Opinion

WWE Week In Review With SummerSlam and TakeOver: August 12-18, 2018

Published

6 years ago

August 20, 2018

It is finally here! It’s time for SummerSlam and the Biggest Party of the Summer seems be shaping up to be a blockbuster! Will the party live up to the hype or fall flat because someone forgot to bring the drinks?

Raw

Universal Championship: Remember the rumors of Lesnar and Heyman splitting up? Yeah, that was a total ruse. Reigns cut a promo on his match on Sunday against Lesnar and was interrupted by Heyman, who seemed to be deciding that his best bet for future employment was to offer his services to Reigns. When Reigns took the piece of paper Heyman was handing him, Heyman showed his true colors by shooting mace into Reigns’ face, leaving him open to an attack by Brock Lesnar who choked Reigns out and hit several F-5s. Lesnar was the last man standing on Monday, but it could be another story come Sunday night.

SummerSlam: It finally happened. After four years, four matches, one successful cash in, and a controversial finish, Roman Reigns FINALLY defeated Brock Lesnar. It looked like Fate was going to give the Big Dog another swerve when Braun Strowman came out to cash in his Money in the Bank contract. Strowman didn’t want to be a coward and tried to make the match a Triple Threat. Unfortunately for Strowman, Lesnar wanted to finish his business with Reigns one-on-one and chucked the Briefcase. The match was short and to the point and ended with Reigns vanquishing the Beast and becoming Universal Champion. Have fun in UFC, Brock.

WWE Intercontinental Championship: Dolph Ziggler and Seth Rollins were scheduled for a contract signing on Monday, but Seth Rollins hadn’t appeared yet, due to travel issues. However, they discovered that Rollins was allowed to add in the proviso that he would be allowed to have someone in his corner at ringside. Ziggler and McIntyre weren’t happy about this, but the alternative was McIntyre would not be allowed at ring side for the match.

Seth Rollins would finally show up for the contract signing, but not until AFTER Ziggler signed the contract, and we discovered that the ‘travel issues’ weren’t his, the travel issues involved his second at SummerSlam: Dean Ambrose!!!!! Ambrose is sporting a new look, a buzzcut and he’s put on some muscle, but he looked healthy and ready for action. The two Shield brothers descended on the ring and took care of business. Ambrose hit his trademark Dirty Deeds on McIntyre and the two brothers were standing tall. Dean made sure Rollins signed his contract and the Intercontinental Match for SummerSlam is official!

SummerSlam: What a difference a friend makes, especially when that friend is Dean Ambrose! The Lunatic Fringe came back last week as a second to his Shield brother, Rollins, to counteract the numbers game Dolph Ziggler’s been enjoying due to the presence of his buddy, Drew McIntyre. Dean did the job he needed to, making sure McIntyre didn’t get involved, which helped Seth, put Ziggler away in an amazing match that is going to require rewatching.

RAW Women’s Championship: Ronda Rousey opened the show and announced that Nattie’s father had passed away and expressed her sadness over her friend’s sudden loss and how much Nattie and Nattie’s friendship meant to her and how much she looked forward to beating Alexa Bliss at SummerSlam for Nattie.

Since Nattie wasn’t able to be at RAW due to her sudden loss, Ember Moon was introduced as Alexa’s opponent for RAW. Alexa cut a promo and continued to say that she wasn’t scared of Rousey and was going to beat her at SummerSlam, which is going to be a tall order since Bliss has come out on the short end of one on one encounters with Rousey. Bliss also demanded a security escort to the ring, despite Rousey already being in the ring. Needless to say, the security guards didn’t last long.

Bliss and Moon had a really good match tonight, Bliss looking to gain some momentum heading into SummerSlam. Unfortunately, Bliss made the mistake of attacking Rousey from behind after a distraction by Alicia Fox, which Moon the opening she needed. The match ended in a DQ, but Rousey was the last woman standing, but whether or not she’ll be the Women’s Champion on Sunday remains to be seen.

SummerSlam: After months of ducking and fading, Alexa Bliss finally faced Ronda Rousey, and to no one’s surprise, it was not a Moment of Bliss. Rousey tore Bliss apart, winning her first championship in WWE after forcing Bliss to tap out, backed by her friend, Nattie, who arrived after the death of her father, sporting his jacket from SummerSlam 1990. They were joined by the Bella Twins, who also helped Rousey get ready for WWE and the four women basked in Ronda’s triumph.

RAW Tag Team Championship: We learned another thing about the B Team, they aren’t math majors, though they did get their odds right.

B-Team, Deleter of Worlds, and the Revival met in a Triple Threat Match for the RAW Tag Titles tonight and the odds were definitely not on the side of the B Team. The B Team would sneak out the win, much to the dismay of their opponents.

However, it was announced that the B-Team would face the Revival at SummerSlam on the kickoff show.

SummerSlam: The dream keeps living, B-Team managed a stupid win over the Revival due to an error by the ref. Understandably, the Revival are NOT happy. I foresee the titles changing hands on Monday.

Sasha and Bayley: Sasha was in singles action against Ruby Riott on Monday. Both competitors were accompanied by their respective partners. As expected, they put on a great show, but Riott would pull out the win by rollup and Bayley was unable to help Sasha due to the remaining Riott Squad members.

Finn Balor vs Baron Corbin: Corbin and Balor were in action on Monday. Corbin face Tyler Breeze in singles’ competition. Corbin’s match was pretty much a squash, which was disappointing for Breeze fans.

Balor was saved from Corbin’s decision to book him in a handicap match against Mahal and Owens by GM Angle, who made the match a tag match and gave Balor Braun Strowman as a partner. Strowman and Balor would win the match, but Corbin would hit attack Balor and hid End of Days.

SummerSlam: Corbin really should’ve stopped while he was ahead. His constant attempts to humiliate and belittle Balor unleashed the Demon and the Demon was in the mood to fight. In the second squash match of the night, Darth Demon King absolutely destroyed Corbin, who never got in any offense.

Kevin Owens vs Braun Strowman: Owens and Strowman would meet in tag team action, but Owens managed to avoid Strowman, leaving Mahal to get his ass kicked. Strowman would get the win for his team. Owens got chased to the back by Strowman, leaving Balor to be attacked by Corbin.

SummerSlam: To call what happened to Kevin Owens a squash is putting it mildly. Owens was absolutely CREAMED in one of the most one-sided matches in SummerSlam history. Strowman is still the Money in the Belt holder and it remains to be seen if he’ll cash in or not.

Elias and Bobby Lashley: Elias’ music career hasn’t been going on for long, but he’s already got a huge fan: Ricky Roberts (oh, dear). Young Mr. Roberts introduced his idol. Elias was again interrupted by Lashley who came into the ring and got a guitar broken over his back by Ricky Roberts, who learned the folly of his decision pretty quickly. As of the end of RAW, no match had been announced for these two, but Elias will be performing at SummerSlam.

SummerSlam: Elias tried to perform a song for Barclay’s Center, and they were unimpressed. Unfortunately, his guitar broke prematurely and Elias snapped, destroying his set.

Titus Worldwide vs Authors of Pain: Titus Worldwide and Bobby Roode were in action against Authors of Pain and Mojo Rawley. Roode picked up the win for his team, so these two feuds will likely not be featured at SummerSlam.

Kurt Angle vs Baron Corbin: Angle seems to be reaching his limit with Corbin going over his head to Stephanie McMahon, especially when Corbin tried to put Finn Balor in a handicap match against Kevin Owens and Jinder Mahal.

SmackDown

WWE Championship: Paige certainly had her hands full keeping her SummerSlam Main Event intact. She had planned for Samoa Joe and AJ Styles to do their final promos separately, but neither man seemed all that interested in waiting until Sunday. Joe even scoffing at Paige’s attempt to make him act like a professional, stating that he’d do what he wanted and there was nothing she could do about it. Fortunately for Paige’s peace of mind, AJ made a promise to his wife to be civil to Joe until Sunday.

Styles called himself blessed to have the near 20 year career he’s had and getting to compete all over the world. He’s also said that he’s learned a lot, like the pressure that comes with being WWE Champion. He again called out Samoa Joe for stabbing him in the back and ending their decade long friendship. He said that Joe’s comments about Styles’ family took him (Styles) to a dark place where all he wanted to do was rip Joe’s head off. Fortunately, Styles’ wife, Wendy, talked him out of it and told him that he could lose his cool because he had to stay focused.

Samoa Joe interrupted and called Styles a liar and claimed to have a letter from a member of the WWE Universe. The letter writer claimed that Styles never wanted children or a wife and that Styles’ willingness to sacrifice everything for wrestling. Joe then claimed that the writer hoped Styles lost so he could know what losing everything felt like. To add insult to injury, Joe claimed that the letter was from Wendy Styles, AJ’s wife.

After the show, an absolutely BALLISTIC Styles was held back by security from attacking Joe. Joe definitely got to Styles, but we won’t know until SummerSlam if his mind games are going to get him the championship or not.

SummerSlam: This match straight from TNA just a few years ago, started off with a war of words, with Joe dragging AJ’s family, specifically his wife and daughter, into the argument. Unlike the Nakamura match, this match lived up to hype. Styles and Joe tore each other apart and set a high bar for the rest of the show. Joe made the mistake of dragging Styles’ family into the mess one time too many and Styles SNAPPED. Joe found himself the recipient of a brutal beatdown by a bloody and enraged AJ Styles while his wife and daughter looked on. Styles retained his title, but this story isn’t over.

WWE United States Championship: Jeff Hardy was in action against Shelton Benjamin. Jeff would pull out the win, but would be accosted by his SummerSlam opponent, Shinsuke Nakamura. Nakamura would get the jump on Hardy, thanks to an assist by Benjamin, but would fall victim to the Twist of Fate and Swanton Bomb. Hardy would make his way to the back, closely watched by Randy Orton.

SummerSlam: The second encounter between Hardy and Nakamura went a lot longer than the first one. Both men took it to each other, showing very good chemistry that should’ve been there from the start. Nakamura would pull out the victory after avoiding a Swanton Bomb on the apron. After the match, Orton came out to pick the bones, but decided better of it. No idea where this story is going now.

SmackDown Women’s Championship: The three women involved in this Sunday’s Triple Threat match were in the ring and things got heated. Carmella mocked both her opponents, while it was suggested that Carmella was a Diva living in a Woman’s World (Ouch.).

Paige came out and said that her job as GM of SmackDown is to insure that the fans get to see the best competition at SummerSlam, which was way Charlotte was given a chance at the Women’s Championship. She also stated that her job was also to ensure the best competition for SmackDown, so why wait until Sunday to see them do what they do best, and since Carmella’s talent seems to be talking, she was sent to commentary, while Charlotte and Becky were put in a tag match against Sonya Deville and Mandy Rose.

Team Tea-Generation X would get the win, but it remains to be seen if their friendship will survive on Sunday or if Carmella will find a way to survive again. Backstage, the BFFs celebrated and wished each other luck, but it’s clear things are not going to be good on Sunday, and judging by Charlotte’s face after Becky left, Charlotte might be planning to channel her father’s moniker of ‘Dirtiest Player in the Game’.

SummerSlam: Few things ruin friendships faster in pro-wrestling than titles and that got proven tonight. Charlotte and Becky fought each other and Carmella. Charlotte would win by pinning Becky with Natural Selection while Becky had Carmella in the Dis-Arm-Her and became a 7x Women’s Champion, tying Trish Stratus’ record. The realization that she’d been screwed out her moment by her best friend…AGAIN, was the straw that broke the camel’s back for Becky. After appearing to want to hug Charlotte, Becky brutally attacked the new Women’s Champion and left Charlotte in a heap at ringside, much to the delight of the WWE Universe. No telling what’s going to happen on Tuesday, but it’s safe to say that Charlotte has two pissed off women gunning for her.

SmackDown Tag Team Championship: The Bludgeon Brothers were in action against a three man team of jobbers. Suffice to say, the match was quick and brutal.

Their opponents, New Day, were also in action against Sanity. Despite their own unique brand of chaos, Sanity would fall to New Day, leaving a big question as to who has more momentum heading in to SummerSlam.

SummerSlam: Despite giving it everything they got, the New Day will have settle for a moral victory without the belts because the Bludgeon brothers are leaving with the tag belts due to getting themselves disqualified by using one of their hammers on Big E.

Miz vs Daniel Bryan: This week, we got a recap of the eight year feud of Daniel Bryan and Miz, from Bryan’s time in the original incarnation of NXT through to their war of words on Talking Smack and Bryan’s being cleared to wrestle again earlier this year.

SummerSlam: After eight years of feuding, the hype was high for Miz vs Bryan and the match didn’t disappoint. They tore the house down. Miz would get the victory, but not without some help. This is another story that isn’t done.

Rusev & Lana vs Andrade “Cien” Almas/Vega: Aiden English was in action against Almas in a bid to redeem himself to Rusev and Lana. Despite English’s best efforts, Almas would come out on top. Flush with victory, Vega and Almas cut a promo mocking their SummerSlam opponents. Lana and Rusev would come out and vow victory on Sunday because SummerSlam is on Rusev and Lana Day.

SummerSlam: So, Rusev and Lana Day was celebrated with a mixed Tag match at SummerSlam against Almas and Vega. The match was almost all Rusev and Almas, with Lana and Vega not getting much ring time. Lana and Vega did a good job with the time they did have in the ring, though Lana’s decision to have super long hair extensions is a little baffling. Vega would again get the victory with a roll up, rendering the point of this match a little moot.

205 Live

WWE Cruiserweight Championship: We got the final promos for SummerSlam from Gulak and Alexander with Gulak citing his work in 205. He claims that Alexander is a loner, entitled, and complacent.

Alexander, for his part, admits that Gulak is dangerous, especially with Gallagher and Kendrick backing him. Alexander says that he’s always ready and that he’s a man of action, while Gulak loves to talk. Alexander also cites his great matches with Murphy, Kalisto, and Itami, among others.

Alexander and Gallagher had a great go-home match with both guys looking fabulous. Alexander would get the pinfall victory, but was jumped from behind by Brian Kendrick and Gallagher, before Gulak would attack him from behind and lock in the Gu-Lock. Gulak was standing tall, but that doesn’t mean anything on Sunday.

On Saturday, GM Maverick announced that Brian Kendrick and Jack Gallagher would be banned from ringside during the match, which means Gulak’s going to have to win it on his own.

SummerSlam: Drew Gulak’s mission to ‘save’ 205 from Cedric Alexander’s ‘complacent’ reign suffered a major setback. Despite Gulak’s best efforts and planning, Alexander proved why he is a great champion, taking everything Gulak could dish out before pinning Gulak and getting the three before Gulak even knew what happened.

Lio Rush vs Akira Tozawa: A very sulky Rush came out and cut a promo on the crowd, saying that despite living in a garbage town in an embarrassing, they get to watch the Man of the Hour do his thing.

This was a very good match. Tozawa seemed to have Rush’s number but Rush would ultimately pull out another victory, which seems to have defeated the purpose of building up Tozawa getting a rematch. Time will tell if Tozawa will get another rematch or if Rush will move on to bigger things.

We get an update on Mustafa Ali, who collapsed after a hard-hitting match against Hideo Itami. GM Maverick announced that Ali is suffering from extreme exhaustion and that he’ll recover from it. Maverick blamed himself for what happened and vowed that Ali will come back when Maverick is 100% certain he’s okay.

Hideo Itami vs Trent Newman: After his part in the temporary removal of Ali from 205 live, Hideo Itami was in action against Trent Newman. Itami showed no remorse for what happened to Mustafa Ali, in fact, he seemed quite happy about it.

To say this was a squash is putting it mildly. Newman looked like he really had no idea what he was getting himself into, though he got in a shot or two, which only pissed off Itami. But if you thought Itami would end it quickly, you were wrong, Itamai would break the three count himself in order to inflict more punishment on Newman before Chioda stopped the match.

Lucha House Party vs. Party Crashers: Maverick talks to Nese and Murphy about their tag team victory last week and congratulates Nese on getting a pinfall victory over Kalisto. However, he points out that Murphy being in the ring illegally is what gave Nese the win, because illegal men helping their partners NEVER happens in WWE. Maverick says that, to make it up to the upset Lucha House Party, next week the Lucha House Party will face the Party Crashers in a tornado tag match.

Noam Dar vs. TJP: Next week, we get these two in a singles match to settle their issues.

NXT

NXT Championship: Well, it is officially official: Aleister Black is out of TakeOver after being attacked last week after NXT went off the air. The NXT Championship match will now be between Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa in Brooklyn on Saturday in a Last Man Standing Match.

We see some more footage of Black being found in the parking lot and it seems like everyone and their brother was in the parking lot when Black was found, but no one seems to have seen the attacker or attackers.

We also get a recap of the issues between Gargano and Ciampa, but since this show was taped a month before TakeOver, any live footage of the three competitors has been cut.

TakeOver: Traditionally, Last Man Standing matches have been violent and brutal, they have to be. Add in two men with a long and nasty rivalry and you have the makings of a bloodbath. The blood didn’t flow, but it came darn close. Ciampa and Gargano kicked each other’s asses from pillar to post. Ultimately, Ciampa would be the last man standing, but it wasn’t from a lack of effort by Gargano. Is this rivalry over? Hell no, it hasn’t even hit its peak.

NXT North American Championship: During Undisputed Era’s group promo, Adam Cole again refuted Ricochet’s claim that he was a coward, claiming that Adam Cole doesn’t hide behind anybody, even though he was standing (hiding) behind the rest of the Undiputed Era during the interview and says he won’t hide from Ricochet either at TakeOver.

Ricochet has his own interview and repeats that Cole is a coward and hides behind the Undisputed Era and that the North American Championship needs to be on someone who will defend it with honor.

TakeOver: We have a new North American Champion, Bay Bay! After an amazing barn burner of a match, Ricochet is the NEW North American Champion! The crowd loved the match and both guys looked like a million dollars. Great show by both men, but I have the feeling that this feud isn’t over by a long-shot.

NXT Women’s Championship: Kairi Sane was in action tonight against Aliyah, who got some advice from Shayna Baszler, who has a vested interest in Sane getting beat up before TakeOver.

Aliyah did her best, but Kairi Sane was too determined to show off her killer instinct to Shayna Baszler, who was on commentary during the match. Ultimately, Sane would make Aliyah tap to the Anchor Lock, but not before three InSane elbow drops. Time will tell whether or no Sane will be able to take down Baszler.

TakeOver: The Queen of Spades got buried! Okay, she didn’t get buried, but she did lose her NXT Women’s Championship to Kairi Sane in a match that not only lived up to its own hype, but took its place in the pantheon of epic Women’s Title matches at TakeOver: Brooklyn. With multiple InSane Elbows and a roll through pin, the Pirate Princess vanquished the Queen of Spades.

NXT Tag Team Championship: Roderick Strong was in action against Tyler Bate. In a pre-recorded interview, the Undisputed Era mocked Moustache Mountain and the War Raiders, who aren’t even in the match.

In a TakeOver preview, Bate and Strong tore the house down and made each other look great in the process. Bate would pull out the victory, but it was as much about luck as skill since he and Strong were pretty evenly matched. There were a lot of sloppy spots, but it was a really great match.

TakeOver: Despite their best efforts and an amazing match, Moustache Mountain would fall to the Undisputed Era at TakeOver. However, as UE was celebrating, they were attacked by their next opponents: War Raiders, who wasted no time intaking out Strong and O’Reilly.

EC3 vs Velveteen Dream: Dream and EC3 would have their final face off before TakeOver. Dream wasn’t happy about being dumped into the pool last week and says that 3 made an enemy out of the Dream.

EC3 comes out and mocks Dream’s fanny pack and warns him not to start because 3 knows that Dream is trying to get into his head, but 3 says that he (EC3) lives in people’s heads and sets up suburbs in it. Both men vow victory over the other and the segment ends with EC3 hitting the 1% TKO on Dream and is left standing tall.

TakeOver: So much for his mental real estate empire. EC3 fell to Velveteen Dream at Takeover after a match that went all over the place.

Street Profits vs The Mighty:

The Street Profits faced the Mighty tonight in tag team actions. Even though these teams won’t be on the TakeOver card, that didn’t stop them from showing why we will probably see them on the next TakeOver card. The Profits would pull out the victory and celebrate with the crowd, but it’s safe to say that the Mighty are not happy.

We see some footage of Bianca Belair’s road to recovery after injury.

For next week’s show, Pete Dunn will defend the UK Championship against Zack Gibson.

Overall Comments

WWE sometimes has a problem creating go-home shows that build enough excitement and PPVs that live up to their hype and they did both this week. The go-home shows gave plenty of reasons to watch and both TakeOver and SummerSlam lived up to their hype. Even the matches that didn’t have the outcome I wanted gave me something I wanted, usually.

Worst Match of the Week: I have to go with Rusev/Lana vs Almas/Vega. I don’t see the point in having Vega sneak out victories over Lana on TV if Lana doesn’t get the PPV win.

Best Match of the Week:

Raw: Rollins vs Ziggler – SummerSlam
SmackDown: AJ Styles Vs Samoa Joe – SummerSlam
205: Cedric Alexander vs Jack Gallagher
NXT: Ricochet vs Adam Cole – TakeOver

Women’s Division:

RAW: Sasha and Bayley vs Riott Squad
SmackDown: Charlotte vs Carmella vs Becky – SummerSlam
NXT: Shayna Baszler vs Kairi Sane

Moment of the Week: Dean Ambrose returning to be in Seth Rollins’ corner.

Final Thoughts: I really enjoyed WWE SummerSlam and the weeks leading up to Hell in a Cell should be really interesting.

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

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Opinion

Greg DeMarco’s Top 5: The Final Opponent For John Cena In WWE

It’s obvious that John Cena is nearing the end of his legendary career, and he’s suggested ending it at WrestleMania 41. Who should be his final opponent?

Published

2 weeks ago

April 11, 2024

Greg DeMarco

John Cena Last Match Randy Orton WWE WrestleMania 41

It’s obvious that John Cena is nearing the end of his legendary career, and he’s suggested ending it at WrestleMania 41. Who should be his final opponent?

John Cena recently appeared on the Pat McAfee Show, the Monday after his surprise (but mostly expected) WrestleMania 40 appearance during Cody Rhodes’ win over Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Championship. During that appearance, he confirmed what many expect, that he is nearly done with his in-ring career. But Cena even tossed out the idea of a time-frame, detailing that his acting schedule will likely take him through Christmas, and maybe Hollywood could “pump the brakes” to allow for one final run.

That run could easily begin at the Royal Rumble with a surprise entrance (or entering himself via TV appearances as part of the build), with a tease for his 17th world title win before finally settling in on his final match.

Fantasy booking and storytelling aside, the goal here is the final match–more specifically the final opponent. With a John Cena, you’ve got a ton of options. As such, it’s hard to narrow it down to 5, and one of your favorites is likely missing–be warned!

Greg DeMarco’s Top 5: The Final Opponent For John Cena In WWE

Honorable Mentions:

The Miz – A feud with John Cena gave The Mix a WrestleMania 27 main event–and a WrestleMania main event victory on top of it. Miz has been receiving more love than ever lately, and a match with John Cena would not be misplaced. Maybe he can use their WrestleMania 33 contest (and Cena’s personal aftermath) as fodder for it, too.
AJ Styles – The man who once made it popular to “BEAT UP JOHN CENA” is also nearing the end of his run, and could be the one candidate on this list that could realistically give us a double-retirement match. He would also be the guy who retired both The Undertaker and John Cena (and would probably end up being the guy who lost in both).
The Rock or Cody Rhodes – Both great options, but you have to figure their dance card for WrestleMania 41 is already full, potentially standing across the ring from one another. Either is an amazing option (including “Thrice In A Lifetime”), but I just don’t think it’s in the cards.
Trick Williams – Potentially a surprising addition to the Honorable Mentions, but the comparisons are there in terms of in-ring style/ability, promo skills, and the interplay they had in NXT (remember, it was Cena who is credited with encouraging Trick to not be afraid to go for it himself despite his relationship with Carmelo Hayes).

5. CM Punk

The fifth spot on this list was nearly interchangeable between several of the honorable mention names, but it really came down to Punk and Seth Rollins for me (with a hint of AJ Styles). The 2011 feud between CM Punk and John Cena was legendary, and is a moment that will forever be seen by me as the one that truly cemented CM Punk as a member of the growing list of all-time greats in WWE.

Punk is uniquely qualified for this match as he would make it mean more than a showboat for John Cena’s career and final match. It’s entirely believable that CM Punk would want to put John Cena’s career into the ground, and WWE has the video archive to support it.

Despite being #5, this could actually be a dark-horse for the match we get, and I can’t see anyone reasonably being upset about that.

4. Roman Reigns

John Cena and Roman Reigns have had two separate legendary programs. the first saw Cena, at times, embarrass Roman in promo exchanges in a feud that took place in the “pre-Tribal Chief” era. The second is more fresh and likely more memorable, as John Cena put Roman Reigns over in a football stadium in Las Vegas at SummerSlam (although it might be more remembered for the return of Brock Lesnar).

Reigns, a legend himself at his point (he’s featured alongside Steve Austin at the top of the “Forever” portion of the Then/Now/Forever/Together video that recently debuted) would provide a pairing akin to The Undertaker serving as Shawn Michaels’ retirement opponent at WrestleMania 26 9notice I didn’t say “final opponent). The end of Roman’s 1316 day world title reign has brought about a new appreciation for Reigns, which would further enhance this pairing at WrestleMania 41.

3. Bron Breakker

Bron Breakker is the picture-perfect definition of a juggernaut in WWE, a fast rising star who almost seems like a lock to main event WrestleMania one day (you never know–Seth Rollins JUST got his first WrestleMania main event last weekend). Breakker recently said farewell NXT as the natural in-ring competitor makes a transition to full-time main roster competition.

Breakker also fits the category of who “needs it.” Bring the man to retire John Cena would be quite the feather in the cap of Breakker’s early career, and would give him a moment that would be relived for generations to come. The only question mark is WWE “trusting” Breakker with this moment, as a sudden change of character could mean that Cena’s final match wouldn’t be seen or discussed as much. Breakker, to me, has given no reason for anyone to suspect that might happen, regardless of any controversies his father and uncle have been linked to.

2. R-Truth

Despite being 5-years older than John Cena, and making his in-ring debut in the same year (1999), R-Truth’s childhood hero hanging up the boots will undoubtedly be a hard-hitting moment for the man who has basically become the WWE Mascot. Truth emulating Cena in his matches, and of course the RawAfterMania moment with Cena, Truth, and The Miz hitting a Fifteen Knuckle Shuffle (thank you, Michael Cole) on The Judgment Day makes this a near can’t miss final match for both John Cena and the WWE Universe.

R-Truth himself is equally deserving of this match, as it would be a reward for all of his years in the ring as part of a career that seems age defying while proving that age is not only a number, but also a number that can be ignored (see Child Hero, John Cena).

While a rematch of their 2011 WWE Capital Punishment main event is an unlikely WrestleMania 41 match-up, it’s one I believe everyone would love to see.

1. Randy Orton

I mean, is there anyone more perfect? John Cena and Randy were inseparably linked for a good portion of their careers, and have shared the ring more times than Big Show has turned babyface/heel. Both are far into legendary status at this point, and Orton specifically is obviously focused on enjoying this stage of his career.

But Orton is still delivering great performances inside the ring, too.

Randy Orton vs John Cena was an exciting proposition many years ago, became a punchline for WWE booking a few years ago, but is now coming full circle as the perfect match-up to end the amazing career of John Cena. It has my vote, and should have yours, too.

Even if R-Truth would be the most fun option.

What say you? Who is the best candidate to stand across the ring from John Cena in his final WWE match, potentially at WrestleMania 41? Who did I leave out?

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

Opinion

Greg DeMarco’s WrestleMania 40 Saturday Results & Review

It’s the Granddaddy Of ‘Em All, WrestleMania! Night 1 of WrestleMania XL and Greg DeMarco has your results and review!

Published

3 weeks ago

April 8, 2024

Greg DeMarco

It’s the Granddaddy Of ‘Em All, WrestleMania! Night 1 of WrestleMania XL and Greg DeMarco has your results and review!

It all comes down to this–at least for the first night! A loaded card in front of a packed house, and I’d expect everyone to deliver one hell of a performance.

Women’s World Championship – Becky Lynch vs. Rhea Ripley (champion)

Greg’s pre-show prediction: Rhea Ripley retains

In my opinion, this match should be the main event of Night 1, but The Rock is back and that was going to take precedence (even if I disagree). Becky won this title shot at the Elimination Chamber, even though they were already building the feud before that event in Perth. Ripley herself main evented that event in a stadium, defeating Nia Jax.

It was revealed during her entrance that this is Becky Lynch’s “Flu Game,” as she has temperatures as high as 102 degrees throughout the week.
Rhea Ripley enters to a life performance of her entrance theme, which you can tell she dug.
Prime logo is center ring, just the black outline with “Prime” in the middle, and it is not at all bothersome. I can’t believe people made such a big deal out of bitching about that.
The stage looks dope, not at all “too small” as some had said. The whole environment looks great, honestly.
Rhea Ripley has been dealing with a wrist injury. She said on the Pat McAfee Show she didn’t expect to work with the wrist brace on tonight, but there it is.
Corey Graves points out that Becky’s training was likely impacted by her illness, and Pat McAfee scoffs at him for stating the obvious. I hope that isn’t what we get all night.
Commentary notes that is is 52 degrees and windy in the stadium, and I am reminded of Nick Khan’s comments about moving an outdoor WrestleMania to late April in the future, if they don’t get an indoor building (he did say “2026” when talking about that, which likely means the 2025 venue is indeed set).
Rhea’s Prism Trap is a fell of a submission finisher. Add in the body lock the way she did, and it’s even more impressive.
I just noticed the “Prime” turnbuckle pads and it’s…weird. I just didn’t expect it and can’t think of the last time we didn’t have the WWE/WWF logo on the buckles outside of Black and Gold NXT. WrestleMania 2?
I am also noticing that Dude Wipes seems to have sponsored the ring posts. Kudos to WWE (and the wrestling industry behind them) for being so damn desirable to sponsors!
That combo to get into the Riptide was fantastic–and the kickout was even better.
During the DisarmHer you can clearly see the commentary position, and Michael Cole is legit reclined all the way back. Love it–Cole is living his best life.
Rhea’s Riptide into the buckle before the proper Riptide was pretty sweet as well. Made Becky look insanely strong in defeat.

Winner via pinfall AND STILL your Women’s World Champion: Rhea Ripley

Hell of an opener, and if you didn’t know Becky was sick, you wouldn’t have known. Props to them both. That would have satisfied as a main event, but can now go down as one of the best openers in WrestleMania history.

Ladder Match for the Raw Tag Team Championships and Smackdown Tag Team Championships – DIY (Tommaso Ciampa & Johnny Gargano) vs. Awesome Truth (The Miz & R-Truth) vs. New Catch Republic (Pete Dunne & Tyler Bate) vs. A Town Down Under (Austin Theory & Grayson Waller) vs. The New Day (Xavier Woods & Kofi Kingston) vs. The Judgment Day (Finn Balor & Damian Priest, Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions)

Greg’s pre-show prediction: Awesome Truth (Raw titles) and A-Town Down Under (SmackDown)

As many expected, the belts are hanging separately, meaning we are most likely splitting the tag titles here. Triple H and company have put some serious work into building up the tag team divisions of both brands, and even though I expect the two winners to not be actual “teams,” but either way I actually like the way they didn’t make a big deal out of splitting the titles up, they’re just doing it. They have been defended separately since being unified, albeit rarely.

R-Truth makes a joke about DIY being DX and that’s now taken off. I love it.
The Miz is very under appreciated. Can literally do anything.
Someone is struggling with the “Titan Tron” videos tonight.
Not gonna lie, I am the biggest Pat McAfee fan, but he’s actually quite annoying right now.
Sign of the night: SANTA DESERVED IT.
Lots of green in this match, half of the teams wearing their “WrestleMania Green” gear.
Also, loving the Consequences Creed gear for Woods.
God Bless Finn Balor for taking that Airplane Spin into the ladder.
205 combined years of experience in this match. That’s an average of 17 years (Waller has the least with 7, Balor and Miz are tied for the most with 23).
“Dunne Mountain?!?!” Thank you Michael Cole for fixing that.
HOT TAG TO R-TRUTH!
Poor Finn Balor, not he takes the AA to the ladder after John Cena’s Five Moves Of Doom
R-TRUTH WITH THE PIN!
Hilarious.
A-Town Down Under gets the SmackDown tag titles!
And Grayson gets tossed through a ladder, still holding a title!
The match does continue until the Raw tag titles are also retrieved.
If Theory also got the Raw tag titles down, I will laugh my ass off.
Birminghammer is a fantastic name for a tandem (somewhat) Burning Hammer.
Tornado DDT through a table!
Air Raid Crash from the ladder!
And we still have more tables set-up.
JD McDonagh trying to get Finn–who has taken a beating–to get the Raw tag titles.
McDonagh through the tables!
PERFECTLY placed Razor’s Edge onto that chair.
Dude, that ladder is trashed. (And very unsafe.)
AA sends Damian outside!
I think everyone wants R-Truth to get this. EVERYONE.
YES!

Winners via belt retrieval, AND NEW:

SmackDown Tag Team Champions – Grayson Waller & Austin Theory
Raw Tag Team Champions – R-Truth & The Miz

Really good Ladder Match, but it’s hard to have a bad one. The tag team titles are split and it was really well done. It made perfect sense to do it that way, not make a big deal out of it and just let it happen. I am excited to see both teams win–not because I picked both, but because I think one team (Waller/Theory) have amazing futures and the other (Miz/Truth) will be a lot of fun, even if their run will probably be short lived.

Santos Escobar (with Legado Del Fantasma members Angel, Humberto, & Elektra Lopez) & Dominik Mysterio vs. Rey Mysterio & Andrade (with The LWO members Carlito, Joaquin Wilde, Cruz Del Toro, & Zelina Vega

Greg’s pre-show prediction: Dominik and Santos win, giving Dominik “revenge” for his loss at WrestleMania 39.

Look, this match doesn’t make a lick of sense–Dominik shows up two weeks ago and finds his way into another WrestleMania match with Rey? Definitely shoehorned. But Dominik is outstanding, so if this gets him on the card, I’ll take it.

More green in this match, and I am here for it.
Innovative Double Cross Body by Rey & Andrade.
Dominik showing experience beyond his years, making sure the ref sees his tag with Santos.
At this moment, I am wondering who turns–Carlito or Andrade. Gotta assume it’s one of them.
Three matches in and I don’t even notice the Primo logo in the center of the ring or on the turnbuckle pads.
Santos Escobar trying to unmask Rey Mysterio, as if we don’t all have Google.
Corey Graves making a great point about Rey taking some responsibility for the issues in his life, and Michael Cole immediately dismissing it.
It’s so hard to do a really good Dragon Screw Leg Whip, and Andrade (along with Dominik and Santos) just pulled off two to perfection.
Camera shot of Rey’s cross body shows the heaters above the ring. Good–keep ’em warm!
This could have easily been an 8-man tag team match. Maybe we get that Monday on Raw (which can also be where the turn happens, making my prediction here likely wrong).
Joaquin Wilde gets to do his NXT spot at WrestleMania, and that’s probably more important than officially being in the match.
Two masked men–definitely the Kelce Brothers–are here.
My bad, it was Jason Kelce and Lane Johnson. Good call, honestly. Great pop for them, too.
Looking at the reply, Dominik sold that ringpost spot like a champ.

Winners via pinfall (Rey on Santos): Rey Mysterio & Andrade

Fun tag team match that served its purpose. Needed? Maybe not, as I really wanted to get Liv Morgan vs. Nia Jax onto this card. But when you can get Rey & Dominik on the card, everyone will be happy. and of course the Jason Kelce & Lane Johnson appearances.

Brother vs Brother: Jey Uso vs. Jimmy Uso

Greg’s pre-show prediction: Jimmy Uso follows in the footsteps of Owen Hart and Matt Hardy and beats the “more talented brother.”

They’ve wanted this match all their lives–and the preview video was insane. Very well done.

Jey in the WrestleMania whites tonight.
And we get a hot start to the match!
“Big Brother Jimmy” is always a fun thing to hear.
More Dude Wipes sponsorship on this one–you have to wonder if having Dude Wipes on the posts for the opener was in error.
Superkicks. Lots of Superkicks.
Very enjoyable YEET/NO chants from the crowd.
Jey just kicking the hell out of Jimmy, including a Jumping Super Kick.
This has “Fight Without Honor” feels from old school ROH, where the winners have respect after. We will definitely see these guys together again.
Jimmy apologizing to Jey. Crowd is not buying it.
Of course it was BS, and Jimmy gains the advantage.
SPEAR. USO SPLASH. DONE.

Winner, via pinfall: Jey Uso

Jey breaks the babyface curse by beating his heel brother. Thought we might get an embrace between them, instead we faded out. A good match that was more about the story than the in-ring action. I can see some feeling like this hasn’t “lived up to expectations” because of the high expectations you’d have for an Usos match. Their best work will always be as a team, but I know this is a lifelong dream come true for both.

As for all the Superkicks, I mean….it’s an Usos match.

Six-Woman Tag Team Match – Damage CTRL (Dakota Kai, Asuka, & Kairi Sane) vs. Naomi, Bianca Belair, & Jade Cargill

Greg’s pre-show prediction: Bianca, Naomi, & Jade win when Jade scores the pin (probably on Kairi, who always seems to eat the fall)

This match is all about getting Bianca Belair on the card (she had to be), and Jade Cargill’s debut. It also got Damage CTRL on the card, which they truly deserve–even if it is to lose.

Respectfully, Dakota Kai. (Good thing the ring and surrounding area is heated)
Not gonna lie, Jade looks nervous. But this is a six-woman tag, and her portion is likely highly choreographed. Gonna be all good.
As I watch and enjoy the match (but am not typing much lol), this seems like a match where we’re all just waiting for Jade to come in and win.
No one has told Jade about the tag ropes yet, apparently.
And now Jade is in, and Damage CTRL makes her look like a million bucks.
Dakota Kai nicely gets herself into position for the finish, and Jade gets her WrestleMania win.

Winners via pinfall (Jade on Dakota): Jade Cargill, Naomi, & Bianca Belair

We knew what this one was about going into it, and that’s what it should have been. Jade still ain’t ready. I know it might be an “ego hit” for her to go to NXT, but she needs it. If Giulia can go to NXT, so can Jade.

Intercontinental Championship – Sami Zayn vs. GUNTHER (champion)

Greg’s pre-show prediction: Sami Zayn pulls off the major upset and is the one to dethrone Gunther

Gunther has had a stranglehold on the Intercontinental Championship, defending it like crazy in 2023 but slowing that down here in 2024. It’s not fair to say he’s outgrown the title, but that might actually be the case. It’ll be really interesting to see what happens with Imperium leading up to the draft, and at the WWE Draft itself.

Sami Zayn was the perfect wrestler to have their journey form backstage to the ring followed by the cameras. From his family to Chad Gable to Kevin Owens, it was all so perfect–maybe too perfect? (Not in that someone will screw him, but in that it might be too heavily foreshadowing his win?)
Gunther looked oddly nervous standing on that stage.
You know, the Intercontinental Championship is basically a third world title at this point. And we could see the end of a legendary reign. I think this deserved the Samantha Irvin In-Ring Introductions (aka “Japan Style”) treatment.
Gunther is smiling confidently now, we’re good.
Crowd is ON FIRE for these guys (and evenly split with their chants for each guy).
This is the 21st time the Intercontinental championship is defended at WrestleMania, and it makes you wonder what in the hell they were thinking for the other 11.
Looks like Dude Wipes is back on the ringpost!
Hell of a nearfall, followed up by a Helluva Kick from Gunthcr, and one from Sami!
That finish….AMAZING.

Winner via pinfall, AND NEW Intercontinental Champion: Sami Zayn

The athletes… the moments… the storytelling… professional wrestling is such a beautiful business. Sami Zayn’s win over Gunther was everything I had hoped it would be when I picked Sami to win. Absolutely beautiful.

Cody Rhodes & World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins vs. The Rock & Undisputed WWE Champion Roman Reigns

Greg’s pre-show prediction: Seth & Cody get the win after tons of interference and surprise appearances, making Roman vs Cody on Sunday a match where The Bloodline is banned from ringside.

So much involved in this one. As you know, If Rock & Roman win, Sunday’s WWE Championship match will be held under Bloodline Roles. If Seth & Cody win, then that mach will see ZERO Bloodline involvement. Personally, if Cody is winning the title, I’d rather it be straight up. But I wouldn’t be at all surprised if I am wrong.

Honestly, after the introductions, I realized I was just watching!
This was very much Steve Austin vs The Rock inspired, with them fighting all over the stadium, and pushing the envelope.
I loved The Rock basically neutering the referee–normally I hate that, but here it works.
That finish and the condition of Rollins both lay perfectly into night 2, I would imagine.

Winners via Rock pinfall on Rhodes: The Rock & Roman Reigns

Per rule, Sunday’s main event will now be Bloodline Rules. And given that, my prediction of Roman retaining might be harder to pull off. This was a good return for The Rock, and perfectly played into the whole story. Job well done.

Greg DeMarco’s Overall Thoughts for WWE WrestleMania XL, Saturday (Night 1)

in a vacuum, this was highly enjoyable show. Night 2 might end up being legendary if both Bayley and Rhodes win, and it could overshadow Night 1. But the scene was fantastic, production was top notch as always, and the fans went home having enjoyed one for the ages. The Triple H Era s well underway, and will likely kick into a higher gear with Night 2.

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