WrestleMania 26 card thread (may contain spoilers)

[Jeritron]

It is quite a card. I hope it delivers. As long as everyone's on their game and they allot time properly I think it should

[Mr. C]

I wish Jim Ross was back on RAW, so we can hear him scream STONE COLD. I’m still hoping Austin makes himself the referee for the Bret Hart/Vince McMahon match.

Ideally, this could be an Attitude era feel match. I posted an idea for a Mark Henry heel turn on RAW in the Mark Henry thread that suggested Henry beat down Cena without having a problem with it and help Vince win the match.

Next week on RAW, Henry accompanies Vince to the ring for the contract signing with Hart and Austin, who inserts himself into the match as special guest referee.

At WrestleMania, Henry comes in and attacks Austin before turning his attention to Hart, but Shawn Michaels, who would've lost to The Undertaker earlier, intercepts Henry with Sweet Chin Music. Vince looks at Michaels in rage and screams, but Michaels nails Sweet Chin Music on Vince, who staggers and turns into a Stunner. Hart locks in a Sharpshooter, Vince taps out. After the match, Hart, Michaels, and Austin celebrate in the ring together and give the crowd a feel good moment.

A fun match with five Attitude era guys involved and King & JR on commentary, as well as a way to get Henry on the show, seeing how he's likely not going to this year.

[Mr Amazing]

I believe MITB is now just a way to get people on the card example of this is wrestlmania 23 where they had the hardys,orton,edge,king booker,finlay,kennedy,punk if i was wwe i wouldv'e just stay with eight man in MITB even Notice there is clearly only one favourite to win it (Christian) a couple maybes (Kane,MVP,Benjamin,McIntyre,Kofi if he gets in) and the rest are in there for insane moments Bourne will probably have the wrestlmania moment this year un less HBK beats Taker. I am just saying that McIntyre should defend the IC title against the winner of a preshow Battle Royal (Kofi Kingston)

[johnsmagic]

With the new stipulation being brought in this week on raw about no dq and no count out. Can any one else see HHH costing HBK the win at mania, there for turnin HHH heel which by reports is what they are wanting to do or am i the only one who thinks this, what are peoples thoughts ?

[Fignuts]

My thoughts are that this is probably gonna be closed when Juan wakes up.

[Juan]

I think a merge sounds better.

[Juan]

whoa. total deja vu right now. weird.

[Mr Amazing]

HHH will either cost HBK if he loses to Sheamus
Maybe they will turn him heel the next night if HBK beats taker by turning on HBK

[Mr. Pierre]

I'm starting to believe that it's possible that HHH will interfere, which will lead to my foot going through the television.

[The Franchise]

If HHH interferes I will hhhate him forever. He will never redeem himself. Unless he lets me cocky pin him at WM 27.

[jskinnyg]

The ninth competitor is revealed on tonight’s episode of Friday Night SmackDown, United States Champion Drew McIntyre...

Oops...
That would be your Intercontinental Champion Drew McIntyre...

To quote the World Heavyweight Champion... Nice Typo Junior... Do you know I know the Armbar?

[Mr. C]

I'd love to see a match between Beth Phoenix and Michelle McCool with involvement by a returning Mickie James, Layla, Tiffany, and Vickie Guerrero. I’d have Layla and Vickie at ringside. Once they get involved, Tiffany runs down to get into a fight with Layla. Match continues inside, Beth nails the Glam Slam on Michelle and goes for the pin, but Vickie gets up on the apron. While Beth is distracted, Michelle hits her Faith Breaker on Beth and goes for the pin, but Mickie runs down to break up the pin as the referee is distracted by the girls on the outside. Mickie then goes to even the odds outside, and Layla and Vickie back off. Match continues with Beth picking up the win.

[Mr. C]

Originally Posted by The MAC do you think vince and Bret should be higher up in the card.

No, they’ll give us at least 10 minutes of action, some punches to Vince’s face, Vince tapping in the Sharpshooter, Hart wins.

I’m totally excited to see Bret Hart back in a ring one more time at WrestleMania. Plus, I want to see a Sharpshooter one more time. We may get a surprise from Hart like we got from Ricky Steamboat last year. I don’t expect him to be the Hitman of old, but they’ve probably been exaggerating his limitations. Anything is possible in wrestling.

[The MAC]

i think so too,

I think Hart is far more capable than we think. Look at the "bumps"(for lack of a better term ) he has taken. He moves around pretty well. Oh and before you cunts get on about him falling when he was tearing up the equipment...watch it again and you will see the fucking speaker hit him in the back.

Hart may not move and perform like he did at WM13 but he will still out perform half the wwe roster cus hart has one thing most don't have -TALENT!

[Mr. C]

Since Shawn Michaels has been telling friends that he’s retiring at WrestleMania, I think he’ll lose, but it seems plausible to me that he’ll assume a role like Mick Foley did in 2004-2007, where he made appearances and worked two or three matches a year. Michaels retired Ric Flair in the midcard two years ago, and Flair is the greatest wrestler of all time.

I wouldn’t be worried about the crowd not being into Batista/John Cena if it goes on last. They’ll probably have a couple of segments to get their breath back.

[Juan]

from wrestlingobserver:

Based on advertising for the show and the format sheet for Raw, it is expected that Batista vs. John Cena will go on last on Sunday night.

[Heyman]

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 defeats Sheamus

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).
.
.
.
.
.
.
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

[Mr. C]

I’ve been crossing my fingers for a Venom Rey Mysterio costume since his Phantom back in WCW.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Venom Rey Mysterio would be perfect here, as it would imply darker edges to Mysterio's personality. Perfect for how much he wants to hurt CM Punk. Even a Spawn, Crow or Punisher costume would suit Rey at this event.

The face Divas vs. heel Divas match is about the only thing I think feels out of place here. I would have much rather had just seen Beth Phoenix challenge for the Women's Championship. It had some build for a while, and you could have had Vickie Guerrero surprise Phoenix on the night, and announce that Michelle McCool & Layla would face Beth in a Handicap Match, and she had to beat both of them to win the title. Beth could have then done that, and looked like a beast.

I still think that Chris Jericho vs. Edge should close the show. There is no doubt in my mind that the two will have a great match, and there is just so much history there (wasn't Jericho the one Edge broke his neck against?). Jericho is ALWAYS over as a heel (some people are acting like there will be no heat for the match), and I guarantee that he will be able to get the fans into it. Edge winning makes a good close to the show, too.

To hype up the match, have Gene Okerlund going around asking WWE Superstars, past and present, who they think will win the World Heavyweight Title main event. It builds it up from the beginning of the show as the closer, and that could help it out a bit. Also get The Fink to do some super special ring announcing.

If the fans are wiped out after Taker/HBK and even Cena/Batista, then it's no great loss. The match quality alone will pull the match through, and you could even use it to turn Edge heel ("You didn't support my comeback story!"). He could even start to feud with The Undertaker, accordingly. Edge could even be the guy that takes him out, explaining why we don't see the Dead Man for some time (Chris Jericho could even do the same).

My opinion is that it would be better to try and go all out with Jericho/Edge, rather than hold back on it, and make the SmackDown! guys seem second rate.

[Mr. C]

Originally Posted by Noid Venom Rey Mysterio would be perfect here, as it would imply darker edges to Mysterio's personality. Perfect for how much he wants to hurt CM Punk.

I'm thinking a black & white mask, black gloves with white squares on the back, and what Nova wore at ECW Living Dangerously in 2000.

[Mr. Nerfect]

That would be awesome, Rated RC.

Fun fact: If you take the RAW and SmackDown! rosters, and include Finlay (who has been off TV since prior to the Royal Rumble), you have exactly 26 guys left:

Carlito, Caylen Croft, Chavo Guerrero, Chris Masters, David Hart Smith, Ezekiel Jackson, Finlay, Goldust, Hornswoggle, Jimmy Wang Yang, JTG, Kung Fu Naki, Luke Gallows, Mark Henry, Mike Knox, Primo, Santino Marella, Shad Gaspard, Slam Master J, The Great Khali, Trent Barreta, Tyson Kidd, Vladimir Kozlov, William Regal, Yoshi Tatsu and Zack Ryder

If you take out maybe Hornswoggle and Finlay, then you have room for maybe Vance Archer and Tyler Reks. Could something like this be the pre-show Battle Royal? It seems likely that out of this list, the winner would be Khali, but I'd prefer to see a star launched with it. Maybe Shad Gaspard?

[Jakob Synn]

hahaha Shad??? hahaha

I predict he'll be released in 2010. I watched him on Smackdown this weekend and just thought he was so week. JTG is so much better without him.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Shad is big, charismatic, over, talented on the mic, decent in the ring. He's got all the tools he needs to be a big star.

[Jakob Synn]

Originally Posted by Noid Shad is big, charismatic, over, talented on the mic, decent in the ring. He's got all the tools he needs to be a big star.

Compared to JTG?

[James Diesel]

So they basically scrapped the "annual" Miss WrestleMania Battle Royal?

way to go

[Juan]

I don't think anyone is gonna miss it.

[The Franchise]

I'm starting to think we will see Batista retain and Taker/HBK go last. That would be the best choice IMO. Batista is HOT right now and should keep the title. Cena has had enough Wrestlemania title match victories (4 of the last 5 Mania's FFS)

[Mr. Nerfect]

Originally Posted by Jakob Synn Compared to JTG?

JTG is better in the ring, even more charismatic and isn't as small as he actually seems; but I think Shad's size is just a little more of an edge. I truthfully think both guys could have great careers. It may not seem like it yet, but they remind me of Shawn Michaels and Diesel.

[Evil Vito]

For the pre-show battle royal, looking through the rosters, I see them not including any "inactive" guys still listed on the rosters (Finlay, Reks, Archer, Funaki, Hawkins, etc.) and only people who have been on TV in the last month or so. Also not including Luke Gallows as I think he might be out to manage CM Punk for the first match of the show.

Raw: Carlito, Chavo Guerrero, Chris Masters, Mark Henry, Primo, Santino Marella, Vladimir Kozlov, William Regal, Yoshi Tatsu, Zack Ryder
SmackDown: Caylen Croft, David Hart Smith, Ezekiel Jackson, Goldust, Jimmy Wang Yang, JTG, Mike Knox, Shad, Slam Master J, The Great Khali, Trent Barreta, Tyson Kidd
NXT: All 8 of them

That's exactly 30 guys, and I'm pretty sure I've read that it is planned on being a 30-man match so that's really the only way to get to 30 unless they let recently inactive guys compete. I could see the NXT guys get a few big eliminations, including Skip Sheffield eliminating his own mentor, William Regal.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Originally Posted by Big Vito 22 For the pre-show battle royal, looking through the rosters, I see them not including any "inactive" guys still listed on the rosters (Finlay, Reks, Archer, Funaki, Hawkins, etc.) and only people who have been on TV in the last month or so. Also not including Luke Gallows as I think he might be out to manage CM Punk for the first match of the show. Raw: Carlito, Chavo Guerrero, Chris Masters, Mark Henry, Primo, Santino Marella, Vladimir Kozlov, William Regal, Yoshi Tatsu, Zack Ryder SmackDown: Caylen Croft, David Hart Smith, Ezekiel Jackson, Goldust, Jimmy Wang Yang, JTG, Mike Knox, Shad, Slam Master J, The Great Khali, Trent Barreta, Tyson Kidd NXT: All 8 of them That's exactly 30 guys, and I'm pretty sure I've read that it is planned on being a 30-man match so that's really the only way to get to 30 unless they let recently inactive guys compete. I could see the NXT guys get a few big eliminations, including Skip Sheffield eliminating his own mentor, William Regal.

That's a possibility, too. Probably a better one, actually.

[Evil Vito]

On another note, when looking through the roster pages...I find it a bit funny that they still have an ECW roster page, with just 5 guys on it (Abraham Washington, Byron Saxton, Tony Atlas, Tyler Reks, Vance Archer)

Either its an oversight or all 5 guys are slated to show up again at some point. Archer and Reks I think have been working SD shows but I'm not sure.

[Evil Vito]

Originally Posted by Noid That would be awesome, Rated RC. Fun fact: If you take the RAW and SmackDown! rosters, and include Finlay (who has been off TV since prior to the Royal Rumble), you have exactly 26 guys left: Carlito, Caylen Croft, Chavo Guerrero, Chris Masters, David Hart Smith, Ezekiel Jackson, Finlay, Goldust, Hornswoggle, Jimmy Wang Yang, JTG, Kung Fu Naki, Luke Gallows, Mark Henry, Mike Knox, Primo, Santino Marella, Shad Gaspard, Slam Master J, The Great Khali, Trent Barreta, Tyson Kidd, Vladimir Kozlov, William Regal, Yoshi Tatsu and Zack Ryder If you take out maybe Hornswoggle and Finlay, then you have room for maybe Vance Archer and Tyler Reks. Could something like this be the pre-show Battle Royal? It seems likely that out of this list, the winner would be Khali, but I'd prefer to see a star launched with it. Maybe Shad Gaspard?

Looks like you called it right, they showed a quick clip of the battle royal and I spotted Finlay, Reks, Archer, and Funaki all in there.