Reported by Mike Siciliano of WrestleView.com
On Thursday, March 22, 2007 at 10:55 AM EST

I'm going to see if I can come at you with column length thoughts on the Wrestlemania marquis matchups. I would consider three of them to be MARQUIS. Batista vs. Undertaker. Cena vs. Michaels. And Money in the Bank. Yeah, you could consider the Battle of the Billionaires to be marquis, but honestly, who here gives a damn which one of these old geezers gets their heads shaved. I will be interested to see how Lashley and/or Umaga squashes the other, but the fact remains is that I am being sickened by this match because it's being shoved down our collective throats to the point of ad nauseum. It's not the main event, if it is placed there, it's a slap in the face to the four men fighting for the two most prestigious titles in the company. So, let's talk the three "main events." One at a time.

Money in the Bank is the most compelling match that I would consider out of the three. I'll start there, because obviously, its got the most bang for its buck. Literally. Let's run down the roster for this match. Raw sends in Jeff Hardy, Edge, and Randy Orton. Smackdown sends in Mr. Kennedy, King Booker, Matt Hardy & Finlay. ECW sends in CM Punk. It's one hell of a dichotomy of talents from every perspective.

Angle one. Brother vs. Brother. It's the first time since Jeff has come back where he and Matt will be technically on opposite sides of the coin. Yes, I would not be surprised to see both men take it to the six other opponents during the entire contest and avoid fisticuffs with each other for the majority of the match, but WWE would be a fool to not have Hardy take on Hardy during the match, it's compelling, and it could lead to some future dissension among the ranks. Matt vs. Jeff is a compelling match, and it will be focused on the wrestling now with the extra cirricular activities obviously out of WWE. (Redheaded woman.)

Angle two. The eventual destruction of Rated RKO. As much as I would've liked to see Edge come out of this match, it wasn't going to happen, and we all knew it. One way or another, he was going to sneak his way back in, although I don't like how he got it off the back of Ric Flair. I would LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to see Flair come out during MitB and take out Edge in some way as a retaliation for the final straw that broke Flair's chance at competing in this match for the shot at title #17. Orton is obviously out to get the title back, as his reign was scarred by his run with Evolution and the hounding by the Game. He and Edge seem to be on a collision course to major explosions, and as much as I think the world would like to see them compete one on one, in this chaotic environment, you're bound to get some major spots out of both men. The obvious question is what happens next with the tag team, will it survive, and what would come out of the match for both men, from a singles perspective? Intersting queries, to be discussed in a minute.

Angle three. The rookie. CM Punk is in his first Wrestlemania. He is the loner. He is the subject of a tug of war within ECW for the balance of power. Is it possible that we see some ECW interference in the MitB to help Punk win the match and hence sway his allegiance one way or another? I would doubt it, but the thought is there, and it's tangible enough to mention. Personally, I think Punk winning this match makes the most sense, because he has the most to gain as a viable contender to Lashley, as he has been "dominating" most of the talent that has been fed to him, and if we see Snitsky challenge for the ECW title, I swear I will throw up. ECW needs a title contender badly. CM Punk could be the man to take the brand on his shoulders. I think they're broad enough.

Angle four. The Smackdown contingent. Finlay has experience in money in the bank. Kennedy has all the talent on the planet and so much potential for future stardom its scary. Booker is a former six time world champion. 3 top blue and white heels. Will they form an alliance to work out the kinks of the other five combatants in this contest? Or will the ego of Kennedy, the arrognace of Booker, and the temper of Finlay be their own undoing? Alliances and survival in this type of match isn't beneficial, its MANDATORY if you're looking to grab the briefcase in the end. A little double cross here or there, and we've got three men here that are MASTERS of the double cross.

Four significant tangents that Money in the Bank can flow with, I would believe. Any one of them would be entertaining in this person's opinion. If you're going to pin me down and ask me to pick, here's how I see it.

Punk is the obvious underdog here. No allies, no experience in this type of stage, and being the lone ECW representative in the match is probably not the best thing for the Chicago native, as the focus may be swayed by WWE brass toward the big two brands. I would consider Punk the long shot to win the match, although truthfully, I will be routing for him. He has big match experience in the indies, but this is a whole different animal.

Matt & Jeff are obviously tag team specialists. They're in this match to rekindle some juice with Edge, and possibly to compete against each other. The truth of the matter is this, neither of them are singles world championship contenders. It's sad, because they're both pretty loyal soldiers, but I think they're doomed to singles midcard titles, IC, US, etc.

Finlay is, I think, the consummate maintenance man. He is so damn good in what he does that he could make anyone look good in any type of match. Yes, he is a former US champion, but the same thing can be said about Finlay that can be said about the Hardys. I think a World title run for the irishman is just not in the cards. Or in this case, rungs.

Kennedy winning this match is definitely worth debating. Kennedy has had world title match experience, and has the auditory ability to carry a brand. If Undertaker is succesful at Wrestlemania, Kennedy is a viable first contender, based on his prior feud with the Dead Man. And even if Batista does somehow miraculously win the match, Kennedy and Batista have history. Kennedy also has history with Lashley, so there could be some sort of a loophole, and bring Kennedy to ECW. Kennedy has a lot to gain by a good showing here, as his options are wide open. A victory would probably guarantee sometime before Wrestlemania 24, Ken Kennedy will have a reign as a World Champion in WWE.

The Bookerman is always a top flight combatant, and showed some great tenacity during reign number 6 as World Heavyweight champion. If he were to win, he could continue the king gimmick for the majority of the year and take it to a level that would be almost unlistenable, which means it would be working to a T, all puns intended. The one thing that needs to be said is this. Booker has just recently been to the mountaintop. WWE has shown a lot of a pattern on Smackdown to not have repetitive title reigns at the top of the mountain for their title holders. In other words, Booker is probably not going to see the world title again for sometime, so winning this match is not a necessity for the King to maintain his main event status. I would not expect anything but a terrific showing from the Houston, Texas native.

It leaves us with RKO, as the final two that I need to summarize. Personally, I hate both of these guys. As heels. I met both of them at sessions, and they were pretty cool. Orton's character shows a little too much arrogance in my opinion that I don't find enjoyable. Edge is just plain evil, and that's not too bad from where I sit. I also have enjoyed reading Edge's blogs on Myspace, although that has nothing to do with this match. It has, however, increased my opinion of the man. Common sense would dictate that both of these men will cancel each other out, and/or having Edge win his 2nd money in the bank match is just not feasible. I also believe that if Cena wins the WWE title match later in the night at Wrestlemania, that Edge is foolheartedy to try and take the feud with Cena again, as I doubt most of the hardline fans will accept a Cena/Edge WWE title feud again so soon after the last one completed. Orton vs. Cena does have some teeth behind it, and it has been executed at several house shows leading up on the road to Detroit. It is a little different tactic, and definitely worth the price of admission to see where the sneaky, underhanded Orton will take his chance and go for the title. But, the bottom line is, can Orton take the reigns of this opportunity and win Money in the Bank, even when a prize feud is blossoming in front of his eyes?

My answer is no.

I would believe, although I continue to say I will route for CM Punk, I believe Ken Kennedy is your winner for Money in the Bank. There are too many options that can be drawn out on Smackdown if Kennedy holds the briefcase. His arrogance with his character will just swell to a new level, and whomever is champion is going to have a major fight on their hands when Kennedy, who will search out every single advantage on the planet, cashes in the contract and goes for the gold.

What bothers me the most with this pick is this.

Michael Cole already picked Kennedy. How corny is that?

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See ya, everybody. I'll be back soon with preview pieces on Cena vs. Michaels and Batista vs. Taker.