It is never too early to start making WWE WrestleMania 29 predictions. I made WrestleMania 28 match predictions last year the day after the show and actually did quite well. Let’s see what lays ahead in my crystal ball for the 2013 WWE extravaganza.
In taking a quick look back at my WrestleMania 28 match predictions from April 2011, I actually hit quite a few of them right on the head. I hit on The Rock vs. John Cena, The Undertaker vs. Triple H, and Chris Jericho vs. CM Punk, as well as my prediction that Daniel Bryan would be in the SmackDown WWE world heavyweight title match. Not bad if I do say so myself.
So with this all said, let’s take a look at what are the most probable WrestleMania 29 matches one year before this great spectacle invades New Jersey. 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.
The Rock vs. Brock Lesnar for the WWE championship. This isn’t that bold of a prediction, in fact it isn’t much of a prediction at all. Early reports indicate that as of today, this match is indeed penciled in as next year’s main-event. According to one report, the plan would be for Lesnar to enter New Jersey as defending WWE champion against the Great One.
I already wrote extensively about this match so I won’t say much more. As a main-event, you can’t get much bigger when it comes to star-power. Rock vs. Lesnar is a match that will attract a ton of casual and maybe even non-pro wrestling fans. It is a very shrewd move on Vince’s part, but will it be a great match? If it is anything like their encounter at SummerSlam 10 years ago I say yes.
Backup plan – John Cena vs. The Rock for the WWE championship. Before Lesnar kicked Cena’s hat I would have banked on a Cena vs. Rock rematch. I envisioned a story which saw Cena calling for a rematch all year, Rock not interested, Rock winning the WWE championship, and Cena winning the Royal Rumble to finally get his match with The Rock. Right now this doesn’t appear to be the working plan but you never know when it comes to Brock Lesnar’s temperament.
Backup plan #2 – The Undertaker vs. Brock Lesnar in a No Holds Barred Match. If things had worked out last year we would have seen these two giants square off in Atlanta. Unfortunately a little thing like Lesnar’s UFC deal prohibited this one from moving forward. As a match, I think it has the potential to be a big stinker. However, there is real interest here in seeing this as plenty of people have bought in to the fact that these guys just don’t like each other. If The Rock is unavailable or the WWE creative team have other plans for the People’s Champion, I think this match finally makes its WrestleMania debut.
John Cena vs. The Undertaker…No Holds Barred Match. So if The Rock is busy with Brock Lesnar, what is John Cena to do? Here is a rare WWE match that has never been offered up on the grand stage. It isn’t as if these two guys haven’t wrestled each other, they just haven’t wrestled many high profile matches. This match gives WrestleMania 29 something new, fresh, and potentially off the charts.
Before you criticize me for predicting anything John Cena is in would be off the charts, reflect back on the first time you heard Taker vs. Triple H announced for WrestleMania 27. Admit it, you thought it was going to disappoint. Whether it did or didn’t comes down to personal taste, but you can’t deny they busted their behinds out there. Cena and The Undertaker would do the same and give fans a potential WrestleMania classic. Promote this with Brock vs. Rock and you have the potential to see more money made from a WrestleMania than ever before.
Backup plan – The Undertaker vs. Randy Orton. Orton had his shot at the Dead Man several WrestleMania shows ago and lost. However, he came closest up to that point of ending the streak. While it is nice to imagine The Undertaker working with one of the younger guys and giving someone some rub, there is nobody I see that will be ready for that spot. Orton has had a great run as a babyface but the ideas just seem to be running out for him. The second I saw him booked with Kane at WrestleMania 28 I thought that the company has nothing for him as a babyface. As a heel against The Undertaker, there could be some serious money here for The Viper and the Dead man.
Steve Austin vs. CM Punk. Punk has been calling Austin out for awhile now on Twitter. Austin has said that if the stars align that he’d be open to the match. I don’t think it happens, but I do know that there is hope internally at WWE headquarters that it does. This would be a tough match to book in that you would have to sacrifice Punk as a babyface and turn him heel to get this one to work. Otherwise Punk would get booed out of the building, which isn’t what you want for your top babyface of the future if you are the WWE. Regardless, if there is a will there is a way to make this work.
Backup plan – CM Punk vs. Daniel Bryan for the WWE world heavyweight championship. It has been obvious since their first match on TV a few months back that these two have amazing chemistry. The WWE quickly noticed this and booked them almost weekly for about a month on television. Give these guys 30 minutes on WrestleMania and I think you have the potential to see one of the greatest WrestleMania matches of all-time. Personally I’d rather see this than Austin vs. Punk so I am going to hold out hope that Austin is watching WrestleMania from the Broken Skull Ranch and Bryan and Punk are tangling in New Jersey.
Sin Cara vs. Rey Mysterio…Mask vs. Mask. I predicted this last year so why not try for a second year in a row? Who knows whether Sin Cara will be here next year, but right now he is the next hot star coming up the pike for the WWE. He will be going to the RAW roster which will theoretically keep him separated from Rey Mysterio for at least the short term.
Rey has been talking about leaving the WWE off and on for the last few years. This gives him a great out and who knows, maybe he takes a big bonus for dropping the mask. A lot of things have to happen (as with all of these matches) to make this one work but if there were one or two WrestleMania matches I would almost bank on seeing next year this would be one of them.
Batista vs. Triple H in a Last Man Standing Match. Batista was rumored to return at WrestleMania 28 and never appeared. It looks like something is in the works with the former WWE champion. If you look at the patterns of WrestleMania the last few years, the WWE likes to bring back a former money player for the big show. All indications would be that Batista is next in the rotation for that spot.
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Eric G.
Eric is the owner and editor-in-chief of the Camel Clutch Blog. Eric has worked in the pro wrestling industry since 1995 as a ring announcer in ECW and a commentator/host on television, PPV, and home video. Eric also hosted Pro Wrestling Radio on terrestrial radio from 1998-2009. Check out some of Eric's work on his IMDB bio and Wikipedia. Eric has an MBA from Temple University's Fox School of Business.
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