After it was announced that Dean Ambrose would challenge Kofi Kingston for the US Title at Extreme Rules, I speculated that we would likely get the remaining members of The Shield challenging Team Hell No for the Tag Team Titles.
And that’s exactly what’s happening.
WWE announced during Raw that Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns will challenege Kane and Daniel Bryan for the straps in a tag team tornado match.
With news of Dolph Ziggler’s concussion keeping him off Extreme Rules and the addition of a United States Championship match, here is the updated card for Sunday’s pay-per-view.
WWE Championship Last Man Standing Match
Ryback v. John Cena
Number One Contender I Quit Match
Jack Swagger v. Alberto Del Rio
Steel Cage Match
Brock Lesnar v. Triple H
United States Championship Match
Dean Ambrose v. Kofi Kingston
Strap Match
Mark Henry v. Sheamus
Extreme Rules Match
Big Show v. Randy Orton
Chris Jericho v. Fandango
UPDATE: Later on Raw, a Tag Team Title match was announced.
Tag Team Championship Tornado Match
Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns v. Team Hell No
WWE Championship Match
John Cena v. The Rock
As hard as WWE is trying to make this “Twice in a Lifetime” match feel special, it just isn’t doing it for me. I’m sure the atmosphere will be electric, but some of the luster is gone now that these guys are having a rematch. Besides, there’s no way WWE books The Rock to beat the current, top-draw star two WrestleManias in a row. Cena wins and Rock rides off into the sunset.
Prediction: John Cena wins the WWE Championship
World Heavyweight Championship Match
Jack Swagger v. Alberto Del Rio
Alberto Del Rio and Ricardo Rodriguez have been beaten down, mocked and ridiculed throughout this feud. I think Del Rio retains the belt, maybe with some shenanigans from Rodriguez. If Dolph Ziggler is going to cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase – which many are hoping for – it also makes sense to do so against a babyface champion.
Prediction: Alberto Del Rio retains the World Heavyweight Championship
WWE Tag Team Championship Match
Dolph Ziggler and Big E. Langston (w/ AJ Lee) v. Team Hell No
This match really felt forced onto the card, so forced that it feels like Dolph Ziggler and Big E. Langston have to win. It makes even more sense if Ziggler plans on cashing in his briefcase sometime soon and WWE uses the new Kaitlyn-AJ feud to get the Divas title on AJ, creating a super stable of champions in the process. That might all be wishful thinking, but the only scenario where I see Ziggler and Langston losing is if Ziggler ends up turning face because of it.
Prediction: Dolph Ziggler and Big E. Langston win the Tag Team Championships
No Holds Barred Match with Triple H’s Career on the Line
Brock Lesnar (with Paul Heyman) v. Triple H (with Shawn Michaels)
The obvious scenario has Triple H winning, perhaps with help from Shawn Michaels, so he doesn’t have to retire… even though he was already retired.
I think, though, that Triple H wants to go out at WrestleMania and might be expecting a hero’s salute from the MetLife Stadium crowd. If that’s his plan, he could be in for a rude awakening.
HHH losing would be my preferred outcome. With Brock Lesnar signed for two more years, he needs to stay relevant and at the main event level. He’s not doing two years of midcard matches with Kofi Kingston, for example. If Lesnar loses to Triple H, it will make him 1-for-3 since his return to WWE. The smart move is Lesnar winning, which probably means Triple H goes over.
Prediction: Triple H defeats Brock Lesnar
Pre-Show: WWE Intercontinental Championship Match
The Miz v. Wade Barrett
I’ll take The Miz to win the title, simply because he’s a popular guy for media appearances and he’s gotten over better than expected as a babyface. He’s still not great, don’t get me wrong, but WWE has shown zero interest in pushing Wade Barrett.
Prediction: The Miz wins the Intercontinental Championship
CM Punk (with Paul Heyman) v. The Undertaker
All the buildup has been geared towards Undertaker finally getting his retribution on CM Punk and I just don’t think CM Punk is the guy to end the streak.
Prediction: Undertaker defeats CM Punk
Tons of Funk and the Funkadactyls v. Rhodes Scholars and the Bella Twins
Yawn. Tons of Fun probably win because WWE needs to create a new babyface tag team if Team Hell No loses the straps. Does anyone really care about this match, though?
Prediction: Tons of Funk and the Funkadactyls defeat Rhodes Scholars and the Bella Twins
Fandango v. Chris Jericho
I feel like this match could steal the show, simply because of Chris Jericho’s recent comments about Vince McMahon switching up his WrestleMania storyline and Y2J using that as motivation to make this match the best it can be. It is a bit head scratching to bring Jericho back and waste his talent on a loss at ‘Mania, but I think that’s what we’ll get. A win over Jericho would do wonders for Fandango, and Jericho can make him look like a million bucks in the process.
Prediction: Fandango defeats Chris Jericho
Ryback v. Mark Henry
I expected Mark Henry to win the Elimination Chamber and be the one challenging Alberto Del Rio for the World Heavyweight Championship, but a “Battle of the Behemoths” match with Ryback works also.
Ryback has much more to gain from a win at this point in his career than Henry does, so I think Ryback picks up the victory.
Prediction: Ryback defeats Mark Henry
Randy Orton, Sheamus and Big Show v. The Shield
Some shenanigans probably go down in this contest, allowing The Shield to get a victory and stay strong, while one of the members of the Show/Sheamus/Orton team turns heel. Since Big Show isn’t really a face anyway, it could be him and the “dissension” among the team that costs them the match. Or could Randy Orton finally be ready to be turned heel again?
Prediction: The Shield defeats Randy Orton, Sheamus and Big Show
ROH presents Supercard of Honor VII, live on iPPV this Friday night, April 5th, at 7:30pm.
Below is the full card for Supercard of Honor. ROH is still advertising Charlie Haas v. Shelton Benjamin on its website, but odds are that match won’t be taking place following last weekend’s weird Charlie Haas incident and retirement.
ROH World Championship Match
Kevin Steen defends against Jay Briscoe
ROH World Tag Team Championship Match
reDRagon (Bobby Fish & Kyle O’Reilly) vs the American Wolves (Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards)
3 Way ROH World TV Championship Match
Matt Taven w/ Truth Martini vs Adam Cole vs “Self Proclaimed Icon” Matt Hardy
#1 Contenders Match
Jay Lethal vs “Unbreakable” Michael Elgin
“Machine Gun” Karl Anderson vs Roderick Strong
TEAM ROH (BJ Whitmer, Makr Briscoe, Mike Mondo, Caprice Coleman & Cedric Alexander) vs TEAM S.C.U.M. (Jimmy Jacobs, Cliff Compton, Rhett Titus, Jimmy Rave & Rhino)
ACH & Tadarius Thomas vs “God’s Gift” Qt Marshall & A Mystery Partner
With WWE’s announcement on Raw that the Miz v. Wade Barrett Intercontinental Championship match will take place on the pre-show, the WrestleMania card seems to be officially set at nine matches on the main broadcast.
WWE Championship Match
John Cena v. The Rock
World Heavyweight Championship Match
Jack Swagger v. Alberto Del Rio
CM Punk v. The Undertaker
No Holds Barred Match with Triple H’s Career on the Line
Brock Lesnar v. Triple H
WWE Tag Team Championship Match
Dolph Ziggler & Big E. Langston v. Team Hell No
Randy Orton, Sheamus & Big Show v. The Shield
Fandango v. Chris Jericho
Ryback v. Mark Henry
Tons of Funk & The Funkadactyls v. Rhodes Scholars & The Bella Twins
Pre-Show Intercontinental Championship Match
The Miz v. Wade Barrett
Via WWE.com, a few matches have been added to the WrestleMania XXIX card since Raw went off the air Monday night.
Wade Barrett will defend the Intercontinental Championship against The Miz, following Miz’s victory over Barrett on Raw.
The newest addition is a four-on-four mixed tag team match, consisting of Brodus Clay, “Sweet T” Tensai, and the Funkadactyls against Cody Rhodes, Damien Sandow, and the Bella Twins.
That brings the total match count to 10, which means one of these two matches is very likely to be airing during the YouTube pre-show.
This year’s WrestleMania build has certainly felt different than in the past. Part of that has to do with a lot of the new faces making their WrestleMania debuts.
Eight wrestlers will be wrestling their first WrestleMania match when WWE holds the biggest show of the year at MetLife Stadium on April 7th. Of those eight, two men will be making their WWE in-ring debuts, at least if Fandango doesn’t end up wrestling on the go-home Raw next Monday.
WWE.com announced the addition of Brodus Clay, Tensai and the Funkadactyls vs. Rhodes Scholars and the Bella Twins today, meaning Damien Sandow and Brodus Clay both wrestle their first WrestleMania matches, albeit likely on the pre-show.
Big E. Langston joins Fandango in making his WWE TV/PPV debut on the show, and his first match with the company will be for the tag team titles.
The full list of men popping their WrestleMania cherries:
Dean Ambrose
Seth Rollins
Roman Reigns
Brodus Clay
Damien Sandow
Fandango
Big E. Langston
Ryback
WWE Championship Match
The Rock v. CM Punk
If we follow “Wrestling Booking 101,” all signs point to The Rock winning this match since he was laid out by The Shield and Vince McMahon added the stipulation that CM Punk will be stripped of the title if Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns interfere. But that caveat – McMahon only mentioning The Shield – leaves the door open a bit. Might we see Brock Lesnar? Will Brad Maddox be involved?
Or, they could just book CM Punk to win the title without a ton of shenanigans for once, but that’s not how WWE books heels.
While my preference is that CM Punk retains the title, it seems like we’re destined for a Rock v. John Cena rematch at WrestleMania where Cena will avenge his loss to The Great One and regain the WWE Championship. Plus, The Rock swore to God that he would win the title and when faces do things like that, they usually happen.
Royal Rumble Match
As I mentioned, the common thought is that John Cena wins the Rumble and challenges The Rock at WrestleMania. I hate that idea. John Cena doesn’t need to win the Rumble match to get a title shot. From a booking standpoint, Cena has always been tossed into title bouts without “climbing the ladder” or winning any No. 1 contender matches. So why waste such a coveted thing as winning the Royal Rumble on someone who has already been a champion many times over? You can get to Cena v. Rock without Cena winning the Rumble.
Monday’s development of Dolph Ziggler entering either first or second makes me wonder if we’re about to see a Ric Flair-esque start-to-finish Rumble win. While Ziggler already has the Money in the Bank briefcase, it would seriously legitimize him as a main event player and potential double future champion if he wins the Rumble.
Or could we see one of the surprise entrants win the match? Rumors have been floated that The Undertaker is set to appear at the Rumble and him winning and challenging one of the champions at WrestleMania would help make him possibly losing the streak believable.
World Heavyweight Championship Last Man Standing Match
Big Show v. Alberto Del Rio
I think Del Rio retains here since he’s a newly minted babyface and the crowds have been really into him lately. The match type also enables whomever wins to be so beaten down that Dolph Ziggler could easily cash in the Money in the Bank briefcase. Imagine “The Showoff” becoming World Heavyweight Champion and then winning the Royal Rumble in the same night, while going start-to-finish to do it? Talk about “making a star.”
WWE Tag Team Championship Match
Rhodes Scholars v. Team Hell No
I refuse to call them “Team” Rhodes Scholars.
This one could go either way. Kane and Daniel Bryan probably don’t need the tag team titles to continue their comedy act together, whereas Cody Rhodes and Damien Sandow would benefit from holding the straps. I see Rhodes Scholars becoming the champs, which allows Kane and Bryan to continue their partnership but also veer off into some singles programs before WrestleMania.
Preshow: WWE United States Championship Match
The Miz v. Antonio Cesaro
This match is on the pre-show as a way to entice viewers to buy the pay-per-view, but I’d much rather it be part of the main card. Being that it isn’t, I think Cesaro probably retains the US Title. Also, I wouldn’t pull the belt off him just yet as he’s seriously gaining momentum.
Hell in a Cell has come and gone, with CM Punk hanging on to his WWE Championship thanks to the help of referee Brad Maddox. While the ending left a lot to be desired, the creative team was backed into a corner and the end probably justified the means.
Our “payoff” on Monday’s Raw saw the booking of a traditional five-on-five Survivor Series match between Team Punk (Punk, Alberto Del Rio, Cody Rhodes, Damien Sandow and The Miz) v. Team Foley (Ryback, Kofi Kingston, Randy Orton, Kane and Daniel Bryan).
Sure, this match has some smells of typical WWE “put the singles guys in feuds with their foes in tag team matches” booking to it, but a traditional Survivor Series match on the pay-per-view called Survivor Series is probably a good thing.
Early in the show, I had high hopes for a few traditional elimination matches but the use of all these names in the top match make me think that’s not possible. The tying up of the WWE, Intercontinental and Tag Team champions also means we won’t get a whole lot out of the rest of the card.
Here, though, are some matches I think we might see to round out the card:
Antonio Cesaro is available, and following the run-in of R-Truth during the Cesaro-Kofi Kingston match, we might see Cesaro defend his United States Championship against Truth.
The World Heavyweight Championship will probably be up for grabs again, with Sheamus getting his rematch against Big Show.
The recent interactions between John Cena and Dolph Ziggler, as well as Vickie Guerrero’s “witch hunt” aimed at AJ, means we’ll probably see Cena and Ziggler go at it.
I’d also love a “midcard” elimination match with maybe Santino, Zack Ryder, Justin Gabriel, Sin Cara and Rey Mysterio v. 3MB and the Primetime Players. Will we see that, though? I would say the odds are more likely of the competitors being in other tag team matches just to add more to the card.
Image via WWE.com
WWE has continually emphasized CM Punk’s long title reign and it seems ideal to have him defend the title against The Rock at Royal Rumble. If not, the Punk clothesline to Rock on Raw 1000 is left dangling in the wind. Sure, Punk could lose and then regain the title, but his match with The Rock wouldn’t mean as much in that scenario. Of course, WWE could change everything and have John Cena v. The Rock at the Rumble. That rematch seems more likely to happen at WrestleMania XXIX, though.
I think the most probable scenario has CM Punk walking out of Hell in a Cell, still the champion, thanks to some shady business from either Paul Heyman or Brock Lesnar.
While plenty of people think Lesnar won’t get involved because it would derail him from an impending rematch with Triple H, perhaps the powers that be at WWE realize that not many people want to see that rematch. A Brock Lesnar v. Ryback match at, say, WrestleMania would create some new intrigue. If it’s a stiff fight, like Lesnar’s matches with John Cena and Triple H have been this year, and Ryback wins, it could do a lot to establish Ryback as a long-lasting main eventer.
Or maybe CM Punk wins clean. He could clearly use that as more ammo to say he’s “Best in the World,” and add to it that even after beating the undefeated “Big Hungry,” he still can’t get respect.
There are a number of ways to keep the belt on CM Punk moving forward, but I don’t envy WWE’s oft-lamented creative team for figuring this one out. Either way, having Ryback in the main event against CM Punk has created more intrigue around the match and pay-per-view than if it were John Cena.
