Wrestlemania Season

The Royal Rumble has been and gone now and I think we've all settled down and stopped crying after the inevitable happened - The Rock winning the WWE Championship and John Cena winning the Royal Rumble match - which will lead us to their second encounter at Wrestlemania 29. Nothing more needs to be said - Cena will, undoubtedly, get his win back.

As a result of this, they will need to be separated until they can build towards their up coming money-spinner. This will happen with the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view. The Rock will face off in a rematch against former champion CM Punk, while Cena will join forces with Ryback and Sheamus to try to get some retribution against The Shield. The separation between Rock and Cena will be made easier as it appears that The Rock won't be on Raw a hell of a lot - this weeks Raw an example of that - I don't even remember an excuse as to why he wasn't present being made, either.

So what will go down at Elimination Chamber? Well, I can't see anything other than a Rock win against Punk - is it even worth watching? As for Team Cena vs The Shield, I'm not so sure.

There seems to be a lot of rumours/talk that this should be an Elimination Chamber match. This baffles me. Why does it have to be that type of match? The WWE are giving us a Chamber match for the number one contendership for the World Heavyweight Title; they've covered their ass there as far as matching up to the name of the pay-per-view? And anyway, it's a ELIMINATION Chamber match - where you, y'know, ELIMINATE each other until there's ONE winner?! Simply doesn't make sense and is not needed.

For me, this will be a simple six-man-tag match that will be an all-out brawl - and if it's on after the WHC number one contender's match, then I expect to see the Chamber lower, trapping The Shield for the beatdown that they have had coming to them. I hope for this but I also hope The Shield don't simply lose - that could be very damaging to them.

So what should we expect from our Wrestlemania build-up? Who should we expect to face off with each other in the next two months? Let's start with our two mid-card champions;

Intercontinental Champion Wade Barrett, and United States Champion Antonio Cesaro look to be very dominant mid-card champions. Cesaro in particular has been made to look a strong champion, as well as elevating the belt's worth along with his own. As it stands though, they both have somewhat 'nothing' opponents - Barrett is currently having a small rivalry with NXT up-and-comer Bo Dallas. This has been good exposure for Dallas since his Royal Rumble appearance and subsequent surprise win over Barrett the following night on Raw. This will end soon though; I can maybe see it going to the Elimination Chamber where Barrett retains, teaching Dallas a lesson in the process, before he returns to NXT. But then what is next for Barrett? He has disposed of Kofi, who in turn has jobbed to others or not been on tv. There could've been an Intercontinental Cup Tournament on Main Event to determine a new number one contender, but this was scrapped last minute.

Cesaro is currently feuding with The Miz. This is possibly the most credible opponent that he has faced to date. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem that this feud has much left in it as Cesaro defeated Miz in the pre-show of Royal Rumble. This can't be a good sign. Cesaro's reign has been so dominant that it is hard to see someone on the roster worthy enough, as well as believable enough, to dethrone him at the moment. With all this Cesaro 'never being beaten by an American' talk, though, surely he should have a surprise US hero to face (and beat) for Wrestlemania? No one springs to mind though...

Along with these rising stars, there is also questions over the futures of Damien Sandow and Cody Rhodes. In my eyes, these were the biggest threat to Kane/Daniel Bryan's Tag Team Championship reign. After the Rumble they decided to remain 'best friends' but part ways to pursue singles careers - which hasn't worked out for them - jobbing to John Cena, Sheamus and Alberto Del Rio in the last couple of weeks. Now, some might see this as good exposure; to be seen in the ring with the main event crew; but we've seen this before, haven't we? These talented guys have jobbed to the Cenas and Sheamus' on every outing - most of the time in complete squashes. How is this elevating them?

This brings me to the Tag Team Champions - Kane and Daniel Bryan. It seems very likely that despite the harmony that they have found recently, the end is near for this pair. Maybe it's the right time, too. Recently, the spark and comedy that was once there, is now dying. There's been several examples of tension between the two, and I think this will escalate if both are included in the Elimination Chamber match at the pay-per-view of the same name. There are two shames to this: (1) It feels kind of cheap and predictable that they are going to split-up - the teasing of dissension in the ranks kind of feels like there's no other route to go now that they (WWE) have made the decision. (2) If this was the case, why not keep Rhodes/Sandow together and win the titles to legitimise their team? Then run the Tag Team division with them at the top? If not, who will be the next Tag Team Champions?

The obligatory Elimination Chamber match that the WWE will give us will be for the number one contendership of the World Heavyweight Championship. This match, it seems, will be contested by ONLY former World Champions. So far it seems as though Randy Orton and Fat Rey have been handed spots because they're Booker T's favourites. Daniel Bryan has since been added to the match. This leaves three spots to fill.

It appears that to continue the rift in their tag team, Kane will probably be entered into the match to have a further falling out with Daniel Bryan. The other two spots are still a little debatable. With the returns of Mark Henry and Jack Swagger, it seems that some fresh faces might be added to this match. These are my picks (along with Kane) to fill the remaining spots. I was a little worried that they were going to put Khali in there, but after being disposed of by Henry on the latest Smackdown - hopefully for good - it seems that his chances are over. Good. It would be good to see some dominant heels smash everyone in the Chamber.

Cody Rhodes has also staked his claim at the World Heavyweight Championship. I'm not sure if this is just testing the waters at the moment, though. Although he got put in his place by Alberto Del Rio on Raw, he then went on to beat everyone's favourite jobber; Kofi Kingston, on Smackdown. He also continues to say that he should be in the Chamber match (despite not being a former World Champion); maybe he'll still get in there somehow?

The last two superstars that I'll comment on are possibly two of the most important going forward. Chris Jericho and Dolph Ziggler.

Chris Jericho returned at the Royal Rumble to a HUGE ovation. It was a well kept secret, for once. This led to he and Ziggler going at it for the best part of 50 minutes before Jericho was eliminated. A great showing by Jericho. And a great return.

It's common knowledge that Jericho is only about until Wrestlemania's done. So where will he be used? The good thing with Jericho, over most 'part timers', is that he's here to invest in the future - he proved this last year by putting over CM Punk, Sheamus and Ziggler before being 'exiled' by Ziggler just after Summerslam. What a perfect excuse to resurrect this rivalry.

To keep Ziggler busy until he cashes in Money in the Bank, and to elevate him further, what better way than to have a well put together program leading to Wrestlemania with a megastar like Jericho. Maybe these two can go at it for the next two months - having a match at Elimination Chamber, before having a epic, 'blow-off' match at Wrestlemania that leads Ziggler to be a legitimate, 'ready' contender to cash in.

The other option that I've heard thrown around is that Jericho will turn heel and feud with Ryback. I'm not sure what worth this has? Yes, Jericho is here to elevate but I think he's way too popular for this potential turn. I don't think people would care enough if he turned on Ryback. Also, it would be a desperate move to bring something new to the table as far as Ryback goes. He's kind of lost that momentum he had lately, and is in need of something to get him back on track. At Wrestlemania, I can see him in some kind of match to finally end the feud with The Shield. Possibly he, Sheamus and 'Partner X' to face off with the former NXTers.

I've been trying to figure out how the Wrestlemania card might play out and so far I've got about nine matches noted down WITHOUT even considering Rhodes/Sandow/Barrett/Cesaro... worrying. Someone will be missing out, that's for sure.

@jimmosangle