Updated WWE Title Situation, Two Major Fights Changed And More
The reason why WWE didn't mention specifics about the WWE title situation on ECW on Tuesday night is simply because even they are unsure.
As we've reported for several months, the plan has been for Randy Orton to win the WWE Championship from John Cena at some point and to continue feuding with him before starting a program with Triple H, culminating in the two facing each other at WrestleMania. While Orton winning the title this Sunday at No Mercy was probably going to happen anyway, and his walking away with the title at No Mercy now seems like a no-brainer, the problem is with short and long term booking.
First, if Randy Orton wins the title this Sunday at No Mercy, there is no top babyface for him to feud with right now (assuming they want to save a feud with Triple H for Mania). With Cena and Bobby Lashley both out with injuries, the Raw brand is suffering from a lack of strong babyfaces. While Jeff Hardy can, and probably will, be elevated to feud with Orton in the short term, it remains to be seen if a Hardy / Orton program can sustain for 3 months, before Orton moves on to Triple H. If it can't, there really isn't anyone to face unless someone is moved from Smackdown to Raw. If Chris Jericho comes in and is immediately put into a feud with Orton, it would kill his steam to not win the title, unless they want to give Jericho the title right away (which is unlikely).
At this point a Triple H – Umaga – Randy Orton seems to be the most likely main event for No Mercy. However, now more than ever, those plans could change multiple times between now and Sunday.
In the MMA world, two long awaited fights in the UFC appear to be on hold. According to MMAFightLine.com, Michael Bisping was originally slated to fight Matt Hammill in a rematch of their controversial UFC 75 fight, while Tito Ortiz was rumored to fight Rashad Evans in a rematch from their fight earlier this year. Due to Ortiz not signing a contract, Rashad Evans will not fight Michael Bisping. MMAFightLine.com has more on the situation, as well as Evan's comments about Tito Ortiz, which you can check out by clicking here.