As a result of the excitement of the biggest WWE WrestleMania event of the last three decades, I have decided to expand preview coverage to individual main-event matchups. Today I preview and offer predictions on the supporting WrestleMania 28 undercard matches.
It appears that WWE will produce an eight-match WrestleMania card. I want to take a quick look at the four matches supporting what some are calling The WrestleMania 28 Big 4. I wouldn’t be surprised to see an added match on the show, but today here is what we have.
[adinserter block=”2″]Cody Rhodes vs. The Big Show for the WWE intercontinental championship – A first time matchup hits WrestleMania this year as The Big Show and Cody battle over the intercontinental title. I will go as far to say that out of all matches this year on WrestleMania I think that this one has had the best storyline in terms of drawing interest and giving fans a hook more than any other.
Cody has been mocking Show’s WrestleMania record for weeks. The angle peaked with a great segment on RAW which saw Cody handcuff Show and throw punches at him with boxing gloves on, ala: Floyd Mayweather. Show is out for revenge and I have to think he gets it and gets it in a big way in Miami.
I will go with The Big Show to win the match and the intercontinental title. It is hard for me to believe that after all of the mocking Show has gotten over his record that he adds another loss to the column. Cody is a great heel and is turning into one of the breakout stars of 2012. A loss here probably does a lot more for him in the long run than a win. I like Cody to win a really fun match in Miami.
Kane vs. Randy Orton – I have already written quite a bit on this match when it was rumored to be added to the card. I wasn’t a big fan then and I am not a big fan of the match now. To me, I just find it a big waste of Randy Orton’s talent. I can’t imagine Orton having any kind of WrestleMania classic with the big red machine, but you never know.
I think this turns into one of those matches that is neither good or bad. I think this becomes one of those matches that was just there and we look back years later asking why it was even booked in the first place. I wouldn’t be shocked to see Kane win this one. The WWE does need to keep him strong as a top heel going into the summer. I am going win Kane in the upset. Randy seems to be losing more lately than winning for whatever reason. I think the trend continues at 28.
Team Teddy (Santino Marella (captain), R-Truth, Kofi Kingston, Zack Ryder, The Great Khali and Booker T vs. Team Johnny (David Otunga (captain), Mark Henry, Dolph Ziggler, Jack Swagger, The Miz and Drew McIntyre) in a 12-man tag team match. The General Manager of the winning team will become the General Manager of both Raw and SmackDown – I am not a big fan of the Long vs. Laurinaitis feud, however this has some really awesome potential here to steal the show. It is hard to go wrong when you have an action-packed match featuring guys like Dolph Ziggler and Kofi Kingston…although you could say the opposite about David Otunga and Ezekiel Jackson.
The WWE has always liked the heel G.M. and Teddy Long has been around for awhile. I look for Laurinaitis’ team to win the match and grab him the overall General Manager role in the company. I will actually go out on a bit of a limb here and predict a heel turn for one of the guys on Team Teddy. I’d lean Zack Ryder but the company seems to be moving away from him so I’ll go The Great Khali So there you have it, Khali turns heel, Laurinaitis’s team wins, and Teddy Long is long gone.
Maria Menounos & Kelly Kelly vs. Beth Phoenix & Eve Torres – Here we go again, another celebrity stealing Melina’s spot from the Divas’ match on WrestleMania! Well not really, but for the second year in a row the celebrity/non-wrestler spot in a match goes to the Divas.
[adinserter block=”1″]The match comes off an angle on Extra (which I am sure every WWE fan watches) in which the Glamazon confronted Menounos for being disrespected after Menounos failed to book her for an interview. Imagine how mad she must be at WWE Creative? Anyway, a challenge was issued when the two met face to face and Menounos accepted to the sound of a pin dropping at WrestleMania Axxess.
I don’t know how much I want to get into this one. I predict a short, fun match similar to last year’s match with Snooki. I’d love to see Eve go over here with all of her momentum but it probably won’t happen. I’d expect Menounos to pin Torres in a match much less appealing than the rumored Kharma vs. Beth Phoenix match we probably should have gotten.
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You might want to re-examine the 12-man, since 4 of the originally scheduled team members aren't in the match now.
Well, who knows what's going to happen regarding the Divas match now that Menounos is injured with a broken rib (Dancing With The Stars training accident).
Hmm, Michelle McCool's announced on Twitter that she's going to be in Miami that week…