Wrestlemania 30 Dream Card

The last few Wrestlemania have been built off of 3 main events and several filler matches.

WM28
Undertaker vs Triple H
CM Punk vs Chris Jericho
John Cena vs The Rock

WM29
CM Punk vs Undertaker
Triple H vs Brock Lesnar
John Cena vs The Rock

My formula would be similar, but because this is the 30th Wrestlemania, a lot of the filler in between will be cut in favor of some more return matches, and sendoffs. For instance, I would have Rey Mysterio's final match on this card. Also, Hulk Hogan is in talks to be involved in some degree, but I would not have him in the main event, as he can't take bumps or hit the Leg Drop. Instead I have him as a referee or enforcer in a match.
Pre Show
20 Man Battle Royal
     Wrestlemania IV opened up with a battle royal that was used to showcase some of the stars that didn't receive a slot on the main card. This match would give guys like Ziggler, Barrett, Fandango, Miz, and Tyson Kidd something to do. I would have the commentators build this battle royal up on Raw for weeks leading up to it, and the winner would get a nice footnote for a few weeks (Like when Ahmed Johnson won the Kuwait Cup in the late 90s)

Possible Battle Royal Winners

• Dolph Ziggler
• Fandango
• Curtis Axel
• Bad News Barrett
• The Miz
• Ryback

Undercard
Positively Page (Razor Ramon, Jake the Snake & DDP) vs 3MB in a 6-Man Tag
     DDP's work in the recovery of Razor Ramon and Jake Roberts has been well-documented. It wouldn't be a great match, but it would be a nice feel-good Wrestlemania moment for the three of them to come back, hit their signature moves on 3MB, and leave the fans with one last Wrestlemania moment.

Rey Mysterio vs Big Show, Kane or Rob Van Dam
     While I don't personally want to see Big Show turn heel for the 100th time, I would like to see Rey go out with a match with Big Show. Rey and Kane had an awful rivalry a few years back, but he would be my second choice for Reys sendoff. Lastly, Rob Van Dam could give Rey Mysterio a great final match, but the idea is for Rey to be the fan favourite in his final match, and RVD is just too over for that to happen.

Big E Langston (c) vs Mark Henry for the Intercontinental Title
     Henrys involvement in an IC title match instantly adds prestige to the belt, as Henry never challenges for the second tier titles. It also adds credibility to Langston as a defending champion. Ultimately, Langston should win, and if he can hit the Big Ending in the process it is a nice bonus. After the match they shake hands and both leave the arena as faces.

Jack Swagger (w. Zeb Colter) vs Antonio Cesaro (w. Hulk  Hogan)
     At some point in the match, Colter would interfere on Swagger's behalf, and Hogan would take him out. Cesaro hits the Cesaro Swing on Colter before taking out Swagger with the Neutralizer.

Main Card
Batista vs Brock Lesnar
     This match is built upon a brawl during the Royal Rumble. Batista enters and is beating everyone down when Brock Lesnar makes an unannounced appearance and tosses Batista from the ring, and then powerbombs him through the announce table. This sets up a match at Wrestlemania. The match is a mix of strong-style wrestling and shoot-style MMA wrestling, with martial arts strikes and submissions. (Imagine combining CM Punk vs Brock Lesnar with a classic Steiner Brothers match)

The Result: Batista conquers Lesnar with either the Batista Bomb or a submission hold Batista establishes as his own signature.

The Shield vs The Wyatt Family (Tornado Tag, No DQ)
     This match would simply be a brawl from beginning to end. Some notable spots would be Roman reigns spearing Eric Rowan through the barricade, a triple powerbomb through a table, and Wyatt hitting Sister Abigail onto a folding chair. Bray Wyatt and Roman Reigns would be he stars of the match, while Rollins and Harper are the workhorses, taking most of the bumps. Rowan gets some domination in, maybe performing a double splash on Ambrose and Rollins.

The Result: The Wyatts win after Bray Wyatt pins Dean Ambrose.

Undertaker vs John Cena
      The drama behind this match would be incredible. Neither man is known for losing in the big-match situations. The story is a simple challenge made by Cena, which Taker accepts. There are no stipulations (maybe no disqualifications, but nothing gimmicky), no sneak attacks with the urn, it is just a story of Cena trying to prove himself.

     The match itself would be a dramatic affair full of near falls and a few brutal spots. Cena delivers an Attitude Adjustment on the bottom section of the steel steps, and Undertaker hits a Last Ride through the Spanish announce table.

The Result: Undertaker wins after 3 Tombstone Piledrivers

CM Punk vs Triple H
     WWE seems to be building towards this match happening. So I'll just assume it is happening. It's not my personal choice for a CM Punk Wrestlemania match, but it seems likely at this point. Maybe to add a little more to the match, Motorhead can perform Bow Down to the King for Triple H (CM Punk had his band entrance last year)

The Result: CM Punk wins after countering the Pedigree into the Anaconda Vice.

Randy Orton (c) vs Daniel Bryan for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship
     It is time for WWE to end this rivalry the right way. In buildup to this match, Daniel Bryan will have won the Royal Rumble, and Randy Orton will have defeated Punk & Cena. (I like to imagine a Wrestlemania-quality Triple Threat Match happens at the Rumble or Elimination Chamber) Bryan has to go through the gauntlet to get his title match though, including defeating his former friend Kane and winning the Elimination Chamber. Finally the two meet in the main event of Wrestlemania.

     They should make this seem like a big deal. Have former champions like Bruno Sammartino, Hulk Hogan, Bret Hart, The Rock, Steve Austin and whoever else they can get their hands on talk about this match on Raw. That will put both men over big time.

     There will be no interference. Kane, Triple H and The Shield will all stay far away for this match.

The Result: Daniel Bryan pins Orton after the flying knee strike.

Additional Information:
There is a distinct lack of stars at this Wrestlemania. (Rhodes Brothers, Jericho and Ryback are all absent) This is because the Raw after Wrestlemania always gets a huge turnout and has become just as important as Wrestlemania. The card for the Raw after is as follows:

Ryback vs Razor Ramon: The Bad Guy vs The Big Guy
    Apparently Ryback and Scott Hall are good friends in real life, as Ryan Reeves idolized Razor growing up. I think that Ryback could probably carry Ramon through a serviceable match. (heh, Ryback carrying someone. There's a change)

Rhodes Brothers vs (heel tag team of the week)

Antonio Cesaro & Hulk Hogan vs Jack Swagger & Zeb Colter in a Tag Match
     This match ends in a No Contest. A ton of lower card heels (Hawkins, Slater, Mahal, Fandango etc.) hit the ring and attack Cesaro, only for Cesaro and Hogan to fight them off together. This would give Hogan something to do, and give Antonio a bit of a rub)

DDP/Randy Orton Segment
     They have an in ring confrontation, which ends with DDP hitting the Diamond Cutter. DDP is in great shape right now, and if he is feeling up for it, they should book DDP vs Randy Orton at Extreme Rules.

(Winner of the Battle Royal) vs Big Show/Kane
     The winner of the Battle Royal at Wrestlemania adds to his push by facing either Kane or Big Show (whoever doesn't face Rey at Wrestlemania gets a spot on the Raw card)

CM Punk vs Jake "The Snake" Roberts
    This is a very respectful match. Both men shake hands before and after. Jake starts off working the arm of Punk, but then a quick counter finds Roberts on the receiving end of a body slam and a leg drop. Punk hits the diving elbow for a 2 count. The Snake counters the GTS into a DDT. Punk puts his foot on the rope. Jake goes for a short-arm clothesline but Punk reverses into an arm-trap neckbreaker. Both men are down. Suddenly, Alberto del Rio approaches the ring and gives Jake a kick to the head, before locking Punk in the armbar on the arm that Jake was working over. Alberto and Punk feud for a bit.

Big E Langston vs Sheamus for the Intercontinental Title
     Langston and Sheamus have a brutal power match on Raw, and Big E goes over again.

Daniel Bryan vs Rob Van Dam vs Chris Jericho for the WWE World Heavyweight Title
     The night ends with an epic Triple Threat Match. The match strongly teases Van Dam winning (the commentators play up Bryan's notoriously short title reigns in the past) but in the end, Bryan wins. RVD and Daniel have a Hardcore Match at Extreme Rules, which Bryan also wins.

Russo is Wrestling

Let me preface this by saying that I love Vince Russo as a booker. When he is on, he is one of the best writers in pro wrestling... and then there's when he's off...


WCW in 2000 is known for its ridiculous, car wreck booking, where wrestlers arbitrarily turned face or heel in SWERVES or when wrestlers “went off script” in worked shoots. Bash at the Beach is infamous for Jeff Jarrett laying down to take a fall for Hogan, followed by Vince Russo's scathing shoot.


But what if wrestling was always that crazy?


This series “Russo is Wrestling” is a Fantasy Booking scenario where, instead of me booking the events as I would, I book them as Vinny Ru would have. So without further ado, let's get started with...


Russo-Mania III

The Can-Am Connection vs Bob Orton & Don Muraco never officially gets started, as Tom Zenk drops from the apron and leaves claiming he's “had enough of this shit.” The match continues as a 2-on-1 handicap match until Tito Santana runs in to join the tag match, but SWERVE Rick Martel takes him out, and Orton, Muraco and Mr. Fuji join Martel in beating Santana down. The three men all raise their arms in the air and leave as a heel stable.


Billy Jack Haynes vs Hercules ends as it did normally, with a double countout, but afterwards, the Heenan Family (Bundy, Harley Race, Greg Valentine & Rick Rude hit the ring and circle the two men but SWERVE they all attack Hercules. It looks as if Billy Jack joined the Heenan Family when SWERVE they attack Bobby Heenan. The crowd is confused as to whether Heenan turned face, Billy Jack turned heel or the Heenan Family turned face. The Heenan Family leaves to no reaction.


Harley Race comes out in street clothes (Bobby Heenan is back with him for some reason) and cuts a worked shoot about how the WWF has mistreated him and made him dress like a goofy king when in NWA he was a ruthless and legendary competitor. Gorilla and Jesse Ventura talk about how he's going off the script. He walks out and right past the Junkyard Dog. The match never happens.


Roddy Piper vs Adrian Adonis is an all out brawl. Halfway through the match, Jimmy Hart nails Piper with the megaphone. This prompts Junkyard Dog to come out with The Killer Bees and they brawl with Jimmy Hart and Adonis. Honky Tonk Man, Jim Neidhart and Danny Davis join the melee, attacking Dog and the Bees. Finally Randy Savage comes to make the save, turning face and getting a massive pop from the audience. He takes out all the heels and then helps Piper up. However, creative forgot that he needed to be a hated heel for his Steamboat match, so they quickly told Steamboat to run to the ring and nail Savage with the ring bell. Steamboat turns heel, but nobody in the crowd buys it. Steamboat then accidentally turns face by helping Piper pin Adonis, and to save the situation, Savage hits Steamboat with the bell, turning heel again.


Bret Hart then faces Davey Boy Smith in a Matilda on a Pole Match. After a run in from Jim Neidhart, Bret retrieves Matillda. (This story later advances to Bret cooking Matilda and feeding her to Davey and Dynamite Kid, leading to a Kennel from Hell tag match between the Bulldogs and the Hart Foundation, which ends in a countout.


Butch Reed and Koko B Ware have a quick match, where midway through, Butch Reed bumps the ref. A second, masked referee comes to the ring and the match continues until Koko hits the brainbuster. Suddenly the masked ref pulls out a taser and stuns Koko, letting Butch Reed get the fall. The ref removes his mask to reveal...

That's right! It's Scott Hall!

The crowd has no idea who he is, and although Monsoon tries his best to sell the swerve, nobody cares because it is Butch Reed and Koko B Ware. (Believe me, if there was any way to turn Koko's parrot Frankie heel, Russo would have thought of it.)

(Two weeks later, Scott Hall is released, and nothing is made of the story)

Ricky Steamboat vs Randy Savage is about to begin when suddenly Steamboat is found injured in the back. George Steele goes to the ring in his place. Curiously, Miss Elizabeth is not at ringside either. Midway through the match, Steamboat appears on a screen,making out with Liz. Savage watches on, pissed. Steamboat says that he faked the injury and revealed that Liz was pregnant with Ricky's son! As Macho is distracted, Steele rolls him up, but Savage kicks out anyway, only to leave the ring and lose by countout as he went backstage to hunt down Steamboat.


Backstage, Savage picks up a chair and waits for Ricky to turn the corner, but Elizabeth does first and Macho Man accidentally blasts her with the chair, causing her to lose her baby. (This segment is aborted by creative at some point, and Macho and Liz are back together on the next edition of Superstars)



The Jake Roberts vs Honky Tonk Man match is a Guitar on a Pole match, which Alice Cooper wins after smashing Honky with a guitar. After the match, Jake hits Cooper with the DDT, turning heel. Rick Martel, Don Muraco and Bob Orton come out and raise Jake's hand. (Jake becomes the leader of this faction, and the others are all given snake-themed names like Copperhead, Viper, and Cobra. The faction lasts until Survivor Series, where they disband and all eliminate each other by DQ and countout)

Sheik and Volkoff defeat the Killer Bees by disqualification after Hacksaw Jim Duggan runs out with the 2x4. He teases hitting the Bees (for some reason. He's a face so nobody understands his heel turn tease) before hitting Iron Sheik. Volkoff then puts Sheik in the bearhug, turning face and joining the Killer Bees, until Jmping Jim Brunzell turns heel, taking out Blair and Volkoff.

The match is then restarted as Sheik & Brunzell vs Blair & Volkoff, which ends in a no contest when SWERVE Duggan takes out all four men, turning heel and leaving with Slick to no crowd reaction.

Finally, we get to the main event. Hulk Hogan takes on Andre the Giant. The match begins as it did, with Andre punishing early on. Eventually, it looks like Andre may be about to hit the big splash, when Heenan SWERVE trips him, followed by a Hogan roll-up. Hogan gets the 3 count, turns heel, and retains the title. A furious Jack Tunney has the match restarted.

This time, there is a ref bump after an accidental Hogan clothesline. Andre hits a butterfly suplex on Hogan and a masked referee (that is ridiculously obviously King Kong Bundy) makes the fast count. Andre wins the title. The referee removes his mask to reveal King Kong Bundy! Literally nobody in the arena is surprised, although Monsoon and Ventura sell the hell out of it. The crowd is more confused than anything. Is Hogan a face or a heel? What is Heenan's role in this? Who writes this crap?

Russo comes out, and says that we are going to leave Wrestlemania with a definitive champion. He orders a no disqualification match to begin immediately. This time, a brawl breaks out when the Heenan Family runs in and attacks Hogan, but Hogan is saved by Randy Savage and JYD. The two factions brawl, resulting in Bobby Heenan taking a chair shot from Savage. Heenan falls on top of Andre, and Dave Hebner counts the pin. Bobby "The Brain" Heenan leaves Pontiac, Michigan with the WWF Title.

Your new WWF Champion

(On the next Superstars, Heenan relinquishes the belt The title bounces between Hogan, Andre and Savage for the next few weeks, until Harley Race makes his return and wins the belt.)

Hope you enjoyed, more editions of Russo is Wrestling to come.

Fantasy Match 1: Authority vs The Union 2013 War Games

War Games: The Authority vs. The Union

Authority: Ambrose, Rollins, Reigns, Orton & HHH (w. Kane & Stephanie at ringside)

Union: Bryan, Punk, Big Show, Cody Rhodes, Goldust (w. Dusty at ringside)

Interval 1
Ambrose & Bryan open the match. There is a back and forth brawl early on, with Ambrose using a series of chops and open-handed strikes, and Bryan using roundhouse kicks to the body. Eventually, Bryan takes advantage, hitting a running dropkick to the face of Ambrose and then sending him flying face-first into the cage. (If this match is TV14, Ambrose would be a bloody mess at this stage) Bryan hits a running neckbreaker and a diving headbutt from the second rope. Ambrose returns to his feet with a drop toe hold, and begins stomping away at Bryan, before raking his face into the cage. Ambrose sets Bryan up for a superplex, but Bryan counters with a stiff boot to the face, followed by a torpedo dropkick. Dean stumbles through the ropes into the second ring, and Daniel does a plancha over both sets of ropes, dropping Ambrose and himself until the next entrant.


 Next Entrant: Roman Reigns

Reigns goes after Bryan furiously, repeatedly picking him up and throwing him into the cage, head-first and back-first. Ambrose returns to his feet, and they pick up a bruised and welted (and possibly bloody) Daniel for a double suplex, and then an aided powerbomb from Roman. Daniel has difficulty getting back to his feet, but is able to, aided by the ropes and cage. Reigns goes for the spear, but Bryan dodges, and Reigns smashes face and shoulder-first into the cage, temporarily downing himself. Ambrose hits a DDT on Bryan and awaits the next opponent, arriving shortly.


Next Entrant: Goldsust
Goldust hits a running clothesline on Ambrose, an inverted atomic drop and then a ceiling-aided hurricanrana on Roman. Bryan returns to his feet and nails Ambrose with a running dropkick. Goldust works over Reigns, hitting another inverted atomic drop, and several slaps and thrusts to the throat. Goldust goes for a running clothesline but Reigns hits the spinebuster on him. Meanwhile Ambrose and Bryan continue to pummel each other, using the cage to do so. Ambrose takes advantage by gouging Bryan's eyes, and delivering a snap DDT in between the two rings. The last ten seconds ends with Goldust delivering a low blow to Reigns, leaving everyone down.


Next Entrant: Seth Rollins

Rollins stomps Goldust and Bryan, before helping Roman to his feet. He tries to help Ambrose, but he is exhausted, and can't get to his feet yet. Rollins and Reigns go after the fresh man, Goldust. They take turns throwing him into the cage, and then Reigns hits the spear. They turn their attention to Bryan. The Shield all work together to deliver a triple powerbomb, also hitting Bryan's head off the roof. Bryan is out, and The Shield knows it. They turn their attack back on Goldust, who hits a desperation double low blow on Ambrose and Reigns before hitting his corkscrew suplex slam on Rollins. Everyone is down as the next participant makes his way to the ring


Next Entrant: Cody Rhodes
The Shield slowly gets to their feet, and Cody takes them all down, one by one. He hits the Alabama Slam on Rollins, the Disaster Kick on Reigns, and then both he and Goldust do a double bionic elbow on Ambrose. Rhodes locks the figure-four leglock on Ambrose, and Goldust puts a sleeper on Rollins, but Goldust is blasted by a Roman Reigns spear. Cody dropkicks Reigns, but is jumped by Rollins, who hits a Blackout to the young Rhodes brother. Ambrose crawls over Rhodes' body and chokes, bites and pummels him with punches. The rest of the Shield join in, but Bryan makes the save, performing a second suicide dive onto the Shield. Rhodes helps Bryan and Goldust up and they begin stomping the Shield.

Next Entrant: Randy Orton (w. Kane)
Orton enters the rings to a 3-on-1 attack: Goldust hits the kneeling throat thrust, Rhodes hits the Disaster Kick and Bryan hits the high knee. Suddenly, Kane enters the ring, as the door hadn't been shut yet, and lays waste to the three, hitting a big boot on Goldust and a double chokeslam on Rhodes and Bryan. Kane exits the rings. Orton and Reigns get to their feet and attack the Rhodes brothers. Orton hits Cody with a rope-hung DDT, and Reigns hits Goldust with a fallaway slam into the cage. Ambrose and Rollins get up and hit a double DDT on Bryan and then they join Roman Reigns to hit a triple powerbomb on each Rhodes brother.


Next Entrant: Big Show
Big Show hits a double spear on Reigns and Ambrose, and gorilla presses Rollins into the second ring, before throwing Orton face-first into the cage. He nails Orton with a big lariat, and a sidewalk slam. Reigns kicks Show in the kidneys, and slams his head into the cage. Show retaliates with a headbutt, and then Orton nails the giant with a low blow and an RKO. Cody Rhodes hits a diving cross-body on Reigns and then goes to hit Orton with another Disaster Kick, but Orton ducks and hits a backbreaker. Randy sets Rhodes up for the punt, but a timely powerslam by Goldust saves him. Big Show gets up to his knees as he watches the next person enter.

Next Entrant: Triple H (with Stephanie)
Hunter hits a jumping knee facebuster on Big Show, and a clothesline on Goldust, before throwing Cody Rhodes into the cage. He then goes over to a beaten Daniel Bryan and pummels him with right hands. Rollins meanwhile takes a huge chokeslam from Big Show, who then rams Ambrose into the cage. Orton dropkicks Big Show in the back, and then assists the Shield in nailing the giant with a wicked Quadruple powerbomb that shakes the ring and leaves everyone in awe. Rhodes tries to sneak up on Triple H and hit the Cross-Rhodes, but the Game reverses it into a Pedigree.


Next Entrant: CM Punk
THE MATCH BEYOND BEGINS

Punk runs to the rings, and enters by hitting a springboard double clothesline on both Ambrose and Rollins. Reigns goes for a lariat, but gets caught in an arm-trap neckbreaker. Orton then gets hit with a Shining Wizard and a short-arm clothesline. Triple H blindsides Punk and hits him with a clothesline. Hunter then hits him with a series of right hands, but Punk counters with some chops and a spinning back kick. A Punk clothesline misses and then Reigns interjects with a spear. Bryan, given a chance to recover, hits Reigns with a torpedo dropkick, and Goldust does an incredible suicide dive over the ropes onto Rollins and Ambrose.

Triple H gets hit with a throat thrust, high kick, Disaster Kick, WMD and flying knee from each of his opponents. Big Show goes for the Colossal Clutch, but Randy hits him with the punt. All Punk, Bryan and the Rhodes brothers attack Orton. The Shield rejoin the melee and everyone picks somebody to fight. Ambrose and Punk duel, Reigns battles Cody, Rollins battles Goldust and Orton and Bryan fight. This buys Stephanie time to pass a sledgehammer through to Triple H Punk hits the GTS on Ambrose, and Cody Rhodes hits the Cross Rhodes on Reigns. The Game goes to nail Punk with the sledgehammer but misses and nails Orton. Punk quickly drops down to lock in the Anaconda Vice on Randy, while Bryan takes Triple H down in the Yes Lock. Big Show and the Rhodes brothers hold the Shield back as Orton and Triple H tap simultaneously.

I hope you enjoyed this match. I have more ideas on the way for future bouts.