Everything's Bigger in Texas - WM25 Predictions

And once again, we come to Wrestlemania Weekend. It's amazing how far in the last few years Wrestlemania has gone from a simple PPV to an entire weekend celebration or more. It's a chance for the entire wrestling world to stop and witness something incredible, with the addition of the Hall of Fame ceremony and the Fan Axxess festival. Having gone to Axxess back before WM18 when it was in Toronto, it's a great thing and I highly recommend it for anyone who has an opportunity to go. I'm glad to see it's back in it's full glory instead of the half-assed version that they've done in the past few years. On with the predictions...

Money in the Bank Ladder Match:
Seems like of the field of eight competitors, there's only about two or three real options. My personal favorite is Christian, if for no other reason it's a chance to get him off ECW and onto one of the bigger shows. MVP's back on a winning streak, and could end up winning the match already with the U.S. title. Finlay, Mark Henry, Kane and Shelton Benjamin really don't have much of a shot at winning the match, nor does CM Punk for the simple reason that he won it last year and I can't see a repeat win. Kofi Kingston I think is going to be the big surprise in the match with the memorable spot ala Shelton's ladder walk from Wm21, but in the end smart money is on Christian or MVP. I'll go with MVP based on Vince's rumored dislike of Christian.

Winner: MVP

IC Title: JBL vs. Rey Misterio

The only real reason Bradshaw took the Intercontinental Title was to do something memorable at the show, and rumors are his retirement is imminent. He's had enough stroke to last as long as he has with the company, I see him retiring after the match as champion which has never been done before. Rey's simply in there to make sure it's a good match. Get back to the booth JBL, it's where you're at your best.

Winner: JBL

Miss Wrestlemania battle royal:

If rumored reports are to be believed, there's a total of 23 entrants confirmed for the match. The 18 current divas, plus returns of Victoria, Molly Holly (yay~!), Torrie Wilson, Jackie Gayda-Haas and Sunny (YAY~!) Candice Michelle was supposed to be in it but has a bad ankle, and apparently the rumors of Nidia returning were false, she's there just to visit friends. That leaves 3 spots undetermined, and my best guesses would be some combination of Trish Stratus, Mae Young and Santino Marella. Santino will likely be just a comedy spot, as would Mae, but you can't totally rule out the possibility of Santino actually winning the whole thing with the respect the division tends to get lately. And while a Trish win would certainly be deserving, I think Gail Kim's winning to put over her return to the company and to solidify her as a threat to Maryse and the tramp stamp title on Smackdown. Beth Phoenix could be a dark horse to win, as could Michelle McCool, but I think in the end this will be used to create a new top diva in Gail.

Winner: Gail Kim

Chris Jericho vs. Ricky Steamboat, Roddy Piper, Jimmy Snuka:

This angle was originally designed to have Jericho face Mickey Rourke at WM, but for various reasons it fell through. As a result, it does somewhat feel like a third or fourth option, but I've tried to enjoy it as much as possible. With both Ric Flair and Mickey Rourke confirmed as being at ringside, it smells of total overbooking when it comes down to it. I have a feeling that despite Ricky Steamboat being inducted into the HoF this year he'll be the first legend eliminated, after a quick first couple of minutes as he's likely in the best shape of the three. Snuka will go next, leaving Piper to be the winner after Flair gets involved and Rourke knocks Chris out cold. The sad thing is, Steamboat hasn't wrestled at all in 15 years since his retirement, and has the most intrigue as we've seen the other two trotted out several times in the last number of years. I'd personally have preferred a straight one on one match wtih Jericho, even if it was only designed to last 10 minutes or less. I'm hoping Ricky has enough left in the tank to make this one enjoyable, and gets to leave a lasting impression.

Winner: Roddy Piper (with Snuka and Steamboat)

World/WWE Tag Title Unification Match: The Colons vs. Mizorrison

The Miz and John Morrison have been the centers of the tag team scene the entire year, and richly deserve to be the ones to unify the titles. As a result, Carlito and Primo will win the match, lumberjacks or not. The angle between the teams has been a good one though and has a surprisingly decent backstory, involving the Bella Twins. Hopefully it does continue past WM, and as Miz and Morrison will probably win the belts shortly after the PPV I have a feeling it will.

Winners: The Colons

Extreme Rules: Jeff Hardy vs. Matt Hardy

This is an angle that's also felt somewhat incomplete, probably stemming from the revelation of Matt Hardy being behind the attacks on Jeff simply for the sake of swerving the fans who had fully expected Christian to be the real one behind it. Still, the brothers have done a very good job of building up what they've been allowed to do, and it has a real Bret-Owen vibe to it. I think Matt absolutely has to win the match here or the fued is dead in the water, as most of the fanbase still thinks Jeff is head and shoulders better than Matt (which is part of what the fued has been built around). Still, because it's WM and Jeff's popularity has never been higher, I think he'll go over in the end.

Winner: Jeff Hardy

World Title: Edge vs. John Cena vs. The Big Show

Of all the matches on the show, I think I care about this one the least. A big part of that is because Edge and Cena have fueded off and on for the last 3 years, and putting Big Show into the mix is not a way to freshen it up. Nor is basing the entire thing around a love triangle with Vickie Guerrero. Cena is the Hogan of the new millenium, and hasn't won at WM since 23. He's due. And the way they like to handle Edge is to make him a dangerous, opportunistic threat until he wins a title, and then completely neuter him and make him unable to hang onto said belt. I like Edge, but 8 reigns already in 3 years is a little much when none of them last more than a month or two, tops.

Winner: John Cena

All I can hope is Cena stays on Smackdown after winning.

WWE Title: Triple H vs. Randy Orton

While I may care about the previous match the least, this one's the most dissapointing. Randy Orton was absolutely on fire going into the Royal Rumble but since his win, they've managed to turn it into yet another H/McMahon overbloated storyline where Stephanie is somehow the damsel in distress. Orton by all rights deserves to win the match, but the way the storyline has gone it's inconceivable that HHH loses this one. And like Cena, HHH is due as he hasn't won a WM match since 2003, amazingly.

Winner: Triple H

Main Event: Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels

As many know, I'm far from being a big Undertaker fan. But there's no denying, this match should be the main event tonight and is the one most people are looking forward to. I'll put it plainly... this is probably your match of the night, but no way is the streak ending.

Winner: Undertaker, 17-0.

Now, let's see how predictable the 24TH ANNIVERSARY of Wrestlemania is.