Reported by Mike Siciliano of WrestleView.com
On Saturday, December 15, 2007 at 9:30 PM EST

Time to finish out the year of pickin' pay per views with Armageddon tomorrow night. I am 7 over .500, with a full breakdown of my pick record up at my blog. Let's see how it goes. Time to go to work.

Shawn Michaels vs. Mr. Kennedy
Question here is simple. Is Shawn ready to start putting over the new talent? Personally, I don't know. I think so, but if his ego is still slightly too big for his own britches, it may come through in this match. I am not so sure how its going to pan out, as I am not fond of Kennedy's ring work since his flub with the steroid claims. When it comes down to it, Kennedy needs this 1,000 times more than Michaels, but the questions remains, will WWE give it to him? My personal thought is no. I think this may continue in to the next year, but I don't think Kennedy gets the rub. Just something in the back of my head says HBK wins. A gut feeling.

WINNER: Shawn Michaels

Finlay vs. The Great Khali
I don't understand this match one bit. Is Finlay now a face? Is Khali a tweener? His turn to the good side when he joined DX during their one night reunion was fun to watch, but since then, he's basically been nothing but Vince's hired gun. The story here is kind of muddled, although it all centers around Vince's "tough love" for Hornswoggle, and Finlay's involvement. Nevertheless, a talent like Finlay is going to have his work cut out for him with Khali simply because Khali is such a handful, size and experience wise. However, the cleverness that Finlay has from his years and years of combat in this business may be enough to overcome the sheer size of the Punjabi nigtmare.

WINNER:: Finlay

Kane & CM Punk vs. Big Daddy V & Mark Henry
Kind of ironic how the ECW champion has his match at the PPV be involved with two Smackdown guys. Really shows you the value that WWE holds in ECW, if they don't even have a title match, one, for the PPV, and two, have their champion in a tag match with half of the participants from another show. With that being said, V and Henry as a tag team has potential. I cannot dispute that. Kind of similar to the Natural Disasters kind of thing. Henry and V sit back and growl, and Striker does the talking. It has potential. It truly does. Punk and Kane, if allowed, could be a tag team championship contender almost instantly. I think they're that good together. This match is more about Punk and Kane than it is about V & Henry, so I think the faces will win, but there's definite potential for long term storylines here, but the sad part is, I don't see WWE mining this potential gold, figuratively speaking.

WINNERS: CM Punk & Kane

Winner receives a WWE Title Shot at the Royal Rumble
Triple H vs. Jeff Hardy
I really like this match. WWE has done it right with this one because they haven't gone one straight path, they've thrown curve balls here, leading people like me to not be able to determine a winner. Jeff should be the decided underdog here, but truth be told, I could see him getting the slot and the title match at the Rumble. Triple H will find his way in to the championship picture, but his time will happen closer to April of next year in the southern portion of the United States. For now, I would not be surprised if the Cererbral one puts over the Rainbow Haired Warrior, if for no other reason than to stick it to guys like me who question sometimes how Triple H is always getting what he wants from WWE brass, and that he has all the "political" pull within the company.

WINNER: Jeff Hardy

WWE Women's Championship
Beth Phoenix vs. Mickie James
It's about damn time Mickie James is brought back in to the women's title picture. Nobody else is even close to the league that Beth Phoenix has put out there. The only other talent that could go strength for strength with Phoenix is on Smackdown. I don't know Hall's abilities that well, but I think she has the potential to be a contender, but she hasn't been placed there yet. Outside of that, and the obvious eventual return of Candice Michelle, Mickie James is it. James will technically give Phoenix a run for her money here. I could see the Glamazon retaining, but this isn't going to end after one match, by any stretch. I would suspect Mickie James is the uncrowned women's champion, but they may wait till the Rumble to do the title change.

WINNER: Beth Phoenix

WWE United States Championship
Montel Vontavious Porter vs. Rey Mysterio
I can't believe it. There's a pay per view coming up tomorrow, and a US Title Match is on the card. I'm stunned. On paper, this match could potentially steal the show. MVP is as talented as they come, and Mysterio brings out the best in his opponents. The question is from a creative perspective, is this the time for a title change. Answer, indeed. MVP has proven his worth and then some in his title reign as US champion, and I don't suspect there's much more he could do. I would be stunned if they kept the belt on Porter and wait for Matt Hardy to return to action. It's kind of sad, as well, as Hardy would have been a well deserving champion for the feud and subsequent title reign as WWE tag champion that he had with MVP. However, as the cookie crumbles, I have to think that Hardy lost his spot for the title, and Rey will slip in and steal it. Mysterio wins the title to give the heels a shot to challenge for a belt, because of results I am going to get to in a minute.

WINNER and New U.S. Champion: Rey Mysterio

WWE Championship
Randy Orton vs. Chris Jericho
You look under one rock, it's the world that Jericho is back. You look under the next rock, and they want Jericho out the door already. With that being said, it's a near perfect lock for one thing. Chris Jericho is not walking out of Armageddon with the WWE title. The return has not brought the ratings and push from the fans that WWE thought it would. Perhaps it will come in time, and perhaps this will go down again when Jericho challenges for the belt, but right now, immediately, it just isn't getting it done. Orton wins, sets up a run with Jeff at the Rumble, and the eventual path to Mania and a shot with The Game.

WINNER: Randy Orton

I could use a stip or two in one of these undercard matches, and the WWE title match doesn't thrill me, but this main event, and this will be the main event, has a lot of pull. In more ways than one.

World Heavyweight Championship
Batista vs. Edge vs. The Undertaker
If you take out the ridiculous storyline of Edge being "in love" with the Smackdown General Manager Vickie Guerrero, this match is five star coming out of the blocks. Batista and the Undertaker bring the best out of each other, and Edge in a title match is damn impressive, and nearly unbeatable. The question here is simple. Who is going to enter the Road to Wrestlemania as champion. Truth be told, I think its going to be Edge. Why? Simple. Edge and the Taker have undefeated streaks at Wrestlemania, and I would suspect that there is your Smackdown main event for WM 24 already in the books and ready to go. This would subsequently get one half of the main event in play, and begin the road for Taker to lead him to the main event, by winning either the Rumble, the Chamber at No Way Out, or just plain making Edge and Vickie's lives miserable. Either which way, Batista is the odd man out here, for the time being. The Chamber may bring Batista back in to the mix, but for now, Smackdown comes out of Armageddon with two new champs, a new US Champ, and a new World Champ.

WINNER and New World Champion: Edge

That's it for now, ladies and gentlemen. I invite any readers of my column to visit my blog and message board websites by clicking here.Links are all over the place there to get you where you want to go. I hope you stop by and join the blossoming Palace Empire.

Till next time, everybody, take care, and stay safe.

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