Calling No Way Out

By: Jason Esteve

The Rock -v- Undertaker

What's the backstory here again? Yeesh! Now I remember. Maven put a figurative bitchslap on the Undertaker by eliminating him from the Royal Rumble. Undertaker started making greasy spots out of Maven every chance he got. Rock put his nose where it didn't belong, which gave old UT a chance to play the "no respect" card. Undertaker dropped his Hardcore belt to Maven on the last Smackdown before the PPV. This allows the Rock to take the victory without gaining a belt. I see the Undertaker beating the holy hell out of Rocky, but somehow Rocky pulls it out with the help of the people.

Winner: The Rock

Triple H -v- Kurt Angle

#1 Contender's Match at Wrestlemania

File this one under "the more things change, the more they stay the same." Before Hunter left the WWF scene due to injury, these two were going at it tooth and nail with the fair Stephanie caught in the middle (please note the sarcasm from that last sentence ends here). Only difference was, before, Kurt was the face and HHH played the heel. Coming back from injury has pushed Helmsley into the role of the badass face, and a relationship with Vince McMahon has allowed Kurt to assume the role he plays best; the dorky heel who can snap every now and then and really put a hurting on someone (usually in the midcard). With the hella-push that HHH has been getting, it's hard to believe that he wouldn't get the duke. Besides, Angle versus Austin's been done seven ways to Sunday.

Winner: Triple H

Stone Cold Steve Austin -v- Chris Jericho

Undisputed WWF Championship

If you believe the way-early hype for WM-X8 (and the only announced match on the website) then it's going to be HHH -v- Chris Jericho as the main event. Actually, that would be a new twist for a main event, as SCSA versus HHH is old news. It also would make for a nice storyline. If Steph were still pregnant, I could see Jericho taking credit for fathering Steph's baby, and Steph going along with Jericho (if they would have saved it, it would have been a nice twist for the renewal of the vows on the Raw after the PPV). Regardless, look for Jericho to retain in what looks to be an affair the starts with "cluster" and ends with a bloody Austin.

Winner: Chris Jericho

Edge -v- William Regal

Intercontinental Championship
Brass Knuckles on a Pole Match

I guess there has to be some sort of a gimmick match on the card. I haven't heard about a women's match, so this'll have to do. I'm hoping this one's a blowoff for Regal's Brass knucks gimmick. It was ok at first, but now it's over used. I'm thinking that Edge will end up taking the business end of the brass knuckles to Regal's already pruned face.

Winner: Edge

Tag Team Turmoil

Winner Meets Champs at Wrestlemania

Looks like the Hardy Boyz singles' experiment is over as they'll make their triuphant return to the already crowded tag team ranks. They'll be meeting the Dudleyz, APA, and Christian and Lance Storm (?). I look for the Dudleyz to win, but the whole Christian/Storm team really makes me wonder.

Winner: Dudley Boyz

Golddust -v- Rob Van Dam

Filler. Pure and simple. I see this one to be a sleeper match. I think Van Dam can pull a good match out of a rusty Golddust. As to the winner, that's a tough call. Plot-wise, I can't see any advantage for wither of them winning. The only justification I can find is the age-old "heel wins because it makes people despise him even more" story. Van Dam can afford to lose and still keep his fan base. Golddust can't afford to lose a PPV match this early in his current stint in the WWF.

Winner: Golddust

I know there are other matches but I want to get this up before the weekend. Overall, it looks to be a good card, even without the whole nWo thing hanging over it. I'm hoping to get a few people together to chip in so I can watch it. See, my wife only lets me pay full price for WrestleMania, so if you want to watch it and you've got a few bucks, send me an email and we can get together.

Jason is	All original content on this site is owned by Team Esteve, For redistribution information please contact the webmaster.