I am totally bummed that WrestleMania 26 will be the first one I’ve missed in eight years. My streak is over, but hopefully so is The Undertaker’s. Before I get ahead of myself, I wanted to give you my WM26 predictions and I’d like you to post yours in the comments section. Let’s go down the card!
Rey Mysterio vs. CM Punk — CM Punk has been awesome as the leader of The Straight-Edge Society. Rey Rey has been…where the hell has he been? The stipulation in this match is that Rey has to join the Society if he loses. That would be awesome! Rey loses this match, Punk tortures him for a few months, and it all leads to a hair vs. mask match in the future. Although Punk is getting some excellent heat, a victory over Rey Rey would make the Society even hotter.
WWE Unified Tag-Team Championship: The Big Show and The Miz vs. John Morrison and R-Truth — While not as entertaining in the ring or on the mic as JeriShow, Show Miz is a fun tag team. They’re certainly way more entertaining than Morrison and R-Truth. Morrison is brilliant in the ring, but his mic skills haven’t developed to a level that matches his in-ring ability. R-Truth is over with live audiences…and I still don’t know why. His ring work is sloppy and his entrance song/rapping sucks. “What’s up?!?” I’m going with Show Miz here. That’s what’s up.
Randy Orton vs. Ted DiBiase vs. Cody Rhodes — I’m really not sure how this match ends. All I know is that Cody Rhodes has become an afterthought. Orton has been teased as a face and the crowd is responding to him in that role, but he’s such a dick that it seems like a waste not to keep him heel. Some people are thinking that Rhodes will side with Orton so that Randy beats DiBiase. That goes against the face heat Orton has been getting. Besides, Orton doesn’t need the rub from ‘Mania; it would be far more useful to give it to one of the kids. Maybe it’s a stretch, but I’m going to do with DiBiase getting the win here. Besides, his dad is getting inducted to the WWE Hall of Fame so it would be a nice weekend for the DiBiase family.
Money in the Bank Ladder Match — I’m positive that Kane isn’t going to win this match. I’m fairly certain that Shelton Benjamin, Evan Bourne, Matt Hardy, and Jack Swagger aren’t going to win it either. That leaves Christian, Kofi Kingston, Drew McIntyre, MVP, and Dolph Ziggler. Vince loves McIntyre, but I don’t see a relative newcomer getting a serious title shot since Sheamus already covered that with the WWE Championship. MVP and Ziggler…their chances get lower the more I think about it. Kofi had a nice push going, but I think that ship has sailed. I’m going to go with Christian winning this match and challenging Edge for the World Heavyweight Championship.
Triple H vs. Sheamus — Here’s another one I’m not really sure about. Triple H has become more of a company guy since becoming a father. He’s been much better at putting people over and sharing the spotlight. He’s also friends with Sheamus and I could see him wanting to put his buddy over. Then again, it has been a long time since Hunter has been in the…uh…hunt for championship gold. Then again (second time, I know), beating Sheamus doesn’t really do anything for him. Sheamus needs to win and look good doing it or he’s going to be a mid-carder for years. I’ll go with Sheamus winning due to Hunter’s fatherhood induced altruism kick.
Bret “The Hitman” Hart vs. Vince McMahon — I believe Bret’s WWE deal expires the week after WrestleMania. Unless Vince wants to “screw” him one more time, I don’t see him losing. Besides, his dad is being posthumously inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. Honoring the legendary Stu Hart and having Bret beat the crap out of Vince would make for a feel-good weekend for the dysfunctional Hart family. I don’t see how Bret can lose here, but I hope that he does. My friend Joey is a huge mark for Bret and I’d get a year’s worth of jokes out of Bret losing at ‘Mania.
The Streak vs. Career: The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels — Some people are saying that Shawn is really going to retire and this is how he wants to go out. That would be a very HBK thing to do. He’s definitely Mr. WrestleMania…except when it comes to wins and losses. Michaels has been very good about putting his opponents over at WrestleMania while still stealing the show. Then again, The Undertaker has trouble walking around these days. The man has all kinds of injuries and he doesn’t have as many years left as HBK. While it would be nice if he used “the streak” to put over a younger wrestler, I could see how he’d want it ended by a respected veteran like HBK. Or perhaps he wants to retire with a perfect WretleMania record…. Ah screw it. I’m just going to be a fan and say that HBK ends The Undertaker’s streak. I’m too much of an HBK mark to say otherwise.
World Heavyweight Championship: Chris Jericho vs. Edge — For the last few years, nobody has been better in the WWE than Jericho. He truly is “the best there is at what he does”. More importantly, he doesn’t need the belt or the WrestleMania rub. He’ll be over no matter what. Edge definitely needs help. His comeback started out hot, but totally fizzled. Winning the World Heavyweight Championship and starting a feud with Christian would be big — maybe not WrestleMania big, but Christian vs. Edge sounds like a great Summer Slam main event. I’m not sure if this will be the last match or not, but either way I think Edge gets the nod.
WWE Championship: Batista vs. John Cena — Ah, two of my least favorite wrestlers in the WWE. I really don’t care who wins this one. No matter the outcome, I’ll be happier when the winner loses the belt to someone that’s actually good in the ring (to be fair, Cena has improved…but he’s still average). I’m going to go ahead and assume that this match will close out the show. You have to send the crowd home happy and as Batista has stated in his recent (and shockingly good) promos, the kids and fat chicks love Cena. If this match is last, Cena wins. If not, Batista wins and the feud drags out for a few more months. Either way, I really don’t care for either of these guys.
