Wrestlemania Preview Part 2

This post is a continuation of a preview of Wrestlemania 27, which will take place next Sunday in Atlanta, Georgia.

Jerry "The King" Lawler vs. Michael Cole (Special Guest Referee: Stone Cold Steve Austin)

As a broadcaster, there are times where you just want to kick the snot out of your broadcast guy for stepping on a call, hanging you out to dry, or not talking at all. I've been blessed to have some great people to work with in my broadcast career, but there are those moments and it's socially unacceptable to turn around and bash your partner with a headset...until now.

Broadcast partners will collide when Michael Cole faces off against Jerry "The King" Lawler at Wrestlemania and while the bit has gotten a little bit jaded, there are some important developments.

The first is that the WWE is trying to create another evil authoritative figure. During the attitude era, they took a broadcaster and made him the biggest heel in WWE history. Say hello to the evil Mr. McMahon and we all know what happened there. The Boss vs. Employee fued between Stone Cold and McMahon trampled the WWE and introduced a ton of fans, including myself, into the Attitude era.

This one won't be as significant, but I like what they are doing with Cole. For a long time, a lot of fans have trashed Michael Cole for his awful play-by-play commentary (which may be a bi-product of following Jim Ross) and fake enthusiasm. So, why not run with it and have the fans hate him more?

With his monotonus "AND I QUOTE!" and the "Fortress of aptitude" he now broadcasts from, I'm actually liking what they're doing with Cole. However, then there is the bit.

This has been building since November. King and Cole have been verbally brawling since then and having Cole come out every week and slam King on a weekly basis to have King act like "I want to hit you, but I can't." is getting kind of old. However, the bottom line is that it will be nice to see Cole get his face smashed in.

Did I say bottom line? Oh yeah, Stone Cold Steve Austin will be the special guest referee in this match, and while a lot of fans are excited to see Austin it's kind of a token appearance.

Think about it, the WWE can't have him talk, because they would lose his PG rating. No middle fingers, yeah drinking beer is OK, but he really can't do anything that made him famous. At least Austin hit a pair of Stunners on John Bradshaw Layfield a couple weeks ago, but he's going to show up a couple times, probably stunner Jack Swagger and Michael Cole (!!!) and ride off into the sunset.

I am intrigued by Austin's upcoming appearance on the reboot of Tough Enough (which begins next week after Raw), but I just can't get up for Austin reffing a match.

The last aspect in this match is the enigma of Jack Swagger. How can you market this guy? The guy has talent, but he doesn't have charisma. Yeah, they call him the All-American American (and for whatever reason they added an American after that?), but he does nothing to embrace that stature. Plus, I get the feeling that they stuck Kurt Angle in a copy machine and hoped that Swagger would come out. Not going to happen.

Angle was the original American Hero, and was one of a kind. An olympic wrestler who had enough brains to work the mic and entertain people? Very hard to find.

None of this is anything against Swagger, but the WWE marketing department needs to find this guy a bit people can get behind. Simple as that.

Rey Mysterio vs. "Dashing" Cody Rhodes

I'll be honest, I really don't have much to say about this match.

I think it's crazy that Rey Mysterio is still wrestling and in great shape. I remember watching him in fourth grade and having him be one of my favorite wrestlers. I do get jaded of the "Ultimate Underdog" bit, but Mysterio is one of those guys who you know should give you a solid match in a show.

Plus, I'm trying to figure out which movie Mysterio will use in his outfit this year. (I told you there wasn't much to talk about here.) Two years ago, Mysterio looked like the Joker from The Dark Knight. Last year he looked like an Avatar. What happens this year? I can't think of anything except for the Minion from Despicable Me, and that wouldn't be that great.

In the other corner, it's a progress for Cody Rhodes to become a top flight Superstar. Rhodes mentioned in one of his recent promos that he wanted to win the World Heavyweight Championship. It could mean he will be in line for a push after Sunday, but it's been interesting to see the opposite paths that the two "Legacy" members have taken.

Ted DiBiase Jr. will not be part of Wrestlemania last year. He was in a triple threat match with Rhodes and Randy Orton last year, but he has been shockingly underutilized in the past year, being reduced by squash matches and being Pedigreed through an announce table last Monday. DiBiase is a guy with some talent who should be pushed more especially when other guys are getting that push that DiBiase is not. Food for thought.

As for the match, it should be solid. Both are decent in ring performers and shouldn't provide one of those "I'm gonna take a leak, this guy sucks!" moments.