After months of buildup, weeks of matches and tons of anticipation, the biggest event in pro wrestling is only hours away-WrestleMania 29.
Hailing live at 7 p.m. Sunday, April 7, 2013 from MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., World Wrestling Entertainment is bringing the crown jewel of their PPVs, the World Series of wrestling, live in front of thousands in attendance and millions around the world watching on PPV.
Headlining the main event, for the second year in a row, will be WWE Champion Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson taking on John Cena for the WWE Championship. Last year in Miami, Fla., the Rock scored a stunning victory over Cena in their classic "Once in a Lifetime" bout. But the Rock's title win at the Royal Rumble and Cena winning the Rumble itself set the scene for MetLife Stadium on Sunday as the "Greatness" of The People's Champion takes on a man looking for "Redemption" in Cena. Will the Rock make it two in a row? Or will Cena win the biggest match of his career?
Other big profile matches will include the highly personal feud between CM Punk and the Undertaker. In 20 WrestleManias since the Dead Man debuted at the Grandest Stage of them all in 1991's WrestleMania 7, the Undertaker has been undefeated, a record 20-0 at WrestleMania. But Punk is coming off a historic 425-day WWE Championship reign, the longest in 25 years, and has gone to personal lengths to break the Undertaker's streak, including stealing the urn belonging to Taker's late manager, Paul Bearer, and viciously assaulting Undertaker in the final Raw before WrestleMania. Will the "Best In the World" be the one to break the streak? Or will an enraged Undertaker make the Straight Edge Superstar Victim No. 21?
And in another big matchup, 13-time world champion Triple H will be putting his storied 20-plus year career on the line when he battles former UFC Champion Brock Lesnar in a brutal no holds barred match. Looking to avenge the SummerSlam loss he suffered at the hands of Lesnar, "the Cerebral Assassin" will be pulling out all the stops, and he will have to if he wants to put down the animalistic Lesnar, who has beaten some of the best in WWE history. Will Triple H get his revenge? Or will "The Beast" make sure it's Game Over for "The Game" for the last time?
Latinos Post breaks down the entire match card with predictions for Sunday's WrestleMania 29 spectacular:
Wade Barrett (c) vs. The Miz, Intercontinental Championship
Barrett has been impressive since taking the IC title from Kofi Kingston, but the Miz has been on a roll of his own heading into this pre-show matchup on YouTube. As much as Barrett deserves a springboard to bigger and better things, Miz has all the momentum rolling his way. A win here would actually mean the Miz gets his own undefeated WrestleMania streak going at 4-0. Sure, he's not headlining the main event like he was at WrestleMania 27, but his second Intercontinental title win with a raucous crowd at WrestleMania isn't a bad way to climb back into contention.
Projected Winner: The Miz, via submission
Alberto Del Rio (c) vs. Jack Swagger, World Heavyweight Championship
Del Rio and Swagger's feud has garnered national attention with the borderline anti-Latino statements made by Swagger's manager Zeb Coulter thanks to political radio show host Glenn Beck's remarks on it last month. While fans shouldn't expect Beck to be in attendance, Del Rio, a former medal winner in the wrestling at the Pan American Games with MMA in his background, and Swagger, a former All-American amateur wrestler in college and ex-World Heavyweight Champion, should put on a clinic. But just remember, Dolph Ziggler is still in the background with his guaranteed title shot that his Money in the Bank briefcase assures him. If he swoops in and pick the bones of the winner, that will be a surefire WrestleMania moment.
Projected Winner: Alberto Del Rio, via submission
Ryback vs. Mark Henry
Henry, the World's Strongest Man, and Ryback, one of the hottest competitors the WWE has had in years, will be squaring off in a match that will likely be short on holds and headlocks but filled with monstrous slams and high impact moves. Henry's a former world champion and a formidable opponent, but the way that Ryback has performed in recent months, it shouldn't come as any surprise if he walks out the winner.
Projected Winner: Ryback
Randy Orton, Sheamus and Big Show vs. The Shield (Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns)
Politics makes for strange bedfellows and so does conflict, as Orton and Sheamus are teaming with Big Show, a man whom both have had problems in the past with, to take on the deadly trio of Ambrose, Rollins and Reigns, who have plowed through everyone from Cena to the Rock to Ryback over the last few months. Orton, Sheamus and the Big Show, all former WWE and World Heavyweight champions, have the experience factor over The Shield, but the question of which team has better teamwork will be the difference maker. It shouldn't come as a surprise if the younger Shield takes the win, perhaps with even a little help from someone on the veteran superstars' team (the smart money is on Orton, who has been clamoring for a heel turn for a while, but it could just as easily be Big Show, who has done some of his best work as a heel.)
Projected Winner: The Shield
Team Hell No (Daniel Bryan and Kane) (c) vs. Dolph Ziggler and Big E Langston/w. AJ Lee, WWE Tag Team Championship
Bryan and Kane have been on a roll since winning the tag team titles at Night of Champions in September. But Ziggler and Langston have one ace in their pocket--AJ. The unstable spitfire has been getting inside the heads of the champions heading into Sunday, and if Bryan and Kane cannot focus, look for Team Ziggler to strike gold. And with the Money in the Bank briefcase still in his possession, Ziggler may even leave WrestleMania with not one, but two titles. Or maybe just one, or none at all, if Kane and Bryan can overcome their distractions and power on through to victory.
Projected Winner: Team Hell No
Chris Jericho vs. Fandango
In a way, it's a little bit of a demotion for Jericho. Last year at WrestleMania 28, he was in a high profile WWE Championship match against the highly popular CM Punk in one of the best matches of the night. And this year, he's facing off with a young star who, while up and coming, has had so many stops and starts to his career over the years that he at one point seemed like he would never see any serious TV time. But the former Johnny Curtis, now Fandango, has been rising in the ranks in recent months and a good solid match with Jericho could send him on his way to bigger things. And as his body of work shows, if there is anything Jericho can do, it's put on a great match.
Projected Winner: Fandango
Tons of Funk (Brodus Clay and Tensai) and The Funkadactyls (Naomi and Cameron) vs. Team Rhodes Scholars (Cody Rhodes and Damien Sandow) and The Bella Twins (Brie and Nikki)
There will be dancing, pyrotechnics and beauties galore, but this match, even with skilled in-ring combatants such as Rhodes and Sandow, could struggle. Don't expect a wrestling clinic to be put on here, especially from the Bellas, but if Rhodes and Sandow can find a way to blend their style with the smashmouth, hard-hitting style of Clay and Tensai, this could be a fun little match to watch.
Projected Winner: Tons Of Funk
Triple H vs. Brock Lesnar (No Holds Barred Match; If Lesnar wins, Triple H must retire)
Their last match at SummerSlam was actually pretty good. And in theory, with no holds barred and anything goes, two of WWE's hardest hitting, most ruthless competitors should have a barnburner of a match. The real question will be how Triple H will fare with his ring rust after not having competed since August. If this match truly is Triple H's last match, then a bigger, higher profile opponent he could not have than Lesnar, a man who can match "The Game" in size, strength and ability, and perhaps even dwarfs him in some categories. Expect Triple H to go all-out and have one of the best performances of his career.
Projected Winner: Brock Lesnar
The Undertaker vs. CM Punk
This one could be the match that steals the show. Undertaker is at his best at WrestleMania the way that nobody else is, save perhaps WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels. And Punk has been having one of the best years of his career, perhaps of any career, heading into WrestleMania. One need only to look at Punk's classic Raw battle with Cena a few weeks ago to show what he can really do in the ring. Both men have been hurt coming into this match and both have been avoiding physical confrontation. But both are professionals of the highest caliber and this is the time that such men live and breathe for. Both men have submission styles and MMA in their background and both can tell a story as well as anyone in the business. Regardless of whether Punk or Taker wins, it will be the fans who win in this match-up, one that could be talked about for years to come.
Projected Winner: Undertaker
Main Event: The Rock (c) vs. John Cena, WWE Championship
The main challenge for Rock and Cena will be to see whether this match can live up to their epic bout last year in Miami. The Rock has looked great in his two matches against CM Punk this year, but how to top the bout they had last year--which was never seen before and had a special feeling about it--will be a challenge. While both men have given classic performances in their careers, they run the risk of getting too predictable in a match where the winner is likely a foregone conclusion, to boot. Maybe they can find a way to mix things up a little and engage fans, but more important than who wins the match, how this match will engage the thousands at Metlife Stadium compared to Rock-Cena I will be either a major plus or a hit on both of their in-ring legacies.
Projected Winner: John Cena
WWE WrestleMania 29
Time: 7 p.m. EST
TV Channel: PPV (Go to WWE.com for PPV order details)
Live Stream: WWE.com