Monday June 15 – 6:55 P.M. (CT)

I'm as frustrated as many WWE fans are over the company's decision to hold a four-way match for the apparently vacant WWE Title with the same four guys competing for the belt. Why not use this opportunity to work in some new blood and give them a chance to shine in the match even if you don't put the title on them?

What's worse is the logic that was used to determine which wrestlers would compete in the match. Sure, they're all former World Champions. I get it. I just don't see why that should automatically qualify them for a one-in-four chance to win the belt. Let's break it down with each competitor.

John Cena: It's hard to argue with his placement in the match from a storyline standpoint. He's won the majority of his matches lately and is one of the main eventers, so he's a good candidate. No complaints. Again, this is strictly based on the storyline. Sure, I'm tired of Cena's act, but that doesn't mean he shouldn't be in the match.

Triple H: He's been out of action for weeks selling the Orton attack. Like Cena, I can live with him being in the match because he is a main eventer and his character can argue that he lost the match in a lame six-man tag. For that matter, they could always use the excuse that he's exercising a rematch clause in his contract since he never got his rematch with Orton. Hunter belongs.

Randy Orton: Here's where it gets silly. The general manager is no longer a heel because, well, there is no general manager. So why in the hell would a wrestler be rewarded for brutally attacking the champion with the intent of hurting him and then screwing him out of the WWE Title? Again, they could use the excuse that Orton had a rematch clause, but they haven't bothered to say that. Rather, he's just in the match because he's a former champion. Weak.

Big Show: Does this make sense to anyone? Show has lost his last two pay-per-view matches to Cena despite the fact that the odds were supposedly in his favor. So he's rewarded with a title match just because he's a former champion? MLB commissioner Bud Selig wouldn't even come up with something that silly.

The thing that scares me most about the match is that none of the possible winners excites me. If they're going to put the belt back on Orton, then what was the point of taking it off him for Batista's one-day title reign in the first place? Was a quick ratings stunt worth damaging the credibility of the title belt with yet another change?

It feels too soon for Hunter to regain the title when he's just coming back from injury. He already destroyed Orton on his first night back, so they'd pretty much be telling his entire story if he won the belt in his first match back. Of course, they're always in too big of a hurry to remind everyone that Hunter is the dominant force in WWE even when they have a chance to make his character look vulnerable and therefore interesting.

Cena winning the belt would generate the feeling that we've been there and done that. Of course, the same can be said for all these guys winning since they're all former champions, but I'd rather see Cena chase the title.

My guess for tonight is that Orton regains the WWE Title, and minions Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase capture the Unified Tag Titles. They have to give Orton his heat back after destroying him twice in two days last week, so giving Legacy the belts on Raw seems like a logical move.

My dark horse pick is Big Show. I can imagine the creative forces justifying it by saying that no one will see it coming and that they need to do something to make his next pay-per-view match meaningful. After all, they had Cena defy the odds by going over in the two previous matches, which makes the third match feel ridiculously repetitive and unnecessary.

I hope I'm wrong on Show, though. For that matter, I'm praying that WWE has something up their sleeve to freshen up this match in a way that will get people buzzing about the Monday night show again. As it stands, I'm much more excited about the World Hvt. Championship match, the ECW Title match, and the Intercontinental Title than the four-way for the WWE Title.

RECOMMEND THIS ARTICLE: