Category Archives: Pro Wrestling

Wrestlemania 41 EYG Predictions

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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 Two– Undisputed 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.

John Cena Turned Heel

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Triple H had stated that the WWE’s PLC this weekend, The Elimination Chamber, would be an “industry-changing event” and he was wasn’t joking. The biggest shock came at the very end of the show, as John Cena, the ultimate of all good guys, turned to a bad guy.

Some set up. Dwayne Johnson had returned to the WWE as The Final Boss. A week before, he went to WWE Champion Cody Rhodes and asked him to give him his soul, and become The Rock’s champion. He gave Cody until the Elimination Chamber to make his decision.

John Cena had just won the Men’s Elimination Chamber match by forcing CM Punk to pass out to the STF. Cena was still in the ring when Cody Rhodes made his way to the ring. This was not uncommon. By winning the Chamber, Cena earned a match for the championship with Rhodes at Wrestlemania and there is a long tradition of people in the matches like this facing off with each other. In fact, earlier in the PLC, Bianca Belair had won the women’s Chamber and Rhea Ripley (and Iyo Sky) came out to confront her. So when Rhodes came down to the ring, it was expected to be a confrontation.

Then the Rock came down, and he told Cody that he wanted his answer. He told Cody that if he said yes, he would have everything, and if he said no, his dream would die, again. However, Cody said that he had already given his soul away to the fans and the ring, and that Rock could go “F-himself,” except he didn’t say “F.”

Cena was excited in the background, and he came over to hug Cody. That was when Cena’s face changed and he received the throat-slitting gesture from The Rock. He then attacked Cody Rhodes and bloodied him with the championship belt.

Cena and the Rock stood over top of Cody Rhodes posing together.

Fans have been wanting a Cena heel turn for years, but the WWE rejected the idea. Cena was the ultimate babyface, granted more Make-a-Wish requests than anyone ever, and was always a heroic figure, even if the crowd was half chanting that “Cena Sucks.” They had chances to turn him heel before, and they never took it.

Cena had announced that he would be returning to the WWE in 2025 to engage in a retirement tour. That at the end of 2025, Cena would retire from in-ring competition. He has become a successful actor in Hollywood so this would be the final run. He wanted to win his 17th world championship, which would break the record of 16, a total he shared with Ric Flair.

Turning him heel on his final run with the company and in such a grand manner was gutsy. It was an amazing decision, one that has immediately been compared to the heel turn by Hulk Hogan when he formed the NWO, largely considered the most famous heel turn of all time.

The WWE is upside down and the Cody Rhodes vs. John Cena match suddenly has so many more stakes involved besides a Cena record. The industry is totally changed and will be for the foreseeable future.

The time is now.

Mr. McMahon E5, E6

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Spoilers

“Family Business”

“The Finish”

I wonder what this documentary series would have looked like had the lawsuits and the scandals of sexual misbehavior had not come out when it did. I have a suspicion of what it would have been.

There felt like there was a lot of positive Vince moments and that they would have outweighed the negative or the rumored scandals and this would have been like a fluff piece of the WWE Chairman.

Even now, I would say that most of this documentary felt like it was telling the positives of Vince McMahon and those things that were really bad seemed to be added into the episodes.

Bruce Pritchard was on the doc in episode six making a reference to seeing some of the earlier episodes and saying that it sucked, that it was a hatchet job going against Vince. I am not sure what episodes he was watching because they never felt like a “gotcha” episode to me. Pritchard was a close friend to Vince and so perhaps some of this ideas he formed came from being protective of him. Outside of the sixth episode, the first five felt so much more like a WWE doc.

I really think there are many more things the doc could have gone into with more specificity than what it did. It was an interesting doc, but it did not feel like something that was really worthwhile.

Mr. McMahon E3, E4

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Spoilers

“Screwjob”

“Attitude”

The middle two episodes of the new Vince McMahon docuseries on Netflix are next up and, honestly, they were entertaining, but they felt totally like one of the documentaries that the WWE would produce about their own talent. There was not much more here than what was already covered many times about the Montreal Screwjob and the Attitude Era.

The interviews with present day Vince seemed as if they wanted to show him as reasonable, and I really think this is what the entire docuseries would have been like had real life not taken such a drastic turn on Vince McMahon in recent times.

There were several major incidents that were looked at during these two episodes, such as the Owen Hart death, taking the title off Bret Hart (as well as Wendi Richter a few years earlier), and the end of the steroid trial. None of them provided anything new or deep in an investigation. They were just presented as something that happened.\

They showed the creation of the NWO in WCW, the arrival of Stone Cold Steve Austin (without mentioning the Ringmaster), the heel persona of The Rock, and the ratings war between Raw and Nitro. None of this added anything to the already known narrative.

I sure hope the last two episodes kick it up some because as of now, there is not much meat on the bones of this doc.

Mr. McMahon E2

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Spoilers

“Heat”

The second episode of the Netflix docuseries about Vince McMahon, the former head of the WWE, started off fairly minor, discussing Wrestlemania II and then Wrestlemania III. The stories behind these two event were interesting, and I did like hearing about the Hogan-Andre match, but the episode started kicking more when the scandals started coming out.

There were a bunch of scandals mentioned. The ring boy scandal where three executives were sexually abusing teens who were there to set up the ring. This was gross situation. Then there was the steroid scandal, first with the doctor, and then eventually from the federal government against Vince himself. They also touched upon the Jimmy Snuka girlfriend possible murder.

The words of the wrestlers about all these events were fascinating. Tony Atlas making reference to Pat Patterson grabbing his penis was disturbing.

There was also a lot about Hulk Hogan in here, including how he went to WCW and how it hurt Vince. It included how Hogan had to testify against Vince for the government. Hogan is not the best character over the years and he definitely did not look great here. They showed him lying on Arsenio Hall Show too.

The documentary spoke to Phil Mushnick of the NY Post, who has been writing columns about Vince and the WWE for years. Mushnick had plenty of negative words to say about Vince, specifically that he was a dirtbag.

The doc ended abruptly with a major cliffhanger with Vince’s steroid trial.

Overall, this episode was okay, and it really shows what kind of person Vince McMahon is. His clips from the Donahue Show are some obvious evidence of that. And I do not even think we’ve hit the worst part of his life.

Mr. McMahon E1

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Spoilers

“Junior”

The infamous former head of the WWE, Vincent K. McMahon is featured in a new docuseries on Netflix called Mr. McMahon, with interviews from everyone involved, including McMahon himself.

Ironically, before the doc finished filming, Vince McMahon resigned from WWE because of a series of horrendous scandals that were to result in lawsuits. Reportedly, there were some of the most heinous things listed among the lawsuit. The docuseries pushed on.

The first episode of the series addressed McMahon’s rise through his childhood and to the world of sports entertainment. His father, whom Vince said he never met until he was 12, Vincent J McMahon, let his son join his business, at the time named the WWF (World Wrestling Federation) and we learn how “Junior” came up through the organization to eventually purchase the company from his father. After doing that, McMahon crushed the idea that wrestling promotors remained inside their own territories, and he began promoting shows across the country, taking his WWF nationwide.

This episode showed us up to the first Wrestlemania, including the infamous John Stossal/David Schultz encounter and the Richard Belzer choke out by Hulk Hogan. While there were some of the scandals mentioned in the first episode, this was more about how McMahon took stars like Hogan and created something more than the industry of professional wrestling had ever seen.

Personally, the biggest shock for me was seeing present day Vince McMahon on screen and being interviewed. He had the obviously dyed eyebrows that were as black as you could imagine. He had dark hair too, but nowhere near as dark as his eyebrows. They made he look downright evil and I could not stop looking at those weird looking brows.

Just as strange was when Vince’s ex-wife Linda McMahon was on screen. She looked nothing like I remembered. It was so odd to hear Linda’s voice coming out of this person who did not resemble her at all.

Then Dave Meltzer weaseled his way into the documentary too. I am not a fan of Meltzer and I wish they could have found a different voice to speak on this topic.

The first episode was interesting, but did not feel like it had much more than other a typical doc you might see on the WWE network. We’ll see how the rest of the six-episode series goes.

Wrestlemania XL: Behind the Curtain

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I was excited to see this documentary that aired tonight on the WWE’s YouTube channel that told the story of Wrestlemania XL, pulling back the curtain to reveal how one of the greatest pivots of all time came to fruition.

The doc told us how the main event of Wrestlemania XL went from Cody Rhodes vs. Roman Reigns to Roman Reigns vs. the Rock and then back to Cody Rhodes vs. Roman Reigns. It is a fascinating story and an intriguing look at how the stories of WWE are developed and presented.

The initial story being Cody vs. Roman was penciled in after Wrestlemania 39, when Cody failed to ‘finish the story.’ However, when Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson became available, plans started to change. When it looked as if Cody Rhodes was going to be left out of the main event of the ‘Show of Shows,’ the fans of the WWE made their voice heard with the hashtag We Want Cody.

Hearing the outpouring of support Cody was receiving, despite the arrival of one of the biggest stars in the world, spoke to everyone making decisions and it led to a pivot that turned into one of the greatest stretches of storytelling in WWE history, the culmination of Cody Rhodes winning the WWE championship and finishing his story, a promise that he made to his late father, “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes.

We heard a lot from Paul “Triple H” Leveque, The Rock, and Cody during the doc. We got some from Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins too.

They ran through the two main events of Wrestlemania, which was tremendous. I would have liked to hear more from others involved, particularly those involved in that final match, such as John Cena, the Undertaker, and Seth. Particularly Seth because his role in that main event was vital to the story (Seth being Cody’s shield) and I would have liked to hear from Seth to speak about the fact that he was injured and could barely get into the ring. We saw a pic of Seth, but I wanted some comments.

Other than that, I enjoyed this doc a lot. It was cool listening to the way things developed and how the WWE put together this incredible event even after things were put into a state of flux.

Wrestlemania XL Sunday

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What a night.

After being somewhat underwhelmed by an entertaining Saturday night, Wrestlemania XL Sunday night absolutely rocked.

Cody Rhodes finished his story by defeating “The Tribal Chief” Roman Reigns in a dramatic main event that saw the Usos, Seth Rollins, Solo Sikoa, The Rock, John Cena and the Undertaker get involved. Emotions were everywhere as the “American Nightmare” finally won the title that his legendary father “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes could never win.

But that was not the only major title that changed hands tonight. Kicking off the show, Drew McIntyre defeated Seth Rollins for the World Championship. Drew went to taunt CM Punk, who was on commentary, and got jumped by Punk. This led to Damien Priest cashing in his long awaited Money in the Bank contract to become the new World Champion. Then Bayley defeated Iyo Sky for the WWE Women’s Championship.

LA Knight defeated AJ Styles in a competitive match. The Pride defeated the Final Testament in a Philadelphia Street Fight refereed by Bubba Dudley. Logan Paul pinned Kevin Owens in the triple threat after KO took an impressive RKO from Randy Orton, who reversed the pop-up powerbomb.

Great night in the WWE as a new era gets underway…

Cody Rhodes celebrated with “Mama Rhodes” and the rest of his friends.

Cody celebrates with his wife, Brandi Rhodes.
Undertaker returned to choke slam The Rock.
Seth says to Cody, “Now it’s your time, baby”
John Cena faces off with The Rock in the middle of the main event

This could be, arguably, one of the best Wrestlemanias of all time. They kept saying that this would be the greatest Wrestlemania of all time and it always felt like hyperbole. However, I think this is in the consideration.

Slammy Awards 2024

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The WWE continued Wrestlemania XL weekend with a live stream Sunday morning featuring the Slammy Awards.

The award show is supposedly voted on by the people, although you can always wonder about it. Many of the winners may not have been my choice. Match of the Year was Charlotte Flair vs. Rhea Ripley from Wrestlemania 39. That was a great match, but it was not my choice. My personal MotY was Sami/KO vs. Usos at the same event. It was not nominated for a Slammy though.

R-Truth was a sideline reporter and in the audience so he was hilarious as always. Drew McIntyre won a Slammy and absolutely stole the show with his acceptance. Chelsea Green was mad that she did not win that Slammy. Drew was truly epic.

Dominic Mysterio was here too and got booed like crazy…again.

This show felt a little rushed and not up to the WWE’s usual standards for production. Still, it was a lot of fun thanks to the charisma of the wrestlers involved.

Wrestlemania Saturday

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Night one of Wrestlemania XL is in the books and it has done some serious set up for night two.

The Rock and Roman Reigns defeated Cody Rhodes and Set Rollins in the main event of night one cheating like crazy and has ensured Bloodline rules for the WWE Championship match on Sunday night. The Rock threatened to fire the referee, Chad Patton, if he counted them out and he spent all night intimidating the ref, to the point where Rock would just hit Seth Rollins in the groin without even hiding it because he knew the ref couldn’t DQ him.

This just sets up Cody as an even bigger underdog so when he wins on Sunday, there will be a greater feeling. Seth Rollins has a bad knee (storyline wise) and will enter his title match on Sunday against Drew McIntyre far less than 100%.

The best match of the night was easily the Intercontinental Championship match which saw Gunther’s record setting reign of 666 days come to an end to Sami Zayn in an insane finishing sequence. The match was great and very hard hitting, providing one of the most satisfying results of the card.

Rhea Ripley defeated Becky Lynch cleanly after a solid match.

Much of night one felt less than I hoped. The Jey vs. Jimmy match was a disappointment. They tried a storyline section that did not work as well as intended. Jey won. The six woman tag team match was fine. Jade Cargill is a beast.

The six pack ladder match was fun with some crazy spots, especially from DIY. A Town Down Under won the Smackdown tag titles while Awesome Truth won the RAW titles, effectively splitting the titles apart, which makes sense considering how many effective tag teams they have right now.

It was an outdoor stadium and the temps hovered around 50 degrees early in the night. I don’t know how the colder temps influenced some performers, but they seemed to do well considering.

NXT Stand and Deliver 2024

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  • Joe Gacy def. Shawn Spears.
  • NXT Tag Team Champions Bron Breakker & Baron Corbin def. Axiom & Nathan Frazer.
  • NXT North American Champion Oba Femi def. Dijak and Josh Briggs 
  • Thea Hail, Fallon Henley & Kelani Jordan def. Jacy Jayne, Kiana James and Izzi Dame
  • Roxanne Perez def. Lyra Valkyria 
  • NXT Champion Ilja Dragunov def. Tony D’Angelo
  • Trick Williams def. Carmelo Hayes

The NXT Tag Team Championship match and the NXT North American Championship matches were massive bangers and kicked off the main show with two amazing matches.

Legitimately, the triple threat North American championship match was a match of the year contender as Oba Femi, Dijak and Josh Briggs put on a show including some of the biggest spots you will see from men the size of them.

I do love Ilja Dragunov. He was never going to lose his NXT Championship to The Don of NXT Tony D’Angelo. It was still a great match.

Roxanne Perez got a definitive victory over Lyra Valkyria for the NXT Women’s Championship. She is one of the best in the division.

Which, by the way, as a special announcement, NXT will be adding a new championship for the Women’s Division. The NXT Women’s North American Championship was announced. Well deserved. The main roster needs a secondary title too.

Trick Williams went over cleanly in his match with Carmelo Hayes. I expect Carmelo to head to the main roster for good.

Great kick off. We will have to see if there is any match on Wrestlemania that can be equal to the Oba Femi, Dijak, Josh Briggs match.

Wrestlemania XL Predictions

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So I am preparing to make the predictions for the two nights of Wrestlemania.

Wrestlemania Saturday Night

  • Women’s World Championship: Rhea Ripley (c) vs. Becky Lynch

This is a tough one. I can see it going either way, but since I see a lot of other title changes, I think this is the most likely retention of the weekend.

Prediction: Rhea Ripley, still Women’s World Champion.

  • Intercontinental Championship: Gunther (c) vs. Sami Zayn

Gunther’s record-breaking Intercontinental title run comes to an end at Wrestlemania 40.

Prediction: Sami Zayn, NEW Intercontinental Champion

  • Jey Uso vs. Jimmy Uso

Jimmy has taken a lot of beatings on Raw and Smackdown recently. Although I think Jey has the higher future as a single performer, I am giving this to Jimmy.

Prediction: Jimmy Uso

  • Six-Pack ladder match for Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championships: Judgment Day (Damian Priest & Finn Bálor) vs. Awesome Truth (The Miz & R-Truth) vs. DIY (Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa) vs. New Day (Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods) vs. New Catch Republic (Pete Dunne & Tyler Bate) vs. A-Town Down Under (Austin Theory & Grayson Waller)

I definitely think this will split the two tag titles apart so there is one on Raw and one on Smackdown, so I am picking two winners here.

Prediction: RAW Tag Champion: Awesome Truth; Smackdown Tag Champion: New Catch Republic

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

This one is an easy one. Bianca is undefeated at Wrestlemania and we will not break that in a six-woman tag match.

Prediction: Bianca Belair, Naomi & Jade Cargill

  • Rey Mysterio & Andrade vs. Santos Escobar & Dominik Mysterio

Last minute change removed Dragon Lee. Carlito will definitely get involved, perhaps with a heel change. Think that is post match though.

Prediction: Rey Mysterio & Andrade

  • The Rock & Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes & Seth Rollins

I can see this going either way. There has been a lot of talk about Cody assembling the Avengers. I think that happens in Bloodline Rules. I think they have talked about Bloodline rules too much for it not to happen, and it sets up yet another hurdle for Cody Rhodes to overcome.

Prediction: Rock & Roman Reigns

Wrestlemania Sunday Night

  • World Heavyweight Championship: Seth Rollins (c) vs. Drew McIntyre

Another one that I can see going either way. I believe CM Punk, who will be on commentary, will play a role costing Drew McIntyre, who has been going to new limits on his motuh with Punk.

Prediction: Set Rollins, STILL World Heavyweight Champion.

  • WWE Women’s Championship: Iyo Sky (c) vs. Bayley

It is time for Bayley’s Wrestlemania moment, and she deserves it.

Prediction: Bayley, NEW World Women’s Champion.

  • United States Championship Triple Threat: Logan Paul (c) vs. Randy Orton vs. Kevin Owens

I love this match. I love Kevin Owens so much. I wish I could give him the win. I will be absolutely be rooting for KO. I don’t think he will.

Prediction: Logan Paul, STILL United States Champion.

  • LA Knight vs. AJ Styles

An excellent match coming here. I think the win does more for LA Knight, but this could go any direction.

Prediction: LA Knight

  • Bobby Lashley & The Street Profits (Montez Ford & Angelo Dawkins) vs. The Final Testament (Karrion Kross & The Authors of Pain (Akam & Rezar)

A Philadelphia street fight… and I think that the faces get this one.

Prediction: Bobby Lashley & The Street Profits

  • Undisputed WWE Universal Championship: Roman Reigns (c) vs. Cody Rhodes

Finish the story! I think it is time for Cody Rhodes to bring an end to the record reign of Roman Reigns. I believe it will be Bloodline rules and this could be all kinds of shenanigans going down. Expect Mama Rhodes to smack Rock across the face at some point.

Prediction: Winner and NEW WWE Universal Champion: Cody Rhodes

I am very excited about the Grandest Stage of them All.

WWE Hall of Fame Ceremony

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Last night, the WWE inducted seven people into the 2024 Class of the WWE Hall of Fame in a broadcast on Peacock. This year’s class included Paul Heyman, Bull Nakano, Barry Windham & Mike Rotunda, Thunderbolt Patterson, Muhammad Ali and Lia Maivia.

The headliner of the class was inducted first. Paul Heyman, whose background in Philadelphia with his revolutionary ECW was well known, came out after a really great induction by Roman Reigns. Paul, one of the best talkers in the history of the business, proceeded to give one of the best HoF speeches of all time. I have seen most, if not all, of the speeches over the years and, while I saw several hyperbolic comments online about this being the greatest HoF speech of all time, I’m not ready to anoint it such, but it is definitely in the argument. Paul Heyman had the audience in the palm of his hand and it was exceptional. Paul took us all on a ride that was funny, emotional, nostalgic, and generally inspiring.

There was a great moment inside the U.S. Express speech when Mike Rotunda mentioned his son Windham Rotunda, aka Bray Wyatt, who passed away this past year. Rotunda got out his cell phone and asked for the crowd to follow along with him displaying the light on the phone. This was the symbol of the Fireflies that were the fans of Bray Wyatt.

There was a really weird moment during the Muhammad Ali induction. Yolanda Ali, Ali’s widow, accepted the honor. What was weird was when Yolanda (Nicknamed Lonnie) presented Dwayne Johnson with a title of People’s Champion. Rock came out and thanked her. It felt fairly awkward.

Most of the other speeches were fine, but did not stand out. Thunderbolt Patterson spoke about his faith in God. Bull Nakano was well spoken despite English being her second language.

Wrestlemania XL Weekend

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One of my favorite weekends of the year has come around. It is Wrestlemania weekend, where there are a bunch of events over the next 48 hours +.

Wrestlemania XL takes place in Philadelphia this year and the two-night event is packed full of amazing rivalries and battles.

They revealed the Wrestlemania XL set, and it looks great.

The weekend kicks off right now with Friday Night Smackdown. Mere moments ago, Big Bronson Reed won the annual Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal. There did appear as if there may have been a couple of mistakes in the battle royal, yet I enjoyed the match. It looked like Otis was supposed to have caught Tazawa on the floor but Ivar overthrew him and Tazawa hit hard on the floor. I am also not sure that Omos was intended to be eliminated during the commercial break. I think Omos lost his balance and tumbled out too.

After Smackdown tonight is the WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony. Tonight’s inductees include Paul Heyman, the U.S. Express (Barry Windham & Mike Rotunda), Lia Maivia, Bull Nakano, Thunderbolt Patterson, and Muhammad Ali. It is an interesting group this year, headlined by Paul Heyman, whose ECW was a Philadelphia mainstay. Also notable is the induction of Mike Rotunda, father of Windham Rotunda aka Bray Wyatt who died this past year. That should be very emotional. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, I believe, will be inducting his grandmother Lia Maivia, the first woman promoter.

NXT’s Stand and Deliver kicks off the action on Saturday with the best of the NXT brand. Ilya Dragunov defends his NXT championship against the Don of NXT, Tony D’Angelo. Perhaps the biggest grudge match of this PLE is Trick Williams vs. Carmelo Hayes.

Then Saturday night, Wrestlemania XL kicks off with Saturday night show, which is headlined by Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins vs. Roman Reigns and The Rock in what is being billed as the Greatest Tag Team Match of All-Time. If the faces win, then the Cody-Roman match on Sunday night is one-on-one, with no Bloodline, and Cody has a chance to win the match without any interference. If the Bloodline wins, then the Sunday night match is Bloodline rules, and anything goes. It is a remarkable build for this tag match with all of the stakes up for grabs.

Night One Matches at Wrestlemania 40

  • The Rock & Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes & Seth Rollins
  • Women’s World Championship: Rhea Ripley (c) vs. Becky Lynch
  • Intercontinental Championship: Gunther (c) vs. Sami Zayn
  • Jey Uso vs. Jimmy Uso
  • Six-Pack ladder match for Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championships: Judgment Day (Damian Priest & Finn Bálor) vs. Awesome Truth (The Miz & R-Truth) vs. DIY (Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa) vs. New Day (Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods) vs. New Catch Republic (Pete Dunne & Tyler Bate) vs. A-Town Down Under (Austin Theory & Grayson Waller)
  • Bianca Belair, Naomi & Jade Cargill vs. Damage CTRL (Dakota Kai, Asuka & Kairi Sane)
  • Rey Mysterio & Andrade vs. Santos Escobar & Dominik Mysterio

Night Two Matches at Wrestlemania 40

  • Undisputed WWE Universal Championship: Roman Reigns (c) vs. Cody Rhodes
  • World Heavyweight Championship: Seth Rollins (c) vs. Drew McIntyre
  • WWE Women’s Championship: Iyo Sky (c) vs. Bayley
  • United States Championship Triple Threat: Logan Paul (c) vs. Randy Orton vs. Kevin Owens
  • LA Knight vs. AJ Styles
  • Bobby Lashley & The Street Profits (Montez Ford & Angelo Dawkins) vs. The Final Testament (Karrion Kross & The Authors of Pain (Akam & Rezar)

I’m going to be doing several posts over the weekend. I am very excited. I may do a prediction post some time tomorrow before the big night’s action.

UPDATE: Dragon Lee got jumped on Smackdown and now Andrade is in the tag team match. Calling it right no, Carlito did the attack hoping to be in the tag match instead. Count on it.