WrestleMania 26 update

Every week until WM26 on Sunday, Mar 28, I'll make updates to the card and my predictions as to who will win and why.

WrestleMania 26 announced matches:

WWE Championship: Batista (c) vs. John Cena

Batista and Cena keep adding fuel to their feud. They're playing up the fact that Batista has dominated Cena up to this point in their careers. Should be a good one.

Who will win? John Cena. My guess is this will be the last match of the night so WWE typically likes to send its WrestleMania crowd home happy with a face victory.

Who should win? Batista. Cena's had the title several times over the past year. He's always a solid champion and torchbearer for the company, but Batista's new heel persona is really catching fire. I'd love to see him get a longer run.

World Heavyweight Championship: Chris Jericho (c) vs. Edge

The whole "SPEAR! SPEAR! SPEAR!" thing is getting real old, Edge. Please change gears. Jericho still hasn't gotten a chance to shine in this feud. Better hurry it up, WWE.

Who will win? Chris Jericho. Along with Randy Orton and Batista, Jericho is one of the biggest and best heels in WWE. He's earned a longer run with the World title than the 6 weeks between Elimination Chamber and WM26.

Who should win? Chris Jericho. Despite winning the Royal Rumble, Edge will come up short on this one and chase Jericho for a few more months. Maybe that'll ratchet up the entertainment factor in this surprisingly bland feud.

Streak vs. Career - No Count-out, No DQ: Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker

Adding No DQ and No Count-out allows HBK and Taker a little more creativity this year. HBK has regained his swagger and doesn't seem at all intimidated by his date with the Deadman.

Who will win? Undertaker. The WrestleMania undefeated streak of 16-0 is his biggest legacy. HBK respects him too much to take that away.

Who should win? Undertaker. As much as it pains me to say it, HBK's career will end at WrestleMania. Yeah, probably not. But at least Shawn can take a few months off to spend time with his family and heal some injuries. Then he'll be back in time for SummerSlam!

Bret "Hitman" Hart vs. Vince McMahon

Not a lot of advancement of this story this week. So the Hitman hasn't pulled on his wrestling boots for almost a decade and has suffered from post-concussion syndrome and a stroke in the past few years. It seems like he's game for one more match but at this point, Vince is in better shape than him. Hope Vince takes it easy on him.

Who will win? Bret "Hitman" Hart. This seems like a no brainer. Why would he sign a contract only to be humiliated again by the person who turned his life on its head 13 years ago?

Who should win? Bret "Hitman" Hart. Time to bury all the demons and lay the Vince-Bret feud behind us once and for all.

Money in the Bank Ladder Match: Christian vs. Kane vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Jack Swagger vs. Shelton Benjamin vs. MVP vs. vs. Matt Hardy vs. Evan Bourne

The last two participants were added this week (Matt Hardy & Evan Bourne). It's an interesting field this year. Expect some craziness now that Bourne is in the mix (Shooting Star Press off the top of a ladder? Yes please.)

Who will win? Not sure, but here's how I rank their overall chances: 1. Christian; 2. Kane; 3. MVP; 4. Jack Swagger; 5. Matt Hardy; 6. Shelton Benjamin; 7. Dolph Ziggler; 8. Evan Bourne.

Who should win? Christian. He was exiled for a year to ECW and now Christian is ready to hit the big stage. Please please please, Vince, won't you give Christian a chance?

Triple H vs. Sheamus

Set up like a straightforward grudge match, Triple H is definitely swallowing his pride to take on Sheamus this year. Their rumored backstage friendship is obviously paying dividends to the Celtic Warrior. Last year, no one had heard of Sheamus and this year, he's facing a man who has headlined eight WrestleManias. Sheamus better deliver on the grandest stage of them all.

Who will win? Sheamus. Triple H has been much more flexible about putting younger guys over these days (see: Jeff Hardy). Sheamus will win, but it probably won't be clean.

Who should win? Sheamus. Since WWE took the time to put the WWE title on this guy for a few months this year, they're looking to invest more into him. A win for Triple H does nothing for him. A win for Sheamus at WrestleMania against the Cerebral Assassin...well that's something you can brag about all year long.

Unified Tag Team Championship:
The Miz and Big Show (c) vs. John Morrison and R-Truth

What was I saying last week about WWE randomly throwing two people together to face Show Miz? Oh yes "My guess is that they randomly put two mid-card face wrestlers together (Bourne & Morrison?) to face off for the Unified Tag Titles." Well, Morrison and R-Truth had their numbers called and they have the task of coming across as a cohesive unit over the next three weeks. Glad Morrison and R-Truth are on the WM card though. They're too talented to exclude. Interesting (?) note: Last year at WM25, The Miz and Morrison were the WWE Tag Team Champions and now they face off this year as rivals.

Who will win? Show Miz. The Miz is on a roll with the Big Show at his side. No need to stop this team in its tracks. Plus, it gives Big Show something important to do for another couple months.

Who should win? Show Miz. Again, The Miz is developing into one of the better jerk heels on RAW so let's see where this goes.

WM26 Projected Matches:

Some iteration of Randy Orton vs. Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase

So they went ahead with this match already on RAW this past week though I'm not exactly sure why. Legacy got the duke on Monday, but this is far from over. Perhaps they're hinting that Orton on his own cannot beat Legacy. He needs a partner...though he has done pretty well at alienating most everyone on the WWE Superstar roster. Could he somehow get Kofi Kingston to team with him? Or maybe his Hall of Fame father, Cowboy Bob Orton. I'm pretty sure Ricky The Dragon Steamboat is free on WrestleMania too.

CM Punk vs. Rey Mysterio

Expect this match to be announced this Friday on SmackDown. Good build up and should be a solid match.

Intercontinental Championship: Drew McIntyre (c) vs. ???

McIntyre was recruited by Mr. McMahon this week to participate in the beat down of John Cena and he's still without a WM match. Most of his SmackDown contenders already have WM matches so maybe they'll try and put Kofi Kingston in a match here. Kingston tried to make the save for Cena against the forces of McMahon this Monday but got a power bomb from Batista for his trouble. That probably didn't please the Chairman too much so maybe he'll "punish" Kofi by having him fight McIntyre at WM. Though getting an Intercontinental Championship shot at WrestleMania sounds more like a reward.

Divas Championship: Michelle McCool (c) vs. Beth Phoenix

Beth has been out of the Divas/Women's title picture for too long. I'm hoping that WWE dispenses with the throwaway women's matches (i.e., pillow fights) and focus on the wrestling aspect. Lots of the women are uber-talented and it would be awesome to see them get an opportunity to showcase their skills. Beth is obviously one of the most powerful and fundamentally sound women performers and McCool has definitely improved over the years. Too bad two other fundamental wrestlers, Melina and Mickie James, are both nursing injuries that will leave them out of WM festivities. I'm wondering if the card will make room for WWE Women's Champion Maryse and Gail Kim too. Ideally, a RAW vs. SmackDown women's match could allow lots of the deserving women to make it on the card.

Notables without current feuds: Kofi Kingston, Hart Dynasty, Mark Henry, Drew McIntyre, Great Khali, Carlito

Kofi will definitely find his way on the card as will McIntyre. Sadly, I can't say the same for Carlito. If he's left off of WM, it will probably be the straw that breaks his back and he'll ask for his release and be gone by SummerSlam.