Wrestlemania 28 Predicitons

It’s that time of year again, where we have the most anticipated wrestling event of the year, on the grandest stage of them all. That’s right people, it’s Wrestlemania. And for the past several years I’ve been doing predictions, either on Youtube videos or on my personal Facebook page.

And after ‘Elimination Chamber’ back in February, I’m hoping for a better performance. Seriously, they ruined the Kane v Cena match when Kane said a week or two before “If Cena can’t beat me, he can’t beat the Rock,”, they ruined the Raw elimination chamber match by having Jericho get knocked out, they ruined the SmackDown elimination chamber match by putting Santino Marella in it (They had so many other better superstars who actually had finishing moves) and by having Daniel Bryan attack Royal Rumble winner Sheamus with the title belt the Friday before the event (Which basically cemented the fact that it’ll be Sheamus v Bryan at Wrestlemania), the US Championship match was rushed in, and the Divas Championship match was...okayish.

But anyway, here are my predictions for  this years Wrestlemania.

WWE Tag Team Championship Triple Threat Match (Primo & Epico v Justin Gabriel & Tyson Kidd v The Usos)


I literally found out about this match the day after I originally posted this, the WWE announced a pre-show match where the Tag Team Championship is on the line. And I actually forgot there was a tag team division.


Looking at the teams though it's pretty easy to see who'll win. First we have Justin Gabriel and Tyson Kidd, who have NEVER teamed up before this night. I didn't even see any backstage interaction between the two on Raw and SmackDown. Apparently Kidd lost to Gabriel on 'WWE Superstars', and they formed a team afterwards. Yeah, I don't think you'll win.


Then there's 'Primo & Epico' and 'The Usos', who are basically the stronger teams in this. Based on the fact that this show is played before Wrestlemania even starts, and the fact that it was put on at the last minute, I'm going to say that Primo & Epico will retain their championship.

Maria Menounos & Kelly Kelly vs. Beth Pheonix & Eve

Oh my God a Divas match that was announced BEFORE Wrestlemania, that’s rare. Of course, the winner of the Divas match at Wrestlemania is obvious; it’s always the face team/Diva, especially if there’s a celebrity in the team. You want an example? Last year it was a mixed tag match which featured John Morrison, Trish Stratus and celebrity Snooki going against LayCool (Layla and Michelle McCool) and Dolph Ziggler, which Morrison, Stratus and Snooki won.

 

The year before? Okay the heel team won, but the year before that it was the Miss Wrestlemania battle royal...where a guy won. Yeah Santino Marella, you’re effectively a joke wrestler. The year before that it was the heels...wow okay maybe it isn’t always the face team.

Okay, let’s focus on the celebrity aspect. They always win! They seem to have a clause which enables them to never lose, this includes Donald Trump’s team at Wrestlemania 23, Floyd Mayweather defeated the Big Show at Wrestlemania 24, Maria Menounos previously won a six Diva tag match back in 2009 (I think it was), Hell, even WCW had David Arquette win the WCW Championship (A move even Arquette didn’t want to do).

So for that reason I am going to give it to Maria and Kelly Kelly (Seriously, you’re still using that stupid stage name?). Also I like Maria.

Randy Orton vs. Kane

Orton will win. Next.

Okay, fine. I do like both Orton and Kane, with Kane being my favourite since I started watching the WWE. The very first episode I watched had the Corporation beating down the Rock and the Undertaker, when suddenly pyros hit the stage, and Kane hit the ring, chokeslamming anyone who got in his way.

 

While he had his ups and downs since then (Some considered losing his mask was the worst thing the WWE did with Kane, but then he did also hold the ECW Championship and the World Heavyweight Championship for more than a day), Orton has effectively been getting better and better since his arrival, baring the titles ‘Legend Killer’ and ‘Apex Predator’.

 

Kane is a great wrestler, I would probably prefer that he’d win. However, Orton is a terrific athlete, and he can spring his ‘RKO’ finisher pretty much whenever he wants. So I’m going to say that Orton will win.

Cody Rhodes vs. Big Show – Intercontinental Championship

Huh, the Intercontinental Championship is being defended at Wrestlemania. Well it’s about time! This title was considered to be WWEs second most important title (Before the WWE had two World Championships), and yet the last time the title was contested, it was back in 2009 at Wrestlemania 25, and even then I’m not sure a 21 second match should count. Before then the last time the title was contested, it was back at Wrestlemania 18, back in 2002. The now defunct Cruiserweight Championship was contested more times at Wrestlemania since 2002!

Anyway back to the match. The thing is I like both wrestlers here, the Big Show has been a favourite of mine since I first started watching wrestling, and Rhodes  has shown to be a tremendous athlete. I’ve actually grown to like Rhodes whilst being Intercontinental Champion. He has held the title now for 235 days, having had the longest title reign since Shelton Benjamin’s reign from October 19^th 2004 to June 20^th 2005. Another ten days and Rhodes would have had the longest title reign since 1998.

However, the Big Show has gained a lot of momentum in recent months, claiming the World Heavyweight Championship for the first time (Currently the only superstar to have held the WWE, World, ECW and WCW Championships) back at the TLC PPV (2011), as well as beating other superstars, ranging from Mark Henry to Primo, left, right and centre. In a way I’m starting to hate that. I mean, Mark Henry is the World’s Strongest Man, I should think he can pick up a win over the Big Show more often.

For this match, I actually saw the WWE putting the Intercontinental title on the line back before ‘Elimination Chamber’, and if it was anyone else I’d give Rhodes the nod for victory. However, as it’s the Big Show, I do feel that Rhodes has a mountain to climb. Literally. Therefore I believe the Big Show will win and claim his first Intercontinental Championship, as well as becoming a Triple Crown and Grand Slam Champion, unless Rhodes loses by disqualification or count out.

Team Teddy (Santinio Marella, R-Truth, Kofi Kingston, Zack Ryder, The Great Khali and Booker T) vs. Team Johnny (David Otunga, Mark Henry, Jack Swagger, Dolph Ziggler, The Miz, and Drew McIntyre)

This is a tricky one. It shouldn’t be, but it is. Well, let’s take a glance at the team members, first, Team Teddy:

-          The Great Khali – Great guy, okayish wrestler. Former World Champion

-          Booker T – Semi-retired, decent, former six time World Champion

-          Zack Ryder – Underrated

-          Kofi Kingston – Excellent athlete

-          R-Truth – Decent wrestler

-          Santino Marella – Overrated

Now let’s look at Team Johnny:

-          Drew McIntyre – Excellent athlete

-          David Otunga – Defeated Ezekiel Jackson, without help, TWICE

-          Mark Henry – Two time former World Champion

-          Jack Swagger – Two time World Champion

-          Dolph Ziggler – Former World Champion

-          The Miz – Former World Champion

Yeah I think Team Johnny is the better team, so why do I think this is a tricky match to think about? Well, it’s because the WWE normally make the heels lose the important matches at Wrestlemania. Or in general. McIntyre is a fantastic wrestler, but they put him on a losing streak which only ended against Hornswoggle. Henry seems to lose constantly against the Big Show, Swagger and Ziggler have been hovering in the mid-card area for a while, and the Miz should be in the top-card matches more often.

Kingston’s a great wrestler, no doubt about it, and Zack Ryder is underrated (the WWE thought he shouldn’t hold a title for more than a month), while R-Truth is a pretty decent wrestler and Booker T was a great superstar before his announcement days; he might be the wild card in this match. The Great Khali made a great heel, but as a face, he seems to have a pretty poor track record, and Santino, oh God Santino! Santino is a joke wrestler! I stand by that! He dressed in drag to win the Miss Wrestlemania contest for God’s sake! I would take him seriously, if he didn’t have the worst finishing move in WWE history. Seriously, his ‘Cobra’ move is just him poking someone in the face!

So the faces (Team Teddy) are more likely to win, however, I do feel that the heels (Team Johnny) will actually win. Why? Well the stipulation of the match is that whoever wins, the organiser will become the general manager of Raw and SmackDown, so either Teddy Long, or John Lauranaitis. Therefore, in the interest of a creating a good story, I feel that Johnny will create better stories, as the audience prefer to see an individual rebelling against authority. So there we have it, I believe Team Heel will win.

The Undertaker vs. Triple H – Hell in a Cell with Special Guest referee Shawn Michaels

Seriously? You expect me to say anyone other than the Undertaker? He’s 19-0 at Wrestlemania, I seriously doubt the WWE will give him a loss now, even with Shawn Michaels as the special guest referee.

The only question concerning this match is will it be the best ever? Especially since there were rumours floating around last year that the Undertaker was set to retire, then those rumours changed to the idea that he was going to retire after claiming a 20^th victory at the Grandest Stage of them All. It certainly didn’t help that Undertaker didn’t appear on WWE television for almost a year after his bout against Triple H at Wrestlemania 27.

 

So yeah, no disrespect to Triple H, he’s a tremendous athlete, one of the best, if not THE best. But I have to say Undertaker will claim victory here. But if this will be Undertaker’s last match, then I certainly hope that both superstars give this match their all.

CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho – WWE Championship

Okay, this is another tricky one to call, mainly because these two superstars are two of the best in the world. If this match falls short of masterpiece I will be very disappointed.

Build up wise, Jericho has succeeded in attacking Punk from behind, while Punk wins a lot of matches and Jericho won on SmackDown. Oh and Jericho did the ‘I’ll insult you from a safe distance’ ploy. They did face off before at ‘Elimination Chamber 2012’ in an elimination chamber match, which Jericho was taken out of because he was knocked out. There were debates on whether it was legit or faked, but either way, that ruined the match for me.

 

I did feel that Jericho should’ve left ‘Elimination Chamber 2012’ as WWE Champion, no offence to CM Punk, so I feel that he should leave Wrestlemania as the Champion. However, I believe that Punk will actually win this, mainly because he’s on a great run as WWE Champion.

Daniel Bryan vs. Sheamus – World Heavyweight Championship

Yeah, Sheamus is going to win. The WWE made it obvious that it was going to be Bryan versus Sheamus at Wrestlemania, and many do feel that Sheamus not doing much has lead to this opportunity.

Sheamus has been on a roll, I think he’s actually been undefeated this year except for one tag team match. Meanwhile Bryan has also been winning his matches, barely. They’ve been ranging from decent victories to controversial. When you get down to it, Bryan has been a disappointing champion.

So, back to the start, I believe Sheamus will win and become World Heavyweight Champion, mainly because he’s been on a  roll and, well, let’s face it, he hasn’t done anything else for a while apart from mini feuds, while Bryan, has just been annoying. I like the guy, I think he’s a great wrestler, but I’ve always liked Sheamus.

The Rock vs. John Cena

This match has quickly become one of the most overhyped matches of all time. Whether it’ll be a good match, I don’t know, but it certainly became one of those matches where I no longer care.

The match has been in the making for a year. Yes, an entire year, as this match was announced the Monday night after last year’s Wrestlemania, after the Rock cost Cena an immediate rematch at Wrestlemania 27. Since then they’ve been trading insults all year long, as well as, for some reason, teaming up against the Miz and R-Truth at Survivor Series. Seriously the two hate each other, why would you team up? Then again they did the Ron Burgandy/Wes Mantooth thing where they hate each other, but respect each other. I suppose I should say kudos to that.

This isn’t just a difficult match for me to predict, it’s a difficult match for the WWE to conclude. They have to arrange it so that both the Rock fans and the Cena fans are satisfied. Personally, I want the Rock to win. I prefer the Rock to Cena, I think the Rock’s a better wrestler, and the Rock is a better actor.

 

Unfortunately, I do feel that the match would probably end up being a draw or a no contest, or something like that. Then again, as the Rock pointed out last year, Wrestlemania doesn’t deserve a draw, so if there has to be a victor, I want it to be the Rock, I can’t see Cena winning this match.

And there’s my Wrestlemania 28 predictions, and we’ll be finding out the results on Monday morning. Until then tell me what your predictions are, and hopefully we’ll enjoy this years Wrestlemania.