I know they were going to run with Brock vs Goldberg for a while, but how likely is that? Goldberg's credibility is shot after getting bitched out of the title by Hunter, and why give a guy who has no long-term WWE future such a prestigious position as this? Besides, if the plan was for Brock to go over, it wouldn't make sense to have a heel walk out as champ in the 20th Wrestlemania. And oh yeah, that'd be a pretty shitty feud anyway.
After Survivor Series, I thought the WWE had it set for WMXX. Kane attacked Taker, Goldberg confronted Brock, and I thought that was a turning point for the company to start gradually building up other possible matchups. I was wrong. Now, three months before one of the biggest events in the history of the business, the only match they have set in stone is Kane vs Taker. Sort of sad.
If it were up to me, I would have had HBK turn heel on Goldberg and take the title. Meanwhile, Jericho would continue his face turn and tie that into face Jericho going over heel HBK. There is absolutely no way that would happen now. But I can dream, can't I? On the Smackdown side, I would have booked it like they have currently but have Benoit go over Brock. I'm still dreaming. Anyway, let's narrow down the possible candidates for both brands:
Smackdown:
--Lesnar vs Goldberg - likely still the frontrunner, but I'd drop that.
--Lesnar vs Benoit - This would kick ass and would make still make sense right now booking-wise. Also remember that theoretically it is RAW's turn for the main event, so they may hype this at HHH vs Booker T levels if they want. They'll probably give it to us at No Way Out though.
--Lesnar vs Cena - I know some of you will groan but I feel this is a strong possibility. Cena is the most increasingly-over guy on the roster.
--Lesnar vs Guerrero - No chance, but I see it happening past Mania.
--Holly vs Big Show - This would be epic. Could happen.
RAW:
--HHH vs Orton - I hate both of them, but maybe this could clear both of them away from the good wrestlers.
--HHH vs Foley - Still a possibility, but I'd rather Foley not waste his return match on Aitch.
--HHH vs Jericho - Not a chance. Maybe after Mania.
--Kane vs Taker - They're having this anyway, but maybe they'll have Kane take the title and upgrade the matchup as main event. Doubt it and I hope not.
--Any combination of HHH, Orton, Foley, Rock, Vince, Austin, Hogan - Meaning the main event won't be world title-related, but instead they'll have a special attraction-type of match involving those guys and treat it as the top match like Vince-Hogan last year.
--HHH vs Mark Henry - Another epic to back up Holly/Show if they run with that. This would make sense if they want to turn HHH face. They can also combine aspects of HHH's last two main events by having him pull out Stephanie's dog and the race card.
So there you have it. I know I'm missing a bunch of other possibilities, but that's because I don't find it realistic. Then again, all but maybe one or two of the above are realistic. My dream card for the uppercard would be something like HHH/Orton/Vince/Flair vs Hogan/Rock/Foley/Austin, Kane vs Taker, Jericho vs Michaels, and then have Lesnar squash Goldberg in the main event, followed by a surprise Benoit save and defeat of Lesnar. Then have Bret Hart, Kurt Angle, and then the rest of the locker room congratulate him and I go home happy. What a dream world a smark like myself lives in. Oh well.
No idea...the rumours seem to change weekly, which for a change is nice. As much as I enjoy WM having payoffs to angles that have been a long time in building (ie. Angle vs. Lesnar last year), it's nice to be going into the Royal Rumble without it being obvious what's going to happen over the next couple of months. For example, when was the last time that the winner of the Rumble was in doubt?
Undertaker vs. Kane is pretty much a lock, but aside from that it's up in the air. The latest rumour I've heard is that HHH will be in a title match, Rock/Foley are going to face two guys from Evolution, they want Goldberg to put someone over since they don't plan on resigning him (at least right away), and - get this - no McMahon's are planning to wrestle at this point!
Don't get me wrong, I don't claim to know anything for sure, and even if what I listed is accurate the odds are it will change more than once between now and then.
Given WWE's stupid "Would you rather have one main event or FIVE?" mentality regarding WrestleMania, it's going to be hard to classify any one match, outside of an Austin/Hogan, as THE Main Event.
They need to lose this communal mentality and focus on just two people going into WMXX for it to be truly memorable. The favorite at the moment seems to be Goldberg/Brock, which I could really care less about.
I think it will still be Brock/Goldberg. And why not? It's a fresh matchup with some appeal to it, and if indeed Goldberg is on his way out, why not get that one 'dream match' out of the way?
Otherwise, I think realistically, you've got on top of the card:
Austin vs. McMahon (yay!) Rock vs. HHH Undertaker vs. Kane Foley vs. Orton (or were they saying Foley & HBK vs. Orton & Flair)?
Mind you, it's still so early to build towards other matches, but I would think Goldberg vs. Lesnar is still the plan right now...
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From reading the different sheets (Observer, Torch), the card looks like this.
All but confirmed:
Undertaker vs Kane Brock Lesnar vs Goldberg Rock'n'Sock Connection vs Evolution (Orton/Batista)
Tentative Matchs:
Steve Austin vs Vince McMahon or Eric Bischoff Kurt Angle vs Ric Flair Triple H vs Edge
-Trish Stratus strongly hinted that her angle with Jericho will culminate at WrestleMania in some form or fashion.
From the current TV, I could see something between John Cena and Chris Benoit. I suspect the rest will be thrown together in February like they usually do.
I also think it's a good idea to save the Mick Foley/Randy Orton singles match to post-WrestleMania where it can be a featured match on the RAW Brand PPV. At Mania XX, it'd get lost in the shuffle.
I think Goldberg will go to Smackdown, win the Rumble and face Lesnar at WMXX. I'm hoping for HBK in the Raw main event possibily as the champ, maybe he could win it tonight because its been ages since the title has changed on TV, October 2001, I believe. HBK has definetley proved he's still got it and can get it done on the big stage, one more main event for the showstopper would make me happy. If he were to challenge for the title then I would have HHH drop it at the Rumble but to whom I don't know. At this time I would like HHH to drop the title tonight and HBK face HHH at the Rumble in a rematch. But that's unlikely. Heres hoping! Rock/HBK would be a dream match. You KNOW they would have a great match at WrestleMania.
Originally posted by GRLEdge is OUT for Mania, from the latest rumor. Something about wanting to hold him back for the week after XX.
I'd much rather see Chris Benoit vs. Brock Lesnar for the WWE Title than Lesnar/Goldberg.
I'd love to see Chris Benoit get the Smackdown World Title match but if it is Brock vs. Goldberg at WM I doubt either would have a title since it would be cross promotion. Which means the Smackdown's World Title would have to be some combination of Kurt, Benoit, Cena, and Eddie. And I would gladly let Lesnar and Goldberg have a not so great match if we got any matchup between these four for the title at WM even if it's lower on the card than Lesnar/Goldberg.
The thing on Edge was that it's been suggested that he wrestle Triple H, but it was just an idea since it all depends on whether he'd be healthy enough to wrestle in time. If he's not ready for a match, the thought is that they'll save his return until after Mania.
After Goldberg's tantrum after the last PPV, his match with Brock and his future with the company were both said to be in serious doubt. If they aren't going to re-sign him then Goldberg may not have a Mania match at all, let alone a high profile one. But maybe he and Vince made up over the holidays, I dunno.
Austin may not do a match as of the last word. The last word that I heard. DON'T YOU KNOW ABOUT THE BIRD.
maybe Foley vs. HHH on the Raw side..and how about a Rock/Cena match on Smackdown...also if Austin could work one more match I would like to see a Cena/Austin match...just a thought..no new threads
"If you put the letter 'S' in front of Hitman, you get my basic oppinion of Brte Hart!"-Steve Austin to Brian Pillman September 96 in refrence to Bret Hart...and, no I'm not calling you stupid!
I could honestly picture Angle/Benoit as a headlining match. Even though these two have feuded for forever, having the two of them face off for the title at Wrestlemania would be something that you know would be, as Tazz would say, "completely off the hook."
HHH vs. Edge would be a great matchup if Edge can get healthy in time. He'd be a great shot of credible main-event talent for Raw, and would freshen things up there a lot.
If I can be serious for a minute... Cena and Rock would be money just on the promos alone, but since the WWE isn't good at long-term planning these days, it would be a real clusterfuck to get the booking to point in that direction at this point.
For the Smackdown title match, Brock vs. Cena would be my choice. Angle is hurt, Edge is hurt, Holly isn't a serious threat, Goldberg is a locker room cancer that should be cut, UT has been done to death (no pun intended), Eddie hasn't got enough momentum right now for a serious title run, and Benoit has played the Red Sox to Lesnar's Yankees too many times to be considered a viable threat. Cena has been mad over with the crowd, cuts good promos, and is vastly improved in the ring. Also, being a stickler for continuity myself, it would be consistent with Cena's vow last year to headline WMXX. That would be the only way to go for Cena after he takes the U.S. strap from the Big Show. That is, if Big Show ever gets around to defending that damn belt.
As for HHH, it appears that all signs are pointing to a freshly turned face Jericho to be his WM opponent. Hopefully, the writers have realized that HHH can't wrestle himself, and needs an opponent that can be a good foil. Jericho would be that man given the past feuds between the two. Wouldn't it be nice for Jericho to even go over Trips this time around, or should I just quit while I'm ahead?
On a slightly different topic, if the WWE wants to put in a nostalgia gimmick match for WMXX, they should get SD Jones and King Kong Bundy (I'm assuming they're both still alive) to do a rematch of the 9 second squash from the original WM. Leading up to the match, hey could have weekly video packages of SD training hard to avenge the humiliating loss to Bundy 20 years ago. When the match happens, Bundy squashes SD in 11 seconds, prompting JR and Lawler to state that at least Jones lasted 2 seconds longer this time around. You people should be glad I don't book for the WWE.
I would rather see who is going to be at the NEXT PPV rather than worry about WMXX. Vince hasnt dissapointed with a WM in a long, long time, so, I have no problem not knowing who will main event a match 3 months away.
Originally posted by Swordsman YenOn a slightly different topic, if the WWE wants to put in a nostalgia gimmick match for WMXX, they should get SD Jones and King Kong Bundy (I'm assuming they're both still alive) to do a rematch of the 9 second squash from the original WM. Leading up to the match, hey could have weekly video packages of SD training hard to avenge the humiliating loss to Bundy 20 years ago. When the match happens, Bundy squashes SD in 11 seconds, prompting JR and Lawler to state that at least Jones lasted 2 seconds longer this time around. You people should be glad I don't book for the WWE.
That's the best idea I've heard all day!
Brock vs. Goldberg should be on WM for any number of reasons, not the least of which is that if Goldberg decided he didn't wanna play ball on his way out I have no doubt that Brock could errr convince him to play along on the fly.
Question, though: should it be champ vs. champ? I've always wondered about this idea, because if you do that for any reason other than to reunify the titles and go with the undisputed championship again, you basically kill the credibility of one of the championships (assuming that Vince knows well enough that a DDQ finish at WM won't fly). I think this match could stand on it's own, without championship implications. I'd love to see some combination of Benoit/Angle/Cena for the WWE title, and who really cares about the Raw title since you know HHH is going to dominate the lead-in angle and win the match anyway?
HHH vs. Edge does nothing for me, unless it's to give Edge a big win at a big show and move him to main event overnight. He doesn't need to beat Hunter to be groomed for a feud with Big Show or Matt Morgan. The notion of moving him to Raw is also ridiculous, since Raw already has a pretty deep roster of upper midcard guys that aren't going to be given the chance to move up while Smackdown has a desperate need of guys who can work in that position.
TONIGHT: Where does John Cena go after his tete-a-tete with The Rock last week? Will Rock be around this week? Not much else to report on here, other than the continuing of feuds from Wrestlemania (Cole vs. Lawler, Punk vs. Orton, etc).