By Rob Siebert
Editor, Fanboy Wonder
Wrestlemania XXX. That’s a hell of an anniversary, and with luck, WWE will give us a hell of a show. There’s plenty of drama to be found in the upper card. The undercard looks okay at face value, but there’s still plenty of potential there.
One of the things that really interests me coming into this show is the Hulk Hogan factor. Much like The Rock did a few years ago, Hogan is “hosting” this year’s event. But what does that mean exactly? In The Rock’s case, it meant a big speech at the top of the show, some backstage vignettes, and interfering in the main event. For Hogan it could mean any number of things. I suspect we’ll get some backstage stuff from him as well, and hopefully he’ll be out there to introduce the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal. But personally, I’m hoping we see Hogan come face-to-face with a man who was just announced for the show a few days ago: Stone Cold Steve Austin. We never did get to see Hogan vs. Austin at a Wrestlemania, but hopefully we’ll get a nice little moment between the two of them.
Hopefully we’ll get a lot of nice moments this year.
PRE-SHOW MATCH FOR WWE TAG TEAM TITLES:
The Usos (c) vs. The Real Americans vs. Ryback & Curtis Axel vs. Los Matadores
Swagger and Ryback took a pretty rough tumble down the card this year, didn’t they? Yes, it’s a title match. But it’s a pre-show match, which happens as fans are filing in, and Wrestlemania really isn’t in full swing yet. Cesaro especially deserves better than this, given the great year he’s had. Not much to say about this one. With the New Age Outlaws out of the title picture, this is basically just a throw-together match. I don’t see any reason why The Usos wouldn’t retain here, as they just got the belts, and have made themselves into a fairly hot tag team. Given the tension we’ve seen between Swagger and Cesaro, I can only assume the finish will involve them in some way. Swagger costs Cesaro the fall, or something of that nature. This would likely lead to them finally splitting up the next night on Raw. Either way, The Usos take it home.
Rob’s Prediction: The Usos
VICKIE GUERRERO INVITATIONAL FOR WWE DIVAS TITLE:
AJ Lee (c) and pretty much everybody else.
So…how is this going to work exactly? It’s one fall to a finish, right? So are we going to have two girls in the ring while everybody else is on the apron, and different girls just tag in and out? Either way, I expect this match to come off somewhat messily. I’ll shakily predict AJ comes out on top, perhaps with a quick roll-up on Tamina, resulting in a feud between the two of them.
Rob’s Prediction: AJ Lee
The Shield vs. Kane & The New Age Outlaws
For my money Wrestlemania XXX will mark the end of The Shield. Ambrose and Rollins will either blatantly cost Roman Reigns the fall, or they’ll simply leave him on his own against Kane and the Outlaws. The latter could potentially provide a compelling underdog scenario for Reigns, allowing the fans to cheer him on in a three-on-one situation. But ultimately, Reigns would go down, and Rollins and Ambrose would wind up taking the Outlaws’ place as Kane’s resident enforcers. Hell, put ‘em in some suits to change their look, and they’d fit in nicely. I imagine their first assignment from Kane will to take care of Reigns in a two-on-one handicap match at Extreme Rules.
Rob’s Prediction: Kane & The New Age Outlaws
Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal
There isn’t necessarily an obvious winner here, which is a good thing. Those three open spots are pretty conspicuous, and I’d be fairly surprised if one of them didn’t go to Rob Van Dam. He’s been rumored to come back the following night on Raw. But c’mon, it’s Wrestlemania XXX. Put him on the card. As for the others, your guess is as good as mine. But at the end of the day, this feels like a Big Show victory to me. Show has often been looked at as Andre’s successor. And while I don’t feel that’s the case, this would definitely be a nice medal for the big man. Would a victory be better suited for an up and comer, like say, Big E? Possibly. But a feel-good win for The Big Show would be cool. He’s certainly earned a Wrestlemania moment of this caliber.
Rob’s Prediction: The Big Show
John Cena vs. Bray Wyatt
Mick Foley once called Bray Wyatt a “modern day master of the mic.” As a long time fan, I don’t necessarily agree with that. However Bray is definitely a compelling talker, and he’s stepped up his game immensely since he started this program with John Cena. They obviously have a great traditional good guy/bad guy chemistry. Bray’s promos, along with the stuff we’ve seen with the mask these past few weeks, have made for a really compelling build. In terms of predicting a winner, this is certainly the toughest one-on-one match of the entire night. But a victory for Bray would likely catapult him into the WWE Title picture in the next few months. And if there’s one thing that goes with a red hot babyface champion, it’s a red hot heel challenger. And if we’ve learned anything about John Cena, it’s that he can sustain a major loss and still be okay. So I say give the win to Bray.
Rob’s Prediction: Bray Wyatt
The Undertaker vs. Brock Lesnar
Ah, The Undertaker. Wrestlemania‘s version of Old Faithful. We can definitely count on the Dead Man pulling out another win here. But I’m more interested in the kind of match these two are going to put together. Lesnar’s such a brute and a powerhouse, I’m wondering how the 49-year-old Undertaker is going to hang in there with him, and convincingly pull out a win. I’m curious to see if ‘Taker pulls the Hell’s Gate submission hold out of his repertoire against the former UFC Champion, and how Brock reacts if such a thing happens. Given the classics ‘Taker has helped steal the show at the past five Wrestlemanias. Here’s hoping he can make it six.
Rob’s Prediction: The Undertaker
STIPULATION MATCH:
Triple H vs. Daniel Bryan
Winner gets inserted into WWE Heavyweight Title Match.
I love this match. Who would’ve thought that Bryan Danielson would be wrestling Triple H at Wrestlemania friggin’ XXX, and going over, no less. And indeed, he will be going over, because that’s where the drama in the main event is going to come from. Can our hero, Daniel Bryan, somehow defeat Randy Orton and Batista after going through a hellacious match with Triple H? If Brock and The Undertaker don’t steal the show, then I imagine this match will. The crowd alone could make it the highlight of the night. It’s the wrestling world’s favorite indy darling against the man who married Vince McMahon’s daughter, with the main event of Wrestlemania hanging in the balance. Hot damn, what a match.
Rob’s Prediction: Daniel Bryan
TRIPLE THREAT MATCH FOR WWE WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE:
Randy Orton (c) vs. Batista vs. Daniel Bryan/Triple H
Considering how everything turned out, it’s amazing they ever considered Randy Orton and Batista going it alone at Wrestlemania XXX. Thankfully, the Royal Rumble is just a painful memory at this point. This scenario is 10 times more compelling. Orton has mostly been booked as a paper champion. Batista, on the other hand, looks like a sleazy douchebag, but one who’s more than capable of winning the Heavyweight Title on any given night. This, of course, leaves Daniel Bryan, WWE’s new ultimate underdog hero. There’s still a chance that WWE could swerve us and put the title on Batista, which I assume was their original plan. But if they want to give us the kind of magical moment that’s synonymous with Wrestlemania, they’ll give it to Bryan. And for the incredible journey he’s had this year, he deserves it.
YES! YES! YES!
Rob’s Prediction: Daniel Bryan
Front page image from postandcourier.com.
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