Opinion

News From Cook’s Corner 2.15.21: Stanfield, Stanfield, Stanfield

Valentine vengeance and a reflective moment! Steve Cook paints with all the colors of wind in this week’s news!

Published

3 years ago

February 15, 2021

Hi, hello & welcome to News From Cook’s Corner! I hope you all had a happy Valentine’s Day and got to spend it with somebody you love doing something enjoyable. Me, I spent most of it with people I don’t care for doing something that’s very difficult to enjoy. So don’t worry if you spent the day single & alone, you weren’t the only one even if it felt like it.

Those of you that have known me for a while know that the simple act of finding a mate has been similar to the quest for the Holy Grail. Barring a few brief intermittent stretches over the years where I’ve found someone not immediately repulsed by me, life hasn’t exactly blessed me in the romance department. This used to be the source of most of my depression, and I’ve written countless “woe is me” screeds into the voids of the Internet.

Fortunately, this doesn’t bother me as much anymore. I have other sources of frustration to occupy my time these days, and at this point I value the time I actually get to spend alone. Finding a girlfriend would merely cut into my alone time, and that’s not something I wish for at the moment.

So while I’m sure this all comes off as incredibly depressing to outside observers, know that the moments I get to write about these things are happy ones.

I might not be blessed with love from a soulmate or something like it, but I am lucky to have people that appreciate me enough to click on my words on the pro wrestling and other things. Whether it’s for the first time or for the thousandth time, it’s something I appreciate greatly.

Even if I do have to yell at y’all sometimes. And I will later on here because people are doing things to warrant it. Regardless, I still love you guys.

Enough of the mushy crap, let’s get to the news!

Who Got Vengeance?

I was unable to watch NXT TakeOver: Vengeance Day live. Then I got home & the Daytona 500 was on, so I watched that instead. Apparently it was a good show though, at least in the eyes of those that always give TakeOver a perfect score. Let’s look at some of the highlights:

Dakota Kai & Raquel Gonzalez won the Women’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic

The right choice here. Gonzalez seems to be on the verge of big things, and Kai has deserved to win something big for a long time now. I would not mind them winning the Women’s Tag Team Championship.

Johnny Gargano defeated Kushida

Apparently this match was Johnny TakeOver doing Johnny TakeOver things. You either really like it or really don’t. I’m not a fan of Dexter Lumis kidnapping Austin Theory, as I try to forget that Dexter Lumis exists.

MSK won the Men’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic

Talk about having a rocket strapped to you. Trey Miguel might be regretting doing the right thing for his family at this point. Today I learned that MSK stands for Must See Kids, so there’s that.

Io Sharai retained the Women’s Championship

I expected Io to retain, though I would have probably preferred either Toni Storm or Mercedes Martinez winning. Toni was working pretty stiff tonight, as this spot shows:

Damn 2020 Table #NXTTakeOver pic.twitter.com/yRfYaQ2qXi

— Wrestling News World (@wnwnews) February 15, 2021

That table was scared of her!

Finn Balor retained, but he & Kyle O’Reilly got superkicked by Adam Cole

Ol’ Pete Dunne gets put on the backburner while Adam Cole Bay Bay re-inserts himself into the title picture. See, this was a large part of my problem with the Cole/Pat McAfee feud to begin with. I never really bought Cole as the babyface people were trying to tell me he was. A leopard never changes his spots, and Adam Cole is just better as a cocky heel.

Sounds like a solid night of action that I’ll try to watch at some point when there isn’t a NASCAR race on after midnight.

Trouble in AEW/Impact Paradise?

You had to know it would happen eventually. This AEW/Impact working relationship was always destined to meet a bump in the road. Somebody wouldn’t play ball, people would get annoyed. Its wrestling.

That somebody, according to Fightful Select, PWInsider & everybody else is Sammy Guevara. See, Sammy was going to do some work for Impact, which would air during his self-imposed absence from AEW after quitting the Inner Circle. However, Sammy wasn’t thrilled with the creative he was given. After some back & forth between Sammy, Don Callis, Scott D’Amore, Tony Khan & Chris Jericho, Jericho told Sammy to head on home.

The word is that AEW isn’t exactly happy with Guevara at the moment, which would be understandable. I’m a big fan of Sammy’s, and he seems like a guy that’s deeply invested in his character. He has an idea of what he should be, and if Impact sees him differently, there’s going to be a conflict. However, I hope that Guevara doesn’t get a reputation of being difficult to work with. He’s a very talented kid, but there are plenty of talented kids that could be pushed over him.

Apparently, the plans for Sammy went to Black Taurus. This seems odd to me, mostly because Sammy would be a terrible fit with the Decay group. If that was the idea, I don’t blame Sammy for balking.

WrestleMania Weekend Returns

You might remember this. Back in the pre-pandemic days, independent wrestling promotions would flock to wherever WrestleMania was being held and hold shows in the same metro area. Made sense, as WrestleMania would annually draw north of 50,000 wrestling fans to a city. (This is a conservative estimate, the number’s probably higher but I’m factoring in local wrestling fans & WWE’s tendency to announce numbers for entertainment purposes.) Most of the people traveling for WrestleMania are hardcore wrestling fans aware of wrestling outside of WWE, so it’s good business sense for these independent promoters to try & cash in off of that.

WWE is planning on having fans at WrestleMania, so independent promoters are making plans to cash in off of them. Game Changer Wrestling announced that their Collective Remix would be coming to Tampa on WrestleMania Weekend. They have four shows scheduled on April 8, four shows scheduled on April 9, and four shows scheduled on April 10. Most of the band names you’re used to, like “Joey Janela’s Spring Break”, “Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport” & “Effy’s Big Gay Brunch”. I’ve never actually seen any of these shows, but they’re very popular.

GCW is also bringing back the Acid Cup for two shows in honor of the late, great Trent Acid, who would have made a million dollars if he was a year older. Came around one year too late for ECW to push him. Poor bastard.

Should be a fun weekend of shows. But of course, there’s more! IWTV is running their own series of shows, which they’re calling a Showcase of the Independents. Beyond Wrestling is the main draw here, there’s four shows scheduled on April 8 & 9 & three on April 10. I should note that one on April 9 is “Event To Be Determined”. I have no knowledge of anything going on there, but I wouldn’t be shocked if Mike Quackenbush has a CHIKARA show for us. Tough to say, but this seems like the perfect time for Quack’s friends to hide his return under the rug and hope we don’t notice.

Apparently, the folks behind GCW & IWTV had a falling out, and there’s a dispute over who holds the rights to previous GCW events, so the result is both groups holding a ton of shows on WrestleMania Weekend. This all seems like a bad idea to me. I’ve been wrong before, so maybe all of these shows will have healthy crowds that produce enough revenue to make everything worthwhile. I hope I’m wrong, for the sake of all the indy wrestlers that will travel to Tampa to work these shows. But I’m just not feeling too optimistic about any of this nonsense.

I mean, I just read in the Wrestling Observer where a promoter in Florida passed away after a stroke that was covid-related. Apparently two other people on the show got the healthy version of the covid. Like, what are we doing here? I ask this question every day on multiple occasions. I still see people on my Twitter wishing they could move to Florida, since they’re social creatures. Good luck is all I can say. I just don’t understand any of it, and since I already ranted on it last week I really don’t want to do it this week too. However, people just really aren’t getting the part where maybe if they stay in a general area and wear a mask occasionally they won’t die or make other people die. Unfortunately, most people care about the first part and don’t care about the second.

So, expect another covid boost of infections & deaths in the weeks after WrestleMania. Unless all of these folks travelling to Tampa get vaccinated. Highly unlikely, in my view.

Lauren Lane-Boebert?

Much to the annoyance of many readers, I tend to do some political talk in these columns. I can’t help it. As much as people want me to stick to sports, politics has also been one of my interests for most of my life. I don’t claim to be an expert even if I’ve studied the field…if I was an expert, I’d be able to get some type of political gig. I’m not, and I’m not.

One of the things that I’ve always found interesting is the background of these people sent to Washington to represent their fellow citizens. Where do these people come from? How do some of these odd personalities that make it to Congress somehow end up getting elected?

I understand that a lot of it has to do with the letter of the party listed to their name. Many voters don’t put any more thought into it than that. It still amazes me how some of these people get through the system.

There are a number of recent arrivals that boggle my mind. One is new Colorado Congresswoman Lauren Boebert. Boebert’s main claim to fame, and the issue she apparently got elected on, is her unflinching support of the Second Amendment. Boebert carries a gun wherever she goes, which makes some of her colleagues feel uneasy. Understandable, I’d be worried if an extremist who constantly talked about how evil I was had weapons at their disposal at all times they were around me too. Especially if they were involved in giving crazy rioters updates on my location.

So why am I talking about this? Turns out, Boebert allegedly has a connection to the world of pro wrestling! Last week, some online dots were connected and it was discovered that Boebert’s mother has claimed for years that her daughter’s father is none other than “Sweet” Stan Lane of the Fabulous Ones & Midnight Express. There was even a paternity suit filed back in 1990. Lane was cleared at the time, but the lady claims that science is better now or some such thing.

@willmenaker apparently Lauren Boebert's father is a former professional wrestler named Stan Lane and her mom has been trying to get him to acknowledge her existence for years. there are comments from her mom on this video dating back to 12 years ago https://t.co/vulLmVOc7M pic.twitter.com/3ku4jPJ4tu

— … (@panda4bernie) February 10, 2021

As it turns out, the timeline would fit. Lane was working the Florida territory when the congresswoman was conceived and born in the state. Given Stan’s social life at the time, nothing can really be ruled out there. I don’t know his political affiliation, so it’s hard to say how Lauren’s current career affects his feelings about things. For his part, Jim Cornette was flabbergasted and wondered why Stan couldn’t have fathered a Democratic congresswoman.

Oh, by the way, Lane & Boebert’s mother are also allegedly cousins. I’m not sure why somebody would want to claim that their cousin is the father of her daughter, but there’s a whole lot going on with Boebert’s political career that I have no explanation for.

Thanks for reading, everybody! Until next time, keep your stick on the ice.

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

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

4 days 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

1 week 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!