The Shimmy 3.31.08: Jumping the Gun- WrestleMania XXV

Posted by Andy Clark on 03.31.2008

With WrestleMania XXIV in the books it's time to take a look at WrestleMania XXV! What will WWE have in store for the Silver Anniversary of the Grandaddy of 'Em All? Click the link to find out!

Happy post-Mania Monday, everyone. So who slept last night? Anybody else as wired as I was, staying up late rewatching your tape of WrestleMania XXIV? Just me? Ah well. In any event I hope you all enjoyed the show last night and for those of you that didn't see it…shame on you. Now there will be a lot of reflecting on this year's installment of the Grandaddy of ‘Em All but if you want my take on it you'll have to wait until next week. This week I've decided to beat the rush and try my hand at next year's card. Yes, the big 25th Anniversary of the Showcase of the Immortals is just 369 days away and hot of the heels of last night's huge show in O-Town I'm giving you my early predictions on what we'll see. The beauty of everything is that since it's my column I can still count this in my WrestleMania XXIV coverage so I can still bill my birthday predictions in August as my first look at Mania. Haha! Victory!

Ahem. Sorry.

In any event let's get to the predictions. You guys like these kinds of columns, don't kid yourselves. And in a change of pace I'm building up the card instead of going from top to bottom. You know, to build the excitement and whatnot.

JBL vs. CM Punk

So we have a tale of opposites here. I was tempted to go with Punk-Jericho but I have a feeling we may see that sooner rather than later. Now I wouldn't imagine JBL's comeback will last much longer than next year's Mania so why not put over a young guy on the way out? JBL could cut some great promos running down Punk in the buildup to this match and Punk can attack JBL for be so darn unscrupulous. While there is a clash of styles here I think it could actually work out quite well and would be a nice boost for Punk

Next Generation Showdown: Carlito & Chavo Guerrero vs. Cody Rhodes & DH Smith (w/ Nattie Niedhart); Guest Referee: Shane McMahon

I suspect that the build to WrestleMania XXV will feature a lot of looks back to wrestling's past and indeed I include nostalgia on this very card. But why not have a match that focuses on all the second generation superstars in the WWE? You could perhaps even add Afa Jr. and Ted DiBiase Jr. to the mix if you wanted, but I went with more of a sure thing here. You have Carlito and Chavo as the elder members of the next generation and Cody Rhodes and DH Smith as the younger guys. I like the touch of having Shane in there as an official, or at least as a guest ring announcer or something. This match needn't be long but I think it would be a cool touch and a compliment to another match I have booked later on in the card.

Money in the Bank Ladder Match: Rey Mysterio vs. Chris Jericho vs. Finlay vs. Kane vs. Umaga vs. John Morrison vs. Shelton Benjamin vs. Randy Orton

OK, so I'm not going to try and come up with some fancy booking for this one. In fact, as you can probably tell I've got one guy too many listed here. A match like this is hard to predict a year in advance, but judging by today's roster this looks like a pretty good lineup. I really like the idea of having Mysterio involved in a MITB match at some point and I would even push to have him win here. WrestleMania in Houston should attract many members of the Latin American community, something WWE has tried very hard to market towards. Provided Rey can stay healthy I think this could be a big opportunity for him and a great opportunity for WWE to start plans on developing (or repurposing) that Latin American brand.

Team Playboy vs. Team Workrate: Kelly Kelly, Maria, Candice Michelle, & Ashley Massaro (w/ Torrie Wilson) vs. Beth Phoenix, Mickie James, Melina, & Victoria (w/ Jillian Hall); Guest Referee: Trish Stratus

So we couldn't actually call it Team Playboy vs. Team Workrate, but I like the concept. Every year the Playboy girls get a push due to the fact that they are, well, hot and naked, normally leaving some of the more qualified in ring competitors out in the cold. Well I think that could be a perfect story for next year's Divas match, especially if WWE is still employing their recent Playboy girls. Mickie James could make a short term heel turn (probably more of a tweener) to take on the Playboy girls and if they wanted at the end of the night she could sever her ties with her heel teammates. I think it's merely a formality for Kelly Kelly to be the next WWE Diva to pose for Playboy so throw her in on the Playboy team. Since this show should have some nostalgic touches I thought Trish Stratus would be a great person to bring back to referee the match. It would be cool if they could get Lita back as well but I'm not sure if she'd be interested in coming back.

WrestleMania XXV Legends Battle Royal

And this is the compliment to the next generation tag match. The Silver Anniversary of WrestleMania should have some legends so why not throw them all in this match? Mr. McMahon, Mick Foley, and Hulk Hogan could anchor the match, and maybe even Ric Flair if he wants to come back for a night. Dusty Rhodes, Sgt. Slaughter, Ron Simmons, Hacksaw Jim Duggan, IRS, Brooklyn Brawler, Doink the Clown, Roddy Piper, and Superfly Jimmy Snuka would all probably work the match as well. I'm not sure if Barry Windham is up to actually competing but a Battle Royal might be OK, same with Michael Hayes. Being in Texas you could try and get Terry Funk in there for an appearance too. There are plenty of out of work old timers that could still go in a limited fashion: Greg Valentine, Tito Santana, Haku, The Bushwhackers, Road Warrior Animal, Chavo Classic, Marty Jannetty, Cowboy Bob Orton Sr., Vader, King Kong Bundy, One Man Gang, Demolition, and Kamala just to name a few. Hell, I even think Nikolai Volkoff still laces up the boots from time to time. So long as you had some guys in there with at least a bit of mobility this could be really fun with some surreal moments if booked correctly. Any combination of Vince, Foley, or Hogan would be pretty cool in my estimation and throw in some of those others and you could have a match full of WrestleMania moments.

Big Show vs. The Great Khali

This won't be Steamboat-Savage in terms of workrate but it could still be very cool. You know WWE is going to do it eventually, I just hope they wait until WrestleMania. With both of them being heel for the foreseeable future I would imagine WWE could keep the two men apart so that's a good thing. And really neither man needs to be face if they don't want them to be, although I'm sure the crowd will probably side with Big Show. There're very few "must see" matches that Khali has left as a special attraction type wrestler and one against Big Show is one of them. The staredown alone would be momentous. It should obviously be kept short but I think this could be a solid addition to the WrestleMania card.

Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels

Over the past few years we have seen a few variations on the Undertaker's WrestleMania matches. We have seen Undertaker vs. big man, Undertaker vs. henchman, Undertaker vs. up and comer trying to end the streak, and we have seen Undertaker's streak vs. the title. It's kind of hard to come up with a unique WrestleMania matchup for the Deadman. With WrestleMania being in Undertaker's hometown of Houston next year I think they need to put together a Texas sized match. With luck San Antonio and Houston will be in a battle in the NBA at the time but even if they're not this would be a battle of legends. They have teased us for the past two years at the Royal Rumble and now it's time to give it to us. These two legends could absolutely tear the house down and there doesn't even need to be that much build for it. Who knows, WWE may even break kayfabe a bit and actually mention that Undertaker is from Houston and not Death Valley if only to help sell more tickets.

World Heavyweight Title & ECW Title, 2 Fall Triple Threat Match: MVP© vs. Matt Hardy© vs. Edge

This is where the fantasy booking really kicks in. Over the course of 2008 I think we will see MVP win the World Heavyweight Title. I also think we will see Matt Hardy win the US Title from MVP and spend the majority of the rest of the year feuding with the likes of John Morrison, Shelton Benjamin, and Chuck Palumbo over it. But by the time WrestleMania rolls around I see Matt Hardy having moved past the US Title and winning the ECW Title, possibly at the Royal Rumble. Edge is your 2009 Royal Rumble winner and as such has the opportunity to challenge whatever champion he wants. One on hand he really wants his big gold belt back on SmackDown, but on the other hand he would love to take a World Title from Matt Hardy at the biggest stage of them all. The solution? As Lucas Scott would say, "Do ‘em both." In a stipulation revived from WrestleMania 2000 we have a two fall Triple Threat Match with both titles on the line. Hardy has history with both men and Edge and MVP play their characters so well that the heel-hell dynamic between the two could be quite intriguing. Matt Hardy loses the first fall and his ECW Title, it doesn't really matter to who, but the key thing is that he picks up the second fall and the World Heavyweight Title. I know what some of you are saying, Matt Hardy as World Heavyweight Champion? Fear not, haters, because it's not a long term deal. I wouldn't foresee Matt holding the title past Judgment Day at the latest, but Matt being a champion is integral to the evening's events.

John Cena vs. Batista

Part of me doesn't like having Cena outside of a title match at the big event. Part of me wanted to book Cena against Undertaker. And part of me REALLY wanted to book Cena against Hogan, but that match would detract from another match on this show. So I went with the next best thing: Batista. Cena-Batista is a fresh match and much like Taker-Michaels could sell on name value alone. This match could be set up as simply as a Rumble elimination gone wrong or some kind of wacky backstage highjinks. Who knows, maybe by 2009 one of these men will be heel. In any event this is a big time match fitting of a big time show.

Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Mr. Kennedy

And this is why I didn't want Cena-Hogan. With WrestleMania being in Texas I fully expect Stone Cold to be the "main event" Hall of Fame inductee next year. I also expect the Rattlesnake to give us all one more match. While I could conceivably see Austin taking on the likes of Cena or even Randy Orton, I think we'd see him in there with Mr. Kennedy. The two men are tight and many people see similarities in them. This could be the big match that helps get Kennedy over to that next level and Austin would no doubt bust his ass to make sure that happened. Kennedy wouldn't even necessarily have to win for the match to be a success, and quite frankly I wouldn't expect it. Some of Kennedy's detractors may have an issue with putting him in there with a guy with a bad neck but I'm sure both men would be particularly conscientious in regards to Austin's health.

WWE Title Match: Triple H© vs. Jeff Hardy

This may be a bit premature but I like to think of Jeff Hardy's story as one of redemption. He's been going through a tough time as of late, but with family and close friends there to help him and a vast fanbase there to support him and root him on, Jeff could turn his sad story into a positive one. WWE may try keep Jeff Hardy down in the midcard upon his return this summer but I have a feeling that it'll be hard to keep the fans (and no doubt injuries to the roster) from bumping Jeff back up the card. With no more strikes left to give when Jeff comes back he needs to be completely clean and I have faith that he can pull that off. Jeff Hardy could be the next Eddie Guerrero, a man that battles his demons, wins back over the fans and the company, and ascends to the top of the business. Of course I would hope the end result would be different, but everything else would stay the same. Jeff Hardy's story can be one of redemption and WrestleMania XXV is the perfect place for his ultimate victory. Five years ago we would have seen the best moment in the history of professional wrestling as Chris Benoit and Eddie Guerrero embraced in the middle of the ring, both World Champions. At WrestleMania XXV we will see another moment. Partially in an effort to replace that old memory and partially in homage to it, Matt and Jeff Hardy will stand triumphantly in the middle of the ring both as World Champions.

So there you have it. None of those matches will probably happen, or as it normally is will happen in the summer and fall of 2009 instead, but let's see. I'll take another stab at this in August, let's see how much the landscape of wrestling can change in four months.

The Shimmy Likes It Raw!

What's on tap for tonight's show?

This is one of the biggest Raws of the year. What will the fallout be from WrestleMania XXIV? Will be see any matches booked for Backlash in a few weeks? Will there be any word on a Draft Lottery again this year? Will we have new World Tag Team Champions for the third straight year? Tune in tonight to find out!

That does it for me this week. Next week is the final installment in the World Heavyweight Title series and I'll be the last one to wrap up WrestleMania XXIV. Until then, don't die. Clark…out.