True or False #3 - With Kyle Litke & Javier Rivera (WrestleMania Edition)

While I don’t pretend to have a huge readership, I am lucky enough to have a small group of loyal readers who have contributed to my work immensely. Right at the top of that list are Kyle Litke and Javier Rivera, my two guests for the first of two special WrestleMania editions of True or False. Kyle has been a wrestling fan since 1998 (although he took a small reprieve around 2005-2008) and is also a former writer for Inside Pulse. Be sure to follow him on Twitter at @kylelitke. Javier is from Puerto Rico, which is pretty cool, and is a recently graduated Medical Doctor going in for his first year Residency in Internal Medicine this July. He’s been a wrestling fan for about 16 years. You can follow him on Twitter at @drjavyrivera. I thank both of them for taking the time to participate in this feature.

Continue reading "True or False #3 - With Kyle Litke & Javier Rivera (WrestleMania Edition)"....

1. The year-long build for Cena/Rock has continuously sustained your interest....

Kyle Litke: A reluctant false. It was sustaining my interest for awhile because I had no expectation of The Rock showing up all the time, but I think Survivor Series ended up being an error in judgment. Part of the charm in Rock/Cena was seeing Rock in a one on one match against a top guy for the first time since the Goldberg match back in 2003 (he had one more match in 2004, of course, but it wasn't one on one). The Survivor Series build was awful, as Awesome Truth was essentially dominated by Cena alone and then Rock was randomly tossed in. Instead of getting Rock's first match in 8 years against a top guy at Wrestlemania, we got him beating up some scrubs (as those two were booked) and while he did fine in the match, a little of the mystique disappeared. That was also about the time it really started feeling like treading water...I was expecting Cena to attack Rock after Survivor Series, to repay Rock for Wrestlemania and make a slightly edgier Cena (I wasn't looking for a heel turn at that point). Instead Rock just attacked Cena yet again, and then Cena had the feud with Kane that ended up going absolutely nowhere and really felt like a "time waster". I'm still looking forward to the match, but they did lose me for a little while.

Javier Rivera: True. I remember last year, at the RAW after WrestleMania when this match was announced, I was extremely excited for it. I was so excited that for a while there, I was planning to attend WrestleMania this year. I couldn't do it, but still knowing that after 8 years we would see The Rock back in the ring was great! Now I believe that Rock's return at Survivor Series took a little of the luster off for is upcoming WrestleMania return, but WWE has done a very good job of building up for this match. Now obviously, they couldn't go full steam ahead all year long because Cena needed something to do in the meantime but they have been reminding us pretty consistently that this is our main event and this is a match to see, and after Elimination Chamber, Rock and Cena have engaged in mic battles that have been very interesting to see. They have purposely made The Rock vulnerable for us fans to get a feeling that Cena has a shot at this. To be honest, I'm really looking forward to seeing how it all plays out.

2. At least one heel/face turn will occur at WrestleMania....

Kyle: False. I can only think of one real possibility out of any of the matches we have, which is Cena (I'll cover that in the other question). I think it's possible AJ turns on Bryan (although I really hope not, that should go a lot longer), but I don't view her as a heel right now, she's acting more like a face who happens to like Bryan.

Javier: False. Looking at the card, I can't see where a face/heel turn could fit in. Maybe they could have sweet, little, naive, AJ come to Daniel Bryan's aid and then reveal that this wholesome personality thing was just an act. It could happen, but I don't think it will. Another match that I maybe could see this happen is in the Team Teddy vs. Team Johnny match. Maybe somebody on Team Teddy turns and gives the victory to Team Johnny, but again, I don't see it happening. The last match I could see something happen is in the main event, Rock/Cena, but that's a whole different topic...

3. Sheamus will break the Royal Rumble winner curse by capturing the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania....

Kyle: True. It's about time the Rumble winner won at Wrestlemania anyway, and this one seems like a no brainer. I'm a huge fan of Bryan and I think he's been doing an excellent job; I'll be pulling for him to win, but I won't be upset if Sheamus wins. I like Sheamus quite a bit as well, and it does seem to be building to a big win for him.

Javier: True. It's Sheamus' time. They have been building him up for months, he has a great following, the fans love him, he has had a very successful babyface run and I believe that he will beat Daniel Bryan and win the World Heavyweight Championship. Now, I love Bryan, I'm very happy that he was given an opportunity as a World Champion (and the fact that this was a match that got booted to the dark segment at last year's WrestleMania and it's one of the main events at this year's Wrestlemania shows just how far both of these guys have come), but it is time for Sheamus to carry the ball and get to that next level on Smackdown. I just hope they don't kill Bryan in the process, I really like the guy.

4. CM Punk will debut a new WWE Championship at WrestleMania....

Kyle: False, although I really, really want him to. I hate the spinny belt so much, but it doesn't seem like they want to get rid of it yet. The time to do it was during the Summer of Punk, I think. While I'd be thrilled if they did it at some random house show, I don't expect it to happen yet. Maybe someday.

Javier: False. Wishful thinking aside, WWE hasn't made an effort in changing the look of the WWE Title at all in almost 8 years. Eight years! I know that it looks like a toy and kids like to buy replicas and all, but it is time to change the look. I know for a fact that CM Punk has been campaigning for a look change (he has said so in interviews), but it ultimately falls on the hands of WWE. I would go bananas if Punk walks into WrestleMania with a brand new WWE Championship belt, but I'm not getting my hopes up.

5. John Cena will turn heel in his match against the Rock....

Kyle: False, but I want him to. It's no secret that I'm not a fan of Cena's character. Cena does a lot of things right, but I don't think he's very good at taking matches seriously. He does sometimes do it very well (his matches with Punk are a good example, and he's been mostly okay with The Rock), but he tends to go way too far, in either direction. Sometimes rather than take a match seriously, he has a big goofy smile on his face while his opponent is cutting an intense promo (as he did recently with The Rock). Other times he seems to go so far over the top with his anger for no good reason that it comes off as comical (see the night after Summerslam, when Del Rio cashed in on Punk and Cena came out the next night flipping out about how Del Rio's cars suck and he's a bad wrestler and how dare he cash in his briefcase...it was bizarre since Del Rio didn't even cash in on Cena). I think Cena is very solid in the ring, and during the course of a match he typically does an alright job selling, but I find he almost always no sells the effects of the match once it's over. Watch, say, Punk after a long match...he'll continue selling an injury while celebrating, making his opponent look stronger even in defeat. I think it's great that Cena is in such great shape that he can wrestle a long match without even breaking a sweat, but his opponents come out of it looking like they couldn't even hurt Cena a little bit. For a heel, I actually am okay with that. I'm a fan of a good monster heel, which is why I'm a big fan of Mark Henry's current character. For a face, I hate it. I like faces to be either the underdogs or on the same level as their opponents. I know it worked for Hulk Hogan, but the wrestling industry was drastically different then. I think a good heel turn for Cena could reinvigorate his character while justifying the fact that his opponents are always the underdogs. But do I think it happens at Wrestlemania? No. I'm going to be extremely disappointed if Cena wins the match, although I could totally get behind Cena winning with a big heel turn on The Rock, and it'd certainly leave me counting the minutes until Raw the next night, but I just don't see it happening. They looked like they were starting to build toward it with the Kane storyline, but then that suddenly ended without really going anywhere, and now it doesn't seem to be going that direction at all.

Javier: False. Again, wishful thinking aside, I think John Cena can be a great heel. He has demonstrated he can be in the past, as a matter of fact he was such a good heel that fans actually turned him face. The John Cena "Superman" character is stale and in dire need of a refreshment. When he feuded with CM Punk last year, we got to see a different side of Cena, we saw that he can be a good babyface without being the goofy, "I say poopy," Josh Golly face. There have been hints of Cena attitude with the Rock/Cena buildup. I think John Cena can be as successful as a heel as he has been a babyface, but Vince McMahon will never allow that. Cena sells a TON of merchandise, he's a cash cow, and the little kids love spending money on John Cena crap, and as long as the kiddies spend money on Cena, he will not change in attitude or behavior as a performer. In an interview with The London Free Press, John Cena discussed the idea of turning heel again, commenting:

"I'm not a bad guy. I generate so much hatred just because of the way I act. I look at Tim Tebow as a good example. People couldn't stop saying his name. He's such a stand-up guy. People don't believe it because it's almost too good to be true. And he generates that hatred. I have fun with this business. I love every second of it. I love to be right there in the middle of the hunt. At the end of the day, it's not my job to force people in any direction. I just to out there and see what happens. You can analyze character development all day, but with the current state of affairs, there's no need or rationale for me to deviate from what I'm doing."

Cena acknowledged getting booed, feeling that comes from holdover fans from the Attitude era. He's probably at least partially right there. So you see, even Cena himself feels comfortable with the way he portrays his character and you can't knock John Cena, the real person, as he goes above and beyond the call of duty to grant Make-a-Wish wishes, do special appearances and he does represent himself quite well. I admire John Cena, the person, I don't really care much for John Cena, the character. Hopefully we will see a change at some point, just not this Sunday against The Rock.

6. You will be ordering WrestleMania this year....

Kyle: True! I order Wrestlemania every year anyway, but even if I didn't, I'd definitely order this one. I am looking forward to Rock/Cena, even if I was looking forward to it more last year. I didn't really need to see Undertaker face HHH again, but it's hard to bet against those two, with HBK involved, in a Hell in a Cell, and I'm expecting a great match. Punk/Jericho is the match I'm looking forward to the most, those two are probably in my top 5 wrestlers of all time. I actually could see Sheamus VS Bryan stealing the show if they're given enough time, it should be a good hard hitting match. I'm even somewhat interested in the 12 man tag and what will happen after. The build for Rhodes/Show has been solid, although I'm not expecting anything from the match, the Diva's match is just there, and I actively don't want to see Orton VS Kane, but this is one of the stronger cards for Wrestlemania (on paper at least) in a long time, and I'm very much looking forward to it, even though I suspect I'm going to be very disappointed in the ending.

Javier: True. It's the biggest event of the year! Every match that has been announced up to this point in the show has been built up nicely. We have 4 quality main event matches in Cena/Rock, Punk/Jericho, Taker/HHH and Sheamus/Bryan. They have done a good job making me interested to see how the Rhodes/Show match unfolds and the Team Teddy vs. Team Johnny will fulfill the "comedy". The Divas match will be harmless and Orton/Kane I'm sure will deliver. We may not see any more matches announced and I still think it's a solid show with ample time to give to your 4 main events and you can expect some fun vignettes to be added in between matches. I love WrestleMania season and I feel that this show will deliver on good wrestling, good comedy, excitement and most important of all, fun!

Special thanks, once again, to Kyle and Javier for their participation. And be sure to follow each of them on Twitter. Check back later this week for yet another special WrestleMania edition of True or False!