Wrestlemania 26: BOOKING THE SHOW

Booking Wrestlemania 26

This Sunday is Wrestlemania 26 and from top to bottom, every match on the card has been built solidly and makes sense. It is one of the best cards for any Pay Per View that i can recall from the past ten years. With that said, i just hope that it delivers. Last year there was too much time spent on non wrestling moments like Kid Rock and Santino that one of the best matches on the card (Colons v Miz & Morrison)
was relegated to a pre show match. This year there are not only the "Big Match" feel Main Events, but a solid undercard and a number of potential sleepers. But as we learned last year just because a match is built up well, it often fails to deliver (Orton v HHH).

This column is basically a run through of how i would book the show and the running order and results. I dont claim to be a genius and i respect the agents like Pat Patterson, but If the show is too entertainment and not enough wrestling (in other words if Johnny Ace and Stephanie rules the roost backstage) this show could be a major letdown again. So some of the ideas i have, i believe are very easy to pull off but are old school yet entertaining. Lets Begin.........

The rumour currently is that ShowMiz v John Morrison/R-Truth will open the show and i have no problems with that. A great way to open the show would be for Jo Mo & R Truth to enter through the crowd and get the crowd hot with his very over yet sometimes annoying Whats Up Theme song. This would get the crowd hot and then have the Miz cut his mic off and make his entrance berating the Arizona crowd and his opponents getting heat on him and Big Show.A classic tag team match would then insue with Morrison hitting a huge High Spot to the outside. He would throw
Miz over the ropes only for Big Show to catch him, but then Morrison would hit a Springboard 450 onto both of them. R Truth Should sell for the best part of the match take the heat and hot tag to Morrison who cleans house. The finish would see Big Show hit R Truth with the "Knockout Punch" behind the refs back and place Miz over the fallen R Truth, thus keeping the titles on the excellent ShowMiz and allowing Morrison to then turn heel on R Trugh hitting the Moonlight Drive.

Next I would cut to a backstage segment where Batista arrives by limousine and ignores all the fans and is surrounded by his security. This is simply to build up the main event.

Following up that match would be Money In The Bank. Now here comes the tricky one. I believe that the best athlete in the WWE is Evan Bourne but there is no way he is going to win this match. However as Ric Flair would say "You dont have to go over to get over". Bourne would not only hit the Shooting Star Press off the ladder in the spot of the night but he will do something else that is simply breathtaking. If you havent seen how crazy Bourne actually is, just look at the Philadelphia street fight he was in from ROH. I would have the match be the usual spotfest and the finish would see the majority of the ten participants all outside the ring staggering around the aisle, Bourne climbing the slowly and selling like a white meat babyface getting the crowd behind him and then have a Drew Macintyre push the ladder over sending him to the outside taking out everybody. Then as Macyntire climbs Christian low blows him and takes the case for the win, which would be one of the biggest pops of the night. The purpose of the match would be to solidify Evan Bourne as a mid carder and also Drew Macintyre
as a top heel while putting Christian over. I also think it would be a fun spot for Jack Swagger to hit a gutwrench powerbomb off the ladder and god only knows what Shelton will do this year, but he will be under pressure to top Evan Bournes ariel offence.Also after the match i would have the music stop and every wrestler go to the back and have the camera zoom in on evan bourne to get the crowd to cheer for him as the medics attend to him, showing how tough the kid is.

The next match i would have would be the Legacy triple threat. This is an unusually built match and Cody is the only real heel as the die hard wrestling fans will probably cheer both Dibiase and Orton. I would have this as a spotty match lasting 7 minutes with Cody and Ted double teaming Orton until they turn on each other. Then Cowboy Bod Orton runs in and hits them with cast, then Dusty Rhodes would run-in and hit Bob Orton with the bionic elbow followed by the million dollar man running in and applying the million dollar dream on Dusty Rhodes before turning around into and RKO before Orton hits one on everyone. I just think that having the fathers involved would be a real Wrestlemania Moment in a match that lacks excitement. After the match Dibiase and Rhodes would get into a brawl.

Next we go backstage to an interview with HBK where he puts over what it means to him tonight to be here and how he will not lose unless every breath goes out of his body. (youll see later)

The next match would be Rey Mysterio versus CM Punk in what has had a picture perfect build up. Rey Mysterios daughter should have won an oscar for her emotion on Smackdown two weeks ago. This match should be the first real show stealer.
The last match these two had in the Intercontinental Title Tournament from 2008 was excellent and this one will be even better with CM Punk going over clean. Rey Mysterio has never disappointed at Mania with incredible matches again Angle & Orton,
Matt Hardy and the highly underrated show opener with Eddie Guerrero from Wrestlemania 21. Before the match CM Punk would cut a promo and irritate the Phoenix crowd as only he can. The finish here would be after many false finishes, Rey would hit the 619, springboard in for the West Coast Pop only to be caught by Punk and take a GTS.

Next Up is Bret v Vince. Everyone knows what to expect here a basic stiff fest with Vince getting the crap kicked out of him with Trash Can Lids and Kendo Sticks. The opening of the match would see Bret do his trademark spot by giving his glasses to a kid fan but i would have Vince run out to the kid and attempt to take them off the kid to draw even more heat. I would love to see Bret apply the figure four around the ringpost and have Vince squeeling like a pic. The finish of this match would be Bret teasing the Sharpshooter and Jerry The King Lawler would run in and low blow him turning heel. Then Lawler would attempt to piledrive Bret. Then i would have someone run in to help Bret.  If possible Stone Cold Steve Austin or Roddy Piper but if they are not available, the Hart Dynasty, and have them chase Lawler from the building setting up for what happens later in the show. Then Bret would apply the sharpshooter for the win.

We would then have the absolutely excellent video package for Undertaker V Michaels.

After that package Cole and Striker would look at each other and say were a man short on the announce team, and Jim Ross would make his entrance to call the main events. I think the crowd would be very respectful and Striker and Ross together even
with the terrible Michael Cole would be a good team to call the "Big Ones".
Im sure Jerry Lawler would mind taking the rest of the night off as he has said himself he has never had his Wrestlemania moment. Now he has!

Backstage HBK is walking down a hallway looking confident yet insecure.
HHH wishes him good look as does Arn Anderson and some more Old Timers(Perhaps Bobby Heenan if possible or Marty Janetty).That is how you enhance this match even further. By having them look at Shawn like it may be his last time.

So this is the big one. HBK V Undertaker. I don't believe we should see some huge elaborate entrance for each man like last year as this year, time is a big issue. I think that the match will be more of a brawl with more emphasis on the ringside area and announce table. I would have Shawn hit an elbow from the top rope through the announce table and perhaps an asai moonsault into a steel chair counter by taker.

I dont want to see undertaker attemp a suicide dive this year and almost kill himself again. I would love to see more submission based match this year which is how i would end the match. Undertaker would take 3 Sweet Chin Musics and kick outand Shawn would take 3 tombstones and kick out as well as several false finishes. The kickouts and false finishes are the only way to top last year.
For the finish i would have Shawn Pass out in Hells Gate but never quit. That way Undertaker wins the match but Shawn can argue that he didn't submit and still wrestle an occasional match.

The next match would be the divas match. I will not even go into detail on this only that all the divas teams should come to the ring together to save time and have a 3 minute match. The state of womens wrestling in WWE is atrocious at the moment and i will not even justify talking about a match. This is simply a bathroom break. This match should follow hbk and taker as this is the worst match on the card and the crowd will be dead so we are killing two birds with one stone by placing it here.

Next up i would have Edge versus Jericho. I think that this match has had an awful build however in terms of wrestling it will be the best on the card. Jericho has to win this match to continue his title reign and then id turn Edge heel soon again for a feud with Christian. Jericho wins by countering the spear into a super Code Breaker as edge runs at him.

HHH V Sheamus is up next. The reason i am placing this match high on the card is simply to separate the three main events. This match will suck so at least put it in a spot where the crowd will be exhausted after hbk/taker and edge/jericho.
I would have Seamus get the win here simply because he needs to look good to people who have never seen him before. Expect the crowd to be dead during this one no matter where it is placed on the card. The only saving grace of this match is that HHH is out of the title picture at a Wrestlemania for the first time in years. HHH does not need this win, Sheamus does. Bottom Line

Next Up is the Main Event. Cena/ Batista. Although the real main event is of course Taker/ HBK. It is only right for business that this match close the show. Both men are the two biggest icons of the post attitude area and are two of Ohio Valley Wrestling's
greatest exports. Heeltista has found himself and Cena is the company's biggest draw so it is only right that this close the show. I would like to see a match similar to their match at Summerslam 08 with a ref bump and more false finishes. I think it would be cool if Cena could pull off a drop down DDT when hes up on the shoulder for a Batista bomb as it would show the smart marks he can do an indie style spot. At the end of the night Batista taps out to send the kids home happy after another match with lots of finishers and counters.

So that is how i would book the biggest show of the year. I think some of the small ideas i have for the matches like spots and run-ins would make some memorable moments but let me know what you think.