HHH vs. HBK At Wrestlemania 22?

[Little Jerry Lawler]

I was watching the first MITB and Lawler pointed out that if the winner had the patience, he could have headlined the next Wrestlemania. That leads me to Edge who cashed in the briefcase on John Cena after holding it for nine months. Just think if Edge declared that he was going to cash it in on Cena on the biggest stage of them all. That would leave HHH out of the title picture but enter HBK who was feuding with Shane and Vince. With all the history those four have together, wouldn't it have been perfect for HBK to finally go over his nemesis because I can't remember HBK beating HHH other than Summerslam.

I believe HHH vs. HBK and Cena vs. Edge would have made WM 22 better but I can understand what they did since Cena had to go over a huge name since he was the champion. I just never felt that the Bad Blood HIAC match was a defining end to their feud mainly because they fought three months later at Taboo Tuesday.

Would HHH vs. HBK and Cena vs. Edge have made for a better Wrestlemania?

Did Cena have to go over a huge name to establish credibility as champion?

 

[Mercer the Ruthless]

Would HHH vs. HBK and Cena vs. Edge have made for a better Wrestlemania?

Yes to HHH vs HBK, no to Cena vs Edge. Although to me personally it would have been good but to many others Edge was looked upon as a fluke champion. Even if it was a good match-up, Edge just wasn't established enough (neither was Cena, not to the highest degree), even though it would have established him as a true contender.


Did Cena have to go over a huge name to establish credibility as champion?

This ties-in nicely with your first question, yes I do believe Cena had to go over HHH at Mania. The year before he won the title against JBL, yeah a champion but he was no HHH; Cena had to cement himself to THAT level as THAT guy to carry the company in the long run and HHH was the guy to put Cena over.

 

[legendkiller1979]

Triple H vs John Cena for the belt is the match people wanted to see. The other two matches mentioned would have been great, I don't disagree with that. But the anticipation factor for HHH/Cena was much higher. Wrestlemania 22 was not any good but they did the best they could with what they had. What mania 22 did offer was a main event we had not seen 100 times. The other two matches had already been done. Not to death the but anticipation factor would not have been nearly as high. The WWE got it right.

 

[shooter_mcgavin]

Edge vs. Cena could work, It actually could have a better story than HHH vs. Cena which has a non-existent build up. If WM22 had Edge vs. Cena as the main event then I wouldn't mind at all.

As for Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels, that I am not sure about. We have already seen them go one-on-one plenty of times another WM match would be overkill.

For Triple H I would probably pick Ric Flair, Kurt Angle, or JBL as possible opponents. For Shawn Michaels ... Shelton Benjamin and JBL come into mind (or I guess Vince McMahon would still be the choice of match though I was never too hot on this feud).

 

[Big Sexy]

HHH vs HBK one on one at a Wrestlemania would have been a great thing to see but not at Mania 22. There are too many things that were right with how the events leading up to Mania and Mania itself were booked.

1. John Cena needed to go over the biggest name possible to get over as the official face of the company. Triple H was the only opponent he could beat that would have accomplished that.

2. Edge was a heel and cashing in his contract at Wrestlemania in a legit match isn't a very heel like thing to do. Plus his whole "Ultimate Opportunist" gimmick came from cashing in at New Years Revolution on John Cena who had just been through an EC match.

Cena vs HHH, Edge vs Foley, and HBK vs Vinnie Mac was the right way to go at that point.

 

[willross]

So let me get this straight. You want to take away 3 great matches from the card and by that I mean:

HBK vs McMahon
HHH vs Cena
Edge vs Foley

matches I might add, had never happened until that night. Substituting it for:

HHH vs HBK
Cena vs Edge

John Cena was still in need of that final nudge to break away from Batista as "the man" in the WWE, and how was a guy who hadn't been a main eventer in his career gonna do that? It just didn't have WM written on it considering it would of been for the WWE title.

HHH and HBK would of been a great match but it would of ruined the return of DX. Also due to their history of their rivalry to that point, they really had nothing left to feud over.

WM22 was a great WM and was booked to perfection and nothing really could of made it better unless Batista was on the card and in that Triple Threat for the WHC which would of let Angle face Taker or Orton face Taker in a rematch of WM21.

 

[The Brain]

I’m going to agree with Big Sexy and pretty much repeat his thoughts in my words. I must spread rep before giving him rep again though. I'll get you soon Big Sexy.

John Cena vs. Edge in an announced match at WM22 would not have worked. Edge had to cash in the way he did for two reasons. First of all, as Big Sexy said, that was the birth of the ultimate opportunist. The cash in at New Years Revolution took Edge to a new level as a heel. Not only because he became champion, but it should he would capitalize on any opportunity to get what he wanted. Also that set the tone for what MITB has become today. Now anytime someone is carrying the briefcase we always have to be alert anytime the champion appears vulnerable. Edge set that precedent.

Also John Cena vs. Triple H was the money match for mania that year. Cena had proven himself a worthy champion throughout 2005 and was clearly becoming the top guy in the company. You could easily argue he had already become that guy. That argument could be disputed however by Triple H. I think Cena’s victory over Triple H at WM22 is what cemented him as the top guy in the company. Not only that, but the crowd atmosphere was awesome (I was there) and I don’t think the fans would have reacted that way for Cena vs. Edge. Besides we saw HHH vs. HBK so many times from 2002-2004. We didn’t need that again. One other thing, Edge vs. Foley was awesome too. I think considering all that we got the best possible scenario. Now if Batista hadn’t been injured we really could have had an awesome mania, but that’s a story for a different thread.

http://forums.wrestlezone.com/showthread.php?t=107020&highlight=wrestlemania

 

[mrfantastic111]

Edge vs. Cena would of had a great build up for Mania, but agreed, we definitely got the best of what they had to offer at the time. It wasn't the best Mania, but those three matches (Cena vs HHH, HBK vs Vince, Edge vs Foley), did EXACTLY what a Mania is supposed to do: create memories. The flaming spear, the elbow off the ladder, the epic scene where HHH is in the STFU and is barely holding on. This was the last Mania which created these kinda spots for a LONG time.

 

[Dagger Dias]

Cena VS Edge and Trips VS Michaels could have been interesting matches at the time. I did enjoy Cena VS Trips but if Trips faced Michaels then Michaels VS Vince would not have happened and I would definitely not be upset about that. The two could have had a mini feud before reforming DX. Meanwhile in the WWE Championship picture, Edge should have held the title from his cash in back in January until Wrestlemania where Cena could get it back. It would be perfect. You know what though? Cena VS Trips was a good match. Others liked Michaels VS Vince even though I don't. Edge got another chance to face Cena at Wrestlemania three years later. While it would have been cool to see those two matches, the way things actually happened was the better route because it worked out better in the long run. Cena got to retain, Edge still got the title that summer, and DX reformed.

 

[Rckstrtmmy]

Also John Cena vs. Triple H was the money match for mania that year. Cena had proven himself a worthy champion throughout 2005 and was clearly becoming the top guy in the company. You could easily argue he had already become that guy. That argument could be disputed however by Triple H. I think Cena’s victory over Triple H at WM22 is what cemented him as the top guy in the company. Not only that, but the crowd atmosphere was awesome (I was there) and I don’t think the fans would have reacted that way for Cena vs. Edge. Besides we saw HHH vs. HBK so many times from 2002-2004. We didn’t need that again. One other thing, Edge vs. Foley was awesome too. I think considering all that we got the best possible scenario. Now if Batista hadn’t been injured we really could have had an awesome mania, but that’s a story for a different thread.

This.

As much as I LOVED the HBK/HHH matches, especially the Summerslam where HBK returned, this match had to happen. Cena vs. HHH was a great match, great Wrestlmania moment, and perfect for that point in time. A true passing of the guard match. Add in the crowd atmosphere and this match was absolutely irreplaceable. Granted, HBK and HHH probably could've had one of the best Wrestlemania matches of all time, but this wasn't the place for that to happen.

 

[gunnascott]

To be honest I was kinda of sick of hBK v HHH and this point it started to be the "hey the ppv #s are looking kinda low so put that on the card to boost interest. Besides Cena v HHH kinda saved an otherwise dull WM. The crowd loved every minute of it and the wrestled an almost perfect match and told a good story