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Between now and Sunday night we’re previewing the full card for WWE’s WrestleMania 25 PPV. In addition we’ll have a couple of WrestleMania-themed Roundtable articles going up on the site ahead of our live coverage this Sunday night which kicks off at around 5pm EST/10pm UK time.

JBL defends his Intercontinental title against Rey Mysterio in Houston. The IC champ has also promised to make some kind of announcement at WrestleMania. What do we think of the build to the match and how will it pan out on Sunday? Read on…

Phil Lowe: Any interest I had in this match was lost this past Monday night on Raw. I know that nobody will be ordering the PPV for this match, but I have no idea why they bothered to do the match for free just six days before we’re paying to watch it. If they had to do it at all on television, why not a few weeks ago to build to a rematch in Houston?

This may be JBL’s last match and he’s promising a “historic announcement.” It may well be that he retires as IC champion in a similar way to Trish Stratus retiring as Women’s champion. It could be that he turns himself babyface in his home state of Texas before bowing out. Or, it could be something completely unexpected. With Tazz leaving the company earlier this week, it seems almost a given for JBL to move from the ring to the announce table after Sunday. But he has business interests away from wrestling so there’s still a chance that JBL could retire on Sunday then leave WWE completely. The match should be ok and the title could go either way depending on what WWE and Bradshaw have planned.

Mark Bright: If you’re sat reading through these previews and thinking “didn’t we just see this match on RAW for free?” you’d be correct. If you’re now thinking, “so if we saw it for free, why should we pay for it?” I really don’t have an answer for you. Despite long feuds with both Chris Jericho and Shawn Michaels, JBL’s second stint as a wrestler in WWE has pretty much from day 1 made me wish he’d jack it in and get started on his second stint as a commentator in WWE. I think I may get my wish after this Sunday, in a match that, if RAW is anything to go by, will see these guys work your classic big man v. small man match with JBL dominant and Rey the battling underdog spending the majority of the time selling, which is fine because Rey is one of the best wrestlers in the world at getting babyface sympathy.

But unfortunately JBL has gained a lot of the weight he lost in the early months of his comeback and his body is broken down, it’s almost like his retirement on this show is inevitable. That would seem to fit his proclamations of doing something historic at WrestleMania, and possibly going back to commentating after his match as well, which would seem more likely now that Tazz has left the company. The question is does he retire with the IC title? Even though Rey beat him on RAW so you’d think JBL gets his win back, I’m going to say no, and Rey wins the title here. There’s no reason for him to retire as champion, and honestly given his heel character the last few years, JBL is not the kind of wrestler whose farewell should be something where he can leave dominant and with his head held high, he’s the kind of wrestler who needs to be humiliated and job on the way out, if nothing else than to add heat for commentating on Rey’s matches in the future.

Also, his first stint ended with him doing back to back jobs to Mysterio, it would be some nice symmetry and a nod to the past if that’s also how his second stint as a wrestler ends.

Dan Short: For the first time in seven years, the Intercontinental Championship is being defended at WrestleMania. The last time it happened, Rob Van Dam defeated William Regal for the title. This time, we’re getting JBL and Rey Mysterio. Perhaps that’s why JBL said he was making this year’s WrestleMania historic. He’s bringing the Intercontinental Championship back into contention on the big show! That is pretty spectacular!

Joking aside, the fact that this match literally lacks any sort of build means no one is really going to care about it. JBL would need to dig deep and push himself beyond the limits and it’s obvious his body can’t do that. Rey-Rey can certainly go, but he’s only as good as his dance partner. And JBL hasn’t always been the best dance partner in the ring since his return not too long ago. I still try to wonder why he returned to the ring in the first place.

I’ll just keep it short and simple. Rey Mysterio to win the belt and had his name to the list of Triple Crown winners.

James Mustoe: It’s crazy that since I wrote my grumbling bit in the last Roundtable, these teams have wrestled again on Smackdown in a 6 man and the Rey/JBL match has actually already happened on RAW. Again, why would we want to pay to see these people wrestle when they’ve already wrestled on television so many times already…? I pick JBL to win the WM match, as Rey went over on RAW.

Michael Campbell: An almost worthless addition to the card this, in many ways. Rey is such a bystander, because the only interest in this is what JBL’s historic act/announcement will be. Worse still, Rey, the Babyface, last week on Raw, pinned JBL. So they’ve already had the match, the good guy has won, what’s the reason to care about the rematch?

It looks very much as if JBL plans to retire (a good idea), become a commentator, especially in light of Tazz’s release (a GREAT idea), and do so with the IC title still around his waist ( a HORRIBLE idea, unless they do an angle were other wrestlers are outraged and somehow it’s taken off him). Anyway, he’s promised something historic, and it’s hard to see what else it will be- although I’ve also heard talk about a storyline with him buying into the WWE and becoming a Manager figure. I wouldn’t hold my breath on this.

Don’t expect much from this, but it should be okay – they’ll keep the action short, and work a few smart and entertaining spots.

I was actually thinking how it would have been so much better to have Rey be the one to take on Jericho. He could have interrupted Jericho, saved Flair, or The King, and talked about his heritage, his mask- his love for the business, and respect for legends. It could have been a feud to touch on his own legacy, and they could have played off on their history across the globe. At least it would have delivered a quality (and fresh) Match, that would have been a fitting reward for Jericho’s outstanding work over the past six months or so. It would be logical too, and they could still have had Mickey Rourke appear, and Flair be in Rey’s corner. Ah well.

One really great thing about this match though- It’s the first time in years the IC belt has been defended at WM. Far too long – six years now is it? Ouch. Anyways, winner: JBL.