Looking Forward to Wrestlemania XXVI

Well, since Wrestlemania XXV has come and gone and it's time to look forward to Wrestlemania to next years event, much like I did just over a year ago. In retrospect, I was able to correctly predict the Hard vs. Hardy match, which belts Matt Hardy and Shelton Benjamin would hold at some point over the year, and I got 3 out of 8 MITB participants accurate.

While I mostly enjoyed this years event, I do feel that the WWE has been relying on the same old, same old for a while now. Wrestlemania 21 had star-making moments for John Cena, Batista, Randy Orton, and Edge, but other than their weak effort to elevate Rey Mysterio, and Bobby Lashley's flake out, there haven't been any others to really break through to the top. Since that event, all of the top matches have involved those four men plus the old guard of Triple H, The Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, and to a lesser extent, the Big Show. While this has worked relatively well, they need to realize that they have the talent that is ready, willing, and certainly able to break to the top. Wrestlers like John Morrison, Mr. Kennedy, Shelton Benjamin, MVP, CM Punk, Evan Bourne, and Jack Swagger all have the necessary tools to get to the top, but they need the stage to do it, and I, for one, think that Wrestlemania XXVI may be the perfect time to make that a reality.

And it could just go something like this.....

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ECW Title Match
R-Truth (c) vs. Tyson Kidd

I see Truth going to ECW in the near future (more on that to follow), and this seems like it would be a good feud. To be honest, I wouldn't be the slightest bit shocked if this didn't get on the card, given the treatment of the ECW Title by management.

Money in the Bank Match
Jack Swagger vs. MVP vs. Christian vs. Matt Hardy vs.
Shelton Benjamin vs. Kofi Kingston vs. Evan Bourne vs. The Miz

A few old faces to the match, a few new ones. If the WWE decided to go with this crop, they could possibly top their greatest MITB match ever, as Shelton, Christian, MVP, and Hardy always deliver in these types of matches, while Kingston did great this year, also The Miz, and especially Bourne would be ideal for this one. Lastly, Swagger would be a great power guy to throw the little ones around, and pull out some cool stuff of his own. As for the winner, I would probably go with Swagger, since he seems most likely to be a big-time future main eventer, no matter how much I'd love to see my boy MVP get the win.

Big Show vs. Kane vs. Umaga

I had a similar match suggested for this year, and I think that it could be a fun special attraction match. If they wanted to add people like Finlay, Henry, Khali, or even Santino Marella (as a hilarious joke) that could work too.

Ted Dibiase Jr., Cody Rhodes, and DH Smith vs.
Rey Mysterio, and Carlito and Primo Colon

A battle of second generation teams! I think that DH Smith is going to be the next member of Legacy, and I would love to see them feud with another group of second generation wrestlers. This match could be fun if some titles were added (a secondary and the tag titles) to be defended in a winner take all match, but it could be fine as it is.

Women's Title Match
Beth Phoenix (c) vs. Gail Kim

I actually have high hopes for the Women's Division over the next year as there is a fair amount of talent there! This is a match up of who I believe to be the two most talented performers in what could be the closest that the women could have to an “Inter-promotional Dream Match”. I think that the dynamics would work better if Phoenix was champion, but if they wanted to do a Champion vs. Champion (non-title) match that could work too.

Shawn Michaels vs. John Morrison

The first of many matches that I have slated to help groom the next generation. These two are in a ready made feud, as it would be nice to see HB2k9 challenge the original, sure it would be a bit of a redux of the first Jericho feud, but it would still be amazing. Morrison really has a lot of early HBK mannerisms, and I think that these two could give a match for the ages, that could really help cement Morrison as a big star.

Edge vs. Mr. Kennedy

Yet another star-making match. These two do have a very long feud running between the two of them, which started after Kennedy won the Money in the Bank match at Wrestlemania 23. I think that they are going to be split across the brands after the upcoming draft, but a special inter-promotional match could be good. I think that the promos on this one would be amazing, and it could finally set up Kennedy as a big star, which the WWE has tried to do a few different times.

The Undertaker vs. Chris Jericho

Taker needs more big names for the big event, and (to my knowledge) these two have never gone one-on-one. The build could be a simple “I want to send The Streak” type angle, or it could be simmering for longer, and be more personal. Either way, it needs to happen, and it would be great to have at the big stage.

Triple H vs. Batista
Special Referee: Ric Flair

Sure Batista returned as H's buddy, but I don't see that lasting for too long. I think that H-Batista-Orton is going to be a fun triple threat type feud in the coming months, as they exchange partners, and switch off. Hopefully in any one-on-one encounters, Batista always defeats Triple H (remember, he is 3-0 against his former mentor). I would love to see a dejected Triple H challenge Batista to a match at the grandest stage of them all, on the five year anniversary of their first match, and to up the ante make their other Evolution mate work as the referee, since that would be all sorts of awesome.

World Title Match
CM Punk (c) vs. Jeff Hardy

I think that Punk (and the briefcase) are going to go over to Smackdown at some point soon. I really, really hope that Punk turns heel at some point this year, as it would liven up his character and help him be a solid main-eventer. A feud between a “holier than thou” straight edge wrestler and someone with a past like Hardy's would practically write itself. While this may not seem like a “Wrestlemania Main Event”, a world of wonder can be done in a year, and also I think that there are enough big matches that the world title match does not have to be one of the top matches. These two could really go a long way to making each other stars, an extended feud between these two that could be blown off with a ladder match stipulation would be all kinds of awesome.

WWE Title Match
John Cena (c) vs. Randy Orton

Two men with a long history settling their score on the big show. It should have happened last year, and possibly this year. These two have a really good chemistry with one another, and I would love to see them work their magic, especially if you add a stipulation and let them get violent. These two are going to be the companies biggest names for the next several years, so let them have the stage now.

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So there we have an event that gives several of these wrestlers a moment to shine with the big guys, while still giving us some solid encounters between the old guard.

I guess we'll have to wait and see if it happens.

Until next time,

G