Those of you who checked out my Judgment Day Predictions may be wondering why I would bother posting predictions ever again, after my clutch 2 for 8 performance, but I'm a glutton for punishment. So here it is, my thoughts and predictions on the upcoming King of the Ring, which should be an event-filled night as WWE has been forced to take a new direction because of recent events.

       My first prediction is that this match won't be very good. If it does end up entertaining, it'll be a testament to Kurt Angle's ability as a wrestler, because Hogan doesn't have any left (ability, that is). Here's a crazy thought (although not an official prediction): I think WWE may be turning Angle face. The thought occurred to me while watching the Smackdown prior to KOTR. His match with The Undertaker and interaction with Vince turned out to not be a swerve, so if ill-will continues between he and Vince (as well as with WWE's biggest heel, Undertaker), Angle could easily turn face. Think about it: without Austin, WWE is desperate for faces, even with the return of The Rock (which will be temporary at best). Of course, there's Triple H, but after that the two top guys are Hogan and a recently reformed Ric Flair. Great, two men in their late fifties/early sixties. Sure, guys like Edge and RVD are on the horizon, but they're not there yet.

       Think Angle couldn't turn face? Think he's too much of a dork? Well, answer this: how hard was it turn him face last time? As soon as Invasion was over, Angle got one of the biggest ovations ever on RAW in Pittsburgh. How to do it? Just reverse the formula that turned Hogan face at Wrestlemania (minus the loud, partisan, nostalgic crowd). Have a nice, hard-fought battle which Hogan narrowly loses (which, I agree, will be hard to pull off). Then, have Hogan shake Angle's hand, calling Angle a "Real American" or something (they could even revive Hogan's old music for his entrance for this match), then have Angle shake Hogan and pose with him for the crowd. Bam, Angle's a face. Complete the transformation by having Angle disobey Vince and save Hogan the following Smackdown. I don't know if this or something like it is going to happen, but it'd be a good idea, non? Anyway, Angle should win this match, especially since WWE appears to recognising Hogan's glaring deficiencies and how they've hurt the product.

Predicted Winner: Kurt Angle

       I don't really support pushing Flair the way they have; I'm not a big fan of old, out of shape wrestlers, but at least Flair gets it done in the ring (but, still, can he please change his ring attire? I know his look is classic Flair, but I really don't want to see his sagging man-breasts). This match could be a real wrestling treat, but I have a feeling no one will care. The crowd will be dead and WWE would be well-advised to keep this one short. It's too bad everything went down the way it did, Austin versus Guerrero would have been fantastic (if Austin's heart was in it). Guerrero should win, but Flair is on quite a losing streak of late, so if WWE is going to do something with him, and set him up for Benoit, he's got to win sometime.

Predicted Winner: Ric Flair

       At first glance, this seems like a no-brainer, Trish will win cause she's the biggest (and only) star in the Women's Division. However, WWE has always done weird things with this title. For example, Ivory beat Lita for the title, while Lita's popularity was soaring, seemingly to provide the division with a legitimate heel and further the Right To Censor storyline. Then, Ivory kept the belt for quite some time, eventually losing to Chyna at Wrestlemania, and Lita never held the title again. Molly is getting a similar heel push, with the help of William Regal, and is doing many of the same things Ivory did (speaking out against the sexuality and style of dress and undress of the WWE Divas, thereby pissing off the fans). For that reason, I think Molly will win the Championship (via William Regal interference, with brass knuckles probably playing a part) thus providing Molly a stage to complain about things like TNN's upcoming WWE Diva Thong-a-thon, and for her to chide and challenge Smackdown's non-wrestling, eye-candy Divas such as Stacy Keibler, Torrie Wilson, and Dawn-Marie.

Predicted Winner: Molly Holly

       I know next to nothing about Jamie Noble (although his powerbomb of Kidman on Smackdown was cool), but if WWE is giving him a PPV match, you hope he'll be exciting. I really like the attention the Cruiserweight Division is getting, and think these two will give their all to put on show and further the division. Ultimately, I don't see The Hurricane losing his title so soon, especially to a guy who's only wrestled on WWE programming twice (the other time was apparently on Velocity). Nope, I think the plan is to introduce he and Nidia as heels, and hope for a longer feud before bestowing the title on Noble (if then, Rey Mysterio is on the horizon, so look for him to get in on the title hunt soon).

Predicted Winner: The Hurricane

       On to the tournament. This'll be a tough call, given the new stipulation of the winner goes on to the main event of Summerslam, and given WWE's desperate need to elevate top stars. Does this change the tournament from the past years, when King of the Ring was a stepping stone, but not as big a stone as now? We'll see. The first thing you have to consider is the guys that make the final have to be good enough, and entertaining enough, to fight twice in one night. Sure, when he started in WWE, it seemed as though fans wouldn't mind if Rob Van Dam fought for the whole PPV. However, since the end of the Alliance storyline, his momentum has slowed and so has the excitement surrounding his matches. Jericho, on the other hand, has fought more than once on PPV, not too long ago, in fact (doing so when he won the Undisputed Championship at Vengeance in December). So Jericho's my man in this one.

Predicted Winner: Chris Jericho

       Using that same logic, is there anyone out there that wants to see Test fight twice in one night? In fact, are there many people out there who want to see Test fight once in one night? There's no way Lesnar isn't winning this one. The only question is whether Test lasts five minutes. (Actually, a nice touch would be for Lesnar to win on a questionable call by Brian Hepnar, furthering Lance Storm's bit about Canadians getting screwed by Hepnars and Americans everywhere).

Predicted Winner: Brock Lesnar

       Once again, the King of the Ring final will be a battle of heels (as it was last year when Edge took on Angle). Heel versus heel often doesn't work, which may lead to RVD taking on Brock Lesnar in the final, but I think WWE will save that matchup for a RAW taping and go with this RAW vs. Smackdown matchup). So, who of these two do I think would be the more deserving of a title shot at Summerslam, the second biggest night on the WWE calendar? Why, Chris Jericho, the self-proclaimed "King of the World", of course. He's an amazing performer and I think WWE's failure to properly push him after Wrestlemania is one of the reasons why their presentation has been weak of late. However, does he really need the King of the Ring push to make him a star? I would think being a former champion already makes him a star. Lesnar, however, is getting a push, and needs the push. I had him pegged for King of the Ring when he came out and helped Vince win back his company. Then, the Summerslam announcement changed things. But did it really?

       Do I think that Lesnar deserves to main-event Summerslam. Hell no. Do I think he will? Yep. Here's why: when RAW ended after Rocky gave his speech, after the cameras stopped filming, Brock and Heyman came out to confront The Great One. They mixed it up, with Lesnar taking the Rock Bottom and Heyman getting the People's Elbow (NOTE: I read this at Wrestlezone.com). So, it appears as though the WWE is testing the waters of a Rock vs. Brock feud. I think The Rock will be involved in this final matchup in some way, either as a guest referee, or by presenting the winner with his trophy. Either way, it works better for their feud if Brock wins, then confronts Rock, which could culminate in a three-way match at Summerslam between Lesnar, Rock and the WWE Champion (since Brock probably won't be ready to be one-half of the second biggest main event of the year). How is Brock going to win? My guess is that Edge will do a run-in to cost Jericho the victory, thus furthering the feud that begun when Jericho tore into Edge's damaged shoulder.

Predicted Winner: Brock Lesnar

       Triple H versus The Undertaker, the way it should have always been. If you recall, this was the match made at the beginning of the brand extension, but was poorly received by fans. Instead, they got to see Hulkamania run wild, and Backlash was set as Hogan versus Helmsley. Well, be careful what you wish for, as that match sucked and succeeded in diminishing WWE and its Championship. Things were set right when Undertaker beat Hogan for the Title at Judgment Day, thus setting up this match, which should be a classic. I think the original plan was for Triple H to hold the title for a good, long run, and that's why Taker was set as his first opponent (a credible threat that usually doesn't win Championships). The problem now is if Triple H wins, it will be the fourth time in a row the Challenger wins the WWE Championship Match at a PPV. Nothing like a series of one month Champions to weaken a promotion. With that in mind, I figured the WWE would stand pat and let the Undertaker stay as champ for an extra month and then drop the belt in a rematch to the more deserving Triple H at Vengeance.

       But then, the Austin thing went down, leaving RAW with a serious lack of superstars, especially of the babyface variety. Barring trades, the only way to get a top star to RAW immediately is the WWE Championship. RAW needs Triple H more than Smackdown needs The Undertaker, so I say Triple H begins the long title run that was mistakenly cut short in April setting up exciting possibilities with RAW's nWo.

Predicted Winner: Triple H

For more WWE content on this site, click on any of the following:

THE YEAR 2001- YEAR IN REVIEW- See how the superstars of the WWF stacked up using my rankings system for the entire year of 2001. Who was number 1, Stone Cold or Kurt Angle? Who were the top tag team, The Dudley Boyz or The Hardy Boyz? Along with my usual brand of commentary is new photos and stats for the year 2001, including title reigns and PPV information.

THE YEAR 2000- YEAR IN REVIEW- See how the superstars of the WWF stacked up using my rankings system for the entire year 2000. Who was number 1, The Rock or Triple H? Who were the top tag teams? Also, the title pictures for each belt from the WWF Championship all the way down to the Light Heavyweight Title, with my own commentary on each reign.

LITA- ONE MAN'S OBSESSION- I admit, I was in love with Lita. I also admit that this behaviour did become a bit of an obsession. I have since conquered this insanity, but you can still see pictures of the Team Extreme Diva, biographical info and random career facts, all presented while I was attempting to come to terms with the fact that I was in love with someone I saw on TV.

PREVIOUS RANKINGS- Ranking archives dating back to November 2000. Missed a posting? Want to track my biases? Find all past information here.

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