Amidst all the usual hyperbole on Raw Monday were some grains of truth from an unlikely source-----Santino Marella.

The former Intercontinental champion, now a comedy heel attached to backstage reporter/part-time wrestler Maria Kanellis on-air, has been cutting promos for several weeks now voicing his disapproval of Maria posing for Playboy. Of course, most of us know the deal's already done, and will be made public on Raw this Monday. However, there was something to Santino's speech on the 2/11 show that struck a chord. He pointed out that some recent WWE-Playboy cover models have been bitten by the injury bug:

Torrie Wilson (2003, 2004): Currently on the DL with a back injury, Torrie is branching out into the clothing business to occupy her time.

Candice Michelle (2006): Candice is back on the road while still recovering from a broken clavicle suffered back in the fall vs. Beth Phoenix. She still hasn't been cleared to compete, but that should change by the time Wrestlemania rolls around next month.

Ashley Massaro (2007): The '05 Diva Search winner had a worked ankle injury in the midst of a feud on Smackdown with Jillian Hall.

The inspiration for Santino's promo, obviously, is another infamous magazine cover jinx, that of Sports Illustrated, in which case several cover subjects have had runs of bad luck and/or injury after being on the SI cover. Credit head scribbler Brian Gewirtz or even Marella himself for doing the research if you like, but we'll see if Marella's jealousy leads to adding Maria's name to the Playboy jinx.

Now, let's turn our attention to No Way Out. 6 matches on the card, most of it easy to figure.

WWE title: I'm going against the grain here and picking Randy Orton over John Cena. Too early for "Da Champ" to regain the title, and I see a 3-way with Triple H in the mix at Wrestlemania.

Raw Elimination Chamber: HHH over HBK, Y2J, JBL, Umaga, and Jeff Hardy. I don't see a heel turn in the offing for the Cerebral Assassin. There's money to be had in a future feud with the Foghorn Leghorn of the WWE (JBL), whom he hasn't feuded with yet.

Smackdown Elimination Chamber: Undertaker over Batista, Finlay, Big Daddy V, Great Khali, & MVP. The surest thing on the board.

Ric Flair over Ken Kennedy. Flair will find a way to Houdini out of trouble again.

ECW title: Chavo Guerrero over CM Punk. Too early for Chavo to drop the title, and he needs a clean win in front of the cameras to legitimize his title run.

WWE World title: Edge will retain, but lose via DQ. Note that I am not mentioning Rey Mysterio. That's because I don't think Rey will make it to Vegas after tearing his right triceps in Chile the other night. He may gut it out, but he might be better served to have the surgery now, swallow his pride, and come back in time for Summerslam (again). I foresee Matt Hardy being activated from the DL for this spot if Rey can't go. Two other scenarios are at play. They could have Punk wrestle twice, and get at least one "W" on his ledger by the end of the night. A longshot would be the return of the Big Show, but I don't see him in this spot. Ditto for Chris Harris. Both Harris & Show are being saved, supposedly, for post-Wrestlemania, and WWE Uncreative would be wise to stick to those plans.

Do I believe Edge will "marry" Vicki Guerrero? No way, Jose! That angle might be Vicki's ticket out of the GM's office, a little karmic justice after she usurped the position from Teddy Long, thanks to the backing of Vince McMahon. They'd be stupid to rush into it at Mania. I see them trying the angle on Smackdown again during the May sweeps. The sooner Teddy gets his job back, the better.