Learnl Jones of Rochester, N.Y. (8.0): Best match: Batista vs. Undertaker. Worst match Punk-Miz. All in all a very solid show. Nothing more to add that hasn't already been said. (See? Batista can have good matches. As if that point needed to be proven since WrestleMania.) What I'd like to talk about is Chris Jericho. He's certainly been the talk of the wrestling world as of late. We've been talking about his imminent return for weeks now. And here it is, the second PPV where the fans expect Y2J to make his grand entrance... and don't get it. Not that I personally have that much of a problem with prolonging things. But it would be nice if WWE gave us more of a clue as to what all those "Matrix" promos were about. At this point, you have to ask yourself, "Is all this hubbub really over Jericho? Or is it for someone else?" Let's face it, Chris hasn't been very forthcoming as to when, or even if, he's coming back. Then again, maybe that's the point. Seeing as how news gets leaked over the Internet quicker than a Khali title reign, maybe he's just holding his cards to his chest until the time is right. Still, it'll be a real shame if once those cryptic promos become clear and it's for someone like Gregory Helms or some other lower tier guy that nobody's thinking about. I guess all I can do is wait and hope that it's really Jericho who's coming to " save the WWE." Tomorrow night on Raw... maybe?
Jeff De Leon: I have a theory that the only reason The Miz was voted in to face C.M. Punk was because (what remains of) the ECW fans are smart enough to know that the WWE "creative team" is just itching to take a HUGE step backward and screw things up by taking the belt off of Punk just as he's gaining momentum, and would happily would give it back to John Morrison or Big Daddy V. So the fans voted in the one person they knew that the brass wouldn't give the belt to because the fans want Punk to remain champ for awhile. The scary part is that the WWE "creative team" will probably completely miss that fact and now push The Miz because they think the fans actually like to see him in the ring. Quite the contrary, but the voting result was the fans taking the lesser of three evils. There was a reason the, "you can't wrestle" chant started after The Miz attempted some offense.
Tony Slaney of Long Beach, Calif. Best Match: Taker-Batista. Worst Match: MVP-Kane. Why do I continue to waste my money on WWE PPVs? I honestly get more more enjoyment from TNA PPVs. I just just can't convince my wrestling fan friends to check TNA out. I firmly believe that this "fan voting" is a crock. The WWE has NEVER been concerned with what fans want. Lastly, when will we get a believable "black" face in the WWE? Shelton Benjamin and MVP are booked as clowns; Mark Henry calls himself a gorilla; while Big Daddy V is a credible monster, I cannot help but laugh at his "breasts." Can't they put a t-shirt on him? At this point, I'd be happy to see Cryme Tyme! Most black wrestling fans (that I know) agree that Vince doesn't care much about blacks as a whole, and black wrestlers even less. Which is an idea that Wade Keller supports.
Tom Morey of Columbus, Ga. (8.0): Best Match (tie): Batista vs. Undertaker and Jeff Hardy vs. Mr. Kennedy, which earns it for me in spite of its brevity. Worst Match: MVP vs. Kane, I guess, although I didn't think that match was that bad. I thought this was an unusually strong WWE event, with good stories told in every event, and people selling like nobody's business in every match. I'm not as down on "screwjob endings" as some others as long as they make sense with the stories being told.
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