Opinion

A Letter From A Frustrated WWE Fan

Published

7 years ago

May 10, 2018

AJ Styles Shinsuke Nakamura WWE Smackdown

Like many of you reading this article I frustratingly made my way through Sundays WWE Backlash event, a show that certainly brought out the anger in many wrestling fans across the world. Most fans on both Facebook & Twitter expressed their disdain for Backlash and attributed it to the worst qualities we know the WWE can bring out every now and then, I however saw Backlash as part of a much bigger picture.

Backlash to me didn’t just represent everything I dislike about the WWE product but was the boiling point of so much pent up emotion & frustration I’ve been having lately.

In 2016 when the re-introduction of the brand split came about, the new WWE business model excited me; 3-4 smaller shows (like Backlash) in between the 4 marquee spectacles (Royal Rumble, SummerSlam, Survivor Series & WrestleMania) that occur seasonally and would set the tone for everything leading into the next respective event. This model isn’t just brilliant on paper but can adjust the flow of your entire product to work to perfection if executed correctly, clearly, I don’t believe this has been accomplished.

The last 6-8 months of the WWE product as a whole has quite frankly drained a little bit of the life out of me. The expansion of the company and its ever-growing roster of talent might be exciting to some but to me comes across as incredibly overwhelming. Some were ecstatic over the announcement of new show concepts such as ‘The Greatest Royal Rumble’ & the combination of both brands under monthly network specials instead of the traditional 2 shows per month method they had been following, but my excitement seems to have sadly dwindled.

As a fan for close to 2 decades now this concerned me, has my passion for the business gone? Is wrestling too stale? Is the product not as exciting as I once remember it to be? The answer however was dead-centre the entire time, the mainstream WWE product is simply exhausting.

When I refer to exhaustion I in no way mean it’s entirely poor booked or scripted, I mean we as fans are being fed far too much in what seems like such a short space of time, but in reality, is a combined 7-hours of weekly television between Raw, Smackdown, 205 Live & NXT. This combination excludes the occasional specials WWE tends to place on its Network, such as; The Mae Young Classic, Cruiserweight Classic, Mixed Match Challenge and countless others we can expect to be announced anytime now with summer just around the corner.

But surely the only way to critique a product is to look at external competitors, right?

Wrong.

A product as broad at the WWE gives us the perfect opportunity to analyse the issues from its own internal structure and thankfully we have more than enough evidence to sink our teeth into and get an idea of far larger issues lurking below the depths of what we as fans tune into weekly.

NXT

The NXT product is arguably the best professional wrestling product on the planet right now and arguing against this would be quite the challenge.

This brand acted as Triple H’s pet project, something he took under his wing and over time turned into a global phenomenon which many cite as the best thing going under the WWE banner, having outshined the main roster talent of the company on countless occasions. It combines everything great about the art of professional wrestling; the simple yet excellent storytelling, compelling characters, rabid audiences & some of the best in-ring work in the business of the last 5 years regardless of the company you choose to discuss.

What I find as the main attraction however, is the brands use of timing. Only providing one episode per week that runs anywhere from 45-60 minutes, NXT is able to cram a ridiculous amount of fun professional wrestling into a small space of time that surprisingly works.

A format such as this keeps it simple, rotate your storylines on a weekly basis while keeping the key championships at the forefront of your programming & let the wrestling do the talking. It may not provide the eccentric energy and chaos of the 90’s Attitude Era but that isn’t the intention here at all. It’s a classic call-back to the roots of the business and does it in a way I never thought could be so perfect.

Using familiar faces from International brands such as Asuka, Shinsuke Nakamura, Samoa Joe, Finn Balor, Aleistar Black & many more is also a brilliant move on the part of the brands creative team, as it introduces the wrestling world to names some never thought would have the WWE light shun on them. The brand isn’t exclusive to just independent talents though, current names such as Velveteen Dream & Lars Sullivan were homegrown under the WWE Performance Centre and have been highlights of the programming for months now.

NXT itself highlights the primary aspect the 2 mainstream WWE shows slips up on, the importance of timing. Brands such as Smackdown & RAW may provide some good storytelling & wrestling, but both shows clock in at 5 hours of weekly programming, something a lot of us don’t have time to sacrifice for regardless. This only gets worse when we take into account each of the brands key events, in this case NXT’s TakeOver specials which run roughly 3 hours as opposed to the 6-8 hour monstrosities that the mainstream product offers us every 3-4 months.

While I understand those that enjoy the spectacle of the WWE product in its weekly televised shows, it just isn’t enough to substitute for a more coherent and simple form of entertainment that NXT can provide fans with. Many of us have jobs, hobbies & interests outside of professional wrestling that potentially cannot be fulfilled with the level of dedication the mainstream WWE product requires from us, as sad as that may sound.

You may read this as anti-WWE and pro-NXT rhetoric but all I’m doing is comparing a product to another one that I feel will give us as fans far more to sink our teeth into. After all, it’s always quality over quantity.

The Greatest Royal Rumble

My overall tone & voice to this article, is as stated, one of exhaustion. Which is something I highly attribute to the overcrowding that the WWE product has currently. By overcrowding, I mean far too much content with very little breathing room that us fans need in order to appreciate what we’re given on a weekly basis. I see no better way of displaying this, than mentioning ‘The Greatest Royal Rumble’.

I previously wrote an article expressing my excitement towards The Greatest Royal Rumble, its cultural significance and what it meant to myself, someone originating from the Middle East. Regardless of how much hype the company placed behind it, the final product certainly didn’t live up to the expectations we were leading to believe.

The show itself felt like a prolonged house show, featuring one-note matches (albeit an excellent ladder match) & a main event that never quite clicked with the live crowd in the manner we’d imagine it would. Add on some of the bizarre booking decisions that took place throughout and you had a show that while large in scope, presented very little content with any form of re-watch value behind it. However, it wasn’t the failed expectations that are the primary issue here, it’s the shows long-lasting impact on the fans across the globe.

Being assigned the task of following up WrestleMania 34 seemed ambitious on paper, but you can only drag out so much excitement from a global fanbase that is already pre-exhausted from what transpired a matter of days before this event went underway. WrestleMania is our version of Christmas and this show felt like a forced rehash of it at a time when we need to kick back for a little while to soak in the events that occurred in New Orleans. It also didn’t help that the WWE’s Post-WrestleMania schedule featured the ‘Superstar Shake-Up’ roughly 8 to 10 days prior, their dual-branded Backlash event which would occur shortly after and last but certainly not least, their annual tour of the United Kingdom.

What I’m trying to express here, is overkill. Plain and simple. This in no way means ‘The Greatest Royal Rumble’ is solely responsible for the excessiveness of WWE content, but it’s a representation of such issues. Any larger scale franchise, brand or product maintains its relevancy & excitement behind it by letting their loyal customers behind it breathe for a while, giving a chance for what has been produced to resonate and sink in while plans for any future developments be slowly introduced as time roles on.

Understandably, many will disagree with me on this point, as the nature of the professional wrestling business is a non-stop thrill ride with ‘‘No Off-Season’’ as we are told every week by WWE commentators. You can’t change the nature of the business, but you can change the way its structured to keep fans more in tune with the excitement you’re attempting to resonate through your programming.

I obviously appreciate The Greatest Royal Rumble for what it was, and the efforts put in by the massive roster present on the day, but all of this just seemed like far too much at a time when we need far less. It also wasn’t helped by the car crash that followed.

Backlash

I don’t really have as much to say about Backlash as I do the other sub-topics in this writing, partially because of how outright terrible I found the show especially since I had to sit through it between 1am and 4am in the morning.

Backlash wasn’t just panned by critics online but to anyone who saw the show live, angered the live audience in ways we rarely see nowadays. From fans walking out of arena to chants for CM Punk, the WWE seemingly turned an entire fanbase against a show that had all the potential to be the years best, and you don’t blame those who acted in that manner in the slightest.

We got swerves we never asked for, match conclusions that were flat-out ridiculous, matches that came across as nothing but rushed & the constant reminder that Roman Reigns is bigger than even the WWE Championship when discussing the main event slot. Decisions like these won’t just anger your fans but will have them questioning their dedication to you entirely.

Most of us admire the company’s determination to build up the ‘Next John Cena’, but its clear this is yet another issue that exhausts people like myself and that’s being force-fed talent. Guys like Roman Reigns are insanely talented without question but from a logical perspective, how many of us are buying into him in the role he’s being pitched?

The man is certainly over but just not in the way the WWE would like him to be and this is clearly on display now that his 3rd straight big match has come out with disastrous results. We currently have of talents like Braun Strowman & Seth Rollins who the WWE Universe adores with every ounce of their heart but instead we are served a man that seems ‘out-of-date’ if you will.

Booing a talent remains cool for a little while initially but as anyone watching this product knows, we aren’t that easily wavered into thinking the way a set of certain individuals wants us to and much like Backlash, these decisions come back to haunt you.

They say the first sign of madness is doing the same thing over and over again, while expecting different results. We can all but confirm this is a topic the WWE has clearly lost their minds over.

50/50 Booking

I doubt there is another topic in the world of professional wrestling, aside from the Monday Night Wars that has been done to death in the way that of 50/50 booking has over the last number of years.

To those who are clearly mature enough to avoid the constant complaints of internet ‘fanboys’, the concept of booking in wrestling is how a character is presented in regard to his/her wins & loses which in turn impacts the credibility of these characters to the general audience. One of the biggest plagues of the WWE product is just this, 50/50 booking which relates to even numbers of both wins and losses amongst feuding characters.

The primary issue of such a direction isn’t just how boring it can be in storyline but that it generally stagnates much of the programming it’s attached to. Nobody buys into a character that loses all the time and when you make a character so invulnerable he/she never loses, it can on occasion hurt the character in a similar manner in making any feud they have remotely interesting. There is however no curse more harming than going neither direction and having characters trade aimless wins & losses.

Currently we can look at the Bobby Roode vs Elias feud. Now I happen to be a massive fan of Elias, who may have the most over gimmick in all of WWE, but I’d be lying if I said Bobby Roode has turned into anything more than just a catchphrase at this point in time. A feud like this can be used to introduce the newly drafted Roode into a refreshing new role and potentially further elevate the status of Elias, WWE however have turned it into easily the most stagnant part of each weekly RAW show.

Why is it so stagnant you ask?

Because there’s no endgame. Fans of your product aren’t going to invest in a feud that just consists of passable matches on a weekly basis and this is the same mistake we’ve seen WWE conduct for what seems like an eternity.

Both ‘Road Dogg’ Jessie James & Triple H themselves in the past have stated that wins & losses generally ‘don’t matter’ in the grand scheme of the WWE product, an answer I’d never expect from two names so synonymous with the business. Talents such as Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, The New Day, Rusev, Jinder Mahal, Baron Corbin & Bayley have all suffered because of this particular issue, in spite of all the mentioned names possessing more than enough talent to hold their own.

Watching the product as long as I have, I doubt this will change anytime soon. A part of me hopes this trend continues and eventually the company’s creative team but as a fan I feel an obligation to express what a negative impact this style of booking is having on my long-term interest in storylines and like any wrestling fan, we deserve the best from every aspect.

Solution – What now?

I can easily see people misinterpreting this essay in a negative light and take it as a simple bashing of the WWE product as it currently stands. The truth is, the WWE & Professional Wrestling are a massive part of who I am today as a person, providing me with some of my fondest memories to date and is something I love so much that I spend my days writing pieces like this.

In no way is this intended as simple slander, it’s a look at the product from the eyes of someone who sees countless glaring issues with what the WWE is trying to do and there is no better time than now to fix them. Simply throwing the solution of ‘listen to the internet more’ is certainly not the way of overcoming these obstacles, if anything that would be regressive, the WWE however need to open their eyes to the issues that are facing them.

Some of what I spoke about may not seem like much, but each point represents a much larger picture, and something I fear will result in the backlash of many fans who have remained loyal for so long. I do not implore any fan to act in the manner that some fans this past Sunday at Backlash did, but there is a growing tension between the WWE and its fanbase with each passing major show and like we saw this past week, that tension could lead to something ugly.

I along with millions of fans love this business and will stand by it for as long as I can, I’m just sick of my passion being taken for granted.

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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

2 days 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!

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

For the latest, greatest and up to datest in coverage, opinions, and podcasts ALWAYS #UseYourHead and visit TheCharishot.com

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DeMarco: Top 5 Non-Title WrestleMania Matches In WWE History

Not all WrestleMania classics had titles on the line. Dive into the top 5 non-title matches that stole the show & defined legacies. #WrestleMania #WWEHistory

Published

4 days ago

April 16, 2025

Greg DeMarco

Shawn Michaels Kurt Angle WrestleMania 21

Not all WrestleMania classics had titles on the line. Dive into the top 5 non-title matches that stole the show and defined legacies.

WrestleMania is the Showcase Of The Immortals, but it’s not always the championship matches that steal the show—or define careers. In fact, some of the most iconic, business-defining, and emotionally resonant contests at the Grandest Stage of Them All didn’t feature a title at all. These matches succeeded because of character work, in-ring execution, and the kind of storytelling that sells tickets and moves merch.

Here are the five best non-title matches in WrestleMania history—at least, according to me!

5. The Rock vs. Hulk Hogan – WrestleMania X8 (2002)

This was never going to be a five-star technical clinic—but it was always going to be the moment. “Icon vs. Icon” was a tagline, sure, but it was also the reality: the biggest star of the ‘80s vs. the biggest star of the Attitude Era. And Toronto turned it into magic. Hogan walked in a heel but walked out immortal (again), with the SkyDome shaking on every punch, every look, every gesture.

What made this work was its self-awareness. Rock and Hogan read the crowd and flipped roles mid-match—Rock became the arrogant aggressor while Hogan Hulked Up to thunderous applause. It’s not often a non-title match headlines a card emotionally the way this one did, but it dominated every headline and highlight reel.

4. Owen Hart vs. Bret Hart – WrestleMania X (1994)

Sibling rivalries don’t usually lead to technical masterpieces, but then again, this wasn’t your average family drama. Owen and Bret opened WrestleMania X with a wrestling clinic that stood tall over a night packed with title changes. Owen needed to prove he was more than Bret’s little brother, and he did it by out-wrestling the best wrestler in the company. Clean. One-two-three.

It wasn’t just a great match—it was perfect storytelling. Owen’s victory, contrasted with Bret’s later world title win, set the tone for an entire year of brother-vs-brother tension. Bret became champion, but Owen had the moral victory—and all the bragging rights. This is proof that opening matches can steal the show.

3. The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels – WrestleMania 25 (2009)

If WrestleMania moments could be trademarked, this match would be the reason why. The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels wasn’t about championships—it was about legacy. Michaels wanted to be the man who ended The Streak. The build was steeped in biblical imagery: light vs. dark, heaven vs. hell. And the match? Pure perfection. Each man brought everything they had—near-falls, psychology, reversals that had 70,000+ people gasping in unison.

It was 30 minutes of generational storytelling that transcended pro wrestling. And here’s the kicker—it wasn’t even the main event. Yet it dwarfed everything that followed. Meltzer gave it 4.75 stars, fans gave it their hearts, and WWE gave it a sequel the next year. A match so good it forced the company to run it back—because lightning actually struck.

Now, if THIS MATCH is #3, what could possible be #2 and #1…

2. Bret Hart vs. “Stone Cold” Steve Austin – WrestleMania 13 (1997)

This wasn’t just a match—it was the turning point of an era. The Submission Match between Bret Hart and Steve Austin was as violent as it was poetic, with Ken Shamrock enforcing the rules and the Chicago crowd growing more frenzied by the second. The brilliance? The shift. Bret Hart, the traditionalist hero, grew darker and more self-righteous by the second, while the disrespectful anti-hero Austin refused to quit, even when drowning in his own blood. There was no title on the line, but the stakes felt bigger than gold.

The infamous double turn changed the business. Austin’s defiance turned him into the voice of a new generation of fans—blue collar, anti-authority, Attitude Era. Meanwhile, Bret would go on to lead the heel Hart Foundation. WWE didn’t need a championship to create a moment that catapulted Austin into superstardom and ignited the company’s hottest era. This match is business-first booking at its absolute best.

1. Kurt Angle vs. Shawn Michaels – WrestleMania 21 (2005)

Dream matches often disappoint. This one didn’t. At WrestleMania 21, Olympic gold medalist Kurt Angle went hold-for-hold and spot-for-spot with Mr. WrestleMania himself, and together they delivered a masterclass in in-ring psychology. Every sequence had stakes, every near-fall had meaning. It was a stylistic war: Michaels’ heart vs. Angle’s intensity.

Angle forcing Michaels to tap was a statement—it told fans that pure wrestling, not just spectacle, could still main-event caliber storytelling without any need for a title. Michaels sold the ankle lock like death, and Angle’s post-match collapse sold the moment as a hard-fought war. This is the kind of match that keeps purists up at night, smiling, and leaves the storytelling fans like myself as happy as can be!

10 Honorable Mentions (Not Honorable, Just For The Heck Of It)

Edge vs. Mick Foley – WrestleMania 22 (2006)
A hardcore war that solidified Edge as a top-tier main eventer. That flaming table spear is still played in every Edge highlight reel.
AJ Styles vs. Shane McMahon – WrestleMania 33 (2017)
Everyone expected smoke and mirrors—what they got was a surprisingly technical, high-energy opener that kicked off the show right.
The Undertaker vs. Triple H – WrestleMania 28 (2012)
“End of an Era” wasn’t just a tagline. The Hell in a Cell match, with HBK as referee, was a brutal epilogue to a generation’s legacy.
Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho – WrestleMania XIX (2003)
A student-teacher battle of wills. Jericho’s low blow post-match was the perfect heel punctuation to a career-defining contest.
Randy Orton vs. Seth Rollins – WrestleMania 31 (2015)
The greatest RKO of all time. That curb stomp reversal belongs in a museum.
Floyd Mayweather vs. Big Show – WrestleMania XXIV (2008)
More sports-entertainment than wrestling, but a crossover moment that made mainstream headlines and paid off with a great finish.
Roddy Piper vs. Adrian Adonis – WrestleMania III (1987)
A retirement match with big heat, a hot crowd, and Piper walking off into the sunset (for a minute).
The Firefly Funhouse Match – John Cena vs. Bray Wyatt – WrestleMania 36 (2020)
Cinematic weirdness at its best. A meta masterstroke that broke Cena down in layers.
Bad Bunny & Damian Priest vs. The Miz & John Morrison – WrestleMania 37 (2021)
Bad Bunny stunned everyone. He didn’t just belong—he elevated the show.
Rey Mysterio vs. Dominik Mysterio – WrestleMania 39 (2023)
Father vs. son in a grudge match that played perfectly off real-life drama and Hall of Fame weekend emotions.

Some of these matches shaped legacies. Others shifted eras. But all of them proved that the most memorable moments at WrestleMania don’t need a title—they just need truth in the storytelling and fire in the execution.