WWE Wrestlemania XXV (2009) - Preview & Predictions

This is the biggest show on the WWE's calendar, so big that it gets a whole extra hour to play about with, making it a 4-hour show. This is the event that the company has been building towards since the Royal Rumble back in January. It should also be noted that they are doing their annual brand draft just one week after 'Mania so there is a good chance many of these feuds will continue, but we'll get to that later.

They have been billing this as the "25th Anniversary of Wrestlemania", which is obviously wrong. Yet no-one seems to have copped on or they have been saying it way too much that they can't be bothered fixing it. It's even on the official poster for crying out loud. Anyway, let's see what is in store this year.

The Card

WWE Championship
Triple H (c) vs. Randy Orton
(Additional Rules: If Triple H gets intentionally disqualified or counted-out he loses the title; If Triple H shows up with a sledgehammer he automatically loses the match and the title)
Triple H won the title at the last PPV and this is Orton's title shot for winning the Royal Rumble. The build to this match has been excellent and really personal. Orton systematically went beating through the McMahon family (owner Vince and his children Shane & Stephanie). Triple H then revealed the worst kept secret in wrestling in that he is married to Stephanie. Publicly acknowledging the marriage was an interesting move but it made sense given the set-up to this contest. Plus some of the events preceding this match (home invasions with a sledgehammer and man-on-woman violence with Orton beating up Stephanie) also pushed the boundaries of WWE's new PG rating. It was really rather funny that WWE are trying hard to promote their show as family friendly, yet they do stuff like that.

Realistically Orton should be winning this as he has had so much momentum and heat these past few months. But Triple H needs his day in the sun on possibly their biggest PPV ever, so he will be retaining and they will need something to make the majority of the fans 'happy'. And they can't really have this belt change hands for the 5th PPV running. It should be a fine match with most likely some interference from Orton's Legacy. But the problem is that overall it isn't terribly exciting as they have done this feud so many times before so it isn't exactly new.

Interestingly this is actually the Smackdown title, but Orton is on Raw and that is where most of the build-up has been happening. But the upcoming draft should change all this. So I reckon, Triple H retains, gets drafted to Raw which allows this feud to continue and Orton gets the title in the next contest.
Prediction: Triple H to retain

World Heavyweight Championship match
Edge (c) vs. The Big Show vs. John Cena
Conversely, this is technically the Raw title, yet Edge took it over to Smackdown when he sneaked a win last show out under bizarre circumstances. The build to this match has been embarrassingly bad, so the less said about it the better, but it was originally meant to be an Edge/Show match which would have been great as there was plenty of background to it and also it would have been something fresh. But Cena, who is meant to be a good guy, weaselled his way into this contest by blackmailing the GM and Edge's on-screen 'wife' Vickie Guerrero with perverted, voyeuristic material, and then proceeded to show it to everyone. It was simply awful. The addition of Cena has single-handedly ruined a perfectly good feud.

That said he looks a near certainly to win. Much like in the other match, it would give the fans a happy moment, plus he got a big loss and beatdown this past week on TV. Using the logic of 'reverse booking' whereby whoever looks weak going into a PPV usually picks up the win, it means there will probably be a new champion. However, again like before, I can see Cena getting drafted over with the title therefore leaving each of the main shows with a big title and also allowing this feud to continue.
Prediction: John Cena to win the title

The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels
This one falls into the category of 'dream match' and should be a great contest which in all honesty should be the main event. But I fear it may get buried down somewhere near the middle of the card so the crowd aren't burnt out when the two title matches come around. Anyway this one has developed nicely with both guys trying to get inside the other's head. Plus these two have rarely met in recent time so it is fresh and exciting.

The outcome is pretty predictable as The Undertaker has a win/loss record of 16-0 at Wrestlemania, but that does not really matter. It should be a thrilling bout and should well be match of the night.
Prediction: The Undertaker

Extreme Rules
Matt Hardy vs. Jeff Hardy
The two brothers clash in singles competition for only the second time and it is hard to know what to expect from this one, but it should be a very good match. The hardcore rules can only play to their advantage and I'd guess that ladders will come out and join the party. To his credit, Matt Hardy has done a pretty good job at getting himself over as a heel and his promos have been the strongest in a long time, perhaps ever. Jeff has been playing the sympathetic character as usual and it has all come together very nicely.

Except it should be far more intriguing than it has been. Something just isn't clicking here but I can't put my finger on it. Maybe it's because everyone assumes Matt will be back as a babyface in a while, probably by the end of the year. It is unclear how long this feud will be drawn out too, you could get away with taking it through to the middle of the summer I think. Anyway I think Jeff will probably win to continue the theme of 'happy' victories.
Prediction: Jeff Hardy to win

Money In The Bank Ladder Match Christian vs. MVP vs. Fit Finlay vs. C.M. Punk vs. Kofi Kingston vs. Shelton Benjamin vs. Kane vs. Mark Henry
(Winner receives a main title shot they can use anytime they want over the next 12 months)
This is the annual spotfest which is usually just a good excuse for carnage to occur. But this is the 5th year they have done this, and the shine is starting to wear off. The anticipation is not as great as it should be especially given the luxurious prize that the winner receives. It has not been helped this year by some bizarre selections to be in this match such as Mark Henry, who weighs near 400 pounds. Although the image of him climbing a ladder is pretty amusing.

As for winners, well the two obvious candidates are Christian and MVP. Christian will most likely be getting drafted off ECW, the C-show, and him winning the briefcase will offer plenty of storylines. But I think it might be a bit too early for him yet as he has only just returned to the company. So I'll go with MVP; a solid mid-card guy, been around for a few years, good on the mike/promos, and he currently has the US title which should help him to be built strong as a main eventer.
Prediction: MVP to win

Tag Team Titles Unification Match contested under Lumberjack rules
(World Tag Team Champions) The Miz & John Morrison vs. (WWE Tag Team Champions) Carltio and Primo
So the powers that be have finally decided that having 2 separate sets of titles in unnecessary. Pity they are only about 3 or so years too late. But this move should be the start of creating a competitive tag team division, although that will take a fair bit of work yet as most of the teams are made out to be jokes at the minute. Plus I guess the champions will be free to float around any of the 3 shows so that kind of makes the ideas of separate brands (TV shows) surplus to requirements.

This feud has been excellent and it really showed what could have been done if creative had bothered to put a bit of effort into this area of the roster. Both teams have beaten each other a couple of times without one being able to gain the upper hand. Plus each team is now accompanied by one of the Bella twins (who fought and split), which has added an extra dimension to things. The TV matches have been very sound so hopefully they will take it up another notch here. The 'lumberjack' element is just that everyone who isn't on the card gets to go to ringside and potentially interfere. Unnecessary, yes, but it's a nice way to get the whole roster onto the show.

The Miz and in particular John Morrison seem set for big things and so they should be locks for this match. But I can see this feud continuing with Carlito & Primo eventually triumphing.
Prediction: The Miz & John Morrsion to win the Unified titles

Intercontinental Title
JBL (c) vs. Rey Mysterio
Bit of an odd match as both of these two guys have been on the fringes of the main event bracket for a while, yet they are fighting over the mid-card belt. JBL only won the title a few weeks back and there has been very little effort put into the set-up of this match. Unbelievably so, they actually gave it away on TV this past week with Mysterio winning in a non-title match. Which means that JBL will be retaining. A few years back this would have been an 'excellent' match but the best we can hope for is 'good'. Should be fine though.

What is possibly more important is that JBL has promised a "historic announcement". All sorts of rumours have been going around from him retiring as an undefeated champion to him buying the Money In The Bank briefcase off the winner and cashing it in later on that night. I'd go with the former as the most likely as he is apparently struggling with back problems.
Prediction: JBL to retain

Handicap Match
Chris Jericho vs. Ricky 'The Dragon' Steamboat, Jimmy 'Superfly' Snuka & 'Rowdy' Roddy Piper with 'The Nature Boy' Ric Flair and Mickey Rourke at ringside
(Additional Rules: The Legends only need to score 1 victory; Chris Jericho must defeat all 3 opponents)
This match is a complete waste of the excellent Chris Jericho and he has been on top form of TV, which unfortunately means he will have the indignity of losing to a bunch of pensioners. WWE like to have some kind of celebrity involved with Wrestlemania each year, which no doubt means that Rourke will get involved and punch Jericho, probably costing him the match.

WWE have a "Hall Of Fame" each year and this time around the incredibly awesome 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin is the main entrant but he has been conspicuously absent these past few weeks so I'd guess he would show up here (or at some stage) and raise hell, especially given that 'Mania is in his home state of Texas.
Prediction: Steamboat, Snuka & Piper to win

25 Diva Battle Royal
The winner gets crowned 'Miss Wrestlemania', but no-one really cares about that. Or this match, as the vast majority of the swimsuit models, erm, I mean 'wrestlers' are not talented enough to carry off a passable 2 minute match on their own. This is going to be a complete waste of time. Oh well, at least there is no Playboy bunny lingerie bra & panties pillow fight match this year.

They are using up all the women they have on the roster (18 or 19) and then filling the rest out with past workers. It's hard to call a winner, and they really should pick some current female to give them a meaningful push which could harbour future storylines, but I say it'll be between Trish Stratus (a joint record Women's title holder who will probably show up for a one-off appearance), Beth Phoenix (an excellent, dominant wrestler [one of the few talented workers they actually have]) or Michelle McCool (is banging The Undertaker and he has tons of backstage influence).
Prediction: Trish Stratus to win

Last Man Standing or Counted-Out?
Well it's really hard not to recommend Wrestlemania as a general rule, and it should be pretty good. The card is solid and you would like to think that all the wrestler would be bringing out their top-game given how big the occasion is. Hopefully WWE will hold-off on the swerves, the only ones that spring to mind are shock appearance from Batista or even 'Macho Man' Randy Savage. So yeah it'll most likely be okay. But it just doesn't feel like like the show has been built-up enough. The excitement levels should be going off the the charts, and yet, they aren't.