Road to Wrestlemania XXVII, Part One

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This begins the X-Blog’s Road to Wrestlemania series, where each week following the Royal Rumble, 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.

Divas Match: This is the match I care about the least. And based on the past two years, it should be. The 10-Diva Tag Match and the horrible ‘Queen of Wrestlemania’ battle royal has soured me on this facet of Wrestlemania. But you know WWE won’t pass up the chance to whore their divas off on a big stage, so there will be a divas match rather it’s any good or not. I can’t exactly determine what that match will be with any confidence because there are too many factors to be assessed. First, the Divas Championship is defended on both shows now. Second, the Champion, Eve Torres, most likely won’t be champion by the time Wrestlemania rolls around. And third, you have a huge X-Factor in Awesome Kong waiting on the sidelines. So, here goes my best guess: Due to the number of talented divas and no-so-talented-but-crazy-hot divas, I suspect there will be another multi-diva contest. I’m thinking a Six-Pack Challenge between Natalya, Beth Phoenix, Kelly Kelly, Eve Torres, Michelle McCool and Awesome Kong.

Money In The Bank: I’m not certain there will be a Money In The Bank match this year at Wrestlemania. In fact, I hope there isn’t. Because if there is no MITB match, WWE will be forced to develop rivalries for their Intercontinental and United States Champions going into Wrestlemania instead of just wasting them in this match. So for now, until I hear proof otherwise, I won’t predict there will be a Money In The Bank Ladder match.

United States Championship: WWE would be doing their fans and Wrestlemania itself a disservice if they don’t allow Daniel Bryan to defend the United States Championship at Wrestlemania. This match, regardless of who his opponent is, would make for an excellent opening contest and set the stage for a competitive Wrestlemania. Speaking of opponents, I have some ideas on who that should be. The forerunner in my mind is Tyson Kidd. Daniel Bryan and Tyson Kidd are cut from the same mold. They’re both young, athletic superstars with wrestling ability leaking out of their pores. They’d have a show-stealing contest without a doubt. But the opponent I think WWE would and probably should run with is William Regal. Regal helped train Daniel Bryan, and WWE hasn’t been shy about letting this information be known. I don’t think they’d do this if they weren’t planning something for the two of them. Plus, William Regal was a slave to the Guest Hosts much like the Bella Twins were, so if they were to get anyone to face Bryan for revenge, it’s be him. I don’t care how the match has to matriculate, as long as it happens.

Intercontinental Championship: Both Kofi Kingston, the current Intercontinental Championship, and Jack Swagger, the most recent contender for the title, lost in their respective matches to enter the Smackdown Elimination Chamber this past Friday on Smackdown. This frees them up to have an Intercontinental Championship match at the Elimination Chamber PPV, where I hope Jack Swagger will win the title. Then Kingston and Swagger can have a rematch at Wrestlemania, where I don’t care who wins, as long as it’s a decent contest.

The Undertaker vs ???: This match is going to happen. It’s inevitable. Rather the ‘2-21-11′ superstar is Undertaker or not, we all know Taker will be back by Wrestlemania. Right now, I think the frontrunner to face Taker at Wrestlemania is Kane. I’m split on rather I want to see this match for the third time at Wrestlemania or not. Taker and Kane have a very lengthy history and a lot of chemistry, so they’ll undoubtedly be able to tell a story in this match as well as create an excellent build-up for it. But, like I said, this would be their third Wrestlemania match. It’s not exactly groundbreaking. I’d rather have Undertaker face Wade Barrett at Wrestlemania. Truth be told, no matter who Taker faces, it won’t hold a candle toward his past two matches against HBK. But I think Wade Barrett is young enough and a decent enough competitor to pull a Wrestlemania-worthy match out of the aging deadman. Plus, he’d have the Corre to back him up.

Big Show vs ???: Smart money has him facing Ezekiel Jackson at Wrestlemania in a match that will surely make Vince McMahon pitch a tent. But I’m not so sold. Show and Jackson could settle their differences at Elimination Chamber, leaving Show wide open to face someone else… like Kevin Nash, maybe? I don’t know what shape Nash is in, but I would think he could pull off one more match. I know the longtime fans, like myself, would love to see this match and Vince would still get his rocks off by having these two bigs face off. Another possibility would be Show & Nash vs Barrett & Jackson, but this can only happen if Undertaker faces someone else other than Barrett.

Triple H vs Sheamus: I think the biggest surprise of the Royal Rumble wasn’t Booker T or Kevin Nash’s return, nor was it that Alberto Del Rio won the whole thing, but that Triple H didn’t return. Everyone had him returning at the Rumble. I’m pretty sure even Triple H had himself returning at the Rumble. But WWE pulled a bait and switch, and there was no Game. This doesn’t mean Triple H won’t be returning at Wrestlemania, though. For all we know, the ‘2-21-11′ superstar could be Triple H. The whole boots and coat, and creepy eerie aura thing might be another bait and switch on WWE’s part. But if I know WWE, and I do, they wouldn’t release a superstar’s movie without the superstar receiving some type of push, no matter how horrible the movie looks. So, I know Triple H will be back by Wrestlemania and his eyes will be sorely set on Sheamus.

Tag Team Championships: I hope with highest of hopes that Santino Marella and Vladimir Kozlov are not the Tag Team Champions come Wrestlemania. Their defeat at the hands of Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater this Friday on Smackdown was a shining beacon of hope. It’s my hope that Slater & Gabriel defeats Santino & Kozlov at Elimination Chamber or sometime before Wrestlemania. And it’s my hope that Gabriel & Slater will then defend them against Nexus’ Harris & McGillicutty at Wrestlemania in a Nexus vs Corre match.

World Heavyweight Championship: Edge vs Alberto Del Rio. This match seems set in stone, but knowing WWE, it’s liable to change somehow or develop some unknown and unnecessary gimmick stipulation. I hope it doesn’t, because I think Edge and Del Rio will have a very good technical match at Wrestlemania and that match does not need to be tampered with.

WWE Championship: I have to figure that Miz will still be champion heading into Wrestlemania. Or at least I think that. I thought last year that Sheamus would be WWE Champion going into Wrestlemania, but they shifted the WWE Championship to the Cena/Batista rivalry for no good reason. Since Cena is Miz’s main competition, I think the title will safely stay within that rivalry. Although, I think that rivalry won’t stay only between the two of them. I think the WWE Championship match at Wrestlemania will be a Fatal 4-Way between The Miz, John Cena, CM Punk and Randy Orton. These rivalries can interlink because Miz and Orton aren’t too far removed from their rivalry and Punk and Cena still have differences to be settled. Not to mention that CM Punk is the best heel in pro-wrestling and deserves an opportunity to wrestle for the WWE Championship at the biggest PPV of the year. Besides, I doubt WWE will pass on the chance to have both of their SUPERFACES in a title match at Wrestlemania.