My Road to Wrestlemania 29

So we are closing in on Wrestlemania again and I thought I would write a special onetime return Blog for this event.

Now if I’m honest I haven’t been overly impressed with the way WWE have gone with the current stories, Rock vs. Cena 2 for example being a big slap in the face as it was booked as “Once in a lifetime” last year and yet this year we are getting it again. Seems pretty pointless, not to mention the result is pretty predictable, Rock will lose and then bugger off to do more films and put Cena over. The fans don’t really want to see it again, and everyone has shown there discomfort with it but Vince doesn’t listen and just goes ahead with things that he wants.

Anyway due to the recent low story I thought I would share how I would take things from Royal Rumble, through Elimination Chamber to Wrestlemania. Now this is a long Blog so bear with me I know it might drag a bit but I hope my road to Wrestlemania will be worth the read.

So stories I will be focusing on are around the WWE championship and World Title, so let’s kick off with Royal Rumble.

Royal Rumble 27^th Jan

So the key matches are the Rumble its self and the WWE Championship match. To open the show we would have the World Title match between Big Show and Del Rio as they actually did and I would have Del Rio win the belt.

Skip forward and we go to the Rumble match and fast forward to mid-way through,  Dolph Ziggler still hanging in after starting at number one alongside Jericho at number two and other mid-level stars. At around the 23 mark I would bring in John Cena , following off of the recent rivalry Cena and Dolph will butt heads straight off and Cena is determined to eliminate Dolph. But Jericho will get in the middle allowing it drag out through the match. In the end Cena will eliminate Dolph and Dolph would be less than happy about it and has himself a hissy fit outside the ring. The match continues and comes down to Jericho, Ryback and Cena. They fight on and Jericho ends up aside in the corner and Ryback and Cena end up on the apron fighting to stay in ring. Cena gets close to being eliminated when Jericho attacks Ryback from behind and they end up more cantered in the ring, Cena gets his breath back on ringside when Dolph, AJ and there muscle, Big E Langston, come to the ring, Langston and Dolph get hold of Cena’s legs and attempt to pull Cena from the apron, Cena fights them off but only just.  Jericho takes advantage and hits Cena from behind eliminating him, Dolph and Big E pounce and a brawl breaks out at ring side. Jericho laughs at the antics outside the ring but when he turns he gets struck by Ryback’s Meat Hook clothesline which sends him over the top rope and to the floor below leaving Ryback in the ring and winner of the Royal Rumble.

After we would have the WWE Championship match between Rock and Punk, let’s forget about the whole Shield involvement that was in the original match, I would have it straight up one on one and the only variable would be Heyman.  I would have Rock win at Rumble and become the WWE Champion.

Over the next few weeks of Raw and SmackDown! I would have the heat on the Rivalry between Dolph and Cena but not have them involved with the WWE Championship Story.

Raw 28^th Jan

Rock would end out the first Raw show after the Rumble with his celebration and possibly even revelling a new belt.  He would also announce that his first defence would be inside the Elimination Chamber. Punk would then appear claiming that he had a rematch clause and that he is not wasting it in a Chamber match where the odds are stacked against him and that he wants his rematch on the next show. Rock would accept this making his first defence be on Raw, one on one.

Ryback would do a short promo about his Rumble win, as he is about to say which belt he is going for he would get interrupted by Jericho. Being unhappy about being eliminated from the Rumble he would chime in with his best in the world angle and that he should have won the Royal Rumble and challenges Ryback for match on the next Raw for his number one contender spot at Mania. Ryback would accept in the form of “Feed me, Jericho!”

SmackDown! 1^st Feb

SmackDown! would see the start of filling the World Championship Elimination Chamber with qualifying matches. People who would qualify are Big Show, Cody Rhodes, and Sheamus. Dolph Ziggler would then also qualify by beating someone like Kane with help from Langston. Leaving one spot to be filled the next week on SmackDown!

Raw 4^th Feb

On Raw Cena would promo about his loss at Rumble and that he would attempt to qualify for the WWE Championship Elimination Chamber that night against Randy Orton, Dolph, accompanied by AJ and Langston, would come out and brag about not only being Mr Money in the Bank but also already being in a Elimination Chamber match for a World Title in an attempt to belittle Cena. Cena would have his usual come back and would end up angering Dolph and his entourage.

During Cena’s qualifying match Dolph and Langston would get involved and cost Cena his win preventing him from entering the Chamber and Orton qualifies.

Ryback and Jericho would go ahead as planned and Ryback would win and retain his Mania spot. Being unhappy about the loss, back stage Jericho would sweet talk Vickie Guerrero into letting him into the WWE Championship Chamber match.

Rock would have his first match on Raw in over 10 years against Punk in the main event and would win in a great match.

Let’s take advantage of the “WWE Active” side of things and say that exclusive to WWE Active Punk talks to Vickie after the show and attempts to badger his way into the Chamber match as well, but ends up in a qualifying match against someone like Wade Barrett or Sin Cara on the next Raw.

SmackDown! 8^th Feb

The final qualifying match for the World Title would be booked as Mark Henry vs. ?, and throughout the night they would push the match and keep pushing on the “Who is the mystery opponent?” aspect.

Main event time and Henry would come out first. Long silence and waiting when John Cena’s music would kick in and he would approach the ring. John Cena and Mark would end up with Dolph and company approaching the ring and attempt to stop Cena from winning but this time it’s no good and Cena wins and ends up in the World Title Chamber match.

Back Stage we see Del Rio and Ricardo watching on a monitor before ending the show.

Elimination Chamber match for the World Title set – Champion Del Rio vs. Big Show vs. Cody Rhodes vs. Sheamus vs. Dolph vs. Cena.

Raw 11^th Feb

The WWE Championship chamber gets filled; also qualifying would be The Miz leaving two spots. CM Punk would then qualify by beating his opponent. We would then have one last match also featuring a question mark.  D Bryan would be waiting to start his qualifying match and he would get the returning Brock Lesnar who would decimate him to really push the Brock character.

WWE Championship Chamber Match set – Champion The Rock vs. Chris Jericho vs. CM Punk vs. The Miz vs. Brock Lesnar vs. Randy Orton.

SmackDown! 15^th Feb

Open the show with Dolph and co. complaining how Cena shouldn’t be in the World Title Chamber match; Cena then comes to the ring and chimes in with the usual Cena promo style. Big show would come out and say that they don’t even matter because he will win, next in is Sheamus who promos himself as the fighting Irishman, Cody then turns up who is still holding the Intercontinental Championship. (Let’s just say he never lost it, no need to go into details.) He would throw in that he will win and be the first person to hold both the Intercontinental and World Title at the same time.  Ending on Del Rio who won’t come to the ring but stand at top stage and push that it doesn’t matter what any of them say and that he will be the one to keep the belt and move on to Wrestlemania.

This would lead to Booker coming out and making a series of one on ones for the night. A Champion vs. Champion match of Cody vs. Del Rio, also on the card would be Sheamus vs. Dolph, Cena vs. Show. Winners being Del Rio, Cena and Dolph.

Elimination Chamber 17^th Feb

First let’s go through the World Title Chamber. Before the match they would decide who would end up first in by a lottery style, unlucky picks go to Dolph and Sheamus, everyone else goes into pods and will be released at random.

The match would kick off with back and forth fight between Sheamus and Dolph and when both are at a slow point the next member would be entered sending in Cody Rhodes., Dolph and Cody start to work together and the two would eliminate Sheamus, but not long after Del Rio would join the mix. The alliance between Dolph and Cody would soon fall and things go triple threat style pretty fast. There is no elimination between the three of them and the next pod opens, enter John Cena. He would do the usual super hero moves and knock everyone down but then would get double teamed by Dolph and Cody to bring back the flow of the match without over selling one person.

In the end Cena would get the drop on Dolph leading to him being eliminated by Cena but by a sneak pin that would catch Dolph off guard. Dolph would throw another hissy fit but would leave.

Next in Del Rio, next elimination Cody Rhodes, last in Big Show and next Elimination Del Rio. That would leave it at Big Show and John Cena. The two would have a heavy brawl, Cena would go through a pod’s glass, Big Show being in control though out most of the fight until Cena becomes super Cena and pulls it back with an AA. Show kicks out after a pin so Cena goes for it again but is unsuccessful leading to him being set for the Choke Slam, Cena reverses it into the STF and Big Show taps giving Cena the world title.

The Chamber rises and Cena celebrates but Big Show angry uses the K.O punch on Cena laying him out. Dolph then comes to the ring and cashes in his Money in the Bank on the now very dazed Cena. Once Cena is standing on wobbly legs the bell is rang and Dolph goes straight for the Zig Zag and a quick pin. Cena kicks out and Dolph complains, Cena slowly stands and leans against the ropes. The ref still looking at Dolph who continues to complain doesn’t see Big E get on the apron and perform a rope guillotine to Cena. Cena bounces off the ropes and Dolph goes round the ref and does the Zig Zag again this time resulting in the pin and winning the World Title off of Cena.

Now the WWE Championship. Unlucky starters would be Jericho and Orton everyone else would be in pods. Prior to the match we would see some people replace the glass in one of the pods from where Cena got thrown through.

The match would just be a good flowing one; I would have the entrances and eliminations in this order, Punk enters first, followed by The Miz, Orton gets eliminated first, Rock then enters and would Eliminate both Miz and Jericho, Brock would then enter and rampage both Rock and Punk. The match would then slow for effect but with Brock now in things would get a lot more “dangerous”. Brock could throw Punk through the now replaced pod glass to revile that it wasn’t fitted as well as before and it just collapses as Punk hits it. Brock and Rock brawl in the ring as Punk comes around and decides to grab the glass panel and throws it at Brock as he is sent in Punks direction by Rock. Punk then jumps in the ring and goes after the Rock and they brawl. It would lead to Rock doing his signature punches, as Punk spins round from the final punch Brock would catch Punk and nail him in an F-5 and pin him for the Elimination. As he is pinning he doesn’t notice Rock lining him up for a Rock Bottom. Brock stands after pinning Punk and turns into Rock to be slammed to the mat, Rock goes for the pin but Brock kicks out.

Rock sits there eyes wide in a way that says “How do I end this?” Brock staggers up and Rock Irish whips Brock and lands a Spine buster and lining up the Peoples elbow. As he runs for the move Brock pops up and catches Rock in a MMA style take down, he grounds and pounds Rock then locks in the kimura. Rock has no choice but to tap out giving the WWE Championship over to Lesnar.

During Brocks celebration “Feed me more!” sounds and Ryback appears on the stage and eyes Brock Lesnar. He then just starts his chant, “Feed me more!” Signalling his choice for Wrestlemania.

Raw 18^th Feb

During this show Dolph would come out as the new World Heavyweight Champion and brag about the fact that he stole it from Cena in proper heel fashion.

Cena would soon come out and say that he still has a rematch clause as he was the last champion. This would lead to Dle Rio coming out and claiming he has the rematch also. Cena would say “That’s fine; you have your rematch tonight I will take on the winner at Wrestlemania.”

Del Rio would come back with, “Hold on, why do you get the guaranteed spot at Wrestlemania? I say you compete tonight and I will take him on at Wrestlemania.”

This is when Booker T would come out and say how they were going to solve this, on SmackDown! Del Rio will face John Cena, the winner will get the Mania match and the loser will still get there shot at the Belt but will have it on the following SmackDown!

I would write it this way to keep the story going and to make Wrestlemania the stage you want to be on regardless of whether or not you have the belt.

Later in the show I would have Brock come out. Getting ready to talk Ryback’s music would cut in and he appears, he comes to the ring and Brock and Ryback stare each other down. Suddenly, “CAN YOU SMELLLLLLL! What the Rock is cooking?” Rock appears and also enters the ring the three stare at each other intensely they all give each other a subtle nod, Rock would then leave, followed by Ryback leaving Brock standing in the ring holding the belt. Either after this moment if it didn’t end the show or on SmackDown! They would announce that not only is Ryback going for the WWE Title but so is Rock by using his rematch clause lining up a Triple Threat.

SmackDown! 22^nd Feb

Alberto Del Rio vs. John Cena fight for Mania with Dolph at ringside on commentary, standing by him his entourage. John Cena would win and he’d be the one to head to Mania. As Alberto is now Face I would have it end on him offering his hand to Cena as they shake hands and you see Del Rio say “I will see you at Wrestlemania.”

Raw 25^th Feb

CM Punk would show up this week and start off with saying that the reason he wasn’t on the show last week was because he boycotted the show due to being robbed of the belt and that he should be going to Wrestlemania not Brock, Rock or Ryback. He would also push on the fact that he is the best in the world again. Jericho would then come to the ring and pitch in with his best in the world speech.

I won’t go any further on this storyline as I wouldn’t be 100% happy with it, but it could lead to a best in the world vs. best in the world match at Mania, maybe a submission match. For now I will continue on the WWE Championship side of things.

Later in the show Rock would promo, saying he got beat, no doubt about it, but he won’t accept it, he would then go on to call Brock nothing but a thug, not a wrestler or an MMA fighter but a straight up thug. Continue on with his usual Rock style promo, boots to asses, candy ass, Smackdown hotel and all that.

SmackDown! 1^st March

Alberto Del Rio takes on Dolph for the World Title. Big E Langston tries to get involved distracting the ref, Cena comes to the ring and attacks Langston trying to prevent him from interfering with the match but the brawl itself kept the ref distracted enough for AJ to slide the World Title to Dolph who then hits Alberto over the head with said belt. Dolph retains.

I don’t think I need to write show by show now, by Wrestlemania we would be all lined up for WWE Championship Match Ryback vs. Rock vs. Brock and World Title match Dolph Ziggler vs. John Cena.

Ryback can easily be someone else and Brock doesn’t even have to get involved I just thought his entrant would make things more interesting, the only guarantee there would be Rock. But Cena not being against Rock was my main target and by putting him on the World Title it would help push the prestige of the belt. I hate that the World Title has taken back seat to the WWE Championship and that it is now a lot more like a middle belt like the US Championship and Intercontinental. So what better way to bring up the prestige of the title than to put your top man on the belt story with one of your most loved Heels? The rivalry with Dolph was already there at the time and they could have used this to line up Wrestlemania, and what better way to get heat than to have him Cash in on Cena winning the Title in a match that he was also involved in?

If I was writing for WWE I would work on this World Title story if I had the choice, this direction with Cena, in my opinion, would be different and more interesting than the repeat match they have given us, also putting Dolph on the belt and against WWE’s top dog would be a great push for him to be at the status he truly deserves.

At Wrestlemania I would have Dolph retain in a long fighting match and win either cleanly or with help, whatever would sell better.

On the WWE Championship side I would have Ryback, or whoever else is in that spot, win to keep the Belt with someone who is long standing in WWE not part time. The reason I chose Ryback is because he is a current fan favourite even though I know he is just another muscle head. I wouldn’t have him hold the belt overly long, maybe defend and retain at Extreme Rules in a Last Man Standing match but lose at the next PPV.

But anyway, don’t be overly judgemental this was all just an idea and I just thought I would share it. Hope you like it and I hope you agree that this story would be better than what we have been given.

But for now I say enjoy Wrestlemania this is Matty.D signing off.

Wrestlemania Ends an Era.

Well last night was the biggest night of the year for Wrestling fans across the globe in what was one of the most hyped Wrestlemanias in history.

Unfortunately it didn’t live up to expectations as it was one of the most poorly booked Wrestlemania’s ever, and it all started with the opening match being the World Title contest between Daniel Bryan and Sheamus.

Not only was this match first but it also only lasted 18 seconds. Bryan kissed AJ for good luck, turned and got a face full of Sheamus boot followed by the 1-2-3. We was not happy, epically as Tommy was super excited for the match and he was most looking forward to that contest, to then basically be slapped in the face. It wasn’t a good start and disappointed many across the world.

It did line up a joke for the rest of the night of what lasts longer than Bryans match, Daniels Entrance lasted longer than his match. The slim jim promo lasted longer than Bryans match. The gags were endless.

Things didn’t improve much from there as the opening hour was slow and unexciting.

A mediocre match between Kane and Randy with Kane winning after a top rope Choke Slam, Big Show then got his Wrestlemania moment by beating Cody Rhodes for the Intercontinental Title in a less than brilliant contest and to end the hour we had the Divas tag team match. A lot of this time was filled with overly long promo videos miss placed in entrances and sponsor ads that just got in the way.

It was at the 1 hour mark when we were shocked to have Triple H vs. Undertaker next. This was still early on the card and as shown as being a co main event why is it happing at the 1 hour mark of a 4 hour show? It really makes you question what a Main Event is in the WWE.

Luckily though this match was a breath of fresh air although it wasn’t the end of an era we were hoping for, but sill showed great storytelling and emotion throughout. Best match of the night by far and a truly epic confrontation.

It started slow and use of the Cell was minimal but did add a nice flavour to the match.

It went back and forth with the Steel steps coming into play which saw Taker land across after an amazing spine buster. There was blood on Triple H’s head but this was not a planned bleeding but WWE didn’t really have an issue with showing it which was a good thing.

It turned into a beating of sorts though once Trips got hold of chair and went to town on the back of the bald Undertaker. Trips hit the man so hard so many times he left cringe worthy welts and bruises on Takers back.

Triple H kept asking Shawn the guest Ref to end it as Taker kept kicking out of pins. Undertaker asked Shawn not to end it.

Sledge Hammer followed the chair as the beating continued but Shawn’s interference saved Taker from a hammer blow to the head.

The match came close to ending when Shawn was going to just call for the bell but it didn’t happen.

To stop Shawn calling for the bell Taker locked in Hells Gate on Shawn incapacitating him and continuing the match.

Trips saved Shawn with a Sledge to Takers head. Things then turned as Taker locked in Hells Gate on Trips and it looked like an image of last year.

With Shawn still out nothing could be done as another official enters the cell.

A Choke Slam followed but Trips kicks out of the pin. Taker, in anger, then Choke Slams the replacement Ref.

Sweet Chin Music to Taker followed by the Pedigree and it looked like it was all over for the Deadman but he shocked the world and still kicked out.

A chant of “this is awesome” filled the Stadium, as the men come back to life and things continue.

Triple H removes Shawn from the ring in anger and we get some Vintage Taker, ending it on a Tombstone. Shawn slides back in and counts but once again kick out at 2!

Things slow again as the men turn things into a boxing match exchanging blows and falling into a clinch like position.

Pedigree! 2 count. Shock again; edge of your seat is the location of most people watching at this point.

It was now Takers turn with the Steel Chair as he gets revenge for the shots he received earlier, smacking Trips across the back just as hard, if not harder, than when Trips hit him.

Things get tough for Trips as he struggles to stand, leaning against the corner turnbuckle. He tells Taker to “Suck it” and then receives a Sledge Shot to the head, followed by the Tombstone that did end the match.

Emotion and respect was shown as the Undertaker struggled to stand, Shawn offers his hand and brings Taker to his feet and holds his arm up in Victory to the cheers and applause of the crowd.

Shawn returns to Trips still lying on the mat as Taker poses sending off fireworks and the 20 – 0 is shown to the purple lit crowd.

Shawn and Taker together pull Triple H to his feet and carry him together away from the ring in strong show of respect, friendship, and the end of an amazing Generation of superstars.

This should have been the last match, and it’s a giant disrespect to the 3 men in my opinion putting them so early in the card. But either way still a brilliant match.

Next was a quick look at the Hall of Fame group with an amazing ovation for the Rated R Superstar, Edge.

We did notice how ever that Ric Flair, never got a close up, or much of a showing in the Hall of Fame promo video most probably due to his current employer being TNA.

The sillier match of the night, Team Teddy vs. Team Johnny came next. It was your typical 6 aside Tag match with only a couple special moments. One big highlight being when the match broke down and Kofi, Truth and Ryder all jumped over the top rope to 3 or 4 members of Team Johnny who they had just thrown out.

It came to an end with Ryder going for the Broskie Boot on Miz but as he pumped the crowd Eve stepped in and did it with him. This caused the Ref to ignore the action and remove Eve along with the help of Ryder whose back is now turned. Miz pounced with a Skull Crushing Finale and took the win placing Johnny as GM of Raw and SmackDown. A result which I believe a lot of people should have seen coming.

Next was the WWE Championship match which had the added stipulation that if Punk gets disqualified he loses the Championship.

This added an interesting aspect to the match as Jericho continued to make remarks about Punks family to hopefully fuel Punks anger and force him to get DQ’d.

The match was good and saw a number of Walls of Jericho’s and Anaconda Vice’s, back and forth between the two best in the world.

It came to an end with an Anaconda Vice, and the two men collapse in the ring after Jericho tapped.

If you had a sharp eye you would have seen Jericho rustle Punks hair, most probably a way of saying well done after the matches’ conclusion.

After that match we lead into a pathetic, unneeded promo from the Funkasaurus Brodus Clay, and a load of women dressed as his “momma”.

Finally it was time for the Main event, the match we had all been waiting for, The Rock vs. John Cena.

Intros included Machine Gun Kelly for John Cena and Flo Rider for The Rock in special performances for the entrances.

The two men stood in the ring as they are announced followed by a stare down, before the bell rang and it kicked off.

Unfortunately the match was slow and didn’t have the spark we expected. In comparison to other great matches such as, Rock vs. Stone Cold (WMXIX, WMXV), Kurt Angle vs. Brock Lesnar (WMXIX) as well as many others it just didn’t seem to live up to it.

It was all hype no pizzazz, and just didn’t quite have what it takes to go down as “great” and the year build seemed too much for what we got.

All that being said it was still Rock vs. Cena, once in a lifetime (apparently), and it was a sight to see.

It contained a lot of old school style moves, long headlocks, arm drags and DDTs as well as a classic pass out moment with the Ref lifting the hand of Rock to check for consciousness during the STF for Rocks hand to stay up at the third drop.

The match was filled with Attitude Adjustments, Rock Bottoms, Sharp Shooters and the Peoples elbow and no doubt these guys get A+ for effort. B+ for execution.

It was very back and forth and had close calls but it all came to an end as Cena went for his own version of the Peoples Elbow to be Rock Bottomed mid-way through it ending it with a pin.

Rock celebrates as the show comes to close marking the end of the show, and an era.

Overall this event was poor, but if you strip away the issues we are left with a great event.

The Hell in Cell wasn’t like the Cell’s of the old days, and it didn’t compare to WM25 Shawn vs. Taker. But it was still a great contest.

Rock vs. Cena a lot of hype that didn’t come through but still a good match to see.

Overall I give this Werstlermania, 3 out 5.

Questions for you.

Good or bad Wrestlemania?

What was your favourite moment?

Do you agree that it was poorly booked?

Now I am going to be taking a break for a few months from blogging and try and focus on other things.

I will not be gone for good though, I will most probably return on the road to SummerSlam!

Writing this blog took longer than Bryans match.

Matty.D signing off!

Wrestlemania XXVIII this Sunday!

Its Wrestlemania week and we are only days away from the biggest event of the year for wrestling fans across the world.

This could possibly be the biggest Wrestlemania since Wrestlemania X8 when The Rock went against Hulk Hogan, or Wrestlemania XIX with Brock Lesnar vs. Kurt Angle.

This year has two huge matches headlining it and a great set of matches to support them.

We are in for an epic 4 hour spectacular, so let’s have a look at the matches on the card for this Sunday.

Kane vs. Randy Orton

After the flop story between Kane and John Cena, Kane set his sights on a new target, The Viper Randy Orton. The reason behind this is due to one of Kane’s final matches before he put his mask back on.

Back when Kane was slowly turning more “human” and after losing to Orton in a street fight last summer, Kane shook Randy’s hand in a show of respect. Kane doesn’t like that side of him and his show of weakness and is now determined to prove a point and get vengeance by beating Orton at Wrestlemania.

Not the most exciting match on the card and the build-up hasn’t been spectacular but it’s a chance to see Randy Orton in action, Kane on the other hand will need to step up his game or his side of things could flop like his last storyline.

Intercontinental Championship

Cody Rhodes vs. Big Show

Over recent weeks Cody has put a spotlight on Big Shows past Wrestlemania losses. Using old footage Cody showed clips of Big Shows matches from past Mania’s. His loss to Floyd Mayweather (WMXXIV) and Akebono (WM21) was shown as well as a clip of him not even at the event for WMX8.

The story pushes Show down further and further and it was obvious where it was going. In a later week Show vs. Cody was booked for a championship match at Mania, knowing that he would be facing the giant didn’t stop Cody from mocking the big man as he continues to ridicule him.

I like Big Show but I think he could be better and personally I prefer Cody as a Champ than Show. That being said though it would be really mean and a big low blow to have Big Show lose again at Mania. After having his past losses spotlighted and now holding the record for shortest World Title reign in history it would just be over doing it having him lose again. He might as well give up now if that’s the direction they are sending him down.

Kelly Kelly & Maria Menounos vs. Eve & Beth Phoenix

A waste of a Divas match. Pointless. Unneeded. This will be the toilet break.

Originally the divas match was meant to be Beth vs. Kharma but most probably due to her new baby Kharma will not be performing at Mania. This tag match is a backup.

The story behind it is Maria Menounos, host of NBC’s The Extras, had been interviewing Kelly. Eve and Beth became jealous from this and the two divas turned up on the Extras to confront Maria and Kelly and that’s when the challenge was made.

Maria is no stranger to the ring as she performed at Tribute to the Troops and scored the pin on current Divas Champ Beth. But she is no pro either, this could have been a lot better match if Natalya was involved in Maria’s place and had the right back story to support it.

Team Teddy vs. Team Johnny

Over the past weeks Teddy Long GM of SmackDown and John Laurinaitis Interim GM of Raw have been fighting over full control of both Raw and SmackDown. The board of Directors have decided that there will be just one GM for both shows.

To decide this Teddy and Johnny spent the last few weeks putting together a 6 man team each for a 12 man tag match at Mania that will decide total control.

Team Captains are David Otunga for Johnny and current US Champ Santino Marella for Teddy.

Johnny quickly acquired Jack Swagger and Dolph Ziggler which obviously came with Vicki Guerrero. In response Teddy took R-Truth and Kofi Kingston.

Johnny then took on the big man Mark Henry and in response Teddy took The Great Khali.

Christian also joined Team Johnny but due to an attack from CM Punk he was injured on last night’s Raw.  He was quickly replaced by Drew McIntyre.

Zack Ryder was recruited to team Teddy as well as mascot Hornswoggle.

Lastly there was the Miz who was trying to prove why he should be involved in this match but kept coming up with losses that was not helping his case, but last night he was added to Team Johnny once he saved him from a pending Cobra strike.

Teddy just needed one more member by this point, and after a match between Mark Henry and Khali last night, Teddy ended up in the firing line of a Worlds Strongest Slam. Booker T jumped from the announcers table and laid out Mark with a scissor kick to the back of the head. Teddy then added Booker as the last man on the team.

So to Sum up-

Team Johnny – (C) David Otunga, Jack Swagger, Dolph Ziggler, Mark Henry, Drew McIntyre and The Miz

Team Teddy – (C) Santino Marella, Kofi Kingston, R-Truth, The Great Khali, Zack Ryder and Booker T

This match might be a bit silly in places but is going to line up a big change in storylines, we could see the longest GM to ever be on WWE Teddy Long disappear, or we could lose Johnny back to the WWE offices where he belongs leaving us with one man as the onscreen GM of both shows.

My money is on Johnny winning but I will be supporting Team Teddy.

World Heavyweight Championship

Daniel Bryan vs. Sheamus

This was a match we was meant to have last year at Wrestlemania XXVII but it was bumped to a dark match and then removed all together.

This year though we are getting it and there is a bigger prize in the middle.

D Bryan won the World Title off Big Show late last year by cashing in his Money in the Bank briefcase and handing Show the record of Shortest World Title Reign.

From that point onwards Bryan went on a slow decline into a Heel character that he has bought forward very well.

Early this year Sheamus won the Royal Rumble allowing him a title match at Mania. At the time he had a choice between Bryan and CM Punk but wouldn’t revile his choice till Elimination Chamber but it was obvious who he would go for. At the Chamber event Sheamus came to the ring at the end of the Smackdown match and laid out its winner D Bryan signalling what title he will be going for at Mania.

The rivalry has continued to heat up and we should be in for a good match, but that being said there is a wild card in play.

Bryan has got an on screen girlfriend, AJ, who he is using to his advantage as well as pushing his Heel character more by playing an overly pushy and bossy boyfriend belittling his girlfriend AJ. AJ continues to play the innocent one, even with the way he treats her saying she still “loves” him.

Yes this is very soap opera like story, but it could put an interesting aspect to the Title match this Sunday.

WWE Championship

CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho

This match has been building ever since Jericho returned to WWE in what could only be one of the biggest disappointments in WWE history. The end of the world as we know it never came, there was no big revile or change and his cryptic messages lead to nothing but his return.

In the end Jericho won a number one contender Battle Royal after Elimination Chamber lining up the match we knew was coming.

A feud was already high before this point but as soon as the match was booked it was spot lighted.

To add extra heat to the match Jericho recently started talking about Punks parents and sister’s apparent problems, such as the fact that his dad was a drunk.

These verbal attacks lead to Punk breaking PG and using the word shit 3 times. Even though he swore it was muted for us at home. Last night on Raw after another verbal attack from Jericho, Punk locked Christian in the Cobra Clutch in rage and this is what sparked the apparent injury mentioned earlier.

This should put some serious heat on the match and it has done what Jericho is best at doing and that is being hated.

We should have a strong Punk crowd at Mania but there will still be Jericho support out there to.

Hell in a Cell End of an Era

Undertaker vs. Triple H guest Ref. Shawn Michaels

Since Mania last year we have been wondering when Undertaker would be coming back and who he would face and most likely be his last Wrestlemania opponent. They decided to go with Triple H in what is looking to be the most exciting match of the Undertaker streak.

This year the match has been stuck in a Hell in a Cell, a place which Taker and Trips are no strangers two. It’s their home away from home as they have been in the most Hell in Cell matches out of all superstars. In fact up until the first Hell in a Cell PPV there hadn’t been a Cell match that didn’t involve one of these men in one way or another.

Not only is it in a Cell, but the referee will be the legend Shawn Michaels, best friend to Trips and a loser to Undertakers streak two years running. He holds the fate of the streak and an era in his hands.

Over the past month we have had a lot of confrontation that is really heating up the match and emphasising the end of an era headline.

But a big question is what era is ending? Is it the end of an era because these 3 men are the last of the old days, they were here before the PG era, the Invasion era, and the Attitude era.

Or is it the end of PG or something along them lines? As you may have noticed WWE have been pushing boundaries, harsher language as mentioned earlier and matches that are rougher as well as more close edged stories, it does look like they are spacing themselves from the PG rating.

Speculation predicts that this match will be like the old days and that there will be blood. Another clue of that is in the promo videos for the match. Usually if they show old footage with blood they would black and white the shot, or cut it out of the shot altogether, but this time it is shown quite clearly.

The whole thing is exciting and I’m looking forward to seeing these two legends but heads for what should be the final time.

Also on top of all this Undertaker still has not reviled his new hairdo, or should I say lack of hair, nor has he reviled a new look.

What waits at the end of the line for these men?

John Cena vs. The Rock

The biggest match ever in WWE, the biggest name of the past vs. the biggest name of today, The Rock vs. John Cena.

This is a match that has been a year in the making and it is finally just days away. The real build for it has been within the past month but hasn’t sat right some people.

To avoid the two fighting each other it’s been week after week of promos, some have been bad, some good. But it has got quite samey and boring and we wanted something different to happen, regardless though it hasn’t taken away from the match at all, the two names alone is the selling point.

One promo that sticks in peoples mind though was old school Cena. One week Cena came out to classic world life music and dressed in his classic gear and performed a John Cena rap.

Later in the show The Rock performed a “Rock” Concert, reminiscent of the days around Wrestlemania XIX when he used to play the guitar a lot.

His promo didn’t quite wow us like Cenas but was still good to see some old school Rock all the same.

Both these promos made us think about how it isn’t a PG era promo and its old school, is this further clue to the end of PG?

The next thing on peoples mind is the result of the match; people are thinking Cena will win and it will lead to a rematch on Raw or at the next PPV.

I personally want it to go the other way, I would prefer to see The Rock win, just because I’m old school and I’m obviously going to support the old school character, even if it is for just one night.

Either way this should the most epic match in history, and hopefully it won’t be the last.

So that’s it, big names, big card a BIG Wrestlemania, and I couldn’t be more excited! This is going to be a brilliant weekend, and I hope you all enjoy it.

Questions for you.

Predictions?

Team Teddy or Team Johnny?

Team Bring it or Team Cenation?

What will happen in the Cell?

That’s it for now Matty.D signing off.