WWE Judgment Day Preview and Predictions: Will Edge or Undertaker win the vacant World Hvt. Championship?

These predictions are made without any inside knowledge of the planned match finishes. In other words, I’m guessing just like you are. Check back on Sunday night for "Live Coverage" of the WWE Judgment Day pay-per-view.

Triple H vs. Randy Orton in a cage match for the WWE Title: For the fifth time in nine months, Hunter and Orton are facing off in a pay-per-view match. The stat I'd like to find (but am way too lazy to look up) is how many times during the last nine months has Orton been made to look weak on Raw. I thought that was going to change heading into this match since Orton was no longer the champion and WWE had to convince viewers there was a chance that he could regain the title. Then again, I also thought they should have waited until this pay-per-view to do the title change. Hunter retains his title in a decisive manner. Something happens to set up William Regal as Hunter's next challenger.

Undertaker vs. Edge for the vacant World Hvt. Championship: For the third month in a row, WWE is treating us to an Edge vs. Taker match. The repetitiveness of these top matches is absurd and probably won't lead to many buys, but at least they should be entertaining for those of us who do order the show. I assume there was a reason why they stripped Taker of the title. My guess is that they decided to take the title off him so that he could lose it without being pinned. I expect a DQ or a countout finish to give Edge the belt back. Otherwise, the entire vacancy storyline was a huge waste of everyone's time. I just pray that this doesn't lead to yet another match next month.

Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho: Finally, a fresh matchup. As is usually the case with any pay-per-view match that involves Michaels, I'm looking forward to this match more than anything else on the show. Looking at the overall lineup, the potential is there for a home rum show and this match could be the best of them all. I notice Batista isn't advertised for the pay-per-view. I can't imagine he's very pleased about HBK stating last week that he feigned an injury during their Backlash match. Plus, Big Dave needs the pay-per-view check to pay for all those vintage lunch boxes he showed off on MTV Cribs.

John Cena vs. JBL: There's no buzz over this match, but I think it could surprise people These two have worked well together in the past and JBL's brawling style suits Cena nicely. Both guys need the win, but Cena is much more important to the company than Mr. Mamajuana. Given WWE's penchant for rematches, I expect them to do something to set up another brawl next month. If we get a pinfall or submission, Cena will get his hand raised.

Mickie James vs. Beth Phoenix vs. Melina for the WWE Women's Title: Even the women's match has the potential to be good this month. One can only assume they put Melina in the match so that she can take the pin and keep the Mickie vs. Beth feud alive for another month. Given how light the Diva division is on talent, this is one case where I don't mind seeing repeat matches. Mickie pins Melina to retain her title.

John Morrison and The Miz vs. Kane and C.M. Punk for the WWE Tag Titles: A rare appearance for Morrison and Miz on pay-per-view. Even Cena stated in his UK Sun interview that he hopes Morrison "understands the opportunity he's getting and steps up to the plate." The creative team put over Morrison and Miz so strong on Tuesday night that I'm semi-convinced they'll undo the good they did by giving Kane and Punk the tag titles. Honestly, I'm just happy we're not getting another Chavo Guerrero pay-per-view appearance.

Join me on Sunday night for "Live Coverage" of the WWE Judgment Day pay-per-view.