WWE News: Reviews, Analysis and Rumors for Week of March 25
After weeks and months of buildup, the event that wrestling fans anticipate all year long is very nearly upon us, as WrestleMania XXVIII launches from Miami, Fla., on Sunday. Whether you've enjoyed the feuds or not, it's tough to not be excited, as the card looks exceptional.
The Rock vs. John Cena, The Undertaker vs. Triple H, CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho and Daniel Bryan vs. Sheamus all have the potential to be fantastic matches, plus the undercard could surprise as well. There wasn't a ton of added build this past week surprisingly, but we've known the matches for quite some time, so not much more could have been done anyway.
Over the past week, the WWE has been doing plenty of media in Miami in anticipation of Sunday's event. Also, there have been quite a few rumors floating around about next year's WrestleMania in the New York/New Jersey area, as there has been talk about setting another match a year in advance.
There is no question that this is the most exciting week in wrestling as most fans of the product probably don't even remember going to work this week. All of the focus has been on WrestleMania, and at long last, the wait will come to an end on April 1.
Here is all of the latest WWE news and rumors regarding WrestleMania and other things from the past week.
WWE Finalizes WrestleMania Build with Press Conference
1 of 5The WWE put forth its annual WrestleMania press conference on Wednesday as all the major players were in Miami to hype their matches for Sunday. Nothing particularly exciting happened, but it did the job in terms of getting the mayor of Miami some airtime and getting the city as a whole some exposure as well.
The presser was hyped up quite a bit on RAW, but since I didn't really buy into it, I wasn't too disappointed by the mediocrity of it all. As expected, we got the usual stare down that is normally reserved for big boxing matches as The Rock and John Cena posed for some photos before Rocky stormed off.
Despite not much going on, CM Punk was the star of the press conference as he was noticeably uncomfortable, stumbling over his jokes, making reference to some team called the "Miami Gators" and offering to take off his shirt for money. It was certainly bizarre, but it added some much-needed levity to the strait-laced event.
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Shawn Michaels Shoots Down WrestleMania XXIX Rumor
2 of 5There have been some whispers that Shawn Michaels could return to in-ring action next year at WrestleMania 29, but the Heartbreak Kid took to Twitter to quell the rumors. In response to a fan's question, Michaels responded emphatically that he and Triple H wouldn't be wrestling next year.
The idea presumably came up because Michaels is refereeing the Hell in a Cell match between Triple H and The Undertaker on Sunday. The creative team has clearly been building some animosity between the two best friends, so it's conceivable that Michaels could turn on Triple H and help Taker extend his streak.
This could be explained by saying that Michaels didn't want anyone to break Undertaker's streak if he couldn't do it himself. It all makes a lot of sense and I'm leaning toward the rumors being true despite Michaels' denials.
If HBK were to return to face anyone it would probably be his best friend, so I'm expecting that to be one of the headline matches next year.
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Team Teddy and Team Johnny Finalized for WrestleMania
3 of 5It may just be an undercard match, but it wouldn't be a stretch to say that the Team Teddy vs. Team Johnny match received the most build this week. Teddy Long and John Laurinaitis have both fielded six-man teams in an effort to gain control of both RAW and SmackDown, and those teams were finalized on Monday.
Long added announcer Booker T as his final member, as he saved Teddy from an attack at the hands of Mark Henry. Laurinaitis made a similar decision in adding The Miz as the Awesome One saved Johnny from a Cobra by Santino. Also, CM Punk "injured" Christian and knocked him out of the match, so Laurinaitis replaced Christian with Drew McIntyre.
Apparently, Christian was added to the match originally as it seemed that he would be healed from his ankle injury enough to compete, but that wasn't the case so he was written off.
The other choices were solid as Miz clearly deserved to be on the card and now has a chance to make a big impact, while Booker adds some much-needed star power to Teddy's rag-tag group.
There won't be much artistry in this match and it's likely to be chaotic, but with so many solid midcard performers, I expect it to be decent.
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Presenters Revealed for Saturday's Hall of Fame Inductions
4 of 5While the WrestleMania event is itself will be the highlight of the weekend, the Hall of Fame induction ceremony on Saturday night is always great as well. The WWE has been naming the inductees over the past several weeks, but this week they revealed who would be presenting the inductees on WWE.com.
According to the list, Christian will induct Edge, Alberto Del Rio will induct Mil Mascaras, Dusty Rhodes will induct the Four Horsemen, Triple H and Shawn Michaels will induct Mike Tyson, JBL will induct Ron Simmons and The Usos will induct Yokozuna.
All of the choices look to be fine ones as they all make sense in some way. Christian and Edge were long-time tag partners and best friends, Mascaras is Del Rio's uncle, Rhodes feuded with the Horsemen, Triple H and Michaels were a big part of Tyson's storyline, JBL was a multiple-time tag champion with Simmons and The Usos are related to Yokozuna.
Part of the ceremony will air on Monday prior to RAW, but with such a spectacular lineup, I'm sure most people wish that they could see it in its entirety.
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Lord Tensai to Debut with a Sidekick?
5 of 5A second promo aired this week for new superstar Lord Tensai, who is being played by Matt Bloom. He previously portrayed Albert in the WWE and his return has been met with a mixed reaction. His second promo has gotten a lot of people talking as well, since another person was featured in it alongside him.
According to Richard Gray of Wrestling News World, the other person was WWE developmental worker Sakamoto, who was trained by former WWE star Taka Michinoku. It's quite possible that Sakamoto could have simply been in the promo as a supporting player, but now it brings up the question of whether he might debut with Lord Tensai.
I'm unfamiliar with Sakamoto's work, but if he is talented and ready for the call, then I don't see any reason why he shouldn't. Many have discussed how Lord Tensai might fit in when he debuts, but perhaps he and Sakamoto can form a tag team that can take the struggling division by storm. The tag division is worse off than it has ever been, so I would be on board for a brand-new team like this one.
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WWE News: Lord Tensai's Sidekick's Identity, Japanese Phrases Translated via ProWrestling.net
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