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PWINSIDER Q&A: RANDY ORTON VS. EDGE, SHELTON BENJAMIN, MITB WINNER AT WRESTLEMANIA AND MORE

Answered on 3/20

I had thought up a scenario for Wrestlemania, just wanted your thoughts if it would work. Suppose whomever wins the MITB match challenges Undertaker after he beats Batista (presumably) and beats the Undertaker, Edge or Kennedy would be perfect choices and it would allow WM to go off the air with a lot of talk. Although I do think Undertaker should retire undefeated at WM this would be an interesting way to end it.

Actually, a lot of people have brought up this idea in different forms, with the MITB winner challenging one of the champions at the end of the show.  I think the idea has a lot of potential, but I would rather see a scenario like this:  Edge wins MITB early in the show.  Cena defeats Shawn Michaels in the third from the top match, and the exhausted Cena is then attacked brutally by Edge afterwards.  Have a buffer match (the women's bout, for example).  Then have Edge come back out, say he is cashing in right now, and bring out a bandaged and bloody Cena.  Cena fights valiantly, but then loses to Edge.  Then close the show with Undertaker beating Batista.  That way, you have the "feel good" ending, the drama of the title changes, plus you can create a storyline where MITB becomes the match that "haunts" John Cena, since he will have lost his title for the third year in a row to the winner. Of course, this is all armchair booking, and everyone will have a different take on it, but it is something I could see WWE doing.

I am wondering who the last man for each team will be for the Lethal Lockdown match. It is obvious that you will have Angle, Joe, and Rhyno plus two more one of which I am thinking will either be Sting or Abyss. But for Cage's team you have AJ, Steiner, Tomko and someone else. I am just wondering who would be last heel on this team.

If TNA goes with Angle, Joe, Rhyno, Sting and Abyss on one team, and Cage, AJ, Steiner and Tomko on the other, than I would give the final spot on the heel side to James Storm.  Unless TNA is planning on finally pulling the trigger on Chris Harris returning, I think Storm would be a good choice to fill out the heel side, since the feud with Petey Williams has been done to death.  

I was wondering how well do the mid level and undercard guys do for themselves? I hear they gotta transport themselves to and from shows, pay for their own food, etc. I recently found out that New York Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano made 381,000 last year and might make in the 400,000 range this year. Who makes out better? I'm not sure if players gotta pay for their own hotel when their on the road. Of course, Canos only on the road from March to October. . How do the bonus's work for the wrestlers on the roads? I heard if the tour is doing badly then everyone's SOL? As far as money? Obviously Cano doesn't get a "bonus". So that's my question, is it better to be a mid level wrestler or a mid level player who doesn't have a huge contract like a Arod? And does a Bobby Lashley make any more money after his promotion or he's screwed till his contract is up? Thank you. Oh, and who has more money, Hogan or Arod? 

A baseball player from the Yankees easily does better than a mid-card WWE performer.  The downside guarantee for most wrestlers is not even six figures, much less that close to a half-million.  The bonuses for house shows are decided by WWE, and obviously if the shows are not well attended, there isn't going to be a lot of money for bonuses.  As for a guy like Bobby Lashley, his downside guarantee doesn't change because he is being pushed more.  However, the more he is on TV, the more PPV matches he has, and the more shows he works, the more money he is going to make, and that doesn't even include merchandise.  Obviously, being a pushed wrestler has a lot of financial benefits. 

What is the plan for Shelton Benjamin? Like many, I miss him on TV regularly but unlike many, I didn't mind him being reunited with Charlie Haas. He is a great singles competitor but when he and Charlie Haas were tag team partners on Smackdown! I thought both of them really brought life back into the tag team division (even though they were fighting the same guys week in and week out). So if WWE has given up on Benjamin as a singles competitor for the time being, do you think there is a chance 'The World's Greatest Tag Team' can get a shot at the Tag Team Championship and breathe new life into a rather mundane Tag Division? 

I have a feeling Shelton Benjamin is wondering what the plan is for himself as well.  He and Haas do make a great tag team, but last week they were defeated by John Cena & Shawn Michaels (who weren't even getting along) in three minutes.  I was hoping that WWE would get the belts off of Cena & Michaels before Mania, and Haas & Benjamin would have been a great (and believable) choice to beat them, but obviously that isn't going to be happening now. 

Is it me or do you see the feud between Edge and Randy Orton ending up in the same way that Carlito's and Chris Master's did? Both feuds seem to have potential but both are very one sided and didn't deliver the way that it should have in the end. 

Not at all, mainly because Edge is the best heel not named McMahon in the company right now, and Orton is someone that WWE has been very serious about grooming into a top star.  A lot more attention and focus is going to be put on this feud than Carlito and Masters, who have had "stop-start-stop" pushes over the last year. 

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