This is it. The biggest show of the year, Wrestlemania. Rivalries are taken to the next level. Feuds come to a climax. Wrestlers are elevated.
This year the big event hits the quarter century mark and at least on paper, it has a chance to be one of the best Wrestlemanias ever.
Chris Jericho vs. Roddy Piper, Ricky Steamboat and Jimmy Snuka (with Ric Flair) – Handicap elimination match
Jericho has been as good or better than he’s ever been with this clean cut anti-Y2J character. What started as a feud with Mickey Rourke ended up as a feud with Ric Flair, who was retired after losing a match at last year’s Wrestlemania. Since Flair is retired, three legends will fight for him: Roddy Piper, Ricky Steamboat and Jimmy Snuka. I think it’s about time that Jericho moved back up to the main event, and I don’t expect this match to finish without at least a little bit of of Ric Flair in the ring, and while Flair might get the better of Jericho, the match will end with the three Legends defeated. Jericho eliminates them all.
John “Bradshaw” Layfield (c) vs. Rey Mysterio – WWE Intercontinental Championship
Coming off of a feud with Shawn Michaels, he put out an open challenge for his Intercontinental Belt. Rey Mysterio accepted JBL’s offer. This match feels thrown together in a short time, and I originally thought that the Shawn Michaels feud should have ended at WM, however, they have better things planned for Shawn at WM25, so JBL gets the man from area code 619. These two have had a few feuds in the past, which means maybe they don’t actually need to build the match up as they might between two other wrestlers. Two years ago, Rey beat JBL to send him into a temporary retirement. Much like their match on this past Raw, I expect JBL to beat the tar out of Rey but the underdog once again comes out on top. Rey is the new Intercontinental Champion.
The Colóns (Carlito and Primo) vs. John Morrison and The Miz – Tag team Lumberjack match to unify the WWE Tag Team Championship and World Tag Team Championship
While I really like the feud between the two teams, I’m not so sure about unifying the tag belts. Since the rosters are for the most part separated during nine months out of the year, the two different championships give tag teams something to shoot for on their respective shows. With only one belt, I imagine that they’ll jump around either as champions without a particular show, or one show will be out of luck.
The Colóns have held their belts for the third longest reign since the belts were introduced in 2002. Paul London and Brian Kendrik held it for nearly a year. The other team, who held it for 250 days, is their opponents at WM25 and current holders of the World Tag belts, Miz and Morrison. Along with their feud, there is the feud between the Bella Twins. Nikki is with Miz and Morrison, and Brie is with Primo and Carlito. I’m sure the Bella Twins will have an impact on this match. I think these two teams will continue to fight it out well after Wrestlemania, so it doesn’t really matter who wins here; the other team will not give up. I can also see the match ending in DQ and both retaining. Being that it’s Wrestlemania, the chances are probably greater that the ‘good guys’ win, so I’ll have to stick with that. The Colóns become new Unified Tag Team champions.
Matt Hardy vs. Jeff Hardy – Extreme Rules match
This match might have been rushed so that it could be on the Wrestlemania card, but big face-offs like this one should be on the big shows. Since it is fairly early in what could be a really long feud, this match will settle nothing. It could be a spot-fest, but they may also hold back for the eventual end of the feud match. I don’t think Jeff gets his revenge today. Matt Hardy wins.
25-Diva battle royal – Winner will be crowned “Miss WrestleMania”
This one should be the comedy match of the night, since I’m sure Santino Marella will make an appearance. As far as the divas go, I have no clue who should be the winner. I always thought Melina was better as a heel, so maybe she should win and then become full of herself. Melina crowned Miss Wrestlemania.
Edge (c) vs. The Big Show vs. John Cena – Triple Threat match for the World Heavyweight Championship
Edge has been pushed to the side a little bit to allow Big Show to take more of the attention from Cena, which should extend the Edge/Cena story for a while longer. If WWE wanted to really mix things up, they would have Big Show beat Edge cleanly for the belt and force Vicky to pick between the two; her husband and the new figurehead of Smackdown. However, Cena will likely get the pinfall over Big Show, making him the odd-man out while resuming the feud with Edge. Cena is the new World Heavyweight Champion.
Triple H (c) vs. Randy Orton – WWE Championship
Randy Orton is the best heel in the business right now. Cold and calculating — and talented. A loss to HHH at WM25 should make him crazed. Moreso than he already is. He should drop DiBiase and Rhodes to fend for themselves and really, they’re ready to cut their own path. Let Orton get even more rabid in his pursuit of the championship and destruction of HHH and the McMahon family. However, a win by Orton over HHH at WM25 could take him closer to heights seen only by others of the elite WWE circle. The Rock. Steve Austin. Bret Hart. Ric Flair. Kurt Angle. Only time will tell if he could be as big as Hulk Hogan. This match could be the next big step. I foresee a Rock-like face turn in the next couple years, just in time for the next rise in wrestling popularity. In the meantime though, a championship run is probably in the cards. He’ll continue on with an expanded Legacy covering his ass while feuding with the McMahon Clan. I’m leaning toward an Orton win for this one, one of the few times a heel wins the belt from the face champion. Randy wins his third WWE Championship and the new era of the WWE beings.
Money in the Bank Ladder Match – Winner gets title shot anytime in the next year
This match contains eight men who could easily be pushed to the main event level: CM Punk, Kane, Mark Henry, Montel Vontavious Porter, Shelton Benjamin, Kofi Kingston, Christian, and Finlay. They have been in many matches together over the past few weeks on all of the shows. It seems that Kane keeps coming out on top (except for the last ECW), so you have to like his chances to win. I think the other two most likely winners are MVP, Mark Henry and Christian. MVP has been pushed a lot since coming off of his losing streak. If he gets the title shot, he’ll probably wait until winning a high profile feud with another top of the mid-card group before cashing it in. Mark Henry could use it to insert himself into the Smackdown title shot, and would probably become the first Money in the Bank winner to lose after cashing it in. Christian also could use it to get into the Smackdown main event against former tag partner Edge. The good thing about this title shot is that they have one year to use it, giving the WWE writers enough time to put the pieces in place for a big surprise, meaning whoever wins would have a year to become believable main eventer. MVP climbs the ladder literally and figuratively.
The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels
This match will probably close the show out. These two have probably been the most associated with Wrestlemania than any other superstars, so it seems fitting. They are both getting older and nearing the end of their careers, but don’t let that stop you from expecting a performance that will likely be one of the top five matches of the year. Everyone in the locker room should be hovering around the television screens to learn something. There is definately something to learn from these two masters of wrestling psychology. We’re going to get many nearfalls, failed finishers, and desparate moves on the way to the final pin.
HBK’s entrance on Smackdown a week ago, similar yet opposite of Undertakers, was awesome to see and I think the light and dark should have been pushed weeks earlier. The crowd will have a tough time figuring out who to cheer as neither one has been pushed as the bad guy and neither has been pushed as the good guy.
Shawn Michaels has been getting to much of the upper hand on Undertaker of late, and also got the big payoff after last year’s Ric Flair retirement match. I expect the Dead Man to go 17-0. The Undertaker is Mr. Wrestlemania.
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So those are my predictions for tomorrow evening. It should be a fantastic event full of memorable Wrestlemania caliber moments. Feuds will be put to rest and hopefully seeds for new rivalries will be sown. Enjoy the show!
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