I'm sure you have your own crappy Wrestlemnaia moment, if so feel free to put them in the comment box, I'd love to hear. But right now we're going to concentrate on what should be a cracker and look at the lead up to it.
The biggest match of the year, possibly the decade is going to be The Rock vs John Cena. Now, I'm not a huge Cena fan, in fact I hate the guy. I won't hide it. He can't wrestle, he can't sell a hold to save his life, and his now legendary 'dead-sell' mode is getting more and more tiresome by the week. The Rock on the hoter hand has been away from WWE for years shooting movies in Hollywood and getting paid more money for one film than he'd have made in one year in WWE. Personally I hope The Rock smacks Cena's lips off of his face and the faces of all those worthless Cena lovers out there.
For me John Cena is the man who is going to bring down the business around us. The only reason he's at the level he's at is because he puts so much money in Vince McMahon's pocket that Vince is afraid that if he turns Cena heel then the children and women won;t buy the merchandise anymore and he'll lose money. The business for Vince is no longer about the in ring talent, it's all about the money. Bringing in The Rock for the main event is, undoubtedly a brilliant move. The Rock never got his big farwell from WWE and he's due one like Shawn Michaels and Ric Flair got. Sadly though it will not be this year. The Rock has confirmed that he will be at Wrestlemania 29 next year and possibly at SummerSlam in August.
The Rock was and to some extent is my hero. I won't deny. Backstage he's been recieving some flack for just strolling back in and taking the main event spot, but as 'The Great One' recently said on Twitter, this is a business and everyone is there to make money. This is the reason why I understand that John Cena has yet to turn heel, though a heel Cena would be brilliant for business. It would give substance to all those boos and jeers he recieves on a nightly basis. How much longer can Vince McMahon find excuses for the 'We hate you Cena' chants?
How do I see this going? Unfortunatley I see Cena winning. The reasons? The Rock at Wrestlemania 27 cost John Cena the WWE Championship when he hit him with a thunderous Rock Bottom to set up this years match. In the weeks leading up to Maina 27, The Rock ripped the piss out of Cena with his 'Fruity Pebbles' jibes as the watching audience followed suit. On twitter and WWE Programming The Rock has constantly gotten the better of Cena both verbally and mentally and at Survivor Series 2011, in The Rock's in ring return, he was the one that looked like he'd been doing this every night for years and Cena had been away since 2004. On the night it was Cena that was on the end of the jeers and boos and The Rock recieving the 'You've still got it' chants from the audience who appreciate evetyhing he's done for the business. After The Rock scored the victory for he and Cena, The Brahma Bull floored Cena with a Rock Bottom.
Since his return to WWE TV to promote the match at Maina, the Rock has made a fool of a static and robotic Cena. The only way I can see for this feud to end is that cena will once again rise from the ashes and defeat the Rock to gain a little retribution. In my mind if this was to happen, then it would be a spit in the face of every WWE Superstar that has paid their dues. A spit in the face of The Rock and a huge slap in the face of everyone who buys a ticket and orders the event. Then again WWE doesn't care about what the majority of its audience want. John Cena can;t be seen to be the weak one in a feud and Vince really doesn't want to upset the little children and the hormonal women who live vicarously through the walking merchandise stand.
On the other hand all of this could be a run up to a Cena heel turn. There is certainly evidence for that here as well. In the run up to Mania, the goal has been to get Cena ready for the Rock. This has been done to some extent with Cena vs Kane, which has been an ok feud even if it hasn't set the world alight. Kane urged Cena to find the destructive path in hi,m, to embrace the evil inside. Though beating Kane at both Royal Rumble and Elimination Chamber, Cena has suffered at Kane's hands, shown a litle of that evil that could make him such a great heel, cheated on his friend with his girlfriend and weathered the 'We hate you Cena' chants with nothing more than a grin. If WWE were to turn Cena heel before Mania, then a heel Cena defeating The Rock would set up a rematch next year - one which The Rock would win in what sould be his final wrestling match ever. If that were to happen then no one in the arena or watching on PPV could complain. WWE could use the momentum that The Rock is recieving from the fans to turn Cena's mind.
Away from the main event, we have a rather unfortunate selection of matches that cannot hope to even gain as much momentum or be as successful as The Rock vs Cena. It doesn't matter how good they are or how awful The Rock vs John Cena may be, the main even - a year in the making will steal the show. The first match we're going to look at (announced at time of writing) is C.M Punk vs Chris Jericho for the WWE Championship.
WWE would be wise to have C.M Punk drop the title to Jericho via interfearence from John Laurientis. WWE's primary goal is to recreate the Austin vs McMahin feud from the late 90's with Punk and Raw GM Laurientis. At the moment the cock-sure Punk isn't portraying the Austin type hero. He's too cocky and comes off as an arrogant prick. If Laurientis costs Punk the belt at Mania, then Punk needs to take a more seriosu stance on the feud, stop grinning and start holding his own in a feud that could make him immortal in this business. Laurientis has the 'prick' aura to carry off a McMahon role in theis feud, all Punk needs is the WWE creative team to give him something juicer and we could have the making of a classic feud and Werstlemania moment to remember.
Daniel Bryan vs Sheamus for the World Heavyweight Championship will be a decent match but overshadowed by Rock and Cena. WWE has shown a great dela of faith in Bryan for such a small and no regulated wrestler in WWE. Thankfully he hasn't suffered the stop start booking treatment so many do and has made a great champion. WWE have been reluctant to let him defeat opponents like Big Show, a hurdle they needed to get over. Sheamus on the other hand has been pushed so much that I can only see him winning at Manina. Winning the Royal Rumble and turning face has given Sheamus another edge, but beyond Maina I doubt a face World Champion Sheamus can succeed in the long run. WWE have planned the fued between Sheamus and Bryan to carry on and will add Randy Orton to the mix on time for Over the Limit. Long term though, the fued will diddipate quickly and Sheamus should turn heel. After he does I can only see him defending the belt against Orton for a while. Post Mania, WWE needs to think up something unforgettable for Sheamus to do otherwise he'll be lost in the shuffle again.
The match that will likely steel the show away from The Rock and Johan Cena (if there's going to be a match that can do that) is the Hell in a Cell Match between The Undertaker vs Triple H. I won't go into detail about this as most know the circumstances. It will be a great match no doubt - possibly with the inclusion of Shawn Michales as referee, but with the Undertaker's undefeated streak so fiercly guarded by all, then Triple H cannot hope to defeat him. Vince McMahon won't upset the apple cart and rightly so on this occasion. The undefeated Wrestlemanis streak should continue for as long as Undertaker can wrestle. I predict a great macth, but look for The Undertaker to make it 20 - 0 at Wrestlemania.
Other talent at Mania has yet to be confirmed. I expect Laurientis' stooges, Mark Henry, Alberto Del Rio and Christian to be involded somehow, possibly in a six man match if all have recovered from injury by then. Randy Orton has to have an opponent that he can handle to make both look good - I nominate Cody Rhodes - Orton vs Rhodes could be a huge career boost for Rhodes. He would't even need to win, just put in a great perfromance. It's hard to see how Kane will fit in, or talent such as Zack Ryder or Dolph Ziggler, The Miz and R - Truth. But WWE needs to put at least one up and comer over to start them on the path to a brighter future.
This year though, Wrestlemania belongs to two men.
