First off, I understand there's a similar thread open regarding predictions but that had to do with mostly what matches we thought would happen whereas this thread I'm starting has to do with the actual confirmed card so I assume this should be no issue. If it is, I do apologize in advance and I guess the moderators can do what they feel necessary.
Arguably enough, this has been one of the worst builds in Wrestlemania history and the card itself, as finally completed Monday night with the addition of the Styles/Jericho match, is certainly not the best we could wish for and not what WWE themselves hoped for in what is anticipated to be the biggest Mania ever. Now granted, we have to cut WWE some slack given the injury crisis but be that as it may, I think most of us agree that they still could have done a lot better.
I almost feel the wrestling Gods up there are punishing WWE with all these superstars going down one after another, as in a “if you ain’t gonna use them properly, you might as well not have them available at all” type of thing. Yeah, I know, it sounds kind of harsh…
Nevertheless, Wrestlemania 32 is upon us, the stage is set, so here’s a look at the matches one by one:
The Total Divas vs. B.A.D. & Blonde
Does anyone really give a fuck? Anyway, it’s on the card so whether I like it or not I still have to make a pick so I’m going with the assumption that the Total Divas team will get the win here, most likely with Brie Bella getting the pin being this is most likely her final match before retiring.
The 3rd annual Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal
Does anyone really give a fuck? How are we supposed have any interest in this thing when WWE pretty much treat it as meaningless? I’ve made the point the other day but I’ll repeat it anyway. What good did it do for Cesaro when he won it, with an incredible spot no less? Yes, absolutely nothing.
Apparently this time around Strowman is the one favored to win according to the rumor mill and then you have WWE portraying Big Show and Kane as the guys to beat the past few weeks. Now, while I can understand both scenarios, I think I am going to stick with my original idea, as posted a few months back when I made a first attempt on predicting the Wrestlemania card, which was Mark Henry. Given it’s his home state and given that he’s about to retire, I feel a win in this Battle Royal would be a nice finishing touch to his great overall career and a nice way to go out.
United States Championship
Does anyone really give a fuck? Yes, that’s three in a row that I’m starting with the same question but can you really blame me? And don’t tell me you don’t feel the same way.
It’s really a shame to see all that hard work John Cena put into making this title feel important pretty much flushed down the toilet. Not only that, but if you thought Alberto Del Rio holding the title made it mean nothing, what exactly has Kalisto done with it? The answer is rather obvious and even though I am still baffled with how WWE came up with this particular match for Mania, I say fuck it, give it to Ryback. It’s rather obvious that they are trying to build him somehow anyway so why not give him the belt? As foolish as it may sound, I honestly believe that Ryback could make the US title feel a bit more important than it does nowadays so...feed me more it is.
The Usos vs. The Dudley Boyz
Make it 4/4 but, again, does anyone really give a fuck? Why this match is even happening is beyond me but to cut to the chase, one would think the Usos should come out victorious from this one. They certainly need it more if they are to become a credible tag team again so in my view it only makes sense that the Dudleys put them over and come to think of it, the Usos never did get their "revenge", did they?
The New Day vs. The League of Nations
Guess what: does anyone really give a fuck? Come to think of it, this should be the Wrestlemania theme this year: WHO GIVES A FUCK? Why are these two teams even fighting for, when the God damn belts aren’t even on the line? What’s the purpose? Does it even matter who wins?
Ever since this feud started, the New Day has had the LON’s number so I guess one idea would be to have them get one back. On the other hand, why kill New Day’s momentum for a meaningless win that would mean nothing down the road? The way I see it, if we are to expect Enzo and Kas to get the call up as the rumors have it (even as soon as the RAW immediately following Mania), this is what would make for a good program and a much better scenario in which the New Day can finally suffer a loss and drop the belts in the process. That being said, and given I see absolutely no reason why LON should win, I am sticking with New Day to win this one and keep their momentum going.
AJ Styles vs. Chris Jericho
Pretty straightforward stuff here and no need for too much analysis: AJ apparently picks up the win.
Intercontinental Championship
Talk about a meaningless multi-man matchup. Half the participants (if not more) don’t even deserve to be in it but it is what it is so my pick here is Kevin Owens to retain. Quite frankly, who else is there? Stardust? Sincara? Ryder? Miz? Ziggler? Ok, perhaps Ziggler could be an idea, if the plan is for KO and Zayn to have a program down the road. They already got a long history between them, the story is right there and one could say that the IC belt doesn’t necessarily have to be in the mix, however it does ass a nice touch to it, don’t you think?
I also feel that it’s way too early to give Zayn the belt so in that essence, perhaps Dolph Ziggler could be considered as the dark horse, however I’m just going to stick with KO retaining.
Divas Championship
Unlike the meaningless multi-man match for the IC belt, this triple threat certainly has a lot more meaning to it. This ought to be a good one and hopefully WWE will give these ladies a good 20 minutes to work with.
As far as the outcome is concerned, in my opinion this can only go down two ways: either Charlotte retains, or Sasha wins. Now, I’m a big Becky fan myself but I feel she’s caught up in a predicament that doesn’t do her any favors so the question is, does WWE have Charlotte keep the belt and continue the build (which, no doubt, has been a really strong one), or do we crown a new Diva’s champ in Sasha Banks?
This, honestly, is a tough one but I am going to go with Charlotte retaining despite Sasha being the apparent favorite for most of what I’ve been reading and listening to. The way I see it, building Charlotte even more feels like the best course of action here and what makes more sense rather than rushing to put the belt on Sasha Banks.
Dean Ambrose vs. Brock Lesnar
I am flat out going to say that Dean Ambrose wins. Brock is obviously the favorite in this one (well, there ain’t really any match he’d be an underdog anyway) but the whole build of this match I feel points to that direction.
Think about it this way. What would a win do for Brock Lesnar and then what would a win do for Dean Ambrose? Pretty obvious answer, isn’t it? Granted, Brock is the beast and WWE will protect him like no one else but to me, again, it comes down to who needs the win the most. If Brock wins, meh, ok, it’ll be just another win under his belt whereas if Dean pulls it off, it would elevate him big time, taking him to the next level.
As long as the story is told right, there’s no reason Dean winning can’t be believable and as I noted above, the build is sort of pointing to that direction. Street fight, anything goes, all sorts of…toys to use, anyone to interfere at any time: these are elements in Dean’s advantage so it’s almost a win-win situation. One on hand, you give Dean a much needed huge victory while at the same time Brock continues to look strong, only to have fallen due to any kind of interference and/or the weapons used against him to bring him down.
Having Ambrose simply look good doesn’t cut it anymore if he were to indeed go to the next level so, the way I see it, it’s about time he picks up a big win.
Shane McMahon vs. The Undertaker
Random thought: don’t you guys find it a bit odd that this is about control of RAW, yet neither Stephanie nor HHH have had a say in it whatsoever? Just thinking out loud I guess…
As far as the match itself is concerned, I honestly don’t see why Shane winning should be considered a shock. Again, as long as the story is told right, none of us should have a problem with it. The big question here, of course, is whether Shane McMahon is back to stay or if he just returned for this brief stint to boost things up, only to walk away after Mania. You answer that question; you’ve got your winner.
I personally find it a bit hard to believe that Shane returned after all these years just for a brief stint and I feel that the way this story is told, he’s here to stay. I understand this may very well be just wishful thinking but I’m sure most of you will agree that a change of scenery can only do good. How about no Authority for a while and mixing things up a little? And no, I am not going to go as far as the whole brand split talk that has started, which by the way I don’t really agree with, but Shane taking over would certainly freshen things up.
Now, Hell in a Cell is obviously Taker’s playground and Wrestlemania overall he simply owns but the way I see it, does it really matter anymore? The streak is already over (he willingly gave that away) so at this point, I don’t think a loss would really hurt him, even if it’s against an individual that isn’t a full time wrestler like Shane McMahon.
It’s all about storytelling and obviously if Shane were to win, it won’t be clean so, yes, I too expect some kind of interference, whether it’s Sting (if there’s a remote chance they can have the dream match at Mania 33, this would be the perfect place to set it up), HBK (he and Taker have history of their own) or anyone else.
Bottom line, I’m picking Shane McMahon….
WWE World Heavyweight Championship
Oh boy, or, should I say, oh…boooey
Lord knows what WWE has planned for this one so I'll avoid speculating as to who might show up or interfere in this one but the bottom line is, I can’t see them changing their original plans so I am going to go with the obvious, Roman Reigns winning. Hey, if WWE have the balls to really surprise us with a different outcome, I'd be all for it but knowing how stubborn they are, I just hope once more the storytelling is good enough.
Cheers folks !!!
Arguably enough, this has been one of the worst builds in Wrestlemania history and the card itself, as finally completed Monday night with the addition of the Styles/Jericho match, is certainly not the best we could wish for and not what WWE themselves hoped for in what is anticipated to be the biggest Mania ever. Now granted, we have to cut WWE some slack given the injury crisis but be that as it may, I think most of us agree that they still could have done a lot better.
I almost feel the wrestling Gods up there are punishing WWE with all these superstars going down one after another, as in a “if you ain’t gonna use them properly, you might as well not have them available at all” type of thing. Yeah, I know, it sounds kind of harsh…
Nevertheless, Wrestlemania 32 is upon us, the stage is set, so here’s a look at the matches one by one:
The Total Divas vs. B.A.D. & Blonde
Does anyone really give a fuck? Anyway, it’s on the card so whether I like it or not I still have to make a pick so I’m going with the assumption that the Total Divas team will get the win here, most likely with Brie Bella getting the pin being this is most likely her final match before retiring.
The 3rd annual Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal
Does anyone really give a fuck? How are we supposed have any interest in this thing when WWE pretty much treat it as meaningless? I’ve made the point the other day but I’ll repeat it anyway. What good did it do for Cesaro when he won it, with an incredible spot no less? Yes, absolutely nothing.
Apparently this time around Strowman is the one favored to win according to the rumor mill and then you have WWE portraying Big Show and Kane as the guys to beat the past few weeks. Now, while I can understand both scenarios, I think I am going to stick with my original idea, as posted a few months back when I made a first attempt on predicting the Wrestlemania card, which was Mark Henry. Given it’s his home state and given that he’s about to retire, I feel a win in this Battle Royal would be a nice finishing touch to his great overall career and a nice way to go out.
United States Championship
Does anyone really give a fuck? Yes, that’s three in a row that I’m starting with the same question but can you really blame me? And don’t tell me you don’t feel the same way.
It’s really a shame to see all that hard work John Cena put into making this title feel important pretty much flushed down the toilet. Not only that, but if you thought Alberto Del Rio holding the title made it mean nothing, what exactly has Kalisto done with it? The answer is rather obvious and even though I am still baffled with how WWE came up with this particular match for Mania, I say fuck it, give it to Ryback. It’s rather obvious that they are trying to build him somehow anyway so why not give him the belt? As foolish as it may sound, I honestly believe that Ryback could make the US title feel a bit more important than it does nowadays so...feed me more it is.
The Usos vs. The Dudley Boyz
Make it 4/4 but, again, does anyone really give a fuck? Why this match is even happening is beyond me but to cut to the chase, one would think the Usos should come out victorious from this one. They certainly need it more if they are to become a credible tag team again so in my view it only makes sense that the Dudleys put them over and come to think of it, the Usos never did get their "revenge", did they?
The New Day vs. The League of Nations
Guess what: does anyone really give a fuck? Come to think of it, this should be the Wrestlemania theme this year: WHO GIVES A FUCK? Why are these two teams even fighting for, when the God damn belts aren’t even on the line? What’s the purpose? Does it even matter who wins?
Ever since this feud started, the New Day has had the LON’s number so I guess one idea would be to have them get one back. On the other hand, why kill New Day’s momentum for a meaningless win that would mean nothing down the road? The way I see it, if we are to expect Enzo and Kas to get the call up as the rumors have it (even as soon as the RAW immediately following Mania), this is what would make for a good program and a much better scenario in which the New Day can finally suffer a loss and drop the belts in the process. That being said, and given I see absolutely no reason why LON should win, I am sticking with New Day to win this one and keep their momentum going.
AJ Styles vs. Chris Jericho
Pretty straightforward stuff here and no need for too much analysis: AJ apparently picks up the win.
Intercontinental Championship
Talk about a meaningless multi-man matchup. Half the participants (if not more) don’t even deserve to be in it but it is what it is so my pick here is Kevin Owens to retain. Quite frankly, who else is there? Stardust? Sincara? Ryder? Miz? Ziggler? Ok, perhaps Ziggler could be an idea, if the plan is for KO and Zayn to have a program down the road. They already got a long history between them, the story is right there and one could say that the IC belt doesn’t necessarily have to be in the mix, however it does ass a nice touch to it, don’t you think?
I also feel that it’s way too early to give Zayn the belt so in that essence, perhaps Dolph Ziggler could be considered as the dark horse, however I’m just going to stick with KO retaining.
Divas Championship
Unlike the meaningless multi-man match for the IC belt, this triple threat certainly has a lot more meaning to it. This ought to be a good one and hopefully WWE will give these ladies a good 20 minutes to work with.
As far as the outcome is concerned, in my opinion this can only go down two ways: either Charlotte retains, or Sasha wins. Now, I’m a big Becky fan myself but I feel she’s caught up in a predicament that doesn’t do her any favors so the question is, does WWE have Charlotte keep the belt and continue the build (which, no doubt, has been a really strong one), or do we crown a new Diva’s champ in Sasha Banks?
This, honestly, is a tough one but I am going to go with Charlotte retaining despite Sasha being the apparent favorite for most of what I’ve been reading and listening to. The way I see it, building Charlotte even more feels like the best course of action here and what makes more sense rather than rushing to put the belt on Sasha Banks.
Dean Ambrose vs. Brock Lesnar
I am flat out going to say that Dean Ambrose wins. Brock is obviously the favorite in this one (well, there ain’t really any match he’d be an underdog anyway) but the whole build of this match I feel points to that direction.
Think about it this way. What would a win do for Brock Lesnar and then what would a win do for Dean Ambrose? Pretty obvious answer, isn’t it? Granted, Brock is the beast and WWE will protect him like no one else but to me, again, it comes down to who needs the win the most. If Brock wins, meh, ok, it’ll be just another win under his belt whereas if Dean pulls it off, it would elevate him big time, taking him to the next level.
As long as the story is told right, there’s no reason Dean winning can’t be believable and as I noted above, the build is sort of pointing to that direction. Street fight, anything goes, all sorts of…toys to use, anyone to interfere at any time: these are elements in Dean’s advantage so it’s almost a win-win situation. One on hand, you give Dean a much needed huge victory while at the same time Brock continues to look strong, only to have fallen due to any kind of interference and/or the weapons used against him to bring him down.
Having Ambrose simply look good doesn’t cut it anymore if he were to indeed go to the next level so, the way I see it, it’s about time he picks up a big win.
Shane McMahon vs. The Undertaker
Random thought: don’t you guys find it a bit odd that this is about control of RAW, yet neither Stephanie nor HHH have had a say in it whatsoever? Just thinking out loud I guess…
As far as the match itself is concerned, I honestly don’t see why Shane winning should be considered a shock. Again, as long as the story is told right, none of us should have a problem with it. The big question here, of course, is whether Shane McMahon is back to stay or if he just returned for this brief stint to boost things up, only to walk away after Mania. You answer that question; you’ve got your winner.
I personally find it a bit hard to believe that Shane returned after all these years just for a brief stint and I feel that the way this story is told, he’s here to stay. I understand this may very well be just wishful thinking but I’m sure most of you will agree that a change of scenery can only do good. How about no Authority for a while and mixing things up a little? And no, I am not going to go as far as the whole brand split talk that has started, which by the way I don’t really agree with, but Shane taking over would certainly freshen things up.
Now, Hell in a Cell is obviously Taker’s playground and Wrestlemania overall he simply owns but the way I see it, does it really matter anymore? The streak is already over (he willingly gave that away) so at this point, I don’t think a loss would really hurt him, even if it’s against an individual that isn’t a full time wrestler like Shane McMahon.
It’s all about storytelling and obviously if Shane were to win, it won’t be clean so, yes, I too expect some kind of interference, whether it’s Sting (if there’s a remote chance they can have the dream match at Mania 33, this would be the perfect place to set it up), HBK (he and Taker have history of their own) or anyone else.
Bottom line, I’m picking Shane McMahon….
WWE World Heavyweight Championship
Oh boy, or, should I say, oh…boooey
Lord knows what WWE has planned for this one so I'll avoid speculating as to who might show up or interfere in this one but the bottom line is, I can’t see them changing their original plans so I am going to go with the obvious, Roman Reigns winning. Hey, if WWE have the balls to really surprise us with a different outcome, I'd be all for it but knowing how stubborn they are, I just hope once more the storytelling is good enough.
Cheers folks !!!
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