Opinion

News From Cook’s Corner 6.22.20: Speaking Out

Cook News is back again, touching on the biggest topic in the wrestling community this week!

Published

4 years ago

June 22, 2020

Steve Cook

This is something that needed to happen a long time ago.

Back when the #MeToo movement took over social media and victims of predators in Hollywood & other places stood up against their abusers, many of us wondered when it would happen in pro wrestling. Let’s be honest: wrestling doesn’t have the best reputation for some very good reasons. For years, we glorified some of the worst behavers because they entertained us in the ring. When we’d hear some of the old stories about their worst actions, we’d shrug them off. Or heck, sometimes we’d even laugh about it because the way the story was told made it sound amusing.

As one example: a legendary figure wearing nothing under his robe on an airplane wasn’t appropriate in any circumstances, but by God that was our guy and it was funny. Gross is what it actually was, but we laughed along anyway because it was one of our favorite wrestlers and it was a different time.

As an example from a time that wasn’t so different: a divisive figure suplexing young female wrestlers by grabbing their boobs & having people grab his genetilia so he could flip them around. There were people that defended this as “entertainment”, but did anybody really think that everybody that went along with this nonsense did so without pressure? Or that somebody that thought these were good ideas wasn’t at least a little bit creepy?

Or, we simply wouldn’t believe the accusers. How could the wrestlers that put their bodies on the lines for us every night to provide us with our favorite form of entertainment be such terrible people? The accusers had to be lying. Probably just looking for attention.

This is the part where somebody interjects with the notion that not every accuser tells the truth. That is true, and its something I have to keep in mind when writing about these things. But many of the staunchest defenders of wrestlers against sexual misconduct allegations would tell you that maybe 10% of the allegations are true & 90% are false. Flip those numbers around and you’re closer to the truth.

It took longer for people involved with wrestling to speak out. As somebody that’s never been a sexual assault or harassment victim, I can’t judge when a victim should or shouldn’t come forward. I’d like to think I could talk about it openly, but I have no idea. I do know that those who have are incredibly brave, and that those who still keep it inside are also brave to have to deal with it every day and try to maintain a regular life. Don’t know if I could do that either.

This is another one of those weeks where we have a lot to unpack. It needs to be done. We won’t be able to drive all of the sexual predators and bad actors out of the business. There will be some that slip through the cracks. Hopefully we can get enough of them out to make pro wrestling a safer & better environment for everybody.

The question: How do we discuss #SpeakingOut in a column like this one?

The best we can. If somehow you’ve managed to avoid all this, I suggest you check the #SpeakingOut hashtag on Twitter. Frankly, I can’t do justice to these stories with my written word. So many folks have shared their experiences. What I’ll do here is try to cover most of the biggest fallout thus far. There will surely be more.

It all started with David Starr. For those of you that aren’t familiar with him, Starr is/was one of the top wrestling stars in Europe. He was noted for wanting to unionize pro wrestling & often spoke against major wrestling promotions for how they treat their talent. On Wednesday, an ex-girlfriend of Starr’s spoke out about the emotional & physical abuse Starr put her through during their relationship. This led to a number of other women talking about what Starr had done to them, and Starr making an apology that ranked among the least convincing we’ve heard in at least a couple of weeks. (People suck at apologizing.) The backlash from all that resulted in pretty much every promotion Starr had been working for cutting ties with him.

It also led to other women feeling more comfortable about sharing their own stories. It’s almost easier to name the wrestlers in the British wrestling scene that weren’t mentioned during all this than the ones that were. A couple have seen their North American wrestling careers halted. Jimmy Havoc has checked into rehabilitation & his status with AEW is being evaluated after being accused of abuse by an ex-girlfriend. Stories have also surfaced of various incidents involving Havoc while under the influence after wrestling shows.

WWE released Jack Gallagher after he was alleged to have committed a sexual assault. So far, Gallagher is the only person involved in all this to be punished by WWE. The NXT UK brand saw a number of people accused of sexual misconduct. Jordan Devlin, Travis Banks, El Ligero, Joe Coffey & Wolfgang have all faced various allegations. Other names have been mentioned but I can’t find enough on them to include them in this paragraph. Matt Riddle has also been accused of assaulting a woman that denied his sexual advances, but Riddle has denied the accusations and given that his debut match still aired Friday night on SmackDown, WWE seems to be believing Riddle’s side of things. More allegations have surfaced concerning Velveteen Dream and minors, so that story isn’t going away even though it tried to for a minute there.

WWE has said they are investigating the issues, so we shall see if it goes anywhere or not.

The NWA acted much quicker upon sexual abuse allegations directed towards David Lagana. Lagana resigned from his position with the company, and production on their various YouTube shows has been temporarily halted. MLW released their ring announcer, Mark Adam Haggerty, after inappropriate messages between him & a minor were made public. New Japan has seen a couple of allegations and hasn’t acted as of yet. Will Ospreay & Bea Priestley were accused of having a female wrestler that was sexually assaulted by a friend of theirs, blackballed from the UK wrestling scene. Chase Owens has been accused of harassment.

Impact Wrestling…well, I really don’t know where to start there but here we go. Dave Crist was accused of sending unsolicited pictures of himself to one of his trainees, which led to multiple trainees backing up the story. Some cases of sexual assault too. Michael Elgin was accused of similar activity. Kris Levin, a former referee with the company, talked about how Impact released him last year after he answered some questions honestly about Impact executives being internally investigated, which led to Moose tweeting that Levin got fired for being bad at his job.

Then there’s Joey Ryan, who has been accused of sexual assault. His apology had a similar tone to David Starr’s apology, which makes sense as he also liked telling people what a good guy he was for years. More accusations came out afterward, and Ryan went wherever Starr went after he left Twitter. I imagine Jim Cornette would have had a lot to say about this if he wasn’t busy figuring out how he would fight off allegations concerning his wife grooming OVW trainees for sex acts that Jim would watch. Cornette’s limited response so far has been to prove that he & his lawyer have no idea how Facebook works, which is about what you’d expect from the guy. Looks like the winner in the Ryan/Cornette feud after all these years was “none of the above”. They’re both shitheads, congratulations to them.

All of this should cause self-reflection for everybody involved in the business.

It has for me, a bit. I’ve never done anything like what’s being discussed here, but I can’t say I’m 100% innocent of being creepy. I did take some things personal several years ago that I shouldn’t have. I got a little too excited over the idea of “famous” people talking to me. Nowadays nothing bothers me, little impresses me, and I’m aware of my place in the grand scheme of things. I’m happy with it.

As for what I write, if Shotzi Blackheart or Anna Jay read one of my recent columns and tell me to knock it off, that’s no problem. What I write & tweet is meant in fun, and I think I stay on the right side of the creep fence. If I don’t, tell me about it and I’ll adjust.

And for the last time, we’re not bringing back the Hot 100 unless the price is right and I can write it without feeling like I need a cold shower afterwards. I don’t regret doing it back in the day. I still talk to a number of ladies I wrote about in that and their personalities are just as great as the qualities they had that I ranked back in the day.

As for the people that weren’t…well, one of the main critics was a fella that wrote for Uproxx and had an axe to grind with me & 411mania in general. Real feminist kind of guy that was all about virtue signaling and running me & the list down to women in the business to make himself look good. Turns out that guy was one of the names that got named this past week for being a creep.

I really don’t have anything against the Sapps & Satins of the world (except for Sapp’s University of Kentucky fandom, that can never be forgiven), and even Uncle Dave has his good points even if he should have researched my friend a little bit better.

Brandon Stroud? Go fuck yourself, pal.

You didn’t think I forgot, did ya? As I recall, which is all I can do because I’m as bad at Facebook as Jim Cornette’s lawyer is & I can’t find posts, it was 2012. That was probably the best year for the 411 Wrestling Hot 100, it got all kinds of engagement from people in the business. Shazza McKenzie charged into Jessie McKay’s Facebook post about it all ready for a fight, it was good times. As usual, some people were unhappy. One was Mr. Stroud, who chimed in on Veda Scott’s Facebook post about it how she was too low on the list or something along those lines. I assume Veda was his type, I won’t speculate any further on that bit of human interaction because I have no idea. Might have just been Facebook friends, no idea and I’m not saying anything otherwise.

That wasn’t all he had to say. Brandon had a lot to say about 411mania back in those days, and once I popped up in the mentions he had to tell me about how sexist the list was in the kind of passive-aggressive way you would expect from an Internet wrestling writer. I know this because “passive-aggressive” was my middle name back in those days.

I let it slide. For one thing, some of my boys at offtheteam.com were big fans of his. I never read much of his work because Uproxx & my computer didn’t get along, but they were quite persistent about the idea that Stroud had his finger on the pulse of pro wrestling. Which was fine by me. We all have our favorites. The second part of it was that I was all about anybody having any kind of response to the damn thing. The more hits it got, the happier Ashish & Larry were with me. If this guy from Uproxx wanted to put me on blast, any publicity was good publicity.

So it was whatever. I remembered it though, because one tends to remember things like “bigger names” taking swipes at you. Not saying I paid much attention to the guy afterwards. Like I said, Uproxx was a pain for my computer (and other devices). Also, I got to the point where I just didn’t really read anybody or pay attention to what others were doing. I have my opinions, I put them out there, and that’s that. What else do I need?

If there’s one person in this thing that I think we still call the “IWC” that needs to be cancelled due to #SpeakingOut, it’s this asshole. The one that told us how he was so pro-women & woke & all those things that folks like David Starr & Joey Ryan liked to tell us to distract us from the fact they were abusive douchebags that were the prime example of the toxic masculinity they & others they wished to imitate would speak against.

Hey, I’ve told you what I am. I’ve admitted the Hot 100 wasn’t the best idea and maybe it went on too long but had a few positive side effects for me and maybe some others too. I accept any criticism coming my way from all of that, along with whatever people I’ve interacted with in the past want to say about me. I can do that because I know it’s not as bad as what Noted Feminist & All Around Good Guy Brandon Stroud did.

So if you ask me how I feel about this guy getting accused of sexual misconduct and him copping to it? I say it’s chickens coming home to roost. He wanted to come in here back in the day and accuse me of sexism & harassment? Fuck outta here. Quit writing about wrestling. Apparently he already got drummed out of the actual business years ago for being a creep, now the folks that pay him to write about wrestling need to get him the fuck out too. If they haven’t already.

I know my conscience is clear of anything other than being a lonely single guy that didn’t have much interaction with women and was awkward via Internet. Things haven’t changed too much in that regard, other than I don’t even bother with interaction anymore. Not a great thing to admit to, but it’s my cross to bear. And I can honestly say I never did anything abusive. Shithead Stroud can’t say the same.

In Pandemic News…

Yes, “Pandemic News”. I know the government is busy trying to tell us the pandemic is over and everybody should go back to their regular lives and spend all their money, but the numbers across most of the country aren’t getting any better. Kentucky’s are “steady”, and that seems like good news!

You know one place the numbers are getting really, really bad? Florida! Their COVID-19 case numbers are getting more ridiculous by the day, and at least one of them happened to be at the WWE Performance Center in the audience back on June 9. WWE suspended production this past Tuesday after finding out and got everybody tested, which apparently was handled as well as you would expect WWE to handle anything these days. Taping resumed on Wednesday, and things ran late & SmackDown got pushed to next week and anybody with a brain saw this coming. It was only a matter of time before another one of WWE’s employees contracted the virus.

I understand why WWE, AEW & Impact Wrestling still want to run shows, and why ROH is talking about being back in July. It’s the same reason every other business is trying to run as much as possible. They need that money and those eyeballs. You can’t blame them as much as you can blame a government that enables them to make money at the risk of public safety. As somebody with a job at the airport, the stuff I see going on every day I’m there tells me that this pandemic isn’t going away anytime soon.

We just hope that there isn’t an outbreak at one of these events, or that the people involved in them don’t make the people around them sick. Especially since WWE has decided that nobody can wear a mask since Vince McMahon listens to Donald Trump. So we’ll just keep sitting here playing with fire and hope nobody gets burned.

So how about the indies?

Well, a couple of them ran events this weekend in the Indianapolis area. I have no idea why that area was chosen, but that’s what happened. IWA Mid-South ran in a small warehouse and decided to tweet a wide shot of people all cramped together with maybe one person wearing a mask. That pic got deleted once everybody expressed their displeasure. I, for one, was not surprised that Ian Rotten’s promotion would do something so stupid. That’s very on brand. A lot of great talents cut their teeth in Ian’s promotion back in the day, and they still got some good folks there, but there’s a reason IWA’s reputation is what it is.

GCW also ran in the Indianapolis area at an outdoor venue. From what I could see, people were spread out to a good degree. Didn’t look any worse than what you see on TV, actually better in some cases. Apparently they took great precautions and Joey Janela was even there to help sanitize the ring between matches. The pictures I saw looked good, so credit to them on that account. Although, during Nick Gage’s entrance people decided they wanted to have a mosh pit and some poor woman had a seizure. Not a great look. There’s also the matter that some people probably attended both of these shows, so even if GCW tried really hard to keep everybody safe, some of that IWA stuff was going to slip in there.

I get it. We all want to go back to wrestling shows. We’d all like to live the way we did this time in 2019. But if we can’t chill out just a little bit and quit spreading disease everywhere, we’re just putting off the time when we can eventually go full blast back into non-pandemic reality again.

Last Minute News!

I haven’t had the chance to watch the last episode of “The Last Ride” yet, but apparently Undertaker told viewers that it actually was The Last Ride. He has no desire to return to the ring after the Boneyard Match with AJ Styles. Which doesn’t surprise me, because the whole series was about Undertaker looking for that perfect ending to his career. A kickass match. I’ve been on record as saying the Boneyard Match was just what I needed to get though that WrestleMania that wasn’t really a WrestleMania. At least it had that match!

We all know that wrestler retirements last as long as diets. Undertaker will probably get that itch again, right around whenever Vince McMahon wants him to take that Sweet Saudi Blood Money. I wouldn’t fault him for it, every wrestler ever has gone back on their retirement match if they were physically able to. But let’s be honest…that Boneyard Match was an awesome piece of business. The best thing Undertaker’s been involved in since the HBK/HHH series of WM matches. The guy was looking for closure by having a badass match. He had one.

With a guy that’s a flat earther. Considering Undertaker’s t-shirt choices during the documentary, that seems right up his alley.

Thanks for reading. Keep your stick on the ice.

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

2 weeks 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!