WrestleMania 29 Forecast
We’re just 5 days away from the 29th edition of WrestleMania, and also what happens to be the least hyped WrestleMania of all time. It’s almost sad that the 1000th episode of RAW got more hype than this WrestleMania, and WWE’s creative needs to be blamed for not coming up with proper storylines and feuds in time. Anyway, about 10 matches have been announced on the card, out of which a couple will be on the pre-show along with the rumoured Diva’s match. Let us look at the possible outcomes of these bouts, and which one of them stands a chance to be memorable, and deliver us the ‘WrestleMania moment’ that we’ve gotten used to seeing.
Pre – Show:
Wade Barrett will defend his WWE IC title against The Miz
It’s almost hard to believe that Miz main evented a WrestleMania before! Not only has he lost his fire and passion, but now has been bumped off the card, even though he has starred in a recent WWE movie! Miz’s face run has been disappointing, to say the least. He cannot be a good face, and the WWE trying to push him down the fans’ throats as the new Ric Flair backfired. No one cares about Miz anymore, which is sad. Wade was set to receive a push last year before he got injured. Even though he is the IC champ, he loses 90% of his TV matches, making him irrelevant. Anyway, their pre-show match is like any other TV match, but I see Miz winning this one as a way for the WWE to keep the audience enticed about the ‘Championships may change hands’ possibility.
Winner: The Miz
Main card:
Tons of Funk and the Funkadactyles vs Team Rhodes Scholars and the Bella twins
Just a way to put these people on the card. An 8 man tag match was what I predicted four months ago, but I thought WWE would care about their talent enough to put relevant performers in it. There is no reason for Cameron, Naomi and the Bellas to be on the show when you don’t have a spot for a guy like Antonio Cesaro, who is your US champion! Anyway, it is a filler to get the crowd going with the Tensai-Clay odd duo, who will win the match and get the crowd pumped for the rest of the show.
Winners: Tons of Funk and the Funkadactyles
Chris Jericho vs Fandango
The debut of Curtis as Fandango on the main roster. People have already started saying his gimmick is boring, and that he can’t wrestle. How about giving him a chance before you make up your mind? When Jericho came back last year, even he did not speak for a month, but the crowd never got ‘bored’. It’s all about giving them some time to see how it plays out. Curtis is a talented young performer who can win over the crowd given the chance to perform. And what bigger way than to have your debut match at WrestleMania against one of the best performers in the history of the company, and a 6 time World champion? Jericho will put Fandango over, which will hopefully lead to a great career ahead for Curtis.
Winner: Fandango
Team Hell No vs Dolph Ziggler and Big E (With AJ Lee) for the WWE Tag team titles
Another match that was thrown in haste without any build up. I expected Kane to face D-Bry at WrestleMania, but I guess we have to wait for that. If we go by the ‘Get beaten before the PPV, win on the PPV’ concept, Team Hell No will retain the titles. And that is how it should be. Ziggler should go to the main event, and not be stuck in the mid card holding the WWE tag titles. I suspect Ziggler will have a bigger role before the night ends.
Winners: Team Hell No
Ryback vs Mark Henry
The battle of the mammoths at WrestleMania. Ryback’s push has come to an abrupt halt after he suffered losses against Punk and then at the hands of The Shield, and so, he needs to get the ball rolling again. And what better way to do that than to put him against another behemoth, a guy who had an impressive 2012, Mark Henry? Henry can put Ryback over at WrestleMania, and kick start his push again in the WWE. We might also get to see a memorable spot where Ryback lifts Henry for the Shell shocked.
Winner: Ryback
Sheamus, Orton and Big Show vs The Shield
Show has apparently turned face, and although the build up to this match has been far from impressive, it has received more hype than most other matches. The Shield have been made to look weak going into WrestleMania, which is not how you book your dominant stable. Expect Shield to have a memorable WrestleMania debut with a win over their opponents, and rumour has it that Orton will be turning heel soon, which can happen in this match.
Winners: The Shield
Alberto Del Rio (With Ricardo) defends the World Heavyweight championship against Jack Swagger (With Zeb Coulter)
Jack’s new character has made him a legitimate threat to the World Heavyweight title within a few weeks! Although this feud has been far from impressive, Jack has succeeded in getting the WWE more media attention than the WWE champion has, which can only be a good thing for him. While ADR was expected to have a good face run, the reception he gets has been very underwhelming. I suspect Jack to win the match and the title, and take the feud through the Summer. As I said before, Ziggler might try to cash in his MITB brief case, but might not get enough time to do so.
Winner: Jack Swagger
Brock Lesnar (With Paul Heyman) vs Triple H (With Shawn Michaels) in a No Holds Barred Retirement match
This has been the second most hyped feud going into WrestleMania. Their match was planned immediately after their first match, and if Triple H loses this match, he will be forced to retire, and I do not see that happening in the near future. Triple H will win this bout, which will keep the doors open for a grudge match down the line if WWE chooses to take that path. Another rumoured feud for the summer is between Lesnar and The Rock. We will see how that goes.
Winner: Triple H
The Undertaker vs CM Punk (With Paul Heyman)
The most hyped, and the most anticipated match on the WrestleMania card is between the Dead man and CM Punk. There have been reports that both the competitors are going into the mega event hurt, which might reduce the quality of the match. But expect another classic from these two work horses, as they put everything on the line at the mega event. A few months ago, I thought Punk will be a legitimate threat to the streak, as a win would quadruple his stake in the company, but since he’ll be taking time off from the WWE after WrestleMania, that looks highly impossible. Nevertheless, this match should end the show, but in all possibility it won’t. Taker will keep the streak alive after a valiant effort from the Second City Saint.
Winner: The Undertaker
The Rock defends the WWE title against John Cena
A rematch from last year, with the WWE title involved. This will be a ‘Passing of the torch’ match from The Rock to John Cena. Their feud has been a huge disappointment, and WWE has banked solely on their star power to sell the PPV. It’s a no brainer, that Cena will win the WWE title from The Rock, and carry the title through the summer.
Winner: John Cena
Well, that does it from me for now. These are the best possible results that can come out of WrestleMania 29, and I will be very surprised if WWE decides to go the other way. This has been the least hyped WrestleMania till date, and we’ll have to see how the fans will receive this PPV.