Well, it's here. Wrestlemania weekend. The 31st edition of the "Show of Shows" will take over Levi's Stadium, home to the NFL's San Francisco 49ers, Sunday. 9 matches are scheduled, including the pre-show on WWE Network.
Andre the Giant Memorial battle royale: Earlier this week, this match was moved to the pre-show due to time constraints. BS, actually, considering the buzz that followed Cesaro's win last year. However, the Swiss Sensation won't be defending the trophy. He & Tyson Kidd will defend the tag titles, also on the pre-show. One more reason to think Vince McMahon needs to step aside, because he will be blamed for putting non-wrestling segments on the main show.
Anyway, this may be one of two places where Sheamus could return, but that's being kept quiet to keep even the internet hounds guessing. It could come down to Damien Sandow (he won't be Mizdow by the end of the night) or Ryback, and I'll go with the Big Hungry.
WWE tag titles: Cesaro & Tyson Kidd (w/Natalya) vs. the New Day vs. the Usos vs. Los Matadores.
Kidd hasn't been at the top of the tag team mountain since his Hart Dynasty days 5-6 years ago. Yeah, he's been around that long. Should've had another run before this with Justin Gabriel, but WWE fumbled and let Gabriel walk last year. Too soon for another change, but the Total Divas plotlines involving TK & Natalya could get in the way. Going with Cesaro & Kidd to retain.
On to the main show:
Randy Orton over Seth Rollins. I will be surprised if Rollins returns later in the night to cash in Money in the Bank, but in my mind, he should've been stripped of the briefcase long ago for using it as a weapon. That's one way of reforming WWE if I had any say in it, and I'm too qualified to be a part of McMahon's uncreative team.
US title: Rusev (w/Lana) vs. John Cena. Lana's been off making a movie with Edge the last couple of weeks, leaving the Bulgarian Bruiser all by himself. Cena hasn't been US champ in 10 years. Forgot that he lost the title in March 2005 before winning his first WWE title. That changes. For Cena, this will be US title #4.
IC title: Sorry, Daniel Bryan fans, but Wade "Bad News" Barrett, a 5-time champ, deserves to hang on to the title a wee bit longer, and maybe throw some Bullhammers to the idiots who have had him and other champions losing too often in non-title tilts the last couple of years. Sheamus, a former IC champ himself, could be in the mix if he's not in the battle royale.
The Bella Twins vs. Paige & AJ Lee. Frenemies vs. a pair of desert dweebettes. Of the four, only Lee is not on Total Divas. Doesn't matter. I would put the Divas title on the line, just to get it off Nikki, because the twins have no credibility. AJ & Paige get the nod here.
Bray Wyatt vs. Undertaker. This will tell us a lot about the Dead Man. If he's fully recovered from last year's loss to Brock Lesnar, he beats Wyatt. If Taker's thinking of retiring after more than 2 decades with WWE, then he passes the torch to Wyatt, although I'm not fond of Wyatt, the love child of Victor Buono and Brother Love. To borrow a line from Oingo Boingo dating back nearly 30 years, I'm walking with the Dead Man.
Sting vs. Triple H. This is easy. A month ago, I wrote how WWE fumbled the ball on the storyline, making this more about WCW vs. WWE rehashed, when it should be Triple H making this personal for himself, since, as Jean-Paul LeVesque or Terra Ryzing, he never faced Sting in WCW in the 90's, when both were in their prime. I still believe that. Ric Flair, who has had memorable battles with both, picked the Game. Bzzzzzzt. Wrong, Ric. Sting wins this one.
WWE title: Brock Lesnar (w/Paul Heyman) vs. Roman Reigns. We've all been led and conditioned to believe Reigns will be coronated as champion at the end of business on Sunday. Now, word comes that they may recreate the ending of Lesnar's 1st run in 2002, and have Heyman turn on him and side with Reigns. Can't see that happening. Another example of Vince's stupidity. He thinks we don't remember something that happened nearly 12 1/2 years ago. The fans have crapped on Reigns, just like they did Batista last year. They don't like being told who to cheer for anymore, but Vince just doesn't get it, and won't. I'm going out on a limb here, and, in a rare case of a "heel" champion retaining, Lesnar, and his new 3 year contract, will survive.
And if I'm Seth Rollins, I don't spoil the party either way, for the sake of my own health.
