The Sunday Papers

Between the ‘sheets

– More Hall of Fame inductors for you! Trish Stratus asked Stephanie McMahon on Twitter if she would do the honours, Steph accepted. Something tells me this was more Steph’s idea than Trish’s. Booker T will be inducted by brother Stevie Ray, suggesting that maybe the well-documented heat between the two has been somewhat resolved. Steph isn’t the only McMahon to get in on the action, Vince McMahon announced that he’ll be inducting Donald Trump.

– Speaking of the Hall of Fame (which is going on as I’m writing this), Rob Van Dam showed up there to support Booker T.

– The teaser in Vince McMahon’s first tweet was finally paid off on Friday with a sneak peek at the WrestleMania set. It looks great. I like them apples.

– The full video of the WrestleMania XXIX press conference has annoyingly been made private, but WWE has uploaded a shorter version. Shorter doesn’t necessarily mean short though, it’s still an hour long.

– Living Colour will be playing CM Punk to the ring at WrestleMania. Punk noted that they would also be playing him from the ring, but presumably that’s just wishful thinking on his part. The band were in the area anyway, playing April 6th at Irving Plaza.

– Brock Lesnar has joined Twitter, and used his first tweet to hype his match with Triple H.

– CM Punk tells smart marks to fuck off in an interview with Hot97.

– John Cena’s heel turn caught on camera! You would not believe how much I hate this guy.

– AJ Lee has an interview up with NewsDay, where she mentions she used to have a poster of Kane hanging above her bed. Freak.

– Another Punk interview is up here.

– Ryback interview here.

– CBS interview with Miz here.

– Fox News has an interview with Del Rio, talking his match with Swagger.

– BetweenTheRopes.com has a ton of interviews up ahead of WrestleMania. I won’t link to them all, just head to the site to check them out.

– WWE is planning to bring back Christian any day now, as a babyface.

– WWE has been nominated for six Shorty awards. Whatever they are.

– I have no idea why yet, but Dixie Carter met with Stephanie McMahon this week. That’s about the extent of that story.

– As I mentioned last week, TNA are building the April 11th Impact as a substitute pay per view. All of the updates are on their website.

– Hulk Hogan appeared on WFAN with Boomer Esiason and Craig Carton, discussing many things including “this thing WWE is doing to honor legends from the past.” Worth a listen if you can find time to cram something else into this weekend.

– TNA can’t tell Jesse Sorensen and Garett Bischoff apart. It is pretty hard, but you’d think someone would have caught this.

– Charlie Haas retired from wrestling in a blaze of controversy this week, arguing with people backstage at an ROH show before announcing his decision to quit on Twitter. Apparently his career change is taking him into medicine. Good luck to him.

– Trish Stratus announced at the Hall of Fame that she’s expecting her first baby in September.

Prediction corner

– The Rock v John Cena (WWE championship): John Cena, unfortunately. Rock is sticking around for Extreme Rules, which is just long enough for him to get, and lose, a rematch after dropping the belt here. I appreciate how long they’ve taken away from Cena as champion, but I’m still not ready to get back into that rut.

– Alberto Del Rio v Jack Swagger (World heavyweight championship): Dolph Ziggler. That is, after Del Rio retains.

– Brock Lesnar (w/ Paul Heyman) v Triple H (w/ Shawn Michaels) (No holds barred, Triple H’s career): Brock Lesnar. Yeah, I know, Triple H has to win. I just think this could be the one they use to swerve us. And if the rumours of Rock v Lesnar main eventing Mania XXX are true, Lesnar really shouldn’t be losing here.

– Undertaker v CM Punk: Undertaker. However, they’ll work a cool spot in there that has us guessing, probably something playing off that promo Punk did about only needing a DQ or countout to break the streak. I picture Taker sprinting back to the ring to only barely make the ten count.

– Shield v Randy Orton, Sheamus & Big Show: Shield. This may be the time that makes most sense for the heel group to finally lose, but I’m hoping that doesn’t happen. The Shield aren’t ready to move on just yet, they’re still great at a three man group. I’m not sure why Orton would turn heel to cost his team the match, but he could do something after the bell.

– Hell No v Ziggy & Big E (Tag team championship): Hell No. I know the rumour is for AJ and Kaitlyn to be added and for Ziggler, Langston and AJ to hold all the gold, but I’m thinking this isn’t the time. Ziggler loses here to set up the MITB cash in later in the night. I also don’t think they’ll want the divas involved since they already have a mixed tag on the show.

– Mark Henry v Ryback: Ryback. Ryback has been on a PPV losing streak for even longer than Punk, and it’s not like Henry needs the win at all. Hell, I wouldn’t be too surprised if Henry retired sometime this year. The real question here is whether or not Ryback will be able to lift Henry for the shellshock.

– Tons Of Funk & Funkadactyls v Rhodes Scholars & Bella Twins: Funkers, but I really hope I’m wrong.

– Chris Jericho v Fan-dang-goooo: Fandango. Much like Mark Henry, Jericho doesn’t need the win and likely won’t be around for the whole year. Jericho has mentioned in interviews that he’s only working until WrestleMania, but knowing him that means SummerSlam. Still, he’s not being groomed for a top spot while a strong debut will be important for Fandango.

– Wade Barrett v The Miz: The Miz. Again, I really hope I’m wrong, but I don’t see them starting the (pre)show with a heel win. Miz mentioned that if he wins this, he’ll be the first WrestleMania triple crown winner, which is something I can definitely see him bragging about. Sigh.

And finally…

– #BabyfaceDickery goes to Teryn Terrell for this low blow to Joey Ryan. Now I know Ryan is a sleazebag and that his job as referee was finished, but hitting a guy in the nads just isn’t cricket.