When WWE announced the participants for this years Raw MITB match (RVD, Daniel Bryan, Kane, Christian, Randy Orton, CM Punk & Sheamus), I was a little underwhelmed. The Smackdown match (featuring Fandango, Wade Barrett, Jack Swagger, Damien Sandow, Cody Rhodes, Antonio Cesaro & US Champ Dean Ambrose) made me realize something: WWE put all faces in the Raw match, and all heels in the Smackdown match. HUH?!?!?!?! This is a STUNNING move for WWE, because it creates a problem during the Smackdown match: will most fans care? I'm not talking about the smarks, who of course immediately labeled that the match of the night. I'm talking about the everyday casual fan, the kids wearing Cena gear, the fans who don't spend countless hours reading dirtsheets. What will they think?
Don't forget, the WWE Championship is currently held by a babyface (John Cena), and the World Heavyweight Title is in the clutches of Ricardo Rodriguez and that guy who keeps cutting really bad promos (a heel). This means there could (and probably will be) some face & heel turns. The question is, by who? And how soon? Most importantly, what about the fans??
For the red side, it seems to me a Daniel Bryan heel turn is just around the bend. Randy Orton has been rumored to turn heel forever now, and everyone over the age of 11 wants to see John Cena turn heel any day now. RVD is a wildcard, as nobody knows how he'll come back after 4 years away, but my guess is they'll keep him babyface for the time being. Christian, Punk, Kane & Sheamus are all locks to stay on the good side. Regarding the blue brand; Cesaro, Barrett, Swagger, Ambrose & Fandango won't make any change. One half of Rhodes Scholars will flip, and my guess is it'll be Cody Rhodes. Sandow may go with him, depending on if the team stays together past MITB. Del Rio just turned heel, so he's a lock. Same with Ziggler and being babyface.
Now, the crowd. The Raw match won't be an issue, thanks to that entire match having crowd favorites. When it comes time for that first/second MITB match, I expect that crowd to be HOT. Why? It's in Philly, full of smarks. Somehow, someway, WWE must have realized that a way to keep the crowd interested in that contest was to put the kings of the IWC in the ring at once. And you know something, they're right. The way they've put this match together, I actually give a shit about who wins. I've got so many favorites, I literally don't know who to root for.
I'll give credit where credit is due: WWE did a FANTASTIC thing here, and they gave us smarks something to talk about for the next few weeks. Who'll turn? Who'll win the blue briefcase (the red one seems wrapped up already). What will RVD's reaction be when his music hits... just kidding, he'll get a major pop. Stay tuned for my predictions, coming up soon!