WWE WrestleMania 28 Predictions: Match-by-Match Breakdown

We are just five days away from WrestleMania 28 and with what we assume is most of the matches already having been announced, it is time once again for the Doctor to make his predictions for the winners.

There are several big matches scheduled, all of which have some big possibilities for what could happen after the bell rings.

With WWE staking a large amount of the success of the event on The Rock-John Cena match, it will be interesting to see if the other wrestlers on the card will do their best to outperform them.

So, without further adieu, here are my predictions for the matches scheduled at WrestleMania 28.

Team Johnny vs. Team Teddy

The battle for general-manager supremacy between John Laurinaitis and Teddy Long will come to a head this Sunday, when each man's team goes to war for their respective team leaders.

Team Teddy is full of WWE's mid-card baby-faces. Santino Marella is team captain while the rest of the team is made up of The Great Khali, R-Truth, Kofi Kingston, Zack Ryder and, as of last night, Booker T.

Team Johnny is captained by David Otunga and rounded out with The Miz, Jack Swagger, Dolph Ziggler, Drew McIntyre and Mark Henry.

While both teams have their strong performers, it has to be noted that most of Team Johnny is made up of former world champions while Team Teddy has just two—Booker and Khali.

With Long having been the same character for several years and Laurinaitis growing into a legitimate character right before our eyes, I would say the most likely winner will be Team Johnny.

Laurinaitis is getting major heat these days, and with his improvements on-camera and on the mic over the last several months, I am betting that WWE will bank on him being a major heel in WWE in the coming years.

Maria Menounos and Kelly Kelly vs. Beth Phoenix and Eve Torres

Maria Menounos is reportedly going to be working through an injury which happened during a rehearsal for Dancing with the Stars.

I have to give Menounos credit for being a trooper. No one would have thought that the slender host on Extra would be tough enough to do a match with two broken ribs.

While Menounos' involvement would usually indicate a gimmick match which will see the faces take home the win, I think this will go the other direction.

Menounos already has one pinfall victory over Beth, and if WWE does not want their Divas champion to fall to a non-wrestling personality twice in a row, we will see Eve and Beth win.

Eve is in the middle of a heel push that is seeing her play Zack Ryder like a fiddle, and Beth is the champion.

While having the celebrity get the win is expected, I think WWE will have her take the fall this time.

Whatever the outcome is, I just hope this is a real Divas match and not just an excuse to have a celebrity bring some media attention.

Maria impressed me the last time she stepped in the ring, and I think she may be one of the best celebrity wrestlers of all time. She has shown dedication in her training to being better than most in her position (*cough* Snooki *cough*).

Kane vs. Randy Orton

This feud seems like it was designed simply so two of WWE's top guys had something to do on the card. That does not mean it won't be a good match, though.

Both men are veterans and true professionals who can put on a great show if given the opportunity. I hope this match spills outside the ring and becomes more brutal than the average match, because they both deserve to be noticed on the biggest night of the year.

Orton seems to have given up his bright spotlight so more people can be pushed to the top. You have to give him props for not using his pull in the company and succumbing to his ego by burying people.

Many people with the level of fan support as Orton would do anything they could to stay the top guy, but Orton is a company man and over the last year he has proven that he does not need the title to have the best feud.

Barrett and Orton were my favorite thing about SmackDown during their feud and it is a shame Barrett was injured recently, otherwise I am sure he would have had a big part in the event.

When it comes down to it, Orton is still someone who is likely to wrestler another decade while Kane is not long for the business, so I see Orton going over Kane in order to keep him relevant.

Kane doesn't seem to lose any credibility when he loses a match because he is still a giant monster. The night after WrestleMania, he could jump into a new feud and still make the other guy the underdog.

I am looking for Orton to put Kane through a table as well, but mainly just win in general.

Cody Rhodes vs Big Show, Intercontinental Title Match

Rhodes has done an amazing job as a cocky heel who is playing to Big Show's poor performance record at WrestleMania lately.

I am a big fan of Rhodes and I feel that he is one of the future "top guys" in the business. In the last two years, he has grown from someone who was barely noticeable to someone who people think should be in the main event.

He has bulked up a bit over the last year and expanded his moveset to combine ground-and-pound moves, high-flying attacks and mat-based tactics. He really is one of the more versatile wrestlers in WWE.

Big Show is no slouch either.

In my opinion, he has become the greatest giant in the history of the business. I grew up with Andre The Giant, and I will always consider him the man who opened the door for other giants to reign supreme, but Show is on another level.

Andre had the benefit of being a wrestler who had nobody else like him ever before, whereas Show is stepping into Andre's shadow every time he steps through the curtain simply because of their similar build and size.

Andre, however, never leaped from the top rope the way Show has and he was never someone who was considered very versatile, and towards the end of his career he could barely move around the ring due to his physical condition and his gigantism.

With this match, Show is trying to prove he can win at Mania, but what good would holding the IC title do him at this point? I think Rhodes is going to add another notch to Show's loss record come Sunday.

Rhodes is going to be around for awhile and having him win two straight high-profile matches at Mania would go a long way to cementing him as a real force in WWE.

Triple H vs. Undertaker

I will make this one short and sweet: Undertaker.

They are not going to have the greatest streak in wrestling history be broken by a guy who now has a desk instead of a locker.

Triple H and Taker will put on a match that will be hard to top in terms of excitement. When it comes down to it, Shawn Michaels will end up counting Hunter's shoulders on the mat so Undertaker can reach the iconic 20-0 record.

Sheamus vs. Daniel Bryan, World Title Match

Sheamus winning the Royal Rumble made me assume he would be pushed heavily going into WrestleMania, but that has not been the case though.

His match with Bryan has not gotten as much attention as Rock/Cena, Trips/Taker or Punk/Jericho and it is not surprising.

Sheamus is great, but he isn't the most popular face in WWE and I don't think he ever will be.

Bryan, on the other hand, is one of the more intriguing heels in WWE right now.

The involvement of AJ is sure to be a factor, but WWE is probably looking to have a Rumble winner bring home the gold after Del Rio failed to do so last year.

I think Sheamus will end up winning after AJ turns on Bryan for how he has treated her recently.

CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho, WWE Title Match

If there is one match that could steal the show simply because of the caliber of wrestling involved, it is this one.

Both Punk and Jericho have proven time and time again that they are two of the best technicians and performers in the business today.

Punk has been getting hammered over his family history lately in an effort to make the feud more personal, but I think it should have remained a battle over who was "Best in the World."

Jericho is a good candidate to be WWE champion, but I see Punk keeping his title. The need for Jericho to be champion is no longer there. He is there to be the best wrestler, not top guy, and he can do that by losing.

The true sign of a future/living legend is when they put the business' needs ahead of their own, and Jericho has done that many times in the past and he will continue to do it, because he is a man who understands the need for change and unpredictability in the business.

While I would have no issue with Jericho leaving as champion, I believe Punk will keep his gold.

The Rock vs. John Cena

There is not much I have to say about this match since everything about it was shoved down our throats last night with an hour-long documentary and numerous video packages on Raw.

The Rock made a good point when he said he would need to beat Cena to be the best across three generations of wrestlers, but this is not his time, it's Cena's time.

Cena is in the position Rocky was in a decade ago—the weight of the world on his shoulders.

If Cena does not win this match, it will be the shocker of the century.

Cena wins, Rock shakes his hand, everyone goes home happy.

Thanks for reading and feel free to share your predictions below.