Cena vs Owens....and the Build to Wrestlemania

Sunday night, the WWE held an exclusive event on the WWE Network, Elimination Chamber. Essentially, it was a pay-per-view, but it was only available on the network (a great explanation of the PPV model was written by David Shoemaker of Grantland here). The card was pretty solid - there were two Elimination Chamber matches within the event. All in all, it was an above average PPV (even though it wasn’t a PPV).

The story of the evening was the match between John Cena, the United States Champion, and Kevin Owens, the NXT Champion. Owens debut on Monday Night Raw was intriguing. The WWE has frequently had newcomers dominate in their initial showings on television to build the character. But never at the expense of a premier commodity like Cena. I was interested, to say the least, at this match at Elimination Chamber.

The match lived up to the hype as it will definitely be in the conversation for Match of the Year. Back and forth they went, with Owens being the main aggressor as to build more heat. Normally, when Cena wrestles, half of the crowd chants “Let’s go Cena” and the other half chants “Cena sucks”. It’s a strange dichotomy for the federations number one guy. Parents and their kids love John Cena, while everyone else is sick of his shtick and dislikes him That’s the beauty of this angle with Kevin Owens. KO has made Cena more of a likable character, a babyface, than he was before this angle. Owens’ heat, or in layman’s terms, dislikability, has drawn more of the crowd to Cena’s side. This is good for the angle and for the WWE.

Back to the match - potential pinning situations came and went, fast and furiously. Both men tried hit their signature, or finishing, moves to end the match. However, at each turn their opponent kicked out to continue the match. Part of me has a problem with the finishing moves not working towards a resolution - what’s the point of a finishing move if it doesn’t finish? How many times can an opponent kick out of the finisher before it becomes irrelevant? Anyway, the boys were telling a great story - and when it boils down to it - that’s what wrestling (or any other scripted television) is about, great storytelling. That’s the hook. Tell us a great story and we’ll watch with fervor. Bore us and we’ll change the channel. Cena and Owens told a great story: it’s the classic good vs. evil story. One man, Cena, staking his claim to the preeminent wrestler of his day and US Champion, while the other, Owens, is trying to knock Cena off his pedestal while proving his long journey to WWE created the fire inside him to beat Cena. In the end, surprisingly, Owens went over - cleanly. It was fantastic. The build to the story ended with the bad guy winning. It builds Owens heat and creates sympathy for Cena. I haven’t watched last night’s Raw yet to see the aftermath of the match, but I’m hopeful the creative writes find a way to not screw up the build to the rematch in two weeks at Money in the Bank.

What does all this mean? Quite honestly, I believe everything is a build to Wrestlemania, These stories have a long term purpose and it all leads to the biggest show of the year. Pondering this year’s show, located at AT&T Stadium in Dallas, it HAS to be big. WWE is trying to “break” their indoor attendance record from Wrestlemania III in the Pontiac Silverdome. The goal is to break 100,000 in attendance, which they can and probably will accomplish. Yet, at the same time, the brand extension of WWE Network is at the forefront of the build. More subscriptions equals a greater revenue stream. Wrestlemania is paramount to the increase of subscriptions as it’s the biggest show of the year. So….as I let the Owens v Cena rivalry roll around in my head, I began to create ideas in my mind for WM. Without further adieu, I give to you my Wrestlemania card for this year in Dallas. Keep in mind a few things - it’s obviously fantasy booking so there are no holds barred with me. Anything and everything that could plausibly happen will. Second, I’m going no holds barred, Katie bar the door, damn the torpedoes, which ever saying you want to use for going all out - that’s my card. Here it is:

Pre-Show

The Wrestlemania Pre-Show is extremely important for the brand since it allows men and women who have been busting their tails all year a chance to get on the show. I have included three matches for the pre-show

1. The Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal - a great way to get many of those performers on the show. Big Show, Ryback, Curtis Axel, Fandango, Jack Swagger, Mark Henry, Miz, R-Truth, Harper, Rowan, Sheamus and Zach Ryder are a few of the names to be included in this match. 
2. NXT #1 Contender’s Match - Baron Corbin, Finn Balor and Hideo Itami fight it out in a Triple Threat Match to see who gets the next shot at the NXT Title. 
3. Speaking of the NXT Title, there will be an NXT TItle Match on the pre-show. Kevin Owens fights Samoa Joe for the NXT Title. 

Main Show

1. Let’s kick off the show with a little TLC!! The tag team titles are up for grabs in a TLC match between New Day, Prime Time Players, and Kidd/Cesaro. It’s difficult to know when the Uso’s will be healthy enough to stake their claim in the title picture, so for now I must leave them out. If they were healthy, I’d love to see a War Games style match (two rings covered in cage with roof) and have the Uso’s/PTP face off against Kidd/Cesaro and New Day. 
2. Next on the card we’ll have the man they call Sting. He will face a newly repackaged “Legend Killer Randy Orton in an old school WCW/WWE battle. To make it more interesting, Randy’s father, Cowboy Bob Orton will be in his corner for the match. One he interferes, Ric Flair and Arn Anderson come down to help Sting and get the numbers on their side. Once this stacks the table against WWE, and old pal of the elder Orton comes down to their aide - Rowdy Roddy Piper. Things eventually settle down and allow Randy and Sting to finish match themselves. 
3. The John Cena US Title Open Challenge - yes, he carries on the tradition of the open challenge at WM. However, this night it all changes because for one night only, AJ STYLES answers the challenge. After the match is over (whoever wins doesn’t matter) AJ takes the microphone and said he just needed one match to prove to himself that he could hang in the WWE and with that he’s satisfied. 
4. Women’s Tag Team Match - one of WM31’s intriguing moments was the appearance of the the Rock. He came down to the ring to chat with Triple H and Stephanie. As Steph berated him the Rock turned to a colleague for assistance - Ronda Rousey. This set the message boards on fire about potential match ups in the future. And at 32 they get it. Mousey teams with Women’s Champion Paige to face off against Stephanie and her partner of choice, Tamina Snuka. In this match Rousey gets Steph in a compromising position at which point HHH and HBK come down to help Steph. Seeing this disadvantage, Stone Cold Steve Austin and Hulk Hogan come to Rousey’s aide. 
5. Next up, the Dead Man returns. The Undertaker takes on his brother Kane in a Retirement Match. But that’s not all - it’s in Hell in a Cell. Kane’s time is winding down as an active wrestler as well, so let him go out with a bang. Texas in Taker’s home state so he gets to retire in grand fashion as well. I’m not saying who wins…..but let’s say that Bray Wyatt (along with brother Bo Dallas) makes an appearance to help Kane defeat the Undertake and put him down for good. Kane decides this isn't how his brother should go out so he and Taker team up to dispose of Wyatt and Dallas. Once it's over Paul Bearer’s sons appear who, with the urn, lead both gentlemen off into the sunset. 
6. Intercontinental Title Match - Double Jeopardy. What is Double Jeopardy? It’s essentially two matches taking place in the ring at one time. The winners of the two initial matches face off for the belt. The participants in this match would be Dolph Ziggler, Wade Barrett, Neville and Rusev. 

Double Main Event time!!!

1. First off is the WWE Title Match. It’s a Triple Threat Match featuring the three former members of the Shield. Reigns would be the incumbent champion based off events at the Royal Rumble (which I’ll get to in a minute). During the Rumble, the last two men standing are Ambrose and Rollins. They both fly over the ropes together landing on the floor at the same time (like Bret Hart and Lex Luger). Therefore, the ruling is that both get a shot at the title at WM. Reigns manages to retain the title in less than savory fashion. 
2. The last match of the evening features the former World Champion, Brock Lesnar, loving up with the man who caused him to lose the title at the Royal Rumble - The Rock!!! Brock wins the title at Summer Slam and continues his path of destruction. Heyman starts insisting that Lesnar is the greatest WWE Champion of all-time. He calls out all former champs in Raw’s leading up to the show. None of the other former champs show up….until the Rumble. The Rock heads down to ringside and disposes of Heyman, and assisting his cousin, Roman Reigns, in winning the WWE Title. This sets up the WM match between Rock and Brock. In a surprise twist - Reigns comes down to ringside during the match - most fans think it is to atone himself for his actions in the title match. But instead, he uses his title belt to turn on the Rock and help Brock win. Reigns then becomes part of the newly formed Dangerous Alliance. 

There you have it - Wrestlemania 32 in the books. Let me know your thoughts!! Comment on this page or tweet me @illini3sc.