Rosie's Road to Wrestlemania: Hollywood

[Rosie]

Introduction

Hey guys, trying to do a BTB that is a bit different than usual. I do not have the time for a fully fledged Be the Booker with whole shows, segments, etc. At least not the amount of time for the quality I would aim for. But, I thought I'd put my fantasy booking tiara on for this. WWE is in a new era (This time, actually not just a buzz word) with a new booker and etc. Positive signs or not, time will tell how much the product improves. But what if I was given the booker's pencil? How would I plan WWE's road to Wrestlemania in Hollywood from now until the two night show.

The format of this will borrow a touch from Adam Blampied's Fantasy booking videos he does on Parts Funknown and what he used to do on What Culture. With each match I am tasked with booking the beats of the storyline to lead to its eventual culmination at the Showcase of the Immortals. Some will be more detailed than others, obviously. But the key is to get the storylines set. Of course it is easier to "Fantasy Book" than to book an IRL Wrestling Company. But all I can say is: WWE, do it better.

Rules:

I have to book 16 matches, split between two nights.

I have to start my booking as of September 2nd, the night before Clash at the Castle. Meaning any title changes I have to explain that happen after. This date is chosen as I am thinking of this just prior to that PPV. This is from this point I am making this to Mania. Even though not every storyline will need to start at that point.

This is not about writing each segment and match but about building the storylines to each match.

I will post storylines either one or two at a time, depending on if they are connected and what is most wanted by you guys.

I have to use the WWE Roster as of Clash at the Castle.


On that note, here is a "Mock card" For Wrestlemania. With taglines for each. To decide what match builds to write first I will have a poll in which you guys can vote. Highest vote getter will be done first, with some discretion from me.

List of matches: Updated as I add them.
​

NIGHT ONE	NIGHT TWO
Match 1: “A battle for Control in the Women’s division”	Match 1: “The Miz Proudly Presents: The Hollywood Dream Ladder Match” Bobby Lashley vs Happy Corbin vs Shinsuke Nakamura vs Pete Dunne vs Sheamus vs Mustafa Ali vs Rey Mysterio vs Dominik Mysterio
Match 2: “The next duo”	Match 2: “Venom runs cold”
Match 3: US Championship: Tomasso Ciampa (c) vs Johnny Gargano	Match 3: "Intercontinental Championship: Two Generals"
Match 4: “The Legend vs The Next Up”	Match 4: "WWE Women's Tag Team Championships: Only Two can Judge”
Match 5: “Bullet in the Chamber”	Match 5: “A Celeb Encounter ‘worthy’ of Hollywood” *Legally cannot guarantee it is.
Match 6: WWE Tag Team Championships: The Usos (c) vs Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens	Match 6: “WWE Universal Championship: Out of time...”
Match 7: “WWE Smackdown Women’s Championship: The Horsewomen Ride”	Match 7: “WWE Raw Women’s Championship: Redemption”
Main Event: “WWE Title: A Prince aims for his Crown”	Main Event: Roman Reigns vs The Rock in an "Acknowledge Me" I Quit Match

 

[Rosie]

BOOKINGS QUICK SEARCH

Bookings 1 & 2: Roman vs The Rock, Usos vs Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens

https://wrestlingsmarks.com/threads/rosies-road-to-wrestlemania-hollywood.212516/#post-4718423

Bookings 3 & 4: Hollywood Dream Ladder Match &The US Championship

https://wrestlingsmarks.com/threads/rosies-road-to-wrestlemania-hollywood.212516/#post-4737404​

 

[Rosie]

And with that: The first poll will be here.

What Match Should Rosie Book First? - Online Poll - StrawPoll

What's your opinion? Vote now: “WWE Raw Women’s Championship: Redemption”, "For the Family", “WWE Universal Championship: Out of time...”, “A Celeb Encounter ‘worthy’ of Hollywood”,...

strawpoll.com

Pick between 1 and 3 options as to which ones peak your curiosity the most.

 

[OMB]

 

[Sky]

Good to see someone taking inspiration from Blampied

 

[Rosie]

Good to see someone taking inspiration from Blampied

I like his format for Fantasy booking. Get an end goal for a storyline and plan out the beats. I got most the storylines thought of in my head minus a few finer details. Speaking of.

The first one to take the lead appears to be the one that I have dubbed "For the Family"

I think you all have an idea what it is. I'll maybe work on that along with a storyline intertwined with it this week

 

[Rosie]

Bookings One and Two:


"For the Family"
&
"Family vs Friends"

Introduction

As some of you may predict by its main event billing on night two and name, the “For Family,” storyline is one which has been rumoured for years and seems to be most likely to happen this year. It is probably the only match I think this man should come out of semi-retirement for and do as it is the one with the most story. But, this is a double storyline booking because this will be intertwined heavily with one which is something I legit had a day before it was hinted at on WWE TV. Triple H must be looking at my notes.

Right now Roman Reigns is in the middle of a very long and both amazing and yet a touch stale Undisputed Universal Title Reign holding the blue belt for over 700+ days. The man has won it all and really doesn’t need to do much else. Except maybe one certain dream match. For years it has been rumoured that WWE wants to do Roman Reigns vs The Rock at Wrestlemania, and Hollywood seems like a perfect chance. Gives the highest grossing actor a chance to have his last match in tinsel town where he achieved stardom greater than the WWE itself. Having it against his cousin too would be poetic. Roman retiring The Great One and showing himself as the true head of his family has the potential to be a marquee main event. Perhaps one greater than any title.

With that in mind, this storyline, as you can guess by my booking, will NOT include either championship. A championship I feel will muddy the storyline a bit and take a marquee match away from someone who could actually use a title to elevate the stakes of their storyline. It will also make things even more predictable because why would The Rock win the championship? He is so busy that he can’t even be a part-time champion. Without it there is that chance, an inkling that maybe The Rock could win. It could be a “Hollywood ending” for him, and maybe a loss could be something to lead to a face turn for The Big Dog in the future. Being humbled. Or he puts over his cousin in the traditional wrestling way and goes out giving the rub to family before enjoying the rest of his life making action movies in which he’ll star as the same guy that he plays well and make more money than everyone who has signed up for this website will make in their entire lives combined.

This also gives the opportunity to tell a story that WWE has kind of ignored, and that is Roman and the Usos. After making them “Acknowledge him” both the Uso brothers have been his willing lackeys and there hasn’t been much tension between them for a long time. But, Roman losing the championships combined with their family member challenging the Tribal Chief can re-introduce that tension a bit and create some drama. That alongside the Usos trying to stay in the good graces of their provider by defending their tag team titles. But against who?

Something I also want to do is build a storyline around to maybe add an extra bit of zest to WWE’s tag team division which has talented teams, but rarely has been focused. There is a pair of people in WWE who have genuine chemistry together both as opponents and as partners and have held tag team titles together outside of WWE, and one is already intertwined with the Bloodline right now.

And just as I had this idea, it was hinted at on WWE TV that we may get it sometime soon. But it is something I feel that, with the Brand split existing, if actually enforced a touch, can leave it to simmer and build going into Wrestlemania. I’m talking about two men who are genuinely great friends, amazing talents, the masters of turning almost anything they are given into gold. Great as face or heel, Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens.

So, how will I lead to:

Roman Reigns vs The Rock at WrestleMania and

The Usos vs Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn for the WWE Undisputed Tag Team Championships

Let’s begin.

Our story begins at the IRL upcoming PPV, Clash at the Castle in the UK where Roman Reigns is scheduled to defend his titles against Drew McIntyre. People debate if this is where Roman will actually drop the belts IRL. There are a few potential options for who to beat him for the championships. From Seth “Freakin” Rollins, to Karrion Kross, and more, but I’m going to argue that if there is a chance for him to lose the championships, this may be one of the better chances. Drew is a former world champion in his own right, popular, talented in the ring so it works for Triple H’s work rate focus and is still proven. If there is a time and place outside of a WWE “Big Four” PPV, then Clash at the Castle may be perfect to create a “moment” for WWE.

Since Roman has been world champion as his Final Boss heel run, we have not really had many “feel good” babyface victories in the main event of PPVs unless Roman is out of the main event, which he normally has been outside of his switch to a lighter schedule recently. I think that we are due for one. Also when Drew had his championship runs we were in the middle of the pandemic where he won his first championship in an empty performance center and then his second was in the Thunderdome where it looked like Wrestling meets my first year of Law school, oh god the bad memories. Considering how hard the man worked to entertain us during a time where everything in the world was shit hitting the fan, maybe giving him a chance to win both world championships in his home country may be the best chance for a “feel good” moment. It also creates a new star and frees up Roman for a while.

So, Clash at the Castle comes and on the show we get a backstage segment from Roman Reigns sitting down with Paul Heyman, the Usos, and their new Scrappy Doo sidekick, Sami Zayn. Sami Zayn, being as energetic as the Energizer Bunny after a Mountain Dew and Espresso shot, starts bigging up about how they are going to watch Roman embarrass Drew in his home country. Roman whispers something into Paul’s ear and Paul gives Sami the news that he needs to “stay in the back, if we need you, we’ll let you know.,” for the championship match. Sami agrees, not wanting to upset “big uce.”

The match comes and it is Roman vs Drew with Paul and the Usos in Roman’s corner. During the match, as Drew begins to fight from underneath, the Usos start to interfere a bit, but manage to avoid getting kicked out. Then, the official eventually gets knocked down and then Paul signals for Sami to join as well. He rushes down and the Bloodline start to beat down Drew. Roman and Sami Zayn pick up Drew McIntyre for a double super kick from the Usos, but Drew ducks and the Usos nail Sami and Roman instead. Drew drops the Usos with a double clothesline while they are shocked, throws Sami out as well, but Roman comes to in time for a Spear. The official is late getting in. One, Two, The-

Kickout. Which I expect may get one hell of a pop. Roman is desperate, yells at the Usos for the screw up and has to line up for one more Spear. Instead, we get a counter with the Claymore. Roman rolls towards the ropes, so a tired Drew lines up for one more Claymore and hits it. One, two, three. Drew McIntyre somehow beats the Tribal Chief. What happens next for The Bloodline?

On Smackdown, there is a “Family Meeting,” between the Usos and Roman, with Sami there just saying whatever possible to back Roman because he is, as in real life now, kind of glomping onto the Bloodline. Roman’s upset at the Usos and asks them to kneel down and apologize. Jey does, but Jimmy has to be pressured into doing so. Afterwards, Roman puts a hand on each of their shoulders and says he is “proud” of them doing the right thing, and also proud that they still bring gold to the family, their tag team championships. Roman announces he is going to “re-assess” before he comes back for his championships and in the meantime, Sami Zayn is tasked with “taking care” of the Usos.

Next week on Smackdown, Sami Zayn manages to win a battle royal tasked with determining the next challenger for Drew McIntyre for his title. That will happen at Extreme Rules and to prevent Uso interference, not only will the Usos have to defend their tag team championships in an Extreme Rules match earlier in the night, but the match will be a Steel Cage match. The Usos end up retaining their championships and then Sami Zayn, being a “Master Strategist” has the Usos attack Drew before the bell and throw in some weapons for him to use. Security takes the Usos away before the bell and during the match, Sami Zayn uses weapons to get an advantage. When Drew fights back, he tries his hardest to escape the cage, but eventually the Psychotic Scot catches him with a Claymore to retain his championship. Sami Zayn gets a World title match to maybe build him up more, but he loses because he is being a chicken shit coward. That may be a sign to him that maybe something needs to change, though he doesn’t realize it yet, or at least refuses to admit it.


As Drew moves on to new challengers for the time being, Sami Zayn is seen in a comedic wheel chair and neck brace on Smackdown, saying he was “brutalized” by Drew by using weapons that are not normally provided in a steel cage match. He tries to protest the results, to no success. Him also “selling injuries” is a way to let him still be involved in storylines, but also not need to appear at the next WWE event, Crown Jewel which I will refuse to book because Saudi. Regardless, gives us a fun little thing on the side, which he is “healed” from after the PPV.

In the build-up to Survivor Series, Roman Reigns comes back to check on his family. However, Roman does not come back quite in time and Drew already has a scheduled title challenged for the PPV, so Roman announced that at the Royal Rumble, he will be challenging whoever may be holding the gold. But, fear not, because who comes out, The New Day of Kofi and Xavier. They run down the Bloodline for being “Booty” but most of all, the Usos for continuing to “acknowledge” Roman Reigns despite… everything that has happened. They forgot who they were. Roman presses the Usos, reminding them that, “They are champions,” and how they are better.

This leads to a Six-Man Tag Team Match at the PPV, The Bloodline vs The New Day and a mystery partner. Big E won’t be cleared, so instead, making a one night “Preview” of a main roster call-up, The New Day announce they are picking someone who knows the Usos are better than they do… Solo Sikoa. The Usos are conflicted during the match, as you’d expect, but eventually win off of a double Super Kick into a Spear, after very reluctantly nailing their bro with a Superkick. In an interview on WWE.com, Solo can explain that he just did this as a favour to his brothers, but that tonight showed “He needs to get better” So he’ll be back in NXT and when the time comes, he’ll be back.

What about Sami Zayn? Well normally Survivor Series is all about the “Brand Warfare” thing. Since this is fantasy booking, I honestly don’t think that is needed, mostly. I believe using the Survivor Series tag matches as Raw vs Smackdown can work, but there needs to be something at stake. It will be announced that there will be a Men’s elimination match, and a Women’s one, Raw vs Smackdown. The winning team will not just win the #30 spot in their Rumble match for their brand, but one of those five will be guaranteed to get it. The losing team will have at least one of them be the #1 entrant. There are qualifying matches and Sami Zayn qualifies for Smackdown.

Raw’s team will be: Johnny Gargano, Tomasso Ciampa, Austin Theory, AJ Styles, and Kevin Owens.

Team Smackdown is: Sami Zayn, Shinsuke Nakamura, Sheamus, Ricochet, and Pete Dunne (I don’t care, he’s Pete Dunne to me, still keep him with Sheamus as a pair of European Bullies).

In the build up, Sami Zayn tries to play “Captain” to his team, and increasingly annoys them. He’s part of the Bloodline, an honorary Uso, and all that, until Shinsuke Nakamura one smackdown takes the microphone and simply says “I don’t know you anymore.” This plays off their history together being in NXT and as part of the “Artist Collective” I think they were called. Sami is taken back a bit, but then brushes it off.

The match ends with Team Raw picking up the win with Sami Zayn being first eliminated after trying to bring in a chair and instead getting it kicked out of his hand and then getting nailed with a stunner from Kevin Owens.

In a segment later in the night, Sami tries to big up the Bloodline after their win and… Roman gets up, down on Sami Zayn in the face and says “We expect better from you,” before leaving. Sami Zayn is shell shocked almost, and Kevin Owens then appears behind Sami Zayn. He doesn’t say a word because he doesn’t need to, then walks away.

Sami Zayn is beginning to unravel a bit. He’s losing some of these big matches and he is even starting to run the ire of his “Uce.” But, he gets an idea. He gatecrashes Raw to attack Kevin Owens. Trying to maybe show him that he doesn’t NEED the old Sami Zayn. This leads to a match at Day 1 (ish?) between the two. Meanwhile Roman simply waits, knowing he can rest up at home for his championship match at the Royal Rumble.

Meanwhile, before the PPV, it is announced that “On the First Raw of the Year, to ring in the Road to Wrestlemania: Hollywood, we have a Hollywood Star as a special guest who will appear on Raw and Smackdown that week to ‘set the tone’ for the season.”

At Day 1, Kevin Owens does his best to bring out a bit of the “Old” Sami Zayn. Sami Zayn busts out some spots he did as a babyface, the Torpedo DDT through the post, some dives to the outside and Kevin Owens begins to beat him down and Sami is forced to show some guts, something he has lacked for a while. But, as he gets desperate, the Usos, who successfully defended their championships earlier in the night, get involved with one distracting the official, and the other holding KO’s leg so Sami can nail the Helluva Kick. Sami jumps up in celebration, “See!? The Bloodline rule WWE!” He shouts.

The next night on Raw, in the main event slot, who else to appear, but… IF YOU SMELL, The Rock comes out as the Roster of Raw is on the stage. The Rock talks a lot about how Wrestling in WWE prepared him for Hollywood, the need for the spotlight, adapt, and etc. There is a saying in Hollywood, 15 minutes of fame and all that, well Wrestlemania, those 15 minutes can last a life-time. He points out some people on the stage and does some classic Rock zingers, but also does take some time to praise the roster a bit and mention a few names, although he omits a certain large dog. “This era of WWE is different to when I was around, but that isn’t a bad thing, because I think, bell to bell, between these ropes, WWE is at its best and if you bust your ass, maybe you can be even better-” IF YOU SMELL WHAT THE ROCK IS-!

Then Sami Zayn’s music hits. “What the hell, he’s a Smackdown guy?” Sami Zayn was here backstage for “important business” but wanted to come out here to put a stop to this nonsense. “How dare this man come here, he doesn’t even work here anymore. Hell, he’s not even the best in his family.” The Rock doesn’t mention Roman, but does some of his classic Rock Zingers, Sami attempts one or two of his own, just have fun with the segment, ending with a Rock Bottom on Sam Zayn, if you smell, etc.

On Smackdown, The Rock doesn’t appear live in front of the crowd on TV, instead he does that after the main event as a treat for the Live crowd. Instead, he has a couple segments with Smackdown stars backstage, getting exposure, putting people over, having zingers, and all the Rock business. Two segments though, one includes Sami Zayn trying to hand The Rock some “Legal papers” saying he is going to “Sue” the pants of The Rock. The Rock looks at it, “You made it,” Before ripping it up. But… apologies in a way. “You have to understand, The Rock’s time with the People is the Rock’s Time with the People,” and Sami says “Well, I am a man of the people,” The Rock says “No, you WERE a man of the people, but I don’t see that anymore, just a whiny bitch-ass punk Jabroni. Get out of The Rock's Face!”

But, the most important segment of all. The Rock is walking backstage, presumably going to head to the ring, he says hi to people in the only way The Rock can. He turns and heads through the Gorilla position only to see…

Roman Reigns.

The two stand there, The Rock is surprised, stunned. Tension between the cousins. Finally Roman says only one thing…

“What about me?”

Show fades to black.

As Day One has come and gone and we approach the Royal Rumble, Roman Reigns is focused on getting gold again from Drew McIntyre who still has hold of the Universal Championship. He says it isn’t just about getting his championship back. In fact, he is greater than the championship. He held it for two years. But this is about creating a legacy and for his family. He needs to be acknowledged, making it clear he is talking about The Rock, especially as he has a warm-up match on WWE TV before the Rumble and he wins with The Rock Bottom. Meanwhile, Sami Zayn is going to be in the Royal Rumble, but is dreading it because he has a one in five chance of entering at number one. Beforehand, he has a match against another potential number one entrance, Shinsuke Nakamura and here they once again give a sampling of the old Sami Zayn, busting out a few remixes of their old spots before Nakamura eventually wins after Sami Zayn tries to cheat, but it costs him with a Kinsasha to the face.

At the Royal Rumble, Paul Heyman and the Bloodline are all banned from ringside for Drew vs Roman. It is mainly them two. Drew powers out of a Guillotine Choke and kicks out of a Spear, before Roman exposes a Turnbuckle when the ref isn’t looking and takes Drew’s head and smashes it into it. He manages to cover it as best as he can before the ref can see. He pulls Drew up, a Rock Bottom is calling then…

IF YOU SMELL

The Rock’s music hit and he comes down to the ring. He gets on the apron and Roman and him stare off. Roman mouths off to him, frothing at the mouth “What are you going to do?” and begs him to step aside and do what the Usos already did-

Now Drew comes to life and drops him with a Rock Bottom. The Rock gives a little golf clap, “Not bad,” before he steps down. Drew hits Claymore, he retains.

In the Royal Rumble match, Sami Zayn enters at number one, the luck of the draw is not his. At first, he is backed into a corner and he reverts back to the chicken shit Sami Zayn, holding onto the ropes, and etc. That is until he hears, maybe around number 10-14 Kevin Owens’ music. The two come face to face and of course they do the hockey fight punches, and there is when Sami seems to get in another gear. He starts fighting more and showing guts. He becomes one of the ironmen in the match before eventually getting eliminated, maybe around entrant number 24 by Karrion Kross, but has a gutsy fight before getting thrown over the top rope.

On Smackdown, Roman Reigns cuts a promo in the middle of the ring with the Usos, Heyman, and Sami Zayn. He explains the story about the Royal Rumble 2015. You know, the Worst Rumble in history, if not, pretty close? The Rock came to help him as the fans… boo’ed his victory. Before the show, The Rock visited and told him that this [WWE] was going to be his one day, that he was going to make their family proud, but he was going to have to work for it. After the reaction from the fans, The Rock told him not to worry “It happened to me too” and that night was step one. Keep putting in the work.

And, Roman has. He mentions his accomplishments and basically says he has done more than The Rock ever has in Wrestling. He is the Head of the Anoa'i family in WWE. Jimmy and Jey acknowledged him, the rest of their family has, but not Dwayne. But why? He invites him to come to Smackdown and talk to him, face to face. The next week, The Rock leaves a video message, saying he will come to Smackdown as long as Paul, Jimmy, Jey, and Sami aren’t there. Since there are two PPVs between Rumble and Mania, I’d do the face to face at the first one, but there is a big hurdle in that one of them may be a Saudi show since Elimination Chamber was there last year and they had Super Showdown also there between Mania. I doubt The Rock would go to one because of, you know, PR reasons, and another match can’t happen there because of reasons you will see, but this will work.

Finally, the face-off happens. Roman comes out, then The Rock, and The Rock gives his reasons. Simply, The Rock hasn’t “acknowledged him” because The People haven’t. Go back to the Royal Rumble, the people rejected him simply because it was the wrong place at the wrong time. But, to Roman’s credit, things improved, slowly. Slowly as Roman showed who he was as a person. Then things changed. The Rock looks at Roman and doesn’t see his cousin anymore, he sees a power hungry monster. The Rock has lost sight of it before, but The Rock has always come back to the people-

“The people can kiss my ass.” Then Roman lashes back. He says “He did everything he could for the fans but they didn’t do anything. I did everything I should have. I did meet and greets, I went to charity events, the whole nine-yards. They didn’t realize I was given the ball because I was the right man to pick it up after John pulled a you and went for Hollywood. But instead, They wanted me dead,” The Rock retorts, “Not me, remember when you were sick, I-”

Alluding to the cancer diagnosis Roman had which, oddly enough was the cold splash of water we needed to sort of look at Roman as a person and even his character and reactions did start to improve as a face then when he returned. But Roman cuts him off “Don’t dare mention that again or you’ll be the one in the hospital.” He then goes on, “WWE isn’t your world anymore, it’s mine. I have done everything you have done and more. I’m here providing for our cousins. I’m building this brand while I still can. Give me the ball that you dropped years ago, acknowledge me.”

The Rock refuses.

“Acknowledge me,” Roman bellows out again and again and The Rock refuses before Roman finally slaps The Rock. The Rock takes a long look at Roman before leaving the ring. He cost him the championship, but he is hesitant to come to blows with his own blood just yet.

Next week on Smackdown, Roman proclaims that if The Rock doesn’t want to acknowledge him, then he is going to make everyone suffer around him while he only gets stronger. The first step- cut out the dead weight. He then turns to Sami Zayn… he rips off Sami’s Bloodline T-shirt before him and the Usos beat Sami Zayn down. They brutalize him and he takes multiple superkicks and splashes from the Usos, Superman Punch, Spear, passes out to the Guillotine from Roman and he is carted away. That way if the Saudi show comes first, Sami Zayn can miss it in story.

Meanwhile, on Smackdown, whenever Roman shows up, he makes it his goal to make everyone’s lives a living hell, beatdown after beatdown, he is enraged at the fact there is one man in his family, perhaps a name bigger than him, refuses to acknowledge his status as the provider, the head of the table in WWE. He’s begging for The Rock to come back and either Acknowledge him or fight him to the end. In a recorded segment, The Rock explains “No, I’m done wrestling, and I don’t want to fight my own family.”

Meanwhile in the build-up to the PPV which isn’t the Saudi show, Sami Zayn, injured at home, makes a challenge to Roman for a match at the PPV. And here, Sami is starting to show a babyface fire again. He’s done being a coward, he is a fighter. Roman accepts and the last Smackdown before the PPV, Sami Zayn makes a return, ribs still taped up, with a chair, and rushes the Bloodline off.

At the PPV, it’s a classic underdog Sami Zayn performance. He’s entering the match not at 100%. He’s battered and bruised, but he will NOT be bullied by Roman anymore. He will not run. He fights from underneath and gets some hope spots in, but Roman throws him around and even pulls his shoulders up after a spear, prolonging the pain. Eventually it ends with Sami passing out in the Guillotine Choke. Roman stands tall. The Usos and Roman continue the beatdown but who makes the save but Kevin Owens. Back on the Raw episode the night before I am typing this very line, Kevin Owens said the lines which had a sentiment that I matched in this story for Sami Zayn. Bring the old Sami Zayn back (even though he has done amazing as a heel). Kevin Owens manages to run the Bloodline off and he brings up the battered Sami Zayn by the hand and the two hug.

The next night on Raw. Kevin Owens says “The old Kevin Owens returned months ago. The Prize Fighter, but last night, I saw my best friend come back.” Sami thanks him, says he feels good to be back as himself. No more conspiracy theories, nothing. He’s going to earn everything. “Speaking of earning,” Kevin mentions, “I haven’t earned a prize in who knows how long and to stop Roman, maybe we need to get to his enablers,” and there, they lay the challenge, tag team championships at WrestleMania, Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn vs The Usos. They accepted with a beatdown on Smackdown.

Meanwhile on that same episode of Smackdown, what finally gets The Rock to accept, Roman goes to the family of The Rock. He goes up to his family and one by one begs them to acknowledge him, meanwhile trashing the place to the horror of The Rock’s family. Next episode of Smackdown, The Rock comes, rushes the ring and brawls with Roman. This forces the Big Dog to run and The Rock accepts.

In one of the last episodes of Smackdown before WrestleMania, there is a contract signing. There is a no contact rule between Rock and Roman, and there they continue their verbal barbs and Roman offers a stipulation for their match, a unique one. He got Jimmy and Jey to “acknowledge him” in an I Quit match. The Rock has quite the history in I Quit matches too, right? At WrestleMania, it is similar, but he wants The Rock to say in front of The World “I Acknowledge you.” It is an “Acknowledge Me” I Quit match. Only way to win is to say to your opponent you acknowledge them. The Rock accepts, signs, before the Usos super kick him. Sami and Kevin rush down to make the save and you get a preview of both matches at the showcase of the Immortals.

Night One: Sami Zayn and KO win the tag team championships from the Usos ending their own historic reign and formally combining the Raw and Smackdown tag team titles before the upcoming draft. That way the WWE Tag Team Titles can float between both shows and the WWE Tag Team division isn’t cut in half. More match ups and you have a great team heading the division (Before Kevin’s inevitable betrayal and the cycle starts anew). All that you really need to do is let them have a good match they are capable of having.

Then, Night Two: Roman beats The Rock. Let it be a nasty brawl. Let there be melodrama, both men begging the other to quit. Rock wants Roman to cut his shit, Roman wants the Rock to stay down, acknowledge him and go back to Hollywood for good. Roman calls the Usos down, he holds up The Rock, but miss and hit him again. After the next time The Rock is down in the match, Roman calls the Usos "failures," saying "First you cost me my titles, then you lose the tag team titles and now this!?" Having enough, Jimmy leaves first. Jey, who acknowledged Roman first... hesitates before joining his brother, leaving The Rock and Roman to finish this match themselves. Finally, a battered Rock has enough, Roman is even starting to hesitate a bit, and The Rock says, “Is this what you want, Uce? Maybe if I do this, I’ll get my cousin back someday. I acknowledge you.”

Roman wins. The Rock lies down on the apron, doctors check on him. Roman has a victory, but what next? But, he looks at The Rock, and does something. He helps him up. Roman gives a small nod of the head, before leaving. Not a babyface turn, but maybe he has a better understanding of his family, and, as the undisputed Head of the Table, he wants to give the old one a chance to say his goodbyes.

Roman leaves and The Rock stands in the middle of the ring, soaking it all in. He takes off his boots, and leaves them in the middle of the ring. His music plays and he walks up the ramp saying goodbye as the show fades away and thus, finally closes the book properly for The Rock on the Wrestling side of his life, and the official retirement of the last main event name from the Attitude Era, giving his last win to his family, and maybe brushing shoulders a touch with a few names from the WWE today, leaving it in good hands.

And there it is. You create a new tag team and give them a genuinely heated feud going into WrestleMania. Sami Zayn gets a slow-burn babyface turn and rubs shoulders (like he is doing now) with a top stable. But also you not just build a personal feud between The Rock and Roman about something perhaps greater than any championship, but Roman is still presented as a big deal and gets a new side of his character. One loss makes him try to cling onto power as best as he can over his family and even Sami Zayn. But The Rock by doing one thing sends Roman spiraling. And with how it ended, you can go many different routes with The Bloodline. The Usos can reject Roman and turn face again. Maybe in a swerve, Solo comes in and reunites with his brothers forming a new Bloodline, casting Roman out, there are so many ways to do it. But that booking is not my responsibility.

Hope you enjoy, let me know what ones of the list you want me to do next. Thank you.

-Rosé <3



​

 

[Sky]

Cool and also nice

Good writing too

 

[Rosie]

Cool and also nice

Good writing too

Thank a mix of a lot of academic writing and years of e-feds.

 

[Rosie]

Bookings Three and Four:


"The Miz Presents: The Hollywood Dream Ladder Match"
&
"US Championship Match: The Beat Goes On"

Introduction

The second post in this is going to be another two-for one booking as two of the main characters in each are currently connected. The set-up for their Mania storylines will be connected, however they will separate as I go into each one.

The first background is the Hollywood Dream ladder match. Often at Wrestlemania, there is some sort of multi-person match with some sort of stakes involved to get people on the card. It has not always happened, but for a long time, it happened. Over a decade and a half ago, the last time Wrestlemania was in Hollywood, there was the creation of Money in the Bank which stayed at Wrestlemania until Wrestlemania 26 where after the greatest Money in the Bank Holder and Future Star of Five Star Wrestling, Lucha Underground, the Inner Circle, and the Jericho Appreciation Society, Jack Swagger won and cashed in within a week. Later that year, Money in the Bank as a PPV debuted and it has remained that way ever since. Afterwards, we often got things like a battle royale, sometimes on the pre-show, sometimes on the main, which eventually spun the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal and the Wrestlemania Women’s (Not Fabulous Moolah) Battle Royal. However, Andre has been relegated to Smackdown it seems. Another thing they did for a couple years in a row was a huge ladder match, usually for the Intercontinental Championship.

I think a multi-man match with some stakes in it can be fun and it doesn’t need to be a big epic storyline. It can lead to a bit of unpredictability in that almost anyone can win and can either be a nice feather in the cap of a deserving competitor, elevate a new star… Or be quickly forgotten about ala Mojo Rawley, Mr. Kennedy, Swagger, Matt Hardy, and more. A battle royale has been done before and overall maybe isn’t the most exciting. But a multi-man ladder match is always fun. So what is at stake?

I thought of a few things and a title can be a classic, but at the same time, at least in my planned booking, I want the title matches to mean something. Spoiler, but there is only one non-one-on-one/two v two match planned for title matches. So what else? Well, I remembered a story of what the MITB almost was. The “Hollywood Dream” ladder match. Where someone would win and get one wish granted. Originally it was RVD before he got injured and he was going to use it to revive ECW for One Night Stand, but it went with the overall better idea of the MITB. But, for a one night thing, in a return to Los Angeles, maybe that idea can be revived?

And if it is in Hollywood, who can bring it in? It could be The Rock, but nah, he’s too busy fighting for family which is a bit more important. So, how about an “A-lister” on WWE’s main roster who can carry this storyline and make it fun. That person is The Miz. He doesn’t even need to compete in the match, but he can play “host” to the event.

This leads to one question: What about someone who he has ran with for several months now? Tomasso Ciampa could be a candidate to win this match with The Miz’s help and become a star. But, for his first WrestleMania on the main roster, there is something that I have been salivating at the thought of as of Aug. 22, 2022. This is a storyline that maybe can something to win back some fans of NXT. Bring some nostalgia from one of its hottest periods, and not just that, but fix something that was an issue on the main roster for quite some time.

It seemed like for the longest time, NXT, despite being seen as a “third brand” and being given a spot on USA network, that everything that happened there was “irrelevant.” Granted not everyone watches NXT and it seems to be even less now that it changed to its PRIDE MONTH every month stage (WOO, TRANS FUCKING RIGHTS), but it creates a bit of dissonance from the fans and added to the feeling some had of “Nothing matters.” That mentality maybe was fine in the days of those regional developmental promotions like Deep South, OVW, and FCW, but as NXT got on WWE’s own network and seemingly become “canon” it became jarring to many fans that stuff in NXT seemed to be irrelevant, or people got drastically rebranded on the main roster before they even settle in long enough to see if their stuff from NXT worked on a larger audience. So, how about we revive an NXT feud on the main roster, lay the groundwork for it to potentially become a feud they can revisit multiple times throughout the years (like say, Sami Zayn and KO) and honour and build on their NXT feud. Add a title, we’re good to go. I’m talking Gargano vs Ciampa.

With that in mind, let's book the first ever: Hollywood Dream Ladder Match and Tomasso Ciampa vs Johnny Gargano for the United States Championship!

Pre-Feuds:

I will be starting off by stating what happens to the main three players in these two storylines from Clash at the Castle to the time their storylines for Wrestlemania start. As you may have noticed in the Bloodline booking, at Survivor Series, I have Tomasso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano on the same team for the 5 on 5 men's elimination match. During the match, we should get a couple old #DIY tag team moves but before them, a small bit of unease. Commentary should point out, they were DIY. And they are the “Best of friends, and yet the best of enemies.” However, Johnny Gargano eventually gets eliminated from the match, not even because of Ciampa, but because of Austin Theory refusing to break up a pin. Tomasso Ciampa and Gargano are teased as being able to meet in the future. But, Ciampa continues to run with The Miz after because they are surprisingly a decent pairing. As this is going on, have Johnny Gargano continue his feud with Austin Theory and have them get a couple of wins each. Have Gargano get the win at Extreme Rules, Theory maybe cheats him out of a win on Raw post-Survivor Series. Then, being that they won at Survivor series, because nobody on the team wants to risk it with a random draw, there is a Five-Way match on Raw to determine who gets the number 30 spot. AJ vs Ciampa vs Theory vs Gargano vs Owens. On paper, that sounds like a fun match.

During it, we also get a teasing of Ciampa vs Gargano, now seeing them as opponents. The match ends with Gargano submitting Owens while Austin Theory sneaks a pin on Styles at the same time. They bicker, before a match is determined next week between them for #30… ending in a brawl double count out. Tired of their fighting, they are announced as opening the Royal Rumble, winner gets #30, loser gets #2. Austin beats Gargano. So Gargano is the other Ironman in the match and in the match, he once again meets Tomasso Ciampa. A third tease of a future match. Afterwards, Gargano enters a mini-feud to bridge the gap and both The Miz and Tomasso Ciampa gun for Bobby Lashley’s United States Championship. The Miz hypes himself as a future Hall of Famer who’s path to HOF status started with the US title as his first Singles Championship. The first PPV between Rumble and Mania The Miz goes after the championship but succumbs to the Hurt Lock. So, Ciampa gets his shot at the next. It, as they showed on Raw, should be a great match. Near the end, the official is distracted by the championship being in the ring, Miz grabs Lashley’s foot as he tries to enter the ring and he gets dropped with the Widow’s Bell. One, two, three. Tomasso Ciampa is the NEW United States Champion.

The next night on Raw, two things are announced. One is The Miz addresses his “Wrestlemania plans” and the other, a number one contender’s match for the United States Championship at Wrestlemania. Let’s start with The Miz.

A Hollywood Dream

On Monday Night Raw, The Miz enters the ring in his best suit. He is all smiles. He enters the ring and congratulates his friend Tomasso Ciampa on becoming the NEW United States Champion and he wishes him luck at WrestleMania against whoever wins the number one contendership. He’ll have his back if he needs it, but he trusts Ciampa. So much so that he has other plans. The Miz talks about the importance of WrestleMania. He mentions how he came into WrestleMania as World Champion, tag champion, US Champion, he won the IC title at it (Pre-show, still counts), and more. He has had more WrestleMania moments than you can count and this year, it is in Hollywood!

He is a true Hollywood star and it would mean so much to have another moment in his home city where he resides. But… he says “I don’t want to upstage The Rock” Which I imagine would create a good laugh. So, instead, he wants to be in a giving mood. He wants someone to have their OWN 15 minutes of fame. Then he pulls a collection of golden tickets from his jacket all branded with his face on it and a trim of either red, or blue. At WrestleMania, The Miz is PROUD to present the First ever Wrestlemania: Hollywood Dream Ladder Match… sponsored by Snickers. He then pulls out a Snickers Bar out of his other jacket pocket and says “A snack that satisfies!” then takes a big bite out of it. On the road to WrestleMania, he is going to give eight superstars, 4 from Raw, and 4 from Smackdown, the chance of a lifetime to compete in a ladder match at WrestleMania! The winner, thanks to his Hollywood connections, will get a dream fulfilled. Want to go on a Vacation? YOU GOT THAT! Want that one championship match? YOU KNOW IT! Want to find love? Go right ahead! But… the caveat is to enter you need one of his tickets, and he is not going to hand them out willy-nilly. Instead, you have to earn them or be graced by his “generous heart.”

As The Miz is ranting, Bobby Lashley quietly slips into the ring and stands behind The Miz, towering over him. The Miz doesn’t notice as Bobby Lashley puts in the Hurt Lock, making The Miz pass out as revenge for costing him his US Championship. As Miz is on the mat in a daze, Bobby sees the tickets, shrugs, and grabs one. Bobby Lashley is first in the match.

And that sets the stage for the story. During this you can have fun. Have The Miz maybe exchange them for favours, going down to ringside to scout people, have people go up to him, asking for a ticket, babyfaces beating him up, etc. It’s a lighthearted storyline for WrestleMania with some stakes which can actually lead to someone being elevated in the match either through winning or a good performance. So, how do people qualify?

First, the next episode of Smackdown, The Miz appears in a backstage segment or two. Superstars are asking him to be in the match, and he flat out refuses most of them. The Reggie's, R-Truths, Akira Tozowa’s of the world get rejected but then, he runs into “Happy” Barron Corbin. Being that he is a rich man who is seemingly getting mentorship from JBL, Barron Corbin/Happy offers The Miz money to be in the match. When it isn’t enough, JBL hands him an even bigger wad of cash to hand to The Miz which gets him to accept. Barron “Happy” Corbin is in the ladder match.

The next episode of Raw, there is more of that, but there are two people who “qualify.” Bobby Lashley and The Miz are set to square off in a little bit of a grudge match. Bobby Lashley enters the ring first and waits for The Miz. The A-Lister enters, but doesn’t get to the ring and instead, we see, rushing from the crowd, the Brawling Brutes, Sheamus, Ridge Holland, and Pete Dunne, who I don’t care, I wave my fantasy Booker woman wand to rename him as Pete Dunne! They lay out Bobby Lashley and The Miz thanks them by giving both Dunne and Sheamus a ticket. He reaches for Ridge Holland’s, but he forgot the ticket

On Smackdown, The Miz appears to thank the Brawling Brutes for the attack, saying “Bobby Lashley had it coming to him.” He apologies for not having a ticket for Ridge, but he will make good on it tonight. He reaches in… and Bobby Lashley’s music hits. He storms his way out and there is a brawl. While the numbers advantage is still there, Bobby Lashley puts up a better fight now that he had the jump. But he needs a saviour and who comes down to the ring but the King of Strong Style, Shinsuke Nakamura. He delivers some knees and Kinsashas before grabbing a ticket for himself. Nakamura is in the ladder match and he looks at Bobby Lashley before doing his “COME ON!” taunt, showing he’ll be game.The Smackdown side is already completed.

Not wanting to have his precious tickets stolen from him, The Miz reaffirms that the only way to be in the ladder match is HIM personally giving them. He’ll be nice to Bobby and Shinsuke, but he gets WWE to book a match on the next episode of Smackdown, Dunne and Sheamus vs Nakamura and Lashley. Meanwhile, he gets a Fatal Four-way booked on Raw to determine one qualifier. That match is won by: Mustafa Ali who will play the role of the king of flips in this match as we have two beefy boys already in it. Then, backstage on Raw, The Miz mentions how he only has two tickets left, both for Raw, and he sees… Rey Mysterio who by this point doesn’t have a Mania match and spent a good while feuding with The Judgment Day trying to get his son to come back from the Darkness. The Miz makes fun of him, a legend without a Mania match. Rey basically says, “Look, I have been focused on other things recently. But all I can say is at this point in my life, I’m just grateful for the chances I do have.” The Miz presses, and then Rey challenges him to a match, which The Miz accepts, saying he’ll even give him a ticket if he wins. Rey, wins after The Miz tries to pull an Eddie, it fails, and it turns into a 619. Rey celebrates…

As his son, Dominik Mysterio lays him down. There is unfinished business. The Miz looks at Dominik and hands him the last ticket. The field is set.

The last Raw before the PPV, we have an Eight man tag team match with a big golden Star hanging above the ring, the prize for the match. Mustafa Ali, Rey Mysterio, Bobby Lashley, Nakamura vs Dunne, Sheamus, Corbin, and Dominik Mysterio. The Miz is on commentary. The match outcome can go either way, but afterwards, there is a huge brawl, with someone grabbing a ladder and climbing it up, just posing near the star as a way to give a preview for the PPV.

At the show, The Miz gets an over the top introduction and entrance. He sits at ringside in a Director’s chair and watches the mayhem. This match can be won by a few different people. If you want to build a younger star, then Dominik (if he has improved by them), Ali, or Dunne come to mind. If you want a legend/future Hall Of Famer to have a feel good moment, do Rey, Lashley or Sheamus (Okay, he is a heel, but you get what I mean.) Corbin can be a bit of a wildcard and he is underrated. This match will start night two, but my personal favourite for the winner is Shinsuke Nakamura.

I honestly think it is a crime that that man has not won a single Wrestlemania match in his WWE career. It is a shame that he has not won the WWE title or his mid-card title runs were mostly him off WWE TV. I think him winning can be a nice winner with a bit of shock value, still elevates someone who could use it. Then after the match, The Miz enters the ring, congratulates Shinsuke, asks him for what his wish is… and Shinsuke says “Wait and see…” before giving The Miz a Kinsasha in the middle of the ring. He poses with the star as the ring is cleaned up and the show goes on.

But as this is happening, the beat goes on…

Blackheart vs Rebel Heart: The Beat Goes On.

The Raw after Tomasso Ciampa’s big US championship win, there is a number one contender’s match on Raw. We have Gargano, Mustafa Ali, AJ Styles, and Ziggler, with Ciampa’s former tag team partner picking up the win. Tomasso Ciampa walks down to the ring and Johnny Gargano, extends a hand. Ciampa looks long and hard at it before doing a smirk and leaving, clutching onto his new Goldy. Backstage, Tomasso Ciampa is about to be interviewed, but Johnny rushes in and asks “What’s that? I know we’ve had some ups and downs, but I thought we were cool?” Ciampa just reminds him, “I don’t forget.”

The next week on Raw, rather than an in ring segment or a match, we get a few short video packages recapping their history in a bite sized way. First it starts with DIY. The Cruiserweight Classic, them winning the belts. And during it, both Gargano and Tomasso Ciampa are telling the story through their lenses, both sides. How Ciampa “Always took care of Johnny” showing sometimes where Johnny lost and Johnny says he “always had his back” even showing that ladder match against AOP where Johnny took a ladder shot for Ciampa. Then, “Some things weren’t meant to last…” Go back to the Takeover Chicago “This is my moment” heel turn. End of first package.

The next gives a bit of a recap of the feud of Gargano vs Ciampa. Gargano having a skid, Ciampa returning, Johnny getting one big win, but kept slipping darker and darker. NXT Champion Ciampa, the heel turn and temp reunion before Gargano won the title.They thought they patched it up, but Johnny, which he can admit, “Just got in too dark of a place.” The One Final Beat. But as time went by, Gargano healed, Ciampa healed, and they're-united in time for Gargano to leave.

FInally, a package of where they are now, setting the stage for their rivalry to be renewed. Both of them reaffirm they want the US Championship. Ciampa calls Johnny weak for leaving while Johnny says Tomasso Ciampa lost who he was teaming with The Miz.

This does a few things. First it gives a taste of their NXT feud to the casual fans without telling them to watch over two years of TV in NXT, but it also shows the fans that what happens in NXT is valued. But it shows the main point. They are on again-off again friends. A complex history, have great matches together and against each other, and now it is on the main roster for the US Title.

The next week both Gargano and Ciampa have different matches on Monday Night Raw to heat themselves up. Johnny Gargano competes first, winning with One Final Beat. Then, Ciampa comes out immediately after for his match. Johnny keeps close and goes on commentary. That way we can get a bit of thoughts from him during the match. Tomasso Ciampa wins first by doing his Knee part of #DIY’s finish, looking at Gargano as he does. Then the Gargano escape. Ciampa gets on the microphone and sits on the apron. He asks Johnny “Why so hostile? We’re friends, right? I was one of your Groomsmen in your wedding!” Etc. and Johnny says “Hey, things changed, but you’ve changed.” Him running with The Miz, the person who made up the other half of the Heart and Soul of NXT is gone-

“Just like how you left,” Ciampa responds and Johnny says “Look, I was starting a family and I wasn’t sure if I was ready mentally to take the next step to WWE”s main roster.” Then he says that it only makes sense his Mania debut and first title match on WWE’s main roster is against Tomoasso Ciampa, but he wants the old Tomasso Ciampa back. Next week, let’s team together, clear the air before our match, Ciampa agrees. So the next week it is #DIY against another tag team, let’s say… Cedric Alexander and whoever he is teaming with now. A reunited #DIY gets their old theme and entrance and Ciampa is hesitant at first, but starts to get back into it during the match. It ends as they “Meet in the Middle” with their Knee/Superkick combination, and they get the win. They go on the stage after the match, Gargano extends a hand, and this time, Tomasso Ciampa accepts it. That is on the last Raw before Mania

And then follows it up with a Belt shot. He throws Gargano into the LED screen. He knees him into the side of the announce table. Then he hits an Air Raid Crash through the announcer’s table. A near mirror of what happened at NXT Takeover: Chicago. Ciampa sits down as people check on Gargano. He clutches the championship as he speaks. “Be careful what you wish for, Johnny, because you are getting the old Ciampa. The one who made your life a personal hell. The Blackheart, the Rebel Heart, the beat goes on until yours stops. At WrestleMania, you will remember that this is STILL my moment…” Mic drop.

WrestleMania​

night one, Gargano enters the match with his best cosplay and taped ribs. He comes in with a babyface fire we know he can deliver. This very likely will not match what they did in NXT simply because I doubt they will get the same amount of time, but give them 12 minutes or so, it will be a fun match. In the end, Tomaso Ciampa takes advantage of Gargano’s rage and gets the Fairy Tail Ending for the win and he retains at WrestleMania.

So, that is how I’d do Ciampa vs Gargano at Mania if I do it this year. I do some teasers throughout the year to get the idea in people’s heads. I then do a brief recap of their NXT feud, develop where they were and are now, then during the last week, escalate it in a poetic way and their Mania match is heated enough for the big stage but leaves room for them to revisit the storyline as time goes on. There is room to escalate it and Johnny also gets to be an underdog, something he does better than anyone else since the days of Daniel Bryan.

I hope you guys enjoyed my next two bookings. Did I do them well? Feel free to give me comments down below!

-Rosé <3​