It wouldn't be spring if it wasn't time for World Wrestling Entertainment's biggest show of the year, WrestleMania! In this 27th installment of the yearly classic, we have 9 epic clashes between WWE Superstars scheduled for combat starting on Sunday at 6pm Central.
/looks at match listing
Ok, 5 epic clashes and 4 matches that I could do without.
BUT STILL! Since it's the off season for Marquette basketball and I have nothing else to write about for 6 months, let's see if I can reasonably predict the outcomes for these matches. If I do well, I might actually turn this into a yearly feature!
World Heavyweight Championship Match: Edge (C) vs. Alberto Del Rio. Edge is an 11 time World Champion and the current champion. The Rated R Superstar has had one of the most successful decades in WWE history. His opponent, Alberto Del Rio is mostly a newcomer to the WWE scene. He's a Hispanic millionaire who is SO rich, he drives expensive cars to the ring and has his own ring announcer. Del Rio earned this title shot by defeating 39 other Superstars in the 2011 Royal Rumble. Edge will have his old friend Christian in his corner to counter Del Rio's enforcer Brodus Clay. PREDICTION: Del Rio achieves his destiny (as he will tell you OVER AND OVER AND OVER) and becomes World Heavyweight Champion for the first time.
WWE Championship Match: The Miz (C) vs. John Cena. You may remember The Miz when he was Mike Mizanin on The Real World. Now he claims to be "The Most Must See WWE Champion In History." John Cena is one of the most successful and popular Superstars in WWE history and looks to earn his 10th World Title by defeating The Miz. However, both men must be aware of the presence of the WrestleMania 27 host, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson after the three came to blows this past Monday night on Raw. PREDICTION: Even though Cena and The Rock have had their problems, neither of them like The Miz, leading to The Rock stopping Miz from cheating and allowing Cena to win.
The Undertaker vs. Triple H. Undertaker's never lost at WrestleMania in 18 appearances. Triple H doesn't have any more challenges left for him in his career other than ending The Streak. But even Triple H's best friend, Shawn Michaels doesn't think Triple H has a chance of stopping The Deadman. PREDICTION: Undertaker wins, in what is the best match on the show.
Randy Orton vs. CM Punk. The Straight Edge Superstar cost Orton the WWE Championship at the Royal Rumble because Orton cost Punk the World Heavyweight Championship 2 years ago when he punted Punk in the head. Over the last few weeks, Orton has methodically removed Punk's group of followers, The Nexus, from his path to Punk. With no one left to protect him, can CM Punk overcome the wrath of the mentally unstable Viper? PREDICTION: No. Orton wins, but Punk avoids getting punted in the head like The Nexus did.
Michael Cole vs. Jerry "The King" Lawler. Broadcast partners on Raw for years, Cole & Lawler came to a divergent point in their friendship when Cole gave in to his interest in helping his friend The Miz defeat Lawler in a ladder match for the WWE Championship. Since then, Cole has become more and more verbally abusive towards Lawler, leading to a challenge for a WrestleMania match. Cole agreed to the match if his trainer, Jack Swagger, could be at ringside and if he was allowed to sign a special guest referee for the match. Cole intended for John "Bradshaw" Layfield to be the referee, but Stone Cold Steve Austin had seen enough of Cole's attitude and attacked JBL before he could sign the contract and signed it himself. PREDICTION: Lawler piledrives Cole twice for the win and has a huge beer bash celebration with Austin afterwards.
Ok, let's hit the last four matches quickly after the jump.
United States Champion Sheamus vs. Daniel Bryan. I'm a big Daniel Bryan *coughBryanDanielsoncough* mark, and I'd love to see him regain the US title here, but I doubt it. PREDICTION: Sheamus
Rey Mysterio vs. Cody Rhodes. Rey hit the pretty boy Rhodes in the face on accident with his leg brace and Rhodes wants revenge. Eh. PREDICTION: Rey Mysterio
John Morrison, Trish Stratus, and Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi vs. Dolph Ziggler and Lay-Cool. To the surprise of no one, Snooki is the least attractive person in this match. She's also the most famous. PREDICTION: Morrison/Stratus/Snooki
Big Show, Kane, Santino Marella, and Vladimir Kozlov vs. The Corre (Wade Barrett, Ezekiel Jackson, Heath Slater & Justin Gabriel). I'm not picking anyone who can't spell the word 'core.' Hopefully Santino's Cobra finisher leads to Bronx Zoo's Cobra jokes on the show. PREDICTION: Show/Kane/Marella/Kozlov
That's the card. We'll check in on Monday to see how I did. Feel free to join in with your own predictions in a Degenerate Gambling Challenge in the comments.