Welcome to the preview of WrestleMania 22. I get the sense that this year's show has some people excited while others are passive about it. I do understand it. Two years ago with a deserving Chris Benoit chasing the World Title there was a lot of excitement. Last year thanks largely to a dream match like Angle vs. Michaels and the returns of Austin and Hogan there was plenty to get excited about. This year there's not that one match you can look at as definitely the highlight of the show or a surefire match that you'll never forget. Of course there are a lot of candidates. Personally, I am anticipating this show although not as much as in the last two years. I think come Sunday morning and afternoon as we head into Sunday evening I'll get more into it. Hopefully this preview will get you more interested for the show as well.
The question that a lot of people have about Mania in general is if Bret Hart shows up. He said in a newspaper piece earlier this week that he's leaving Chicago on Sunday morning before Mania, but most fans don't seem to believe that. At the Oratory main page right now we've got a poll asking if you think Bret will be at Mania. The results as of now are: 20% say he'll be there, but not interfering in any matches, 18% say he'll interfere in this match, 16% say who cares, they want Simon Dean (an Oratory poll favorite) and in the lead are the 43% who say he won't be at WrestleMania. Basically, the amount of that thinks he will be there is almost equal to those that don't think we'll see Bret making it a split vote. Personally, I'll take his word and say that I don't think he'll be at Mania. However, I hope I'm wrong and that he does agree to be introduced in front of the fans just so he can get that big reception he deserves in an arena. I guess we'll see on Sunday. On with the preview.
Pillow Fight: Torrie Wilson vs. Candice Michelle
I think it's hilarious on WWE.com's Mania page how they have like six paragraphs written about this "match." What's there to say? Two women are there with pillows. I don't know how you win or if a winner even matters, but I'll take the younger current girl in Playboy over the older former Playboy girl that barely gets a reaction from the fans anymore.
The Pick: Candice Michelle
Boogeyman vs. Booker T. and Sharmell
One of two bathroom break matches on the show. I think Booker and Sharmell are doing an awesome job in being scared of Boogeyman. Booker's always been a good actor compared to most wrestlers and with his wife adding to his act, they make a really good duo. Too bad they're losing to the untalented, inexperienced 40 plus year old that isn't good enough to even go ten minutes in a match. But hey, he eats worms, right? I know he's over with the fans. Doesn't make it right.
The Pick: Boogeyman
Women's Title: Trish Stratus vs. Mickie James
Love this feud. Love Trish of course, and I like Mickie a lot. The past few weeks, specifically Saturday Night's Main Event and the last two Raws have been awesome as far as advancing this storyline. Obviously we all knew five months ago this turn was coming and people were getting tired of waiting for it. Thing is, waiting for it made it all the more impressive. That segment on Raw two weeks ago where she tied Ashley to a chair, then beat up Trish from behind and gave her a kiss, a bloody one at that, was fantastic television. Trish has been the Women's champion for a year and almost three months now. Very long time with the belt. Of course it's not that coveted since there's only like five women that can competently wrestle in WWE, but it's still an impressive run. I think the run ends here. I could see Trish retaining and losing it at Backlash too. The reality is there really aren't a whole heck of a lot of contenders to the belt, so these two are going to have a bunch of matches with one another for the conceivable future. At New Year's Resolution they had a strong match that left me wanting more. More is on Sunday and I hope they give these ladies about ten minutes of ring time because they'll probably deliver one of the most heated women's matches in a long time.
The Pick: Mickie James
Tag Team Titles: Kane & Big Show vs. Carlito & Chris Masters
Despite neither team having a real tag team name, I think they've done a good job in matching up these teams. You've got the giant veterans that are the heavy favorites against the two young guys that are making their WrestleMania in-ring debuts. When they had a tag match on Raw several weeks back it was actually surprisingly enjoyable. I enjoy Carlito a lot while Masters is improving while he shrinks. How's the drug testing, Chris? I think it'd be nice to see new tag team champs only because the Kane/Show duo has had the belts so long, has had few title matches and are really just better off in singles. The Carlito/Masters team has more potential for the future. They remind me of the Owen/Bulldog team with Carlito being in the Owen role as the sneaky smart heel while Masters is the power. Obviously they're not the level of in-ring workers that Owen/Bulldog were, but they're similar in style. I'm picking a title switch here thanks possibly to the Cade/Murdoch team that helped out Masters/Carlito on Raw as well.
The Pick: Carlito & Chris Masters
United States Title: Chris Benoit vs. John Bradshaw Layfield
Should be fun at least. As the world biggest Benoit supporter and somebody that has enjoyed JBL more in the past six months than ever before, I will most likely enjoy this match. The build for this has been cool with Benoit breaking his hand (turns out JBL needed minor surgery, so they made an angle out of it) and the two men exchanging a war of words over the weeks. What I like most is the US Title is important again. To have two former World Champions, and recent ones at that, contending for the belt lends it the credibility it needs. JBL did his "guarantee" win speech recently, but that doesn't mean there'll be a title switch. I think Benoit wins either by DQ or on some sort of counter for a pinfall. This feud isn't ending here.
The Pick: Chris Benoit
Hardcore Match: Edge w/Lita vs. Mick Foley
I read Mick Foley's recent blog piece where he said there's no Backlash after this Mania performance, which basically means this is his last match for a while. Knowing Foley, I expect him to be as crazy as he's always been with the bumps he takes. Knees in the steps, thumbtacks, wire, chairs - everything. I think Edge will be up to the task too. As much as he says he wants to slow down to avoid getting hurt again, he never seems to do that. With that in mind, this will likely be a match like Orton/Foley at Backlash 2004, a match which I gave over four stars. If this one can be that good then we're looking at a possible match of the night on a card that has a lot of contenders. The winner here is Edge, keeping his undefeated streak alive at WrestleManias.
The Pick: Edge
Money in the Bank Ladder Match: Shelton Benjamin vs. Rob Van Dam vs. Ric Flair vs. Finlay vs. Matt Hardy vs. Bobby Lashley
Now here's a match where I'm not sure about my pick. Probably the most unsure of any of my picks. I think right off the bat the two guys you can eliminate from winning are Matt Hardy and Finlay. In the case of Hardy, despite getting good ovations from fans on a consistent basis it seems like he'll never get a push, much less a major title shot. Finlay's in his late 40s now and is really only in the match to help Lashley improve. Not a title contender. I'm pretty sure you can eliminate Shelton Benjamin from winning as well even though he's my personal favorite in the match. He's mostly there, along with RVD and Hardy, to be the athletic guys in the match as well as the guys that will probably take the biggest bumps. That leaves three candidates.
Even though I like his work and think his future is blindingly bright I don't think Lashley's going to win this. He's probably a year away from being a main event level talent. He needs to improve, so it'd probably unwise to get him this win. For a while I thought RVD was the best choice since he'd be a fresh challenger while a future title match at the ECW PPV would be a fantastic idea. However, he's had literally zero promo time in recent weeks and has fallen under the radar. That's why I'm going with Ric Flair. Not only do I think he's going to win this match, but I think he's going to win the title on Raw by year's end too. The "one last run" angle could be fun just as long as it doesn't last that long. This match will be fun. No doubt about that. Not as good as last year due to the talent level, but good nonetheless.
The Pick: Ric Flair
Casket Match: Undertaker vs. Mark Henry
This is the second bathroom break match on the show. If you could bet on wrestling in Vegas the odds of Mark Henry winning this match would be about 80-1. Maybe even higher. I'm sure that two minutes into the match Undertaker will be saying to himself: "I went from wrestling a classic with Kurt Angle to this crap?" We understand, Deadman. We understand. This thing has followed all the same Undertaker formula matches at WrestleMania. Let's run down the checklist:
- Heel costs Undertaker an important match. (Check - the rematch to Kurt Angle.)
- Heel does something to lead the announcers to say "I've never seen anybody do that to the Undertaker before." (Check - splash through the table.)
- Heel gets a bunch of video packages to showcase his skills. (Check - we get it, WWE. Henry is strong.)
- Heel cuts promos saying he is different from all the other guys that lost. (Check - more than once too.)
- Heel gets a big TV win in the weeks before Mania. (Check - Henry pinned Angle on Smackdown last week.)
There it is, folks. Following the usual plan. The final checkmark comes at WrestleMania when the Undertaker wins.
The Pick: Undertaker
No Holds Barred: "Smiling" Vince McMahon vs. Shawn Michaels
Another match where the outcome should be obvious. Anybody else find it funny how there's a "No Holds Barred" match and a Hardcore match on the same card. Isn't it the same thing? In both cases, it basically means no rules. I'm surprised they didn't call it a Chicago Street Fight that's No Holds Barred and also Hardcore just for the hell of it. In other words, the 60 year old roided up freak can't work a real match, so they have to use weapons to make him able to work. Much like Henry/Undertaker, the outcome here isn't going to surprise. Michaels has jobbed to just about everybody in the last couple months with the idea being he gets his revenge here. So Michaels wins, I think that's a safe bet. As I said at the start, no Bret Hart here. Hopefully the people that bought the PPV just for that aren't pissed too much. One other prediction for this. When Shane McMahon inevitably interferes people, I think you'll see Steve Austin come out, hit a couple of stunners and be there to celebrate with Michaels.
The Pick: Shawn Michaels
WWE Title: John Cena vs. Triple H
I'm unsure about this match. Could go lots of ways. I could see either guy winning clean or there being a DQ ending. I could even see a double turn happening although I doubt they'll go through with it especially since they're now selling John Cena shirts for women. You don't do that for guys who are about to turn heel. The reason anything can happen is because it's pretty well known that next month at Backlash they'll have another match. Knowing that, I feel more confident in my pick for this. Before I get to that, though, I think it's worth pointing out that the crowd will probably be very mixed during this match. I imagine Cena will get booed by a lot of people like normal except it might be more than usual due to there being more male fans at an event like Mania since they travel from all over the world to be at this one show. I don't think it'll hurt the match. I think it'll make it all the more special to have a loud crowd during the match. For the pick, I'm gonna go with Cena. It may not be clean. It might not even be a pinfall or submission. A DQ is likely also because it would lead to a rematch with HHH then winning the belt at Backlash. So I'll pick Cena to retain. Like I said though, it could go a bunch of different ways. I'm excited for it for that reason. Not knowing is cool sometimes.
The Pick: John Cena
World Title: Kurt Angle vs. Randy Orton vs. Rey Mysterio
This is the match that I'd rank as my favorite on the card as well as the match that I believe will be the match of the night. I've never cared too much about what match goes on last except this year I'm really hopeful that these guys are on last. The guy that wins the Rumble (Mysterio) should be in the last match on the show. That's just how it should always be. Plus, the last two years were Raw matches in this spot, so it'd be nice to get something different. I think you could argue that the Raw title match is bigger although I personally think they're about the same. Last year was different because the Raw match had better build. This year I think they're on the same plane with the Smackdown match arguably being bigger due to it featuring the Royal Rumble winner.
Like the Raw match, this could go a bunch of ways as well. I think there'll be a definite ending to it with a lot of terrific nearfalls in what should be a fast paced match. I'm a fan of all three guys due largely to all of them being athletic wrestlers. They will definitely be able to keep the excitement up for the entire 20 or 30 minutes, however long they get. I don't know if it'll approach the Benoit/HBK/HHH match from two years ago, but I'll be that it'll be very special in its own right. Angle's on fire these days, Orton has been terrific since regaining his health and Mysterio is always delivering the goods. I'm picking Rey to ultimately win in the end, probably pinning Orton. It will be quite the open if that were to open. I'd be genuinely happy for a guy that's one of my all-time favorites and comes across as one of the true good guys in the business. Hopefully if he wins they do a big celebration too. He deserves it. A night after inducting Eddie into the Hall, it'd be a fitting end to WrestleMania weekend.
The Pick: Rey Mysterio
Eleven matches, four hours. Not a bad lineup. There's five title matches total. I'm picking three of them to change hands. I'm upset that the Smackdown tag team champions, MNM, aren't on the card though. They've done a great job in solidifying those belts yet they're not even on the card for their first WrestleMania. What a disappointment. Other than that, I think the card's fine. I understand those that care little about it and those that are really excited. I'm leaning more to the excited side. I know by 7pm I'll be damn excited because it's WrestleMania.
Thanks for reading. Once again, a reminder that I WILL be doing live WrestleMania coverage at both Rajah.com and the Oratory main page, so check that out during the show or after the show for my instant thoughts on what's going down this Sunday.
Smell ya later,
John C. - oratoryjohn@gmail.com
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