With WrestleMania 29 in the books and The Rock’s future in professional wrestling up in the air at the moment, I thought it would be a good time as ever to discuss if The Rock’s return to the WWE was a success or a failure.

I feel like the majority of wrestling fans believe that The Rock’s run with the WWE since WrestleMania 27 was a failure. I believe fans look at it as The Rock being paired with the wrong guy, John Cena, and use that as their focal point for how the run has been perceived since he returned to WWE television on February 14th, 2011. Now those fans that believe it was a failure have very valid points.

In my opinion Wrestlemania 27 was one of the worst WrestleMania’s of the last decade and that was due in large part to the The Miz/John Cena/The Rock storyline. The WWE Champion at the time, The Miz, was an after-thought to the main event match and the focus was more on John Cena’s interaction with the host of WrestleMania 27, The Rock. The feud between those two overshadowed the match itself and gave us one of the worst/anti-climatic WrestleMania finishes ever.

The night after WrestleMania 27 gave us our first official match for WrestleMania 28, The Rock vs. John Cena. It was an unprecedented move by the WWE to announce a WrestleMania match one year in advance and gave the creative team officially one year to build towards one of the biggest dream matches since The Rock battled Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania 18. The WWE had struck “gold” by getting The Rock back in the ring to take on their top superstar.

Rock vs. Cena at WrestleMania 28 gave the “old” “attitude era” fans someone to represent them (The Rock), while the “new” and “younger” fans got someone to represent them (John Cena). Fans were pumped up when the match was announced and it already had fans planning a Miami vacation to attend the perceived historic event with the match fans have been dreaming to see for some time.

Once WrestleMania 28 season began and the WWE creative team began building towards the match, fans became very critical. The buildup wasn’t what fans expected, it’s quite possible they expected too much and they began looking for excuses as to why they believed it wasn’t being executed correctly (The Rock was restrained on his promos due to the “PG” rating, etc.). Still, despite all that, fans were eager to witness one of wrestling’s last “dream matches” at a WrestleMania event.

The match itself wasn’t anything special nor was it 5-star quality at the slightest. It was a decent match that had more memorable moments from the introductions and what happened immediately after The Rock won then what happened inside the ring. The majority of fans were disappointed as their expectations weren’t met in what they saw at WrestleMania 28.

Following WrestleMania 28, The Rock vowed to be crowned WWE Champion once again before riding off into the “movie sunset” until making an appearance at the “RAW 1000” episode. The Rock’s appearance catapulted then-WWE Champion CM Punk from “super” babyface to “super” heel and the seeds were planted as “The Great One” was announced to be the #1 contender for the WWE Championship at the 2013 Royal Rumble. It definitely appeared that in July 2012 the WWE would go forward with The Rock being WWE Champion yet again.

The Rock had a good series of matches with CM Punk at the Royal Rumble & Elimination Chamber, with many people, including myself, believing that the feud and matches with CM Punk surpassed anything he did with John Cena the last two years. The Rock was the WWE Champion once again as he headed into the company’s biggest show of the year while the #1 contender to his WWE Championship at WrestleMania 29 would be his old “once in a lifetime” friend, John Cena.

I was in support of The Rock/John Cena II at first but quickly letdown due to the lack of buildup to the match heading into WrestleMania 29. It was as if either superstar had very little interaction with one another and it didn’t help that The Rock did not appear for two straight weeks in the month of March, a crucial time for WrestleMania buildup. The buzz for the match at WrestleMania 29 was a far cry from what it was at WrestleMania 28 and it translated at the biggest show of the year just a month or so ago.

The match at WrestleMania 29 was by far a better match then the two had a year prior in Miami and while they had the crowd “in it” at times, I believe it wasn’t as compared to the electricity that it had in the Orange Bowl. John Cena finally got the victory over The Rock and that’s when all the real news started happening in-regards to The Rock’s most recent WWE run.

Nearly 18 hours after WrestleMania 29, the wrestling news world went crazy when it was learned that The Rock got injured in his match with John Cena and left New Jersey without WWE knowledge. It left the WWE creative team reportedly “scrambling” heading into one of their biggest RAW shows of the year and killing any interaction between The Rock & Brock Lesnar where they would’ve “planted the seeds” for a match at WrestleMania 30. The Rock later confirmed the latter of the two, while denying he did not leave New Jersey without the WWE’s knowledge.

During that same interview The Rock spoke about his questionable future in the world of professional wrestling and said there was a “possibility” he may have wrestled his last match at WrestleMania 29. Ending what could be his most recent run with the WWE.

So with that said, was The Rock’s most recent run a success or a failure? It was 100%…a success.

Now how could that be? I just blasted nearly everything The Rock had done with the WWE in the last two years. How would something like that translate into success?

First off, it’s not The Rock’s complete fault some of those storylines never panned out like the WWE may have thought. In my opinion The Rock actually saved WrestleMania 27 and The Miz/John Cena from being any worse then it truly was. It gave a “buzz” to the show that it didn’t have weeks leading into the event.

Second, The Rock vs. John Cena heading into WrestleMania 28 had all fans excited. It’s very rare nowadays that an entire majority of wrestling fans get excited for a match and don’t honestly know who will be the winner, Rock/Cena at WrestleMania 28 brought that. It also helps that there was a good “WrestleMania buzz” heading into the event as well.

Third, WrestleMania 29 was the highest grossest WrestleMania of All-Time. Now obviously that’s not all thanks to The Rock, but he certainly played a major role in it when his match main evented that card. Throughout the entire 2-year run for The Rock he helped the WWE make a lot of money and bring them some good “pop culture” notoriety.

In America we base success off of how much money you earn and have gained. The WWE earned AND gained a lot of money when The Rock was with the company the last two years. I honestly believe the figures they have had in the last two years deserve an amount of credit to The Rock. People aren’t spending money if they don’t care, so despite what the “internet” may tell us, fans were locked in.

The “pop culture” notoriety was also a big deal for the WWE as they were able to get “mainstream” attention. The Rock is a “machine” in Hollywood nowadays and people are clamoring to see him in a wrestling ring or on the silver screen. I’ll never forget how The Rock nearly “shut down” Twitter and various other social media outlets when he returned to the WWE in February 2011. All fans were genuinely pumped to have him back and to this day his return that night is one of my favorite YouTube wrestling videos to watch due to the amount of emotion/excitement that Anaheim crowd had that night.

You can’t deny that was not a “once in a lifetime moment” in professional wrestling history.

To me the facts state that The Rock’s 2-year run with the WWE was a successful one. Could it have been better? It most certainly could have but, the “would ya, could ya, should ya’s” are exactly that. Plus I believe it’s important for fans to appreciate everything The Rock has done the last two years because let’s be honest here, he didn’t have to come back in the first place.

His heart still had love for professional wrestling and he still had love for the wrestling fan(s). For that we should all be grateful for the last two years The Rock was with the WWE, should it be his last for whatever ever reason.

For more on this topic join us for the Thursday May 9th edition of “The Still Real to Us Show” and download the show at www.wheelhouseradio.com or www.wrestlechat.net.

You can listen to Jeff on “The Bower Show” every Monday – Friday from 3pm – 7pm ET on 97.9 ESPN in Hartford, CT. You can listen online at www.979espn.com

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WWE: WrestleMania 29 DVD

The Rock: The Epic Journey of Dwayne Johnson DVD

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The date: August 25, 2001

The place: St. Andrew’s Hall

St Andrew’s Hall is primarily known as a concert venue for up and coming musical acts. Since 1980 it has hosted such names as the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nirvana, and Green Day before they broke big, to name just a few. Located in the heart of downtown Detroit, MI, its main fame to claim is its depiction in the Eminem vehicle 8 Mile.

Now, not St Andrew’s Hall per say, but its basement, the venue within a venue known as The Shelter. It is portrayed in the film as the place where Em takes part in his battle raps. There is also a top floor, if you want to call it that, which is basically a circular catwalk looking down on the main floor. Much of my misbegotten youth was spent partying at this Motor City landmark, whether it was watching my favorite bands perform or partaking in their “three floors of fun”.

Over the years St Andy’s has played host to various wrestling events, primarily those promoted by the Insane Clown Posse (I attended one such event in 1997 pre JCW). For the sake of this blog however, the show I’ll be referring to was one promoted by a local band (and sometime workers) the Bumpin’ Uglies.

It was on this date in August of 2001 (I only recall the exact date, because when I arrived home later that night, MTV was reporting that pop star and Detroit native Aaliyah had tragically passed away that day in a plane accident) that I came face to face ( and I do quite literally mean face to face) with whom we today as wrestling fans generally regard as the best in the world, CM Punk.

Right away, even in his formative years, this man had “it”. No disrespect to any of the other workers on the card that night, but with all honesty I don’t remember a sole one of them, save for this lone gentleman. Gentleman is probably the wrong word to describe this man, because quite frankly he was anything but, and that’s a compliment!

This guy was an absolute heat magnet. This was right after ECW went under, and I remember the guy next to me proclaiming “I haven’t seen anybody get this much heat since…” I finished his sentence for him: The Dudleys. No disrespect to Bubba or D-von, but in my opinion they relied way too much on cheap heat, where this dude seemingly didn’t have to. That’s not to say he didn’t rely on cheap heat. As I mentioned earlier we got face to face, and his exact words to me were “do you have a f%^kin’ problem”. But more than that he just came across as such a sanctimonious, colossal, douchebag prick, as if he were say… better than you, and I loved every moment of it.

I left that night knowing I had witnessed a future star in the making. How big of a superstar he would ultimately become, I never would have guessed.

I raise my glass of Pepsi to you sir, and say job well done.

Bill “Halfway” Hamill is a musician and lifelong pro wrestling fan from Detroit, MI. You can hear and buy his music, read his blogs and listen to his podcast Hamill’s Halfway House at http://HalfwayHamill.com.

WWE: CM Punk – Best in the World

WWE: WrestleMania 29 DVD

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WWE creative have been on the money with The Shield. They have been booked better than any newcomers in recent memory yet at the end of the day I am starting to wonder what the end game here is for Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, and Roman Reigns.

Like many of you I went out of my way last week to watch WWE Friday Night SmackDown after hearing about the main-event taped featuring The Undertaker vs. Dean Ambrose. The match was great and even with Ambrose losing, the trio still left SmackDown strong. This is the one act that the WWE has protected and yet I can’t figure out what the payoff is going to be with the group.

What do you do with The Shield? As a trio I have to think they are very limited. That isn’t a knock on their wrestling because thus far they have been fantastic in the ring. But what do you do with a three-man unit like this? This isn’t a Von Erichs vs. Freebirds situation where you have two strong trios. I just can’t see in the big picture where The Shield wind up over the next few months.

In just a matter of several months the group has already feuded with the two top dogs in the WWE. Feuds with John Cena and The Undertaker have been fun, but what is left? How can you go from Cena and Undertaker to anyone else at this point? How do you capitalize on this ray of gold that WWE Creative has protected since their debut?

I took a look at the big picture a few weeks back and tried to predict the WrestleMania 30 card. A lot of things will change from now until then so anything not announced is purely guess work. Once I got into the nitty gritty of the card I couldn’t find a spot for The Shield. Sure you can book them against just any three guys and have a solid match. But there wasn’t a logical progression or program that I could envision for these guys 12 months from now.

I threw this question out on Twitter after SmackDown on Friday night. I expected to get the usual arguments you get whenever you pontificate on Twitter but I didn’t get any. Every tweet in response agreed with the question, “What do you do with The Shield?” Nobody had an answer and I think that could be a real problem moving forward.

One person suggested they add a veteran leader and make it a four-man group. I don’t think so. The Shield has been booked so strong that I think a leader at this point wouldn’t make sense. It is obvious from day one that Ambrose is the natural leader of the group. I think a fourth, unless it is a new guy on the roster, would also cheapen the gimmick.

The obvious answer is a three-way split with a Triple Threat Match at WrestleMania. That just seems like a cop out to me. I think these guys have a lot of legs and a long shelf life. Sure I can see that scenario evolving at WrestleMania 31 but not 30. What is the point of this strong build as a unit anyway if they are just going to split? Ambrose lost to The Undertaker why? Because it was a singles match. To me I see this as the WWE establishing that these guys are unbeatable as a unit yet beatable apart.

A WWE tag team championship seems inevitable but at this point that is almost like a step backwards when you are having matches with Cena and Undertaker. I’d love to see a longer feud with Team Hell No but who do you have after that? The tag team division is weak unless a new “super team” pops up.

I could easily see CM Punk turning babyface at some point and feuding with The Shield. Punk could grab two partners, Cena and Undertaker making the most sense, and have a couple of trios matches with the group. Unfortunately I think we have seen the last of The Undertaker for awhile so that is probably off the table. Even at that point you wouldn’t book this on WrestleMania.

So this brings me back to the question I asked at the start of the blog. What do you do with The Shield? Quite frankly I have no idea.

WWE: WrestleMania XXIX DVD

WWE: For All Mankind- The Life and Career of Mick Foley- with Mr. Socko Sock Puppet (Limited Edition)

I know I have written about this subject before but unfortunately for all wrestling fans, myself included, this topic always seems to rear its ugly head nearly every year.

But I believe wrestling fans we can finally find closure on this subject and find our inner peace. Join me in permanently burying the subject or the notion that current WWE Champion John Cena will ever turn heel for the rest of his career.

For years we have “flirted” with the subject in hopes of it actually taking place because many wrestling fans, once again myself included, saw major dollar signs in the eyes of the WWE should they ever decide to pull the trigger. Reason for that is because many “older” wrestling fans, like myself, remember Hulk Hogan turning heel famously in 1996 and forming the nWo. The heel turn added years to the life of World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and nearly killed the then World Wrestling Federation (WWF).

Hogan’s heel turn was something many wrestling fans wanted to see at that time as the Hulk Hogan “gimmick” of “saying your prayers and eating your vitamins” basically had run its course in the wrestling world. The same can be and is said about John Cena’s current gimmick which naturally leads many of us to hope that a heel turn would eventually take place. The move would not only “freshen up” the character of John Cena but quite honestly the entire wrestling landscape of the WWE as well.

In 2010 we hoped that John Cena would turn heel during the midst of the “Nexus” angle and it never took place.

In 2011 we wanted to see John Cena turn heel as CM Punk was on his meteoric climb to the upper echelon of professional wrestling and it never took place.

The most recent hope came weeks ago at WrestleMania 29 as rumors swirled that John Cena would turn heel at the event, ala Stone Cold Steve Austin from WrestleMania 17, and reveal he was the one behind “The Shield” the entire time.

As we know now, that never took place either.

One of the most frequent questions asked of John Cena in interviews is that of the proposed fan’s hope of him turning heel. Cena always has the same answer that it isn’t worth him turning heel based off of all the outside good he does for the WWE and various other charities or groups (Make-A-Wish, connections with the military, etc.). Many of us look at that as just a way to dismiss the idea and try to “swerve” the wrestling fans hopes of it actually taking place, but clearly Cena is telling the truth in every single one of those interviews.

It wasn’t that fans thought John Cena was lying, but more of the fact that in the world of wrestling you can’t take everything a wrestler says as “fact.” It’s still professional wrestling and the aura/allure it can hold onto from yesteryears where a “face” couldn’t hangout with a “heel” is still important to the business.

At this point of John Cena’s career if it hasn’t happened now then it’ll never happen. His feud with The Rock slightly opened the door for John Cena to turn “heel” but now that the feud is all but done (maybe one more WrestleMania or SummerSlam match left) I would say the idea of John Cena being a heel is too.

Let’s face it, Cena is at the downside of his career and may not be an “everyday” active wrestler 5 years from now when he’s in his 40s. I think it’s time that we all as wrestling fans close the door on the idea and end our flirtation with the subject of him ever becoming a heel (again).

It was fun while it lasted but John Cena was right this entire time. Very rarely wrestlers are meant to be a certain character their entire career, John Cena is the exception.

For more on this topic join us for the Thursday April 25^th edition of “The Still Real to Us Show” and download the show at www.wheelhouseradio.com or www.wrestlechat.net.

You can listen to Jeff on “The Bower Show” every Monday – Friday from 3pm – 7pm ET on 97.9 ESPN in Hartford, CT. You can listen online at www.979espn.com

You can follow Jeff on Twitter at www.twitter.com/JeffPeck979ESPN

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WWE: WrestleMania 29 DVD

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The CM Punk rumor mill is heating up following his WWE exit on Monday Night RAW. A new report indicates that Punk walking out of the WWE could have been more fact than scripted television fiction.

Mike Johnson at PWInsider.com reports that a huge blowup between Punk and WWE Creative almost led to Punk quitting the WWE a few weeks ago. Punk reportedly worked out the issue with “top WWE officials”. The disagreement coincided with Punk being pulled from live events during that time period.

This report comes several weeks after Dave Meltzer on his F4Wonline.com podcast told a similar story. Dave in his usual mysterious ways touched on the story without giving details. Meltzer mentioned at the time that there were big issues with Punk and creative but never mentioned anything about Punk quitting. That is a new twist to the story coming from Johnson.

Once word broke of this story the social media world heated up with thoughts on the situation. What you have to understand about the social media world is that Punk’s fan base is very active on social media, so it was generally supportive. Punk’s supporters generally felt that the WWE would be greatly hurt without him and they were lucky he stayed.

I know a lot of Punk fans read this blog but I am going to warn you, I completely disagree with most of you. Punk leaving the WWE would be a big blow to his fans, no doubt about it. However, Punk is not a big draw. He gets big pops but he doesn’t move the needle on RAW unless he is with John Cena or The Rock and hasn’t made any big differences in the ratings. It’s just a fact.

The thing you have to remember about Punk and his fans and he has a lot of them is that the vast majority of his fans watch RAW and buy the pay per views anyway. These are hardcore fans. These aren’t fans specifically buying or watching for him. If that was the case he would have been a game changer following Money in the Bank 2011. He hasn’t and as much as he is a big part of the show, he isn’t bringing new fans with him.

The other point I want to make here is that the timing of the story is greatly coincidental to his current storyline. Is it just coincidence that a story about Punk almost quitting the WWE comes out the same time he walks out on RAW? Punk will be taking some well deserved time off to heal his injuries. What better way to stir the pot and add some credibility to his storyline. In other words my hunch is that Punk is working the “sheets.”

Take a look back at Money in the Bank 2011 and all of the things that were “reported” about Punk and his contract in the months leading up to the show. Was Punk’s contract really coming up? Maybe, but after everything was all said and done I was convinced more than ever that Punk exaggerated that story and leaked it to the “sheets” to set up the angle. Let’s be honest. All of those reports about Punk turned out to be false when he showed back up less than two weeks later. I think this is a case of the exact same thing.

Punk worked the independent scene for a long time and has a lot of friends there. I am sure he made many connections to news sites and writers during that time period. It would be much easier for someone like him with those connections to leak and work a story than someone like a John Cena or Triple H. It’s very plausible.

I’ll take these Punk rumors with a grain of salt. Do I believe that there were issues with Punk and creative? Sure I do believe it. Do I believe he had any intentions of really quitting? Not for a second. Do I believe that his absence will or would hurt the WWE? Sorry but I don’t.

Update: I wanted to clarify a few things in the blog. One, I didn’t have all of the information on Mike’s story. Bad job out of me. According to the actual story, Punk threatened to quit after finishing up at WrestleMania. I got that wrong and I apologize.

The other thing is I don’t want anyone to confuse what I am saying. I am not saying that Mike is Punk’s shill. I don’t believe that for a second. I’ve known Mike since 1992 and he has much more integrity than that. What I am suggesting is that he plants stories through his “sources” to work his angles. Keep in mind that this was only a hunch of mine and I am not saying for a second I know this for a fact. I just look back at the facts and that a lot of these stories generally coincide with an angle. Again knowing Mike since 1992 I should have used clearer language there and I apologize to him for that.

WWE: WrestleMania 29 DVD

WWE: The Best of in Your House

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I’ve been doing this blog the last several years a week or so after that year’s WrestleMania wrapped up and once again it has returned by looking at the 2014 edition of the biggest show of the wrestling year, WrestleMania 30.

First and foremost I need to give credit where credit is due and say that this blog was inspired by Camel Clutch Blog creator Eric Gargiulo who “penned” a predictions blog just like this several years ago. I “borrowed” the idea myself and decided to give my own WrestleMania predictions one year before the event actually happened. So with that said lets take a look at my very early WrestleMania 30 predictions:

The Rock vs. Brock Lesnar

This is a pretty easy prediction to go with since there were reported plans for the two of them to plant the “seeds” for a match in the Superdome at WrestleMania 30 the RAW after WrestleMania 29. I like the WWE going with this match because it involves two “part-time” wrestlers having a match at the biggest show of the year and not leaving a wrestler who would be more deserving to be in a WWE Championship match at WrestleMania (CM Punk, Dolph Ziggler, Daniel Bryan to name a few) the “odd man out.”

Rock/Lesnar has a big match appeal to it and if it’s like anything compared to their SummerSlam 2002 encounter then wrestling fans will be in for a show at WrestleMania 30.

Ryback vs. The Undertaker

Right now it appears that the WWE has decided to take Ryback out of the babyface role and make him into a monster heel. Personally I love the move WWE creative has made because I feel that someday Ryback has the potential to “slide” into John Cena’s top babyface role and putting him as a heel, outside the “babyface shadows” of John Cena, will make him look stronger to the WWE audience.

The amount of opponents for The Undertaker at WrestleMania are a slim list and if Brock Lesnar is going to be involved in a match with The Rock, then the next big thing (no pun intended) to threatened The Undertaker’s streak is to have the “everyday monster heel” of the WWE to challenge “The Deadman.”

John Cena (c) vs. CM Punk (For the WWE Championship)

When we look back at the John Cena vs. CM Punk feud historically, we will look back at it as defining an “era” of professional wrestling in the WWE. I believe we will put it upon the mantle piece of such era defining feuds like Hogan/Savage, Hart/Michaels and Rock/Austin. But what those feuds all have in-common that the Cena/Punk feud does not, is a main event match at a WrestleMania.

I loved listening to interviews leading up to WrestleMania 29 where CM Punk candidly said that he believed it should be himself vs. John Cena main eventing WrestleMania 29. Quite frankly, while Rock/Cena may look like the “big money draw,” John Cena vs. CM Punk could be a match that leaves people talking for years. Case in point their most recent RAW match back in late-February, arguably one of their best one-on-one matches of All-Time.

Dolph Ziggler (c) vs. Daniel Bryan (For the WWE World Heavyweight Championship)

This is the “wrestling fan’s” WrestleMania dream match right now. It’s two of the best in-ring workers in professional wrestling battling it out at a WrestleMania with a World Title on the line. Imagine if the WWE gave wrestling fans this match and allowed them to do battle for 25-30 minutes. Just the thought of that is making Wrestling fans around the world salivate.

The best thing about this is it has a very good chance of happening a year from now as they are two of the biggest rising stars in the company. Their popularity is growing at every WWE show and they have the ability to kick-off the “30’s decade” of WrestleMania in-style by quite possibly being that Cena/Punk feud that could define an era. To me, it’s the closest thing to a Hart/Michaels-like match that we may ever see in today’s professional wrestling landscape.

Chris Jericho vs. Triple H

Heading into this new “fiscal year” of the WWE will be pretty interesting. Throughout the year their will come times where these stars will be brought back to due battle with some sort of rising star like Chris Jericho did (i.e. Fandango or Dolph Ziggler) or due battle with an established star like Triple H did (i.e. Brock Lesnar). But now that WrestleMania 29 is in the books what does each of these two legend’s future hold for WrestleMania 30?

I’d personally love to see a throwback to one of the most underrated feuds of the “Attitude Era” and see Chris Jericho & Triple H battle it out for one more time. This feud actually headlined a Wrestlemania during that time period (WrestleMania 18) and a rematch between these two towards the end of what I presume to be their careers, would be a nostalgia match for the “older” wrestling fan. Not only that but I believe these two legends would give us a great match on the grandest wrestling stage of them all.

Plus who wouldn’t mind seeing another underrated feud, Chris Jericho and Stephanie McMahon, be rehashed one more time?

For more on this topic join us for the Thursday April 18^th edition of “The Still Real to Us Show” and download the show at www.wheelhouseradio.com or www.wrestlechat.net.

You can listen to Jeff on “The Bower Show” every Monday – Friday from 3pm – 7pm ET on 97.9 ESPN in Hartford, CT. You can listen online at www.979espn.com

You can follow Jeff on Twitter at www.twitter.com/JeffPeck979ESPN

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WWE: WrestleMania 29 DVD

WWE: The Best of in Your House

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It is never too early to look into my WWE crystal ball and start making WrestleMania 30 predictions. I made WrestleMania 29 card predictions last April and let’s just say that I couldn’t have been more off the mark. It’s time to turn that around as we look ahead to New Orleans!

In taking a quick look back at my WrestleMania 29 match predictions from April 2012, I only got one match right. I hit on The Rock vs. John Cena and missed on everything else. It certainly wasn’t as easy to predict the twelve months out from Mania to Mania as I thought (or maybe too predictable depending upon how you look at it). 2014 looks like it could be different.

Predicting WrestleMania one year out is almost as difficult as filling out your March Madness brackets at any time of the year. Take a look at WrestleMania 28 a year ago. Sheamus and Daniel Bryan were in championship matches, Brock Lesnar wasn’t even in, and you had the whole Team Johnny vs. Team Teddy fiasco. The World Wrestling Entertainment landscape certainly looked a lot different this year.

So with this all said, let’s take a look at some of the probable WrestleMania 30 matches one year before this great spectacle invades Louisiana. Keep in mind that these are all just predictions and should not be taken as fact or cited as a source in any kind of report.

John Cena vs. The Undertaker Streak vs. Streak…I have been hanging my hat on this baby for the last couple of years and have been no closer since I first made the prediction. I think this match has to happen. It is the only Cena and Undertaker match that hasn’t happened ever in the WWE (well it has, but not on a big stage). This is a main-event the company can draw with in which they don’t have to pay crazy money for an outsider to come in and carry the event.

In my post-WrestleMania 29 blog I mentioned that the WWE really blew it by not going with a streak vs. streak match between Punk and Undertaker. I think that between this being the 30th event and probably the last for The Undertaker, they keep the WWE title on Cena all year long (gasp!), and go with streak vs. streak. Who wins? That is another blog altogether but say what you will about Cena, a match like that would be absolutely huge!

Steve Austin vs. CM Punk. If this match is ever going to happen it is going to happen here. I can see the WWE going all out to try and get Austin back in for the 30th WrestleMania. Austin hasn’t ruled out the match although according to reports most close to him seem to think it’ll never happen. Will that one last huge payday tempt Austin to lace up the boots one more time? I have serious concerns about The Rock coming back next year and without him, the WWE will need to grab someone else to help fill those shoes. If it doesn’t happen at WrestleMania 30 it’s never going to happen.

Backup plan – CM Punk vs. Triple H. I know that these guys have already had their big match but if you look at the big picture, what else could either really do next year that would have any kind of impact on the show? I hope for logic sake that Triple H is wrestling on the show because if he doesn’t, his win over Brock makes even less sense. So I am going to assume he is in. Punk makes the perfect foil and it would be a great opportunity for Hunter to return the favor and pass the torch so to speak. Does Trips fear the embarrassment of being booed at the expense of Punk’s fans? Maybe, but I think this one has to at least be on the white board when it comes to planning the New Orleans event.

Randy Orton vs. Dolph Ziggler for the WWE world heavyweight championship…I was pulling for an Orton vs. Bryan match this year and that didn’t happen. I know Orton has his critics but take a look at any of his matches with Ziggler and tell me they aren’t all fantastic. These guys have some sick chemistry together and I could see a scenario where Orton winds up with the title during the next 12 months as a heel, and a babyface Ziggler works his way back into the title picture with a win at the Royal Rumble. Yep, Ziggler wins the Rumble and challenges Orton at Mania next year!

The Rock vs. Brock Lesnar. We all know the story of this one by now. This match has been planned for awhile but the angle got sidetracked after The Rock went home the day after WrestleMania 29. Does it happen? Honestly I don’t think it does, but I have to at least include it on the list. The star power here is probably the biggest that the WWE can grab from two guys the level of Brock and Rock. I am just not so sure The Rock is so eager to risk his next movie against the likes of Brock. If he got injured twice against Cena, he will fall completely apart against Brock. But it is on the books so it needs to be here.

Backup plan – Brock Lesnar vs. Batista. There have been all kinds of rumors lately of Batista returning to the WWE, which are nothing new since those same rumors reared their head last year at this time. Batista coming back to wrestle Brock makes sense, especially if you play off of both of their MMA backgrounds. I think this match would be pretty good, although I would be disappointed if Batista didn’t return to his heel character he portrayed before leaving. What else do you do with Brock if The Rock isn’t interested in returning to the ring?

Backup plan #2 – Brock Lesnar vs. CM Punk. Quite frankly I am expecting this one to come a little bit earlier, around SummerSlam. Brock is a babyface plain and simple. The fans love him. He will be turning babyface sooner or later and if the WWE is convinced Rock isn’t coming back, and the Batista idea isn’t feasible, maybe they shoot the angle here and turn Heyman and Punk on Brock? It would give both Punk and Brock a big match, probably a damned good one on the big event. I know it is coming but whether it comes at WrestleMania 30, SummerSlam, or WrestleMania 31 is anyone’s guess.

Stay tuned to the Camel Clutch Blog throughout the year. We will be posting WrestleMania 30 predictions all year long, as well any news reports that break regarding the match card. We don’t need to wait until January to get in on the fun.

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