Road To Wrestlemania XXVII, Part Four

(Watch Wrestlemania 27 for free)

This is part four of the X-Blog’s Road to Wrestlemania series, where each week I will do my best to prognosticate what the card of Wrestlemania XXVII will look like based solely on the events of the past week in WWE. So, be warned, because this might contain spoilers.

As the weeks progress further towards the PPV, some of the matches are already being confirmed. The other matches are rumored, teased or pure conjecture from my own mind.

SPECULATED MATCHES

United States & Intercontinental Championships: Daniel Bryan went from having a show-stopping match last week on RAW to being nothing more than a stand-in this past week. WWE is so inconsistent with Daniel Bryan. They either want to show off his amazing in-ring abilities or they try their best to bury him. It’s like they flip a coin every week. If they were smart, they’d use him ’til he passed out from exhaustion because in the world of professional wrestling, he’s the best wrestler on their roster. A match for the United States Championship at Wrestlemania is just as much of an unknown variable as Daniel Bryan’s inclusion on RAW. On Smackdown, Kofi Kingston is suffering the severe drop of having lost an un-winnable rivalry with Alberto Del Rio. He needs to be pushed back up hard and fast. If it were up to me, I would solve two problems with one equation: Champion vs Champion. It doesn’t have to be a match that would integrate the two titles, but I would have one of these guys win both titles and be able to perform on both shows following that match. I revert back the the “use him ’til he passes out” scenario I mentioned above.

Money In The Bank: For the first time in this Road to Wrestlemania series, I’m putting forth the idea of a Money in the Bank match. This is only being done after looking over the roster and seeing just how many decent competitors are being left off the card. John Morrison, Sheamus, Mark Henry, R-Truth & Ted DiBiase from RAW and Christian, Drew McIntyre, Jack Swagger, Kane & Wade Barrett from Smackdown all need something to do come Wrestlemania. And since a good handful of those guys are former Champions, it wouldn’t be too horrible if one of them won the MITB contract at Wrestlemania. WWE wouldn’t be going on a limb like they did with Swagger (failure) and The Miz (success!).

Divas Match: This match isn’t rumored or teased or expected or even wanted, but you know it’s gonna happen. WWE has to have a Divas match at Wrestlemania, regardless of how horrible it is. I could hope for another Mickie vs Trish match, but odds are we get another battle royal.

RUMORED/EXPECTED MATCHES

Rey Mysterio vs Cody Rhodes: This is the one match that has been rumored for over a month, given Rey was allowed to handpick his Wrestlemania opponent. He couldn’t have picked a better one than Cody Rhodes. After this past Friday, this match has surpassed ‘rumored’ to ‘all-but-confirmed’. Cody Rhodes struck the first blow by baiting Mysterio in using his father, Dusty Rhodes, of all people. I like that WWE re-used the “there’s nothing a father wouldn’t do for his son” routine that the Rhodes clan used initially when Cody was in Legacy. That’s what you call consistency. I don’t really want this to become a family affair, but I wouldn’t be opposed to a cameo from Goldust. I figure in the end this is gonna be a Mask vs Mask match, which isn’t ideal, but it’s enough to really sell this match to the fans.

Tag Team Championships: After nearly giving me both a heart-attack and ulcer this past Monday on RAW, Heath Slater and Justin Gabriel escaped the cliche’ of having the Champion/Challenger reign as Tag Team Champs with their titles intact. Of course that whole scenario did nothing to help them look like legitimate champions or make the Tag Titles themselves an attainable goal, but at least it boosted Cena’s resume and helped push the WWE Championship story… I wish WWE would put half the energy they expend trying to make the main-eventers look good into making the mid-card viable. They missed an excellent opportunity to continue the Corre/Nexus rivalry by not having Nexus attack The Corre while they were on RAW at ringside during this match.

Jerry Lawler vs Micheal Cole: I’ll admit that while I’m not the biggest fan of this proposed match, I did like the segment between Cole and King that set this up. That being admitted… I DO NOT WANT TO SEE THIS MATCH. And if you think you do, you’ve been bamboozled by the WWE machine. There’s no way in hell this is gonna be any good.

Big Show vs Ezekiel Jackson: Long gone are the rumors of Diesel assisting Big Show in this match. He’s nowhere to be found. But this BIG vs BIG match is still pretty exciting. It’s not going to a MOTY candidate nor will it even be one of the best matches on the card, but it will be interesting. In any account, it won’t be the worst match on the card (see above).

Randy Orton vs CM Punk: This might be the match I’m looking forward to the most. I wanted the two of them to be in the match along with Cena and The Miz for the WWE Championship, but that’s looking less and less likely. Mostly I wanted them in this match so that CM Punk could have even the slightest bit of a chance to leave Wrestlemania as WWE Champion. No one deserves that honor more than him. But I know this match is going to outshine Cena vs The Miz, just because Punk is involved. Orton’s no slouch either, but Punk will make this match. Punk + Wrestlemania = Greatness!!!

CONFIRMED MATCHES

Undertaker vs Triple H: It’s not that I don’t want to see this match, I just don’t think it holds any value. I’m sure over the next five weeks WWE will create some petty rivalry between these two superstars – probably having to do with Taker retiring HBK last year – making this match seem viable, but I still won’t buy it. Just like I don’t buy how Sheamus comes out right after Triple H returns and he isn’t even a little bit worried. Or how Kane faces Mysterio on Smackdown (losing cleanly, mind you) and he’s not looking over his shoulder for Undertaker, whom he buried alive. The same goes for Wade Barrett and his Nexus cronies. Sure, this match is a big one, and it’ll look nice on the marquee, but abandoning storylines for no apparent reason is just confusing.

World Heavyweight Championship: Lost in the shuffle of yet another diva-involved main event on Smackdown and Vickie’s firing is that the baton has finally been passed. Vickie Guerrero had to be fired in order to finally end this Dolph/Edge rivalry and make way for Edge/Del Rio. I wasn’t exactly happy that it meant Del Rio got only 2 minutes of face time on Smackdown, but it was a much needed development. I look forward to the build-up between these two superstars over the next month and their match at Wrestlemania XXVII.

WWE Championship: I think the worst possible act that occurred on RAW this past Monday wasn’t that Cena won the Tag Team Championships for the fourth time in a completely cliched form, but that The Miz struck the first blow between them on their Road to Wrestlemania. Everyone knows that Cena works best when he coming from the rear (HA!), but I’m being serious. WWE makes Cena look like he’s the underdog all the time, when he never really is. I have absolutely no doubt in my mind whatsoever that Cena will win the WWE Championship at Wrestlemania. It’s pretty much a forgone conclusion. I think everyone else feels the same way. So, WWE needs to use this next month building The Miz up to look like he’s capable of beating John Cena one-on-one. But, of course, that’s WWE’s weak spot – making anyone look good at Cena behest. But if they want their WWE Championship match to be feasible, they have to do it.