Around the Ring: WrestleMania predictions

It's that time of the year where John Said and I give our two cents on WWE's biggest show of the year (this year, I think that the show isn't as big as the Rumble or even No Way Out). Let's see where this one goes. As a quick note, John and I have actually had a flip flop each year as to who predicts the most wins. I'm pretty sure John won last year so it's my year for redemption (through a crappy card).

Bunny Mania Lumberjack Match: Candice & Maria vs. The Glamazon & Melina
Peter: With TNA's women roster showing that they are more than just eye candy, it's hard to watch the Divas wrestle. I don't care who wins, but I'll say the recent cover girl, Maria and her partner wins.

John: Here's your eye candy match. I don't really care for this group of gals and I don't really care who wins, but I'll go with Maria and whomever her partner will be because sooner than later Maria, is going to win the women's title based on her hot Playboy mag sales.

Finlay vs. JBL - Belfast Brawl
Peter: I don't know what a “Belfast Brawl” is but I assume it'll be no DQ. I've enjoyed Finlay and lil' Hornswaggle more and more over the past few months and I want to see some retribution. I'm picking Finlay with unexpected help from his son.

John: I'm picking Finlay in this one too based on what's been happening on Raw and JBL getting the best of Finlay and beating on Hornswaggle. In a potential swerve, Hornswaggle turns on Finlay because of the whole absent/deception father thing.

24-Man Battle Royal - Winner faces ECW Champion
Peter: We may see some good action out of this one, but does it matter who'll face Chavo after this? I don't even think the ECW belt has any relevance anymore. Who can I think of right now on the spot to win this? Let's pick...Snitsky or Super Crazy.

John: Ohhhh can you feel the excitement? Yeah right. I think all the big men will take turns eliminating each other setting up Jamie Noble or some other small man to get the title shot.

SmackDown vs. Raw: Batista vs. Umaga
Peter: WWE has done a piss poor job with this. Who cares who wins this unless one of them is moving when the draft happens in April. I WANT Umaga to win, but unless this feud is going to continue, I think it'll go to Batista (or a double DQ).

John: When was the last time Umaga won a big match? He's a glorified jobber that's been built up to be a monster. I think Raw is the far better roster, but Batista takes out Umaga giving the Smackdown crew something to brag about.

Money in the Bank Ladder Match
Peter: With Jeff Hardy out, some people now don't even care. There won't be Hardy's big spot and there won't be any chance of him winning the belt. My choice would be Benjamin to win this, but he's been really demoted. I think it'll either be MVP or Mr. Kennedy. MVP is a champ and has improved in the ring and on the mic. Kennedy hasn't even had close to the push he had before he got suspended...but that could change. Would I love to see Kennedy win and then go after the champ right after the main event match? Hell yes. Would he win? Probably not but it WOULD shake some stuff up. Oh crap...good stuff hasn't been happening lately, so it'll go to MVP.

John: I think this match will come down to Y2J and CM Punk. I think Y2J comes out on top and gets the title shot down the road. I can't see any of the other guys coming out on top, but if they wanted to do the surprise winner, then John Morrison could be the shocking winner.

Ric Flair vs. Shawn Michaels (Career Threatening Match)
Peter: I have gone from a Ric Flair hater about three years ago to a huge mark for the guy (thanks to his book, work ethic and DVD set). I don't want him to go but all things are pointing in that direction. I think everyone is expecting that and WM will be his final match for a while. Rumours do have it that because of the emotional attachment to this match, we may see Naitch go until Summerslam. I hope this to be true, but I'll go with HBK.

John: I think everyone expects Flair to lose. He's needed help along the way to keep his career going, but I think it isn't Flair's time to go. The guy is old and slow, but he's still better than half the roster, is a bumping machine and wears the crimson mask like no other. Plus it makes no sense to have HBK retire Flair, that should be some up and comer. By the way, while Peter has just become a Flair mark, Flair's one of the main guys that got me hooked on wrestling along with my dad way back before many of you were born.

Floyd “Money” Mayweather vs. Big Show
Peter: Millions of dollars thrown at this guy to lose? Not bloody likely. Should The Big Show win? Hell yeah, but Mayweather wins this one. We may see The Big Show get some kind of retribution after the bell rings but odds are, Show will shake his hand or something stupid like that.

John: This one has schmooze written all over it. I think nobody wins as Mayweather's posse gets involved to cause the DQ or something stupid like that.

World Heavyweight Champion Edge vs. Undertaker
Peter: Are you kidding me? I'm not wasting time talking about this. Winner: Taker

John: Edge has held the title for a while now and Taker needs one last run before his body breaks down for good. Plus a Taker win continues the feud into the summer circuit.

Triple Threat Match for the WWE Championship
Peter: Triple threat is good for Triple H. He missed the big show (no pun intended) last year and I think John Cena is going to be filming a movie soon. I'm going with the bosses' son because he'll get a bigger pop over Cena. Actually, I think watching the crowd respond to this one will be one of the most exciting things of the night (besides their response to the Mayweather/Big Show match).

John: I think against all odds Randy Orton retains as Triple H and Cena take turns beating on each other while Randy takes a powder on the outside. I hate triple threat matches because the champ doesn't have to get pinned to lose, but that'll be moot. An Orton win sets up the potential Y2J chasing Orton for the title, which should be compelling.