WrestleMania 22, Sunday April 2nd 2006

Hall of Fame News:

Also rumoured to be inducted:

- Dusty Rhodes
- Eddie Guerrero

I guess we're looking at...

John Cena vs Triple H

Vince McMahon vs Shawn Michaels

Mick Foley vs Edge

Kurt Angle vs Randy Orton

The Undertaker vs Mark Henry

as five top matches? Add in maybe

Chris Benoit vs Rey Mysterio (Eddie tribute match)

Doesn't look too appealing, if that's what happens, does it?

No, it's not looking good is it.

I'm quite keen to see how a Cena/HHH match would come off though.

And to be fair, Vince and Shawn would def both put on one hell of a match. It would be entertaining for sure but again it's not exactly what we really want to see at the Grand-Daddy of Wrestling PPV's. Is it?

Mick Foley vs Edge. I'm afraid I can't see this being anything else but a ZZZZ fest.


The Undertaker vs Mark Henry. Please, don't do this to us.


Kurt Angle vs Randy Orton. Angle could make this special but I just really don't like Orton that much.


IMO I think a Benoit/Rey Eddie Tribute match would be more fitting at the next ECW One Night Stand PPV.

Oh man, Mania is going to suck isnt it.

Well i'm quite optimistic for this...

HHH vs. Cena... oh i cannot wait for Cena to get boo'd out the building as soon as his entrance music stops Tripper and Vince are counting on on to turn 'H face and it will happen!

Will it be Vince vs. Shawn, or Vince & Shane vs. Shawn? Either way, expect gimmicks, blood... and prey for a sharpshooter on Vince and then a handshake with Shawn to stop him getting boo'd in Canada for the rest of his career

Mick Foley... seems to be chomping on Flair on WWE.com. I think Flair will drop the belt soon, Mick will say 'he is past it' or something similar, and then its on for Foley vs. Flair. Question is, where does that leave Edge? Maybe another multi-man Money in the Bank Match?

Kurt Angle vs. Randy Orton... well, could turn out to be a triple threat with Rey. Seems their pushing this whole Eddy thing so much that it would be stupid just to drop him from the 'Mania title shot even if he loses to Orton. A non-clean win for Orton could make that happen. I'm still hoping for the ending 'Mania moment of HHH and Rey holding up their titles and hugging a la Benoit/Eddy at XX.

Edge, Benoit, Booker, Shelton... some sort of MITB match? Bung in Lashley too for good measure.

Taker / Henry... oh... dear. Usual 'Taker mania victory with the intro and pyros probably lasting longer than the match (i hope!!) in this one.

Don't forget obligatory Cruiserweight-fest match and some dodgy womens title match, plus a lingerie / pillow / cheer leader contest. *Yawn*

I'm mostly interested in A) Will they give the title to Rey, even if he drops it to Orton and back to Angle at Backlash? Can they persuade Bret to interfere in the Vince / Shawn match, or is it already agreed verbally and no one 'cept Vince or Bret know?

Cena's forced heel turn will be hilarous thou, if he acts pissed and they pull the trigger (which they won't probably) he could be THE heel for the rest of 2006. Cutting rap promos and cheating etc, i'd actually enjoy him then!

Just thought from posting about NWO...

Chris Benoit vs. Lashley (US title match) or...

Booker T vs. Lashley (US title match)

If Booker retained until then and on the main stage Lashley mowed him down for his first title, it would do wonders for his level of reception. If Benoit took the title now and dropped then, he would have beaten a former WM World Title Match winner. Either way Lashley officially becomes Black Lesner.

If either Benoit or Booker arent in the title match, a....

MITB match

Benoit / Booker vs. Edge vs. JBL vs Carlito vs. Masters.... some others (Fillers like Boogeyman / Orlando Jordan poss.) would be accaptable. Benoit winning a confirmed title shot would be ace to see. Imagine him mowing through Masters, Carlito then Edge and JBL! I'd pay some dollars just for that

Who was that masked man (Guest, I'm looking at you )

I'm thinking maybe they've changed their minds on Undertaker/Henry - they did the match on smackdown the other week, then 'Taker killed Henry at the end of last week's SD, then the predicted Henry interference at No Way Out never happened.

Jesus, I hope they've decided against Undertaker Vs Mark Henry at WrestleMania!

Well my prediction of a Smackdown triple threat came true... should be a good match methinks. I'm still thinking Rey will take the title and celebrate with 'H to end the show, a la XX, even if he drops it to Orton @ Backlash.

The other World title match is now set in stone... notice how Cena is hidden for most of the shows and then brought out as the 'saving face' (in both senses) to hold back the Boos. I cannot wait, predictability off WWE sometimes is good I hope Hunter destroys him, goes to town, the crowd will be lovin' it!... but i hope WWE have the balls to slowely turn him heel afterwards, but i bet they won't.

I think they could use Edge vs. Foley on TV and have Flair cost Foley the match, due to the comments and stuff from 'Foley is Blog' plus the past comments and history. Either bung Edge in to create a triple threat match or have Foley vs. Flair as a first blood / grudge match. If so, then put Edge in the MITB match with Carlito / Masters / Lashley / Booker / JBL... Give that match some time and make it elimination rules and it could rock!

What i'm looking forward too as well...

Vince & Shane McMahon vs. The Rockers! I havent seen him yet but when he was back before briefly, Marty looked better in-ring than most of the over-pushed young guns.

Who is 'Taker taking out then @ Mania to keep his legacy intact if not Henry? Ideas? How cool would it be to see Lashley beat him Fat chance hey!?

So whats left:

Benoit (US Champ) vs ??? (I'd like to see him and Lashley have a brutal match, with Benoit either dropping the strap or Lashley going heel to win / nearly win... give him that heel edge and he would be headlining soon if he continues trying in the ring)

Shelton Benjamin (IC Champ) vs. ??? (Hogan comes back to take the title )

Cruiser title (who cares)

Womens title (dittto)

MNM vs ....???

Be careful of SmackDown spoilers there, please mate...

More predictions, limited to the one existing spoiler (I havent read any spoilers, either

WWE Title: HHH vs Cena

World Title: Angle vs Orton vs Rey

Money in the Bank II (this looks likely after Carlito's bit on Raw) - say Carlito vs R V D vs Masters vs Benjamin vs surprise entrant Chris Jericho (due to him being the brainchild last year - one off appearance) vs ??? (I dunno)

The Rockers vs The McMahons (love that one, Kris)

Edge vs Foley

Undertaker vs Henry (their smackdown match WAS okay, and Taker can win this)

US Title: Benoit vs Finlay vs Lashley vs JBL

Cruiser Title: Gregory Helms vs Kid Kash

World Tag Titles: MNM vs Mexicools vs London and Kendrick (I'd book this as the opener with the Mexicools to win)

Women's Title: Trish vs Lita vs Mickie

That's 10 matches. 5 from Raw, 5 from SD. Notable absentees are Ric Flair, I heard a rumour of him vs Benjamin for the IC title, but I don't like that or the idea of putting Flair in Money in the Bank (!) - which I definitely want Benjamin to be in; Big Show and Kane (who have no challengers).

I forgot Boogeyman vs Booker T - Booker missed out on 'Mania last year, so this can be on the main show.

It's catch-22; I can't stand HHH as a face, but he is going to get cheered when he beats Cena, there's no escaping it.

I don't think Rey is going to pick up the win, unfortunately ~ he may well hold the belt later this year, or perhaps next, but not at 'Mania. Batista will be back before long, and inevitably he'll plunge straight into a fued with whoever's the World Champion, and the most logical person for that to be is Randy Orton. So, depressingly, I see Orton going home with the SmackDown gold here. I would jump out of my seat if Rey did win, though - might we see some involvement from Chavo here?

Boogeyman Vs Booker T'll be on, maybe Booker can carry Boogeyman longer than 3 minutes. I don't want to see Booker job clean to him.

Money in the Bank II - looking forward to that ~ Carlito (obviously), others might be RVD, Masters, maybe Flair? The smart money's on RVD picking up the win, though.

The Rockers Vs The McMahons ~ not that will be fun. Hopefully they'll come out in matching attire?

Edge Vs Foley ~ I reckon Foley will put Edge over here, I don't have a problem with that, as long as it's done properly.

Undertaker Vs Mark Henry ~ Jesus, I hope not. But, I'm sure that Sexual Chocolate will interfere in the Angle/Taker rematch next week and set this up. What a waste.

The US Title being contested in a 4-way would be good, but I'd rather see Benoit go one-on-one with Finlay; what a cool match that'd be!

I'm sure the CruiserWeight Title will probably get a Battle Royal or 10-man Elimination match of some description. Either way, Kid Kash'll probably be taking the title home.

The Women's Title will probably also get an airing. If Candice Michelle wins it, that's the nail in the coffin for that belt.

With regards to Tag-belts, for both RAW and SmackDown, who knows? Kane and Big Show have no challengers, and never defend the belts, and WWE are slowly going back to the way things used to be; no real teams, just thrown together ones. SmackDown belts will probably involve MNM, Mexicools, London & Kendrick, The Gymini and possibly Matt Hardy & Tatanka...

Might they throw in William Regal Vs Paul Burchill?

I seriously doubt Bret Hart will be making an appearance outside of coming out to wave to the fans with the other Hall of Fame inductees. But, didn't we all use to seriously doubt Bret having anything to do with WWE, including being inducted into the Hall of Fame? How unbelieveably cool would it be to see him get involved in whatever HBK/Vince are doing?! Fingers crossed, but I'd put money on it not happening.

There's been rumours going around for a while about a big Celebrity guest - wonder who it'll be? No doubt it'll be some American Sportsman who I've never heard of.

Will we have a "Piper's Pit"? It'd be cool if we did, especially if Bret was the guest!! Now, there's an idea!

Is anyone doing anything special for 'Mania?

I'm probably going to be at the FWA show at 6.30pm that evening, there's a pub gathering in Camden, London for 'Mania 22 afterwards (see the UK forum) but I think I'd rather just come back home and watch the PPV.

I haven't seen Smackdown yet but before that there were now 8 matches announced...

World Heavyweight Championship
Kurt Angle vs Randy Orton vs Rey Mysterio

WWE Championship
John Cena vs Triple H

Money In The Bank 2
Rob Van Dam vs Shelton Benjamin vs Ric Flair vs 3 smackdown wrestlers

Vince McMahon vs Shawn Michaels

The Undertaker vs Mark Henry

Edge vs Mick Foley

United States Championship 'You Broke My Hand You SOB match'
Chris Benoit vs JBL

World Tag Team Championship
Big Show and Kane vs Carlito and Chris Masters

I guess that leaves room for a women's title match from Raw, while Smackdown has plenty of wrestlers without a match. I'd add MNM vs Mexicools vs London and Kendrick for the WWE Tag Team Titles and something with Lashley, Finlay, Booker T and Boogeyman. Of course, I've no idea who the SD guys are in Money In The Bank yet...

More evidence to point towards the fact that we won't be seeing Bret Hart actually at WrestleMania...

Anyone know if and when we're getting the Hall of Fame Ceremony on TV?

I hope we are!

We will but not till mid april

Cool, well - as long as we do!

Don't forget to post your predictions for 'Mania, peeps!

2 days!

So, here's the final card...

WWE Championship Match
- John Cena © vs. Triple H.

World Heavyweight Championship - Triple Threat Match
- Kurt Angle © vs. Rey Mysterio vs. Randy Orton.

No Holds Barred Match
- Vince McMahon vs. Shawn Michaels.

"Money in the Bank" 2 Ladder Match
(Winner earns shot at World Title for one year)
- Ric Flair (RAW) vs. Rob Van Dam (RAW) vs. WWE IC Champion Shelton Benjamin (RAW) vs. Matt Hardy (SmackDown) vs. Fit Finlay (SmackDown) vs. Bobby Lashley (SmackDown).

Casket Match
- The Undertaker vs. Mark Henry.

Hardcore Match
- Edge vs. Mick Foley.

WWE United States Championship Match
- Chris Benoit © vs. JBL.

World Tag Team Championship Match
- Kane & Big Show (c's) vs. Carlito & Chris Masters.

- The Boogeyman vs. Booker T.

WWE Women's Championship Match
- Trish Stratus © vs. Mickie James.

Playboy Pillow Fight Match
- Torrie Wilson vs. Candice Michelle


...no MNM, no WWE Tag-Team Championship defence?!?!

Predictions tomorrow!

1 day

PREDICTIONS

Playboy Pillow Fight ~ Candice Michelle Vs Torrie Wilson
Filling the "obligatory T&A segment" of the PPV; I guess it has it's place, I suppose in 4 hours it can be fit in and at least this one has had some sort of storyline build-up, right...? Who am I kidding? What a waste of time!! Even if it's 5 minutes that could be an extra 5-minutes on a match that could do with that bit extra, or that could be 5 minutes of a great Promo, or even another quick match in it's place. There are several wrestlers notably absent from WrestleMania, but we still get this
Leave this sort of thing to TV, please - even though it's half the length, this sort of this is better suited and fits in better on a RAW or SmackDown. Who will win? Who cares?! It might be entertaining, but if I want to see this sort of thing I'll buy a "specialised" DVD, if you know what I mean. No, I'm not talking about "Divas in the Caribbean".
Candice Michelle will win, or maybe Torrie will - I honestly care more about sorting out my sock drawer into the date order of when I got the socks.
PREDICTION: Candice Michelle skanks the win.

Womens' Championship ~ Trish Stratus Vs Mickie James
I can't remember a Womens' match I've looked forward to as much as this.
Trish is a consistent, solid performer who always delivers a pretty good effort. Mickie James has appeared on the scene and, in my opinion, portrayed one of the best "psycho" character ever, male or female! Not only that, but she's got pretty damn good wrestling skills as well. The encounter between Trish and Mickie before I rember being very good, and there's no reason this one will be any different - with the brilliant build this has had, and the fact that they'll both step things up a gear, what with it being WrestleMania; this should be an enjoyable match.
I reckon Mickie James will be winning the title here - it makes the most sense. Trish has held the belt for quite a while, and if she defeats Mickie; who is left to challenge, Candice?! I suppose Mickie could lose (probably by DQ) and she could challenge again, but that chasing of the title only really works well when it's a face chasing a heel for the Championship.
Whatever the outcome, it should be good. Mickie James is fun to watch, and hopefully we'll see her getting plenty of TV time after WrestleMania.
PREDICTION: Mickie James, clean.

Booker T & Sharmell Vs The Boogeyman
Is it me, or is the worms thing getting a little tired now?
The Boogeyman defines "short-term success". For the last couple of months, he has been great fun - but, as predicted by many, his in-ring skills leave a lot to be desired, and some of his stuff is losing it's effect, particularly the worms. I still am amazed that they put him over JBL clean, that should not have happened. I really can't see him around this time next year, can you?
Big credit to Booker T and Sharmell - their reactions to Boogeyman have been awesome, and have really helped get him over. Booker T has always had a knack for comedy, and in this angle he's used it especially well, Sharmell has been very funny too. Comedy is what this match will be; Booker will try to carry Boogeyman, but there's only so much you can do. Sharmell's involvement will, of course, be minimal - but expect her to get stuck in and pull her weight. I'm sure she will not disappoint, and will raise some laughs.
Booker is better than this, I've always found it a shame that he's never really had the success he had in WCW in the WWE. I do think he should be a World Title contender, and I hope that he does hold that at some point in what's left of his career. Booker should be higher up the card, Boogeyman is a gimmick wrestler and should really in a gimmick match - he should have been going up against someone else "gimmicky".
I think that Boogeyman might be facing his first defeat at the hands of Booker & Sharmell. WWE should not keep pushing Boogeyman, otherwise people will turn on him. He's got a good following, they need to keep that by placing him as a comedy character, not pushing him too much, trying to keep the humour of the character fresh and original. I reckon Booker will win, but no doubt Boogeyman will have the last laugh, and no doubt there will be a mouthful of worms with that laugh.
PREDICTION: Booker T & Sharmell skank a win

World Tag-Team Championship ~ Kane & Big Show Vs Carlito & "The Masterpiece" Chris Masters
Kane and Big Show started out as 2 thrown together, but have actually wound up as a pretty good team.
When they were put together, as a result of the Taboo Tuesday 2005 vote - I thought that they would lose the match, not win the titles and then they'd turn on each other and it would spark a fued between them. Well, that was 5 months ago and they're still Champions, and have been a formidable force and provided us with some good matches and some comedy (especially with the ForkLift segment this week)
Carlito and Masters also were thrown together, but have built up a good team, have back-story and have been entertaining to watch. The team of those 2 is good - they help each other out and have been a great asset to each other in getting over and establishing themselves. I'd definitely put them as worthy Tag-Team Champions, but I do question them being able to defeat such a powerful team as Big Show and Kane. But, this is what I see happening at 'Mania. The logical and safe thing to do would be to have Carlito and Masters skank a win, and have Kane and Big Show blame each other for the loss, and then turn on each other. However, I don't want this; Kane and Big Show both work best as faces (they both can pull of heels very well, though) - at the moment, they're best together - the team is working well. As singles competitors, they never seem to get very far. Kane hasn't ever regained that status he briefly held when he was WWF Champion back in the late 90's, and Big Show hasn't been able to properly recapture the high-profile matches he was having agaisnt Brock Lesnar in 2002. I want them to stay as a Tag-Team.
This is a tough one; the chemistry and interaction between the 2 teams has been good and worked well, the logical end to it is Carlito and Masters winning the belts, but I don't like what will probably happen after that.
PREDICTION: Carlito and The Masterpiece, feet on the ropes style cheat.

US Championship ~ Chris Benoit Vs JBL
I'm quite looking forward to this one; I've been a consistent Chris Benoit fan for as far back as I can remember. As soon as he entered the WWF, I wanted him to be World Champion, at WrestleMania XX I jumped in the air with everyone else when he made HHH tap, the amosphere was amazing, especially when Eddie came out and they embraced in the ring. At that point, I thought that he had finally secured his place at the top, as a Main Eventer; which is why I'm a little disappointed that he's been effectively pushed back down to where he was in 2002/3. He's one of the most talented wrestlers in the entire company and he should be higher up the card than this. However, his style and JBL's are a very good mix, and if this is given a decent length; it should be very good. I've become quite a fan of JBL - he's incredibly strong on the mic and has sound wrestling skills in addition, he's extremely entertaining and has come a long way in the last couple of years, and I think has proved a lot of people wrong.
Both Chris Benoit and JBL have recently held the World/WWE Championship, so naturally the US Title can't be said not to be a "step down" for them. But, as they're both in the same boat, in a way it kind of cancels each other out, if that makes sense? Also, this isn't just over the title; JBL has beef with Benoit for busting his hand and that has added a bit of "fuel to the fire".
I'm not sure who's waling out of 'Mania as US Champion, I'd be happy for either to win, they both deserve it and I can think of good reasons for both to win and have the belt. It all depends where they're going afterwards. Unfortunately, I can't see them placing Benoit back in the WWE/World Title picture, and where is JBL going? I think they may continue their fued past WrestleMania, and that's probably a good thing.
PREDICTION: JBL

Money in the Bank Ladder Match ~ Rob Van Dam Vs Ric Flair Vs Shelton Benjamin Vs Finlay Vs Matt Hardy Vs Lashley
Last years' MITB match was probably the match of the night, I bet this one will be too.
It's between RVD and Flair as to who's going to win; best way to explain is probably to go through each one… Lashley and Finlay are going to be unleashed on each other again, and this time there's a ladder involved. I love the stuff between them, I remember Finlay in WCW and liked him then, I am very pleased with how well he has been used in WWE so far, the fued between him and Lashley is intense and the highlight of SmackDown at the moment, although I was a bit concerned to see Finlay acting like a coward in the Tag-match against Finlay on SmackDown this week - this kind of ruins the whole intensity of their fued. They're bound to be pre-occupied with each other too much, and will both probably be lying outside in a pile of tables while the winner is climbing the ladder to grab the briefcase.
There's no way WWE are going to give the win to Matt Hardy, he's not Main Event material in their eyes, and to be fair; he's not, not yet. He's been placed in there to be a part of some insane spots, and I'm sure he will deliver - looking forward to it.
For Shelton Benjamin, holding the Intercontinental Title doesn’t mean he won’t win - the MITB contract lasts a year, so a Superstars' current status is pretty much irrelevant in that respect. Benjamin was the star of last years' MITB, and with people to work with like RVD and Matt Hardy, I'm sure we're in for a treat. However, I don't see him winning, but by default - the following 2 combatants have stronger cases.
Rob Van Dam, after a shakey return has found himself back on form, with huge fan support (as always). It appears that WWE, in a rare occurrence of listening to what the fans want, have decided to give RVD a push. Rumours are around that this push will reach as far as a World Title reign, and I would love to see that. I've read a theory that RVD will win and challenge HHH (presuming he wins the WWE title) for the title at 'ECW Another One Night Stand'. While in theory this idea sounds cool, it's a little "wrong", what with HHH not ever having been in ECW, it being the WWE Title and so on… I don't see the WWE doing that, though. But I can see them giving RVD the win.
Ric Flair has emerged as probably the most logical choice to win, especially after his recent promos about one last title run. I've always said and hoped that Flair would have one last World/WWE Championship reign - he's proved on numerous occasions that he can still go out there and put on a fantastic show, he deserves it, the fans would love it, it would be great. What with the high possibility of HHH soon re-gaining the belt, and the whole Flair/HHH thing never really being resolved, this could be the ideal opening.
So, it's between Flair and RVD - I said RVD for a long time, but recently Flair's promos have got me leaning towards thinking the Nature Boy's climbing that ladder and getting the briefcase.
PREDICTION: Ric Flair, Woooooo!

Mick Foley Vs Edge
There's no such thing as retirement in wrestling.
Hell, didn't "Rowdy" Roddy Piper lose a retirement match at WrestleMania II?! Looks like Mick Foley is following in the footsteps of his good friend Terry Funk; saying he's quitting and repeatedly coming out of retirement for a comeback. I'm not complaining; I've always been a massive Foley mark and he's very rarely disappointed when he does come back - his Randy Orton matches in early 2004 were awesome, and I think we're in store for more of the same here. Foley's promos have been superb these past couple of weeks, it's had me thinking of classic Cactus Jack stuff, invoking memories of watching grainy Japanese Death Matches between Foley and Funk, or classic ECW Foley in the early hours of the morning on dodgy videos. While we'll never truly get that again, I don't doubt that Edge and Foley will push it to the max in this encounter. We know what Foley is capabale of, and Edge in his time has been part of some mental stuff as well - this is going to be a match that you watch just waiting for the moment(s) to chant "Holy sh!t! Holy sh!t!"
WWE have played this one out well - it's natural to assume that Foley will be putting Edge over; that's what he did for Randy Orton, and before that for many others; especially HHH. Foley is someone who takes a hell of a beating, puts the other guy over and gains a lot of respect for doing both those things. But, there has been an emphasis on Foley not having had much success at WrestleMania, not having had a "WrestleMania moment". Usually, when doing that sort of thing, it's there to remind you of it, so that when it does happen, it has more of an impact. This is evidence that Foley might win, but on the other hand - it's logical for him to put Edge over. Even though he had a brief WWE Title reign, Edge had the title abruptly removed from him and given to bloody John Cena, so could still do with being put over. I'm just slightly leaning towards Edge winning, for this reason. But, I expect that he'll still have to be stretchered, or at least helped to the back after Mrs Foley's Baby Boy does his thing
So, this is another one which I'll be watching without being confident that I know who's going to win - I like it that way.
PREDICTION: Edge

Casket Match ~ The Undertaker Vs Mark Henry
I wonder if Mark Henry will be sent back to OVW before the end of the year, or might he last until next year?
I don't want to see "Sexual Chocolate" at WrestleMania at all, let alone being wasted against Undertaker. At No Way Out, Undertaker had one of the best matches of his career, and a definite Match of the Year candidate against Kurt Angle, and now he's been subjected to facing The World's Biggest Waste of Space. Maybe I'm being a little harsh, Mark Henry's not the biggest waste of space, I was just making a play on his name… he is, however a pretty damn big waste of space.
Undertaker's part-time working hours are starting to annoy me a bit. Him popping back every now and again is a bit irritating. I've always been a big Undertaker fan, and his match against Kurt Angle at No Way Out was awesome; I can't help but feel that this is going to disappoint.
Casket Matches can be good fun, but this can't be above a certain level - Mark Henry's in the match. Of course, we come to the factor of Undertaker's WrestleMania unbeaten streak - I think that he will retire with that; I don't see him losing at a WrestleMania, especially not to someone like Mark Henry, it just doesn't make sense.
PREDICTION: Undertaker

Shawn Michaels Vs Vince McMahon
I've never been overly keen on this poor attempt to re-create the Austin/McMahon fued.
There will never be anyone else who can fill Austin's shoes as McMahon's nemesis, and Vince will never be as good as he was back then. They have tried very hard, the fued makes sense, the way they've worked it with Vince wanting the "old" HBK back, Shawn refusing to sink that low again, etc, etc… Vince's techniques for trying to destroy HBK have been interesting, and quite original. But, this storyline has had too much TV time, it's become a little tiresome, to the point where I don't really care about the match - with Austin, you couldn't wait for him to get his hands on McMahon in the cage match at "St. Valentine's Day Massacre"; with this match, I'm not that bothered.
Vince has kind of become the new RAW GM, I think Vince on TV should be used sparingly - it's much more effective when he takes a back seat and only appears every now and again. Whatever happened to the GM spot? Hopefully we'll have a new GM after 'Mania. I'd like to see someone like Roddy Piper, Dusty Rhodes, someone like that.
HBK is a step behind what he used to be, but he's still fantastic in the ring, in any type of match. Vince usually suprises us by taking big risks every now and again, he probably will do here as well. The macth will no doubt have some sort of interference, most likely involving Shane. They might have sorted out Marty Jannetty's parole problems, and he might show up - that would be cool. 99% of me says that Bret Hart won't be at WrestleMania, let alone get involved in this match. But, 1% of me, and that's a dreaming 1% would love to see "The Hitman" come down and lay out one of, or both with a chair. Dream on.
It makes sense for either to win - neither would lose any credibility if they did. Maybe Shawn'll lose and get "fired", so he can have some time off? Vince might lose and be off TV. It probably doesn't make a difference who wins, because it doesn't matter? I can see Vince winning this one, not sure why, or how.
PREDICTION: Vince McMahon

WWE Championship ~ John Cena Vs HHH
I've never made it a secret that I think Cena never deserved that title.
Like I've said before - had Cena not held the belt yet, and had been built up slower, they'd held back his push a bit, and he'd paid a few more dues, and now he had finally got his title shot at this year's WrestleMania, challenging HHH for the title, with HHH saying he's nothing, with Cena saying he's lived for this, with seeing that promo video this past week…I'd be behind Cena and cheering for him.
John Cena is an entertaining talent. His in-ring work is fine, he's very entertaining on the mic, he's funny, he's got all that's needed to be a big star, a big success. But, the problem is that he's been pushed down our throats and given the WWE Title too soon, and held it for too long - this is why he's boo'ed; fans don't like to be told "he's brilliant, he's the new 'Rock' - cheer him". I want to like him, he's a true fan of the business, I can't fault his limitless energy and passion for what he does; I admire and respect him in that sense.
If I tried to do a Top-10 list of the best wresters in the world, HHH would be in there somewhere. It's hard to argue against the fact that he is one of the greatest heels in the history of the business. Because he's been out of the title picture for a while, something he's often accused of hogging, having him now challenging for the belt, especially with the arrogance and cockiness he's had this time round, has been refreshing and interesting. I have liked the interaction between Cena and HHH on RAW recently.
What has transpired on RAW lately has had me thinking Cena might win, but I'm sticking with my thought that HHH will win the title. The fact that Ric Flair is the most likely winner for the Money in the Bank Title shot adds to the chances of HHH winning. However, there is always BackLash; traditionally a PPV of WrestleMania rematches, particularly the Championship ones, which means that either could win at 'Mania, and the other has another chance a month later. Whatever the outcome, I think that HHH will carry Cena to quite possibly the best match of his career.
PREDICTION: HHH

World Heavyweight Championship ~ Kurt Angle Vs Rey Mysterio Vs Randy Orton
If Rey Mysterio wins this, my faith in WWE booking will have taken a giant step towards being restored.
The build to this match has been great, from the Rubmble, Rey losing to Orton, Teddy Long putting Rey in the match, the teaming of the participants in various matches, the promos, interviews, it's all been very well put together. Rey has been on top form and has thankfully dropped his uncomfortable "I'm doing this for you, Eddie", Orton has been spectacularly cocky, arrogant and sneaky, Angle has been as intense and quality as always. I'm really looking forward to this.
Angle and Mysterio have been alligning themselves somewhat, but I'm sure that with what's at stake, that will go out of the window when the match comes round, especially with what we've seen this week on SmackDown. There's a good mix of styles between the 3, so the match should be very entertaining.
I don't think Angle''s retaining; he was only given the title as Batista had to vacant it. With Batista due back soon, no doubt he will plunge into challenging for the title. If Rey was Champion, that wouldn't really make sense, so it seems logical that Randy Orton is the one to take the title home from WrestleMania. WWE have come a long way in realising Rey is worthy of being pushed and being given high profile matches, but the cynical side of me thinks that they won't take that as far as giving him the big one. For that reason, I'm going to unfortunately predict Randy Orton to be the winner. But, if Rey wins I will mark out BIG TIME
PREDICTION: Randy Orton


I've also got to say that I strongly disagree with the induction of William "The Refridgerator" Perry into the Hall of Fame. I'm sorry, but 15 minutes in a WWE ring, 20 years ago does not qualify you for induction into a Wrestling Hall of Fame. Pete Rose was bad enough, but I find this insulting.

It's not as though there aren't others left to be inducted, and WWE are resorting to scraping the barrell - there are quite literally hundreds of wrestlers deserving of their place above a frickin' American Football player. I understand that WWE want to space out the big names and not do them all too soon, but this is ridiculous.

No MNM, Mexicools, Paul Birchill, any CruiserWeights....? No Tag-Team Championship defence, this is madness?

Great predictions there Badger, enjoyed reading through them. Unfortunetly I was up to my recent wild habbits of getting up to no good this weekend amongst other things! So lets just say i'm feeling a bit worse for wear right now....so i'll be just be doing straight to the point predictions for this one!


Candice Michelle
Mickie James
Booker T & Sharmell
Carlito and The Masterpiece
Benoit
Ric Flair
Mick Foley
The Undertaker
Vince Mcmahon
HHH
Rey Mysterio