The Road to WrestleMania 29 Part 3: Here to Show the World

The World Heavyweight Championship match has been set in stone for weeks.  The budding feud between the newly packaged Jack Swagger and now America-loving Alberto Del Rio has provided some entertainment albeit only thanks to the incredible mic work of the enigmatic Zeb Colter.  While Del Rio and Swagger have been put in the spotlight, many fans have forgotten one major factor in this World Title match—Dolph Ziggler.  Considering how often Ziggler loses on television, it would be hard to blame anybody for forgetting about WWE’s Resident Show-Off.  There has been much speculation over when Ziggler will finally cash in his Money in the Bank contract.  There would be no venue better to cash in Money in the Bank other than WWE’s Biggest Show of the Year, WrestleMania 29.

In the eight years that the Money in the Bank concept has existed in WWE, nobody has ever cashed in the contract at WrestleMania.  Yes, Daniel Bryan and Mr. Kennedy made claims to cash in their contracts at WrestleMania on two separate occasions, but their claims never came to fruition.  The Money in the Bank contract has always been cashed in before WrestleMania.  So Dolph Ziggler will be the first wrestler to walk into WrestleMania with Money in the Bank contract in hand.  The question is will he exchange that contract at WrestleMania for the World Heavyweight Championship?  This writer certainly believes so.  WrestleMania is WWE’s grandest stage and it would be the perfect place to properly launch Dolph Ziggler to the main event scene in the WWE.  Dolph Ziggler is incredibly talented in the ring and on the microphone, but WWE seems to derail his pushes by having him job to the likes of John Cena, Randy Orton and Sheamus.  While it would be nice if the WWE tried to build the possibility of Dolph cashing in the Money of the Bank briefcase at WrestleMania, this lack of build might provide an excellent surprise for WrestleMania 29.  If nobody expects Dolph to cash in at WrestleMania, the bigger the surprise will be when it actually happens.  Also cashing in the Money in the Bank contract at WrestleMania will work perfectly with Ziggler’s “The Show-Off” gimmick because a show-off would want to steal the spotlight when the lights are on the brightest.

With the latest advancements in the Swagger vs. Del Rio feud and the announcement of Team Hell No vs. Dolph Ziggler and Big E Langston for WrestleMania, it seems the possibility of Dolph cashing in the Money in the Bank contract is slimming by the day.  This writer’s hope will not be lost that easily because anything can happen in the WWE.  Due to how personal the Swagger vs. Del Rio feud seems to be getting, they do not need the World Heavyweight Title to keep their feud going after WrestleMania to the rumoured Submission match at Extreme Rules.  Doplh Ziggler has spent too much time in the upper mid-card of the WWE.  His time to hold World Heavyweight Champion is now.  The longer fans wait the more restless they are going to get.  Give us the payoff we deserve at WrestleMania and let Dolph Ziggler finally show the world he is a star.

The Road to WrestleMania 29 Part 2: Believe in The Shield

Throughout the years, many factions have gone through the annals of the WWE.  Nexus, Legacy, Corre, and the Straight-Edge Society are just a few of those factions.  All of them were promising upon their inceptions, but ran their course far too quickly or overstayed their welcome.  None of them really made a lasting impact in the turbulent and ever changing world of the WWE.  None of them until one group of young wrestlers burst on the scene back in November.  During the main event of Survivor Series, these three wrestlers made their presence known by powerbombing the dominant Ryback through the announce table.  Fighting against the injustice found in the WWE, these three wrestlers have been seemingly unstoppable in their plight.  Made up of the demented Dean Ambrose, the incredibly athletic Seth Rollins and the strongman Roman Reigns, this group of three is only known as The Shield.

The Shield has easily been the most consistently entertaining act on WWE television since their debut last November.  While gang attacks have been done by many other factions, The Shield uses the element of surprise to catch the wrestlers and the audience off guard.  What has normally become repetitive with other factions, The Shield has made exhilarating and shocking.  It has gotten to the point that the audience knows something interesting is going to happen whenever they emerge from the crowd.  Another great thing about The Shield is how the WWE has booked them.  The Shield has held their own and even beat the biggest stars in the WWE from Daniel Bryan all the way to the Face of the WWE himself, John Cena.  This dominant streak of wins has easily catapulted these three wrestlers to highest ranks of the WWE much faster than most up-and-comers and solidified their faction as an incredibly powerful force in the WWE Universe.

Being such an important act on WWE television today, there is no doubt that WWE has big plans for this faction come WrestleMania.  The plan that has been set in motion so far looks to be a six-man tag team match between the likes of Sheamus, Randy Orton and the Big Show.  This match is not set in stone yet as there is time to change who exactly challenges The Shield at WrestleMania.  WWE could place Ryback in the match because he has not actually gotten his revenge against The Shield or possibly remove Sheamus in order to have the Celtic Warrior face Wade Barrett at WrestleMania.  Things seem up in the air at the moment, but should be set very soon.  No matter what may happen at WrestleMania, WWE needs to remember to make sure whoever competes against The Shield does not squash this incredibly promising faction.  The WWE fans do not need flashbacks to the burial of the Corre back at WrestleMania 27. The Shield has something that many factions nowadays lack, staying power.  They are unpredictable and extremely dangerous; two characteristics that can gather an incredible amount of heat from the casual fans and fanfare from the hardcore fans over time.  By burying The Shield at WrestleMania, the WWE would undermine their vast potential.  A win would continue to cement The Shield as a huge threat in the WWE, but defeat would not be detrimental if and only if WWE books it right and puts on a highly competitive match.

Personally, I have enjoyed everything the WWE has been doing with The Shield from the surprise attacks to the roughly edited promo videos.  There is something special about these three wrestlers.  The Shield is easily the best faction the WWE has seen since the days of Evolution almost a decade ago.  The Shield has the potential to go very far in the WWE.  Hopefully, the WWE sees the same potential that this writer sees in The Shield and pushes them to heights that no faction has seen in close to decade.

The Road to WrestleMania 29 Part 1: Twice in a Lifetime

Last year, WWE built WrestleMania 28 around one match.  This match being The Rock vs. John Cena, a match fans had been clamouring for ever since Rock and Cena started a little war of words way back in 2008.  The tagline for this match and for WrestleMania 28 was “Once in a Lifetime”.  Those four words easily sold that match to millions of fans both hardcore and casual alike.  It emphasized the importance and the significance of The Rock vs. John Cena.  That tagline made the match that much more special as it engraved in fans’ minds that Rock vs. John Cena will only happen once.  No return match, no second chances.  It made the stakes of the match that much bigger as there was only one chance for either icon to leave Miami with a victory over the other.

Here we are a year later and guess what is the main event of WrestleMania 29?  It is Rock vs. John Cena II, but now with the WWE Championship on the line.  I wonder who in WWE Creative thought of this gem.  Did anybody at WWE remember how they built the first Rock vs. John Cena match?  Does “Once in Lifetime” ring a bell?  It must have been one fast lifetime or WWE did not think that far ahead when they thought of that tagline.  I personally believe in the latter, but that does not excuse WWE from their laziness.  If there were plans to have John Cena and The Rock fight again (and considering they signed Rock to work WrestleMania 29 about a year ago, there most likely were), it would have been easier to rethink the tagline to “Match of the Decade” or “Two Eras Collide”.  Having this rematch diminishes the importance and significance of their first match in Miami and also their main event match this year at WrestleMania.  Everybody was satisfied with the match we got last year.  Yes, it did not live up to the enormous unrealistic expectations that I and many other wrestling fans put on it, but it was still one amazing match.  At no point in the last year did anybody think to themselves that Rock vs. John Cena II at WrestleMania 29 was a great idea.  We were all basking in the glory of CM Punk’s remarkable WWE Title reign and honestly I would love to see Punk in the main event of WrestleMania 29 still holding the WWE Championship over Rock vs. Cena yet again.  WWE could have put their three biggest stars in The Rock, John Cena and CM Punk in a Triple Threat Match for the WWE Championship and it would be better than another singles match between The Rock and John Cena.  It would be an excellent launching point for Punk’s heel persona over feeding him to Undertaker and the Streak, but sadly that match would not make as much money as Rock vs. Cena II definitely will.  Money is what WrestleMania has come down to now and drawing the most money has seriously trumped out providing quality wrestling these last few years.  Think back ten years to WrestleMania XIX.  That WrestleMania is forever remembered as one of the best top-to-bottom wrestling cards to ever take place on The Grandest Stage of Them All.  Now think about WrestleMania 29.  Will you be remembering it for the wrestling or the onslaught of rematches that nobody wanted?  The Rock vs. John Cena II will rake in the money in hoards, but in five, ten, even twenty years WWE, will we remember it? 

With the WWE Championship on the line and the lights on bright, WWE you need to bring your A game come WrestleMania 29.  If The Rock vs. John Cena II does not live up to or even come close to the first match, there will be a lot of disappointed and disgruntled wrestling fans that will not let you hear the end of it.  You better put on the match we should have gotten last year at WrestleMania because Rock vs. Cena II is your last shot.  You think people are upset with Twice in a Lifetime, just watch how people get upset when you try and pull Three Times in a Lifetime.  I dare you.