For the first two years of his career, Alberto Del Rio had been known as one of the most cunning and manipulative men on the WWE roster. He had a penchant for getting under his opponents skin. That odd thing about his heel run though, was the fact that it seemed as if absolutely no one in the WWE Universe wanted to boo him. He always had all the tools to become the same sort of Mexican megastar that the late Eddie Guerrero was in the early 2000s. The flipside to that coin however, was the fact that like Guerrero, he has a very short fuse.

At the jump of 2013, Del Rio was in the midst of becoming the most popular act on the Smackdown brand. The fans adored his fighting spirit and newfound persona. One man who wasn’t impressed however was Jack Swagger. Swagger had recently returned from a lengthy hiatus and with him he brought his friend and manger, Zeb Coulter.

Coulter is a borderline racist sociopath who looks to “cleanse” this country of all foreigners and put an end to immigration. Del Rio being a Mexican born world champion obviously doesn’t sit well with Swagger and his new associate and naturally, fisticuffs ensued.

This is the single most important and emotional battle Del Rio has faced thus far in the WWE. He now represents legions of people all throughout the United States who deal with similar prejudices and the match means much more than the typical “Who’s better?” buildup the world title usually receives at mania. A loss here is a loss for every single minority who’s ever been harassed by overly “Pro American” blowhards who point the finger at anyone with half an accent and blame them for pretty much everything that’s wrong with this country right now. With the world title a representation of success, it’s become bigger than being the champion alone. For Del Rio, this one’s about showing Swagger and Coulter that he’s here to stay.

“Jack Swagger is upset that at the ripe age of 30, his best years may very well be behind him”.

Those were my exact words after The All American American took his final loss before taking a break from the WWE back in September. For nearly the entire duration of 2012, Swagger had been on the worst losing streak of any superstar in the WWE. His gimmick had gotten stale, his ring work suffered as a result and he just appeared to have been going absolutely nowhere. Fast forward to February 2013 and Smackdown General Manager Booker T had been looking to throw a bit of a*~*Number One Contender’s Ball*~* that only former world champions would be allowed to attend (and fuck, Randy Orton was going, so you know you just HAD to be there!). But like every good party, there’s always “that guy” at some point or another who just shows up unannounced, pissed that absolutely no one told him what was going down….

Swagger campaigns for a shot at Del Rio’s world championship, leading Booker T to cancel the ball & instead stick all these guys inside the Elimination Chamber with the winner earning a shot at the world title. Swagger would win the Chamber match by last eliminating Randy Orton. With Swagger and Del Rio now having been made official, Jack would then reveal a much darker and deeper side to his personality.

Swagger and Zeb Coulter now look to strip Del Rio of the World Heavyweight Championship at Wrestlemania XXIX and set in motion the next phase of their plan. The plan being to rid the WWE of every non American born superstar one at a time. A plan to enforce the ideals of “We The People” upon the WWE Universe and to a much larger extent, to enlist fans all across the nation to be a part of “Jack Swagger’s America”. It’s an issue that is as sensitive as it is relevant and one that will provide one of the more interesting dynamics on Sunday night. With crowds seemingly swapping sides each passing week, it’s safe to say that the fans in NY/NJ will directly influence the ability of both men to stand behind their ideals and make a grand statement for the people that they represent.

Odds
of a victory: Moderate

Chris Jericho

Now, we’re taking a look at Chris Jericho’s RTWM and his outlook
heading into his match with Fandango:

Of all the stars set to make an appearance at this year’s event, Chris Jericho is the most interesting case. He’s become the go-to performer when it comes to talent elevation. That’s pretty much the WWE’s way of calling him a stepping stone without pissing him off. It really shouldn’t though because the guy has turned losing and still maintaining momentum into an art form. Still, he can’t possibly want to just lay down and let Fandango dance all over his face. Last year, too much was made of Jericho’s lack of ability to win the big one. Not much has changed since then and as a result many fans are already rolling their eyes at the idea of him losing to Fandango.

What these fans fail to realize is guys like Jericho don’t hold such ideals in a high regard at Wrestlemania. That may come as a surprise to some, but to truly understand you’d have to understand Jericho’s mindset. Which brings me to my next topic….

Chris Jericho grew up a fan of guys like Ricky Steamboat, Randy Savage & Shawn Michaels. The kinds of performers who made their names synonymous with the WWE’s landmark event through their ring work rather than their win loss record. Jericho’s goal here is simple. Arrive. Steal the show. Leave.

That may seem like a long shot to some of you due to the fact that a lot of fans can’t see this as a possibility given the absolute ridiculousness surrounding Fandango. Still, the former Johnny Curtis is a deceptively smooth and agile performer with a solid set of skills. Put someone like that in there with Jericho and magic will happen. The low expectations damn near guarantee they’ll blow everyone away. It doesn’t work against them, but rather extremely well in their favor.

The whole issue with Fandango’s gimmick never bothered me anyhow. His chemistry with Jericho thus far has been surprisingly good and from a character standpoint, he’s executed everything well enough to create a huge level of intrigue heading into the match. All things considered, how could you really bet against this match being one of the best of the night.

These are the things that Jericho has in mind right now. He’s loving the position he’s in. Maybe not at first, but the idea of going out there and surprising the hell out of everyone by tearing the roof of with a fresh and unproven opponent is the sort of opportunity that a veteran wrestler should want come Wrestlemania. Hell, it’s the sort of dynamic that made the event famous in the first place.

In the past few years, the WWE has gone through one of the most confusing talent movements the business has ever seen. On one hand, they’ve got a great crop of hungry young talent that’s just waiting to get the chance to show & prove. On the other, they’ve got a handful of reliable main event stars who can come in and pop the ratings whenever they’re in a bit of a creative slump. Men like The WWE Champion The Rock, The Undertaker, Triple H & Brock Lesnar have all been gifted the opportunity to work a very limited schedule that mostly has them working the biggest shows of the year. Obviously, we can’t track their RTWM the same way as the others, so instead I’ll just do a brief overview of each man’s direction heading into Wrestlemania XXIX starting with….

The Rock’s contributions to Wrestlemania are well documented and there is perhaps no other superstar more confident in a main event situation in the WWE right now. That’s both Rock’s best and worst trait. He’s not always set to deliver at this point in his career, but he walks into every arena almost one hundred percent sure he’ll be racking up another win by the end of the night. In today’s landscape, that’s one of the most detrimental qualities a superstar can have. Especially if said superstar has been too busy making waves in Hollywood and promoting his upcoming films to maintain the level of focus needed to earn a victory on a stage as big as Wrestlemania. Still, one can’t argue his win percentage. He’s 4 for 4 in PPV wins since his return to the ring in 2011 and has earned victories over some of the top talent of today including John Cena and CM Punk, who stand atop the mountain as the number 1 & 2 in the company right now. Looking at his upcoming main event match with Cena, you’d be crazy to bet against the champion given his recent track record, but I think his overconfidence has made him underestimate Cena tremendously this time around. And if I was gambling man, I would say it’s a pretty safe bet that his arrogance is finally going to cost him come April 7.

The Undertaker is the most successful Wrestlemania competitor of all time. It’s nearly impossible to even consider him losing to anyone at the event at this point, but CM Punk has a big time advantage over the deadman right now. The untimely passing of The Phenom’s close friend and manager Paul Bearer has no doubt been a heavy burden on Taker’s morale and Punk has made every attempt at exposing this as a weakness. Never before has The Undertaker been so emotionally unhinged when his streak was on the line and the resulting dynamic of the Punk match has many fans predicting that The Undertaker is going to leave 20-1 when the lights go out in the NY/NJ stadium. It’s a tough call, but either way, CM Punk is not going to get this victory through mind games alone. He’s facing a man backed by one of the most powerful and storied legacies the wrestling world has ever witnessed and when you’re up against The Undertaker at Wrestlemania, there’s no room for error.

Of all the matchups on the card, these two stack up more evenly than nearly everyone else. Triple H has main evented more Wrestlemanias than everyone but Hulk Hogan and Brock Lesnar has main evented almost every time he’s made an appearance on a WWE PPV. Both men thrive in high pressure situations. What separates them is their motivation. Triple H has already suffered a major loss to Brock last August at Summerslam & left a broken and humiliated man who failed to avenge all those he loved as a result.

I can’t say I remember the last time The Game looked so disappointed. The guy is a 13 time world champion for a reason *insert smark political allegations here* and to see him have his ass handed to him in such a way was a spectacle all unto itself. This is the kind of thing Lesnar brings to the table in every match. It almost appears as if the guy could give a damn about whether or not he wins. Lesnar gets his pleasure in destroying the competition. The last ass kicking was so harsh that the bravado & overblown man growl that has become a staple of Triple H’s promos had been replaced by a defeated man with a deflated ego crying is eyes out. Seriously, shit got weird. And let’s be honest, the WWE Universe isn’t the best collective shoulder to cry on.

So yeah, there was absolutely NO WAY Triple H was going out like that. So fast forward six months or so and he makes his triumphant return to Monday Night Raw and spits a bunch of water everywhere and somehow Brock appears to have bust himself open. Triple H then pees himself with joy. Shit…..I don’t really know where I’m going with this right now…..

…….

*Clears throat* Um….long story short, it’s Brock Lesnar vs. Triple H in a No Holds Barred match with HHH’s career on the line. The story? Ah, well at Summerslam it was about HHH getting even with Brock for breaking his arm and insulting/attacking his friends and family. Now? It’s essentially about HHH getting even with Brock for breaking his arm and assaulting his friends and–

Wait….what just happened there?

…….

Hell just let these two beat the ever loving piss out of eachother for twenty minutes with a wide variety of weapons and it’s all good with me.

Next up, we’re going to be taking a look at CM Punk’s journey over the past year and seeing how he’ll likely approach his match with The Undertaker at Wrestlemania XXIX:

CM Punk’s fast ascension to elite status in the WWE has now become the stuff of legend, but prior to 2011, the WWE hadn’t invested much stock into the man who’s now become the company’s MVP. You wouldn’t know it from Punk’s mania resume though, being that he is the only man to win two MITB ladder matches (both at Wrestlemania) and a WWE title match with Chris Jericho that will likely go down as one of the best ever in the years to come. That being said, there’s no accolade at Wrestlemana that makes every competitor’s mouth water the way a shot at The Undertaker’s famed streak does. And even though he’s fresh off three major losses (two to The Rock and one to John Cena), he still came in to 2013 with more momentum than any other superstar in the WWE. He spent the entire calendar year as WWE Champion last year (my complete recollection of his title reign can be found here), beating every major challenger along the way and a lot of this can be contributed to Punk’s cunning and reputation as the ultimate thinking man’s wrestler.

There is absolutely NO other wrestler in the WWE more adaptable to any given situation than the best in the world. And with Paul Heyman at his side, chances are he’s already got something major planned for what could be the Undertaker’s last hurrah at the shows of shows. Something we don’t even see coming yet. But hell, why don’t we try and take a peek inside the mind of the WWE’s most complex individual and take a look at….

CM Punk has had quite a bitter year thus far losing both the WWE Championship and a chance to be the final match at Wrestlemania, but the one thing no one can take away from him is his desire and unmatched passion to be the absolute best wrestler alive. It’s not about championships and main events anymore, Punk has now set his sights on defining his legacy. Make no mistake about it, if Punk were to end the streak, it’d be an accolade he could spend the rest of his life making bank off of. His definitive victory would become The Undertaker’s definitive loss. Everything Punk ever dreamed of when he cut that promo in Vegas two years ago would come to fruition as the company would absolutely HAVE to position him as their Ace. The man who ends the streak would deserve nothing less.

Taking that into consideration and adding in the fact that Punk’s lack of respect for Taker’s late ally Paul Bearer has caused The Undertaker to now become more emotionally invested than he has in arguably, any streak match before. The others were about spectacle and dominance, this match has become deeply personal.

Given the circumstances there’s no doubt in my mind that Punk will look to use mind games to take the deadman down. It’s an approach that saw Edge nearly accomplish the same goal in 2008, but where he failed, Punk now looks to succeed. Sure, the general consensus is that anyone who thinks they can beat The Phenom at Wrestlemania is a madman with lesser odds than Zack Ryder in a three-on-one match with The Shield (and that would be an accurate assessment), but the fact is CM Punk has never cared much for odds. Hell, he’s made an entire career out of proving people wrong. And how poetic, since he now looks to end a career by doing so.

Last year’s Wrestlemania may have been Cena’s darkest hour.