We only have five matches on the card, mainly because the 7-on-7 match should get at least 20+ minutes and the Iron Man Match will take at least 60 minutes (could have sudden death, who knows).
John Morrison vs. The Miz: A much-anticipated match in the eyes of yours truly, and I would pick this one to start the show. The fact that this is champion vs. champion makes it better because this feud really takes on the theme of "Who is the best of the best?" Again, because there are only five matches on the card, this should get some good time, likely around 15 minutes max. Expecting Morrison to pull out the win. Match will get at least *** to ***1/4 here.
Melina, Gail Kim, & Kelly Kelly vs. Michelle McCool, Natalya, & Beth Phoenix (RAW Divas vs. Smackdown Divas): It will be an OK match with basic stuff. These are six Divas that actually have wrestling talent, so it should be at least passable. As a note, Kelly's match with Gail Kim on Superstars was one of the better Divas matches I've seen lately. A winner? With all sorts of scenarios running through my head, I think the best one in terms of storyline progression would be Beth Phoenix pinning Melina to further gain the attention of Michelle McCool (setting up a future Women's Title match). I'm predicting something around *1/2 here, maybe *3/4.
Triple H, Shawn Michaels, The Big Show, Kofi Kingston, Jack Swagger, Cody Rhodes, & Mark Henry vs. Chris Jericho, Kane, R-Truth, Matt Hardy, Finlay, Tyson Kidd, & David Hart Smith (RAW vs. Smackdown 7-on-7 Bragging Rights Match): Should be a good match that gets at least 20 minutes. I like the five guys (not named Jericho or Kane) brought in to replace the original five because now it really seems like a best-of-the-best match. With that in mind, I like that guys such as Drew McIntyre and Eric Escobar were on the team at the start because it gives them at least some credibility. After all, those guys had to win a match to get on the team, and ultimately that win is more important than being on any Bragging Rights team. There are various ways on this ending, but because HHH and HBK will likely try to pull some backstage clout again, RAW will likely prevail. Match should get around ***1/2.
The Undertaker vs. CM Punk vs. Batista vs. Rey Mysterio (World Heavyweight Title): Punk is in the doghouse (as champ, Punk talked back to Taker when Taker wanted Punk to represent the company better by dressing nicer), so he's not winning. Rey is not winning because Vince is likely hestitant again to put the belt on an undersized person (his World Title reign a few years ago was not great at all). Batista is turning heel against Rey so putting the belt on him now would not be a good idea. By process of elimination, Taker retains. How will the match pan out? Batista has the win, Rey breaks the count up (rightfully so because he wants to win too), Batista gets pissed, Punk comes in and takes both of them out, and then Taker gets Punk with a Tombstone or Hell's Gate for the win. Should be a good match that gets about ***1/2 max.
John Cena vs. Randy Orton ("Anything Goes" Iron Man Match; WWE Title): This feud has been running for a few years (off and on), and the video package really does a tremendous job of setting the stage. While I like that the match is anything goes, I am not expecting blood because WWE is supposed to be PG. However, I think that, if there is any time a match needs blood, it's this one because it's the blow-off match to an extremely long feud, and the carnage each have put themselves through in the process has been noteworthy. I know that neither of these two have the moveset of a person like Shawn Michaels, Kurt Angle, AJ Styles, etc., so it could be difficult to keep the match fresh.
Here, I'm torn with a winner. I don't want Cena to lose because Smackdown is fine as it is (and RAW would be arguably losing their biggest draw). On the other hand, I don't want Cena winning because him getting the title back just cheapens the belt more. But John Canton of The Oratory makes a good point: DiBiase should basically come out and cost Orton the match in some way. Cena wins, but it paves the way for Orton/DiBiase, which is the high-profile name DiBiase needs to become a full face. This has four-star potential and could go as high as ****1/2. It all depends on what they decide to do.
So Bragging Rights should be a great PPV in terms of match quality. It should be getting some good ratings because each match will have sufficient time.
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