Reported by Mike Siciliano of WrestleView.com
On Sunday, June 25, 2006 at 12:42 PM EST

Quick picks for the Pay Per View tonight in Charlotte, North Carolina.. I can never spell VENGENANCE properly, so lets just get that out of the way right now, okay?

UMAGA vs. EUGENE

I really feel sad for Eugene on this one, as I don't think he has a snowball's chance in Hades to win this one. The only possible way this is not the type Estrada/Umaga squash is if Hacksaw Jim Duggan makes an appearance and interferes on Eugene's behalf. Either which way, this one may not be as big a squash as the typical Umaga match, but it definitely is not worthy of being on a pay per view card. Either which way, end of story.

WINNER: Umaga

KANE vs. "KANE"

I know Kane is supposed to be this "monster" with such a scarred past, but this is almost ridiculous, this entire storyline. On paper, this fake Kane can't even lay a finger on the real McCoy from a strength perspective. If you look hard enough, Kane has had to help this imposter on virtually every spot, yet, they're making this guy out to the be the second coming of Jason Voorhees and Freddy Kruger, all wrapped up in to one gigantic psycho.

You put that in a pot, and stir it, and what comes out? I haven't a clue. I couldn't pick this one, even if I wanted to. Is Kane going to put the mask back on? Is he going to get even more sadistic? There's an awful lot of questions here that need to be answered, but to be legitimate as possible, I am not going to make a prediction here. I think it will end up a no contest.

NO CONTEST

KURT ANGLE vs. RANDY ORTON

If anyone tells me to put "ECW vs. WWE" in front of this match, I'll scream. This is as WWE as it gets, regardless of which brand is which. I would suspect some of ECW's wrestlers, er, rebels, er, superstars, er extremists, to interfere in the matchup in some way, shape, or form. I don't think this match is ECW rules, but the fact still remains that ECW will have a significant presence here, and they'll make their influence known in the matches involving their people. Angle will get the win on this one, because he needs the push more than Orton does to continue to evolve ECW in to a viable third brand for WWE. Orton, I think, is biding time until Triple H is ready to get in to a long program with him following the DX business.

WINNER: Kurt Angle

Intercontinental Championship
SHELTON BENJAMIN vs. CARLITO vs. JOHNNY NITRO (w/Melina)

WWE's future is firmly on display in this one. Both Benjamin and Carlito have significant experience as singles champions, while this is the first go round for the TE 3 champion as a singles championship contender. Can Melina be the wild card to give Nitro the upset win in this one, and have him walk out of Charlotte as IC Champion? I would tend to think that may be the case, because when you look at the future, Shelton should go in to a fight with Charlie Haas, if Haas survives Viscera, and Carlito could end up, if they try to do the DX thing further, maybe being involved there, as he would have the attitude to be a perfect alignment with Triple H in a "new DX" style faction. Nitro, however, has got literally nothing waiting for him, unless the DX thing goes his direction, but I think having Melina holding gold for her man may be a ratings push that Vince may exploit. Give the win to the TE3 champion, and let's see how he runs with WWE singles gold.

WINNER: Johnny Nitro

2 out of 3 Falls
RIC FLAIR vs. MICK FOLEY

This one should be ultra intense. Not because they're in Charlotte, North Carolina, which is Flair's hometown, but because there is an awful lot of hatred between these two men, and it wouldn't surprise me if some of it was legitimate heat. I only question the booking of 2 out of 3 falls, because both men have been through the wars in a million ways possible, and can they handle the rigors of a match of this length? Even if they script it out to be somewhat short, 2 out of 3 falls is not going to be one for the purist. I would suspect ugliness here, and lots of it. I also would not be surprised to see bleeding on both men.

WINNER: Ric Flair

Why? Flair's got more to prove here than Foley does. And also, I can't see Flair jobbing in his own hometown. Someone with his resume has to have the clout to keep that from happening, wouldn't you think?

Extreme Lumberjack Match
JOHN CENA vs. SABU

What can I say? Cena's gonna get his ass kicked. Whether or not he comes out of this match with his hand raised in victory is irrelevant. He is going to get beaten up worse than the I Quit match with JBL back at Judgment Day last year. This one is going to be brutal to a version I'm not sure Cena can last up to. I am a huge Cena fan, for anyone who has been in a cave for the last 109 chapters, and I cannot pick Cena with full confidence tonight. I'm going to, but truth be told, if Sabu takes this dupe, I won't be surprised.

WINNER: John Cena

5 on 2 Handicap Match
THE SPIRIT SQUAD (Kenny, Johnny, Nicky, Mitch, & Mikey) vs. D-GENERATION X (Triple H & Shawn Michaels)

Welcome to your atypical 5 on 2 match where the five members of the match are the pure bound underdogs going in. The Squad need to realize that they are getting this push because of the boss, and they need to perform tonight in a big, big way. DX is not here for the long term, and it would be an absolute shocker to the utmost proportions if the green around the gills cheerleaders figure out a way to take out the best and most powerful faction ever to walk the planet. Whether its 5 on 2, 7 on 2, 12 on 4, or whatever, this one is going to be a win for the reuniting of the Attitude Era's best thing going. It's sad that it won't be a long term celebration with what HBK has to go through with his knee, but still, this match along with Cena/Sabu is going to be enough to make me buy the DVD when it comes out. This one should be a lot of fun.

WINNERS: DGeneration X

WWE Championship
ROB VAN DAM vs. EDGE

As right as it was for the ECW title being coronated to Van Dam at the premiere, this one would be just as wrong if Van Dam drops the WWE title to Edge to bring that title back to Raw. It is the most obvious remedy to the title situation at this present point and time, and with the house show cards in the future showing Cena vs. Edge for the WWE title down the road, that is probably what is going to happen. It will anger me to no end if Edge is the champion and Cena is fighting him for that belt. If Van Dam was given the chance to roll as WWE and ECW Champions, then let him roll. Damn, at least things will be different. If Edge gets the belt back, I'm going to be ill, because his gloating just makes me want to throw up.

Yep, Mr. Negative is back. Outside of a couple of die hard Edgeheads who keep in touch with me, who here wants Van Dam to drop the title right now?

Chirp, chirp.

I thought so. Yeah, I thought the idea of defending the WWE title in an ECW ppv was dangerous, and it proved to be so. But, let's keep the unpredictability going, and see where the chips fall where they may down the road. Is Edge the most likely to take the WWE title off of Van Dam? Yes, unfortunately, he probably is. I just hope it's not this soon.

WINNER: Rob Van Dam

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Beaucoup cenabling!