Wrestlemania 29 Preview: Fandango vs. Chris Jericho

This is quite the debut match.Fandango is Johnny Curtis in another new gimmick as a dancer (I’ll give them this: they’re repackaging him over and over until he finds something that works.  It’s VERY refreshing to see someone getting a new gimmick for a change instead of the same failing gimmick pounded into the ground.  Look at someone like Chris Masters.  There’s obviously talent there but WWE wouldn’t let him have anything but “he’s muscular and strong”.  A gimmick change can do wonders for a guy) who won’t wrestle until someone pronounces his name right.  Jericho, ever the smart aleck, mispronounced his name over and over, finally making Fandango snap.

This is a match which could go either way.  If the Fandango character is deemed a failure, Jericho goes over.  However, Jericho is the undisputed king of the jobbers and is willing to put over anyone on two legs at a moment’s notice.  It’s not like Jericho’s character is going to lose his status with a loss here either as he’s firmly in the legend status where he could lose every week for a year and still be at the same level.  The build for this has been pretty solid with Fandango being so over the top that he’s very entertaining.  The problem for him is likely to be his in ring work, which from what I saw at a house show in February is bad at best and depressing at worst.

As for the winner, I’ve got to go with Fandango.  He’s been built up too well and it’s clear that WWE sees something in him, given the amount of times they’ve repackaged him over the last few years.  Jericho is likely leaving again to do band stuff, so a loss and post match beatdown could very well be likely.  The match is likely to be entertaining because of both guys being such entertaining characters.  Fandango wins and should send Jericho part of his paycheck every week for a year as a result for putting him over like this at Wrestlemania.