Road to Wrestlemania: First Stop

In WWE the Road to Wrestlemania ends at Jet-Life Stadium on April 7, but began on Sunday at the Royal Rumble. The Wrestlemania main event is pretty much set now, with a rematch between The Rock and John Cena. The internet wrestling community is up in arms over Cena's Rumble win and The Rock ending CM Punk's 435 day run as WWE Champion. I'm a Punk fan, but understand that Rocky winning is the right move for business in what could be the highest grossing Wrestlemania of all-time. Rock being champion is just going to add awareness into the product as he promotes his current crop of movies while wearing the spinner-belt. You had to be gullible to think last year's main even was really going to be Once in a Lifetime, and  I'm sure that WWE has a good plan set to make this year's Rock-Cena build different than last year's.

The seeds to another main match were planted the following night on Raw when Brock Lesnar returned to attack Vince McMahon, who was about to fire his agent, Paul Heyman. (By the way, Heyman has been gold on the mic since returning to WWE last year.) The next logical step is to have Vince's son-in-law, Triple H step-in to seek revenge for the chairman and avenge his Summerslam loss by challenging Brock to a match at 'Mania. Rumors have it that Lesnar has signed a new 2-year deal to keep him in the WWE in a part-time role through Wrestlemania 31, so it wouldn't make sense for him to lose, but marrying the boss' daughter has it's perks and I doubt HHH goes 0-2 against Lesnar. Another possibility is for Triple H to step aside and book Lesnar against an unstoppable monster like Ryback.

It's disappointing as someone attending this year's Mania, to hear that Undertaker may not be able to defend his undefeated streak this year because of ongoing injuries. Reports are that 'Taker may sit out after having 4-straight match of the year candidates at the Grandaddy of 'Em All , instead of going through the motions and having a match that won't live up to his expectations.

CM Punk who was rumored to be 'Taker's opponent might be looking for a Wrestlemania match after being champion for all of 2012. You can throw him in with Cena and Rock, making it a triple threat, or possibly part of a big 8-man fight with the Shield against 4 good guys. 

Finally, at this point it looks like Alberto Del Rio will keep the World Heavyweight strap into Wrestlemania. There have been a couple of opponents rumored for him,but I would go with Dolph Ziggler cashing in his briefcase for a title shot at WWE's showcase event.

Super Weekend Preview

The Super Bowl matchup between the Ravens and 49ers is sharing this weekend by a UFC super-fight between the 145-pound champion and a man that got screwed over twice by the judges and should still be 155-pound champion, Jose Aldo and Frankie Edgar. I'm going to preview both events so you get ready for Super Weekend 2013!!!

UFC 156

If you want, you can go back to my posts in February and August to read up on why I thought Frankie Edgar was on the wrong end of the decisions in his title fights against Ben Henderson, but that is in the past now. UFC 156 is a stacked card, and I will list the 5 fighters with the most to gain in their fights.

1) Frankie Edgar

"The Answer" is making his featherweight debut and has a chance to join Hall of Famers BJ Penn and Randy Couture as the only men to hold titles in two different weight classes. Fair or unfair, many people, including Dana White, feel like the 145-pound division is where Edgar is "supposed to be", thus making his accomplishments at lightweight even more impressive. A lot of people are counting Edgar out against one of the best pound for pound fighters in the Octagon, but those same experts said he couldn't beat BJ Penn, and he did (twice!!!). It will be interesting to see how Edgar fights at the lighter weight class, perhaps losing his speed advantage but being more equal in the power game. A win on Saturday will cement his legacy as one of the best fighters in the sport. A loss however would put him at a crossroads in his career as he would have to start in the back of the line of title contenders. 

2) Alistair Overeem

The former Dream and Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion had an impressive debut last December against Brock Lesnar, abolishing him back to the WWE with a first round knockout. He earned a title shot against Junior dos Santos, but a failed drug test cost him his chance, and was suspended for the rest of the year. Now he is back and ready to get his career back on track against "Big Foot" Silva. Silva will be a good test for Overeem, having knockout power (as witnessed in his win against MMA legend Fedor Emelianenko), but he tends to have trouble against top level talent. A win against Silva will put the "Demolition Man" back in the hunt for the UFC belt, with either a grudge match against dos Santos or a title fight against Cain Velasquez awaiting him.

3) Jose Aldo

Aldo is looking to extend his 14-fight win streak, but has his toughest test to date against Frankie Edgar. There is no denying that Scarface is one of most dangerous and dynamic fighters in the sport, but is often overlooked, doing it in the less popular featherweight division. It is possible that Aldo may have a little bit of ring rust, not fighting since January due to several injuries. 

4) Rashad Evans

Evans is making his return to cage, after losing his title fight against Jon Jones, and is hoping to get back in contention for another title fight. It just might not be the light-heavyweight belt that he has his sights on. In the build to this fight, Evans has said that he would like a chance to fight Anderson Silva for the Middleweight championship, as well as a possible rematch against his rival "Bones" Jones. First, he is going to need a win against Little Nog to begin the chase toward either one of those potential fights.

5) Demian Maia

Maia is trying to get into the list of contenders for Georges St. Pierre's welterweight title. He is 2-0 in the division since moving down from middleweight, with wins against Don Hyung Kim and Rick Story. Jon Fitch is a tough test for him, with his only two UFC losses coming against GSP and Johnny Hendricks. Jon Fitch relies on his wrestling, but has to be careful going to the ground against the Jiu-Jitsu black belt.

Super Bowl 47

Following Saturday's mega-fight, the nation will turn it's eyes to the biggest event in sports, the Super Bowl. This year matches up the Baltimore Ravens, looking for their second ring, and the 49ers, who are in their first Super Bowl since 1994, and could tie the Steeler with the most Super Bowl wins in history. 

The Ravens were the hottest team in the first half of the season, collecting a 9-2 record. The second half wasn't kind to Baltimore, as they finished 1-4, costing offensive coordinator Cam Cameron his job. Before the playoffs started, linebacker Ray Lewis announced his retirement at the end of the season, and looking back on it now fired up his squad. The team beat rookie Andrew Luck in the first round, and had a classic game in the second round against Peyton Manning's Broncos. With just over 30 seconds left, Joe Flacco threw a hail mary to Jacoby Jones to force overtime. Then, a Manning interception in overtime led to Justin Tucker's game winning field goal. Next up was a rematch from last year's AFC Championship Game with the Pats. The Ravens defense made Tom Brady uncomfortable all game, forcing him to throw 2 interceptions. Joe Flacco joined Mark Sanchez as the only two quarterbacks to defeat Peyton Manning and Tom Brady in the same post-season. 

The 49ers were pre-season favorites to get here, but they also took an unconventional route. After Alex Smith got injured during their Week 10 game against the Rams, second year pro Colin Kaepernick took over, and the team hasn't looked back since. After earning a bye in the first round, Kaepernick had a historic playoff game against the Packers, coming back from a pick six on his first drive of the game to pass for 263 yards and tack on another 181 yard on the ground, while scoring 4 total touchdowns. The 49ers found themselves in a 17-0 hole in the NFC Championship Game against the Falcons, and scored 28 of the games' final 35 points to walk away winners 28-24. 

Both of these teams are pretty evenly matched on both sides of the ball, except for one thing, which I think will determine the game. The 49ers are a younger and quicker squad, especially offensively, and feel that the Ravens defense will tire out as the game wears on. That being said, Baltimore has been deep in the playoffs the past five seasons, and Flacco has more big game experience than Kaepernick The Ravens defense was ranked 20th in the NFL in rushing yards allowed this season, and losses to the Eagles (Vick) and the Redskins (Griffin) show that they have trouble with rushing quarterbacks. I can see the first half being low-scoring, but the offenses take over towards the end. 

Prediction: 49ers 27 Ravens 17