WrestleMania 38

[TheGoon]

 

Less than a week to go to the main event, but plenty happening in the days leading up - which is good, as the two cards are pretty weak. 

Reigns & Brock will be a spectacle, Styles/Edge dhould be great & Zayn/Knoxville and The KO Show should be fun, but it really could’ve done with just being one night. 

Extra night of drinking though, can’t complain too much.

[Lyle Lanley]

Worst build up to a WM for a while. 

[Scotty Tunbridge]

I was going to maybe stay up for a bit for the Saturday night show, but two of the biggest parts that I want to see (Zayn v Knoxville & McAfee in another match) are both on the Sunday AFAIK and there’s no chance I’ll watch any of the Sunday one live or not live the next day. If KO Austin was an actual match I would go out my way to watch live on Saturday.

I don’t really think this one needed to be 2 nights. However I hope people who watch both nights enjoy because it is still a better idea than the bloated 6/7 hour shows (including pre show).

Edited March 27, 2022 by Scotty Tunbridge

[TheGoon]

Andre shifted to the Friday again. 

[forameus]

Didn't even deserve it's own thread really.  Don't think I've ever been less excited for a Wrestlemania since I returned to watching (at 30 ironically, heavy downhill since...)

I'm actually surprised at how sparse the card is too, although I suppose we do still have two shows to add shite to it.

Night 1 (April 2)

No.	Matches*	Stipulations
1	Becky Lynch (c) vs. Bianca Belair	Singles match for the WWE Raw Women's Championship[42]
2	Rey Mysterio and Dominik Mysterio vs. The Miz and Logan Paul	Tag team match[43]
3	Drew McIntyre vs. Happy Corbin (with Madcap Moss)	Singles match[44]
4	The Usos (Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso) (c) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura and Rick Boogs	Tag team match for the WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship[45]
5	Charlotte Flair (c) vs. Ronda Rousey	Singles match for the WWE SmackDown Women's Championship[46]
(c) – refers to the champion(s) heading into the match *Card subject to change

Just the five matches for night 1, and I've got to say, I cannot muster much excitement for any of them.  Flair/Rousey, maybe, but they've even managed to fumble bringing Rousey back.  Lynch/Belair will be a good match, but it's hardly screaming Wrestlemania.  I suppose rumour is that Austin/Owens is going to main event in whatever form it takes.  Giving it that slot suggests they're planning something big, but could well fall flat.

No.	Matches*	Stipulations
1	Queen Zelina and Carmella (c) vs. Sasha Banks and Naomi vs. Rhea Ripley and Liv Morgan vs. Natalya and Shayna Baszler	Fatal four-way tag team match for the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship[47]
2	Johnny Knoxville vs. Sami Zayn	Anything Goes match[48]
3	Pat McAfee vs. Austin Theory	Singles match[49]
4	RK-Bro (Randy Orton and Riddle) (c) vs. The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford) vs. Alpha Academy (Chad Gable and Otis)	Triple threat tag team match for the WWE Raw Tag Team Championship[50]
5	Edge vs. AJ Styles	Singles match[51]
6	Brock Lesnar (WWE Champion) vs. Roman Reigns (Universal Champion) (with Paul Heyman)	Winner Takes All match to unify the WWE Championship and WWE Universal Championship[52]
(c) – refers to the champion(s) heading into the match *Card subject to change

Night 2 looks a lot better in comparison, but still not that great.  Main event will be great if they manage to get there without exhausting the crowd.  I'm probably most looking forward to Knoxville/Zayn, because it'll be just ridiculous shit for about 10 minutes.  But again outside that, the best you can hope for is just a good match from Edge/Styles probably.  Not much build up, not much in the way of stipulations to add that extra bit of spice, no excitement.

14 hours ago, Scotty Tunbridge said:

I was going to maybe stay up for a bit for the Saturday night show, but two of the biggest parts that I want to see (Zayn v Knoxville & McAfee in another match) are both on the Sunday AFAIK and there’s no chance I’ll watch any of the Sunday one live or not live the next day. If KO Austin was an actual match I would go out my way to watch live on Saturday.

I don’t really think this one needed to be 2 nights. However I hope people who watch both nights enjoy because it is still a better idea than the bloated 6/7 hour shows (including pre show).

I know they've done two nights because it'll be more profitable to them, but I think it definitely has the benefit of easing that pressure on those watching.  With pre-show, I think the worst offender pushed past 7 hours (just checked, WM33, 7hours9minutes...f**k sake).  That's just not sustainable, so this is a better solution, but you do run the risk of what they've now done twice before and about to for a third time - a really, really unbalanced show.  Night 1 looks shite, night 2 looks better.  Last year from memory I think night 1 ended up pretty good and 2 fell flat.  If they can learn to balance things up and actually build matches on both sides to give an equal experience, it'll be good in future.

I'll likely try and watch NXT live as it'll be at 6pm UK time for a change, then watch night 1 on Sunday.  No way am I staying up for any of what's been offered.

[Sherrif John Bunnell]

They say that all Hall of Fame speeches are created equal...

 

 

[Mark Connolly]

59 minutes ago, Sherrif John Bunnell said:

They say that all Hall of Fame speeches are created equal...

 

 

That is genuinely more exciting than almost everything on the WM card.

Undertaker, Vader, and the Steiners all going in this year.

[DA Baracus]

On 27/03/2022 at 15:12, Lyle Lanley said:

Worst build up to a WM for a while. 

Agree with this. There's some matches that will be really good, but when they don't mean anything and don't go anywhere, it detracts quite a bit from them and the event in general.

They've failed to not just build matches, but build stars and contenders. There needs to be a hierarchy of sorts, but they have no one on the level of Reigns and Lesnar. Regardless of who wins that one, there isn't a single person on the roster who would be believable as a challenger to either. Rollins, McIntyre, Owens, Edge, Lashley; these are the guys the next step down and all have been beaten by Reigns or Lesnar recently. Lashley best Lesnar but only with help, and was then forgotten pretty quickly. Cody Rhodes will be on their level and might generate some interest if he gets to challenge, but we know he won't be winning.

What is going to happen after Wrestlemania? Do they just build to Reigns/Lesnar 893737? Two Man Power Trip? I suppose longer term Bron Brekker is the answer there. You'd hope they'll debut him on the main roster right after Mania and just build him up similar to how they did so with Lesnar when he debuted. But they can't be trusted to not ruin the guy.

The US and IC titles have long been rendered useless. The tag titles too, as there are so few. Three of them are all facing off anyway. Do we then get The Usos and/or New Day challenging yet again?

The Women's scene is just the same few folk on top. Perhaps a Bayley return could freshen it up, but they jobbed her out to the awful, shite Bellas last year, so do they really see her as a top star in that division? Ronda vs Bianca has potential, but that would leave Becky vs Charlotte for the 483839th time. They've wasted so many other talents in the Women's Division (Rhea Ripley, Shotzi, Duodrop, Baszler) that it would take a while to rebuild one as a challenger you could buy in to.

They have such a loaded roster but just churn out total pish too often and fail to push folk to make new stars.

 

When did Mania last feel like a big event, a must see event that felt like a culmination of loads of storylines and build? Probably 31? It just doesn't feel special any longer.

[Bert Raccoon]

14 minutes ago, DA Baracus said:

Agree with this. There's some matches that will be really good, but when they don't mean anything and don't go anywhere, it detracts quite a bit from them and the event in general.

They've failed to not just build matches, but build stars and contenders. There needs to be a hierarchy of sorts, but they have no one on the level of Reigns and Lesnar. Regardless of who wins that one, there isn't a single person on the roster who would be believable as a challenger to either. Rollins, McIntyre, Owens, Edge, Lashley; these are the guys the next step down and all have been beaten by Reigns or Lesnar recently. Lashley best Lesnar but only with help, and was then forgotten pretty quickly. Cody Rhodes will be on their level and might generate some interest if he gets to challenge, but we know he won't be winning.

What is going to happen after Wrestlemania? Do they just build to Reigns/Lesnar 893737? Two Man Power Trip? I suppose longer term Bron Brekker is the answer there. You'd hope they'll debut him on the main roster right after Mania and just build him up similar to how they did so with Lesnar when he debuted. But they can't be trusted to not ruin the guy.

The US and IC titles have long been rendered useless. The tag titles too, as there are so few. Three of them are all facing off anyway. Do we then get The Usos and/or New Day challenging yet again?

The Women's scene is just the same few folk on top. Perhaps a Bayley return could freshen it up, but they jobbed her out to the awful, shite Bellas last year, so do they really see her as a top star in that division? Ronda vs Bianca has potential, but that would leave Becky vs Charlotte for the 483839th time. They've wasted so many other talents in the Women's Division (Rhea Ripley, Shotzi, Duodrop, Baszler) that it would take a while to rebuild one as a challenger you could buy in to.

They have such a loaded roster but just churn out total pish too often and fail to push folk to make new stars.

 

When did Mania last feel like a big event, a must see event that felt like a culmination of loads of storylines and build? Probably 31? It just doesn't feel special any longer.

Pretty much spot on. Problem they have is they've got such a hard on for Reigns and Lesnar they've backed themselves into a corner that they have no one that you could legitimately expect to beat them apart from each other. 

Edited March 28, 2022 by Bert Raccoon

[DA Baracus]

3 hours ago, Bert Raccoon said:

Pretty much spot on. Problem they have is they've got such a hard on for Reigns and Lesnar they've backed themselves into a corner that they have no one that you could legitimately expect to beat them apart from each other. 

And they've had Reigns and Lesnar smash everyone. Lesnar at the Rumble and Elimination Chamber especially, where he just tore through everyone as if they were total jobbers. Lesnar already had a secured Mania main event spot by winning the Rumble. Him winning the Chamber and title there was daft. This 'unification' shite will last about two months anyway.

Cody is set to be on Raw tonight. They should have kept it for Mania. Everyone knows it will be him, but it would be great if Rollins was told tonight that they have an opponent sorted for him and he'll find out Saturday. Come Mania and have Rollins in the ring waiting for his 'mystery' opponent and do the old lights out thing. Then a brief strum of a guitar and aye, it's Elias. Have him play a snippet of Stardust's entrance music, just a couple of seconds, and have him give the old "Were you expecting someone else?" patter. Have him battered in short order, like two moves, and get him out the ring. Lights go out again and this time it is Cody, with whatever music he has, and he gets to stroll out to a big pop and big moment. Basically it's like like the Cena/Elias/Taker thing from a few years ago, although keep Rollins in the ring (Elias can leave down the side of the ramp or under it if they have a wee hatch).

As it is none of that happen. Cody will appear tonight and he and Rollins will set the match. It will be a good match but utterly meaningless as there's been zero build and there are no stakes. Why are they fighting? They might come up with some lame pish tonight, but it's a bit late.

Edited March 28, 2022 by DA Baracus

[TheGoon]

Don’t think Cody shows up tonight, got from that Vince/Seth video it’ll be revealed when he’s in the ring, which is defo the way to go.

[forameus]

One of the problems with the show, aside from the obvious, is the complete lack of variety on the card.  In terms of gimmicks you've got one single match in Knoxville/Zayn, and the rest - and there's a whole lot of them - are just plain singles matches or some slight variation. I know they've neutered things a little by branching certain gimmicks off into their own shows, but they've shown in the past that they can bring the likes of HIAC out if need be.  They've stopped using the clusterfuck ladder match, which was always exciting.  You could fit a cage match in there to add spice to something like McIntyre/Corbin, or Last Man Standing or something, just anything to break up the constant parade of normal wrestling matches.  AJ/Edge is probably going to be a very good example of a standard match, so what hope do the midcard matches really have to stand out in a fucking endless show like this?

[Scotty Tunbridge]

Omos v Lashley added as well .

Glad they haven’t announced its Cody despite everyone knowing it’s coming. However, it could have been better done by not even announcing that Rollins has a match having him just come out to the ring on Saturday and demand one would get a bigger pop as now everyone will just be waiting for Cody to appear in the scheduled match.

[DA Baracus]

Omos is fucking garbage and is just the latest in a long line of pish guys who have the sole attribute of 'tall'. Would be surprised if he's still with WWE for next year's Mania.

Total waste of Lashley there.

[TheGoon]

To give them some credit, Roman/Brock does feel big, not ‘biggest match ever’ big as they’re running with, but it shouldn’t have people throwing beachballs about like the last WM meeting.

That said, it’s big at the expense of pretty much everything else, and I haven’t a clue what they do in the months after.

[cb_diamond]

First mania in more than 20 years that will be getting a live watching dinghy from me...*

 

*albeit I will likely end up watching it for FOMO

[The Naitch]

Will stay up for night one but long gone are the days when I'd stay up on a Sunday night then do a shift on the Monday.

Agree with most that the card is a bit underwhelming so hopefully they've got a couple of decent surprises up their sleeves (no, not you Cody). AJ/Edge will be pretty good.

[TheGoon]

We’re all forgetting the real main event. Scott Steiner with a live mic on Friday.

[cdhafc1874]

Wasn't gonna stay up for Mania on Sun night but as I'm in the Covid jail til at least Tues then I might as well...

Few decent sounding matches on the card but it just seems a card spread across 2 nights with little invention in terms of both feuds & stipulations.

That the US & Intercontinental titles aren't even on the card at all as of right now is really poor also - can see both ending up on the pre-show(s) sadly.

[rowsdower]

I didn't even realize it was WM this week. This might be the first one I miss live since 8, and it's on at a normal time for me. I'll def be late to watch on Saturday, as I'm watching my oldest in Matilda the musical for the 5th time.

I made the mistake of watching the Rumble, which was piss poor, and I'm so glad I missed elimination chamber. Really can't be doing with another Lesnar/Reigns match. If I only watched WrestleManias, what has changed since last year?

Edge v Styles should be good, and the hall of Fame will be worth a watch.

Cody is a midcarder, and a second tier one at that. I fully expect him to be in the stardust suit soon enough. WWE is a better fit for him though, I'm sure the money is better, which makes up for him not being the big fish in AEW.

Looking forward, the most intriguing thing about WWE is who comes up from NXT, and who moves there from AEW. I might watch the RAW after at least.