I can honestly say this is my most anticipated World Wrestling Entertainment pay-per-view in quite some time, perhaps Extreme Rules from earlier in the year. What’s similar about both is I didn’t enjoy the booking going into the pay-per-view, but it didn’t reduce my interest level. When the word was to pit Brock Lesnar against John Cena only a month into Lesnar’s reemergence I was scratching my head. In the end, the match turned out real well and even though Lesnar dropped the decision, it didn’t hurt his long-term ability to draw in the WWE.
Fast forward to today and we’re on the heels of what some are calling one of the biggest hotshots in professional wrestling history. Ryback, only a few months into a super push is being thrust into the WWE Title picture against CM Punk inside Hell in a Cell.
The issue I have with this booking, and again this isn’t reducing my excitement is it seems lose-lose-lose. One scenario includes Ryback beating CM Punk for the title hurts Punk slightly and really takes a lot of steam off Punk’s current gimmick and storyline. Likewise, Ryback winning seems rushed and long term plans still point to The Rock vs. Punk at Royal Rumble 2013, so what’s the real benefit of a short Ryback title reign?
The other scenario is Punk beating Ryback, which obviously speaks for itself. Ryback’s streak ends, Punk continues his momentum but you may never get people behind Ryback again without the streak.
Of course, you can also do some type of disqualification/no-content, then again we’re in the Hell in a Cell, so you end up killing the Hell in a Cell gimmick largely. You can also have someone interfere, cost Ryback or Punk the title, but again that demeans the point of the Hell in a Cell but seems like a relatively reasonable scenario.
Anyway, let’s get to the predictions. I enlisted the help of 1,003 Holds podcast co-host Dexter Brocks to help out. Let’s see how we do, also let us know what you’re thinking in the comments section or tweet us: @voiceswrestling.
