WWE News: Reviews, Analysis and Rumors for the Week of March 11
While the primary WrestleMania XXVIII card has been announced for quite some time, there have been questions regarding how the rest of the event would shape up. This past week has certainly answered many of those questions, as several bouts were announced.
This year's WrestleMania is shaping up to be an all-time great, with matches such as The Rock vs. John Cena, CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho, The Undertaker vs. Triple H and Daniel Bryan vs. Sheamus. While none of the added matches will have the main-event feel of the others, they should serve their purpose.
Since everything in the WWE is currently about WrestleMania, it isn't surprising that talk about wrestling's biggest event was the focus of the week. With The Rock vs. Cena being the main event, yet another chapter was written in the book of that rivalry on RAW.
Here is all the hottest WWE news from the week of March 11 as we inch ever closer to April 1.
John Cena Rocked in Musical Duel with the Rock on RAW
1 of 5While there wasn't any one-on-one between The Rock and John Cena on RAW this past week, the two tried to one-up each other in a rap vs. rock battle. The night started with Cena coming to the ring with his old Basic Thuganomics theme while in his old garb of a backwards cap, basketball jersey and chain.
The Rock, conversely, closed out the show with one of his classic rock concerts. With a guitar in hand, Rocky sang a few songs of varying lyrics that were meant to insult Cena. In the end, it didn't really advance the feud in any way, but it was a nice change of pace from the previous weeks.
My Take
While some people refuse to admit that The Rock was the clear winner on Monday due to their strange misconceptions about him, Rocky beat Cena in a landslide. Admittedly, it was entertaining to see Cena enter the ring with his old theme song and attire, but there was nothing impressive about his rap. He took a couple amateurish shots at The Rock, but it didn't seem like anything landed with the live audience.
The Rock, on the other hand, had the crowd eating out of the palm of his hand. He had some nice zingers on Cena and while it was nothing out of the ordinary, The Rock is simply a better entertainer than Cena. He continually played the same chords on the guitar and changed the lyrics, but people were hanging on his every word. If there was any question about The Rock losing "it," he answered with an emphatic "no" on Monday.
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Divas Match with a Twist Announced for WrestleMania
2 of 5With no Diva storylines developing recently, there was some question regarding what the ladies would do at WrestleMania. Beth Phoenix won't be having a singles match to defend her Divas Championship, rather she will be teaming with Eve to take on Kelly Kelly and television personality Maria Menounos.
Kelly was a guest of Menounos' show Extra when Beth and Eve crashed the party. Clips were shown from the Tribute to the Troops show when Menounos beat Beth with a roll-up in a tag match. Beth obviously wanted some revenge as she put her hands on Menounos. As she and Eve were being escorted away, they challenged Menounos and Kelly to a match at WrestleMania, and they obliged.
My Take
Hooray? It would really take something special for me to look forward to a Divas match, but this isn't it. I guess it's a good way to get a few of the more deserving wrestlers on the card, but other than that, it is simply filler. Everyone knows that Vince McMahon has loved celebrity involvement at WrestleMania dating all the way back to Mr. T at its first installment.
I wouldn't exactly call Menounos a celebrity, but her appearance should get some publicity, at the very least. Over the past couple years, the Divas' portion of the event has become a wasteland for celebrity involvement, as Snooki was part of a mixed tag-team match last year. No celebrity has ever failed to go over in a match at WrestleMania, so Kelly and Menounos will certainly win what should be a quick and harmless match, at best.
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Team Laurinaitis vs. Team Long to Take Place at WrestleMania
3 of 5It was long suspected but now it is official, as a team representing John Laurinaitis will take on a team representing Teddy Long, with the winning team earning one of them the opportunity to be the full-time general manager of both RAW and SmackDown.
It will be a 12-man tag match with six participants on each side, some of which have already been announced. David Otunga will captain Mr. Excitement's team and he will be joined by Mark Henry and Christian. Santino Marella is going to head up Long's team with Kofi Kingston and R-Truth also in tow.
My Take
This match certainly isn't going to live up to the main-event-caliber bouts on the card, but I expect it to be one of the highlights of the undercard. There isn't much excitement going on aside from the four top matches, so having a match with a meaningful stipulation is a good move. Perhaps most importantly, the fact that 12 superstars will be competing in the match means that many deserving wrestlers will get on the card.
Don't get me wrong, I would have rather had a Money in the Bank ladder match, as was originally rumored, but since the Money in the Bank pay-per-view was reinstated, I have no issue with this particular match. I fully expect superstars like Dolph Ziggler, Jack Swagger, Alberto Del Rio, Zack Ryder and Brodus Clay to get involved as well. With all of that star power, it's hard to see this match failing.
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Randy Orton and Kane Set to Continue Rivalry at WrestleMania
4 of 5Just a couple weeks ago, many of us were wondering what veterans Randy Orton and Kane would be doing at WrestleMania. Orton has been banged up recently, but he is one of the three biggest names in the company and has to be a part of the biggest show of the year. Also, Kane just came off a high-profile angle with John Cena.
Kane attacked Orton on SmackDown recently and it set off a feud that will likely culminate with a match at WrestleMania. Orton accepted Kane's challenge this week and they will be a big part of the newly-constructed undercard on April 1.
My Take
When it became apparent last week that this match would take place, a lot of fans were predictably whining at the concept. Rather than letting things play out, wrestling fans tend to have knee-jerk reactions about every decision. The overwhelming sentiment was that throwing Orton and Kane into a feud together was arbitrary and made no sense. After the events on this week's SmackDown, though, things are much clearer.
Kane played a clip from the summer that showed him shaking Orton's hand after losing to him. The feud was explained by Kane saying that he resented how human he had become. I love how the creative team brought everything full circle and made the feud perfectly logical. There won't be much on the line in this match—other than bragging rights—but it's hard to imagine two guys like Orton and Kane putting on a bad show. This promises to be a very solid match.
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Torrie Wilson and Alex Rodriguez to Attend WrestleMania in Miami
5 of 5In a piece of news that I'm sure every wrestling fan cares deeply about, WWE.com announced this week that former Diva Torrie Wilson and her boyfriend, New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez, will be attending the WrestleMania weekend festivities in Miami.
Wilson and the WWE have remained on good terms since she left the company a few years ago, so it's no surprise that she will be involved with WrestleMania. Rodriguez has never been around the WWE, but his Yankees will be finishing up spring training with a game against the Miami Marlins earlier in the day on April 1, so he will have the opportunity to tag along.
My Take
Even as a fan of the Yankees and A-Rod, I'm fairly indifferent about this news. Since neither Rodriguez nor Wilson are actually going to be apart of the event, there isn't much to get excited about. This could be considered a major win for Vince McMahon, though, as he always loves to show the many stars in the crowd at WrestleMania or any WWE event.
Rodriguez is still one of the bigger and more recognizable stars in sports, so McMahon will be happy to get him and Wilson on camera. It's too bad that WrestleMania takes place right before the start of the MLB season, because it would have been interesting to possibly see Rodriguez involved in some sort of storyline, especially since Miami is his hometown.
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Torrie Wilson and Alex Rodriguez to Attend WrestleMania 28 via Wrestle Zone
Torrie Wilson and New York Yankee Boyfriend Attending WrestleMania via Wrestling Inc.
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