WWE Musings

OK, so the Elimination Chamber is done and now it's on to Wrestlemania.  All in all I thought it was a good show.  I thought the matches were all good or better, and even the Divas match wasn't terrible.  I wasn't sure what direction they were going to go with the Chamber match; Jack Swagger's return and big push made him winning a definite possibility, but Mark Henry has been getting the same good treatment since his comeback so he was safe pick as well.  The other four guys (Kane, Daniel Bryan, Chris Jericho, and Randy Orton) were obviously there to for purposes of showing well and putting those two over.  Once Henry went out it was a done deal.  So now we get Swagger vs. Alberto Del Rio at Wrestlemania to go along with the Rock vs. John Cena in the main event. 

The six man tag team match really surprised me.  That one had the look of a blowoff match where the heels would get their comeuppance.  In the week leading up to the show, it was looking like the Shield had met their match and wouldn't be as dominant when the odds were even.  Them coming out victorious is a clear indicator that they won't be going the way of the Nexus or the Corre, the last two outsider factions that got some run in the WWE.  I think that shifting them from indomitable outsiders to hired guns who are regulars on the roster is better for them in the long run.  The whole 'these guys don't work here! Oh my God!' angle needs to be left on the shelf for the forseeable future.  Since 1996 we've had the NWO, the Alliance, the Nexus, and the Corre.  We don't need another invasion/takeover storyline for a while.

As for the main event, I wasn't totally sold on the foregone conclusion of the Rock retaining the title but once the match was over I was like 'well, duh!'  Unless they were thinking Triple Threat for Wrestlemania, which they aren't, there was no reason to not go with the ending that they gave us.  Now we get Rock-Cena II at Wrestlemania, and it should be a good one.  Yes, the smart money is on Cena getting a win in return for last year's loss and the title to boot.  I know the Cena haters want to puke at the mere thought of that but they just need to get over it.  The man has been without the title for over a year now, and has put over plenty of people during that time.  The larger question is who he'll take on afterward.  I'd vote for Sheamus, with Cena doing the honors and dropping the title to him at Summerslam.  But hey, that's just me.