WrestleMania XXVIII Countdown - 26 days

WrestleMania XXVIII

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!

Royal Rumble 2012 - Predictions

It's that time of year. Sunday's Royal Rumble officially kicks off the Road to WrestleMania XXVIII in Miami on April 1st. Of course, the winner of the Rumble punches his ticket to a World Title match at WM28. So let's take a quick look at who the current champions are now and if they're likely to make to Miami with their titles:

WWE Champion: CM Punk

Punk caught fire in the middle of 2011 and has correctly been the focus of Monday Night RAW ever since. Given the past few months, I can't really imagine how Punk won't be in the main event at WM28. It's possible that he drops the title on Sunday to Dolph Ziggler, enters and wins the Rumble later that night, and spends the next few months building up towards winning it back. Seems overly complicated, but having the face challenge for the title makes for a better story at WrestleMania.

World Heavyweight Champion: Daniel Bryan

After cashing in Money in the Bank on the Big Show several weeks ago, Bryan has been trying to get his footing as a legit World Champion (Rey Mysterio had this problem as well). He's undersized, but incredibly talented. WWE is playing up his sneaky side and it should be enough to get him a win in a Triple Threat Steel Cage match vs. Big Show and Mark Henry. I don't see any of those three headlining WM28 so I expect to see Bryan drop the title next month at Elimination Chamber. But I've been wrong about main event material in the past. I never thought WWE would let The Miz headline with Cena last year, but it all came together.

Royal Rumble

WWE has been saying that this year "Every superstar is eligible for the Royal Rumble". I assume this means that even if you're involved in a match before the Rumble (ala John Cena, Kane, Punk, Ziggler, etc.), you can still be in the Rumble. My last count of the WWE roster has about 50 superstars. Here's my opinion on the likelihoods of them winning it all:

Can win: Alberto Del Rio, Chris Jericho, CM Punk, John Cena, Kane, Triple H, Randy Orton, Undertaker

Might win: Dolph Ziggler, The Miz, Rey Mysterio, Big Show, Christian, Daniel Bryan, Sheamus, Wade Barrett

Darkhorse: Jack Swagger, Kofi Kingston, R-Truth, Cody Rhodes, Mark Henry, Kevin Nash, Booker T

No way, no how: Alex Riley, Brodus Clay, Curt Hawkins, David Otunga, Epico, Evan Bourne, JTG, Mason Ryan, Michael McGillicutty, Mick Foley, Primo, 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

Impression: With six previous Rumble winners (del Rio, Cena, Triple H, Mysterio, Orton, Undertaker) and twenty former World champions floating around this year, the winner is hard to predict. There's no clear narrative being built for a specific superstar as in previous years (Stone Cold, Chris Benoit, Triple H). I'll split my money two ways this year: Randy Orton and Chris Jericho. With a side bet on CM Punk.

However it shakes out, it's still one of the best shows of the year so get excited!

Edge forced to retire -- vacating World Heavyweight Championship on SmackDown

Yowza. I am left unsettled after last night's RAW where World Heavyweight Champion Edge announced that injuries sustained through almost two decades' worth of wrestling are forcing him to retire. No storyline. No angle. This seems to be the Real Deal.

From Wrestling Online Newsletter:

"Edge, real name Adam Copeland, said that both of his arms are experiencing numbness as a result of a neck injury and an MRI that was held the day after WrestleMania in Atlanta confirmed the seriousness of the injury. Edge was diagnosed with spinal stenosis, the narrowing of one or more areas in the spine which puts pressure on the spinal cord or spinal nerves at the level of compression according to world renowned Mayo Clinic. His injury will require surgery and no medical professional will clear Edge to ever compete in a ring again as there is a risk of paralysis or even death."

Now, as wrestling fans, we are not strangers to injuries befalling our favorites. Every wrestler at some point has incurred some type of injury that required rest or surgery. So they go under the knife, do some rehab, and return. No big deal.

Similarly, we are used to guys deciding to hang up their boots. We are usually given hints about this through age (e.g., Dean Malenko, Finlay, Ricky Steamboat, Arn Anderson), long standing injuries (e.g., Stone Cold Steve Austin), or storyline (e.g., Ric Flair and Shawn Michaels). So it is a rare thing when a superstar, especially one at Edge's level, can no longer compete and seemingly has no option but to retire. We can hope for an HBK-esque recovery period and return. Shawn retired in 1998 because he thought that his back was too far gone, too busted up, to keep going. He sat on the bench for four years and moved on with his life. Of course, we know that HBK dipped his toes back in the water in the summer of 2002 and went on to have a glorious eight year run. Edge may not get that chance. For all intents and purposes, Edge is done.

Done as far as being an in ring competitor. Edge is too passionate about the business and has too much know-how to sit at home. My guess is that after he's done rehabbing, he'll find his way back to WWE, either on screen as a commentator or backstage as a trainer or producer.

So how will wrestling remember Edge? He leaves behind a legacy that surprised me when he said it last night: Edge has won 31 championships, the most number of championships in the history of WWE. Count 'em:

World Heavyweight Championship (7 times)

WWE Championship (4 times)

Intercontinental (5 times)

United States (1 time)

Tag Team Championship [14 times(!)] with six different partners: Christian, Chris Benoit, Hulk Hogan, Randy Orton, Chris Jericho, and Rey Mysterio

He also won the King of the Ring in 2001, Money in the Bank twice, and the Royal Rumble in 2010. Also he has main evented the last four WrestleManias. This is a streak matched only by Hulk Hogan, Triple H, and John Cena. Those are obviously Hall of Fame stats.

But will Edge's retirement leave a Hogan/Triple H/Cena sized hole in the WWE? I don't think so. Edge has never been a larger than life, generation defining wrestler. The absence of Stone Cold, The Rock, Shawn Michaels, and eventually The Undertaker leave bigger holes than the one Edge leaves. Lara correctly nicknamed him "The Overrated Superstar". Not that Edge wasn't consistent, passionate, and loyal to professional wrestling. But his World Championship reigns were patchwork and unmemorable. Only one five star match pops in my mind when I look back (against Mick Foley at WrestleMania 22). But at least he was there. As long as he was physically able, he was there every week for 13 years. Of course, this is Edge as a singles star. As a tag team specialist, my memories are much fonder.

Along with Christian, he captured the Tag Team titles eight times (becoming the octopusses of the WWE). With the Hardys and Dudleys, they pioneered Tables, Ladders, and Chairs. They stole the show at WrestleManias 16 and 17. Me and my flash photography benefitted from them. They also ran around as pranksters with the then-comical Kurt Angle, forming Team AEC (Angle/Edge/Christian) and played the kazoo. In my mind, Edge was never better than when he had Christian as his partner.

Lara noted last night that when Edge was giving his retirement speech that it was the most she'd ever liked him. Understandable as last night, he was speaking as Adam Copeland. Edge the character never hit home for me. He wouldn't break my top 25 of favorite wrestlers. But Adam Copeland has worked for 17 years to entertain us and in the process destroyed his body. He's the guy who, when he saw me in a crowd in San Diego 7 years ago wearing an old school Edge & Christian shirt, shot me a wry smile and struck a quick five second pose. Professional wrestling benefits from hard working superstars such as Edge. And for that, we as fans, have been very lucky to have him.

WrestleMania XXVII: Opinions and Thoughts

Recap:

So many things wrong with this year's WrestleMania. The show was definitely average which is fine for the other 364 days of the year. Not for WrestleMania. We as fans expect more and WWE did not step up. Here are the main reasons why WM27 was a disappointment:

1. The World Heavyweight Title match is the curtain jerker (first match) for WrestleMania?! This is insulting to World Champion Edge and Royal Rumble winner Alberto del Rio. It's even more insulting when you see the build-up and intros for The Miz and John Cena for the last match of the night. Why go to the effort of having del Rio win the Royal Rumble if you're just going to have him lose a SmackDown-rate match at WrestleMania?

2. They left the United States Championship match (Sheamus vs. Daniel Bryan) off the card. Apparently, this was the dark match before WrestleMania started. Though not unheard of, leaving this match off the card seemed mostly due to poor time management. They could have dropped that match into the main show if they cut The Rock's promo by 2 minutes and spent less time on the Undertaker's post-match laying around time.

3. The Corre vs. Kane/Big Show/Kofi/Santino was an absolute waste. Approximately 90 seconds long, the match which includes two former World champions, three former and the current Intercontinental champion, and the Tag Team champions, was completely without merit. Poor booking.

4. No title changes. Only two titles were defended anyway (the fewest in modern WrestleMania history) and neither changed hands. If I wanted to drop money on a pay-per-view to NOT see titles change hands, I'd order SummerSlam.

5. Having The Rock rule supreme over the main event was a mistake. This is a night for all the WWE roster to shine, not the guest host, no matter who he is.

6. On the same vein, leaving most of the women wrestlers off the show was sad to see also. At least the male Superstars were allowed to participate in the pre-show Battle Royal. The women of WWE work just as hard as the men so they should have made room for them somewhere (hint: next time just cut the Snoop Dogg segment).

7. Having Triple H tap out to the Undertaker undermines his whole "I'll beat the streak or die trying" bit. Seems like if you're trapped in the Undertaker's submission move, you should probably accept death over tapping out, because tapping out means that you have made the willful, albeit rational, decision to quit. Triple H should have gone down via pinfall or "Oh god, this submission move is so painful that it caused me to pass out from the pain but I never quit" route.

WrestleMania Results:


WWE Championship: The Miz (c) defeats John Cena

A pretty average match. Cool intros for both, but the crowd seemed dead for this one. This was marred by the double count-out ending, followed by The Rock's decree that the match go on. After the match re-started, The Rock hit a Rock Bottom on Cena, allowing The Miz to get the win. Then The Rock goes on to beat up The Miz. Congratulations WWE, you have now managed to allow a semi-retired former Superstar beat down your two top draws at the last match of your biggest night of the year. Bravo. 2 and a half stars.



World Heavyweight Championship: Edge (c) with Christian defeats Alberto del Rio with Brodus Clay

The less said about this the better or I'll get angry again that they started the show with this. Average match. Average storytelling. Two and a half stars.



The Undertaker defeats Triple H

19 and 0 at WrestleMania. They had me thinking that Triple H was going to win for a brief moment. That moment happened after the slew of chairshots and Triple H's Tombstone on the Undertaker. I had forgotten about Undertaker's submission move, Hell's Gate (or as I refer to it "I Choke Your Face"). Glad that he pulled that out and got the win. Best match of the night, despite the ending. Four stars.



Randy Orton defeats CM Punk

Second best match of the night. Punk and Orton could have headlined the show, but still managed to do well. Cross your fingers for a long CM Punk title reign this year. Four stars.



Michael Cole with Jack Swagger defeats Jerry "The King Lawler" via disqualification -- Special Guest Referee Stone Cold Steve Austin

Entertaining. Lots of Stone Cold Stunners. Sort of odd ending with the RAW General Manager reversing the decision after Michael Cole tapped out. I assume this is going somewhere. Great to see and hear Jim Ross again. Great to see Jerry Lawler participate in his first WrestleMania match. Three and a half stars.

"Dashing" Cody Rhodes defeats Rey Mysterio

Good match and character development. Cody is getting a good rub from Mysterio. Cody could have a big year in store for him too. Three and a half stars.

John Morrison, Trish Stratus, & Snooki defeats Dolph Ziggler & Lay-Cool with Vickie Guerrero

Seems like Morrison and Ziggler could be two candidates for future big spots at WrestleMania. Morrison's Starship Pain to the outside was pretty crazy. And to give credit where credit is due, Snooki's super surprising gymnastic abilities gave this match a lot more than expected. Short match. Would have benefitted from more Morrison/Ziggler action. Two and a half stars.



United States Championship: Sheamus (c) vs. Daniel Bryan (no contest)

Dropped off the main WrestleMania card. They never really got a chance to do this during the dark match as it quickly devolved into the traditional pre-WrestleMania Battle Royal.


The Big Show, Kane, Vladimir Kozlov, and Kofi Kingston defeat The Corre

Horrible booking. The entrances lasted longer than the actual match. For a team that has both the Intercontinental and Tag Team champions, The Corre got buried at WrestleMania. Shame on WWE for wasting the talent involved in this match. Half star.

Final Thoughts

Among modern WrestleManias (WrestleMania 14 and above), this ranks dead last. No title changes. No major swerves. What was this year's WrestleMania moment? Pick any year prior and you have a defining moment. In fact here they are:

WM 14: Stone Cold Steve Austin beats HBK for his first WWE Title -- The Austin Era begins
WM 15: This was kind of a crappy WM, but Triple H betrayed DX and joined The Corporation
WM 16: First Ladder match between Edge and Christian, the Dudley Boyz, and the Hardy Boyz
WM 17: Austin turns heel. TLC II.
WM 18: The Rock vs. Hulk Hogan
WM 19: HBK returns to WrestleMania. Brock Lesnar almost breaks his neck attempting a Shooting Star Press. Kurt Angle tears his quad in the first 30 seconds of his match but continues to compete for another 20 minutes
WM 20: Chris Benoit and Eddie Guerrero stand victorious as WWE and World Champion
WM 21: Batista and John Cena win their first major championships. HBK vs. Kurt Angle. First Money in the Bank Ladder Match
WM 22: Also a weak WrestleMania. HBK vs. Vince. DX reunion teased. Edge vs. Mick Foley. Mysterio wins World title.
WM 23: Batista vs. Undertaker. Hair vs. Hair match -- Vince vs. Donald Trump.
WM 24: Ric Flair vs. HBK. Floyd Mayweather vs. Big Show
WM 25: HBK vs Undertaker
WM 26: HBK vs. Undertaker II
WM 27: ??? The Rock beats up Cena and Miz?

On RAW, we see that this is all set up for next year's WrestleMania in Miami. The Rock vs. John Cena. We have a year to watch the build up and hope that Cena can stay healthy. This will be interesting as this now eliminates Cena from major title stuff starting at next year's Royal Rumble. Sin Cara made his debut, antagonizing Sheamus (probably not a great idea). No new feuds seemed to have erupted on RAW so we'll see how things develop in the coming weeks.

WrestleMania XXVII: Meh.

WrestleMania update: Change in card

Not that the match was super well developed in the first place but there's been a change to the the Big Show, Kane, Santino, Kozlov vs. The Corre match-up. During the WrestleMania weekend festivities on Friday, Vladimir Kozlov was having an exhibition match. After his match, The Corre came down and beat up him. WWE.com reported this as if to imply that Kozlov will not be physically able to keep his spot in the match. Fortunately, they have a pretty good replacement in former Intercontinental Champion, Kofi Kingston. Nice to see that Kofi will be able to be on the card, but it must be disappointing to Kozlov to miss out on his WrestleMania payday. Such are the consequences of sloppy booking.

Statistical Certainty: Alberto del Rio will be WWE/World Champion by April 2012

Good news Alberto del Rio fans. It is highly likely that he will be World/WWE Champion at some point between WrestleMania on Sunday and next year's WrestleMania.

Here are the facts:

Since WrestleMania IX, WWE has put the winner of the Royal Rumble in a title match at WrestleMania (exceptions are: '97 winner Stone Cold Steve Austin who fought Bret Hart and '99 winner Mr. McMahon because...well, let's be serious).

In addition to winning the Royal Rumble being a guaranteed ticket to a title match, there have been other challengers to WWE/World titles through a variety of other mechanisms. In total, over the past 18 WrestleManias, there have been 33 different challengers.

You'd think winning the Rumble may also punch your ticket to a title celebration at WrestleMania, but you'd be wrong. Only 11 out of the 19 winners of the Rumble go on to win at WrestleMania and no one has done it since the Undertaker in 2007.

However, extrapolate it out and you'll see that of the 19 Royal Rumble winners, 95% of them go on to be WWE/World Champion by the time the next year's WrestleMania rolls around. That is significant at the p < .001 level (Chi-square analysis).

So at some point over the next 12 months you will hear: "My name! My name is Alberto del Rrrrrrrrrio! And I am the World Heavyweight Champion!"

But you already knew that.

WrestleMania XXVII: This Sunday!

Weekly recap:

OK then. This week's episode of RAW is in the books and with WrestleMania 5 days away, it seems like the card is set. Let's get down to it.

Announced WrestleMania matches:


WWE Championship: The Miz (c) vs. John Cena

The big hyped face off between John Cena, The Rock, and The Miz last night was fairly well done. The Rock made his way to the ring for the last segment of RAW and went through his usual rant and rave routine. Finally, John Cena came down to proffer his rebuttal. While Cena's response was surprisingly respectful of The Rock, it was also passionate. No one can argue that Cena is the hardest working guy on the WWE roster today. But WWE decided to make the argument about The Rock's problem with Cena (i.e., he plays to a kid-oriented audience, he dresses funny) when the actual issue between them to start with was that Cena questioned The Rock's passion for the business when he left for Hollywood. The Rock actually had more to be pissed about than Cena. But I digress. Before this could break down into fisticuffs, the forgotten WWE Champion, The Miz, interrupts the shenanigans with his well played two cents. Obviously, it devolves and The Miz and Alex Riley double team The Rock. The Great One manages to get rid of Riley and hit The People's Elbow on The Miz. Then Cena sneaks back in the ring and delivers an Attitude Adjustment to The Rock and leaves with a smirk on his face. That final sequence with Cena blindsiding The Rock sort of defeated the crux of Cena's "Face Me Like a Man" argument. Anyway, of course expect The Rock to get involved with the WWE Championship match on Sunday. But it still shouldn't affect the outcome.

Predicted % chance of winning: Cena (70%) - Miz (30%)


World Heavyweight Championship: Edge (c) with Christian vs. Alberto del Rio with Brodus Clay

Biggest WrestleMania related disappointment: not including Christian in the World title match. Yes, sadly, Captain Charisma has been saddled with the job of being in Edge's corner for the match on Sunday. There is hope for Christian's future, but I will get into that in a minute.

Edge vs. del Rio should be a solid enough match, but it's not main event caliber. My guess is that this match goes on as the second or third last of the night (I would imagine the last three of the night are: Taker/HHH, Edge/del Rio, and Miz/Cena last). So given the fairly basic construction of this feud, this brings us back to Christian. I imagine he'll keep Brodus and Ricardo Rodriguez from interfering in the match. However, when Christian decides to intervene in the match himself, what will he do? They are clearly going to build towards an Edge vs. Christian feud at some point in the next few months, but are they going to pull the trigger at WrestleMania? My guess is no and they'll wait to have the Edge/Christian program until arou

Predicted % chance of winning: Edge (65%) - del Rio (35%)


The Undertaker vs. Triple H

Ok, so suddenly, this match became more interesting. And it only took the addition of the Heartbreak Kid Shawn Michaels. I was prepared for another super-boring nose-to-nose growling match between Taker and Triple H when HBK's music hit. Given the rather humorless and intense atmosphere in the ring with Taker and Triple H, it was pretty funny to see Shawn prancing his way to the ring with a smile on his face. Overall, it was a very good segment that I can't do justice to in a recap, but it all ends with Shawn leaving the ring saying to Triple H that "you can't win".

So where does that leave us with this match? Conventional knowledge would suggest that if Shawn Michaels couldn't beat the Undertaker for two years in a row, they're certainly not going to give that honor to Triple H. But, Triple H does have the most pull of all the wrestlers in WWE and if he wanted to end the streak, he could convince Vince to let him. But honestly, everyone, including Triple H, respect the Undertaker and they know that his undefeated streak is his legacy. Undertaker will be 19-0 after this year's WrestleMania and go on to WrestleMania 28 to make it 20-0 (against John Cena?) and retire.

Predicted % chance of winning: Undertaker (100%) - Triple H (0%)


CM Punk vs. Randy Orton

What could easily be headlining this year's WrestleMania will probably only get 12-15 minutes. Punk and Orton are at the top of their games and we should expect a big year from both of them after WrestleMania is all done. Oh and remember when The Nexus was the biggest story of the year? WWE has managed to spilt them up, squash all their heat, and leave the unfortunate leftover members off the card. Thanks for the hard work this year guys!

Predicted % chance of winning: Punk (50%) - Orton (50%)


Jerry "The King Lawler" vs. Michael Cole with Jack Swagger -- Special Guest Referee Stone Cold Steve Austin

This should be entertaining so long as they don't let it go on for more than 5 minutes. Cole is not a wrestler and Jerry can only carry him in a match for so long. Jack Swagger should expect to get a Stone Cold Stunner from Austin at some point on Sunday. Prepare yourself. I wonder how they're going to manage Lawler and Cole continuing to call RAW after this? Will we see Good Ol' JR again at WrestleMania? Why did they change The King's music?

Predicted % chance of winning: Lawler (95%) - Cole (5%)

Rey Mysterio vs. "Dashing" Cody Rhodes

Actually starting to be more interested in this one. Cody has been doing a fine job in developing his character. It seems like a win would benefit Cody much more than Rey, but WWE seems to like having Rey win at WrestleMania. Probably goes over well with the kids.

Predicted % chance of winning: Mysterio (40%) - Rhodes (60%)

John Morrison, Trish Stratus, & Snooki vs. Dolph Ziggler & Lay-Cool with Vickie Guerrero

No more comments. Hopefully Morrison and Ziggler will have bigger and better things come their way after WrestleMania because they've both been exceptionally good over the past few months.

Predicted % chance of winning: Team Morrison (90%) - Team Ziggler (10%)


United States Championship: Sheamus (c) vs. Daniel Bryan

Sheamus seems to have dropped the "King" moniker. This is a step down for him as he faced Triple H last year and spent a good few months as WWE Champion in 2010. However, they've both demonstrated that they can put on a good match together so this will probably be OK. Nothing earth shattering though.

Predicted % chance of winning: Sheamus (95%) - Daniel Bryan (5%)


The Big Show, Kane, Vladimir Kozlov, and Santino Marella vs. The Corre

Kane was World Heavyweight champion this year for five months this year. Wade Barrett dominated WWE with Nexus for the last half of 2010. Big Show has main evented two WrestleManias. And the best they can do is throw them all into a comedy throwaway eight man tag match? This is sloppy booking. Are you really telling me that Kofi Kingston wouldn't want to exercise his Intercontinental rematch clause against Barrett at WrestleMania? The Corre will win this match. And guess who they will be pinning for the win?

Predicted % chance of winning: The Corre (95%) - Team Show/Kane (5%)

WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2011:

• Shawn Michaels
• The Road Warriors and Paul Ellering
  
• Hacksaw Jim Duggan
• Bullet Bob Armstrong
• Sunny
• Drew Carey
• Abdullah the Butcher
  

Oh what a rush! The Road Warriors aka The Legion of Doom are going into the Hall. Absolutely a great pick. Sad that Hawk has since passed away, but Animal and Ellering should be there to carry on.

Who's left out of WrestleMania?

If you're left out of WrestleMania, you're bound for the pre-show Battle Royal. Watch your back as 35% of the participants in last year's Battle Royal were released sometime between last year's WM and this year. An asterisk (*) means you have a pretty good chance of being fired this year because...who the hell are you?

• R-Truth
• Kofi Kingston
• Drew McIntyre
• Ted DiBiase
• Mark Henry
• The Great Khali
• The rest of the new Nexus
• David Hart Smith
• Goldust
• Evan Bourne
• The Usos
• Michael Tarver*
• Primo*
• Tyson Kidd
• Yoshi Tatsu*
• William Regal
• Zach Ryder*
• Chavo Guerrero
• Chris Masters*
• Curt Hawkins*
• JTG*
• Trent Barreta*
• Tyler Reks*
• Most of the Divas

Really surprising that they're leaving Kingston and McIntyre off the card. Same goes for Evan Bourne and DiBiase. The week after WrestleMania is usually full of big moves, excitement, and debuts so the fallout should be fun to watch too. In year's past, the post-WrestleMania activity has included Jack Swagger cashing in Money in the Bank on Chris Jericho and the debuts of Brock Lesnar and Goldberg.

This year's WrestleMania has a different feel than year's past. I chalk it up to the fact that no matter how the card shapes up, we've come to expect a memorable show because of two things: a) the Money in the Bank ladder match; and b) whatever match Shawn Michaels was in. And this is totally not me being biased towards HBK. Since WrestleMania XIX, Shawn has typically delivered the best match of the night (vs. Triple H and Benoit at 20, vs. Angle at 21, vs. Vince at 22, vs. Flair at 24, vs. Undertaker at 25, vs. Undertaker at 26). No HBK, means no guaranteed classic match. No MitB ladder match means no guaranteed high spots. WWE always comes up big at WrestleMania so I'm sure they're planning for this. I guess we'll just sit back and see what unfolds.