April 6, 2019 - Evan Luebbe

WrestleMania 35 is Upon Us

May 17, 2019April 6, 2019 by Evan Luebbe

The final touches are being put on storylines heading into WrestleMania. I will begin by talking again about the women and the stipulation that was added to the main event. The fact that both titles will be on the line is awesome and tells me, as well as all other fans, that the two WWE Women’s Championships will almost certainly be unified sooner rather than later (it will probably be Becky Lynch who comes away with both titles).

Dean Ambrose may have made his farewell appearance on Monday Night Raw, coming out to deliver Dirty Deeds to Baron Corbin as Raw went off the air and subsequently bowing to the crowd as if saying goodbye.

Finn Balor’s Demon character may have officially lost its luster. Finn sticking out his tongue during his promo was just weird. Vince McMahon has historically had a rough time integrating different and sinister acts like this on to the main roster (just ask Bray Wyatt, or “Woken” Matt Hardy as the most recent examples, or Mordecai if you want an older example. Mordecai, however, would have worked if Kevin Fertig had not gotten into a bar fight in Louisville, Kentucky in 2004. He was originally scheduled to face The Undertaker at WrestleMania 21 in 2005 at the Staples Center instead of Randy Orton).

Also, congratulations to Samoa Joe on making his first WrestleMania appearance after over two years on the main roster. Joe missed WrestleMania 33 due to injury, and he missed the event last year because the creative team had nothing for him. This had to be a disappointment, because he was healthy and he had to feel let down because he was missing out on a huge opportunity, but it was due to circumstances that were out of his control. He should definitely retain his title at ‘Mania against Rey Mysterio, as he deserves a pretty long run with the belt to help elevate the title.

I am now able to officially confirm that John Cena will in fact have a match at WrestleMania, according to Dave Meltzer on the most recent edition of WOL (he has virtually all the inside scoop on professional wrestling). No one knows, however, who his opponent may be. Lars Sullivan may show up after the match and decimate Cena’s opponent after whoever loses the match. This idea just came to me on this beautiful Tuesday afternoon: Cena’s opponent may be a returning Sami Zayn, since he should be about healed from surgery to repair both of his rotator cuffs which he underwent in June of last year, right after the Money in the Bank pay-per-view and a loss to Bobby Lashley. Cena and Zayn have had just one previous match in May 2015 for Cena’s United States Championship (Zayn answered Cena’s U.S. open challenge).

Suggestion Time to Grow WWE Even More

May 17, 2019April 6, 2019 by Evan Luebbe

It’s time to make a few suggestions to Vince McMahon with post-WrestleMania time and the beginning of a new WWE year right around the corner. There is much less pressure and structure regarding booking and there is more freedom for storylines to fail because plans for the following year’s WrestleMania are not 100% set in stone. Some storylines will inevitably fail and be completely forgotten in contrary to the fact that fans think they will be completely relevant.

Superstars also get more time for matches because the mood is more lighthearted – there is no massive event imminently awaiting. This typically occurs twice during the year, once right after WrestleMania lasting until about early June, and once in the early fall between SummerSlam and Survivor Series. This time will also provide an opportunity for Lars Sullivan to make his debut. Advertisements for him began around the time of Survivor Series last year, but they stopped when he had a panic attack. If he is not ready, he should take as much time as he needs to get his mental health in order.

My last suggestion is one to grow the business of WWE even more. Vince McMahon should be making plans, which he may be doing already, to hold a WrestleMania on another continent within five or ten years, maybe somewhere in Europe. Considering how big of an influence the country of Japan has had on American sports entertainers, as nearly everyone who is a WWE superstar currently has wrestled at some point or another in Japan.

WWE has multiple superstars on the main roster who have been leaders of the Bullet Club (AJ Styles and Finn Balor). It may be very intriguing to hold a WrestleMania in the Tokyo Dome. WWE has such a global fanbase, they surely already have many fans in Japan.

Kofi & Bryan Cut Passionate Promos

May 17, 2019April 6, 2019 by Evan Luebbe

Ricochet and Aleister Black won’t be challenging The Revival for the Raw Tag Team Championship after all. They will instead be challenging for the SmackDown Tag Team Championship in a fatal four-way match, which is a huge mistake if Vince is looking to book them as a strong tag team. A singles match for the Tag Team Championship would be much more conducive for this.

As for The Revival, their future is very much up in the air. I don’t know who they will face at ‘Mania, or if they will face anyone, especially since their future with the company is uncertain.

On a happier note, The Miz is turning out to be a great babyface. No one should have been too worried about this since he is so great on the mic. The Caterpillar from Otis of Heavy Machinery provides great comic relief during the show, and Corey Graves’ reaction to this is hilarious (“This is a family show”).

One other superstar who should get some consideration for a post ‘Mania push is Mustafa Ali. He may be a little smaller than what Vince is used to, but when it comes right down to it who cares? Mandy Rose will also almost certainly receive a major push in the coming year.

Daniel Bryan and Kofi Kingston had their contract signing and took turns cutting passionate promos. Daniel Bryan is proving to be extremely impressive as a heel, and something has awakened in Kofi that I don’t even think he knew he had in him, and it’s a blast to finally see it come to fruition after 11 long years.

Kingston Becomes World Champ

May 17, 2019April 6, 2019 by Evan Luebbe

Brock Lesnar may indeed retain the Universal Championship at WrestleMania and put Seth Rollins in a very similar position to the one Roman Reigns was in exactly one year ago. WWE will be hosting another show in Saudi Arabia in May, and they may look to add as much star power as possible.

Brock Lesnar is probably leveraging his relationship with Dana White and the UFC to garner more money out of WWE, as many people on the Internet have suggested. This is most likely the reason why he is frequently signing short-term deals:

To get as much money out of WWE as possible, and
To leverage the relationship with UFC to keep the Universal Championship around his waist.

It looks like Rob Gronkowski could end up in the WWE after all, as Mojo Rawley has publicly acknowledged the possibility, so Gronk could debut right after ‘Mania, likely bypassing NXT (this is purely speculation – I have nothing to back this up).

The Revival wants out of WWE, which is completely justified given that their booking has been rather lackluster since debuting on the main roster.

There have been hints given recently that the Raw and SmackDown women’s titles may be unified at ‘Mania, given that Charlotte Flair currently holds them both. Raw viewership was down this week, which is not a good sign at all given how close we are to WrestleMania. Viewership should be peaking right about now, so this may have to be addressed by Vince McMahon.

SmackDown Live viewership, however, made a big jump, presumably due to the situation surrounding Kofi Kingston and the WWE Championship, cited from Blake Oestriecher, Forbes.com.