WrestleMania XXIV Predictions
This Sunday night, the WWE presents WrestleMania XXIV. My predictions for the event are listed below and in the order that I believe the matches will take place. In addition to telling you who I think will win the matches, I’m going to explain why. Feel free to let me know what you think will happen at this show by clicking on the comments link below. 24-Man Battle Royal: For those that missed the announcement, this match will be taking place prior to the PPV on wwe.com. The vast majority of the wrestlers in this match have no shot at winning. This will come down to the giants. Mark Henry, Big Daddy V, Kane, and the Great Khali are the favorites. Kane seems to be the logical choice because that sets up a strange foreshadowing of the World Heavyweight Championship match. Predicted Winner: Kane
ECW Title: Champion Chavo Guerrero vs. Kane - If the words of Armando Estrada are to be believed, this must be the first match on the show because he said that the winner of the battle royal would get an immediate title shot. This match would feature the future brother-in-law of the World Champion battling the brother of the contender for the World Heavyweight Championship. I see Chavo retaining the title just to play up during the show that the Undertaker's brother lost. Predicted Winner: Chavo Guerrero
Money in the Bank Ladder Match: Mr. Kennedy vs. Shelton Benjamin vs. Chris Jericho vs. Carlito vs. MVP vs. CM Punk vs. John Morrison - The winner of this match for the past three years has been a wrestler that was on the cusp of being in the main event and needed this win for a little push to become a main eventer. Since Jericho is always a viable title contender I don't see him winning this. Carlito and Shelton have been around for quite a while and even with the briefcase I don't see fans picturing them as viable title contenders. Punk and Morrison can eventually make the leap to the main event but they still don't have enough high profile wins to be deemed worthy of a championship match yet. That leaves MVP and Mr. Kennedy. Kennedy won the match last year but injuries forced him to relinquish the title shot. I don't see the WWE repeating history here. That leaves MVP to win the match and when you think about it, he fits the bill of the wrestler that would benefit most from this victory. He is currently the U.S. Champion, has beaten several world champions, and could be viewed by the fans as a man that can win a championship match if given the chance. Predicted Winner: MVP
Belfast Brawl: JBL vs. Finlay - This will be a brutally violent match. I expect Hornswoggle to make his return during this match and to cost JBL the match. Predicted Winner: Finlay
Flair's Career on the Line: Ric Flair vs. Shawn Michaels - While wrestling fans fear that they will never see the Flair strut take place in the ring again, at least we can take solace in the fact that we will see Ric salsa dance on a CBS Reality TV Show in a few weeks. I believe that Flair will have no problem losing a retirement match on the grandest stage in wrestling to one of the best wrestlers ever. He has already lost two retirement matches and one of them involved Vince Russo. Predicted Winner: Shawn Michaels
World Heavyweight Championship: Champion Edge vs. The Undertaker - I have no doubt that the Undertaker will improve his record to 16-0. The big question is whether he will walk out with the title or not. Since November, the Undertaker has been screwed out of the title several times by Edge. This is the perfect time for him to finally get his revenge. However, don't expect for this feud to end here. Predicted Winner: The Undertaker
Umaga vs. Batista - Batista is one of the biggest stars in the company and will eventually become champion again. The same can't be said about Umaga. A dominating win by Batista will give him back some of the luster he has lost in recent months and should put him back into a main event feud instead of being relegated to a match that is basically an afterthought. Predicted Winner: Batista
BunnyMania: Ashley & Maria vs. Beth Phoenix & Melina - Since Snoop Dogg is involved in this match, I can't imagine the host of a Girls Gone Wild video not celebrating with the Playboy cover girls. I expect Candice or Snoop to stop Santino Marella from interfering in this match and causing his attempted interference to backfire. I also expect that this will be one of the worst segments in the history of this event since neither Ashley or Candice have ever put on anything close to an entertaining match. Predicted Winner: Ashley & Maria
Big Show vs. Floyd Mayweather - It is very rare that a celebrity wrestler loses a match. If Big Show lost to Akebono a few years ago, I can't imagine him beating Mayweather. I expect that Rey Mysterio will show up during this match and distract the Big Show. That will allow Mayweather the opportunity to hit a few uppercuts to the groin of the Big Show to get the win. Predicted Winner: Floyd Mayweather
WWE Championship: Champ Randy Orton vs. John Cena vs. Triple H - Randy Orton's title reign ends tonight. Whether Cena or Triple H wins this match, you can rest assured that they will be feuding with each other for the title for the foreseeable future. I like Cena to win this match only because he is undefeated at WrestleMania, has never walked out of a WrestleMania match without a title, and has never faced the Undertaker at this event. One day, Cena and the Undertaker will cross paths at WrestleMania and it only makes sense to keep Cena undefeated at this event for that future WrestleMania battle. Predicted Winner: John Cena
Photo: © 2008 World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Comments
Do you know where there are any archives or info on Championsip Wrestling from Florida Mainly 1970’s -1980Thanks
Hi Gary,
These links might be of interest:
http://www.cwfarchives.com/
http://www.kayfabememories.com/Regions/cwf/cwf.htm
- Eric
That MITB was sooo meant for Jeff Hardy to win… Eric, do you think we can see Matt reappear and somehow screw MVP in the MITB match?
Hi Efrain,
Matt has returned to action but has been kept off of TV. There is always a chance that he could show up. WrestleMania does have a history of surprise returns such as the Ultimate Warrior’s return at the end of WM 8.
In the UK the big PPVs (Royal Rumble, Wrestlemania, SummerSlam, Survivor Series) are put on box office and cost about £20.00 (about $40.00) and I normally get a copy of these from a friend.
But this year the card for WM looks good so I might just order it live. Sad thing is I’m not as young as I used to be and staying up till 5am is hard on my aging body these days.
Great post as always Eric.
Eric,
I dont want to say i doubt you on a prediction and your pick is the better pick for the WWE triple threat but with Cena doing that movie and HHH being …. well HHH how could you not think HHH will pull rank and go over?
But i ask this with all due respect as i really like your posts and all you do.
Thanks
Dean,
Thanks for the kind words and for reminding me that since the WWE is a global company that their events are on at weird times for fans in different parts of the world.
Chris,
Two things to remember.
1 – Triple H hasn’t won at WM since WM 19
2 – Unlike the Marine which was filmed in Australia and required Cena to take time off, this film is being filmed in the US and a good chunk of Cena’s parts have already been filmed. Since this is a WWE Film, they can schedule the filming in such a way as to make sure that Cena is available every Monday night.
That doesn’t mean that Triple H can’t win, it just eliminates those 2 potential reasons for him to win.
My friend is getting this PPV and he invited me to his house to watch it. I would like to see someone other than Orton as champ *BUT* what do you think of this – Orton retains and becomes the FACE of the trio. Right now HHH and Cena have the crowd but did you hear cheering for Orton when he went to demolish the others? I think Orton is the most interesting of the 3. HHH is great but he needs more mic time w/ HBK. I find it interesting that you think Flair will go out – I read somewhere that there are negotiations with Sting to come to WWE for 1 match and demolish Flair – a secret plot by McMahon to rid the WWE of Flair. HOWEVER, I watched TNA on Thursday and Sting was on TNA. HOWEVER, there were many WWE ’stars’ in the audience. I wouldn’t be surprised if Sting showed up – TNA was being taped in Orlando where Wrestlemania is – either in the crowd or in the ring.
Actually, if WWE was smart, they’d start a feud with TNA like they did with WCW. There are so many ex-WWE-ers in TNA – Booker T, Angle, Christian, Nash, Gail Kim (or was she only in WCW?), Rhyno… that would be awesome to have those guys stand in the same ring as the WWE-ers. There is not a chance in hell it will happen but… it would be awesome!
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