JDS' losses all made me think the HW belt would be forever behind him.. Losing his hair, looking older and doughier, and being a HW without a finish in four years all give me pause. I always want to root for him, but any confidence I had in him beast-moding his way to another championship was out the window.
He looked fantastic versus Big Ben, but largely due to Ben being outclassed through movement and speed.. not sure if it was that JDS looked that much better than his previous few performances, or if Ben just looked like cold molasses.
I don't think anyone will be surprised by Stipe's performance. He will come in and look strong, quick, well-rounded, a little hittable but with a good enough chin to take some HW shots. I don't think we are going to see him try and "Velasquez" his way to a victory. JDS seems to be the unknown quantity at this point.
Will we see a JDS/Stipe 1 or JDS/Hunt type fight? Will we see a quick stoppage after a game-changing counter?
But you know what?? I like playing high risk, long odds. JDS by RNC, round 2 (lol)