Light & Magic S2 E1

“Are We Ready For This?”

The Light & Magic documentary series got an unexpected second season as it showed up with three episodes on Disney +. I enjoyed the initial season of this documentary, so I figured this would be a good series to add to the watchlist.

The story of Industrial Light & Magic, or ILM, is an fascinating tale of movie making and the way they took the business on an entirely new path.

This was around the time that George Lucas was preparing to create the prequels, the infamous films that were the pre-story of Star Wars, featuring Obi-Wan and Anakin Skywalker. Lucas did not want to start work on prequels until he believed that IBM was ready to create the digital work that he thought the movies needed.

The beginning of the doc included discussion on Caspar and Dragonheart. The episode indicated that once Lucas saw Dragonheart, he knew ILM was ready for The Phantom Menace.

They spent a good chunk of the doc on the creation of Jar Jar Binks. One of the most divisive characters in Star Wars, Lucas believed that Jar Jar was one of the most important pieces of the puzzle and that the film would not work if they did not nail Jar Jar. Such an interesting comment for a character that so many Star Wars fans hated.

They also discussed the pod racing scenes and how George saw these.

Whether I was a fan of these movies or not, the technology created and used on these films revolutionized the industry without a doubt. I am intrigued to hear the stories of the making of the prequels moving forward.

All three episodes of this documentary dropped on Disney +.

Wrestlemania 41 Weekend: The Raw After Mania

The Wrestlemania weekend continued tonight on Monday Night Raw, which has become known as the Raw After Mania. It is a night where they reset stories, debuts some new talents and have a general amount of chaos.

John Cena spoke about his plans to leave with the belt after his final 27 dates scheduled. I’m still not sure how this was going to “ruin wrestling” as he claimed. We saw the next opponent for Cena as Randy Orton gave him a RKO out of nowhere.

Rusev made his return after five years and attacked the Alpha Academy, who were getting ready to take on the New Day. Rusev looked really great.

Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez regained the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship by defeating Lyra Valkyria and Becky Lynch. Afterwards, Becky flipped out and attacked Lyra. Did not seem to be the same person who went to the press conference last night after night two with her daughter on her lap.

Iyo Sky came out to celebrate her World title defense and she was interrupted by NXT Women’s Champion Stephanie Vaquer, who wanted to congratulate Iyo and fight her. Then we got an impromptu match between them. They are two of the best women wrestlers in the world and they were having an awesome match until they were disrupted by Roxanne Perez and Giulia, resulting in a DQ.

Dirty Dom, the new IC Champion, pinned Penta. Yes, I typed that. There was interference from a returning JD McDonagh, but still. Of course, I would have hated to see how the crowd would have turned on Penta if the WWE would have done the one-day title reign to Dom.

Jey Uso came out to celebrate and Sami Zayn joined him. I was afraid that Sami was going to turn heel on Jey the entire time they were out there, but it did not happen. I do not want heel Sami. He is just too good of a babyface.

Gunther took this celebration badly as he was there after the commercial, confronting Michael Cole for comments Cole had made. He put Michael in the sleeper, but Pat McAfee broke it up. Then, Gunther grabbed Pat and choked him out while a bunch of security and backstage people tried to get him to stop. Pat sold this like he had been nearly killed.

Bron Breakker joined up with Seth Rollins and Paul Heyman and they destroyed CM Punk and Roman Reigns as the show went off the air.

The X-Files S9 E4

Spoilers

“4-D”

The multiverse comes to the X-Files.

This was an interesting and confusing episode as it started off with Monica Reyes having her throat cut, and Doggett getting shot, but returned from commercial with Monica at home and Doggett there with her.

Skinner called her and told her that Doggett had been shot.

How many times does Doggett die in this series? This is at least the second time.

Monica Reyes came up with the theory from out of nowhere. It was the kind of theory that Fox Mulder would have pulled out.

This was an interesting idea but the overall execution was at best okay.

The Last of Us S2 E2

Spoilers

“Through the Valley”

I can’t believe it.

I was aware of Joel’s fate in general from the video game, but I knew no specifics. So as this was being set up, I was in denial. I was sure that they had planned on extending Pedro Pascal’s part longer into season two because of how huge of a star he had become.

Nope. Episode two and Joel is dead.

Honestly, right up until the end, before Abby drove that broken golf club into Joel’s neck, I thought he was getting out of it, somehow. I never played the game so I was unaware that this was setting up a scene that was straight out of the game.

Ellie held on the ground, screaming for mercy for the man who was like a father to her was heartbreaking, and I know that there are extenuating circumstances behind the vengeance of Abby, but I want her dead… just so dead.

Joel had saved her life earlier in the episode as she had been chased by the Infected and was about to be caught when Joel appeared from nowhere to stop it. The whole chase scene with Abby and the Infected, as well as the crawling beneath the collapsing fence, was just suspenseful.

Before this tragic event, the Infected crashing into the city and causing such a tremendous amount of loss. The standoff with Tommy and the Bloater was intense as you get on TV. I thought Tommy was a goner, but he was able to make it through, thankfully.

Bella Ramsey was amazing in this episode. They are absolutely setting up Ellie and Abby as similar characters for future face off. Historically, heroes and villains are like the other side of the same coin. This feels like the show is building a hero/villain archetype.

Wrestlemania 41 Weekend: Night Two

Night Two of Wrestlemania 41 was considerably stronger than night one. There may not have been anything quite like Punk-Rollins-Reigns match, but there were a couple that came close.

John Cena won his 17th championship when he defeated Cody Rhodes with help from Travis Scott and by hitting Cody with the title.

The crowd in Las Vegas was much better tonight than they were Saturday. They were in the matches all night. However, some of their reactions were weird. They cheered for Cena. They booed Cody. They cheered wildly when Dom Mysterio became the new Intercontinental Champion. The crowd was bizarre.

The triple threat match with Bianca-Rhea and Iyo Sky was an amazing match to kick off the show. Iyo won and retained, and I am so happy about that. She had been shown as a third wheel of the build for this match and it seemed as if there was a lot of disrespect for Iyo. The crowd did love her, and her big victory was awesome. This is in the conversation for Match of the Year when December comes around.

I am also happy Drew McIntyre won the Street fight with Damian Priest. However, it looked liek Damian was injured. They apparently carted him off after the match, off camera.

Logan Paul defeated AJ Styles cleanly (for the most part). That was a sad moment of the night, though it was a really strong match.

Somebody must have said his name… because Joe Hendry answered the Randy Orton challenge. Of course, the TNA World Champion was defeated by the RKO, but Joe Hendry got a really great response from the crowd. It was short and sweet, but it was fun. Randy liked Joe Hendy’s theme song too, you could tell.

Becky Lynch returned as Lyra Valkyria’s partner and they became WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions by defeating Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez.

I had heard some rumors that they might be considering putting the IC title on Dominik Mysterio, but I never thought they would do it. Yet, it happened when he hit a frog splash on Finn Balor. Bron Breakker was not involved in the final, and he looked like a phenomenon during this match.

The whole cheering Dirty Dom blows my mind. I do not know where it came from. Same way the boos for Cody seemed to just materialize.

Night two was really great.

Best matches of the weekend (Not necessarily in this order)

  1. Rollins vs. Punk vs. Reigns
  2. Oba Femi vs. Je’Von Evans vs. Trick Williams
  3. Rhea vs. Iyo vs. Bianca

What We Do in the Shadows S1 E10

Spoilers

“Ancestry”

The first season of What We Do in the Shadows wrapped up with episode 10 called “Ancestry.” Guillermo does some DNA testing on the vampires and himself to see what their ancestry would be. Guillermo discovered some interesting facts.

One, Nandor had 200,000 living descendants. This included one living descendant in Staten island. Nandor wanted to go see her and she turned out to be 94 years old. The sight of Nandor floating outside her window led directly to her death.

And two, that Guillermo was a descendant of Van Helsing, the well-know vampire killer, leading Guillermo to question everything about his life. Especially since he “accidentally” killed two vampires in the recent episodes. The idea that Guillermo, Nandor’s familiar is actually related to Van Helsing is a really funny idea.

What was also funny was how Nandor, Laszlo, and Nadja, along with Colin, attended Nandor’s granddaughter’s funeral… inside a church. The vampires were in the back literally smoking and catching on fire. When Nandor sent Guillermo for water to put him out, he accidentally brought holy water, which burned him all the more.

The first season of What We Do in the Shadows was really funny and enjoyable. I do believe, moving forward with this show, I will be doing a binge day for the remaining five season, where I take the entire season and binge them in a day, doing a wrap up write-up at the end of the season.

The Studio S1 E5

Spoilers

“The War”

Quinn and Sal are at war with one another over the director for a blatant rip-off of the Smile movie franchise called Wink. They go to all sorts of shenanigans to make the other one look bad until there is a dramatic and terrifying burrito accident.

The Studio is such fun show and, while I know this is a parody of the behind the scenes events that occur at a movie studio, I have this feeling that there is more truth to the episode than fiction, and that it is just turned up to a higher volume.

This episode featured Chase Sui Wonders as Quinn and Ike Barinholtz as Sal as Seth Rogan is more around the outside of the episode. We see him, but he is not the center of the chaos as he has been for the first four episodes. Several other cast members such as Catharine O’Hara and Kathryn Hahn are missing completely.

The show is very funny and I do like how it is willing to put Seth Rogan off to the side with confidence that the episode would still turn out great. The Studio is one more excellent series from Apple TV and I am glad I started with it.

Doctor Who S2 E2

Spoilers

“Lux”

What a clever episode.

What a meta episode.

I loved this one.

1952. It is Miami. A group of people disappear after a strange cartoon comes out of the theater screen and does something to them. It is terrifying.

The Doctor and Belinda have to take on Mr. Ring-a-Ding, another of the Pantheon. Mr. Ring-a-Ding is voiced by Alan Cummings.

I was surprised that the secondary characters were so intricate even though they did not get as much screen time. The conflict from Reginald Pi is beautiful. I loved the Doctor Who fans as well. I found the fans so strangely emotional.

The writing is spectacular with so many film language weaved into the story. They had an animated section that was really excellent too. I loved how the Doctor referred to himself as Thelma (with the Scooby Doo references).

I thought the use of the segregation allusions were well done and made a lot of sense. I also liked how the Doctor understood this before Belinda realized the issue.

I have never seen “Blink.” Perhaps I should watch it. I hear it is a great episode.

Sunday Morning Sidewalk #13

Spoilers

“Dream a Little Dream of Me”

Happy Easter. Happy 4:20. Happy Wrestlemania weekend.

There is a lot going down today. It is also Sunday Morning Sidewalk #13, the third episode of the first (and only?) season of Netflix’s The Sandman, entitled “Dream a Little Dream of Me.”

Morpheus was in search of his items and he started with the pouch of sand that was in the possession of Constantine. That is Johanna Constantine, not John, by the way.

We also get the debut of a new raven, Matthew. This one is voiced by everyone’s favorite comic book geek, Patton Oswalt. Oswalt has appeared in Agents of SHIELD, voiced MODOK, Uncle Ben, Chameleon, The Atom, made an appearance as Pip the Troll and played himself in the Boys. He has also written comic books over the last several years. He has a ton of irons in the geek fire.

David Thewlis continued to be as sinister as could be as John Dee got himself out of the asylum he was living in thanks to his mom, Ethel Cripps. He immediately met up with The Corinthian, who gave him a coat. This pairing of villains are compelling and these two actors, Thewlis and Boyd Holbrook, are great.

This was another solid outing. I am pleased with what I saw this week. Week one, I was uncertain if I was going to enjoy this series, but the last two episodes have been very good so I hope we are on a entertaining path moving forward.

I guess the path we are on will lead to Hell as that is where Morpheus and Matthew were departing for as the episode closed.

Wrestlemania 41 Weekend: Night 1

Saturday Night at Wrestlemania 41 is in the books.

The main event, where Seth Rollins defeated Roman Reigns and CM Punk with the help of the Judas Paul Heyman, was a fantastic match.

The rest of the card, while nothing was egregiously bad, was okay, at best.

Jey Uso became the World Champion. Jacob Fatu became the US Champion. The New Day became the new World Tag Team Champions. Tiffany Stratton retained her title. El Grande Americano defeated Rey Fenix, who replaced the injured Rey Mysterio. Jade Cargill defeated Naomi. This was all fine. The Stratton/Flair match was pretty rough. Cargill and Naomi was pretty good.

The main event is absolutely the standout match of the night. Roman Reigns is just an amazing performer as his facial expressions are so good that they add so much to the match. Paul Heyman betrayed CM Punk first, with a nut shot. Then he betrayed Roman with another one. Paul Heyman aligned himself with Seth Rollins. Many had predicted that this is what was going to happen (including me at the EYG predictions) but to actually see it play out is surreal. The evil look on the face of Heyman as he and Rollins went up the aisle was chilling.

The crowd was great for the main event and for the opening match with Uso/Gunther, but were pretty dead the rest of the way.

I was 5-2 in the first night. I missed the LA Knight match and the Tiffany match.

Sunday night is next up.

Wrestlemania 41 Weekend: NXT Stand and Deliver

  • NXT Championship: Oba Femi vs. Trick Williams vs. Je’Von Evans
  • NXT Women’s Championship: Stephanie Vaquer vs. Giulia vs. Jordynne Grace vs. Jaida Parker
  • Women’s North American Championship: Zaria vs. Kelani Jordan vs. Sol Ruca vs. Izzi Dame vs. Lola Vice vs. Thea Hail
  • North American Championship: Ricky Saints vs. Ethan Page
  • NXT Tag Team Championship: Nathan Frazer & Axiom vs. Hank Walker & Tank Ledger
  • The D’Angelo Family vs. Darkstate
  • Fatal 4-Way Elimination Match to determine the #1 contender for the WWE Women’s Tag titles: Jackson & Lash Legend vs. Fallon Henley & Jacy Jayne vs. Gigi Dolin & Tatum Paxley vs. Cora Jade & Roxanne Perez (pre-show)

Gigi Dolin & Tatum Paxley won the Fatal 4-Way.

Tank and Hank defeated Fraxiom for the NXT Tag Team Championship

Ricky Saints defeated Ethan Page to retain North American Championship.

Sol Ruca won the Women’s North American Championship in ladder match

Darkstate defeated D’Angelo Family when Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo turned on The Don.

Stephanie Vaquer retained her NXT Women’s Championship

Oba Femi retained his NXT Championship.

At least two Match of the Year contenders in this event, with the match between Oba Femi, Trick Williams and Je’Von Evans being astounding. The second MotY contender is the tag match between Hank and Tank and Fraxiom. Absolutely breathtaking.

All of the matches were excellent though. Another wonderful Stand and Deliver from NXT.

EYG Comic Cavalcade #149

April 19

Welcome back to the EYG Comic Cavalcade with issue #149. This week, I was able to purchase my final two issues of Groo the Wanderer, #114 & 115, which completed the series of Marvel/Epic Comics run, #1-120. I have been searching for these for about a year and a half, and I was able to complete it off eBay this week.

I also picked up a bunch of the Zdarsky Comic News issues. These were fun and were free! That made me very please and I liked the format.

And happy Superman Day everyone! I have never been a huge fan of Superman, but I do respect him and think that he could be done well with the proper writer. There were several freebies on Superman Day and a reprint of All-Star Superman #1 with the most beautiful foil cover.

Books this week:

Ghost Man #1. Written, drawn and cover art by Raymar Brunson. I have been searching for this for a month or so. It has been so tough that I was starting to believe that this was just a rumor. Todd checked in Des Moines and some of those shop owners had never heard of it. I finally saw it on eBay, but it was over 30 dollars and that was too much for me. I found another one at a much more reasonable level and I bought it. Then on Friday, it arrived. It existed! And it was great.

X-Factor #9. “Lost Causes.” Written by Mark Russell and art by Bob Quinn. Cover art was done by Greg Land & Frank D’Armata (Bronze Medalist). This is the penultimate issue of this series, which is ending with issue 10. What does this issue give us? More Granny Smite! I love Granny Smite! Oh, there is some Archangel too.

Sam Wilson: Captain America #4. “Better Angels Part 4” Written by Greg Pak & Evan Narcisse and penciled by Chris Campana. Taurin Clarke did the cover art. With floating cities above most black cities of the Marvel Universe, Sam and his crew look to stop Eaglestar. Thunderbolt Ross is here too. What happens when he becomes the Red Hulk?

Exceptional X-Men #8. Written by Eve L. Ewing and art by Carmen Carnero. Cover art was done by Carmen Carnero & Nolan Woodard. Mister Sinister is here. Trouble is in the leaves for these characters.

Summer of Superman #1. “The Past, the Present the Future.” Written by Mark Waid, Dan Slott and Joshua Williamson with art by Jorge Jimenez, Belen Ortega and Dan Mora. Variant cover art by Alexander Lozano. I only picked this up because of the cool Supergirl cover, but I read the story and I really enjoyed it. These are three immensely talented writers on this special so I can understand why this worked for me.

Superior Avengers #1. “The Everlasting Gaze“. Written by Steve Foxe and art by Luca Maresca with Kyle Hotz. Cover art by R.B. Silva & Jesus Aburtov. Variant cover art by Joshua Cassara (Silver medalist). Doctor Doom needed an Avengers squad and he found a bunch of alternate universe “heroes” to form this group. Fun group.

Buried Long, Long Ago #1. Written by Anthony Cleveland and art and cover art by Alex Cormack. Mad Cave has been on fire lately and this is another new and fantastic book from this comic company. It was dark and disturbing, and I loved it.

Spectacular Spider-Men #14. “Home and Hearth.” Written by Greg Weisman and art by Andres Genolet. Cover art was done by Mark Bagley & Edgar Delgado. Peter and Miles have to take on the Lizard to help out the Connors family.

Wolverine #8. Two stories written by Saladin Ahmed and drawn by Martin Coccolo. A third story written and drawn by Daniel Warren Johnson. Cover art by Martin Coccolo & Bryan Valenza. This is the Legacy number 400 of Wolverine as the war with Adamantine continued. I was also sad as the new Wendigo, aka Lawrence, was cured. I liked the new Wendigo and I was sorry to see him go even though it was nice to see the kid overcome his curse.

Godzilla vs. the Hulk #1. Written by Gerry Duggan and art by Giuseppe Camuncoli. Cover art was done by Lee Garbett (Gold Medalist). Ever wonder what a Gamma-powered Godzilla might be like? Wonder no more! I am not a huge fan of this version of the Hulk, but he is always awesome against other massive monsters.

World’s Finest #38. “Chapter One: Superior Species.” Written by Mark Waid and art by Clayton Henry. Variant cover B by Adrian Gutierrez & Matt Herms. This is the first issue of the World’s Finest/Justice League Unlimited crossover. We face off with Gorilla Grodd in this issue. Grodd takes over Superman’s mind. That is a bad thing.

Ultimate Wolverine #4. Written by Chris Condon and art by Alessandro Cappuccio. Cover art was done by Alessandro Cappuccio & Frank Martin. This was a fascinating issue with most of the issue using a wolf battling a bear. However, it is more than what it looked like. This has been a solid Ultimates book so far.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #8. “Fighting our Way to Nowhere.” Written by Jason Aaron and art by Juan Ferreyra. Variant cover B art by Kevin Eastman. This Jason Aaron run on TMNT has been spectacular. It is so full of character development and interactions between the Turtles themselves. This issue featured Donnie and Leo mainly.

Redcoat #11. Creators are Geoff Johns & Bryan Hitch. Cover art was done by Bryan Hitch & Brad Anderson. Redcoat continues to be one of the best reads of the month. This issue brought us a tale during the Civil War and we see the debut of the Northerner.

Absolute Flash #2. “Of Two Worlds Part Two” Written by Jeff Lemire with the art and cover art by Nick Robles. This Absolute book, after just two issues, may be my favorite of the Absolute books from DC. I love the look of the book with the art and the design of each panel and Jeff Lemire is one of the best writers in comics.

Challengers of the Unknown #5. “Rock & a Hard Place.” Written by Christopher Cantwell with art by Sean Izaakse & Amancry Nahuelpan. Cover art by Sean Izaakse & Romulo Fajarod Jr. This short series of the Challengers came to a close as the mystery of what was happening was revealed… sort of.

Sister Imperator #2. Script by Corinna Bechko and art by Puste. Cover art was done by Mikael Eriksson. This new Dark Horse book has been really good so far. What is it like to be fired out of a cannon at a circus? Here you go.

Iron Man #7. “Bow Down to your Doom.” Written by Spencer Ackerman and art by Julius Ohta. Cover art was done by Yasmine Putri. Tony Stark is trying to do what he could to prevent Dr. Doom from continuing to control the world. Victorious showed up here too.

Daredevil: Unleash Hell #4. Written by Erica Schultz and penciled by Valentina Pinti & Jose Luis Soares. Cover art done by Paulo Siqueiro & Rachelle Rodriguez. Elektra vs. dark Elektra. Muse vs. Muse. This one has all kinds of conflict.

Other books this week: The Hive #3, Web of Venomverse: Fresh Brains #1, Mine is a Long, Lonesome Grave #3, Zatanna #3, Power Man: Timeless #3, Frankenstein New World: The Sea of Forever #2, The New Gods #5, and Arkham Horror #4.

Wrestlemania 41 Weekend: Hall of Fame

The Hall of Fame ceremony was scheduled this year in Las Vegas and they were having it a couple of hours later than Smackdown. That meant it was going to start on Peacock at midnight, my time. I know how long the Hall of Fame ceremony can run, so I decided that I would watch this Saturday morning instead.

I am aware how some people online view the WWE Hall of Fame. They consider it a joke, lacking credibility. There is no brick and mortar Hall of Fame (which I wish they would have) and, for years, only one person admitted the inductees. Are there performers that I believe should have been inducted years ago? Of course (Demolition, Miss Elizabeth, Bam Bam Bigelow etc.) To all that criticism, I say that you can see the emotion in the wrestlers’ faces, eyes, tears… and it is clear that this honor means something to them. As far as I am concerned, that makes this an important event.

This year, the inductees included Triple H, Lex Lugar, Michelle McCool, and The Natural Disasters (Earthquake & Typhoon). Then, they inducted Ivan Koloff, Dory Funk Sr. and Kamala in the Legends wing.

It was kind of funny how long Triple H’s speech was. I’m sure he’ll catch some criticism online for that, but he was clearly emotional and grateful for his induction.

Best induction of the night: Easily Shawn Michaels, who was emotional, funny, and was given more time than some of the others. Shout out to CM Punk who inducted the Austin-Hart Wrestlemania 13 match. He did not have much time, but he was able to present the match with a lot of sincerity. You truly believed that Punk loved this match.

Best Speech of the night: Triple H’s was great, but I am giving it to Michelle McCool. She was really solid and thanked plenty of people during the time she was allotted.

Lookie there: I spotted Zack Ryder in the crowd! Of course Zack Ryder, real name Matt Cardona, is married to Chelsea Green, who is a current performer and would be required to be there.

Awkward Moment of the Night: Triple H thanked Vince, calling it “complicated.” You think?

Best Joke: Triple H said about how long he was talking said he was sure Shawn was fuming backstage because he had a call time for NXT Stand and Deliver in 15 minutes.

Ugh: Linda McMahon. Nuff said.

Wrestlemania Weekend: Smackdown

Friday Night kicked off the Wrestlemania weekend with Smackdown on the USA Network. Three hour show (Smackdown was better when it was two hours, just saying) filled with fun promos and exciting action in Los Vegas.

Seth Rollins started the show off with a fantastic in-ring promo, sitting in the middle of the ring much like his rival CM Punk would do, delivering a scathing promo on the Saturday night match against Roman and Punk. Rollins is just one of the best all-around performers in the WWE. He threw even more gas on the fire of this match.

The Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal was won by Carmelo Hayes, which I found shocking. I expected Rey Fenix to win the battle royal, but El Grande Americano showed up and cost him the match. Funny, Chad Gable was in the battle royal and had been previously eliminated. It came down to Carmelo and Andrade and they have amazing chemistry with one another.

Smackdown tag team champions the Street Prophets do not get on Wrestlemania card, which was a shame, but they defended against Motor City Machine Guns tonight. However, Gargano and Ciampa interfered causing a no contest and they stole the title belts. Nick Aldis got them back and announced a TLC match next week.

LA Knight and Braun Stroman defeated Solo Sikoa and Jacob Fatu. Knight had injured Tama Tonga before the show. He was taken to the infamous “Local Medical Facility”.

Selina Vega pulled an upset against Chelsea Green in a non-title match.

Cody Rhodes and John Cena had a face off in the ring. Cena delivered another strong promo, and the crowd seemed to boo Cody when he started his retort, but Cody pushed on and seemed to win them back afterwards. Both men are great on the microphone. Cena may be right about the crowd and how fickle they are.

Wrestlemania 41 EYG Predictions

Night One match card (April 19, 7 p.m. ET, Peacock):

  • Triple-threat match: Seth Rollins vs. Roman Reigns vs CM Punk
  • World Heavyweight Championship: Gunther (c) vs. Jey Uso
  • WWE Women’s Championship: Tiffany Stratton (c) vs. Charlotte Flair
  • World Tag Team Championship: War Raiders (c) vs. The New Day
  • United States Championship: LA Knight (c) vs. Jacob Fatu
  • Rey Mysterio vs. El Grande Americano
  • Jade Cargill vs. Naomi

Night Two match card (April 20, 7 p.m. ET, Peacock):

  • Undisputed WWE Championship: Cody Rhodes (c) vs. John Cena
  • WWE Women’s World Championship (triple-threat): Iyo Sky (c) vs. Rhea Ripley vs. Bianca Belair
  • Women’s Tag Team Championship: Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez (c) vs. Bayley & Lyra Valkyria
  • Intercontinental Championship (fatal four-way): Bron Breakker (c) vs. Dominik Mysterio vs. Penta vs. Finn Bálor
  • Sin City Street Fight: Damian Priest vs. Drew McIntyre
  • AJ Styles vs. Logan Paul

Shaheen Al-Shatti Uncrowned

It is that time of the year. It is Wrestlemania 41 weekend! Live from Las Vegas, two sensational nights of professional wrestling and sports entertainment. The glitz. The glamour. The spectacle. Wrestlemania 41 has had some people questioning the build to the card, but I think that will all go by the wayside when the event finishes. I am very excited about all of the events this weekend and I will be covering as much as I can for EYG.

Starting off, we will be looking at the official EYG Match predictions for Wrestlemania 41!

Night One:

  • Kicks off with Jey Uso vs. Gunther for the WWE World Championship. I’m torn on this. I do not really want Gunther to lose his title, and Jey Uso’s run has been spotty. However, Jey has been fire the last few weeks. I may be quietly rooting for Gunther to retain, but…

Predicted winner: Jey Uso, new World Champion. Yeet!

  • Jade Cargill vs. Naomi. This one-on-one match has had one of the best builds of any match on the card as it goes way back to the “who attacked Jade?” angle. I think Naomi needs the win more, but I think the babyface gets this one.

Predicted winner: Jade Cargill

  • Rey Mysterio vs. El Grande Americano. It is so sad when a newcomer shows up and takes Chad Gable’s spot on the roster. *shakes head sadly*. Any way, I think this is a victory for the newcomer to eventually set up a Mask vs. Mask match down the road. I feel like this story is just beginning and that means a win for the heel.

Predicted winner: El Grande Americano

  • United States Championship Match: LA Knight vs. Jacob Fatu. Tough one to predict. I do not see LA Knight pinning Jacob Fatu, unless there is a direct interference from Solo Sokoa. I don’t know if it is time to take the US title back off LA Knight, though. There are not as many DQ finishes at Wrestlemania, but this would be an opportunity for one.

Predicted winner: LA Knight (with some kind of involvement with Solo)

  • WWE Women’s Championship: Tiffany Stratton vs. Charlette Flair. This has been a mess of a build but I do think these two are talented enough to make the match special. While I would wish that Tiffy Time would continue, I think the Queen reclaims her throne to build up the Charlotte vs. Jade match that was teased a few weeks ago.

Projected winner: And New WWE Women’s Champion, Charlotte Flair

  • WWE World Tag Team Championship: War Raiders vs. The New Day. The villainous New Day has been treading water since their epic heel turn against Big E. I think this is where that is straightened out. New Day wins their 12th tag titles at Wrestlemania.

Projected Winner: And New WWE World Tag Team Champions: The New Day!

  • Main Event of Night One: Triple Threat Match: Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins vs. CM Punk. I legitimately can see this match going to any of the three of the men in the match. I am cheering for CM Punk, but, with what has happened in the build, I think the winner is going to be Seth Rollins. Will Paul Heyman leave with Seth Rollins? What a twist that would be. Or will Paul lead to either a victory for Punk or Roman? I just do not know what way they are going with, but I expect this to be a match of the year contender.

Projected winner: Seth Rollins

Night Two

  • AJ Styles vs. Logan Paul. This could be an exceptional match. The athleticism of these two are off the charts. I do think they should give this match to AJ Styles, but I am afraid that Logan Paul may get the nod. Probably using those brass knucks again.

Predicted winner: Logan Paul.

  • Sin City Street Fight: Damian Priest vs. Drew McIntyre. This match is one of those under-the-radar matches that could be excellent. Street fights tend to favor the good guys, but I think this is a reward to Drew for being such an MVP of the year.

Predicted winner: Drew McIntyre.

  • Intercontinental Championship (fatal four-way): Bron Breakker (c) vs. Dominik Mysterio vs. Penta vs. Finn Bálor. This could steal the show. What a massive match up with some of the best up-and-comers in the WWE. Penta is awesome, but I think a title run is too soon yet for him. Dom would shock the world with a win, but I do not think it is out of the question. Finn has been winning a few lately, but my money is on Bron Breakker retaining.

Predicted winner: And STILL Intercontinental Champion: Bron Breakker.

  • Women’s Tag Team Championship: Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez (c) vs. Bayley & Lyra Valkyria. I do not think there is any chance Bayley & Lyra win this match. In fact, I am leaning towards a Bayley heel turn to set up a future Women’s IC title match.

Predicted winner: Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez

  • WWE Women’s World Championship (triple-threat): Iyo Sky (c) vs. Rhea Ripley vs. Bianca Belair. This is another match that could be amazing. This has had a shaky build and the idea of bringing Rhea into the match did not work overall, but they are three of the greatest women performers in the company. I’d like to see Iyo Sky retain because of they way she has been treated in this build, but I do not think that will happen. Bianca does still have an unbeaten streak at Wrestlemania and, while she is years away, wouldn’t the company love to have another Undertaker-like streak?

Predicted Winner: And new WWE Women’s World Champion: Bianca Belair.

Randy Orton will have a match on this night too, I am certain. Not sure whom it will be as of yet. Randy wins though.

  • Main Event Night TwoUndisputed WWE Championship: Cody Rhodes (c) vs. John Cena. All I see is people expecting John Cena to win his 17th World Championship to break Ric Flair’s record, and that could definitely happen. However, I think Cody Rhodes is going to send John into an even deeper spiral and get the victory here, setting up an even more desperate Cena down the road.

Predicted winner: And Still Undisputed WWE Champion: Cody Rhodes.