Yes, once again the grandaddy of 'em all, Wrestlemania, is upon us again. And yes, while the WWE is far from at it's best as it relates to storylines and top stars right now, there's still something about the big show that has me excited every year. As sad as it is, the thing I may be looking forward to the most this year is the venue. I can't wait to see how they pull off having an outdoor Wrestlemania with 70,000+ people. It should make for an awesome visual, no doubt. And it could be even more interesting if the forecasts of rain come true. So to prepare for the big event this Sunday, here are my fearless predictions for winners:
Triple Threat for the WWE Championship:
Randy Orton (champ) vs. John Cena vs. Triple H
(A real pick 'em here as Cena or HHH have a viable shot of winning. I'm picking HHH just because Cena has won the main event at the last three 'Manias. However, it will not surprise me one bit if they once again give us the stomach churning finish of Cena coming out on top.)
World Heavyweight Championship:
Edge (champ) vs. The Undertaker
(They could have done so much more with this feud than they have. Starting all the way back at last year's WM by not having Edge lose in the Money in the Bank match so that this could have been a battle of the undefeated men. Still, what matters is what they do in the ring. I think this will be a very solid match between two guys who have never really had a big one-on-one match. The Undertaker's streak is too valuable to throw away here, so I'm picking the Dead Man to win.)
No Holds Barred Match:
Big Show vs. Floyd 'Money' Mayweather
(I really don't know what to expect here. The build for this match has been at it's best intriguing and at it's worst eye-rolling. Altogether it's been downright confusing as they can't seem to figure out who they want as the heel. This could be bowling shoe ugly or mildly amusing. The rule of Wrestlemania says that the celebrity always goes out on top, so I'll choose Mayweather.)
Potential Retirement Match:
Ric Flair vs. Shawn Michaels
(They've been running this storyline with Flair where the next time he loses, he has to retire. The whole thing has been booked backwards and really doesn't have the emotional weight behind it that it should. With Flair getting inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame this weekend, I'm pretty sure he'll lose here. Whether he does hang them up for good or not is another story. It would have been nice to give a big win like this to an up and comer, but there was no one really right for the role, so I have no problem with them having HBK do it, since it should at least give Flair one last good match.)
Money in the Bank Ladder Match:
Chris Jericho vs. MVP vs. Mr. Kennedy vs. Shelton Benjamin vs. CM Punk vs. Carlito vs. John Morrison
(Jeff Hardy was not only supposed to be in this match, but he was the odds-on favorite to win it, but that all got ruined when he got suspended for a wellness violation. Now this thing is really a toss up. I can't see them wasting it on a Smackdown/ECW guy since they are the lower brands and this match is meant to elevate someone. Mr. Kennedy could win it, but he won it last year and he's proven himself to unstable to be trusted with something like this. By process of elimination, I'll go with Jericho and pray that it means they do something interesting with him. However, virtually everyone here has just as likely of a chance to get that briefcase.)
Belfast Brawl:
Finlay vs. JBL
(An potentially interesting match between two legitimate brawlers that has been marred with the ludicrous Hornswoggle storyline. They'll only redeem themselves by having a good, lengthy, bloody brawl. Otherwise this is just a waste of everybody's time. Since he won't be forgotten completely, I'll predict Hornswoggle returns here and helps Finlay pick up the win over the 'Wrestling God'.)
Battle for Brand Supremacy:
Batista vs. Umaga
(Matches between RAW and Smackdown guys have not had any intrigue to them in a long time, if ever. This is basically a case of throwing two relatively big names together in a match because they couldn't think of anything else for them. If they're motivated, these two could have a decent power match, but I'm not holding my breath. My coin flip tells me Batista will win, so that's who I'll go with.)
ECW Championship
Chavo Guerrero (champ) vs. ???
(Before the show, there wiil be a 24 man battle royal and the winner faces Chavo on the actual show. The guys involved pretty much consist of everyone else left off the card. Since Chavo isn't really feuding with anyone, it makes picking his opponent all the more difficult. Kane is the biggest name that's a babyface in the match, so I'll say him. However, I think it would be a nice gesture if they gave Tommy Dreamer the title shot and show that they don't completely hate everything about the original ECW. No matter who gets the title shot, though, Chavo is likely to win as it doesn't make sense to do all this and have him lose. If they were going to have that happen, they would have actually built up a feud between him and the person they wanted to have win the belt.)
Bunnymania Tag Team Match:
Maria and Ashley vs. Melina and Beth Phoenix
(I could care less about the women fighting, but there are two elements that make this slightly appealing. First, Santino Marella is bound to make his presence known at some point during the match which is always a comedic highlight of any show. Second, Snoop Dogg will also be involved in some capacity with this match as well and how can you not love Snoop-a-loop. With no title on the line here, the Playboy girls (Maria and Ashley) should easily get the win in this one.)
And that's the show. Interested yet? Maybe not, but I'll be watching regardless. If you'd rather reminisce about the "good ol' days" well then I'll help you out with that as well. In honor of this year's boxer vs. wrestler match, here's a classic Wrestlemania moment from another boxer vs. wrestle match from 1999:
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