Road To WWE WrestleMania 28 - Current Match Picks & Predictions

By Rob Sellars / February 27, 2012

And so, with a few utterances from the WWE announcers and the passing of the ever pointless Elimination Chamber, the Road to WrestleMania is apparently upon us once more. Ignoring the vastly over used phrase, the Road to Wrestlemania heralds the 40+ days from the penultimate pay-per-view and the subsequent build to WrestleMania. This usually means cementing some of the feuds that have plainly been building towards the wrestling showcase all along, and sparking some new ones in order to fill out the card. With the Elimination Chamber, and then the following Raw and Smackdown shows, viewers were given the first real hints of the big matches for the WWE showcase. These included the confirmation of who CM Punk would defend his WWE Championship against, likewise for Daniel Bryan and his World Heavyweight Championship. There was a refocusing on the feud between John Cena and The Rock, as well as a few teases of the merry dance the WWE Creative will take us on as we gear up for the big event. John Cena v The Rock After John Cena dispatched of Kane in an Ambulance Match at Elimination Chamber , proving all along the feud was unfortunately nothing more than something to keep Cena busy before he could get stuck into the Rock, he came out the following night on Raw and delivered one of his strongest promos in recent memory. Powerful, honest and emotive, seeing a pseudo-shoot from Cena was surprisingly effective, and certainly garnered more excitement for his match with The Rock. Calling out The Rock for always leaving WWE and utilising genuine bitterness in the locker room at the Brahma Bulls ability to come and go as he pleases, taking top spot on the card when he does, the promo was laden with malice. Next week The Rock will be on Raw, and this feud is starting to bubble away nicely. Current Prediction: so hard to call, but current instinct says Cena. WWE Championship - CM Punk (c) v Chris Jericho So after weeks of painful teasing and generally cringe worthy play acting, we finally had confirmed what everyone knew was going to happen all along - Chris Jericho will challenge CM Punk for his title at Wrestlemania. We finally reached this point through a thrown together 10 man battle royale on Raw to decide the new number one contender, after Punk walked away from the Elimination Chamber title still in hand. The only interesting development in the Chamber was that Jericho was never actually eliminated, he was instead knocked out of the cage and knocked unconscious thanks to a roundhouse kick to the head, delivered by Lord Punk, thus saving Jericho from looking particularly weak and adding to the feud. Despite the mess that WWE Creative delivered to get us to this point, that should not detract from what could be a phenomenal feud between two of the greatest talkers and wrestlers in recent WWE history. Promos between the two have so far been kept to a minimum, but expect them to increase in the coming weeks as the two are allowed to unleash on the mic. Personally I cannot wait. Current prediction: CM Punk retains. World Heavyweight Championship - Daniel Bryan (c) v Sheamus After Sheamus won the Royal Rumble, the WWE deployed its usual trick of suggesting Sheamus could take on either Champ, before delivering the entirely expected at Elimination Chamber. Shortly after Bryan's unlikely but impressive victory, Sheamus came to the ring and delivered his statement of intent in usual form. However their match on Smackdown the previous week was enjoyable but nothing spectacular. There needs to be a heavy focus now on the build between the two, with Sheamus the honest and rugged challenger against the cunning and wily Champ. This could yet be a stand-out match between two of the bright new stars in WWE, but as yet, nothing about it gets me too excited. Current prediction: Sheamus wins, new World Heavyweight Champ. The Undertaker v Triple H - Hell in a Cell Match So here we have it, the match nobody really wanted, is happening after all. After Triple HHH rejected 'Takers challenge the week before, some choice needling from 'Taker regarding HBK and some of The Game's soft spots pushed the WWE Chief Operating Officer to accept the challenger. Triple HHH agreed on one condition, the match is Hell in a Cell. So now we get to see two aging wrestlers, slug it out in a cage - super. Throwing Shawn Michaels into the mix in some capacity would at least add a level of variety to the match and garner some interest, and WWE certainly wants us to think it's a possibility, with HBK involved the week before and being interviewed for his reaction this week. But despite all this, does anyone seriously believe The Streak will ever end, and especially in the hands of Triple H? Current prediction: The Undertaker, wake me up when it's over. A few other matches have been hinted at since Elimination Chamber too, those that will fill out the card below the big four already announced. Cody Rhodes v Big Show - Intercontinental Championship A few hints that WWE creative may try and build towards a Wrestlemania match between Cody Rhodes and Big Show. First it was Rhodes who eliminated Big Show in the Elimination Chamber. Then in the 10-man Battle Royale to decide the number one contender for CM Punk's WWE Championship, Rhodes, having been eliminated by Big Show, pulled Show from the apron to eliminate him in turn. Then on Smackdown, Rhodes came out midway through Show's match with Mark Henry to ridicule his past Wrestlemania matches, allowing Henry to deliver the World's Strongest Slam to the World's Biggest Athlete. It is the sudden flurry of the incidents that suggests the decision has been made to throw the two together for a feud, and this one that could yet materialise into something special. Current prediction: Big Show puts over Rhodes, much as Rey Mysterio did last year. Team John Laurinaitis v Team Teddy Long Apparently we should all now forget that John Laurinaitis was on the verge of being sacked, as well as his suspicious texting whenever he was on screen, and focus instead on a potential feud with Smackdown General Manager Teddy Long. The two keep popping up on each other's shows, and now their respective lackeys are telling them each should run both shows themselves. Struggling to care, but rumours abound this could be a Team Laurinaitis v Team Long match-up, so at least this could be a chance to get a few more faces on the card, even if one of those has to be the soul-destroyingly dull David Otunga. The appearance of Christian, Alberto del Rio and Mark Henry at Laurinaitis' side to support him on WWE.com suggests a strong presence on the heel side, which would at least bring some quality to the match. A decent build might up the ante and expectation for this at least. Current prediction: Team Laurinaitis. For now the Road to Wrestlemania has had a steady but overall promising start, with the start in earnest of CM Punk v Chris Jericho, and John Cena delivering a fiery promo to build excitement for his match with The Rock.