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EditorialWrestleMania 35 Preview and Match Predictions

WrestleMania 35 Preview and Match Predictions

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Women’s Battle Royal

I just want to say that seeing Asuka here is an incredibly sad sight to see. One minute you think she’s going to be entering WrestleMania with a title, and the next thing you know, she’s stuck in a battle royal where all the winner gets is the right to say “I won the 2nd ever Women’s Battle Royal in WrestleMania history!” It hasn’t even been stated what is the prize for the winner. You’d think something like a future title match would be promised, but no. Nothing.

One would think that Asuka is the easy answer. Seeing that she won’t be defending her title at WrestleMania and won’t be inserted into the main event, winning a pre-show battle royal is probably about as good a consolation WWE can give somebody. It’s sort of like their way of saying, “Thanks for being a good sport.” However, I’m actually going to take a swing in left field and say Lacey Evans wins. News has swirled that she may be in line for a big push after WrestleMania, and I think all of her random entrances will be paid off with a WrestleMania win that will kick off a push that she’s supposedly getting.

Winner: Lacey Evans

Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal

At least the men get a trophy made of butter to hold for winning their battle royal. The primary competitors for this match entail curtain-jerking tag teams and superstars that are not a regular part of television programming. However, the overarching storyline of this match is Braun Strowman’s insipid beef with SNL hosts. There’s nothing exciting here, and the most eventful thing that can happen here is Jost and Che teaming up to eliminate Strowman, which would be the ultimate humiliation of his career and a sign of how far he’s fallen. However, no one else winning the match would make sense unless it’s someone that can benefit from a victory such as Andrade. I don’t see that happening.

Winner: Braun Strowman

Buddy Murphy (C) vs. Tony Nese – Cruiserweight Championship

I sincerely hope WWE shows the Cruiserweights some love by giving them a spot on the main card. This isn’t to say that they wouldn’t be great on the pre-show either. The CW Title matches on PPV recently have been killing it, and I for one can’t wait to see this matchup. Murphy has recently been paired up with smaller wrestlers such as Kalisto and Tozawa in recent defenses, but here you have Nese, who looks like he’s chiseled out of granite and can match Buddy’s physicality. This match is a toss-up for me, but I think Buddy’s journey as champion will continue. He’s been fantastic in the role, and I’m not sure I’m ready to move in a different direction just yet.

Winner: Buddy Murphy

Bobby Lashley (C) vs. Finn Balor – Intercontinental Championship

It’s amazing, isn’t it? WWE managed to screw up the only reason to tune into this match. Seeing The Demon persona for Balor is always more entertaining when we don’t know whether or not it’s going to show up. Finn has found himself in the same position that he was at WrestleMania last year, competing for the Intercontinental Championship. He didn’t have The Demon show up there. In fact, we haven’t seen The Demon since his TLC 2017 match with AJ Styles. So why the hell would you spoil the surprise one week before the show?

In addition, this feud (if you want to call it that) is just lazily booked. Finn became the IC Champion by pinning Lio Rush, lost the title back to Lashley in a one on one matchup, and earned a title match at WrestleMania by pinning Jinder Mahal. Lashley then rightfully claims that every time he faces Balor one on one, he has the advantage and that Balor as the Demon is just the same person with teeth painted over his clavicles. Why should he be afraid? Then, when he sees Balor with the paint, he gets scared. All laziness. Needless to say, there’s no way Balor’s losing this.

Winner: Finn Balor

Sasha Banks (C) and Bayley (C) vs. The IIconics vs. Beth Phoenix and Natalya vs. Nia Jax and Tamina – Women’s Tag Team Championship

First of all, Nia Jax and Tamina have no business being in this match. Firstly, because they have already lost a straight up matchup with them. More importantly, because they suck. They are just there to pad out the women’s tag team title scene unnecessarily. We can probably cross off Phoenix/Natalya because Beth is actually in the middle of obtaining her Master’s Degree and isn’t going to be here all the time. The IIconics are the intriguing choice here, and they are definitely going to win the titles eventually. However, the old tired trope of WWE having challengers pin the champions right before a PPV matchup works against them. That typically indicates the champions will retain. And I believe they will.

Winners: Sasha Banks and Bayley

Kurt Angle vs. Baron Corbin

Stories have come out that John Cena will NOT be replacing Baron Corbin in this match and that there is no intention to have Corbin replaced. If that’s the case, then what a sad way for Angle to go out. Honestly, this whole entire retirement tour for Kurt has been a pretty sad sight to see. He visibly just doesn’t have it anymore, and I’m more happy that he will not be competing anymore so I don’t see him nearly kill himself. That cushions the blow of his retirement. I saw him take a simple vertical suplex from Samoa Joe and turned it into a DDT. The WWE Network will always be there to provide me with classics of what he was like in his prime.

Meanwhile, Corbin adds nothing, and I mean nothing to this match. Not only is he clearly not worthy of the distinction of being Angle’s final opponent in WWE, he just sucks period. First of all, he still wears his Olive Garden waiter attire as if he is still in a position of power. He’s also just not an entertaining superstar. So between Angle’s heavily crippled abilities and Corbin’s inability to carry a match, my only hope for this is that it doesn’t overstay its welcome if this is truly the match they want.

Usually, wrestler’s code is that you lie down and take the loss when you retire or want to pass a torch. However, I think Angle should pull a 2002 Stone Cold and refuse to put over Corbin. Baron has nothing going for him, and he’s already beaten Angle before anyways. I’ll say Angle goes out on top, but I just hope the match isn’t long enough for it to be exposed that the two probably won’t have a good match with each other. Fare thee well, Kurt.

Winner: Kurt Angle

Roman Reigns vs. Drew McIntyre

I don’t think we need to analyze this too deeply. Under normal circumstances, this would be a big-time moment for Drew McIntyre, and I’m sure it will be emotional for Roman to have his first one-on-one match since his life-threatening leukemia battle. I’m just fearful that the lengthened card will make this an elongated brawl that no one will care about. We all know Roman is going to win this. I have liked how WWE has booked Drew in recent weeks, having him destroy Ambrose and defeat Rollins (even though he needed a distraction for the latter). However, it’s safe to say Roman is going to shut Drew up and avenge everything Drew has said about him in recent weeks. I just hope the match will be done in a way where Drew’s strengths can be fully realized.

Winner: Roman Reigns

Triple H vs. Batista – No Holds Barred (Triple H Must Retire If He Loses)

First of all, I just want to say how much I have loved Batista in this feud and that he is a national treasure. First, he attacks Flair and then explains his actions. In doing so, he gives out meme-worthy material by saying Hunter needs to give him what he wants until Triple H finally submits. Then, Batista straights up goes mob-boss mode and he explains in simple terms what his problem is with Triple H and gets straight to the point.

THEN, he goes into the ring, gets his spotlight, and before he says anything, he just points to the titantron, where a recap video explains why Triple H is at a disadvantage this Sunday. He has never beaten him. While it is a small sample size of a trio of matches from 13 years ago, the point still remains. After showing that, Batista simply tells Triple H to kiss his ass, and that’s that. He doesn’t go off on tangents and doesn’t say anything that hasn’t already been expressed or can’t be explained with a video package. Why can’t everyone be like Batista?

Then, you have Triple H, who cuts longer promos where he makes sure to say “this business” approximately 20 times. The biggest problem I have with the retirement stipulation in this match is that there is no emotional connection. We’ve been through this shtick with his feud with Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 29. It was practically identical. So you’re telling me if Triple H loses this match, we won’t see him wrestle 3-4 times a year? I’m shaking. I enjoy him far better when he’s in NXT anyways.

If we know Triple H, we know that he does his best to have the last laugh in EVERYTHING. You’d think his WrestleMania 28 match with Undertaker was the perfect ending and they’d never face off again, right? HA! Triple H clearly needs to check this off his bucket list, and he’ll be winning this Sunday. Can’t wait to see him wrestle in Saudi Arabia against The Rock at WWE Queen’s Throne.

Winner: Triple H

Brock Lesnar (C) vs. Seth Rollins – Universal Championship

A lot of people are freaking out about the prospect of Seth losing this Sunday because he got the better of Lesnar on the go-home edition of RAW right before a PPV. There is a very good chance that Brock Lesnar will retain this Sunday. Far greater than I think people are giving him credit for. Think about it. We all thought Roman Reigns would have his crowning moment at WrestleMania last year, and they played out Lesnar’s reign until Summerslam. Is Seth in a similar position here? We’ll have to see.

I think this feud has done a great job in utilizing logic. The most intriguing plot point was one that Rollins wisely brought up a few weeks ago. Lesnar has historically struggled against people who wrestle Rollins’ style. The smaller, technical types. This isn’t just a vague point that can’t be quantified. We have a storied history of this.

Take a look at Lesnar’s matches with the likes of Kane, Strowman, Joe, and Reigns in recent years. Yeah, they may have him stumbling for a while, but Lesnar usually takes control of the match and hits his F-5’s with more ease. With smaller wrestlers, he’s needed to get more creative and he’s struggled to control the flow. Guys like Balor, Styles and Bryan in recent years can attest to that. And I know they’re probably not allowed to mention his name, but CM Punk had Lesnar beat as well.

Also, Rollins has been speaking like how an actual face is supposed to speak. I think he’s finally hitting his stride. Now the big question. Can Seth Rollins get it done? It would be incredibly foolish for WWE not to give him the title this Sunday. Honestly, we need to move past the phase of having WWE’s top title on a guy that will only come around when it’s convenient for him. It’s something I’m tired of saying, but I’d like to have the top champion on RAW’s premier brand to be, you know, here every Monday. It’s not unreasonable. I trust WWE will have better judgment and do the right thing. Although that trust can be fragile.

Winner: Seth Rollins

The Usos (C) vs. Aleister Black and Ricochet vs. The Bar vs. Shinsuke Nakamura and Rusev – Smackdown Tag Team Championship

Ah yes, the annual tag team championship match scramble. At this point, I’m wondering if I actually have a match scheduled for WrestleMania that I don’t know about. This is the definition of just jamming in as many people as possible just to get everyone on the card. I’m sure there will be some high spots and it will be a fun little sprint, but these guys just have no direction or purpose here.

The Bar probably won’t win because it wasn’t that long ago where they last held the titles. Nakamura and Rusev have not been believable enough as a tag team to quantify them winning the tag titles. Then you have the NXT duo, who just got a shot at the RAW Tag Team Titles, and didn’t even really earn a shot at the other main brand’s tag titles. The Usos are my pick to retain, but since there’s no story here, who knows?

Winner: The Usos

AJ Styles vs. Randy Orton

If you ask me, this has been my favorite feud thus far. Why? A litany of reasons. First, it’s a fresh matchup. Orton and Styles have only faced off one on one once before, and that was two years ago. So there’s nothing that feels tired or repetitive here. Second, it’s been little nonsense and all business. From Orton mentioning AJ stealing moves and hand gestures to Styles going as far as to mention Orton’s shaky history with WWE’s Wellness Policy, you get the sense that these two have it out for each other and that there’s legit heat. Wrestling is predicated upon good storytelling, and if there are elements to the story that perpetuates a beef, it makes the match more entertaining.

Then, there’s the fact that the story…MAKES SENSE! This is a battle of who built Smackdown LIVE. Is it the world-traveled veteran who has made it to the pinnacle of sports entertainment for just over three years, or is it the man who has been a WWE mainstay and perennial main eventer? They are polar opposites, and opposites attract. Predicting who will win this match is fun, but also painful because AJ and Randy are two of my favorite superstars.

WWE logic tells us that whoever gets the upper hand on the go-home show will win on PPV, and as we saw Randy Orton got the RKO on AJ, which is weird because we’ve seen AJ accurately scout the specific RKO Orton would try. Orton also got another RKO in on Styles the week before. My instinct tells me that AJ will learn from this mistake and counter Randy to win. Then again, who’s to say that Orton won’t get creative and try to hit a bigger RKO? Maybe an RKO from a 450 splash? Who knows, but I think AJ has the edge here. But this is a toss-up.

Winner: AJ Styles

Samoa Joe (C) vs. Rey Mysterio – United States Championship

So this match is now in limbo because of Rey Mysterio’s ankle injury this past Monday on RAW. That’s not to say this match wasn’t in limbo before. First of all, the feud here has been actually carried by Rey’s son Dominick, who randomly showed up to show us how much he has grown and how old we are all getting. In addition, no one was carrying any momentum. Rey Mysterio just lost clean to Baron Corbin, and not even to his finisher. And to make matters worse, he got himself injured in a match he really shouldn’t have even competed in.

Then, you have Samoa Joe, who lost to the 2019 version of Kurt Angle, lost to Kofi Kingston after he had already faced two other guys in a gauntlet match, and took a pinfall loss to Mysterio in a tag team match already. So basically you have a match where there isn’t a prohibitive favorite because both men are losers. Makes me wonder why WWE even bothered taking the title off of Truth. At least he won matches while he was champion.

A little fun fact here, but if Rey Mysterio wins the US Title, he will become a Grand Slam Champion in WWE (and Kofi Kingston can too if he wins the WWE Title). However, I don’t see it happening at Joe’s expense. Again, he already was pinned by Mysterio, and matches that are booked only because the challenger pinned the champion means that the champion usually retains. While I won’t rule out Rey winning the title, I think the safe money is on Joe to retain.

Winner: Samoa Joe

The Miz vs. Shane McMahon – Falls Count Anywhere

I’m personally not a fan of this feud simply because I don’t think Shane should be wrestling in singles matches anymore despite how hard a worker he is. The entire storyline between Miz and Shane becoming a tag team still confuses me so I won’t be all that invested in this match, but I will say I think Miz has a safe victory here. There’s just no reason to have Shane win this match, and we all know that he’s probably going to do something that will probably nearly kill himself. Regardless of such, Miz will walk out the victor and avenge the father that Shane seems to have a fetish for reminding he embarrassed.

Winner: The Miz

Daniel Bryan (C) vs. Kofi Kingston – WWE Championship

The most unlikely WWE Championship match, probably in WrestleMania history, is almost upon us. I guess the old saying that good things happen to those that wait applies to Kofi Kingston, as he has been thrust into a spot that he wasn’t supposed to be in. Perhaps maybe this was what was meant to happen all along.

I have enjoyed the feud because Kofi Kingston has essentially become what Daniel Bryan was five years ago. He is now the guy that has hurdles to jump over in order to compete for the WWE Title at WrestleMania. He is now the guy that has to face irrational authority figures trying to prevent him from succeeding. And now he’s the guy that has fought his way to the top with his pancake-eating companions at his side. Daniel Bryan’s work as a heel here has also been fantastic because not only is he showing his blatant hypocrisy, but he is being equally truthful about something.

He referenced his main event run in 2014, but also mentioned that he had earned his spot there. Kofi Kingston was chosen as Ali’s replacement in the Elimination Chamber. If Ali remained healthy, whose to say that it isn’t him in this position? And that’s actually a very valid point. This isn’t to say Kofi hasn’t earned a spot, but you can say Bryan’s main event run was more organic. Regardless of such, it is just so interesting to see how these parallels played out and how we had to love Daniel Bryan in order to hate who he has become now.

The only thing about this feud I found extremely confusing was Vince McMahon’s reasoning for making Kofi have to face insurmountable odds and jump through hurdles to get this match. We never got a clear indication. It just seemed like he did it in order to be an asshole. That’s fine, but it also led to underlying speculation that Vince just doesn’t want a black man to represent his company as WWE Champion.

It was also never expressed that Vince did this just so he could see if Kofi had what it took, but if that was the actual case, then that’s just a bad story. For all of the McMahon family telling us that we are the Authority and that we will get what we want from now on, they sure as hell did their best to do the opposite here.

I just sincerely hope WWE does the right thing and put the title on Kofi Kingston. I was told that we should take the title off of Randy Orton and put it on Jinder Mahal because it’s time for something new and you just never know. You see how well that turned out. Well, here’s the difference. Kofi is a way better worker and a far more likable person. Is he main event material? I’m not the one to answer that question. Do I think he’s worth taking a chance on? Abso-freaking-lutely. And imagine the feud that he could have with someone like Big E? A guy that many has said is overdue for a serious run at the top?

I’m heavily fearful that WWE is going to give Kofi the Booker T WrestleMania 19 treatment and have him lose a match that he really should win. Or maybe they might do a Dusty finish where WWE gives all the fans the excitement of seeing Kofi holding the WWE Title only to take it away from him. I’m really getting those vibes. But I hold out hope.

Sorry, but Kofi needs to win this match. Simply because I cannot see a valid reason why Bryan should retain. He’s been an awesome worker and I’ll admit that I wouldn’t be entirely mad if he retained. Let #KofiMania run wild.

Winner: Kofi Kingston

Ronda Rousey (C) vs. Charlotte Flair (C) vs. Becky Lynch – RAW and Smackdown Women’s Championships

Okay, so much to digest here. First of all, while I am incredibly happy that the women are getting the chance to close out WrestleMania for the first time ever, WWE’s booking team hasn’t done them justice by making this match far more complex and confusing than it had any right to be. It was simple. Becky Lynch ambushes Ronda Rousey and the RAW locker room. Ronda’s the big-shot celebrity who’s undefeated and Becky’s the bad-ass who is taking names. Becky gets hurt and Charlotte takes her place at Survivor Series.

Ronda screws Lynch out of her title. Becky then wins the Rumble by eliminating Charlotte. So we have Becky vs. Ronda at WrestleMania. The feud writes itself. No BS. Just have two women bad-mouth each other and kick ass. But then, of course, WWE has to take a simple story and insert a bunch of plot points that have no business being there.

It all started with making Becky re-earn a spot that she already had. Then, they inexplicably insert Charlotte into the match. Why? Because in the words of Vince, “We need Charlotte Flair!” With all due respect, no. Charlotte was not needed in here at all because this beef does not concern her. It just seemed like WWE wanted to give Charlotte the distinction of being a part of the first-ever Women’s WrestleMania main event in addition to all her other accolades. This isn’t to say Charlotte isn’t worthy of main eventing WrestleMania because she’s an incredible performer. But shoehorning her into what should have clearly been a one on one match was a bad move.

On top of that, WWE tops their already ridiculous decision to insert her into the match by having her take Asuka’s championship and robbing her of a chance to have a title match at WrestleMania. That was when the proverbial line in the sand was crossed. And all for what? Just so Charlotte can answer Becky’s call to “bring something” at WrestleMania? That’s a stupid plot point.

I’ve been campaigning for a rematch between Asuka and Charlotte at WrestleMania. That match could have easily written itself just like Becky and Ronda. Charlotte ended Asuka’s undefeated streak at WrestleMania last year. Asuka could simply say that has been eating her up for the past year and wants a chance to redeem herself. While it’s a repeat from last year, it’s a match that has stakes in the form of a title and personal pride. And plus, the two always kill it when they are in the ring with each other. Instead, they give it away on free television weeks before the event and Asuka goes from championship match to pre-show battle royal within an instant. For literally no reason.

So now, what was once a simple one on one bout for one title is now a triple threat with all the women’s titles up for grabs. Now, the stipulation is winner take all, but it has not been expressed if the titles are being unified. And at this point, you might as well do it. The women’s tag titles are now being defended across all brands, and if you’re going to have a woman walk out with both titles, are you now just going to have the winner defend one title at a time? That’s the issue that WWE always gets themselves into with the brand split. You separate the brands, but eventually, you re-unify the titles.

Anyways, regardless of the increasing complexity of this match, I am fully expecting Becky Lynch to win. This is her match to lose. Ronda is taking a break after WrestleMania (supposedly anyway) and what more does Charlotte need now? This is Becky’s moment and to have someone else win in this position would show an incredible lack of foresight. I do slightly think WWE could have Charlotte win again because they seem to have a fetish for giving her accolade after accolade, but this is Becky’s moment and I’ll be dammed if the only woman in this match to enter this match empty-handed will walk out the same way she came in.

I am also expecting this match to kill it in the ring, provided that we are all still awake by then.

Winner: Becky Lynch

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