Is it too early to start really armchair booking WrestleMania? After all, the event is still the better part of two months away and we still have the Elimination Chamber PPV to deal with. But, I wouldn’t think so. After all the WrestleMania sign is hanging over the crowd already and with the Super Bowl over, one of WWE’s biggest competitors for Monday Night Views (The NFL) is officially over until the next season. This would be the time to start trying to regain the attention of some of those fans that find their Mondays somewhat empty. (And it looks like WWE started that last week a bit with the return of the Undertaker) Not to mention the fact that actual booking of WrestleMania started April 4th last year it’s not all that presumptive of me to start looking at April 1st and what might happen during the our hour PPV.
What we know:
Cena and the Rock: This is supposed to be the big match of the night, the match that we’ve waited for all year. And it is a big deal. But I’m not sure I’m as excited about this as the WWE wants me to be. For one thing I’m still a little bitter because I felt like I spent fifty bucks last year to watch this match only to be told that in the end that I would have to wait a year and spend another fifty bucks to see what I wanted to see. For another thing, we’ve spent a year hearing what a great match this is going to be from only half of its competitors. And when Rock isn’t around to make “I’m better than you” type of promos, we are left with things like, “It’s going to be a great match,” and “two worthy competitors,” and “for the fans,” and sportsmanship” from Cena. Which kind of removes the grudge part out to the grudge match. I’m, sure that both guys are going to work extra hard come April and we will indeed have a great match but until we get Rock back on Raw to promote the match, I’m having a hard time getting pumped.
Undertaker’s Streak: So rumors of Undertaker sitting this WrestleMania out to finish healing seem to have proven false. When Taker came out last Monday to try and recreate the wordless promo with Triple H, Internet reaction ranged from “REMATCH, REMATCH, REMATCH!” to “Do we really need to see these guys? Again?” Regardless of your feelings about Taker and Triple H: Part III, it seems that the point is moot now since Triple H offered a shoulder pat instead of the crotch chop we were expecting. Now this could just be a set up of a “Please fight me” storyline like Shawn Michaels had with Taker a few years ago. But lets assume that this actually does mean that Triple H is sitting this offer of a rematch out. Who then will receive the honor of being the twentieth person to lose to Undertaker at WrestleMania? Jericho has been mentioned but most people are expecting a feud with Punk to develop soon that will lead to WrestleMania. (See below) The problem, much like last year, is that because we are so close to the twenty mark that everyone is expecting Undertaker to make it to, nobody on the roster seems to have any real chance of being booked to end the streak. So how do we get any kind of drama or emotional involvement in this match if everyone is 99% sure how it’s going to end before it starts? My solution (and bear in mind that this is taking the idea of Fantasy booking to the extreme) is to bring somebody back. I’m kinda meh on Triple H getting a third shot at the streak but I would flip if Shawn Michaels came back for a third shot. Or what about Brock Lesnar? That’s something I’ve wanted to see since that Internet video of them looking at each other for half a second appear online over a year ago. At if that were to happen the back of my mind would be saying, “Surly Lesnar isn’t coming back to WWE just to lose.” And like that I start to get unsure about the outcome.
Sheamus fights somebody for a title: I’m glad Sheamus is waiting until after Elimination Chamber before declaring who he’ll be fighting at WrestleMania. Elimination Chamber always feels a bit wedged in between two of the biggest events on the calendar. So maybe this will help put some credibility toward the Chamber matches. We’re assuming that Sheamus will be going after the World Title, mostly because of Jericho and Punk (again, see below) but there is still the question of who is Sheamus going to face. I don’t know if WWE is quite ready to trust Daniel Bryan with a title match at WrestleMania. The competition of the title is already fairly crowded with Bryan the current holder seems to be focusing his rivalry on Big Show. Plus, Mark Henry is still claiming that he is owed a title shot. So who else in the Elimination Chamber could it be? A big name is needed for a title match at WrestleMania so that doesn’t bode well for Wade Barrett (who hasn’t quite broken through that glass ceiling yet) or The Great Khali (who…I mean, come on.) Rhodes already has a title and that just leaves Randy Orton. Orton is the big name on Smackdown, and was brought in to replace Edge in the main event scene. But that would make this a face vs. face match, so I don’t know how likely this is.
What we are assuming:
Chris Jericho vs. CM Punk: Ever since Jericho came back on Jan. 2nd people have been saying this match should/would happen at WrestleMania. Many had Jericho as their Rumble winner pick so that they could set up this match. Now without a Rumble victory Jericho is going to have to get a title shot another way, something that he seems to have begun this past Monday when he interrupted the Champ vs. Champ match to attack Punk. Despite this match not actually being confirmed, or even really talked about on WWE TV, it may be the WrestleMania match that I’m most excited for right now. You can say that CM Punk and [insert any wrestler here] will have a great match because of Punk’s talent. You can also say that Jericho and [insert any wrestler here] will have a great match because of Jericho. So how could these two talents have anything less than the match of the night? What we need now is some high quality promos to really kick this rivalry into high gear. I’ve enjoyed the refusals to talk for the past couple of weeks from Jericho but I’m ready to move on. I need an explanation, and not just for attacking Punk last week. For everything, from why he wouldn’t talk for three weeks, what those creepy kids were about and where did he find that jacket.
Money In The Bank: We’ve heard rumors that the Money in the Bank match may be returning to WrestleMania. Chris Sanders of The Rager pointed to me that one of the reasons that WrestleMania felt lacking last year was due to the lack of the MiTB match to kick everything off right at the beginning, and after reflection I agree with him. Is it a match that merits it’s own PPV, sure. (At least more than Hell in a Cell) But it was always one of my favorite parts of WrestleMania and I’ll be happy if they decide to bring it back. Plus taking a look at the rest of the potential PPV, it’s full of people who can be considered part time wrestlers at best. (Undertaker, The Rock, maybe Triple H) so this is an opportunity to get some of the people who are on our TVs on a weekly basis.
