Opinion

Cook’s Top 5: 2012 Wrestling Memories

Steve Cook looks back at an eventful 2012, featuring Taeler Hendrix, a live Royal Rumble, Jerry Lawler’s heart attack, the return of Brock Lesnar and more!

Published

5 years ago

October 20, 2020

Steve Cook

Steve Cook looks back at an eventful 2012, featuring Taeler Hendrix, a live Royal Rumble experience, Jerry Lawler’s heart attack, the return of Brock Lesnar and more!

2012 was one of the most eventful years in my wrestling fandom.

It was a year where I was trying to get people to talk to me on podcasts. I was somewhat successful, but I eventually gave up on it. At the end of the day, I don’t like talking to most people. I don’t think most wrestlers familiar with me or my work have interest in actually talking to me anyway, so everybody wins. 2012 was when I was deepest into this whole IWC thing, deepest into my own bullshit, and also when I started to feel the burnout again. It was a good year content-wise for me, but I could feel the wheels starting to come off.

I made some interesting road trips during 2012 as well. This is especially notable since who knows when we’ll be making road trips again? I was very tempted by the Collective weekend in Indianapolis, but apparently those folks got sick so it’s a damn good thing I didn’t go. Who would have thought that going to Indiana would be a bad idea?

Anywho, here are my top 5 wrestling memories from 2012.

5. Taeler Hendrix’s Gut Check

TNA Wrestling was looking for new talent and came up with an interesting way to find some. The Gut Check would feature an unsigned wrestler taking on a TNA wrestler in a match televised on Impact Wrestling, then being judged on their efforts by three judges on the next episode. If they got the votes, they would receive a TNA contract and go to Ohio Valley Wrestling, which was serving as TNA’s developmental territory at the time. It got off to quite the start when Alex Silva won a contract that he wasn’t originally supposed to get due to Ric Flair changing his vote. Joey Ryan was next, and while he was rejected by the judges he would still wind up under TNA contract.

The third competitor was somebody that I had become acquainted with via the Interweb. Taeler Hendrix had already spent several months training in OVW, so it made sense to include her as part of the Gut Check. I’ve always said that one of the coolest things about being a wrestling fan is watching people work their way up the ladder & do bigger and better things in the business. 2012 was a good year for me in that regard, including Taeler’s successful Gut Check experience.

Unfortunately, Taeler’s TNA tenure didn’t live up to the lofty expectations people like me had for it. She only had a handful of matches with the company before being released just over a year after getting signed. Not sure what happened there, and to be honest I’m not sure why Hendrix hasn’t become a bigger star in wrestling. She’s got the look & charisma part down, and it’s not like she’s terrible in the ring, at least from what I saw years ago. Granted, I’ve been prone to being blinded to the weaknesses of attractive women, so maybe I’m missing part of the picture. It’s a mystery to me.

Taeler is currently writing for Fightful, so maybe Jeremy Lambert can say hi for me at their next staff meeting. It’s a shame from where I sit, as I feel like Taeler is somebody that should be written about instead of somebody that’s writing about people. If she’s happy doing it, more power to her, but she would be one of very few writers I know that are actually happy.

4. The Ring of Wax

August 18, 2012 would mark the date of the one CHIKARA show that was close enough for me to attend. Nowadays, Indianapolis is a hub of indy activity due to Indiana’s lax rules regarding the coronavirus, but back then it seemed kind of random for a Northeast indy to run a show there. Nevertheless, I was excited to finally see some CHIKARA action live & in person.

This was also the first time I met offtheteam.com poster The Hodge in person. We went to Hooters, then walked up the road to the Egyptian Room where this show took place. Hodge is a weird guy, in which that whenever I put him over as a regular, normal guy, he gets angry. I’m not sure what he wants me to tell people. He’s a nice guy, even if he’ll get mad at me for saying so.

Soldier Ant & The Swarm (combatANT & deviANT) lost to The Batiri (Obariyon, Kodama & Kobald)

One of these men went on to become part of one of the best acts in AEW. (see what I did there) Maybe some of these other masked & painted men went on to something, but the only one I recognize is Kobald, who went on to be one of the men who was named in the accusations that led to CHIKARA closing its doors. Fuck that guy.

Saturyne lost to Tim Donst

Saturyne left CHIKARA not too long after this and underwent a persona makeover, becoming Hania the Huntress. She would make some appearances in ROH & Impact Wrestling, but doesn’t seem to be active in wrestling these days. Tim Donst fought off cancer, and is a really good pro wrestler. Still waiting for a break for reasons unknown to me. Honestly, I would have expected both of these folks to have made a bigger impact in the business at this point.

The Mysterious and Handsome Stranger defeated Lancelot Bravado

That stranger was actually Archibald Peck under a mask, who was also known as RD Evans and also later became a writer for WWE that left because…Vince McMahon got pissed that his name was mentioned during the speech Bret Hart made while the Hart Foundation was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. Evans quit afterward, and has joined Impact Wrestling as a writer/producer. I have many questions about this whole piece of business. Like, did Vince expect Bret Hart to make a speech and not mention the name “Vince McMahon” at some point? Also, did Vince expect Bret Hart to read a script that RD Evans wrote for him? I don’t understand how this whole thing could have ended any other way.

Mike Quackenbush & Jigsaw got disqualified against GEKIDO (17 & The Shard)

Quack decided he needed to deliver all four Quackendrivers to 17, which led to a disqualification and the loudest bump on a ramp I’ve ever heard. So I’ve been a little reticent to reveal identities of CHIKARA’s masked wrestlers, and there are a couple I will keep unspoiled in case the folks involved like it that way, but I feel the need to mention here that “The Shard” was none other than the star of Being The Elite, John Silver. I never would have made that connection until I read it somewhere on the Internet, and I can see it since they both have great bodies although being somewhat vertically challenged. Crazy stuff though, I never would have made that connection.

The Spectral Envoy (UltraMantis Black & Frightmare) defeated Arik Cannon & Darin Corbin

UltraMantis is one of my favorites. Great person, wrestler, commentator. Darin Corbin might be most known to folks that follow Greg DeMarco podcasts as the man that married Breena. 2 pale redheads that love wrestling…makes sense to me. The Kool-Aid Man Arik Cannon was a damn good worker that deserved more at some point. I have no idea what happened to Frightmare. Wonderful worker, not sure what became of him. Darn fine match after intermission though.

Eddie Kingston beat Harlem Bravado

Kevin Ford’s recap of this show told me a story of Eddie laboring to get through non-title matches, which might have been a story CHIKARA was telling at the time. I did think this took longer than expected, but I didn’t mind it because I was a big Eddie Kingston fan. Long live Kevin Ford.

The Colony (Fire Ant & Green Ant) & 3.0 (Scott “Jagged” Parker & Shane Matthews) beat F.I.S.T. (Icarus, Chuck Taylor, Sugar Dunkerton) & Ophidian

A classic CHIKARA style match involved at least eight people going at it in a tag team match. Can’t hate on that. One team had Chucky T & Pineapple Pete. The other team had 3.0 before they made it to NXT, and I can’t remember their names there for the life of me. Also had a couple of ants. Green eventually found some Hot Sauce. As for Fire Ant, it’s ironic that he was CHIKARA’s hottest property, but eventually found stardom when he went in the opposite direction and became a lazy slacker. Kind of speaks poorly of Quack’s booking, to be honest. This guy got over working a character completely opposite of what CHIKARA presented him as for years. Part of that is the worker, part of that is CHIKARA completely misunderstanding the worker. It’s a hard thing to understand as an outside observer.

Young Lions Cup X Tournament Finals
ACH lost to “Mr. Touchdown” Mark Angelosetti

This was one of the best matches I ever saw live, and I was convinced these two guys were the future of the business. ACH went on to do some things. He had an ROH run where he had a ton of good matches and never got any wins. Did some Japan stuff, and eventually ended up in WWE’s Performance Center. They finally started using him on the NXT shows, then they released a t-shirt that looked like blackface. ACH didn’t like that, and left the company.

As for Mr. Touchdown…another one of those guys that fell into the CHIKARA void.

Obviously, my thoughts & opinions on CHIKARA have changed over the years. Mike Quackenbush used to be one of my favorite wrestlers of all time, and right now he’s just a guy that really knew how to wrestle. Plenty of those folks have gone on to be big stars, and I root for them all as long as they weren’t part of the problem in CHIKARA. I will say that the 411 comment section’s response to the News From Cook’s Corner column containing a review of this show did lead to the death of News From Cook’s Corner for a little over seven years. Some of those wonderful people had the temerity & the unmitigated gall to claim that I had slacked off that week, where I had written more words than most weeks and put in a bit of travel. Yeah, I wasn’t hearing that bullshit. I did one more column and then it was finito, arrivaderchi if you will. I’m the kind of guy where if you question my work ethic, I will prove you right by giving you no work.

3. Jerry Lawler’s Heart Attack

One of the scariest moments on live televised wrestling took place on September 10, 2012. Raw color commentator Jerry “The King” Lawler wrestled a match early on the broadcast and returned to his post at the booth. Later on the broadcast, Lawler suffered a heart attack while sitting at the announce table next to Michael Cole. If not for the rapid response by WWE’s doctor and the medical personnel on hand, Lawler would not have survived the evening. Fans feared the worst as the show continued to unfold without commentary, but were relieved when Cole reported at the end of the show that Lawler’s heart was beating again. After hearing that, you got the feeling that Lawler had pulled the strap down and he was going to be all right.

Lawler was part of an event I attended that I neglected to mention in a previous column. The King appeared on a Mountain Wrestling Association event in Lexington, KY back in 2005 that I attended alongside my University of Kentucky-attending best friend. I had to make the drive from Louisville to see Jerry Lawler work an indy show in 2005, there was no real choice there. Got an autographed photo. What about it? Lawler teamed with “Wildcat” Chris Harris to take on the dreaded Hayes Brothers, “Dirty” Chris & “Playboy” Scott, in what was undoubtedly the highlight of their careers.

Other notable names on the show included Karl Anderson, Eric Young & Abyss. It was a pretty loaded show by MWA standards. Unfortunately, the venue the show was held at, the Continental Inn, closed down within days after the event, so it was tough for the MWA to capitalize on any bump in business Lawler might have given them.

So there’s that. Jerry Lawler holds a certain level of importance in my region of the country, and always will as long as people that still remember the old days of the Memphis territory are around.

I’ve been noticing during this series of columns that there are a ton of moments that have slipped my mind. Lawler’s heart attack is something I’ll always remember. It was one of those moments when you sat in front of your TV while constantly clicking refresh on your computer hoping for an update of some sort. Fortunately the King is still with us, and still wrestling on outlaw mud shows when he has the opportunity.

2. Brock Lesnar Returns

Of all the things that happened in 2012, the return of Brock Lesnar had the biggest impact on the future of pro wrestling. Back then, most of us didn’t see Brock ever returning to WWE. He had other things to do, and wanted nothing to do with the grueling road schedule. As it turned out, he didn’t have as much to do since his relationship with UFC pretty much came to an end.

WWE worked around Brock’s dislike of travel by allowing him to work a limited amount of dates. He became a part-time champion that held titles for most of the next several years while not being around most of the time. He’s certainly had some great moments, but one can’t help but wonder if WWE wouldn’t have been better off actually trying to build new stars.

Would WWE be better or worse off without Brock Lesnar’s presence during the 2010s? Its really difficult to say.

1. Going to the Royal Rumble!

Not much has changed since the article I posted about this back in 2019 which was mostly written in 2012. Well, now that I think about it, something has. The Penguin & I watched the Rumble match for a podcast. You know how sometimes you go to a show live and it seems really awesome, and then you watch it back later and it doesn’t hold up as well as you remember?

Yep, the 2012 Royal Rumble Match is definitely one of those things.

Does that matter? Nope. Still one of my best experiences as a pro wrestling fan without a shadow of a doubt. I’m just sad that the COVID derailed any chance of Pengu & I continuing our eight-year tradition of meet-ups. The relationship we have as two people that have only hung out a handful of days in person likely seems strange to a lot of people, but we just have that chemistry & trust together like Monsoon & Heenan. You don’t meet a lot of people like that, and if you’re an unlikeable asshole like me you meet even less people like that, where you just have an immediate connection. I also met Andy Critchell, who is quite the swell guy and probably still a little upset that Mark Henry didn’t win the World Championship at the Rumble.

Shoutout to Pengu, Andy, Mrs. Pengu and the rest of the people along for the ride there. It was one of the best times I ever had as a wrestling fan, and the way things are shaping up, it’s tough to imagine them getting better. We’ll march on and hope they do.

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Opinion

Chairshot Staff Picks: Backlash St. Louis

Chairshot Staff picks!!!

Published

2 days ago

May 9, 2025

PC Tunney

May is upon us and with that, so is Backlash from St. Louis! What does the first PLE after WrestleMania have in store for the WWE Universe? Let’s see if the Chairshot Staff can properly interpret the crystal ball of rasslin’ future.

AJ – Pat MacAfee – Gunther has to start losing control and who better than an announcer.
Andrew – Pat MacAfee – Goldberg getting involved does seem correct here.
Dave – Gunther – He’s not losing to a broadcaster.
DJ – Gunther – Pat is sent to the shadow realm until football season is over.
DPP – Gunther – Post match beat down leads to Pat time off.
Jason – Gunther – One massive spot and or bump from Pat.
Patrick – Gunther
Rey – Gunther – RIP MacAfee, t’was a good life.
Rob – Gunther
Greg – Pat MacAfee – Why? Goooooldbeeerrrrrgggggg!

Tunney’s Take: Gunther – Seems like the right pick here. Pat may be getting some time off and Gunther needs more heat.

Chairshot Pick – GUNTHER 8-3

AJ – Lyra Valkyria – Becky’s hopefully putting her over, still mad about Dakota.
Andrew – Becky Lynch – I have no real interest in Lyra currently.
Dave – Becky Lynch – Lyra is boring AF!
DJ – Lyra Valkyria – Bayley interferes.
DPP – Becky Lynch – Becky cheats and steals the title.
Jason – Lyra Valkyria – Bayley costs Becks.
Patrick – Becky Lynch
Rey – Becky Lynch – Story needs to jump up a bit, Becky Charlotte’s Lyra.
Rob – Lyra Valkyria
Greg – Becky Lynch – It’s been fun, Lyra. (It kinda hasn’t)

Tunney’s Take: Lyra Valkyria – Bayley’s interference should set up some type of program with Becky as we head towards Summer(Slam).

Chairshot Pick – BECKY LYNCH 6-5

AJ – Jacob Fatu – Great way to put him over w/ two former WHCs and LA Knight.
Andrew – Jacob Fatu – He’s Jacob Fatu!
Dave – Jacob Fatu – Too soon to pull the belt off him.
DJ – Jacob Fatu – Priest and LA can’t decide who’s is bigger.
DPP – Jacob Fatu – Your hardcore match, tables and chairs involved.
Jason – Jacob Fatu – The Champ retains due to or in spite of Solo.
Patrick – Jacob Fatu
Rey – Jacob Fatu – All gas. No brakes. Ain’t losing.
Rob – Jacob Fatu
Greg – Jacob Fatu – Someone from The Samoan Dynasty ain’t winning a title just to drop it.

Tunney’s Take: Jacob Fatu – Uncle Mo is on Fatu’s side and other than Knight, I don’t see Drew or Priest holding the US title in the current circumstances of this title’s landscape.

Chairshot Pick – JACOB FATU 11-0

AJ – Dominic Mysterio – Judgement Day shenanigans just leading up to Finn turning on Dom later.
Andrew – Penta – Dom’s fine having a short reign, could also work for pushing AAA.
Dave – Dominic Mysterio – He’s probably more over than Penta.
DJ – Dominic Mysterio – Dirty Dom takes home the gold and the girl.
DPP – Dominic Mysterio – Big Head helps Dom pull out the win.
Jason – Dominic Mysterio – By hook and crook.
Patrick – Dominic Mysterio
Rey – Dominic Mysterio – Latino Heat keeps burning. Finn gets closer to the edge.
Rob – Dominic Mysterio
Greg – Dominic Mysterio – Someone from The Guerrero Dynasty ain’t winning a title just to drop it.

Tunney’s Take: Dominic Mysterio – That belt looks good with the king of chicken tendys. I can see Penta and Rey reforming as a tag team sooner than later.

Chairshot Pick – DOMINIC MYSTERIO 10-1

AJ – John Cena – Why? Cena wins, lol.
Andrew – John Cena – Shenanigans ensue so it’s not a clean win.
Dave – John Cena – The last time is now.
DJ – John Cena – Randy hears voices telling him he needs an Attitude Adjustment.
DPP – John Cena – Cena tries to cheat but the ref doesn’t call for a DQ.
Jason – John Cena – Nefarious means, Randy not ready for Evil John Cena.
Patrick – John Cena
Rey – John Cena – Cena just counting down the dates. Should be fun though.
Rob – John Cena
Greg – John Cena – You know they want Cody to be the hero in the end.

Tunney’s Take: Randy Orton – Once upon a time Randy got himself intentionally disqualified and it cost John. Saturday, history repeats itself with a 180-degree twist. Cena retains via Orton DQ victory. This time, Travis Scott’s appearance takes care of that task.

Chairshot Pick – JOHN CENA 10-1

In closing I want to thank everyone on the panel for participating with their picks! You can follow each prognosticator/podcaster on X @ the handles below. We all enjoy Pro Wrestling so remember three things… be respectful of others, comparison is the thief of joy and HAVE FUN!

AJ – @PhenomenalAJB
Andrew – @IWCWarChief
Dave – @AttitudeAgg
DJ – @TheMindlessPod
DPP – @itsmeDPP
Jason – @JediFett
Patrick – @WrestlngRealist
Rey – @itsreycash
Rob – @rbonne1
Greg – @gregdemarco44
PC – @PCTunney
TheChairshot.com – @ChairshotMedia

prowrestlingtees.com/TheChairshot – a PLETHORA of GREAT designs…MAKES A GREAT GIFT!

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CHAIRSHOT RADIO NETWORK PODCAST SPECIALS

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Classic POD is WAR

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Opinion

Chairshot Staff Picks: WrestleMania 41 Las Vegas

Time for The Chairshot personalities to put their money where their mouths are! WreslteMania 41 predictions from the “expert” staff at TheChairshot.com and Chairshot Radio Network.

Published

3 weeks ago

April 18, 2025

PC Tunney

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to the Chairshot Staff Picks. And what better setting than WrestleMania for this article to return! This 41st edition has one of the most stacked rosters in WWE history. So, without further ado, let us get to the predictions and prognostications…

AJ – The New Day
Andrew – The New Day – No one seems to hold tag titles long anymore.
Dave – The New Day – They have earned it.
DJ – The New Day – Feel tha Powah!
DPP – War Raiders – Big E distraction.
Jason – The New Day – We are not getting E in a working capacity though everyone wants it.
Patrick – The New Day – WWE doesn’t care about this match, so why should I?
Rey – The New Day – Its a New Day, bruh.
Rob – The New Day – New Day rocks and wins!
Greg – The New Day – New. Day wins. New. Day wins!

Tunney’s Take: War Machine – Yes, WAR MACHINE. I have personally had the pleasure of throwing back a few cold ones with these guys on more than one occasion. Not only being tag champs in WWE but defending the titles at Mania and against The New Day is really cool for me as a long-time fan. Would it be fun to see The New Day have another title run.. YES. I think it’s smarter to give the War Raiders a big Mania W.

Chairshot Pick: THE NEW DAY 9-2

AJ – Jade Cargill
Andrew – Jade Cargill – She needs to stay a dominant force.
Dave – Jade Cargill – Gotta gear her up for the long term.
DJ – No contest – Naomi puts another beat down on Jade.
DPP – Jade Cargill – Nervous for how this match will go.
Jason – Naomi – Way more runway with Naomi as a bad guy. Keep it going!
Patrick – Jade Cargill – Jade gets her revenge.
Rey – Jade Cargill – Best non-title feud going. Naomi should win but Jade sneaks by.
Rob – Naomi – Naomi gets help to win.
Greg – Jade Cargill – They ain’t beating Jade here.

Tunney’s Take: Jade Cargill – I imagine WWE sees Jade’s ceiling much higher than Naomi’s. What better way to keep Jade climbing the ladder towards a World Title than to pick up a decisive victory in Vegas!

Chairshot Pick: Jade Cargill 8-2-1

AJ – Jacob Fatu – “AJ does a pretty good LA Knight impersonation” – PC Tunney
Andrew – Jacob Fatu – I’m biased, Jacob for President.
Dave – Jacob Fatu – Getting gold back in the Bloodline is smart.
DJ – Jacob Fatu
DPP – Jacob Fatu
Jason – Jacob Fatu – Thanks for coming pal, YEAH!
Patrick – Jacob Fatu
Rey – Jacob Fatu – C’mon cuz! All gas no brakes with it. Yadadamean??
Rob – LA Knight – Solo costs Jacob.
Greg – LA Knight – Solo screws Jacob.

Tunney’s Take: Jacob Fatu – It has been quite the journey for the Samoan Werewolf. I feel like that journey and the positive turn around it has taken deserves to be rewarded. Let’s see what Jacob can do on his own. Plus, LA Knight is ready to challenge for a World Title.

Chairshot Pick: Jacob Fatu 9-2

AJ – Tiffany Straton
Andrew – Tiffany Straton – I hate Charlotte Flair, no objectivity here.
Dave – Charlotte Flair – Tiffy might be the future, but she kinda failed the litmus test.
DJ – Charlotte Flair – The Queen crowns the freshman.
DPP – Tiffany Stratton
Jason – Charlotte Flair – Tiff wasn’t ready for this spot. Charnos is inevitable.
Patrick – Charlotte Flair – Lol Charlotte wins.
Rey – Charlotte Flair – Tiffany SHOULD win but, if Charlotte can squash, she will.
Rob – Charlotte Flair – Charlotte gets number 15.
Greg – Tiffany Stratton – Lol Charlotte wins. (Actually she doesn’t)

Tunney’s Take: Charlotte Flair – Charlotte needs the title for the first time in her career. Tiffy has had a nice run but now needs to take that all important step of not losing momentum after losing the title. Despite the drama and lackluster build here, I see a really good match coming this weekend from these two.

Chairshot Pick: Charlotte Flair 7-4

AJ – El Grande Americano
Andrew – El Grande Americano – I’d like to see Gable gain some momentum. Rey is Teflon.
Dave – El Grand Americano – He needs a marque win much more than Rey.
DJ – Rey Mysterio
DPP – El Grande Americano – Grande wins with the switcheroo to prove he is not Gable.
Jason – Rey Mysterio – Unmask Grande at the end. It is fun but has a shelf life.
Patrick – El Grande Americano – TOTALLY NOT CHAD GABLE
Rey – Rey Mysterio – Someone’s mask is coming off and it ain’t Rey.
Rob – El Grande Americano
Greg – Rey Mysterio – Hall of Famer wins but doesn’t take the mask.

Tunney’s Take: Rey Mysterio – Go listen to DWI 471. DP, Greg and I lay out exactly what this match should be, FUN! Multiple Americanos!!!

Chairshot Pick: El Grande Americano 6-5

AJ – Jey Uso
Andrew – Jey Uso – Kinda booked themselves into a corner here.
Dave – Jey Uso – It just makes sense.
DJ – Jey Uso – Jey YEETS all over The Ring Genreal.
DPP – Jey Uso – Jey wins after normal Gunther beating.
Jason – Jey Uso – Land the plane man. YEET
Patrick – Jey Uso – Jey has earned this one.
Rey – Jey Uso – YEEEEEEEEEEEET!
Rob – Jey Uso – YEET
Greg – Jey Uso – If Jey loses we riot. We don’t cause he wins.

Tunney’s Take: Jey Uso – ‘Til sweat drop down my balls, ‘Til all these bitches crawl, ‘Til all… YEET YEET YEET YEET YEET YEET YEET YEET YEET YEET YEET YEET YEET YEET YEET YEET YEET YEET YEET YEET YEET YEET YEET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Chairshot Pick: Jey Uso 11-0

AJ – Roman Reigns
Andrew – Seth Rollins – I can see Rollins being the last piece of Team Rock.
Dave – Roman Reigns – I can’t see Roman losing two years in a row.
DJ – Seth Rollins – Paul Heyman is a Seth Freakin Rollins guy.
DPP – Seth Rollins – The Rock helps Rollins.
Jason – Roman Reigns – Seth’s favor is a red herring. Make-A-Wish Brooks got his main, now look at the lights.
Patrick – Seth Rollins – Seth Rollins… Paul Heyman guy.
Rey – Seth Rollins – I smeeeeellllllll a new soul to sell.
Rob – Roman Reigns – Paul Heyman helps Roman win.
Greg – Seth Rollins – Brock Lesnar returns to help Seth win.

Tunney’s Take: CM Punk – I really have no idea here. I picked Punk because nobody else did. This is going to be professional wrestling cinema at its finest. The story is thick and neatly woven. All the participants are legends and so are the potential party crashers. Will The Rock stick his nose in here? Will Brock Lesnar return to play a factor? Obviously, Paul Heyman has a Plan A… but what is it? All these questions and more will be answered Saturday as night 1 will definitely go out with a bang!

Chairshot Pick: Seth Rollins 6-4-1

AJ – Iyo Sky
Andrew – Iyo Sky – Rhea vs Bianca doesn’t need a belt to be compelling.
Dave – Rhea Ripley – Going with Rhea barely, hoping Iyo wins.
DJ – Iyo Sky – Unfinished business.
DPP – Iyo Sky – Rhea and Bianca are too consumed with each other.
Jason – Iyo Sky – More layers to Rhea/Bianca. Iyo rules.
Patrick – Iyo Sky – Iyo stole the build and gets the win.
Rey – Iyo Sky – Smart money is on the underdog champ.
Rob – Iyo Sky – Iyo survives.
Greg – Bianca Belair – Naomi helps Bianca win and turn heel.

Tunney’s Take: Rhea Ripley – Rhea is the best women’s wrestler in the world. Give her the biggest win on the grandest stage of them all!!! Bianca needs to go full heel. Iyo has been amazing in this build.

Chairshot Pick: Iyo Sky 8-2-1

AJ – Dominik Mysterio
Andrew – Finn Balor – I can see a Judgement Day meltdown incoming.
Dave – Bron Breakker – Bron is about to become a MegaStar.
DJ – Bron Breakker – Judgement Day implodes.
DPP – Dominik Mysterio – Finn take the pin.
Jason – Penta – I literally do not care because the winner is us, the fans.
Patrick – Bron Breakker – The WWE doesn’t care about this matchup, so why should I?
Rey – Dominik Mysterio – Only match without a clear winner. I choose chaos.
Rob – Bron Breakker – Finn and Dom cancel each other out.
Greg – Dominik Mysterio – Dom steals the pin from Bron, on Finn.

Tunney’s Take: Bron Breakker – The case can be made for any of these four to walk away with the most prestigious non-World title in pro wrestling history. The short of it is though that the Main Event picture isn’t really readily accessible for Breakker right now. Let this IC reign go through the summer, to SummerSlam.

Chairshot Pick: Bron Breakker 5-4-1-1

AJ – Damian Priest – “AJ does a pretty good Drew impersonation” – PC Tunney
Andrew – Drew McIntyre – Priest has not been interesting in this face incarnation.
Dave – Drew McIntyre – Time for Drew to get that win back.
DJ – Fuck finish – To be continued at Backlash.
DPP – Drew McIntyre – Physical matchup!
Jason – Drew McIntyre – Either one is fine here.
Patrick – Drew McIntyre – With two eyes, Drew turns the tide.
Rey – Drew McIntyre – Low key match of the weekend.
Rob – Damien Priest
Greg – Damien Priest – Priest wins, Drew tweets about it half hour later.

Tunney’s Take: Drew McIntyre – With the addition of the Street fight rules, these two behemoths have a really good chance to have one of the best matches of the entire weekend (winks at Rey Ca$h-A-Mania)! I do wonder what is next for both of these talents moving forward. Priest has staled since leaving the Judgement Day and Drew seems stuck in the same cycle for a while now. Very interested to see what the summer holds for this pair.

Chairshot Pick: Drew McIntyre 7-3-1

WHO WILL BE RANDY’S OPPONENT?!?

AJ – Nick Aldis – Orton wins
Andrew – Orton and Aldis vs Solo and Tama – Orton and Aldis win
Dave – Someone is getting an RKO!
DJ – A segment w/ the Wyatt s6cks.
DPP – Rusev – Aldis introduces Rusev who defeats Orton.
Jason – Nick Aldis – You got one more in ya, bubba. Aldis wins!
Patrick – Nick Aldis
Rey – Solo then Rusev – Solo in a squash and Rusev MATCHKA(wins)
Rob – Nick Aldis – Aldis proves himself, Orton wins.
Greg – Nick Aldis – Orton beats Aldis, they shake after.

Tunney’s Take: I would really love to see a singles match between Orton and Aldis. More likely this is some type of involvement with Solo and Tama. Rusev as a surprise challenger would be cool but, I feel that would be better left for RAW. An impromptu Goldberg retirement match would be crazy and fun, yet highly unlikely and illogical. Whatever happens, best believe exactly what Dave Ungar said, “Someone is getting an RKO!”.

AJ – Logan Paul
Andrew – AJ Styles – Logan doesn’t need the rub and should stay upper mid card.
Dave – Logan Paul – It’s the smart move and would be a statement win for Paul.
DJ – Logan Paul – Kross gets involved somewhere.
DPP – AJ Styles – AJ wins a great high-flying match.
Jason – AJ Styles – Just enjoy it or get a beer, nerds.
Patrick – Logan Paul – Logan Paul will main-event Mania sooner than later…
Rey – Logan Paul – Pass the torch, my wily vet.
Rob – Logan Paul – Kross helps Paul win.
Greg – AJ Styles – Styles wins after Paul’s cheating backfires.

Tunney’s Take: Logan Paul – Logan seems to really have dedicated himself to becoming great in this business. Anyone with that type of goal must have a World title on their mind. Beating AJ at Mania will be a great springboard for Logan into the Main Event sooner than later (winks at Patrick O’Dowd).

Chairshot Pick: Logan Paul 7-4

AJ – Liv & Raquel
Andrew – Liv & Raquel – Not really a fan of Lyra, she needs more work.
Dave – Liv & Raquel – This Bayley and Lyra team makes no damn sense.
DJ – Liv & Raquel – Bayley crashes out.
DPP – Liv & Raquel – Bayley continues a potential heel turn tease.
Jason – Bayley & Lyra – Finish the story!
Patrick – Bayley & Lyra – The WWE doesn’t care about this matchup, so why should I?
Rey – Liv and Raquel – Bayley want a title but it ain’t the ones in this match.
Rob – Liv & Raquel – Champs retain.
Greg – Liv & Raquel – Liv and Raquel retain thanks to Carlito and maybe JD.

Tunney’s Take: Liv & Raquel – Liv and Raquel need to be kept as the cornerstone of the women’s tag division for a lengthier period of time. Building tag teams in this division is difficult enough, let alone without a North Star.

Chairshot Pick: Liv & Raquel 9-2

AJ – Cody Rhodes
Andrew – Cody Rhodes – They are mentioning it so much, I don’t think 17 happens.
Dave – Joh Cena – Record falls and we head to summer with a built-in storyline.
DJ – John Cena – Some kind of Final Boss involvement.
DPP – John Cena – Cena wins and retires on RAW.
Jason – John Cena – Story’s over, “Captain” BIG MATCH JOHN.
Patrick – John Cena – A record breaking night for Cena.
Rey – John Cena – They’d be really stupid to turn John just to lose. (Post-Mania: Rock, Cena, T Scott, Seth & Drew, TEAM Corporate)
Rob – Cody Rhodes – Cody surprises us with the W.
Greg – Cody Rhodes – Cody wins to piss off Rock and set the table for Cena to turn back face. Crowd is behind Cena all the way through.

Tunney’s Take: Cody Rhodes – They had me until the threat of retirement. Been there. Done that. Didn’t fall in love with it back then. I love John Cena. I love this final run. John will get his 17th just not here. I expect nothing less than an absolute GEM of a match here to close WrestleMania 41. This has all been, is, and will continue to be about Cody Rhodes. WM40 defeats Roman Reigns. WM41 defeats John Cena. WM42 defeats The Rock (The Final Boss).

Chairshot Pick: John Cena 6-5

In closing I want to thank everyone on the panel for participating with their picks! You can follow each prognosticator/podcaster on X @ the handles below. We wait all year for this so remember three things… be respectful of others, comparison is the thief of joy and HAVE FUN!