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According to the latest WON (source: JS), the previous plans for the Next RAW PPV have changed. Here’s the outlook
Now (Badd Blood): Kane vs Benoit, Benoit wins
Next (Vengence): Shawn vs Benoit Edge vs Benoit, Benoit wins
After (SummerSlam): Hunter vs Benoit, Hunter wins
The stated reasons is that Shawn wants to take some time off because he and his wife are expecting around that time, and Huner should be off doing his movie that month. (What kind of movie is it really going to be if he’s only spending a month on it? I hope they’re spending a lot of time on days he’s still around on it.) I’d presume the feeling is that they don’t want Orton’s progress to be stunted with a main event loss, there’s no other logical top heels besides Kane who could take a loss, no way you’re doing Kane two times in a row, and Edge hasn’t had a main event title shot yet.
Various things come up to me as a result:
– Hunter doing his movie isn’t a new surprise and I’m pretty sure you have a general idea of when a baby’s coming, so it couldn’t have been a surprise that Shawn would end up wanting the month off. So why did they have the inital plan? Someone dropped the ball, either on planning or convincing Michaels to stick around for TV that month.
– The two pronged concept behind the finish of HBK/Benoit in Phoenix was to set up HHH/HBK in HiTC, and to set up HBK have a claim on the title for the PPV rematch. Now, it’s kinda half as good.
Though, if they make it up by doing a rematch on TV, wouldn’ t that be awesome? It would.
– Was Shawn really going to win the HiTC though? I couldn’t see that happening, because HBK still feels like a part timer near the end and HHH will be around for eons. I’d heavily bet on Triple H now.
– Isn’t it weird that Edge is just getting his first PPV world title shot now? Obviously, he isn’t winning this – i expect it to play out like Rock/Benoit at Fully Loaded 2001, where they wanted people to get used to the idea of Benoit, Possible World Champion even though they themselves weren’t ready for that idea.
Edge probably plays up a heel twinge here. Makes no sense to even hint a Benoit turn when he’s got to be the face the next month.
Looking at the long term, I’d make it 50/50 that Edge ends up winning one of the World Titles for some time by the end of WMXXI. He’s gonna be in line for a shot at HHH after he gets the title back.
– A totally underpubliced development of 2004 is the WWE doing lots of long term planning for their main event guys. We’re booking two PPVs ahead here, and They’d obviously decided that JBL was getting two PPVs on SmackDown! before he cut his first heel promo.
In fact, a crazy theory I’ve had is they had Benoit as World Champ and Eddie as WWE champ planned as far back as their match in Baghdad. Benoit winning the Rumble planned to win the Rumble was already out there, but the quick and total termination of Chavo/Eddie probably says knew they had to move him up quick. And if they knew that, why not give him a win over Benoit? So I think they knew.
Anyway, it was being that Hunter would win the title back at SummerSlam even before the WMXX match announced. It’s possible they had planned all the way back in Decemeber (which is when Dave says he heard Benoit was going to win the title), so they had a sketch for 8 months into the future. Pretty different.
SmackDown! may be an example of long term plans being not as good idea as people have once pimped – or at least long term plans with zero flexibility.