WM 25 and Batista

[Aeon Mathix]

I know there have been numerous threads on WM 25, but I did not see one on this topic. If this is in the wrong section or something move it or do whatever with it (this is my first thread so dont be too hard lol). I saw someone post a thread on how Batista could have helped WM 22 had he not been injured and I think that would have been true. The same applies for this wrestlemania, now this is not going to turn into a "every wrestlemania would have been better with batista" topic, but hear me out on this particular one.

WM 25 had some lackluster main events. Thats a given. We had matches all of us were so sick of seeing repeated again and again. Triple H vs Randy Orton, John Cena vs Edge (yes big show was in this match for reasons I didnt understand, but really who cared about him?). Anyway something tells me and this is just my own opinion, that the wwe wanted to do Cena vs Batista for this Wrestlemania, and why not? Despite what people say about the 2, they were the 2 biggest names in a high profile match and this was the 25th anniversary of wrestlemania. So i think that match was set. On to Triple H vs Orton, do not get me wrong, the build up to this match was spectacular, even though in the back of my mind I was thinking god ive seen this so many times already wont be any different. So what I would have done would be to give Edge the rumble win last year and go on to face Triple H, which im sure most people wanted to see and we only saw one time (I think at the bash the year prior). Then I would have given orton the rumble win this year to go on to face Jericho. This leaves big show and orton out of the main events. Im not too sure what would have been done with big show because he really didnt matter, but I would have taken Kofi out of money in the bank (had these two kept their rivalry going and orton didnt end up destroying orton). This way Orton would have put over Kofi on the biggest stage (I mean hey orton lost anyway at this WM why not to someone else?). Actually this means big show could have been put in the MITB.

So this is what I dont think the wwe's plans were for the card, but just my own estimate.

MITB - Cm punk vs Christian vs shelton benjamin vs kane vs mvp vs big show vs mark henry vs dolph ziggler
Cm Punk I would still have win, just because of what it led to for him much later on in the summer

Replace the god awful kid rock concert (this im sure the wwe had planned from the get go, but this is just what I would have loved to see happen lol) with the unified tag team match.

Chris Jericho vs Ricky Steamboat
this would have been a dream match had ricky been in his prime still, but hell he was amazing for his age and the next month at backlash it was obvious he could have went through a match with jericho on his own. But this match would have been soooo much better had they taken piper and snuka out.

Jeff Hardy vs Matt Hardy Extreme Rules
Would have kept this the same, maybe just give it a little more time because I thought this was a decent match EXCEPT i probably would have made this a normal match. Jeff isnt the greatest normal match wrestler, but im sure matt could have carried him well especially using his heel tactics throughout the match.

Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels
Enough said.

Triple H vs Edge - World Heavyweight (or WWE) Championship.
would have had triple H win this one, maybe because I dont like edge at all but thats just me lol.

Main event - John Cena vs Batista
reason i would have put this main event was because after HBK vs Taker the crowd would have been out of energy regardless of who went on next and im sure Triple H and edge would not have been a good one to close the show, granted im no cena hater or lover and i am sick of seeing him in the title matches for every single wrestlemania, but its what draws so what can I say. I would have Cena win for the feel good moment sending the fans (well most of them) home happy.

But anyway this was my view on what WM could have been had Batista not been out due to injury. So my question is

Could Batista not being injured changed this wrestlemania from being what a lot of people saying one of the worst ever?

 

[Ruthless-RKO]

Let me get this straight!!!

Randy Orton!! the wrestler who won the Royal Rumble not making a single appearance at WrestleMania???

The only thing I would change is having the tag match in place of the kid rock concert..I think the matches on the card were pretty good..

I don't think Batista could have made it any better!! not the best performer!

 

[Aeon Mathix]

my bad i forgot to add kofi vs orton to the card. it would have been a great way to elevate kofi more by getting put over by orton on the biggest stage of them all.

 

[Judah's Lion]

these "what if" threads are so impossible to call and for several reasons.

for one, we'll never truly know "what could have been" because it's in the past and those decisions and opportunities are of course long gone.
also, we're not in the back making the decisions and we don't ever really know the original plans and story writing that goes on.
and finally, one change could lead to a domino effect that really changes whole matches, cards, feuds and multi-month-long angles that could affect the whole year.

it's just so hard to call with people jumping ship, getting injured, not wanting to job, legit rivalries, crowd reactions, etc. there's so much happening that can change everything at the drop of a hat.

that said, yeah, i would bet that in a perfect world, VKM would have wanted Batista and Cena to face off at WM 26 to close out the show as they are the two biggest draws and they had a pretty good warm-up match at the previous SummerSlam.

still, i actually did like the Triple H vs. Orton match if only because of the build up.

MITB is always pretty good and the Punk win that led to his heel turn was fantastic.

Taker vs. HBK is one of the best matches ever and should have closed out the show, IMO. who can ever follow that? ah well, hindsight is 20/20 vision.

Matt vs. Jeff was okay, but i thought that they would do a ladder match just because that's what they're both so known for, bur to have another ladder match after MITB might have been too much. so this was okay. or maybe a steel cage or "i quit" or something a little more extreme could have been better, i'm not sure.

Cena vs. Edge vs. Big Show was pretty terrible. not necessarily in match quality, but in story. didn't we already have a love triangle some years ago with Triple H, Angle and Stephanie? that was pushing it as mediocre tv. this go around with Big Show, Edge and Vickie Guerrero was the worst writing ever. i did, however, like the follow up feud with Cena and Edge in a Last Man Standing match and Big Show delivering a chokeslam thru the light, but this WM World Title Match was the worst ever.

it would have been great to see Orton and Kofi have one more big match to end the feud and this would have been a great place for it, but i still think that Orton and Triple H was good. so that's kinda hard to pull off. nobody else could have done that build up with Triple H and his family.

Edge vs. Jericho for WM 25 would have been good.

see what i mean? there are just so many possibilities! but short answer to your question, yes, i bet that the original hope was to have Cena vs. Batista for the title at WM 26. i don't know if it would have made the show that much better though because it would depend on the rest of the card.

 

[Aeon Mathix]

it would have been great to see Orton and Kofi have one more big match to end the feud and this would have been a great place for it, but i still think that Orton and Triple H was good. so that's kinda hard to pull off. nobody else could have done that build up with Triple H and his family.

I totally see what you mean. Ive only seen the Orton/HHH match one time and that was watching this ppv live, and i was spent after being on the edge of my seat after HBK and taker haha. Thats probably why I think the main events were trash. Ill have to rewatch HHH and orton one of these days. Actually I probably only hate it because orton lost. You are right we will never know, just thought this would be an interesting thing to discuss if batista would have affected the matches

 

[Judah's Lion]

I totally see what you mean. Ive only seen the Orton/HHH match one time and that was watching this ppv live, and i was spent after being on the edge of my seat after HBK and taker haha. Thats probably why I think the main events were trash. Ill have to rewatch HHH and orton one of these days. Actually I probably only hate it because orton lost. You are right we will never know, just thought this would be an interesting thing to discuss if batista would have affected the matches

yeah, i'm totally with you. call me a dork if you want to (i've been called much worse) but i love talking about wrestling, especially fantasy booking.

and i do think that Batista would have helped the card. he may not be the best wrestler ever, but he's actually had some good matches, feuds, angles and storylines. plus there's no denying his box-office draw.

so, in a perfect world, here would have been how i would have booked WM25 assuming no injuries or sudden changes.

1. Tag Team Titles in a Lumberjack Match - Cousins Colon win in a solid opening bout against Miz & Morrison.
2. Triple Threat Match - Edge vs. Jericho vs. Christian - let Christian get a clean win in a very good match with a lot of history between these three. a win for Christian does wonders for his career and gets him out of mid-card limbo while it doesn't damage the other two guys at all. he can get the clean win on either opponent, hopefully starting an on-going feud between the two or three.
3. MITB - throw in Big Show, Kane and Mark Henry just for some big men variety. also Kofi and Punk. maybe three more guys, like Legacy and Ziggler. have Kofi and Punk climb the ladder in the closing moments and let Punk win. maybe this could start a feud between the two over the briefcase, almost like its own title, and have Punk come out on top in that feud and eventually turn heel later in the summer as he did.
4. Matt vs. Jeff inside a Steel Cage - i like heel Matt winning this one to continue the feud for a few more months. better than a typical Extreme Rules match and just a bit more brutal and personal. kinda reminds me of the old Bret vs. Owen feud.
5. IC Title - Rey vs. JBL - this isn't the greatest match ever and i'd want JBL to have a better "farewell match", but this does tell a great story. Rey wins quickly with a surprise high risk and frog splash.
6. US Title - MVP vs. Chavo - pull a double turn here as Chavo is only okay as a heel and MVP is terrible as a face. Chavo may not do much better as a face but MVP will surely benefit from a heel turn here.
7. Random McMahon street fight. maybe move up his match with Bret Hart here. or bring in Warrior or Savage. the storylines are easy enough to write. even though this won't be technical classic or typical clinic, it's somewhat enjoyable to see McMahon get destroyed every year.
8. Batista vs. Cena for one world title - let Cena win here, especially if it's against the heel Batista. plus, Batista won their debut match at the previous SummerSlam, so if Cena wins, they're 1 and 1 and can continue their feud.
9. Triple H vs. Orton for the other title - keep this as is. great build up and pretty good match. let Triple H win in a brutal war. maybe let Orton strike last, much like a heel Triple H would in the past and punt Triple H after he celebrates retaining his title. something like that.
10. HBK vs. Taker - let this close out the show because quite honestly, what could ever top it.

so those are my ten matches with the roster that was available, if injury free and in a perfect world.

 

[Aeon Mathix]

yeah, i'm totally with you. call me a dork if you want to (i've been called much worse) but i love talking about wrestling, especially fantasy booking.

and i do think that Batista would have helped the card. he may not be the best wrestler ever, but he's actually had some good matches, feuds, angles and storylines. plus there's no denying his box-office draw.

so, in a perfect world, here would have been how i would have booked WM25 assuming no injuries or sudden changes.

1. Tag Team Titles in a Lumberjack Match - Cousins Colon win in a solid opening bout against Miz & Morrison.
2. Triple Threat Match - Edge vs. Jericho vs. Christian - let Christian get a clean win in a very good match with a lot of history between these three. a win for Christian does wonders for his career and gets him out of mid-card limbo while it doesn't damage the other two guys at all. he can get the clean win on either opponent, hopefully starting an on-going feud between the two or three.
3. MITB - throw in Big Show, Kane and Mark Henry just for some big men variety. also Kofi and Punk. maybe three more guys, like Legacy and Ziggler. have Kofi and Punk climb the ladder in the closing moments and let Punk win. maybe this could start a feud between the two over the briefcase, almost like its own title, and have Punk come out on top in that feud and eventually turn heel later in the summer as he did.
4. Matt vs. Jeff inside a Steel Cage - i like heel Matt winning this one to continue the feud for a few more months. better than a typical Extreme Rules match and just a bit more brutal and personal. kinda reminds me of the old Bret vs. Owen feud.
5. IC Title - Rey vs. JBL - this isn't the greatest match ever and i'd want JBL to have a better "farewell match", but this does tell a great story. Rey wins quickly with a surprise high risk and frog splash.
6. US Title - MVP vs. Chavo - pull a double turn here as Chavo is only okay as a heel and MVP is terrible as a face. Chavo may not do much better as a face but MVP will surely benefit from a heel turn here.
7. Random McMahon street fight. maybe move up his match with Bret Hart here. or bring in Warrior or Savage. the storylines are easy enough to write. even though this won't be technical classic or typical clinic, it's somewhat enjoyable to see McMahon get destroyed every year.
8. Batista vs. Cena for one world title - let Cena win here, especially if it's against the heel Batista. plus, Batista won their debut match at the previous SummerSlam, so if Cena wins, they're 1 and 1 and can continue their feud.
9. Triple H vs. Orton for the other title - keep this as is. great build up and pretty good match. let Triple H win in a brutal war. maybe let Orton strike last, much like a heel Triple H would in the past and punt Triple H after he celebrates retaining his title. something like that.
10. HBK vs. Taker - let this close out the show because quite honestly, what could ever top it.

so those are my ten matches with the roster that was available, if injury free and in a perfect world.

haha dont worry im not one of those internet pricks that would call you a dork or anything for fantasy booking as i love all forms of wrestling and fantasy booking. First moment i ever watched in the wwe was when rock challenged hogan and i was hooked from there on out. But anyway man i am ******ed i forgot jbl and mysterio's "match" too lol, but i agree with you on it, i would have made it a decent length too, i honestly think that match was Vince's way of saying "there i put the IC title on the line at WM now shut up" or something like that. I definitly agree having Taker and HBK go last and they did the right thing making them go last at 26 this year. That triple threat would have been amazing too as i am still waiting to see an awesome christian vs y2j or edge fued. I like the way you think and like you said in a perfect world this would have been a great wrestlemania

 

[wushady]

Let me get this straight!!!

Randy Orton!! the wrestler who won the Royal Rumble not making a single appearance at WrestleMania???

The only thing I would change is having the tag match in place of the kid rock concert..I think the matches on the card were pretty good..

I don't think Batista could have made it any better!! not the best performer!

I'd have to agree with you I would only change the Kid Rock concert. Then again I see why they did that being music played a big part at early Wrestlemanias, but the tag titles should have been more important. I was glad then when Batista wasn't involved. Hopefully he stays retired and I wont have to see him at another Wrestlemania.