Well, the WWE Creative Team certainly has been busy lately, haven't they?
For their biggest show of the year, they've constructed the following:
-A WWE Championship Match that's a rematch from last year's main event, but with a belt.
-A rematch from Summerslam that brought Triple H out of semi-retirement for a Career Threatening Match.
-A World Title match that was founded on a hot-button political issue that has since fizzled out into nothing more than another set-up for Rock-Cena Part II.
-Another match for the Undertaker to win. Admittedly, this one still has me interested somewhat, because the possibility of the End of the Streak is always there.
and the undercard--
-Chris Jericho and Guy who's never wrestled a match on WWE TV #1 in I'm guessing a Dancing With The Stars-inspired seven minute match.
-Ryback and Mark Henry in the inevitable "Big Guy vs. Big Guy" match.
-The Shield vs. Three more Main Eventers haphazardly thrown together and called a "team".
-Team Hell No defending the tag titles against Dolph Ziggler (who ought to have been in the Main Event by now) and Guy who's never wrestled a match on WWE TV #2.
and as we've learned in the last 48 hours...
-Wade Barrett will defend the Intercontinental Championship against The Miz and
-In the token 8-person tag team match, Brodus Clay, his cheerleaders and the Artist Formerly known as Tensai formerly known as Giant Bernard formerly known as A-Train formerly known as Albert formerly known as Prince Albert against Team Rhodes Scholars and The Bella Twins.
My issues with where Cody Rhodes and Damien Sandow fell on the card is an article for another day. My main problem is with who isn't on this card at all--
WHERE IS ANTONIO CESARO?
Here's the facts:
Since winning the title at Summerslam, Cesaro is the longest reigning current champion in WWE, has become the longest reigning United States Champion of the last four years and is among the 15 longest reigning U.S. Champions ever.
EVER.
By the time Wrestlemania arrives, Cesaro will have eclipsed the marks of names like Valentine, Slaughter and Snuka, finding himself in the company of the top ten longest reigns of all time, including MVP, Rude, Windham and yes, even Flair.
And yet, here we are. Less than 2 weeks away from The Grandest Stage of them All and Cesaro is on the short-list of superstars with no plans for April 7. In the event that Vince and Creative DOES choose to book the Swiss Superman in a match at Mania, here's who could be on the horizon for the thus far ignored United States Champion:
KOFI KINGSTON
Probability: Pretty Good. The depths of the roster have been fairly well plumbed, present subject excluded, and whether you're a fan or not, there's no denying that Kofi Kingston is always good for an entertaining 10-15 minute match. Kingston has had a spot on the card at every Mania since his debut (that includes his participation in the battle royal at Wrestlemania 24 to determine who challenged the ECW Champion) and has made some sort of impression in each one, whether fashioning stilts from a broken ladder or coming to bat for Teddy Long last year. If Cesaro gets a match, Kofi seems the most logical opponent.
R-TRUTH
Probability: Decent. R-Truth was looking like a legitimate threat to Cesaro's United States Championship late last year, that is until Cesaro sliced Truth's knee open on the ring steps and threw everything off the rails. After a month or so of precautionary inaction, Truth is back in the midst of the mid-card and serves as a plausible opponent at Mania. Could he leave with the belt? It would take a lot of doing, but as long as he could keep from being grounded by Cesaro's power game, the title could be shifting possession.
CHRISTIAN
Probability: Long Shot. Christian has been medically cleared to return to action. Yeah. You probably didn't hear anything about it because of those infamous five words: "Creative has nothing for you". Basically Captain Charisma hasn't returned to WWE TV because they can't think of a way to write him back in. Well....it looks like Cesaro needs an opponent for Wrestlemania. And as I recall, before Christian departed, he was about to start up a program with Cesaro. What better time than now?
ZACK RYDER
Probability: Don't Count On It. Let's address the elephant in the online chat room, as it were. Zack Ryder wants a renewed push and to be used more effectively on WWE Television, but he's going about it the wrong way. Being passive-aggressive on Twitter and emblazoning a big red button labeled "PUSH ME" on his trunks isn't going to get the job done. However, the one thing Ryder has going in his favor is Home Field Advantage. In short, Ryder could take a bus from home to Wrestlemania and as a result, a majority of his fan base will likely be in attendance. At times, Vince is a sucker for a feel-good storyline that will send the fans home happy and this would make for a good "rising from the ashes" story. The question is, does the boss want to roll the dice a second time on the Long Island Iced Z?
MULTIPLE OPPONENTS OR A PRE-SHOW BATTLE ROYAL
Probability: Practically Guaranteed. Let's be honest. The YouTube Pre-Show extending to one hour is no accident. There's likely to be more than one match featured and a Battle Royal could easily be one of them. There's plenty of undercarders who want recognition as much as the next guy and this will probably be their opportunity. Expect one of the above four to emerge the victor and go on to challenge Cesaro when the show goes on. A Triple Threat or Fatal Four Way featuring any or all of the aforementioned participants isn't entirely out of the question either.
So long as Cesaro gets a match, I don't have a complaint. But to overlook one of WWE's hottest prospects of the last year and his already impressive reign as United States Champion is nothing short of....what's the best choice of word here?....
In GERMAN? Unerhört
In FRENCH? Scandaleux.
In ITALIAN? Atroce.
In SWISS? Empörend.
In ENGLISH?
Outrageous.
-TSR
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