It’s the 40th edition of the Grandest Stage of them All, The Showcase of the Immortals – WrestleMania. For some reason, things just feel bigger when it comes to the WWE these days, can you feel it? If it’s being under the umbrella of TKO with the UFC, the 10 year deal with Netflix for WWE Monday Night RAW, the PLE’s taking place in in places like Berlin, Germany, Paris, France, Scotland – for Clash at the Castle II, and of course Saudi Arabia this year, whether it’s Dwayne Johnson being on the Board of Directors for TKO – and the wonderous feeling of Vince McMahon finally not having any say over the creative process behind the scenes in World Wrestling Entertainment – for once it feels exciting to be a WWE fan again. I figured I would once again take the time after my Preview and Predictions of NXT Stand & Deliver, to do the same for WrestleMania XL, Night 1 and 2. With this article, I will be focusing on the ever important Night 1 and what I think is going to happen, and deep down in my heart of hearts, what I truly want to happen.
Rey Mysterio & Dragon Lee vs. Santos Escobar & Dominik Mysterio
What I think will happen:
This is an interesting one with Dominik coming in to team with Santos against his father and the ‘next’ Rey Mysterio, Dragon Lee. What a massive moment in both Santos and Dragon Lee’s careers. Just short time ago, they were both NXT regulars. As Mexican Pro Wrestlers, proud of their heritage and roots in Lucha Libre, to be sharing the ring with Rey Mysterio at a WrestleMania must have them pinching themselves. Santos could be the next Eddie Guerrero. Dominik… is the first Dominik! Enough of my rambling though. I think the heels will go over in this one, as it’s the first stop in this tale. Dominik still needs to get one back over on pops. Santos needs to be established.
What I want to happen:
I actually do want Santos Escobar to go over here, with future rematches coming out way, and the inclusions of Carlito and the L.W.O to face off with Legado Del Fantasma, and perhaps a new member of the group – Andrade. That would be an awesome stable war. That could last us till 2025. Honestly. There’s so much potential there for something to be prolonged to that point, let’s just do it! Santos is so talented, and people sleep on this guys ability and I really look forward to him breaking out and showing everybody just how good he is.
Bianca Belair, Naomi & Jade Cargill vs. Damage CTRL (Dakota Kai, Asuka & Kairi Sane)\
What I think will happen:
There is no way they are doing this and not having Jade Cargill’s team go over here. They have taken their time with bringing her to the Main Roster. She’s seldomly appeared, with her biggest appearance being in the Royal Rumble. I predict they will cause some damage to Damage CTRL. Damage CTRL have been a staple of WWE since the Triple H era, and now they have expanded after the addition of Asuka and Kairi Sane, even with the exclusion of Bayley, they have become more formiddable than before.
What I want to happen:
Whilst I am #TeamKairi all day, I do want to see Jade, Naomi and Bianca get the win in this one, and this is were youi start to line Jade and Bianca up as a Tag Team to go after the Kabuki Warriors in the future. Really bolster that Tag Team Division, and keep Bianca away from the World Title situation for a while. Shje has seen so much success so early into her caeer. Where does one go from there?
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)
What I think will happen:
This is what you call shoe-horning a line up to be on a card, AEW does it every PPV. It’s okay though. I will let it slide because it’s giving a lot of people the opportunity to wrestle at WrestleMania and having their ‘WrestleMania Moment.’ I think the Judgment Day will drop the titles here! If Awesome Truth aren’t the ones to win it, A-Town Down Under could be the ones to claim the gold here.
What I want to happen:
I just want something unpredictable to happen. I feel like Damian Priest is on the cusp of moving up into the Main Event scene, and I just feel like the run as the Tag Team Champs has to come to an end to achieve that. He’s gotta cash that Briefcase in. You know what, do something nice for Tommaso and Johnny, give it to DIY. Something different. Sometimes, like when Cardona won the Intercontinental Title at WrestleMania. Especially when you take into account the Money In The Bank Briefcase.
Jey Uso vs. Jimmy Uso
What I think will happen:
I think Main Event Jey gets the W here, it would surpise me if Jimmy did go over. I am expecting other heels to go over on this show so I just can’t see Jimmy getting the nod, despite the fact it would make the story better if he did, in my opinion. This is the first time the Uso’s have ever clashed on a stage like this, with a story like the one they have going into it. If they try, this could be the modern day Bret Hart vs Owen Hart from WrestleMania 10. This is so super anticipated, it’s taken us to this point to finally get here.
What I want to happen:
I want Jimmy to win this, I want heat on the Bloodline going all the way into WrestleMania Night 2. I WANT Jacob Fatu, who is a free agent and a surefire member of the Bloodline, or Tama Tonga who is a free agent after leaving New Japan Pro Wrestling, to get involved here and join the Bloodline to tip the scales in their favor even more. If there was ever a time to add more members, it’s at the Showcase of the Immortals.
Intercontinental Championship: Gunther (c) vs. Sami Zayn
What I think will happen:
Gunther will retain, there’s no doubt about it. Sami Zayn has already been Intercontinental Champion multiple times, so it wouldn’t be as meaningful because Sami has already reached that goal in his illustious career. If they seriously have Gunther break the record and hold the belt for THIS long, he’s got to drop it to somebody who hasn’t won it before like Chad Gable or Bron Breakker, or even Ludwig Kaiser. Sami needs to be on this card, but he’s just not the guy to win this.
What I want to happen:
I want an all out classic between these two, and absolute barnburber. This is what we have come to learn from Gunther’s title reign, his big title defences are his most impressive performances, as they should be. From his times wrestling the likes of Sheamus, Drew McIntyre, The Miz – He rises to the occasion at big time Premium Live Events like WrestleMania’s and SummerSlams, so the fact of the matter is I want Gunther to scrape by the skin of his teeth in this one. He is one of the best workers on the roster.
Women’s World Championship: Rhea Ripley (c) vs. Becky Lynch
What I think will happen:
I have a terrible, terrible feeling that they are going to have Rhea drop the title here to Becky Lynch. I think that would be the wrong decision. I think that would honestly suck. It’s nothing against Becky Lynch, but how many times do we have to see her or Charlotte once again at the top of the stack? It’s time to start moving into that next era for the WWE Women’s Division. There has to be other stuff we can keep Becky and Charlotte busy with for the next few years before retirement. I think WWE are going to give the belt to Becky here for another run.
What I want to happen:
I want Rhea Ripley to keep holding this belt till there’s a fresh challenger who has had a massive journey to get there, who has not won the Womens World Championship before. I don’t think Rhea’s dominance needs to be stopped just yet, and to be honest, I don’t think Rhea has exactly had the most thrilling title reign because she hasn’t really had a lot of big time feuds, because of her duties with the Judgment Day. If anybody is to topple Rhea from the top of the pile, I would want it to be somebody like Jade Cargill, or Tiffany Stratton, but I would prefer it if those ladies accomplished a plethora of other accomplishments before hitting the ultimate goal – which is why the idea of ‘layers’ within the WWE Women’s division is important, so that somebodys first accomplishment on the main roster isn’t immediately the WWE World Womens Titles. There needs to be goals to achieve before you get there just like what happened with the likes of Steve Austin, Triple H, Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels.
The Rock & Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes & Seth Rollins
What I think will happen:
I think it’s pretty obvious that Night 2 will see Cody Rhodes Vs Roman Reigns be a Bloodline Rules Match. That will open up the creative envelope and add a layer of suspense and intrigue we have come to expect from a Roman Reigns title defence, It’s wo;d/. Sikoa will be there, Heyman, Jimmy, perhaps new Bloodline members, The Rock… perhaps Cody will need to find people to look out for him. I also think The Rock will pin Cody.
What I want to happen:
What I think will happen 100% matches what I want to happen, homie. I want the Bloodline to dominate night 1 like there is no hope, and that this reign will continue, There is no better feeling than people thinking no hope is left and then we alll triumph like kings. We need The Bloodline to be at their best on WrestleMania night 1 so that it feels even better whenn on Night 2 Cody somehow pulls out the goods and defies the odds with the help of a lot of people to keep The Bloodline at bay. Whether John Cena or Stone Colds theme hits then we know we have a sure fire Main Event. This is what I am hoping.
