We have a new World Heavyweight Champion on Monday Night Raw, and his name is Seth “Freakin” Rollins.
To the surprise of many, WWE kicked off Night of Champions with the title bout between Rollins and Styles. It felt like the wrong move before the bell but proved to be the correct move after the bell.
The match started hot and never let up. Styles and Rollins wrestled a 50/50 match where neither man held the lead for an extended period of time. Just as Rollins appeared to be on the verge of sustained offense, Styles would flip the script.
Sorry for being late to the party. I know this topic has been beaten to death one million times over. A particular virus sank its nasty claws into me, and that funny thing called life got in the way for a while.
“Finish the story.”
That was Cody Rhodes’ mantra heading into WrestleMania 39 as a capacity crowd in So-Fi Stadium and millions watching around the world believed he would indeed finish the story. Then, to the shock of everyone, Roman Reigns pinned Cody Rhodes in the main event of what is touted as the most successful WrestleMania in history.
WWE seemingly bricked a wide-open layup on purpose, but why?
Triple H announced a new World Heavyweight Championship, and the new champion will be determined at Night of Champions on May 27 in Saudi Arabia.
As the WWE Draft begins Friday on SmackDown, Triple H expressed the need for two top championships. Roman Reigns will remain the Undisputed Universal Champion and bring that title to whatever brand he’s drafted to, leaving the other brand with the new world title.
The grandest stage of them all is upon us. WrestleMania 39 emanates from SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, CA. WWE will again go with the two-night format on Saturday, April 1, and Sunday, April 2, and stream live on Peacock.
While the lineups for each night have not been announced, Royal Rumble winner Cody Rhodes versus WWE Undisputed Universal Champion Roman Reigns is the official main event and is expected to headline on night 2.
WrestleMania 39 Official Match Card:
–WWE Undisputed Universal Championship: Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes
–SmackDown Women’s Championship: Charlotte Flair vs. Rhea Ripley
–Raw Women’s Championship: Bianca Belair vs. Asuka
–WWE United States Championship: Austin Theory vs. John Cena
-Brock Lesnar vs. Omos
-Becky Lynch, Lita & Trish Stratus vs. Damage CNTRL
-Seth Rollins vs. Logan Paul
Rumored Matches:
Sami Zayn & Kevin Owens vs. The Usos
Edge vs. Finn Balor
Bray Wyatt vs. Bobby Lashley
Rey Mysterio vs. Dominick Mysterio
Gunther vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Sheamus
Twelve matches, between the official and rumored lineups, will give each night of WrestleMania six matches. If this ends up as the final card, it falls in line with the reports of Triple H wanting fewer matches on the show, leaving many wrestlers off the Premium Live Event.
While not officially announced, Logan Paul stated on his podcast Wednesday that WWE sent him confirmation his match with Seth Rollins will occur on night 1, which is his birthday.
If Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens versus The Usos becomes official for WrestleMania, it absolutely needs to headline night 1. I know that will not be a popular opinion. Rhea Ripley won the Royal Rumble and deserves one of the two main event spots, but this is show business. Sami/KO vs. Usos would be the second-biggest match on the card by a country mile.
The Bloodline saga is the best story WWE has told in decades. The rest of the matches are fighting for a distant third place.
Sami Zayn lost his bid to capture the WWE Undisputed Universal Championship in front of his hometown in Montreal on Saturday at Elimination Chamber.
Roman Reigns’ 900-day dominion over the title will roll on to WrestleMania 39 in the main event against Royal Rumble winner Cody Rhodes.
While Cody Rhodes is WWE’s top babyface, Sami Zayn has engaged in an odyssey with The Bloodline that has not only produced one of the greatest storylines in company history but has made Zayn WWE’s most popular babyface.
The finish to Saturday’s main event begs the question, did WWE make the right call?
After years of demand, WarGames will finally have its coming out party on the mainline WWE product at Survivor Series on Saturday. WarGames was a WCW staple and the brainchild of Dusty Rhodes dating back to 1987. “The match beyond” occurred once a year, except for 1999, due to budget cuts, until Vince McMahon purchased WCW in 2001.
Despite owning the I.P., McMahon never allowed WarGames to occur on the main roster. Triple H got the green light to use the concept in NXT beginning in 2017 to a resounding success. Some say McMahon felt it would cannibalize the Hell in a Cell concept, while others claim he believed two rings would take up too much space and cut into ticket sales.
Of course, there’s the age old theory that McMahon will never support a concept he didn’t create. Despite proof of sucess in his own company, McMahon wouldn’t allow the match to touch anything related to Raw or SmackDown. Once Triple H became the head of WWE creative, one of the first things he did was officially bring WarGames to the main roster.
Roman Reigns’ next title defense has been set for Crown Jewel on November 5th in Saudi Arabia. WWE confirmed on Saturday at a press conference in Las Vegas that social media sensation Logan Paul will challenge Reigns for the Undisputed Universal Championship.
Several websites reported the match on Friday going into SmackDown, where Paul announced the press conference while teasing he would challenge Reigns.
Roman Reigns defeated Drew McIntyre in his last title defense at Clash at the Castle. Logan Paul was victorious at SummerSlam over The Miz in his second pro wrestling match.
Paul was impressive in his in-ring outings, while Reigns has held both the WWE Title and Universal Title since WrestleMania 38. However, the eyes of the internet wrestling community (IWC) are looking at this mainstream fare with daggers on both sides of the coin.
Wednesday was the 30th anniversary of the legendary Bret Hart vs. British Bulldog match from Wembley Stadium. It was also my Birthday. I’ve written about this match hundreds of times; however, there is no clear-cut reason why I’m writing about it this time.
I know it’s personal as opposed to analytical. I’m spitballing here. My words might be clumsy in this exercise of writing for the sake of writing while strolling down memory lane.
The multiverse of madness shifted tonight’s SummerSlam to the end of July instead of its usual spot on the calendar at the end of August. Nissan Stadium in Nashville is the site of what was just another edition of WWE’s “biggest party of the summer.” Now it will be the company’s first major event without Vince McMahon.
Paul “Triple H” Levesque is officially the head of creative, and we’ll see how he plays the game with our viewing pleasure. Do you see what I did there? “How well he plays the game?” Because he’s called “The Ga….”
Ringside Logic 