Opinion

WWE Week In Review: August 19-25, 2018

The week after WWE SummerSlam is in the books, and the path to Hell In A Cell is starting to clear.

Published

6 years ago

August 27, 2018

WWE SummerSlam is in the books and what a week it’s been! We’ve seen title changes, returns, reunions, and breakups. So how did WWE do this week? Let’s check it out!

WWE RAW

WWE Universal Championship: If Roman Reigns has learned anything from his years toiling to get back to the title picture it’s this: Always have backup, especially if the Money in the Bank briefcase is in play, and he put that lesson to good use on Monday. Reigns kicked off the night vowing to have matches for the title with anyone who wanted a shot, but the first person Reigns wanted to face was Finn Balor, who had never received his rematch after being forced to vacate the title after his shoulder injury in 2016. Balor accepted on a handshake.

Corbin tried to stop the match from being made, citing that Balor no-showed SummerSlam and sent the Demon instead, which drew much scorn and laughter from everyone. Balor and Reigns had an amazing match, taking each other to the limit, but as Reigns was preparing to finish Balor off, Strowman came out to prepare for his cash in.

Here’s where things get…interesting, Strowman tried to cash in, but Reigns had some back up: Ambrose and Rollins came out, in their Shield gear, and took out the Monster Among Men. What this means for everyone on RAW is going to be very interesting next week because the Hounds have been unleashed and they hold two of the three men’s titles on RAW.

Later in the week, a still seething Strowman called Reigns out on Twitter, challenging him to face him in the middle of the ring on Monday, if he was really a man. Reigns pointed out that Strowman tried to cash in on him after he’d wrestled a 30 minute match and implied that Strowman could only beat him by catching him by surprise and referred to the Monster Among Men as a ‘Meat Shack’, which is slang for a woman’s privates.

As for Brock Lesnar, Paul Heyman was in the building, demanding a rematch for his client, specifically at Hell in a Cell. Kurt Angle refused due to finally having a fighting champion and said that Hell would freeze over before Brock gets his rematch.

WWE Intercontinental Championship: Seth didn’t have a match on Monday, but he saw plenty of action seconding Dean Ambrose in his first match since December and backing up Roman Reigns against Braun Strowman. Seth protected Dean from attack by Drew McIntyre, suffering a two on one attack by McIntyre and Ziggler, but managed to take out McIntyre, giving Dean the opening to put Ziggler away. Later on in the evening, he and Ambrose donned their old Shield gear to help Roman Reigns fend off an attempted cash-in by Braun Strowman.

RAW Women’s Champion: The Women of RAW were in attendance at the crowning of new Women’s Champion, Ronda Rousey. Stephanie was there and in a move reminiscent of her father with Stone Cold Steve Austin twenty years ago, unwisely provoked the new champion by criticizing first the other women of the division, who were apparently invited by Rousey to celebrate and trying to pretend that things were cool between her and Rousey, who smelled a trap right from the start. Stephanie would pay for her unwise decision by being put in the same armbar that took out Alexa Bliss the night before. They were broken up by the rest of the division, including the Bella Twins.

RAW Tag Team Championship: Bo Dallas was in action against Scott Dawson. The Revival were, understandably, NOT happy after getting robbed, in their minds, of the Tag Team titles. Dawson handily defeated Dallas.

Curtis Axel, in a bid to avenge his friend, challenged Dash Wilder to match immediately afterwards. Unfortunately, vengeance will have to wait for the B-Team as Wilder handily beat Axel. A furious Bo Dallas cut a promo, reminding them that the B-Team were still the champions. This feud isn’t over by a long shot, though both teams might want to look over their shoulders for Authors of Pain and the Shield.

Dean Ambrose vs Dolph Ziggler: For the first time since December 18, 2017, Dean Ambrose saw in ring action. He was going against the Showoff, who was not happy about losing his coveted Intercontinental Championship to Seth Rollins at SummerSlam. Ambrose was accompanied by Seth Rollins while Ziggler was backed up by McIntyre.

While Ambrose showed a little ring rust, he also showed a new, hard-nosed attitude, and several new moves that highlight the fact that he’s put on some serious muscle during his time off, including a counter into Dirty Deeds that was so clean you could eat off of it. Ziggler didn’t make things easy, but Ambrose would shut the Showoff up with his patented Dirty Deeds for the three count. Welcome back, Dean!

Bobby Lashley vs Constable Corbin: Corbin’s rotten SummerSlam adventure continued as he got his butt kicked by Bobby Lashley. Thankfully for Corbin’s pride, the match wasn’t the embarrassing squash he’d suffered at the hands of the Demon, but Lashley made sure that the Constable of RAW ended his SummerSlam weekend 0-2.

Triple H vs Undertaker: The build for the Super Showdown in Australia started tonight, recapping the storied feud between Triple H and Undertaker. Triple H said that he’d actually refused due to their final match at WrestleMania XXVIII. However, he’d changed his mind and he and Taker will face each other in Australia.

Boss-Hug Connection and Ember Moon vs Riott Squad: Sasha, Bayley and Ember Moon faced the Riott Squad in a six woman tag match. Despite Boss-Hug/Shenom’s best efforts, the Riott Squad’s unity was too much to overcome. Ruby Riott would seal her team’s victory with a Riott Kick to Sasha Banks.

Elias vs Curt Hawkins: Trying to regroup from his guitar malfunction from the night before, Elias tried to serenade Brooklyn, only to be interrupted by Curt Hawkins, for some ungodly reason. Hawkins, who has a pretty interesting defeated record, wants to fight. Elias brutally buries Hawkins, who seems to walk away but turns around and fights. Elias handily defeated Hawkins, but this might not be over.

Titus Worldwide vs Authors of Pain: Titus Worldwide took on the Authors of Pain again and we got a hint of some romance brewing between Dana Brooke and Apollo Crews, to Titus’ dismay. Titus Worldwide would fall to AOP, but not without a fight.

Angle vs Corbin: Angle seemed to have tired of Corbin’s big head and put him in a match against Bobby Lashley. Corbin was not happy about what happened and vowed to complain to Stephanie McMahon, who was in the building. Unfortunately, her encounter with Ronda Rousey put Stephanie in a foul mood and she suspended Angle, making Corbin the acting GM of RAW.

WWE Smackdown

WWE Championship: AJ Styles had an interview with Renee Young and addressed the controversial end of his match with Samoa Joe. Styles expressed no remorse for his action because Samoa Joe crossed a line that a real man wouldn’t cross. He then vowed that the next time Joe mentions his name, he’s going to rip his heart out. He was then attacked by Samoa Joe, who locked in the Coquina Clutch. On Friday, it was announced that Styles and Samoa Joe would have another match at Hell in a Cell, but no word on if this will be a Hell in a Cell match.

WWE United States Championship: Nakamura cut a promo saying that now that he’s vanquished Jeff Hardy, it is the United States of Nakamerica, whatever that means.

SmackDown Women’s Championship: It would be safe to say that the long-time friendship between Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair is, at best, fractured. After Becky was pinned by her best friend in Sunday’s Triple Threat match and lost the Women’s Championship match she’d worked so hard to earn, the Lass Kicker finally snapped and turned on her best friend, leaving Charlotte in a heap behind the announce desk.

Becky was all business when she took to the ring to explain her actions. She expressed no remorse, saying that Charlotte deserved the beating she got. She also called out the WWE Universe for their lack of support, and that Charlotte has held her back for the last time. Charlotte came out and there was no talking, just fighting and this wasn’t a catfight, this was a full on brawl. Even the entire Women’s Division couldn’t keep them apart, though it didn’t look like they tried all that hard.

As for former Women’s Champion, Carmella, she invoked her rematch clause and will face Charlotte next week. For some reason Truth still thinks pinning Carmella will get him a US Title shot, despite Paige telling him otherwise.

Throughout the week, the narrative of Becky’s turn has evolved interviews and on social media. She conducted an interview with Gorilla Position, where she stated that while she appreciated that the fans supported her, their support hadn’t gotten her very far, and blaming WWE for overlooking her because she wasn’t blonde and giving her opportunities to lesser talents. She also attacked Charlotte for stealing her moment when Charlotte had been handed seven title reigns without having to earn them.

This was further clarified in a few tweets where Becky called out Charlotte for referring to the SmackDown as ‘This’ and stating that she’d been fighting for ‘this’ when Charlotte was playing volleyball and getting a tan. Another tweet pointed out that Charlotte had turned on Becky in the past, but the difference was that while Charlotte attacked Becky from behind, Becky had looked Charlotte in the eye.

SmackDown Tag Team Championship: The Bludgeon Brothers faced the New Day in a No DQ match. Big E could not be cleared to wrestle due to his ribs, so it was Kofi and Xavier taking on the Bludgeon Brothers. As expected from a No DQ match, this one was brutal. RUMOR is that Erick Rowan was dealing with a bicep injury, but you could hardly tell during the match. Woods and Kingston were at a definite size and strength disadvantage, especially without Big E, but they hung in there, finally ending the Bludgeon Brothers’ reign of terror and becoming 3x tag champs.

However, the new champs can’t rest on their laurels. On Sunday, General Manager Paige announced that there will be a triple threat #1 Contender’s match to decide who New Day will face at Hell in a Cell: The Bar vs Good Brothers vs TBA.

Randy Orton vs Jeff Hardy: Randy Orton might be a dangerous man, but a pissed off Jeff Hardy is even more dangerous. The Charismatic Enigma confronted Randy Orton on Tuesday after weeks of insults and torment and it got bowling shoe ugly. Hardy got himself DQ’d by a blatant low blow and then beat Orton from pillar to post, before vanquishing Orton with a Swanton Bomb through a table.

Comment: Given the accusations against Orton, it seems like this was done to wrap up the Hardy storyline and take Orton off of TV until WWE’s investigation was over.

Miz and Daniel Bryan: Flush from his victory over Daniel Bryan, Miz and Maryse were back, cutting a promo where Miz bragged about his victory and mocked Bryan, announcing that he was retiring from ever facing Daniel Bryan again.

Well, much like Michael Jordan’s first retirement, this didn’t last long, Bryan came out and was ready to fight. Bryan mocked Miz and called him a ‘lie’ and that he would expose Miz for what he was: A wannabe Hollywood star cosplaying as a wrestler. Maryse interrupted, telling Bryan to go home and retire again and call himself ‘Daniel Bella’.

The Mizanins learned the hard way to never piss off the Bellas as Brie made her return to competition, CLOCKING Miz and driving him and Maryse out of the ring. It was then that Daniel Bryan made the announcement he’d come out to make: After talking with Paige, it was decided that not only would he and Miz face each other again at Hell in a Cell, it was going to be a Mixed Tag Match, the Bryans vs the Mizanins.

Miz and Maryse pleaded their case to Paige, though criticizing her successful tenureship as GM was probably not the best way to do it. She informed them that the match would stay in and that it would be ‘AWESOME’.

Naomi vs Peyton Royce: After being off of TV for several weeks, Naomi faced IIconics’ Peyton Royce. IIconics came out and insulted the Queen of Glow, who certainly had her hands full with Billie Kaye at ringside. Unfortunately, Naomi couldn’t overcome the numbers game when a distraction by Billie Kaye gave Peyton the opening to slam Naomi into the ringpost and get the pin.

Rusev/Lana vs Almas/Vega: In a rematch from SummerSlam, Rusev and Lana faced Almas and Vega in a mixed tag team match and the less said about it, the better. Rusev was saved from a sneak attack from Almas by Aiden English and got the submission victory.

WWE 205 Live

WWE Cruiserweight Championship: To call Drew Gulak a sore loser would be unfair…to sore losers. The Philly Fury was LIVID at losing to Cedric at SummerSlam, declaring Alexander a fraud champion who got lucky and demanded a rematch. GM Maverick denied Gulak’s demand on the grounds that there were a lot of other competitors on 205 who should be given that opportunity. Opportunities were earned on 205, Gulak earned his and lost the match, which meant it was time for someone else to have a chance.

Much like a spoiled child who didn’t get his way, Gulak refused to accept that he wouldn’t get the rematch he thought he was owed. He, Kendrick, and Gallagher attacked Akira Tozawa, declaring that there wouldn’t be any peace on 205 unless he got his rematch and mocking Cedric Alexander, calling him ‘afraid.’

Alexander came out to confront Gulak and pointed out that Gulak was hiding behind Things 1 and 2 (Kendrick and Gallagher) and that if Drew gets them to leave, Alexander will gladly come down and shut Gulak up, which just makes Gulak angrier, probably because he knows that he can’t beat Alexander without help. He mocked Alexander as a ‘choir boy’ and said the Age of Alexander sucked.

While all this was going on, Maverick and the refs were trying to stop the oncoming fight, but Alexander had had enough of Gulak’s insults and charged the ring, but Gulak took off, which Alexander pointed out to Maverick. Time will tell what the fallout of this will be, but it seems that Gulak isn’t going to stop until he gets another shot at Alexander.

Noam Dar vs TJP: After losing almost a year of his career and splitting two matches, Noam Dar finally got one over on TJP in an incredible match that seemed to go everywhere and took both men to the limit, but Dar would prevail, pinning TJP with a Rolla Nova and getting the tiebreaker.

Lucha House Party (Gran Metalik and Lince Dorado with Kalisto) vs Buddy Murphy and Tony Nese: The Lucha House Party faced the Party Crashers an amazing match that has to be seen to be believed, though there were a few botches. Lucha House Party would pick up the win, but it’s doubtful that the Party Crashers are going to accept their defeat.

Akira Tozawa vs Colin Delaney: Akira Tozawa’s bid to bounce back from his second loss to Lio Rush never happened because of the appearance of Drew Gulak and his cronies.

WWE NXT

NXT Championship: We had a highlight reel of the Ciampa/Gargano war at TakeOver, but nothing from either competitor.

NXT North American Championship/Tag Team Championship: We got a highlight reel of the battle betweet Mustache Mountain and Strong/O’Reilly of the Undisputed Era, as well as the war between Adam Cole and Ricochet.

In a post match interview, Ricochet talked about how proud he is that after all his hard work, he’s finally the North American Champion. Before he can go further, he’s confronted by Strong and O’Reilly, who don’t appreciate what he’s saying about Adam Cole. Ricochet is saved from a possible two on one beatdown by United Kingdom Champion, Pete Dunne, who was just coming into the building.

Ricochet thanked Dunne, who replied that he wasn’t there to help him, he just doesn’t like Undisputed Era. He also seemed to have an eye on Ricochet’s gold, prompting William Regal to book a Champions vs Champions match: Ricochet and Dunne vs Undisputed Era.

NXT Women’s Championship: It would be safe to say that Shayna Baszler is NOT happy about coming up short to Kairi Sane at TakeOver. The Queen of Spades made it clear that, as far as she’s concerned, Sane didn’t win because she was better, Baszler lost because Sane got lucky.

Bianca Belair vs Deonna Purrazzo: The ‘Est’ of NXT, Bianca Belair, made her triumphant return on Wednesday and faced off against the Virtuosa, Deonna Purrazzo, who will be competing in the Mae Young Classic this year. This was a really great match up with both ladies showing each other up, including Purrazzo doing a headstand to get out of a leg scissors. Belair would get the win, but it wasn’t without a heck of a fight.

EC3 and Velveteen Dream: We were shown a highlight reel of their TakeOver Match. Cathy Kelly interviewed Dream shortly after his match and he said that we would have to tune in on Wednesday at 8pm to find out what was next for him.

EC3, and his busted eye, had an interview with Mike Rome. 3 said that his issues with Dream were a clash of personalities because they both want the same things and that at TakeOver, Dream was the better man. However, since 3 has made a lot of outrageous claims since his return to NXT, his mindset is victory at all cost. His issues with Dream aren’t over until he wins.

Mike Rome asks him about the video of the aftermath of the attack on Black and what he saw. 3 said that it was dark in the parking lot and all he saw was chaos. 3 accuses Lars Sullivan since Sullivan had motive and was there right after the attack. Not that he’s ACCUSING Sullivan or anything.

UK Championship Match: Pete Dunne vs Zack Gibson: The Bruiserweight Champion faced Liverpool’s Number One in a brutal and grueling match that was a great advertisement for NXT UK, which WILL be on the WWE Network. The British style of wrestling is much more hard-hitting than what we see in America, but that contrast makes for very interesting matches. Dunne picked up the win after hitting The Bitter End.

Alistair Black Mystery: The mystery of who took out former NXT Champion Alesteir Black continued to unfold this week. They finally got the security footage cleaned up and there are some surprises, namely that Nikki Cross seems to have witnessed the whole thing from a rooftop.

Overall Comments: Whew! What a week! From an unbelievable TakeOver and SummerSlam on Sunday, to the reunion of the Shield, Brie Bella’s return to competition, the fracturing of Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch’s friendship. SmackDown has new Tag Team Champs, Finn Balor FINALLY got his rematch, Dean Ambrose impressed in his first televised match in eight months, Ronda Rousey’s feud with Stephanie McMahon continues, and that was all a couple of days after SummerSlam.

Hell In a Cell Predictions: As usual with WWE, we’re going right into the build for the next PPV and since this is going to be a joint PPV, who gets a Hell in a Cell match is going to be chosen pretty carefully.

I think the Cell matches we’re going to get are:

Roman Reigns vs Braun Strowman for the Universal Championship
AJ Styles vs Samoa Joe for the WWE Championship
Charlotte Flair vs Becky Lynch for the SmackDown Women’s Championship

I would also say that either Ambrose/Rollins vs Ziggler/McIntyre or Rousey vs whomever COULD take place in a Cell match, but these three really have the best stories to justify going into the Cell.

Final Thoughts: The week after a huge PPV tends to dictate what direction WWE will be heading into for the next few months. Fall tends to be a slower time in wrestling, so WWE did a really great job of building storylines that will likely keep us interested for the next few months until we get to Survivor Series.

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

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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!