I usually don't involve myself with show predictions because I do not watch enough of the current product to know what is fresh and what isn't. However, with that being said, I am actually looking forward to this Mania even though everyone and their mother is shitting on it. Hell, last year, I thought Show vs. Mayweather was the dumbest looking match on paper ever assembled and it ended up dominating everyone's MOTY lists. Flair-Michaels recieved the exact same criticism that Michaels-Taker is getting (2 washed up has beens, blah blah blah) and everyone agreed it was a great match. Edge-Taker was another favorite. The three-way for the title seems to be a new Mania staple so why should this year be any different? I like the occasional spotfest and I have enjoyed every MITB match they have had so far... sue me. Let me run down the card so far...
Money in the Bank- Besides Kane and mark Henry, everyone else in this match looks game for a spotfest. Even then, the TLC match with Kane (TLC4?) was pretty damn fun. He'll stay out of the way, probably chokeslam some people off the ladder into some tables and let Shelton do his mandatory crazy spot. Then they can throw the "Can CM Punk go back to back?" story in there. Can Christian re-establish himelf in WWE? Everyone here would mark out huge if Henry took a bump off a ladder into a triple stacked table or some stupid shit. Looking forward to it.
25 Diva Battle Royale- Piss break
Jeff Hardy vs. Matt Hardy- It really depends how much time they give them. This can go the way of Hardy-Rey and disappear into history. Or it might just be possible that they give them 15-20 minutes and they blow the roof off the place... especially if they play it up like the Edge-Hardy feud as if they really hate each other and we get a nasty match out of it.
JBL vs. Rey - These two have had a few good ten minute TV matches. This won't get that much time but this should be fun. Could be like last year's JBL-Finlay match where people go in with too many expectations, but when they step back, think to themselves how good it really was. Is this even a confirmed match yet? WWE.com doesn't have it up on its pages.
HBK vs. Taker - Fuck it, I enjoy the hell out of this match-up. Ground Zero? Check. Hell in a Cell? Check. Rumble 98? Check. 15 minutes to end Rumble 2007? Check. This goes at least half an hour, Taker been really pretty damn good the last couple of years, and HBK deserved much praise for making the feud with Jericho work and did not offend me at all in those matches. I am down for this.
Tag Team match - Don't really know anything about this one but unifying the tag titles is a good thing, right?
Edge vs. John Cena vs. Big Show - Will probably end up like the past three-ways sans Benoit's title win. Give them 15 minutes, non-stop spots, a bunch of nearfalls, and I have no problem with this match. Again, is this match really doomed to fail?
HHH vs. Randy Orton - They made it NO DQ? Good! Give HHH his gimmicks. Who gives a fuck if it makes the match more entertaining? A heap of praise has been thrown at Orton's feet lately so fuckin A! Another match that I don't understnad all the hate for since there is actually real drama as to who will win. If it goes on last, then yeah, it will look like a Trips win but it doesn't really matter.
Jericho's Mystery Match - I am reserving judgment on this until it actually happens. Jericho v. Lawler? Eh, Lawler sucks shit on WWE PPVs but excels in gyms in front of 250 people. Let this main event the ROH show the night before and I would be excited. Jericho vs. Rourke? WWE has a track record of successful celebrity matches. With Jericho at the top of his game, this could be the new Bigelow-LT, new Show-Mayweather, etc. Jericho vs. Flair? Professional career choice ramifications aside, is this a bad thing from a fan's perspective? Do we really ever expect these old guys to stay retired? Jericho vs. Steamboat? Fuck it, let them roll on the mat and do headlock spots for 15 minutes. I'm ready for it. When you have a whole crowd go batshit if Steamboat can pull off a fucking Skin the Cat, everyone will forget how stupid it sounds on paper and how stupid Stemboat would be to put himself in that position.
I mean fuck, if these are the 9 matches that make up Mania, this looks like an insanely loaded card to me. But then again, I usually just wait until the end of the year to watch WWE PPVs.
