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.