WWE Capitol Punishment: 10 Bold Predictions for the Upcoming PPV

After last night's episode of Monday Night Raw, we're now just five days away from the WWE's first-ever Capitol Punishment pay-per-view.

The announced card for the show isn't all that exhilarating, but it does have the potential to surprise us...in a good way.

Sure, we've already seen a number of the matches we'll see on Sunday--like Wade Barrett vs. Ezekiel Jackson, but there are still some intriguing aspects to the show, along with plenty of questions that will be answered.

Will Randy Orton defeat Christian yet again when the face off for the World Heavyweight Championship?

Is there any chance that John Cena loses the WWE Championship to R-Truth?

How will the creative team book the match between The Miz and Alex Riley?

Well, I don't know the answer to any of those questions for sure--except maybe the Cena one--but I am willing to make 10 bold predictions about what we'll see this Sunday at Capitol Punishment. 

10. The Big Show Will Destroy Alberto Del Rio

Most of the comments I've read here on B/R have said that it wouldn't make much sense for The Big Show to beat Alberto Del Rio at Capitol Punishment.

And I completely agree.

Why? Because a win for an aging veteran like Big Show wouldn't do much for him, while a win for ADR will help him look strong on a crowded heel side on Raw.

But, even though I think many of us agree that Del Rio should win for storyline purposes, I don't think he actually will.

Just take a look at what The Big Show did in his feuds with guys like CM Punk and Wade Barrett. He wound up getting the best of those two and totally destroyed their momentum in the process.

For some reason, the creative team just likes to book Big Show as the face who demolishes the heels.

And I wouldn't be remotely surprised to see him do it to Del Rio this Sunday.

9. The Divas Will Get Less Than Two Minutes on the Show

On last night's episode of Raw, we witnessed a 7-on-7 Divas Tag team match...and it lasted all of 90 seconds.

The bout featured basically every Diva in the WWE, yet that's the best the creative team could come up with?

If it is, then I imagine it won't get much better at Capitol Punishment on Sunday. After all, there are already seven announced matches, and I think we'll see another--Daniel Bryan vs. Cody Rhodes--announced on Smackdown.

Therefore, I'm not expecting to see any Divas match whatsoever--maybe a segment or two, though--but if we do, then I'll assume it will get less than two minutes.

8. Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater Will Officially Turn Face

After watching last week's Smackdown, it appears that Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater are days away from following in the footsteps of Ezekiel Jackson.

In other words, they're about to turn face.

When Wade Barrett left Slater and Gabriel to fend for themselves against Jackson last week, I immediately thought to myself, "Good call."

The Corre has been about as useful as Jack Korpela--which, as you know, isn't very useful--so completely breaking up the group is the right move.

After all, Slater and especially Gabriel were meant to be faces, not heels.

So, having them cost Barrett the Intercontinental Championship on Sunday should officially move them away from the dark side.

7. John Cena Will NOT Squash R-Truth

It's pretty obvious that the WWE creative team is building up R-Truth as one of Raw's top heels, so having him get squashed isn't going to accomplish much of anything.

Then again, he's facing John Cena, and booking logic doesn't seem to apply to the WWE's top star.

We've seen Cena get the typical Superman treatment a countless number of times throughout his career, where he runs through his opponents like Clay Matthews runs through quarterbacks.

And whenever Cena's carrying that WWE Championship, I always have this gut feeling that it's going to happen again.

But not this time.

The WWE knows it will kill any momentum R-Truth has if they do that again, and therefore, Truth will take Cena to the limit rather than lose to him in an eight-minute match. 

6. John Morrison Will Cost R-Truth the WWE Championship

On Monday's Raw show, John Morrison's return was cut short after he was attacked by R-Truth backstage.

The injury angle was seemingly done to keep their feud in the minds of fans because Morrison is likely still another few weeks away from being cleared to get back in the ring. Therefore, I wouldn't expect to see JoMo compete for a while.

But that doesn't mean Morrison can't appear on WWE programming on a weekly basis until then, and in fact, keeping him on TV is something I think we'll see. 

Morrison doesn't have to wrestle in matches to make an impact. All he has to do is continue to screw over the guy who put him out of action, R-Truth.

And that should start this Sunday at Capitol Punishment when Morrison interferes in Truth's WWE Championship match against John Cena and costs him the title.

5. Punk Will Beat Rey Mysterio and Move on to a Feud with John Cena

With reports circulating around the Internet that CM Punk is unhappy in the WWE and likely leaving the company when his current contract expires, now is the time to give Punk what he wants: a run at the top of Raw.

He and Rey Mysterio have traded wins over the past few weeks, and Punk also got a victory--albeit a tainted one--over the guy who rarely loses on WWE TV, John Cena.

I'm taking that as a sign that WWE officials are trying everything they can to get Punk to stay. But if they want to ensure it, then they need to give Punk a reign with the WWE Championship.

The WWE creative team should have Punk decisively defeat Mysterio at Capitol Punishment and then claim to be the No. 1 Contender for the WWE Championship because of his victory over Cena on last night's Raw.

That way, R-Truth can move on to a feud with John Morrison, and Punk can begin a feud with John Cena for the WWE title that culminates with Punk winning the belt at SummerSlam (and of course, deciding to re-sign with the company).  

4. The Orton vs. Christian Feud Will Continue After Capitol Punishment

Smackdown's top feud between Randy Orton and Christian is red hot, and Captain Charisma's heel turn will keep that fire going.

Though these two have already competed in two stellar matches with the World Heavyweight Championship on the line and are about to compete in another, the WWE has to realize that is has a good thing going with Orton/Christian...and then keep it going.

Now that Christian's turned to the dark side, this feud can go in a number of different directions. But the one I want to see it go in is a final match between these two at SummerSlam. 

There aren't really many other options for Orton to feud with on Smackdown, so why not do what the WWE hardly ever does these days and have a feud that lasts several months?

Of course, this means Sunday's title match might have to end with a dirty or contested finish, but I'm all for that if it means a couple more months of Orton vs. Christian.

3. Alex Riley Will Beat the Miz

Alex Riley has gotten over huge as a face in less than a month, and it really goes to show how good the Raw creative team can be when it actually tries.

But now they're stuck in a bit of a pickle here.

Do they give Riley the win and continue to build him as a upper mid-card/main event face on Monday Nights? Or do they give Miz the victory because having him lose would completely kill anything he has accomplished in the last year or so?

I'm with the former, because I don't think having The Miz put Riley over is going to hurt Miz in the long run.

Obviously, it's not going to be great for him right now, but he'll rebound and be back in the main event scene down the road.

As for Riley, a win here should help his lightning-quick ascension to the top of Raw gain even more speed.

2. We Will Witness the Beginning of a Dolph Ziggler Face Turn

The Miz, CM Punk, R-Truth, Alberto Del Rio and maybe even Jack Swagger--those are the heels who seem to be ahead of Dolph Ziggler on Raw right now.

So, I pose a question: Why not turn Ziggler face? Because Capitol Punishment presents a good opportunity to start that turn.

After all, Ziggler almost ditched Vickie Guerrero on Monday's Raw, and Guerrero recently worked as the manager for Tyson Kidd.

You can have Vickie interfere in Ziggler's United States Championship match against Kofi Kingston on Sunday, and inadvertently cost him the match.

Then, Ziggler will go ballistic, yelling at Vickie, claiming that she's more worried about Kidd, and then kicking her to the curb.

Much like Alex Riley did with The Miz and Michael Cole, the crowd would pop huge if Ziggler embarrassed or even hit his finisher on Vickie following his match.

And there you have it, folks, a Dolph Ziggler face turn in the making.

Of course, that's my fantasy version of how it will play out, but let's wait and see if WWE officials actually have the gonads to do it.  

1. Daniel Bryan vs. Cody Rhodes Will Be the Match of the Night

Given what Orton and Christian have done in their two World title matches, it's hard to imagine anyone topping them on Sunday.

But if there's another match that can do it, it's Cody Rhodes vs. Daniel Bryan.

Sure, this bout hasn't even been announced yet, but I'm thinking there's a 90 percent chance that it'll happen at Capitol Punishment.

And if these two put on a show like they did on Smackdown a couple of weeks back, then there's no reason why they can't tear the house down and have the match of the night in the process.