Wrestlemania 28 is a week away. One of the most anticipated matches of all time, The Rock vs John Cena, i taking place. Triple H and The Undertaker are going to go at it inside Hell In A Cell. Chris Jericho and C.M. Punk should put on a very good 20 minute wrestling match and Daniel Bryan vs Sheamus should be good at well. When it is all set and done, this may be one of the better Wrestlemanias of all time.
The problem is, as those who read my RAW reviews can figure out, I haven't been a fan of much of the build. Outside of C.M. Punk/Chris Jericho, nothing is standing out to me. HHH/Undertaker is boring, Rock/Cena hasn't gotten out of second gear, and I couldn't care less about this whole GM storyline. While all the matches will deliver, which is what people will remember most, the lacking build will always stick out in my mind.
So as I was thinking about what to write about this week, I came across an article from a Rock interview. When asked about a potential match with Brock Lesnar at next year's Wrestlemania, Rock smiled and said, "I'm not saying a thing" and "I didn't say anything" all the while smirking the whole time. Now of course, this just could be The Rock playing said reporter. But a potential Rock vs Brock Lesnar match? While it would undoubtedly be a big money maker, it also involves one part time wrestler and another that hasn't been in the WWE since 2004. The Rock is committed to Wrestlemania 29, and Brock Lesnar has said in interviews that he would be willing to come back for one match. You want to kill morale in the locker room? Have two non-full time roster members main event Wrestlemania.
But then I got to thinking. Brock Lesnar has talked about doing one more match, so has Steve Austin. The Rock is committed to Wrestlemania next year, and you know The Undertaker will always be around unless he retires after Wrestlemania 28. Triple H would always be willing to come back for a match at Wrestlemania. Those are five of the top stars to ever step foot in the WWE, all willing to wrestle on the grandest stage of them all. Five potential huge matches.
That's right, I said five huge matches. Here's my idea: Instead of having a potential Rock vs Brock Lesnar match, or even a Rock vs Undertaker match like I thought of, why not have all of those top stars face off against a current WWE superstar in a "Past vs Present" Wrestlemania. In the New York/New Jersey market, one would assume that they would be all for it. That market loves their wrestling history and would be all for this type of Wrestlemania. Well, at least I would think so.
The one major obstacle this type of Wrestlemania would face is that it would take a full year of building up a couple of younger stars to make them seem like they belong in the same ring as The Undertaker or Triple H. As recent booking would tell you, the WWE has a tough time getting behind someone not named John Cena or C.M. Punk long term. The rugs have been pulled out of the pushes of John Morrison, Miz and Dolph Ziggler far too quickly for my liking. After Wrestlemania when Rock, Triple H and Undertaker all leave again, who is there to take the reigns? Right now, no one. The WWE often lacks very good long term booking. Booking a Past vs Present Wrestlemania would force them to do that and make new, long term stars along the way.
So the questions is how do you build towards this, and what matches would take place? I think you would have to sporadically build up to it throughout the year. Have appearances by Steve Austin, The Rock and Triple H. I think it would also be important to have the current crop of stars call out guys like Triple H and The Undertaker. There match at Wrestlemania 28 was the "End of An Era?" Good, because that era is a thing of the past and they are the future. Another interesting twist to the storyline could be guys like Austin and Triple H trying to convince John Cena to join their side. Tell Cena that he is bigger than anyone on the current roster and deserves to be on their side.
As I said, it will take a solid year to build up some of these guys to make them look like they are on the level of a Triple H or Undertaker. A couple of matches are obvious. Steve Austin vs C.M. Punk is one of them. I almost think you would have to do Cena vs Rock again. Anyone that faces Rock at next year's Wrestlemania almost looks secondary to Cena. I would prefer Cena/Lesnar or even Cena/Taker to that, but I third match between Cena and Rock would do. Brock Lesnar could go up against Randy Orton. Even though Punk/Austin would be great, I personally would put Orton against Austin and have Punk face Lesnar. But the WWE would probably do Punk/Austin, leaving Orton for Lesnar.
So that leaves The Undertaker and Triple H. Originally, I thought about putting these guys together in a tag team match. Now that only works if Triple H beats The Undertaker this year. If he doesn't, then the Streak is still an important part of Wrestlemania. The two guys that immediately come to mind as potential opponents are Wade Barrett and Cody Rhodes. The two worked together as a tandem before. There were big plans for Wade Barrett in the coming months before Barrett dislocated his elbow. He was planned to win the Money in the Bank Match at Wrestlemania, but the match was completely scrapped due to Barrett's injury. I think Barrett and Rhodes will be the two stars the WWE pushes heading into the summer. I would have originally pegged Dolph Ziggler for this spot, but Ziggler has been jobbed out too much recently. If it was up to me, I would put Barrett against Undertaker and Rhodes against Triple H.
Now of course there are the WWE and World Titles you would have to work in here somehow. You could have maybe Lesnar, Austin or Undertaker be surprise entrants in the Rumble match. At this point, winning the Royal Rumble means almost nothing anymore. What has it done for Sheamus or Alberto del Rio? Hey, there's a possible World or WWE Title match right there. I don't really know if Jericho will be around by next year's Wrestlemania, that is why I didn't include him. And hell, if you can talk Shawn Michaels into another match, why not have him go up against his former student Daniel Bryan.
So yes, while Wrestlemania 28 is a week away, I'm already thinking about the possibilities of next year's Wrestlemania. If the WWE commits to it, I think it would have the potential to be a very good show. It also helps them build some new stars along the way.
What do you guys think?
Until Next Time,
Justin C
Follow Me On Twitter @JCWonka
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