There are many, many ways that this Ironman match can go tonight. I'm sure that there are wild theories out there, so I'm looking for some thoughts on the flow of the match. Here is what I see:
0-5:00- It will obviously start out slowly, but Benoit will use his wrestling prowess to out-wrestle HHH. It will be like Bret owning the early parts of his Ironman match with HBK. Trips will get more and more frustrated.
5:00-10:00- HHH resorts to the brawling to get the upper hand, since wrestling just isn't working against Benoit in the early going. Trips gets a lengthy advantage.
10:00-15:00- HHH keeps his advantage until a fluke rollup by Benoit after a missed clothesline costs Triple H the first fall. Benoit 1 to 0.
15:00-25:00- HHH comes out and takes control of the match with his brawling. After a high knee, Trips goes outside and knocks out Benoit with the belt. Chris goes up 2-0 by DQ. HHH turns around and pins Benoit (shades of HHH/Rock) to go 2-1. HHH then uses a MAIN EVENT SLEEPER to knock out Benoit because the belt shot to the head hurt him. It is now tied 2-2.
25:00-35:00- HHH goes for another pin, but Benoit kicks out. HHH continues to focus on the head and neck of Benoit, but a reversed German suplex turns the tables. Benoit hits 10 German suplexes in a row. Benoit then pins HHH to go back up 3-2.
35:00-45:00- We are back to square one after HHH blocks the first attempt at the Crossface with an eye rake. HHH takes over the advantage for the next several minutes.
45:00-55:00- HHH controls the action, but can't get a pin. A ref bump leads to HHH getting help from Orton to finish off Benoit. HHH ties up the match with only 5 minutes left.
55:00-60:00- The ref makes Orton leave the ringside. Benoit and HHH continue to go for pinfalls, with neither winning that battle. Benoit gets the Crossface out of nowhere. HHH almost taps out, but makes it to the ropes. With two minutes to go, Eugene makes his return to Raw. This also brings out Orton once again. The ref is consumed with Orton's return and Eugene pulls out the sledgehammer placed under the ring. Eugene comes in the ring and HHH looks scared. Eugene then pops Benoit right in the head. HHH laughs and gets the final pin with only 15 seconds to go. HHH and Eugene laugh as the seconds end and HHH is the new champ. Edge comes out after the match to make the save for Benoit.
To recap, this Ironman will take some aspects of past Ironman matches. Eugene turns at the end of the match to give HHH the final victory and the title. Benoit will go after Eugene leading to their Summerslam match, as Edge faces HHH for the World title.
SO...how will it really go?
(edited by Torchslasher on 26.7.04 0515) Joe Wilson (looking at Interocitor manual)- Hey, here's something my wife could use in the house... Crow T. Robot- A man? Joe Wilson- An interocitor incorporating an electron sorter. Cal Meechum- Oh, she'd probably gain 20 pounds while it did all the work for her. Tom Servo- Cal, you bitch!
Benoit wins the deciding/only fall after Eugene interferes and clocks HHH with the sledgehammer/chair that was originally intended for Benoit.
-- Asteroid Boy
Wiener of the day: 23.7.02, 3.12.03
"If you want me to watch the shows, buy tickets when you come to town, buy t-shirts, and pay for a PPV every three days, you bet your ass I'm going to hard to impress. And when you give me stuff that blows and then tell me I don't get a vote on sharing that opinion, I'm going to tell you to go catch an STD." - Hogan's My Dad
"My brother saw the Undertaker walking through an airport." - Rex "Was he no-selling?" - Me
One thing. For every 60 minute Iron Man match that the WWE has but on, the world title has always changed hands. This is the fourth one, and in 1996 HBK won the title from Bret Hart. In 2000, HHH won the title from The Rock. And in 2003, Brock Lesnar won the title from Kurt Angle. So tonight, will HHH uphold the tradition? Or will Benoit break the chain? Don't really know how to call it. Just hope Benoit holds on the title until Summerslam, and maybe for once you know give someone ELSE the title other than HHH.
"Don't compare my arm to your cheap arm!" -Edward Elric
WWE doesn't make Ironman matches just to switch the belt, that's what WrestleMania main event's are for, the three incidents your talking about are purely coincidental.
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Rather than engage in fantasy booking, I'll just note certain elements one can incorporate into this match:
Is Benoit feeling any effects from last week's match with Batista? If so, it will probably be more noticeable in the beginning. Any selling Benoit does in the second half of the match will be to highlight the effects of the first half of the match.
What will the outside interference be like? Will HHH be accompanied to the ring by one or more members of Evolution, or will they come out later to interfere? Will Benoit bring back-up from the get-go, or will someone like Edge or Regal pop out if someone from Evolution interferes? At what point will the referee start sending people to the back?
These wrestlers have faced each other in several high profile matches. How will we see signature moves be reversed? Will there be reversals of reversals? Will we see an interesting counter to the crossface? Will we see a new reversal of a pedigree attempt into a submission move that Benoit doesn't normally use? Will the Triple Germans be countered by HHH?
It is reasonable to expect Benoit to take at least one fall with a submission move. Will Triple H also take a fall with a submission? Will he use his familiar sleeper, one of Benoit's own moves, or something more exotic?
Unless the plan is for HHH to win because of Benoit's lingering head trauma, there will be some screwy finish if Benoit retains. I doubt they want HHH to job cleanly *again*.
As for the falls, my guess is they'll either trade falls with the Crossface/Pedigree, then go to the finish, or just keep it to one fall.
-- Asteroid Boy
Wiener of the day: 23.7.02, 3.12.03
"If you want me to watch the shows, buy tickets when you come to town, buy t-shirts, and pay for a PPV every three days, you bet your ass I'm going to hard to impress. And when you give me stuff that blows and then tell me I don't get a vote on sharing that opinion, I'm going to tell you to go catch an STD." - Hogan's My Dad
"My brother saw the Undertaker walking through an airport." - Rex "Was he no-selling?" - Me
I'm so cool with HHH getting the belt, but I don't see it happening tonight. Period. I'd rather it happen at a PPV, but when's the last time a RAW belt changed hands on TV? It could have been a month ago for all I know, but I think it's been a while.
I see it being a draw or else 2-1 for Benoit. The final 5 minutes should be outstanding, if recent history of WWE's longer matches (25 mins or more) shows.
Triple H used the Indian Deathlock, or a variation thereof, to great effect during Wrestlemania XIX. I'm open to seeing it again.
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Something to note in this match, based on the history of the Iron Man Match in the WWE, is who wins the first fall. Excluding The WM XII match which had only one fall, the winner of the first fall loses the match. Now this is only based on two matches (HHH-Rock and Lesnar-Angle), but it could be something that WWE does on purpose to make the loser look better, because he would have, theoretically, won the match if it had been one fall to a finish.
I say Eugene's "Big Brother" Nick Dinsmore (eugene's hair now shaved or combed down, and beard gone, he comes down and nails the game, for revenge for Eugene, making the winner once and for all Benoit setting up Eugene's "Big Brother" Nick Dinsmore vs Triple H at SummerSlam
I'm thinking the first fall will be given to Benoit via disqualification. HHH takes a chair in and wallops Benoit's head, HHH smiles. They did this on the last Iron Man Match on Smackdown, and it made perfect sense to me as soon as Brock got the chair. It would fit in with the storyline and HHH's character. (Then again, its exactly how the last one started) He is the Cerebral Assassin, after all. 5 minutes to go.
EDIT: I figure Eugene will factor into the finish of the match, but I don't think he'll go heel or become Nick Dinsmore. The crowd would totally crap on that. However, that hasn't stopped WWE before. :/
(edited by Peregrine on 26.7.04 1756)
EDIT: I thought it was supposed to start first? Eh oh well.