WWE WrestleMania 29 Predictions: Complete Projections for Each Match

WrestleMania 29 will be the biggest wrestling show of the year, and trying to predict to match outcomes for one of the grandest spectacles in all of sports is never easy.

The WWE loves to put on a wildly entertaining show each year, and that usually encompasses a few swerves that even the most trusted wrestling journalists couldn’t have seen coming.

That unpredictability is the beauty of the wrestling business.

While there are undeniably a few matches that have outcomes pretty clear to anyone that watches the WWE’s weekly programming, the majority of the card is setting up to be very exciting.

With so many bona fide stars on the WrestleMania 29 card, this will inevitably be one of the greatest pay-per-views in WWE history—that’s my first prediction.

You’re welcome.

WWE Champion The Rock vs. John Cena

For the second consecutive year, The Rock will square off against John Cena in the main event of WrestleMania. But this time, the WWE Championship is on the line.

The stakes don’t get any higher than this.

The Rock enters the event as the defending champion and holding the definitive head-to-head win over Cena from WrestleMania 28. That places the pressure squarely on the shoulders of Cena in this redemption match.

Cena can't afford to lose.

The Rock’s busy schedule, coupled with the WWE’s desire to get Cena over as arguably the greatest champion of the modern era, will result in a stunning win for the leader of the CeNation and the return of the WWE Championship to a superstar that shows up every week.

Donny’s Dive: John Cena wins the WWE Championship.

The Undertaker vs. CM Punk

On paper, the battle between The Undertaker and CM Punk shouldn’t have needed much build to get the fans interested. But when the match actually came to fruition, it didn’t have the instant drawing power many thought it would.

That was until the untimely death of The Undertaker’s former manager Paul Bearer and the WWE’s decision to use the sacred urn as the focal point of the duo’s feud. Since the addition of the urn, the battle between Punk and The Undertaker has taken on a life of its own.

Between Punk juggling the stolen relic and dropping it repeatedly, this storyline is slowing etching itself in the WWE Universe's memory as one of the most interesting and intensely personal Undertaker storylines in a long time.

Despite looking like he may have the disadvantage in this battle without the urn, there is no way The Undertaker takes a loss at this year’s WrestleMania.

Donny’s Dive: The Undertaker moves to 21-0 and gets his urn back.

Triple H vs. Brock Lesnar

No Holds Barred Match; If Lesnar Wins, Triple H Must Retire

Brock Lesnar and Triple H will go to war at WrestleMania 29 in Part 2 of the feud that started back at SummerSlam 2012, when Lesnar broke Triple H’s arm for a second time and stole the victory.

Just like Cena, Triple H is looking for redemption of his own.

Lesnar and his manager, Paul Heyman, have stacked the deck against Triple H—adding the situation of a No Holds Barred match with a retirement clause—but that’s only because the WWE wants to book Triple H to look even stronger by overcoming the odds.

This will be a brutal battle in and out of the ring, and the WWE Universe should expect to see a healthy dose of weapons, blood and general carnage.

Donny’s Dive: Triple H for the Win.

World Heavyweight Champion Alberto Del Rio vs. Jack Swagger

Of all the secondary storylines that the WWE has built for WrestleMania 29, the World Heavyweight Championship match between Alberto Del Rio and Jack Swagger has received the most attention.

Despite all of the focus on the political ramblings of Swagger and his manager, Zeb Colter, in addition to all the unfunny video clips of Del Rio and Ricardo Rodriguez, the WWE Universe wasn’t behind this match until Swagger broke poor Ricardo’s ankle.

Now, people are starting to care.

Despite the WWE's best efforts to build a storyline so intriguing that it could make Swagger and Del Rio look interesting, the company must realize it isn’t working and make a serious change to the angle.

The fans should expect the company to blow the world title scene up at WrestleMania by having Swagger win the title from Del Rio and lose it immediately to Dolph Ziggler when he cashes in the Money in the Bank contract.

Donny’s Dive: Jack Swagger defeats Alberto Del Rio, but loses the World Heavyweight Championship to Dolph Ziggler when he cashes in the Money in the Bank contract.

Randy Orton, Sheamus & Big Show vs. The Shield

The WWE has made it very clear that Sheamus dies not trust Big Show, and it was Randy Orton who helped convince the Celtic Warrior to give the World's Largest Athlete a chance to show them he was willing to help the good guys against The Shield.

Most of the WWE Universe now believes that since the trio cleared the ring of The Shield on Raw, they will go over easily at WrestleMania. That couldn’t be farther from the truth.

There is no question that the WWE loves to throw a swerve or two at the WrestleMania crowd, and the biggest will come in this six-man tag match.

Instead of the Big Show turning heel and costing the good guys the match like many anticipate could happen, it will be Orton that turns heel and costs his team the win. The face turn for Big Show and the heel turn for Orton will be the quintessential double-turn.

Donny’s Dive: The Shield wins after Randy Orton turns on his partners.

WWE Tag Team Champions Team Hell No vs. Dolph Ziggler and Big E Langston

Team Hell No has been at the top of the tag team division for a long time (won the titles at the 2012 Night of Champions PPV). While Big E Langston and Dolph Ziggler pose a serious threat, it’s not the right time for the defending champions to drop the titles.

The idea of allowing Langston to debut in a match at WrestleMania with Ziggler will be great for his career, but his first bout will end in a loss. With Ziggler possibly part of a Money in the Bank cash-in attempt later in the night, this match will act as the WWE’s distraction.

After Team Hell No retains its titles, the WWE Universe won’t be thinking about Ziggler, thus making his World Heavyweight Championship win later in the night even more entertaining.

Team Hell No and Ziggler as champions? Yes! Yes! Yes!

Donny’s Dive: Team Hell No retains the tag team titles.

Ryback vs. Mark Henry

After losing to CM Punk all summer and The Shield all winter, Ryback needs a huge win to get his momentum going in the right direction again.

There is no better heel (besides Punk) right now than Mark Henry, and this battle of the behemoths will be an amazing addition to the WrestleMania card.

As much as this will be compared to a Big Show vs. Henry match, Ryback is skilled for a man of his size and stature and will put on an impressive showing. The World’s Strongest Man is always entertaining, and putting over a fresh face like Ryback is what Henry should be doing at this point in his career.

While Henry deserves another World Heavyweight Championship run sooner rather than later, it will be Ryback that wins this WrestleMania battle by hitting Henry with the Shellshock

Donny’s Dive: Ryback wins by pinfall after the World’s Strongest Shellshock.

Intercontinental Champion Wade Barrett vs. the Miz

While, on the surface, the match between Intercontinental champion Wade Barrett and The Miz looks hastily thrown together, that couldn’t be farther from the truth.

The Miz was working a program with Antonio Cesaro, but the WWE realized that with Wade Barrett promoting the movie he played a role in (Dead Man Down), pitting him against The Miz—who is also promoting his own movie, The Marine 3—would give the company a better chance to put the trailers for its movies on the WrestleMania stage.

Hardcore fans hate this logic, but if The Miz and Barrett are the two that will benefit from this shameless promotion, the WWE Universe should be happy.

The duo will realize the lack of expectations on their actual match and pressure on them in this secondary storyline and will do their best to steal the show with the best match of their lives.

The desire to sell to the mainstream fans will result in the challenger getting the win and stealing the title, but not before Barrett and The Miz put on an amazing show.

Donny’s Dive: The Miz wins IC title via submission (figure-four leg lock).

Brodus Clay, Tensai & The Funkadactyls vs Team Rhodes Scholars & The Bella Twins

There are major questions about whether or not the WWE Universe will get behind the epic Brodus Clay, Tensai and The Funkadactyls vs. Team Rhodes Scholars and The Bella Twins eight-person mixed tag team match now scheduled for WrestleMania 29.

While booking this bout on the biggest card of the year is certainly a risk for the WWE, it has all the elements to be one of the most pleasant surprises of this year’s WrestleMania.

Team Rhodes Scholars and The Bella Twins may be heels, but there is a large contingent of fans that will just be happy to see them on the card and in a match. Both Cody Rhodes and Damien Sandow have been great all year, and participating in WrestleMania is a rub they deserve.

As far as Brodus Clay, Tensai and The Funkadactyls are concerned, that tag team will satisfy the casual fans looking to have a good time and the younger fans that enjoy the fan-friendly characters.

That blend of good and bad in an eight-person tag team match will make this bout very enjoyable for every fan watching the show.

Donny’s Dive: Team Rhodes Scholars and The Bella Twins win via dirty pin.

Chris Jericho vs. Fandango

Despite the rush to get this match on the WrestleMania card, the allure around a match involving a bona fide superstar in Chris Jericho and a complete unknown like Fandango has piqued the interest of the WWE Universe.

Not only has Fandango done a great job getting the fans to hate him since making his television debut (still hasn’t wrestled an official match), the fact that Jericho has gone all-in on helping get the fresh face over with the crowds is a huge feather in both men’s caps.

Jericho only returned to the WWE to get new talent over—or, at least, that’s how it appears after Y2J’s recent string of losses to unproven characters—and that will continue at WrestleMania when Fandango is given the ultimate rub by beating a bona fide legend.

Donny’s Dive: Fandango pins Jericho for a clean win.

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