Heyman's Analysis:
I think on paper, the obvious results are as follows:
Cena def. Batista
Edge def. Jericho
Shawn Michaels def. Undertaker
Bret def. Vince
Triple H def. Sheamus
Orton def. Rhodes & Dibiase
Rey Mysterio def. CM Punk
The Miz & Big Show def. R Truth and John Morrison
Drew McIntyre wins MITB
Heel females defeat face females.
However - if that were to happen, then that would mean 7 out of the 10 matches would be won by faces. Furthermore - most of those heel victories would be in the most meaningless matches.
So - what gives? I think the following matches are obvious:
- Cena will defeat Batista.
- ShowMiz defeat R-Truth & John Morrison
- Heel Females defeat Face Females
Cena will defeat Batista since Cena is a hero amongst the targeted children demographic. Kids 12 and under want to see their hero win, and they will most likely get that. The fact that Batista has been getting the better of Cena all this time also pretty much confirms that.
The heel females are also far more over then the Face females. They win here as well. This match will also help the WWE keep their 'face/heel' win-loss ratio more even. ShowMiz will also defeat R-Truth and John Morrison for the same reasons.
The following match is not completely obvious, but I think it's 90% probable that...
Triple H simply has too much seniority and legacy to be buried at Mania in what is essentially a semi-meaningless match. Sheamus has been built up to be almost unbeatable, and I think the WWE will give Triple H the "accolade" of being the 1st one to cleanly defeat Sheamus.
I'd say the following result is around 85-89% probable:
- Orton defeats Rhodes & Dibiase.
Again - the fact that Orton has been owned by Legacy on so many occassions, implies that Orton will have the last laugh here. I don't think the WWE would have had Legacy defeat Orton on RAW if this wasn't there plan.
So that leaves the "score" between heels and faces at 3-2. The rest of the matches are...
-Bret vs. Vince
-Jericho vs. Edge
-HBK vs. Undertaker
-MITB
-Punk vs. Rhodes
Now since Batista/Cena, Edge/Jericho, HBK/Taker are all "main-event calibre" matches, I don't think the WWE will have all 3 faces go over here. However - despite the fact that HBK cut a slightly heelish promo on RAW last Monday, I think more fans want HBK to get the win. So in that sense, I think more people will pull of HBK. On top of that, Austin 'burying' HBK on RAW also kind of implies that HBK will "beat the odds" and defeat Taker.
However - since HBK is rumoured to be taking time off after Mania, I don't think the WWE will have HBK defeat Taker and then have him be off of TV for so long.....and kill whatever momentum HBK would have had.
Since Taker's streak is something ridiculously unique, I don't see the WWE getting rid of it....ever. Taker's streak will be a part of his legacy, and the WWE will keep Taker's streak in-tact as a way of paying tribute....to a guy that never once "sold out" to WCW. HBK is already a huge legend, and doesn't need a win over Taker to add to his legacy.
So - Taker defeats HBK.
Face-heel score: 3-2-1 (3 wins, 2 losses, 1 neutral).
Since it's a 12 and under demographic and 'good' needs to 'evil' on more occassions, I also believe that
Edge will defeat Jericho.
Face-heel score: 4-2-1.
So that leaves
-Bret vs. Vince
-CM Punk vs. Rey Mysterio
-MITB
Now - since Edge has defeated Jericho, I'm going to go out on a limb and predict that the WWE might use this as a pretext to build towards an Edge/Christian match-feud down the road. Edge and Christian won't necessarily be enemies....and no one would be heel....but it would just be between two guys looking to achieve greatness....and I think that's how it might go down.
The 3 guys that are most likely to win are: Christian, Drew McIntyre, and Kofi Kingston. However - I don't think Kofi is quite ready to be a main-event face and I think the WWE recognizes that. That leaves Christian and Drew McIntyre.
Although it would be awesome to see Christian win MITB and then 'cash in' against Edge on the same night, I think the WWE are far more focused on building up Drew McIntyre. Given how Drew has had to 'pay his dues' a little lately, I think McIntyre will be the one to win MITB. At some point down the road, McIntyre will cash in against Edge...or even Cena.
Prediction: Drew McIntyre wins MITB:
Face-heel score: 4-3-1
That leaves Punk/Mysterio and Vince/Bret.
While Punk will definitely go over Mysterio at some point, I don't think he'll go over Mysterio at Mania.....due to the fact that it involves family. The WWE will give Mysterio the win so he looks like a hero amongst his family. However - Punk will go over at some point.....I just don't think it will be here.
Prediction: Mysterio defeats Punk
Face-Heel-Score: 5-3-1
That leaves Bret-Vince.
On paper, it looks obvious that Bret will go over....which is why I don't think he will. Vince looked a little TOO confident on RAW when he told Bret that he was screwed.
Vince has jobbed to many legends in past years (i.e. Flair, Hogan, HBK). I think this is the year that Vince actually wins.
Since Bret has been rumored to be in the WWE even after Mania, I think the WWE will play upon the angle of "Bret finally getting his revenge on Vince." My guess is that at Wrestlemania, the
Hart Dynasty and/or
Drew McIntyre, end up costing Bret his match against Vince.
Prediction: Vince defeats Bret! (Face-Heel score = 5-4-1).
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Heyman's final conclusions:
-Cena def. Batista
-Undertaker def. HBK
-Edge def. Jericho
-Triple H def. Sheamus
-ShowMiz def. Morrison&R-Truth
-Mysterio def. Punk
-McIntyre wins MITB
-Heel Females win
-Vince def. Bret
-Orton def. Rhodes & Dibiase