Hello friends! Tomorrow night WWE will present their 3rd PPV in the last 6 weeks when they present Vengeance live from the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas! 8 matches are on the card so without further adu here are my predictions for those 8 matches!
WWE Tag Team Championship Match: Air Boom vs. Jack Swagger and Dolph Ziggler
Considering that Ziggler will be pulling double duty at this PPV I expect this fight to be the opener and if so then I expect this to be a fun and fast paced match! A little tough to call but I expect Swagger and Ziggler to win the belts here as I think Air Boom have held the belts long enough for a switch.
Winners: Jack Swagger and Dolph Ziggler
Christian vs. Sheamus
At the Hell In A Cell PPV these 2 put forth a very good opening match that I considered 1 of the best opening matches that I have seen in quite sometime and just like with that fight I expect another fun and entertaining match and I also expect Sheamus to pick up the win here.
Winner: Sheamus
WWE Divas Championship Match: Beth Phoenix vs. Eve Torres
At the Hell In A Cell PPV the 3rd time was finally the charm for Beth Phoenix as she finally took the Divas title off of Kelly Kelly and now must face Kelly's BFF if you will. Most likely will be the typical ho hum diva fight which will also most likely be the worst fight of the night and if that's the case then give me the Glamazon to retain in this 1!
Winner: Beth Phoenix
Randy Orton vs. Cody Rhodes
For me this is my sleeper fight of the night right here for some odd reason! The build has been pretty good and I expect these 2 former Legacy partners to tear the house down! In all honesty Rhodes could really use the win here as a loss should and will not hurt Orton 1 bit. But since Rhodes's IC title is not on the line then I expect the Viper to reign victorious in this 1 even though he really doesn't need this win does he?
Winner: Randy Orton
Triple H and CM Punk vs. The Miz and R-Truth
Now this should be interesting as you have the 2 men who have been at each other's throats throughout the summer now tag team partners against a common enemy in Miz and Truth! I am not expecting this to be a technical masterpiece as this 1 has back alley gang fight written all over it! Miz and Truth could use the win here to give them some momentum heading into what could be a HUGE Traditional Survivor Series Elimination Match next month! The wildcard in this 1 is without question Kevin Nash and if he shows up then Miz and Truth most likely get the win here! Tough to call indeed but I will go with my gut and go with Miz and Truth to cheat their way to victory following Nasheference setting up the rumored traditional Survivor Series Elimination Match next month!
Winners: The Miz and R-Truth
World Heavyweight Championship Match: Mark Henry vs. The Big Show
As I said in my last match prediction don't expect a techinical masterpiece or a 5 star classic in this 1 as I expect this to be a slow, boring, and plodding big man match! As for who wins well I like the champ to retain and move on to his next challenger which would most likely be Sheamus possibly at Survivor Series next month!
Winner: Mark Henry
WWE United States Championship Match: Dolph Ziggler vs. Zack Ryder
Should most likely be a TV quality match at best. Ziggler has held the U.S. gold since the Capital Punishment PPV back in June and I have a feeling that we may get a switch here as Ryder is on the verge of a push mainly because of how over he is with the crowd and because of that I am going to take a chance here and go with Ryder to steal the U.S. belt!
Winner: Zack Ryder
Last Man Standing Match for the WWE Championship: Alberto Del Rio vs. John Cena
The only reason Del Rio even won the belt at the HIAC PPV was because of the fact that WWE wanted Del Rio to hold the belt when they taped their weekly TV shows in his home country of Mexico! Now we're back in the States and you know what that means? Expect Super Cena to win the belt again and then perhaps start planting the seeds for his WrestleMania 28 showdown with The Rock next month at Survivor Series when they team up in the big Traditional Survivor Series Elimination Match! Oh by the way this will most likely be the fight of the night as WWE almost always puts on awesome Last Man Standing Matches and I expect this 1 to be no different!
Winner: John Cena
Overall I am not really excited about this PPV even though there are a few matches on this card that I am looking forward to seeing with those matches being The Tag title match, Sheamus/Christian, Orton/Rhodes, HHH and Punk/Miz and Truth, and Del Rio/Cena! Looking like a 6 or 7 out of 10 at best but you never know! Talk to me on November 19 when I do my Survivor Series preview blog and then I'll be more enthusiastic because Survivor Series is my favorite WWE PPV of the year mainly because of the Traditional Survivor Series Elimination Matches and oh by the way this year's event will be live from my all time favorite venue Madison Square Garden! Need I say more?
Alright that is all I have for now thanks so much for reading along and don't forget to join me on my Tony Rants blogsite tomorrow night after the PPV as I will have my complete recap of Vengeance and also be sure to join my longtime friend and colleague Derek Ferreira on his YouTube channel (slb200809) as he will have a complete video recap of Vengeance and be sure to join me back here on this blogsite on Saturday November 12th when I preview the TNA Turning Point PPV so until then you know the routine everybody! Thumbs up talk to you later! YEAH!!! Bye for now!
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
2011 World Series Preview
Hello friends! Tomorrow night the Texas Rangers and the St. Louis Cardinals will battle it out as the 107th Fall Classic gets underway from Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri! So without further adu here are my thoughts on the 2011 World Series!
2011 World Series: Texas Rangers vs. St. Louis Cardinals
Offense: The Cardinals are hitting 288 with 10 Home Runs as a team while the Rangers are hitting 259 with 13 Home Runs as a team! You can really make an argument that both teams are even offensively! The Rangers are led by ALCS MVP Nelson Cruz who feasted on Tigers pitching to the tune of 6 Home Runs and 13 RBI's! In addition to Cruz the Rangers also have Josh Hamilton, Michael Young, Ian Kinsler, sparkplug Elvis Andrus, and their 2 offseason acquisitions Adrian Beltre and Mike Napoli who were also the 2 heroes of the Rangers 3-1 series win against the Tampa Bay Rays in the Division Series! Meanwhile the Cardinals are led by arguably the best player in the game today in Albert Pujols who came to life in the NLCS against Milwaukee by hitting 2 Home Runs and 9 RBI's after being held to just 1 RBI in the Division Series against Philadelphia! Matt Holliday is looking a lot like that guy in Colorado who led the Rockies to the World Series in 2007 as he hit 1 Home Run and 5 RBI's after being held to nothing in that same Division Series against the Phillies! But the Cards have a real Wild Card up their sleeve in the form of NLCS MVP David Freese who feasted on Brewers pitching to the tune of 3 Home Runs and 9 RBI's! No doubt both teams can flat out hit! But for me this is so tough to call as to who to give the advantage to offensively! Sorry I have to rule this a draw!
Advantage: Even
Pitching: The Rangers have an overall Team ERA of 4.11 while the Cards have an overall Team ERA of 4.18! Wow talk about close! In terms of starting pitching the Rangers will have CJ Wilson, Colby Lewis, Derek Holland, and Matt Harrison while the Cards will counter with Chris Carpenter, Jaime Garcia, Edwin Jackson, and Kyle Loesch! In terms of starting pitching you have to give the edge to St. Louis as they have a true ace in Carpenter along with 2 quality starters in Garcia and Jackson, and an OK starter in Loesch! As for Texas well Wilson and Lewis are good but not great, Holland is what I like to call the Mr. Inconsistent as he has been very shaky and eratic at times and Harrison is OK like Loesch! In terms of bullpens well I like the Rangers bullpen mainly because of setup man Alexi Ogando and closer Neftali Feliz! Now the Cards do have a solid bullpen of their own led by Fernando Salas and veteran journeyman setup man Arthur Rhodes who oh by the way is guaranteed a World Series ring win or lose seeing as how he started the year with Texas before being traded to St. Louis at the deadline!
Advantage: St. Louis in terms of starting pitching
Texas in terms of bullpen
Prediction: Alright it all comes down to this! Who wins the 2011 World Series? Wow this 1 is beyond the shadow of a doubt tough to call as anything can and will happen! My gut tells me to go with the hotter hand right now and that hotter hand is St. Louis. My heart on the other hand tells me to go with Texas to win their 1st ever World Series title as they are 1 of only 8 franchises (Tampa Bay Rays, Seattle Mariners, Washington Nationals, Houston Astros, Milwaukee Brewers, Colorado Rockies, and San Diego Padres being the others) that have yet to win a World Series title! Offensively both teams are dead even in my opinion! St. Louis has the better starting rotation while the Rangers have the slight edge in bullpen! Damn this is so tough! But at the end of the day you cannot bet against the hot hand! Last NFL Season we saw that in the Green Bay Packers and in the NHL we saw that in the Boston Bruins! As much as I would love to see the Texas Rangers win this thing I have to go with the team that has the homefield advantage in this series! Why? Because since 1985 the teams that have had the homefield advantage in the World Series are 20-5 in those series and that is why I like St. Louis to win this series in 6 games and complete 1 of the greatest comeback stories in recent memory! Who would've thought that this team who was down 10 1/2 games to the Atlanta Braves in the N.L. Wildcard race 2 months ago would beat the best team in baseball all year in the Philadelphia Phillies and then beat a team that no 1 including myself was going to be any good in the Milwaukee Brewers to now being on the cusp of their 11th World Series title? Not me boy! Cards in 6 in what should be a very good series from start to finish!
Winners: St. Louis Cardinals 4 games to 2
Alright that is my World Series preview thanks so much for reading along and please feel free to share your thoughts and tell me who you like to win the 107th edition of the Fall Classic and be sure to join me right back here on this blogsite on Saturday night as I will preview the WWE Vengeance PPV so until then you know the routine everybody! Thumbs up talk to you later! YEAH!!! Bye for now!
2011 World Series: Texas Rangers vs. St. Louis Cardinals
Offense: The Cardinals are hitting 288 with 10 Home Runs as a team while the Rangers are hitting 259 with 13 Home Runs as a team! You can really make an argument that both teams are even offensively! The Rangers are led by ALCS MVP Nelson Cruz who feasted on Tigers pitching to the tune of 6 Home Runs and 13 RBI's! In addition to Cruz the Rangers also have Josh Hamilton, Michael Young, Ian Kinsler, sparkplug Elvis Andrus, and their 2 offseason acquisitions Adrian Beltre and Mike Napoli who were also the 2 heroes of the Rangers 3-1 series win against the Tampa Bay Rays in the Division Series! Meanwhile the Cardinals are led by arguably the best player in the game today in Albert Pujols who came to life in the NLCS against Milwaukee by hitting 2 Home Runs and 9 RBI's after being held to just 1 RBI in the Division Series against Philadelphia! Matt Holliday is looking a lot like that guy in Colorado who led the Rockies to the World Series in 2007 as he hit 1 Home Run and 5 RBI's after being held to nothing in that same Division Series against the Phillies! But the Cards have a real Wild Card up their sleeve in the form of NLCS MVP David Freese who feasted on Brewers pitching to the tune of 3 Home Runs and 9 RBI's! No doubt both teams can flat out hit! But for me this is so tough to call as to who to give the advantage to offensively! Sorry I have to rule this a draw!
Advantage: Even
Pitching: The Rangers have an overall Team ERA of 4.11 while the Cards have an overall Team ERA of 4.18! Wow talk about close! In terms of starting pitching the Rangers will have CJ Wilson, Colby Lewis, Derek Holland, and Matt Harrison while the Cards will counter with Chris Carpenter, Jaime Garcia, Edwin Jackson, and Kyle Loesch! In terms of starting pitching you have to give the edge to St. Louis as they have a true ace in Carpenter along with 2 quality starters in Garcia and Jackson, and an OK starter in Loesch! As for Texas well Wilson and Lewis are good but not great, Holland is what I like to call the Mr. Inconsistent as he has been very shaky and eratic at times and Harrison is OK like Loesch! In terms of bullpens well I like the Rangers bullpen mainly because of setup man Alexi Ogando and closer Neftali Feliz! Now the Cards do have a solid bullpen of their own led by Fernando Salas and veteran journeyman setup man Arthur Rhodes who oh by the way is guaranteed a World Series ring win or lose seeing as how he started the year with Texas before being traded to St. Louis at the deadline!
Advantage: St. Louis in terms of starting pitching
Texas in terms of bullpen
Prediction: Alright it all comes down to this! Who wins the 2011 World Series? Wow this 1 is beyond the shadow of a doubt tough to call as anything can and will happen! My gut tells me to go with the hotter hand right now and that hotter hand is St. Louis. My heart on the other hand tells me to go with Texas to win their 1st ever World Series title as they are 1 of only 8 franchises (Tampa Bay Rays, Seattle Mariners, Washington Nationals, Houston Astros, Milwaukee Brewers, Colorado Rockies, and San Diego Padres being the others) that have yet to win a World Series title! Offensively both teams are dead even in my opinion! St. Louis has the better starting rotation while the Rangers have the slight edge in bullpen! Damn this is so tough! But at the end of the day you cannot bet against the hot hand! Last NFL Season we saw that in the Green Bay Packers and in the NHL we saw that in the Boston Bruins! As much as I would love to see the Texas Rangers win this thing I have to go with the team that has the homefield advantage in this series! Why? Because since 1985 the teams that have had the homefield advantage in the World Series are 20-5 in those series and that is why I like St. Louis to win this series in 6 games and complete 1 of the greatest comeback stories in recent memory! Who would've thought that this team who was down 10 1/2 games to the Atlanta Braves in the N.L. Wildcard race 2 months ago would beat the best team in baseball all year in the Philadelphia Phillies and then beat a team that no 1 including myself was going to be any good in the Milwaukee Brewers to now being on the cusp of their 11th World Series title? Not me boy! Cards in 6 in what should be a very good series from start to finish!
Winners: St. Louis Cardinals 4 games to 2
Alright that is my World Series preview thanks so much for reading along and please feel free to share your thoughts and tell me who you like to win the 107th edition of the Fall Classic and be sure to join me right back here on this blogsite on Saturday night as I will preview the WWE Vengeance PPV so until then you know the routine everybody! Thumbs up talk to you later! YEAH!!! Bye for now!
Saturday, October 15, 2011
TNA Bound For Glory 2011 Predictions
Hello friends! Tomorrow night TNA/Impact Wrestling will be presenting their biggest event of the year live from the Liacouras Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on the campus of Temple University! Overall there are 9 matches on the card however 1 has been bumped to the pre-show so that leaves us with 8 matches on the main show! So with that here are my predictions for TNA's version of WrestleMania!
TNA World Tag Team Championship Match: Mexican America vs. Ink Inc.
This is the match that was bumped to the pre-show for those of you scoring at home. Should be 1 of the worst fights of the night as I don't expect this 1 to be any good. But since I have to pick a winner here I will go with the champs to retain thanks to Rosaritaference!
Winners: Mexican America
TNA X-Division Championship Match: Austin Aries vs. Brian Kendrick
In my honest opinion this should be the 1st fight of the night mainly because if you want to get the crowd white hot for the night on your biggest show of the year you can't think of a better way to do so then with what I think should be a fun and exciting spotfest! As for the outcome I expect A Double to retain in typical Aries fashion!
Winner: Austin Aries
Triple Threat Match: Samoa Joe vs. Crimson vs. Matt Morgan
Another match that I will rank in the worst fight of the night category but I don't think it will be the worst. More on that later but as for my pick in this 1 I will go with Crimson to remain "undefeated".
Winner: Crimson
4-Way Match for the TNA Women's Knockout Championship: Winter vs. Velvet Sky vs. Mickie James vs. Madison Rayne
Over the last few weeks on Impact Wrestling new Knockouts VP Karen Jarrett booked what she called the Queen's Qualifiers and in those matches Velvet Sky defeated Angelina Love, Mickie James defeated Brooke Tessmacher, and Madison Rayne defeated Tara to earn the right to compete against Winter for the gold at BFG! The safe pick of course would be Mickie James to win again but in all honesty I don't think that's going to happen as I am going to take a chance here and pick the only Knockout in this match that has yet to hold the coveted Knockouts title!
Winner: Velvet Sky
Full Metal Mayhem Match: Rob Van Dam vs. Jerry Lynn
Now this match should be shades of their awesome and epic matches that these 2 used to have in the old ECW! If booked correctly it will certainly be 1 of my top fights of the night for sure! The outcome for this 1 is not in doubt for me as I expect RVD to get the duke once again.
Winner: Rob Van Dam
Falls Count Anywhere Philadelphia Street Fight: Mr. Anderson vs. Bully Ray
This 1 has bloodbath written all over it as I expect this to be the unofficial "Monster's Ball" fight! Could be another top fight of the night if booked correctly and as for who wins well I like Anderson to go over here and hopefully put an end to this feud!
Winner: Mr. Anderson
I Quit Match: A.J. Styles vs. Christopher Daniels
If the main event of this card wasn't happening then this would've been the fight of the night for sure because as everybody knows these 2 always and I mean always never ever disappoint! Will this 1 be better than their awesome and epic battle at Destination X back in July? Maybe but I'm not sure. But whatever the case may be this for me will be the 2nd best fight of the night and 1 I am definitely looking forward to seeing! As for who wins well I like the Phenomenal 1 to go over in what should and will be another instant classic from these 2 outstanding workers!
Winner: A.J. Styles
Career vs. Company Match: Sting vs. Hulk Hogan
The stipulations for this 1 are simple. If Sting wins Hogan gives control of the company back to Dixie Carter. If Hogan wins then I assume Sting must retire! 14 years ago at the 1997 Starrcade PPV this was without question the most anticipated match in the history of the business as both men were clearly in their prime at that time! 14 years later in 2011 eh not so much mainly because of their old age. A lot of people have gone on the record and said that this fight will be the worst fight of the night and I concur as I expect this fight to be an overbooked trainwreck. Look for lots of interference in this 1 from Hogan's Immortal cronies and from a returning Jeff Hardy as well! As for who wins well I like the Stinger to win this thanks to some Jeff Hardyference and where TNA goes from here will most certainly be interesting!
Winner: Sting
TNA World Heavyweight Championship Match: Kurt Angle vs. Bobby Roode
For me this not only has fight of the night written all over it but in my honest opinion this has fight of the year written all over it as I expect this to be a 5 star classic because as we all know Angle always brings it and Roode has produced quite possibly the best matches of his career as of late! Of course we all remember Bobby Roode won the neverending Bound For Glory series to earn the right to challenge for the TNA World title while Kurt Angle has held the belt since the Hardcore Justice PPV in August when he won it from Sting. Over the last few weeks on Impact Wrestling Kurt Angle forced Bobby Roode to run the Fortune gauntlet as he had to face all of his fellow Fortune members in singles matches and in all honesty those fights were some of the best that I have seen on Impact Wrestling in a very long time they were all that good! Kudos to TNA for the outstanding job they have done in building up Bobby Roode over the last month or so as they are giving us hope that Roode can win the big 1 on TNA's biggest stage! So who wins? Well in all honesty I want Roode to win and so do the general consensus of TNA fans because a Roode title win would give TNA the much needed breath of fresh air at the top instead of the same old tired main eventers such as Angle, Sting, Hardy, and Anderson just to name a few. I do have some doubts but in the end I am going to go with my heart and predict that Bobby Roode will win the big 1 and capture the TNA World Heavyweight Championship in what will be the biggest feel good moment that TNA has had in a very long time!
Winner: Bobby Roode
Overall this has potential to be 1 of the best TNA PPV's in quite some time! Angle/Roode should and will steal the show with AJ/Daniels a very close 2nd! The 2 hardcore matches should be bloody and physical hardcore battles! The X match will most likely be a hot spotfest of an opener! While Sting/Hogan the Joe/Crimson/Morgan 3 Way, the 4 Way Knockouts title fight, and the pre-show Tag title fight will more than likely be the worst fights of the night as I don't expect any of those to be any good. The Destination X PPV back in July was 1 of the best PPV's in a long time and I expect this 1 to be a smidgen better if booked correctly! Moving the tag title match to the pre-show was a smart move as that should give all the main event matches they time that those fights truly deserve! Last week WWE produced 1 of the worst weeks of TV in recent memory and as my partner in crime Derek Ferreira said in a recent YouTube video this is TNA's chance to take advantage of WWE's failure and produce perhaps their best PPV not only of 2011 but also 1 of their best PPV's in recent memory!
Alright that is all for now thanks so much for reading along and be sure to join me on my Tony Rants blogsite tomorrow night after the PPV as I will have a complete recap of BFG and also be sure to join my longtime friend and colleague Derek Ferreira on his YouTube channel (slb200809) as he should have a complete video recap of BFG and also be sure to join me right back here on this blogsite next Saturday night as I will have my predictions for the WWE Vengeance PPV so until then you know the routine everybody! Thumbs up talk to you later! YEAH!!! Bye for now!
TNA World Tag Team Championship Match: Mexican America vs. Ink Inc.
This is the match that was bumped to the pre-show for those of you scoring at home. Should be 1 of the worst fights of the night as I don't expect this 1 to be any good. But since I have to pick a winner here I will go with the champs to retain thanks to Rosaritaference!
Winners: Mexican America
TNA X-Division Championship Match: Austin Aries vs. Brian Kendrick
In my honest opinion this should be the 1st fight of the night mainly because if you want to get the crowd white hot for the night on your biggest show of the year you can't think of a better way to do so then with what I think should be a fun and exciting spotfest! As for the outcome I expect A Double to retain in typical Aries fashion!
Winner: Austin Aries
Triple Threat Match: Samoa Joe vs. Crimson vs. Matt Morgan
Another match that I will rank in the worst fight of the night category but I don't think it will be the worst. More on that later but as for my pick in this 1 I will go with Crimson to remain "undefeated".
Winner: Crimson
4-Way Match for the TNA Women's Knockout Championship: Winter vs. Velvet Sky vs. Mickie James vs. Madison Rayne
Over the last few weeks on Impact Wrestling new Knockouts VP Karen Jarrett booked what she called the Queen's Qualifiers and in those matches Velvet Sky defeated Angelina Love, Mickie James defeated Brooke Tessmacher, and Madison Rayne defeated Tara to earn the right to compete against Winter for the gold at BFG! The safe pick of course would be Mickie James to win again but in all honesty I don't think that's going to happen as I am going to take a chance here and pick the only Knockout in this match that has yet to hold the coveted Knockouts title!
Winner: Velvet Sky
Full Metal Mayhem Match: Rob Van Dam vs. Jerry Lynn
Now this match should be shades of their awesome and epic matches that these 2 used to have in the old ECW! If booked correctly it will certainly be 1 of my top fights of the night for sure! The outcome for this 1 is not in doubt for me as I expect RVD to get the duke once again.
Winner: Rob Van Dam
Falls Count Anywhere Philadelphia Street Fight: Mr. Anderson vs. Bully Ray
This 1 has bloodbath written all over it as I expect this to be the unofficial "Monster's Ball" fight! Could be another top fight of the night if booked correctly and as for who wins well I like Anderson to go over here and hopefully put an end to this feud!
Winner: Mr. Anderson
I Quit Match: A.J. Styles vs. Christopher Daniels
If the main event of this card wasn't happening then this would've been the fight of the night for sure because as everybody knows these 2 always and I mean always never ever disappoint! Will this 1 be better than their awesome and epic battle at Destination X back in July? Maybe but I'm not sure. But whatever the case may be this for me will be the 2nd best fight of the night and 1 I am definitely looking forward to seeing! As for who wins well I like the Phenomenal 1 to go over in what should and will be another instant classic from these 2 outstanding workers!
Winner: A.J. Styles
Career vs. Company Match: Sting vs. Hulk Hogan
The stipulations for this 1 are simple. If Sting wins Hogan gives control of the company back to Dixie Carter. If Hogan wins then I assume Sting must retire! 14 years ago at the 1997 Starrcade PPV this was without question the most anticipated match in the history of the business as both men were clearly in their prime at that time! 14 years later in 2011 eh not so much mainly because of their old age. A lot of people have gone on the record and said that this fight will be the worst fight of the night and I concur as I expect this fight to be an overbooked trainwreck. Look for lots of interference in this 1 from Hogan's Immortal cronies and from a returning Jeff Hardy as well! As for who wins well I like the Stinger to win this thanks to some Jeff Hardyference and where TNA goes from here will most certainly be interesting!
Winner: Sting
TNA World Heavyweight Championship Match: Kurt Angle vs. Bobby Roode
For me this not only has fight of the night written all over it but in my honest opinion this has fight of the year written all over it as I expect this to be a 5 star classic because as we all know Angle always brings it and Roode has produced quite possibly the best matches of his career as of late! Of course we all remember Bobby Roode won the neverending Bound For Glory series to earn the right to challenge for the TNA World title while Kurt Angle has held the belt since the Hardcore Justice PPV in August when he won it from Sting. Over the last few weeks on Impact Wrestling Kurt Angle forced Bobby Roode to run the Fortune gauntlet as he had to face all of his fellow Fortune members in singles matches and in all honesty those fights were some of the best that I have seen on Impact Wrestling in a very long time they were all that good! Kudos to TNA for the outstanding job they have done in building up Bobby Roode over the last month or so as they are giving us hope that Roode can win the big 1 on TNA's biggest stage! So who wins? Well in all honesty I want Roode to win and so do the general consensus of TNA fans because a Roode title win would give TNA the much needed breath of fresh air at the top instead of the same old tired main eventers such as Angle, Sting, Hardy, and Anderson just to name a few. I do have some doubts but in the end I am going to go with my heart and predict that Bobby Roode will win the big 1 and capture the TNA World Heavyweight Championship in what will be the biggest feel good moment that TNA has had in a very long time!
Winner: Bobby Roode
Overall this has potential to be 1 of the best TNA PPV's in quite some time! Angle/Roode should and will steal the show with AJ/Daniels a very close 2nd! The 2 hardcore matches should be bloody and physical hardcore battles! The X match will most likely be a hot spotfest of an opener! While Sting/Hogan the Joe/Crimson/Morgan 3 Way, the 4 Way Knockouts title fight, and the pre-show Tag title fight will more than likely be the worst fights of the night as I don't expect any of those to be any good. The Destination X PPV back in July was 1 of the best PPV's in a long time and I expect this 1 to be a smidgen better if booked correctly! Moving the tag title match to the pre-show was a smart move as that should give all the main event matches they time that those fights truly deserve! Last week WWE produced 1 of the worst weeks of TV in recent memory and as my partner in crime Derek Ferreira said in a recent YouTube video this is TNA's chance to take advantage of WWE's failure and produce perhaps their best PPV not only of 2011 but also 1 of their best PPV's in recent memory!
Alright that is all for now thanks so much for reading along and be sure to join me on my Tony Rants blogsite tomorrow night after the PPV as I will have a complete recap of BFG and also be sure to join my longtime friend and colleague Derek Ferreira on his YouTube channel (slb200809) as he should have a complete video recap of BFG and also be sure to join me right back here on this blogsite next Saturday night as I will have my predictions for the WWE Vengeance PPV so until then you know the routine everybody! Thumbs up talk to you later! YEAH!!! Bye for now!
Saturday, October 8, 2011
2011 NLCS Preview
Hello friends! Tomorrow afternoon the St. Louis Cardinals and the Milwaukee Brewers will wage battle with a trip to the Fall Classic on the line! So with that here is my breakdown of what should be 1 heck of a series between these bitter Division rivals!
St. Louis Cardinals vs. Milwaukee Brewers
Wow what an amazing last couple of weeks it has been for the St. Louis Cardinals as they went from being 10.5 games behind the Atlanta Braves in the NL Wildcard race to pulling off 1 of the most epic comebacks in the Wildcard era to now knocking off the team that many including myself dubbed as the odds on favorites to win the World Series in the Philadelphia Phillies despite being outscored 21-19 in the series. Timely hitting, great defensive plays, but most of all solid starting pitching was what won that series for the Cards especially the complete game masterpiece by ace Chris Carpenter in the decisive Game 5! Meanwhile Milwaukee won their 1st postseason series since winning the American League pennant in 1982 when they beat the then California Angels in 5 games despite being outscored 25-23 in their series against the Arizona Diamondbacks! In terms of how Milwaukee won that series it was really the Brew Crew's potent offense and in particular their small ball which led to their walk off win in Game 5 because the Brewers starting pitching only had 1 starter turn in any quality starts and that starter being their ace Yovany Gallardo! For St. Louis to win this series they will need continued solid starting pitching from ace Chris Carpenter and they will also need solid starting pitching from Jaime Garcia and Kyle Lohse to shut down that strong and potent Brewer offense not to mention production from their 3 big bats Albert Pujols, Matt Holliday, and Lance Berkman who were somewhat non existent against the Phillies. For Milwaukee to win this series they will need continued solid starting pitching from ace Yovany Gallardo and they could also use solid starting pitching from Zack Grienke, Shawn Marcum, and Randy Wolf as well. In terms of offense both ballclubs are almost even in terms of big bats and star power but I give the slight edge to Milwaukee mainly because of sparkplug Nyjer Morgan and Rickie Weekes at the top. In terms of starting pitching I give the edge to St. Louis mainly because their ace Chris Carpenter is finally looking like his old Cy Young self again and if he pitches the same way he did in the NLDS against Philly then the Cards will have a chance. In terms of closers I give the edge to Milwaukee because John Axford has been lights out as of late including converting 43 of his last 44 save opportunities! So who wins? Well both teams split the regular season series 9-9 but because Milwaukee has the homefield advantage in this series and because of how dominant they were at Miller Park this season I will pick Milwaukee to win this series in 6 games!
Winners: Milwaukee Brewers 4 games to 2
That concludes my 2 part LCS preview thanks so much for reading along and be sure to join me on this blogsite next Saturday night as I will preview TNA/Impact Wrestling's biggest event of the year Bound For Glory! So until then you know the routine everybody! Thumbs up talk to you later! YEAH!!! Bye for now!
St. Louis Cardinals vs. Milwaukee Brewers
Wow what an amazing last couple of weeks it has been for the St. Louis Cardinals as they went from being 10.5 games behind the Atlanta Braves in the NL Wildcard race to pulling off 1 of the most epic comebacks in the Wildcard era to now knocking off the team that many including myself dubbed as the odds on favorites to win the World Series in the Philadelphia Phillies despite being outscored 21-19 in the series. Timely hitting, great defensive plays, but most of all solid starting pitching was what won that series for the Cards especially the complete game masterpiece by ace Chris Carpenter in the decisive Game 5! Meanwhile Milwaukee won their 1st postseason series since winning the American League pennant in 1982 when they beat the then California Angels in 5 games despite being outscored 25-23 in their series against the Arizona Diamondbacks! In terms of how Milwaukee won that series it was really the Brew Crew's potent offense and in particular their small ball which led to their walk off win in Game 5 because the Brewers starting pitching only had 1 starter turn in any quality starts and that starter being their ace Yovany Gallardo! For St. Louis to win this series they will need continued solid starting pitching from ace Chris Carpenter and they will also need solid starting pitching from Jaime Garcia and Kyle Lohse to shut down that strong and potent Brewer offense not to mention production from their 3 big bats Albert Pujols, Matt Holliday, and Lance Berkman who were somewhat non existent against the Phillies. For Milwaukee to win this series they will need continued solid starting pitching from ace Yovany Gallardo and they could also use solid starting pitching from Zack Grienke, Shawn Marcum, and Randy Wolf as well. In terms of offense both ballclubs are almost even in terms of big bats and star power but I give the slight edge to Milwaukee mainly because of sparkplug Nyjer Morgan and Rickie Weekes at the top. In terms of starting pitching I give the edge to St. Louis mainly because their ace Chris Carpenter is finally looking like his old Cy Young self again and if he pitches the same way he did in the NLDS against Philly then the Cards will have a chance. In terms of closers I give the edge to Milwaukee because John Axford has been lights out as of late including converting 43 of his last 44 save opportunities! So who wins? Well both teams split the regular season series 9-9 but because Milwaukee has the homefield advantage in this series and because of how dominant they were at Miller Park this season I will pick Milwaukee to win this series in 6 games!
Winners: Milwaukee Brewers 4 games to 2
That concludes my 2 part LCS preview thanks so much for reading along and be sure to join me on this blogsite next Saturday night as I will preview TNA/Impact Wrestling's biggest event of the year Bound For Glory! So until then you know the routine everybody! Thumbs up talk to you later! YEAH!!! Bye for now!
Friday, October 7, 2011
2011 ALCS Preview
Hello friends! Tomorrow night the Detroit Tigers and Texas Rangers will wage battle with a trip to the Fall Classic at stake! NLCS preview tomorrow night but right now let's focus on the ALCS shall we?
Detroit Tigers vs. Texas Rangers
Despite being outscored 28-17 in their Division Series against the New York Yankees the Tigers were still able to win the series in 5 games. Now despite their ace and future AL Cy Young winner Justin Verlander getting roughed up a bit by the Yanks in Game 3 of that series it was the surprisingly solid outings from Max Scherzer and Doug Fister along with the solid outings from closer Jose Valverde that kept the Tigers in those games and allowed their bats to produce some clutch and timely hitting none more so than the offensive hero of that series for me anyways Delmon Young who smacked 3 HR's in the Tigers ALDS win including 1 in the clinching Game 5! On the other side of the coin the Rangers knocked off the Tampa Bay Rays in 4 games to defeat them in the Division Series for the 2nd year in a row despite being outscored by the Rays 21-16! In terms of offense both ballclubs are evenly matched but for me I give the slight edge to Texas because of the clutch hitting of their 2 offeseason acquisitions Mike Napoli and Adrian Beltre's 3 HR's in the clinching Game 4 against Tampa! Pitching wise Detroit definitely has the edge not just because of Verlander but also because they have 2 other quality starters in Scherzer and Fister. Closer wise slight edge to Detroit because of how dominant Jose Valverde has been as of late even though Neftali Feliz is no slouch either! Now for Detroit to win they need Verlander to be the dominant starter he has been all year long and will also need their offense to jump all over the Rangers good but not great starting pitching. For the Rangers to repeat they need their offense to outslug the Tigers potent offense not to mention get to the immovable object that is Justin Verlander and they also need their starting pitching to produce a quality start or 2. So who wins? Well Detroit won the regular season series 6-3 so advantage Detroit there. Boy this is really tough to call because my gut tells me to go with Texas while my heart tells me to go with Detroit. Tough call like I said but I am going to go with my gut and go with Texas to repeat as AL champs in 6 games on the strength of their dangerous offense which oh by the way was the key in their 6 game series win over the New York Yankees in last year's ALCS!
Winners: Texas Rangers 4 games to 2
OK friends that concludes part 1 of this 2 part LCS preview thanks so much for reading along and I will be back tomorrow night with my NLCS preview so until then you know the routine everybody. Thumbs up talk to you later! YEAH!!! Bye for now!
Detroit Tigers vs. Texas Rangers
Despite being outscored 28-17 in their Division Series against the New York Yankees the Tigers were still able to win the series in 5 games. Now despite their ace and future AL Cy Young winner Justin Verlander getting roughed up a bit by the Yanks in Game 3 of that series it was the surprisingly solid outings from Max Scherzer and Doug Fister along with the solid outings from closer Jose Valverde that kept the Tigers in those games and allowed their bats to produce some clutch and timely hitting none more so than the offensive hero of that series for me anyways Delmon Young who smacked 3 HR's in the Tigers ALDS win including 1 in the clinching Game 5! On the other side of the coin the Rangers knocked off the Tampa Bay Rays in 4 games to defeat them in the Division Series for the 2nd year in a row despite being outscored by the Rays 21-16! In terms of offense both ballclubs are evenly matched but for me I give the slight edge to Texas because of the clutch hitting of their 2 offeseason acquisitions Mike Napoli and Adrian Beltre's 3 HR's in the clinching Game 4 against Tampa! Pitching wise Detroit definitely has the edge not just because of Verlander but also because they have 2 other quality starters in Scherzer and Fister. Closer wise slight edge to Detroit because of how dominant Jose Valverde has been as of late even though Neftali Feliz is no slouch either! Now for Detroit to win they need Verlander to be the dominant starter he has been all year long and will also need their offense to jump all over the Rangers good but not great starting pitching. For the Rangers to repeat they need their offense to outslug the Tigers potent offense not to mention get to the immovable object that is Justin Verlander and they also need their starting pitching to produce a quality start or 2. So who wins? Well Detroit won the regular season series 6-3 so advantage Detroit there. Boy this is really tough to call because my gut tells me to go with Texas while my heart tells me to go with Detroit. Tough call like I said but I am going to go with my gut and go with Texas to repeat as AL champs in 6 games on the strength of their dangerous offense which oh by the way was the key in their 6 game series win over the New York Yankees in last year's ALCS!
Winners: Texas Rangers 4 games to 2
OK friends that concludes part 1 of this 2 part LCS preview thanks so much for reading along and I will be back tomorrow night with my NLCS preview so until then you know the routine everybody. Thumbs up talk to you later! YEAH!!! Bye for now!
Saturday, October 1, 2011
WWE Hell In A Cell 2011 Predictions
Hello friends! Tomorrow night WWE presents their 3rd annual Hell In A Cell PPV live from the New Orleans Arena in New Orleans, Louisiana! As of now 5 matches have been announced for the card so I will predict on those 5 matches but I do however expect an impromptu match or 2 which I will comment on towards the end of this blog.
Hell In A Cell Match for the World Heavyweight Championship: Mark Henry vs. Randy Orton
As is customary with these gimmick PPV's I expect this HIAC match to start the show mainly because of the star power in the other HIAC match which I'll get to shortly. Anyways ever since WWE turned Mark Henry heel back on draft night he has become 1 of the single best things going in WWE today and if any of you had told me that Mark Henry would be the World Heavyweight Champion and 1 of the top draws in WWE a year ago I would've called you all crazy. But at the end of the day the joke is on me and I am eating some major crow right now and in all honesty I'm glad because Henry holding the belt right now is such a breath of fresh air and a much needed 1 at that! Now because of the star power in the other HIAC match I think that this will be the 2nd best match of the night at best because we all know that Orton will bring his best and not only will that benefit him but it will also benefit Henry as well! Tough to call because both World titles have been switching hands like hotcakes as of late and I'm fearing that that may happen again here. But in the end I'm going to take a chance here and go with The World's Strongest Man to barely retain in what will be an awesome match!
Winner: Mark Henry
Sin Cara vs. Sin Cara
For me this is the match that I am least looking forward to mainly because of how stupid and pointless this angle really is! This is to 2011 what the Undertaker vs. Undertaker angle was to the 1994 SummerSlam and to this day I still cannot believe that that fight main evented that event instead of the Bret and Owen Cage Match but that's another story for another day! Anyways my partner in crime Mike Flecha may be all excited for this fight but I'm really not and since I have to pick a winner here then I will go with the Face Sin Cara to win but I have a sinking feeling that this stupid and pointless angle will continue a little longer.
Winner: Face Sin Cara
Christian vs. Sheamus
For me this has the making of a #1 Contenders Match for the World Heavyweight Championship even though it is not officially a contenders match. Anyways I expect this to be the 3rd best fight of the night as both of these men can go and are most certainly capable of putting on a great match! In the end I will go with Sheamus to win this fight and then from there maybe we see him and Mark Henry battle for the World Heavyweight Championship at the Vengeance PPV in 3 weeks!
Winner: Sheamus
WWE Divas Championship Match: Kelly Kelly vs. Beth Phoenix
As the old saying goes the 3rd time is the charm and I am hoping that that saying will hold true in this case as Beth Phoenix has come up short against Kelly twice now! The 1st time around was understandable because it was at a neutral site at SummerSlam but the 2nd time around was not understandable because that match was held in Beth's hometown and in all honesty we all know she should've gone over there but alas she didn't! Now it's the 3rd time that these 2 are battling for the Divas title and just like with the other 2 times I am going to go with The Glamazon to finally capture the Divas title and perhaps slowly start to bring back some credibility to this weak division. But if Kelly goes over yet again then this could perhaps be the deathknell of this truly weak division.
Winner: Beth Phoenix
Triple Threat Hell In A Cell Match for the WWE Championship: John Cena vs. CM Punk vs. Alberto Del Rio
While my other partner in crime Derek Ferreira thinks that the Mark Henry/Randy Orton HIAC match will be the fight of the night I personally think that this HIAC match will be the fight of the night because of how great all 3 of these men really are! From the epic battles between Cena and Punk and the great match with Cena and Del Rio at the Night Of Champions PPV I expect this HIAC match to steal the show! Just like with the World Heavyweight Championship the WWE Championship has also been switching hands like hotcakes over these last couple of months and wouldn't really be surprised if we get another switch here. But I honestly do not think we will get 1 here as I am going with John Cena to barely retain in what will be for me anyway the best match of the night!
Winner: John Cena
Overall I think this will be a slight step up from the Night Of Champions PPV but not much of a step up as I expect the 2 HIAC matches to steal the show and Sheamus vs. Christian will be a nice undercard fight but the Diva fight and the Sin Cara fight will be the lowpoints of the night I'm afraid. Now I do think that WWE will add an impromptu match to this card and that impromptu fight will be I think Air Boom vs. Dolph Ziggler and Jack Swagger for the WWE Tag Team Championship and if that should happen then I will go with the champs to retain in what could be a very solid match!
Well friends those are my predictions for Hell In A Cell thanks so much for reading along and be sure to join me on my Tony Rants blogsite after the PPV tomorrow night as I will have a complete recap of tomorrow night's event and also be sure to join my longtime friend and colleague Derek Ferreira on his YouTube channel (slb200809) tomorrow night as he will have a complete video recap of tomorrow night's event and also be sure to join me back here on this blogsite sometime next week as I will have my 2011 NHL Season Preview! So until then you know the routine everybody! Thumbs up talk to you later! YEAH!!! Bye for now!
Hell In A Cell Match for the World Heavyweight Championship: Mark Henry vs. Randy Orton
As is customary with these gimmick PPV's I expect this HIAC match to start the show mainly because of the star power in the other HIAC match which I'll get to shortly. Anyways ever since WWE turned Mark Henry heel back on draft night he has become 1 of the single best things going in WWE today and if any of you had told me that Mark Henry would be the World Heavyweight Champion and 1 of the top draws in WWE a year ago I would've called you all crazy. But at the end of the day the joke is on me and I am eating some major crow right now and in all honesty I'm glad because Henry holding the belt right now is such a breath of fresh air and a much needed 1 at that! Now because of the star power in the other HIAC match I think that this will be the 2nd best match of the night at best because we all know that Orton will bring his best and not only will that benefit him but it will also benefit Henry as well! Tough to call because both World titles have been switching hands like hotcakes as of late and I'm fearing that that may happen again here. But in the end I'm going to take a chance here and go with The World's Strongest Man to barely retain in what will be an awesome match!
Winner: Mark Henry
Sin Cara vs. Sin Cara
For me this is the match that I am least looking forward to mainly because of how stupid and pointless this angle really is! This is to 2011 what the Undertaker vs. Undertaker angle was to the 1994 SummerSlam and to this day I still cannot believe that that fight main evented that event instead of the Bret and Owen Cage Match but that's another story for another day! Anyways my partner in crime Mike Flecha may be all excited for this fight but I'm really not and since I have to pick a winner here then I will go with the Face Sin Cara to win but I have a sinking feeling that this stupid and pointless angle will continue a little longer.
Winner: Face Sin Cara
Christian vs. Sheamus
For me this has the making of a #1 Contenders Match for the World Heavyweight Championship even though it is not officially a contenders match. Anyways I expect this to be the 3rd best fight of the night as both of these men can go and are most certainly capable of putting on a great match! In the end I will go with Sheamus to win this fight and then from there maybe we see him and Mark Henry battle for the World Heavyweight Championship at the Vengeance PPV in 3 weeks!
Winner: Sheamus
WWE Divas Championship Match: Kelly Kelly vs. Beth Phoenix
As the old saying goes the 3rd time is the charm and I am hoping that that saying will hold true in this case as Beth Phoenix has come up short against Kelly twice now! The 1st time around was understandable because it was at a neutral site at SummerSlam but the 2nd time around was not understandable because that match was held in Beth's hometown and in all honesty we all know she should've gone over there but alas she didn't! Now it's the 3rd time that these 2 are battling for the Divas title and just like with the other 2 times I am going to go with The Glamazon to finally capture the Divas title and perhaps slowly start to bring back some credibility to this weak division. But if Kelly goes over yet again then this could perhaps be the deathknell of this truly weak division.
Winner: Beth Phoenix
Triple Threat Hell In A Cell Match for the WWE Championship: John Cena vs. CM Punk vs. Alberto Del Rio
While my other partner in crime Derek Ferreira thinks that the Mark Henry/Randy Orton HIAC match will be the fight of the night I personally think that this HIAC match will be the fight of the night because of how great all 3 of these men really are! From the epic battles between Cena and Punk and the great match with Cena and Del Rio at the Night Of Champions PPV I expect this HIAC match to steal the show! Just like with the World Heavyweight Championship the WWE Championship has also been switching hands like hotcakes over these last couple of months and wouldn't really be surprised if we get another switch here. But I honestly do not think we will get 1 here as I am going with John Cena to barely retain in what will be for me anyway the best match of the night!
Winner: John Cena
Overall I think this will be a slight step up from the Night Of Champions PPV but not much of a step up as I expect the 2 HIAC matches to steal the show and Sheamus vs. Christian will be a nice undercard fight but the Diva fight and the Sin Cara fight will be the lowpoints of the night I'm afraid. Now I do think that WWE will add an impromptu match to this card and that impromptu fight will be I think Air Boom vs. Dolph Ziggler and Jack Swagger for the WWE Tag Team Championship and if that should happen then I will go with the champs to retain in what could be a very solid match!
Well friends those are my predictions for Hell In A Cell thanks so much for reading along and be sure to join me on my Tony Rants blogsite after the PPV tomorrow night as I will have a complete recap of tomorrow night's event and also be sure to join my longtime friend and colleague Derek Ferreira on his YouTube channel (slb200809) tomorrow night as he will have a complete video recap of tomorrow night's event and also be sure to join me back here on this blogsite sometime next week as I will have my 2011 NHL Season Preview! So until then you know the routine everybody! Thumbs up talk to you later! YEAH!!! Bye for now!
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