nWoCHRISnWo
03-23-2003, 06:46 PM
Well there has to be a Wrestlemania prediction thread, so here it is in all it's glory.
From a sold-out SafeCo Field in Seattle, Washington, this year's Wrestlemania has several main event calibur matches as far as star power goes. With one of the biggest, most talented rosters in North American pro wrestling history, will WWE deliver on the biggest stage of them all? It's hailed as the "Showcase of the Immortals" and in the past, it has rarely dissapointed. Recently, Wrestlemania 17 is what many call the best Wrestlemania ever, and Wrestlemania 18 was an entertaining show with one of the biggest matches in WW(F)E history on the card, with the Rock taking on Hulk Hogan in a dream match that had the Toronto fans going absolutely nuts the entire time.
Farther into history, we've seen classic matches and moments at Wrestlemania events, such as Hogan vs Andre the Giant at Wrestlemania 3, Rock vs Austin at Wrestlemania 15 & 17, Savage getting back together with Elizabeth after losing to the Warrior, Shawn Michaels vs Razor Ramon in the first ever televised WWF Ladder match, and on the same card, perhaps the best opening match of all time, Bret Hart vs Owen Hart. Hopefully this 'Mania brings some classic moments and matches as well. Match by match, here goes:
Rey Mysterio vs Matt Hardy~ Cruserweight Championsip: I predict this will be the first match one the card (of the matches announced so far, if RVD gets a match, that might be the opener) to get the fans into the show with some fast, high flying action. Should get over 15 minutes, will probably get around ten or 11 minutes. Not much backstory here, but I love MATTITUDE and Rey is always amazing, so this should probably be one of the better matches on the show. I predict Rey Mysterio will walk out as champion.
Jazz vs Trish Stratus vs Victoria~ Women's Championship: Has a good chance of being a huge cluster****, but then again, the women's match on Raw lately has been on par with, or better, than the best men's match. Of course, that is partially due to Raw's matches sucking... I'm not really sure who will win this, but I guess I'll take Trish Stratus since she got screwed in her hometown at last year's Mania.
Undertaker & Nathan Jones vs Big Show & A-Train: Holy HOSSAMANIA Batman! I usually look forward to Undertaker's Wrestlemania match, as he usually puts in a good effort for the big show, but too bad this time his match INVOLVES the BIG SHOW. I'd love to see Taker keep his WM record in tact, but I don't see it happening. I'll guess Show and Train win, with some sort of screwjob. You can't trust Australian's. Will likely be a horrible match.
Los Guerrero's vs Chris Benoit & Rhyno vs Shelton Benjamin & Charlie Haas~ SD Tag Team Championship: I think it's sad that they couldn't think of something better for Chris Benoit (and Eddie and Rhyno kinda as well) to do at Wrestle****ingmania. If it's as good as it could be, expect it to be one of, if not the, match(s) of the night. I'll say Team Angle goes over here, as some heels have to win at WM, and I would think (hope) that they have something better for Benoit to do after Mania than to stay in the tag division. Same goes for Eddie.
HBK vs Y2J: Jesus boy vs the king of the world! I'd love to be more into this, but to be frank, I just hate Shawn Michaels. Will likely end up as a pretty good match, but this just isn't a big dream match in my opinion. Most feel differently though, so whatever. I so, so, SO hope that Jericho wins here, otherwise, that's just ****ed up. So I'll say Jericho, but with doubt. This one had a long build up though which is good.
Booker T vs Triple H~ World Heavyweight Championship: Triple H promised this would be unlike anything anyone else has done before. I can only assume he means it will suck more than I already thought it would. Unless they have some awesome storyline to go with it, Booker T better walk out the new SIX TIME SIX TIME SIX TIME... World Champ. I haven't particularily enjoyed the build-up for this match at all, Goldust and Flair will likely be involved.
Hulk Hogan vs Vince McMahon: They say 20 years in the making. I say WTF? It hasn't even been one year in the making. They weren't enemies when Hogan was running all over WWF 20 years ago. Was a mark supposed to think "Man I hope Hogan gets his hands on that stupid announcer Vince McMahon!"? What exactly are they feuding over anyways, the fact that both men helped eachother earn millions of dollars? I can't get into this match at all, knowing the story sucks, knowing the match will almost be guaranteed to suck, and knowing it could have been HUGE a few years ago. I'll go out on a long shot here and say Vince gets the win. Am I crazy? Perhaps.
Brock Lesnar vs Kurt Angle~ WWE Championship: Man, I was SO hyped for this match ever since before Royal Rumble even, but everything has gone wrong. They built it up very poorly, as Brock as pretty much dismantled everybody and everything in his way. Kurt doesn't look like he poses any threat to Brock, AT ALL. It should be the other way around where the heel is the one who looks like the for sure victor. And now Kurt is injured, badly- that sucks ass. Everytime they do any kind of suplex, I'll be cringing, wondering if Angle is still alive even. This could have been match of the year, or match of the ****ing 2000's, but I have no idea what it'll turn out to be now. DOes Kurt go all out in his POSSIBLY last match? Or do they do it with caution and perhaps make for a worse match? I'm not sure, but the one thing I am sure about is Brock Lesnar will win. ANYONE and EVERYONE knows that.
The Rock vs Steve Austin: It was awesome the first time, it was awesome the second time, is the third time the unlucky charm? I can't see this possibly being as great as their previous WM match-ups. The Rock is entertaining as the Hollywood heel, but as of yet has just been an overall *****. He's not the same Rock who was kicking Mick Foley's ass back in the day. Austin is back, but I've barely noticed him. He LOOKS in good shape, but will undoubtedly have some ring rust still, so I'm not so sure this will be too great a match. The build-up hasn't been anywhere NEAR their build-up for WM 17 either. All that aside, they have always put on awesome performances, so I expect it to still be entertaining somehow, someway. I'll say the Rock finally
gets the nod over Austin.
Overall Thoughts, Odds & Ends, and Extra crap
I'm just not getting the feeling for this Wrestlemania as I got for the last few. The build-up for most of the matches have been average at best, there is no dream match for ME, and I don't see any of the matches being a ***** match, or near it. If Angle wasn't injured, everything would turn around and I'd be pretty excited for this Mania, but he is. Back to the feeling of Wrestlemania, you can just tell it's in a down period right now. Ratings are down. Buyrates are down. The quality of the shows are down (all of these a coincidence? Doubt it). They have Fred Durst and some hot chicks as guests... W...T...F?! Remember when they had Tyson as a guest? Or Cindy Lyper, Muhammed Ali, Mr T? The media was all over that. Who gives a **** about Fred Durst anymore? His song for this Mania sucks ass, doesn't fit at all, unless you take it as fitting because this whole WM seems to be a dissapointment in my eyes at least. The most talented roster in history, and this is what they come up with. Hopefully I am very wrong on most things...
But all in all, I am still excited because Wrestlemania is Wrestlemania.
From a sold-out SafeCo Field in Seattle, Washington, this year's Wrestlemania has several main event calibur matches as far as star power goes. With one of the biggest, most talented rosters in North American pro wrestling history, will WWE deliver on the biggest stage of them all? It's hailed as the "Showcase of the Immortals" and in the past, it has rarely dissapointed. Recently, Wrestlemania 17 is what many call the best Wrestlemania ever, and Wrestlemania 18 was an entertaining show with one of the biggest matches in WW(F)E history on the card, with the Rock taking on Hulk Hogan in a dream match that had the Toronto fans going absolutely nuts the entire time.
Farther into history, we've seen classic matches and moments at Wrestlemania events, such as Hogan vs Andre the Giant at Wrestlemania 3, Rock vs Austin at Wrestlemania 15 & 17, Savage getting back together with Elizabeth after losing to the Warrior, Shawn Michaels vs Razor Ramon in the first ever televised WWF Ladder match, and on the same card, perhaps the best opening match of all time, Bret Hart vs Owen Hart. Hopefully this 'Mania brings some classic moments and matches as well. Match by match, here goes:
Rey Mysterio vs Matt Hardy~ Cruserweight Championsip: I predict this will be the first match one the card (of the matches announced so far, if RVD gets a match, that might be the opener) to get the fans into the show with some fast, high flying action. Should get over 15 minutes, will probably get around ten or 11 minutes. Not much backstory here, but I love MATTITUDE and Rey is always amazing, so this should probably be one of the better matches on the show. I predict Rey Mysterio will walk out as champion.
Jazz vs Trish Stratus vs Victoria~ Women's Championship: Has a good chance of being a huge cluster****, but then again, the women's match on Raw lately has been on par with, or better, than the best men's match. Of course, that is partially due to Raw's matches sucking... I'm not really sure who will win this, but I guess I'll take Trish Stratus since she got screwed in her hometown at last year's Mania.
Undertaker & Nathan Jones vs Big Show & A-Train: Holy HOSSAMANIA Batman! I usually look forward to Undertaker's Wrestlemania match, as he usually puts in a good effort for the big show, but too bad this time his match INVOLVES the BIG SHOW. I'd love to see Taker keep his WM record in tact, but I don't see it happening. I'll guess Show and Train win, with some sort of screwjob. You can't trust Australian's. Will likely be a horrible match.
Los Guerrero's vs Chris Benoit & Rhyno vs Shelton Benjamin & Charlie Haas~ SD Tag Team Championship: I think it's sad that they couldn't think of something better for Chris Benoit (and Eddie and Rhyno kinda as well) to do at Wrestle****ingmania. If it's as good as it could be, expect it to be one of, if not the, match(s) of the night. I'll say Team Angle goes over here, as some heels have to win at WM, and I would think (hope) that they have something better for Benoit to do after Mania than to stay in the tag division. Same goes for Eddie.
HBK vs Y2J: Jesus boy vs the king of the world! I'd love to be more into this, but to be frank, I just hate Shawn Michaels. Will likely end up as a pretty good match, but this just isn't a big dream match in my opinion. Most feel differently though, so whatever. I so, so, SO hope that Jericho wins here, otherwise, that's just ****ed up. So I'll say Jericho, but with doubt. This one had a long build up though which is good.
Booker T vs Triple H~ World Heavyweight Championship: Triple H promised this would be unlike anything anyone else has done before. I can only assume he means it will suck more than I already thought it would. Unless they have some awesome storyline to go with it, Booker T better walk out the new SIX TIME SIX TIME SIX TIME... World Champ. I haven't particularily enjoyed the build-up for this match at all, Goldust and Flair will likely be involved.
Hulk Hogan vs Vince McMahon: They say 20 years in the making. I say WTF? It hasn't even been one year in the making. They weren't enemies when Hogan was running all over WWF 20 years ago. Was a mark supposed to think "Man I hope Hogan gets his hands on that stupid announcer Vince McMahon!"? What exactly are they feuding over anyways, the fact that both men helped eachother earn millions of dollars? I can't get into this match at all, knowing the story sucks, knowing the match will almost be guaranteed to suck, and knowing it could have been HUGE a few years ago. I'll go out on a long shot here and say Vince gets the win. Am I crazy? Perhaps.
Brock Lesnar vs Kurt Angle~ WWE Championship: Man, I was SO hyped for this match ever since before Royal Rumble even, but everything has gone wrong. They built it up very poorly, as Brock as pretty much dismantled everybody and everything in his way. Kurt doesn't look like he poses any threat to Brock, AT ALL. It should be the other way around where the heel is the one who looks like the for sure victor. And now Kurt is injured, badly- that sucks ass. Everytime they do any kind of suplex, I'll be cringing, wondering if Angle is still alive even. This could have been match of the year, or match of the ****ing 2000's, but I have no idea what it'll turn out to be now. DOes Kurt go all out in his POSSIBLY last match? Or do they do it with caution and perhaps make for a worse match? I'm not sure, but the one thing I am sure about is Brock Lesnar will win. ANYONE and EVERYONE knows that.
The Rock vs Steve Austin: It was awesome the first time, it was awesome the second time, is the third time the unlucky charm? I can't see this possibly being as great as their previous WM match-ups. The Rock is entertaining as the Hollywood heel, but as of yet has just been an overall *****. He's not the same Rock who was kicking Mick Foley's ass back in the day. Austin is back, but I've barely noticed him. He LOOKS in good shape, but will undoubtedly have some ring rust still, so I'm not so sure this will be too great a match. The build-up hasn't been anywhere NEAR their build-up for WM 17 either. All that aside, they have always put on awesome performances, so I expect it to still be entertaining somehow, someway. I'll say the Rock finally
gets the nod over Austin.
Overall Thoughts, Odds & Ends, and Extra crap
I'm just not getting the feeling for this Wrestlemania as I got for the last few. The build-up for most of the matches have been average at best, there is no dream match for ME, and I don't see any of the matches being a ***** match, or near it. If Angle wasn't injured, everything would turn around and I'd be pretty excited for this Mania, but he is. Back to the feeling of Wrestlemania, you can just tell it's in a down period right now. Ratings are down. Buyrates are down. The quality of the shows are down (all of these a coincidence? Doubt it). They have Fred Durst and some hot chicks as guests... W...T...F?! Remember when they had Tyson as a guest? Or Cindy Lyper, Muhammed Ali, Mr T? The media was all over that. Who gives a **** about Fred Durst anymore? His song for this Mania sucks ass, doesn't fit at all, unless you take it as fitting because this whole WM seems to be a dissapointment in my eyes at least. The most talented roster in history, and this is what they come up with. Hopefully I am very wrong on most things...
But all in all, I am still excited because Wrestlemania is Wrestlemania.