It’s that time of the year for my inner nerd to come out and talk about my dorkiest of passions, professional wrestling. I am going to have probably the next 4-5 posts centred around that, so I’d like to apologize in advance if you’re not one of my three friends/readers who actually get anything of of this.
Today’s post will be be my ultimate Wrestlemania Dream card. After reading about this on one of my favourite websites, 411 mania.com, I decided to do it myself.
The rules of this seem really simple, but make it actually quite difficult, they are:
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 other than one quick post last week, I have missed a great deal to blog about over the past few months. So for the third time ever here, I’ll do a quick recap of a few different things.
So without further ado, here is a recap of the last few months…
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
Yeah, yeah, yeah, so I’m a little late on this one, but technically it is both still January, and the Lunar New Year just began, so I’m not as late as I could have been (i.e. if I posted this in December).
But yes, so starts my annual tradition of trying to predict the year, I did alright predicting 2008 (including a daring prediction that the Patriots would not win the Superbowl and that Obama would represent the Democrats in the election), so I figure, why not try my luck once more?
Note: Pretend that dude has my face on it, and pretend that it’s in some sort of nice banner, I don’t have photoshop from my current location…
1. Prime Minister Ignatieff – Let’s start out with another daring political prediction. I think that by one way or another, Ignatieff will be our next Prime Minister within 2009. It seems that the coalition option is out the window (for now), but I think that people are getting sick of Harper, especially with Obama’s victory for progressives, that we may just see ourselves our 4th election in 5 years, and the Liberals will rally and win it. Chances are good it will be another minority government, and once more, nothing will get finished.
2. Victory from Beyond – I think that Heath Ledger’s performance in The Dark Knight was just too good to pass up. Also, the Academy can gain all sorts of good press by having the ever popular Ledger win the award, making him the first posthumous winner in over 30 years.
3. Original 6 Success – I know that Detroit won the Cup last year, but otherwise it has been a bit of a rough couple of years for the Original Six teams. However, this year things seem to be different, and I think that at least 2 of them will be in the Final Four of the playoffs. I am leaning towards Chicago and Montreal, but I would not be at all surprised to see Detroit or Boston there. Also, expect the Rangers to make some noise in the playoffs. sorry Leafs fans, there is always next year (or the one after that, or the one after that….)
4. Another Three Countries Scratched Off My List – A hold over from last year, and yes, a personal one. But I think that 2009 will see at least three new countries added to my list of places I have been. I am not certain which ones, or exactly when, but it will happen.
5. No Big 3 Bankruptcy – There has been a lot of talk of Ford, GM, or Dodge going under, but somehow, I just do not see it happening. These companies have been around for a long time, and I think that they will find a way to stay a float.
6. Liberal Upswing – In recent years, the world has been turning to more and more right-wing politicians, ranging from Bush to Harper to Merkel, and hell even Tony Blair got more conservative with age. I think that many people have become disillusioned with this and we will see more countries go to the left at some point this year. I already predicted Ignatieff, but I think that some other major Western Democracy will go with another liberal or left wing leader at some point in this year. That being said…
7. Obama’s Popularity Will Drop – Sure, I love the guy, and probably will continue to do so, but over the course of this year, there will be some people getting upset with him. He is widely popular right now, and I think that the expectations are too high, and they should drop over the course of the year.
8. The Temperature Will Continue to Rise – Third year in a row making this prediction, and really, do you think that anything major will get done?
9. No New World Champions – Yes, another wrestling prediction had to sneak in here somewhere. I think that for the first time in a long time (the early 90s at the latest) there will not be a first time World Champion over the course of this year, as Jeff Hardy, CM Punk, and Samoa Joe all were this year. For the purposes of a “World” title, I am counting the World Heavyweight Championship, the WWE Title, and the TNA Title, all of which have more or less “World” rankings associated with them. MVP, Matt Hardy, and John Morrison would be the closest, but I just do not see that happening until 2010 at the earliest.
11. Star Trek Will Rule Once More – Another insanely nerdy prediction, but I think that the new edition of Star Trek, scheduled for release in May of this year is going to be awesome. It will break the mold of odd numbered Trek movies being udder crap, and will be a great film. The plot sounds great (time travelling Romulan goes back in time to try and kill Kirk), and it is directed and produced by J.J. Abrahms, who after Lost and Cloverfield can do no wrong in my eyes.
12. The Economy Will Rally – I know that this is a bold one to make, but I think that things will bottom out in the middle of the year and start to rally. Here’s hoping that I’m right on that one!
13. I Will Have a Great Year – Yup, doing this one again. Kind of cheesy, but should still be a good one for me personally, in some capacity at least.
Tune back in December to see just how accurate things were….
Until next time,
G
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