It's the Let's Watch Some Wrestling Preview for Night One of WrestleMania!

 

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:

1. I don’t like you and want to fight you

2. Something was misunderstood between us and we must fight, only to figure out later that we are friends

3. “Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal!”

4. 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.

If you have questions, concerns, or comments, drop 'em in the comments section below! And follow me on Twitter (X), Facebook, BlueSky and/or Instagram using the links on the right.

Thank you so much for reading. If you liked what you saw, consider telling your friends, mentioning Let’s Watch Some Wrestling on social media, or even buying me a hot cup of coffee using the Ko-Fi button. Have a great week, and I’ll see you back here next time, dear reader. Until then, Let’s Watch Some Wrestling!

The offramp from the Road to WrestleMania, plus Collision and Rampage thoughts: It's the Untitled Monday Blog!

 

Good Morning!

I love a Saturday in Suburbia. The sun is shining, the lawn care machines are running, the kids are shooting hoops in the cul-de-sac. My wife and her buddy are watching something in the other room and laughing maniacally, but that’s why they made headphones. The wife and I spent the better part of this morning on lawn care duty, picking up after my two pups, laying down clover and grass seed, and burning the weeds and brush we cleared out earlier this week. I watched SmackDown this morning while grocery shopping, a surprisingly easy task when the store is mostly empty. And now we’re here, ready to recap SmackDown and add to it once Collision airs. It’s almost WrestleMania week! SUPER EXCITING TIMES!

Weekend Rasslin'!

With the weekend having been pretty busy, let’s jump right in with some thoughts on the penultimate SmackDown before WrestleMania, an episode of WWE TV that surprisingly didn’t focus on the Bloodline’s story. We got four matches, none of them great but all serviceable, and they were there to move their respective plot lines along anyways. We saw A-Town Down Under defeat a distracted Street Profits, and the New Catch Republic take out the previously-assaulted Humberto and Angel of the Legado del Fantasma. Those two winners will get to fight for the tag belts at WrestleMania, along with DIY, Awesome Truth, the New Day, and current champions Judgment Day. I would love to see R-Truth get a title win at WrestleMania, even if that means Miz gets another one as well. Truth is a ray of sunshine, and deserves the reward of even just a short title reign. The guy is just universally beloved, like Paul Rudd or Kermit the Frog.

We got a couple more matches announced during the show, too! Jade Cargill signed her SmackDown contract, and after the main event arrived to help Naomi and Bianca Belair as they were getting assaulted by Damage CTRL. She’ll be teaming up with Naomi and Belair against the Kabuki Warriors and Dakota Kai, just like we predicted last week! I think it’s a great way to showcase Jade in the ring next to and against a bunch of veteran performers who can help make her look good in the ring, and I envy Kairi Sane, who I imagine will be getting tossed around the ring by Jade.

The Ligado del Fantasma and Latino World Order had a big promo-off that led to Rey Mysterio and the newest member of the LWO, Dragon Lee, challenging Dominic Mysterio and Santos Escobar to a tag match at WrestleMania that will undoubtedly feature both of these groups in an all-out brawl by the end. I was hoping for a big old street fight, but this should be fun as Lee is fantastic and the other folks have all proven their chops in the ring.

Some good promo work tonight, as well, headed up by IYO SKY getting to talk smack to Bayley in Japanese! I love me a good native language promo, because it feels more natural and even though I’m reading subtitles I can sense the annunciation and passion that sometimes doesn’t come across when folks are using a second language. Bayley was polite enough to let IYO say what she had to say before absolutely jacking her on the set of that video, tossing lighting setups and beating her down before the crew realized their equipment was at risk and stepped in. 

Naomi and Bianca had a really sweet friendly chat a little later, and AJ Styles got to talk in the ring before getting assaulted (again) by LA Knight. Oh, and we got a glimpse of a non-goth Isla Dawn trying to chat up GM Nick Aldis. All good stuff, everybody got their point across in their own ways. 

AEW Collision opened up with Adam Copeland heading to the ring for an open challenge, just ten days removed from his incredibly brutal match for the TNT Championship against Christian Cage. Cope offered up a title shot, and beloved indie deathmatch king Matt Cardona accepted. The two had a really fun match, with commentary doing a great job of catching those of us not in the know about the long mentor/student relationship the two had. The outcome never really seemed in doubt, but it was a cool surprise and a good match with a creative finish. 

Oh, and speaking of cool surprises – post match, the lights went down and Malakai Black appeared in the ring when they came back. That was enough of a distraction to allow Black’s pal Buddy Matthews to attack Copeland from behind, but Mark Briscoe and Eddie Kingston arrived to even the odds. Briscoe and Kingston will be fighting at Friday’s Ring of Honor show, but we’d find out later that the pair will team with Cope at AEW Dynasty against the House of Black.

After some promos setting up Billy Gunn vs Jay White, with the two men’s factions staying in back, we got FTR versus The Infantry in the OTHER tag team tournament we’re keeping up with. Infantry looked great in this one, actually much better than the squeak-by victory they got over the House of Black to get here. FTR, as always, was solid, letting the younger men look faster before catching up by way of their veteran savvy. 

A squash for the recently-returned Kyle O’Reilly (or Kylo Reilly, as we call him ‘round these parts) was next, followed by a celebration by the Undisputed Kingdom with their old pal. Then we had the second tournament match, with Top Flight taking on Big Bill and Ricky Starks, the latter of whom we haven’t seen much of since they lost the tag titles to Sting and Darby. It was what you’d expect from the high-flying Martin brothers and Bill and Starks, although there was a scary moment when Ricky suffered what’s been called a “stinger,” which might have led to Top Flight getting the win as a precaution/call on the fly kind of thing. Thankfully, Starks has said on social media that he’s okay, and since it feels like this whole tournament was set up for us to get to another FTR/Young Bucks match anyway, I don’t think it’s that big a setback for the Big/Ricky team.

A good match between Thunder Rosa and Lady Frost followed, and I have been noticing that Rosa acts kinda mad for her matches lately. Like, not salty, per se, but definitely like she’s got a chip on her shoulder, or feels disrespected by booking. Regardless, it was a solid fight, and Lady Frost is really good in the role AEW has given her.

Speaking of, Storm and Mariah May were interviewed after that match, with Toni learning that a match next week will decide whether Thunder Rosa or Mariah May will face her at Dynasty. Storm immediately, charmingly, turns on May, asking if that was her plan all along before smooching her and calling her a genius. “I see myself in you and I love me” was just a great line, and Storm continues to do well with a gimmick some have turned on, but I was slow to warm to so it’s still working for me.

Our main event was Claudio Castignoli, Bryan Danielson, and Katsuyori Shibata challenging The Righteous and Lance Archer. This one was one of those matches that pits big guys who lose a lot against an AEW favorites group, which are always a good time even if the ending is rarely in doubt. There were some entertaining spots, including Castignoli and Shibata teaming up on a series of running uppercuts and shotgun dropkicks, and Shibata ended up getting the victory with his PK. Overall, a fine ending to a good episode of Collision!

Closing Up Shop

…in which I say goodbye for now

And that’s it! This week should be pretty stacked with WrestleMania and Stand and Deliver go-home shows, an already-loaded Dynamite card, and the Bray Wyatt documentary dropping tomorrow. I can’t say I’m in a rush to start bawling in front of my wife and my TV, but she really liked Bray too, and I would like to review the program, so be on the lookout for that whenever I get to watching it!

 I’ll also be doing the usual previews for ‘Mania and Stand and Deliver, with the latter probably coming Wednesday or Thursday after we’ve watched the last episode of NXT, and the former going up as part of the Casual Friday blog – most of SmackDown looks to be devoted to Hall of Fame stuff, promo packages for WrestleMania, and the Andre the Giant Battle Royale. 

My "plan," dear reader, is to knock out the article I’m working on for SlashGear after I've published this, and write the previews as kind of a primer, perfect for lapsed fans or people who just want to watch the biggest show of the year with a little background. I’m hoping to break the preview into two parts, but that kinda depends on tonight’s Raw and whether they announce what matches will be on what nights. Regardless, if you’ve got plans to watch, or you’ve got Peacock and a free weekend, this will be perfect for you -- or perfect to share with a buddy before the biggest weekend on the pro wrestling calendar!

If you have questions, concerns, or comments, drop 'em in the comments section below! And follow me on Twitter (X), Facebook, BlueSky and/or Instagram using the links on the right.

Thank you so much for reading. If you liked what you saw, consider telling your friends, mentioning Let’s Watch Some Wrestling on social media, or even buying me a hot cup of coffee using the Ko-Fi button. Have a great week, and we’ll see you back here Fridays and Mondays. Until then, Let’s Watch Some Wrestling!

The best Raw in the last ten years? That and more...it's Casual Friday!

 

Good Morning!

It’s a busy sports weekend, with the next round of the NCAA tournament already running and baseball’s first weekend of the regular season. We’ve also got WrestleMania week coming up, with all the go-home madness that comes with that, plus AEW’s continuing build to its Dynasty PPV. 

But what I wanna talk about today is expectations. They’re related to all of those things, really. Whether it’s your March Madness brackets or your hopes for the Cubbies, people put a lot of stake in the things they love – or the things they’ve decided to identify with. And wrestling is no different. The problem comes when someone’s expectations are unrealistic, or they put too much stake in an opinion or a hope that may be less than plausible. Take the latest trend in Twitter takes – the stopwatch guys. These are people who time things on wrestling shows – stuff like match length, or the amount of actual wrestling on a show, or the amount of time women’s matches are allotted. They are rarely unbiased or presented in good faith – more often than not, it’s fans of “the other side” pointing out their perceived shortcomings with the product they’re analyzing. 

But why do that at all? If you don’t enjoy WWE’s focus on storytelling, or presentation, what good are you doing by timing the amount of time matches are taking up on their programming? Preaching to the choir? Upping your follower count? Yelling at another fanbase who values different parts of pro wrestling? I just find it exhausting. 

There is SO MUCH wrestling out there, there’s literally no reason to get mad at others for liking what they like. I mainly watch Raw, NXT, SmackDown, Dynamite, and Collision. I enjoy them for very different reasons. WWE for its larger than life image, storytelling, presentation, and stars. AEW for its incredible matches and smaller feel. And NXT because it’s just kinda silly, and I like seeing younger talent find their abilities. I’m fully aware of a bunch of other stuff, and when I’m in the mood I’ll watch some New Japan, or TNA, or just find matches on YouTube that folks recommend. And I feel like I’m on the low end of wrestling consumption – you go on BlueSky or Twitter and there are people live-tweeting shows at all hours. 

My point is, maybe we need to enjoy what we enjoy. I like liking things – and yeah, I’ll complain a little when the thing I like doesn’t go how I’d hope, because I’m invested. But I’m not going on social media to argue about that because a) nobody has ever won an internet argument and b) I simply don’t want to. Everything in life seems so polarizing – I don’t need my entertainment to fall into that as well. 

“It’s A Soap Opera With More Suplexes and Less Violence”

…in which I discuss the storylines that keep us watching week to week

It’s the week before WrestleMania and all eyes were on Raw this week, emanating from my beloved hometown WWE arena of the Allstate Arena (or the Rosemont Horizon for the real ones – the real old ones, that is). For a show that had minimal wrestling – a thing that we accept in WWE programming, especially this close to ‘Mania – this might have been one of the best booked Raws in years! The Cody speech that opened the show was great. The little teases that nodded towards the chaos that would ensue during the main event were so good. And that post-main event beatdown of Rhodes by The Rock, outside, in the rain, with the ghosts of Stone Cold and Cena looking on from a semi trailer? Cinematic feels like it’s too strong a word, but I got nothing else. Rock versus Cody has to be coming if Rocky’s schedule allows for it, but we’re also expecting Rock to take on Roman Reigns at some point. We’re spoiled, is what it comes down to. 

AEW has been putting on shows that are basically the opposite of WWE, keeping the focus in the ring and signing some of the best talent in the world. Hopefully the attendance starts to reflect the in-ring product, because I feel like it really puts a damper on the shows when they take place in these mostly empty arenas. I see people saying it’s a bad crowd, but even a good crowd can only make so much noise in a barn. Khan has said that they book the larger arenas because of their ability to market the shows better, but we’re not seeing that marketing pay off in full stadiums. I’d like more small venues, personally. Sell out! Get people mad that they can’t get in, and next time around maybe you book that larger option.

Dynamite gave us some amazing matches in the opener and main, with Shibata fighting Will Ospreay and Takeshita taking on Swerve Strickland. Both were great matches, if not the best they could pull off, and they just made me look forward to more battles between these four. 

NXT, also building to a big WrestleMania weekend show with their always-good Stand and Deliver on next Saturday afternoon, had some great stuff too! A fantastic main event featuring main-roster guys Otis and Tozawa of Alpha Academy taking on the NXT tag champs, the Wolf Dogs, stood out as the best thing on the show. But we also got Dijak beating Shawn Spears with a little help from former foe Joe Gacy, and Natalya showed up to answer an open challenge from well-regarded new-ish wrestler Lola Vice…and beat her, because we need to keep Nattie strong for, um, reasons. 

I just…I don’t like Natalya. I don’t like that she’s always around, I don’t think she’s as good as WWE seems to think she is, and I think she’s kinda turning into Chris Jericho in a way, just always around the younger talent. No thank you. 

We Watched Some Wrestling!

…in which I recommend some of the best matches I saw last week

AEW gave us Swerve Strickland versus Konosuke Takeshita, and as a fan of both, that’s an easy recommendation:

And, as I mentioned a little while ago, that NXT main event between Alpha Academy and the Wolf Dogs was a lot of fun!

But rather than a match, the WWE offering is going to be the last bit of Raw. The CM Punk/Seth Rollins/Drew McIntyre segment was crazy in an unhinged, unscripted, almost reactionary kind of way, though, and since I already linked the Rock’s assault on Cody, I’ll link that promo here:

Closing Up Shop

…in which I say goodbye for now

And that’s it! Thanks for coming with me on that journey. No pay-per-views or premium live events this weekend, so it’s “just” the five hours of WWE SmackDown, AEW Rampage, and AEW Collision to keep up with. Next week is the biggest week of the wrestling year, and I’m sure we’ll have a lot to talk about after this weekend, so I’m looking forward to catching up with you on Monday, dear reader.

I’ll see you next week for the usual Casual Friday and Untitled Monday blog posts. If you have questions, concerns, or comments, drop 'em in the comments section below! And follow me on Twitter (X), Facebook, BlueSky and/or Instagram using the links on the right.

Thank you so much for reading. If you liked what you saw, consider telling your friends, mentioning Let’s Watch Some Wrestling on social media, or even buying me a hot cup of coffee using the Ko-Fi button. Have a great week, and I’ll see you back here next time, dear reader. Until then, Let’s Watch Some Wrestling!