WWE WrestleMania 2012: 10 Matchups That'd Be More Exciting Than Rock vs. Cena

When The Rock clashes with John Cena at WrestleMania 28, it will be an epic encounter between two of the biggest names in the history of professional wrestling.

It's one of the top stars from the Attitude Era vs. the top star of today, a future WWE Hall of Famer vs. another future WWE Hall of Famer, "The People's Champ" vs. The Champ."

Cena vs. The Rock is already one of the most anticipated matches of all time. If it lives up to its expectations, it should be one of the most entertaining of all time too.

I, for one, can't wait to see what The Rock and Cena have in store for us in Miami in just two months, but I'm not sure that the "biggest match in history" is the most exciting matchup we could see at WrestleMania 28.

To be honest, there are a number of other matchups I think would actually be more exciting than Rock/Cena, so let's take a look at my top 10.

Note: These are matches that actually have even a slight chance of happening at this year's WrestleMania or a future one, so you won't see any wrestlers who have passed away or anything like that.

10. World Heavyweight Championship: Daniel Bryan vs. Randy Orton

Daniel Bryan is quickly establishing himself as the top heel in all of the WWE, while Randy Orton is as over as he's ever been.

Yet, given that Bryan is still in the process of turning heel and that both he and Orton have been babyfaces throughout Bryan's WWE tenure, these two have never crossed paths.

That needs to change. Now.

Orton proved in 2011 during his feud with Christian that he can absolutely tear the house down given the right opponent, and I have no doubt that he would mesh well with Bryan.

Orton and Bryan are arguably the two most gifted in-ring performers on SmackDown, and I'd take that over a match between The Rock and John Cena that probably will be good, but won't be great.

Make Orton vs. Bryan for the World Heavyweight Championship to increase the stakes, and I'm salivating at the thought of an epic title match between two fantastic wrestlers.

9. The Undertaker vs. Chris Jericho

In 2009, WWE officials decided to give the first-ever one-on-one match between Chris Jericho and The Undertaker away on an episode of SmackDown, and I remember having a minor freakout because of it.

While I was glad I got to see the match between those two, I couldn't believe that the company aired such a huge match on a taped show.

Anyway, the WWE has a chance to make up for that by avoiding Triple H vs. Undertaker at WrestleMania for the third time, and instead, letting Jericho try to end "The Streak."

Undertaker vs. Jericho is a money-making match, and it's one that just so happens to have never taken place on a big stage like WrestleMania.

Considering that this could tie into Jericho's whole "the end of the world as you know it" spiel as well, the match becomes even more intriguing.

8. The Rock vs. CM Punk

We haven't seen much interaction, if any, between The Rock and CM Punk since The Rock came back to the WWE in 2011.

But Punk has mentioned The Rock a number of times during his promos, and he's also legitimately criticized The Rock in real-life interviews.

Many have speculated that Punk's comments were made in-character to tease a potential feud between the two, but I'm betting that Punk was just speaking his mind like he always does.

That's fine, though, because just like with Rock vs. John Cena, we've seen real-life criticisms turn into story lines on a number of occasions.

Perhaps the WWE could use what Punk has said about The Rock to ignite a feud between the two once The Rock is done with Cena.

I mean, I don't know about you, but I think there's big money in a Punk/Rock feud, and of course, the promos would be outrageously awesome.

7. Randy Orton vs. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin

Before "Stone Cold" Steve Austin was linked to a certain other WWE star, wrestling fans began to call Randy Orton "the second coming of Stone Cold."

While I think those comparisons were a little over exaggerated, I can still see the similarities between Austin and Orton.

Orton can't even touch Austin on the mic, but they both managed to become huge baby faces without really being baby faces.

Most of their actions are heelish, yet their no-nonsense demeanors and the fact that they'd probably hit their finishers on their grandmas to get what they want makes them unique baby faces who break away from the typical cartoon-like good guys the WWE is accustomed to.

Austin and Orton are much different from each other, but "The Texas Rattlesnake" vs. "The Viper" still has a great ring to it that could sell a lot of PPVs and be awesome wrestling-wise.

After all, the pop the RKO gets these days seems almost as loud as the one the Stunner used to get during Austin's peak. 

6. The Undertaker vs. John Cena

The Undertaker and John Cena have actually feuded before, but that was way back in 2004 before Cena was anywhere near the star he is today.

If this feud were to happen now, though, it has the potential to be one of the biggest rivalries ever.

Most people have pretty much accepted that The Undertaker's undefeated streak at WrestleMania will never end, but given the superhero-like booking of Cena, he is the one and only person who might actually put "The Streak" in jeopardy.

Although I still maintain that no one will ever beat Taker at WrestleMania, the build to a match between he and Cena would be awesome because you know that most fans are thinking "Oh crap, Cena's actually going to end Taker's Streak" in the backs of their minds.

The crowd would be absolutely electric for this match, wondering if Super Cena could overcome the supernatural Undertaker and the end "The Streak" after 20-plus years.

5. Title Unification Match: CM Punk vs. Daniel Bryan

This is what I wrote before last night's Raw, when I had no idea that this match would happen that night:

"

I'm fairly certain that the Internet would implode if this match actually happened on the grandest stage of them all.

I just threw in the title unification stipulation because Daniel Bryan is currently the World Heavyweight Champion, CM Punk is the WWE Champion and there are always rumblings that the World titles will be unified.

But no matter what the exact stipulations would be, Punk vs. Bryan is an Internet fan's dream matchup, one that I'd pay some serious money to see on a big stage.

Punk and Bryan are two guys who developed cult followings while on the indy scene, went on to have a ton of success in Ring of Honor and then became World champions in the WWE when very few people thought that was possible.

A battle of former ROH guys who don't fit the stereotypical mold could be a great way for the WWE to prove that change has indeed come to the WWE, and Punk vs. Bryan legitimately has the chance to be a five-star match.

Count me in.

"

You know what? I still really want to see Bryan vs. Punk.

Last night's match was a great TV bout, and there's no doubt that they'd go balls to the wall if given 25 minutes on pay-per-view.

4. WWE Championship: CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho

The Rock vs. John Cena will get and has gotten more mainstream hype and publicity than just about any other possible dream matchup.

But as far as story lines and actual wrestling go, it doesn't get much better than CM Punk facing Chris Jericho for the WWE Championship.

When Jericho left the WWE in 2010, Punk sort of stepped into his role as the most complete performer in the WWE and was even viewed by many as a Jericho copycat.

Punk started calling himself "the best wrestler in the world," which many took as a blatant ripoff off Jericho's famous line, "I am the best in the world at what I do."

Throw in those "It Begins" videos, some incredible mic skills from both guys and the WWE Championship (the most prestigious title in the world) as well, and Punk vs. Jericho could be nothing short of phenomenal.  

3. The Undertaker vs. Brock Lesnar

The chances of ever seeing Brock Lesnar take on The Undertaker again seemed slim to none.

That was until Lesnar surprisingly retired from UFC last month, reigniting speculation that these two men would get in the ring one last time.

While it would take a lot of things falling into place for this match to actually come to fruition, there's no doubt that it would be absolutely huge for the WWE.

The Undertaker's undefeated streak is one of the biggest selling points for WrestleMania every year, while Lesnar has become arguably the biggest pay-per-view draw in combat sports.

This would generate a ton of media attention, and given the two guys involved, it would likely be great from a wrestling standpoint as well.

Considering that Lesnar is only 34 years old and Taker hasn't given us any indication that he's retiring this year, I think we could actually see this match do down.

Maybe not at WrestleMania 28, but perhaps at WrestleMania 29. 

2. The Rock vs. Shawn Michaels

Here is one of the weirdest and most unbelievable pieces of WWE trivia ever: The Rock and Shawn Michaels have never faced each other.

Yes, it's true—The Heartbreak Kid and The People's Champ have never gone one-on-one.

That's one of the craziest things I've ever heard, and perhaps more importantly, it's an absolute shame that these two legends did not have the opportunity to have a match for the ages while both in their primes.

The Rock and Michaels are arguably two of the top five stars in WWE history, yet they never crossed paths long enough to meet in the ring and headline a major pay-per-view.

I think most of us can agree that seeing these two stars in a match, however unlikely it may be, would be an unforgettable moment.

1. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin vs. CM Punk

Quite simply, this match would be epic.

Much like The Rock vs. John Cena, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin vs. CM Punk would be a clash of two huge stars from two different generations.

Stone Cold was far and away the most popular star of the Attitude Era, and Punk is certainly making his case for being the most popular star in professional wrestling today.

Austin has already mentioned that if he were to return to the WWE, Punk would be his ideal opponent. Plus, the clash of lifestyles is almost too perfect of a setup.

You've got Punk as the Straight Edge superstar taking on the beer-drinking, hell-raising Austin.

They're on completely opposite ends of the spectrum in that aspect, but at the same time, they're both incredibly rebellious spirits who the fans have grown to cheer for no matter what.

This match might be the most realistic possibility to overtake Rock/Cena as the most anticipated match in wrestling history.

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