Wrestlemania 29 Prediction: The Undertaker vs. CM Punk

The Undertaker vs. C.M. Punk (Undertaker’s Undefeated Streak at Wrestlemania on the Line)

                I’d like to say that this will be one of the most interesting matches on the card, but it will not.   Will it be one of the most entertaining?  Will it steal the show?  Oh, without a doubt.   But there should never be any doubt in anyone’s mind that anyone other than The Undertaker is going to win this one.

                In the early beginnings of this feud, CM Punk openly mocked the death of Paul Bearer to help further this angle.   Was I the only one who thought “Undertaker will dedicate this match to Bearer, so there’s no way he’s losing now”?    That and the fact that CM Punk can afford to lose and still look good for it.   I just do not see The Undertaker’s Streak being broken by anyone… ever.

                Oh sure, if someone was going to break The Streak it’d have to be CM Punk.   The idea of breaking The Streak is good for some young up and comer, yes, but CM Punk has also paid his dues while still not being seen by some as a fully fledged superstar.   Would it have benefited someone in their later days of their career to defeat The Undertaker, such as Shawn Michaels or HHH?    Definitely not.   Could it benefit someone who has quite possibly some of his best matches ahead of him still, such as CM Punk?  Absolutely.

                This is going to all play out quite simply, especially because of the Paul Bearer involvement.   CM Punk is going to carry The Undertaker’s old body to a near five star match that will be the highlight of the night (Though I expect The Rock vs. Cena to close out the show, but who knows) and then speculation about who could end The Streak next year will begin.

                It’s actually become quite fun wondering who The Undertaker will come out of hiding to face once a year.  He needs someone who can carry him to a great match and, yes, he has had prior ‘Mania matches with A-Train and Nathan Jones, but don’t expect Sweet T to break The Streak.  

                Would it be too soon to start speculating as to who could go after The Undertaker next year?   I’ll throw Dolph Ziggler’s name out there first.   We can discuss it more after this match happens and CM Punk gets his comeuppance. 

My Winner: The Undertaker, for obvious reasons

Wrestlemania 29 Prediction: Alberto Del Rio vs. Jack Swagger

Alberto Del Rio <World Heavyweight Champion> (w/ Ricardo Rodriguez) vs. Jack Swagger (w/ Zeb Coulter) (World Heavyweight Championship Match)

                Raise your hand right now if you think Zeb Coulter is going to be ejected from ringside during this match.    On one hand, he has been a nice mouthpiece for Jack Swagger, but to make things seem “fair”, I’m going to guess he’s going to the back pretty quickly.  

                Hopefully this will come down to a pure athletic match with a lot of physicality and intensity that it seems like both of these men are capable of but we haven’t seen in WWE for quite some time.   On one hand, Alberto Del Rio isn’t translating that well as a babyface, while Jack Swagger is coming back as seemingly the same old character as before only now he hates Mexicans.    A great match between these two men could really silence a lot of critics and this would be the time to deliver it.

                There are two implications in this match, based on this poorly made feud, which are neither really win-win for WWE going forward.   Jack Swagger hates ADR because he is not part of white America.   ADR is standing up for la raza.   So one of two things will happen, which is generally the outcome of a wrestling match.   Either Swagger wins and proves that white is truly the superior race (Which doesn’t really seem like a good option) or Swagger loses and ADR has an early Cinco de Mayo.

                The only thing that really bothers me about the outcome of this match is that Jack Swagger was recently arrested, and thus violated the WWE Wellness Policy, yet seemed to receive no punishment by WWE for his actions.   If it was going to be a simple matter of Swagger being fed to Del Rio and losing, then why couldn’t they quickly position another heel into that spot instead and suspend Swagger?   This fuels the speculation that Swagger must be in line to win the World Heavyweight Championship.  

                On the other side of the coin, you have to ask yourself how much of this even matters.   Dolph Ziggler could cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase and whoever comes out as champion could be nullified.  

                While I realize that Jack Swagger and Dolph Ziggler have been aligned before, do you think they are still working together somehow?   I doubt it since Dolph is hanging with someone who isn’t white, but it’d be an interesting coupe.     I’ll just lean more toward the typical heels gang up on a face idea instead.

                After a hard fought match won by Alberto Del Rio somehow, Jack Swagger says ADR is the better man and goes to shake his hand.   A reluctant ADR shakes his hand only to eat an Olympic Slam (whatever his version of it is called, I forget) and get beat down mercilessly before Dolph Ziggler comes out to cash in.   Wham-bam-thank-you-m’am.     Dolph Ziggler is your new World Heavyweight Champion.   Or Jack Swagger is simply beaten in less than 18 seconds to make a point.

My Winner: Alberto Del Rio, only to have Dolph Ziggler cash in on him

Wrestlemania 29 Prediction: The Rock vs. John Cena Pt. 2

The Rock (WWE Champion) vs. John Cena Part 2 (WWE Championship Match)

                As we build up to Wrestlemania 29, I will be doing some predictions for the various matches.   This match- being a rematch from last year’s “It only happens once in a lifetime” Wrestlemania- will get its own prediction spot just because it’s that big of a match.

                For the record, we need to start by simply stating that last year The Rock won.   Should John Cena lose again, one would assume that this feud is over.   For The Rock to lose, however, would result in the rubber match, which would basically be the best option for WWE at this point in time.   Even though they billed the first match as “once in a lifetime”, to do a series of three might be their best bet since they’ve come this far already with the second match.

                In the event that John Cena does win, The Rock would probably want a rematch sooner than not since it’s for the WWE Championship.   I doubt that we’re going to see The Rock really go away after Wrestlemania 29, but who knows.   Right now, rumors are running rampant that WWE wants to book The Rock vs. Brock Lesnar soon and for that to happen The Rock has to stick around.   Though, in that scenario, the Rock-Cena 3 doesn’t really fit in very well (Unless Brock Lesnar comes out and destroys The Rock for some reason and costs him the title, but please let’s not have a cheap finish at Wrestlemania)

                The best reason for John Cena to win this match- aside from the obviously predictability of it all- would be for it to set up a heel turn for The Rock, should he not return to Hollywood right away.    One of my biggest problems with Wrestlemania 29 is that you don’t get to see the babyface on the chase for the title and then get to win it for that feel good moment.    John Cena is a face, sure, but so is The Rock for the most part.  

                When The Rock first found popularity in WWE it was because he turned heel.   I’d love to see The Rock turn his back on the fans, tell him he wants to leave them for Hollywood and just do something other than the tired routine he’s done since returning (It’s not 2001 anymore, Dwayne)   How would this effect the cross promotion with his movies and everything?  Well, Wade Barrett and David Otunga don’t seem to be suffering by portraying heel characters.  

                So, as often seems to be the case, it is not a question of what will happen on this one particular night, but more of what the long term planning is (And by “long term” in the case of WWE, I mean within the following months or possibly weeks) John Cena should win this match and the WWE Title for an eventual rubber match.   It’s just a question of how long they can wait to do that third (and presumably final) match.   Can they hold it off until Wrestlemania 30?  Will The Rock still be around then or will his movie career interfere?  

                I also will not get into the logic behind the match of The Rock vs. Brock Lesnar because, I mean, really, for two part timers, who really cares who wins or loses, right?  Right?

Winner: John Cena and the world goes on the same.