Wrestlemania 28 predictions

With an underwhelming go-home show for this year’s Wrestlemania in the bag, it is time to put my hat into the ring and choose my predictions for this year’s show.
Compared to the last two years, Wrestlemania 28 is by far a much stronger bill up and down the card. I still find it odd that they are billing the show as having FOUR main events, but who cares? I’m past trying to think through WWE’s bizarre logic.
Anyway, let’s take a look at the card (which will probably be tweaked come Sunday):

Randy Orton vs. Kane
This match has had almost zero build. Kane was feuding with Zack Ryder and Cena, getting Cena to embrace the hate, then Kane realised that he’d shook Rany Orton’s hand last summer and so build a match from that. This feud (if you can even call it that) feels more like an after-thought than anything to get excited about. The match should be fine, and Orton will win.

Maria Menounos & Kelly Kelly vs. Beth Phoenix & Eve Torres
This will be when I get some beers and put on some hotdogs. The token celebrity match (though Menounos is pretty much unheard of outside of the US). I hope it’s short, because it will certainly be a dud by anyone’s standards. Faces to win.

Cody Rhodes vs. Big Show for the Intercontinental Title
Cody Rhodes is very good, so this match has potential to be pretty entertaining. Cody has been humiliating Show for weeks, so the build has been really strong. I predict a win for Cody, with the Big Show probably snapping after the match and destroying Cody. Show will get his revenge, but Cody will keep the title.

Team Teddy vs. Team Johnny
The geek match. It’s really hard to care about the result of this match because Teddy Long is so unlikable and Otunga and Johnny are so entertaining as a double-act (just please don’t put Otunga in the ring). I think it’s obvious that Teddy Long’s team is losing, and there should be some pretty decent spots in the match. I predict that Drew MacIntyre (of all people) will get the pin in order to rebuild his character... but I’m not holding my breath.

Daniel Bryan vs. Sheamus for the World Heavyweight Title
Main Event time! This was the match I paid for last year but never got, so it’s good to see that it is now the main event and not a dark match. This match has the potential to elevate both Sheamus and Danielson to the next level. I just hope they are given a decent amount of time to show what they can do. The only thing which might work against this match is the lack of heat between Danielson and Sheamus. For months Danielson had heat with Henry, Cole, Show, even AJ, but there’s not been much with Sheamus. I think the build has made it quite obvious that Sheamus will win (even though Sheamus, and not the champ was pinned on Raw).

The Undertaker vs. Triple H in a Hell in a Cell Match
Main Event time! This match will be awesome and I can’t wait. I predict that Undertaker will win, probably after kicking out of a Sweet Chin Music at some point. They’ve done a hell of a job building this match up, some of the promos have told really intriguing stories. I think they missed a trick by not having Shawn out on the last Raw doing a promo with ambiguous wording as way to add more intrigue to the match, but hey, we had to see the same Rock/Cena promo again. I predict lots of blood, and a good slow-paced match with lots of drama.

CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho for the WWE Title
Main Event time! I’ve really enjoyed the way they’ve built up this match. It’s nice to see that Jericho has got to Punk and that feud has moved beyond a simple “I’m the best”, “No, I’m the best” feud to something with more dimensions. I think they’ll have a hell of match, maybe the best of the night. I can see Jericho winning the title, with Punk winning it back at the next PPV.

John Cena vs. The Rock
WWE can’t win with this match. If Rock wins, Cena’s going to still be around to hold up the company, while Rock’s off doing films. If Cena wins, nothing will be gained and everyone who hates Cena going in will continue to hate Cena. A lot of the interest in the match has gone down for me. I’ve found Rock to be unlikable, relying on catchphrases and very out-of-date cultural references (Mark E Mark hasn’t been around for about 20 years, the Tellytubbies had their day about 15 years ago). Cena’s character came off well for a few weeks, but when he came out to do his Dr of Thugonomics gimmick, you knew that Cena, in any guise, is simply playing a role. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve enjoyed the promos, they’ve been entertaining, but have they built up the match any more than they did a year ago? My feeling is not. Cena looks set to win, but it’s in Rock’s hometown so I can’t really see the 50/50 split that the WWE were hoping for.

That Clown from Outta Town - WRESTLEMANIA, MOTHERFUCKER

Mania time - can't wait :)

I've noticed that some people have uploaded just the Taker v HHH match to the download sites - I'm guessing that means it's either fucking brilliant, or someone dies.

LET'S DO THIS

0:37 - The arena is huge
0:56 - Singing, fast forwarding
6:17 - I really need to go to a Wrestlemania before I die
17:33 - Finally, a match :) Kinda weird they're starting with the world championship
23:43 - Almost 25 minutes until first bell...
34:59 - Not a bad match...started kinda slowly, but picked up toward the end. Del Rio pulled a fucking amazing move...Edge was on the top turnbuckle, Del Rio jumped up to the top rope and from there did a spin kick right to Edge's head...looked brutal. Never seen anyone do that before.
37:24 - Edge elbow dropping a car...
43:22 - Cody Rhodes' gimmick is pretty fucking weird...
43:55 - Rey dressed as Captain America...his Mania outfits are always pretty cool, his Joker one was ace
57:27 - Great match, they should have opened with that...Cody Rhodes is a lot better than I remember him, I used to think he was pretty generic but he was very solid here
60:10 - Regal is a better rapper than Cena
60:37 - RODDY FUCKING PIPER
67:54 - The 8-man tag was pretty ridiculous...it was about 3 or 4 minutes long...not quite sure what happened there
72:15 - Rock and Stone Cold face to face :D
73:19 - Punk v Orton time :D
85:08 - Punk just kicked Orton in the head, when the other foot was on the ground, and Orton was behind him...how in the fuck is that even possible
87:10 - Top rope superplex from Orton...perfect execution
94:34 - Holy shit, Punk went for a cross body from the top rope, Orton caught him in midair and pulled off an RKO...perfect execution again
95:17 - Really good match, Orton selling his 'injured' leg and Punk capitalising it...almost old school ring psychology

Part 2 (AKA I reset the counter :/ )

6:49 - Cole v Lawler time :)
7:49 - JR's coming to commentate :D Fuck yeah...good to have him back
30:09 - Pretty entertaining match.
36:26 - Cole & JR on commentary together again...fucking awesome
39:41 - Taker v HHH :)
43:49 - Taker coming out to For Whom the Bell Tolls :) Fucking awesome
44:55 - My bad, it's HHH :) Kinda Taker-ish with the lights going out and the lightning and all though
56:26 - The commentary is fucking sublime...it's so good to hear great commentary again, both TNA and WWE are garbage at the moment...TNA more so
82:47 - Fucking hell...that was amazing. They couldn't have done it with anyone but JR calling it, but still...what a fucking match.
92:23 - Vickie Guererro...what an awful way to follow that match

PART 3 (AKA fucking counter >:( )

1:14 - Fucking hell, Starship Pain to the outside...
1:50 - Snooki was actually pretty impressive...celeb appearances are usually just embarrassing
8:05 - Miz v Cena already? What happened to Danielson v Sheamus? I was really looking forward to that match :(
9:47 - Since when did the champion come out before the challenger?
15:00 - Cena's in his new red shirt...the way he always does that reminds me of Wall-E
17:47 - Cena's intro made even Taker's look fast
27:35 - The main event is the least interesting match so far
29:22 - Ref bump :(
32:36 - Double count-out...what a horrible end to an otherwise great Wrestlemania
33:36 - The Rock :) Let's see if he can salvage the last 10 minutes
36:54 - Rock restarted the match
37:12 - Rock Bottom on Cena :D
37:37 - Miz wins thanks to Rock...kinda dumb, why bother restarting the match when Cena wasn't gonna end up with the belt anyway? Still, sweet Rock Bottom so not complaining too much
40:00 - And People's Elbowing Miz after the match

Great show, the ending was miserable though. I could have stopped watching after the Taker v HHH match and I wouldn't have missed anything.

Wrestlemania predictions revisited

This year's Wrestlemania was certainly a mixed bag - excellent matches, throwaway matches, non-existent matches, bad booking... somewhat disappointing, but made worth it by some quality wresting. Let's have a look at my predictions:

"1 Edge (with Christian) (c) vs. Alberto Del Rio (with Brodus Clay) Singles match for the World Heavyweight Championship.
This has a lot of potential, I predict Del Rio will win, and I’m hoping it will be a clean win. At worst, this will be a decent match, though I worry that with the inclusion of Brodus Clay at ring-side, there will be some bullshit booking... or maybe not, I forget that this is WWE and not TNA, so I’m optimistic."

Man, DelRio was buried in this one. It was a great match, especially the last couple of minutes. Good opener, shame DelRio didn't win though. For a world title match on PPV a though, there was nothing out of the ordiary. I was very suprised that this was the opener.

Match rating: ***


"2 The Miz (c) vs. John Cena Singles match for the WWE Championship
Does anyone really give a shit about this match? I’ve written on this blog before that Miz is not a convincing champion. On last weeks Raw he said something along the lines of “I’m more imposing than Andre the Giant, I’m a better technical wrestler that Bret Hart, I’m a better athlete that Shawn Michaels...” etc. I’m pretty sure that the reaction they wanted from this promo wasn’t a universal “are you fuck”. If I were to book Miz as a champion, I would have have him say the opposite, that he’s not as good as any of these guys, but that he will keep hold of the title because he’s smart and will bend the rules to keep it. He could win by count-outs, getting himself DQed, etc. Granted he would lose the matches, but he would keep the title, which to him would be the most important thing. Over time, this will lead to fans really wanting to see a top babyface like Cena kick his ass and win the title. It’s an old school way of booking, but it would create a heel who is lamentable, and not just an after –thought. Should be a decent match though. Cena will win, and I am sure the Rock will raise his hand and Rock Bottom the Miz."

The booking of this match was terrible, it felt like a bad TNA PPV ending. Replace the Rock with Bischoff and picture what happened again - it's bullshit booking and you know it. This was a bad match, Cena was booed out of the house and the crowd hated the ending. Miz won because of a screwjob courtesy of the Rock. They then had the Rock bear the shit out of the Miz, just to make him look like the biggest pussy ever - exactly what you want in your champion.

"3 Triple H vs. The Undertaker No Holds Barred match
I can’t wait for this match, not because it will be a brilliant match (I’m sure it will be very good), but because it will hopefully mean the end of long boring promos from Triple H. Undertaker to win."

This was an awesome match, and was by far the best match of the evening. Taker won, but my God he earned it. This match was intense, the selling and ring psychology alone made this absolutely compelling to watch - the younger guys on the roster could learn a lot from watching this. The story of this match was fantastic, and the ending was brilliant, I even thought for a split second that Triple H was going going to win. When Undertaker kicked out of the Tombstone, I couldn't believe it. This was the only match on the card that felt like an awesome Wrestlemania match. Going into this, I wasn't sure how good it would be, but I'm glad it supassed my expectations. A classic.

Match rating: *****

"4 Jerry Lawler vs. Michael Cole (with Jack Swagger) Singles match with special guest referee Stone Cold Steve Austin.
This is a classic Wrestlemania style match, and I can’t wait to see it. It’s not going to be the best wrestling match, but it’s going to be entertaining. There’s no way this can be as bad as the clusterfuck of a Bret Hart match last year, and the build up has been spectacular. Lawler to win, Cole to get a Stunner."

This match was far too long. Cole clearly couldn't wrestle, the match was funny and Michael Cole look ridiculous, but it wasn't promoted as a comedy match. This should have been a five minute squash match with Stone Cold stunnering Cole. Then there was a screwjob and Cole won. This will no doubt lead to a second match... I think this match has killed the feud for me. It was better than the Bret Hart match of last year, but it was still pretty bad... Booker T got stunnered at the end, so that was good.

Matchrating: *

"5 Randy Orton vs. CM Punk Singles match
This feud reminds me of TNA style feud, and I’m pretty sure that this match was meant to be CM Punk versus Cena. In basic terms, a heel wants to get revenge on a babyface who kicked him and his friends in the head, and had cost Punk his title. Unless this match ends with a double turn, I’m not sure who the fans are meant to cheer for. I will, of course, be cheering for Punk, though I predict a win for Orton... boo!"

Again, this was a good match, but it felt a bit like a rerun of the spots they did on Raw. Again, this didn't feel like a Wrestlemania match, but it was solid.

Match rating: ***

"6 Rey Mysterio vs. Cody Rhodes Singles match
The build-up to this match has been the highlight of Smackdown. Though much of the feud has been lifted from the El Generico/Kevin Steen feud, it has still be great and Rhodes’ new persona is great. Let’s hope they keep it going and never go back to him being “dashing”... because that sells PPVs, right? Mysterio to win, and I’m pretty sure it will be a very good match."

This was a really well-worked match, but again, there was nothing out of the ordinary. It was a very good match, but still it didn't have that Wrestlemania feel to it... it was almost as if they had been told not to steal the show... I really liked the finish to this one, but it wasn't a blowaway match.

Match rating: ***

"7 Trish Stratus, Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi and John Morrison vs. Dolph Ziggler and LayCool (Layla and Michelle McCool) (with Vickie Guerrero) 6-person mixed tag team match
Another classic Wrestlemania style match. I can’t wait to go and get a drink while this is on. I hope that most of the match will be Morrison and Ziggler going at it. I’m sure the match will end with Snooki getting Vicky G to tap out."

Short but sweet, Snooki did some crazy-ass flips and got the pin on Michelle pretty quickly. Throwaway match, but entertaining.

Match rating: **

"8 Sheamus (c) vs. Daniel Bryan Singles match for the United States Championship
This is the match I want to see. I can see Sheamus winning, but it will be an excellent match. I can’t wait!"

FUCKING HELL - I was really pumped for this match, they were even advertising it on the pre-show, and then, erm, nothing. They'd apparently had it as a dark match, a fucking dark match! I'm furious about this. This was the tipping point for me actually buying this PPV. If they were injured, fair enough - but they weren't. If they ran short of time, cut the skits with Hornswaggle, and the video packages, and John Cena's choir entrance, or the throwaway Kame match... grrr...

9 Kane, Big Show, Santino Marella and Vladimir Kozlov vs. The Corre (Wade Barrett, Ezekiel Jackson, Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater) 8-man Tag Team match
Who gives a shit? This will be awful. I’m pretty sure that Kane et al will win... and no one will care.

Short but shit - waste of time.

Match rating: *

Wrestlemania predictions

It’s Wrestlemania in less than a week, so it’s time for some predictions. The build-up for this year’s Wrestlemania has been great, and there are some quite decent looking matches on the card... there are others that are not so great... Let’s do this!

1 Edge (with Christian) (c) vs. Alberto Del Rio (with Brodus Clay) Singles match for the World Heavyweight Championship.
This has a lot of potential, I predict Del Rio will win, and I’m hoping it will be a clean win. At worst, this will be a decent match, though I worry that with the inclusion of Brodus Clay at ring-side, there will be some bullshit booking... or maybe not, I forget that this is WWE and not TNA, so I’m optimistic.


2 The Miz (c) vs. John Cena Singles match for the WWE Championship
Does anyone really give a shit about this match? I’ve written on this blog before that Miz is not a convincing champion. On last weeks Raw he said something along the lines of “I’m more imposing than Andre the Giant, I’m a better technical wrestler that Bret Hart, I’m a better athlete that Shawn Michaels...” etc. I’m pretty sure that the reaction they wanted from this promo wasn’t a universal “are you fuck”. If I were to book Miz as a champion, I would have have him say the opposite, that he’s not as good as any of these guys, but that he will keep hold of the title because he’s smart and will bend the rules to keep it. He could win by count-outs, getting himself DQed, etc. Granted he would lose the matches, but he would keep the title, which to him would be the most important thing. Over time, this will lead to fans really wanting to see a top babyface like Cena kick his ass and win the title. It’s an old school way of booking, but it would create a heel who is lamentable, and not just an after –thought. Should be a decent match though. Cena will win, and I am sure the Rock will raise his hand and Rock Bottom the Miz.

3 Triple H vs. The Undertaker No Holds Barred match
I can’t wait for this match, not because it will be a brilliant match (I’m sure it will be very good), but because it will hopefully mean the end of long boring promos from Triple H. Undertaker to win.

4 Jerry Lawler vs. Michael Cole (with Jack Swagger) Singles match with special guest referee Stone Cold Steve Austin.
This is a classic Wrestlemania style match, and I can’t wait to see it. It’s not going to be the best wrestling match, but it’s going to be entertaining. There’s no way this can be as bad as the clusterfuck of a Bret Hart match last year, and the build up has been spectacular. Lawler to win, Cole to get a Stunner.

5 Randy Orton vs. CM Punk Singles match
This feud reminds me of TNA style feud, and I’m pretty sure that this match was meant to be CM Punk versus Cena. In basic terms, a heel wants to get revenge on a babyface who kicked him and his friends in the head, and had cost Punk his title. Unless this match ends with a double turn, I’m not sure who the fans are meant to cheer for. I will, of course, be cheering for Punk, though I predict a win for Orton... boo!

6 Rey Mysterio vs. Cody Rhodes Singles match
The build-up to this match has been the highlight of Smackdown. Though much of the feud has been lifted from the El Generico/Kevin Steen feud, it has still be great and Rhodes’ new persona is great. Let’s hope they keep it going and never go back to him being “dashing”... because that sells PPVs, right? Mysterio to win, and I’m pretty sure it will be a very good match.

7 Trish Stratus, Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi and John Morrison vs. Dolph Ziggler and LayCool (Layla and Michelle McCool) (with Vickie Guerrero) 6-person mixed tag team match
Another classic Wrestlemania style match. I can’t wait to go and get a drink while this is on. I hope that most of the match will be Morrison and Ziggler going at it. I’m sure the match will end with Snooki getting Vicky G to tap out.

8 Sheamus (c) vs. Daniel Bryan Singles match for the United States Championship
This is the match I want to see. I can see Sheamus winning, but it will be an excellent match. I can’t wait!

9 Kane, Big Show, Santino Marella and Vladimir Kozlov vs. The Corre (Wade Barrett, Ezekiel Jackson, Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater) 8-man Tag Team match
Who gives a shit? This will be awful. I’m pretty sure that Kane et al will win... and no one will care.

On the whole, this is a pretty damn good Wrestlemania card which is punctuated with some throwaway matches presumably to give you time to get your breath back between the decent matches.