Opinion

WWE Week in Review November 12-18, 2018

Published

5 years ago

November 19, 2018

TakeOver: War Games II

NXT Championship Match – Tommaso Ciampa vs Velveteen Dream: Tommaso Ciampa’s reign of terror nearly came to an end at NXT TakeOver against the flamboyant Velveteen Dream. The match had its silly moments, like Ciampa taking Dream’s Hogan-inspired Hollywood headband, and Dream retaliating by grabbing Ciampa’s precious Goldie.

It honestly looked like Dream had Ciampa’s number several times during the match, including elbow drops, double ax handles, and a gorgeous figure four. However, Ciampa battled back from everything Dream could throw at him after a HORRIFYING DDT on the steel band between the two rings. Dream’s dream is over, but Ciampa had to earn every bit of the victory.

2-out-of-3 Falls for the NXT Women’s Championship – Shayna Baszler vs Kairi Sane: This match was a rematch after Baszler stole the Women’s Title at Evolution with help from her friends.

Sane showed a lot of fight in the first fall, taking it to Baszler from the start. Unfortunately, Baszler’s friends were in the house and they made sure that Baszler got the first fall by submission by keeping Sane from hitting her In-Sane Elbow.

Baszler tried to make the second fall a quick one, but Sane refused to give up. Baszler, extremely over-confident, refused to treat her as a threat, which is always a stupid thing to do. Sane SHOULD have gotten a DQ win here when Baszler’s friends blatantly attacked her while the ref watched and did nothing. Sane would get the pinfall, tying up the match after hitting an In-Sane Elbow.

The third fall is where things gets screwy. Baszler’s friends continue to be a problem, but the ref did nothing about it, even when he saw it with his own eyes. Hoping to help their friend out, Io Shirai and Dakota Kai ran out to even the odds, and Shirai proved that she could do her amazing moonsault while wearing skinny jeans. Unfortunately, Shirai and Kai’s efforts were too little, too late, Baszler would pick up the win after countering an In-Sane Elbow into a backslide and retain her championship.

Johnny Gargano vs Aleister Black: For months, the mystery of who attacked Aleister Black has perplexed the NXT Universe. The mystery deepened when Nikki Cross revealed that the culprit had been ultimate good guy, Johnny Gargano. Why did Gargano do it? Well, the simple answer is that Gargano has gone to the Dark Side, even more alarming is that he A. Doesn’t think he’s the villain and B. Likes the Dark Side. In Gargano’s view, Black was just collateral damage, nothing to get so upset about. Unfortunately, Black didn’t see it that way and the fight was on.

The match was no Duel on Mustafar or Battle of Hogwarts, but it was a hell of a fight. Black and Gargano tore each other apart, each man nearly defeating the other. Ultimately, it would take two nasty Black Masses before Black was able to vanquish Gargano, but he was…kind enough to absolve Gargano of his sins while doing so. I have a feeling this isn’t the end for these two, but I don’t think the rematch could match this.

War Games Match – Undisputed Era vs Ricochet, Pete Dunne, and War Raiders: The issues between the eight men have been brewing for months and it is finally time to put up or shut up, in War Games. Thanks to their assault on Team Ricochet on Wednesday, Undisputed Era was going to have the numbers advantage throughout the match, but anyone’s who’s ever watched the original War Games could tell you that the team that has the numbers advantage, usually doesn’t win.

The match was amazing, as predicted. All eight men tore the house down, which was a hard thing to do after the huge matches preceding them. Some of the highlight included Hanson being speared through a table, a Tower of Doom from the middle rope, and Ricochet’s death-defying moonsault off the top of the War Games structure. Team Ricochet would get the win with Ricochet and Dunne pinning, just to make sure Undisputed Era was dispatched. We’ll see what happens next week, but rest assured, Undisputed Era’s going to be out for blood after this.

Survivor Series

Undisputed Championship vs WWE Championship Match: In 2014, Daniel Bryan was supposed to take on Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship. Unfortunately, Bryan’s neck injury forced him to forfeit the title before the match could happen and when Bryan go back, he lost his chance to face Lesnar at WrestleMania 31 to Roman Reigns. So now, four and a half years after it was supposed to take place, and after a shocking heel turn, Daniel Bryan vs Brock Lesnar happened.

The match looked to be a typical Lesnar affair. Lesnar spent most of the first part of the match throwing Bryan around, right on the injured neck. To everyone’s surprise, Bryan refused to give up, fighting back and giving Lesnar everything he had. It even looked like Bryan was going to make Lesnar tap to the Yes/No! Lock, but Lesnar powered out and put Bryan away, sealing RAW’s victory at Survivor Series.

Ronda Rousey vs Charlotte Flair: This match was supposed to be Becky Lynch vs Ronda Rousey, but after being taken out by Nia Jax, Lynch asked her former friend, Charlotte Flair, to take on Ronda Rousey in her stead.

The match was really fantastic, even with no build. Flair and Rousey were evenly matched and the situation with Becky only seemed to add fuel to the fire. When she couldn’t put Rousey away by pinfall and submission, Charlotte decided to finish her off any way she could. She viciously beat Rousey with a Kendo stick, earning herself a disqualification. Flair wasn’t done, however, she threw Rousey into the stairs before horse-collaring her with a steel chair and hitting Natural Selection before the officials were able to get her to leave. The dream match didn’t have a dream ending, but Charlotte definitely left an impression on the Baddest Woman on the Planet.

Seth Rollins vs Shinsuke Nakamura: This has been another long-awaited dream match for the WWE Universe and for the two men involved. Unfortunately, the ongoing issues with Dean Ambrose had left Seth almost no time to fully plan how he was going to deal with Nakamura, who was not happy to find out that he wasn’t priority #1 in Seth’s mind.

The match was easily the highlight of the night. Despite Rollins’ lack of preparation, he quickly sussed out how to deal with the Rockstar and vice versa. Highlights included Rollins kicking out of Kinshasa kick and three suicide dives, finally putting Nakamura away with a Curb Stomp.

However, Rollins’ good times weren’t destined to last. While giving a post-match interview to Charly Caruso, Rollins had a bombshell dropped on him: He would be defending his Intercontinental Championship against Dean Ambrose at TLC in December, a significant show, since TLC was the show where the Shield had their first match as a unit. Rollins was stunned by the news, but recovered quickly.

WWE Cruiserweight Championship – Buddy Murphy vs Mustafa Ali: Buddy Murphy ended Cedric Alexander’s historic championship reign at Super Show Down in September, but now he faced a very familiar foe. Mustafa Ali has fought back against illness and bad luck to get back into the title picture.

The match was fantastic. Murphy and Ali had a great rivalry earlier in the year, but the managed to keep the story fresh. However, despite Ali’s heart and stamina, Murphy’s nickname of the Juggernaut was more than just a moniker. He put Ali away with a thunderous Murphy’s Law to retain the title. Ali came up short this time, but it would be safe to say this feud isn’t over yet.

Team RAW Men vs Team SmackDown Men: The build to Survivor Series has been rushed and took several unexpected twists, but it came down to the best of the RAW men vs the best of the SmackDown men, which included Shane McMahon. To add further stakes to the match, Strowman’s chance to face Brock Lesnar and get his hands on Baron Corbin was on the line, and he made sure his teammates knew it.

Strowman needn’t have worried. The RAW men tore apart the SmackDown team, though SmackDown didn’t make it easy for them, especially Shane who pulled out every stop to try and lead his team to victory, but ended up being sacrificed by Miz to Strowman. Strowman, McIntyre, and Lashley would be the last men standing on Team RAW.

Corbin, who seemed to have more guts than brains, attacked Strowman, seeming to forget that Strowman was promised a chance to get his hands on Corbin if he lead RAW to victory. I have a feeling that Strowman will make Corbin regret that hasty decision.

Team RAW Women vs Team SmackDown Women: Before the show got underway, both teams were hit by shakeups. Ruby Riott and Nattie were supposed to be on Team RAW, but when it was shown that they couldn’t get along, both were kicked off the team and Alexa, reluctantly, put Sasha and Bayley on the team.

As for SmackDown, Captain Naomi had a slightly easier time of it. Since Charlotte was going to be facing Ronda Rousey, there was an open spot on the team. Fortunately, there was an eager candidate just waiting to be called into action: R-Truth. A bemused Naomi had to break it to Truth that since he wasn’t a woman, he couldn’t be on the team, but Mandy Rose, who had made a lot of enemies when she was left off the team for Charlotte could be on the team.

The match was good. Nia had nuclear heat for what she did to Becky Lynch, but didn’t care, and it’s not a good look for WWE. This match was a fight on both sides, and everyone looked good, but it would come down to Nia and Sasha vs Asuka. Now, the smart thing would be for Nia and Sasha to work together to put Asuka away, but Nia and Alexa Bliss had other ideas. When it looked like Sasha was going to put Asuka away, Nia pushed her off the top turnbuckle, leaving Sasha at the mercy of Asuka, who was, in turn, defeated by Nia. It all seemed to be part of the plan to embarrass Sasha by Alexa Bliss, but I have a feeling that Bliss and Jax are going to be sorry for this.

Traditional 10 vs 10 Survivor Series Match – Team RAW vs Team SmackDown: This was the match without much build, mostly because the teams were going to going to consist of most of the tag team divisions of both shows and it would, mysteriously, be ignored in terms of the RAW vs SmackDown score.

That was a shame, because this was a really good match, eventually. Team SmackDown was introduced by New Day, for some reason. Team RAW did a really lame team Glorious entrance. The match had some surprising highlights, like Dawson of the Revival doing a suicide dive and the Usos making several tributes to Roman Reigns, including a Superman Splash to seal the victory over the Revival. It would be SmackDown’s only victory of the night, though WWE chose to ignore it.

Authors of Pain (with Drake Maverick) vs The Bar (with Big Show): This was another match that didn’t get much build, mainly because a lot of people thought it would be The Bar vs Ambrose and Rollins.

The match was okay, AoP aren’t the greatest in the ring, but the Bar was able to work them through a decent match, especially since they had Big Show to keep Drake Maverick in line.

Unfortunately, Drake Maverick proved that there was no low to which he would not stoop to help his guys win. When Big Show choked him, Maverick peed his pants. Yes, I’m serious. He peed his pants like a toddler who forgot to tell his mommy that he had to go potty. Big Show and the Bar were so stunned by this that it allowed AoP to hit a devastating powerbomb neckbreaker and rack up another victory for RAW. Though I’m sure Maverick is going to get the life ribbed out of him for this one.

That’s it for this week’s Week in Review. I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving holiday, if you celebrate it. Have fun, be safe, and be good to each other!

What did you think of the week in WWE? Let us know on social media @theCHAIRSHOTcom and always remember to use the hashtag #UseYourHead!

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

1 month 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 month 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!