Opinion

Chairshot CLASH! The End of the Rematch Clause

Published

6 years ago

August 24, 2018

The End of the Rematch Clause?

Until this past Monday night on RAW, the Universal Title held a very unique quality that none of the other current championships in WWE could claim: no former champion had ever received a rematch. Roman Reigns, immediately vaulting right into the role of fighting champion that we have come to expect when, well, any good guy holds a title these days, extended a challenge to defend his newly won mountain of gold and jewels (and red leather) against the original Universal Champion. Finn Balor became the inaugural champ 2 years ago in the Barclays Center and had to relinquish it the next night. Since then, he has earned a couple of opportunities to earn an opportunity at a shot at the title. He hasn’t been able to secure a shot at the belt, even though, going by WWE’s long-accepted rule of the rematch clause, he was due a match with the title on the line at some point upon his return.

He never got that, but neither have any of the other men who held onto WWE’s newest belt. Kevin Owens, the second champion, lost the belt to Goldberg, who almost immediately lost the belt to Brock Lesnar, who lost the belt to Roman Reigns last weekend after holding it for over 500 days. Kevin Owens hasn’t been involved in a match for the Universal Title since he was destroyed by Goldberg at Fastlane 2017. Goldberg hasn’t been involved in a match at all since he was summarily dethroned by Brock Lesnar shortly after at WrestleMania 33. Goldberg is, for all intents and purposes, retired, so not receiving a rematch isn’t much of an injustice.

On Monday, Paul Heyman implored Kurt Angle to afford his client, Brock Lesnar, with his contractually obligated rematch clause, a match he demanded happens in September at the Hell in a Cell event. That marked the first time in the title’s 2-year existence that the clause was even mentioned, let alone cashed in on. Kurt Angle rebuffed Heyman’s advance on the rematch — he acknowledged that Brock was entitled to his rematch, but, more importantly, there’s no timeline that must be met in regards to when he is granted that opportunity. The short backstage segment from RAW may have set the precedent that just like all of the other championships, the Universal Title’s previous holder is owed a chance to regain the belt after losing it. Alternatively, it may only illustrate that Brock Lesnar had it written into HIS contract, while the three prior champions may not have.

And wouldn’t that be grand?

In this new series, Nick Marsico and Greg DeMarco will go back-and-forth discussing the good, bad, ugly and otherwise of a multitude of topics in the world of professional wrestling.

So, would it indeed be grand to see an end of the automatic rematch clause?

Welcome to the first edition of the Chairshot CLASH! Let’s see who uses their head.

NICK:
I think it would be great. I thoroughly dislike the trope of the contractually obligated rematch clause and have for many years. It’s lazy. WWE often leans toward the easiest, least creative means of getting from point A to point B, and the rematch clause helps them get there with exactly zero effort. Want a feud template? Heel champion retains his title via disqualification, so the babyface challenger is granted another shot. Babyface challenger wins the title in the rematch, heel immediately opts to utilize the rematch clause, babyface beats them in the third match, and you have 3 cookie-cutter months of average television. Congratulations!

GREG:
Here’s the thing for me: I don’t hate it. The Championship Rematch Clause actually makes sense in a “real sport” scenario. It’s logical. It CAN work. But it doesn’t always make sense. And I think that’s because professional wrestling (GASP!) isn’t actually a real sport. It’s a fictional world where we are led to believe we are watching a real sport. Or at least it WAS, but it hasn’t been that for approximately 20-years…at least! Hell, the UFC doesn’t even always enact a rematch when a champion loses their title, because it’s not contractually mandated. In fact, I would Paul Heyman (advocate) for the contractual rematch clause to be used just like a championship–as a storytelling prop. Use it when it makes sense, don’t when it doesn’t. But that doesn’t mean get rid of it.

NICK:
That’s completely fair. It can certainly work when used extremely sparingly. There are two manners that I can think of, off the top of my head, that I would be okay seeing it used. One, by a character just like Brock Lesnar, who has special clauses (rematches, extra money, and so forth) written into the contract for every match. And two, by a character who outsmarts a known cheater by getting the clause added in. The champ gets cheated out of the title due to shady and/or nefarious means, but he had it scouted… he made sure he had an automatic rematch clause built in just in case the challenger pulled something.

I’m sure there are other, better ways of doing it, but just a very quick scan of my brain brings me to those ideas. I would just prefer to see it go the way of the dinosaur. We can have Jurassic Park eventually, but let the concept fossilize.

I would say, though, to test the waters, just get rid of it for the Universal Championship. Formally. Roman granted Finn his rematch out of the goodness of his heart (and also to stick it to Brock Lesnar). I think Roman should offer Kevin Owens a shot at the title as well. It would be great to see Roman be self-aware. He knows that he had a ton of opportunities. Others haven’t been granted that same luxury but as a fighting champion and someone who understands being screwed over, it’s only fair to give Owens a match. Hell, he could even throw out Goldberg’s name, just to drive the point home. I wouldn’t even be against seeing Goldberg show up for the fight! It would be pretty cool, actually. It would also, with the exception of Brock Lesnar, close the door on former champions getting rematches for the belt.

Once Roman has gone through Owens and (possibly) Goldberg, it can be announced by the authority figure of the week that due to the interesting first two years of the existence of the Universal Championship, WWE will be eliminating the automatic contractually obligated rematch clause. If you lose the title, you have to earn a chance to get it back. Roman is of course 100 percent on board with this.

I think that would give the Ugly Red Belt a good distinguishing characteristic from the rest of the titles in the company.

Neither of these two former Universal Champions has received a rematch for the gold.

GREG:
I, for one, LOVED Roman Reigns giving Finn Balor his rematch. It wouldn’t shock me if Roman also gives a rematch to Kevin Owens, resolving that prior issue as well. And while we’re at it, why not throw a good $400,000 at Bill Goldberg and book Roman vs. Goldberg for the Royal Rumble? This gives Roman Reigns a win over every prior Universal Champion not named Brock Lesnar. Now you’re left with yet another reason for Paul Heyman to claim a conspiracy against his client, giving relevance to their feud.

But in all honesty, what I listed above has far less to do with any “automatic rematch” and more with Roman Reigns being a fighting champion. Imagine for a second (and this isn’t a big stretch) that The Miz is the man to dethrone AJ Styles for the WWE Championship. The perfect story is Miz cheating to win (preferably thanks to Maryse slipping him a weapon), and then denying AJ Styles’ rematch saying he isn’t contractually obligated. This makes AJ earn his way to a WrestleMania rematch (before losing and going to Raw in the shakeup).

But then, my idea of AJ Styles not getting a contractually mandated rematch becomes a story ABOUT a contractual rematch…

THERE’S NO ESCAPING THE REMATCH CLAUSE!

NICK:
There is no escape until the door is shut. Your idea (which is awesome for Miz, by the way, and I would LOVE to see him get another run with the WWE Title) is a sensible one. It’s not a lazy way to use the rematch clause to get another month of fighting between two wrestlers. It’s a simple way for a slimeball to use something that used to be taken for granted and give us all a great reason to hate him. It helps catalyze a long-term story for the guy who now has to earn his way back to something that he was screwed out of.

I also agree with the Heyman/Lesnar/Roman deal. Roman giving the other three guys matches for the title and being blatant about the fact that he’s doing it because they never got the opportunity to try to win it back is a great way to get further under the skin of Heyman and his client. They spent years hiding behind contracts and now Roman is rubbing it in their faces. I think it would also be a nice touch for Roman to use the word “justice” to refer to him offering those title opportunities now that The Shield is back together.

The story of Roman vs. Brock has one final match that must take place in order to close that chapter of Reigns’ career. He finally beat Lesnar, but it still ended with Brock getting speared and pinned because he was too busy focusing on the guy threatening to get a match to take his title and not the guy actively in the match trying to take his title. Roman’s win feels a bit hollow because it took a distraction to win. Roman needs to beat Brock fair and square, clean in the middle, with no room left for doubt.

Brock obviously has the rematch clause, which means eventually, the match will happen. In a similar vein to your idea of even when you avoid the rematch clause, it cannot be escaped, my story would go in a different direction. The match happens because it’s contractually obligated, but Roman is the one who, after months of successful defenses, goes to the authority figure and says that it’s time. They need to stop delaying the inevitable. Brock is legally owed a shot at Roman’s belt, but Roman needs to beat Brock in order to feel like he truly deserves to be called the champion. No Shield, no Braun, no Paul Heyman. No distractions. Just two men, one ring, one definitive winner. Brock gets the rematch, but it’s not only because he’s owed the match. It’s because Roman, the champion, wants it to happen. It weakens the concept of the obligation.

That pushes the door even further shut.

GREG:
To me, The Automatic Rematch Clause is just like any other wrestling storytelling device: use it when it makes sense, but don’t marry yourself to it. It feels like a thematic pay-per-view, it’s not fun when it’s forced.

Now can I get a damned Interim Champion the next time a champion gets injured?

NICK:
Holy cow, who would have thought that you and I would come out of our first discussion in complete agreement?

The Interim Champion idea is interesting, but it all ties into WWE’s lack of ability to tell a long-term story. In MMA, you do an interim champion, then when the injured champ comes back, if he loses, then the interim guy is the true champion and everyone moves on. That’s fine for sports, but not really for wrestling. Imagine Kevin Owens was made the interim champion when he won the four-way instead of just becoming the new champion. WWE clearly had no intentions of using Finn Balor as a main event guy by the time he returned. How disappointing would it be for Finn to come back from injury after such a long break only to lose to the interim champion and then be shunted down the card into forever purgatory? Granted, that’s exactly what’s going to happen now that he finally got his shot and failed.

That idea, however, is a discussion for another time. I’m sure we’ll organically find ourselves talking about it at some point. But for now, we’re putting this to bed. Yes, Greg and I are agreeing that the rematch clause is overused but doesn’t necessarily have to be completely done away with.

I have a feeling that next week, things won’t be wrapped up in a neat little bow.

Let us know what you think on social media @ChairshotMedia and always remember to use the hashtag #UseYourHead!

Related Topics:Brock Lesnar Chairshot CLASH!Featured Featured Big Finn Balor Greg DeMarco Nick Marsico Roman Reigns Universal Championship WWE

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Opinion

Greg DeMarco’s Top 5: The Final Opponent For John Cena In WWE

It’s obvious that John Cena is nearing the end of his legendary career, and he’s suggested ending it at WrestleMania 41. Who should be his final opponent?

Published

1 week ago

April 11, 2024

Greg DeMarco

John Cena Last Match Randy Orton WWE WrestleMania 41

It’s obvious that John Cena is nearing the end of his legendary career, and he’s suggested ending it at WrestleMania 41. Who should be his final opponent?

John Cena recently appeared on the Pat McAfee Show, the Monday after his surprise (but mostly expected) WrestleMania 40 appearance during Cody Rhodes’ win over Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Championship. During that appearance, he confirmed what many expect, that he is nearly done with his in-ring career. But Cena even tossed out the idea of a time-frame, detailing that his acting schedule will likely take him through Christmas, and maybe Hollywood could “pump the brakes” to allow for one final run.

That run could easily begin at the Royal Rumble with a surprise entrance (or entering himself via TV appearances as part of the build), with a tease for his 17th world title win before finally settling in on his final match.

Fantasy booking and storytelling aside, the goal here is the final match–more specifically the final opponent. With a John Cena, you’ve got a ton of options. As such, it’s hard to narrow it down to 5, and one of your favorites is likely missing–be warned!

Greg DeMarco’s Top 5: The Final Opponent For John Cena In WWE

Honorable Mentions:

The Miz – A feud with John Cena gave The Mix a WrestleMania 27 main event–and a WrestleMania main event victory on top of it. Miz has been receiving more love than ever lately, and a match with John Cena would not be misplaced. Maybe he can use their WrestleMania 33 contest (and Cena’s personal aftermath) as fodder for it, too.
AJ Styles – The man who once made it popular to “BEAT UP JOHN CENA” is also nearing the end of his run, and could be the one candidate on this list that could realistically give us a double-retirement match. He would also be the guy who retired both The Undertaker and John Cena (and would probably end up being the guy who lost in both).
The Rock or Cody Rhodes – Both great options, but you have to figure their dance card for WrestleMania 41 is already full, potentially standing across the ring from one another. Either is an amazing option (including “Thrice In A Lifetime”), but I just don’t think it’s in the cards.
Trick Williams – Potentially a surprising addition to the Honorable Mentions, but the comparisons are there in terms of in-ring style/ability, promo skills, and the interplay they had in NXT (remember, it was Cena who is credited with encouraging Trick to not be afraid to go for it himself despite his relationship with Carmelo Hayes).

5. CM Punk

The fifth spot on this list was nearly interchangeable between several of the honorable mention names, but it really came down to Punk and Seth Rollins for me (with a hint of AJ Styles). The 2011 feud between CM Punk and John Cena was legendary, and is a moment that will forever be seen by me as the one that truly cemented CM Punk as a member of the growing list of all-time greats in WWE.

Punk is uniquely qualified for this match as he would make it mean more than a showboat for John Cena’s career and final match. It’s entirely believable that CM Punk would want to put John Cena’s career into the ground, and WWE has the video archive to support it.

Despite being #5, this could actually be a dark-horse for the match we get, and I can’t see anyone reasonably being upset about that.

4. Roman Reigns

John Cena and Roman Reigns have had two separate legendary programs. the first saw Cena, at times, embarrass Roman in promo exchanges in a feud that took place in the “pre-Tribal Chief” era. The second is more fresh and likely more memorable, as John Cena put Roman Reigns over in a football stadium in Las Vegas at SummerSlam (although it might be more remembered for the return of Brock Lesnar).

Reigns, a legend himself at his point (he’s featured alongside Steve Austin at the top of the “Forever” portion of the Then/Now/Forever/Together video that recently debuted) would provide a pairing akin to The Undertaker serving as Shawn Michaels’ retirement opponent at WrestleMania 26 9notice I didn’t say “final opponent). The end of Roman’s 1316 day world title reign has brought about a new appreciation for Reigns, which would further enhance this pairing at WrestleMania 41.

3. Bron Breakker

Bron Breakker is the picture-perfect definition of a juggernaut in WWE, a fast rising star who almost seems like a lock to main event WrestleMania one day (you never know–Seth Rollins JUST got his first WrestleMania main event last weekend). Breakker recently said farewell NXT as the natural in-ring competitor makes a transition to full-time main roster competition.

Breakker also fits the category of who “needs it.” Bring the man to retire John Cena would be quite the feather in the cap of Breakker’s early career, and would give him a moment that would be relived for generations to come. The only question mark is WWE “trusting” Breakker with this moment, as a sudden change of character could mean that Cena’s final match wouldn’t be seen or discussed as much. Breakker, to me, has given no reason for anyone to suspect that might happen, regardless of any controversies his father and uncle have been linked to.

2. R-Truth

Despite being 5-years older than John Cena, and making his in-ring debut in the same year (1999), R-Truth’s childhood hero hanging up the boots will undoubtedly be a hard-hitting moment for the man who has basically become the WWE Mascot. Truth emulating Cena in his matches, and of course the RawAfterMania moment with Cena, Truth, and The Miz hitting a Fifteen Knuckle Shuffle (thank you, Michael Cole) on The Judgment Day makes this a near can’t miss final match for both John Cena and the WWE Universe.

R-Truth himself is equally deserving of this match, as it would be a reward for all of his years in the ring as part of a career that seems age defying while proving that age is not only a number, but also a number that can be ignored (see Child Hero, John Cena).

While a rematch of their 2011 WWE Capital Punishment main event is an unlikely WrestleMania 41 match-up, it’s one I believe everyone would love to see.

1. Randy Orton

I mean, is there anyone more perfect? John Cena and Randy were inseparably linked for a good portion of their careers, and have shared the ring more times than Big Show has turned babyface/heel. Both are far into legendary status at this point, and Orton specifically is obviously focused on enjoying this stage of his career.

But Orton is still delivering great performances inside the ring, too.

Randy Orton vs John Cena was an exciting proposition many years ago, became a punchline for WWE booking a few years ago, but is now coming full circle as the perfect match-up to end the amazing career of John Cena. It has my vote, and should have yours, too.

Even if R-Truth would be the most fun option.

What say you? Who is the best candidate to stand across the ring from John Cena in his final WWE match, potentially at WrestleMania 41? Who did I leave out?

Let us know what you think on social media @ChairshotMedia and always remember to use the hashtag #UseYourHead!

Opinion

Greg DeMarco’s WrestleMania 40 Saturday Results & Review

It’s the Granddaddy Of ‘Em All, WrestleMania! Night 1 of WrestleMania XL and Greg DeMarco has your results and review!

Published

2 weeks ago

April 8, 2024

Greg DeMarco

It’s the Granddaddy Of ‘Em All, WrestleMania! Night 1 of WrestleMania XL and Greg DeMarco has your results and review!

It all comes down to this–at least for the first night! A loaded card in front of a packed house, and I’d expect everyone to deliver one hell of a performance.

Women’s World Championship – Becky Lynch vs. Rhea Ripley (champion)

Greg’s pre-show prediction: Rhea Ripley retains

In my opinion, this match should be the main event of Night 1, but The Rock is back and that was going to take precedence (even if I disagree). Becky won this title shot at the Elimination Chamber, even though they were already building the feud before that event in Perth. Ripley herself main evented that event in a stadium, defeating Nia Jax.

It was revealed during her entrance that this is Becky Lynch’s “Flu Game,” as she has temperatures as high as 102 degrees throughout the week.
Rhea Ripley enters to a life performance of her entrance theme, which you can tell she dug.
Prime logo is center ring, just the black outline with “Prime” in the middle, and it is not at all bothersome. I can’t believe people made such a big deal out of bitching about that.
The stage looks dope, not at all “too small” as some had said. The whole environment looks great, honestly.
Rhea Ripley has been dealing with a wrist injury. She said on the Pat McAfee Show she didn’t expect to work with the wrist brace on tonight, but there it is.
Corey Graves points out that Becky’s training was likely impacted by her illness, and Pat McAfee scoffs at him for stating the obvious. I hope that isn’t what we get all night.
Commentary notes that is is 52 degrees and windy in the stadium, and I am reminded of Nick Khan’s comments about moving an outdoor WrestleMania to late April in the future, if they don’t get an indoor building (he did say “2026” when talking about that, which likely means the 2025 venue is indeed set).
Rhea’s Prism Trap is a fell of a submission finisher. Add in the body lock the way she did, and it’s even more impressive.
I just noticed the “Prime” turnbuckle pads and it’s…weird. I just didn’t expect it and can’t think of the last time we didn’t have the WWE/WWF logo on the buckles outside of Black and Gold NXT. WrestleMania 2?
I am also noticing that Dude Wipes seems to have sponsored the ring posts. Kudos to WWE (and the wrestling industry behind them) for being so damn desirable to sponsors!
That combo to get into the Riptide was fantastic–and the kickout was even better.
During the DisarmHer you can clearly see the commentary position, and Michael Cole is legit reclined all the way back. Love it–Cole is living his best life.
Rhea’s Riptide into the buckle before the proper Riptide was pretty sweet as well. Made Becky look insanely strong in defeat.

Winner via pinfall AND STILL your Women’s World Champion: Rhea Ripley

Hell of an opener, and if you didn’t know Becky was sick, you wouldn’t have known. Props to them both. That would have satisfied as a main event, but can now go down as one of the best openers in WrestleMania history.

Ladder Match for the Raw Tag Team Championships and Smackdown Tag Team Championships – DIY (Tommaso Ciampa & Johnny Gargano) vs. Awesome Truth (The Miz & R-Truth) vs. New Catch Republic (Pete Dunne & Tyler Bate) vs. A Town Down Under (Austin Theory & Grayson Waller) vs. The New Day (Xavier Woods & Kofi Kingston) vs. The Judgment Day (Finn Balor & Damian Priest, Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions)

Greg’s pre-show prediction: Awesome Truth (Raw titles) and A-Town Down Under (SmackDown)

As many expected, the belts are hanging separately, meaning we are most likely splitting the tag titles here. Triple H and company have put some serious work into building up the tag team divisions of both brands, and even though I expect the two winners to not be actual “teams,” but either way I actually like the way they didn’t make a big deal out of splitting the titles up, they’re just doing it. They have been defended separately since being unified, albeit rarely.

R-Truth makes a joke about DIY being DX and that’s now taken off. I love it.
The Miz is very under appreciated. Can literally do anything.
Someone is struggling with the “Titan Tron” videos tonight.
Not gonna lie, I am the biggest Pat McAfee fan, but he’s actually quite annoying right now.
Sign of the night: SANTA DESERVED IT.
Lots of green in this match, half of the teams wearing their “WrestleMania Green” gear.
Also, loving the Consequences Creed gear for Woods.
God Bless Finn Balor for taking that Airplane Spin into the ladder.
205 combined years of experience in this match. That’s an average of 17 years (Waller has the least with 7, Balor and Miz are tied for the most with 23).
“Dunne Mountain?!?!” Thank you Michael Cole for fixing that.
HOT TAG TO R-TRUTH!
Poor Finn Balor, not he takes the AA to the ladder after John Cena’s Five Moves Of Doom
R-TRUTH WITH THE PIN!
Hilarious.
A-Town Down Under gets the SmackDown tag titles!
And Grayson gets tossed through a ladder, still holding a title!
The match does continue until the Raw tag titles are also retrieved.
If Theory also got the Raw tag titles down, I will laugh my ass off.
Birminghammer is a fantastic name for a tandem (somewhat) Burning Hammer.
Tornado DDT through a table!
Air Raid Crash from the ladder!
And we still have more tables set-up.
JD McDonagh trying to get Finn–who has taken a beating–to get the Raw tag titles.
McDonagh through the tables!
PERFECTLY placed Razor’s Edge onto that chair.
Dude, that ladder is trashed. (And very unsafe.)
AA sends Damian outside!
I think everyone wants R-Truth to get this. EVERYONE.
YES!

Winners via belt retrieval, AND NEW:

SmackDown Tag Team Champions – Grayson Waller & Austin Theory
Raw Tag Team Champions – R-Truth & The Miz

Really good Ladder Match, but it’s hard to have a bad one. The tag team titles are split and it was really well done. It made perfect sense to do it that way, not make a big deal out of it and just let it happen. I am excited to see both teams win–not because I picked both, but because I think one team (Waller/Theory) have amazing futures and the other (Miz/Truth) will be a lot of fun, even if their run will probably be short lived.

Santos Escobar (with Legado Del Fantasma members Angel, Humberto, & Elektra Lopez) & Dominik Mysterio vs. Rey Mysterio & Andrade (with The LWO members Carlito, Joaquin Wilde, Cruz Del Toro, & Zelina Vega

Greg’s pre-show prediction: Dominik and Santos win, giving Dominik “revenge” for his loss at WrestleMania 39.

Look, this match doesn’t make a lick of sense–Dominik shows up two weeks ago and finds his way into another WrestleMania match with Rey? Definitely shoehorned. But Dominik is outstanding, so if this gets him on the card, I’ll take it.

More green in this match, and I am here for it.
Innovative Double Cross Body by Rey & Andrade.
Dominik showing experience beyond his years, making sure the ref sees his tag with Santos.
At this moment, I am wondering who turns–Carlito or Andrade. Gotta assume it’s one of them.
Three matches in and I don’t even notice the Primo logo in the center of the ring or on the turnbuckle pads.
Santos Escobar trying to unmask Rey Mysterio, as if we don’t all have Google.
Corey Graves making a great point about Rey taking some responsibility for the issues in his life, and Michael Cole immediately dismissing it.
It’s so hard to do a really good Dragon Screw Leg Whip, and Andrade (along with Dominik and Santos) just pulled off two to perfection.
Camera shot of Rey’s cross body shows the heaters above the ring. Good–keep ’em warm!
This could have easily been an 8-man tag team match. Maybe we get that Monday on Raw (which can also be where the turn happens, making my prediction here likely wrong).
Joaquin Wilde gets to do his NXT spot at WrestleMania, and that’s probably more important than officially being in the match.
Two masked men–definitely the Kelce Brothers–are here.
My bad, it was Jason Kelce and Lane Johnson. Good call, honestly. Great pop for them, too.
Looking at the reply, Dominik sold that ringpost spot like a champ.

Winners via pinfall (Rey on Santos): Rey Mysterio & Andrade

Fun tag team match that served its purpose. Needed? Maybe not, as I really wanted to get Liv Morgan vs. Nia Jax onto this card. But when you can get Rey & Dominik on the card, everyone will be happy. and of course the Jason Kelce & Lane Johnson appearances.

Brother vs Brother: Jey Uso vs. Jimmy Uso

Greg’s pre-show prediction: Jimmy Uso follows in the footsteps of Owen Hart and Matt Hardy and beats the “more talented brother.”

They’ve wanted this match all their lives–and the preview video was insane. Very well done.

Jey in the WrestleMania whites tonight.
And we get a hot start to the match!
“Big Brother Jimmy” is always a fun thing to hear.
More Dude Wipes sponsorship on this one–you have to wonder if having Dude Wipes on the posts for the opener was in error.
Superkicks. Lots of Superkicks.
Very enjoyable YEET/NO chants from the crowd.
Jey just kicking the hell out of Jimmy, including a Jumping Super Kick.
This has “Fight Without Honor” feels from old school ROH, where the winners have respect after. We will definitely see these guys together again.
Jimmy apologizing to Jey. Crowd is not buying it.
Of course it was BS, and Jimmy gains the advantage.
SPEAR. USO SPLASH. DONE.

Winner, via pinfall: Jey Uso

Jey breaks the babyface curse by beating his heel brother. Thought we might get an embrace between them, instead we faded out. A good match that was more about the story than the in-ring action. I can see some feeling like this hasn’t “lived up to expectations” because of the high expectations you’d have for an Usos match. Their best work will always be as a team, but I know this is a lifelong dream come true for both.

As for all the Superkicks, I mean….it’s an Usos match.

Six-Woman Tag Team Match – Damage CTRL (Dakota Kai, Asuka, & Kairi Sane) vs. Naomi, Bianca Belair, & Jade Cargill

Greg’s pre-show prediction: Bianca, Naomi, & Jade win when Jade scores the pin (probably on Kairi, who always seems to eat the fall)

This match is all about getting Bianca Belair on the card (she had to be), and Jade Cargill’s debut. It also got Damage CTRL on the card, which they truly deserve–even if it is to lose.

Respectfully, Dakota Kai. (Good thing the ring and surrounding area is heated)
Not gonna lie, Jade looks nervous. But this is a six-woman tag, and her portion is likely highly choreographed. Gonna be all good.
As I watch and enjoy the match (but am not typing much lol), this seems like a match where we’re all just waiting for Jade to come in and win.
No one has told Jade about the tag ropes yet, apparently.
And now Jade is in, and Damage CTRL makes her look like a million bucks.
Dakota Kai nicely gets herself into position for the finish, and Jade gets her WrestleMania win.

Winners via pinfall (Jade on Dakota): Jade Cargill, Naomi, & Bianca Belair

We knew what this one was about going into it, and that’s what it should have been. Jade still ain’t ready. I know it might be an “ego hit” for her to go to NXT, but she needs it. If Giulia can go to NXT, so can Jade.

Intercontinental Championship – Sami Zayn vs. GUNTHER (champion)

Greg’s pre-show prediction: Sami Zayn pulls off the major upset and is the one to dethrone Gunther

Gunther has had a stranglehold on the Intercontinental Championship, defending it like crazy in 2023 but slowing that down here in 2024. It’s not fair to say he’s outgrown the title, but that might actually be the case. It’ll be really interesting to see what happens with Imperium leading up to the draft, and at the WWE Draft itself.

Sami Zayn was the perfect wrestler to have their journey form backstage to the ring followed by the cameras. From his family to Chad Gable to Kevin Owens, it was all so perfect–maybe too perfect? (Not in that someone will screw him, but in that it might be too heavily foreshadowing his win?)
Gunther looked oddly nervous standing on that stage.
You know, the Intercontinental Championship is basically a third world title at this point. And we could see the end of a legendary reign. I think this deserved the Samantha Irvin In-Ring Introductions (aka “Japan Style”) treatment.
Gunther is smiling confidently now, we’re good.
Crowd is ON FIRE for these guys (and evenly split with their chants for each guy).
This is the 21st time the Intercontinental championship is defended at WrestleMania, and it makes you wonder what in the hell they were thinking for the other 11.
Looks like Dude Wipes is back on the ringpost!
Hell of a nearfall, followed up by a Helluva Kick from Gunthcr, and one from Sami!
That finish….AMAZING.

Winner via pinfall, AND NEW Intercontinental Champion: Sami Zayn

The athletes… the moments… the storytelling… professional wrestling is such a beautiful business. Sami Zayn’s win over Gunther was everything I had hoped it would be when I picked Sami to win. Absolutely beautiful.

Cody Rhodes & World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins vs. The Rock & Undisputed WWE Champion Roman Reigns

Greg’s pre-show prediction: Seth & Cody get the win after tons of interference and surprise appearances, making Roman vs Cody on Sunday a match where The Bloodline is banned from ringside.

So much involved in this one. As you know, If Rock & Roman win, Sunday’s WWE Championship match will be held under Bloodline Roles. If Seth & Cody win, then that mach will see ZERO Bloodline involvement. Personally, if Cody is winning the title, I’d rather it be straight up. But I wouldn’t be at all surprised if I am wrong.

Honestly, after the introductions, I realized I was just watching!
This was very much Steve Austin vs The Rock inspired, with them fighting all over the stadium, and pushing the envelope.
I loved The Rock basically neutering the referee–normally I hate that, but here it works.
That finish and the condition of Rollins both lay perfectly into night 2, I would imagine.

Winners via Rock pinfall on Rhodes: The Rock & Roman Reigns

Per rule, Sunday’s main event will now be Bloodline Rules. And given that, my prediction of Roman retaining might be harder to pull off. This was a good return for The Rock, and perfectly played into the whole story. Job well done.

Greg DeMarco’s Overall Thoughts for WWE WrestleMania XL, Saturday (Night 1)

in a vacuum, this was highly enjoyable show. Night 2 might end up being legendary if both Bayley and Rhodes win, and it could overshadow Night 1. But the scene was fantastic, production was top notch as always, and the fans went home having enjoyed one for the ages. The Triple H Era s well underway, and will likely kick into a higher gear with Night 2.

Let us know what you think on social media @ChairshotMedia and always remember to use the hashtag #UseYourHead!