RVD vs. Shelton at Backlash

[cabbageboy 0]

So last night Shelton Benjamin challenged RVD for the MITB at Backlash, but RVD refused and insisted Shelton put the IC title on the line. Obviously this is going to lead to a match at Backlash but what exactly will the stips be, and who should go over? At this point RVD doesn't need the IC title, yet we know Shelton won't get the MITB (or if he did it'd be brief and RVD would reclaim it). This would lead me to think this might be a DQ finish, maybe Shelton hits RVD with the briefcase or something. But I have a better idea.

 

Next week Shelton should come out on Raw and say "Okay Rob, you don't want to put your MITB on the line. I can see that. But if you want a shot at the IC title you have to do something for me. If I beat you at Backlash you have to give me first crack at the WWE title should you win it when you cash in the MITB."

 

This sets up quite a bit of stuff. Shelton can pick up a slightly tainted win at Backlash. RVD can then go to ONS and cash in the MITB, hopefully win the title. Then you have Shelton right there waiting at maybe Vengeance for his title shot. This wouldn't necessarily be the main event of Vengeance since I'm betting HHH will want another HIAC match with Cena.

 

With this idea it's a good way of elevating Shelton as well as RVD. What do you guys think?

[Jingus 0]

It makes a lot of sense, helps elevate people and buries nobody.

 

Therefore, there's no way in hell the WWE will do that.

[2GOLD 0]

Perhaps it'll be a way for Haas to re-debut with the company?

He could just come out, take out Shelton but the ref clearly sees it for the DQ. Just let Shelton feud with him for awhile and allow RVD to go do what he is supposed to do.

 

Haas hasn't returned yet right? I don't watch Smackdown anymore.

[Hawk 34 0]

Perhaps it'll be a way for Haas to re-debut with the company?

He could just come out, take out Shelton but the ref clearly sees it for the DQ. Just let Shelton feud with him for awhile and allow RVD to go do what he is supposed to do.

 

Haas hasn't returned yet right? I don't watch Smackdown anymore.

 

He is finishing indy obligations and will be on Raw, as he can't work with Smackdown.

[2GOLD 0]

Perhaps it'll be a way for Haas to re-debut with the company?

He could just come out, take out Shelton but the ref clearly sees it for the DQ. Just let Shelton feud with him for awhile and allow RVD to go do what he is supposed to do.

 

Haas hasn't returned yet right? I don't watch Smackdown anymore.

 

He is finishing indy obligations and will be on Raw, as he can't work with Smackdown.

 

Then it's the perfect place to bring him in. Neither guy takes a lose, Shelton gets a feud that makes sense, and RVD can move away from the IC title scene with his MITB securely in hand.

 

Sounds like everyone would be a winner. Just let RVD and Shelton spot it up for 7 minutes and have Haas come in when it's getting towards the end. And why exactly can't Charlie work for Smackdown?

[USC Wuz Robbed! 0]

I guess because there's heat with him and Lagana.

[Lt. Al Giardello 0]

That's pretty good booking.

 

Doubt it will happen though.

[Jingus 0]

I guess because there's heat with him and Lagana.

 

Who?

 

And does anyone else have some misgivings on how they'll use Haas, considering that he had a twin brother who died, and the WWE seems determined to go into heretical territory with their storylines as of late.

[Si82 0]

I guess because there's heat with him and Lagana.

 

Who?

Dave Lagana, he's a writer for Smackdown.

 

Haas blasted him in a number of interviews after his release.

[CheesalaIsGood 0]

I guess because there's heat with him and Lagana.

 

Who?

 

And does anyone else have some misgivings on how they'll use Haas, considering that he had a twin brother who died, and the WWE seems determined to go into heretical territory with their storylines as of late.

 

 

No, I don't... unless Haas becomes a bigger star than he is right now. His brother Russ wasn't even on the main roster so I doubt they'll think anyone will care enough to bring it up.

[Guest Coffey]

Oh man, this match is gonna have a lot of botched spots and sloppiness.

 

That being said, RVD doesn't need the IC belt and Shelton can't win the contract...he just can't, so I don't see the point. It's silly.

[Black Lushus 0]

I guess because there's heat with him and Lagana.

 

Who?

 

And does anyone else have some misgivings on how they'll use Haas, considering that he had a twin brother who died, and the WWE seems determined to go into heretical territory with their storylines as of late.

 

 

No, I don't... unless Haas becomes a bigger star than he is right now. His brother Russ wasn't even on the main roster so I doubt they'll think anyone will care enough to bring it up.

 

they'll bring in some random OVW to play his "brother, Russ, who he thought died but was really training in Mexico under a mask to come back and upstage him"

[cabbageboy 0]

Correct me if I'm wrong but I don't think this match is actually for the MITB, is it? Van Dam refused to put it on the line (wisely) and I doubt the IC title is enough bait to prompt him to do it next week.

 

A DQ finish with Haas or maybe just Shelton nailing RVD with the briefcase would be logical too.

[Da Maintenance Man 0]

Correct me if I'm wrong but I don't think this match is actually for the MITB, is it? Van Dam refused to put it on the line (wisely) and I doubt the IC title is enough bait to prompt him to do it next week.

 

A DQ finish with Haas or maybe just Shelton nailing RVD with the briefcase would be logical too.

 

I think both the MITB & the IC title is on the line. It may have been hard to hear over the music but RVD said something during that promo about walking out of Backlash with the MITB AND the IC title.

[USC Wuz Robbed! 0]

Umm yeah the idea is MITB shot vs IC title.

[cabbageboy 0]

See I didn't get that impression. I thought RVD flat out said "The MITB is not on the line, I'm not putting it up for grabs." I think he just said he'd give Shelton till next week to answer his IC challenge.

 

If this actually does end up being MITB vs. IC title then it has to be a DQ. What else can you do?

[USC Wuz Robbed! 0]

He was more like "You think I'm going to put it on the line just because he thinks he deserves a second chance? No. Now if he puts the IC title on the line too.... that's another story."

[Enigma 0]

I'm thinking both the IC Title and the contract will be put up for grabs. RVD will win the IC Title, and whoever he's going to face at ECW One Night Stand will cost him the belt before ONS.

[Guest Princess Leena]

Correct me if I'm wrong but I don't think this match is actually for the MITB, is it? Van Dam refused to put it on the line (wisely) and I doubt the IC title is enough bait to prompt him to do it next week.

 

A DQ finish with Haas or maybe just Shelton nailing RVD with the briefcase would be logical too.

 

I think both the MITB & the IC title is on the line. It may have been hard to hear over the music but RVD said something during that promo about walking out of Backlash with the MITB AND the IC title.

 

That may mean only the IC title is on the line. So, if RVD wins he has both.

 

This is sloppy booking. Obvious winners are not positive things to do.

[iggymcfly 0]

The promo was hard as hell to hear, but the gist of it was that RVD agreed to put the MITB shot on the line at Backlash if Shelton would put the IC title on the line. Meanwhile, Shelton has a week to think about whether he's willing to risk the "prestigious" IC Title to get a MITB shot.

 

At this point, they're going one of two routes with the match:

 

1) RVD wins the IC Title at Backlash, but HHH/Cena ends up costing him the belt before ONS.

 

2) RVD continues to hold the IC Title going into ONS and becomes a double champion to make his win look more prestigious.

 

 

The positives of this move:

 

-RVD does better with some sort of belt to defend. He's not good at cutting promos, so if he has a good reason to wrestle week in and week out, it will help him get over with the crowds.

 

-There's a semi-logically built important looking match for Backlash that will generate a couple extra buys.

 

 

The negatives:

 

-RVD looks dumb for risking the MITB shot (which is huge in WWE-land) for an IC title shot (which is a complete joke). Nowhere near as dumb as Rey, but dumb nevertheless.

 

-The IC belt is going to look like even more of a joke when RVD either loses it just to get it out of the way or surrenders it upon winning the world title.

[cabbageboy 0]

Yeah but Iggy the dread I have over RVD getting the IC title again is that it leaves that door open to job him out at ONS, knowing he has the IC already. I'd rather them just book a DQ here.

 

Or dare I say maybe Shelton could win the MITB, shocking everyone, then RVD tracks him down and somehow gets it back. That'd be kinda goofy though, and it'd probably make both guys look foolish for putting it up for grabs.

[mfn 0]

I think RVD could make a great double champion. I know that he is weak on the mic, but if given the chance to actually wrestle his old ECW style, which in my opinion, he hasn't had that chance for a while, I think he can put on one hell of a match. Just look back at RVD vs. Lynn.

 

I say that they give RVD the IC title, and before ONS, he gets screwed by Cena (I'm saying this because I don't see Triple H jobbing to RVD. However, Triple H vs. RVD would be a much better match).

 

Thus setting up the ONS match for the title. They really need to bring some credit back to the IC title, because I miss the days when I was actually excited about seeing an IC title match (The Rock vs. Triple H @ summerslam)

[iggymcfly 0]

Yeah but Iggy the dread I have over RVD getting the IC title again is that it leaves that door open to job him out at ONS, knowing he has the IC already. I'd rather them just book a DQ here.

 

Or dare I say maybe Shelton could win the MITB, shocking everyone, then RVD tracks him down and somehow gets it back. That'd be kinda goofy though, and it'd probably make both guys look foolish for putting it up for grabs.

 

Yeah, that last idea's way too close to what happened with Rey after the Royal Rumble. They really don't need to go down that road again. The only way that it works at all to have RVD put the shot on the line is if he knows deep down that Shelton can't beat him anyway, and then he goes out and proves it at Backlash. Someone that loses to Shelton with his most prized possession on the line isn't going to do well as a face world champ.

 

As for the idea that it leaves the door open for them to job RVD at ONS, I can't believe they'd be stupid enough to do that (although I've been wrong before). I was actually thinking that would be one good reason to keep the IC title on Rob up until ONS, since it would make the fans think there's actually a reasonable chance that Cena/HHH would retain.

[cabbageboy 0]

I almost think they've set up RVD/HHH already. Think about it. HHH had a hand in RVD being eliminated from the Rumble. HHH beat him in the finals of the WM tourney. I was baffled as to why they booked it that way when Big Show was right there to job, and the only conclusion is that it was setting up something. HHH would end up being very overconfident, saying "RVD isn't in my league, I can beat him whenever I want."

 

HHH would be a huge dick to not job at ONS. I mean hell it doesn't hurt him a bit and chances are he'd get the title back at SS or sometime like that.

[iggymcfly 0]

HHH/RVD would certainly "work", but I think I like Cena/RVD better. Triple H has already jobbed to the "face of the future" three times now, (Benoit, Batista, Cena), and I think it's kind of lost its novelty. I think even the most dedicated anti-Trips smark would be expecting him to job if he faced RVD at ONS.

 

Cena/RVD on the other hand, that's a whole different animal. By the time of ONS, Cena would have held the title for 14 of the last 15 months including three instances when everyone thought he "had" to lose (EC, WM, and Backlash). There would be that lingering doubt of "will Vince really let his top merchandise seller get humiliated and beaten by an ECW product?".

 

And finally, the dedicated fans of good wrestling have sat through an endless, boring Cena reign. For all intents and purposes, he's been a heel champion since Summerslam. I think at this point, we deserve the satisfacion of seeing him job to an over face at a major event.

[cabbageboy 0]

By the way I got tix today for Backlash at Rupp Arena, so I'll be there in person to see whatever bizarre stuff they come up with. I'll likely be on here either very late on Sunday (it is after all a 70 mile drive from Louisville to Lexington) or on Monday to give some personal observations about how it came off live.

 

Iggy, as far as HHH/RVD goes...believe me there are a LOT of people who would think HHH would try to get out of the job there. It really doesn't make any sense on numerous levels, but I can see HHH balking at the idea. It could produce a tense situation the day of the show, cause somehow I don't think Heyman will want Van Dam to job, and I doubt RVD is going to want to lay down for anyone at this show. We could be looking at a veritable Montreal situation if they haven't planned this ahead of time.

[Shooting Star 0]

I can just imagine the insane pop at the Hammerstein Ballroom when Rob wins the title.

 

But back to the subject. The best way to go with this is the DQ ending with Haas. If Rob wins the title only to loose it that will make the IC title even more of a joke than it is now.

[NoCalMike 0]

Since RVD is cashing in the MITB pretty soon, I don't think he should be losing any major matches, especially on PPV, prior to ONS.

 

I don't know how serious Vince is about having Cena or HHH job the title at ONS, but if there is even an .000001% chance of it actually happening, then RVD needs to be built up, and I would actually start having him Interrupt all these Edge/HH/Cena Promos, and explaining how he will always ultimately be the #1 contender now matter who wins or loses because of the briefcase.

 

If RVD jobs to Shelton at Backlash, it better be for a good reason, not something as juvenile as "The Return of Shelton's Mama WHOAAAAA DOWN GOES RVD, DOWN GOES RVD" That would be seriously lame, screwjob aside.

 

 

I wouldn't mind seeing RVD win the I-C Title, and hold until his opponent at ONS is SET FOR SURE, and then someone he loses it in a screwjob from a run-in by HHH/Cena.

[humongous2002 0]

RVD should just win the IC title since he needs to look very strong for ONS II, he would make a great double champion and it will make him look like an instant main eventer to the fans.

[cabbageboy 0]

Yeah but the main problem with that is the inherent rule that "He who holds a secondary title cannot win the main title." Only a few like the Warrior and Goldberg have defied this.

 

I can't imagine RVD jobbing at an ECW PPV. If he did job they'd have to promise him something really big, like main eventing WM 23 in front of his home Michigan crowd. And even then it wouldn't be worth it, since after he jobbed at the ECW show he'd have zero credibility.

 

Van Dam jobbing at ONS just kills so much stuff it's not funny. It'd kill his career, it'd wreck future ECW PPVs or DVD releases, it'd even render the past few months completely pointless. Oh, and it'd also render the MITB useless in the future. He flat out has to win the title there even if it's just for a little while.