debating forums available via my blog and “empire” at Mikesiciliano.blogspot.com.
Email links are there as well.
I’ll write my Palace Awards before the end of the year.
Till then, to all my readers….
Season’s Greetings.
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