WWE WrestleMania 28 Predictions: Match-by-Match Breakdown

Only one more show, and then it's time for the WWE's biggest pay-per-view of the year.

The company has spent more than a year building up to WrestleMania 28, and after tomorrow's episode of Friday Night Smackdown, we can stop talking about it and actually see it.

The WWE's flagship show is, at least on paper, shaping up to be a dandy, and it features a different match (or two) for every different type of fan out there.

Want electricity and excitement? That's what The Rock vs. John Cena is for.

Want a great gimmick match? That's what The Undertaker vs. Triple H inside Hell in a Cell is for.

Want technical wrestling? Hello, CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho.

Alright, now that I'm jacked up for the pay-per-view, let's predict what's going to happen in Miami with my match-by-match breakdown of WrestleMania 28.

Divas Tag Team Match: Maria Menounos and Kelly Kelly vs. Beth Phoenix and Eve

In all likelihood, this is going to be a throwaway match that is sandwiched between two more high-profile bouts and also used as a bathroom break.

While I respect the Divas for all their hard work, I don't think a match featuring Kelly Kelly and Maria Menounos taking on Beth Phoenix and Eve Torres is going to do much for anybody. I mean, if we really think about it, the outcome probably won't have any actual effect on the Divas division going forward.

It's just being used as the "celebrity" match (is Menounos actually a celebrity?) that the WWE always loves to have at WrestleMania, although what I really think it's accomplishing is preventing us from seeing a potential classic between Beth and Natalya.

Anyway, since Eve is the most defined female character on WWE TV and Beth is the Divas Champion, I would hope that the creative team would have them win this match. But I think we know better than that.

This match will probably be similar to the six-person tag team match at WrestleMania 27 last year where Snooki and Trish Stratus wound up on the winning side. I say that Menouos and Kelly Kelly pull off the victory as well just for a "feel-good" story from the Divas.

Again, the outcome really doesn't matter much, and the heel Divas could just get revenge after the match by immediately attacking the face Divas.

Perhaps this match could become more relevant, however, if we see the surprising return of Kharma or Laya at any point during or after it.

The Pick: Menounos and Kelly Kelly

Intercontinental Championship: The Big Show vs. Cody Rhodes

Since this feud has started, Cody Rhodes has embarrassed The Big Show week after week, and Show has been unable to get his hands on Rhodes thus far.

It's made for a surprisingly entertaining build because Rhodes has performed so well as a heel, and for some reason, the crowd is always really behind Show as a baby face. Now, logic says that Show will finally get back at Rhodes by rising up to the occasion and beating him at WrestleMania.

Let's throw that logic out the window, though.

The only outcome of this match should be having Rhodes beat Big Show clean to retain his Intercontinental Championship, preferably in a relatively short match.

Despite how the creative team books Big Show, he is at the point in his career where he should be putting the WWE's up-and-comers over, and he has the perfect opportunity to do so at WrestleMania.

I know there are some people who think that Rhodes should lose at 'Mania in order to move onto the main event scene, but I just don't see how losing to someone who's performed historically bad at WrestleMania is going to help Rhodes.

Although I too think Rhodes is above that Intercontinental title level, now is not the time to take it off of him and ruin all the momentum he's built up during his feud with Big Show.

I think the WWE realizes that and will have Rhodes retain at WrestleMania, but I also think he'll either cheat or get disqualified to do it, thus extending this feud to the Extreme Rules pay-per-view.

The Pick: Rhodes (by cheating, somehow)

Randy Orton vs. Kane

Outside of maybe the Divas tag team bout, Randy Orton vs. Kane has the worst build out of any WrestleMania match.

The reasoning behind Kane targeting Orton is utterly ridiculous and a feeble attempt to get the fans to invest themselves into this feud. Guess what, WWE? We couldn't care less about it.

Orton vs. Kane is a perfect example of the creative team having no idea what to do with two men, so instead of trying to build a logical feud, they just say, "Hey, let's throw these two together and see what happens."

What's happened is that the WWE has created a feud that the average WWE fan has little to no interest in, even though Orton is arguably the No. 2 superstar in the company.

While the story behind this feud is terrible, however, I actually don't see the match being nearly as bad as some people think it will be. Orton and Kane faced off in a very good Street Fight on Smackdown last summer, and if they can rival that match, then this could be a surprisingly good undercard bout at 'Mania.

To be honest, though, I don't think Orton vs. Kane is going to get much more than seven or eight minutes, and much like Kane's match against John Cena at Elimination Chamber, I don't think anyone really believes that The Big Red Monster has a legitimate chance to win it.

Orton all day.

The Pick: Orton 

Team Teddy vs. Team Johnny (Winner Controls Raw and Smackdown)

There are several predictable bouts on the WrestleMania 28 card (at least we think there are), and Team Teddy vs. Team Johnny is right at the top of that list.

Teddy Long has been the general manager of Smackdown on and off since 2004, and especially over the last few years, he's developed into one of the most stale, monotonous characters on WWE TV. Literally all he does is make tag team matches—that's it.

So, needless to say, I think Team Johnny is going to win this thing because John Laurinaitis is a much fresher TV character. The only real question is how the match plays out.

When you look at Team Teddy, you see that it's made up mostly of comedic baby faces, while Team Johnny has at least a couple of heels who could be in line for a post-WrestleMania push.

While I think Zack Ryder and Kofi Kingston should do most of the work for the face side, I want to see either The Miz or Dolph Ziggler get the win for the heel side.

The Miz has been on a lengthy losing streak that's gotta lead somewhere eventually, while Ziggler's awesome 2011 and early 2012 warrants him a better spot on the WrestleMania card.

But since both guys are stuck in this predictable match, the WWE might as well use it as a platform for that post-'Mania push I was talking about.

The guy who deserves it the most? Ziggler.

The Pick: Team Johnny (Ziggler gets the pin on Santino)

World Heavyweight Championship: Daniel Bryan vs. Sheamus

The World Heavyweight Championship feud between Daniel Bryan and Sheamus sure doesn't feel like one.

Outside of Orton/Kane and the Divas match, Sheamus vs. Bryan has had the worst build out of all the WrestleMania feuds, and the fact that it's for the second-most prestigious title in the WWE makes it even worse.

While we've had a good segment or two between Sheamus and Bryan, there's no real animosity between the two, and given that we just saw this match a couple of months ago, I'm not pining to see it like I thought I would be. 

That being said, Bryan is arguably the best wrestler in the WWE, and Sheamus is as good a big man as there is, so their WrestleMania match should be pretty damn good as long as it doesn't get screwed up because of time constraints.

While I think the way that Sheamus has been built up over the last several months appears to be leading to a World Heavyweight title win at WrestleMania, Bryan has been phenomenal as a heel, and his title has become a huge part of his character.

Take it off of him, and I'm not sure he's the same quality heel that he is now. I think Sheamus will beat Bryan for that strap eventually, just not at 'Mania.

Bryan is a heel, and what do heels do? They cheat.

I'd expect Bryan to retain his title at WrestleMania, much like Cody Rhodes, either by cheating or intentionally getting himself disqualified or counted out.

The Pick: Bryan (by DQ)

WWE Championship: CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho

No disrespect to everyone else on the WrestleMania card, but Chris Jericho vs. CM Punk is the match I'm most looking forward to.

Although the feud didn't start off as hot as I thought it would, the WWE has really picked up the pace on it as of late by having Jericho bring Punk's family's problems into the equation while also keeping Punk and Jericho apart.

Y2J has taken some serious low blows at Punk over the last few weeks, and it's resulted in us wanting to see Punk do to Jericho what he did to Christian on Monday's Raw: beat the crap out out of him.

This has become more than just a battle to see who's "the best in the world" (although that's still there, too). It's a battle between two men who cannot stand each other.

The incredible story that this feud has told should lead to an amazing match between Punk and Jericho, who are two of the very best in-ring performers in the world and haven't had a singles match in a few years now.

The anticipation for Punk vs. Jericho is at an all-time high, and many are hoping to see Punk triumph over Jericho on the grandest stage of them all. But I'll go out on a limb and say that isn't going to happen.

I fully expect this feud to last another month or two past WrestleMania, and while I wouldn't necessarily agree with taking the WWE Championship off of Punk at 'Mania, the next pay-per-view, Elimination Chamber, takes place in the Allstate Arena in Punk's home state of Illinois, so I could see the WWE wanting him to win the title back there.

If Jericho loses at 'Mania, this story really has no reason to continue, but the story could be made even better if Punk is chasing Jericho as the titleholder.

The Pick: Jericho 

Hell in a Cell: The Undertaker vs. Triple H

The Undertaker vs. Triple H part two could have been just another rematch, but I have to give the creative team credit for keeping it interesting.

It started when it was announced that the match would take place inside Hell in a Cell, a structure that has largely defined the careers of both Triple H and Undertaker, and it continued with the developments that have occurred throughout this feud.

Adding Shawn Michaels as the special guest referee was big enough in and of itself, but Michaels has teased that he knows who is going to win the match before it even happens, and his smile at the end of last week's Raw told a better story than a million words could have.

The Undertaker keeps telling Triple H that "Shawn is better than you," and while you can see that it is ripping Triple H apart on the inside, Michaels seems to love it. This will, of course, lead Triple H to think that Michaels won't remain impartial and will instead favor The Undertaker inside the cell.

Nicely done, WWE. Nicely done.

Although the WWE could have screwed up this feud in a lot of ways since we've already seen it at WrestleMania twice before, the fans are incredibly interested in it because of both the superstars involved and the way the feud has been booked.

We all know who is going to win this match, but it doesn't change the fact that we're going to enjoy the hell out of it.

The Pick: The Undertaker

The Rock vs. John Cena

The Rock vs. John Cena may very well be what the WWE is billing it as: the biggest match ever.

Personal feelings toward either guy aside, it's hard to deny that both men have made huge contributions to pro wrestling and are two of the biggest superstars in the history of the business.

The fact that they're facing each other is a dream come true, and whether you're on Team Bring It or the Cenation, you know that you will be witnessing history when The Rock and Cena meet in Miami.

It is a match for the ages, and even if it won't be the best technical match ever, it will still be one of the most entertaining bouts in WrestleMania history.

But it should only have one outcome: Cena winning clean.

Even if The Rock is going to wrestle again after WrestleMania 28, Cena is the full-time guy. He's the superstar who's still going to be around five years from now. He is the face of the company. For many, he is WWE.

The Rock will generate a ton of pay-per-view buys and interest in the WWE product, sure. But Cena should not lose to someone who is no longer a full-timer.

I love The Rock and am glad to see him back, but there is no way he should waltz into the WWE and beat the man who is doing for the company now what he did for it 10 years ago.

Cena for the win.

The Pick: Cena

Note: As part of the new WWE blog, I'll be asking all of the B/R wrestling readers for questions for a new mailbag that I will post on Fridays. It will be a slideshow featuring 10-20 questions and answers on a wide range of topics. You can submit questions either through Formspring or Twitter, and the best ones will be answered in the B/R mailbag.