Archive for the ‘Professional Wrestling’ Category

Bret Hart is what theatrical professional wrestling is all about in real life.  He has seen triumph and tragedy, has been screwed by the boss, has overcome a life-threatening scare, and he has still preserved a legacy during the boom years of the WWE.  He remains one of the biggest sports icons in Canadian sports history, and earned the right to be called “the best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be“.

Hart was born in Calgary, Alberta on July 2, 1957.  Hart was born into wrestling, as his father, the legendary Stu Hart, was very active in the early Canadian promotions.  Hart was one of seven brothers, all who were involved in one way or another with pro wrestling.  Hart grew up with a wrestling training facility right in the basement of his home, commonly called “The Dungeon”.  Stu Hart worked with stars such as Superstar Billy Graham, as young Bret observed and took in what he could.  Hart was an accomplished amateur wrestler winning the 1973 Calgary City Championship. 

At the age of 19, Bret began working for Stampede Wrestling, which was his father’s Canadian promotion in Calgary.  Bret broke in as a referee, but was asked to step in when a wrestler was unable to perform.  Eventually, Bret became a full-time wrestler in the promotion and won the tag-team titles with his brother, Keith Hart, four times.  Hart stayed with Stampede, riding his father’s wave of success, and eventually broke out as one of the top guys and a title-holder within the promotion.  He stayed with Stampede until 1984, when he chose to sign with Vince McMahon’s WWF promotion.

Originally, the WWF wanted Bret Hart to be a cowboy character, but the idea was scrapped.  He ended up teaming with a brother-in-law, The Dynamite Kid, in his first WWF television taping in August of 1984.  In 1985, McMahon used Hart to team with a different brother-in-law, Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart, forming the legendary Hart Foundation team, managed by who else, but Jimmy Hart (no relation).  The Hart Foundation won the WWF Tag Team Titles twice by beating The British Bulldogs to start their first reign.  The second reign began when The Hart Foundation beat Demolition members Crush and Smash in a two-out-of-three falls epic contest.

Hart focused more on his singles competition when he and Neidhart split in 1991.  Hart won the Intercontinental Championship by getting Mr. Perfect to tap to his ‘Sharpshooter’ at Summer Slam 1991.  He then became involved in a feud with The Mountie after being shocked with a cattle prod.  Hart eventually lost that title to The Mountie.  Roddy Piper beat The Mountie at the Royal Rumble, only to lose the title back to Hart at Wrestlemania VIII.  “The excellence of execution”, as Hart was referred to by WWF Commentator Gorilla Monsoon, fought in the first ever ‘ladder match’ against Shawn Michaels in July of 1992.  Hart won the inaugural ladder match, which ironically would become a Michaels trademark, but it was Hart who originally introduced the concept to the wrestling world.

On October 12, 1992, Hart defeated Ric Flair at Saskatchewan Palace in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan in an untelevised match to capture his first ever WWF Championship.  Hart held the title for a few months before losing to Yokozuna (with interference from Mr. Fuji) at Wrestlemania IX.  At the 1993 King of The Ring, the first ever King of The Ring PPV, Hart defeated Razor Ramon, Shawn Michaels and Bam Bam Bigelow.  After the victory, Hart was attacked by Jerry “The King” Lawler, who claimed he was wrestling’s only true king.  Hart and Lawler faced off at 1993 Summer Slam where Hart won the match with his Sharpshooter, but was disqualified for not releasing the hold.

Later in 1993, Hart entered into a feud with his youngest brother, Owen Hart.  The feud started when Bret and Owen teamed with two other Hart brothers to face Shawn Michaels and his knights.  Owen was the only Hart eliminated and blamed Bret for ‘holding back his career’.  At the Royal Rumble (1994), Bret and Owen were teamed up to face the Quebecers for the WWf Tag Team Titles in which Bret suffered a staged knee injury.  Owen attacked Bret saying that he cost him a chance to be a champion.  At Wrestlemania X, Bret lost to Owen, but went on to later beat Yokozuna to reclaim the WWF Championship.

Owen and Bret would again feud.  Jim Neidhart returned and was seemingly saving Bret match after match.  However, it was later unveiled that Neidhart was only keeping the strap around Bret’s waist to aid Owen in winning the championship.  Bret defeated Owen in an epic steel cage match at the 1994 Summer Slam event.  Hart lost the title to Bob Backlund when Owen convinced Hart’s mother Helen, to throw in the towel as Backlund had Hart trapped in his ‘chicken wing’.  Bret recaptured the title by beating Backlund in a submission match at Wrestlemania XI.

At Wrestlemania XII, the historic 60-minute iron man match with Shawn Michaels took place.  The wrestler with the most victories in 60 minutes would be declared the winner.  With nobody having a pinfall, Gorilla Monsoon, the acting president of the WWF, declared the match will continue in sudden death.  Michaels won with a super kick.

Bret took an eight month break and weighed his options to re-sign with the WWF or to latch on to fast-rising rival promotion WCW.  He eventually decided to sign with WWF.  He would feud with Stone Cold Steve Austin for almost a year.  As Austin went from heel to face, and Hart went from face to heel, the title was passed around.  Hart would berate American fans and reunited with Owen, Neidhart and Davey Boy Smith forming a heel Hart Foundation stable which feuded with The Nation of Domination for a few months.  Hart caught plenty of legit heat when he referred to Michaels and Triple H as ‘homos’.

The infamous “Montreal Screw Job” took place with Bret thinking he would beat Shawn Michaels and retire the title the next night on Raw.  McMahon, who signed Hart to a 20-year contract just one year earlier, asked Hart to renegotiate with WCW because the WWF could not afford to honor the big dollar contract Hart had signed.  Michaels put Hart in a Sharpshooter and Earl Hebner, the ref, immediately called for the bell, saying that Hart submitted.  Hebner later revealed that McMahon instructed him to handle the match that way.  Hart went nuts as he spit in McMahon’s face, destroyed television equipment, and punched McMahon backstage.  Michaels, when confronted, told Bret he knew nothing about it, but later revealed that he knew a whole day before what was going to happen that night in Montreal.

Hart went to WCW in 1997.  He strated out a hot commodity there, but would fade into mediocrity.  In my opinion, Hart was never promoted the way he should have been with the exception of his WCW arrival.  There were just too many big names with bigger egos in WCW, the eventual demise of that promotion.

In 1999, Owen Hart tragically died when he fell practicing a descent to the ring via cables and harnesses.  Bret took some time off from wrestling to be with his family during the tough and tragic time.  He held a few championships while in WCW, but eventually tired of the travel and wear of his body.  Hart retired from pro wrestling in 2000.

Hart was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2006.  He thanked everyone, even McMahon, but later said he was uncomfortable in the company of his former employer.

Hart suffered a stroke in 2002 when he hit a pothole while riding his bike and landed on his head.  He has since recovered and only suffers from occasional emotional trauma, common in stroke victims.  He is currently inactive with wrestling and says his life is ‘in a good place’.

Probably the most racist thing WWE (WWF at that time) ever released.  Ironically, the WWE released Tony Atlas from his role as Mark Henry’s manager on ECW in June.  Atlas has been down and out in a classic story of a wrestler that went from the headlines to the bread lines in record time. 

Having seen The Big Show last weekend at close distance I still cannot fathom how someone that big can handle the physicality of pro wrestling.  I know it is staged and the outcomes are worked in advance.  What I can’t get a grip on is how these guys travel over 300 days a year and perform night in and night out.  The Big Show is a marvel to me.

Paul Wight was born February 8th, 1972 in Aiken, South Carolina.  Wight was born with acromegaly, a disease of the endocrine system which never limits growth.  Andre The Giant also had this but Wight had corrective surgery on his pituatary gland which halts progress.  By the age of 12,  Wight was 6’2″, weighed 220 and had chest hair.  He attended Wichita State and played basketball there.  In the Wichita State media guide, Wight was listed as 7’1″, with a shoe size of 22.5 E, a ring size of 22.5, and a chest 64 inches in circumference.

Wight got into pro wrestling when he signed with WCW in 1995 simply known as The Giant.  His first-ever angle was interesting as he claimed to be the son of the deceased Andre The Giant and he was coming for Hollywood Hogan who killed his “father”.  The Giant remained in WCW until 1999 when he opted to head to WWE.  Wight debuted as Vince McMahons bodyguard in “The Corporation” stable.  He was performing under the name Paul “The Great” Wight for a few weeks before being renamed The Big Show.

Big Show was sent to Ohio Valley Wrestling by management to work on his fast-rising weight and cardio.  He returned to WWE in 2001 and has been around ever since with brief abscences where weight seems to be an issue. 

Big Show is the only wrestler in history to hold WWE, WCW, and ECW championship belts during his career.

The real name of Paul Wight has seen its share of legal headaches.  In December of 1998, Wight was charged with exposing himself to a hotel clerk but not convicted due to a lack of evidence.  In March of 1999, Wight was charged with assault for breaking a man’s jaw at a hotel.  he judge found him not guilty.

Wight has a daughter with his first wife who he divorced in 2000.  He remarried just five days after his divorce was settled and has been happy since.

The Big Show has been misused in the past by WWE.  I can recall having to watch him job to people half his size (Rey Mysterio, Jeff Hardy).  I also hated that WWE scripted Floyd Mayweather to beat him at Wrestlemania 24.  If Show fought Mayweather in real life, he could squish him like a grape.  McMahon has to keep some reality in his scripts because he is such a genetic freak. 

Often compared to Andre The Giant, Big Show has never looked morbidly obese like Andre did near the end.  He is a much better athlete and used to be able to moonsault off of the top rope. 

The Covelli Centre in Youngstown was the setting as The WWE Raw roster made a stop.  It was an interesting night on many levels.  First of all, this was a traditional house show, so there was no McMahons around, no Jerry Lawler, no Jim Ross, and no TV cameras.  There was no Titantron or raised ramp.  Just a ring, an old microphone and a bell.  My seat was right next to the railing where the wrestlers entered about five rows from the ring.  My cousin Vito and I attended many of these shows in Struthers way back when, but this was the first in Youngstown in awhile.

Howard Finkel came out and welcomed everyone right at 7:30 as he asked the sold-out arena to stand for The National Anthem.  Afterwards, Mickie James’ music played and the place went nuts. 

Match #1  Mickie James vs Maryse in a non-title match.  Pretty good match back and forth with the crowd really working for Mickie.  Interesting observation, Maryse lost a couple of blond hairs everytime she did anything, you could see them drift toward the canvas.  Mickie got the win on a clean pinfall.

Match #2  Chavo Guerrerro vs Festus.  Chavo came out to a loud chorus of boos.  He grabbed the microphone and riled the civilians up for a minute.  Bell rings and Festus grabs the microphone and starts singing “I Just Died In Your Arms Tonight“.  Festus dominated the match but Chavo hit the frog splash and pinned Festus for the win.

Match #3  Jamie Noble vs O’Shaughnessy  I never heard of O’Shaughnessy before but learned he is from Youngstown.  He was about 6’5″, very pale complected, and red hair — the perfect Irish hero since Finlay wasn’t going to be around.  Maybe he was filling in for Santino who was advertised but didn’t show.  Noble told O’Shaughnessy he was the whitest guy he ever saw and worked the mic pretty good.  O’Shaughnessy came away with the victory.

Match #4  The Miz vs Kofi Kingston.   One of the best matches of the night as WWE continues to push Miz as a singles competitor.  Miz might have the best mic skills in the company right now.  He really got under the crowds skin and made a crack about being in Youngstown of all places.  The match was really well paced and Kobe did some high flying.  Miz scored the win after avoiding Kobe diving off of the top rope for the three count.

20 minute intermission.  This freed me up to check Pens and Cavs scores as well as grab a Gatorade.

Match #5  Matt Hardy vs Goldust.  Hardy mumbled without direction for about five minutes, four were about his brother Jeff.  Goldust got a pretty nice reception.  The tourettes angle they did with him a few years back was one of my all-time favorites.  Matt favored his injured right arm most of the match and would run out of the ring.  He even got about halfway back to the dressing room and ran back into the ring to beat a ten-count.  Predictably, Hardy scored the win.

Match #6  MVP vs William Regal.  Regal takes about an hour to get to the ring with his arrogant stares.  This guy is still the ultimate villain.  MVP came out to a huge pop.  Very physical match which saw Regal in control most of the way.  Quite a few MVP chants filled the arena.  Again, predictibaly, MVP comes away with the win.

Match #7  Primo & Carlito vs Legacy (Ted DiBiase & Cody Rhodes).  As Legacy was walking to the ring, I noticed a nose piercing in the right nostril of Cody Rhodes that I never saw on television.  He was a little bigger than I thought he would be.  Good match back and forth.  Carlito took about ten minutes of torture and when Primo finally tagged in he went off for about forty seconds before Legacy used a couple of chairs and took the disqualification.

Match #8  Big Show and Randy Orton vs John Cena and Batista.  The Big Show got a beer dumped on him as soon as he came out and was instantly angered.  By the time he got to me, he stopped even with my seating to look around, this guy is huge in real life.  Orton came out with that goofy glazed look in his eye like he just smoked again before he came to the ring.  Batista got a good pop on his way out and he is probably the most ripped WWE Superstar.  The place went absolutely nuts for Cena.  I always hear some boos mixed in on television, but couldn’t hear any in Youngstown.  We decided to leave before this match ended to beat traffic and catch the end of what was a close Cavs game at that time. 

My general observations:

• A security guard obstructed my view all night.  He was about even with the third row and I was in the fifth.  He did not move and I had to watch him yawn about forty times trying to see around him.
• I will never sit on the seat closest to the entrance ramp again.  Before and after every match, kids swarmed from three sections over to try to touch hands with the superstars.  I had a six year old on my shoulder all night as he would stand on my seat.  I felt like a parakeet trainer.
• There were no empty seats and The Covelli Centre was loud!
• I did not bring a camera to the event because with various lens sizes and strobes I carry a large bag which I figured would not make it in.  I was angered to see several folks carrying photography bags and realized I could have really got some great shots.  A couple sitting next to me promised to e-mail me some pics but never did, so I held out on posting these results as long as I could.

Bruno Sammartino was often referred to as a “Living Legend” throughout his illustrious career.  Sammartino was the Hulk Hogan of the 70′s, the WWE’s top dog.  He held the WWE heavyweight championship thoughout a majority of the seventies.  Back then, there was only one championship belt.

Sammartino turned to commentary with Vince McMahon Jr. in the early eighties for a couple of years.  Unfortunately, he and McMahon could not agree on his role with the company, and Bruno left mad.  He still dislikes Vince McMahon and refers to him as “the promoter who used to do steroids himself“.

In the above clip, Sammartino is interviewed live at Madison Square Garden by “Rowdy” Roddy Piper.  The video quality sucks but the audio is worth a listen as Piper calls Sammartino a WOP – a racial term used against Italians meaning With Out Papers.  I bet nobody could use that word today.  Anyway, it is a pretty entertaining clip and you could tell that Bruno would not have fit well in today’s “attitude” and storyline world of wrestling.

Here are 5 matches I would love to have seen against todays top guys:

1. Bruno Sammartino vs Kurt Angle.  This would be like the battle of Pittsburgh.  Both of these guys were superior amateurs and it would truly be a good wrestling match without the need for todays gimmicks.
2. Bruno Sammartino vs Jeff Hardy.  Can you imagine Sammartino trying to sell the “Twist of Fate”?  McMahon would probably make hardy jump off the roof or something crazy to get a clean pin, but what a neat contrast of styles.
3. Bruno Sammartino vs Santino Marella.  This would be entertaining only if Santino had the microphone for a few minutes before or after the match.  The Italians used in wrestling are usually only one per federation when branded as an Italian.
4. Bruno Sammartino vs John Cena.  I would love this.  Cena is always acting respectful to the veterans and really does know who to thank for his successes.  What would prevail?  Cena’s “You Can’t See Me” or Sammartino’s “You Can’t Understand Me”.
5. Bruno Sammartino vs The Big Show.  Somehow the writers would find a way for Bruno to win this one.  He would match power even though he is a foot and a half shorter than show.  Really, Bruno is only slightly taller than Rey Mysterio.  

 Bruno Sammartino was the guy.  Wrestling in the 1970′s was so much different than today.  There were hardly any wrestlers jumping off of the top rope, there were very small storylines, and the blue collar wrestler was the champ.  It should also be noted that there were not nearly as many wrestlers from this particular era on steroids.  One bulging example was Superstar Billy Graham.  In the last 10 years, 104 wrestlers have died before the age of 50, meaning they competed in the eighties, nineties or in the last few years.  Sammartino is still very vocal about the use of steroids in this sport and has appeared on Larry King, Phil Donahue, and other talk shows pointing the finger at one guy — Vince McMahon.

Wrestlemania XXV was a spectacle, nothing short of that.  The night provided many highlights and a couple of lowlights as well.  Having watched the card and charted all of the results, here is how things went down Sunday night:

Carlito & Primo Colon vs The Miz & John Morrison - This match actually took place before the pay-per-view began.  The Bella Twins, split by their allegiances to each team were no factor in the match.  Primo made the winning pin after he delivered a back cracker to unify the tag team belts.  I stated in my predictions that John Morrison is ready for a big singles push, look for that to happen real soon.

The Money In The Bank Ladder Match – The match is always loaded with dangerous spills.  Kofi Kingston did some really athletic stuff jumping vertically over a ladder held sideways charging at him.  Mark Henry got about halfway up a ladder once.  Other than that, his role was simply to inflict punishment on the ground before laying outside for the last several minutes of the match.  Christian Cage got close a couple of different times, but couldn’t seal the victory.  Finley, as expected, was basically used as comedy relief with his son Hornswaggle.  Hornswaggle went under the ring and pulled out a little two-step ladder for a good chuckle.  In the end, CM Punk repeated his ladder match victory from Wrestlemania XXIV last year by kicking Kane off of a ladder as they both neared the case.  I always thought this match was to give someone a push and was suprised MVP or Christian Cage didn’t get that push.  I guess we can probably expect Punk to lose the briefcase somehow because I really can’t see WWE brass giving him the strap again.  Shelton Benjamin took a nasty dive from the top of a ladder outside the ring and may have injured his neck.

Chris Jericho vs Hall of Famers Roddy Piper, Ricky Steamboat, & Jimmy Snuka – Steamboat was impressive and even did some high-flying.  Piper bullied Jericho around for the first few minutes.  The legends lost their momentum when Piper tagged in Jimmy Snuka.  Superfly looked horrible, no other way to say it.  He looked old, a step behind everything going on, and played to the crowd more in ten minutes then he did for ten years.  He was eliminated first, tapping out to The Walls of Jericho.  Next out was Piper, leaving Steamboat.  The dragon looked strong scoring several two counts and showing great heart throughout.  Eventually though, Jericho prevailed.  The obvious jump-in by Ric Flair after the match was predictable.  Flair beat Jericho around for a moment, then Jericho threw him out of the ring.  Jericho then grabbed the microphone and taunted Mickey Rourke to come in to the ring.  Rourke entered and delivered the traditional celebrity roundhouse knockout punch flooring Jericho.

Kid Rock, who I didn’t even know was going to be around, played about a fifteen minute medley set and sounded pretty good.  On his last number, the WWE Divas started entering walking past Kid Rock while still performing.  This too, was a predictable outcome.  Santino Marella wins the battle royal dressed as a woman.  When the trophy and sash to be given to Miss Wrestlemania are brought into the ring, Marella says his name is “Santina“, the twin sister of Santino.  I predicted an end to Beth Phoenix and Marella to happen at WM XXV, and he eliminated Phoenix last to win.  Too hard to believe the announcers acted like they didn’t know who it was.  Marella has a pretty large tattoo on his back. Duh.

Matt Hardy vs Jeff Hardy – This was a good match.  The Hardy Brothers worked better against each other than I first thought they would.  There were some pretty rough bumps.  Jeff had Matt in trouble and set up two ladders, one two steps taller than the other.  He then climbed the shorter of the two ladders and leapfrogged the larger flying down about 10 feet only to miss Matt.  Matt then took a chair, put Jeff’s head in between the backrest and seat and delivered a wicked Twist Of Fate for the pinfall.

JBL vs Rey Mysterio – I hope Rey Mysterio doesn’t continue to wear the ugly mask he had on.  It was something new, kind of looked like The Joker Heath Ledger portrayed in the last Batman movie – just awful and ugly.  Anyhow, Rey scores the win and is the new Intercontinental Champion.  At the end of the match, JBL grabbed the microphone, paused for a long time, looked around, and yelled, “I QUIT“.  He then dropped the mic and slowly walked confusingly up the ramp.  Not sure if it is an angle or if JBL has actually had enough.

The Undertaker vs Shaun Michaels – Match of the night.  Both wrestlers really sold each others stuff well and proved to live up to all of the hype of 17-0 vs Mr. Wrestlemania.  In the end of a long and suspense filled thriller, Undertaker wins with a second Tombstone Piledriver.  Michaels connected on Sweet Chin Music but could not score a pin as Taker kicked out.  Match was an instant classic, look for Michaels, who does not take losing big matches well (ask Bret Hart) to congratulate Undertaker on one of WWE’s shows this week.  The top video clip was a nasty spill Taker took diving outside the ring, poor cameraman took the worst of it.

Edge vs Cena vs Big Show – Sort of predictable.  Neat intro for cena as several Cena clones with jean shorts, UCSM tee-shirts, and hats pulled over their eyes lined the ramp.  There were not too many instances where all three guys were in the ring.  Most of the time two guys would fight for a bit, one would get thrown out, and the guy who was laying at ringside for five minutes reentered to start back up.  Cena scores the win in this match.  Should be interesting to see what happens with Vickie Guerrerro now as neither guy won the title or her heart.  I am thinking Edge may be turning face soon.

Triple H vs Randy Orton – Pretty good match, similar to Michaels vs Undertaker except Orton and Triple H have predictable arsenals.  RKO’s and Pedigrees get old.  The only neat swerve was that Triple H used Orton’s “Punt” tactic on Orton.  The sledgehammer made an appearance as well with Orton digging it up under the ring.  Triple H scores a clean pinfall to retain his championship.  Not sure where this goes from her, should be an interesting RAW this week.

Not bad but it seemed to me that Wrestlemania 25 dragged at times.  It needed a couple of more matches.  I give the card a B+ and really have newfound respect for Jeff and Matt Hardy.  The Michaels – Undertaker match will be a classic match down the road. 

This weekend, the WWE will induct “Stone Cold” Steve Austin into their Hall of Fame.  Austin was the top dog in the WWE for a for a few years. His plain ring attire and beer drinking, middle-finger throwing persona were legendary with fans of wrestling.  Austin first broke into the WWE as The Ringmaster, a thug that Ted DiBiase Sr. paid to do his dirty work. 

Once Austin adopted the “Stone Cold” personality, he had legendary feuds with Mick Foley, The Rock, and Vince McMahon.  McMahon will be giving the induction speech for Austin’s induction ceremony.  Austin personified what Mickey Rourke was all about in the wrestler.  Bad knees were his obvious undoing, forcing him to retire as an active competitor. 

Often portrayed as rebelious, Austin made McMahon look perfect as the overbearing boss who had no control of his champion.  I still think his greatest stretch in the WWE was as a champion.  The storyline was for Vince McMahon to demand Austin to be “corporate”.  This meant wearing a suit, not throwing the bird, eliminating the drinking, and being polite and respectful.  The writers of the era (Vince Russo deserves the credit), really sold McMahon going nuts as Austin would repeatedly push his buttons to see how far he could go.

Steve Austin’s biggest contribution to the sport was his attitude.  He breathed arrogance every step he took while on camera.  He didn’t care who he was competing against or who rooted for him.  He didn’t have any in-character friends or true allies, and WWE did the best they possibly could at maximizing his cocky and foul-mouthed persona.   

Promoting his new movie, 12 Rounds, and Wrestlemania XXV, John Cena made an appearance on Jimmy Fallon’s new late night show.  His first legit movie, The Marine, did well in sales and WWE Films is hoping that 12 Rounds will do as well if not better. 

Fallon uses Cena wisely in these little skits.  Wardrobe must be hurting for dough as Cena is wearing the same shirt in all of the phony film trailers. 

Look for a bunch of WWE Superstars to be all over television this week to hype up the 25th edition of Wrestlemania which is this coming Sunday.

With Wrestlemania XXV just a week away, I am going to attempt to predict the results of the big card.  It gets tricky trying to follow the storyline and thought patterns of Vince McMahon.  Wrestlemania is in Houston, Texas this year.  Keep in mind, I stand by my predictions if there are no huge swerves in stoylines leading up to Wrestlemania on next weeks Monday Night Raw or Smackdown shows.

Chris Jericho vs WWE Legends : The WWE legends are Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka, Ricky Steamboat, and “Rowdy” Roddy Piper.  Jericho should destroy the three legends as he has been for the past several weeks on Raw.  I see Stone Cold Steve Austin getting involved somehow, perhaps as “guest enforcer”.  I also see Ric Flair attacking Jericho after the match.  My prediction for the match is that Jericho will be rolling along, the ref gets squished in the corner “accidentally” as Jericho continues to control things.  When he feels he is ready to win officially, he starts screaming for a ref to come out and count, look for this to be Stone Cold Steve Austin.  The legends will get the tainted upset victory after Chris Jericho gets punked.  Look for Mickey Rourke to be at ringside or in the legends corner.

25 Diva Battle Royal:  I didn’t know there were 25 divas in the WWE.  I can only come up with about 18, so it will be interesting to see someone like Mae Young get tossed over the top rope.  The only other possibilities I can see are Gail Kim making a WWE debut, Lillian Garcia competing, Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley competing, and possibly bringing back Wendy Richter for nostalgic purposes.  Santino Marella is supposedly trying to get into this match as a diva participant.  Look for the entertaining Santino to get his wish but cost his girlfriend the Glamazon her chance at winning.  I see that relationship ending in this match.  My prediction is that Gail Kim will show up and be the last eliminated by winner and suprise entrant Trish Stratus.

Money In The Bank Ladder Match: First of all, I don’t think Mark Henry can climb a ladder without breaking it, so we will eliminate him now and focus on the other seven combatants.  Kane, Kofi Kingston, CM Punk, Finley, Shelton Benjaman, Christian Cage, and MVP will be participating in this years ladder match.  These have been the most exciting matches for me over the past few WM’s.  I do not think that Kane or Finley will win.  Kane is no good in a high risk match like this one and Finley will employ his dwarf son Hornswaggle at some capacity.  Usually the WWE will make the winner of this match someone who is ready for a big push to main event status.  Last year CM Punk won, so I don’t think he will repeat.  It comes down to two guys in my opinion – Christian Cage and MVP.  My official prediction is that MVP will win as the WWE is really trying to push him as a babyface. 

Shawn Michaels vs Undertaker:  This should be interesting.  16-0 is the Undertakers unblemished Wrestlemania record and Shawn Michaels has had the nickname Mr. Wrestlemania for years.  Something has to give here.  I am going to say that Undertaker wins and keeps his perfect record at Wrestlemania in a long and tough match.  I would guess this match will go over a half hour which is epic, especially from two 40+ year old veterans.  The Undertaker will use questionable tactics to win.

Primo and Carlito vs Miz and Morrison:  The big tag team unification match.  I am kind of sick of this angle and am hoping for Carlito and Primo to win to end the Miz and Morrison run.  I think John Morrison is the WWE star in waiting as a singles wrestler.  Unfortunately, I feel that Miz and Morrison will win this match.  The newly divided Bella Twins will start on opposite ends of the ring but end up walking out with unified champions Morrison and The Miz at the end of the match.

JBL vs Rey Mysterio:  This match has received the least amount of promotion on WWE programming.  It is another weird matchup as big, bulky, and powerful faces off against, fast, risky, and high-flying.  I hope WWE lets JBL keep the belt because he is such a great heel.  However, the WWE loves to give Mysterio gold he should not have.  I predict that Rey Mysterio wins the Intercontinental Title.

Edge vs Cena vs Big Show:  I’m sure if everyone voted on this that Cena would have about 90% of the votes to win the match.  I don’t see it that way.  I am sticking by my gut instinct here and saying that Christian will be out to give Edge the assist.  Look for the Big Show to land outside somehow and lay there for most of the match.  Cena will have the match pretty well in control and just when it looks like he is going to win, I am calling for Christian Cage to come out and help his lifelong pal, Edge, retain the title.  When Big Show comes to his senses, he will swear off Vicki Guerrerro, as will Edge, leaving her broken hearted in this contest to win not only the belt, but Vicki’s love.  Edge retains the belt here!

Jeff Hardy vs Matt Hardy :  This is the hardest matchup to predict.  Either Jeff is going to dominate and win or Matt will do something underhanded to win.  Saying that Jeff will win is just too easy, so I am going to call for Matt Hardy to win this match.  Something really goofy is going to shock Jeff before he gets pinned.  Momma Hardy yelling for her boys to stop fighting each other, drug relapse, car wreck footage, firework mishap, or the reappearance of the dog Jeff thought died in the fire.  Somehow, Matt is gonna win.

Triple H vs Randy Orton:  This is the match getting the most WM 25 hype.  Pretty good storyline that Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase have been a part of from the word go.  I am sure they will appear at some point in the match.  Someone will come to the aid of Triple H, and I am guessing it will be Vince and Shane McMahon.  Look for the McMahons to prevent Rhodes and DiBiase to interfere allowing Triple H to get the win here.     

Danny Bonaduce just can’t keep himself out of the ring.  After a successful stint on Hulk Hogan’s Championship Wrestling, Bonaduce is in the ring, yet again.  Earlier this year, he boxed against Jose Canseco resulting in a draw.  He has also been involved with Celebrity Boxing and several random altercations. 

Anyone who watched Danny Bonaduce’s reality show on VH1 a couple of years back knows what a trainwreck this guy has become.  Disturbing footage showed Bonaduce chugging a fifth of Vodka mixed with a quart of Gatorade, shooting himself up with HGH, and basically being the loosest cannon possible.  Bonaduce is not boring, people love watching the race when the cars wreck, so why not watch Bonaduce wreck too.

Eric Young, a member of the Total Nonstop Action (TNA) professional wrestling promotion, was an in-studio guest of Bonaduce to promote the upcoming TNA pay-per-view Lockdown, Six Sides of Steel.  While interviewing Young, Bonaduce claimed he had never heard of him and that he must not be much of a wrestler.  This prompted Young to stand up and slap Bonaduce pretty hard (as seen in the video), and chaos ensued as it usually will when Bonaduce feels threatened.  Anyway, TNA has signed Bonaduce to wrestle aginst Eric Young on the Lockdown card.

The card will also feature retired Mick Foley to wrestle 55-year old Sting in the main event.  I’m sure the buy rate on this event will soar now that Danny Bonaduce will be wrestling.  Maybe Don Nelson lookalike Ruben Kincade will interfere in the match.