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Good Morning!
It’s finally here! The weekend we’ve been waiting for all week as FedHeads and Rock fans, Cody Crybabies and Punkers, and any number of other wrestling-related nicknames. The Road to WrestleMania ends in Philadelphia on Saturday and Sunday nights, a change that happened a few years back after somebody realized a four-plus hour show is cool on TV but absolute murder to the fans as the WWE expanded in global popularity.
I’ve been to a couple myself, as I’m sure I’ve mentioned before – Toronto’s WrestleMania X8 in 2002 (on St. Patrick’s Day, no less) and WrestleMania 34 in New Orleans in 2018 with my wife and my buddy. Both fantastic trips, memorable for the cities, the company, and the copious amounts of alcohol. But even in New Orleans, a city that stays open later than most, there was little in the way of transportation or late-night food available when Brock Lesnar put Roman Reigns down for good. So, the two-day schedule seems like a net positive for everybody. If I do another WrestleMania trip, and I hope to, I think the drinking probably gets slightly cut down and the non-wrestling activities maybe increase a little earlier in the week. I’ve heard rumors of Minnesota next year…I’ve never been, maybe that would be a fun trip. Who’s to say?
But I digress. We aren’t here to chat, we’re here to preview the Showcase of the Immortals, the Granddaddy of them All…it’s WrestleMania XL! Two nights of action with some great talent, nearly every WWE title on the line…oh, and an appearance by the biggest movie star in the world. It should be a blast!
WWE was nice enough to actually announce which matches are going to be on which nights, so we’ll preview them in the order they were announced. I feel like we’ve gotten an additional match added during the show a few times recently, like when we got a last-minute Stone Cold match with Kevin Owens, or when the Undertaker arrived at ‘Mania 34 to accept John Cena’s challenge. So I wouldn’t rule one out for Sunday, since that would give us an even split of 7-and-7 over the two nights. We also have NXT Stand and Deliver early on Saturday – 10AM for us here in Colorado – and I’ll begin work on that preview once I’ve watched Tuesday’s go-home show. We'll be previewing night one here, with a second post for the second night of WrestleMania coming a little later in the week.
As I said in other posts, I want this blog to work for both newcomers and die-hard fans. So, we’re gonna try something a little different today, using my wife’s steadfast rules for why wrestling matches happen alongside some brief summaries of the rivalries and personalities involved in the fights this weekend. The rules, of course, are as follows:
I don’t like you and want to fight you
Something was misunderstood between us and we must fight, only to figure out later that we are friends
“Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal!”
I WANT THAT CUMMERBUND (title)
WrestleMania Night One: Saturday
Rhea Ripley © versus Becky Lynch for the Women’s World Championship
Who’s fighting?
Rhea Ripley has been our champion for almost a year, winning the Women’s World Championship at last year’s WrestleMania over perpetual champ Charlotte Flair. Since then, Rhea has become the head of Judgment Day, a stable of guys who share a taste for violence, chaos, leather, and the color purple. She’s brash, confident, and tough as hell. Becky Lynch is a multi-time champ, proud Irish lass, and all around good-guy. She’s a mom, a fighter, goes by the nickname “The Man,” and earned a ton of street cred when she legit got her nose broken in a fight a few years back, giving us this immortal image:
Why are they fighting?
Reason 4, but with some 1 mixed in. Initially, Becky challenged Rhea because she wanted the belt and to prove herself; in the weeks since then, Becky has taken some comments Rhea made about Becky’s daughter as a personal slight, and the two have been brawling every time they met face to face since then.
Who’s gonna win?
Becky is great, but Rhea hasn’t really had that great of a title run. I think Rhea could retain, and the story evolves into her holding on while her Judgment Day cronies all lose their belts and begin to drift away. On the other hand, Becky winning could double down on that, with all of Judgment Day realizing they are better as singles wrestlers than as a collective. I’ve talked myself into it: Becky Lynch will win. Rhea deserves another title run, hopefully one with stronger opponents, and maybe some time without the belt will see some solid challengers rise up.
Gunther © versus Sami Zayn for the Intercontinental Championship
Who’s fighting?
Gunther is a giant of a man, formerly known as WALTER (in all caps) on the independent wrestling scene. He’s big, he’s Austrian, he’s mean, and he considers the ring sacred. He’s also been the Intercontinental Champion for, as of Friday, 666 days! He’s basically what WWE used to bank on in the 80s and 90s, a big foreign heel who frightens us with his stoic nature and horrifying power. Sami Zayn is the underdog among underdogs, a little guy with a big heart. His theme music sets the tone for his matches: infectious, catchy, and fun. This time last year, he and lifelong friend Kevin Owens were fighting the Usos for the tag team championships after Zayn broke away from the Bloodline, a team he talked his way into by being a lovable loser. This year, he’s fighting to make a name for himself again.
Why are they fighting?
This one’s all Reason 4. A Gauntlet match on Raw a few weeks ago saw Zayn earn an Intercontinental Championship match by defeating Chad Gable, a guy who had a number of chances to get that title off Gunther but never quite succeeded. Gable has turned into a coach for Zayn, helping the underdog to get inspired in his fight against the very large champion.
Who’s gonna win?
To be honest, I really wanted Chad Gable to win that gauntlet match and finally get that win over Gunther at WrestleMania. But we have what we have, and I don’t think there’s been enough build for Sami to overcome Gunther. If anything, I could see Gable screwing Zayn over, either by distracting him or by throwing in the towel during the match – something vaguely alluded to in Raw’s training montage that featured Gable and Zayn. Regardless of the way it happens, I think Gunther retains and headlines his “home show” as a champ.
Jimmy Uso versus Jey Uso
Who’s fighting?
As the last names suggest, these two are related. Twin brothers, cousins to Roman Reigns, and a former tag team, the Usos have gone from face painted, fun loving island boys to tough guy proprietors of the Uso Penitentiary. These days, Jimmy is the bad guy, still a part of Roman Reigns’ Bloodline. Jey broke away from that group after Roman treated both of them poorly, but after Jey defected, Roman made nice with the remaining Uso.
Why are they fighting?
The rare Rule 2 comes into play here, as these two will never be too far apart from one another. Right now, they’re at each other's throats; after they fight it out, maybe they team up again.
Who’s gonna win?
These two couldn’t have had more different trajectories after their breakup. Jey has main evented a few Raw shows, and is over as hell with his YEET catchphrase and fun interactive entrance. Jimmy has been a joke, both as Roman’s flunkie and as Solo Sikoa’s … handler? Jimmy’s had a little resurgence lately, but I think Jey deserves the win after doing some great work with his character. I don’t see this being a great match, but it should be fun.
The PowerBuff Girls (Bianca Belair, Naomi, and Jade Cargill) versus Damage CTRL (Dakota Kai, Kairi Sane, and Asuka)
Who’s fighting?
Bianca Belair is arguably the biggest star in this all-star showcase. She defeated Sasha Banks in her first WrestleMania match at 37, Becky Lynch at 38, and Asuka at 39 – all of them Hall of Fame level talent. A former track-and-field athlete, Belair has only been wrestling around six years, and her infectious smile, incredible power, and long braid that doubles as a weapon are trademarks of this great wrestler. Naomi is a former champ who recently returned to WWE after walking out of the company because of a dispute over the way the Tag Team titles she and Sasha Banks held – we talked about that after it happened. These days, she’s a happy go lucky good guy who’s known for her athleticism and great blacklight entrance. Jade Cargill will be participating in her first match in WWE: she was the longtime TBS champion in AEW, but signed with WWE recently and has been presented as a powerhouse and once-in-a-lifetime talent. She’s tall, looks like she’s been carved from granite, and could be Storm from the X-Men in real life. She’s also big into cosplay at big events – in AEW she dressed up as Cheetara from Thundercats and She-Hulk, among others – so keep an eye out for a cool debut look.
Asuka and Kairi Sane are the women’s tag team champs, Japanese superstars who came to the WWE and had varying levels of success. Kairi has come back to the company after leaving for Japan after a long first stint, and Asuka has been a multi-time champion and one of the best women’s wrestlers on the WWE roster. Kairi is an aerial specialist, and Asuka is more of a striker. Dakota Kai is the de facto leader of Damage CTRL now that they have excommunicated former leader Bayley, although that seems mostly due to the fact that she speaks the best English. A Kiwi and a striker, Kai has been a bad guy since coming up from NXT a couple years ago, and while she’s been sidelined with injuries for a lot of her main roster run, she’s a good performer with a lot of personality.
Why are they fighting? Rule 1: They just don’t like each other. Naomi defended Bayley after she was kicked out of Damage CTRL, in part because Naomi wasn’t around during Bayley’s long run as a bad guy. Bianca and Naomi are pals, and while Bianca has no love for Bayley, she’s not going to turn her back on her pal. And Jade recently joined the pair after a numbers-advantage beating happened last week and she saw the good guys needed some help. I saw the PowerBuff Girls name on social media and immediately adopted it for the trio.
Who’s gonna win? Jade Cargill is one of those people who just looks like a wrestler. She’s so impressive it almost doesn’t matter what she does in the ring. That being said, WWE has smartly booked her debut in a match with five women who can all hold their own in the ring, so any shortcomings Jade may still have can be glossed over by simply having her tag out. The PowerBuff Girls will win because that’s how you do a WrestleMania debut; see Rhodes, Cody for further details.
Judgment Day © versus #DIY versus The Awesome Truth versus The New Day versus A-Town Down Under versus New Catch Republic in a Six Pack Tag Team Ladder Match for the currently Undisputed Tag Team Championship
Who’s fighting?
*deep breath* The Judgment Day, represented in this match by Finn Balor and Damien Priest, have been Undisputed Tag Team Champions since October, when they defeated the short-lived tag team of Jey Uso and Cody Rhodes for the titles. They’re bad guys, Finn being more of a technician and off-the-top-ropes kind of fella and Priest the tall, thin muscle of the group. #DIY is a pair of good guys who have been partners (and enemies) since their days together in NXT. They had some of the best matches that developmental brand has ever seen, in between teaming up as DIY. Hard-hitting and hard-working, this will be their first WrestleMania appearance after finally becoming main-roster performers over the past year. The Awesome Truth is the recently-reunited team of The Miz and R-Truth. Miz was a reality show star on MTV back in the day, before becoming the Hollywood character he’s been for years in WWE. He’s safe, if a little boring, in the ring, and serves as a dependable opponent and the straight man in this comedy duo. R-Truth is timeless, a guy who’s been wrestling for decades, occasionally as a legit tough guy but mostly as a comedy act. In his currrent incarnation, he thought he was a part of the Judgment Day before they grew tired of his act and attacked him, bringing both Miz and #DIY to his rescue. Truth now believes #DIY to be Regeneration-X, the second coming of Triple H and Shawn Michaels, based on Tomasso Ciampa’s beard, i guess?
The New Day is represented by longtime fan favorites Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston. Kingston is a veteran and former world champ, formerly with a bad Jamaican gimmick but more recently just a good dude with incredible aerial skill. His spots in Royal Rumbles past are some of the most entertaining parts of those shows. Woods is a more mat-based wrestler, and is a popular video game streamer in his off hours. The two have won nine tag team championships together along third New Day member Big E, who unfortunately suffered a long-term neck injury a couple years ago and has yet to return to the ring. A-Town Down Under is a pair of good looking younger bad guys who have very high opinions of themselves. Austin Theory is the self-obsessed Atlanta native, Grayson Waller is the Aussie with great microphone skills, and the pair is likely participating to take some pretty nasty offense. And, finally, New Catch Republic is the most recent pairing in this match, but the Brits have worked with and against each other for years. Tyler Bate is quick, agile, and fun to watch, while Pete Dunne is brutal and violent, with a penchant for bending and breaking opponents’ fingers. *exhales*
Why are they fighting?
Reason 4 – everybody wants those titles! A tag team tournament was recently launched to decide who would participate in this match, and these five challengers won their way onto the WrestleMania card.
Who’s gonna win?
If you’ve never had the pleasure, a ladder match is the best kind of crazy. Even though this is a tag team match, there won’t be tag rules enforced – it’s just gonna be twelve guys wandering around, beating each other up. It’s gonna be mayhem, but the goal is to set up a ladder in the middle of the ring and bring down the title belts that are hanging high above it. Once the belts are unstrapped from their hanger, the match ends.
There used to be separate championships for both Raw and SmackDown, but the Usos unified those championships in May of 2022 and WWE never saw fit to split them since. However, a throwaway comment on Monday’s Raw specified that the match won’t end until both sets of belts come down, meaning we may see two different teams come out of this one as champions. I’d imagine each pair of belts will be suspended over corners of the ring, so we can get a dramatic double-climbing and double-winning. And since I feel like a happy ending would be nice here, I’ll go with #DIY and The Awesome Truth taking home the gold. They won’t be long-time champs – at least, Awesome Truth won’t be – but R-Truth really deserves a big moment at WrestleMania, and it would be nice for these onscreen buddies to all end up with gold.
Rey Mysterio and Dragon Lee versus “Dirty” Dominik Mysterio and Santos Escobar in a tag team match
Who’s fighting?
Rey Mysterio is probably the most famous luchador of all time, a masked hero who wins matches with his speed, fearlessness, and ability to fly from anywhere in the ring. His partner, Dragon Lee, is young luchador new to the WWE but with experience in Mexico, AEW, Japan, and elsewhere. Mysterio has said Lee is the next great luchador in WWE, and it’s hard to argue after seeing some of his matches – the kid is dynamite. Santos Escobar was formerly Rey Mysterio’s tag team partner and a member of Rey’s Latino World Order faction, a group founded by legendary wrestler Eddie Guerrero. Santos turned on Rey after Rey failed him as a mentor and faction leader, and inadvertently took Santos’ spot in a match that ended up getting Rey a United States Championship reign. Santos is a luchador as well, but without the mask. He’s also the leader of his own stable – the Legado del Fantasma, named after his father. “Dirty” Dominik Mysterio is Rey’s real-life son, but the two parted ways after Dom turned on Rey (kind of a theme here) and joined up with Rhea Ripley and the Judgment Day. Dominik tells us Rey was a deadbeat dad, and has had some pretty funny skits where he showed up at the family home only to be taken away in a police car, ending him in jail for several hours. Since then, Dom has been kind of a joke, a hardened criminal only in his own mind.
Why are they fighting?
Reason 1. These guys and their respective factions have been fighting for months, ever since Santos left the LWO and took Rey’s knee out in the process. Rey made his return a few weeks back, and in a promo segment with all members of the LWO and LDF in a ring, Rey challenged Santos and Dominik to a match against Rey and any member of the LWO. After they accepted, Rey revealed Dragon Lee as the newest member of his group.
Who’s gonna win?
Even though this is theoretically a two-on-two match, expect the entire lineups of both factions to get involved. Rey’s group includes older WWE superstar Carlito, two young high-flyers in Joaquin Wilde and Cruz del Toro, and manager/wrestler/anime enthusiast Zelina Vega. Santos counters with equally talented baddies Angel Garza and Humberto Carillo and manager/wrestler Elektra Lopez. It’s not often the good guys have the numbers, but Judgment Day’s newest recruit, Andrade, might show up to even things out. Either way, I think the good guys will win this one. Rey is great, and Dragon Lee deserves a chance to showcase his skills in a big win, on a grand stage.
The Bloodline (The Rock and Roman Reigns) versus Cody Rhodes and Seth “Freakin’” Rollins in a tag team match
Who’s fighting?
The Rock just might be the most famous man in the world. The guy got his start in the WWE, and is now playing the role of the Final Boss, a bad guy who loves throwing around his power, both literally and metaphorically. He’s big, strong, and unhappy, and he’s also a legitimate boss of WWE, as he owns a bunch of shares in TKO, WWE’s parent company. Rocky is using that reality to warp his character into a kind of authority figure, albeit one who isn’t really in charge of anything on the shows. Oh, and the Rock is also cousin to one Roman Reigns. Roman Reigns is our Tribal Chief, the Head of the Table, and has been the Undisputed Universal Champion for so long that WWE gave up and created a new title rather than figure out how to separate those titles after he won them both. He’s been champ for nearly four years now, rarely defending his titles and winning via interference from his family, which he calls The Bloodline.
Cody Rhodes is the white meat babyface, the good guy who inherited the role from guys like John Cena and Hulk Hogan. He believes in America, doing the right thing, and keeping his dog around more often than most folks. He’s a genuinely good dude, too, constantly getting caught in social media videos going the extra mile to make someone’s day. Cody is the son of a legendary wrestler in “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes, and while Cody was in the WWE for years, a lack of creative freedom compelled him to strike out on the independent circuit. There, he’d have a series of dream matches against opponents he respected before eventually becoming part of the group that founded All Elite Wrestling, which has grown into the second largest pro wrestling company in the US. Cody returned to WWE two years ago, a surprise opponent for Seth Rollins and a genuine shock to many of us fans. Seth Freakin’ Rollins has been a lot of things. His WWE story began as part of The Shield, a group that also included Roman Reigns. He turned on those guys and was a bad guy for a long time, working with evil authority figures and just being a bad dude. Currently, he’s a good guy, the holder of the second-most important title in the company, and a fashionista. The crowd will sing his song and he’ll absorb it for a long, long time.
Why are they fighting?
The Rock returned to WWE to fight Roman Reigns. He said he was thinking about taking the head of the table, and even though Cody won the Royal Rumble, guaranteeing him a title shot, Rock basically told him to step aside. Cody has been in a war with The Bloodline for over a year, winning the last two Royal Rumbles and getting screwed out of his championship hopes last year at WrestleMania. When Cody decided he was not going to get out of the Rock’s way, Rock turned on the hero, taking his insults against Roman as insults against his own family – which, technically, is true. Face slaps, beatings, and blood have been exchanged since then, culminating in a pair of matches this weekend. This tag team match will decide whether the Bloodline is barred from ringside during Sunday’s championship match between Cody and Roman; a win from the Bloodline means the match will be contested under Bloodline Rules, which basically means no rules at all if Monday’s preview match is to be believed.
Who’s gonna win?
This match is all about stacking the deck against Cody, and maybe setting up a future challenger or two in the process. The Rock and Roman Reigns will win via shenanigans and goings-on, setting up Bloodline Rules for Night Two’s singles match between Rhodes and Reigns. But there’s gonna be some drama in those shenanigans, too, with maybe some tension between the Tribal Chief and the Final Boss. It’s hard to fantasy book Rock into stuff, as we don’t know his schedule and if he’s even wanting to wrestle again after this weekend. But if he’s interested and these matches go well, I could see Rock facing Reigns as soon as SummerSlam, or even Rock facing Cody for the title if they’re going to let the Bloodline drama cook a little longer.
…and that’s it!
We already had an Untitled Monday Blog go up on, well, Monday, and the second half of this preview, as well as one for NXT Stand and Deliver, will be posted by the end of the week. We’ll make time to talk about AEW Dynamite during Casual Friday, too! Of course, I’ll let you know when those go live via the usual socials, dear reader.
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