Again, it’s the 40th edition of the Grandest Stage of them All, The Showcase of the Immortals – WrestleMania. Night 1 as we know is going to be an experience, an event where we can’t even fathom what the outcome will be, despite our best attempt to assume, because in the past the WWE was so predictable we may as well have been given the spoilers ahead of time – that’s how it was then but now it is a completely different company. The ever extra important Night 2 is upon us, and despite how unpredictable Night 1 may be, and the potential it has to change the stakes on Night 2, I feel so strongly about this years WrestleMania that I already wrote a strong piece about Night 1, and needed to again for Night 2 and here are my thoughts on what I think is going to happen, and deep down in places where I don’t even want to mention at parties, what I truly want to happen.
Bobby Lashley and The Street Profits (Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins) vs. The Final Testament (Karrion Kross, Akam and Rezar) in a Philadelphia Street Fight
What I think will happen:
This is a tough one. Last year, Bobby Lashley was totally screwed out of a big time WrestleMania moment with what was to be his rubber match with Brock Lesnar after it being 1 a piece, with the 3rd match ending in a no contest, it was obvious where we were headed, but of course, Vince McMahon threw a spanner in the works and wouldn’t allow the feud to naturally end, just like he wouldn’t let the Hurt Business naturally continue, which was all on him – he was the only person on this planet that wanted Lashley’s old stable to break up. Nonetheless, the old man is gone and Lashley now has a new group with The Street Profits. They are feuding with the newly rejuvinated Karrion Kross, along with one of the hottest women on the planet Scarlett Bordeaux, Manager Paul Ellering, and a team that should have never left WWE, the Authors Of Pain. Being that they are both new groups, the prediction is tough, but if they want The Final Testament to have some legs, they need the big win in this Street Fight.
What I want to happen:
I see so much upside to Karrion Kross and Scarlett Bordeaux, it’s great the company are trying with them for the first time since his initial feud with Drew McIntyre, I want The Final Testament to get a solid victory here so they have somewhere to go from here. You can always carry this on for a few months and get Lashley and Profits over them down the line, make it 50 – 50, but in their first big time outing on a Premium Live Event, I should surely hope they walk away with the W from this battle. If Bobby and the Street Profits walk away with the win, I won’t exactly be upset, because it will at least make up for the fact last year all Bobby got to do was hold a trophy up that he won on Smackdown instead of participate on the card!
WWE United States Championship match: Logan Paul (c) vs. Randy Orton vs. Kevin Owens
What I think will happen:
Again, this is another strange one, but I honestly think somehow Logan will retain and keep the WWE United States Championship. He’s really done a good job since joining the company.
What I want to happen:
I honestly really don’t know what I want to happen. My initial thoughts were so thin for a reason. I am sure the match will be awesome but this isn’t exactly a match I am dying to see. I want Logan to retain, just because it would annoy so many wrestling fans, and I want him to pin Randy Orton to do it, because that would annoy them even more!
LA Knight vs. AJ Styles
What I think will happen:
Again, this is a hard one to pick! AJ Styles just returned as a heel, and he’s jacked to the gills, ready to keep going and get himself relevant again, whilst L.A Knight has been super over for the longest time, and perhaps he’s not as big of a deal as he was prior to losing to Roman Reigns in Saudi Arabia, his charisma and trajectory is still something that sees no bounds. Who do I think WWE will have go over? I think L.A Knight will have his day in the sun at this WrestleMania, and they will continue to keep him in a spot primed and ready to take a top spot when it finally opens up considering how stacked their Main Event scene is right now.
What I want to happen:
The cruel part of me wants AJ Styles to go over and give L.A Knight another road block to deal with in his career, and to prolong the feud for months on end before finally seeing it’s completion by an event like SummerSlam. Why do I want this? Because L.A Knight is surely going to be a WWE World Heavyweight Champion one day and with the WWE being the way it is right now, this bloke surely needs to be kept busy because there’s just no way he can get a look in right now!
WWE Women’s Championship match: Iyo Sky (c) vs. Bayley
What I think will happen:
I definitely think Bayley has got this one in the bag. If you think about it, they have kept Bayley away from the top spot for years as they had Charlotte and Becky Lynch dominate the Main Event scene with the likes of Ronda Rousey, Bianca Belair, Rhea Ripley and so forth getting their time to shine. Which is why it was such a breath of fresh air to have the brilliant Iyo Sky win the Championship last year and hold it all this time, and bring in her Joshi Homies Asuka and Kairi Sane into the group, which slowly but surely nudged Bayley out to the point of being kicked out and wanting vengeance. It’s been built up so long now and so well that there’s no other option other than to have Bayley defy the odds and topple Iyo, and finally become WWE Women’s Champion once again.
What I want to happen:
At least in Bayleys case, she has been out of the top echelon as a Champion for so long that it wouldn’t offend me to see her have another run, where as seeing Charlotte or Becky have another run would kind of irritate me. I am just glad Sasha Banks is over in AEW because I think she is one of the most over rated talents the business has seen, and I don’t mean to knock her, but I just don’t think she’s as good as she’s been hyped to be – and if she was still in WWE she would be waiting for her next turn too, which I could care less about when you have people like Tiffany Stratton and Blair Davenport under contract. Excuse the rant, but what I would want deep in my heart is for IYO SKY to retain and keep the story going before Bayley finally gets the big win.
World Heavyweight Championship match: Seth Rollins (c) vs. Drew McIntyre
What I think will happen:
I think Seth will lose the World Heavyweight Championship at this show. There is just no way his title reign can go any longer. He’s done a tremendous job despite most of his feuds feeling like they were foregone conclusions, but good lord I think it’s time they took the belt off him and gave Drew a proper heel run as champion. Drew has been getting amazing reactions as a heel since he turned, which is why he became popular in the first place. This is half of the issue in WWE – somebody became a popular heel, they turned them babyface and they became soft as pudding. Drew is on a roll right now, give him the belt, and when CM Punk is fresh and ready to go again, seeing Drew and Punk battle this Summer after Punk heals from his triceps injury will be something super interesting.
What I want to happen:
I am a big Damien Priest fan and have been since I saw his heel work when he battled Bad Bunny in Peurto Rico last year. That was the first time I really saw that he had total star potential. I want Seth to retain, or to have Damien Priest cash in his Money In The Bank briefcase during the match, either or – and I want to see him win the World Heavyweight Championship and finally be made a serious threat. If Cody is going to win the other belt, then let’s get another strong heel the other title. Would Drew be a great candidate? Absolutely. But the Judgment Day have been a staple on ever WWE PLE for the last year or so and the only thing that group is and has been missing is a centre piece, and that’s one of the Men’s World Championships. Imagine Damien and Rhea were both holding World Title Gold on the same brand? Brilliant.
Undisputed WWE Universal Championship match: Roman Reigns (c) vs. Cody Rhodes
What I think will happen:
I honestly think after all this time, they will believe it’s not that important for Roman Reigns to beat the #2 longest reign of all time of Hulk Hogan when he held the WWF Championship for 1,474 days. Right now as I type this, Roman has held it for 1312 days. Is it really that important for him to hold it till the summer just to beat Hogan? Or do we need to finally give Cody his flowers and have him topple the Head of the Table? I think they will finally give it to Cody. It would get such a bad reaction if they didn’t. This would open up Cody Vs The Rock if Rock pins him in the Tag Team Match on Night 1, a rematch with Reigns down the line, which could propell The Rock and Roman to finally do battle at WrestleMania 41.
What I want to happen:
I want to see wrestling mark tears fill the building on WrestleMania 40, Night 2 – I want there to be some way that Roman Reigns retains again because I love the anger and the outrage from the people just like we witnessed last year at WrestleMania 39. The reaction last year was so pathetic from so many people. Cody had only been back from injury for around 70 days and they thought that was an appropriate amount of time for a beautiful disaster of a journey to culiminate in the ultimate moment…. no. It needed another year. Long gone are the days of hotshotting a title victory for the sake of it, it’s time we really gave it a moment that meant something more than we’ve ever felt. The WWE is on fire right now, and a babyface having many bumps along the way to finally seeing the ultimate goal is what makes the business tick. Heat. Heat. Heat. It works in so many other TV shows, and when you finally reach that promised land, it’s that feeling and that pop you seek, because the harrowing feeling of all that heat finally disappeared when you got to witness the emotion of that ultimate feeling of seeing the good guy finally defy adversity and reach that goal in which he DREAMED to attain.
