Road to Wrestlemania XXVIII, Part One

This begins the 2012 version of the annual Road to Wrestlemania series, where each week following the Royal Rumble, I will do my best to prognosticate what the card of Wrestlemania XXVIII will look like based solely on the events of the past week in WWE. So be warned, because this might contain spoilers.

Divas Match: Usually, this is the match that I care least for. Not this year. Because this year, I forsee a Wrestlemania showdown between Beth Phoenix and Karma on the horizon. There may even be a little bit of Natalya sprinkled in there. I honestly can’t see any reason for WWE not to have this match. Beth Phoenix = Dominant. Karma = Dominant. Natalya = Not dominant, but technically sound. Beth + Natalya + Karma = The best divas match at Wrestlemania since Mickie James vs Trish Stratus. The only problem is that WWE likes to whore out all of their divas every year at Wrestlemania, so this match might turn into a dumb ‘Lumberjill’ match. But hey, if that’s what I have to endure to get the match I want, then I will do it.

Money In The Bank: Speculation abounds in this match. First, there’s the rumor that the Money in the Bank PPV has been canned. I don’t know why WWE would do this after MITB was the best PPV of the year in 2011, but WWE isn’t exactly known for making the smart decisions. Second, I’ve heard rumors of the MITB match at Wrestlemania XXVIII being only for former champions. I’m not completely against that rumor, but that takes away the opportunity of a mid-carder jumping into the main-event. I would love to see Cody Rhodes win the MITB and cash it in to become World Champion. I would definitely mark out over Cody Rhodes.

Intercontinental Championship: As much as I would love to see Cody Rhodes win a MITB Ladder match at Wrestlemania 28, I would hate if he did it as the Intercontinental Champion. I absolutely hate how WWE overlooks their mid-card champions at Wrestlemania. I can’t count the amount of times that Shelton Benjamin wrestled in the MITB match as either the United States or Intercontinental Champion. The worst part is that you knew he had no chance of winning, so why not build a rivalry around the title and fill in your mid-card? I don’t get it. Thankfully since Rhodes’ dad is part of the creative team, I doubt they’ll overlook him at all this year. It’s hard to base who he’ll face at Wrestlemania based on the last week of WWE events, but I’m pretty certain it’ll be a WWE Legend. I base this on the fact that Cody Rhodes eliminated four legends in the Royal Rumble and his most recent feud was against Booker T. I’m kind of a fan of the proposed Goldust vs Cody Rhodes match at Wrestlemania. Goldust is a legend. Not a top-tier legend, but a legend nonetheless. I think reinforcing Rhodes’ familial lineage could be a stepping stone towards him finally entering the main-event.

United States Championship: This one seems pretty solid, in my opinion. Jack Swagger vs Dolph Ziggler for the United States Championship. Both of these guys are former World Champions. Both of them are excellent in the ring. Both of them are managed by Vickie Guerrero. The storyline writes himself. Dolph Ziggler should be pretty downtrodden after losing to CM Punk at Royal Rumble, and eventually losing at Elimination Chamber. WWE just needs to book Swagger in a US Title match at Elimination Chamber, and have him win convincingly. Then in the lead-up to Wrestlemania, have Swagger start thinking he’s better than Ziggler and have Vickie start treating Swagger better than Ziggler. This would effectively turn Ziggler babyface and set up a can’t lose match at Wrestlemania. Ziggler has never been more over than he is now, but he’s never going to break through as a heel. His ‘Show-Off’ gimmick is prime for the babyface spot previously held by John Morrison. I think this has to happen.

The Undertaker vs Triple H: I feel like a little kid throwing a temper tantrum. “I don’t wanna watch this match again.” I really, really don’t. The first two matches were great. I enjoyed them. I have no doubt that I would enjoy the third match as well. But there’s no uncertainty here. 20 is too round a number for WWE to actually make Undertaker lose. Triple H isn’t the guy who should threaten to ruin Undertaker’s legacy. He’s too old. His legacy is in jeopardy here. But most of all, there are too many other candidates for that role – The Miz, Chris Jericho, Alberto Del Rio, Christian, Cody Rhodes or Wade Barrett, to name a few. Hell, I’d rather see round three of Kane vs Undertaker, especially since Kane is awesome again. It’d be weird to see how they share the same wig, though. Assuming Taker vs HHH just had to happen, I would throw in a little caviot: Kane & HBK. Both of these guys have had two wars with Undertaker as well. Both of these guys deserve to challenge for the third match as well. And, if you really want to cement Taker’s legacy, you have him defeat all three of his toughest Wrestlemania opponents in one night.

Tag Team Championships: Remember last year’s Tag Team title match at Wrestlemania? You can’t because there wasn’t one. Instead of making a tag team match, WWE had an eight-man tag match that included the reigning Tag Team Champions and the reigning Intercontinental Champion. The match only lasted 45 seconds and the team with the hampions lost. 3 champions lost in 45 seconds. Shows you how much WWE values the mid-card titles. Thanks to Evan Bourne, I don’t expect too much more than that to happen at this year’s Wrestlemania. Primo & Epico are a good team and good champions, but aside from The Usos, they have no other challengers. I suppose WWE could push Hawkins & Reks, but I strongly doubt it. I don’t forsee much coming from this bracket.

The Rock vs John Cena: Not much prognosticating needed here. This match is already set in stone and I lost interest in it almost immediately after it was announced. Does anyone really forsee Cena losing this match? It’s a passing of the torch. Hulk Hogan passed it to The Rock @ Wrestlemania X8. The Rock will pass it to John Cena ten years later. I won’t care one bit. The only way this match could pique my interest is if in the process of winning this match, Cena turned MEGAHEEL. That would be amazing. Even though I hope it will happen and I’m sort of expecting it to happen, I would be shocked if it actually did. I shouldn’t have to be shocked at WWE for doing something that they need to do, but that’s where the shock and awe comes from. It’s not often WWE recognizes a need and then executes it.

World Heavyweight Championship: Daniel Bryan will not be World Champion at Wrestlemania. I don’t think anyone even considers that a possibility. The consensus is that Randy Orton will win the Elimination Chamber match and face Sheamus at Wrestlemania. But hold on, both of those guys are SUPERFACES. WWE already has The Rock vs Cena scheduled, so there’s no need for another face vs face match. Which means that either this match won’t happen completely or there will be others involved in this match. I figure it’ll be the latter, so enter Daniel Bryan and Christian. Daniel Bryan, I think, will get in based on his rematch clause. And Christian will get in because… I don’t know, they’ll invent a way. But suffice it to say, the World Heavyweight Title match at Wrestlemania will not be a one-on-one contest.

WWE Championship: CM Punk vs Chris Jericho seems all but likely. I doubt Jericho returned just to lose the Royal Rumble and not be featured at Wrestlemania. Punk has been spouting that he’s the best in the world since last year and I think the man who originally coined that phrase [for WWE]should have a little something to say about it. I figure CM Punk will hold on the World Title through Elimination Chamber and into Wrestlemania. Meanwhile, Jericho will finally break his silence (probably tonight!) and (finally!) reveal what this whole “End of the World’ nonsense is all about. Maybe since Punk is shouting that he’s the best in the world, Jericho will have to end that world in order to reclaim his dominance. Eh, just a guess.

Stars Tagged In This Post:
Alberto Del Rio, Beth Phoenix, Booker T, Chris Jericho, Christian, CM Punk, Cody Rhodes, Daniel Bryan, Dolph Ziggler, Elimination Chamber, Evan Bourne, Goldust, Hulk Hogan, Jack Swagger, John Cena, John Morrison, Kane, Mickie James, Natalya, Primo, Randy Orton, Royal Rumble, Sheamus, Shelton Benjamin, The Miz, The Rock, Triple H, Trish Stratus, Undertaker, Vickie Guerrero, Wade Barrett, WrestleMania, WrestleMania 28, WWE