There's only the big men's tag match that either has nothing at stake or holds no interest for me unless they get Chad Gable out his nonsense and have him start throwing Strowman about. The women's match is probably the same but I'm optimistically looking forward to Rousey and Baszler smashing the shit out of everyone for about two minutes and fucking off.
Right then.
Night 1
Austin Theory (c) vs. John Cena
Cena has to be putting Theory over here right? The whole feud is Cena saying "You're shit and everybody hates you" and if he now just wins then it's a "Yeah, I guess BMJ was right." Theory has to win and win properly. Probably be a 7/10 match at best unless the crowd are proper up for it, which is hopefully the point of putting it first.
Seth "Freakin" Rollins vs. Logan Paul
Whatever you think of him, Rollins is broadly positioned at a decent level on the card and he shouldn't be losing to a celebrity no matter how annoyingly good he seems to be at this. Other than that, yes Rollins' character is and online he seems a bit of a tit as well but Paul is a legitimate cunt and anybody backing him is a certified wrong'un.
Trish Stratus, Lita, and Becky Lynch vs. Damage CTRL (Bayley, Dakota Kai, and Iyo Sky)
Who could possibly care? Lita's as charismatic as a punch in the face, Damage CTRL is a waste of all involved and Becky / Bayley now feels like it's been going on since before I was born. I assume Damage CTRL lose unless they're gonna have Becky vs. one of Trish or Lita down the line?
Braun Strowman and Ricochet vs. The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford) vs. Alpha Academy (Chad Gable and Otis) vs. The Viking Raiders (Erik and Ivar) (with Valhalla)
I'd be surprised if this isn't fun, even if it's a bit pointless. I really don't mind who wins to be honest. Boatman/Ricochet are fun, Alpha Academy getting a win (if Gable is instrumental) would be nice and Viking Raiders should be a lot more prominent than they are, shit gimmick or no.
Charlotte Flair (c) vs. Rhea Ripley
Just don't have Charlotte fucking win and this should be decent. Though a match where one heel is trying to be a babyface nobody wants to cheer and the other heel will be the de facto face. Rhea absolutely must win this. She's a fucking star.
The Usos (Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso) (c) vs. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn
Sami and KO will win this. There will probably be SOME Bloodlineyness involved somewhere that continues to set up Jey's face turn which I'm sure is coming, but they might just let this match go through clean.
Rey Mysterio vs. Dominik Mysterio
More kudos for WWE storytelling because this has gone from something I couldn't give a shit about to something genuinely good. Dom is probably still not actually a good wrestler but he's become an excellent piece of shit heel and given the massive pop they got when Rey finally clumped him means that when Dom wins (assuming he does, which he should) hopefully the crowd give it a big ol' booing.
Night 2
Roman Reigns (c) (with Paul Heyman) vs. Cody Rhodes
Cody innit. (Right? RIGHT?) Should be a good match, should be a great crowd and I'm really pleased that this still won't be the end of the Bloodline stuff. And it'll be nice to have a very over babyface champ on top.
Gunther (c) vs. Sheamus vs. Drew McIntyre
Hard to call. Sheamus is getting that IC belt at some point. I can't see Gunther being pinned, so either he capitalises on the other two fighting and they feud each other or possibly Sheamus pins Drew and they spin this out as an ongoing three-way feud. But I'd like Gunther to beat Honky Tonk Man's record.
Edge vs. "The Demon" Finn Bálor
I'm bored just thinking about this. Edge shouldn't win, but he will. And will take until about Wednesday to do so.
Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez vs. Natalya and Shotzi vs. Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler vs. Chelsea Green and Sonya Deville
Genuinely not one of these women is utilised properly.
Bianca Belair (c) vs. Asuka
The build for this has been garbage. Which is a proper waste and maybe means Belair wins? It's a pisser for Asuka if she earns then loses a Mania title shot again. Either way the match should be great. Belair's record at Mania for match quality is tremendous and long may it continue.
Brock Lesnar vs. Omos (with MVP)
I'm sure there are matches in Mania history I've cared about less but there can't be many and none of them are immediately springing to mind.
I’m watching the “best wrestling games” episode of This Is Awesome. Does Matt Riddle have special needs?
I'm a twit
He's spent most of his life smoking weed and getting punched in the face...
Fair point.Originally Posted by Sir Andy Mahowry
Today I learned of Drew Gulak’s existence, thanks to battering him on WWE 2K23, but I’m now a fan after watching this.
I'm a twit
Gulak was awesome in 205 Live.
Especially when the brand was flying around 2017/2018 or so.
Gulak, Buddy Murphy, Mustafa Ali and Cedric Alexander were an amazing foursome that carried the brand hard. Then you had people like Tony Nese, Lio Rush and Akira Tozawa who could also pull out some quality matches.
All this slagging off of the last Mania and the 'this one might be much better' makes me realise I'm entirely out of step with what this thread likes.
Gulak is always good whenever he gets to do a bit. I really hoped when he got some chances with Bryan and Styles on Smackdown a couple of years ago it might amount to something but alas, no.
Seeing him descend into a 24/7 goon was rough.
Holy shit this is baaaaad
I'm a twit
Yeah fuck that.
Oof. Was it a ladder match as well where one of the lucha team had his arm pointing in the wrong direction?
Woke up and looked at Twitter and seen that some fat hillbilly cunt eliminated LA Knight from that battle royal. Weestlemania weekend ruined.
Yeah Fenix. I’m not going to say anything because Dante was clearly fucked up there. Not good.
Are you talking about Otis? Fuck me fuck sake.
Nah, he’s sound. Bronson or something. He made top 4 at Keats. Salvation! I presume Bobby won
Bronson Reed is decent. But not decent enough to eliminate LA Knight. Nobody in that match was. Yeah!
I'd be surprised if LA Knight isn't on the main show in some form, although hopefully it's not just in a skit for KFC or being battered by Flo Rida.
My prediction is that he comes out and cuts a promo then a legend comes out and verbally abuses him then hits their finisher on him. Ideally it would be The Rock but I’m going with Orton.
Usos / KO-Zayn promo was good. I like when the Usos do a bit of their call-and-response stuff.
Proper crowd response for LA Knight again. A good sign. I like Bronson Reed too so hopefully there'll be more going forward for both of them than Andre Battle Royal shit.
Really enjoyed the lWo shirts.
Has Sheamus always been shouting "FELLAAAAAA" as he does the Brogue kick?Fucking hell. That match was typical HOW CAN THEY CO-EXIST??? nonsense but at least they won.
Yeah, well he used to anyway. Not sure if he does it every time.
Speaking of him, his workout videos being back is really is great. Proper content
I don’t know what an LA Knight is but I imagine he’s being fed to Bobby.
Orton's back is still a mess.
Put me down as not liking Los Angeles Knight. Just comes across as irritating to me. YEAH!
Add Gray Fox to the blacklist.
Predictions:
Night 1
1 Austin Theory (c) vs. John Cena - Has to happen, Cena doesn't need the win and it would make the build up weird if he does win.
2 Seth "Freakin" Rollins vs. Logan Paul - Logan is a massive cunt and I will always want him to lose but he is, unfortunately, damn good at wrestling. I can see him winning to send Rollins away to repackage himself as something less annoying.
3 Trish Stratus, Lita, and Becky Lynch vs. Damage CTRL (Bayley, Dakota Kai, and Iyo Sky) - Yawn. I think each part of Damage CTRL is amazing and I loved it when they formed. Unfortunately it just hasn't worked out at all.
4 Braun Strowman and Ricochet vs. The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford) vs. Alpha Academy (Chad Gable and Otis) vs. The Viking Raiders (Erik and Ivar) (with Valhalla) - This is one of the matches I'm least sure about. The Street Profits should win as they're the best team but there's also a chance they turn (has been rumoured for ages it seems) so Montez can go on a singles run. I don't think that happens here though as I think it's more likely that Alpha Academy turn on each other.
5 Charlotte Flair (c) vs. Rhea Ripley - Has to win, she's incredible and fuck Charlotte.
6 The Usos (Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso) (c) vs. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn - Zayn needs this, he needs something after all the work he's put in during this whole storyline and I think The Bloodline could be imploding very soon.
7 Rey Mysterio vs. Dominik Mysterio - Dom has to win, he's not great in the ring but he's done really well in his heel role with The Judgement Day. This would be huge for him.
Night 2
1 Roman Reigns (c) (with Paul Heyman) vs. Cody Rhodes - Bloodline implosion, possibly even with Jey turning on Roman at the end of this. Cody has to win, there is no one else primed to do it.
2 Gunther (c) vs. Sheamus vs. Drew McIntyre - WALTER needs to break the Honky Tonk Man's record. On the other hand though they could have done this to give Sheamus the title without WALTER being pinned who then goes on to feud with Cody.
3 Edge vs. "The Demon" Finn Bálor - Feel it would be a huge mistake if Edge won, he doesn't need it but Balor does. It will be boring.
4 Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez vs. Natalya and Shotzi vs. Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler vs. Chelsea Green and Sonya Deville - Maybe? Trips has been big on Liv so I guess she gets the rub. Shayna and Ronda should win under normal circumstances but I feel like Ronda is going away for a bit so wont win.
5 Bianca Belair (c) vs. Asuka - Feel it's harsh on Asuka if she doesn't win but Bianca is a star who I can see going on a long run.
6 Brock Lesnar vs. Omos (with MVP) - Just have him lob the big man around for a minute or so and it will be decent. Any longer and it will be shit.
As a man who hasn't really watched the product since C4 had the rights to it, here's my thoughts:
Night 1
1 Austin Theory (c) vs. John Cena - Despite this, Theory gets buried on commentary because Cole has to put the video game over. Cena's showcase mode is exclusively losses so it seems easy to do.
2 Seth "Freakin" Rollins vs. Logan Paul -No contest after a botched entrance leaves Logan paralysed and bald and arrested.
3 Trish Stratus, Lita, and Becky Lynch vs. Damage CTRL (Bayley, Dakota Kai, and Iyo Sky) - Nostalgia wins. Neither Trish or Lita get runs off the back of it.
4 Braun Strowman and Ricochet vs. The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford) vs. Alpha Academy (Chad Gable and Otis) vs. The Viking Raiders (Erik and Ivar) (with Valhalla) - Could make a case for anyone other than the Vikings but I'll go with comedy fat man.
5 Charlotte Flair (c) vs. Rhea Ripley - Makes the most sense and now would probably be the best time to do it.
6 The Usos (Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso) (c) vs. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn - I don't even know if Zayn suits the tag division role. You can still have Bloodline implode on a W. Reigns comes out (in a 'must I do everything for you?' fashion), sets up the win but the Usos don't take the cover, etc.
7 Rey Mysterio vs. Dominik Mysterio - Rey wins and really batters Dom. After the match he takes his son under his wing to do lucha things. Under Rey tutelage Dom becomes a contender of the IC belt. He wins it and then Rey is MURDERED by his powerful super son. Long term booking machine working overdrive.
Night 2
1 Roman Reigns (c) (with Paul Heyman) vs. Cody Rhodes - Another one I can't see going any other way. The fans want to see it and it's been set up nicely.
2 Gunther (c) vs. Sheamus vs. Drew McIntyre - Records are meant to be broken but it's a record the WWF/E have barely touched since it was set. I think they'll let this one slip.
3 Edge vs. "The Demon" Finn Bálor - Edge wins. Judgement Day splits. Only the Dom and Rhea part matters and they don't need a stable for that.
4 Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez vs. Natalya and Shotzi vs. Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler vs. Chelsea Green and Sonya Deville - One last try to see if Ronda can ... like ... do this.
5 Bianca Belair (c) vs. Asuka - Asuka should be killing people on a regular basis.
6 Brock Lesnar vs. Omos (with MVP) - Big dumb spectacle, please.
On the hall of fame Mick Foley wore a big fat lad suit like you'd see with someone who needs to be removed from a bedroom via crane but from the neck up he looked pretty trim, can't get my head around it. Watched the 24 thing about last year's show which was pretty decent, Rick Boogs comes out of it with a lot of sympathy and also reminded me that Nakamura exists. Has he left?
He's one of those that's still under contract, which more than likely means they've run out of stuff for him atm.
Nakamura likes surfing and getting paid, if he doesn't have to do that much wrestling in between he's not that fussed and if you've seen much of his earlier work you wouldn't begrudge him any of it.
HHH, Great Muta, Vincent Price
"Yes, I did direct Pink Flamingos."
That moustache is tremendous.
Speaking of Nakamura and good wrestlers not wrestling, is Styles still injured?
Yeah, broken ankle.
Should be close to a return though.
Which is also on the kick-off show
NXT Women's ladder match has started fast.
Really good so far with some decent spots.
Would love a Gigi win
Edit: Indi tried to kill Stratton it seems.
Last edited by Sir Andy Mahowry; 01-04-2023 at 05:19 PM.
That fatal five-way for the NXT NA title was incredible.
I'm not sure anything will beat that this weekend.
Ilja in particular is an absolute star who is better than most of the main roster.
That fatal five-way for the NXT NA title was incredible.
I'm not sure anything will beat that this weekend.
Ilja in particular is an absolute star who is better than most of the main roster.
Vince looks mental ill in that picture. What on Earth is he thinking with the dyed hair and tache.
Christ
Honestly thought it was Muta’s translator or something
Not watched anything yet but agreed Ilja is amazing.
I'm tapping out before the show because I've been feeling shit. Hoping to wake up and watch without too many spoilers.
What is like to see is a nice full weekend arc of bloodline implosion. Roman pretty much loses the twins before their match, then they end up losing and leaving/being disciplined by Roman, forcing Solo to make the choice of his brothers or his tribal chief.
Can't help but have a large part of me still thinks they'll have Roman win again.
Just as long as they don't have KO give us the boring way out and have him turn.
What’s the go to site for watching a full replay? I’ll not be able to watch either night live either as up early for a flight on Monday and not knackering the sleep schedule for it tomorrow.
Page 3:16.
What?
If nobody beats me to it I'll send you a link that Disco gave me ages ago. On the train and it's a bookmark on my PC but I'll get it later / in the morning for you.
Gracias amigo
"I think it's going to be a great match. Roman has had an incredible run. Cody is in his infancy in this run. It'll be interesting to see what happens. Cody has had a lot of history with my husband. Main event of WrestleMania. It's going to be big. I don't know that Cody is ready for it yet. I wonder if it should have been Seth Rollins in that spot. I wonder if he should have been walking out (in the main event). After everything that he's done for the past several years. His whole career. He's been carrying this company on his back. Cody walked away, came back, is getting it all. Maybe that should have been Seth Rollins," said Lynch.
lol.
The ramp is fucking bonkers long (and tall).
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