Heel Heat - Episode 5

Welcome all to the 5th episode of the most irregularly scheduled Wrestling talk program, Heel Heat. Today, Tenacious Trav and myself, Gorgeous Glen preview the big show scheduled for Sunday, and provide our thoughts on what should happen after Wrestlemania. Hope you enjoy.



(One Question: Great banner, or greatest banner?)

Let's get right to the card...

25 Diva Battle Royal

Gorgeous Glen Says: This should be a fun nostalgia match to go between some of the big ones. I am looking forward to appearances from people like Trish Stratus, and Lita. While it seems like they are going to push Gail Kim here, I see her getting illegally eliminated by someone like Maryse or Michelle McCool. Let's go with a nostalgia win here.

Prediction: Trish Stratus

Tenacious Trav Says: Well Glen here we are with another Wrestlemania to predict and discuss. As anyone who has read our previous features would know, I pretty much loathe women’s wrestling and have often refused to call the match. This year we’re being treated to a 25 Diva Battle Royal and I could really care less. There’s more no-to-low-talent women on the roster than ever before and there’s really been no effort to hype the return of divas of days gone by for this one historically significant match. Combine that with the winner receiving a ridiculous title and I could really care less about this one. While there are still some open spots as of this writing, I anticipate we’ll see Trish Stratus as you’ve mentioned, but also that we’ll see Santino (perhaps in drag). As he’s the most entertaining thing to happen to the divas scene in years, look for him to take home the prestigious title.

Prediction: Santino Marella

Extreme Rules Match

Jeff Hardy
vs.
Matt Hardy

GG: Who would have thought that the build to this feud would involve such great promo work? I think that it just shows how far they have come since their aborted (and ignored) feud from 2001. Like Bret-Owen from fifteen years ago, I expect this to be an absolute classic, as both brothers have a lot to prove. I think that this feud should stretch on for a while longer, so there needs to be a heel victory here. Like Wrestlemania X, let's go with Matt taking a fluke win in a shocker.

Prediction: Matt Hardy, cleanly.

TT: This definitely has the potential to be an instant classic, with both of these stars having incredible in-ring ability. It’s unfortunate that neither is all that entertaining outside of the ring or perhaps we would’ve seen a longer build-up to this match. A win for Matt here makes sense and is certainly deserved given his longer (and far less troublesome) run with the company.

Prediction: Matt Hardy

Elimination Match

Chris Jericho
vs.
Roddy Piper, Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka, and Ricky Steamboat

GG: While I would have much preferred to have this come down to Jericho vs. Rourke or Jericho vs. Austin, that did not seem to be in the cards. I see Jericho pulling out easy wins on two of these men, probably Piper and Snuka, only for Mikey Rourke to get involved, hit a Ram Jam on Jericho, and give the match to Steamboat. This will give a chance for all of the legends to hug and give us a happy Wrestlemania moment

Prediction: Legends via Mike Rourke interference

TT: This is probably one of the more disappointing items on the card as it’s an absolute waste of one of the company’s top 3 heels (the other two being Edge and Orton). While Jericho has worked his ass off trying to make this interesting (cementing that top heel status) it doesn’t change the fact he’ll be in the ring with a bunch of washed up 80s stars who have no business being in the ring. I know with this being the 25th edition of WM that there should be some nostalgia and a nod to the stars of the past, but this is just not the way to do it. We all know that it should have been Jericho vs Mikey Rourke. Rourke would have provided the celebrity involvement that this card so desperately needs – and his involvement as Glen has predicted simply won’t be enough.

Prediction: Jericho (with the legends revenge coming after the win)

The Undertaker
vs.
Shawn Michaels

GG: Easily the most anticipated match on the show. I wish that they would learn the lesson from Wrestlemania X8, and XXIV, and just have this match close the show, to not have to make anyone else try and top it. I have loved the build to this, as Michaels has continuosly gottend the better of The Undertaker, and one upped him at every stage. If you are a new fan, trust me, that never happens, ever. I think that the streak will be intact forever, unless they decide to let Cena have it, but even that I doubt. That being said, I expect both of these men to do a damn good job convincing us that maybe it will end on this night.

Prediction: The Undertaker, after probably three tombstones.

TT: Unlike the Jericho match, this one features some legends that can still go. Easily the match I’m most looking forward to, UT and HBK are sure to deliver. Your chronicles of both Michaels’ and Takers’ Mania matches (even with the completely wrong order for the top 5 UT matches) has detailed the great heights these two men can reach. Breaking the streak here makes no sense (Orton should have been the one) and since Undertaker has never beaten Michaels this match will still be historic.

Prediction: The Undertaker in what will be the match of the night.

Money in the Bank Ladder Match

CM Punk vs. Montel Vontavious Porter vs.
Shelton Benjamin vs. Finlay vs.
Kane vs. Mark Henry vs.
Christian vs. Kofi Kingston

GG: The usual train wreck with many of the usual suspects, however this match is anything but usual for these guys. This is probably the hardest of all the Money in the Bank matches to predict, as very few men seem like viable contenders. Mark Henry and Kane have been around for far too long and wouldn't really work, Finlay seems to have been demoted heavily in the past year or so, Punk won it last year, and Kofi is probably a year or two away from that high of a win. This leaves three men who the WWE has pushed, and stalled on a number of times in their career, Shelton, MVP, and Christian. I would be happy to see any of these guys get the win, but I think that the winner has to be MVP, this is the most logical conclusion of his long-running losing streak storyline, and he would be a great cocky tweener to carry the briefcase around.

Prediction: MVP

TT: For once, that’s a great synopsis, Glen. While I don’t like the involvement of the big men here (one would’ve been even too much) this usual spot-fest should still pass as mediocre. Kingston is a great worker and I expect him to shine here as Shelton has done in the past. As you’ve outlined, there are really only 3 potential winners for this one and so to be contrary I’m going with Christian.

Prediction: Captain Charisma

Intercontinental Title Match

John Bradshaw Layfield (c)
vs.
Rey Mysterio

GG: I thought long and hard about this one, and changed my mind a few times. JBL winning seemed like a good transition to a new face, like Mysterio. However, JBL has promised something "special" for Wrestlemania, and rumours have persisted that he will retire with the title, thus giving him the win here. I think that seems far more likely, especially since I think that Rey will return to Smackdown following the draft (more on that later in the column), so let's give the win to JBL here. Especially since Mysterio beat him 1 on 1 in a non-title match on Raw this week.

Prediction: JBL, by some sort of heel tactics.

TT: This is shaping up to be a predictable card. I’m hoping JBL’s historic action equates to more than a retirement with a major title, but it does seem we’re going down this road. JBL and Mysterio have had a past feud, but this storyline is really out of nowhere and hard to care for. They could’ve used Koslov against JBL to have the cowboy-come-millionaire go out as an all-American face, but alas I don’t write the shows.

Prediction: JBL

Tag Team Title Unification Match

Carlito and Primo Colon

vs.

John Morrison and The Miz

GG: If their previous matches have been any indication, this should be a great, great match. I do worry however, that the addition of Lumberjacks will take away from this one. Still, these four men have been delivering classics for the past few months both in tag team matches, and in singles affairs, and I expect no different here. It all depends on who the WWE sees as the bigger stars of the future, as it would be a great thing for announcers to mention years down the line (a la Jericho), and I think that is Miz and Morrison who seem like future world champions to me, hopefully the Bella twins aren't too heavily involved in the finish, but I find that doubtful.

Prediction: Miz and Morrison via Bella-ference

TT: I’ve been a fan of Morrison since Tough Enough and even with his humble beginnings as a lackey to Eric Bischoff he showed incredible promise. He’s become a fantastic performer and is a future World Champion for certain. Carlito has gone from promising up-and-comer to being lazy in the ring. While his brother outshines him, he is the lesser known competitor. The Bella twins have no business being involved at Wrestlemania.

Prediction: Miz and Morrison (clean)

World Title Match

Edge (c)
vs.
The Big Show
vs.
John Cena

GG: While expectations are not particularly high for this match, I think that we may be in for a surprisingly good one here. Both Edge and John Cena usually deliver when they are in the spotlight, especially when it involves each other. Also, the Big Show seems tailor made for triple threat matches, as he can deliver his big moves, and then rest for a bit before returning later. I think that Cena will pull out a victory here, and let Edge and Show continue to feud over Vickie afterward. I'm really hoping to see Cean F-U the Big Show onto Edge for the finish, that would just be awesome.

Prediction: Cena via some sort of awesomeness

TT: Am I the only one getting bored with Cena? It’s sad because Edge is the number two heel in the company and should really be retaining the gold here. The kids need to go home happy, though, so look for the action star to pick up the strap. I’m just hoping this doesn’t go on too long and that Big Slow stays out of the way for the most part.

Prediction: John Cena

WWE Title Match

Triple H (c)
vs.
Randy Orton

GG: The build up for this match has been simply fantastic, and I for one am looking forward to it. While these two have never delivered a classic in their many one-on-one encounters, this time feels different. They finally have emotion, hatred, and a really big stage. As much as a part of me thinks that H is going to retain, I think that logical booking has to give it to Orton, these two are locked in a blood feud, and H would have no reason to give Orton another match after this. I think that we are in for a long story between this two, so Orton needs to win this one.

Prediction: Orton, hopefully without any McMahon swerve

TT: My love for Orton is well documented. He is truly the WWE’s number one heel and has shown depth of character rarely seen before. His ring work is second to none and by forming his own stable he’s placed himself at the top of the Raw heap of talent. The storyline is red hot going into this (minus a few mis-steps – the recent McMahon involvement, the over-the-top home invasion) and like Glen, I really expect this one to deliver. Triple H is the kind of star, not unlike the Undertaker, where he doesn’t need to hold a title to be incredibly over. Having him retain really no makes sense, and a win will mean everything to Orton on what is one of the most historic Wrestlemanias to date.

Prediction: Randy Orton

Bonus Questions:

(EDITOR'S NOTE: In the past, mostly in real life, we have done a few special "bonus questions" mostly because they are a lot of fun)

What match will go on first?

GG: Tag Title Match, Miz and Morrison deserve to open up the big event with a big win

TT: You’re probably right, but I’ll go with the MITB.

What match will go on last?

GG: World Title Match, since I have Cena penciled in for the win, it just makes sense

TT: Agreed.

Which match will a table get broken in?

GG: Hardy vs. Hardy, come on far too easy here

TT: Yes, or Orton/HHH

Will Ric Flair bleed?

GG: YES, Flair always blades, and this should be no exception.

TT: I expect him to still be bleeding from the Jericho beat down on Raw 2 weeks ago. (You know they were desperate to get some heat for this match when they resort to that)


And now to some more intriguing questions...

GG: With the upcoming draft scheduled to take place on April 13th, are there any big names that you see switching sides?

TT: I suspect we’ll see some changes involving Morrison, HHH, Rey and ideally John Cena.

GG: Agreed on the first three, but I find a Cena switch highly doubtful. MyNetwork TV, Smackdown's current network is looking like it may just tank, so I expect them to stock Raw with the biggest names, and like it or not, that's John Cena. I think we could also add Edge, JBL (to play announcer), Christian, CM Punk, and Batista as the other big names to switch sides.

It seems like every year the WWE decides to bring some new stars to the top of the card. Do you have any predictions of anyone who will break on through to the top following Wrestlemania?

TT: In the long term I expect Kofi Kingston and John Morrison to become big players. Although not at Mania, look for Evan Bourne’s star to rise in the next year.

GG: Good thoughts on those ones, but I think that the real star to break on through will be Matt Hardy, who should take a big jump to the top of the card, and Jack Swagger, who should move his way into the Upper card within the next few months.

And sadly, that just about does it for this edition of Heel Heat, and it should be my last post before Wrestlemania. Expect next week's blogging to be filled with thoughts on the event, before we make the shift back to our regular, erratic format.

Enjoy the show!

Until next time,

GG