The John Report: My Booking for Raw on January 4th & WM26
(Feels so good using that banner while talking about the current product.)
The most common questions I’ve been asked over the past couple of weeks have been related to Bret Hart. Not a shock considering he’s making his return to WWE TV (if you don’t count the Hall of Fame) after 12 full years of being away. Most people are asking me what I think will happen while others are asking how I would book it? Rather than trying to figure out the crazy mind of Vince McMahon, I’d rather tackle the “how would I book it” question. I wrote this out over the course of the last two weeks. I tweaked a lot of things here and there. It ended up being longer than I envisioned probably because I liked writing it a lot. I don’t foresee myself writing fantasy booking columns again because I’d rather right about what we actually see rather than what I want to see. I guess if feedback is good, though, you could change my mind.
Before we get to January 4, I’m going to assume that on tonight’s Raw Sheamus will retain the title somehow through questionable means leading to some kind of Sheamus/Cena rematch at the Royal Rumble on January 31. I wrote this with the idea that the outcome of that match isn’t that important. The purpose of January 4 is to bring Bret Hart back into the mix more than anything else. I’m also going to assume that WWE will run a video package showcasing Bret Hart with Vince McMahon saying he’s not in favor of Bret hosting, but that the board of directors are forcing his hand. Now, let’s go to January 4th. Keep in mind too that there’s no Smackdown brand show that night, so wrestlers from other brands could be used. After each segment, I’ve put in some **NOTES** to explain what I was going for.
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9pm ET in Dayton, Ohio for Raw
9:00pm ET – Bret Hart opens the show
No pyro. No Raw intro song. Just a shot of the arena. Then…guitar riff. Bret Hart’s music plays. I would run multiple Bret Hart video packages for the live crowd before the show starts to get them ready for it. Bret comes out to the ring in his black leather Hitman jacket like he used to do. He gets a huge ovation from the fans. If it’s a good crowd, they’ll give him a “welcome back” chant. If it’s not, what can ya do? Let him soak up the cheers.
I would give him free reign to speak from his heart. No script for him. He can talk about how he hasn’t been in a WWE ring for 12 years and that he never thought he’d be back in one again. Then, move on to the storyline. He will say that the reason he came back wasn’t for Vince McMahon or anybody that works for WWE. It was for the fans. He’s here for us. Now, for some storyline
Bret: “I’ve been a fan of this business for my entire life and I still am today. I have always been a supporter of the guys and girls that get in this ring busting their butts to entertain you, the fans. Even though I can no longer wrestle, tonight I have the power to choose what you will see tonight.” Crowd cheers. “I watch every week. It’s not what I remember. Instead of actual wrestling matches, all we seem to get are backstage comedy sketches featuring guest hosts, pies in the face, midgets or 40 year old degenerates acting like they are kids. I’m tired of seeing that every week. I’m not here to promote a movie, a TV show or some album – I’m here to promote professional wrestling. Professional wrestling. Not sports entertainment. It’s wrestling. Tonight, as the guest host of Raw, I’m going to give you the wrestling show you deserve.” Crowd cheers again.
Bret: “One of my favorite matches of the year is coming up in four weeks, the Royal Rumble. It’s a match about perseverance, endurance and seizing the opportunity. Everybody wants that number 30 spot in the match. What I’m going to do is put that spot up for grabs tonight. Two heated rivals will compete. The winner of the match gets the coveted number 30 spot in the Rumble. The loser? Number one. The match will be between last year’s Royal Rumble winner Randy Orton and a guy that has really caught my eye as of late…Kofi Kingston.” Crowd cheers.
Bret: “I have carefully crafted the rest of the card that you will see as the night progresses, but I have something special for the main event. As much as I would like to wrestle Shawn Michaels or Triple H tonight…” Crowd pops huge despite the fact that DX are faces. History is there, obviously. He lets the reaction die down. “…I can’t wrestle them, but I know two guys that can.”
Cue the guitar riff as the The Hart Dynasty (Tyson Kidd, David Hart Smith & Natalya) come out. Bret puts over his nephew David, his niece Natalya and their friend Tyson who grew up with the Hart family. He says they remind him of his team with Jim Neidhart, Natalya’s dad. All they need is an opportunity.
Bret: “I saw Smackdown on Christmas night. These two men took it to DX. They came so close to becoming tag team champions. They made me and my family proud. Tonight, they will get another opportunity as DX defends the tag titles against the Hart Dynasty and the special guest enforcer at ringside to ensure no screwjobs will be me, Bret The Hitman Hart.”
Crowd cheers again as “No Chance” strikes up. Vince McMahon appears on the stage.
Vince: “Let it be known that I never wanted you to be here tonight and after hearing you speak for the last ten minutes it made me want to puke. The board convinced me to let you hear because they think it’s good for business. Maybe they’re right. Maybe it is good for the business. The problem is it’s not good for me.” Crowd boos.
Bret: “I knew you couldn’t resist coming out here. Look Vince, we can talk about our issues another time. I was just about to get out of this ring to begin my WRESTLING show before you interrupted. Nobody here cares about your feelings. They paid to see a wrestling show tonight and I will give them that.”
Vince starts fuming on the stage.
Vince: “Is that so? In that case, you should know that The Hart Dynasty aren’t allowed on Raw. We’ve had this thing called a brand extension since you left and they are Smackdown superstars.”
Bret: “Funny you should say that because I went over your head and signed them to one night Raw contracts effective only tonight. My contract as guest host says I have that power. Not even you can stop that, Vince.”
Vince: “This is a disgrace. This is my show. My company. I am not about to be told…”
Bret: “Cut his microphone off. Cut it off, now!” And it cuts out. “I told you you’re not ruining my show. But Vince, before you go, there is one more thing. If you get in my face at any point tonight I promise you I will punch you in the face just like I did after you screwed me 12 years ago in Montreal. Try me, Vince. I dare you.”
The segment ends with Vince seething at the top of the ramp while Bret talks with the Hart Dynasty. Cut to Cole and Lawler who are sitting at the announce table plugging the DX vs. Hart Dynasty tag title match as well as the Orton vs. Kingston match to determine the #30 and #1 entrant in the Royal Rumble.
9:17pm ET – Commercial #1
**NOTES** I know it’s a bit hypocritical to have a guy say it’s a wrestling show and then talk for 15 minutes, but I think fans would expect that and I would try to keep the promos/skits limited for the rest of the show. I think it’s very important for us to hear Bret speak after being away for so long. It’s necessary to have a promo to open this show. I think it’s also effective in that it gives a small sampling of Bret vs. Vince without giving too much away.
9:20pm ET The Miz vs. Evan Bourne in a non-title match
They get their entrances right after the commercial. It’s announced that if Bourne wins this match he gets a title shot. They have a highly competitive match with each guy going on offense at various points. Bourne shows off his athleticism while Miz does a good job of garnering heel heat. Right around the 9 minute mark, with no commercial, Miz goes for his Skull Crushing Finale only for Bourne to reverse it and get a nearfall. Miz goes nuts, complaining to the ref that Bourne pulled his tights. Bourne hops to the top rope and comes off with a spinning DDT just as Miz turns around. He positions Miz in the corner, hits the Air Bourne Shooting Star Press and scores the victory at 10 minutes. The announcers then hype a US Title match between Miz and Bourne on next week’s Raw.
**NOTES** Raw needs more 10 minute midcard matches. This one would be good.
9:32pm ET Commercial
9:35pm ET DX meets with Bret
Cut to a shot of Shawn Michaels and Triple H in DX gear with smiles on their faces. It looks like a typical DX merchandise promo. “Hello, Degeneration X here…” and just as they’re talking in walks Bret Hart.
Bret: “Cut. Stop this. I told you, no backstage skits on my show. Look at you two. Calling yourselves degenerates when you’re both in your 40s, you both have kids and you, Hunter, are married to the boss’ daughter. And Shawn, you’ve worked here longer than any other wrestler on the roster. You were degenerates when you were making my life hell a decade ago, but now? You’re nothing like that. You two are the biggest suckups in the history of this company and you always have been. That’s why I don’t like either of you. Everybody knows that. However, I’ve always respected both of you as talents in that ring. Tonight, on my show, forget about your catchy intros and those ridiculous glow sticks. Instead, remember why you got in this business in the first place: To entertain those fans with your wrestling skill. See you out there. Hope you don’t get screwed by the guy in charge.”
Bret walks off with a smirk on his face. Shawn and Hunter look at eachother.
Shawn: “Man, what a bitter old man. You think he’s still mad that you didn’t invite him to your wedding?”
Triple H: “I don’t think that’s why he’s mad at us, Shawn. Remember, that thing between you, him, Vince that was my idea? Montreal? Survivor Series? 1997?”
Shawn looks clueless during all this. Then he perks up.
Shawn: “Oh, that! Nobody remembers that, do they?” Then he walks up and looks straight into the camera. “Do they?”
A two minute video then airs showing the Montreal Screwjob with comments from Bret, Vince, Shawn and HHH on it (take the comments from various DVDs). Cole and Lawler would then go nuts hyping the main event wondering what might happen with so many combustible elements involved.
**NOTES** This segment would get across the Bret/HBK/HHH relationship while also having a bit of comedy at the end of it, but not enough to take away the seriousness of it.
9:42 pm ET Commercial
9:45pm ET Kofi Kingston vs. Randy Orton. The winner is #30 in the Rumble. The loser is #1.
They wrestle for about 7 minutes. Orton ducks Trouble in Paradise, covers Kofi and puts his feet up on the ropes as he pins him. The ref never sees the feet on the ropes. Orton celebrates the win…until Bret Hart shows up on the screen. He tells Orton, who is walking up the ramp, that “there will be no screwjob finishes on my show. The match will continue and just to ensure this doesn’t happen again I will be assigning a second ref outside the ring.” The show goes to commercial with Orton running back towards the ring.
9:53pm ET Commercial
9:56pm ET Kingston vs. Orton continues.
Kingston continues to get worked over by Orton, who shows anger towards the ref for what he perceives to be slow two counts. Out come Dibiase and Rhodes. They do everything they can to try to interfere, but the second ref on the floor prevents that and throws them out of ringside. The announcers can put over how Bret’s decision to have a second ref paid off. A minute or so later, Kingston mounts his comeback using his athleticism. Orton comes back, goes for the RKO and Kingston shoves him stomach first into the turnbuckle. With Orton’s back to him, Kingston hits him with the Trouble in Paradise kick in the back of the head (it would look more devastating) and covers Orton for the three count. Post match, Kingston celebrates being #30 while the announcers put over how devastating that kick was because Orton never saw it coming. Total match time from bell to bell is 18 minutes.
**NOTES** Kingston scores the decisive victory to even things up from TLC, which the announcers would mention. They would have a grudge match down the road, but it wouldn’t be until March. More on that later.
Big Show’s shown walking down the hall in his wrestling gear. The announcers hype up Big Show having an announcement after the break.
10:14pm ET Commercial
10:17pm ET
Big Show’s in the ring with a microphone: “You know, ever since Jericho and me lost the tag belts I’ve been alone on Raw. People are scared of me even though I’m a friendly giant.” Crowd boos him for his lies. “What I’ve come to realize is that I need a friend to counter the other groups on Raw like DX, Legacy and whatever you the hell you want to call Chris Masters and those pecs of his. To be the dominant force that I know that I am, I need somebody to watch my back in case something bad goes down. Over the past few weeks I’ve talked to people in the Raw locker room and I can assure you that by the end of this match you’ll see who my backup is. For right now, I’m going to challenge any two superstars to a handicap match and no matter who you are all I can say is watch your back.”
10:20pm ET Big Show vs. Mark Henry & MVP
Big Show gulps at the sight of his opponents, putting over how Mark Henry is a big dude. MVP starts the match. He doesn’t have much success moving Show or getting him off his feet. Show laughs. MVP tags in Henry. Henry comes in, does his power moves. He gets Show off his feet with a big shoulder tackle that sends Big Show down into the corner turnbuckle. MVP hops up and down the apron asking for a tag now. Crowd’s excited. Henry tags him. As MVP gets in the ring, Henry gets out. With Henry standing on the apron and with his head in between the top & bottom ropes, MVP quickly turns around and boots Henry in the head sending the big guy to the floor. The crowd lets out a big “oooooooohhhhhhhhh.” MVP smiles, then jumps to the outside, takes the ring steps and repeatedly attacks Mark Henry’s left knee with it. Show tells him to roll him into the ring. MVP can barely move him, but he does it. Henry gets to his one good knee and Show KNOCKS HIM OUT~! with his punch. He covers for the three. Post match, MVP stands over Henry, yells at him about “holding me back” and shakes hands with the Big Show as the two men proudly smile.
No promo. Just end it like that with the announcers wondering how dangerous MVP could be with somebody as experienced as the Big Show on his side. Next week they cut a promo.
**NOTES** This whole thing isn’t about the match, which would be about three minutes. It’s about MVP turning heel. His face run isn’t working. He’s a cocky guy. He should be a heel. Being in an alliance with Big Show will elevate him and it also helps towards recreating a tag division on Raw, which would be a bigger plan of mine. Meanwhile, Mark Henry is off TV for a few months selling Kool-Aid.
10:26pm ET Commercial
10:30pm Melina vs. Gail Kim in a non-title match
They have a competitive, athletic match for about five minutes. The purpose of the match is to get over Gail’s athleticism. It wouldn’t be as slow as most divas matches. It would be fast paced. Maryse comes out to distract the two faces. Both Gail and Melina see it. Melina leaps off the apron onto the floor to take down Maryse with a crossbody. Gail climbs to the top rope and hits a crossbody of her own onto Melina and Maryse. The ref counts to ten, ending the match in a countout. Post match, Gail and Melina get in a cat fight, brawling on the floor until referees break it up. Maryse, being the heel, gets out of there.
The announcers put over how that was one of the most athletic divas matches they’ve seen on Raw and that they wouldn’t be surprised if we saw a rematch down the road. The segment ends with the two women jawing at eachother while the crowd hopefully boos at the sight of them being split up.
**NOTES** The purpose of this segment would be to showcase the athleticism of the divas in a match that got more time than the two minutes they usually get. It would lead to a Melina/Kim match at the Rumble that Kim would win after cheating, leading to a heel turn for her.
10:37pm ET
Cut to backstage where Hornswoggle, Chavo, Chris Masters, Eve, Carlito, the Bellas and whoever else is a regular in the “comedy” sketches are milling around. They are about to do something when Bret walks in and says, “No, not on my show. I hate these segments.” A disappointed Michael Cole throws it to commercial.
**NOTES** This would be the greatest thing ever if he interrupted the weekly comedy fest, wouldn’t it?
10:39pm ET Commercial
10:43pm ET Sheamus/Cena confrontation
For the first time all night, we see WWE Champion Sheamus, who is face to face with John Cena backstage. Standing in between them is Bret Hart. Hart talks to them. He speaks about how there was never a champion in WWE history that cared more about being WWE Champion than him. He puts over how he had long title reigns back in the days when “people didn’t lose the belt every single month.” (A shot at the short title reigns that WWE has booked.) He puts over their work, saying that he thought their match at TLC was very physical and their match last week (Dec. 28 Raw) was representative of what he likes to see as it pertains to the WWE Title. He then announces that at the Royal Rumble Sheamus will defend the title against John Cena in a Street Fight. Cena tells Sheamus to keep the “belt warm for me” and Sheamus shoves him. They brawl backstage a bit before security breaks it up. Bret smirks to himself, “Kinda reminds me of Austin and me. I miss those days.”
**NOTES** The feud already has had a lot of focus on it, so they’d only get about four or five minutes for this. It’s more important, at least for this week, to get the focus on Bret Hart. The last line is my way of putting over Austin vs. Hart, which is the best feud in company history between two wrestlers. I’d say Austin vs. McMahon is the best feud ever, but Vince obviously isn’t a wrestler.
10:48pm ET Commercial
10:51pm ET DX vs. The Hart Dynasty for the Tag Titles with Bret Hart as special guest enforcer.
No commercials during the match. The match starts with DX looking very serious with the announcers going on about how the speech from Hart earlier in the night being a big motivator for them. Bret would clearly be rooting for THD, even wearing their t-shirt. During the match, they could have various spots where Michaels goes to the floor to be face to face with Bret, each guy eyeing the other while the announcers suggest what might happen. THD finally gets control of things when Bret “accidentally” trips Shawn when he’s running the ropes. This brings Vince out, who comes out to bitch at Bret for interfering. He threatens to go ring the bell, but Bret stops him without touching him. Shawn gets the hot tag to HHH at the 12 minute mark, he comes in, does his knee smashes and spinebuster spots. He does his roar. Bret sees his family in trouble so he stalks towards Vince. Hunter tries to break it up, so Tyson dropkicks him in the back and he goes out to the floor into Bret. They roll Hunter back in. Bret looks out of it, so Vince stalks over to him, taunting him. As he leans down, Bret headbutts him gets up to his feet and punches Vince in the head sending him flying backwards into the announce table. While all this is going on, Shawn comes out to shove Bret. Hunter’s coming back, but Smith hits him in the back with a chair to stagger him. The ref is paying attention to the commotion. Hart holds Hunter up, Kidd comes off the top rope and they hit the Hart Attack clothesline for the 1…2…3 and they are the new tag team champions. I would expect something of a mixed reaction here. Bret hands them the belts and hugs them up the ramp. The match gets about 14 minutes.
To end the show, a dazed Vince McMahon crawls over to grab a microphone. “Bret Hart, you ruined my show! You ruined Raw! Forget about being guest host again. It will never happen! This isn’t over, though. Not by a long shot.” He stands up, barely. “Next week on Raw live in Boston I’m ordering you to be present so we can have the face to face conversation in the middle of that ring. Just you and me.”
The camera closes in on Bret’s face, who mouths the words “you got it” as he raises the arms of the Hart Dynasty, the new Undisputed Tag Team Champions.
The show goes off the air at about 11:10pm
**NOTES** The match leaves a rematch likely. Do it on TV. I would also think that would be a good time to split the belts up. Maybe do a double pin finish where DX takes the Raw belts back to Raw (and drops them to my MVP/Show team) while the Hart’s keep the SD belts on that show.
The ending closes the show with a cliffhanger going into the next week as WWE should do a good job of promoting a Vince McMahon/Bret Hart conversation. I would keep the focus on Vince/Bret because Shawn’s a face and he should be more involved with the current roster. They should make it a point to mention that the issue was more between Vince and Bret rather than Shawn and Bret although you can’t ignore Shawn/Bret either.
Goals of the 01/04/10 show:
– To start the Vince/Bret feud without giving too much off the bat in order to build to the next week.
– To elevate Kingston by having him beat Orton clean while also earning the most coveted spot in the Rumble at number 30, which would make him a favorite to win.
– To feature actual wrestling matches. One of them would be about 10 minutes, the main event at 14 minutes and the mid-show match at 18 minutes. When was the last time Raw had three matches get over 40 minutes? Doesn’t happen anymore.
– To turn the Hart Dynasty face by having a legend like Bret Hart endorse them.
– To plant some seeds for an Orton/Hart rivalry because Orton feels that Hart screwed with him. If Bret doesn’t want to travel for a couple weeks, have him take a RKO to sell the injury.
– To not turn DX heel. I know some of the actions against them aren’t that babyface-like, but they need the star of the show to be Bret and to put over THD. That’s the most important thing.
I know I left some people off like Swagger, who I like, but I don’t want to put too many people on every week. That leads to short matches and too many segments. Everybody that deserves it will get their time and place. What do you think? Good show? Would it work?
Booking to WrestleMania 26 and beyond for the key storylines
I had a lot of fun doing this, so I figured I’d also share my long term plans for WrestleMania 26 and beyond for the key storylines:
– Kofi Kingston wins the Royal Rumble match. Orton starts out at 1, he lasts all the way until the final three and he gets eliminated by Kingston. The runner up in the Rumble is Triple H. Orton wins the WWE Title from John Cena in a triple threat match also involving Sheamus on the February 1st edition of Raw (night after the Royal Rumble where Cena wins the belt back from Sheamus). He gets a title match after going on a tirade about losing the Rumble and he physically threatens the guest host into giving him a shot. He pins Sheamus for the title. He successfully defends the title at the Elimination Chamber PPV while Kingston defeats somebody else in another match on the card (Sheamus perhaps?). I would keep Orton and Kingston apart from the Rumble until Mania, instilling one of those “no physical contact” stipulations on them. At WM26, Kingston pins Orton to become WWE Champion. This has been the best feud in WWE since Punk/Hardy and it deserves to be rewarded with a title match at WrestleMania.
– Batista is the World Champion after winning the belt at the Rumble. He defends the World Title in the Smackdown Elimination Chamber match that also features Undertaker, Rey Mysterio, Drew McIntyre, John Morrison and Kane. Morrison is one of the first two. Batista is the last one out of the chamber. Batista retains the title, pinning a tired Morrison for the last fall. On the next episode of Smackdown, Morrison challenges Batista for Mania. Undertaker says no, he’s challenging him. Long makes Morrison vs. Undertaker. Morrison wins clean on a counter with a fancy rollup to become the #1 contender to the belt at WrestleMania 26 while Undertaker shakes his hand after. Morrison defeats Batista at WrestleMania 26 to become the World Champion for the first time in his career.
– Bret Hart defeats Vince McMahon in a street fight. If Bret doesn’t want to do a singles match, I would have him team up with The Hart Dynasty against Punk & Gallows. Either one works, but I think there’s more drawing power in the singles match.
– The Undertaker defeats Shawn Michaels again. Same kind of classic match as WM25 with Undertaker prevailing again. I would do another rematch in the summer, maybe for Summerslam, with Michaels winning that one.
– A returning babyface Edge defeats Chris Jericho in Edge’s first match back. Give them 20 minutes. Great match as expected. I would shift the World Title over to Jericho a few months after this and re-ignite this feud over the summer.
– The winner of the Money in the Bank match is Christian. The match features seven people who have never been a WWE or World Champion before (the ECW Title isn’t considered to be a world title). The competitors in the match are The Miz, Drew McIntyre, Shelton Benjamin, Evan Bourne, Cody Rhodes, Jack Swagger and Christian. It would also feature one person that has been a World Champion, Triple H. People are shocked that HHH wants to be in the match, but he puts it over as being a show stealing match every year and how he likes the idea of getting a title shot at any time. He will go into the match as the prohibitive favorite. Everybody will think he’s going to win…especially the fans on the internet. He comes close, but Christian wins it.
Looking ahead further, I would have a heel HHH win Raw’s WWE Title from Kofi Kingston in June and Christian, now on Raw after the lottery, refuses to use the MITB on him in a cheap manner. After HHH retains the title against somebody at the July PPV, Christian comes out on Raw and challenges him to a WWE Title match at Summerslam giving him a month to prepare. He wants to win the belt in an honorable manner, which he does for the first time at Summerslam.
– The now babyface team of the Hart Dynasty defeats CM Punk & Luke Gallows aka the Straight Edge Society to retain their Smackdown Tag Team Titles.
– The Raw Tag titles are retained by the team of MVP & Big Show against a returning Mark Henry (remember the angle from January 4) and Ted Dibiase. I would have Dibiase split off into singles and get him into a babyface role. This would be the start of that.
– After losing the title of February 1, Cena talks about how he wants to get the title back one day, but for WrestleMania this year he has another goal. He wants to wrestle the one guy that transcends the wrestling business. He wants to wrestle The Rock. He issues a public challenge and he will continue to call out The Rock until he is answered. On one of the Raw’s in March, Rock is guest host. Calls out Cena. Accepts the match. Rock vs. Cena at Mania. Vince, pay the Rock whatever he wants. If it’s $5 million he’s worth it. It’s worth it. Make the match happen. I would have Cena win a back and forth encounter with Rock shaking his hand at the end of it, putting him over. As good as Rock is, it would be foolish to having him go over your top guy in his first match in about five years. The result doesn’t matter that much. The moment does. If the crowd boos Cena during the match I would strongly consider turning him on an episode of Raw shortly after this.
To sum up, here’s my WrestleMania 26 lineup in order. There could be some other midcard matches (I don’t have Matt Hardy, Rey Mysterio – who has knee issues, Sheamus or a possibly returning Jeff Hardy listed for example) on the show too. These are the core matches.
1. Christian wins Money in the Bank
2. Show & MVP d. Henry & Dibiase
3. Edge d. Jericho
Put in the first divas match here. Heel Divas Champion Gail Kim over Melina/Maryse in a triple threat.
4. John Morrison d. Batista to win the World Title
5. Undertaker d. Shawn Michaels
Have some “comedy” stuff here because it’s hard to follow them.
6. Hart Dynasty d. Straight Edge Society
7. Bret Hart d. Vince McMahon
Put in the second divas match here. Heel Mickie James over Natalya, Beth & McCool in a four way elimination match to win the Women’s Title.
8. Kofi Kingston d. Randy Orton to win the WWE Title
Honor the Hall of Famers here before the main event.
9. John Cena d. The Rock
If Rock’s on the card, he goes on last. No question about that. If not, maybe Undertaker vs. Michaels goes last.
Will this happen? Of course not. Putting HHH in a minor role like I did is highly unlikely. I’m not doing it as a way to insult the guy. It’s more for the bigger picture and to set up his heel turn. The story with him would be that he came up short in the Rumble, came up short in MITB and he’ll be called out for going soft. Once he gets that edge back (heel turn) he’ll become the champ again. He’s had his big time matches at Mania and he stunk it up last year. I’m rewarding the ones that deserve it like Morrison and Kingston, among others. This has to be a WrestleMania where they build new stars.
I wouldn’t be opposed to a HHH vs. Sheamus match either. That could work and considering they’re friends already it is a definite possibility. I’d rather see the title in the Kofi/Orton feud.
If this card happened it would definitely be the most watched WrestleMania ever. I have no doubt about that. In terms of match quality, it’s a stacked lineup. Maybe too stacked. I’d love watching it, that’s for sure.
I’m pretty proud of what I came up with. I’m not about to write fantasy columns on a regular basis. Consider this a one time only thing…unless I get a ridiculously good response. Maybe I’ll send this along with a resume to WWE Creative. You never know.
Send me an email at [email protected] with your thoughts or hit me up Twitter or Facebook. The info is below.
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I’ll be back tomorrow (Tuesday) with the Raw Deal as usual. It’s Sheamus vs. Cena for the title.
Thanks for reading.
John Canton – [email protected]
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