Which team can stop The Miami Heat?

The Miami Heat are the favorite to win the NBA Championship for the second consecutive year. They dominated the season locking up the best seed and winning 27 straight games. They started the playoffs as everybody expected and swept the Bucks quite easily.

Simple question: Who can stop The Miami Heat?

The Pacers have the defense to slow Miami down, but the Hawks are giving them a fight and might be in danger of losing in the first round. Pacers are either a poor road team, or The Hawks are actually that good. They've been shooting on this Pacers defense and getting good baskets down low. I still have Indiana winning, but I wouldn't be surprised if the Hawks beat them. The #6 seeds in these playoffs are not going down without a fight. Indiana was beat 3 times during Miami's winning streak.

The Hawks wouldn't stand a chance. I'll get that out of the way now. The Hawks aren't offensively disciplined enough to take down an efficient offense like Miami.

The Knicks could give Miami a run for their money, but it'll be an offensive explosion. The Knicks don't have the defense to stop Miami. Their best bet would be to try and out score them and I don't even know if they can do that even with the leading scorer on their team. Miami doesn't play around and can pour on the points as well. It'll be about which defense can lock down in crunch time.

The Spurs have a golden ticket through the remainder of the playoffs. If Golden State can take care of business against Denver, I think this will be The Spurs biggest test. The Warriors are streaky, can shoot the hell of the ball, and have a terrific home court. But if they can get past them, nobody else can stop them. The Thunder can't beat them without Westbrook. Whether people want to believe it or not, Westbrook is the catalyst that provides stability to this team and gives them some energy and passion on the court. Durant may be the best shooter on this team, but Westbrook makes this team go. The Spurs have the playmakers and the discipline to contend with Miami.

What about Golden State? If they can handle Denver, they can give The Spurs a run for their money. If The Warriors somehow reach the Finals and face Miami, they can play them well too. They're the best 3 point shooting team in the league and their front court could give Miami some problems. They also have Stephen Curry.

The Miami offense can break through the Memphis defense. They've put the clamps on Lob City so far. They wouldn't do it against Miami. The Clippers are in the same boat as The Knicks. They would have to outscore Miami and make bigger plays. Miami would win that one every time.

Provided the Bulls can get past Brooklyn, I think they're the only team in the East that may have a shot at taking Miami. The Bulls like to play them tough, get physical with their players, and get out and shoot the basketball. The Heat will have a hell of a time defending the Bulls perimeter shooters and defending Joakim Noah down low. Even injured, he's a great presence down low. The Bulls can really match up well with the Heat better than people think. It would be a good series, but the Bulls are very inconsistent. You never know which team you'll get.

So, in The East, The Bulls can match up well, play defense, get physical and force turnovers. The Knicks will have to out score Miami to beat them because they won't beat them with their defense.

In the West, if the Spurs get past the second round, they could beat Miami. The Thunder without Westbrook can't, Memphis can't, and The Clippers (no matter what people say) wouldn't be able to either.

Either way, this list of teams that stand in the way of Miami repeating is very short. We'll just have to see how the rest of these playoffs turns out.



Feel free to Comment.


By: Gerald "Showstopper" Prophete

The Future of Dwight Howard

This blog post is long overdue. I predicted The Lakers would have no shot against San Antonio and after being SWEPT and suffering the worst home loss in playoff history in Game 3, this leaves the future of Dwight Howard up for discussion after his poor performance. I saw this coming. I may not have said it in these blogs, but I saw this coming from the get-go. But this is not what this post is about. What is the future of Dwight Howard? Will he stay, or will he go?

If he's smart, he'll go. Game 4 was a painful realization of what Dwight is in for once Kobe and Nash retire. And the future does not look very bright. Dwight could've avoided all of this and stayed in Orlando. But he had to cause a scene, get some people fired, and jump ship to Los Angeles. He's got nobody to blame but himself. I think he'll stay, but he should go, but where would he go?

Some people say The Dallas Mavericks would be a good fit. I think that would be a good fit for him as well.  I think an even better fit would be The Houston Rockets. It's almost the same sort of situation like he had in Orlando. He would have a great young roster around him with James Harden, Chandler Parsons, Jeremy Lin, Omir Asik, Carlos Delfino, Francisco Garcia. I think he'd fit in well with that team, give them a much needed boost and won't be all about one man like the Lakers was about Kobe Bryant. 

I've also heard grumblings about Atlanta, or Brooklyn. The Hawks are fine with Al Horford and I don't think Brooklyn would try for Dwight when they have Brook Lopez. 

My gut feeling says Dwight will fold under the pressure and re-sign with The Lakers, but if he knows what's good for him, he'll leave while he still can. No good can from staying. Unless he wants to be swept out of the playoffs for the second consecutive season, he can go right ahead. I think he can find another team better suited for him. If he's gonna go anywhere, I say either Houston or Dallas. Those two teams would be better fits for him.

Just my two cents.

Feel free to Comment.

By: Gerald "Showstopper" Prophete 

NBA Playoffs Predictions

It's that time of the year again! The NBA Playoffs are here and this the time we see who really is the best team in basketball. Casual fans and hardcore NBA fans unite! I'm gonna break down all the first round matchups and give you my predictions. This is gonna be a long blog post, so get your popcorn and soda pop ready. Here we go!

EAST:

Game 1 - Sun. April 21, Milwaukee at Miami, 7 p.m., TNT

I remember when Monta Ellis, or somebody on the Bucks said they could run with The Miami Heat. I beg to differ. This season has shown that nobody in the East can go toe to toe with The Miami Heat and the reigning  and defending MVP Lebron James. The Heat are very underrated on defense. They like to pressure teams, and constantly press to force turnovers. They're the best fastbreak team in Basketball and their efficiency rating is off the charts. They've also added Ray Allen, The Birdman, and Rashard Lewis to their team. Miami is stacked with playmakers.

The Bucks have almost no answer for anything Miami brings to the table. They don't have the size on defense to harass Lebron, they don't have any size down low to get and space and good points in the paint. Ersan Ilyasova is a force down low, but how productive is going to be against Miami? The Bucks can't force The Heat into bad turnovers, especially at home where they seem to dominate most of the time. I hate to say Milwaukee has no chance because anything can happen in the playoffs, but The Heat just beat them in every category. I mean, Monta Ellis and Brandon Jennings will get their points in bunches and JJ Redick is good for some points off the bench. The Bucks are a young, athletic, and versatile team, but I don't see them beating Miami. They'll be lucky to get one game. I'll be generous and give them that.

Showstopper Prediction: Miami Heat in 5 games

Game 1 - Sat. April 20, Boston at New York, 3 p.m., ABC

This is probably the one game out of the East I'm looking forward to the most. The Knicks have had their moments this season. They started out, REALLY strong, kind of fizzled out in the middle of the season, but finished winning 16 out of their last 18 games and winning the Atlantic Division for the first time since 1994.

If this was a few weeks ago and Rondo was healthy, I would say, I'd take Boston in 6 games, but just watching The Knicks get better and better and get back to their ways and now Carmelo overtakes Durant for the scoring title. Boston just isn't the same team without Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo, but they've still got Paul Pierce, a tenacious defender in Avery Bradley, and great playmakers like Jason Terry and Jeff Green. Plus, they've got one of the best coaches in basketball, Doc Rivers. The only problem with the Knicks is that they live and die by the 3 ball. Melo, Novak, Kidd, Felton, and JR are exceptional 3 point shooters and I'm sure Doc knows that. He's not going to leave them on the perimeter and rain down 3s all day. The Knicks are going to have change up a few things to contend with Boston.

This is the most important year for Melo and The Knicks. They've gotta get out the first round. They've been bumped from the first round 2 years in a row now by Boston and Miami respectively. Melo himself has been bumped out of the first round 8 of his last 9 appearances. All that being said, I think the Celtics are due for a swift exit from the first round this time around. Boston's defensive ability is the only thing that can extend the series, but The Knicks' offense is just too good this year. Their frontcourt is suspect at times, but they're very efficient on offense and once they get going, it's hard to stop them. The Knicks need a lot of things to go wrong to mess this up.

Showstopper Prediction: New York Knicks in 6 games

Game 1 - Sun. April 21, Atlanta at Indiana, 1 p.m., TNT

Indiana drew a good matchup here. The Pacers have the best defense in basketball and are the #1 rebounding team in basketball. They're lucky Chicago didn't draw that #6 seed because that's a bad matchup for them. 

The Hawks don't get talked about a lot, but they've been quietly playing good basketball this season. Josh Smith has put together another overall good season scoring 17.5 points per game, averaging around 8.4 assists and 4.2 rebounds. Losing Jamal Crawford and Joe Johnson is still HUGE, but Josh Smith is no scrub, Jeff Teague is still an exceptional point guard, and Al Horford is still playing at high level. He's always been a very underrated big man in my eyes playing on a struggling team. 

But Indiana is just a better team. Indiana plays slow and keeps the pace to match their playing style. They can spend the series exploiting their matchups against Atlanta. They've got the playmakers in David West and George Hill on the offensive side of the ball and with Roy Hibbert and Paul George guarding the rim, it'll be hard for Atlanta to get any decent points in the paint. And as I mentioned before, Indiana is the top rebounding team in the league, the Hawks are 23rd in that category. The Pacers are the #1 team in the NBA in scoring points in the paint. I don't the Hawks have any sort of answer for the balance of defense and offensive consistency.

Showstopper Prediction: Indiana Pacers in 5 games

Game 1 - Sat. April 20, Chicago at Brooklyn, 8 p.m., ESPN

The crowd in Brooklyn is gonna be rowdy, but I don't like their chances against Chicago. Deron Williams has been back to playing at the all star level we know he can't play at, Brook Lopez is putting together yet another solid season, and Joe Johnson looks to emerge as the superstar the Nets need. 

But, Chicago is a whole different breed. They've been playing exceptionally well over the last few weeks, but their success in the playoffs depends on the health of Joakim Noah. Noah is a such an intimidating presence in the paint of the offensive and defensive side of the ball and The Bulls need that because The Nets have Lopez to score and Evans to rebound and defend and putbacks if he's in the right position. 

The Bulls are more physical then the Nets, but getting points in the painted area could be a problem without Noah. Boozer scores decent numbers when he has to, Luol Deng is great playmaker, Kirk Hinrich has seemingly taken the spot of Kyle Korver and provide some needed points on the perimeter, and Nate Robinson has taken over for Derrick Rose, but he is NOT Derrick Rose. 

All that being said, The Nets don't have enough physical intensity to deal with the Bulls and not enough consistent playmakers to contend with Chicago's lineup. Brooklyn will provide a stellar challenge because I believe their frontcourt will get some needed points in the paint. This also depends on if Joakim Noah is healthy because he can be a force down there as I mentioned before. But The Bulls are resilient and are out to prove that they can get it done without Derrick Rose. It all depends on which Bulls team shows up in these playoffs. They're starting off on the road and their road record isn't exactly eye-popping (21-20) so they need to be ready.

Showstopper Prediction: Chicago Bulls in 6 games

WEST:

Lots of intriguing matchups in the West. Let's get right to them!

Game 1 - Sun. April 21, Houston at Oklahoma City, 9:30 p.m., TNT

This matchup is really intriguing because both of these teams play at almost the same pace. They like to go up and down the court and can score in bunches. Houston is 2nd highest scoring team in basketball with OKC at #3. 

James Harden is the key to Houston avoiding a sound beating at the hands of the defending Western Conference Champions. His playmaking is crucial to Houston being able to pull off the upset, but his supporting cast will have to back him up. This will also be Jeremy Lin's first playoff appearance, so it'll be impressive to see how he performs. Not to mention the big man Omir Asik down low is #3 in the league in rebounding and they have a very underrated forward in Chandler Parsons. Houston likes to quicken the pace and move up and down the court similar to OKC. They love to move the ball around and get a man open. They don't depend on the 3 ball as much like some teams do. Sounds like an even match, right?

Wrong. What Houston's downfall will be is their defense. Houston can score all the points they want, but they have to be able to defend because OKC can match their offensive consistency, but they can also defend when it's time to defend have the ability to pull away from their opponent. Houston is 16th in the league in defense while OKC has the #3 overall defense in the NBA. OKC has Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, the league leading blocker in Serge Ibaka, and exceptional players in Thabo and Perkins. But the 6th man is key here. Harden was big for OKC last season, and now they've got Kevin Martin. Kevin Martin can ball, no doubt about that, but his minutes off the bench will be pivotal.

Houston and OKC will score alot of points on each other, but it will be who has the better defensive prowess enough to lock down and force turnovers. Too much OKC, too much playmaking and defense for Houston to handle. I don't think Houston will get swept, but this will be a good series.

Showstopper Prediction: Oklahoma City Thunder in 6 games

Game 1 - Sun. April 21, Los Angeles at San Antonio, 3:30 p.m., ABC

Let me choose my words carefully as to not upset the hardcore Kobe Lakers fans out there. The Lakers have absolutely no chance against San Antonio. I've said to this to a few friends of mine that The Lakers wouldn't get in the playoffs and they made it by the skin of their teeth. But man, did they ever draw a bad matchup here.

Here's how the Lakers look; Kobe Bryant is injured and Steve Nash is dealing with some injuries, Pau Gasol has been M.I.A. for most of the season, Dwight Howard finally turned on the switch and is playing close to the level he was at in Orlando and Steve Blake has been picking up the slack for the injured Nash. That's all well and good, but they're playing the San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs are also banged up as well. Manu has been dealing with some injuries as well and hasn't been playing like himself and Tony Parker has been inconsistent since coming back from his injury. All the more reason San Antonio brought in Tracy McGrady. People forget how good this guy used to be in his heyday with Magic before his own injury problems.

Even with their injuries, The Spurs are better up and down the roster than The Lakers. If Kobe and Nash were healthy, then I could see this series going 6, maybe 7 games, but the Lakers aren't beating The Spurs. As good as Dwight Howard is, Tim Duncan is no scrub. He's not going to let Dwight get those easy shots off of screen and picks. Duncan's fundamentals will prevail over Howard's versatility and athleticism. Even without their Big 3, The Spurs still have Danny Green, Kawai Leonard, and Steven Jackson as a great supporting cast. The Spurs overall roster is just too much for the Lakers to handle. The Lakers also have a 18th ranked defense while The Spurs are #4 in total points scored and the league leading team in assists. 

Laker Nation better be prepared for a first round exit.

Showstopper Prediction: San Antonio Spurs in 5 games

Game 1 - Sat. April 20, Golden State at Denver, 5:30 p.m., ESPN

Out all of the games in the first round, this is the one I'm looking forward to the most. Right off the bat, Golden State can forget the notion of winning a game in Denver. They've been AMAZING in the Pepsi Center. 38-3 to be exact. The best team at home in the NBA this season. Golden State plays well on their home court, but not as well as Denver. 

The Nuggets offense is so explosive and fast. They like to go up and down the court with haste. Danillo Gallinairi is a BIG loss to this team because he's a very underrated perimeter shooter, but they've still got leading scorer Ty Lawson, superstar Andre Iguodala and a tenacious big man in Kenneth Faried who can snatch down offensive boards and score with the best of them. Denver has a ton of playmakers on offense and at home, they don't take their foot off the gas. 

Stephen Curry holds the all time record for most 3's in a single season and he's the one person that gives Golden State a fighting chance in this series. Not to discredit Andrew Bogut, Jarrett Jack, and David Lee, but Stephen Curry is the premiere playmaker on this team and needs to open up opportunities to get David Lee and Andrew Bogut going. Also, Jarrett Jack is going to be an integral part of Golden State's gameplan coming off the bench. Curry will get his because Lawson is coming back from injury. He says he's fine, but I think he might a little gimpy. Curry will get his and keep Lawson on his toes. 

The Warriors have a slight advantage in the rebound category and their frontcourt is more athletic and can provide more consistent points in the paint, but as far as overall efficiency goes, Denver is the #1 offensive team in basketball and Golden State themselves are only 13th in the league in defense. Denver is just going to be too much for Golden State to handle. Stephen Curry and his team need to be ready or else things could get ugly. It's gonna be a great series. 

Showstopper Prediction: Denver Nuggets in 5 games

Game 1 - Sat. April 20, Memphis at Los Angeles, 10:30 p.m., ESPN

Here we go again. The Los Angeles Clippers face off with the Memphis Grizzlies for the second straight season. This time, the roles are reversed, Clippers are the #4 seed and Memphis is #5 seed. Who could forget their epic 7 game series from last season. Game 1 one the series saw The Clippers come back from 27 down to beat Memphis on their homecourt and win Game 7 on that same court. A great start to the first round indeed. The Grizzlies are out for some revenge this year.

This time around, things are a tad bit different. The Grizzlies are much better on defense ranking #2 and allowing just fewer than 90 points per game. Their defense is ferocious, forces turnovers, can body and outsize players down low, and can lock down defend and press the court with the best of them. A defense this good is something they lacked last year. They've also got some size and athleticism down low. Marc Gasol puts together another efficient season with 14.1 points per game and averaging almost 8 rebounds per game. Of course, Zach Randolph will be an integral part of their offense averaging 15.4 points per game and 11.2 rebounds per game. I feel like the absence of Rudy Gay and OJ Mayo is big. They don't have that one superstar who can take the game over in clutch situations. Sure Michael Conley is good, but he'll need to turn his game up in the playoffs to give Memphis a chance.

Lob City however has had their fair share of problems off the court, but I'm sure things have quieted down by now. The Clippers are still #4 in scoring, Chris Paul is still (in my opinion) the best point guard in the league right now in terms of playmaking abilities, player efficiency, and #2 in the league in assist, and have guys like Blake Griffin and Deandre Jordan ready to dunk on somebody if need be. DeAndre may lead the league in FG percentage, but he needs to improve his FT shooting. Jamal Crawford is in the running for 6th man of the year and he's going to give Lob City a much needed boost. Nobody on Memphis can contend with CP3 or even defend a guy like Jamal Crawford. Guys Jerryd Bayless and Darrell Arthur will need to step up.

Tough choice here, but I'm gonna have to go with The Clippers again. As much as I want to pick to Grizzlies because I think their defense is so strong, the Clippers just have too much depth and they can play against anybody with the ability of their frontcourt. It just seems like another bad matchup for the Grizz. They don't have enough offensive efficiency to contend with The Clippers. Grizz seem to rely more on their defense, but sometimes struggle to score consistent points. They can slow down The Clippers, but can they score the points to beat them. This series could go either way, but we're in store for another great series.

Showstopper Prediction: Los Angeles Clippers in 7 games

There you have it. My picks and predictions. Enjoy the first round matchups of the NBA Playoffs everybody! 16 Teams. 1 NBA Champion. Let the games begin.

Also, as an early NBA Finals Prediction, I'm gonna go Heat vs Thunder in a rematch from last year. If The Spurs weren't so banged up, I'd choose them, but unless they get it together, I'm going with OKC.

Feel free to Comment.

By: Gerald "Showstopper" Prophete

WrestleMania 29 Reaction!

WrestleMania. The biggest show in WWE's industry. The showcase of Immortals. Let's see how the show went. BIG crowd. BIG arena. LITTLE hype.

Pre-Show:

The Pre-Show was pretty damn good. Reminded me of Sunday Night Heat. An hour long, covering all the matches, and we have a panel now. This Scott Sanford guy, Jim Ross (who should be commentating), Kofi Kingston, and The "American Dream" Dusty Rhodes.

WWE Intercontinental Championship Match

Wade Barrett (c) vs The Miz

Not much of a feud between these two, but these two had a nice little match. Back and forth and not much lagging or lull in the action. I'm not a fan of the characters, but I know Barrett and Miz can go in the ring. A short match to set the pace, and Miz wins with the figure four. Miz is the new IC Champion like I called.

The Pre-Show closed with one last look at The Rock and John Cena.

Not a bad Pre-Show. I remember when they had Sunday Night Heat before each pay-per-view in the Attitude Era showing promo packages highlighting the main feuds and I loved that. This was a nice little show to get everybody hyped and ready for WrestleMania. JR and Kofi were the two best commentators/analysts. I would've preferred it was just those two to be honest.

And now, on to WrestleMania!

WrestleMania 29:

No celebrity singing the National Anthem. We instead get a video covering Hurricane Sandy. Ok? Moving on.

We get a pretty sweet video package and it's time to get this show started!

6 Man Tag Team Match
Randy Orton, Sheamus, & The Big Show vs The Shield

WrestleMania kicks off with the The Shield taking on Randy Orton, Big Show, and Sheamus. The fans were HOT for The Shield. Everything about these guys is great. I've said it on many occassions, so I won't repeat myself. I'll get to the match.

Definitely one of The Shield's shorter matches, but you don't want a LONG opener for WrestleMania, so this match was satisfying. The Shield looked great in their Mania debut. They kept that fast pace and quick tags. Rollins looked like he took one too many flying moves because when went for a suicide dive, he looked he flew right into the barricade.

Show was in for a while, but Sheamus was the best member of that team. He brought it tonight. The ending saw Orton reaching out and stealing a tag from Show and that was a theme in this match. Orton didn't want to tag Big Show. Reigns hit his HUGE spear on Orton and Ambrose got the cover and win while Show didn't do anything.

After the match, Show knocked out both Orton and Sheamus because he literally only got ONE tag in the match. Specifically, it was Orton who didn't want to tag him in. So, this whole time, I thought Orton would turn heel, but he sort of did. He acted a little heelish to a Big Show who was trying to be good.

Maybe a Show/Orton feud in the works?

All in all, The Shield looked great in their WrestleMania debut and scored a strong win over Show, Sheamus, and Orton. It was a decent opener missing a little something, but a good match to get the crowd riled up. Maybe now, The Shield can move on to other things. Sheamus can move on. Show will probably go on to feud with Orton after tonight.

But what does The Shield move on to? They've beaten every top star in the WWE? Where is this going? We'll have to wait and see.

Ryback vs Mark Henry

This is one of the matches I was looking forward and I was underwhelmed.

Love Mark Henry. His attitude, theme music and Monster gimmick. Ryback was supposed to be his Kryptonite, but didn't look like it here.

The started with a staredown and got it on. Mark Henry dominated pretty much the whole match, making Ryback look very weak in the bulk of the match.

Here's where I get confused. Ryback start to build momentum and hits the meat hook clothesline. He gets him up for the Shellshock, but Henry grabs the rope, Ryback crumbles under the weight and falls and Henry gets the win. What?

But then Ryback hits the Shellshock and celebrates. He didn't win the match. Yeah, he looks strong, but HE DIDN'T WIN THE MATCH. Ryback has jobbed the last 5 pay-per-views. I'm not a big Ryback fan, but constantly losing makes him look very weak.

That was bad. Really one sided and Ryback didn't get the win. And they were pushing him as one of the top faces? He needs to WIN some pay-per-view matches first.

WWE Tag Team Championship Match
Team Hell No (c) vs Dolph Ziggler & Big E. Langston (w/AJ Lee)

Tag Team Championship Match for the first time in 3 years. I was excited to see this match. I was hoping Team Hell No dropped the belts, but boy was I wrong.

The match itself was another short one. Bryan and Ziggler worked a bulk of the match. Big E. looked strong in his debut. He manhandled Kane and when he was in, he displayed a lot of power moves. I'm not a fan of this guy yet, but he could grow on me.

I like the tease they did with Bryan/Ziggler/AJ. They were trying to do to Ziggler what Sheamus did to Bryan last year. That was funny. I would've been legit upset if the match ended there.

Not much to say with this match. It was a good match, don't get me wrong. I felt like it could've been a little longer. Too short, and seemed rushed. Kane and Bryan double team Ziggler and Bryan picks up the win after a flying headbutt.

Team Hell No wins and retains the tag titles. Ok, I like Team Hell No. I really do, but their tag team title reign has gotten very stale. This was a fresh feud for the tag team scene, and I really thought Ziggler and Big E. were going to walk away with the belts, but I guess WWE still wants Team Hell No to parade around with the tag titles. I hope this feud isn't over. I would like to see these two teams feud a little more.

Chris Jericho vs Fandango

The WrestleMania debut for FANDANGO and he's taking on Chris Jericho. Fandango had a pretty cool entrance with multiple exotic dancers. Fancy entrance for a guy who's making his debut at WrestleMania.

I was excited to see this match and it didn't disappoint. Jericho dominated a bulk of the match, but when Fandango got it going, he pulled off some great moves. The kid sold moves well, when he countered Jericho, he hit a great kick, and he can get some air when he wants to. I thought it was over when he hit that legdrop. Jericho wasn't going to be outdone hitting the spot of the match with a BIG cross body on the outside.

Something I liked about this match is that it had a fast pace to it. When they moved slow, it wasn't for the whole match, it would be for a little while. These two guys put on a show in that ring and told a good story. It was physical, fast, and had a good pace. Not too long, or short. Great match. Ending saw Fandango counter Jericho and get him into a small package for the upset win. It could'be been executed better, but it was nice that the upstart heel got the win over the top face.

Not surprised here in the least to be honest. Who didn't think Fandango would win? For a guy who's first match was at WrestleMania, I say he did a damn good job. It also helped that he had a guy like Chris Jericho to work with. The ending was VERY sloppy, but the rest of the match was good.

I don't think this feud is over. I'm not sure how long Jericho is around for after tonight, but if he's sticking around for a while, I would love to see this feud continue.

Match of the Night so far for me. I may be biased because I like this Fandango guy, but this was still a good match.

For all the people complaining about Jericho losing, he's back to PUT PEOPLE OVER. Get over it. It's his job. You can't build new stars by having them lose. Jericho is being a company guy.

World Heavyweight Championship Match
Alberto Del Rio (c) vs Jack Swagger

The World Heavyweight Championship didn't last 18 seconds this year. Good start. Jack Swagger got a jobber entrance. As in, we didn't get to see him even enter the ring. I knew then, he wasn't going to win.

I'll keep this brief. The crowd was dead, but the match was pretty solid to me. It seemed sluggish and lagged at times, but it kept a consistent pace and we got to see a little interaction with Zeb Coulter and Ricardo on the outside. I really can't say much about this match. It was a good, solid match with one cool spot where Del Rio countered the ankle lock into his cross arm breaker. That was a great reversal. Never seen somebody counter the ankle lock like that before. Del Rio and Swagger wrestled as good as they could, but in the end, it felt like I was watching a SmackDown Main Event.

It's a shame. I had high hopes for this match. Don't get me wrong, it was good. I just felt like more could've been done with it.

Del Rio retains and Ziggler does NOT cash in. Told ya.

The Undertaker vs CM Punk

Most of the hype was on this match. A LOT of people were calling this the match of the show. I thought it was going to be slow and methodical, but I was blown away. Taker maybe an old man, but he can still work a damn good match and move like he's around his 30s.

This match started off fast and the crowd was HOT. Some of what Punk did in this match reminded me of what Randy Orton did in his match Undertaker at WrestleMania 21. He slapped Taker a few times to set the tone and get him riled up. They took it to the outside where Taker beat him down and dominated the early goings in this match. Taker missed a big boot in the corner and Punk took advantage. He hit a great crossbody, did old school, and dominated the latter parts of this match. They went back and forth a few times, but ultimately, they wanted to make Punk look dominant for most of this match and this man was good. Punk hasn't wrestled in a while, so I forgot how good he actually is in the ring.

Let's move on a little bit. Punk tries to pull a Shane McMahon later in the match hit an elbow from the turnbuckle to Taker on the announce table. Unfortunately for them, the tables don't break as easily as they used to. The ref gets knocked out and Punk uses the urn to drop the Undertaker. Punk does Undertaker's pin much like HHH at WrestleMania 27 and he kicks out! Taker hits the Tombstone and Punk kicks out! I gotta admit, I'm not a fan of the whole kicking out of finishers thing except when it's at WrestleMania.

CM Punk goes for the GTS one last time, but Taker comes back with a sweet reversal and hits the Tombstone for the 2nd time. 1, 2, 3!

21-0.

THAT is now Match of the Night. It's gonna be a tough act to follow without question. The pace in this match was so well done. Taker proved he can still work a good match at his age and Punk showed he can hang with The Deadman. This was a great match. BUT Taker vs HHH in Hell in a Cell last year was better, and there no point where I said, "OMG IT'S OVER!" but this was a great match for those who said Taker didn't have it anymore. I'll put this in Taker's top 10. Maybe.

This match really reminded me of Orton vs Taker at WrestleMania 21. Go back and watch that match. You'll see I'm right. Only difference here is the crowd was better and the match was longer.

The Streak will never die. Is Taker done? After tonight, he can probably do this for one more year or two. I heard Punk was going to take time off so I'm not sure if he'll be on RAW tomorrow night.

This will be a tough act to follow.

No Holds Barred
Triple H vs Brock Lesnar

This was the match I thought would be match of the night, but it didn't really live up to what I thought.

This was a GREAT brawl, but I expected a little more from it. There was a lack with weapon use. They barely used the chairs and HHH only used the sledgehammer ONCE. It started out fast and Lesnar suplexed HHH through the announce table that Punk tried to break earlier. I liked the story they built. Lesnar is a Monster so I'm not surprised that he dominated almost the whole match. I think it would've been better that instead of punishing him with wrestling holds, it would've been more suitable in a No Holds Barred Match to punish him with weapons, make him bleed, make him suffer. This is what this match needed.

Anyway, it picked up more towards the end when Brock Lesnar introduced the steps into the match hitting Triple H with them twice. Triple H came back and tried to use Brock Lesnar's submission move to beat him and Lesnar powered out of it THREE times, showing how strong he is. It would've been pretty weak to make Lesnar, a former UFC Heavyweight Champion, TAP OUT to his own submission move.

Triple H hits the pedigree on the steps for the win over Lesnar. Not too surprised there.

Great brawl. I'll say that. It towed the line between wrestling and brawling. Lesnar dominated the match to push his Monster gimmick so that HHH could stage that comeback. The fans were drained from Taker/Punk so they didn't get loud until the closing moments of this match. It got good and they turned it up. As a old school guy, I needed to see more violence in this match. It seemed too laid back and normal for a No Holds Barred match. The match told a great story, but more violence, adds to that story. Great match though. I'm not taking anything away from the match. They worked their asses off. Just expected a little more.

8 Person Intergender Tag Team Match
Tons of Funk & The Funkadactyls vs Team Rhodes Scholars & The Bella Twins

The match didn't happen. All 8 of them got hosed. Poor Damien Sandow. Moving on.

WWE Championship Match
The Rock (c) vs John Cena

No special entrances for either men and no last minute hype/sell right before the match. Interesting.

Right off the bat, the crowd was a dud for a good portion of the match. The match started out much slower than last year. They spent like 5-10 minutes in the feeling out process trying to get the upper hand on each other. The crowd was bored. I liked the storytelling early on, but they spent just a tad bit too much time on it. It took a while for the match to really get going. There were a lot of holds and a very slow, methodical pace. And no, it wasn't because Rock was gassed. It's called selling. Sheesh.

Let's get to the part where the crowd woke up. Cena was going for the 5 knuckle shuffle and the crowd exploded with boos. Rock counters and goes for the People's Elbow and the crowd erupts! From that point on, it was an endless number of reversals, near falls, kicking out of finishers, and etc. Too much for me to even go into. I do know that Cena kicked out of THREE Rock Bottoms. THREE. Sheesh. I knew that only one thing could make this match better: Using each other's finishers! Cena used The Rock Bottom and I was waiting for Rock to use the AA, but it never happened. Cena reversed the Rock Bottom for the umpteenth time and hit the AA for the third time, if I remember correctly and got the win.

Rock and Cena then pulled a Rock/Hogan and shook hands in the middle of the ring. Cena left and Rock soaked in the cheers. This is most likely his sendoff. I'll miss The Rock unlike some marks that confuse him with David Arquette circa 2000. But The Rock made WWE watchable for a while when it was unwatchable. I thought he was advertised for Extreme Rules but I guess not.

Rock and Cena raise each other's arms at the top of the set and the pyro goes off.

Show ends.

NO CENA HEEL TURN! I told you WWE doesn't have the guts to turn Cena heel. Maybe now people will drop that subject because it's not going to happen. Cena is once again WWE Champion. Lord help us.

I'll admit, last year's Rock/Cena was better. Much better. Even the crowd was better last year. There was no 10 minute feeling out process and it was more fluid. It's weird because that was their FIRST meeting. You would think Part 2 would be better. As much as I don't like Cena, I admire the whole Rock/Hogan way to end the show. The match didn't have that one HUGE moment. It had good moments, but you kinda expected what was going to happen in this match.


So, THAT was WrestleMania. I will say this. WrestleMania 28 was better. MUCH better. It started off really good. I thought we were in for a show that blew WrestleMania 28 away, but nope. WM 29 was good, but I was expecting more. It didn't beat WrestleMania 28 in my view. I'll give it a 7/10. Generous number. Henry/Ryback was horrible, Rock/Cena was a letdown, and only ONE title changed hands. Tag Title match and Jericho/Fandango was too short, Del Rio/Swagger was meh, The Shield match was good, HHH/Lesnar was still good, but missed something, and Punk/Taker stole the show.

I enjoyed the show, but nothing about it was exciting. No twists, no turns, no HUGE moment that you'll go back watch over and over.

Let me know what you think.


Feel free to Comment.


By: Gerald "Showstopper" Prophete

Final Thoughts: WrestleMania 29

WrestleMania Sunday is upon us! I've tried to get excited about the show tonight and it's about the same as it was when I posted the WrestleMania Predictions blog. I mean, it's WrestleMania, so I am excited. I'm just gonna post my final thoughts. I'll make it quick.

Match of the Night: 

I think Match of the Night very well could be Triple H vs Brock Lesnar. IF they decide to let these guys cut loose, we can get a real street fight. These days, WWE thinks hardcore is a few chairs. We need these guys to use everything they can get their hands on. More importantly, we need blood. Blood adds such an extra layer to personal matches like this one for example. I expect a WAR. This match will be entertaining.

Punk/Undertaker is gonna be good, but slow and have a lot of false finishes and people are gonna proclaim it as the greatest WrestleMania match of all time. Sheesh.

Rock and Cena are going to be LOADED with false finishes, near falls, and multiple finishers. Should be a solid match overall.

As far as the undercard, I'm looking forward to Jericho vs Fandango. If these guys get 15 minutes from bell to bell, they can steal the show. A lot of people are underrating Fandango. This is gonna be a good match.


What I'm Not Looking Forward To:

I'm not looking forward to all the cheesy segments they WILL do. Cheap attempts at comedy and bad humor and then you factor in all the ads, touts, and other stuff which are there to give the crowds a break, but it's just useless filler to me.

I'm also not looking forward to seeing Tons of Funk and the Funkadactyls dance in the ring with the little kids.


Overall Presentation:

This is what the set looks like. Excited yet?

Let me just say, the set looks AMAZING. They've really out done themselves with this one. It really represents New York even though Metlife is in New Jersey. Can't wait to see it.


Overall, I think this WrestleMania has the potential to be REALLY good. With matches like Rock/Cena, HHH/Lesnar, and Punk/Taker, no way this show should be bad. It should surpass last year's show. They have great matches and an awesome crowd to work with.

Do I think Dolph Ziggler wish cash in his Money in the Bank? No.

Will John Cena turn heel? Doubt it. WWE doesn't have the balls to pull the trigger.

This is how they reel you in. They tease both of these and they both don't happen.  If they do happen, then I'll be surprised. But I really doubt it.

Like I said before, expect a lot of ads, touts, poor backstage comedy and insanely long video packages. I'm looking forward to the show. I'll be watching intently tonight.

Be prepared for a LONG blog after the show because I'm going to be covering the Pre-Show as well. I'll also be tweeting during the event.

Happy WrestleMania! Enjoy the show!


Feel free to Comment.

By: Gerald "Showstopper" Prophete

Rutgers Fires Head Coach Mike Rice

I'm going to make this one quick. I saw the video a few hours ago and I was trying to think of what to say in this blog. A video was leaked of Rutgers Basketball Coach Mike Rice berating and yelling at his players during practices, taunting them with slurs, kicking them and throwing balls at them. For those who haven't seen the video, take a look:

Rutgers announced his termination on its Twitter account early this morning. These are quotes from Mike Rice when confronted outside of his home by ESPN and other reporters:

Rice apologized "for the pain and hardship that I've caused."

"I've let so many people down," he said to the reporters. "My players, my administration, Rutgers University, the fans. My family, who's sitting in their house just huddled around because of the fact that their father was an embarrassment to them. 

"It's troubling, but I will at some time, maybe I'll try to explain it, but right now, there's no explanation for what's on those films. Because there is no excuse for it. I was wrong. I want to tell everybody who's believed in me that I'm deeply sorry."

At least he apologized and that's a start.

This isn't the first time Rutgers faced media attention like this. In 2010, 18 year old Tyler Clementi committed suicide after his roommate spied on him having an intimate encounter with another male and leaked said footage on the internet. 3 years later, and this sort of thing happens.

I've heard everything from it's abuse and it's wrong to people saying the players and people need to "man up" and take it as lighting a fire under them. There are better ways to show your team how to play better. There's a difference between yelling to get your point across and yelling, kicking, shouting slurs, and throwing basketballs at people's heads. A BIG difference.

Guys like Mike Rice love to take charge and physically push around his players to feel good about himself. Typical Alpha Male stuff. Young adults play College Basketball because it's fun, competitive and they want to make it to the pros. They don't do it to pretty much get beat up on by the Head Coach. Rutgers certainly hasn't set the College Basketball world on fire, but you don't try to become the best by physical abuse. Maybe now that he's been fired, he'll have time to think about his actions. Maybe he'll go to Anger Management and get himself straightened out.

People in this generation love to act tough. No wonder I read people saying, "man up" "college basketball needs men, not boys." I would love to seem them in that type of situation and see how they act. A lot of people love to run their mouths about situations they know nothing about and deem those that disagree with them as "too emotional" or "too sensitive."

That's their opinion and they're entitled to it. But it's common sense. There's a right way and a wrong way to do things. Mr. Rice obviously was doing it the wrong way.

These College ball players are still kids. They're not getting paid for this. It's COLLEGE Basketball, not the NBA.

No matter what people say, if that was YOUR kid in that video getting balls thrown at their head, getting kicked, grabbed, and have slurs shouted at them by a head coach, there would be a fight without discussion. I sure as hell wouldn't tell my kid to man up. I'd tell him to fight back and knock the coach on his ass. I know that's how I feel and I'm only 22 years old.

But here's a question that's been bugging me;

Why didn't the players speak up about this sooner?

How long has this been going on?

I don't know. Maybe we'll never know.

Let me know what you think.


Feel free to Comment.


By: Gerald "Showstopper" Prophete

WrestleMania Predictions

This Sunday is WrestleMania 29. I sound excited don't I? WWE's biggest show. The grandest stage of them all. The showcase of Immortals. The build has been very lackluster, but it's WrestleMania. When you've been a fan for as long as I've been, you don't miss a WrestleMania. If you're going to watch at least ONE WWE show, make it WrestleMania.

9 matches, 3 titles on the line and 3 HUGE Main Events. Despite the poor build, I'm sure this show will deliver. The crowd is sure to be hot. It's in New York. These crowds are almost always HOT. Let's get right down to the card and my predictions and thoughts for each match.

The Rock vs John Cena. One more time for the WWE Championship. It's no secret who I'm gonna be rooting for. Last year, the build these two had was pretty good cause it was the first time encounter and we got to see them interact with each other and build their feud every week leading up to Mania. This year, the WWE Championship was thrown into the mix and Cena is looking for redemption. That makes sense, but what doesn't make sense is that he's saying his loss to The Rock ruined his whole year? I guess headlining every pay-per-view and even becoming Mr. Money in the Bank since then must've been really depressing. 

But anyway, Rock/Cena has been fine this year. They weren't at each other's throats every week, because too much would be an overkill. That's why Rock was gone for a few weeks. There's a difference between selling and overselling. There were two face offs and then the final words between both men last Monday on RAW. It was also wise not to have them face to face too. Adds tension to their match. I think these two will put on a better match than last year. Their match was last year wasn't garbage, but it was solid. It was neither man's fault. Just a lack of chemistry between the two. But there has been a lingering question going on....

Will John Cena turn heel? They've been teasing it an awful lot. The way he ended his promo on RAW by dropping the mic and soaking in the boos, a few weeks ago he said, the people might see something they've never seen before, and even the return of John Laurinatis teasing maybe Cena joining him. I don't think they'll do it. I don't think they'll turn their top draw into a heel. They could do it with Austin because they had other top faces to carry the load. I don't think WWE has the guts to flip the switch and turn John Cena heel and lose all the little kiddies. If they do it, then it's a HUGE move. If they don't, they teased it awfully well. But as for now, John Cena beats The Rock. This is one is terribly predicable. Cena wins and he rides off into the sunset with the WWE Championship. I hope he is prepared to get booed HEAVILY. 

Prediction: John Cena wins the WWE Championship -____-

CM Punk vs The Undertaker. The Best in the World vs The Streak. This feud has been a colossal let down, in my opinion. They focused this storyline TOO much on the death of Paul Bearer. That would be fine if it was a normal feud, but this is The Undertaker's Streak. That should've been the central theme of this feud. Interrupting Paul Bearer's tribute was a good touch, but that should've been the end of it. Now, we'll never know what it is they were going to do with these two had Paul Bearer not died. Instead, we get Punk doing funny voices with the urn, and no sense of consistency during the feud. 

Last Monday on RAW was the only time I felt like Punk truly got the upper hand on Taker and looked a threat to the streak. Everything before that fell flat. They were milking the whole Paul Bearer thing to death. It just felt lazy. But of course the Punk marks are saying Punk is a legitimate threat to the streak. If there was anything this feud told me is that Punk has absolutely no shot of ending the streak this Sunday. This is wrestling 101, when the bully keeps poking and prodding at the face, eventually he's gonna get what's coming to him. The feud has really been one sided and that's why I think Punk has no shot. 

It's going to be a solid match. I love Punk's work in the ring and I think he and Taker are gonna have a good match. Great storytelling and it should be a classic. I had high hopes for this feud and it's a shame that it only got good last Monday. Despite all that, the match is still going to deliver. I'm not too worried about that. But Taker goes 21-0.

Prediction: Undertaker defeats CM Punk and goes 21-0

I personally don't get how Triple H's career is on the line when he barely wrestles to begin with. It should've just been a typical No Holds Barred match. You don't always need a stipulation thrown in. I liked the base for how this feud started. Triple H said he was waiting for a reason to come back and Brock Lesnar gave him that reason by attacking Vince. I liked that. Paul Heyman's been the best on the mic in this feud since Lesnar can't speak for himself. And now there's the ace in the hole in HBK. He will be in Triple H's corner this Sunday. Last Monday's segment was anti climactic. Very poor final sell before WrestleMania. 

The match itself is gonna be physical. In a normal match, these two worked well, but in a No Holds Barred match at WrestleMania, I hope Vince lets these guys loose. Lots of weapons, violence, and at LEAST some  blood. I'm expecting a knock down, drag out, WAR between these two. Triple H used to be THE MAN in these types of matches. I'm hoping he taps into his inner Triple H. I don't care very much for the stipulation, but I'm looking forward to this match. Hopefully it doesn't disappoint.

As far as my prediction goes, it's gonna be Triple H. Lesnar won at Summerslam and "broke" his arm. He's not only fighting for himself, but he's fighting his career and the McMahon name. No way he loses this match.

Prediction: Triple H defeats Brock Lesnar

For the first time in two years, the World Heavyweight Championship scene has a decent feud behind it. 2 years ago, Del Rio was a heel challenging for the World Title. Fast forward to today, and he's a face defending it. Not bad. Then you have his challenger, Jack Swagger. I'll tell you, if not for Zeb Coulter, I don't know if I would've bought into old Jack Swagger.

This feud started out with some potential, but the build slowly started to fall flat in my opinion. They sort of wasted all their ammo in the beginning. That segment with Del Rio/Ricardo/Swagger/Coulter on MizTV happened a little too soon in my opinion. Especially if they couldn't keep the feud interesting for the next few weeks. Last Monday, Swagger cut a decent promo about what winning the World Title means to him and what it could mean for the people of America. It was good, but the brawl on RAW needed something more. I should've ended with Swagger posing with the World Title over Del Rio's body with his music playing. The heel has to pose with the title at least once. I felt like this feud was inconsistent at times and very on and off. One week they would pull off something good, but do something stupid the next, so on and so on. 

I had high hopes for this feud and it delivered for the most part, so I'll give them the benefit of the doubt. They're really pushing Swagger being the next American Patriot heel type of character. But will they give him the win over Del Rio? I don't see it happening. I feel that Swagger will win the World Title in the near future, but we'll just have to wait for Jack Swagger's America. I see Del Rio retaining, and then MAYBE Dolph Ziggler cashes in the Money in the Bank. But seeing as how that would be a little too predictable as everyone's been saying it for quite some time, I don't think it'll happen. I think Del Rio will have his moment on top this Sunday.

Prediction: Alberto Del Rio retains the World Heavyweight Championship

Oh yes. The WrestleMania debut of The Shield. It's no secret that these guys are one of my favorites of the WWE right now and they're undefeated on pay-per-views at the moment. I've mentioned this before, but even their wrestling styles are amazing. I love the fast pace, quick tags, power of Reigns, speed and agility of Rollins and mixed with the technical prowess of Ambrose and The Shield is one hell of a unit. Love these guys.

I enjoyed the early stages of this feud for a few reasons. The Shield were attacking a heel character for once in Big Show, and instead of being The Shield for injustice, they were dealing a thorn in their side. And then, there was the variable of can Big Show get along with Randy Orton and Sheamus? It seemed like they finally got their act together on RAW last Monday. I like they kept it simple between the three. They didn't over do it by Show, Sheamus, and Orton being all buddy buddy. Let's not forget Show and Sheamus feuded a few months ago as well.

This feud hasn't been really eye popping either in the last few weeks. It was just lacking something. The Shield cut good promos and I like the whole Big Show/Sheamus/Orton trust angle, but it was just missing something. It was already solid, but it needed something more to make it good.

I think The Shield takes this one. Why? Because I think Randy Orton will turn heel. Orton will turn, screw Sheamus and Big Show allowing The Shield to pick up the win. Orton's been wanting to turn heel for a while. Orton turns, The Shield get the win and everybody goes home happy. Besides, if Sheamus can't beat The Shield with Ryback and John Cena of all people, what makes you think he can get it done with Randy Orton and The Big Show?

BELIEVE IN THE SHIELD!!

Prediction: The Shield defeats Randy Orton, Big Show, and Sheamus

One of the matches I'm looking forward to. It's been a while since WrestleMania had this kind of "Invincible Force meets Immovable Object" type of match. Mark Henry has been another favorite of mine since he returned and his attitude fits him perfectly. The way we walks, how he cuts his promos now, and even his music have evolved his character so much.

And now, he's gotta face Mr. "FEED ME MORE" in Ryback. The feud was pretty decent, it kinda spiced things up with the no contact clause and it adds some tension and makes the people excited to see them finally get their hands on each other at WrestleMania. I think these two can put on a good, short match. They don't need 20 minutes. These two big guys can make a 10 minute match look good. Start with a staredown, a few power moves, and we're gonna find out if Ryback can get Mark Henry up for the Shellshock.

Ryback struggled to do his finisher on Paul Heyman for God sakes. Mark Henry is going to have to REALLY help out Ryback to make sure he hits it. This is Ryback's WrestleMania moment right here.

Prediction: Ryback defeats Mark Henry

THIS match is going to be GOOD. This is the ONE match that I'm legit excited to see. Everything they've done in this feud has been amazing. From the moment Jericho and Fandango had that backstage segment, I knew they would have a good feud. I just didn't know they would have these two face off at WrestleMania. At first, the only thing I liked about Fandango was his cool ballroom dance entrance music, but the more he teased wrestling, and left, he sorta grew on me. 

His feud with Jericho has been good. Because you know what it has? Consistency. Jericho made fun of Fandango, Fandango struck back by attacking him, Jericho jumped him the following week, and then last Monday, Fandango held up scoring cards rating Jericho on his moves during his match with Cesaro. Once Jericho got the win, he attacked him and hit his legdrop twice on him. 

Whether people want to believe it or not, Fandango's got potential to be a star in this company. You give him and Jericho 15 minutes at Mania and they can steal the show, no match would come close. Fandango has the traits of an old school heel. He's got character, he's got a mean streak, he's got the looks, and loves shouting "WHAT'S MY NAME?!?!" in people's faces and has a valet. This kid has all the traits. He and Jericho are going to have a good match. Fandango should go over Jericho here to give his career a proper start, but there is a way that Jericho can win and still make Fandango look like a stud. If anyone can make somebody look good in a loss besides HBK, it's Y2J.

There literally is not one bad thing I can say about this. The feud's been good and the match will be even better. Can't wait.

Prediction: Fandango defeats Chris Jericho

Another match that I'm excited to see. I'll say this, I'm more excited about WrestleMania's undercard than their Main Events. That's....sad. 

But getting to this match, it's 3 years since the Tag Titles have been defended at WrestleMania and this is going to be a great match. Team Hell No dominated the Fall season as one of the best acts in the tag team division and slowly fizzled out around Winter time. Ziggler and Big E. are the biggest challenge to the Tag Team Champions by far. Their feud with The Rhodes Scholars was so one sided. 

What I like about this feud is a few things. For starters, they're bringing up the past between AJ/Bryan/Kane and using that in this feud. Also, all four guys bring something to the table. Ziggler's selling and athleticism, Bryan's wrestling expertise, Kane's Mania experience, and then you have the mystery of Big E. Langston. All we've seen is his finisher. What can he do in a full match? What role will AJ play? A lot of variables go into this tag team title match. I personally think Kane and Bryan's time as the Tag Team Champions are up. They haven't done much with them. These four guys are gonna bring it and I can't wait. This is going to be a really great match, and I have a feeling we might crown new tag team champions.

NOTE: This match may be changed to include AJ and Kaitlyn to make this a Winner Take All match for the tag tiles and Divas title. That's what they should've done IN THE FIRST PLACE.

Prediction: Ziggler and Big E. win the WWE Tag Team Titles

I'm a BIG fan of Damien Sandow and Cody Rhodes. I'm happy these two made it onto the main card for WrestleMania, but it's a shame that this is the match they're in. A match they're probably going to lose.

The team of Brodus and Tensai has been ok. They're like a wannabe Too Cool, but at least they don't over do the childish antics and humor.No offense to Cameron and The Bellas, but Naomi is the best Diva wrestler out of the four. Not saying they're all bad, but Naomi is an exceptional athlete. Rhodes Scholars and Bella Twins are a solid on-screen unit and have the momentum going into this match. I think they can add a lot to The Rhodes Scholars.

As much as I would like to see the heels pull this one out, it's not going to happen. Tons of Funk and the Funkadactyls are gonna get the win which means all the kiddies are gonna get to dance in the ring. Lovely.

Prediction: Tons of Funk and the Funkadactyls defeat Team Rhodes Scholars and The Bella Twins

Two years ago, The Miz headlined WrestleMania and beat John Cena. Two years later, he's facing Wade Barrett on the WrestleMania PRE-SHOW. This match WAS a part of the card, but it was moved to the pre-show.

I really could care less about this match. It's a shame because the Intercontinental Championship is supposed to be a major title. It hasn't been since last year when Cody Rhodes held it. Miz's face turn has fell flat. His jokes are forced and corny and he's much better as a heel. Wade Barrett has had almost no air time, no promo time and is on a losing streak as the Intercontinental Champion. It'a amazing how the Intercontinental Champion is a weekly jobber.

Anyway, I see Miz winning this. Having the face win sets the tone for the show and Miz wins the Intercontinental Championship. They can put on a solid wrestling match, but I'm not invested in it at all.

Prediction: The Miz wins the Intercontinental Championship

Ok, so there you have it. My WrestleMania predictions. Oh and let's not forget, the Hall of Fame Inductees will be there and P. Diddy will be performing. 

All in all, WrestleMania should be a great show. It's a shame that the build wasn't good enough to justify looking forward to the payoff for all the matches. I mean, I'm more excited to see Jericho vs Fandango than Punk vs Undertaker. But of course, it's WrestleMania. It always delivers one way or another. 

For those will be going, I hope you all have fun. I'll be watching from my house and I hope to see some great wrestling and an overall great show. And of course, I'll be back Sunday Night with my post WrestleMania reaction blog.

Feel free to comment.

By: Gerald "Showstopper" Prophete