Wrestlemania 25 Preview and Predictions

Wrestlemania 25 is just around the corner. This is like the holidays for wrestling fans. The playoff season. The season finale. Whatever you call it... it is fun times for fans of wrestling.

The last couple of years, its been more about the spectacle and showcase of the event rather than the card itself. However, I think that this might be the first year where it can be about both!

I've been a wrestling fan since 1992, I was around 7 years old and in the 2nd grade at the time. I have seen what direction WWE likes to take their storylines and matches in for years (aka. What Vince likes to do). It gets to the point where I sometimes call the finish of the match right down to what moves are used a few seconds before it actually occurs. Not that is really anything to brag about (it is more pathetic than anything).

So, two months ago, I posted what *I* would have booked for Wrestlemania (given the storyline circumstances at the time).

One month ago, I posted what I *thought* was going to be the Wrestlemania line-up.

So, now the card has been established. Now, I will predict a few things here...

- The order of matches.
- How long the match will be.
- What star rating I will give to the match.
- Who is going to win the match

Winner Take All Unification Lumberjack Match
John Morrison & The Miz (World Tag Team Champions) vs.
Carlito & Primo Colon (WWE Tag Team Champions)

Well, we already know that these teams can bring it. We already know what they can do on free TV. Let us see what they can do at Wrestlemania. Hopefully the Lumberjack Match stipulation doesn't fuck this over. I also hope they get at least 10 minutes (Preferably more).

Miz and Morrison are the future and it would be stupid not to have them win it. Plus, since they are still technically ECW, they can go to all three brands and defend the belts.

Predicted Star Rating: ****
Predicted Match Length: 9:00
Predicted Winners: John Morrison & The Miz

Money in the Bank V
Kofi Kingston vs. Mark Henry vs. CM Punk vs. Christian vs. Finlay vs. MVP vs. Shelton Benjamin vs. Kane

Every year since Wrestlemania 21, we have had the Money in the Bank ladder match. It has been one recent tradition that I personally love. Last year's was easily the best one between the efforts of Shelton Benjamin and John Morrison.

Now a lot of people are down and out about Mark Henry being in there. I'm going to give him a chance. In fact, if he does a splash from at least the next step down from top of the ladder... he will definitely have his big lifetime "Wrestlemania moment"... at which point all will be forgiven. He could also do things like tipping over two ladders at once. Lets see if the World's Strongest Man can live up to his name, finally!

Finlay and Kane have already been in ladder matches, and Kane has even been in a TLC match. They're performances were acceptable. There are no complaints on this end.

Now let us look at the wrestlers we are glad to see there...MVP has had this weird storyline where he has been down on his luck. Some would think that this would hurt MVP's career. Instead, its made him more of a fan favorite. He did pretty good all things considered last year in the Money in the Bank. I'd like to see him walk away with it. Hell, I'd like to see him cash it in against Edge or Randy Orton at the end of the night.We know Christian's history with the Ladder Match. We know CM Punk's history with the past two Money in the Bank Matches. It is great to see those veterans in a match that has people who generally aren't ladder match workers.

Kofi Kingston is someone I am glad to see in there. I feel that he is one of the most underrated stars in the WWE. I think that this could be his match where he catches the attention of everyone. Let's see if he can bring it!

Finally... Shelton Benjamin, he is the unofficial "Mr. Money in the Bank" in that he does some crazy shit each time. Each year (except the one year he wasn't in it) he manages to top himself. As long as he is an active performer, he has a permanent Money in the Bank spot as far as I am concerned. Hopefully, WWE feels the same way.

They've been seriously building to MVP winning and MVP has been getting huge crowd approval including his own "People's Elbow" sequence with "BALLIN!" So, it makes sense that he wins.

Predicted Winner: MVP
Predicted Star Rating: ****
Predicted Match Length: 14:00

Interncontinental Title Match
JBL (champion) vs. Rey Mysterio

The Interncontinental Title hasn't been defended at Wrestlemania since Wrestlemania 18. At 19, the IC title was dropped, temporarily. At 20, Randy Orton was a part of Evolution facing the Rock n Sock Connection. After that, the IC champion has pretty much been a part of the Money in the Bank matches (except the Wrestlemania 23 Bald Billionaire special). This year, we finally get the highly requested IC title match. Granted, I don't think JBL/Mysterio is exactly a dream match for anyone, but at least tradition is back!

JBL and Mysterio have had a history. Mysterio was the one (kayfabe) to injure JBL and have him retire, temporarily. Now they face again.

Unfortunately, since Mysterio won on Monday, JBL is going over at Mania.

Predicted Winner: JBL
Predicted Star Rating: **
Predicted Match Length: 7:00

This is where we introduce the Class of 2009 Hall of Fame line-up which includes

Stone Cold Steve Austin
Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat
The Funks (Dory Sr, Dory Jr. & Terry Funk)
The Von Erich Family (Fritz, Kerry, Kevin, David, Mike, and
Chris Von Erich)
"Cowboy" Bill Watts
Koko B. Ware
"The Fink" Howard Finkel

We have a very strong line-up for the Hall of Fame this year. VERY STRONG. Koko is perhaps the weakest offering but I hope they cover his work with Memphis which is where he was most influential rather than just covering his Birdman and High Energy days in WWE.

Legends Match
Chris Jericho vs. Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat, "Superfly" Jimmy Snuka, and "Rowdy" Roddy Piper (with Ric Flair & Mickey Rourke in their corner)

I know we all hoped for Stone Cold Steve Austin or, at the very least, Hulk Hogan. Worst case scenario: Ric Flair. I did too. However, the WWE can't make Stone Cold wrestle if he doesn't want to. Hulk Hogan just had back surgery. Hell, I know the third choice for many was Ric Flair but all of us can agree that they shouldn't tarnish quite possibly the greatest retirement celebration in wrestling history. There was talks of Jerry "The King" Lawler stepping in the ring. A lot of people hated that idea but I was okay with it. At least he's mobile.

What I would had done is just done a Legends Gauntlet match. Had him take on these three... throw in Sgt. Slaughter, Jerry Lawler, and then finally Stone Cold for the last 3 minutes.

So, that leaves us with this match. Rowdy Roddy Piper hasn't been able to wrestle well since 1992. Even then, he was mostly a basic brawler who was more of an entertainer than a wrestler. Superfly Jimmy Snuka is just way too old for this shit. We might see something cool out of him but I doubt it. The only shimmer of hope here is Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat. We don't know if his injury still ails him as bad as it did and we don't know how much he could actually participate. He hasn't wrestled since his career ending injury in 1994. But, if he is even half as good as he was in his prime, we might see something good since Chris Jericho is a great in-ring performer. I'm still going to go with a 2 star prediction, but I am still going to hope for something better.

It would be cool if they had a Savage/Steamboat-esque sequence at the end of the match, though.

Since they couldn't have come up with a good enough match to pay off this angle, its just best that the legends win now so they can just end the storyline and Jericho can move on to something else. Since he's facing 3 people (plus Flair and Rourke on the outside), it is not like him losing in a 5 on 1 situation would hurt his credibility or anything.

Predicted Winner: The Legends... Sole Survivor... Ricky Steamboat
Predicted Star Rating: **
Predicted Match Length: 11:00

Brother vs. Brother, Extreme Rules
Jeff Hardy vs. Matt Hardy

Everyone points to the 2001 Armageddon match that was pretty horrid. I think it was a story where they are brothers so they didn't want to hurt each other.

However, they have evolved a lot as wrestlers since then, and this one is contested under extreme rules. It is also Wrestlemania where everyone wants their big "Wrestlemania moment."

The buildup has been pretty damn awesome for this matchup as well. The only thing here that makes sense to me is Jeff winning.

Predicted Winner: Jeff Hardy
Predicted Star Rating: ****
Predicted Match Length: 13:00

World Title Match:
Edge (champion) vs. The Big Show vs. John Cena

I originally predicted this one to be Edge vs. John Cena. The inclusion of The Big Show is completely 100% unneccessary. However, he's in the match so let us take a look at it this way...

If The Big Show was in a singles match, it would probably suck really hard. I mean, the only decent Big Show match we have had at a Wrestlemania is against Floyd "Money" Mayweather. That was more of a "Sports Entertainment" match than anything else. Now, Edge and John Cena can bump like crazy around him. We know that Edge always brings his A game at Mania (see Wrestlemanias 16, 17, 22, and 24 for examples).

Wrestlemania Triple Threat Main Events have had a history of bringing down the house. Edge is a good wrestler and John Cena is good when he has a good opponent. The Big Show can do some crazy shit like tossing people around with his strength. This could have potential to be a good match. It could also have potential to be extremely boring.

I don't see Big Show winning this one. John Cena might win it but it has been proven he's a better contender than champion. So, I think Edge walking out is the smart thing to do.

Predicted Winner: Edge
Predicted Star Rating: ***
Predicted Match Length: 14:00

Winner is Crowned "Miss Wrestlemania"
25 Diva Battle Royal

Well, this was definitely unexpected. This does has potential to be one of three things:

A. Fun to watch for all the past divas and all the eye candy, in general.
B. The bathroom break match
C. A complete and utter fucking train wreck

It is definitely not going to be Flair/Steamboat, but it COULD be fun. All we can at least hope for is that it isn't a total train wreck. We can also hope for that none of the ladies get hurt, since the Battle Royal is, surprisingly, reported as one of the most dangerous matches in existence by many actual wrestlers. It may be like how the Gimmick Battle Royal was at Wrestlemania X-Seven. The entraces were 10 times more awesome than the match itself.

Well, it'd be dumb if a past diva won it unless they are returning for good. Honestly, giving it to Beth Phoenix is what's going to work.

Predicted Winner: Beth Phoenix
Predicted Star Rating: *
Predicted Match Length: 6:00

WWE Heavyweight Title
Triple H vs. Randy Orton

Randy Orton won the Royal Rumble and is a heel. Triple H just won the WWE Title and is the only face champion. These two have had a huge history starting with some double crossing in Evolution.

Later, their feud escalated further when it was D-Generation X and Rated RKO feuding against each other. Triple H was injured in one of their matches when he tore his other quadricep.

They met again when Orton was awarded the WWE Title when John Cena was injured, Triple H won the title and then lost it again in the same night. Last year's Wrestlemania, they collided in a Triple Threat match where Randy Orton basically stole the victory from Triple H. Triple H won the title though the next month and in their last encounter, Randy Orton's collar bone was broken.

A year later, it has escalated to becoming and even more personal as Randy Orton has attacked both Triple H's family and his wife. Triple H has invaded Orton's home and assaulted his friends. Then, Orton laid out Triple H's wife and gave her a kiss. It has been some really intense TV, to say the least.

This match is one of those "it is more than just the title" matches. Orton has really evolved in the last year and I think that these two have the potential on putting on a classic match given the right circumstances.

This also has potential to be a double-turn match ala Hart/Austin. If that doesn''t happen, I at least expect the crowd to totally turn on Triple H and cheer on Randy Orton the whole match. Wrestlemania crowds are generally consistenting of hardcore "smart mark" fans, and the IWC has been all about Orton lately.

Triple H has won almost every encounter these two have had. Orton is on the verge of a breakout into potential mainstream success and this match would solidify that if he won. It seems like the only thing to do.

Predicted Winner: Randy Orton
Predicted Star Rating: ***
Predicted Match Length: 19:00

THE MAIN EVENT
Mr. Wrestlemania vs. The Streak
Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker

Hey, I know it is tradition that a Heavyweight title match go on last... but let us face it... that's bitten WWE in the ass a few times when there was easily a much more hyped and exciting match. (e.g. Hogan/Rock at WM18 and HBK/Flair at WM24). To be honest, I think, unfortunately, "The Streak" has more prestige than the WWE and World Heavyweight titles! I think WWE has learned its lesson. So, it should go on last!

Well, every year, its always a matter of who will be facing Shawn Michaels, and who will be facing The Undertaker? This year, why don't they just face each other in what is definitely going to be a Match of the Year Contender. Last year, both The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels had perhaps one of their best years in wrestling. Undertaker had a great series of matches with Edge and even got a few decent ones out of Big Show. HBK had the Match of the Year with Ric Flair, and a series of classics with Chris Jericho.

HBK and Undertaker did have a brief series of matches in 1997. The big one being the first ever Hell in a Cell at Badd Blood. They were great matches. Years later now that HBK isn't hurting and The Undertaker has really evolved into a decent wrestler, they should be able to really tear the house down.

Undertaker's gotta win. The only people that it would had made sense (at the time) to break the streak were Kane (first time - Wrestlemania XIV), Triple H (Wrestlemania X-Seven), Randy Orton (21), and Batista (23)... and they all still lost. Having Michaels win makes no sense at all.

Predicted Winner: The Undertaker
Predicted Star Rating: *****
Predicted Match Length: 22:00

My "Predicted Wrestlemania 24 Card" results.

Right after the first Monday Night Raw after No Way Out, I issued my official predicted line-up.

Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker
SCORE! I'll give myself a full point on this one.
+1

WWE Title - Triple H vs. Randy Orton
ANOTHER SCORE +1

World Title - John Cena vs. Edge
I got 2 out of the 3 participants right. So, we will give me +0.66

Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Chris Jericho
Well, I had the right idea, just the wrong opponent(s) for Jericho. So, we will give me +0.25

Brother vs. Brother - Jeff Hardy vs. Matt Hardy
Sweet, another one right! +1

ECW Championship - Christian vs. Jack Swagger
Way off... no points! +0

Money in the Bank V - Kofi Kingston vs. Rey Mysterio vs. CM Punk vs. John Morrison vs. Evan Bourne vs. Mr. Kennedy vs. Shelton Benjamin vs. R-Truth
I got 3 out of the 8 participants right. So, I get a +0.375

Lumberjill Match - Maryse vs. Melina
Well, there is a Lumberjack match, but it doesn't involve the two women's champions... it involves the two tag team champions. I will give myself some credit for both having the same concept of two brands champions meeting in the exact same gimmick match. +0.2

25 Man Battle Royal
Hey, I got the 25 Personal Battle Royal right, yay! However, its women instead of men, so not bad. I will give myself a +0.5

My total.... well, there are 9 Wrestlemania matches. I predicted 9. So,
what we'll do is make the grand total out of 9 points.

2 matches I predicted the right concept for the match

3 Matches where I got a partial amount of the participants right in the match

3 full matches predicted correctly

Finally... 1 I totally fucking bombed on and got wrong.

My total imaginary score: 4.985 out of 9

Not bad!

I will be back with the results of Wrestlemania, my review, and how I performed on my predictions.

Enjoy Wrestlemania!

RJ45