Well after 5 previous attempts to predict the card for the showcase of the Immortals I’m going to lay it on the line one final time. After Edge’s shocking return at the Royal Rumble the Wrestlemania card really is up in the air at the moment. Some things seem to be taking shape, but as we witnessed last year, things can change around at the last minute.
So for the final attempt…
Well ’tis the season, as it continues to be. And my nerdy-80s child fanboy heart is starting to run wild. In two days it will be the Royal Rumble, and then two months from then it’ll be the Granddaddy of them all, Wrestlemania XXVI! In keeping with my usual tradition, I’m going to try to predict the card for the big show.
There have a been a huge amount of speculation as to what the card will be, much earlier that usual this year. A lot of talk about HBK-Taker, Cena-Taker, Hart-Vince, and a whole host of other big matches that could take place. In two days the road map will start to be drawn, and I think it’ll go as follows…
With WWE Survivor Series in the books, it is about time to start getting geared up for the biggest event on every wrestling fans calender, Wrestlemania! Already the seeds for some of the biggest matches have been sowed, and it will be interesting to see where things go from here.
It looks to me like things are going to shape up like this…
Well now that Summerslam is officially over, it seems like the biggest Wrestling event of the year, Wrestlemania is just around the corner!!! In keeping with my traditions here on the bloggero, I’ll try to predict the card, much like I did about 6 months ago. Some things will stay the same to me, some…not so much.
So without further ado….
Well here we are, a mere 9 months away from the Grandest Wrestling Stage of them all, keeping with my long and noble tradition of predicting the card, I’ll give it another chance…
As usual all matches were put in suggested order
A match that seems destined for the pre-show. I figure that the Harts are going to be holding the tag titles soon enough, and Finlay as the heel ECW Champion sounds great, so why not put those two matches into one? If the faces win then the Colons get the tag titles and Bourne gets the ECW Title. Seems easy and entertaining enough for me.
Just because I couldn’t find room for any of these guys in the MITB and I think it would be an awesome way to give Ziggler some exposure, especially if he defeats the masked wonder.
Great Money in the Bank match, or greatest Money in the Bank match? All eight of these performers would be great in the situation, and I for one would love to see them really excel here. I put both MVP and CM Punk in here because I think it would be a great underwritten story to have Punk claim to be ready to three-peat only for MVP (someone who was in for his first two wins) come out and take it at the last moment.
Easily the best place to put the likes of Show, Kane, and Henry. These are 10 guys who would put on an entertaining Battle Royal. I’m not sure what the stakes would be other than knowing that you are the king of the heavy weights. It would be a great way to get any one of them over the top, or to have Santino do something entertaining for a bit longer.
HBK vs. HB2K10! This has star-making dream match written all over it. I would love to see these two go at it, and I wouldn’t even mind HBK winning, as I am sure that Morrison could look good in a loss to Michaels. I am not sure if a Morrison heel turn would be required, but it probably wouldn’t hurt.
Not sure where else to put the gals, this is probably the best match available. It could work if you end up with both titles on the line here.
The WWE seems set with having Dibiase making it as a singles star, and this seems like a great place to cement his, ahem, legacy. Apparently there are plans for him to turn face during the fall in the build up to The Marine 2, so I am not certain how long they can have this feud simmer instead of having them actually fight. But this would be the right place to have them have their big match. Even if they have a match or two before, it would be good to have them end their feud here.
These two had a one-on-one match back at last year’s Great American Bash, but it received very little build and no follow up. To have these two huge stars not have a huge match is a huge crime. They deserve a big match on the big stage, I think that they could both really deliver.
Well it looks like big Dave is on the shelf once more. Apparently he is not due back until December, so a Royal Rumble victory could be a fantastic comeback for the big guy. Randy Orton seems like a logical opponent given how Batista went down, but that match feels a little tired at this point. The biggest option would be to have him get the big rematch with Cena from last year’s Summerslam. Apparently that was the original plan for Wrestlemania 25, but Dave’s injury ruined that one. This gives them a chance to have the rematch and for Cena to rightly, get his win back.
This really is the last big dream match that the WWE has among it’s current top-level talent. The stars never once aligned for these two to cross paths, so it seems like it would be a huge addition to a huge card. It may seem obvious to have Jericho as the champion going into it, but in recent years we have twice seen a Title vs. Streak match. As such, I think that it would be even more amazing to have Jericho claim to want to take everything away from The Deadman, his title and his legacy to cement himself as the greatest of all time.
That just about does it I think for the big card. Hey, it looks better than last year’s Mania that’s for sure!!!
Tune back to see if it comes true!
Until next time,
G
Well the WWE Draft has come and gone, with some very, very interesting moves. Some of which I was right about (Punk, Triple H, Jericho, Mysterio), but some I was rather shocked about (Big Show, Matt Hardy). However, in the end, I think that this was more or less a very good draft, which should give a number of talents a great opportunity to move up. I’ll look at the few people who I think were most affected by the moves.
WINNER: CM Punk. An easy choice here, as there was clearly not much room at the top for Punk on Raw, especially with Triple H going to the red brand. CM Punk should get another chance as a top dog on Smackdown, especially since he comes with the briefcase. I have really high hopes for the Straight Edge Superstar in the coming year.
LOSER: Mr. Kennedy. How the mighty have fallen. Two years ago Kennedy was the big “last pick” for the Raw brand at the draft, last year he was supposed to be a big one, right before Triple H, and this year he gets bumped down to the Supplemental Draft. Hopefully he is able to move up the rankings, but it seems to be very problematic for him on Raw, since Cena, HBK, Triple H and Batista are all higher up than he is on the face side of things. A heel turn would be very welcomed, but he would need to feud (and presumably win a few) against one of those four big faces, and I wonder if that is going to happen in the near future.
WINNER: The Big Show. Sure, he won’t move too much no matter which brand he’s on, but this allows him to keep his on-screen association with Vickie Guerrero, which should keep him near the top of the card for the time being. However, without Vickie around he would have be just languishing like he was this time last year.
LOSER: Montel Vontavious Porter. I love the guy, but he just doesn’t feel right on Raw. While I do applaud the move to freshen him up (especially given his long losing streak), I do question having him on Raw, especially since he recently turned face. However, if he (like Kennedy) makes a heel turn, there is some potential there, I just don’t see it working well for both of them, and to have them both do it in short succession could be damaging.
WINNER: John Morrison. Be prepared to start calling him the “Friday Night Delight”, as he is set to take Smackdown by storm. Fresh match ups with Rey Mysterio and Jeff Hardy are a liscence to print money. Morrison is really set to have a great year, and I for one, can’t wait.
LOSER: The Miz. On the other hand, there is Morrison’s former partner, The Miz. I don’t see how a move to Raw does him any good, other than by getting him away from Morrison. He was working as a joke on Smackdown, until the fall of 2007 when he paired up with the Shaman of Sexy. This helped him move up, especially on ECW, but he is likely to get very lost in the shuffle on Raw.
WINNER: Vladmir Kozlov. A number of people have complained about this move, but I think it’s probably for the best. Kozlov had really done all that he could on Smackdown, and was really hurting after a series of loses to HBK, The Undertaker, and Triple H. He should get plenty of time on ECW, and I could see a Mark Henry-esque title reign sometime over the course of the year.
LOSER: THE Brian Kendrick. One of the big winners from last year’s draft looks to be in trouble here. He was able to move up the card, and even get a shock of a place in the Smackdown scramble match at Unforgiven. However, he has reportedly been in the doghouse for a while, so expect him to have a rough go on Monday nights. Also, him being split from Ezekial Jackson looks to be damaging for him.
WINNER: Rey Mystero. I really didn’t like Rey-Rey on Raw, it never made much sense to me. There is something definetively “Smackdown” about the little guy, and I think that it’s in his best long term interest to be on this brand.
LOSER: DJ Gabriel. Sure he wasn’t drafted, but the only reason for watching him (i.e. Alicia Fox) was drafted to Smackdown. I think that he can count his days numbered soon.
WINNER: Chris Jericho. Easily my favourite pick of the draft! In the year since Jericho came back, he was matched up with all of the top names on Raw, and even had to go to the Hall of Fame for fresh Wrestlemania opponents. This switch to Smackdown gives him a whole new set of big names to match up with, and it should give him a chance for a long term world title run in the future.
LOSER: The Colons. Not sure how I feel about them going to Raw. I liked their spot on Smackdown, and felt that it was giving them a nice amount of time to do their thing and get over, both in the ring and outside of it. Also, Smackdown was supposedly the show with the large latino viewers, I question having two large latino stars getting moved from that network.
WINNER: Matt Hardy. My first thought here was a very clear “what the hell are they doing?” but upon reflection, I think that this has potential to be a great move. See, no matter what Matt would do, he would forever be connected to Jeff, and it would be hard to really seperate either of them while they both remain on the same brand. Matt has been a great heel of late, and if he gets matched up with some new big names on Raw, he should have a great chance to climb the ladder, especially since Raw is so short on big heels at the moment. I really think that this has a chance to really see Matt Hardy climb the ladder, as a feud with John Cena would be all kinds of awesome.
That just about covers everyone, I think that most other moves (Kane, Melina, Maryse) were more or less lateral moves, I guess as always, we’ll have to see what happens.
Until next time,
G
So I can’t seem to stop talking about Wrestling right now, first with Wrestlemania, and now something else rather exciting, the upcoming WWE Draft. While it is earlier this year than in previous years, it still promises to be quite exciting.
I think that the main reason to have the draft now is two fold. For starters, it maintains any post-Wrestlemania interest, and helps keep the viewers returning from one week to the next, and secondly, and more importantly, it just makes more sense financially. Both SciFi and MyNetworkTV are getting rebranded, and losing a fair bit of steam, as such I think that a great deal of talent will makes it way back to RAW, which is on by far the most stable network that the WWE makes use of. They moved a number of big names like Triple H, Jeff Hardy, and Jim Ross to Smackdown last year in order to increase the profile of the show for them to change networks effectively. Now that they have moved, and the network seems to be in trouble, it is a good time to get a lot of the bigger names off of the show. While I see a few names moving shows, I think that it will end up with a pretty big divide, with Raw as the #1 show, Smackdown as the #2, and ECW in a distant #3.
The WWE has already announced that 12 talents will be switching brands on the big show, but fails to mention the details. I think that it will probably end up like the last few years, with interpromotional matches where the winner gets a pick for their brand, I have listed the 12 highest profile talents who I think are most likely to switch sides.
FROM RAW
CM Punk
Punk’s run as a top face on Raw can’t really be seen as a success, despite the number of titles he’s won in the past year. If the WWE unloads the talent to Raw like has been reported, I think that Punk would get lost in the shuffle, so a move to Smackdown could go a long way to keeping the brand afloat, and help Mr. Straight Edge
out a great deal.
Kofi Kingston
Punk’s former partner should join him in a switch to the Blue Brand. It would be nice to get them together as a team, only for Punk to turn on Kingston, leading to a great summer feud between the two.
Jerry Lawler
While a lot of people seem to think that they will reunite Lawler and Ross, I just don’t see that being in the card. I think that Lawler-Grisham has much more potential in the long term, and could be the direction that they are headed.
Rey Mysterio
Mysterio really is an awkward fit on Raw, as he doesn’t match up well with his opponents there, and for whatever reason just fits better on Smackdown to me. The Intercontinental Title may be a bit of a problem, but they could easily have Rey defend it on SD for a while before someone on Raw comes to “reclaim it”, or it could be balanced out with a later move.
Chris Jericho
I’d love to see Jericho go and help Save_SD from the surefire exodus of main eventers that is going to happen over there. I think that Jericho would be a good choice to run with the brand, like Edge has done for the past few years.
From ECW
John Morrison
This one has practically been telegraphed. He is getting way too big for ECW, and while I enjoy him appearing on all three shows, he needs to make the next step to being a star, and I think that a move to a different show would be a big step, I see him going to Raw to get all the exposure.
Christian
Another easy choice to move, as he was really only put on ECW to work as a different top face after Hardy left. I’d like to see him move to SD, as he would be a great wild card in the ongoing Hardy Boyz feud.
From Smackdown
Umaga
He has spent most of his time on SD injured in some capacity, so he could really use a fresh start of sort. Some time on ECW as the Monster Heel Champion could be well suited for everyone, similar to Mark Henry.
The Undertaker
Here is one of those ones where I think it is what they will do, and not necessarily what they *should* do. I, for one, like The Deadman on Smackdown, for some reason it has always suited him. But I think that it may be time to shake things up, and have perhaps the one wrestler who has never really been drafted to switch sides, so it certainly would open up a series of fresh opponents for the Deadman.
Jim Ross
This is complimentary to the Lawler swap. Apparently, Ross was moved to SD to help beef the show up for the move to MyNetworkTV, but that has sort of fallen flat, so JR should switch back. A pairing with Cole, could increase Captain Vintage’s learning curve.
Edge
A move that has been simply telegraphed by Vickie becoming the full-time Raw GM. It just makes a heck of a lot of sense to have Edge go with her, as there is still more to be gained in the interaction between those two. I’m not entirely sure how this fits with their World Title plans, but I somehow see The Big Show holding the title on Smackdown after taking it from either Edge or Cena.
Triple H
He’s in a feud with Raw’s hottest star, and shows up on Raw more than Smackdown anyway. His drafting would just be a formality here.
So to summarize:
Raw gains: John Morrison, Jim Ross, The Undertaker, Edge, Triple H
ECW gains: Umaga
Smackdown gains: CM Punk, Kofi Kingston, Jerry Lawler, Rey Mysterio, Chris Jericho, Christian
In addition, there is also a Supplemental Draft taking place on Wednesday, at this time I am uncertain as to who will move one way or another, but I think that the biggest names should end up being R-Truth, Mark Henry, William Regal, Michelle McCool, and Kelly Kelly.
Tune back next week to find out!
Until next time,
G
Well, since Wrestlemania XXV has come and gone and it’s time to look forward to Wrestlemania to next years event, much like I did just over a year ago. In retrospect, I was able to correctly predict the Hard vs. Hardy match, which belts Matt Hardy and Shelton Benjamin would hold at some point over the year, and I got 3 out of 8 MITB participants accurate.
While I mostly enjoyed this years event, I do feel that the WWE has been relying on the same old, same old for a while now. Wrestlemania 21 had star-making moments for John Cena, Batista, Randy Orton, and Edge, but other than their weak effort to elevate Rey Mysterio, and Bobby Lashley’s flake out, there haven’t been any others to really break through to the top. Since that event, all of the top matches have involved those four men plus the old guard of Triple H, The Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, and to a lesser extent, the Big Show. While this has worked relatively well, they need to realize that they have the talent that is ready, willing, and certainly able to break to the top. Wrestlers like John Morrison, Mr. Kennedy, Shelton Benjamin, MVP, CM Punk, Evan Bourne, and Jack Swagger all have the necessary tools to get to the top, but they need the stage to do it, and I, for one, think that Wrestlemania XXVI may be the perfect time to make that a reality.
And it could just go something like this…..
I see Truth going to ECW in the near future (more on that to follow), and this seems like it would be a good feud. To be honest, I wouldn’t be the slightest bit shocked if this didn’t get on the card, given the treatment of the ECW Title by management.
A few old faces to the match, a few new ones. If the WWE decided to go with this crop, they could possibly top their greatest MITB match ever, as Shelton, Christian, MVP, and Hardy always deliver in these types of matches, while Kingston did great this year, also The Miz, and especially Bourne would be ideal for this one. Lastly, Swagger would be a great power guy to throw the little ones around, and pull out some cool stuff of his own. As for the winner, I would probably go with Swagger, since he seems most likely to be a big-time future main eventer, no matter how much I’d love to see my boy MVP get the win.
I had a similar match suggested for this year, and I think that it could be a fun special attraction match. If they wanted to add people like Finlay, Henry, Khali, or even Santino Marella (as a hilarious joke) that could work too.
A battle of second generation teams! I think that DH Smith is going to be the next member of Legacy, and I would love to see them feud with another group of second generation wrestlers. This match could be fun if some titles were added (a secondary and the tag titles) to be defended in a winner take all match, but it could be fine as it is.
I actually have high hopes for the Women’s Division over the next year as there is a fair amount of talent there! This is a match up of who I believe to be the two most talented performers in what could be the closest that the women could have to an “Inter-promotional Dream Match”. I think that the dynamics would work better if Phoenix was champion, but if they wanted to do a Champion vs. Champion (non-title) match that could work too.
The first of many matches that I have slated to help groom the next generation. These two are in a ready made feud, as it would be nice to see HB2k9 challenge the original, sure it would be a bit of a redux of the first Jericho feud, but it would still be amazing. Morrison really has a lot of early HBK mannerisms, and I think that these two could give a match for the ages, that could really help cement Morrison as a big star.
Yet another star-making match. These two do have a very long feud running between the two of them, which started after Kennedy won the Money in the Bank match at Wrestlemania 23. I think that they are going to be split across the brands after the upcoming draft, but a special inter-promotional match could be good. I think that the promos on this one would be amazing, and it could finally set up Kennedy as a big star, which the WWE has tried to do a few different times.
Taker needs more big names for the big event, and (to my knowledge) these two have never gone one-on-one. The build could be a simple “I want to send The Streak” type angle, or it could be simmering for longer, and be more personal. Either way, it needs to happen, and it would be great to have at the big stage.
Sure Batista returned as H’s buddy, but I don’t see that lasting for too long. I think that H-Batista-Orton is going to be a fun triple threat type feud in the coming months, as they exchange partners, and switch off. Hopefully in any one-on-one encounters, Batista always defeats Triple H (remember, he is 3-0 against his former mentor). I would love to see a dejected Triple H challenge Batista to a match at the grandest stage of them all, on the five year anniversary of their first match, and to up the ante make their other Evolution mate work as the referee, since that would be all sorts of awesome.
I think that Punk (and the briefcase) are going to go over to Smackdown at some point soon. I really, really hope that Punk turns heel at some point this year, as it would liven up his character and help him be a solid main-eventer. A feud between a “holier than thou” straight edge wrestler and someone with a past like Hardy’s would practically write itself. While this may not seem like a “Wrestlemania Main Event”, a world of wonder can be done in a year, and also I think that there are enough big matches that the world title match does not have to be one of the top matches. These two could really go a long way to making each other stars, an extended feud between these two that could be blown off with a ladder match stipulation would be all kinds of awesome.
Two men with a long history settling their score on the big show. It should have happened last year, and possibly this year. These two have a really good chemistry with one another, and I would love to see them work their magic, especially if you add a stipulation and let them get violent. These two are going to be the companies biggest names for the next several years, so let them have the stage now.
So there we have an event that gives several of these wrestlers a moment to shine with the big guys, while still giving us some solid encounters between the old guard.
I guess we’ll have to wait and see if it happens.
Until next time,
G
Well it appears that the event has come and gone. I made my first post about the event last year, and it appears that this will be my last post on it. I’ll always remember the memories.
I’m going to look back at the matches, and see where it fits on my different rankings that took far too much of my time leading into this event.
An absolute crying shame that this was bumped to the pre-show, as these four performers really deserved to have a big moment in the sun, especially for something as important as a title unification match. However, in a move that shouldn’t be shocking, they were moved to the pre-show. To be honest, I have yet to watch this match, as I have only seen the highlights, so I feel myself unable to comment on it, let alone rank it.
Now this was a great way to open up the show! These guys really, really delivered. They did a repeat of the “everyone dives to the outside” spot from the first year, but followed it up with Shelton doing a crazy dive from the top of the ladder, that really could have gotten him killed. I quite enjoyed the series of ladders that they used, setting them up as a ramp going from the outside to the inside. As great as Shelton was (as always), the real star of the match for my was Kofi Kingston. He started the match by doing a standing leap over a ladder attack, and got better from there. Him jumping up the ladder that Mark Henry was holding onto was simply breathtaking. I am surprised that they gave it to CM Punk as a repeat, as the crowd seemed to want Christian really badly, and the WWE seemed to want someone else. I am hoping that they do a good redo on his first title run.
Rankings: I think that this is a hair below Money in the Bank 3, which is far from an insult. That puts it at #3 on the list of all-time openers, and #12-11 on the Extreme Rules list.
GG and TT’s Prediction: Neither of us had Punk as the winner, but Travis said that this would jerk the curtain, so he gets a point. 1-0 for the bad guy.
It seems to me that they took everything bad about the gimmick battle royal from Wrestlemania X-7 (i.e. the quality) and none of the good stuff (i.e. the nostalgia moments during the entrance), as the only time that any diva from the past was mentioned was when they were eliminated. I understand that the entrances would have ruined the surprise of Santina Marella winning, but, I am sure that they could have worked around that. Also, Kid Rock’s 10 minute “medley” was awful, and the time should have gone to the Tag teams, for shame.
Rankings: Somewhere in the “perverse entertainment” portion, mostly for Santino Marella’s dancing at the end. I guess that puts it in the #12-8 ranks.
GG and TT’s Prediction: My hope of a Stratus return was dashed, what hurts more is that my arch rival correctly called our new inter-gender champion. 2-0 for the Andy Kaufman to my Jerry Lawler.
I certainly was not expecting this to be pretty, and I must say, I was pleasantly surprised by this match. At the start, all three legends got in their spots and kept their time in the ring short. Snuka then tapped out, bringing the submission streak at Wrestlemania to six (after only three submissions in the first 19 events!), Piper was eliminated shortly thereafter, leaving Steamboat to go one-on-one with Jericho. The Dragon hasn’t fought a match in I believe 15 years, and looks like he hadn’t missed a beat. His flying body press, leap to the outside, and picture perfect armdrags were things of beauty. I love how the announcers played up the veteran still being able to go one more time (a la The Wrestler) without hitting us over the head with the comparisons. Steamboats roll ups were great, and I really thought that he would pull off a fluke win at some point or another. Of course, Jericho ended up hitting the Code-breaker and taking the win. The Rourke stuff afterwards really dragged on too long, and was a bit of a let down, but the match was decent though.
Rankings: Fine match, the celebrity involvement helped build the match, but added very little to the aftermath, putting it on about par with the Battle of the Billionaires from Mania 23, if not slightly better, putting it at #7 on my Celebrity rank.
GG and TT’s Prediction: Looks like TT takes another one on me, and clinches the win in the third match. 3-0 in an anti-climatic moment, fitting of this match.
Another match that was a touch of a let down. Don’t get me wrong, these two performed well, but it seems like they just didn’t have enough time to tell the epic story that they needed to. The big spots were a little rushed, especially at the beginning. I really liked the ending, with the leap-frog, followed by the Twist of Fate of absolute death with the chair. I suppose they did the right thing, saved some bigger spots for later in the feud, and made Matt Hardy look like a champ. Hopefully they really up the ante from here.
Rankings: I have it about pegged with McMahon-Hogan, but they are hard to compare, since this was clearly a better match, but McMahon-Hogan was more epic. Probably a touch better when it is all said and done, thus putting it at #12 (including the MITB match) on my Extreme Rules list.
GG and TT’s Prediction: I finally got on the board with not one, but 2 points as there was a table break, giving me a bit of a fight in what may be automatically a lost cost. 4-2 for my turncoat brother.
What a crock of garbage. Mysterio wins in a squash and JBL quits. Lame, lame, lame, lame, lame. JBL deserved a better send off in his last match, Mysterio deserved a better moment in his Triple Crown completion, and the IC Title deserves more after not being used on the show for far too long.
Rankings: Move over Maivia-Sultan, we officially have a new worst IC Title match in Wrestlemania history. Congrats guys, you earned it.
GG and TT’s Prediction: Like the match length, we both came up short here. 4-2, but I won’t quit after this loss.
On the other end of the spectrum, we have this match, which was simply amazing. These two men, both in their fourties, went out and delivered an absolutely sensational match. They had a good mix of brawling, high flying, technical wrestling, and sick spots. I thought that Taker was going to die (for real) when he landed on his head on the concrete, but yet he got up and kept fighting. Both of these men really had you believing that anything could happen. I loved the countout spot (after said dive) and after some of those superkicks, I really thought that HBK was going to take the win. Like I said with Edge-Taker, it really speaks volumes about both performers when they got out and make you believe that what you *know* is not going to happen. What makes this even better, is that I watched this match a few days after the event (in China, you know) so I actually knew who won, and yet I was on the edge of my seat thinking that HBK would be able to pull it off. While it may not be the best Mania match ever, it is easily in the Top 10, and possibly in the Top 5.
Rankings: Taker’s best match not only in Wrestlemania history, but possibly in the history of his career (on par with the first HITC, coincidently with HBK). I’m not certain about HBK’s list though, as it is about on par with the Angle match from Wrestlemania 21. In all honesty, I would require a second viewing to decide the Number 1, and given my esteem for that match, it is saying quite a bit.
GG’s and TT’s Prediction: We both called for a Taker victory and we both said that it would be awesome, and what do you know, we were both right. 17-0 makes it 5-3.
I said that this match could be surprisingly good, and it certianly was. The three men did well, and Cena holding both men up for the F-U was simply awesome. I also quite enjoyed the Edge getting F-U’d onto the Big Show, which was similar to what I predicted, just far less dangerous. All that being said, this realyl lacked the big match feel, and came across as more of a Raw main event than anything else.
Also note: Cena’s entrance was awesome.
Rankings: This really had nowhere to go on my rank, as it didn’t fit as a “last match”, but if I were to do a ranking of best title matches to not go on last, this one would certianly be better than HHH-Booker and Cena-JBL, it was about on par with the Triple Threats from 22 and XXIV, but probably the worst of that lot.
GG and TT’s Predictions: Both of us gain a point, but I fail to gain any ground. 6-4 for the Ultimate Opportunist.
Bad match, bad result. Orton needed to win here but didn’t. I understand not wanting to end the show with a heel win, but there were lots of other options for who to give the closing spot to. It seems like they are going to give the belt to Orton at Backlash, but it may be a touch too late.
Rankings: And so the streak of great main events at six, as we get what is out worst main event match since Wrestlemania X8 (when H also ended the show with the belt, coincidence?), I’ll even rank it below Bret-Yoko from Wrestlemania X, putting this at #19.
GG and TT’s Prediction: We both get no points for both the results and the match placements, thus making us join Orton, and everyone who watched this match as losers. Unlike Orton, the man who attacked a female interest gets the win here (note: maybe 5 people will get that one) giving it 6-4 to TT.
So the obvious question stands: Where does this Wrestlemania rank? Well looking back at my ranking from last year, I think that this one is pretty much in the middle of the pack, compareable to X8, 2000, and VII, all three had some very good undercard matches, but flat main events, so it fits somewhere in that pack. Decent show, but probably the worst edition of the event in the past six years or so.
Ahh well, better luck next year.
Until next time,
G
Welcome all to the 5th episode of the most irregularly scheduled Wrestling talk program, Heel Heat. Today, Tenacious Trav and myself, Gorgeous Glen preview the big show scheduled for Sunday, and provide our thoughts on what should happen after Wrestlemania. Hope you enjoy.
(One Question: Great banner, or greatest banner?)
Let’s get right to the card…
Gorgeous Glen Says: This should be a fun nostalgia match to go between some of the big ones. I am looking forward to appearances from people like Trish Stratus, and Lita. While it seems like they are going to push Gail Kim here, I see her getting illegally eliminated by someone like Maryse or Michelle McCool. Let’s go with a nostalgia win here.
Prediction: Trish Stratus
Tenacious Trav Says: Well Glen here we are with another Wrestlemania to predict and discuss. As anyone who has read our previous features would know, I pretty much loathe women’s wrestling and have often refused to call the match. This year we’re being treated to a 25 Diva Battle Royal and I could really care less. There’s more no-to-low-talent women on the roster than ever before and there’s really been no effort to hype the return of divas of days gone by for this one historically significant match. Combine that with the winner receiving a ridiculous title and I could really care less about this one. While there are still some open spots as of this writing, I anticipate we’ll see Trish Stratus as you’ve mentioned, but also that we’ll see Santino (perhaps in drag). As he’s the most entertaining thing to happen to the divas scene in years, look for him to take home the prestigious title.
Prediction: Santino Marella
Jeff Hardy
vs.
Matt Hardy
GG: Who would have thought that the build to this feud would involve such great promo work? I think that it just shows how far they have come since their aborted (and ignored) feud from 2001. Like Bret-Owen from fifteen years ago, I expect this to be an absolute classic, as both brothers have a lot to prove. I think that this feud should stretch on for a while longer, so there needs to be a heel victory here. Like Wrestlemania X, let’s go with Matt taking a fluke win in a shocker.
Prediction: Matt Hardy, cleanly.
TT: This definitely has the potential to be an instant classic, with both of these stars having incredible in-ring ability. It’s unfortunate that neither is all that entertaining outside of the ring or perhaps we would’ve seen a longer build-up to this match. A win for Matt here makes sense and is certainly deserved given his longer (and far less troublesome) run with the company.
Prediction: Matt Hardy
Chris Jericho
vs.
Roddy Piper, Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka, and Ricky Steamboat
GG: While I would have much preferred to have this come down to Jericho vs. Rourke or Jericho vs. Austin, that did not seem to be in the cards. I see Jericho pulling out easy wins on two of these men, probably Piper and Snuka, only for Mikey Rourke to get involved, hit a Ram Jam on Jericho, and give the match to Steamboat. This will give a chance for all of the legends to hug and give us a happy Wrestlemania moment
Prediction: Legends via Mike Rourke interference
TT: This is probably one of the more disappointing items on the card as it’s an absolute waste of one of the company’s top 3 heels (the other two being Edge and Orton). While Jericho has worked his ass off trying to make this interesting (cementing that top heel status) it doesn’t change the fact he’ll be in the ring with a bunch of washed up 80s stars who have no business being in the ring. I know with this being the 25th edition of WM that there should be some nostalgia and a nod to the stars of the past, but this is just not the way to do it. We all know that it should have been Jericho vs Mikey Rourke. Rourke would have provided the celebrity involvement that this card so desperately needs – and his involvement as Glen has predicted simply won’t be enough.
Prediction: Jericho (with the legends revenge coming after the win)
GG: Easily the most anticipated match on the show. I wish that they would learn the lesson from Wrestlemania X8, and XXIV, and just have this match close the show, to not have to make anyone else try and top it. I have loved the build to this, as Michaels has continuosly gottend the better of The Undertaker, and one upped him at every stage. If you are a new fan, trust me, that never happens, ever. I think that the streak will be intact forever, unless they decide to let Cena have it, but even that I doubt. That being said, I expect both of these men to do a damn good job convincing us that maybe it will end on this night.
Prediction: The Undertaker, after probably three tombstones.
TT: Unlike the Jericho match, this one features some legends that can still go. Easily the match I’m most looking forward to, UT and HBK are sure to deliver. Your chronicles of both Michaels’ and Takers’ Mania matches (even with the completely wrong order for the top 5 UT matches) has detailed the great heights these two men can reach. Breaking the streak here makes no sense (Orton should have been the one) and since Undertaker has never beaten Michaels this match will still be historic.
Prediction: The Undertaker in what will be the match of the night.
CM Punk vs. Montel Vontavious Porter vs.
Shelton Benjamin vs. Finlay vs.
Kane vs. Mark Henry vs.
Christian vs. Kofi Kingston
GG: The usual train wreck with many of the usual suspects, however this match is anything but usual for these guys. This is probably the hardest of all the Money in the Bank matches to predict, as very few men seem like viable contenders. Mark Henry and Kane have been around for far too long and wouldn’t really work, Finlay seems to have been demoted heavily in the past year or so, Punk won it last year, and Kofi is probably a year or two away from that high of a win. This leaves three men who the WWE has pushed, and stalled on a number of times in their career, Shelton, MVP, and Christian. I would be happy to see any of these guys get the win, but I think that the winner has to be MVP, this is the most logical conclusion of his long-running losing streak storyline, and he would be a great cocky tweener to carry the briefcase around.
Prediction: MVP
TT: For once, that’s a great synopsis, Glen. While I don’t like the involvement of the big men here (one would’ve been even too much) this usual spot-fest should still pass as mediocre. Kingston is a great worker and I expect him to shine here as Shelton has done in the past. As you’ve outlined, there are really only 3 potential winners for this one and so to be contrary I’m going with Christian.
Prediction: Captain Charisma
John Bradshaw Layfield (c)
vs.
Rey Mysterio
GG: I thought long and hard about this one, and changed my mind a few times. JBL winning seemed like a good transition to a new face, like Mysterio. However, JBL has promised something “special” for Wrestlemania, and rumours have persisted that he will retire with the title, thus giving him the win here. I think that seems far more likely, especially since I think that Rey will return to Smackdown following the draft (more on that later in the column), so let’s give the win to JBL here. Especially since Mysterio beat him 1 on 1 in a non-title match on Raw this week.
Prediction: JBL, by some sort of heel tactics.
TT: This is shaping up to be a predictable card. I’m hoping JBL’s historic action equates to more than a retirement with a major title, but it does seem we’re going down this road. JBL and Mysterio have had a past feud, but this storyline is really out of nowhere and hard to care for. They could’ve used Koslov against JBL to have the cowboy-come-millionaire go out as an all-American face, but alas I don’t write the shows.
Prediction: JBL
Carlito and Primo Colon
vs.
John Morrison and The Miz
GG: If their previous matches have been any indication, this should be a great, great match. I do worry however, that the addition of Lumberjacks will take away from this one. Still, these four men have been delivering classics for the past few months both in tag team matches, and in singles affairs, and I expect no different here. It all depends on who the WWE sees as the bigger stars of the future, as it would be a great thing for announcers to mention years down the line (a la Jericho), and I think that is Miz and Morrison who seem like future world champions to me, hopefully the Bella twins aren’t too heavily involved in the finish, but I find that doubtful.
Prediction: Miz and Morrison via Bella-ference
TT: I’ve been a fan of Morrison since Tough Enough and even with his humble beginnings as a lackey to Eric Bischoff he showed incredible promise. He’s become a fantastic performer and is a future World Champion for certain. Carlito has gone from promising up-and-comer to being lazy in the ring. While his brother outshines him, he is the lesser known competitor. The Bella twins have no business being involved at Wrestlemania.
Prediction: Miz and Morrison (clean)
Edge (c)
vs.
The Big Show
vs.
John Cena
GG: While expectations are not particularly high for this match, I think that we may be in for a surprisingly good one here. Both Edge and John Cena usually deliver when they are in the spotlight, especially when it involves each other. Also, the Big Show seems tailor made for triple threat matches, as he can deliver his big moves, and then rest for a bit before returning later. I think that Cena will pull out a victory here, and let Edge and Show continue to feud over Vickie afterward. I’m really hoping to see Cean F-U the Big Show onto Edge for the finish, that would just be awesome.
Prediction: Cena via some sort of awesomeness
TT: Am I the only one getting bored with Cena? It’s sad because Edge is the number two heel in the company and should really be retaining the gold here. The kids need to go home happy, though, so look for the action star to pick up the strap. I’m just hoping this doesn’t go on too long and that Big Slow stays out of the way for the most part.
Prediction: John Cena
Triple H (c)
vs.
Randy Orton
GG: The build up for this match has been simply fantastic, and I for one am looking forward to it. While these two have never delivered a classic in their many one-on-one encounters, this time feels different. They finally have emotion, hatred, and a really big stage. As much as a part of me thinks that H is going to retain, I think that logical booking has to give it to Orton, these two are locked in a blood feud, and H would have no reason to give Orton another match after this. I think that we are in for a long story between this two, so Orton needs to win this one.
Prediction: Orton, hopefully without any McMahon swerve
TT: My love for Orton is well documented. He is truly the WWE’s number one heel and has shown depth of character rarely seen before. His ring work is second to none and by forming his own stable he’s placed himself at the top of the Raw heap of talent. The storyline is red hot going into this (minus a few mis-steps – the recent McMahon involvement, the over-the-top home invasion) and like Glen, I really expect this one to deliver. Triple H is the kind of star, not unlike the Undertaker, where he doesn’t need to hold a title to be incredibly over. Having him retain really no makes sense, and a win will mean everything to Orton on what is one of the most historic Wrestlemanias to date.
Prediction: Randy Orton
Bonus Questions:
(EDITOR’S NOTE: In the past, mostly in real life, we have done a few special “bonus questions” mostly because they are a lot of fun)
What match will go on first?
GG: Tag Title Match, Miz and Morrison deserve to open up the big event with a big win
TT: You’re probably right, but I’ll go with the MITB.
What match will go on last?
GG: World Title Match, since I have Cena penciled in for the win, it just makes sense
TT: Agreed.
Which match will a table get broken in?
GG: Hardy vs. Hardy, come on far too easy here
TT: Yes, or Orton/HHH
Will Ric Flair bleed?
GG: YES, Flair always blades, and this should be no exception.
TT: I expect him to still be bleeding from the Jericho beat down on Raw 2 weeks ago. (You know they were desperate to get some heat for this match when they resort to that)
And now to some more intriguing questions…
GG: With the upcoming draft scheduled to take place on April 13th, are there any big names that you see switching sides?
TT: I suspect we’ll see some changes involving Morrison, HHH, Rey and ideally John Cena.
GG: Agreed on the first three, but I find a Cena switch highly doubtful. MyNetwork TV, Smackdown’s current network is looking like it may just tank, so I expect them to stock Raw with the biggest names, and like it or not, that’s John Cena. I think we could also add Edge, JBL (to play announcer), Christian, CM Punk, and Batista as the other big names to switch sides.
It seems like every year the WWE decides to bring some new stars to the top of the card. Do you have any predictions of anyone who will break on through to the top following Wrestlemania?
TT: In the long term I expect Kofi Kingston and John Morrison to become big players. Although not at Mania, look for Evan Bourne’s star to rise in the next year.
GG: Good thoughts on those ones, but I think that the real star to break on through will be Matt Hardy, who should take a big jump to the top of the card, and Jack Swagger, who should move his way into the Upper card within the next few months.
And sadly, that just about does it for this edition of Heel Heat, and it should be my last post before Wrestlemania. Expect next week’s blogging to be filled with thoughts on the event, before we make the shift back to our regular, erratic format.
Enjoy the show!
Until next time,
GG
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