WWE Wrestlemania 23 Predictions
As first reported here on Wrestleblogger, Wrestlemania 23 is this weekend. And that can only mean one thing - predictions! As usual I am joined by Dave and as we typically do for major PPVs we are here on location at the site of the PPV. I thought that WM23 was going to be Detoit this year, but after looking around it seems like WM23 is instead being held in Beirut. Wait a minute - I'm being told that we really are in Detroit and it just looks like Beirut. I hope that this year's show measures up to last year's show. The Edge/Foley hardcore match and the HBK/McMahon match were awesome. They stole the show. This year's show stealer? It's not much of a surprise, but it's going to be the MITB match. Those matches are always great. There is very little chance that any of the 3 major matches on this year's card will be the best match of the night. The Cena/HBK match has an outside shot, but if it does most of the credit will go to Shawn. Enough with the small talk - Let's get to the picks! First though Dave would like to make some opening comments.
Dave Says: I'm putting my thinking cap on for this one. The mysterious 'J' has asked me for some real insight and when the mysterious one speaks it's in my best interest to listen. So here goes.
World Heavyweight Championship Match
Batista vs. Undertaker
I Say: I think the buildup for this match has been pretty good. At first I questioned having 2 faces in a WM main event, but Batista's pseudo-heel turn at the NWO PPV and the events of the last week I think that they are both assuming their roles quite well going into the match. I can't believe that I am saying this but I hope Undertaker wins and continues his streak. Believe me when I tell you that I am not a fan of the Undertaker. I really don't think Batista is the right person to end 'Taker's streak (assuming that anybody will ever end it). I've been reading for quite a while that Undertaker could soon be retiring and I think that it would be fitting for Undertaker to have one last World Title run before he retires. He deserves it. As much as I don't like him as much as I once did I do recognize that he is one of the top WWE guys of all time. I do see a realistic chance of Batista ending the streak and retaining his title though. I think that Undertaker will actually pick up the win although that means that he would have to be a constant presense on WWE TV - something that he hasn't been known for.
Dave Says: In this match we have the immovable object meeting the irresistable force. Batista and Undertaker? Nope. Undertakers unbeaten WrestleMania record versus the fact that Mark Calloway is old and wrestles a lighter schedule than one might expect of a heavyweight champ. Of course he could hold the belt for just a brief time. I don't see much to be gained by giving the belt to the Undertaker. I think the fans like Batista as champ but I just can't get the image out of my head of the Undertaker holding up the championship belt one more time. I'm going to have to go with the Undertaker with a victory and a short title run. This will probably be Vince's gift to the Undertaker for years of loyal service.
WWE Championship Match
John Cena vs. Shawn Michaels
I Say: First off, I can't believe that John Cena is taking on all of DX all by himslef. Seriously, the buildup for this feud has been great. Shawn wanting to get a match with Cena @ WM only to have to wait for Undertaker to decide which title he wants. Then forcing them to team together and making them tag champs. Add to that the teasing of a HBK heel turn and you have some great momentum going into the biggest show of the year. As for the actual match - The Shawn of recent years has been willing to put over other guys and has been a real team player so I would initially pick Cena to retain, but something is stopping me. First, a little background - the original scenario coming off of Royal Rumble was scheduled to be for HBK to get some well deserved time off to heal up and for Triple H to face Cena for the title. With Trips' injury Shawn Michaels was forced to put his vacation on hold and take Triple H's place against Cena. For everything that he has done in the past couple of years I think that this would be a great time to put the belt back on HBK for what will likely be the final time of his career. He's my pick. Not only to win the match, but to carry the match. As much as I have tolerated Cena over the past couple of months I really would love to see him drop the belt to HBK. That would only add to the storyline between them since they will still be the tag champs and forced to team together. I know that I have both titles changing hands @ WM and that's a bit of a longshot, but I'll go with it anyways. If only one world title changes hands @ WM it will be in the Batista/Undertaker match. I would love to see Cena turn heel in this match, but I'm sure it won't happen.
Dave Says: This is another tough one. Cena is the future and Michaels is the past and YES it did hurt to write that. Michaels will carry the match but in the end I see a Cena victory. I really have nothing more to say on the subject.
Battle of the Billionaires - Hair vs. Hair
Special guest referee: Stone Cold Steve Austin
Bobby Lashley (w/Donald Trump) vs. Umaga (w/Vince McMahon)
I Say: This match is probably the easiest to pick. There is no way that Trump is going to get his head shaved. It's just not going to happen. Trumps hair is his trademark and he wouldn't give it up. There is no way that he would agree to be part of Wrestlemania if he wasn't going to come out looking good. When was the last time a big name celebrity came out of a wrestling angle on the short end of the stick? Vince on the other hand would be willing to do anything to entertain the fans including shaving his head. I do see the chance of a last minute swerve with Vince losing and then claiming that the whole head shaving gimmick was just an April Fools' joke, but I see Vince losing his hair anyways. As for Lashley (or Lindsey) and Umaga - although ECW is SciFi's top rated show it's still a struggling brand. The hardcore fan base that built ECW has abandoned the brand ( to the point that WWE moved this year's schedules ECW 1NS PPV out of NYC out of fear that old school ECW fans would picket the show) and the show has turned into a 'normal' wrestling show along the lines of RAW and Smackdown. Because the brand is seen as struggling I feel that the bookers don't think that they can afford to have the brand's top guy lose. On the other hand, Umaga came out the loser in his last feud - with Cena @ the RR. Even if the whole hair v. hair stipulation wasn't involved Lashley would look incredibly weak if he, the ECW champ, loses to someone who's not even on his brand and then has to go back to ECW with everyone knowing that there is another guy out there who holds a loss over his head. Lashley not only will win because he represents Trump, but also because he kinda has to. Finally, I fully expect Austin to give the stunner to all parties involved except Trump although I would love to see it.
Dave Says: This one is probably the easiest pick of the evening. Donald Trump is not going to get shaved bald. This is a setup for THE WrestleMania moment... Vince McMahon with a chrome dome. C'mon, everyone wants to see it and the WWE has to deliver.
Money in the Bank Ladder Match
Edge vs. CM Punk vs. King Booker vs. Jeff Hardy vs. Mr. Kennedy vs. Matt Hardy vs. Finley vs. Randy Orton
I Say: Let's take this one-by-one. Edge will surely shine in the match, but he's already won a MITB match so I can rule him out. Randy Orton wouldn't be a big surprise, but he's probably going to be going into a feud with Edge for Backlash (and probably beyond). The feud is going to have enough backstory to it and doesn't really need the whole MITB Title shot to add to it. I'm ruling Orton out. As for Finlay, I don't think that he's really a main event guy so I am ruling him out as well. I am looking for him to exhibit his toughness in this match though. King Booker is already a main-event guy and doesn't need to win this match to get a title shot. Niether Matt or Jeff Hardy will main event a card anytime soon (or ever). I am looking forward to seeing these guys battle for what is probably one of the only times on WWE TV. I expect the typical big spots from these two. That leaves two guys - Kennedy and C.M. Punk. Now it becomes a bit of a tough decision. Kennedy is the future of Smackdown. He's got a good look, excellent mic skills, and has a lot of ability. Punk on the other hand is one of the few brightspots on ECW. It's him and Lashley. They are the draws as far as I am concerned (not that I am a big fan of Lashley). The WWE needs to keep his momentum going and winning this match is a great way. I think that it would make sense for Punk to get the win, but I ( and probably the WWE bookers) don't see him as a main eventer just yet. Partially due to his size. I will have to pick Kennedy to win this match. No matter who has the World Title the champ will be a babyface and Kennedy is a heel. It's a natural fit.
Dave Says: First lets try and eliminate who WON'T win. I don't see CM Punk winning. I don't see either of the Hardy's winning. Edge has already won one so I'm going to remove him. King Booker has had his day in the sun already and I don't see Finley winning so that leaves Orton and Mr. Kennedy. Either one would be fine for me but I think Mr. Kennedy may be due for a push just to see what kind of fan interest he can generate. The winner will be Mr. Kennedy........ Kennedy.
ECW Originals (The Sandman, Sabu, Tommy Dreamer & Rob Van Dam) vs. New Breed (Elijah Burke, Matt Striker, Marcus Cor Von & Kevin Thorn)
I Say: Is there a bigger bust that Marcus Cor Von? Well, maybe Ariel's (Buh-dum-bum). Cor Von's a joke. Burke, his teammate could be a great contributer to the WWE in the future. Striker is alright I guess, but he's nothing special. As for Thorne - I couldn't care less about him. Let's take a look at the ECW originals. I'm always hearing about Sabu getting major heat backstage and the rumor is that the only reason that he hasn't been released yet is because the WWE wanted to use him to induct his uncle The Sheik @ this year's HOF Ceremony. It's a safe bet that Sabu will be gone by the time that this year's ECW 1NS rolls around. I would assume that a lot of ECW talent was signed to 1-year contracts starting at last year's ECW PPV and I'm sure that he would be one. Sandman is really bad in the ring and is relying solely on his gimmick at this point. So his WWE days are on borrowed time. RVD is heavily rumored to be on his way out. It's been reported that he's told Johnny Ace, WWE's Head of Talent Relations, that he is electing to not let his contract rollover. He'll most likely go to TNA for the lighter schedule if for no other reason. I predict that the rumors about him being upset in TNA will soon follow. Dreamer is the only guy who has a future in the WWE at this point, and it's not even as a wrestler. He'll likely go back to being the liason between management and the wrestlers training in OVW if he doesn't end up taking over for Simon Dean as the head of Developmental and OVW booker. For the reason that 3 of the 4 ECW originals seem to be on their way out of the WWE I can't really see them going over the New Breed. New Breed to win. I wouldn't be surprised if other ECW Originals like Ball Mahoney and Stevie Richards get involved. There is also an outside shot of Heyman returning to manage or help the ECW Originals. I think that would be a great idea, but I don't think that SMH would be too happy about it. She would rather see Heyman completely gone from WWE.
Dave Says: Elijah who??? Marcus Cor what??? Kevin Thorn. WTF???? I'll go with the ECW originals because a team with Matt Striker can't possibly win (Even though he's smart... and they're crazy).
Women's Championship Match
Melina vs. Ashley
I Say: I'll be honest. I really don't care who wins. As far as this match is concerned I only care about one thing - How will Melina look? No, I don't mean how much surgically enhanced cleavage will she show, but rather will she give a good performance. I say this because the rumors on the Internets are that this is a make or break match in Melina's WWE career. She's already got some backstage heat on her and if she doesn't put on a good match there is a very good chance that she could be shown the door. And if that happens I think that her man Nitro will end up meeting the same fate (just like Mercury was this past week). Ashley seems to be on a roll as of late. She's in the new Playboy and she has gotten over on Melina as of late so that leans me torwards beliveing that her good fortune will continue at WM. I really want to see Melina keep the belt. It goes great with her whole bitchy heel gimmick, but Wrestlemania is often seen as the stage where the babyfaces get over. My pick is for Ashley to get the gold. I suppose that she does deserve it. She doesn't seem content with just being eye candy and wants to actually train and become a good in-ring performer, unlike so many of the other WWE Divas and for that she should be rewarded.
Dave Says: I like Melina. I REALLY like Melina. She's hot. She's improving on the mic AND SHE WORKS STIFF. She is a helluva talent in the ring even while manuevering around with those inflated boobs. Melina will win.... my heart
Kane vs. The Great Khali
I Say: Khali is seemingly unstoppable. That's his gimmick; he's an out of control monster. Kane on the other hand is a monster as well, but he's also something that Khali isn't. Kane is willing to put other people over. He's been vocal (backstage) about realizing that his career is winding down and has no problem 'doing the honors'. I pick Khali. I am almost 100% positive that this match will end in a DQ finish since it's a normal match. I would like to see it changed to a no DQ match.
Dave Says: Oh Boy. This one is the opposite of the Batista/Undertaker match because I can see both losing this one. The Great Khali wrestles like a statue. He is the latest in a long line of freakish giants who fizzle out quickly (Giant Gonzalez, Giant Silva). In fact he used to tag team with The Giant Sliva in the independant circuit. The fact that he's still around is as amazing to me as it is to the mysterious 'J'. This is Kane's chance for revenge so I see a Kane victory.
United States Championship Match
Chris Benoit vs. MVP
I Say: Benoit's stock has fallen a lot. A whole lot. He's the U.S. Champion and for a while he was off of TV. That doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me. MVP is an up and coming star and giving him the belt would surely give him another boost. He's really got to start wrestling in some more traditional type tights too. His outfit is ridiculous. MVP to get the W-I-N.
Dave Says: You gotta be kidding me. THIS made it into WrestleMania. My prediction is the match will be dropped or replaced BUT in the off chance that it actually makes it I'm going to go with MVP. WHAT??? MVP???? Yes. The reason is that MVP should never be in a one on one match in WrestleMania SO if the bookers felt he deserved a slot they probably think he deserves a title run to test the fan reaction (which will be poor). Maybe MVP will pull something out to get over (the Big Wiggle, Head, People Eyebrow, Being Retarded). Something that resonates with the fans. More likely he'll go over like a lead balloon.
Summary:
I Say: Undertaker, HBK, Lashley, Kennedy, New Breed, Ashley, Khali, & MVP
Dave Says: Undertaker, Cena, Lashley, Kennedy, ECW Originals, Melina, Kane, & MVP
Final thoughts:
I am surprised with some of the matches and wrestlers who aren't on the show. For one, What happened to the Carlito/Flair match? And where is Johnny Nitro? He is one of WWE's brightest stars. He IS the future of RAW and the WWE. There are also no 4-man tag matches on the card either. Why aren't Kendrick and London defending their titles? Even if it's in a tag team turmoil or gauntlet match. How about a cruiserweight match and the title? I am a bit surprised that one hasn't been added to the card, but I'M NOT COMPLAINING! They really need to get the belt off of Chavo. His contract is supposedly expiring in less than a month and the last thing that WWE needs is for the struggling TNA to bring Chavo in with the belt although I think that he has enough respect for the WWE and the business in general to do something like that. I would bet that if his contract did expire while he was still the champ he would do the honorable thing like Meng/Haku did when he still had the WCW Hardcore belt - he gave it to Barbarian to hand back over to WCW management.
It's also unfortunate for the buildup to WM to be tarnished a bit by the recent accusations of steroid use. The only 2 wrestlers named in the SI story to speak out about the accusations have been Edge and Greg Helms. Edge's excuse was that he used the steroids under doctor's supervision following his spinal fusion surgery. Helms' excuse was similar to Edge's , but for a different kind of surgery that I can't remember right now. Orton on the other hand was pulled from all WM23 promotional appearences as soon as the SI story became public. He hasn't even commented on the story, which doesn't look good. Especially when the story states that he took medication that is commonly used by athletes and bodybuilders to combat 'manboobs' brought on by steriod use. The only other wrestler that was named in the story was Rey Mysterio. His steroid use has been rumored for a long time. During the time between when WCW shut down and the time that he was brought in to WWE I heard an interview with a non-wrestler who was in the business that Rey was 'Juiced out of his mind'. And that's an exact quote along with the quote that 'his (Rey's) knees were shot'. It doesn't look good for him either.
Finally, I think the whole 'All Grown Up' campaign is pretty lame, but at least they aren't playing some 20+ year old song on an endless loop like they did last year with Peter Gabriel's 'Big Time'.
wrestleblogger@yahoo.com
posted by J. @ 9:20 AM
