Smackdown Preview 05.21.10

On tonight's episode of Smackdown, the World's Largest Athlete will have his tune-up match for this coming Sunday's Over the Limit. His opponent is competing for the first time since attacking Matt Hardy viciously weeks ago. Drew McIntyre will battle Big Show prior to both wrestlers meeting their respective opponents in OTL title matches. Drew recently returned to Smackdown despite being suspended, stripped of the IC title and fired. After handing a note to Teddy Long, he was not only reinstated on the show but also given his IC belt back, right after Kofi Kingston had won it in a tournament. Meanwhile, Big Show has had his opponent's number for several weeks, getting under the skin of World Champ Jack Swagger. Last week Show smashed all of Swagger's prized trophies and possessions in the ring. Who will win tonight's match heading into OTL? Will Kofi Kingston or Swagger get involved?

Not only was the Intercontinental title belt exchanged between Superstars on Smackdown, but the Womens Championship has also changed to a new owner. Right now, the Womens title is under the possession of Layla. She won the title with a pinfall on Beth Phoenix, but in a 2-on-1 handicap match with Michelle McCool as her partner. Layla got the pinfall after Beth and Michelle knocked into each other and fell down. Recently, McCool was seen wearing a Womens title as well, because the duo had won the match handicap style. Will both divas be allowed to continue holding Womens Championships? Who will be the first to challenge for the title now that Layla is the new owner? Will they need to beat Team LayCool to win the title?

Finally, with Over the Limit approaching in about two nights, there will be several superstars looking to prepare on Smackdown. In addition to Big Show, Drew McIntyre, Swagger and Kofi Kingston, Rey Mysterio and CM Punk will also look to prepare. Just last week, CM Punk was once again aided by the mystery SES figure who helped attack Mysterio in the ring. At this Sunday's PPV, if Mysterio loses to Punk he will be required to join the StraightEdge Society. However, if Punk loses, it's bye bye to his locks of hair. How will these two Smackdown stars prepare for Sunday's PPV?

Catch Smackdown tonight at 9PM EST on MyNetwork TV!

Smackdown Preview 03.05.10

As the stars of Smackdown continue on the road to Wrestlemania 26, tonight's show will feature a colossal matchup involving two of the biggest stars around. In just several weeks, the Rated-R Superstar will challenge Chris Jericho at the event for the World Heavyweight title. In the meantime, Edge returns to the ring tonight for more WM26 preparation, hoping to defeat The Big Show in singles action. Last week, Edge pulled off the victory against The Miz, and now will face his mammoth tag team partner. Will Edge be able to pull off a victory against the World's largest athlete? Will Chris Jericho make his presence felt?

This past week on Raw, the mind games started in the Undertaker and Shawn Michaels rematch saga. During Raw's main event, D-Generation X was in control of The MizShow and looked ready to reclaim the tag team titles. However, when Shawn Michaels was ready for his Sweet Chin Music, the image of the Undertaker's face appeared up on the Titantron, causing Michaels to be distracted. Taker rolled his eyes into the back of his head, and Michaels was unable to connect on his Superkick. The Miz rolled up Michaels for the pinfall victory to help the current champs retain. It seemed as if after the match, Undertaker had got inside Michaels' head a bit, as HBK pushed away Triple H and left him in the ring. Triple H was soon attacked by Sheamus, with no Michaels in sight to help. Will Michaels make an appearance on tonight's Smackdown to return the favor to Undertaker? What will happen next as these two prepare for their big Wrestlemania rematch?

Several more intriguing storylines could work their way into tonight's show. Last week saw Rey Mysterio show up to distract CM Punk and cost him a return trip to Wrestlemania's Money in the Bank match. Punk is surely infuriated with the fact he may not be able to become a three-time MITB winner. Will he seek retribution on Mysterio tonight? Also, Mickie James lost the WWE Womens Championship last week in an unfair situation with Vickie Guerrero presiding as guest referee. Guerrero slapped Mickie in the face allowing Michelle McCool to finish Mickie off for the win. Beth Phoenix was shown watching it all backstage. Will The Glamazon be the next to challenge McCool on Smackdown? There's also two spots left for Wrestlemania 26's MITB ladder match. Will 2 more Smackdown stars qualify?

Catch tonight's episode of Smackdown at 8PM EST on MyNetwork TV!

WWE releases Candice & Snuka

Today WWE released yet another member of its talent, but this time around it was one of its loveliest, veteran WWE Divas. On Friday June 19, 2009, WWE officially came to terms with the release of Candice Michelle, former WWE Womens Champion.

WWE's standard announcement via WWE.com:

World Wrestling Entertainment has come to terms on the release of SmackDown Superstar Candice Michelle as of today, June 19, 2009. WWE wishes Candice the best in all future endeavors.

Candice hadn't seen much wrestling since sustaining an injury on WWE Raw. She was moved to the Smackdown roster during WWE's 2009 Supplemental draft, but never saw much, if any action on the show. Candice had notable feuds with the likes of Torrie Wilson and Melina, and also was one of several divas to appear nude in Playboy magazine.

Candice uses Twiter and back on June 3rd mentioned she was planning to return to the ring. Her latest update says "I'm free to grow!" which may be in reference to her release from WWE. You can follow Candice at Twitter here.

Best wishes to Candice with all of her future endeavors. Will TNA recruit yet another WWE Diva to its ranks, just like Lisa Marie Varon (Victoria)?

In other news, Sim Snuka formerly a member of Deuce and Domino was also released Friday. Snuka had also been part of the Raw storyline when Randy Orton was forming the Legacy stable, yet Snuka and Manu were ousted from the group and received a beatdown from Rhodes, Dibiase and Orton. That was about the last that was seen of Snuka. WWE.com release statement for Sim Snuka

The Next Champions for WWE?

We're a month removed from Wrestlemania 25, and a week or so past Backlash which produced 3 new champions in Edge, Randy Orton and Christian. Now that each of the major rosters has its next major champion, let's look at what may happen next with the rest of the titles within the ranks of the WWE. Below are discussions of the Intercontinental, United States, Divas, Womens and Unified Tag Championships, as well as who may be the next superstars to win the titles.

Intercontinental Championship
Current Champ: Rey Mysterio
Likely Successor: Chris Jericho
Other Contenders: John Morrison, Dolph Ziggler, Umaga

Just based on the recent Fatal Fourway matchup, it looks like Jericho may enter a feud with Mysterio to once again capture the IC title. John Morrison is also a former IC title holder, as is Umaga who seemed to be squashing Jeff Hardy quite a bit when he had the belt. Dolph Ziggler would be a new look champion and establish this guy's credibility, but at the same time it would further make the belt look like anyone and everyone has won it. I'm excluding CM Punk and Jeff Hardy here since they seem to be amongst the major title contenders. Kane just seems to be out of luck when it comes to WWE gold.

United States Championship
Current Champ: MVP
Likely Successor: Matt Hardy
Other Contenders: Big Show, The Miz, The Brian Kendrick

Matt Hardy's latest heel gimmick involved him using his arm (in a cast) to smash down across the back of Goldust's neck, and then collect a pinfall victory. This came after Matt whined about his Backlash loss to Jeff in an I Quit match. It seems like maybe Matt and MVP will renew their old rivalry, this time with Matt on the heel side and MVP the face. Matt would find a way to cheat and regain the US title yet again. The other contenders could just as easily be seen wearing the belt as well, based on their recent transfer to Raw. If The Miz gets the big push he may get, the US title may be a nice addition to his resume.

WWE Divas Championship
Current Champ: Maryse
Likely Successor: Kelly Kelly
Other Contenders: Beth Phoenix, Mickie James

Unless WWE is planning a major comedic moment where Santina Marella wins the title from Maryse, Kelly Kelly seems deserving of a title. She had been showing major improvement in the ring for some time, and just recently has seemed to be taken out of the spotlight. It'd make for a great battle of the blond divas as well. Beth Phoenix and Rosa Mendes are bound to enter in a feud at some point, so one of them may turn face and become the fan favorite taking on Maryse. Mickie James is the veteran diva favorite, and I wouldn't count Candice Michelle out either.

WWE Womens Championship
Current Champ: Melina
Likely Successor: Michelle McCool
Other Contenders: Alicia Fox, Gail Kim?

There seems to be slim pickings on Smackdown for contenders, but maybe that makes Alicia Fox an even stronger possibility. The fact she seemed to be a face valet/wrestler on ECW, but then recently teamed with McCool on Smackdown makes her an interesting possibility. Michelle has always been the strongest of the divas on Smackdown, so she makes the most logical choice to defeat Melina. Alicia Fox has looked good in the ring in various contests, while Gail Kim's a true question mark with how she hasn't been pushed a lot since here return to WWE. There's also Maria to consider, while Eve and Layla are busy dancing rather than wrestling.

Unified Tag Team Championship
Current Champs: Carlito & Primo Colon
Likely Succesors: Rhodes & Dibiase
Other Contenders: The Brian Kendrick & The Miz?

This one seems to be the no brainer of the list and may be the first of these titles we see change over. It seems like everything will align for Legacy, with Orton in command of the WWE title, and his understudies, Cody Rhodes & Ted Dibiase taking over the tag team belts. Recently, Dibiase defeated Carlito in a singles match on Smackdown, showing that the title match is inevitable. This may even go down at Backlash and be the only title we see change hands. There's not many other tag teams to choose from on Raw, unless we see The Miz & Brian Kendrick team up, or some other tag team thrown together like a Batista-Cena combo again.

Feel free to share your thoughts, comments and opinions on the next champions for the titles mentioned above.

WWE Poll: Royal Rumble Surprises?

2009 Royal Rumble is now in the books and involved several situations which may have had the element of surprise to them. In this latest WWE wrestling poll, we'll examine which incident at the Rumble surprised fans the most. Possibly it was Randy Orton winning the Royal Rumble, despite his vicious attack on Mr. McMahon. He was clearly a marked man going into the match but outlasted the best of the field for nearly 50 minutes. There was also Shawn Michaels, choosing to deliver a Superkick to both his employer JBL, and JBL's opponent, John Cena. Michaels did his best to place JBL over Cena and left for backstage, hoping it would achieve the result of giving JBL the title. However, Cena managed to escape the pinfall as a new ref rushed in to count it.

There was also a surprise return to the Royal Rumble which may indicate a return to one of the rosters. Former champion, Rob Van Dam showed up and entered into the mix of the Rumble, engaging in a feud with Chris Jericho in the ring. The always dominant and powerful Beth Phoenix was defeated in a title match by Melina, crowning a new Womens Champion. And then there was the surprising betrayal by Matt Hardy on his own brother, Jeff, which ended up costing Jeff his WWE title.

Which of these events surprised you most about this year's Royal Rumble? Feel free to cast your vote below or using the poll on the lefthand sidebar!

What surprised you most with the 2009 Royal Rumble?
	Matt Hardy betraying Jeff
	Melina winning Women's title
	Shawn Michaels kicks JBL Cena
	RVD enters Royal Rumble
	Orton wins Royal Rumble
	None of Above or Other
pollcode.com free polls

---

Victoria Retires on Smackdown

On the Friday night Smackdown which aired 1/16/09, longtime WWE Diva Victoria (Lisa Marie Varon) fought what she called the final match of her career. Wrestling against former Divas Champ, Michelle McCool, Victoria suffered a loss in her final contest. Some fans are expressing a bit of concern over Victoria ending her career this way, but fellow former diva heel, Lita, also went out with a loss. Lita made an appearance on the Raw anniversary show along with her longtime opponent, Trish Stratus.

Victoria made the following comments regarding her decision to retire:

Choosing to leave was a very difficult decision. I think many of my colleagues considered me a "lifer". That is, they thought I'd be with WWE until I was old and grey. But I was not happy with the opportunities that were available to me within WWE. And at the end of the day, there are thousands and thousands of women who would kill or die for the chance to be a WWE Diva. It isn't right for me to fill that spot if my heart weren't in it.

Victoria also added:

And I haven't ruled out the idea of jumping back in the squared circle occasionally down the road.

(source: Wikipedia.org)

Victoria's WWE diva career spanned about 7 years, starting way back in 2002. Fans may remember back to Victoria's first appearance in the WWE as one of the Godfather's "Ho Train" members, the "Head Ho" who was at the forefront of a "Save the Hos" campaign. Victoria made her entrance as a diva later in 2002 on an episode of Sunday Night Heat, when she began a story involving Trish Stratus. Victoria claimed that Trish had betrayed her during a fitness contest they were both models in. The rest was history for this heel diva and engineer of the Widow's Peak. Within four months, Victoria had won the Women's Championship for her first reign ever. She would win the title once again, making her a two time champ. Victoria had stints on WWE Heat, RAW, and then her final roster spot with Smackdown.

Slight speculation has already started on Victoria's retirement, with Brian Fritz of The Orlando Sentinel's article, "Longtime WWE diva retires - or did she?". Fritz states that Victoria shot down retirement rumors months ago, but now it appears this is legit as Victoria has several outside business interests including her Black Widow Customs car shop.

Fans can now debate Victoria's place amongst legendary WWE divas. She served as a classic heel more often than not and displayed some of the best technical in-ring skills of most divas. This is especially evident these days as the WWE keeps several divas out of the ring strictly as valets. In addition to wrestling, Victoria acted as a ringside valet/romantic interest for several wrestlers such as Kenny Dykstra and Steven Richards, performing in mixed tag team contests. And even though she went out with a loss, Victoria still gave fans plenty of sports entertainment during her diva pro-wrestling career.

Feel free to leave comments below regarding Victoria, her wrestling career and retirement...

Raw Preview 12.15.08

Last night's Armageddon Pay-Per-View (see 2008 Armageddon results), saw many of the WWE Raw superstars in action during the event. In one of the main event matches, current World Heavyweight Champ, John Cena, successfully defended his title against Chris Jericho, after applying the STFU. Jericho is now out of the title picture, but will he have been silenced from condemning the WWE and its fans? Cena is now undefeated since his return from injury, and continues to display championship form. In another Armageddon match, a new #1 Contender was decided for John Cena, as Batista was able to defeat his nemesis Randy Orton. Fans will recall that Cena sustained his serious injury at the hands of Batista months ago. Now the two seem destined to collide for Round two of their battle at the Royal Rumble! What will each superstar have to say regarding their impending matchup? Will it be set for WWE Raw, the 2009 Royal Rumble, or another date?

In another match to determine a #1 Contender, Rey Mysterio & CM Punk battled to determine who would face William Regal for the Intercontinental title. Both men are fan favorites and gave the match their all with Regal and gal pal Layla looking on at ringside. It was CM Punk who managed to grab the victory in a fast-paced match full of near pinfalls. Now Punk will prepare to fight the IC champ, Regal. These two met before in the King of the Ring tournament, where Regal was able to defeat Punk and become 2008 King of the Ring. Will the current King and IC champ have a statement to make towards Punk? What will Punk's current tag team partner, Kofi Kingston have to say regading Punk's new title challenge?

The Raw WWE Divas division continues to heat up as well with various divas such as Kelly Kelly, Melina, Candice Michelle and Mickie James looking to get a Womens title shot. The current Womens Champion is the recent 2008 Diva of the Year Slammy winner, Beth Phoenix. The Glamazon has been nothing short of dominant throughout 2008, defeating all challengers she's faced. It seems as if the return of Melina will present yet another challenge for Phoenix. Will Melina continue to rack up victories on Raw en route to a Womens title match with Beth Phoenix? Or will another WWE diva such as Kelly Kelly or Mickie James be named #1 Contender?

Catch all the action of WWE Monday Night Raw at 9PM EST on USA!

See full results for the 2008 Armageddon Pay-Per-View