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| Photo Credit: WWE.com |
Special Attraction Match
Chris Jericho vs. Fandango
How: After trading beatdowns with each other, Jericho challenged Fandango to a match at Mania on this past week of RAW, which was accepted.
The Story: Fandango, the repurposed Johnny Curtis, debuted after months of vignettes preceding his arrival, but he refused to take the ring because no one could pronounce his name correctly. He was interrupted backstage in a segment by Chris Jericho, who went on to make really dumb jokes at the expense of his name before closing with a barb at his name being the same as the movie ticket service. Fandango answered that the same week on Smackdown by distracting Jericho during and attacking him after his match with Jack Swagger. Jericho returned the favor the next week on RAW by attacking Fandango before his opponent could come out for a match.
Analysis: In my bluntly honest opinion, this match could steal the show, even if it's only given five minutes. Say what you want about Chris Jericho as he is right now, and Brandon Stroud has been right about his nickname being "Cool Dad," but I think in the settings of a match, he'll be able to play a canvas, or more appropriately, a dance floor for Fandango to play off of. Regardless of what you think about him though, TAFKA Johnny Curtis is going to be the star of this match and the X-factor. He's really getting into the character, which is a MUST for something as silly and niche-bound as a ballroom dancer, so I'm very interested to see how the whole package plays out in a full match setting.
Who Should Win: Chris Jericho should win via disqualification or forfeit or countout or whatever. I like the idea of Fandango not wrestling and getting insane heat on himself until he's literally forced to wrestle or else lose his contract. There's still mileage in that story, and Jericho is probably the best canvas for it (provided he sticks around after Mania).
Who Will Win: Fandango will win, because new guys always win their debut matches, especially against wily old veterans who don't have a whole lot more to gain by winning matches.
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| Photo Credit: WWE.com |
Eight Person Intergender Tag Match
Damien Sandow, Cody Rhodes, and the Bella Twins vs. Brodus Clay, Tensai, Naomi, and Cameron
How: It was casually announced over the website this week
The Story: Cody Rhodes over the last few weeks had taken a shine to Kaitlyn, the Divas Champion and moustache enthusiast. Either oblivious to that fact or in a calculated attempt to stop him from chasing such frivolous endeavors, Damien Sandow set up a double date with them and the Bella Twins, which started slowly to become more of a regular pairing, much to Kaitlyn's chagrin (and right now, that Rhodes/Kaitlyn dynamic is very much a dangling storyline). The Bellas would get right back into the swing of things by slurring the Funkadactyls backstage, causing a brawl that would have made Joey Styles scream "CATFIGHT." Note, I'm glad Styles wasn't there to scream "CATFIGHT." This led to a series of matches between their male companions, which led to this eight-person tag at Mania.
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| Photo Credit: WWE.com |
Who Should Win: This is the one match where I'm not sure I care who the winner or loser is, but just to keep my Internet cred high, Rhodes Scholars and the Bella Twins should win this match.
Who Will Win: I think this is your standard, "heels get the win in the undercard, faces get their heat back and then do a post-match dance celebration" thing that tends to happen on the low card. So yeah, Rhodes Scholars for the win, Tensai, Brodus and the Funcadactyls for the dance.
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| Photo Credit: WWE.com |
Wade Barrett (c) vs. The Miz
How: Another match that was made on the .com this week
The Story: The Miz and Chris Jericho made fun of Wade Barrett's role in Dead Man Down on an episode of Miz TV, and despite the fact that Miz's role in the Marine 3 made Barrett's movie look like the fucking Godfather, Barrett let it get under his skin, causing Brad Maddox to make a three-way match the next week on RAW. Barrett retained his title, but then he dropped a non-title match to Miz the next week on RAW. Not a whole lot there.
Analysis: I guess I'm glad that they're at least putting an Intercontinental Championship match on the card, but it feels so last minute and thrown together. I know that they're not The Rock or even Alberto del Rio, but for fuck's sake, Miz was a Mania headliner two years ago. It makes me wonder whether they've given up on him, but then again, there are a ton of mouths to feed in WWE right now. Maybe he's better off chasing midcard titles like they were women and he was a pathetic drunk dude at the bar. The match itself could be boring at least and a decent, shortish undercard match at the most. Miz has gotten better, and Barrett is a guy who can give good performances here and there.
Who Should Win: Miz, just to get the Intercontinental Albatross off Barrett and let him have a chance to beat Randy Orton instead of getting sentenced to perennially losing.
Who Will Win: Barrett, just because he's destined to lose the title on a random Main Event to Kofi Kingston.