WrestleMania 26 Predictions

Drew McIntyre vs. Shelton Benjamin vs. Kane vs. Matt Hardy vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Christian vs. MVP vs. Evan Bourne vs. Jack Swagger vs. Kofi Kingston (Money in the Bank Ladder Match): This is in all likelihood starting off the show, so expect to see some crazy bumps as always. The odds-on favorite to win is McIntyre, although Christian is the dark horse to win. The others are basically in it to look good and get hurt doing it. Winner: Drew McIntyre

Beth Phoenix, Eve Torres, Mickie James, Kelly Kelly, & Gail Kim vs. Maryse, Michelle McCool, Alicia Fox, Layla, & Vickie Guerrero: And WM 26 obviously had to put this match in because they wanted a bunch of divas to get their Mania bonuses as well. All I know is that this match has Trash of the Night written all over it. It could be entertaining, and I'm only picking the face divas to win because it's WM and that's probably how it should go. Winners: Beth/Eve/Mickie/Kelly/Gail

Triple H vs. Sheamus: This match will be good to boost Sheamus' career. HHH does not have a good record at WM, from what I read, and I believe this match will be no different. It makes way more sense to have Sheamus go over and fuel his career than have a first-ballot Hall of Famer take the win. Winner: Sheamus

CM Punk vs. Rey Mysterio: If Mysterio loses, he must join the Straight Edge Society. I have to be wary of Rey's knee injury which will require surgery at some point. Rey will work through the injury as long as he needs to. The Mask vs. Hair match that many people had heard of was ultimately shot down because no one would believe that Rey would lose his mask (and honestly, I would think Rey would win as well). I could definitely see Punk winning this match because that would be the easiest way to further the storyline. On the other hand, allowing Rey to steal one (i.e. a rollup at the end) could still also continue the feud in some way. I'm picking Punk to win here just because the story would be more interesting if Rey were forced to join the SES. Winner: CM Punk

Randy Orton vs. Cody Rhodes vs. Ted DiBiase: I am already ruling Cody out as a winner because of the way he has been used in this storyline. It's either Orton getting his shots in on both, Ted getting his shots in on Orton(or even pinning him in the Chamber), or Cody getting caught red-handed by the ref. This leaves DiBiase and Orton as possible winners. Allowing Orton to win would be fine, since it'll be pretty obvious that a 2-on-1 will ensue for much of the match. But having DiBiase win would make even more sense because that would help his career a heck of a lot more than Orton winning. Cody winning would be a big shock to me, with what I've seen in the storyline. Going with Ted here, fitting since the Million Dollar Man will be going into the Hall of Fame this year. Winner: Ted DiBiase

Bret Hart vs. Vince McMahon (No Holds Barred): I think that the buildup for this match has been extremely well planned out, even though there were some things thrown in (i.e. the leg injury angle) that I would not have done. This will not be a technical classic by any means, but it will at least have over 12 years of history and frustration culminating in one match. Bret will win, probably with the Sharpshooter. Winner: Bret Hart

The Big Show & The Miz vs. John Morrison & R-Truth (Unified Tag Team Titles): So basically, since WWE does not want to push Cryme Tyme or the Hart Dynasty, WWE placed two random midcard wrestlers together and hoped for the best. I'm not buying it. ShowMiz wins. Winners: The Big Show & The Miz (retain titles)

The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels (Streak vs. Career): If there was ever a match in recent memory that I want to give the full five stars to again, it would be this match. I felt like Meltzer last year should have given this the full five, and I still rate their WM 25 encounter as one of only 12 five-star matches ever (out of thousands I have rated). I am unsure if it will come close to living up to that true classic, but since these two have had epic clashes before (see the first Hell in a Cell Match in 1997), I would bet the farm that these two will go all out.

Taker's streak is not ending. HBK has already reportedly told friends he's retiring after WM 26, and I believe that. And even if HBK wants to pull a Brett Favre and unretire, that could be done. Streaks, once broken, are broken forever. Regardless, HBK has nothing left to prove anymore -- at least not to me. He will forever be one of the greatest in-ring performers of my generation. I really hope that this match is last, because I have a feeling that I will not care about any other matches that come after this -- just like what happened last year for me. Winner: The Undertaker

Batista vs. John Cena (WWE Title): Again, hard for me to call. I want Batista to win this one because I like heel Batista and to pin Cena on the grandest stage of them all would give him a big-time chip on his shoulder. However, I fear that this match will be last, and whichever match is last would usually have the face winning because that's how WM should end -- with all the people cheering and the confetti coming down. That would mean Cena wins, and I'm pretty sure we'll have a bunch of Cena-haters rioting in Phoenix if that happens. I will bank on the fact that this match is not last and Batista wins to keep his heel character going strong. Winner: Batista (still champ)

Chris Jericho vs. Edge (World Heavyweight Title): This is actually a pretty hard match for me to predict. On the one hand, we have Chris Jericho, the World champ for only about a month. That's too short of a time frame for me to want him to drop the title. Also, since he's been getting speared left and right more often than not, one would think Jericho is due to win at Mania. On the other hand, Edge makes his big return at the Rumble, wins the dang thing, and has built nice momentum almost week after week, taking shots at Jericho, spearing him again and again, and to stop that momentum would just plain suck. When it comes down to it, it seems that they want to push Edge as a face champ. And because it won't really hurt Jericho too much in losing the title, I am going with Edge as the new champion. Winner: Edge (new champ)