Up and down, this year’s WrestleMania seems to have a lot more to offer than last year’s dud.
WWE Championship
CM Punk (c) vs. Chris Jericho
Ever since Punk caught fire last summer, most everyone could guess that he’d find himself in the main event at WrestleMania. It’s slightly surprising that he’s going in to the show as the champion rather than chasing and challenging for it as that’s usually a little more interesting. The amazing thing about this year’s WM is that the focus of the championships seems to be on wrestling. WWE was making a push a few months ago to actually drop the association with wrestling and focus more on the entertainment. That ill conceived plan seems to have fallen by the wayside thankfully. Both world champions, Punk and Bryan, are wrestlers at their core. So it’s nice to see this return.
Punk vs. Jericho will very much be a wrestling match, but it doesn’t hurt that they’re two of the top 5 talkers in the business today. They’re veterans who can tell a story and back it up in the ring. I expect five stars out of these two. Not a lot of build up for these two on RAW this week (or really anyone besides Rock/Cena & Taker/HHH). Time's ticking away WWE!
Percentage chance they win: CM Punk (75%) – Chris Jericho (25%)
World Heavyweight Championship
Daniel Bryan (c) vs. Sheamus
We all know Daniel Bryan can flat out ‘go’ in the ring. The worry I had when he won Money in the Bank was whether he could carry a world title convincingly since he’s undersized and was pretty vanilla. My fears have been allayed since he’s turned heel and taken a page of the Ric Flair playbook. Bryan has been doing well as the cowardly heel that does everything he can to get out of matches. Matched up against the 2012 Royal Rumble winner Sheamus, we get a repeat of their US Championship match last year (which never made it on the live show). Lately, Sheamus has taken the phrase “white meat baby face” to the next level. He’s a hit with fans, but he’s lost a lot of his edge. Technically, he still does a great job in the ring for a big guy. I think Bryan and Sheamus will put on a good show.
Percentage chance they win: Daniel Bryan (50%) – Sheamus (50%)
John Cena vs. The Rock
WWE is about to pay off the longest setup for a WrestleMania match in history. The night after WrestleMania XXVII, The Rock challenged John Cena to a match at the next WrestleMania. And it’s finally here. This match is significant in terms of wrestling history. Much like when The Rock fought Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania X-8 ten years ago, generations will be clashing in this match. The Rock was the hottest thing going in the early 2000s and Cena is the face of WWE today. Maybe at WrestleMania 38 in 2022, John Cena will be lacing up the boots on last time to take on WWE’s top guy. But for now, we get two tremendous talkers and entertainers getting ready to butt heads. You should probably strap in for a few more weeks of name calling and catchphrase trending because a physical fight is not likely to break out until they get to Florida.
I understand that having The Rock back counts double as WrestleMania's main event and celebrity integration, but devoting all this time on RAW to Rock vs. Cena build up isn't necessary. This time would be better spent building other WM matches and feuds.
Hell in a Cell
Undertaker vs. Triple H
Special Guest Referee: Shawn Michaels
I groaned when they started this feud up again. Undertaker vs. Triple H at WrestleMania: Take 3(!). This doesn’t mean that they didn’t have the best match at last year’s WrestleMania (They did!). It doesn’t mean that these legends aren’t amazing to watch (They are!). All it means it that the Undertaker’s WrestleMania Streak match is as important as any title match and Triple H’s career does not benefit from it. Think about Undertaker vs. The Miz. Or Undertaker vs. Christian. Or Undertaker vs. Alberto del Rio. Sure, nobody would believe that Taker would lose to them, but no one really believes that Triple H will get the job done either. It won’t happen and why would it? Even though the Undertaker himself has stated that he doesn’t care if WWE decides to end the streak, no one, especially Triple H who respects him too much, will want to be the one to do it. That, plus the fairly non-sensical set-up (Undertaker is the one doing the challenging? Because Triple H made it such that he had to be carried away from the ring instead of under his own power?), makes it so that the excitement isn’t there for me this year. We know that these two will tear the house down again this year especially since it’s in Hell in a Cell. And now that Hall of Famer and Mr. WrestleMania Shawn Michaels is in the match as special referee, it’ll definitely be a classic. But it could have been could have been a lot more with different players.
Percentage chance they win: Undertaker (100%) – Triple H (0%)
Intercontinental Championship
Cody Rhodes (c) vs. Big Show
I like this match. First, because this is only the second time in ten years that the Intercontinental Championship is being contested at WrestleMania (and the 21 second Mysterio vs. JBL match at WM25 barely counts). Second, because Cody Rhodes has developed into one of the smoothest and slimiest characters in WWE today. Third, because even though the Big Show is often in major matches at WrestleMania, he rarely gets a chance to shine. Here, WWE rewards his hard work with a solo match and maybe the IC title. Not bad.
Percentage chance they win: Cody Rhodes (30%) – Big Show (70%)
Probable:
The tide seems to be moving towards these probable matches:
Randy Orton vs. Kane
Not necessarily the most marquee of match ups for Orton (del Rio or The Miz would be a better fit). But this lets two veterans have the spotlight for a little while on the company's biggest night.
General Manager Winner Take All
They seem to be building towards some manner of Teddy Long vs. John Laurinitas showdown where the winner will become GM of both RAW and SmackDown. Possibly some kind of 8 man elimination match? I would put Christian, Alberto del Rio, Mark Henry, and David Otunga on Team Laurinitas against Rey Mysterio, The Great Khali, Zack Ryder, and Santino Marella for Team Teddy Long. We'll see how this develops...
Possible:
Ok, so now who's left out? Big names such as Christian, Alberto Del Rio, Mark Henry, The Miz, & Rey Mysterio. Major mid-card players like Dolph Ziggler, Jack Swagger, Kofi Kingston, & R-Truth. And all the rest including: WWE Tag Team Champions, Primo and Epico, Alex Riley, Brodus Clay, Curt Hawkins, David Otunga, Evan Bourne, JTG, Mason Ryan, Michael McGillicutty, Santino Marella, Tyler Reks, Zack Ryder, Drew McIntyre, Ezekiel Jackson, Heath Slater, Hornswoggle, Hunico, Jey Uso, Jimmy Uso, Jinder Mahal, Johnny Curtis, Justin Gabriel, Sin Cara, Ted DiBiase, Trent Barreta, Tyson Kidd, Yoshi Tatsu, and all the Divas.
If I were putting the rest of the card together, I would include:
The Miz vs. Rey Mysterio
WWE Tag Team Championship: Primo & Epico (c) vs. Dolph Ziggler & Jack Swagger vs. R-Truth & Kofi Kingston
Divas Championship: Beth Phoenix (c) vs. Kharma
OK, so let's see how things develop!
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