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Here are our thoughts on what will happen on Night One of WrestleMania.
The Rock and Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns vs. WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins and Cody Rhodes.
Dave: OK, it's no secret that I am as excited for the weekend as I have been in.....I can't tell you how long. Part of the reason for that is that with the majority of the matches, I can make a case for either side to win. That's what great booking is all about. Back in the days of Vince booking, it was so obvious. Now? Not so much. So most of my "picks" will be what I would like to see. Here, I would love to see a DQ where Cody beats the crap out of Rock and the ref threatens to DQ him. Cody then says something like, "Go ahead, even if we win I know they won't live up to their words. And you know what, they aren't the only ones who can use Bloodline Rules to their advantage. I will be ready for tomorrow night. Rock isn't the only legend I talked to after the Rumble." Glass breaks. Steve Austin comes out. What is he doing here? Tune in tomorrow night to find out. The internet loses its mind, for all of the right reasons.
Mike: I am also of the opinion that unless every single person booked on the card has the worst luck of their lives on the same day one after the other, this is going to be a superb show, but I don't see Seth and Cody getting the win here. One, if they lose, it gives the heroes even greater obstacles to climb on Night Two. For Seth, he's beat up and has to contend with a beast Drew McIntyre. For Cody, it's one more night of being in the underdog position and having to fight against the odds. I can't imagine The Rock isn't coming back to lose his first match back, not especially when there's been some talk internally that he's probably getting the biggest Mania payday for a performer ever. I believe the Bloodline wins Night One, setting the heroes to have to really fight with their backs against the wall on Night Two.
Richard: If Seth and Cody win this match, there will be no interference from the Bloodline in Roman’s match against Cody. If you believe that, then Rock will come to the ring dressed as the Tooth Fairy. I would expect to see Cody and Seth get the win so they have the illusion that it will be a one-on-one match on Sunday night, before we get the expected interference. There are a few interesting ways that this match could end with a Seth and Cody victory. One would be interference from Jimmy and Solo thwarted by someone (maybe Jey, maybe Kevin, maybe Sami, or maybe some mystery benefactor). Another way could be Rock ‘gingerly’ unable to make the save on Roman and then Rock tells Roman that it would mean more if Roman won on his own (but Rock’s eyebrows will be crossed so he doesn’t mean it). A final way would be to have Rock pinned to send the same message to Roman to win on his own. I hope the interaction between Roman and Cody is kept to as much of a minimum as possible because I don’t see Rock in the ring for a majority of this match. Seth pinning Roman would be a good callback to their days in the Shield. This will be a preview of the type of match we will see from Cody and Roman (but with the same person on the winning side on Sunday?)
WWE World Women's Champion Rhea Ripley vs. Becky Lynch.
Dave: This has been done soooooo well. I get the vibe that Judgment Day may finally be close to implosion. Rhea is a de facto babyface because she is so good. Dom is drifting. Damien has the case, which could be used tomorrow. If it's me, I book a war where Rhea retains honorably. She's a stud. Long title runs matter and it's too soon for her to lose.
Mike: Becky doesn't need the championship. She's not only The Man but A Made Man. Rhea has been, in my opinion, one of the best characters in the entire company over the last year and this will be a shining moment in her cap. If she can go to war and beat Becky, especially clean, she moves up into the upper echelon forever. Mania is about talents ascending and becoming legends. I think this will be when Rhea's legend is MADE.
Richard: Two of the top women in the company try to show who is the best female wrestler in this match. Rhea has been the best thing in this company over the last few months despite some dips with the development of The Judgment Day. Becky has regained her spot at the top of the division and has taken care of her biggest threat in Nia Jax. With the book tour, is this an outside factor that could put Becky over the top? Rhea won the title last year and has been the best female performer in the ring. I don’t think her reign ends on Saturday night. Becky will come close, but I think Rhea will get the victory when she counters the Manhandle Slam into RipTide to get the three count. The big question is who is next for Rhea
WWE Intercontinental Champion GUNTHER vs. Sami Zayn.
Dave: This has been so good. Stop me if you have heard this before, it could go either way. If it's me, I book Gunther to retain, with Sami getting soooo close that they program continues and I build to Sami winning the Title at SummerSlam. Remember this, Vince is gone. Triple H knows that he needs to keep building. And without Vince there to f*** Raw up the way he did last year, I am really excited for Monday too.
Mike: Is Chad Gable actually trying to help Sami or is he planning to use this training to undermine him because Gable wanted that moment for himself? Given how strong Paul Levesque and crew book, I don't take any potential scenario for granted. Either way, I suspect this will be absolutely fantastic and I'm waiting to see if they give us a video package where Sami runs the stairs like Rocky. All that said, I don't see GUNTHER losing the title. I just don't.
Richard: Of all of the matches that have been announced for this weekend by WWE, this is the one I am most excited for, even if they didn’t do the Rocky montage homage for the Sami and Chad segment. Gunther has been a great champion and he has been able to dominate his opponents. Sami has the history of being the underdog with his match against Roman last year at Elimination Chamber. I like how Chad is trying to get Sami to train ‘outside the box’ to try to get the advantage over Gunther because he cannot go move for move with the Ring General. If they give this match the time it deserves, we will be able to see Sami near defeat only to fight back and give the people of Philadelphia something to get excited about. In the end, Gunther will be too much for Sami and he will get the win.
Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions Damian Priest & Finn Balor vs. DIY vs. New Day vs. Miz & R-Truth vs. New Catch Republic vs. A-Town Down Under in a "Six Pack" Ladder Match.
Dave: As I said above, I feel tension and I am ready to make some moves with The Judgment Day. Even if the Titles don't change, I put enough drama in here to keep telling the story. This match will feature all of the car wrecks, for sure.
Mike: There was a comment made that both sets of belts need to be grabbed for the match to be over, so I wonder if we could actually end up with different champs on different brands, although I hope that isn't the direction they are going in. There is a LOT of talent in this and we have a ton of performers - Kofi, Gargano, Finn, New Catch, etc. who all have that rep for going above and beyond the call of duty with crazy bumps and athletic feats. There's also the underlying story of R-Truth and The Judgment Day, which I wonder comes into play here. I wouldn't take the belts off Judgment Day, but if I did, I'd look to A-Town Down Under as the next potential champs.
Richard: I am not a fan of ladder matches, especially for a title, because the major feature of tag team wrestling is the ability to climb a ladder. I would have loved to have seen the Creeds in this match to see Brutus do the ‘Jeff Hardy . . . I have this match won, but hey, I can do something stupid off this ladder and lose the match’ spot. There are some good stories in this match with Gargano and Ciampa getting a Wrestlemania match, the reunion of Truth and Miz, and the legacy of The New Day. The other two challengers will get to do some good things in this match. I would feel bad if Finn and Priest lose the match in this manner, but it is definitely a possibility. They said that both title belts have to be taken off the hook, but I hope it doesn’t mean the splitting of the titles. I think the most likely option is The Judgment Day retaining, but if they want to shake things up and move Priest closer to cashing in the briefcase, R Truth can get his revenge on The Judgment Day for everything they have done to him, if he realizes that they were doing this stuff to him in the past. I do want to see one spot where Truth tries to help Priest and Finn, only to be reminded that he isn’t in The Judgment Day. I am going with new champions in Miz and Truth.
Jey Uso vs. Jimmy Uso.
Dave: I guess they could have Jimmy win here but there's no way I would do it. I expect The Bloodline to be in turmoil by the end of the weekend so that should start here. Jey wins and the twins get the match that they both have been waiting for.
Mike: As long as they are given the time to put together the type of fantastical showdown that they deserve after an incredible few years of work and storylines, I am not of the opinion that one of the other needs to go over, but the smarter call, to keep fans happy, would be for Jey to score a definitive win over his brother, even if it's just to give people a reason to think in the back of their heads that The Bloodline is ripe for the taking.
Richard: Will it be YEET or No YEET in the battle of the twins (can we call it battle of the brothers without Solo involved?)? This is a match I have been expecting to see at Wrestlemania since they started the Royal Rumble against each other. Having them on separate brands has made this match more important because most weeks, they were not on the same show. I don’t know if Solo will be involved in this match because he might have to rest up for the main event. I don’t think this will be the only time this weekend that these two men will cross paths in this stadium. If Jimmy loses, how will this affect his standing in The Bloodline (but should one loss affect things when Solo hasn’t won since November?). I think there will be a lot of YEETing after this match.
Rey Mysterio & Dragon Lee vs. Dominik Mysterio & Santos Escobar.
Dave: The fans wanted to see Carlito in this match. WWE needs to show them why Dragon Lee was the choice. The faces get the win, and we get some nice spots between Rey and Dom. This one ain't over, nor should it be.
Mike: I almost wish this was a bigger match, because everyone else involved with these groups deserved a Mania match this year. Their work has been really good in and outside the ring. To me, Dom should be pinning Rey, since this is all about their eventual singles showdown whenever they do get to it. Dave is right that they need to show the audience why Dragon Lee is someone they should get behind.
Richard: I had talked about an LWO vs Legado match for Mania but I was thinking they should have done an eight person mixed tag match to get everyone in the match. I am glad that Dragon Lee gets a PPV match and I hope this will be a showcase for fans who had not seen how good he is from his New Japan resume. It is a shame that Angel and Humberto are not seen as important enough to be wrestling in the match, but Dom’s presence will make people hate Santos. At some point in the match we will get a brawl between Zelina and Elektra which should lead to Pat McAfee channeling Joey Styles to repeat his catchphrase from a female brawl from ECW. I think Dragon Lee will get the chance to win the match for his team and a victory over Dom would be nice, but if he pins Santos, I would not mind a feud between the two.
Jade Cargill & Bianca Belair & Naomi vs. WWE Women's Tag Team Champion Asuka & Kairi Sane & Dakota Kai.
Dave: The babyfaces have to go over here. We have to find a way to get Bayley and Bianca on the same page, plus set up contenders for the tag titles.
Mike: I don't see a world where Jade Cargill, after all that time and preparation and promotion, isn't on the winning side of her first Wrestlemania match.
Richard: I like that we are getting all of Damage CTRL on the PPV, but it is a shame that the tag titles will not be defended on these shows. I can see a tag title match coming out of this match in the coming weeks because I think there is no way that Jade, Bianca, and Naomi are losing this match. You don’t give Jade’s first ‘traditional’ match and have her team lose. I can see some tension between Jade and Bianca during the match and what better way to have them be the team to face Asuka and Kairi for the titles. While Dakota would be the likeliest option to take the pin, I think you have Asuka or Kairi take the pin so there is a justification for the tag title match. I see Jade getting the pinfall after Bianca hits KOD and Jade hits Jaded. The thing I will be focusing on the most in the match is Jade because I think she needs a solid performance, but does not have to be the best performer in the match. Then we can see what she does in a ‘standard’ tag match and then a singles match.
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