AJ Styles – The North Jersey Nonconformist

WrestleMania 41 Analysis and Predictions

April 19, 2025 by njnonconformist Leave a Comment

The WWE hits Las Vegas this weekend for a two-night celebration of professional wrestling at its best. The WWE has such a glut of talent on the main roster that even fourteen matches over two nights do not have enough spots for some familiar names. There was room on the card for Nia Jax, Sami Zayn, Braun Strowman, or Solo Sikoa. But all that means is that we should expect the best of the best to attempt to collectively raise the bar from last year’s classic WrestleMania XL.

There are a lot of matches to analyze and predict so I will get right to it.

WrestleMania Saturday

The War Raiders (Erik and Ivar) (c) vs. The New Day (Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods) in a Tag team match for the World Tag Team Championship

Kingston and Woods were working with the most tired and overused gimmick we have seen in some years and were overdue for a change when they turned heel. Despite the necessity for a change, the heel turn landed with a thud and these guys are still boring and uninteresting.

The War Raiders endured a litany of name and gimmick changes under Vince McMahon’s direction in the beginning of their WWE run. They’ve finally settled on something that works for them, a straight-talking, badass duo. They will undoubtedly be excited for this opportunity and will bring their A game to the show.

Prediction: Winners and still World Tag Team Champions, The War Raiders

Rey Mysterio vs. El Grande Americano

Rey Mysterio is somehow still hanging on as a full-time performer in WWE. He is often referred to as the greatest luchador of all time. But he now has competition for that title as he faces off against El Grande Americano. This relative newcomer to the WWE is handling himself like a tenured veteran. This match will be a great demonstration of the lucha libre style of wrestling.

Prediction: Winner, El Grande Americano

Jade Cargill vs. Naomi

This match is barely fit for Smackdown, let alone WrestleMania. This feud is boring, and neither one of them is very good in the ring. These two are taking a spot that could be used by wrestlers that are compelling to watch.

Prediction: Winner, Naomi

LA Knight (c) vs. Jacob Fatu in a Singles match for the WWE United States Championship

LA Knight is good for his staccato catchphrase and not much else. His promos are short and sweet, and they resonate with the audience. But Jacob Fatu is force to be reckoned with. In his short time on the WWE main roster, this Bloodline member (where do they get so many of them?) has gotten over quickly with both his credible microphone work and his in-ring skills. This is a great opportunity for both guys to put on a signature WrestleMania match.

Prediction: Winner, and new United States Champion: Jacob Fatu

Tiffany Stratton (c) vs. Charlotte Flair in a Singles match for the WWE Women’s Championship

Many consider Charlotte Flair to be the women’s wrestling GOAT, yet somehow the WWE managed to botch her return from injury at the Royal Rumble. The crowd was not too pleased when she won the Royal Rumble match, punching her ticket to WrestleMania. Tiffany Stratton is the current champion but has not done much to distinguish herself. This program is so boring that the two of them had to dig into each other’s personal lives in a live segment just to get people talking.

Prediction: Winner and new WWE Women’s Champion, Charlotte Flair

Gunther (c) vs. Jey Uso in a Singles match for the World Heavyweight Championship

Jey Uso shocked the wrestling world when he eliminated John Cena from the Royal Rumble to clinch a WrestleMania championship match. Out of all the entrants in the Royal Rumble, Uso was the darkest of horses to have his hand raised. But this former WrestleMania main eventer has what it takes to carry a big match, and he has an army of fans behind him.

Gunther is a legitimate superstar in his own right. He built a reputation as a no-nonsense bruiser who is almost adorned in championship gold. Most importantly, he is easy to hate, and he is the perfect foil for the fan-favorite Uso. This should be the hardest-hitting and most physical match of the night.

Prediction: Winner and still World Heavyweight Champion, Guenther

Roman Reigns vs. CM Punk (with Paul Heyman) vs. Seth Rollins in a triple threat match

Leaving the company for ten years did nothing to help accelerate CM Punk’s timeline to main event WrestleMania, nor did his immediate injury upon his return in 2023. But here we are in 2025 and CM Punk is a WrestleMania main eventer for the first time.

This story behind this match blends a lot of real-world situations into the worked drama. Paul Heyman was a mentor, friend, and protector to Punk early in Punk’s career. Paul Heyman and Roman Reigns have a slightly less dramatized off-screen friendship to match their on-screen relationship. Seth Rollins harbors a grudge with CM Punk for leaving the company in 2013.

Heyman’s allegiances to Punk and Reigns will be tested. Rollins stands as the wildcard in this situation. These are three of the best wrestlers in the world right now and this match has instant classic written all over it.

Prediction: Winner, Roman Reigns

WrestleMania Sunday

Iyo Sky (c) vs. Bianca Belair vs. Rhea Ripley in a Triple threat match for the Women’s World Championship

While the triple-threat main event on Saturday night has the potential to be an instant-classic, this triple threat has the potential to be a disaster. The big difference is talent. The Saturday night main event has three of the best wrestlers in the world. This match has two of the best female wrestlers in the world, and one of the worst.

Bianca Belair already proved she can carry a WrestleMania match very capably when she main-evented WrestleMania Saturday at WrestleMania 37. Rhea Ripley dominates the women’s division right now and can stand with anybody. But Iyo Sky is a mess. She is undersized, cuts bad promos, and does not look like a credible threat against anybody. This is one of the bigger booking mistakes we have seen in the Triple H-era, and it would have been much better had they rolled with Belair vs. Ripley only.

Prediction: Winner, and new WWE Women’s World Champion, Rhea Ripley

Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez (c) vs. Bayley and Lyra Valkyria in a Tag team match for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship

I watch a lot of wrestling, and I still wouldn’t recognize Lyra Vaklyria if she bit me on the ass. Is that on me? Or does she just not make an impression? Maybe I haven’t given her enough of a chance, but I do not have high hopes for this match. It will be tough for these four that were thrown together to find some chemistry with each other and make it look good.

Prediction: Winners, and still WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions, Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez

AJ Styles vs. Logan Paul

This match is slightly lost in the WrestleMania shuffle but has a ton of promise. Styles and Paul are two of the very best the WWE has right now, but with the logjam of talent at the top they are stuck on the mid-card of WrestleMania Sunday.

In his short and part-time WWE run, Paul has mastered crowd psychology like a 15-year veteran, and his athleticism is unparalleled. Styles wrestled all over the world and has been to the top of the WWE himself. This could be a hidden gem on this WrestleMania card.

Prediction: Winner, Logan Paul

Bron Breakker (c) vs. Penta vs. Finn Bálor vs. Dominik Mysterio in a Fatal four-way match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship

This looks like one of those “let’s get everyone booked somehow” matches from afar. But under the surface, there is a compelling championship match between four entertaining wrestlers.

Breaker is off to a good start on the WWE main roster. He is still a little rough around the edges and has a bit of a ways to go, but his speed and athleticism have delivered some noticeable in-ring spots. I would not want to be on the receiving end of his 22mph spear.

Bálor and Mysterio are a bit of an unlikely duo but have undeniable chemistry in the Judgement Day. The jealousy and mistrust between the faction members is classic heel work.

The newcomer Penta is one of several luchadors on the roster but received an open-arms welcome by the WWE fans upon arrival. WWE fans always like new and Penta is fun to watch. This is a quick ascension to WrestleMania status for him so he should be motivated to try to steal the show in what should be an unpredictable match.

Prediction: Winner and new WWE Intercontinental Champion, Dominik Mysterio

Damian Priest vs. Drew McIntyre in a Sin City Street Fight

Much like Logan Paul and AJ Styles match, this match features two stars who could be in the main event themselves. Both are former champions and are known for putting on hard-hitting matches. If you want a preview of what you could see, check out the McIntyre vs. Punk Hell in a Cell match from 2024.

A Street Fight allows for a lot of creativity. Expect this match to go anywhere in the stadium, maybe even out to the Vegas Strip!

Prediction: Winner, Drew McIntyre

Randy Orton vs. TBA

Kevin Owens had to bow out of his announced match against Randy Orton due to a spinal injury that requires surgery. It is good to see Randy Orton still on the card with an open challenge match and I am looking forward to seeing who the surprise entrant is. An NXT callup? A top star left off the card like Sami Zayn, Braun Strowman, or Solo Sikoa? A Hall of Famer? Goldberg?

Prediction: Winner, the other guy

Cody Rhodes (c) vs. John Cena in a Singles match for the Undisputed WWE Championship

The reaction that John Cena has received since “The Heel Turn Heard ‘Round The World” has been amazing. His heel promos are so good that the audience can’t help but cheer him when they are over. With Cena set to retire in 2025, he has saved some of the best work for the end.

Cody Rhodes is hanging on as a babyface champion a year after finishing his story at WrestleMania XL in an epic main event against Roman Reigns. It is not easy to keep the crowds hot for a year as a babyface in today’s WWE, but Rhodes has connected with an audience that loves him.

This is Cena’s last WrestleMania match it it might be his biggest one ever. Rhodes is no stranger to WrestleMania events, having competed in two at WrestleMania XL and in the Sunday main event at WrestleMania 39. All the ingredients are in place for this match to punctuate an epic WrestleMania weekend in Las Vegas.

Prediction: Winner, and new Undisputed WWE Champion, John Cena

Filed Under: WWE Tagged With: AJ Styles, Bianca Belair, Bron Breakker, Charlotte Flair, CM Punk, Cody Rhodes, Damian Priest, Dominik Mysterio, Drew McIntyre, El Grande Americano, Fin Balor, Gunther, Jacob Fatu, Jey Uso, John Cena, LA Knight, Logan Paul, Paul Heyman, Randy Orton, Rey Mysterio, Rhey Ripley, Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, TBA, Triple H, WrestleMania, WWE

WrestleMania XL Analysis and Predictions

April 6, 2024 by njnonconformist Leave a Comment

The Rock summarized it best when he said that professional wrestling is cool right now. How cool is it that he can even call it professional wrestling and not sports entertainment? A fantastic confluence of events led to both things.

The first was Vince McMahon being forced from the WWE for a second and final time, and it is no longer under his outdated creative control. The second is the plethora of top-level talent on the roster, both full-timers and returning superstars. The third is the #CodyCryBaby movement which altered the original plan for the Sunday main event and forced The Rock to work as a heel. Heel Rock is the best kind of Rock, and professional wrestling has not been this hot since the Attitude Era!

I was a fan of what was believed to be the original plan to have Cody Rhodes challenge Seth Rollins on WrestleMania Saturday, and for the long-rumored Rock vs. Roman Reigns match to take place on WrestleMania Sunday. The Reigns vs. Rock match needs to happen, and this year seemed like the perfect time to do it. Rhodes vs. Rollins would have been a great throwback-type main event between two of the best talents in the world in the prime of their careers. Not to mention that we got Rhodes vs. Reigns last year and I’m never a fan of consecutive WrestleMania main events.

Then the #CodyCryBaby movement took over and Triple H apparently pivoted as a result. The new plan features Rhodes, Reigns, and Rollins competing both nights, The Rock relegated to a tag match, and Drew McIntyre getting a World Heavyweight Championship title shot.

But the most important pivot of them all is that The Rock masterfully pulled off a heel turn. After all the years away from the ring and at age 51, he is still adding to his legacy as one of the greatest of all time and is doing some of the best work of his career.

A peek further down the card on both nights reveals a lot of other intriguing match ups. It is not just the main event talents that are firing on all cylinders right now, the mid-card stars are putting in some of their best work at the right time as well.

I am still a firm believer that WrestleMania should be a three-to-four-hour event featuring the best of the best. But the two-night event is here to stay, so I am looking forward to making a weekend out of it. I have high hopes for what is to come. Here is my breakdown of the card.

WrestleMania Saturday

Rhea Ripley (c) vs. Becky Lynch in a Singles match for the Women’s World Championship

Rhea Ripley is arguably the best superstar to compete in the Women’s Division since the WWE decided to prioritize it in 2015. She has a great look and can work a convincing match without blowing any spots. She also has the distinction of being the leader of a popular mixed-gender faction, The Judgement Day. Traditionally, they have been fronted by men.

Becky Lynch has more charisma that in-ring talent. Often, that is good enough to make you an elite performer in the WWE. Just ask the Ultimate Warrior.

These two are veteran main event-level performers. If there is one women’s match on WrestleMania weekend that has a chance of being good, this one is it.

Prediction: Winner, and still champion, Rhea Ripley

Gunther (c) vs. Sami Zayn in a Singles match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship

Gunther will forever be remembered as one of the most important Intercontinental champions of all time. He has already surpassed the length of Honky Tonk Man’s record title reign. His matches are brutal and convincing.

Sami Zayn is in his third straight big WrestleMania spot. This might be a bit of a step down from last year’s WrestleMania Saturday main event, but he is still being given a chance to stand out amongst the crowd. His vignettes with Chad Gable leading up to the match were equal parts hilarious, dramatic, and inspirational.

The only reason it would make sense for the underdog Zayn to unseat the champion would be to move Gunther up to the main event picture. Other than that possibility, this one is straight forward to predict.

Prediction: Winner, and still champion, Gunther

The Judgment Day (Finn Bálor and Damian Priest) (c) vs. #DIY (Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa) vs. The Awesome Truth (The Miz and R-Truth) vs. The New Day (Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods) vs. A-Town Down Under (Austin Theory and Grayson Waller) vs. New Catch Republic (Pete Dunne and Tyler Bate) in a Six-Pack Tag Team Ladder match for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship

This is one of those “let’s get everyone on the WrestleMania card and try to re-create an old-school tag team ladder match” type of matches that looks like it is going to be a mess.

Tomasso and Ciampa are terrible and need to be sent back to NXT. The New Day gimmick was overplayed even before Big E suffered a career-ending neck injury, and they should just break up. Theory and Waller were just thrown together and have no chemistry. Dunne and Bate have not done much to distinguish themselves at all.

The only two challengers to Bálor and Priest who deserve this spot and can be expected to perform well are The Miz and T-Truth, but they are going to get lost in this twelve-man mess. The Judgement Day deserved better.

Prediction: Winners and still champions, The Judgement Day

Jey Uso vs. Jimmy Uso

Good guy versus bad guy? Brother versus brother? A singles match with no stipulations or title on the line? A grudge match based on a years-long storyline culminating at WrestleMania? Yes please! This one has the bad guy winning written all over it.

Prediction: Winner, Jimmy Uso

Bianca Belair, Jade Cargill, and Naomi vs. Damage CTRL (Dakota Kai, Asuka, and Kairi Sane)

What did Bianca Belair do to deserve this? She is the only other healthy woman on the roster on the level of Rhea Ripley. Damage CTRL has always been horrible, and they got even worse when Bayley was jettisoned. This is going to be a throw-away match that nobody will remember.

Prediction: Winners, Belair, Cargill, and Naomi

Latino World Order (Rey Mysterio and Dragon Lee) vs. Santos Escobar and “Dirty” Dominik Mysterio

Dominik Mysterio has emerged as one of the best heels in the WWE and is usually someone that you must watch. But this match does not seem to have much heat behind it. Maybe it is because Rey Mysterio is over the hill and the father versus son angle has been played out ad nauseum. Escobar and Lee are not going to enhance that storyline very much.

Prediction: Winners, Escobar and Mysterio

The Bloodline (The Rock and Roman Reigns) vs. Cody Rhodes and Seth “Freakin” Rollins

Stipulation: If Rhodes and Rollins win, all members of The Bloodline will be barred from ringside during the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship match on Night 2.

If Rock and Reigns win, the championship match on Night 2 will be held under Bloodline Rules.

Take three of the best active professional wrestlers today and one of the best to ever do it and throw in a crazy stipulation that will directly affect the WrestleMania Sunday main event. That gives you all the ingredients you need for an instant-classic WrestleMania match. If the chips had to fall this way to fit the WrestleMania trajectory for Rhodes, we ended up with a great outcome.

Look for everyone involved in this match to shine. The Rock is going to look to prove to the world that he can still bring it. This is arguably the most important match of Rollins’ long career. Rhodes and Reigns are going to have to set up their WrestleMania event the very next day. Professional wrestling does not get much better than this.

Prediction: Winners, The Bloodline

WrestleMania Sunday

Seth “Freakin” Rollins (c) vs. Drew McIntyre in a singles match for the World Heavyweight Championship

Drew McIntyre backed his way into this spot when CM Punk was injured and the #CodyCryBaby movement ripped up the script. That is not to say that he does not deserve to be here. McIntyre was the WWE pandemic-era champion who was forced to perform almost exclusively on a television set with no live audience members. He carried the title well when we had nothing to do but stay home and watch TV. If Punk is not available to challenge Rollins, McIntyre is the best available option to step up.

This is the best championship run of Seth Rollins’ career. He is the second “face” of the WWE behind Roman Reigns. He is the champion we get when Reigns is on one of his regular breaks from WWE television. His Randy Savage-inspired style, his maniacal personality, and his top-notch work rate make him a compelling watch.

Rollins is working with a legitimate knee injury. He is also going to wrestle two nights in a row so I would expect that the injury works its way into the storyline during both matches. CM Punk, who is on commentary for this match, and seemingly is in a feud with both Rollins and McIntyre will certainly factor into the outcome of the match.

Prediction: Winner and new champion, Drew McIntyre

Iyo Sky (c) vs. Bayley in a singles match for the WWE Women’s Championship

This match is a great example of why I think WrestleMania is too long.

Prediction: Winner and new champion, Bayley

LA Knight vs. AJ Styles

Remember when AJ Styles was champion? Remember when LA Knight was hot? This match seems like it has been lost in the shuffle. Maybe, despite a weak lead-in, these two veterans will leave it all in the ring and give us something to remember.

Prediction: Winner, LA Knight

Logan Paul (c) vs. Randy Orton vs. Kevin Owens in a triple threat match for the WWE United States Championship

This should be a good one. Orton and Owens have both worked WrestleMania main events. Logan Paul continues to surprise wrestling observers with his amazing in-ring skill set despite his lack of experience. This match falls short of being over-booked and should be exciting from bell to bell.

Prediction: Winner and still champion, Logan Paul

The Pride (Bobby Lashley, Angelo Dawkins, and Montez Ford) (with B-Fab) vs. The Final Testament (Karrion Kross, Akam, and Rezar) (with Scarlett and Paul Ellering) in a six-man tag team Philadelphia Street Fight

I do not know what happened to Bobby Lashley, but he has taken a pretty steep tumble down the card. The union of Dawkins, Ford, and Lashley has helped none of them. Kross should not even be on the WWE roster. Akam and Rezar have potential but have not done much since their recent return to the WWE to warrant a WrestleMania match. Do they really need two managers in their corner? This is going to be a mess.

Prediction: Winners, The Pride

Roman Reigns (c) vs. Cody Rhodes in a TBD match for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship

Congratulations, Cody Cry Babies! You got the same main event you got last year. Is Rhodes going to “finish his story” this time? Is he finally going to win the championship his legendary father failed to grasp? Or are we going to get a repeat of last year when Reigns found a way to win?

I have a feeling that after these two compete against each other in a tag match on WrestleMania Saturday, this match is going to be somewhat of a letdown. It feels like a creative trap that will be hard to escape from. How many ways can they figure out how to work WrestleMania main events against each other?

Regardless of what stipulation is used for this match, The Bloodline will certainly play a role in the outcome of this match, much like they did last year. I have a feeling that the Cody Cry Babies are going to end up crying some more after this match is over.

Prediction: Winner and still champion, Roman Reigns

Filed Under: WWE Tagged With: AJ Styles, CM Punk, Cody Rhodes, Drew McIntyre, Gunther, Jey Uso, Jimmy Uso, Kevin Owens, LA Knight, Logan Paul, Randy Orton, Rhea Ripley, Roman Reigns, Sami Zayn, Seth Rollins, The Bloodline, The Judgement Day, The Rock, Triple H, WrestleMania, WWE

WrestleMania 38 Sunday: Analysis and Predictions

April 3, 2022 by njnonconformist Leave a Comment

If WrestleMania 38 was just the Saturday card, it would have left everyone satisfied. Every performer on the Sunday show is going to have a hard time following the matches that took place on Saturday. It was a near-flawless show that exemplified professional wrestling at its finest.

There is no lack of star power lined up for WrestleMania Sunday, and there is a good mix of grudge matches and title matches. It is going to be capped with a title unification match between the two top stars in the WWE. If WrestleMania must be two nights, at least there is a lot to look forward to tonight.

The New Day (Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston) vs. Sheamus and Ridge Holland (with Butch)

This match is behind the eight-ball to begin with because Big E will not be able to compete in it, having suffered a broken neck on Smackdown in an accidental botched spot with Ridge Holland. Big E would have been the biggest star of the bunch, and it cost Butch his opportunity to be in the match. Instead, he will be the heater on the outside.

The New Day gimmick certainly has staying power and is still over with WWE fans. Sheamus and Ridge Holland are a much newer pairing, and Holland is in a good spot here with a chance to show that he can hang with this veteran group. Butch is the odd man out but should at least get a spot to draw some heat for himself.

Prediction: Winners, Sheamus and Ridge Holland

Queen Zelina and Carmella (c) vs. Sasha Banks and Naomi vs. Rhea Ripley and Liv Morgan vs. Natalya and Shayna Baszler in a fatal four-way tag team match for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship

Try to say that one fast. This is the lone overbooked “let’s get everybody on the WrestleMania card” match of the weekend. These matches are always confusing and help nobody look good. This will give me an opportunity to catch up on my DVR queue while the show is still on.

Prediction: This match is going to suck

Johnny Knoxville vs. Sami Zayn in an Anything Goes match

Logan Paul crushed it on WrestleMania Saturday. Can Johnny Knoxville do the same? The Anything Goes stipulation opens a creative channel to introduce multiple Jackass-type stunts into the match. It also protects Knoxville if he can not wrestle at a competent level.

Prediction: Winner, Sami Zayn

Pat McAfee vs. Austin Theory

I caught Pat McAfee wrestling in a War Games match on NXT and was very impressed with how he carried himself. He does not have too many matches on his professional resume, but he has shown he can rise to the occasion. Austin Theory is among the youngest competitors at WrestleMania 38. He is going to want to prove he has long-term potential to be a WrestleMania star.

McAfee has a great deal of name recognition outside the WWE as a sportscaster to begin with. This is an obvious spot for the WWE to give him a few highlight-worthy spots and a victory to draw some mainstream recognition.

Prediction: Winner, Pat McAfee

RK-Bro (Randy Orton and Riddle) (c) vs. The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford) vs. Alpha Academy (Chad Gable and Otis) in a triple threat tag team match for the WWE Raw Tag Team Championship

SHOOOSH!!! This one is not quite as bad as the women’s fatal four-way championship match, but there is going to be a lot going on that will distract from the individual talents. These are three very capable tag teams, and you must hope that their performances do not get lost in the shuffle.

Randy Orton is a former WrestleMania main-eventer who has slid down the card as a babyface tag-team wrestler. It seems logical that at some point he is going to backstab Riddle and turn heel. What better time and place than WrestleMania?

Prediction: Winners and new WWE Raw Tag Team Champions, Alpha Academy.

Edge vs. AJ Styles

A grudge match between two veterans with nothing titles or stipulations on the line? Yes, please! Edge working heel for the first time since his surprise return to the WWE? Yes, please! This one has match of the night potential.

Prediction: Winner, Edge

Bobby Lashley vs. Omos

It is good that Bobby Lashley made the WrestleMania card after it looked like he was suffering from some sort of injury that limited his participation at Elimination Chamber and saw him surrender the championship. Unfortunately, there was not much of a build for this match. But Bobby is one of the top stars in WWE today and it should be fun to watch these ridiculously large human beings do battle.

Prediction: Winner, Bobby Lashley

Brock Lesnar (WWE Champion) vs. Roman Reigns (Universal Champion) (with Paul Heyman) in a Winner Takes All match to unify the WWE Championship and WWE Universal Championship

This is the third time we have seen this exact same WrestleMania main event. But it is the first time that Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar have been positioned properly. Roman Reigns is finally the arrogant heel that the fans wanted him to be, and Brock is the “cowboy with a strange mohawk and ponytail” that is somehow working out very well for him.

There is a clear good guy versus bad guy dynamic in this match, and there is a title unification on the line. What more could you really ask for in a WrestleMania main event?

Prediction: Winner and Unified Champion, Roman Reigns

Filed Under: WWE Tagged With: AJ Styles, Austin Theory, Bobby Lashley, Brock Lesnar, Butch, Edge, Johnny Knoxville, Omos, Pat McAfee, Paul Heyman, Randy Orton, Riddle, Ridge Holland, Roman Reigns, Sheamus, The New Day, WrestleMania, WWE

WrestleMania 38: Where Less is No Longer More

March 28, 2022 by njnonconformist 2 Comments

As an aficionado of the Jim Ross podcast, I’ve often heard him use the phrase “less is more” as a bit of advice he would give in-ring talents for how to construct the flow of their matches. Well, that phrase does not apply to the big picture in the WWE. For the third year in a row, WrestleMania is a two-night affair. The previous two double-WrestleMania’s appeared to be necessitated by the pandemic. Unfortunately, that trend appears to be permanent.

Were any fans really clamoring for a two-night WrestleMania? I did not even like the trend of the show getting longer and longer every year to begin with. Like the rest of the world, my attention span gets shorter and shorter all the time. I would be fine with a three-and-a-half-hour card featuring the best full-time talents on the show that save their best efforts for the Grandest Stage of Them All.

The WWE business model is about grabbing new revenue opportunities at every turn. It is like the Star Wars Effect where a conglomerate super-sizes content such that creativity suffers greatly, but it makes a lot more money, so the creators really do not care about the quality of their product. Case in point: Two superstars who were prominently featured at WrestleMania 37, Braun Strowman and Bray Wyatt, have since been fired due to “budget cuts”, but now the WWE paradoxically must fill two shows without them. The WWE gets to earn more money while spending less on in-ring talent.

At the time of this writing, there are fourteen matches announced in total for the weekend, and an appearance of Stone Cold Steve Austin on the KO Show. The cards are watered down and bloated even in isolation. The only match that seems like a big deal is the Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar title unification showdown. Maybe that is because this is the third time these two will face each other in a WrestleMania main event.

Everything else that has been announced does not move the needle. A handful of celebrities that I do not care about, and a bunch of matches that look like they belong on Raw or Smackdown.

But hey, it is still WrestleMania weekend. Even if it sounds like a chore to sit through both shows, that is what I am going to do! Maybe Edge and AJ Styles have big plans for their match. Maybe Seth Rollins brings his A game to his mystery opponent. Maybe Johnny Knoxville finally breaks every bone in his body on live television and I can say I saw it. And if I get tired or bored, I can take a nap during one of the women’s matches!

Keep an out for my expert predictions and analysis later in the week. I sure have a lot of typing to do!

Filed Under: WWE Tagged With: AJ Styles, Braun Strowman, Bray Wyatt, Brock Lesnar, Edge, Jim Ross, Johnny Knoxville, Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, Stone Cold Steve Austin, WrestleMania, WWE

2022 Royal Rumble Analysis and Predictions

January 29, 2022 by njnonconformist Leave a Comment

The Road to WrestleMania 38 begins Saturday night at the Royal Rumble in St. Louis. WrestleMania is now an unnecessarily long two-night event, so there are a lot of storylines to lay out between now and then. The matches on the Rumble card that will have the biggest consequences for WrestleMania are the men’s rumble match, and the two men’s championship matches.

Edge and Beth Phoenix vs. The Miz and Maryse in a Mixed tag team match

A lot of what Miz does these days is mid-card work that promotes his outside interests in reality shows. He is still the most dependable heel the WWE has on the roster and could easily move up the card if he was not mired in situations like this.

You would be hard-pressed to find an Edge fan who wanted to see him come out of retirement to be in a mixed tag team match with his wife. This is a long way down from last year when he won the 2021 men’s rumble match as the #1 entrant and went on to get smoked by Roman Reigns in the WrestleMania main event.

Prediction: Winners, The Miz and Maryse

Becky Lynch (c) vs. Doudrop in a Singles match for the WWE Raw Women’s Championship

No comment.

Prediction: I’m going to take a nap during this match.

Brock Lesnar (c) (with Paul Heyman) vs. Bobby Lashley (with MVP) in a singles match for the WWE Championship

These are two of the very best in the game right now. Both competitors have similar backgrounds as amateur wrestlers-turned pro who then bounced between professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. Lesnar has been near or at the top of the WWE for his entire career, but Lashley was more of a late bloomer, not winning his first WWE championship until he was in his mid-40’s.

Time has not slowed these two down at all, they are both peak athletes and freakishly large. This is a WrestleMania caliber match that I cannot wait to watch.

Prediction: Winner and new WWE Champion, Bobby Lashley

Roman Reigns (c) vs. Seth “Freakin” Rollins in a Singles match for the WWE Universal Championship

These two former Shield members are feuding again. They have both undergone many character machinations since Rollins took the belt off Reigns at WrestleMania 31. Reigns took longer to find himself but he finally figured out how to be the top guy in the company. This will be the first time they clash as heels. The Uso’s have been banned from ringside so Reigns will have to go it alone.

Prediction: Winner and still WWE Universal Champion, Roman Reigns

Women’s Royal Rumble Match

Ronda Rousey is going to make a surprise return to win the Royal Rumble and go on to face Becky Lynch at WrestleMania.

Men’s Royal Rumble Match

The rumor mill has not had much to say about this year’s men’s rumble winner. The main men’s matches at WrestleMania are going to feature Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar (potentially even head-to-head) so that leaves a spot open for someone to jump into the main event picture.

The WWE is cross promoting the new Jackass movie and will place Johnny Knoxville in the rumble match where he will likely eliminate Sami Zayn. Zayn always seems to be the mark to get guest celebrities over. Not a bad spot to be in.

At the time of this writing, there are five spots that have yet to be announced. They’ll likely be filled by NXT call ups and returning retirees. None of them have potential to contend for the win.

I am handicapping the field as follows:

No Chance in Hell

Angelo Dawkins
Montez Ford
Dominik Mysterio
Austin Theory
Johnny Knoxville
Happy Corbin
Madcap Moss
Sami Zayn
Omos
Riddle
Chad Gable
Otis
Dolph Ziggler
Robert Roode
Shinsuke Nakamura
Rick Boogs
Ricochet

Dark Horse Potential

Sheamus
Damian Priest
AJ Styles
Kofi Kingston
Randy Orton

Favorites

Rey Mysterio
Big E
Kevin Owens

The No Chance in Hell field contains nobody with WrestleMania main event potential, at least not in 2022.

Damien Priest has been on the rise this year and could surprise with a big win. The rest of the dark horse field are former champions and can be counted on to carry a WrestleMania title match. A win by any of them would be a surprise, but not a shock.

Rey Mysterio has been at the forefront of WWE storylines and is on the cover of the latest WWE video game. The geriatric luchador apparently is still a moneymaker and might have one big main event run left in him.

Big E is a recent former champion and may be poised to take off again. He would match up well against Reigns or Lesnar in a one-on-one match.

Kevin Owens recently returned to working as a heel which is his natural state. He would be able to sell a WrestleMania main even against a top babyface in his sleep. Maybe this is finally KO’s time to have a big WrestleMania moment.

Filed Under: WWE Tagged With: AJ Styles, Big E, Brock Lesnar, Damian Priest, Edge, Johnny Knoxville, Kevin Owens, Kofi Kingston, Randy Orton, Rey Mysterio, Roman Reigns, Royal Rumble, Seth Rollins, Sheamus, The Miz, WrestleMania, WWE

WrestleMania 37 Night 1 Analysis and Predictions

April 8, 2021 by njnonconformist Leave a Comment

After a year of not having fans in attendance, the WWE is “back in business” with a live crowd at WrestleMania 37 in Tampa. The WWE product has been downright bizarre to watch without real fans in attendance this past year and having a crowd for the performers to work off will be a welcome change.

Splitting WrestleMania into two nights leaves a lot less clutter on the WrestleMania card than in a normal year where they over-book many matches to get as many people on the card as possible. There are lot more singles matches than we would have seen in years past.

The WWE has also seemingly admitted that the “Women’s Revolution” in the WWE has been an abject failure. Just two years ago, the WrestleMania event was a triple-threat between Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, and Ronda Rousey. This year, none of the three are even on the card. Something is clearly wrong with the creative process that has left most of the women in the WWE out of a prominent spot at WrestleMania.

There have been some creative missteps on the men’s side of things as well. The bizarre saga of Bobby Lashey as champion (more on that in a bit) has been a head-scratcher. For the life of me, I can not understand the appeal of Riddle. And the sudden emergence of Apollo Crews’ fake Nigerian accent almost makes me embarrassed for him.

But this is WrestleMania, and the card is stacked with talent who will have ample time to tell good stories. Without the involvement of John Cena or The Undertaker, the members of the current roster will look to cement their own WrestleMania legacies. Even if the lead-in to WrestleMania was weak, this two-night event could be professional wrestling at its best! On to the match predictions.

Bad Bunny and Damian Priest vs. The Miz and John Morrison

WrestleMania history is rife with celebrity guest appearances, many of whom actively participated in matches. Mr. T. started the tradition when he teamed with Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania 1. This year, Bad Bunny gets the nod as the token WrestleMania celebrity used to bring in viewers that are not part of the current fan base.

The appeal of Bad Bunny is lost on me, I guess I am not in his target demographic. However, there are reports that his WWE merchandise is a huge seller right now, so this appears to be a good business decision for the WWE. He is not a trained wrestler so The Miz and Morrison are going to have to carry him in the match. The rookie Damian Priest will not be much help in covering Bunny’s weaknesses. I would not expect this match to be remembered as a WrestleMania classic.

Prediction: Winner, The Miz and Morrison

The New Day (Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods) (c) vs. AJ Styles and Omos in a Tag team match for the WWE Raw Tag Team Championship

This is an interesting spot for AJ Styles, having been assigned the task of getting NXT call-up Omos over as a main-roster competitor. I am not sure I like the creative direction this angle has taken, Omos seems to be lacking on the microphone, and attempts at the two of them being comedic have fallen flat. His appearance and skill set seem better suited to “monster heel” than comedic sidekick, but this is what we get so we will see how he does. For Omos, this is a great spot in which to make his debut in a championship match at WrestleMania.

The New Day continue to flounder as a duo, having lost their most charismatic member, Big E to a singles push. It is time for this team to break up, no better time or way to accomplish that than a WrestleMania swerve and a heel turn for one of them!

Prediction: Winners and new WWE Raw Tag Team Champions, AJ Styles and Omos

Lana and Naomi vs. Dana Brooke and Mandy Rose vs. The Riott Squad (Liv Morgan and Ruby Riott) vs. Natalya and Tamina in a Tag Team Turmoil match, winners receive a WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship match on Night 2

This is a late addition to the card to placate those who were upset there was not enough involvement from the Women’s division. There is not a single wrestler in this match who is worth watching.

Prediction: This match is going to suck

Braun Strowman vs. Shane McMahon in a Steel Cage match

It is WrestleMania! Time for Shane McMahon to jump off something high and attempt to mount credible offense against someone he has no business being in the ring with! Stop me if you have heard this one before.

Prediction: Winner, Braun Strowman

Sasha Banks (c) vs. Bianca Belair in a singles match for the WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship

The only bright side about this match is that it is the only women’s singles match on the card.

Prediction: This match is going to suck

Cesaro Vs. Seth Rollins

I have always felt that WrestleMania needs more matches like these on the card. No-gimmick singles matches that are based on a grudge and nothing else. It gives the competitors a chance to tell a unique story and showcase their skills.

Both superstars in this match are at an interesting crossroads in their individual careers. Cesaro has been a constant under-achiever as a singles competitor, and this is his first singles WrestleMania match. Seth Rollins was on a roll with his “Monday Night Messiah” gimmick, but that appears to have been taken away from him. He kept the look but not the personality which makes no sense at all. Even still, Rollins is one of the best in-ring competitors the WWE has on the roster today and he should be able to carry Cesaro in this match.

Prediction: Winner, Seth Rollins

Bobby Lashley (c) (with MVP) vs. Drew McIntyre in a singles match for the WWE Championship

This is an intriguing matchup of two superstars who took long and difficult trajectories to a championship match at WrestleMania.

Drew McIntyre had poor timing for his first WrestleMania moment as it took place in a taped match at the WWE Performance Center with no fans in attendance. He likely would have gotten a huge pop from a live crowd if there were fans in attendance. He spent most of the following calendar year as champion without performing in front of a live crowd. This match finally gives him a chance to reconnect with a live audience since his ascension to the top.

Bobby Lashley was the other feel-good story during the pandemic, having won his first ever major WWE championship at age 44 in March. The WWE is doing everything it can to muddy his creative waters since then. At the time of his win, he was presented as a vicious mauler who had to chase down a cowardly Miz and ragdoll him to win the championship. He was surrounded by a stable that supported his aura and was on top of the wrestling world.

In the ensuing weeks, he flipped to being a cowardly heel by putting out a “bounty” on Drew McIntyre, then his stable inexplicably broke up. I do not know how this helps build a WrestleMania match, but I believe that these two veterans will still step it up when the bell rings and bring the house down.

Prediction: Winner and still WWE Champion, Bobby Lashley

Filed Under: WWE Tagged With: AJ Styles, Bad Bunny, Bobby Lashley, Braun Strowman, Cesaro, Damian Priest, Drew McIntyre, John Morrison, Omos, Seth Rollins, Shane McMahon, The Miz, The New Day, WrestleMania, WWE

WrestleMania 36 Postscript

April 6, 2020 by njnonconformist Leave a Comment

The most unusual WrestleMania ever featured an unforgettable Boneyard Match between The Undertaker and AJ Styles

Vince McMahon and the WWE managed to defy the odds and stage WrestleMania 36, despite overwhelming regulatory pressure across America to avoid unnecessary work and remain socially distant. The die-hard fan in me says that WrestleMania is necessary and must go on at all costs. But I’ll leave it up to my readers to decide if it was a wise decision to go ahead with it, given the potential risks to the performers, production staff, anybody they came in contact with, and society as a whole.

The WWE did the best they could under the circumstances, but it is nearly impossible to put on a credible professional wrestling show without a live audience in the stands to react to what they are seeing and hearing in the ring. Two nights of fan-less WrestleMania started to fall a little flat by Sunday.

It was the most obvious during the final match of Sunday night between Brock Lesnar and Drew McIntire. This was a championship match in a WrestleMania main event that was made up of almost all finishing moves and not much else. Under normal circumstances, the fans would have popped for the finishers and each subsequent false finish, finally exploding when the emerging hero Drew McIntire finally got the pin and took home the gold. But with silence in the building, the match came across as underwhelming and lacked excitement. That exact same match in front of 80,000 fans would have appeared to be much different.

It wasn’t all a wash, there were some fun moments, and some interesting spots that wouldn’t have happened in front of a live crowd. You could hear what the wrestlers and their entourage members were saying, like when Paul Heyman said to Lesnar: “He’s good, you have to hit him again!” And the wrestlers were able to make creative use of the props in the WWE performance center.

If I had to grade the show overall, I’d give it a “B”, but I’d give Saturday night an “A” and Sunday night a “C”. Saturday night was a bit more compact, and it featured a very good match between Kevin Owens and Seth Rollins. And of course, the main event Boneyard Match between The Undertaker and AJ Styles stole the show and will go down as one of the best WrestleMania matches of all time.

Sunday was a big more lackluster overall, not just because of the lackluster main event. It also featured another cinematic match between Bray Wyatt and John Cena which didn’t work as well as the Boneyard Match on Saturday. In their Firefly Funhouse Match, there wasn’t much of a match at all, but a satirical and bizarre career retrospective of both individuals that ended without much wrestling or fighting at all. I see what the WWE was trying to do there, but it just didn’t work all that well.

Sunday also featured the Last Man Standing match between Randy Orton and Edge. The match went way too long, and in fact clocked in at the second longest WrestleMania match ever behind only the sixty-minute Iron Man match between Shawn Michaels and Brett “The Hitman” Hart at WrestleMania XII. As Causal Geekery points out, Last Man Standing matches are a creative trap to being with, they are an exercise in very long false finishes which try your patience. Which is more exciting, a kick out at two and 7/8ths, or someone who barely gets to his feet after an excessively long 9 count and then falls back down again? These two should have had an emotional and exciting match, instead all they did was hit each other over the head repeatedly and found ways to get up until Edge brained Orton with a Con-Chair-To to put the match out of its misery.

Per the norm, WrestleMania had its share of winners and losers. Some came out looking very good, others not so much.

Losers

Seth Rollins: Seth came into WrestleMania with an impressive 6-1 record, having recorded at least one victory in every WrestleMania he had competed in. Those aren’t exactly Undertaker-like stats, but they were nothing to sneeze at and something he could have used to build interest in future WrestleMania matches. That angle is now dead.
Charlotte Flair: Now that she’s the NXT champion, does that mean she’s demoted from the main brands? This never made any sense.
Brock Lesnar: He sure loses a lot of WrestleMania matches, doesn’t he? At what point does he lose his mystique as The Conqueror?
Goldberg: Why was he brought back again?
Bobby Lashley: Jobbing to Aelister Black has no upside.
Daniel Bryan: Lost a championship match in two straight WrestleMania’s. He needs to regain some momentum if he wants to finish his career out on top.
Dolph Ziggler: They finally put him on a WrestleMania card in a singles match, and he loses to Otis? And Otis gets the girl in the end? Oh man, just put Ziggler out of his misery already!
Randy Orton and Edge: Had a chance to put on a much better match than they did. Nobody told these veterans that “less is more”?

Winners

Kevin Owens: Seth Rollins’ loss is KO’s gain. He finally had his WrestleMania moment and can build off this.
Becky Lynch: Her match sucked, but she has her own Mack Truck!
Drew McIntyre: His WrestleMania moment lost a little something with no fans to enjoy it, but he still closed out WrestleMania with a championship win over Brock Lesnar, his journey to the top of the WWE is finally complete.
Braun Strowman: Let’s hear it for the guy who couldn’t ever seem to get to the top! After all these years in WWE, he won his first singles title in 2020, only to lose the Intercontinental Title very quickly. He had to replace Roman Reigns in a championship match against Goldberg with no buildup, and just like that he had his WrestleMania moment and walked out with the WWE Universal Championship!
Sami Zayn: His middling career finally includes a singles championship match victory.
Otis: This is the unlikeliest WrestleMania booking of them all. For a guy who is a rookie and a tag team specialist to get a singles win at WrestleMania is nearly unheard of. And he got the girl in the end, I guess I must admit that the guy has game!
AJ Styles and The Undertaker: All I can say about their match is “wow!” It was a masterpiece of the rarely utilized “Cinematic Wrestling” artform. The Undertaker has been justifiably criticized for hanging on for too long and putting on sub-par matches. But the creative editing in this non-traditional match made him look like a million bucks. AJ Styles was the perfect foil for this match. The guy knows how to be a heel, he cheats, he talks smack, and he begs for forgiveness right before he gets pummeled by the babyface. It was a movie and a wrestling clinic all in one, and it will be included in the list of greatest WrestleMania matches of all time. And it began and ended with “Now That We’re Dead” by the greatest band in the world, Metallica!

Moving forward, it is very hard to say what will happen next. Not because of the natural unpredictability of WWE storylines, but because the world is still in the throws of the COVID-19 crisis, and that directly impacts how and if the WWE can still generate content. Now that WrestleMania is over, safety is paramount, and we can only hope that the world returns to normal sometime soon and we can get back to enjoying Raw and Smackdown and WWE pay-per-views in front of packed arenas again. That would make the world seem normal again!

Filed Under: WWE Tagged With: AJ Styles, Bobby Lashley, Braun Strowman, Bray Wyatt, Brock Lesnar, Dolph Ziggler, Drew McIntyre, Edge, Goldberg, John Cena, Kevin Owens, Otis, Randy Orton, Sami Zayn, Seth Rollins, The Undertaker, WrestleMania, WWE

WrestleMania 36 Analysis and Predictions

April 4, 2020 by njnonconformist Leave a Comment

I hope you weren’t counting on Roman Regins to appear at this pandemic-influenced WrestleMania!

Amid a global pandemic that has shaken our reality to the core, WrestleMania weekend is here. By all accounts, the entire show was recorded on several closed sets well in advance of the weekend.

Professional wrestling is impossible to be “socially distanced”. Even a die-hard fan must wonder if the decision to go ahead with WrestleMania was a wise one, even with all the limitations that were placed on the event. Vince McMahon has a pretty shady past to begin with. In 1983, he helped Jimmy Snuka beat criminal charges for the murder of Nancy Argentino. He proceeded to do business with Saudi Arabia in the face of overwhelming evidence that their royal family had a man tortured and killed. You can almost hear him in a boardroom at WWE headquarters in Connecticut telling what’s left of his management team: “Dammit, I’m not going to let this coronavirus get in the way of what’s best for business, dammit!” Whatever you think of Vince or decision, we now have two nights of WrestleMania to watch, and there isn’t much else to do! Might as well tune in and try to enjoy it.

Against the backdrop of COVID-19, WrestleMania 36 had to be adapted radically, and it is going to look much different than what we are used to. First off, as I mentioned, it had to be stretched into two nights to cover for the loss of the traditional surrounding events such at the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony and NXT Takeover. Second, number of competitors in matches has been limited, likely due to social distancing measures. Gone are the Battle Royals. Third, there will be no special guest appearances by non-WWE talent like we’ve seen in the past. No Joan Jett, Flo Rida, or Living Color to play superstar entrance themes.

But the most obvious difference of them all is that there won’t be any fans in attendance. It is hard to imagine professional wrestling taking place in front of an empty arena. It is a performance art that completely depends on fan reactions, and it feels empty and meaningless without a live audience to react what is said and done in the ring. This is going to put extra pressure on the performers themselves to figure out how to entertain a television audience that they can’t see or hear.

The one interesting thread outside of the announced matches is the inclusion of Rob Gronkowski as WrestleMania host. Gronkowski recently flamed out of the NFL because he was no longer able to perform at an elite level. The WWE saw something in him and signed him to a contract. I’d presume the original intent of his WrestleMania involvement was to have him get involved in a match leading to his first feud in WWE as a wrestler. Now he’s on double duty so we’ll see where it leads.

At the time of this writing, there are sixteen (!) matches planned across two nights. Of course, this means that there are too many active competitors on the WWE main rosters, and there is no way to hold an audience captive for long enough to watch all of them. I suggest using the women’s matches to get up and stretch. You won’t miss much, and it will help you concentrate on the better matches.

On to the predictions!

Kevin Owens vs. Seth Rollins in a singles match

Who is better on WWE programming right now than Kevin Owens and Seth Rollins? These guys could be in a professional wrestling textbook chapter about how to get a classic good guy versus bad guy feud over with the fans.

The “Monday Night Messiah” cuts one of the best promos in WWE right now. And he sports an impressive WrestleMania record of 6-1. His only loss occurred at WrestleMania 31, but he went on to score a win later that same night anyway. Kevin Owens missed WrestleMania last year due to injury and does not have a signature WrestleMania moment in his career. He’s going to look to change that this weekend against Rollins. This match could steal the show, which ever night it’s on.

Prediction: Winner, Seth Rollins

The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford) (c) vs. Austin Theory and Angel Garza (with Zelina Vega) in a tag team match for the WWE Raw Tag Team Championship

This should be a decent filler match. The Street Profits are hot right now, and Austin Theory, who was called up from NXT to replace the unavailable Andrade, are all motivated to put on a good WrestleMania match.

Prediction: Winners and new WWE Raw Tag Team Champions, Austin Theory and Angel Garza

Rhea Ripley (c) vs. Charlotte Flair in a singles match for the NXT Women’s Championship

After headlining WrestleMania 35 last year, Charlotte Flair finds herself in one of the biggest WrestleMania main event demotions since what happened to King Kong Bundy at WrestleMania III. She’s competing for the minor league title against a fledgling competitor that isn’t ready for the Raw or Smackdown stage, let alone WrestleMania.

Prediction: This match is going to suck

Becky Lynch (c) vs. Shayna Baszler in a singles match for the WWE Raw Women’s Championship

See the notes about the Charlotte Flair match above, Becky is in the same boat. It’s hard to understand why this happened to the women’s division year over year, but it probably has something to do with the fact that it is highly overrated and was not ready to headline WrestleMania 35 to begin with.

Prediction: This match is going to suck

Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Drew McIntyre in a singles match for the WWE Championship

Drew McIntyre is the feel-good story headed into WrestleMania. His tale of being fired, re-dedicating himself, and making his way to the top of the WWE card has been told ad nauseum in the run up to this main event. This may seem like an organic storyline, the underdog that the crowd supported because they recognized his talent and effort, who was rewarded by the WWE with a WrestleMania main event appearance. But it really isn’t.

Brock Lesnar is the face of the WWE. He is the special attraction that sells tickets and draws ratings when he appears sparingly on WWE events. Drew McIntyre is nowhere near Lesnar’s league, and Lesnar is going to make very short work of him on his way to a big WrestleMania win.

Prediction: Winner and still WWE Champion, Brock Lesnar

Goldberg (c) vs. Braun Strowman in a singles match for the WWE Universal Championship

Talk about COVID-19 wreaking havoc on the WrestleMania card. First off, the WWE makes the ridiculous decision to have Goldberg come out of nowhere to squash The Fiend Bray Wyatt to set up a WrestleMania match between Goldberg and Roman Reigns. Never mind that the WWE spent a year building up Wyatt to be an unstoppable force, only to completely undo the whole thing by having him completely job to Goldberg at a match in Saudi Arabia. I guess they didn’t believe in Wyatt’s ability to sell tickets to WrestleMania, so they had to fall back to an ancient relic with better name recognition to fill that spot.

That match was designed to make Goldberg look strong headed into his WrestleMania main event against Reigns. There was a brief in-person faceoff between Goldberg and Reigns to set up the feud. But due to circumstances believed to be related to the COVID-19 pandemic, Reigns backed out of WrestleMania very late in the production cycle. Therefore, the WWE was forced to substitute Braun Strowman in Reigns’ place with no time to build up any storyline whatsoever. A situation like this is unprecedented in the WrestleMania era, no main event has ever been changed during WrestleMania weekend.

This is a bit of a curveball which makes the outcome of the match difficult to predict. It’s hard to believe that the WWE would elevate Strowman to champion out of nowhere. It’s also hard to believe that Goldberg is going to stick around for long as the champion when it appears that his job was simply to headline WrestleMania, hand the title to Reigns, and then fade away. It’s anyone’s guess, but I’ll make one anyway.

Prediction: Winner and still WWE Universal Champion, Goldberg

John Cena vs. “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt in a Firefly Fun House match

Bray Wyatt was a lost cause in the WWE, having not lived up to his full potential. The WWE pulled him off television, repackaged him as The Fiend, and a star was born. He became WWE champion and appeared to be on his way to a WrestleMania main event when he was inexplicably destroyed by Goldberg and lost the strap.

Even more inexplicable than that, the next night instead of challenging Goldberg to a rematch, he challenged John Cena to a WrestleMania match. This is a rematch of their WrestleMania XXX match that Cena won. It was a creative misstep to have Cena beat Wyatt at that time, and that sent Wyatt into his spiral of almost always losing big matches.

With the character of The Fiend all but ruined after his loss to Goldberg, it’s hard to care very much about him. But he is going to continue to be a full timer in the WWE while Cena will likely leave after WrestleMania to return to his acting career. Logic seems to dictate that Wyatt will take this victory under those circumstances.

Nobody knows exactly what a Firefly Fun House match is, or how someone wins it. To watch how that unfolds should be an interesting development.

Prediction: Winner, “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt

Bayley (c) vs. Lacey Evans vs. Naomi vs. Sasha Banks vs. Tamina in a Fatal 5-Way Elimination match for the WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship

This match should be outlawed. Not because it violates social distancing standards, but because it looks terrible on paper, and will probably be even worse in practice.

Prediction: This match is going to suck.

Aleister Black vs. Bobby Lashley (with Lana) in a singles match

I have no idea where this match came from or why I should care. Bobby Lashley was doing some cool things in his “love triangle” program between himself, Lana, and Rusev. That program went away, Rusev is gone, and he’s now in a match that with the underwhelming Aleister Black, a guy with a cool entrance and not much else.

Prediction: Winner, Bobby Lashley

The Undertaker vs. AJ Styles in a Boneyard Match

After inexplicably being left off last year’s WrestleMania card, the greatest WrestleMania performer of all time is set to compete against veteran AJ Styles. The Undertaker made a surprise appearance at WWE Super Showdown in February to win the prestigious Tuwaiq Mountain Trophy, and to set up the feud with Styles for WrestleMania.

The Undertaker dropped his “deadman” gimmick for this feud as Styles called him out by his real name and referenced his wife Michelle McCool. Paradoxically, this is going to be a Boneyard Match, so you’d have to assume that The Undertaker is going to approach the situation with a hybrid “deadman” and “American Badass” persona. This should be one of the best matches on the card.

Prediction: Winner, The Undertaker

The Kabuki Warriors (Asuka and Kairi Sane) (c) vs. Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross in a tag team match for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship

Four of the worst performers on the main roster.

Prediction: This match is going to suck

The Miz and John Morrison (c) vs. The New Day (Big E and Kofi Kingston) vs. The Usos in a Triple Threat Ladder match for the WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship

It’s not WrestleMania without a ladder match, right? These are two of the best tag teams in the game today, along with the Miz and Morrison. It’s hard to understand why, when the talent roster is so stacked that the WWE brought back the highly overrated Morrison, but there are enough solid competitors in this match to carry him and make it entertaining. Hard to imagine a ladder match without crowd reactions, though.

Prediction: Winners and new WWE Smackdown Champions, The Usos

Elias vs. King Corbin in a singles match

Corbin is coming off one of the best programs of his career with his long-running feud with Roman Reigns. He’s among the best heels in the company right now and will be a formidable opponent for Elias. Both guys always carry themselves as if they have something to prove, so expect them to go the extra mile to put on a great match.

Prediction: Winner, King Corbin

Edge vs. Randy Orton in a Last Man Standing match

After a nine-year absence from the WWE due to what was thought to be a career ending neck injury, Edge shocked the Houston crowd at the Royal Rumble with his surprise entry into the match. At the time it was hard to imagine a better feel-good moment. Well, the even better feel-good moment happened the very next night when Randy Orton attacked his former friend in the ring and attempted to re-break Edge’s neck! And the best feel-good moment of them all was when Orton explained that he attacked Edge because he loved him and was for his own good!

As far as wrestling storylines go, it doesn’t get any better than this. Randy Orton is cutting the best promos of his life right now and this is guaranteed to be an emotional, knock-down, drag-out brawl. This match could stand as one of the main events, it has that kind of potential.

Prediction: Winner, Randy Orton

Sami Zayn (c) (with Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura) vs. Daniel Bryan (with Drew Gulak) in a singles match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship

There is a lot happening in this match. It is a bit overbooked with all the extra faction members that are involved. Zayn and Bryan are more than capable of carrying this match on their own. I don’t get where Drew Gulak even came from or who he is. It is an odd pairing that does nothing for Bryan. Nakamura and Cesaro are well past their WWE peaks and are running out the clock on their contracts at this point without much to offer anymore. I’m hoping the focus is just on Zayn and Bryan and they put on an entertaining match. Bryan always saves his best for WrestleMania and I expect this year to be no different.

Prediction: Winner and new WWE Intercontinental Champion, Daniel Bryan

Otis vs. Dolph Ziggler (with Mandy Rose) in a Singles match

Otis being booked in a singles match at WrestleMania is as unlikely as it gets. He is a tag team specialist and doesn’t have any memorable singles matches in the WWE at all. But the WWE saw something in him when it created the soap opera-like angle with his ill-fated romance with Mandy Rose. On the go-home Smackdown, a shadowy hacker revealed that Otis’ attempt at a date with Mandy Rose was sabotaged by a conspiracy between Sonya Deville and Dolph Ziggler.

This story is still being told, and its outcome is probably more interesting than the outcome of the match itself. The real prize isn’t winning the match, it’s Mandy Rose herself. One must hope that the outcome is for Dolph Ziggler to get her in the end, proving once and for all that nice guys finish last and chicks dig bad guys! Ziggler is a perennial under-achiever, this is a good opportunity for him to shine.

Prediction: Winner, Dolph Ziggler

That’s a lot of wrestling for two nights! Even a pre-produced and crowd-less WrestleMania is still going to be the best of the WWE. Enjoy the show and let me know what you think!

Filed Under: WWE Tagged With: AJ Styles, Aleister Black, Bobby Lashley, Braun Strowman, Bray Wyatt, Brock Lesnar, Daniel Bryan, Dolph Ziggler, Drew McIntyre, Edge, Goldberg, John Cena, Kevin Owens, Otis, Randy Orton, Rob Gronkowski, Roman Reigns, Sami Zayn, Seth Rollins, Street Profits, Undertaker, Vince McMahon, WrestleMania, WWE

WrestleMania 35 Analysis and Predictions

April 6, 2019 by njnonconformist 1 Comment

Myself with WWE Champion, The New Daniel Bryan and WrestleMania Axxess

East Rutherford, New Jersey will be the most important place in the world on Sunday! WrestleMania week is here! The excitement is in the air in my home state of New Jersey where WrestleMania 35 will be held at MetLife Stadium. There is no better tailgating scene in the NFL than at Giants and Jets games, and my crew and I are going to extend our parking lot grilling skills to WrestleMania.

There has almost never been a more peculiar time to be a WWE fan. Ratings for Raw have been at historic lows, despite the glut in talent from the NXT feeder system. There has never been a deeper WWE roster, but creatively, the WWE can’t seem to get out of its own way. In recognition of the low ratings and viewer apathy, Vince McMahon returned to WWE television and promised to shake things up. The shakeup included firing both general managers of Raw and Smackdown just to insert the McMahon family back as authority figures (because we’ve never seen that movie before), and promising a bunch of NXT call ups that either didn’t show up (what’s with that Lars Sullivan guy?) or completely failed to get over (EC3, I had such high hopes for you!).

But hey, WrestleMania 35 is here and there are at least 15 matches crammed into what will be a six-plus hour show. Time to get excited! We have title matches, battle royals, grudge matches, farewell matches, you name it! The possibilities are endless! We have no idea if The Undertaker, John Cena, or most oddly Kevin Owens are even going to be on the show. But if they do or they don’t, this card has all the makings of what can become a top-five-best WrestleMania of all time.

Since there are so many matches, unlike the WWE, I’m going to practice a little brevity with my blog and not take your entire day with it. But, if you are betting the matches offshore, you’ll want to take my predictions to the bank!

Special Attractions

Alexa Bliss is going to be the WrestleMania host. The way they’ve been playing things out on TV, she’s been more of a heel commissioner type by creating matches for superstars, rather than being a host. Either way, this is going to play out somehow, and will likely dictate the direction and finish of at least one match on the card.

Elias is going to put on a special musical performance. I expect him to insult the crowd and get interrupted, which perhaps will turn things into a spontaneous match.

Triple H. vs. Batista in a No Holds Barred match with Triple H’s career on the line

After having completely botching Batista’s last return to the WWE ahead of WrestleMania XXX, the WWE got this one exactly right. He’s back on a hot, reality-based, and emotional angle against his former mentor, Triple H. Of course, Triple H is the perfect foil for this type of angle, always able to get any kind of storyline over.

For the second straight WrestleMania at MetLife Stadium, Triple H’s career is on the line in a match. Unlike WrestleMania XXIX where he survived to see another day by defeating Brock Lesnar, don’t expect HHH to duplicate that feat. He has looked older and slower in recent years during his one-off matches, and he suffered a major injury when he last competed at WWE Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia last year. Time for the Cerebral Assassin, The King of Kings, The Game, whatever you wanna call him, to finally hang up his boots.

Prediction: Winner, Batista

Shane McMahon vs. The Miz in a Falls Count Anywhere match

Grudge matches don’t get much better than this. The rivalry between these two was built in a slow-burn angle that started with The Miz begging Shane to be his tag team partner so The Miz could make his dad proud of him. So, when the team failed, it set the stage for a masterfully executed heel turn by Shane when he attacked The Miz from behind in front of The Miz’s father.

The falls count anywhere stipulation was added to this match to accent McMahon’s talents as a stuntman. There will certainly be some big spot that includes him taking a death-defying leap and exploding through a large object at the bottom of his fall.

Prediction: Winner, Shane McMahon

Buddy Murphy (c) vs. Tony Nese in a singles match for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship

This match is a complete waste of time and shouldn’t be on the card. I wouldn’t know either guy if he bit me on the ass, and I’m betting you wouldn’t, either. Not gonna bother making a prediction for this match other than I’ll probably ride it out on the nacho stand line in MetLife Stadium.

Kurt Angle vs. Baron Corbin in Kurt Angle’s farewell match

Kurt Angle finished his career out well after his return to the WWE at WrestleMania 33. He’s a Hall of Famer and was featured in a high-profile WrestleMania match at WM 34. He’s going out on a high note with a feature farewell match at WrestleMania 35 against Baron Corbin.

This is a great spot for Baron Corbin, to be featured in Kurt Angle’s last match. He’s a great heel judging by the fan backlash against him being in this match. He knows he’s annoying and that people hate him, and he doesn’t care.

Wrestling tradition dictates that when someone leaves town, he puts the new guy over. It never fails.

Prediction: Winner, Baron Corbin

AJ Styles vs. Randy Orton

They’ve spent weeks on television trying to one-up the other on the microphone. There’s no gimmick, no titles on the line in this match. Just two of the best veteran professional wrestlers in the world in a heated grudge match. It will be a treat to watch them trying to one-up the other in the WrestleMania ring.

Prediction: Winner, Randy Orton

André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal

Ah, the refuge of the damned. The Sixth annual André The Giant Memorial Battle Royal, the match that exists to “get all the wrestlers on the card” and hasn’t really produced any memorable moments. It hasn’t helped any careers either.

It is unfortunate that Braun Strowman is stuck in this match. This guy never seems to have any luck when it comes to WrestleMania booking. He’s got some silly feud going with two guys from Saturday Night Live that nobody has ever heard of. And there are 27 other competitors in the match, none of whom are marquee names. Boring.

Prediction: Winner, Braun Strowman

Samoa Joe (c) vs. Rey Mysterio in a singles match for the WWE United States Championship

After a long wait, Samoa Joe finally gets a one-on-one matchup at WrestleMania. Joe is one the most dependable heels on the roster and he is good at getting any storyline over. This is a great spot for him to be in, and he should really be able to carry the inferior and undersized Rey Mysterio to an exciting match.

Prediction: Winner and still champion, Samoa Joe

Roman Reigns vs. Drew McIntyre

Roman Reigns isn’t going to be in a fifth straight WrestleMania main event and that is a good thing. He wasn’t any good before he went away to get treated for Leukemia. He didn’t improve during that time, but the human-interest story stemming from his cancer battle seems to have finally gotten him over with the fans. That’s a long way to go to get over!

Drew McIntyre is believed to be a future WWE champion by many. This is going to be the biggest match of his life, so expect him to deliver a brutal performance.

Prediction: Winner, Drew McIntyre

The Boss ‘n’ Hug Connection (Bayley and Sasha Banks) (c) vs. The Divas of Doom (Beth Phoenix and Natalya) vs. The IIconics (Billie Kay and Peyton Royce) vs. Nia Jax and Tamina in a fatal four-way tag team match for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship

The Boss ‘n’ Hug Connection is far and away the worst name for a tag team the WWE has ever come up with. I can’t even think of something that compares. Bayley has the poorest gimmick in the WWE. Just no to this whole thing.

Prediction: The team with the dumbest name wins

Bobby Lashley (c) vs. Finn Bálor in a singles match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship

Finn Bálor is a scrawny little twerp who smiles too much. His Demon King gimmick is lame and illogical. I don’t get what the big deal with this guy is. Bobby Lashley is the total package and has already participated in one of the highest profile WrestleMania matches of all time when he represented future WWE Hall of Famer Donald Trump. Bobby won his match, giving them the right to shave Vince McMahon’s head bald. Expect another big performance out of Lashley this Sunday.

Prediction: Winner and still champion, Bobby Lashley

WrestleMania Women’s Battle Royal

I love WrestleMania, but there are way too many matches on this card. If this match wasn’t on the show, not a single person in the world would think any less of WrestleMania.

The Revival (Dash Wilder and Scott Dawson) (c) vs. Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder in a tag team match for the WWE Raw Tag Team Championship

Hey, good for Hawkins and Ryder to be featured in a straight-up tag team match in a crowded card. They haven’t done anything to distinguish themselves lately, but hey, here’s a chance! Well, they’ll probably get smoked in a quick match, but you never know.

Prediction: Winners and still champions, The Revival

The Usos (Jimmy Uso and Jey Uso) (c) vs. Ricochet and Aleister Black vs. The Bar (Cesaro and Sheamus) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura and Rusev in a fatal four-way tag team match for the WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship

There’s a lot to unpack in this match. To summarize the most important things you need to know about it:

The Usos: Veteran tag team that only made their first main-card WrestleMania appearance last year, only to get squashed and lose the titles. They want to put on a better show this year.
Ricochet and Aleister Black: Recent NXT callups that were randomly made into a tag team. They are hot right now and have a great deal of upside.
Shinsuke Nakamura and Rusev: Why are these guys a team? In fact, why is Nakamura still in WWE and why is Rusev constantly cooling off every time he gets hot?
The Bar: After middling singles careers, these two have turned into one of the best tag teams we’ve ever seen.

Prediction: Winners and new champions, The Bar

Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Seth Rollins Singles match for the WWE Universal Championship

Big Brock Lesnar continues to dominate the competition on Monday Night Raw. That is, when he decides to show up! Much to the chagrin of most fans, a part-timer is WWE Universal Champion. Of course, none of them realize that there’s money in getting them to hate the guy, no matter what the reason.

As good as Seth Rollins is, expect Vince McMahon to continue to troll you all with a Lesnar win. He can then go on to defend the title the next time the WWE heads to Saudi Arabia this year.

Prediction: Winner and still champion, Brock Lesnar

The New Daniel Bryan (c) vs. Kofi Kingston in a singles match for the WWE Championship

After a three-year layoff due to a brain injury, Daniel Bryan has been firing on all cylinders since his return a year ago. Questions about his working style or the WWE’s commitment were quickly squashed when he became a heel champion in 2018. The WWE has never committed to him more than they have right now. Daniel Bryan is at his best when he works heel and is a breath of fresh air to see him shun his “Yes Chant” and trust in his ability to make the crowd hate him.

Kofi Kingston is playing out a role reversal with Daniel Bryan from Bryan’s lead in to WrestleMania XXX. The fans wanted Bryan to get a title shot so WWE creative asserted the storyline of him being labeled a “B+ player” who was being oppressed by the McMahon Family and had to earn his shot to main event WrestleMania.

Kofi caught lightning in a bottle in a gauntlet match on Smackdown that he wasn’t even supposed to be in. Filling in for the injured Ali, he put in a nearly hour long effort until finally losing to AJ Styles. After 11 years of toiling in the mid-card, Kofi was embraced by the fans who demanded that he get a title shot at WrestleMania. Since WWE creative had some time to kill, and apparently, they were out of new ideas, they replayed the exact same “B+ player who is being screwed by the McMahon Family” angle on Kofi. Of course, Kofi persevered, and now here he is in the biggest match of his life.

This match most certainly should be the best match of the night. These are two of the best workers on the roster, and for the first time in 11 years, Kofi will go from a B+ player to an A player. He’s still going to lose, though.

Prediction: Winner and still champion, The New Daniel Bryan

Ronda Rousey (c; Raw) vs. Charlotte Flair (c; SmackDown) vs. Becky Lynch Winner takes all triple threat match for both the WWE Raw Women’s Championship and the WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship

They said it couldn’t be done, but for the firs time in WWE history, women will headline the show in the main event. As my faithful readers now, I am no fan of what is formerly known as the “Diva’s Division”, having suffered years of sub-par bra-and-panties matches, and other waste of time segments of the like.

That was then and this is now, and the WWE has fully committed to making the Women’s Division equal to the Men’s Division. Although I’m still not really a fan of most of the division, I have to say that two of the best they have are in this match, in Ronda Rousey and Charlotte Flair.

I was convinced Rousey was going to absolutely suck when she burst onto the scene last year and I was surprised at how well she took to the business. Her promos are raw and personal, and she is a workhorse in the ring. I was initially interested in Charlotte Flair because she is Ric Flair’s daughter. But she went on to distinguish herself almost immediately and is an imposing figure in the ring.

I am not sold on Becky Lynch. She seems to have gotten over in the same manner as Daniel Bryan five years ago, and Kofi Kingston this year. Her performances aren’t the best, and she is going to be overshadowed by the other two superior performers in this match.

Even I must hand it to these three. From a division that was lucky to have one match on the WrestleMania card just six years ago, to the division that is in the main event, they certainly earned this opportunity. I’m not sure what to make of this match, and the crowd is going to be exhausted after sitting through fifteen matches prior to this one. The are going to have to bring their best in order to win over this crowd. Expect them to try something special that we won’t forget.

Prediction: Winner, and new double-champion, Charlotte Flair

That’s as brief as I could make it! I will see you at the show!

Filed Under: WWE Tagged With: AJ Styles, Alexa Bliss, André The Giant Memorial Battle Royal, Baron Corbin, Batista, Becky Lynch, Bobby Lashley, Brock Lesnar, Charlotte Flair, Curt Hawkins, Daniel Bryan, Drew McIntyre, Elias, Finn Bálor, John Cena, Kevin Owens, Kofi Kingston, Kurt Angle, Randy Orton, Rey Mysterio, Roman Reigns, Ronda Rousey, Samoa Joe, Seth Rollins, Shane McMahon, The Miz, The Revival, The Undertaker, Triple H, WrestleMania, WWE, Zach Ryder

Guest WrestleMania Spot

April 4, 2019 by njnonconformist Leave a Comment

by Ned Moraghan, special to The North Jersey Nonconformist

WrestleMania 35 is this weekend. This will be the fourth time I will be attending in person and the first that I’m taking my kids with me. I’m very much looking forward to going. I also am trying to figure out which matches I will remember years from now. At WrestleMania 18, it was Hogan vs Rock. Hogan was supposed to be heel but we were going to have none of it. We nearly willed Hogan to victory but he came up short. I still remember being exhausted at the end of the match. Of all the sporting events, concerts I’ve attended in my lifetime, I’ve never been a part of a crowd like that. For WrestleMania XX, both main events were awesome. I also vividly remember Lesnar vs Goldberg getting booed out of the building. Punk vs Taker stole the show at WrestleMania 29. The irony is that it’s Punk’s last WrestleMania match as well as the last match that Taker won in the Streak.

Now to figure out which matches have a chance of having that WrestleMania moment.

Angle vs Corbin – I’m very torn on this. I’ve following Angle’s career and been at some of his most memorable matches (first title win against the Rock, street fight against Shane, WrestleMania XX against Eddie). Angle’s matches were always must see. He was an Olympic gold medalist and picked up pro wrestling so easily. However, he’s now 50 and has definitely lost a step. This is his retirement match and he’s facing Baron Corbin. That is a huge disappointment. Ric Flair got HBK for his final match. HBK got Taker. I’m glad that I get to see his last match but I wish it was against a better opponent. Winner: Corbin.
Miz vs Shane – The Miz is right, he is must see TV. I’m not aware of any current wrestler that is better than the Miz both in the ring and on the mic. He gets Shane who is now 49. AJ Styles carried Shane to a decent Wrestlemania match. I believe that Miz can too. The falls count anywhere guarantees some crazy spot will happen, hopefully the rest of the match is good too. Winner: Miz
HHH vs Batista – Really don’t see the need for this match. Winner: HHH
Battle Royal(s) – The second year in a row they are wasting Braun Strowman. Hopefully they move him over to Smackdown to face Daniel Bryan. As for the women’s side, they have also wasted Asuka who can actually put on a decent match. Winners: Strowman and Asuka
Bryan vs Kofi – This match could steal the show. Both are great workers and here is Kofi’s first chance to shine on the grandest stage. Bryan’s heel turn has rejuvenated his career. I think Bryan hangs onto the title for a little bit longer. Winner: Bryan
Styles vs Orton – A sleeper pic for match of the night. Styles has put on some classic matches since joining WWE. I think Orton has one more classic still in him. Winner: Styles
Reigns vs McIntyre – I’m happy that Reigns has beaten leukemia. I’m also happy that Reigns is not in the main event this year. Raw is lacking some top heels. Hopefully, they let McIntyre become the monster heel. Winner: McIntyre.
Lesnar vs Rollins – Similar to Angle, I also in person for Lesnar’s first title win, also against the Rock. His part time status hurts more than helps. The Universal championship should be defended at every ppv and for years now that hasn’t happened. It’s time to let Rollins run with the title one more time. Winner: Rollins
Rousey vs Flair vs Lynch – the WWE has done a great job booking this match. The seeds were planted at Summerslam when Lynch beat the crap out of Flair after losing the title match. That was the spark that pushed this feud into high gear. SummerSlam was also Rousey’s first title win. I thought that Rousey was going to be the female equivalent of Angle. Unfortunately she is the female equivalent of Lesnar. One year in and she’s already burnt out. Lynch is going to win, the question is will it be the match of the night.

Filed Under: Guests, WWE Tagged With: AJ Styles, Batista, Becky Lynch, Brock Lesnar, Charlotte Flair, Daniel Bryan, Drew McIntyre, Kofi Kingston, Kurt Angle, Ned Moraghan, Randy Orton, Roman Reigns, Ronda Rousey, Shane McMahon, The Miz, Triple H, WrestleMania, WWE

WrestleMania Saturday

WrestleMania Sunday

WrestleMania Saturday

WrestleMania Sunday

by Ned Moraghan, special to The North Jersey Nonconformist

WrestleMania 42