Early WWE rumors indicate that Sheamus vs. The Undertaker and a WWE title unification match are on tap to main-event WrestleMania 27. Are these enough for a blockbuster event or does Vince McMahon have another Bret Hart surprise up his sleeve?
We are only in September but thus far this looks like your WrestleMania 27 main-event. It is intriguing on many levels, but is it strong enough to headline a WrestleMania event? On paper I think it has tremendous potential. For me, I think Undertaker vs. Sheamus is one of the rare fresh matches that the WWE has to offer that is worthwhile of the big event.
During an “in-character” interview, Sheamus recently threw down the gauntlet for the match. “I think personally I’m so confident in myself I believe I could easily take The Undertaker’s undefeated streak away from him at WrestleMania,” Sheamus said, almost reflecting on his own character’s hubris. “That’s if he has the nerve to go with me down there. Maybe he’s scared of me? Maybe he feels like he knows I could take him, you know?” – Pwtorch.com.
The biggest news is the rumor of a title unification match to make one WWE champion. The match would unify the two titles and end the eight year existence of dual world champions.
After acquiring WCW, the WWE brought back the WCW title in 2002. At the time, the company wanted to put the WWE intercontinental title on Triple H. Triple H felt that anything but a world title would hurt his credibility. Brock Lesnar was the current champion and taking the belt off him wasn’t an alternative. To appease him, the company brought back the WCW title, renamed it, and Eric Bischoff proclaimed him champion. The move did not go without controversy and rubbed quite a few of his co-workers the wrong way.
[adinserter block=”1″]There have been talks over the last several years to unify the WWE world titles. The biggest argument against such a move was that it would hurt house show business. Some in the company felt that without its own touring world champion that the SmackDown or RAW brand house shows wouldn’t draw as well on the road. One plan on paper moving forward would be to unify the U.S. and Intercontinental titles and use that and a stronger main-event to make up for it.
With the Undertaker and Sheamus off of the table, what else is left for WrestleMania 27? The key players are Randy Orton, John Cena, Edge, Chris Jericho (maybe), Rey Mysterio, and Triple H. Not a problem if this was 2005, but in 2011 this tells you everything you need to know about why the business is down across the board. Wade Barrett, CM Punk, The Miz, Alberto del Rio, Kofi Kingston, and The Big Show don’t appear to be in any position to carry a WrestleMania main-event.
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One rumor making the rounds is that a major babyface will turn heel before WrestleMania, presenting a new character on an old face. While the name has remained a mystery, in order for that wrestler to have any impact whatsoever it has to be John Cena. A Cena vs. Evan Bourne match with a major angle involved would be a nice prospect. Although they have flip flopped so much on Evan Bourne that by WrestleMania he could be on NXT. Triple H is always a safe bet and he is due for a heel turn but let’s be honest, his impact hasn’t been the same since his feud with Randy Orton two years ago. A Rey Mysterio vs. Koval match would be another likely candidate, but again I don’t see a Rey heel turn having a big impact overall.
This isn’t to say that the WWE won’t surprise us and pull another Bret Hart before WrestleMania 27. Batista was on fire before he retired and could inject some fire into a stale lineup. A Hulk Hogan retirement match isn’t as unlikely as one would think. Randy Savage would be intriguing especially with the urban legends surrounding him and the McMahons. Bill Goldberg has made waves about wanting to wrestle on WrestleMania but I can’t imagine that anyone would care in 2010 about seeing Goldberg. Of course there is always the celebrity factor, but the WWE has done a great job of watering down the impact of celebrities with the Guest Host concept.
[adinserter block=”2″]Sheamus vs. The Undertaker is a great start, but they are going to need be real creative to construct another two or three WrestleMania matches with its current lineup. Even with the addition of a WWE title unification match, wrestling fans have been burnt so much by stipulations over the last five years that I don’t think that the match has the appeal that the WWE expects that it would. The World Wrestling Entertainment are going to have a real hard time topping last year’s lineup in what I felt was one of the best WrestleMania cards in many years.
Calling Shawn Michaels…
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