WWE present The Bash tonight live on PPV from Sacramento, CA. As always, we’ll have live coverage of the show right here at iFight365.com.

Ahead of the show, we’re taking a look ahead to how the night may pan out…

Randy Orton (C) vs. Triple H in a Three Stages of Hell match for the WWE title:

Phil Lowe: I can’t see past a Triple H title win here. The feud has been ok in places but Trips vs. Orton has been done so much that I just find it hard to completely buy into it. The Last Man Standing match on Raw last week was good, but the prospect of three matches between the two tonight (unless Orton gets Orton’d and loses the first two falls) do nothing for me at all.

Orton vs. Triple H in a Hell in a Cell match at Summerslam had been talked about although I’m not sure that’s a smart idea when WWE have an all-Cell PPV taking place a couple of months later. Still, regardless of the stips, I think it’s hard to see this feud ending anytime before the end of August.

Mark Bright: What could be more dull and boring than one slow, plodding, seen-it-all-before Triple H v. Randy Orton match? Well, we’re getting our answer here and its THREE Triple H v. Randy Orton matches in one. I don’t really know why I’ve disliked their matches so much, they’re both really good at what they do, and the Last Man Standing match on Monday was really well-worked and dramatic. But I just don’t care; it feels like I’ve seen this match a million times, and when you compare it to Cena/Miz, the other top programme on the RAW brand – a new and fresh feud with someone different being inserted into the top picture – the staleness of HHH/Orton is highlighted even more. The match will probably close the show, so for those of us in the UK it will mean trying to stay awake at 3:30am to watch this. I’m predicting HHH to win title number 14, edging closer to thinking in his head that he’s the greatest wrestler of all time when everyone else knows that’s bullshit.

CM Punk (C) vs. Jeff Hardy for the World Heavyweight Title:

Mark Bright: Since Punk cashed in Money in the Bank and won the title at Extreme Rules, everything that has been done with his character development has been fantastic. People are naturally going to boo him because he got a cheap win over their hero Jeff Hardy. But, Punk is right when he says everything he did is within the rules, and although there have been ambiguities, and Punk playing head games with Hardy has been brilliant, especially on the commercial free RAW and the go-home SmackDown. I think eventually Punk has to turn full-on heel, but I don’t see it happening here.

I see Punk getting a win, but in a cheap way such as Jeff having a foot on the ropes and the referee not seeing it, so Hardy can play the “you KNEW I had my foot on the ropes” and Punk can say he didn’t and the referees decision is final. Of course, that’s giving the WWE credit for not rushing through their storylines and that almost never happens. The match should be good, as SmackDown has been on a hot streak for in-ring action lately and these two have been a major part of that. Anyone who’s read my SmackDown report from this Friday knows how much I loved the hints that Punk could be Vince McMahon’s next Corporate Champion, and that’s a role that could really elevate him to superstardom and a permanent place at the main event level.

Phil Lowe: WWE’s booking of Punk in recent months has been really well done. They are slowing turning him heel without him having to do anything particularly heel-like. The booking of this feud is just so much better than the top program on Raw and Smackdown over the past few months has been nothing short of superb. Everything has had a purpose, nothing has been rushed and a Punk heel turn has so many possibilities going forward.

This should be a really good match and I expect the feud to continue into next month’s PPV. We have no idea at time of writing whether Jeff Hardy will leave WWE this summer or sign a new deal, but if he’s on the way out, I could see a rematch next month with Hardy’s career on the line. For me, Punk retains here tonight.

Tommy Dreamer (C) vs. Christian vs. Fit Finlay vs. Jack Swagger vs. Mark Henry in a Scramble match for the ECW Title:

Phil Lowe: There are a number of ways this could go and that makes the match something to look forward to. All five are capable of having a good match (yes, even Henry) and this environment should actually add to proceedings tonight. I think Dreamer’s run as champion is up and while I’d like to see the title back on Swagger, I actually think Finlay will pick up a shock win tonight and have a short run as champion before they put the belt back on Swagger.

Mark Bright: Yes, the scramble match is back, which hopefully means the “three scramble matches on one show” thing they do at one of the PPVs later in the year is out the window. Anyone who read our preview for Extreme Rules knows how much I didn’t want Dreamer to win the title, and the tepid reactions to him since then prove me right. It’s time to put the belt back on Swagger and build the brand around him. Also, the rules of the scramble match mean this is guaranteed to go 20 minutes plus entrances, which eats into the PPV time of some other matches that if you cut them down (and you can guarantee it’s not going to be HHH/Orton being cut short) they might not be as special as they could have been.

Title vs. Mask – Chris Jericho (C) vs. Rey Mysterio for the Intercontinental Title:

Mark Bright: I can’t believe they’re doing the Mask vs. Title match this early, but I guess Jericho has two wins where he used Rey’s mask as the distraction so it probably is time. It’s just they did those matches so quickly and after barely touching on it for seven years, a month of hard-sell as far as banging on about what the mask means to Rey might have some fans going “if it’s so important how come he’s been in WWE for seven years and I’ve never heard him or anyone else talk about how important the mask is to him before?” and therefore not caring about the stipulation as much as they could, despite the fantastic performances of both guys, especially Jericho on the mic and in the ring to build this up.

I’d be stunned if something other than this was the match of the night, and if the live crowd invest into the drama (the shocked yells of “NO!” when Rey said he would put his mask on the line suggests this should happen) then we could get a memorable match that people will talk about for years. I still don’t think WWE will unmask Rey given how much money they make from his masks and other merchandise, so I’m picking him to win, and maybe even carry on the feud and do mask vs. Hair later in the year.

Phil Lowe: I can’t wait for this. Jericho has been the best character on WWE television this year and Mysterio has been in great form again during this feud. I don’t see WWE unmasking Rey as the merchandise sales would plummet overnight, so Rey to win here and another PPV match with a different stipulation. The Californian crowd should help make this memorable if they’re into the show and get behind Rey. It’s another Smackdown match and along with Punk vs. Hardy should be a great match. Take note, Raw.

John Cena vs. The Miz:

Phil Lowe: The only match of the night without a stipulation or title but it is definitely an interesting match. Miz has been cutting promo’s on Cena for weeks now but whenever there’s any interaction between the two, Miz comes off as lacking credibility as a top guy – blame WWE’s writers for that. How this should be booked is for Miz to look strong and really dominate Cena as Cena losing here wouldn’t hurt him at all. But I think it’s much more likely that WWE will put Cena over and have Miz look like a total joke in the process. If the latter happens, it’s a huge shame as they are close to having a new top heel in Miz if they booked him correctly. Hopefully WWE see the potential in Miz as a midcarder really to break through to the next level, but they’ve screwed up in the past with midcarders who could have moved up a level and no doubt will screw up again. Let’s hope it’s not tonight as there’s a heck of lot they can do with Miz (and don’t forget his recent interaction with Maryse) over the second half of 2009 and into next year.

Mark Bright: This is probably the most intriguing match of the night, as far as the future direction of the company. Miz has ran his mouth about Cena for months, and been treated by the announcers – and a little bit by Cena in his promo on RAW but the reaction to that has been massively overblown – as a guy doing a lot of talk when he doesn’t even deserve to be there because he’s a nobody. If Cena squashes Miz and beats him in dominating fashion, it just confirms Miz as not at that level so Cena can go back to wrestling Big Show or Triple H for the billionth time and the new guy is shunted back to the midcard.

The only real options are either Cena wins a competitive match but in a way that makes people realise he was in a fight and maybe Miz actually is really good, better than people thought, or Miz gets the win in a cheap and screwy way so he can get yet more heat, and brag about beating Cena when people think he doesn’t deserve it. Both those routes, if followed up well enough, can lead to Miz eventually getting a decisive win, or even a series of competitive losses, and you’ve got another top tier player. Or at least a guy who could be a top tier player if you avoid moving him from Cena to HHH and have HHH squash him completely.

Carlito and Primo Colon (C) vs. Ted DiBiase and Cody Rhodes for the Unified Tag Team Titles:

Mark Bright: Legacy win, so either their stable can have all the gold if Orton beats HHH, or they can hold belts and have Orton go insane for being the only guy in the group who isn’t a champion. Match should be OK if Carlito is motivated to work his first PPV match in a while, otherwise him dogging it could drag down a match that for Legacy’s sake needs to be good, as for all their genetics and their being good mechanically, eventually they’re going to have to have a good match or two in order to live up to the promise.

Phil Lowe: I think they’ll need to keep this short anyway as the top matches will all be given time, but keeping it short will probably be a good thing anyway. Legacy need to start getting a few convincing wins if they are to be taken seriously by the fans rather than being seen as Orton’s lackeys and a good way to start doing that would be for them to win the titles tonight.

Melina (C) vs. Michelle McCool for the Women’s title:

Phil Lowe: It should be Booking Wrestling 101 here. Have McCool get the win and have Melina chasing as the babyface looking to win back her title over the summer.

Mark Bright: McCool being so dominant and winning every week in the build-up suggests Melina beats her in this match, but I think that’s the wrong thing to do. McCool as a heel is a naturally hateable figure who could spearhead the division for a long time to come, where babyface Melina is a dull and boring channel-changer.

The Great Khali vs. Dolph Ziggler in a No DQ match:

Phil Lowe: Ziggler is showing potential and needs a way out of this feud if he is to progress and Khali as an attraction rather than a serious wrestler does not need to win here. Make Khali look strong but give Ziggler the win after using everything possible to finally down his opponent. Khali winning here would be a bad, bad move and hurt Ziggler’s push badly.

Mark Bright: I’ve absolutely loved this feud. Cocky heel running from monster that everyone sees should destroy him, now finally gets a chance to destroy him. Of course the next step is Ziggler somehow finds a way to win, maybe with the help of some big guy being repackaged as his bodyguard, but people like Snitsky and Knox have been released (I think), Kane wouldn’t work, and Festus got drafted to RAW. But it’s the sensible way to book this if they see potential in Ziggler as a strong midcard heel, something SmackDown is very short of unless you’re mad enough to still buy into Shelton Benjamin.