Looking Ahead To WrestleMania 25
As soon as WrestleMania comes to a close each year, I start thinking a year ahead, wondering what the big show’s top matches will be. Of course, with few exceptions, it is generally impossible to predict what will be WWE’s marquee matches just weeks into the future, let alone a year. The era of WrestleMania hosting long awaited “dream matches” is over. Nowadays, WrestleMania generally features matches involving whatever top feuds are in place at the time.
Being just about at the half way point between WrestleMania 24 and next year’s WrestleMania 25, I figured now is as good a time to speculate as any about the show’s top matches. Feel free to chime in with your own predictions, and in six months we’ll revisit them to see how we all did.
Here’s how I can see it going down:
World Heavyweight Championship: John Cena vs. Chris Jericho vs. Shawn Michaels
Indecisive WWE bookers have become fond of three-way world title main events at WrestleMania – using them in three of the last five years. If Cena is healthy, WWE is going to be anxious to get their top attraction back in the main world title mix. Jericho has enough momentum to remain WWE’s top heel for another six months, and even the Raw brand’s world champion. To add to the drama, they can revisit the Michaels-Jericho feud, which I imagine will take a breather between now and then. With all three wrestlers having past issues with each other, this could be a fun match on top.
WWE Championship: Edge vs. Jeff Hardy
I watched these two wrestle at a house show earlier this summer and it struck me that perhaps no other match captures the kind of main event freshness WWE should be striving for – even with both stars being in WWE for at least a decade. As long as he can stay on the straight and narrow, there’s every reason to believe that Hardy has a world title win in his future. WrestleMania 25 may be the night it finally happens. Of course, that means Edge taking back the title before then, and I’d say there’s a pretty strong chance of that happening as well.
Randy Orton vs. Batista
With WWE having blown Cena vs. Batista at SummerSlam, this now becomes the one never-before-seen main event match WWE has to offer. They’ve teased some sort of alliance between the former Evolution members, and maybe between now and Mania we see that alliance become a reality. But by April, I could see these two at each other’s throats and set for a grudge match at the big show.
Triple H vs. The Undertaker
Having been featured in the Smackdown! world title match for two years in a row, it may be time for the Undertaker to take a step back and be featured in a non-title match, albeit a big one. It will have been nine years since last Triple H and the Undertaker squared off in a meaningful match, and this showdown has as much “dream match” potential as any WWE can come up with. With no title on the line, Triple H will likely be willing to add another win to ‘Taker’s amazing ‘Mania streak. And if he doesn’t, oh boy will fans have something to say about that.
Money In The Bank Ladder Match Featuring CM Punk, Evan Bourne, Rey Mysterio, Matt Hardy, Kofi Kingston, Shelton Benjamin, Ted Dibiase and Cody Rhodes
With Punk likely to be the odd man out of the main event mix, it’s a good bet he’ll return for his third consecutive MITB match, along with another former world champion, Rey Mysterio, who may be the most exciting WWE wrestler never to have competed in the match. Add to that high flying young stars like Kingston and Evan Bourne, up and comers Rhodes and Dibiase, ladder match veteran Matt Hardy, and Benjamin – who has competed in three of the four MITB’s - and you have the recipe for one of the most exciting installments of the popular gimmick match ever.
With WrestleMania taking place in Texas, I also had some thoughts on who we could be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2008:
Stone Cold Steve Austin: He’s in the conversation of biggest WWE superstar of all time, and they’ll be in his home state, so this one’s pretty much a shoe in.
Terry Funk: Another Texas legend who is on many historians’ “all-time greatest” list.
The Von Erich Family: With WWE having bought the World Class tape library, this is a natural move. The lone Von Erich survivor, Kevin, would probably provide the emotional highlight of the night.
The Fabulous Freebirds: Keeping the theme going, I could see WWE paying homage to WCCW’s greatest feud, and letting Michael Hayes have his moment in the sun. Just keep him away from the bar.
Rick Steamboat: Not that much of a Texas connection here, but he’s just such a glaring omission from the HOF so far, that I have to think he’ll get in sooner than later.
Ted Dibiase: A West Texas State alum, fantastic wrestler, and great character. And he’s got Junior to induct him.
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Comments (26)
What ??!!!! No Santino???!!! No Divas???!!!
I like every single match listed except the Triple Threat. There seems to be one on a PPV every other match. Besides, with the MITB, I really don't need to see multiple wrestlers in the ring at the same time. Chances are there will be a tag team match specially with Cryme Tyme probably getting more popular by then.
Another thing that would have to be considered is how does the Royal Rumble winner affect the main event? Would that be Cena? Shawn? Hardy? A face usually wins the Rumble, right?
I was a HUGE fan of Undertaker v. HHH at Mania X-7, also held in Texas, and I'd love to see them try to top that one.
(Of course, just a small nitpick: it will have been eight years, not nine, since their 2001 matches either as singles or as Brothers of Destruction v. Two Man Power Trip.)
That's obvisously not the whole card. You could probably count on at least another two matches - including the annual Diva Playboy Plug match and a celebrity tie-in spectacle match. But, as is the case every year at Mania, inevitably some big names will be left off the show.
I could see Hardy winning the Rumble.
i agree its been a while since the ic and u.s. straps were defended at mania, maybe the miz and morrison could challenge for one, i don't think they get enough credit for their work. and hoe fully kennedy can stay healthy and get into a meaningful program.
The IC & US titles have almost no prestige at all. I think the tag team titles are worse still. If only there was an importance placed on them, like the Rumble winner winning the IC (thereby being #1 contender) & possibly having to defend it through WM 25 in hopes of keeping the spot as the main event.
the i.c. title almost seems like a mid card championship rather then elevating talent like it used to i mean come on a winner take all match, santino didnt win that title. at least the u.s. title with mvp, hardy and shelton seems to be getting some talent over with the fans
and owen hart needs to be in the HoF
The problem is not the fact that the IC and US titles aren't being defended at WrestleMania, the problem is the fact that they don't really mean much. And as long as they don't mean much, I wouldn't waste valuable WrestleMania time on a Shelton Benjamin or Santinto singles match. I don't have a problem with WrestleMania being reserved only for the best of the best, even if it means keeping a lot of talented guys off the show. I'd rather have WrestleMania be filled with 7 meaningful, lenghty matches than have a bloated 15-match like they used to back in the late 80s and early 90s.
The Owen-HOF discussion is an intriguing one. Had he not died in such a tragic circumstance, would his career up until 1999 really be Hall of Fame worthy? Does he derserve some "extra credit," so to speak, because of his early death?
I'd argue the latter and put him in. The tenth anniversary of his death next year may be a good opportunity, but perhaps a better one would be whenever 'Mania returns to Canada.
while i agree about the assessment of owen career up to that point but on the other side chris benoit wont ever get in but deserves to be on his merits alone so i would think its a fair trade off, and shelton has proved his talent with his performances in mitb, his lack of charecter, i think keeps him off of ppv
Here is something they can bring back for Wrestlemania 25 that I do not see happening. Curses WWE! I want to see the Hardcore Title come back in the picture with the classic 24/7 title on the line. At least they can string it along for a couple months, and work on those current fueds. Maybe a Jericho/Micheals interaction. Even something to stretch to all three brands. Thoughts? One can hope!!!
Here is something they can bring back for Wrestlemania 25 that I do not see happening. Curses WWE! I want to see the Hardcore Title come back in the picture with the classic 24/7 title on the line. At least they can string it along for a couple months, and work on those current fueds. Maybe a Jericho/Micheals interaction. Even something to stretch to all three brands. Thoughts? One can hope!!!
I hated the hardcore title, and the silly 24/7 rule. I wouldn't want to see it back, and certainly wouldn't waste Jericho/Michaels in such a program. I don't think there's much clamoring from fans for more hardcore wrestling. Garbage wrestling nearly ruined the sport in the late 1990s, and can still be found stinking up indy wrestling cards in a town near you.
John Morrison needs to be in the MITB. That is all.
Sure Alfonso . . . "Garbage wrestling nearly ruined the sport in the late 1990s".
If by "ruined" you mean catapulted professional wrestling to never before seen heights, then I guess you make sense.
Really, Lee? Who? I would draw a big distinction between the kind of high-risk work that the Hardys and Mick Foley were doing (even though it sometimes bordered on garbage as well) and the junk popularized by XPW and other low rent ECW wannabes. That's not to say that ECW didn't have its share of grabage wrestling. And when WWE and WCW started their own divisions, it got completely out of hand and made every chair shot and table bump in a main event match less and less significant. WWE is still trying to undo the damage from that period.
I agree about Morrison in the MITB, although I'd be hard pressed to kick anybody off there. Maybe Matt Hardy, but if that was the case I'd like to find something else for him. And if we got Morrison in there, I'd like to get his partner Miz in, too. See the mess you've created now!
World Heavyweight Title Match, Cena-vs-Jericho
Mr WrestleMania-vs-The Streak, HBK-vs-Taker
WWE Championship, HHH-vs-Edge
MITB: Punk,Rey,Matt,Jeff,Shelton,MVP,Kofi,Truth
Kelly Kelly in a Playboy Match, since she is next in line to do the cover girl angle
HOF 2009:
StoneCold
Terry Funk
Von Erichs
Freebirds
I like your card Alfonso.
Steve Austin is an obvious choice, but he's still relatively young. I think it's plausible he'll have a return match or two so a HOF induction should wait a little longer.
I also think Jake Roberts would be a good person to induct. Better do it before he dies.
I do think the HBK/Jericho feud could continue to Wrestlemania, but I'm leaning more towards a Michaels/Undertaker match. They could ONCE AGAIN have a confrontation at the Royal Rumble, but this time have Michaels challenge Undertaker to a match at Mania.
Regarding the hall of fame, those choices seem pretty good. I think WWE has been holding off on Steamboat so that he can be the "main" entrant. I don't think he should be on the "undercard," so to speak.
No ECW Title match? Or do you figure the promotion will have folded by then?
I could see the WWE going with either Cena vs Batista II for the World Title (for the first time) or Orton vs Batista for the title as the Raw main event.
As for Smackdown, I could see them doing Triple H vs Edge for the WWE Championship.
Cena/Batista & Triple H/Edge both happened earlier this year, but neither one had a Wrestlemania level build up.
If Austin comes back for one last match, I'm guessing his opponent would have to be Orton.
AKA Anonymous, I wrote about Morrison.
I would kick off Dibiase and Rhodes. Who knows, maybe then we could have a tag title match on Wrestlemania! Interestign concept I know lol.
That would leave a six man MITB which IMHO is much better as its not too overcrowded, so we'd have CM Punk, Evan Bourne, Rey Mysterio, Shelton Benjamin and John Morrison.
Dibiase and Rhodes could face off against the Colons, if a feud was built around the second gen aspect. And Matt could face Big Show or Henry for the ECW title, defeding it so we get the Hardy Boys WM moment a'la Benoit and Eddie.
Oops, and Kofi too.
Inducting Terry Funk into the HOF but no Dory Funk Jr.?
Shame on you! :-)
Can you guys do a fantasy booking for TNA Bound for Glory '08? I'm curious to see some matches that you would book.