Wrestlemania

Wrestlemania is just 2 days away. The Granddaddy of them all, the Super Bowl of Wrestling. Its the biggest event of the year, and this year's Wrestlemania could be one of the greatest Wrestlemanias of all time. The card is loaded with bigtime matches from top to bottom, and I would like to now give my analysis of the card, complete with my predictions for the results of each match. There are eleven matches on this year's card, according to the list of matches on the wwe.com website, and in order to add even more fun to this commentary, I will be discussing the matches in the order in which I would put them on the card.

The first match is the US Championship match, with Chris Benoit vs JBL. I dont watch Smackdown much, I dont really know much about this rivalry, and I really dont know who to expect to win. Clearly Chris Benoit is a fan favorite, and a former RAW Champion. Now on Smackdown, he isnt enjoying quite the same level of success he had on RAW, but he is the US Champion. JBL has been humiliated at the Royal Rumble, and beaten soundly at Saturday Night's Main Event, so it could be time for this former Smackdown Champion to pick up a big win. Theres a lot of logic in favor of each man's winning the match, but in the end Im going to pick JBL to win, due to the whole 'way overdue for a big win' theory. But I wouldnt be remotely surprised to see Chris Benoit make yet another opponent tap out.

The next match is the World Tag Team Championship match, with Kane and Big Show vs Carlito and Chris Masters. Now, obviously Kane and Big Show have been rather dominant, and they are just plain huge. But Carlito and Chris Masters have worked effectively together in the past, and could do so again. However, despite the fact that Kane and Big Show have been dominant lately, and it could be time for a change, and despite the fact that until recently I expected Carlito and Masters to win this match, what ive seen most recently leads me to believe that dissention in their ranks will cause them to lose the match, and start a feud with each other. So my pick to win this match is Kane and Big Show.

The third match is the Boogeyman vs Booker T and Sharmell match. The Boogeyman won his Royal Rumble match against JBL is very quick and decisive fashion. He pretty much always wins his matches quickly, because he isnt a very good wrestler, so Im hopeful this match also will be very short. I would expect the Boogeyman to pin Sharmell, thus allowing Booker T to avoid sufering the same humiliation that was inflicted upon JBL earlier this year. The Boogeyman's ring entrance is one of the very best, if not THE best, in all of the WWE, dont miss it. Missing the match itself is OK, as it will probably suck, but not his entrance :).

The fourth match is the Hardcore match, with Mic Foley and Edge. This match has been built up really well, with Mic using the thumb tacks and Edge using the flaming table, on Saturday Night's Main Event. On the last couple episodes of RAW, Mic has clearly taken the upper hand in the feud, which under normal circumstances would lead you to believe he was going to lose at Wrestlemania. But under these circumstances, we didnt even NEED that clue to know Mic Foley was going to lose the match, he is a mostly retired wrestler, Edge is a recent RAW Champion, on paper the match is just plain a joke, the outcome was known before the match was even officially announced. But its going to be a Hardcore match, a Mic Foley speciality, and Mic keeps saying he needs a great Wrestlemania moment, so I expect him to try one dramatic thing, such as what they teased on SNME, Mic being put through a flaming table. Now THAT would be one heck of a Wrestlemania moment. As for the result, of course Edge will win.

The fifth match is the Playboy Pillow Fight match, with Torrie Wilson and Candice Michelle. This has been built up for a surprisingly long time, considering they're involved in a PILLOW FIGHT match, a match that normally needs no buildup at all. But I think the buildup was probably done mostly for the purpose of turning Torrie Wilson face, so that she can be another challenger for Mickie James' Title during any lulls in the Mickie-Trish feud. As for who is going to win the match, well, its two against one assuming Victoria is in Candice's corner, but Torrie may be due to get some payback, so again it could go either way. Since I have to pick someone, I will go with Torrie Wilson. Ultimately of course, as the RAW announcers themselves pointed out, the winners will be the fans.

The sixth match is the Casket Match, with The Undertaker and Mark Henry. The resultof this match, much like Edge-Foley, is a foregone conclusion, Undertaker never loses at Wrestlemania, and this year they didnt even give him an opponent that makes you think theres the SLIGHTEST chance that will change. Much like the Boogeyman's match, the most entertaining part of this match may be the entrance of the Undertaker.

The seventh match is the Money in the Bank Ladder Match, with Shelton Benjamin, Ric Flair, RVD, Fit Finlay, Matt Hardy, and Bobby Lashley. This match features a lot of bigtime talent, and could be one of the best matches of the night. The winner of this match has the opportunity to challenge the Champion of his show to a match at any time within one year of his winning the Money in the Bank match. Edge won last year's MITB match and cashed in on his title shot against John Cena, after Cena had just won an Elimination Chamber match against 5 other people. A beaten and still bloody Cena had no chance against a fresh Edge, and Edge won the Championship. That is the power of MITB, and why this match is very important. I think most of the smart money is on RVD or Ric Flair to win the match and become Champion some time down the line as a result (in fact, if Flair wins it, I think there would be a good chance that he could actually use it later on in the evening and walk out of Wrestlemania as RAW's newest Champion). My pick in this match is for RVD to win.

The eighth match is the No Holds Barred match, with Vince McMahon and HBK. This match has had one heck of a buildup, months worth. HBK has been screwed repeatedly, and now its time for some payback. While it is possible for anything to happen in this match, especially if Vince finally succeeds in getting Bret Hart to make a Wrestlemania appearance, I think the most logical prediction is to say that its payback time for HBK, he will finally get his revenge on Vince McMahon. My pick is HBK to win the match.

That leaves us with the three major Championship matches, they are all highly anticipated and well built up, and could be reasonably put in any order at the top of the card I think, but since I can only pick one order, I will start with the match I think is the least looked forward to of the three, the Tripple Threat match for the Smackdown Championship. One of the reasons it isnt looked forward to as much as it could be, I think, is that there is a certain fear that Rey Mysterio will be handed the belt the night after Eddie Guerrero is inducted into the Hall of Fame, when either Kurt Angle or Randy Orton are both clearly more deserving of the title. Another reason, of course, is simply that its the SMACKDOWN Championship, not a Championship on RAW. But as for the match itself, it obviously contains a ton of talent. Kurt Angle is the best pure wrestler in the WWE, he is the current Smackdown Champion. Randy Orton is the #1 heel on Smackdown, and Rey Mysterio is a very high flying wrestler who has a lot of entertaining moves in his arsenal. I actually think theres a real chance that Rey Mysterio will not win the Title, but even if he doesnt, that doesnt make it easy to pick a winner. Kurt Angle and Randy Orton both could win this match (as, obviously, could Mysterio), its very hard to pick one, but since I have to, Im going to guess that the reason they didnt go with the Championship match people 'thought' was going to be Smackdown's Main Event this year, Angle vs Undertaker, is because they want Angle to keep the title. With that in mind, my pick to win the match is Kurt Angle.

The tenth match has been the best, and longest, built up of all the matches on the card, and in fact features even more total in-ring talent than the Main Event match itself. The Womens Championship features Trish Stratus and Mickie James. The Trish and Mickie storyline has lasted for over 5 months, and it has been very unique, creative, and unpredictable. Both of these women are highly talented in the ring, but it is their Microphone and acting skills that have made this storyline so incredibly popular with the fans. Both women have a wide range of very impressive signature moves, and there is a real possibility that this could be the match that steals the show. Trish Stratus is a six time Womens Champion, she has been Champion for well over a year now, which is the longest any woman has held the Womens Championship in many, many years. Defeating the most dominant Womens Champion in modern times in the most anticipated Womens Championship match of all time at the biggest event of the year would give Mickie James an unfathomably huge boost, one she has very much earned after all of her incredible performances during this storyline. Of course, the storyline should continue to play out in the months ahead, and ideally these two will meet in the ring at many more RAWs and PPVs over the course of the year, as they really are by far the two greatest women wrestlers in the WWE. My pick to win this match is Mickie James.

Finally, the eleventh match of the evening, the Main Event of Wrestlemania, is the RAW Championship match, with John Cena and HHH. This is another very hard to call match, with a lot of logic on either side. A lot of people love John Cena, a lot of people dislike him. It is not clear whether the Chicago crowd will be more pro-Cena or pro-HHH, despite the fact that Cena is the face and HHH the heel. Points in favor of Cena winning include the fact that HHH gave Cena a major beat-down on the final RAW before Wrestlemania, something that normally would be a sign that Cena was going to win at Wrestlemania. In addition, Cena is so very popular, at least with part of the audience. But points in HHH's favor include the fact that it has been thought that the plan for over a year has been for HHH to lose at the previous Wrestlemania, which he did, and then win at this one. Also in his favor is that while he is a 10 time World Champion, he hasnt won a title match in well over a year, he is very due. It isnt entirely out of the question that Cena could even turn heel during the course of the match, as Bret Hart did against Stone Cold Steve Austin many years ago. It really could go either way, but since I have to pick someone to win, I'm going to pick HHH.

Those are my Wrestlemania predictions and my analysis. There really are a lot of matches that could go either way, it should be a very exciting Wrestlemania. I hope it turns out to be one of the greatest of all time, it certainly has that potential!

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