At Bragging Rights, Raw and Smackdown will lock horns in a battle for brand supremacy, the Undertaker will defend his world title against three worthy challengers, and the great rivalry between Randy Orton and John Cena will culminate in a 60 minute battle. Here is a preview:
Team Raw (Melina, Kelly Kelly, Gail Kim) vs. Team Smackdown (Michelle McCool, Natalya, Beth Phoenix)
Interestingly enough, the Raw team is comprised of 3 faces while the Smackdown team is made up of 3 heels. Women's matches recently have not been very good so you're not expecting much here.. Tension between McCool and Phoenix will likely cost Smackdown the match allowing the Raw team to pick up the win.
Prediction: Team Raw (Melina, Kelly Kelly, Gail Kim)
Raw (The Miz) vs. Smackdown (John Morrison)
This match pits the U.S. champ vs. the Intercontinental champ. These men were also former tag team champs. They had great chemistry as a team in the ring and that should translate as opponents as well. Morrison is one of the most athletic guys in the WWE and Miz is not too shabby himself so this should be a very good match. Morrison, though, is a little further along and a little higher on the totem pole right now, so he should pick up the win in a hotly contested back and forth match. Many will not remember but Miz left Morrison laying when he was drafted to Raw so this is Morrison's payback.
Prediction: Smackdown (John Morrison)
C.M. Punk vs. Rey Mysterio vs. Batista vs. Undertaker (Fatal Four Way World Title Match)
All three challengers here are former world champions. The majority of the match should see the two big guys pair off and the two smaller guys pair off. Should be a fun match between four very competent performers. Batista and Mysterio may work together early in the match but eventually they will turn on each other and look to win the match. Many are expecting Undertaker to lose the title here as the feeling is he is not 100%. However, you don't put the title on a legend like the Undertaker only to take it off him 3 weeks later. Expect him to pin Mysterio in the end, stealing the win from Batista and setting up a feud between the two.
Prediction: Undertaker
John Cena vs. Randy Orton (Anything Goes WWE Title Iron Man Match) (If Cena loses, he is gone from Raw, if Orton loses, he gets no rematches)
This will be the culmination (for now, at least) of one of the great rivalries in recent WWE history. They have had some very memorable matches recently and this one should be no different. The "Anything Goes" stipulation seems to favor Orton, who is very sadistic and will do anything to win. Cena, though, figures to pull out all the stops as well in an effort to regain the title. Cena had an excellent Iron Man Match on Raw with Shawn Michaels a couple years ago so he has the experience in this type of match. Orton will be in his first Iron Man Match but he is in great shape and at the top of his game so he should be able to hold up his end. Orton is "The Man" right now and should keep the title. It's hard to picture Raw without Cena but stipulations rarely stick in the WWE. Perhaps Cena will take some time off, perhaps he may go to Smackdown for a while but the feeling here is that eventually, he will end up back on Raw, maybe via next year's draft.
Prediction: Randy Orton
Team Raw (DX, Big Show, Jack Swagger, Cody Rhodes, Kofi Kingston, Mark Henry) vs. Team Smackdown (Chris Jericho, Kane, Matt Hardy, Finlay, R-Truth, Hart Dynasty)
The two earlier Raw vs. Smackdown matches will surely be split, so this will be the rubber match. It seemed a little drastic to change 5/7 of team Smackdwon two days before the show but it may be a stronger team now. Solid veterans like Matt Hardy and Finlay were certainly more deserving of a spot than newcomers like Escobar and McIntyre. That being said, Raw still has the stronger team on paper. They had some dissention on Raw, though, and that could be a factor here. This figures to be a long match with so many guys involved and there will likely be frequent tags and an effort to give everyone a decent run of action. Toward the end, all hell will break loose. Everyone will get involved and finishers will be hit left and right. The feeling here is that team Raw's dissension will get the better of them as the Big Show turns on DX and costs Raw the match setting up a Jeri-Show vs. DX feud.
Prediction: Team Smackdown (Chris Jericho, Kane, Matt Hardy, Finlay, R-Truth, Hart Dynasty)
