The Road To WrestleMania XXVI – Week 6
Raw and Smackdown were such by the book shows that they’re really not worth discussing in full. They were fine shows, but none of the story lines really advanced and everything was pretty logical and I have no complaints or really much praise. Thus, I decided to look at the card as it stands today. I took the matches as they were listed from WWE’s WrestleMania XXVI site.
World Heavyweight Champion Chris Jericho vs. Edge
I had an idea of what they could’ve done that would’ve been better than what they’ve done so far. Instead of Bret Hart hurting his ankle, why didn’t they do the injury angle with Edge? It would’ve kept him out of the ring, making his in ring comeback at WrestleMania rather than on regular old Smackdown. They could’ve even built all of his promos around coming back from injury early. It would’ve kept Jericho strong rather than how weak he’s been portrayed since winning the belt, and we wouldn’t have to see that ridiculous “Spear! Spear! Spear!” gimmick.
WWE Champion Batista vs. John Cena
I thought they’d run out of ways to keep Cena as the underdog, but they didn’t. I’m not sure that having Mr. McMahon pin Cena was the right thing to do, but it did put heat on him and Batista. Not like Batista needed it though. This is the only match that could main event Mania if they choose not to main event with Taker/HBK.
The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels
I liked their promo on Raw, but it was a tad bit on the boring end considering all the great stuff HBK has been doing of late. There was absolutely nothing wrong with it. But it always weirds me out to see The Undertaker do serious promos about matches when usually his promos are about wacky and meaningless stuff that his character usually says.
Triple H vs. Sheamus
I actually like the build of this, HHH’s promo about WrestleMania and how you can fall into obscurity if you lose matches withstanding. There’s something about the way they’ve built Sheamus that I enjoy. I know that he hasn’t always won matches by pin fall, but there’s a certain stature that he already has that some guys who are pushed like him don’t embrace. He stands taller and has a certain confidence about it. I think HHH will really do his best to make him at Mania. I think Sheamus has a great look and will be something in WWE.
Bret Hart vs. Mr. McMahon
They’ve definitely done their best to mess with the easiest angle since WCW vs. WWE. But I still believe. I guess it has something to do with Bret’s character. I just know that he wouldn’t agree to crap. So I expect this to end strong. Next week, I hope he signs the contract with Vince and shows everyone that his ankle isn’t really hurt. Adding Stone Cold Steve Austin to that angle next week should be pretty cool. No one knows Vince like Stone Cold.
Money in the Bank Ladder Match
The competitors are Kane, Evan Bourne, MVP, Christian, Dolph Ziggler, Shelton Benjamin, Jack Swagger, and Matt Hardy. It’s not nearly the strongest group they’ve ever had and I was really hoping the Miz would be in this match and win it. But there are some really good ladder match wrestlers. Of course, Shelton and Christian are two of the best and if Matt Hardy’s gut doesn’t get in the way, he can be really good in this as well. You can imagine that Bourne is going to fly and do his best to stand out. But I think it’s an opportunity for Swagger to really show his athletic ability. I think he wins the match too.
Unified Tag Team Champion Big Show & The Miz vs. John Morrison & R-Truth
This isn’t the strongest tag title match, considering how over those belts have been recently, but it’s a good mid-card match. This could even open the show. The Miz and Show are over as a team and it’s about time John Morrison puts it all together. Truth is over because of his entrance. It won’t be a great match and it won’t steal the show, but it’d either be a good buffer, or it’d be a good opener. I expect the Miz to look strong here.
Though it hasn’t been announced yet, Randy Orton and the Legacy crew will have to do something. And let’s not forget CM Punk and Rey Mysterio.
What other matches will take place? They already have seven (and it will be nine) matches so maybe that’s it considering at least two of those need to go twenty minutes. Where’s Drew McIntyre? Where’s Kofi? Maybe they have the dark match? What about the divas? What about Tyson and DH Smith? What about Goldust? Ok, maybe I’m the only one who wants to see Goldust.
