The 25th Anniversary of WrestleMania Thread

[tominator89 0]

The Ram better come out to Quiet Riot!

[The Niggardly King 0]

Bring in The Aytollah too

[Enigma 0]

I like how Vince pulled a total 180 on The Wrestler after all the positive hype it got.

[Scroby 0]

Rourke will probably kill his Oscar chances by wrestling...

Not really since the Oscars are on Feb. 22nd and Wrestlemania is the beginning of April. It'd be kinda hard for Rourke to kill his Oscar chances due to the dates.

[Neil-o-Mac 0]

Bring in The Aytollah too

 

Somebody call my Mullah!

[Thanks for the Fish 0]

Rourke will probably kill his Oscar chances by wrestling...

Not really since the Oscars are on Feb. 22nd and Wrestlemania is the beginning of April. It'd be kinda hard for Rourke to kill his Oscar chances due to the dates.

 

When do the folks vote though? If the Rourke angle is going to start soon, will he be on wwe programming before they vote?

[Thanks for the Fish 0]

Jericho is the perfect antagonist to play against Rourke. I assume Rourke will wrestle, but it might not be sold that way initially. He might just have an appearance at WM25, though Jericho will bag on him enough that it becomes a match.

 

I think it will be Jericho vs Rourke and a whole bunch of has-beens and never was(i.e. Indie wrestlers) wrestlers. Jericho could wrestle "legends" and beat them up for a couple weeks, maybe bring in a few indie wrestlers to embarrass in order to entice Rourke into the ring.

 

Isn't Rourke notoriously hard to work with through? He usually wants a lot of creative control and is said to have completely rewrote the dialog in "The Wrestler", if he does that in Hollywood, he'll laugh in the face of the wwe writers.

[Diamonddust 0]

Jericho is the perfect antagonist to play against Rourke. I assume Rourke will wrestle, but it might not be sold that way initially. He might just have an appearance at WM25, though Jericho will bag on him enough that it becomes a match.

 

I think it will be Jericho vs Rourke and a whole bunch of has-beens and never was(i.e. Indie wrestlers) wrestlers. Jericho could wrestle "legends" and beat them up for a couple weeks, maybe bring in a few indie wrestlers to embarrass in order to entice Rourke into the ring.

 

Isn't Rourke notoriously hard to work with through? He usually wants a lot of creative control and is said to have completely rewrote the dialog in "The Wrestler", if he does that in Hollywood, he'll laugh in the face of the wwe writers.

 

Yeah, Rourke can be quite the loose cannon, which is why I'm highly looking forward to seeing how this turns out.

[Beto Chavez 0]

Roddy Piper

is in talks to be Chris Jericho's opponent at Wrestlemania 25 if Rourke doesn't come back following the Oscars.

[Brett Favre 0]

That's actually a dream match. Although I'm not sure how much Piper can do in the ring.

[foleyfanforever88 0]

Nothing involving Piper is a dream match for me. I wish he would just stay away forever.

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

If Piper is the best they can come up with as a backup plan then they probably should do everything to keep Rourke.

 

 

[The Ghost of bps21 0]

Why wouldn't they just pay Hogan to do the stupid match. Whoever they get is going to beat Jericho anyway...and that's like most of the battle. Hogan at Mania 25 could be made to mean something....and no one has kept their face in the spotlight more than him.

[RedJed 0]

I honestly think this Mickey Rourke thing is totally a work and he's already penciled in to be working at Mania, they just had to work the media in typical carny wrestling fashion for the time being to play it safe til the Oscars are done. And I fully expect Piper and Flair to manage Rourke. Wouldn't be shocked to see them at least try and get Hogan to do something involved with this match as well as a manager too. Having Hogan, Piper, and Flair all in there with Rourke would be big starpower, no doubt.

[Thanks for the Fish 0]

I honestly think this Mickey Rourke thing is totally a work and he's already penciled in to be working at Mania, they just had to work the media in typical carny wrestling fashion for the time being to play it safe til the Oscars are done. And I fully expect Piper and Flair to manage Rourke. Wouldn't be shocked to see them at least try and get Hogan to do something involved with this match as well as a manager too. Having Hogan, Piper, and Flair all in there with Rourke would be big starpower, no doubt.

 

I agree(though not with the Hogan part). They would have just dropped the angle if Rourke was completely out.

[Atticus Chaos 0]

I honestly think this Mickey Rourke thing is totally a work and he's already penciled in to be working at Mania, they just had to work the media in typical carny wrestling fashion for the time being to play it safe til the Oscars are done. And I fully expect Piper and Flair to manage Rourke. Wouldn't be shocked to see them at least try and get Hogan to do something involved with this match as well as a manager too. Having Hogan, Piper, and Flair all in there with Rourke would be big starpower, no doubt.

 

 

I would love to see Rourke win the oscar and go on to wrestle at the pay per view. The academy prides themselves on being so high brow (to the point they'd rather die than give the dark knight or spiderman II a best picture nod) and for a guy to win the most prestigious award they have and then wrestle on a show with midgets, giants, bodybuilders and more freaks would be brilliant.

[RedJed 0]

I honestly think this Mickey Rourke thing is totally a work and he's already penciled in to be working at Mania, they just had to work the media in typical carny wrestling fashion for the time being to play it safe til the Oscars are done. And I fully expect Piper and Flair to manage Rourke. Wouldn't be shocked to see them at least try and get Hogan to do something involved with this match as well as a manager too. Having Hogan, Piper, and Flair all in there with Rourke would be big starpower, no doubt.

 

 

I would love to see Rourke win the oscar and go on to wrestle at the pay per view. The academy prides themselves on being so high brow (to the point they'd rather die than give the dark knight or spiderman II a best picture nod) and for a guy to win the most prestigious award they have and then wrestle on a show with midgets, giants, bodybuilders and more freaks would be brilliant.

 

No matter if you want to see it or not, it can't be denied that, especially if he wins the Oscar, this will be tremendous mainstream media news and fantastic PR for Mania. Considering the significance that the event is supposed to be, the company really did fall into a gem of an idea of doing this, considering everything. But make no mistake, they did literally fall into the idea......if it wasn't for the unexpected success of Rourke's performance and the strong buzz the film has, this wouldn't have meant anything, nor make any sense. The only other idea I heard months ago (I think even as long as last summer) for celebrity involvement at Mania was possibly Puff Daddy, so thank god that isn't happening.

 

Relating to all of this with Hogan, he has got to see the potential to serve his own ego by being involved with this, even if it means sharing the spotlight with other legends (but in both cases, guys he respects, so would be more inclined to do it) and Mickey. But I could see him doing it if the money is right, because he wouldn't even have to work a match and probably do a few spots, and thats about it. And he'd get a hell of alot of attention from it.

 

Another thought I had relating to the card for Mania.......I doubt it's possible or even been talked about, but part of me would love to see Priceless against Dusty and Dustin. Have Dustin just be Dustin and bring dad back, they are in Texas so it would make sense.

[cabbageboy 0]

At this point does Rourke even expect to win the Oscar though? I read some quote saying he is assuming Penn will win for Milk. It would look bad somehow though for Rourke to win all these other awards and then somehow he gets screwed out of the Oscar due to these WM rumors.

[LivingLegendGaryColeman 0]

At this point does Rourke even expect to win the Oscar though? I read some quote saying he is assuming Penn will win for Milk. It would look bad somehow though for Rourke to win all these other awards and then somehow he gets screwed out of the Oscar due to these WM rumors.

 

Although unfortunate, it wouldn't be a first. Eddie Murphy was the favorite a few years back to win the Best Supporting Actor award for Dreamgirls and was winning the awards leading up to it, including the Globe. It got time for the Oscars and rumor was the Academy was worried the upcoming Norbit was going to be advertised as starring an Academy Award winner and boom, Alan Arkin, who wasn't even nominated at the Globes wins for Little Miss Sunshine.

[4hartthreat 0]

At this point does Rourke even expect to win the Oscar though? I read some quote saying he is assuming Penn will win for Milk. It would look bad somehow though for Rourke to win all these other awards and then somehow he gets screwed out of the Oscar due to these WM rumors.

 

At this point he is dead even with Penn. He might even be slightly ahead. Rourke won the Globe and just picked up the BAFTA. All Penn has won lately is the SAG. And the main factor there is likely the fact that he had never won at SAG before. Rourke is still very much in the race with Penn and maybe Langella.

[The Ghost of bps21 0]

The BAFTA was really big. It kind of shut down Penn's momentum and they're really good at syncing up with Oscar.

[King Cucaracha 0]

Anyone see his BAFTA speech though?

 

THAT'S the guy you want in a program on your child marketed wrestling program, for sure!

[Thanks for the Fish 0]

According to PWTorch this is the current plans for the top of the WM25 card -

 

John Cena© vs Randy Orton

Edge© vs HHH

Jeff Hardy vs Matt Hardy

The Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels

 

Now I could see a Swagger vs Finlay vs Christian triple threat match for the ECW title, however assuming there will be another MITB, Christian could also be slotted in there. There is a lot of possible MITB contenders though - Benjamin, MVP, R-Truth, Evan Bourne, Kofi Kingston, Miz, Morrison, Dibiase, Rhodes, Regal, Kane, Knox, Santino, Kendrick, Umaga, Kozlov.

 

I assume CM Punk will be defending his IC title, and think Miz/Morrison will defend the tags against Cryme Tyme and Dibiase/Rhodes or one of those two teams and Carly and Primo.

 

Big Show will need to find a dance partner as well. Same with JBL.

 

Rourke vs Jericho is probably going to happen.

[foleyfanforever88 0]

My new Wrestlemania fantasy card:

 

Pre-show Battle Royal for the final MITB spot: Kane vs. Regal vs. Helms vs. Koslov vs. Dreamer vs. Goldust vs. Knox vs. Chavo vs. Henry vs. Khali

Just a way to get everyone 'on the card' without giving Koslov, Knox, or Khali their own matches.

 

US Championship: MVP © vs. Kennedy (Chavo if Kennedy isn't back yet)

 

Money in the Bank: Shelton vs. Bourne vs. Kofi vs. Finlay vs. Rey vs. Kendrick vs. R-Truth vs. Kane

Kane wins the battle royal to get in. Shelton finally wins it.

 

Unified Tag Team Championship: Cryme Tyme vs. Miz/Morrison © vs. Legacy vs. Carlito/Primo ©

Seriously, it's about time the tag titles were merged. I mean, we're already getting champs vs champs on Smackdown.

 

Raw vs. Smackdown: CM Punk vs. Umaga

I've wanted to see this match for a long time, and I think each of these guys (esp. Punk) deserves a singles match at Mania.

 

Chris Jericho vs. Ric Flair

Or Rourke if absolutely necessary. As long as Flair is involved somehow, which I'm fairly sure he will be.

 

ECW Championship: Jack Swagger © vs. Christian

 

Jeff Hardy vs. Matt Hardy

 

WWE Championship: Triple H vs. Edge vs. Big Show ©

Triple H vs. Edge just doesn't appeal to me, and it's already been done. Show winning the EC would be a surprise but then he would lose to H at Mania. I also can't come up with any other good matches for Show.

 

HBK (w/JBL) vs. Undertaker

JBL wins at NWO, forces HBK to face Undertaker. I don't think JBL needs to have his own match at Mania; he'd be better used on the sidelines of this feud.

 

Beth Phoenix vs. Trish Stratus

Anything else would be pointless.

 

World Heavyweight Championship: John Cena © vs. Randy Orton

Perhaps also for control of Raw, with Cena representing Shane and Orton representing Steph.

 

 

Thoughts?

[Aero 0]

I have no desire to see HHH vs. Edge, and that's more to do with their characters than anything else. Both have just become way too stale. In regards to HHH, it's not even the usual HHHate... I just think he needs that heel turn to freshen up, since he's not showing any signs of going away anytime soon. I get the feeling he's only face so they can do the DX reunion every few months.

 

Edge is a different case. I usually enjoy his matches for the most part, but the Vickie Guerrero stuff is usually why I don't bother watching Smackdown. They had a perfect opportunity last summer to give Edge his edge back (no pun intended) when he left Vickie and destroyed Foley in preparation for HIAC... then he comes back alongside Vickie, playing the chickenshit heel here and there. It's way too much of a step backwards for him.

[Silence 0]

Edge is a different case. I usually enjoy his matches for the most part, but the Vickie Guerrero stuff is usually why I don't bother watching Smackdown. They had a perfect opportunity last summer to give Edge his edge back (no pun intended) when he left Vickie and destroyed Foley in preparation for HIAC... then he comes back alongside Vickie, playing the chickenshit heel here and there. It's way too much of a step backwards for him.

 

My thoughts as well. He needs to drop the paranoia.

[Thanks for the Fish 0]

I don't want Flair in the ring. He got the epic send off, and the match last year was perfect. He can corner Rourke.

 

Edge vs HHH does nothing for me as well. They usually lack chemistry to boot, so it can't even be considered the "OMG workrate" match. I'd rather have seen HHH involved with the Legacy vs McMahon feud setting up Orton(with Shane in his corner) vs HHH.

 

HBK with JBL vs Undertaker is interesting, but why wouldn't JBL want the streak shot for himself? I think the set-up will be HBK beats JBL and wins his freedom. He looks around at the WM card and see's he's locked out of any title shots and what is Mr Wrestlemania to do. He then calls out the Undertaker.

 

Could JBL fit into the Jericho/Rourke feud? JBL could rub his legit investments in the face of the old timers who need to wrok indie dates to pay bills. And given this will be a somewhat main stream angle, JBL does have the legit business cred. JBL would surely love to pimp his energy drinks in the MSM coverage. It could be Jericho and JBL vs Rourke and active wrestler. Rourke's tag partner could have been R-Truth, as he was in The Wrestler with Rourke, but would probably be an old timer like Piper or Flair. I could better accept Flair in ring if it was a tag match.

 

I don't know about Chavo getting a US title shot. I'd give that spot to a higher card guy. Kennedy would be a better choice, however with MVP turning face, feuding with face Kennedy wouldn't fit. I might go champion vs champion here MVP vs CM Punk. If MVP gets over enough as a face I might try MVP vs Koslov.

[Mystery Eskimo 0]

The BAFTA was really big. It kind of shut down Penn's momentum and they're really good at syncing up with Oscar.

 

The BAFTAs are important in Hollywood? That's weird.

 

I'd like to see Rourke/Jericho anyway. Certainly more than Piper or Hogan vs Jericho.

 

Also, Punk/Umaga as suggested below could be excellent.

[commie_050 0]

Looking at WM, I think the ideal scenario is to do HHH vs. Orton within the McMahon family angle. It avoids a nonsensical turn and is far more logical than having Cena align with Shane for no reason. If I had my druthers, I'd have Orton challenge HHH, and Steph bring Taker over from Smackdown to challenge Cena. I figure Cena is probably the only credible threat to Taker's streak right now, HBK vs. Taker would just be another foregone conclusion. Steph owes Taker a storyline favor anyway, so why not? Plus, it would be a nice brawl. Then HBK and JBL can easily be folded into the Rourke/Jericho storyline, setting up a supremely watchable tag match (and some potentially awesome mic work). An added bonus is that both title matches can be promoted across brands, essentially doubling the hype for the WM main events. Add in a tag title unification, MITB, Matt vs. Jeff, and an IC title match, that's a great card. Which is probably why we'll get a nonsensical Edge vs. HHH and Cena vs. Orton.

[Beto Chavez 0]

I'd save Cena Vs. Undertaker for Wrestlemania 27.