Editor's Note: At PWTorch.com we strive for our content whenever possible and practical to be original and unique (i .e. not published on other sites), therefore Guest Editorials submitted to PWTorch. com should be submitted only to PWTorch. com. If you submit a Guest Editorial for consideration, please state at the top of your editorial that you submitted it only to PWTorch. com. For more details on submitting Guest Editorials, check out a detailed submissions guide following today's Guest Editorial below.
GUEST EDITORIAL
By Suzanne Abshire, PWTorch.com reader
Here's a look at a rebooted WrestleMania lineup with the build-up to the matches and the winners from WrestleMania detailed. There is one main requirement to this card. All titles must be defended in some way. If the current titles are important, as any title should be, then they must be featured on the biggest show of the year. Also, since the build for WrestleMania would start in January, this is ideally where Mania would have been including suspensions and injuries. With that said, here's the new WrestleMania XXIV card from opening match to main event.
(1) Money In the Bank Match: Mr. Kennedy vs. John Cena vs. Santino Marella vs. Elijah Burke vs. Shelton Benjamin vs. Stevie Richards vs. Chuck Palumbo vs. Jamie Noble vs. Batista
A couple of the same participants in the actual MITB match are here. MVP, Chris Jericho, and John Morrison have been replaced because they are champions who must defend their titles elsewhere on the card. I have added a nineth participant to give the match three participants per brand. The match opens the show to not only start of with great energy and some good highspots, but also to bookend the show with the title picture.
Winner: Mr. Kennedy
(2) Belfast Brawl: Finlay/Shane McMahon vs. JBL/Mr. McMahon
This match would keep the momentum from MITB going pretty well. This feud has to be addressed since it was such a huge part of TV for so long. Vince and Shane are here because as we found out on Raw a few weeks ago this whole fued started as a way for Vince's kids to get back at him for faking his death. Finlay/Shane and JBL/Vince should have an intense 12-15 minute Hardcore match. After this match Hornswoggle should never be back on TV again and neither should the McMahon until January around the time of the Royal Rumble when its time to start the build up to WrestleMania 25.
Winners: Finlay/Shane McMahon
(3) The Biggest/The Best Match: The Big Show/Oscar De La Hoya vs. The Great Khali/Floyd Mayweather Jr.
This would allow for the strengths of both both types of atheletes to be featured without hurting the credibility of anyone involved in the match. This is also actually closer to the match that Vince wanted before Rey Mysterio got injured. If they booked the match like this it would improve the in ring quality of the match and still allow Vince to have a big match on the card to attract non-wrestling fans.
Winners: The Big Show/Oscar De La Hoya
(4) Extreme Rules Triple Threat Brand Supremacy Match: Triple H vs. The Undertaker vs. Tommy Dreamer
This match would serve another purpose. As Wade pointed out in an audio update, this match at WrestleMania could be used to decide which brand picks first in the draft. These match should have had a participant from ECW in the beginning. These three participants would give the match more meaning also and when I think of Raw, ECW, and Smackdown these are the three men I think of. The first person eliminated in this match should be Triple H by Tommy Dreamer.
Winner: The Undertaker
(5) Career Threatening Match: Shawn Michaels vs. Ric Flair
This one should be given a good half hour. This should not be Ric Flair's last match in pro wrestling however, this should be the match that turns Flair back into what he should have been from the begining a heel. This storyline should continue until The Great American Bash. Along the way Ric should pick up the only World Championship that he has never held the ECW World Championship. WWE should bring in guys from Ric Flair's past for him to have one last match with before his career is done. With that said he should be boked more like the Undertaker as far as how much they use him. He should not be booked to wrestle every week.
Winner: Ric Flair
(6) 30 Minute Ironman Unification Match - U.S. Champion vs. Intercontinental Champion: MVP (C) vs. Chris Jericho (C)
This match needs to happen for the reason expressed earlier. The WWE brand does not need to have two midcard championships. If the belts were unified I believe it would allow them to bring back the ECW World TV Championship to a expaned ECW brand. Having the U.S. Title off of MVP would allow him and Matt Hardy to continue their fued but it would not become a semi-main event fued instead of a midcard fued that keeps both of these guys stuck going nowhere fast.
Winner: Chris Jericho
(7) WWE Women's Championship: Maria vs. Beth Phoenix (C)
This match would allow WWE to promote the annual diva Playboy appearance as they normally do, the women's title would become the focal post-WrestleMania, of its own one hour TV show moving all of the Divas together on the same show thus giving the division more meaning and focus then its ever had. This new show would replace ECW on SCI FI and I would even consider using WCW for the brand name of the Divas show, calling it WCW ShowDown!
Winner: Beth Phoenix
(8) Two out of Three Falls Unification Match - WWE Tag Team Champions vs. World Tag Team Champions: John Morrison/The Miz (C) vs. Hardcore Holly/Cody Rhodes (C)
This match needs to happen for the reason expressed earlier. The WWE brand does not need to have two tag team championships. If the belts were unified I believe it would allow them to bring back the ECW Tag Team Championship to a expaned ECW brand.
Winners: John Morrison/The Miz
(9) Last Man Standing Match - ECW World Championship: C.M. Punk vs. Chavo Guerrero (C)
This should be booked as the very last match betweeb these two guys for the ECW World Championship no matter who comes out the winner. This match should be booked to look like a World title match from the Original ECW. Since this is not the first time we have seen these guys this match needs to be be a 30 minute match atleast and we need to see things out of these guys that we have not seen them do before like the plunge from CM Punk.
Winner: C.M. Punk
(10) 60 Minute Ironman Unification Match - WWE World Champion vs. World Heavyweight Champions: Randy Orton (C) vs. Edge (C)
This is all on the predication in the opening to this editorial. If Hardy doesn't get suspended, this is not the match that should headline Mania. This match needs to happen for the reason expressed earlier. The WWE brand does not need to have two heavyweight championships. If the belts were unified I believe it would allow them to have World Championship for ECW and one for WWE.
Winner: C.M. Edge
So, that's it. The WrestleMania XXIV card that probably should have been. It gives the company the chance to get Vince off of TV until the New Year. The Women's Chapionship has more meaning and its own show to be showcased every week. After WrestleMania I would make one of the two-hour shows a ECW show and the other a WWE show. This would then allow for each show to become different from each other but still equal. The WWE show would become the Sports Entertainment Show and the ECW show would become the Pro Wrestling Show. The WWE show should be the one on Network TV and I think it should be named after the old WCW progam from the Monday Night Wars calling the show WWE Nitro. The ECW show should be the one on Cable TV, specificly the USA Network and I think it should be named ECW Raw, I would keep the PPVs together but I would knock it down to only twelve PPVs per year with other specials thru out the year either on Network, Cable, or Pay-Cable TV and maybe the Internet as well. Micheal Cole and and Josh Mathews would do the WWE show, Joey and Tazz would still do the ECW show, and I would bring in Sunny to do the brand new Divas WCW show as the color commentator, I am not sure who I would partner her with though, any suggestions? J.R. and the King would become my PPV and Specials announce team this would give each even its own special meaning. After this ECW and WWE would be showcased alot better and would be kept seperate except for the PPVs. We would not have any inter-promotional matches except for Royal Rumble, Money In the Bank Match, Brand Supremacy Matchs, and the Survivor Series PPV.
At the end of this article, be sure to vote in the poll below indicating whether you like this line-up better than the actual line-up.
Also, this is what the new rosters post WrestleMania would look like:
WWE Singles Roster
Chuck Palumbo
Rey Mysterio
John Cena
Triple H
Shawn Michaels.
Val Venis.
Santino Marella
Carlito Cool
Paul Burchill
William Regal
Randy Orton.
Umaga.
Gene Snitsky
Batista
The Great Khali
Mark Henry
Ron Killings
John Bradshaw Layfield
The Boogeyman
Matt Striker
Mike Knox
James Curtis
Kevin Fertig
WWE Tag Team Roster
Cody Rhodes & Trevor Murdoch.
The Highlanders (Robbie & Rory McAllistair /Drew McIntyre.)
The Blue Bloods (David Taylor/Paul Burchill/William Regal.)
Deuce & Domino .
Jesse & Festus
John Morrison & Mike "The Miz" Mizanin.
ECW Singles Roster
Edge.
Chavo Guerrero
Montel Vontavious Porter.
The Big Show.
Ric Flair
Hardcore Holly.
Jim Duggan
Super Crazy.
Chris Jericho
Mr. Kennedy
Jeff Hardy
Mick Foley
Jamie Noble
Matt Hardy
The Undertaker.
Kane.
Fit Finlay
Gregory Helms
Kenny Dykstra
Tommy Dreamer
Colin Delaney
Stevie Richards
Balls Mahoney
C.M. Punk
Kofi Kingston
Elijah Burke
ECW Tag Team Roster
The World's Greatest Tag Team (Charlie Haas & Shelton Benjamin)
Lance Cade & Chris Harris
Paul London & Brian Kendrick.
The Bulldogs (D.H. Smith & Stampede Kid)
Jimmy Wang Yang & Shannon Moore.
The Rated R Superstars (Curt Hawkins & Zack Ryder).
FBI (Santino Marella & Guido Maritato)
You are invited to submit a "Torch Guest Editorial" for possible publishing on this site in future days. For submission guidelines and the current email, click here.
