Smurf's WWE Thread (Full Wrestlemania preview 8/28)

It’s only fitting that the end of the wrestling year sees the fighting Guerrero family on opposite ends of a ring once again. For the first months of 2013, Chavo Guerrero had his aunt Vickie in his corner as they often helped Vickie’s (now) estranged husband, Eddie, hold on to the WWE Championship for six months. But, when Vickie saw Eddie start to embrace the fans – what she deemed a sign of weakness – she quickly turned on her own husband, costing him the gold to Mr. Money in the Bank, Curtis Axel. The feud between Eddie and Axel raged on, coming to a conclusion when Eddie finally defeated Axel in a non-title Tables match prior to TLC, the event where Axel would inevitably lose the gold. After that bout, Vickie added more clients to her new family – first Antonio Cesaro, and later, US Champion Mark Henry: and La Familia was born. Eddie would not be done spiting his wife, as he later defeated Henry for that same US Championship after a nearly eight-month reign. While Eddie split out on his own from his nephew, Chavo sought a second Tag Team gold, and he found the perfect partner as Rey Mysterio returned to help him unseat champions Big E Langston and Curt Hawkins. While they battled with the former champions, La Familia’s newly formed team of Axel and Henry built up wins, culminating in a No. 1 Contender’s bout with Tons of Funk which saw Henry plant Tensai with the World’s Strongest Slam. Vickie’s new “familia” will look to finally get one up on the other side of her family, but the master of the 6-1-9 and the younger Guerrero will have something to say about it.

Christian entered the Royal Rumble as the longest-reigning modern European Champion with a four-plus month reign, but that came to a close when Kofi Kingston stole a victory over Alberto Del Rio in the first half of the Two Falls/Triple Threat match. Christian would not take his chances with the second fall, but when he brought a chair into the match, it back-fired on him, costing him the Intercontinental title as well. Christian became a thorn in the champion’s side for a month and earned himself “one more match,” despite the fact that Tensai had earned the No. 1 Contendership. Christian again used a chair, this time knocking Tensai from the ring after he laid out Del Rio with the Train Wreck. Despite his less than noble tactics, Christian has been a fighting champion first with many European title defenses, and then a Saturday Night’s Main Event victory over Booker T. He finds himself in the strangest situation entering Wrestlemania weekend, as his Sunday evening opponent will be determined on the pre-show of Saturday night in a 15-man battle royal. Who the “Instant Classic” has in his future may be a mystery, but whomever it is will have to make sure the hidden element of “Cheating” doesn’t come into play if they hope to take down the champion.

The female representative of the Straight Edge Society has had one of the most storied years of all of the WWE’s Divas: she returned by costing the insatiable Ryback the WWE Championship against her mentor, C.M. Punk, and immediately made an impact by defeating Beth Phoenix for the Divas Championship just before the Survivor Series. While Serena proved dominant in the Divas division, it was the ex-champion Kaitlyn who made the most headlines in 2013. After demanding herself eligible for the King of the Ring tournament, Kaitlyn made her name outside of the Divas division, advancing to the semifinals before falling to eventual “King,” Daniel Bryan. Her quest didn’t end there, as she found herself qualifying for an Intercontinental Championship Tables Match at TLC. Whether it be luck or skill, Kaitlyn was able to stand tall through the hardcore settings and walked out with the gold. After three months of successful defenses, Kaitlyn was felled by a cheating Alberto Del Rio, but when she tried to return to the Divas division, the new champion kept ducking her. Finally, after Serena defeated AJ Lee at February’s THREAT pay-per-view, Kaitlyn got her hands on the champion: laying her out with a spear (a move each woman uses as a finisher). Serena continued to duck Kaitlyn, with help from C.M. Punk until Dolph Ziggler came to the aid of Kaitlyn. After an eventual mixed tag team match at Saturday Night’s Main Event which saw Kaitlyn pin Serena in the center of the ring, the champion had no choice but to fight the “Hybrid Diva.” Kaitlyn will have a chance to regain the gold and become only the second two-time Divas Champion – a position that would put her back in line to compete at this year’s King of the Ring, as well.

Dolph Ziggler’s year finished with a shot at the WWE Championship, but like former champion C.M. Punk, he found himself on the losing end of a bout with Ryback. Both men saw their stocks take a dip following their title losses, with C.M. Punk paying more attention to mentoring new members of his Straight Edge Society – a group that now totals four – and Ziggler nursing injuries from an Extreme Rules tables match. After battling each other in the Royal Rumble, they did not meet again until Ziggler found himself helping an old friend, Kaitlyn, in her quest to become Divas Champion. When Ziggler leveled Punk with a Zig Zag, allowing Kaitlyn to lower a shoulder and spear Serena, he began a feud which would prove more heated than imagined. Punk insulted Ziggler’s inability to win “the big one,” and Kaitlyn’s looks. While the duo got a bit of revenge against the Straight Edge Society members at Saturday Night’s Main Event, Ziggler vowed to win the big one on the grandest stage of them all – and defeat Punk in the process. Both men are in need of a win if they hope to turn their fortunes back towards the WWE Championship, but only one can stand tall after what should be one of the most exciting matches of the weekend.

Antonio Cesaro began 2013 as a member of “Team Johnny,” or more appropriately, the only member of Team Johnny. With the former Japanese star Johnny Ace in his corner, Cesaro seemed unstoppable – battling John Cena in the debut pay-per-view of 2013 in the main event as the powers that be tried to keep Cena away from the WWE Championship. After falling to Cena and losing his manager to a management position within the company, Cesaro began running with a new team – The European Union, along with William Regal, Wade Barrett, Drew McIntyre, and eventually, Sheamus. Cesaro’s luck seemed against him in the group and he was the first to cut bait, instead joining Vickie Guerrero’s La Familia before the entire stable fell apart. Cesaro immediately became an impact player, teaming with Curtis Axel in the tag team ranks, but when an opportunity arose to claim the championship he held most dear, Cesaro took it, defeating Kofi Kingston for the gold at Threat. After several successful defenses, he found himself seeking competition – even claiming that “no one in the back” could defeat him. Instead, he was met with a Code Breaker from the returning Y2J, who technically was not in the back: he had jumped the crowd barrier. Jericho had previously battled for the WWE Championship at Royal Rumble, but he deemed Cesaro’s challenge a personal insult, hoping to remind Antonio and the WWE Universe that he is “the best in the world at what he does.”

When Heath Slater joined Justin Gabriel following the demise of the 3 Man Band, no one in the WWE Universe saw it coming, but when they, along with Darren Young and Wade Barrett all found themselves in the ring at the same time during the Royal Rumble, they each lifted an arm in solidarity before teaming up to make several eliminations. The Nexus continued to use the numbers game in their favor in the coming months as they became a dominant force throughout the WWE. Doing battle with former mentor/mentee Alex Riley and the Miz, along with Booker T and Dolph Ziggler at Threat, they saw themselves come out on top thanks to a returning David Otunga, but it was the way they added Ryback to the fray, costing Sheamus the WWE Championship, that brought the Celtic Warrior into this battle. While the Nexus will be banned from helping their other members in championship matches later in the weekend anyways, the team of Riley, Booker, Sheamus, and Miz will hope to leave them incapacitated after this one is over. Sheamus vowed, following Threat, that he would take out the Nexus one-by-one. He has four members firmly in his sights at Wrestlemania.

After the Rhodes Scholars failed to capture the Tag Team Championship in 2013, Damien Sandow decided to step out on his own in 2014. What he didn’t anticipate was running into his former partner so quickly with each man seeking U.S. Championship gold. After doing battle at Royal Rumble – a match which saw Sandow earn a victory with a hand full of tights, the two again found themselves standing on opposite corners of the ring at Threat in a four-way match also featuring then-champion Eddie Guerrero and John Bradshaw Layfield. After Rhodes leveled JBL with the Disaster Kick, Sandow again pushed his former partner out of his way, pinning Layfield to earn the championship. After doing battle in several tag team matches, Rhodes finally pinned Sandow in the center of the ring with that same kick, catching the eye of the general manager, who placed him in a No. 1 Contender’s match against Kane. Luckily for Rhodes, Kane’s brother was hot on his tail and the Undertaker laid out Kane with a chokeslam, allowing Rhodes to earn a pinfall victory and, finally, a one-on-one match with his former partner – and the championship on the line. Sandow has already seen success since splitting the team, but this will be an important night for Rhodes, who seeks his first championship in the WWE.

This feud, which dates back to the original WWE, fired up again at the Royal Rumble as JBL returned to action to eliminate his former rival. After Chavo Guerrero took it upon himself to dump his uncle’s eliminator, JBL left him a bloodied mess the next night on Raw. Layfield announced that he would be taking the US Championship “back to America” as he returned to his old tricks in the battle with Guerrero. He would, inevitably, cost Eddie the US gold, but he wasn’t able to take it for himself. Still, Eddie blamed JBL, and vowed to send him back into retirement as they went to war one last time on the grandest stage of them all. Will JBL find himself sent back to business news? Or will the Texan finally get one up on his greatest rival and find himself hot in the hunt for the WWE Championship?

Randy Orton returned at the Royal Rumble on a short-term contract. If he won it all, he could find himself with the championship by Wrestlemania and a full-time contract. Unfortunately, it didn’t shake the Viper’s way as he found himself runner-up to John Cena. As Orton walked up the ramp, General Manager Paul Heyman’s personal monster, Brock Lesnar emerged to once again take out Cena. Instead, he was met with an RKO from the angered Orton, who nodded his approval to Cena. The next night on Raw, Orton was escorted from the arena as Paul Heyman announced he would be suspended for his actions. Orton would re-emerge at Threat, entering during the main event tag team match pitting Undertaker & Cena against Lesnar and Kane. With Taker and Kane battling up the entranceway, Orton dropped Lesnar with an RKO, allowing Cena to take control and eventually earn a victory. Orton would be immediately reinstated by Heyman – with a promise that he could earn himself a contract by beating Brock at Wrestlemania. After fighting his way through the Nexus, Kane, and any other obstacle Heyman could throw in his way, Orton will finally go one-on-one with the former UFC Heavyweight Champ. While he’s shown an ability to one-up Lesnar with the art of surprise, it will be a totally different scenario when the two men stand face-to-face on Wrestlemania weekend.

Daniel Bryan fought every man (and woman) in his path over the past year as the longest-reigning champion of any level in the WWE, winning the King of the Ring to become the first World Heavyweight Champion of the modern era. Unfortunately for him, he was then immediately met with a Pedigree from the C.O.O., Triple H. HHH stepped down from his position to rejoin the active roster, revealing that he only hoped Bryan would win so that he could defeat him, but he fell short: Bryan forced “The Game” to tap to the Yes! Lock in his first defense. Bryan, with his girlfriend A.J. at his side, battled his way through challenger after challenger, but when the Nexus reformed, he found himself as one of the top targets of the upstart group. Barrett announced his intentions to dethrone the king just after Bryan was able to win his toughest challenge to date against C.M. Punk at Threat. Bryan would see several Nexus numbers come after him in the coming weeks, but his toughest battle saw him against Brock Lesnar at Saturday Night’s Main Event, another match he came out on top of, albeit via disqualification thanks to Barrett’s interference. With that, the match was made final – Bryan would once again have to prove himself against a tough challenger, one that this time, won’t have his Nexus running mates to help him along the way.

“Big Evil” thought he had hung up his boots for the last time. With his contract expired, he was free to go home and spend time with his wife and his bike. But when Kane ran into trouble fighting then-U.S. Champion Mark Henry and Tensai, he called upon his brother to help fend them off. After a tag team match at Saturday Night’s Main Event, the four did battle in a Monster’s Ball match at Survivor Series – one in which Henry left Kane pinned to the mat to retain the championship. Kane disappeared following the match, leaving Taker to continue to fight for the US gold on his own, challenging Mark Henry at Extreme Rules to a Last Man Standing match. Taker looked dominant before La Familia got involved, but Tons of Funk made the save. Taker and Henry fought to the top of the stage before Kane re-emerged – chokeslamming not Henry but Undertaker, crashing him through the cold steel. After showing his true colors, Kane emerged on the side of the new general manager, Paul Heyman, as he sought to take out John Cena before his Wrestlemania main event. Cena would get to choose his own partner as he fought Kane and Brock Lesnar at Threat, and when the opportunity arose the choice was easy: Undertaker returned just two months later to take on his brother. Kane ran scared from the Deadman on that night, but the two men will stand face-to-face one final time at Wrestlemania. Will Kane continue to do the devil’s work? Or, will the “Streak” live to see another day?

Since day one of the modern WWE, John Cena has been fought his way through every obstacle in his path – except the powers that be. It began with Antonio Cesaro on the first pay-per-view. Then Tensai. R-Truth. Triple H. Curtis Axel. Brock Lesnar. And finally Kane. Raw’s general manager was a revolving door, but with each stop of the turnstile came a new opponent of Cena reclaiming his spot atop the company’s totem pole: John Laurinaitis, Vince McMahon, Triple H, Paul Heyman. Cena fought his way through each, earning a few title shots along the way but saw each end with interference. So, when Paul Heyman walked into his newly remodeled office at the end of an episode of Raw prior to the official Wrestlemania contract signing, Cena pushed a couch in front of the door and demanded that Heyman outlaw interference for the bout: anyone who did would be fired and Cena would be made champion. But don’t tell Ryback about interference: he had to try three times himself before he was able to get a fair fight for the gold, a fact he did not take lightly as he turned his back on the fans, later rejoining the Nexus to save his back. Both of these men own pinfall victories over each other in the past year, but on the grandest stage of them all, all bets are off. Will the uncrowned Champ finally be here? Or, will the insatiable Ryback win another for the rogue Nexus?