In what has been an eventful two weeks since my last column, WWE’s Road to WrestleMania has been seriously kickstarted: Royal Rumble winner Alberto Del Rio has chosen to go after the World Heavyweight Championship to likely face Edge at WrestleMania (depending on SmackDown! Elimination Chamber results); a potentially legendary rivalry between CM Punk and Randy Orton has quickly heated up and has already seen New Nexus member Husky Harris get punted in the head for his troubles; and before he can even get to WrestleMania, The Miz has to go through Jerry Lawler one more time (more on that later).
Oh, and there are those 2.21.11 promos that look like they were filmed outside of Jacob’s Cabin from LOST, leading me to believe that the impossible just might happen and WCW’s last great holdout will finally make his presence felt in a WWE ring (and probably in the rafters, too).
That’s right, I think the man behind these vignettes is none other than Sting, especially considering the fact that the timing of this “mystery person’s” debut is right smack in the heart of the Road to WrestleMania 27 being held in WCW’s old stomping ground of Atlanta, Ga.
Throw in the fact that The Undertaker still needs an opponent for Mania and that Sting vs. Taker is the kind of buzzworthy moneymaker that WWE desperately needs during a down year in terms of true starpower, and you have all the clues you need to dream big and hope it’s Sting.
Personally, the way I would book the reveal on Raw on 2.21.11 is simple. The Undertaker should show up early on in the night, leading everyone to believe that he was the man behind the promos. The crowd should hear the bells toll and Taker should make his grand entrance. However, after he finally gets into the middle of the ring and before he has the chance to say a word, the Phenom gets interrupted or attacked in some way — it could be Punk and New Nexus or Del Rio that does the interrupting/attacking, just to raise their profiles, or if you really want to fantasize it can be Chris Jericho coming back too.
Then, as per the Anonymous Raw GM, The Undertaker is scheduled to face off against whoever interfered in the Raw main event match. The more I think about it, the more I think Del Rio would be the best choice because he would benefit most from the rub, so I’ll assume it’s Alberto vs. Taker here in this spot.
Of course, the lights go off during the breaking point of the match, but instead of Taker getting the upper hand, the lights go back on and the cameras suddenly shoot to the rafters and we see Sting, black bat in hand, pointing at the Undertaker. This causes enough of a distraction that Del Rio actually scores a very rare roll-up pinfall win over Taker.
From there, Del Rio can sprint out of the ring, where he and Ricardo Rodriguez begin an over the top post-match celebration. During all of the craziness, Taker sells absolute shock, Sting disappears, and thus you have Sting’s iMPACTful introduction to the WWE Universe while planting the seeds for Sting vs. Taker and The Streak at WrestleMania 27.
CB’s World: One Final Passing Thought for 2.7.11
On last Monday night’s Raw, Jerry “The King” Lawler won the Raw Rumble to earn another WWE Championship match against The Miz at the Elimination Chamber PPV:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYwmCz4qZWE
After King won the match, Michael Cole emphatically said, and I quote, “Jerry Lawler is NOT going to WrestleMania!”
Cole’s implication here was that there is no chance that Lawler will beat Miz for the WWE Championship at the Elimination Chamber PPV, thereby keeping King’s Road to WrestleMania “Under Construction” for a 19th year.
However, with Vince McMahon currently on a legends kick, something tells me that Jerry Lawler just might get rewarded at the PPV for all of his hard work over the past few months, and in fact, The King, for one night, will be crowned the WWE Champion.
That’s right, I’m calling it right now: Jerry Lawler will WIN the WWE Championship at the PPV in a feel-good moment for the ages. Then, at the very beginning of Raw (before Taker’s return), an incensed Miz will demand an immediate rematch to kick off the show, and Michael Cole will cost Lawler in that rematch, ultimately leading to Miz recapturing the belt so he can go on to face John Cena at WrestleMania as I’m sure is planned.
And of course, this will lead to the endgame of Jerry Lawler vs. Michael Cole (and likely Alex Riley) at WrestleMania 27, because the Anonymous GM will lift the ban for that night and let Lawler finally get his hands and fists on Cole after months of King having to restrain himself.
“Jerry Lawler is NOT going to WrestleMania!”
Think again, Michael Cole, think again.
That’s my final passing thought for today, 2.7.11.
See you next time — CB.
