The Piledriver Report 3.26.08: The Ultimate Tag Team Tournament Semi-Finals Results and WrestleMania 24 Predictions

Posted by Ronny Sarnecky on 03.26.2008

This is the greates week of the year for professional wrestling. This week is WrestleMania Week. All eyes will be shining on Orlando as the WWE puts on their biggest show of the calendar year. As such, The Piledriver Report delivers its WrestleMania 24 predictions. Not to be outdone by WrestleMania, but the Ultimate Tag Team tournament enters the final round. Find out who will be battling for the right to be called the greatest tag team in the history of sports entertainment, and vote for the team you feel should win that crown.

The field is now narrowed down to the Final Two tag teams in the tournament. Before the results are given, I would like to thank everyone who has voted thus far. I have received over 221 e-mails voting on the tournament. Thank you again.

Along with the results, I will be including how many votes each wrestler received in parenthesis. Next, will come the FINAL round match-up, which I will need you to vote on. I will end the column with the tag teams I had picked to win in the fifth round.

Aside from needing your votes to determine the Greatest Tag Team of All-Time, I would love it if you can provide me with some ideas on next year's tournament. We already crowned the Ultimate WrestleMania Wrestler. Last year, we named the greatest World Champion of All-Time. What kind of tournament should we run next year? I was thinking of having a tournament to name the Greatest Match in WrestleMania history. Any other suggestions? Let me know.

PLEASE E-MAIL ME WHO YOU THINK WILL WIN THE FINAL ROUND MATCH BY SUNDAY, MARCH 30th, 2008 @ [e-mail].

ROUND FIVE RESULTS

ALBANO REGION #1 Road Warriors (17) over CROCKETT REGION #1 Hart Foundation (11)

GUNN REGION #1 Rick/Scott Steiner (21) over EATON REGION #1 Dudley Boys (7)

FINAL ROUND MATCH-UP

ALBANO REGION
#1 Animal and Hawk: Road Warriors
vs.
GUNN REGION
#1 Rick and Scott: Steiner Brothers

Road Warriors (Animal and Hawk): 1 time AWA World Tag, 1 time NWA World Tag, Winner of Inaugural Crockett Cup tournament, Winner of Starrcade 1989 Iron Man Round Robin Tournament, 2 time WWF World Tag, PWI Tag Team of the Year in 1982, 84, 85, and 88. Wrestling Observer Newsletter's Rookie of the Year 1983 and Tag Team of the Year 1984. Inducted into the WON Hall of Fame in 1996.

Rick/Scott Steiner: 6 time WCW World Tag, 2 time WWF World Tag, 1 time NWA World Tag, 1 time NWA US Tag, 1 time WCW US Tag, 2 time IWGP World Tag. Winners of the Pat O'Connor Memorial International Cup Tag Team Tournament at Starrcade 1990. PWI Tag Team of the Year in 1990 and 1993.

My Fifth Round Picks

ALBANO REGION #1 Road Warriors over CROCKETT REGION #1 Hart Foundation

GUNN REGION #1 Rick/Scott Steiner over EATON REGION #1 Dudley Boys

Thanks again for voting, and I look forward to seeing everyone's final round pick as we crown the Greatest Tag Team of All-Time.


This coming Sunday the WWE presents WrestleMania 24 live from the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, FL. During the final week of WrestleMania hype, every fan loves to share their WrestleMania predictions. Here is "The Piledriver Report's" WrestleMania 24 predictions.

Triple Threat Match for the WWE World Title
Triple H vs. John Cena vs. WWE World Champion Randy Orton: Finally, the WWE presented a nice video package that made this match seem special. Too little, too late maybe. Going into this match, the odds on favorite thing to occur is for Randy Orton to leave WrestleMania without the WWE World championship. What is a little tougher to predict is who will leave the event, Triple H or John Cena, as the new champion? One man is the King of Kings when it comes to backstage politics and always being in the spotlight even when he isn't wearing the strap. The other man is the WWE's golden child, who has held onto the belt for most of the past three years. Since, it's been about three years since Triple H had the gold around his waist, I am going to pick "The Game" to move one step closer to Ric Flair's "16 World Championships" record. WINNER: Triple H

World Heavyweight Champion
The Undertaker vs. World Heavyweight Champion Edge: For the second year in a row, the WWE presents "the title vs. the streak" match for the World Heavyweight Championship. Last year, it was Batista's turn to try to end the streak. Instead, he left the biggest pay per view without the Heavyweight title belt around his waist. This year, it's Edge's turn. Before last year's Money in the Bank match, Edge held a WrestleMania winning streak of his own. Before getting injured last year, the Undertaker was promised a long title reign. When he was on the shelf, Edge was promised a long title reign. However, the injury bug also hit him. Edge has currently been the champion for 3 and a half months. While this is far from a Hogan type title reign, by today's standards, it is a nice size title reign. With that being said, it is time for the Undertaker to get the long title reign he was promised. Besides, it's WrestleMania, and I can't see his WrestleMania winning streak ever ending. Its part of his legacy, and this legacy will not die. WINNER: The Undertaker

Floyd Mayweather vs. The Big Show: This is probably the weirdest built match in the history of WrestleMania. It started off with a bang when the Big Show got his nose punched in. Then it started dying off when the WWE was pushing Mayweather as a face despite his heel mannerisms, and the fact that the fans hated him more then Cena. The WWE finally does the right thing by making Mayweather the heel and Show the face in an awesome segment that featured some legitimate heat. What have they done sine then? They have provided us two weeks where the fan gets confused as to who they should be rooting for. What maybe more awful then the build up could actually be the match itself. There is no way the two will be able to mesh well enough together to put on an exciting match. If Mayweather beats up the Big Show, it will be totally unrealistic. But, in a bad way, not in a Mickey Whipwreck/1-2-3 Kid kind of way. In a shoot, Show would destroy Mayweather due to the size and weight difference. However, you know Mayweather didn't agree to fight at WrestleMania if he was going to do the job. WINNER: Floyd Mayweather

Ric Flair vs. Shawn Michaels: WOW!!! The go home segments during this past RAW made me believe that just maybe Ric Flair and Shawn Michaels can turn back the clock and give us the dream match that we envision. At least they gave us a dream "promo." Man, between the Ric Flair video package and the Michaels/Flair promo, not only am I excited to see this match, but also I hope against all hope that the WWE does the right thing. I would love for this match to close out WrestleMania, as this would be a Mania moment that you would never forget. I just hope that the WWE gives them 20-25 minutes in the ring, and they are able to find that magic they us fans believe they can provide us. In an interview recently, Shawn Michaels talked about the pressure he is under to give Flair the match that he deserves. It's funny, because I feel the pressure for Shawn Michaels. I know Flair isn't what he once was, but at the same time, I would love to believe that HBK and Flair pull out a match that has everyone talking about how they are the two greatest performers ever, and not about how we were let down by a legend who is way past his prime trying to grab that final spotlight. Here's my prediction. I believe that Ric Flair will get his WrestleMania moment. Now, it won't reach Flair/Steamboat or Michaels/Angle levels, but it will be good enough to leave the fans with a smile on their faces and a tear in their eye as we say good-bye to the greatest who ever laced a pair of wrestling boots. I also think the WWE will give us a Benoit/Guerrero type memory. It may not be the last match on the card, but I don't think the WWE will do anything to diminish the importance of this historical event. WINNER: Shawn Michaels

Money in the Bank Ladder Match featuring Chris Jericho, CM Punk, Carlito, MVP, Johnny Morrison, Shelton Benjamin, and Ken Kennedy: This is probably the toughest match to predict. Before Jeff was hit with a 60-day suspension, I would have almost guaranteed that the "Rainbow Haired Warrior" would win the match, and eventually trade in the briefcase for a belt made of gold. Instead, we have doubt as to how will win. In order to pick a winner, I am going to go through a process of elimination. Shelton Benjamin: I wish the WWE would finally get behind this guy with a legitimate push. Every time he is in this type of match, Shelton steals the show. What's his rewarded? A push in the opposite direction. Johnny Morrison: He's currently one half of the SmackDown! tag team champions. He's another wrestler that I was hoping that the WWE would push into the main events. When he was the Intercontinental champion, it looked like that was the direction that he was heading in. Then, he was sent to ECW, where he capture the ECW World title, which I believed was being used as training to see if he could move on to bigger and better things. Since then, he appears to have lost momentum. Sorry, but a tag title run isn't what it used to be. CM Punk is another wrestler who lost his way. He is extremely popular, and remains strong on ECW. However, when wrestling on RAW over the last two weeks, Punk did the job both times. This isn't exactly building him up for a Money in the Bank victory. Carlito: As much as I like the Carlito character, I can't see him as a serious threat to the title, at least not yet. Carlito is currently viewed as a mid-carder. Until he can shake that stigma, Carlito will not be inserted into a serious WWE World title program. Chris Jericho: Jericho is the biggest name in the match, and the current Intercontinental champion. Jericho doesn't need a Money in the Bank victory in order to be inserted into the World title picture. He could come out next Monday, and drop a challenge to the WWE champion, and he would have the credibility of being a legitimate title contender. Y2J doesn't need a gimmick of a briefcase in order to be granted a title shot. Ken Kennedy: Remember, Kennedy was last year's winner, and was supposed to cash in his shot at this year's Mania before the SmackDown! champion and himself suffered injuries. Kennedy has been pushed in promos as being "the guy" to win the match again. I would tend to agree, except for one obstacle standing in the way. Kennedy has mentioned on numerous occasions that if he wins the Money in the Bank, he would cash it in after the main event at this year's WrestleMania. While that would be really cool, I can't see that happening. My pick is MVP to win the match. MVP is at the Kennedy position from last year. He is the newest "future star in wrestling." MVP has held on to the US title for a while, and seems to be getting groomed for bigger, and better things. It doesn't get any bigger then the World title. I could see him winning the match, and then the WWE gives us a slow build until he finally cashes in his briefcase early next year. WINNER: MVP

Batista vs. Umaga: This match is being billed as "SmackDown! vs. RAW." However, unlike previous years when Michaels fought Angle and Goldberg battled Brock, does anybody really care about this SmackDown/RAW clash? I think the build up has been terrible. The rumor mill has it that Umaga will win by some controversial finish, leading to Umaga eventually being sent to SmackDown! in the next draft to continue his feud with Batista. While Umaga may end up on SmackDown!, I disagree with the WrestleMania result. Umaga makes a nice upper mid-level heel right now on either brand. Batista, on the other hand, is one of the main event cornerstones on SmackDown!. There's the Undertaker, Edge, and then Batista in the food chain. The WWE should keep Big Dave strong for that reason alone. WINNER: Batista

24 Man Battle Royal with the winner receiving an immediate ECW World title match: As I write this, I'm not sure who every participant will be in the battle royal. It seems like the WWE is stacking this match with big men. I have read a lot of predictions that have the Great Khali winning the battle royal. I'm not going in that direction. Both Khali and Chavo Guerrero are heels. It would make no sense for them to go up against one another. The winner should be a face to go up against the rulebreaking champion. Plus, by having to win the battle royal, the odds will be stacked against the tired winner when he now has to fight the rested champion. Not only do I think a face will win the battle royal, but I also think he will be crowned the new ECW World Champion. WINNER: Kane

Fit Finlay vs. JBL in a Belfast Brawl: While JBL hasn't shaken the ring rust since his in-ring return, I expect a good showing here. First, he's in there with Finlay, who is a very underrated worker. Secondly, JBL seems to always shine in no holds barred type of matches. The story behind this match is very weak. As explained last week in this column, it makes no sense for JBL to be viewed as a heel in this match. Finlay basically lied to Vince and his "son" in trying to pass Hornswoggle off as a McMahon. In this case, Finlay should be the heel. Since JBL is set to wrestle in the upper level on the RAW card following WrestleMania , I expect JBL to win. Would it surprise me if Finlay won, and Hornswoggle interfered to help out his "dad?" No. However, I don't see it. WINNER: JBL

BunnyMania Lumberjack Match: Ashley & Maria vs. The Glamazon & Melina: This is the match where you get something to eat, use the bathroom, take a nap, or turn on ESPN to catch the first Sunday Night Baseball game of the season. The only thing that should give this match any entertainment value would be seeing what Santino Marella will be up to. Out of all of the available women wrestlers who could have taken Candace's spot, the WWE should have chosen Mickey James as Maria's tag team partner. However, Ashley has the Playboy tie in, so from a storyline standpoint, her involvement made sense. Unfortunately, the WWE Women's division is nowhere close to TNA's Knockouts, so I wouldn't expect a great match here. What I would expect is for the fan favorites to leave the ring victorious. WINNERS: Ashley and Maria, with Snoop Dog or Jerry Lawler laying out Marella.