My original plan for this week was to post this WrestleMania 26 preview later in the week on Thursday or Friday, but I've decided to bump it up in the schedule. I have a Shawn Michaels column coming later in the week (probably on Thursday) on top of my weekly Raw & Smackdown recaps. Busy week, huh? It's WrestleMania. Got to do it up big. Plus, I couldn't wait to write about this card. I love it. I'm very happy for the fact that what we're getting this Sunday is what was forecasted way back in January (scroll down to "Projected Card for WM26") because it lets me know WWE took a lot of time to plan this one out. Compare it to last year, which seemed like a rushed together card without long term planning, and you can see the difference. I think, on paper, this is the strongest card WrestleMania has had since 21. My top two WrestleManias are 17 and 21. This one could come close to 21 although I think it will have a tough time beating 17 for me. Like those lineups, this year's Mania is strong from top to bottom. I'm very excited to see it and I'm extremely jealous of those that will be there.
There's one thing I think we should keep in mind regarding this card. At April's Extreme Rules PPV I expect there to be a lot of rematches from WrestleMania. If somebody loses here, they could get their win at Extreme Rules. Last year at Backlash HHH dropped the belt to Orton after defeating him at WM while Cena dropped his to Edge after Cena had beat him at WM. Keep that in mind. They've built WM up well, but they definitely have their booking eye on Extreme Rules as well. The night after Extreme Rules is when the draft lottery is, so that's where we could expect most of these feuds to end.
For each match I'll offer my prediction and provide a poll where you can vote on who you think the winner of the match will be. I think in some cases the match winners are obvious, but others are tough to figure out. Then, at the very end there will be a final poll asking you what match are you most looking forward to. I know I'm poll happy, lately. I just think it's an interesting way to gauge what the masses think. Please vote. Without further Apu, let's get to it.
Unified Tag Team Titles: Big Show & The Miz aka Showmiz vs. John Morrison & R-Truth
This is the rumored opener. I think it's a shame that Morrison and Miz are in the tag title match again a year after they were in the tag title match as a team. They both made so much progress in the last year. I thought one of them would win the Money in the Bank match. I guess I was wrong there although it could be due to the fact that there's a MITB PPV later in the year, which one of them could win. The Morrison/Truth team has only been together for about a month while Showmiz has been together for three months. That's an eternity in WWE's tag "division" though, so I guess they win on experience. The rumor here is Morrison may turn heel after losing although I hope not. I think he's better as a babyface especially in ring, but if the heel turn happens don't be too surprised. I'll go with the champs retaining since they have more of a long term future. The Pick: Big Show & The Miz
Divas Tag Match: The "Good" Divas vs. The "Bad" Divas
This match isn't official as of yet. It could be tonight on Raw. The rumor is it's some kind of 3 on 3 or 4 on 4 match that mixes the Raw & Smackdown girls together. I'm not going to put up a poll yet (I may edit it in after Raw if it gets added) due to it not being official, but for the sake of predictions I'll go with the babyface divas winning most likely with Beth Phoenix pinning Michelle McCool. The Pick: "Good" Divas
Ted Dibiase vs. Randy Orton vs. Cody Rhodes
The Baby Oil Brigade erupts! Kind of. We've already seen singles matches, we've seen Rhodes/Dibiase beat Orton in a handicap match and now we get the triple threat. I think anything other than Randy Orton winning would be the wrong decision because if they're going to push him as a babyface going forward he should absolutely win this match. I think they'll get 10-15 minutes, you'll see Rhodes/Dibiase work together early, then have the inevitable "struggle to decide who gets the pin" moment and that's when the VIPER WILL STRIKE! Yes, I busted out a Cole-ism. Sorry. The match will probably end with Orton hitting the RKO OUT OF NOWHERE~! (shoot me now) as the babyface push of Randy Orton begins much to the surprise of many. I still don't know if it will work, but it's here and we'll see how it goes. The Pick: Randy Orton
Money in the Bank Ladder Match
There are nine men in this match. Could a tenth (Kofi Kingston?) get added? Perhaps. For now there's nine guys in the match. Even if there are more added this is a two horse race with the other seven providing memorable spots. Don't be surprised to see Evan Bourne do a SSP off a ladder or Shelton Benjamin due one of his annual crazy spots. After all, they can't run Jeff Hardy clips anymore. They need some new "don't try this at home" footage, right? Regarding the winner, it's either Christian or Drew McIntyre. If I were placing odds I'd say 70% chance McIntyre wins, 25% chance Christian wins and a 5% chance for the other seven guys. I think the angle they did with McIntyre losing twice clean before beating a jobber was their way of making the outcome less obvious to those that may not know how WWE likes to book things. Personally, I think Christian should win and I think he deserves it the most based on his performance as one of the five best workers in the company right now. However, I think they're really trying to create new main eventers like they did with Sheamus and McIntyre's next in line. I like McIntyre. He's got good heel mannerisms and he works hard. Plus, he might have the best entrance in WWE now. He's my pick to win. The Pick: Drew McIntyre
Bonus Poll. Will the winner of the Money in the Bank cash it in later in the night to become the WWE or World Champion? I don't think so, but it's a rumor that's floating out there.
CM Punk vs. Rey Mysterio
I love this feud. It's been built up really well with Punk choosing to go after Rey's family in a verbal manner while Mysterio's heart makes him want to tear Punk apart. The deal is if Rey loses the match he has to join the Straight Edge Society. Could it happen? Perhaps. It could make an interesting angle to see Mysterio working for Punk although I'd imagine they'd have a rematch with a stip at Extreme Rules that Mysterio ultimately wins. Question is, with Rey Mysterio apparently needing knee surgery again how long is he going to work post-WM? I'm not sure. This has match of the night potential on most any other card, but considering what else is taking place it might be hard. I think we'll see a 15 minute match that reaches about four stars out of five, which would be very good of course. As for a prediction, I don't really know. I'll go with Punk scoring the win just because of the interesting developments that could follow. The Pick: CM Punk
Triple H vs. Sheamus
Do they really think that picture of Sheamus is an effective way to promote the match? It looks like a cartoon. It's the battle of the bronzed guy with the beard against the pale guy with the beard. I thought the WWE Title would be a part of this feud although I'm glad that it's not. It's better in the Batista/Cena match while this one is more of a straight up match where you can believe that HHH might lose. I should note here, for the sake of being honest, that I picked Triple H to win the Royal Rumble and the Elimination Chamber match. I was obviously wrong on both counts. What does that mean for WrestleMania? I'm going with HHH again. I don't learn my lesson. I always pick HHH. I can see the rematch happening at Extreme Rules with Sheamus getting the win there. If Sheamus wins here, HHH wins at Extreme Rules. Confused? So am I. The Pick: Triple H
No Holds Barred Match: Bret Hart vs. Vince McMahon
First off, if you think Vince "SEXY BITCH" McMahon is winning this match you're crazier than he is. (In case you didn't know, Sexy Bitch is the name of Vince's yacht.) I don't think anybody should expect this to be some kind of technical classic. Vince was never capable of having great matches, but he knows how to mix in his shitty offense with big spots. As for Bret, I don't know what to expect. I think he looks a lot better now than he did on January 4th when he had a gut on him. He's training hard and he's always been a big match performer. The thing is it's been ten years since his last match, so obviously it's a different guy. Obviously they're smart enough to know that, which is why they added the No Holds Barred stipulation. They'll hit the high spots well by using trash cans or kendo sticks, things like that. I doubt Bret will take many risky bumps especially because of his history of head injuries not to mention a stroke. The match will likely end with Bret putting Vince in the Sharpshooter with Vince tapping out or maybe even passing out. I guess it could end in a pinfall although the Sharpshooter is the visual we'll remember the most. And trust me, people, I'll be marking out for the Hitman. Absolutely. The Pick: Bret Hart
World Title: Chris Jericho vs. Edge
My Canadian boys! Yes. Finally. I've been waiting for this match since the Edge injury in the summer and I'm glad that it's here. They have done a really good job of keeping them apart in the build to the match. Yes, they've had many interview segments together, but they haven't been overdoing it by sticking them in tag matches or things like that. It feels fresh. They've really tried to get Edge's Spear finisher over by having the crowd chant it just as they wanted. I'm not sure if I love Edge as a face, though. He's fine in the role, but he was such a good heel. Of course, working against Jericho - who is in my opinion still the best heel in WWE with CM Punk right on his tail - will make anybody look like a good face. In terms of the match, I think it really could be the match of the night. They should get plenty of time (between 15-20 minutes seems likely) and based on their chemistry I'm predicting a high quality encounter that should reach four stars and maybe higher if everything goes well. As for the outcome, I'm torn a bit. At first I thought for sure Edge was going. Then I went back to thinking about what I mentioned in the open about Extreme Rules. It's unlikely that they'll switch both titles here. That's why I'm calling Jericho to retain. He's only had the belt for a month. He deserves a longer run with it, so have Jericho win here and Edge can end the next PPV by getting the belt there. I'll admit to having no idea, though. I'm just theorizing here. If Edge wins it wouldn't surprise me at all. The Pick: Chris Jericho
WWE Title: Batista vs. John Cena
If Michaels/Taker doesn't go on last (I think it will) then this match will likely go on last. I've liked the build for it. As I've written many times over the past couple of months, I'm a big fan of heel Batista. I think it's the more natural role for him as the bully in a feud. He's great as a heel jerk. Every John Cena feud seems to be the same with the heel beating him up once in a while only for Cena to come back, turn into SuperCena and overcome the odds. In this case, Batista's had the upper hand the whole time. I like that. Make people pay money to see Cena come back at WrestleMania. Don't give it away on Raw. Make them wait. Build to it the right way. That's what they've done and the result of that is a well built feud featuring two top guys who we as viewers can buy into because of what they've done. They've been constant main eventers for five years. They've had a few matches here and there, but this is the first heel vs. face encounter they're going to have in a PPV setting. Like with Edge/Jericho, it feels like a fresh title match. Others will disagree, I know. That's fine. To me, though, it's worked really well. I'm not sure what the match quality will be here. Neither guy is known as somebody to carry another wrestler, but both have had good matches. Can they work well together? I don't really know. I re-watched their Summerslam 2008 match recently and I thought it was a ***1/2 match (out of five stars of course), so with a hot feud going in they could certainly top that. I'll be interested to see how they do. For the prediction, I'm going Cena. Like with other matches on the card, I see a rematch happening either way. The Pick: John Cena
The Streak vs. The Career: The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels
Giddy up. I think this is the last match of the night because after last year they probably realize it will be hard to top this one. This is a no DQ, no countout match. In other words, it's like the No Holds Barred match except it's called something else. Got it? Good. Last year's match was a 30 minute classic that is regarded as one of the best matches ever. It was five stars to me. I loved it. Seen it a bunch of times and I love it every day. They worked their asses off. A year later, with each guy turning 45 years old this year, their list of injuries have grown. Can they do it again? I don't know. I hope so. I'm optimistic that they can. I think by adding the no DQ/no countout stip they'll be able to bust out more tricks to make it a different match. I think Michaels will take some crazy bump through a table of some kind because those are the things he does on the WrestleMania stage. It might not be as long a match as last year (it could work at 20 minutes), but it should be very close in terms of quality. That's why it goes on last. Put the best match on last and leave the fans feeling like they got their money's worth.
Now the question is who wins? The Undertaker. I don't think The Streak will ever end. It will continue forever. Will Shawn Michaels wrestle again after this Sunday? I think so. I just think this is the end of him as a regular performer on Raw. He'll probably work 2-3 matches a year from this point forward. Then again, I hope I'm wrong. I hope I'm way wrong. He's my favorite wrestler ever and I want to see him wrestle for as long as he physically can. Plus, it's wrestling. Nobody believes retirement stipulations anyway. Fear not HBK fans, he'll wrestle again. I hope so. The Pick: The Undertaker
And just because I love it so much, here's the original video package for this match. It might top Austin/Rock from WMX7 as my favorite video package that WWE has ever done:
Now that we've run through the card, time to ask what match are you most looking forward to? My answer follows the poll.
My order:
1. Undertaker/Michaels
2. Jericho/Edge
3. Bret/Vince
4. Punk/Mysterio
5. Batista/Cena
That's not the order in terms of match quality. It's the order of what I want to see.
One final prediction: I think this will be either the second or third best WrestleMania ever. I have high hopes and I believe that it will deliver.
------
That was a lot of fun to write. I hope you vote in the polls and head on over to thejohnreport.net to share your match predictions also. Although I'm not 100% sure at the moment, I will most likely be providing live WrestleMania updates exclusively on thejohnreport.net during the four show. Bookmark the site now if you haven't done so already. I'm planning on ordering the PPV at my house, having a couple of buddies come over and I'll be writing with live thoughts on my laptop. If for some reason my plans change then I'll make a post on my blog (as well as on Twitter and Facebook) letting you know. I'm fairly certain that I'll be able to write the live updates as planned, though.
I'll be back for The Raw Deal early Tuesday morning, the Shawn Michaels column on Thursday hopefully and then Talking Smack on Saturday. Also keep visiting thejohnreport.net to vote in the greatest WrestleMania match ever tournament. We're down to eight match. It ends this week.
Thanks for reading.
John Canton - oratoryjohn@gmail.com
Visit the blog: thejohnreport.net
Add me on Facebook at Facebook.com/thejohnreport and Twitter at Twitter.com/johnreport
AOLIM: OratorJC MSN: oratoryjohn@hotmail.com
Visit My Archives to view ten years of The John Report columns.
