The Crossface: Unforgiven Preview

[Guest TSMAdmin]

On Sunday, the WWE presents Unforgiven. Without much hype and poor buildup, the PPV seems lacklustre compared to the awesome Summerslam. Well, the Smart Marks throw in their predictions and lay their bets down on the match-ups. Now, let's introduce the players...

 

Brandon Truitt: Brandon is a regular here on the Crossface and happens to own a heaping helping of shoot interviews. Look for his recap of the Legion of Doom shoot interview.

 

Byron Vester: Don't forget to Catch Byron now on Sunday nights as he drops in with the news. When the wrestling world really pisses him off, he'll drop in with his Anger Management column. If you want to know what happened last week in the world of wrestling, THIS is your destination.

 

Dr. Tom: Tom brings the content every week, providing the reader with his Smackdown recaps, The Mid-Week News, movie reviews and much more! Read up on Tom's feelings of this week's Smackdown.

 

Josh Lowmon: Josh is the webmaster of SmarkTalk and throws in his two cents in his Brain Droppings columns. Check out his latest column discussing (what else?) HLA!

 

Mark Goodhart: Mark drops in every once in a while with his Mark's Marks tape reviews. His Moving Right Along columns, examine the world of wrestling moves and the psychology involved in using them. Check out his last Moving Right Along column dissecting the moveset of Chris Benoit.

 

William Helmick: If you're interested in writing for the Smart Marks, drop William a line. For now, he'll be moderating the discussion.

 

 

 

William: First off, Undertaker vs. Brock Lesnar. Who is taking home the Smackdown title?

Dr. Tom: Brock retains. There's just no reason for him to lose. He's getting the big push, he's actually getting over, and his matches are improving (tonight's abortion notwithstanding). Taker will just be the latest legend to fall before Brock.

Josh: I would say Brock because they aren't going to give up on him until at least the October PPV or Survivor Series.

Brandon: Brock over Taker cleanly SHOULD be a foregone conclusion but I don't think it will happen. They need a challenger next month and I'll bet Taker's going to try and talk his way into beating Lesnar at No Mercy.

Mark: Brock has that title locked up for the foreseeable future. The WWE has put way too many eggs in the Brock basket to give up on the experiment this quickly. Considering Undertaker's questionable drawing power, I don't think that's too likely.

Byron: Brock wins, hands down. If Vince lets Taker talk him into winning at No Mercy, then he's the biggest idiot ever.

Josh: I say if Brock starts failing that they will hotshot the Angle vs. Brock feud and turn Brock face.

Brandon: I hope they keep that feud in mind as the way to get the belt off Brock, Josh. That's the perfect matchup to do it in considering those two compete behind the scenes.

William: Now, while others such as Rock and Hogan were more than willing to lie down for Brock and make him look like a viable threat, do you think the Undertaker will do the same?

Dr. Tom: I think Taker will lie down for Brock.

Byron: I think Taker will lie down, but it won't be clean or even close to clean.

Brandon: I think that Undertaker won't do it unless he gets a HUGE carrot on a stick. Someone mentioned that he might get time off while his wife's pregnant, so that may be enough of a reason.

William: That was my point Byron. Rock and Hogan lost cleanly. I can't recall taker losing cleanly to anyone in the last two years.

Brandon: Undertaker's had losses that were SUPPOSED to be clean but he either kicked out on three or had them changed by pissing and moaning in the back.

Mark: Well, if Hulk Hogan will go down clean as a whistle, I don't see Undertaker having that big of a problem for it. He'll do the job, I just don't know if he'll make Brock look good while he does it.

Byron: Put it this way, Rock is a professional and Hogan knew what he had to do. With Taker, like Brandon said, he somehow always finds a way to get his agenda through at the expense of others.

Dr. Tom: I don't think it matters if his victory is clean or not. He'll still be able to claim that he added one more legend to his hit list.

William: Ok, so we all agree that Taker will lose but don't know if Brock's victory will be clean or not. Now, are you guys looking forward to this match? Where do you think it will fall on the star rating scale?

Brandon: Dud to *. Brock isn't a great wrestler yet and Taker is HORRIBLE these days. Taker's broken down and no-sells everything while Brock's green and can't carry anybody.

Dr. Tom: I think the match will be about **. I think we'll get an average match. Brock is still green, and Taker's on the decline, so we can't really hope for anything above ordinary.

Josh: I think it will be the motion match of the evening at about 2-2 1/2 stars. This will be the perfect example of both wrestlers going through the motions. This match reeks of just being "there" and both aren't the greatest (I have yet to give up on Brock). It seems more like and excuse for Undertaker until he goes off to have the baby.

Mark: One to two and a half stars, Brock will muscle Taker around for a bit and that will be unique in of itself. Since Brock hasn't shown that he can dictate an interesting pace while in control of a match, and Undertaker works way too slow when he has to go more than ten minutes at a time, I don’t expect great work from this match.

Byron: I'll agree with Josh and go with ** to **1/2 because quite simply, Taker sucks now… really, REALLY bad! He's broken down and just doesn't seem motivated at all since he lost the belt.

 

 

William: Well, let's examine the RVD vs. HHH title match. Personally, I believe RVD takes the belt. Some of you may disagree. Who's winning?

Dr. Tom: HHH retains-uh.

Brandon: RVD will take the belt... but only with the interference of Jeff Hardy, Ric Flair, Bubba Dudley, and the 101st Airborne.

Mark: Triple H should win so that the feud can turn into a long-term chase with RVD getting closer and closer until he finally catches up to Triple H and gets his Vengeance.

Josh: RVD gets the belt and for some awful reason I am seeing HHH vs. Bubba as the next feud for the Trips.

Brandon: I shudder at the thought of HHH vs. Bubba.

Byron: I say Triple H is winning to continue the feud. I think RVD winning is a BAD idea with how shitty everything has been recently; they need an angle that could probably draw and tossing off an RVD title with practically NO hype won't do it.

William: But as stated here in the Crossface many times before, NO ONE is drawing right now.

Dr. Tom: A lot of people are drawing flies.

Brandon: HHH is drawing people that look like chairs. They did the same stupid mistake with Jericho last year, so it doesn't surprise me that they'd do it again.

Byron: True, but the big name face chasing the title ALWAYS works.

Mark: But, that doesn't mean that should throw as much stuff at the wall as they can in an attempt to catch fire quickly. Slow burning feuds and angles that pay off in the long term is how you rebuild your fan base and make money

Brandon: Mark, that's true but there's been exactly ONE planned feud that's been done right since Jericho-Rock... and that was Rock-Lesnar. Now that they're done with that one, they're in a boat without a rudder again. They NEED to be building towards the eventual Angle-Lesnar feud that everyone can see from miles away.

Dr. Tom: HHH needs to win just so they can have RVD chase the belt. As much as I'd like to see Rob win, I think he has to lose to maintain the feud. Besides, why would HHH job the Big Gold Belt after 2 weeks?

William: Well, I think we can all accept either outcome as long as the match delivers. Will this match deliver?

Mark: Yes, ***-****. RVD will be bumping like a freak and Triple H has been (painfully) slowly working his way back into form.

Josh: Around the ***-*** 1/2 range. I would imagine just because HHH isn't as horrible as everyone thinks and RVD will get in the requisite high spots as to keep things interesting.

Dr. Tom: HHH will have to do half again his usual selling load to make up for RVD. I'll go with **1/2 - ***, just because I know Rob will ignore the psychology for his highspots.

Byron: I'll be optimistic and say yes. Trips is selling like a madman now, doesn't excuse his slow offense, but he IS bumping for people and I think he'll do so for Rob.

William: Well, I don't know if you would call dodging a plancha bumping or not Byron.

Byron: I think that was a screw-up, Will, but both ways, I still think he’ll bump and sell for Rob. I'll go with maybe **3/4 to ***1/2

Brandon: I doubt it. The only way this match will deliver is if RVD does the same job he did against Undertaker a few months back, and he won't get a chance to do that against HHH's Crappy Sleeper of Death. I'd say ** unless RVD sells like a madman. If he does that, it'll reach ***1/2.

Mark: They're trying to build the sleeper the same way they built the bearhug for Brock... so that when the put it on in an actual match, that it gets a reaction since it then becomes a actual threat

Brandon: There's a difference, Mark. Brock is a BIG guy and it's feasible to use a bearhug when you're that strong. As for the sleeper, the last guy to use a crappy one like that was Brutus Beefcake. If HHH wants a REAL one, he needs to learn how to do the Million Dollar Dream.

William: But in the year 2002, do we really need to sleeper as an effective finisher?

Mark: The sleeper isn't an effective finisher, but Triple H is trying to build his up like puro guys built the cross armbreaker. It MIGHT finish a match so it gets a reaction but it usually doesn't lead to the decision most times

Brandon: Mark, he STILL needs to pick a better move to do that with. The sleeper is probably the most boring move in the history of wrestling. It's not exactly feared like a Crippler Crossface.

 

 

William: Ok, next up two guys who could probably use any submission move effectively- Angle vs. Benoit. Who is winning this battle of the heels?

Brandon: I say Benoit because Angle's the one turning face, although that will be a mistake.

Mark: It's a toss up, but I'll go with Angle since he's still getting the better reactions out of the two.

Dr. Tom: This is really tough to call. I'm going to give the nod to Benoit, just because I think he needs the win more.

Josh: Benoit wins because I wouldn't be surprised if Angle moves on to Brock and Benoit gets someone else. Who that would be, I don’t know

Byron: I think Benoit wins this time since Angle won the last feud. Angle seems to be over no matter what he does right now, so giving Benoit the duke to build him up more is probably the right decision.

Mark: I really just don't think that Benoit is going to be pushed to anything worth noting (other than a feud with Edge?) and Angle has a much bigger upside.

Dr. Tom: I wouldn't be surprised to see Benoit go face, actually, Mark. I think he'll definitely be playing the face on Sunday, and will continue in that role if he feuds with Angle for more than a month.

Byron: Angle sort of sucks ass as a face. Benoit seemingly plays the role a lot better.

Mark: Well Tom, I think it would be a good idea for WWE to make that clearer so the crowd heat doesn't stink.

William: We've said it before but WWE has booked themselves in a corner in this match. These are the best two wrestlers in the company yet the buildup has been horrible.

Byron: Well, the buldup was horrible the last time they did this feud as well.

William: Well, regardless of the piss-poor buildup, is this the match of the night?

Brandon: By far yes, Will. It'll probably be somewhere between ***3/4 to ****1/2 if they're given enough time and there aren't any stupid booking decisions (like Rikishi doing a run-in)

Dr. Tom: Easily. The only one that can compete is Edge-Eddy. Angle-Benoit is an easy **** affair. Full Monty potential is certainly there, but I think ****1/2 is more realistic and likely.

Byron: There really isn't any competition. I say it gets **** because somehow, there will be something that screws the match up like a run-in

Josh: This is probably a **** match. I don't see anything spectacular being laid out but there will be good pacing and psychology

Mark: I'm actually going to say no. I think Triple H- RVD is going to pull that honor out. Benoit and Angle just don't mesh well in my opinion, especially when both are going to most likely working heel.

Brandon: They don't mesh well, Mark? Have you seen their matches from mid-2001? They mesh well. Jericho and Austin DON'T mesh well, which is why their matches look like crap.

Mark: I did see their 2001 series, and I really didn't care for the way they worked together. It's almost as if they are too similar to mesh. They both try to do the same things at similar times.

Byron: Well, to be honest, Brandon, Angle wasn't THAT good back then. He stalled WAY too much.

Dr. Tom: I think they'll mesh just fine, Mark. Benoit will play the face, and even if the crowd isn't smart enough to pick up on it (I think they are), it'll make a huge difference in the match.

 

 

William: Another feud that should have been built up much better than it has is Jericho vs. Flair. Does Jericho get his revenge win?

Byron: Jericho jobbed last time. He doesn't lose this time. This "feud" ends Sunday.

Brandon: Jericho needs to win. Jericho jobbed LAST time and there's no point to Flair holding the IC belt.

Dr. Tom: There's no point in Flair winning. Jericho needs a win, and they don't need to move the belt after a whopping six days.

William: But Tom, realistically, should either guy even be feuding over the Intercontinental belt?

Dr. Tom: No, Will, they shouldn't. Jericho especially.

Brandon: It would definitely show the company's attitude towards Flair if he gets his last great run as an IC champ while Hogan got a run with the Unified Championship.

Josh: Jericho wins and moves on to face RVD.

Byron: RVD/Jericho is PLAYED, Josh. They need to put that match to rest for a while.

Josh: Byron, it may be played but that is about the only guy that there is for RVD to feud with currently unless they are going to be serious and push Booker T up there.

Brandon: Jericho is about the only guy at IC level right now on RAW. I want Rico to win the belt but it's WAY too early for him to win it.

Mark: Realistically, Jericho should be cemented at the IC title level, facing up and comers... he's not good enough to be a World Champion in my opinion.

William: Well, their first PPV match was nothing special. Will this be doomed to the same fate?

Brandon: This won't be a pretty match because Flair's blowing spots like Sabu at this point and Jericho's unmotivated. ** maximum for this one.

Mark: Jericho in a suck fest. The match is going to blow and people will still think Ric should still be wrestling. He shouldn't be. Flair will chop and low blow... whoopie.

Byron: true, Mark. I've been a Flair fan forever, but he shouldn't be in the ring now. **1/2 at the most!

Dr. Tom: I have to concur with the Flair hate, as much as it pains me to do it. He really needs to hang it up. **1/2, maybe **3/4.

Josh: It will ride up on the ** area for me depending on how motivated Jericho is because Flair will always give something. It just depends if Jericho will. Perhaps he needs to shave the beard and let the locks out.

 

 

William: OK, probably the most hyped match of the entire card is Rosie and Jamal vs. Billy and Chuck. Who wins the tag team battle?

Brandon: Billy and Chuck win, but Eric has to kiss Vince's ass instead of Stephanie's.

Mark: I can't imagine that Jamal and Rosie are going to lose in their debut.

Dr. Tom: Billy and Chuck. There's NO WAY Steph's getting freaky with another chick on her daddy's TV.

Josh: I think Billy and Chuck only after Jamal and Rosie get their spots in.

Byron: Billy and Chuck since Daddy's Little Girl can never look bad in a feud.

Mark: Daddy's Little Girl has looked bad pretty much all feud long

Byron: She's looked bad because the crowds turned on her, Mark

Mark: She got beat up by an Island Boy, got the IC title stolen, the tag titles stolen. How did any of this make her NOT look bad??? If Steph will kiss Test, she'll kiss anything!

Byron: Mark, she also stole the WWE Champion, the "number one face", kicked Bischoff's ass on RAW, and bosses around her talent like they are beneath her.

Brandon: Steph can't make up her mind whether she's a face or a heel. When she gets booed by the fans, she goes out of her way to do something to become the face again. Once she's starting to be seen as the face again, she does something very heelish to turn Bischoff into a face again. And when you're turning ERIC BISCHOFF into a face, there's something wrong. I'm not knocking the guy's work, which has been great, but he's just the epitome of a slimeball... and he's the FACE here.

Mark: I'm just saying she's lost battles, and I can't believe the whole ball of wax is going to come from Billy and Chuck.

William: I have to agree with Mark. Why would they build up the Islanders only to have them lose their first match? That makes absolutely no sense.

Brandon: Will, nothing ever tends to make sense down McMahon Way. It won't be much of a surprise then when Jamal and Rosie get turned into jobbers, starting with their very first PPV match.

Dr. Tom: It makes perfect sense, Will. Steph + HLA = not going to happen. The stipulations are controlling the result here.

Josh: All I know is I don't want to see Rikishi's ass ANYWHERE in this match. Of course that will be how he joins up with the Island Boys as was rumored possibly.

William: God I hope that doesn’t happen, Josh. Well, not knowing how well the Islanders work in the ring, can we really determine how good of a match this will be?

Mark: Not really, Chuck is also a pretty much unknown substance as a face

Dr. Tom: I think so. Billy and Chuck bump for a while, which they're both fairly good at doing, and get the late rally for the win. Nothing exceptional, but it'll be watchable. I'll say *1/2 - **1/4

Josh: I say it will be in the old **-*** range with power moves from Jamal and Rosie and the usual from Billy and Chuck. By the way... are they still going to be homoerotic or not anymore?

Byron: I think Tom's right. Billy and Chuck can bump, they may suck serious sausage on offense, but at least they bump for their opponents. Plus, I think the bookers will want the Islanders to look strong since it's their first match and all. It will be about ** at the most. Nothing spectacular.

Brandon: I think that it will top out at **, although it will more likely be a 1/2* affair. Jamal and Rosie were okay but not great when I saw them this time last year in a dark match and neither Billy nor Chuck is good enough to carry green guys in their first big match

 

 

William: The Un-Americans vs. Booker, Goldust, Kane and Bubba. Who is winning this matchup?

Byron: The Americans since the Un-American gimmick has seemingly run it's course and they fucked it up beyond all repair. They fucked it up by having Undertaker massacre them all and Kane coming back and doing the same thing

Brandon: Booker and company will win because Kane will pin Test. Besides that, it's about time that someone beats the Un-Americans clean in a match where they can't lose the tag belts.

Mark: I'm pretty sure it doesn't matter. No one is going to get elevated out of this mess. I figure the heels will pull out the win to extend the feud for another few months. : I still don't think of The Un-American’s as a unit, just a bunch of guys that are together for the time being.

Josh: Booker and Co. should win because I think Booker needs the win to go strong into the next feud not involving Goldust. I'm not paying attention as the whole angle with the Un-Americans is about as interesting as watching flies fuck

Dr. Tom: I wish this one were using Survivor Series rules. They'd get so much more out of the match that way. I don't think the winner is important, but I think the Anti-Americans (I hate the term "un-American," which is just woefully incorrect) win so that they'll have something going for them when they job the belts.

Brandon: Dr. Tom, Survivor Series rules would be great but Wargames rules (in the Cell instead of the Double Cage) would be better. Unfortunately, that's a match we'll never see in the WWE.

Dr. Tom: True enough, Brandon, though it's certainly unfortunate.

Mark: I would hate to see Wargames wasted on a feud with little to no heat.

Josh: Wargames needs to be saved for RAW vs. Smackdown, NOT on a meaningless tag match such as this one.

Brandon: Mark... They've done a Wargames with the friggin' SHOCKMASTER in WCW. I don't think this would hurt it.

Byron: Josh and Mark are right. If they were to use the WarGames gimmick, then do it for the RAW/Smackdown feud that seems to be budding.

Mark: Heck, they should have busted it out for the InVasion, but that ship has sailed.

William: So is this match destined to be a clusterfuck or will there be non-stop action like other 8-man tag matches?

Josh: It will suck because of 2 reasons... Bubba and his Nut Grab of Doom and Test missing a kick to the face. *-**.

Mark: It'll flow okay, as long as Christian doesn't go to the chinlock to often and Regal doesn't bog everything down. I’ll say about ** with the tendencies of Kane and Test to slow stuff down.

Dr. Tom: Well, Test sucks, Regal's a stylistic clash with whoever his opponent is, and Kane's still rusty... I'm thinking clusterfuck. There will be watchable moments, so I think it'll come in around **.

Brandon: ***1/2 if there's minimal involvement of Test and other bad workers in the ring. ** if there are a bunch of stupid combinations like Regal and Bubba for the 1000th time. This could be non-stop action until Test gets in the ring. Nash-Lite will slow the action to a crawl. Hopefully he'll be out of the ring until the decision, like in last month's match.

Byron: Oh come on, Brandon... Test isn't THAT bad. If anything, I'd be more worried about Buh Buh's spots in the match.

Brandon: He has the Diesel look down and he's slow in the ring. He's not going to blow a ligament walking across the ring, but he still sucks.

Byron: Brandon, since when did being slow in the ring = sucking?

Brandon: Test blows spots, is slow, has the hair, and always gets pushed... I'd say he's about 5 pints of Guinness and a pair of leather fringe pants away from being Diesel III.

Mark: Wait a minute, fellas. What's wrong with Bubba Ray? He wrestles well and bumps like a machine. Overpush aside, he knows what he is doing.

Byron: Well Mark, everyone in the match bumps like a machine.

Mark: Regal does not bump like a machine!!! Maybe like a washing machine... but not a real machine.

Brandon: Well, back to Test, he's had the beginnings of about 10 pushes since he broke up with Steph. They always end quickly, though, because he sucks and gets no reaction from the crowd.

Mark: Now Brandon, could it be he get no reaction since his pushes always get cut off at the knees?

Brandon: He gets no reaction THEN his pushes get cut off. Look at his push against Rock from December.

Byron: Mark stole my point! Rock treated him like a jobber and even when he won the handicap match, it was Steph who got the pin

Brandon: Rock treats EVERYONE like jobbers for the most part... it's not like Test was in an exclusive club. It's just a part of the Rock's character... he's willing to put people over when it comes down to it.

Byron: I know, using Rock isn't exactly a great barometer for judging heat

Mark: Test was killed as soon as Triple H stole Steph at the alter and then didn't get revenge. It's been a downturn ever since.

Byron: Of course it didn't help that Trips squashed him every chance he got either

William: Well, I think we can all be thankful that Bradshaw isn't in the match to drag it down even further.

Dr. Tom: Halleluiah!

Brandon: The WWE needs to shit or get off the pot with Test. He needs to get his FINAL big push and, if he doesn't hack it, needs to be canned. Bradshaw just needs to be canned since he blew a sizable push right after the draft.

 

 

William: Ok, next up is another potential match of the night in Edge vs. Eddy Guerrero. How do you see this match played out and who picks up the victory?

Brandon: Eddy should win because Edge won last month. I'll bet Chavo interferes to give Eddy the win, which won't kill Edge's heat as far as management's concerned.

Josh: I didn't even notice they were feuding so I’ll choose Eddy just because I think they need another strong heel, who’s capable of carrying a match, outside of Benoit and Angle.

Byron: This is kind of unpredictable. I'll go with Eddy and CHEAT TO WIN~! getting the duke and then they do the final blowoff next month.

Dr. Tom: It's Eddy's turn to win this time. He'll Cheat To WIN~! probably with some help from Chavo.

Mark: Edge will continue on his merry way of winning. Edge is someone who is actually over and getting pushed... it's a miracle! The psychology of Eddie trying to rip up Edge's face should be an extra-added bonus to the match.

Dr. Tom: True, Mark. I could even see Eddy getting disqualified late if he decides he just wants to Maul Edge with a chair.

William: Can this match compete with Benoit-Angle for match of the night?

Mark: Ahem... you mean HHH-RVD, not Benoit-Angle, Will.

Brandon: I don't see it competing that hard with Angle-Benoit because, while Eddy's about even with Angle and Benoit, Edge isn't as good as either of them yet.

Byron: If Benoit/Angle has a clusterfuck finish, it will, but, I don't think so. ***1/2 to ****.

Dr. Tom: It will entertain but it won't be too stiff in the way of competition. I'll say *** - ***1/2, about * below the Benoit/Angle match.

Josh: I think it shall be another solid match ***-***1/2. The WWE did a good job of putting in some solid stuff to make up for the crap. Of course it will be hard for the crowd to have to go from being up for one match to down and then back up again

Mark: Edge and Eddie have a noticeable advantage in that they are both over. The fans may be able to pull the action up, while in Benoit-Angle, they may pull it the other direction. Both know how to work a crowd and work a match.

 

 

William: And the final official match is Trish vs. Molly. Who wins the women's belt and do we even care?

Mark: I don't care... Trish if only so when Jazz comes back, they can feud again.

Brandon: Molly-Trish... if they don't care enough to even have the announced Molly-Trish-Victoria match on RAW, should people bother to care for it on PPV?

Dr. Tom: We don't care, but I'll go with Trish.

Josh: I care. I still remember how good it was with Trish vs. Steph at NWO 2001 when there was an interesting story. But for the sake of predictions, I’ll go with Trish.

Byron: Memo to WWE: We Don't Give A Fuck. But if I had to pick, I'd say Trish since Molly's seemingly held the belt forever.

Brandon: Molly's keeping the belt until a month before Jazz gets back. Trish will only transition the belt to Jazz as that's the only other women's feud as of now.

William: Well, while we may not care, Josh brings up a good point. The women are capable of having either really solid matches or complete abortions. Which way will this match fare?

Dr. Tom: The sad thing is, Molly and Trish can have a good match, but the fans have been trained not to give a shit about women's wrestling.

Mark: For good reason, most of the women can't throw a clothesline, much less have a good match

Byron: The match will be real solid until the probably Nowinski run-in, which may or may not wake up the crowd

Brandon: Women's wrestling was going well before the Jackie Gayda match. Now it's been written off as cheap T&A with crap like mud wrestling matches and the Lingerie Pillow fight.

Dr. Tom: It'll be a solid women's match. And then they'll have a gravy boat lingerie panty mud whipped cream teddy bear match on Raw, and piss it all away again.

Brandon: It's not going to be easy to predict how the match will fare. They may make it a Paddle on a Pole match or some shit right before the PPV starts.

Byron: If it becomes a gimmick match, it won't even reach *, but if they just let them wrestle, then it may get close to **.

Josh: I think this match could reach ** because the two don't really blow spots and seem to know their limitations. They also both use good psychology with Trish being a face and Molly the heel. Of course the drawback will be Lawler screaming "Grannie Panties" after the inevitable pant dropping of Molly.

Mark: Trish and Molly are pretty solid, if unspectacular, they won't put together anything awe inspiring... but it will be alright.

 

 

William: Well, in conclusion, is this PPV worth ordering? From some of your predictions, there will be some good-great matches during the show. Are they enough to justify shelling out your hard earned cash?

Dr. Tom: With the minimal buildup, I'd say no. They just haven't done much of a sell for this one, so if WWE doesn't care if I spend my $35, why should I open my wallet?

Byron: Well, I'll be spending my hard earned cash at my local Hooter's again for this PPV.

Brandon: I'm waiting for the replay on this one. If Eddy-Edge, Angle-Benoit, AND RVD-HHH turn out to be about ***1/2+ each, I'll probably order it. I'm not paying $35 for this until I know what I'm getting.

Josh: Well, since I work for a cable company and they order it for us, I will watch it because I work that day and it’s free.

Mark: I wouldn't buy this pay-per-view. You will be able to see the matches for free some time down the road anyway. The only unique thing will be RVD-Triple H. Everything else you've seen before or didn't want to see in the first place.

Brandon: I'll be watching the second episode of the new season of The Sopranos instead.

William: Personally, I am disappointed the rumored Rey vs. Noble has not been scheduled. If that match were on the card, would it sway your opinions any?

Byron: Not really

Mark: Not really. Noble isn't spot-tastic enough to be a Cruiserweight draw.

Dr. Tom: Nope. I'll probably spring for a six-pack and watch it at a buddy's house. But I wouldn't spend $35 on it.

Brandon: No, it wouldn't. The only cruiser match to get a proper amount of time on WWF PPV lately was Kidman-Tajiri.

William: Well, guys the only way to find out if the show was a waste or not is to come back here on Sunday Night for the special post-PPV reaction Crossface with the staff of the Smart Marks. As for now, this edition of the Crossface... is... now… over.