With Judgment Day this Sunday inching closer, the pressure is on for WWE to put on a good show after a relatively lackluster PPV offering last month. This event should answer a lot of questions about the direction of the company at the moment and where it might be headed towards Summerslam. It looks like they will actually push a Triple H vs. Wiliam Regal main event at one of the biggest shows of the year, which is a great decision on Vince's part. 

Since his move to Raw, Regal has been outstanding on the mic. He's gained quite a reputation as a malicious villain. Aside from Orton and Edge, WWE has been lacking a good heel for a while and if there's anyone who deserves a chance to shine, it's Regal. In WCW, he never achieved his full potential. His ability to put on exceptional technical wrestling matches has never been put into question. However, he never made it past a TV title run, and after his shoot in a match with Bill Goldberg, a novice being propelled to stardom in the biz, he was released by the company. 

His run in WWE has been fairly successful, capped by a single Intercontinental title run and more recently, the King of the Ring. Unfortunately, since the PPV was scrapped, winning the tournament is trifling and worthless. On the bright side, it looks like WWE might actually follow through with Regal's push. They've done a good job with the recent angle regardless of how frustrating it might be. 

The heat Regal gets when he comes out is among the best in the world. He's unsurpassed when it comes to commanding a live crowd. After being stuck with the Eugene and Hornswoggle shticks and a ton of disparaging feuds in the hopeless Smackdown midcard scene, Regal is finally getting a run to be proud of. He's embraced his new role with open arms and will surely make some appearances on the PPV. When he does finally get back into the ring, the crowd will be very responsive.

As of late, WWE programming has been substandard with shorter matches and predictable booking. This week's Raw rebounded after a terrible show in Toronto and it did a good job of showcasing the major feuds. The talent pool is very deep right now, but the writing has been bland. Aside from the new angle with Regal, all two and a half brands are stuck in a standstill creatively. They are obviously catering to their new audience of children, and as a result, the quality of wrestling has gone downhill and the focus on titles has been non-existant. If Judgment Day turns out to be another mediocre PPV, many fans could be weary about ordering next month's One Night Stand. And don't let the name fool you, this will not be a recreation of the memorable 2005 event. Quite the contrary actually. To put it into context, it's like comparing the ECW on Sci-Fi of today to the ECW on TNN of 1999. 

On to the show this Sunday:

TRIPLE H vs. RANDY ORTON (WWE TITLE STEEL CAGE MATCH)

Judgment Day will be headlined by a steel cage match between two top guys: Triple H and Randy Orton. Orton was the perfect champion with a long winning streak and a good gimmick and he's now losing momentum. Although his win at Backlash was disappointing, Triple H has done well as the top dog on Raw. He talks a lot, he backs it up and the fans love every minute of it. This will be a cage match, which is interesting. 

It's no secret that cage matches have changed significantly since the days of Don Muraco vs. Jimmy Snuka, but Triple H has proven he can do well in the cage. These types of matches lost their appeal for me a long time ago, ever since they started using the door as a potential escape route. This essentially makes the match ludicrous because either guy can run out at any time. They will probably allow pinfalls in this match too. I expect a good outing nonetheless and I wouldn't be surprised if this one gets bloody. 

JUDGMENT: As much as I'd love to see Randy Orton win, I'm looking forward to the possibility of Triple H vs. William Regal at Summerslam for the WWE Championship. My prediction is a clean, yet hard fought victory for Triple H. I worry about what they have planned for Orton if he won't be in the title hunt for a while, but he's sure to remain one of the top main eventers in the company. Orton vs. Cena is a distinct possibility.

UNDERTAKER vs. EDGE (WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP)

Will the third time be a charm for Taker and Edge? These guys deserve a lot of credit for putting on great matches when it comes down to it. After a while, you get tired of seeing the same guys wage war on one another, but with the top Smackdown main eventers, the matches deliver time and time again. Since Edge's return, I was weary of the angle involving Vickie Guerrero. But he's molded well into the role of an obnoxious, contemptible heel. Since Wrestlemania, they have finally begun to book him strong as an in-ring competitor, especially after giving The Undertaker the fight of his life at Mania.

The Undertaker, a man who certainly deserves to spend his final years in the spotlight, has been exceptional in the ring. His matches with Batista over the past two years have stolen the show month after month. He's recently adopted a new finisher, the modified triangle lock. It has always been a cool move in his repetoire, especially when it comes to finishing off opponents larger than him. In the past few months, it's become his move of choice. Something different it is, but it's time for him to do away with this hold and go back to his old winning ways. After getting squashed last month, even after interferences from Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder, Edge desperately needs a good showing to remain a force in the main event picture. 

With rumours flowing about Umaga's shift to Smackdown, it appears as though Umaga vs. The Undertaker will be the next main event feud for the B-show. Umaga has proven himself as a solid worker over the past year, and his feud with John Cena elevated him to a new level. He's been stuck in gridlock wasting away for a while on Raw due to an abundance of top-level talents. After Jeff Hardy's return victory over Umaga (something they could have saved for Judgment Day), it appears the Deadman is next in his path. 

JUDGMENT: The Undertaker wins clean. Edge needs to give Taker another fight of his life, much like he did at Mania, and this could steal the show. However, three times could be a little much and for that reason, they need to be innovative. Hopefully they will get a fair bit of time to build towards a good match. The Ultimate Opportunist will likely suffer yet another painful defeat, which begs the question of where he goes from here.

THE MIZ & MORRISON vs. KANE & CM PUNK (WWE TAG-TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP)

It was a wretched day in Titan Towers when writers came up with this for a PPV match. Why we should be interested in seeing a match that has been shoved down our throat for free on ECW is beyond me. The Miz & Morrison are blending into a decent tandem. CM Punk has become a jobber since winning The Money In The Bank ladder match, if that makes any sense, and Kane is finally getting a push. Too bad the Kane push is coming a few years too late, Punk recently lost clean to William Regal on Raw and Miz & Morrison fulfill their role of two annoying douchebags. 

I thought when they moved Shelton Benjamin to ECW, they would actually push him, but it's become his new job spot. One might assume they have something planned for Kane, the ECW Champion, but I wouldn't be too hopeful. The ECW roster has become the laughing stock of wrestling. Not much more to be said about this one.

JUDGMENT: I see The Miz & Morrison retaining the titles by using some dirty tactics. It just makes no sense to put the worthless tag belts on the ECW Champion and the next best superstar on the brand, but I wouldn't put it past the WWE writers. The highlight of this match for me will be if Mike Adamle does commentary. If there's an angle that's actually been interesting on ECW this year, it's unfortunately been the Mike Adamle saga.

MICKIE JAMES vs. BETH PHOENIX vs. MELINA (WOMEN'S CHAMPIONSHIP)

I have been enjoying the women's division very much lately. It appears the head honchos in WWE have watched some TNA tapes and realized that women's wrestling has potential. The feud building between Beth and Melina has added a nice touch to the Mickie-Beth feud and I expect a pretty good short match with lots of high spots.

There are innumerable divas that are incredibly over with the WWE fans and it only makes sense to put them to use. It will be layoff season soon in the company and when it comes to pink slips, the WWE Divas are a fitting target.

JUDGMENT: Beth Phoenix regains the Women's Championship. This is nothing more than a guess, but I think they will try to prolong the program with Mickie for as long as possible. With that in mind, I can see them swapping the title back and fourth.

JBL vs. JOHN CENA

This should be a good match. Cena won his first WWE Championship from JBL at Wrestlemania 21. Since then, the two have not crossed paths. These are two performers that could make a crowd boo or cheer at will. The reaction will surely be hot, although the direction of both guys is unclear. They have done well keeping Cena out of the title picture without pushing him down the rankings, and they have likewise succeeded in pushing JBL back to the top as a heartless heel. 

But regardless of who wins in this one, what's next from here? If JBL wins, which would be a pleasant surprise, will he feud with Triple H for a little while? If Cena wins, will he continue to idle on Raw, shying away from the title picture? The solutions are simple. A John Cena move to Smackdown has been building for a long time, and a heel turn has been building for even longer. When and if John Cena finally does turn, he could be one of the greatest heels since Roddy Piper. And on the Piper note, will we see a confrontation with Santino Marella? I sure hope so, seeing as how Santino is one of the most entertaining comedy acts in a long time. 

JUDGMENT: John Cena tears through JBL and wins clean. Bradshaw has been a loyal member of World Wrestling Entertainment since 1995 and before his time is done, he's entitled to another main event title run. There are many ways the company could handle this match. They could be predictable and let Cena win or they can do something interesting with JBL. A feud with Triple H could make for some splendiferous promos and compelling matches.

SHAWN MICHAELS vs. CHRIS JERICHO

Last but not least, two of the top workers in the wrestling business will collide. They had a memorable matchup at Wrestlemania 19, which will be tough to recreate. Given the Michaels injury angle they are playing up, I wouldn't expect much of a match. In spite of that, the feud with Jericho has been built up slowly. This could lead to a good payoff match down the line. Feud advancement will be prioritized in this one. A heel Y2J is Y2J at his best and therefore the turn couldn't come at a better time. 

It seemed as though they had a plan for Shawn Michaels vs. Batista, but that idea was thrown out the window. The Batista feud had an interesting backbone with the Flair retirement storyline. Instead of capitalizing on the opportunity they had to push HBK and The Animal, they decided to shift the feud completely towards Chris Jericho and the fake leg injury. I am skeptical about why Batista was removed from the angle. Furthermore, he's not on this PPV at all. Had this been Batista last year after coming back from injury, I would have agreed. But Batista has gotten back into great shape and has put on a number of top quality PPV main events since regaining the gold from Khali at Unforgiven last year. Chances are that he did nothing wrong and this is a typical example of inconsistency and poor long-term planning from the WWE booking committee.

JUDGMENT: Shawn Michaels wins the match with a Sweet Chin Music out of nowhere after being dominated by Jericho for much of the match. If the leg injury is the primary focus, then the match will be decent. If they have a real wrestling match, reminiscent of their match at Wrestlemania 19, it could be outstanding.

So there you have it, a complete rundown of WWE Judgment Day. With the absences Regal, Batista, Umaga, Jeff Hardy, MVP and Matt Hardy, all top talents, the show could suffer immensely. Only time will tell if WWE drops the ball on this one.

You can catch WWE Judgment Day exclusively on PPV this Sunday at 8 PM ET. The Fight Network's John Pollock will have live coverage of the show on www.thefightnetwork.com, plus all the post-show recaps and reactions immediately following the event on Live Audio Wrestling, 1010 CFRB, at 11PM ET. I will have my Judgment Day review this Monday in the Raw Recap.

I invite you all to take my lead and cross your fingers for this Sunday's show... I have my suspicions about if it will be worth $39.95, but let's not jump the gun and bash a show that hasn't taken place yet.