Wrestlemania this weekend

[The Legend]

So with that, I figured I'd catch everybody that doesn't really watch any more up on what the card looks like and what's kind of going on. As well as provide my projections as to what they can do with the card as it stands:

Day 1
KO Show w/ Steve Austin – Not sure what to make of this segment and what to expect, since calling it a talk show segment leaves it pretty open-ended. There’s a lot of talk that this might close the first night, but I think it’s better to open the show and get the crowd excited for what’s to come. There needs to be a pretty good back and forth on the microphone between to two, buChart it should also lead somewhere useful. With that in mind I’d set up the segment to look like it’s going to be Austin stunning Owens, but he escapes and turns the tables. Just before he stuns Austin, Finn Balor comes out and distracts Owens, setting up Austin to do the stunner and share some Broken Skull Lager in the ring with Balor, while they set up a Balor/Owens new feud.

RAW Women’s Championship – Becky Lynch (C) vs Bianca Bel Air – This feud could have been far better developed and far more interesting. That being said, the action in the ring will still make this a good match to follow Austin/Owens and not totally let down the crowd. Lynch needs to retain here, but she also needs to figure out how to blend the best parts of being ‘The Man’ with her new egotistical heel character. This should be a good match that Lynch looks like she can win clean, but Bel Air flips the script on her, just to be screwed by a cheating Lynch to continue her reign.

Drew McIntyre vs Happy Corbin w/Madcap Moss – I can’t muster any way to care about this match, no matter how hard I try. I mean, the guy that carried the company for a year and main evented two years in a row is now in a low card comedy act’s spot on the card. McIntyre needs to squash Corbin and Moss in impressive fashion. I’d have him beat Corbin with Moss coming in after the match to try and get a sneaky upper hand on him. Instead McIntyre catches him and Moss runs off. McIntyre catches up to him on the stage and gives him a claymore kick off of the stage.

Smackdown Tag Championship – The Usos (C) vs Nakamura and Rick Boogs – The Usos have got to be the most uninteresting champions in WWE right now. I mean without the New Day or another good rival they are just floating along. That being said, I think Nakamura and Boogs could do some interesting things with the belts if given a decent chance with them. Boogs is improving and they are definitely over with the crowd. I’d feature Boogs’ power in his team getting the upper hand before Nakamura puts away the Usos with a new finisher to freshen him up a bit.

The Mysterios vs The Miz and Logan Paul – I understand the role of celebrity appearances on Wrestlemania and don’t hate them when they serve some sort of purpose, but this is just painful. There’s no ending to this match that gives anyone any sort of rub or does any good. So, just get in and do as little damage as possible. The least damaging thing they can do is have Rey do a move on the outside that takes Miz out, while Dominik beats Logan Paul and sends him off in the sunset. Let Miz and Rey get into a singles feud, because that’s actually a watchable idea.

Smackdown Women’s Championship – Charlotte Flair (C) vs Ronda Rousey – Honestly, they won’t do it, but WWE should keep the belt on Flair. Not because it’s a great idea, but because it’s too predictable for Rousey to come back and automatically get the belt. I’d have Charlotte not only win, but make Rousey tap out to the Figure 8. Then Rousey can go into a different direction where she has to build herself back up and do some soul searching on her way to climb the ladder.

Day 2
Raw Tag Championship – RK-Bro (C) vs Street Profits vs Alpha Academy – Chad Gable has made himself into a comedic genius and walking catchphrase. Give Alpha Academy the damn belts and let them run with it until the gimmick runs out of steam. In the process have some sort of confusion lead to the end of RK-Bro for good, because they’ve done about all they can do. Street Profits should just be there to take the pin after Riddle causes confusion by turning on Orton and the two go away brawling.

Johnny Knoxville vs Sami Zayn – The problem with Zayn’s gimmick is there’s not a natural way to bring it to a useful end where Zayn gets anything out of it. That being said, Knoxville needs to use the Anything Goes stipulation to get Zayn’s newest rival in Ricochet over by helping Knoxville get the win

WWE Women’s Tag Championship – Carmella and Zelina (C) vs Sasha Banks and Naomi vs Rhea Ripley and Liv Morgan vs Natalya and Shayna Baszler – Ripley and Morgan should walk out of Wrestlemania with the belts. They are fresh, their gimmicks and attire make them easy to understand why they are a team. Carmella and Zelina have done a decent job with what they’ve been given and should get a rematch, but give the belts to somebody new to start the new year post-Wrestlemania. Banks and Naomi make no sense and are clearly just a space filler until Bayley gets back, same as Natalya and Baszler.

Edge vs A.J. Styles – This one’s simple. Let two of the best to ever do it tear the house down. Styles wins clean.

Pat McAfee vs Austin Theory – This is probably the best use of ‘celebrity’ they’ve got going right now. Theory’s push is going really well right now and he should win. I’d have him win with the formulation of a new stable, kind of like the old Corporation idea, with Vince hiring him some guns to work with him and protect him. Those guys become too much for McAfee to overcome. I’d do a rematch at Backlash, where if Theory wins, McAfee leaves WWE commentary. A match that McAfee could win to set up a rubber match in early summer before Theory goes on to bigger and better things.

Unification Match – Brock Lesnar vs Roman Reigns – The WWE’s insistence on finding Wrestlemania moments have booked them into a corner with this one. Unifying the belts has never worked in the post brand split era and won’t work now. Beyond that, either of these guys winning doesn’t really do anything for anybody. Reigns had a great reign, but it’s out of steam. Lesnar is good right now with his face persona, but if he beats Reigns, he pretty much becomes the boring, dominating guy that nobody can beat again and dominates the title scene. Lesnar should win, but it’s a lesser of two evils kind of thing.

[AkydefGoldberg]

I was really hoping Austin would not return for a match so pleased he's returning for a segment and not doing some cheap stuff such as a 30 second match with a Stunner as Rock did three or four years ago. WWE must have really been desperate to drum sales with Austin on the card in his hometown to build this "feud" with KO.

The celebrity aspect to Mania seems weak. I mean is Knoxville still relevant? And the SD! Co commentator getting in on the action (he's a popular man apparently, maybe not universally) seems filling up the card.

On the main event and the biggest match of all time, I've been watching snippets but please Reigns has to win. They've built him up to the best he can be as a gimmick so to ruin it - and lose some shine from a potential Mania match with Rock next year? - would be abysmal yet true to Vince's appeasing of part time talent over other guys

Also, I see they are doing Mania over the weekend which I thought was a pandemic initiative but to do it with a live crowd is interesting? Stack the card over two days but day 2 will be the most in demand.

Anyway, that's my three cents worth as I procrastinate from my to do list :)

[KaiserGlider]

It says something about the state of the roster when there's not one, not two, but three matches centered around non-wrestlers. And yet, every time Johnny Knoxville's music hits the crowd goes nuts, so might as utilize him in what could be a fun encounter with Zayn. And Pat MacAfee apparently wrested well in NXT, though I didn't see it. He is really good on the mic though, so I don't have a problem with that match being made either, especially if Pat steals the show and ends up being involved in more matches in the future. Gotta take the star power whenever you can get it...

Edge vs AJ Styles will be good, but I'm not holding out hope for an instant classic here. The feud has been meh, probably in part because this is only the start of a trilogy of matches between the two. I had my hopes up for Styles vs Nakamura a few years back, and look how that turned out. This should feel like a Jericho/HBK or an Angle/HBK... but it doesn't. Just give these guys 30 minutes and keep WWE's "producers" the hell away from this match.

The Austin vs Kevin Owens segment/brawl/not match/thingy will get the crowd going like nothing else that night, which is why I wouldn't put in on first. I would put it later on in the show when the crowd needs a pickup. It depends on how long they fight. If it's the usual 2 minute "thesz press, mudhole stomps, Stunner" squash, then it doesn't really matter that much where it goes on the card. But if Austin is down to do a 10 or 15 minute brawl, then it'll be hard for anything else on the show to follow this, in terms of crowd reaction. It'll be interesting to see what shape Austin is in. If this goes well and he gets confident, perhaps he would be willing to do a real match somewhere down the line. Though he'll never top the way he went out at WrestleMania 19 against The Rock.

Ronda vs Charlotte. I kinda like Legend's idea of Charlotte getting the surprise win here and forcing Ronda to reevaluate herself. But that also means Charlotte wins, which doesn't do anything for Charlotte or the people who are sick of her. This should be a good main event. These two had a hell of a match at Survivor Series a few years back. If Charlotte wins, then go with Austin/Owens to close the night and send the fans home happy. If Ronda wins, this should go on last.

Becky vs Bianca has been building since the summer, but I haven't been following their feud on Raw. Should be a good match.

Roman vs Brock, title unification, is where it's at. Despite the jokes and memes that they are facing off for the third time, I have really enjoyed this feud and it absolutely feels like one of the biggest Wrestlemania matches of all time. Another story that has been building since Summerslam, with these two basically destroying everyone else on the WWE roster to get to each other. They better go all out. In a perfect world, The Rock would make a surprise appearance to tease a future program with Roman, maybe even help Roman win and join The Bloodline, then build the Rock/Roman story over the next year.

I actually think this is a good card (or the best card WWE could put on, given the circumstances they have created for themselves with their endless releases and lack of stars). I think it will be a fun show. After all, this will be the first Wrestlemania in 3 years with a full crowd. Does it need to be 2 nights? Eh, probably not, but WWE want to get as many guys on the card as possible while not wearing out the fans, so it is what it is. Though with that being said, neither the Intercontinental or United States Champion have a match.

[The Legend]

On the main event and the biggest match of all time, I've been watching snippets but please Reigns has to win. They've built him up to the best he can be as a gimmick so to ruin it - and lose some shine from a potential Mania match with Rock next year? - would be abysmal yet true to Vince's appeasing of part time talent over other guys

If Rock vs Reigns was a real possibility it would have happened at some point already. Dwayne Johnson is done with WWE. We'll never see him back and that's just the honest truth of the situation.

[AkydefGoldberg]

On the main event and the biggest match of all time, I've been watching snippets but please Reigns has to win. They've built him up to the best he can be as a gimmick so to ruin it - and lose some shine from a potential Mania match with Rock next year? - would be abysmal yet true to Vince's appeasing of part time talent over other guys

If Rock vs Reigns was a real possibility it would have happened at some point already. Dwayne Johnson is done with WWE. We'll never see him back and that's just the honest truth of the situation.

I think it's the only match that could bring him back even though he has been away for a while (can't remember when he was last on screen - it might have been the Mania match he had with Bray or whoever it was) and it has a story behind it.

It seems fitting to lose and officially retire and go into the HOF and he's done. But if it doesn't happen it's not the biggest hangover either.

[KaiserGlider]

Honestly, if you're The Rock, why would you ever wrestle again? The last time Rock worked a full match (vs Cena at Wrestlemania 29), he suffered several injuries, which interfered with his film schedule, likely pissing off a lot of people in Hollywood and costing them money. The Rock is certainly no less busy now than he was back then, but his body *is* 8 years older. He came back to WWE at a time when he was just starting to become the biggest movie star in the world, but wasn't quite there yet, so he used his WWE return to boost his star power in Hollwood. But I doubt he needs such a boost in 2022.

Also, The Rock may spend a lot of time in the gym, but in order to get ready for a match he would need to change his training style/diet, basically train for performance rather than looks, so that he doesn't go out there and get gassed and/or injure himself in 2 minutes. This also takes time, time he could be spending acting or promoting instead. And there's always the possibility that he gets into perfect ring shape and still gets hurt during the match anyway, so it would be risky for him to be scheduled in any big movie shoot right after the match. Imagine he pulls a Triple H, tears his quad, and is out for half a year after surgery. All of his movie roles seem to involve a lot of physicality...

So the two questions are, can Vince McMahon offer him enough money to offset the potential loss of box office revenue, and what kind of match would Dwayne be willing to come back for? Reigns makes the most sense, and Brock is the only other one that would be a big draw. But Rock shouldn't win either of those matches, so is he willing to come back to do the job? He did put Cena over, but only after beating him first.

He'll still come back every now and then and do a segment, I don't see why he wouldn't, but I'd be very [pleasantly] surprised if he works a full-length match ever again. I could see him doing a short retirement match years down the line when he's not as active in Hollywood as he is now.

[Everlong]

Completely agreed, Rock has no reason to ever wrestle again. And there's really no need for us to ever see it again.

That being said, the Austin moment last night was awesome. It was the only part of Wrestlemania I caught (found out about it at the last minute, turned it on right ast he KO show was about to start). I can't believe they actually had him wrestle a full match for the first time in 19 years. Yes, obviously he was limited and somewhat protected by the action, but man, that was a cool moment. Yes, he ended up winning the match, but there's no other way that story could have played out. Get him back in his home state in the city he debuted for one final match, 20 years later? No chance in hell you can have Austin lose that. Insane that two decades later the man still holds the audience in the palm of his hand. Truly one of a kind.

I just tuned in tonight and (to show you how out of the loop I am) I had no idea Edge was wrestling again. Edge vs. Styles is one of those matches I'd have loved to see years ago that I never would have thought would happen. Edge is looking significantly older but still appears to be in great shape, especially for his age. What's the story with his injury, how was it he was medically cleared when it seemed pretty certain to be a career ending neck issue?

[prophet]

Did they advertise Owens vs Austin as an actual match? I’m going to say they didn’t because I had no clue that was happening and it’s something I’d have definitely tried tuning in for.

I’ve not actually watched any of the show yet but social media is saying the Johnny Knoxville match was an absolute blast.

[Everlong]

Did they advertise Owens vs Austin as an actual match? I’m going to say they didn’t because I had no clue that was happening and it’s something I’d have definitely tried tuning in for.

I’ve not actually watched any of the show yet but social media is saying the Johnny Knoxville match was an absolute blast.

They didn't, it was advertised as a "confrontation" on the KO Show segment. I was very surprised they turned it into an actual match. THere definitely seemed to be a lot of disbelief in the audience as well when the ref showed up and the bell rang.

[KaiserGlider]

Easily the best Wrestlemania since 30. Good matches everywhere, tons of surprises, and the crowd was into everything all night, both nights.

For me the best thing was the return of Cody Rhodes. For those of you who are out of the loop on wrestling these days, the reason why this is a big deal is that Cody Rhodes was one of AEW's biggest stars. In fact he is one of the founders of AEW. He competed in the first match on the first episode of Dynamite, and was their TNT Champion like a month ago. Not only is Cody Rhodes the ONLY wrestler thus far to have jumped ship from AEW to WWE, but he got to use the same music, the same entrance, the same nickname he had in AEW, and was presented as a BIG star right off the bat, even though he hadn't been with WWE in years and was a midcard act in his previous stint there. Not only that, but his return was against Seth Rollins, whom he BEAT CLEAN in a hell of a match. It was a surreal and historic moment.

Austin vs Owens was a close second. In the build up they specifically made sure not to call this a “match”, but it was heavily implied that Austin was going to get more physical than he usually does. I think the reason they didn’t promote this as a match ahead of time was to curb people’s expectations of Austin’s performance. But, if you announce it during the show as a surprise, then you instantly have the crowd going fucking nuts, because now they feel like they’re getting bonus content and they have no idea what will happen next. At that point it doesn’t matter how long the match is or how much work Austin does.

Austin wrestled brilliantly, proving why he is one of the GOATs. His ring rust was apparent, especially in the beginning of the match, but he covered it by constantly engaging the crowd. At first I honestly thought it was kinda sad how he felt the need to overdo the beer drinking gimmick because that’s all he had left. But as the match went on, it started to dawn on me that Austin might be telling a story, that maybe the beers were revitalizing him, and that’s why he seemed to be moving faster and faster as the match went on. He was never going to outdo the last match he had with The Rock at Wrestlemania 19, but as far as having a crowd pleasing performance, it doesn’t get much better than this.

I think this show really illustrated how important expectations are. All the surprises or the stuff that had little or no expectations attached to it - the Johnny Knoxville, Pat MacAfee, Logan Paul matches, Vince wrestling again, Triple H leaving his boots in the ring, Austin’s segments, etc, were awesome and the crowd was super into them, while the stuff that was supposed to be good (Edge vs Styles, Roman vs Brock) felt like a letdown. The key to happiness is no expectations.

Night 1 was the better show overall. There was pacing issues on Night 2 and the anticlimactic finish to the show. I could have done without The Undertaker coming out for the third night in a row to stand around forever, while the main event billed as “The Biggest Match of all Time” only got 12 minutes!? I don’t know if Roman got hurt, or Vince went on too long, or Brock just doesn’t want to do anything new, but this match just felt rushed. Even Roman’s victory in the main event of last year’s Wrestlemania felt like a bigger moment than this. So... that’s 3 Wrestlemania main events for these guys, plus numerous other PPV main events, and their first match against each other still remains their best one.

[AkydefGoldberg]

It's a shame Reigns and Lesnar were injured during the match as my first thought was "Reigns is going to win the biggest match of his career and he's injured again"

But it seems judging by his on screen involvement he's managing the shoulder problem (as he doesn't seem to wrestle much these days) and keep the momentum going.

Really happy for Austin - he seems to have made the match as best as he could although at his age, unsurprised he was showing his years a little bit. I always thought WM19 was perfect ending for him but Vince must have offered enough coin for him to do this.

I've not watched a lick of Rhodes in AEW but his passion for the business in various interviews has won me over and delighted he had his return.