The Shimmy 8.27.07: WrestleMania 24 First Look!

Happy almost birthday to me! Yes, it’s true, tomorrow I celebrate the big 2-1. It’s sad, the next birthday of note isn’t until I’m 40. Boo. Anyhow, in celebration of my birth I’m doing what I did last year and giving you the first look at the WrestleMania 24 card. This card is practically guaranteed to be wrong (although there are three matches that I think are pretty good possibilities) although if you look at last year’s predictions some of them actually came to fruition later in the year. Cena-Orton, Undertaker-Edge (kind of), Triple H-Booker, Flair-MVP, and TWGTT-Hardys matches all actually happened this year, just not at WrestleMania. In any event, here is my first stab at what will probably be many WrestleMania predictions.

WWE Title, Triple Threat Match: John Cena© vs. Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels

I’m personally pulling for this match to be the main event, outside of pure speculation. Logistically it would actually be more likely for Triple H to enter as the champion, but I just think the match works better with Cena as champ. You know that WWE wants to do Cena-Triple H II as that was the plan this year. Add the loose ends from both Cena-HBK and the DX reunion and this match works wonders. The match would be damn good, and if they want to recreate a certain Mania Triple Threat Match without a certain somebody this could do the trick.

World Heavyweight Title Match: Edge© vs. Mr. Kennedy

There seem to be two camps as it relates to the World Heavyweight Title Match at WrestleMania. Some support Edge vs. Undertaker. Others support this match, pitting Edge vs. Mr. Kennedy. Truth be told neither will probably actually happen. Nonetheless, I like the Edge-Kennedy match better. I think we all know that Kennedy will be a face at some point anyway, so why not allow him the opportunity to succeed as a face in a big spot? Kennedy would be a perfect Royal Rumble winner and I think they moved Kennedy to Raw in the draft to keep him away from Edge. The question will be whether or not Edge will regain the World Title by WrestleMania in order for this match to really work.

ECW Title Match: John Morrison© vs. Ric Flair

I like the idea of giving Flair one last golden opportunity, and the ECW Title is a safe championship to let him go after, and it’ll be a bigger deal than if he went after the United States Title. The promo battle between these two would be great, and hopefully this would give Morrison a big WrestleMania rub (even in a potential loss). The set-up would be easy. At some point before WrestleMania ECW runs a show in the Carolinas. Morrison has his 15 Minutes of Fame Challenge and who should answer the call but the Nature Boy. Flair lasts the 15 minutes, maybe even locking Morrison in the Figure Four as time expires causing him to tap out after the time limit. This ensures Flair a title shot and presto chango we have our ECW main event.

Interpromotional Match: Undertaker vs. Bobby Lashley

When Lashley returns from his injury I think WWE needs to seriously consider turning him heel. Taker can work with the younger Lashley, giving him the rub, and maybe (hopefully not, but you never know) even let Lashley end the streak. I saw let us have Edge-Taker at No Way Out or some such other PPV and have Lashley interfere to cost Taker the match. This sets up a match very similar to Taker-Batista but this time Lashley is a bad ass heel. It could be a good, fresh, power match up that I think the crowd would eat up. It getting harder and harder to find good WrestleMania opponents for Undertaker and I think Lashley would fit the bill.

Hulk Hogan vs. Mick Foley; Guest Referee: Stone Cold Steve Austin

Very highly unlikely, but I figured I’d throw it on anyhow. I like the idea of Hogan vs. Foley and WWE normally likes to have some sort of Legends involvement. Hogan will probably make a big push to get on the show seeing as it’ll be in Florida, and he sounded pretty desperate before WrestleMania 23 so he’ll actually probably be willing to job. Of the three men mentioned here Austin is the most likely to actually have a role on the card in some capacity, I just wanted to see him give Hogan the stunner and then laugh when Hogan has to job to the Mick Foley.

Batista vs. Sid

I’ve got a feeling we’ll be seeing Sid back in a WWE ring within the next year or so. I don’t know why I see him pairing off with Batista but I do. The match would probably suck but they may be able to sell it. I kind of like the idea of Batista starting a mini-feud with MVP only for MVP to hire Sid as his bodyguard and lead to this match. That sets up Batista-MVP for after WrestleMania and gives us a unique big man match for the biggest show of the year. In case Sid doesn’t join the WWE roster this match can easily be Batista-Orton, a match they’ve wanted to do for a long time.

Chris Jericho vs. CM Punk

I really, really like this match. Jericho is possible returning to WWE this fall and I definitely see CM Punk moving to another brand later this year, probably after a Loser Leaves ECW Match with John Morrison. I like this as a face vs. face match, with Jericho kind of taking Punk under his wing. Maybe they have an altercation in the Royal Rumble which causes a friendly rivalry (I’m thinking something like the Jericho-Benoit rivalry that lead to the Submission Match on the Raw in Japan). I like they idea of them tagging together, maybe even getting a short World Tag Team Title run before agreeing to meet at WrestleMania. After Mania one of them would probably turn heel (likely Jericho), but these two could tear the house down as faces at the biggest show of the year.

Interpromotional Match: Umaga vs. The Great Khali

I want to see this match. It needs to happen at WrestleMania. End of discussion.

Interpromotional, Money in the Bank Ladder Match: Randy Orton vs. MVP vs. Rey Mysterio vs. Finlay vs. Elijah Burke vs. Tommy Dreamer vs. Kane vs. King Booker

Really the names don’t matter. This match will take the top eight names that are being pushed that don’t have anything else to do. The key figure in this match is MVP. MVP is my pick for next year’s Mr. Money in the Bank just because he’d pull it off beautifully. In many respects he’d be a combination of how Edge and Mr. Kennedy carried that title. He’d be sneaky and heelish like Edge, but he’d also be boastful and cocky like Mr. Kennedy. MVP would be an awesome Mr. Money in the Bank and I think WrestleMania 24 could be a huge milestone in his career.

Interpromotional, World Tag Team Title & Women’s Title, Six Person Intergender Tag Team Match: Hart Foundation 2.0© vs. The Hardys & Mickie James

So I combined two matches here for the sake of time. Sue me. I would imagine the Hart Foundation will be pushed hard once they debut, especially if WWE can manage to get Bret Hart involved in introducing the team in return for promoting his tome of a book. The Hardys could reunite for a one time deal to challenge the tag champs, and maybe they hook up with Mickie James to counteract Nattie Neidhart. I think a regular tag match would work much better but I really didn’t know where to put the women seeing as I already have too many matches.

Intercontinental Title Match: Carlito© vs. Cody Rhodes

I don’t like this match I just needed something for them (mainly Cody) to do. I see this as more of a squash with Carlito coming in all cocky, Cody hitting a feud big moves then a quick rollup to win the title. This match doesn’t look that great on paper and I do doubt that it will actually happen, but who knows.

So there you go. I added to matches late (Hogan-Foley and Carlito-Rhodes) so I have too many matches. Plus I couldn’t find anything worthwhile for Big Daddy V to do which was disappointing. Maybe he can fight Batista instead of Sid. In any event, bookmark this page so you can mock me when I turn out to be totally wrong. I’ll probably do this again in January and I’ll look back at these predictions. Come March we’ll find out just how wrong I really was.

Andy! Andy! At Last You Have Some Feedback!

Lynx Raven Raide comments on my Hidden Highlight regarding WWE changing the name of the championship from the ECW World Title to just the ECW Title:

found it interesting how you mentioned for a hidden highlight WWE calling the ECW Title just that. got bored the other day, and looked up this page on wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_heavyweight_championship

it seems as though outside the company, it isnt recognised as a world title (the old one was, but after losing recognition in 2001, it hasnt been regained). makes me wonder if the ‘E is picking up on stuff from outside again… 😉

I actually think that the title has more of a claim to being a World Title now than it did in its previous incarnation. Rob Van Dam, Big Show, Bobby Lashley, and Mr. McMahon are much more credible champions than Mikey Whipwreck, The Sandman, and Justin Credible and WWE is much more of a worldwide entity than ECW ever was.

Geoff hooks me up with the Rock-Flair and Rock-Eddie matches I asked for:

I found it on Dailymotion. Consider it a thank you from me for the great
lists.

http://www.dailymotion.com/videos/relevance/search/the+rock%20vs%20ric%20flair/1

http://www.dailymotion.com/relevance/search/eddie+guerrero+vs.+the+rock/video/x1vub7_eddie-vs-rocky_shortfilms/1

Thanks a lot, man! It was cool to see Rock-Flair but I was a little underwhelmed. Rock-Eddie was awesome though, I loved when Eddie countered the Rock Bottom into a pin. I wish they would have had the chance to go at it on PPV.

Steven Lavender speaks on the classic Eddie-Benoit moment from WrestleMania XX:

Man, I agree with you 100 percent on one thing. The Chris Benoit/Eddie Guerrero moment at the end of Wrestlemania XX is, in my mind, the best moment I have seen in the WWE. If the WWE was a sitcom, I believe this would be the perfect place to end it. Everything past Wrestlemania XX is like That 70’s Show without Ashton Kutcher, 8 Simple Rules without John Ritter, and Spin City without Micheal J. Fox. It’s still good, but not as good. Also, on the 2006 list, where the hell was Shawn Micheals vs Edge in a Street Fight on Raw?

I’m glad I’m not the only one that felt that way about the conclusion of WrestleMania XX. As for that HBK-Edge Street Fight, I had it ranked No. 14 on my 2005 list. These two also had a really good Street Fight earlier this year on Raw that will definitely make my 2007 list.

Paul Stevenson:

Thanks for the last few weeks. I’ve enjoyed looking at your Top Ten Matches lists and it’s been interesting comparing them to my own.

I’d argue with just two.

I would definitely rank the triple threat re-match at backlash above Mania 20 simply because of the pop from the crowd when Benoit locks the sharpshooter on HBK. It seemed to somehow exorcise the demons of Montreal to a degree at long last for that live crowd. And I think it’s a marginally better match.

I also wouldn’t allow Hogan V HBK anywhere near a top ten list. These two blew it. The build up for the match was superb and had me actually looking forward to a match between two of my last favourite personas in the industry (I have nothing but respect for Michaels abilities and like his matches but dislike him intensely as a person and have always despised Hogan as both an in ring performer and an ego-maniac). But they actually pulled of the impossible and made me want to see it. OH DEAR. Hogan cannot be blamed for his limited performance but Michaels was a disgrace. Having been phoned by Vince and told he had to do the J.O.B. Shawn becomes a comedy heel. Bringing to the match a comedy bump-fest that even his early 90’s heel character would have cringed at. As for Hogan his excuse for no re-match was that he didn’t appreciate Michaels’ unprofessional attitude afterwards was laughable. Talk about pots and kettles?. Top Ten?, nope!

Agree completely with the Angle/Taker top match ranking for 2006. I liked
both of their matches and its a shame we never got to see a Wrestlemania
Part 3.

Any danger of you going further back and granting us your yearly Top Tens
from 1990 -99?

I know there are some people that like the Backlash Triple Threat Match better than the WrestleMania match, but I find their Mania match more enjoyable. That’s hardly a put down of the match, just my opinion. As for your assessment of HBK-Hogan I can only say that many people, myself included, view HBK’s performance as a saving grace of that match. I suppose it’s a matter of opinion once again, but I think Michaels’ bumping helped make that match, not hurt it. Unfortunately I won’t be going any farther back in time for Top Tens because 1999 is when I first started getting into wrestling. I could do research and try and pin down the Top Ten matches of those years but I’m a firm believer that you have to be around for the match when it takes place in order to properly appreciate it. Any work I did with matches I didn’t experience or at least wasn’t around to appreciate in some capacity would just be recycling other commonly held opinions instead of forming my own.

Tim Cooke thinks I omitted a match in 2004:

Why isn’t Eddy/JBL from Judgement Day #1? Easily the best match from
their series and easily the best match of the year for the WWE. Along with
Ito/Tamura from U-Style and Santo/Perro Jr. from CMLL, those are the top 3
matches worldwide.

I actually have yet to see that match, or that show for that matter. I do want to watch it at some point, but I highly doubt it would have been No. 1 for the year, especially with those top three matches.

Brandon Ray seems to miss 2004 and offers some suggestions of his own:

Hey man, just got done reading your Top 10 2004 matches. Man that was the year of great wrestling if you ask me. That’s when Raw and Smackdown worth both really worth watching. Benoit and Eddie were champ, there were a ton of great matches on Raw and Smackdown (most of the Raw ones being matches involving Randy Orton), etc. I sometimes wish I had actually taped all the episodes of Raw and Smackdown of that year, or at least up until Benoit lost the title. The match list themselves are fantastic. Most of them were pretty predictable. I think everyone knew what #1 was going to be. Possibly the greatest Wrestlemania match ever. Randy Orton vs. Mick Foley, man I loved that match. I really do believe that was the match that got Randy to become one of the top wrestlers on Raw. You said some people believe HHH made Orton a star, but I honestly don’t see how. Sure when he was with Evolution he kept getting big thanks to so many wins and all, but once he started feuding with HHH, it kinda went downhill, because he wasn’t winning many matches against him, and after their feud, he went to a feud with The Undertaker that lasted way too long, and the only good match from the whole feud imo was their Wrestlemania 21 match. I admit, the Eddie/Brock match at No Way Out, I’ve watched it a few times, and though it’s worth getting just for the moment that Eddie won the title and the crowd going insane and all, I kind of found the match boring. It was mostly Brock dominating Eddie for like 20 minutes and so I just felt it was a kinda boring, but still, you have to see if you’re an Eddie fan. Only match I’m surprised made the list was that fatal 4 way from Armageddon. You think I should buy the DVD for the show? I admit I wasn’t interested in the show because the rest of the card just looked like crap, but I have heard good things about that match. And yea that Royal Rumble deserved to be on the list too. I haven’t seen a Royal Rumble that good since 2001, and that one wasn’t as good as the 2004 one. There are 3 matches though that I’m surprised didn’t make honorable mention. I admit if I were making the list they wouldn’t be in the top 10, but they would be getting honorable mention since they were memorable matches of 2004.

1.) Raw – Cage Match – Jericho vs. Christian. Man this was possibly my 2nd favorite feud of 2004 (next to Benoit/HHH/HBK). Their match at Wrestlemania was great, their handicap match involving Trish Stratus at Backlash was pretty fun, and then it was to end in this cage match, and man it was like a war in that match. Jericho flying off the top of the cage with a crossbody onto Christian, tons of blood from Christian, etc. I admit I don’t remember much from the match, but I remember really enjoying the match. I can never forget the image of Christian covered in blood and tapping out to the Walls of Jericho to lose the match. Christian actually injured his back in that match if I remember correctly.

2.) Raw – Iron Man Match for the World Heavyweight Championship – Chris Benoit vs. Triple H. Like you said, about the only good thing that came from HHH’s long reign in 2003 is it seemed like he could win the title back at any time, and I’m not sure about everyone else, but I was scared as hell this might be that time. I remember really loving this match. It just felt like we were watching a classic like the Angle/Brock Iron Man match. These guys gave their all in that match and I’m glad it ended the way it did, with
Benoit retaining. I’ve always been a fan of Iron Man matches, love all of them (well except the HBK/Hart one, there were just too many headlocks/armbars for me at the beginning). And add that plus my love for Benoit as champ, and I was happy to see the match.

3.) Survivor Series – Winner Gets Control of Raw for One Month – Triple H, Edge, Batista, and Snitsky vs. Randy Orton, Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho, and Maven. I admit, even though Survivor Series is one of the big events of WWE, a lot of times the event just doesn’t live up to the hype, and so sometimes it is hard for me to get excited when Survivor Series comes around. But I was very interested in this match, and I think everyone was very interested in who would win. The great thing about the match was yeah it was good, but it also helped make the next 4 episodes of Raw very interesting, with Jericho and Benoit and even Maven controlling Raw one night at a time and it led to some interesting and exciting matches.

You make some good points. There is a stretch in Eddie-Brock that the match is a bit boring. I don’t think I’d recommend buying the Armageddon DVD just for that Fatal Four-Way (although I actually did enjoy the Dixie Dog Fight between Daniel Puder and The Miz), but I’d check it out if you could. Maybe if you could get the DVD cheap I’d get it, but I certainly wouldn’t pay more than $10 for it if you came across the show. I was actually considering putting the Jericho-Christian Steel Cage Match on the honorable mentions list and ultimately just decided not too. I’m not a huge fan of the Benoit-Triple H Iron Man Match, but if I were doing a longer list (like my usual Top 50 Matches) it surely would have made the cut. Truth be told when they first booked the match I was hoping Triple H would win because I was pulling for a Eugene title win at SummerSlam (I still think they should have done it but the idea seems a bit silly now). The same can really be said for the Survivor Series match. I think I’m spoiled and I’m just partial to the Ten Man Tags instead of the Eight Man Tags. Plus Maven and Snitsky weren’t pushed enough to be in that match so that brings it down a bit. You hit the nail on the head with Survivor Series not living up to the hype, although I always manage to find myself falling for it every year. Really, as long as there are a suitable number of Elimination Matches I’ll be happy with the show, but sometimes that’s not the case.

The Shimmy Likes It Raw!

What’s on tap for tonight’s show? Remember we’re on Sci Fi this week, not USA Network. Don’t forget!

What will be the fallout from SummerSlam? Triple H is back on Raw, what will he have to say? Are the issues between John Cena and Randy Orton over?

What is the status of Mr. McMahon’s illegitimate son? Will we get any answers tonight?

That does it for me everybody. I’ll be here next week, hopefully you will too. Until then, don’t die. Clark…out.