The 2019 WWE Draft is in the books and WOW, Monday Night Raw, while will definitely be viewed as the B Show going forward, looks freaking stacked! Smackdown looks good too but with a part time World Champion facing a new hire at WWE's 4th blood money Saudi Arabia event, I don't have my hopes up too high, until we get a new WWE Champion who can defend at monthly PPVs. Sorry, this post is not bash Smackdown.
Anyway, Raw already built a talented locker room on Night One. AJ Styles, Drew McIntyre, Randy Orton, Ricochet, Kevin Owens, and Bobby Lashley were just a few of the singles stars that came to Raw. Night 2 only solidified their place as the 'wrestler's' going forward. WWE Universal Champion Seth Rollins, Andrade, Rusev, Aleister Black, Cedric Alexander, Humberto Carrillo, Buddy Murphy, Samoa Joe, Akira Tozawa and Rey Mysterio make up Raw's men singles division. Are you kidding me? So many amazing talents all on one show. It was probably for the best that Rollins kept the Universal Title as he has SO many challengers. The women's division also got a boost as overall #1 pick Becky Lynch is now joined by bitter arch rival Charlotte, Liv Morgan and The Kabuki Warriors. Joined by Natalya, Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross drafted from Night One and you have a pretty solid women's division. The tag division didn't get a lot of help on Night Two, so I expect a few makeshift teams to form in the coming weeks as they only have the NEW Raw Tag Team Champions The Viking Raiders, The OC and The Street Profits. It needs to be said; Raw won the draft. The build to the future is clear and I expect big things from guys like McIntyre, Andrade, Ricochet and Buddy Murphy.
Smackdown countered Raw's first pick of Universal Champion with the expected pick of WWE Champion Brock Lesnar, which was pretty obvious. New Day, Daniel Bryan, Nakamura, Ali, Miz, Ziggler and Roode, Gable, Elias and King Corbin were a few of the male picks on Night Two. It's basically more of the same for Smackdown as many of these guys were already on Smackdown. Roode, Corbin, and Miz are the only real new additions. Adding in Reigns, Wyatt, and Strowman and Smackdown men's singles division is a little lacking. There's not a lot of up and comers on the brand and it looks like we're headed for the same old Lesnar VS Reigns and Strowman matches for the foreseeable future. Not a lot of female picks for Smackdown but they're keeping two stars already on the brand; Smackdown Women's Champion Bayley and Carmella. They join Sasha Banks and Lacey Evans who were both drafted on Night One. Four women in a division? That's not going to work. They're going to have to work on getting some of those free agents, like Fire and Desire, The IIconics, Dana Brooke and Sarah Logan. I'm guessing Carmella is Bayley's first feud followed by Lacey Evans, who looks to be turning face. Tag division received The New Day and Ziggler/Roode. They join the Smackdown Tag Champs The Revival and Heavy Machinery. Like Raw, I feel like more makeshift teams are going to form. Smackdown seems lacking in all departments, which is weird, seeing how they are now on the bigger network. It's going to be interesting to see how the show is booked going forward.
There's still a few free agents out there, such as Cesaro, AOP, Hawkins/Ryder, the women mentioned above, and Luke Harper. There's other stars who weren't even in the pools such as Naomi, The Usos, Lars Sullivan, Ember Moon, Nia Jax and Ruby Riott. There's also that blockbuster trade that's being rumored. The only thing that makes sense would be a trade between major stars right? Like, stars featured in the first rounds. I'm going to make a bold prediction here; what if it's Rollins for Wyatt? Seth Rollins VS The Fiend Bray Wyatt is set for Crown Jewel in a Falls Count Anywhere match for the Universal Championship. Why even book this match? They could have easily dropped the feud and moved on as they are both on different brands now. My thought is do a trade and title change in one swoop. Otherwise, what is the point of the match? They don't want another disaster do they?
Raw is the clear winner here. They have the stars and I hope WWE books them well. Smackdown needs helps and I hope they build around guys like Reigns, Bryan, Kingston and the soon to be traded Seth Rollins.
Draft is now over! Looking forward to what WWE has in store for these guys in the next few months.
Monday, October 14, 2019
Saturday, October 12, 2019
WWE Draft 2019 - Night One Reaction
The WWE Draft has begun and 20+ superstars have found a home. What I like about this year's draft, each nights features separate pools of superstars so they basically make you watch both nights. More of my favorites are apart of Night 2's pool but we got some good ones tonight. Let's discuss.
Raw got the first pick tonight, thanks to The Fiend, so the draft picks were similar to the 2016 draft, 5 picks per round, 3 for Raw, 2 for Smackdown. Becky and Roman, the cover stars of WWE 2K20, went #1 and #2. Becky being #1 wasn't a shocker but it was shocking she's going to Raw. After last week's segment with The Rock, it was almost like Rock was passing the torch of the show to Becky. Guess it wasn't meant to be. Reigns going to Smackdown was obvious. He's the face of the company and the face needs to be on the biggest show. Reigns will 100% become WWE Champion in the next year. #3 was The OC, giving Raw 3 stars for the price of one. Styles went 4th overall in the 2016 draft to Smackdown so he keeps pace. Styles brings the US Title with him so I'm guessing Nakamura will be staying on Smackdown come Monday. #4 got me a bit upset as The Fiend Bray Wyatt will be going to Smackdown. The brand with the part time World Champion. This seems like WWE's way of trying to again avoid the disaster of the Hell in a Cell main event. IT HAPPENED WWE. You can't run from it. Anyway, The Fiend on Smackdown is a weird one. Currently, he only has Reigns or Strowman to feud with and after the horrible way they handled him at HIAC, I'm nervous for the future of Mr. Wyatt. #5 was Drew McIntyre. DREW MCINTYRE. A guy who hasn't been on TV for over a month. This must mean that a big push is coming. A push I, as a huge McIntyre fan, am looking forward to. If The Fiend can't become Universal Champion, then surely McIntyre has to be the one to end Rollins' reign.
Raw seems to be focused on big single stars. The men's division is freaking stacked. McIntyre, Styles, Ricochet, Randy Orton, Kevin Owens and Bobby Lashley are all Raw stars. If Rollins stays on Raw with the Universal Championship, he'll have a lot of challengers. The US Title picture should be interesting as well. Raw's women division looks to be the same, with Becky, Natalya, Alexa and Nikki Cross. But that men's division?? STACKED. Smackdown got Lacey Evans and Sasha Banks, making The Blueprint on the blue brand. Coincidence? Smackdown stacked their tag division, getting their tag champs The Revival, Lucha House Party and Heavy Machinery. Hopefully LHP will get more serious and make a run for the Smackdown Tag Titles. Stars like Cesaro, Chad Gable, Drew Gulak and Humberto Carrlillo went undrafted. Hope they all head to Raw; the new wrestler's favorite show.
One of the best things that happened on Smackdown was outside of the draft, which saw Bayley finally start to solidify her heel turn, with a new haircut, destroying the Bayley buddies and berating the crowd. Bayley shockingly regained her Women's Championship in the process and looks to be a major player on the Smackdown women's scene, if she gets drafted to the show on Monday.
Great first night. McIntyre will be a major face for Raw and WWE in the coming months. Wyatt will probably die on Fox. Raw will be the less promoted show but the better show in the coming months. We still have to see where both World Champions end up, Bayley, The New Day, Ali, Andrade and many others on Monday. Can't wait!
Raw got the first pick tonight, thanks to The Fiend, so the draft picks were similar to the 2016 draft, 5 picks per round, 3 for Raw, 2 for Smackdown. Becky and Roman, the cover stars of WWE 2K20, went #1 and #2. Becky being #1 wasn't a shocker but it was shocking she's going to Raw. After last week's segment with The Rock, it was almost like Rock was passing the torch of the show to Becky. Guess it wasn't meant to be. Reigns going to Smackdown was obvious. He's the face of the company and the face needs to be on the biggest show. Reigns will 100% become WWE Champion in the next year. #3 was The OC, giving Raw 3 stars for the price of one. Styles went 4th overall in the 2016 draft to Smackdown so he keeps pace. Styles brings the US Title with him so I'm guessing Nakamura will be staying on Smackdown come Monday. #4 got me a bit upset as The Fiend Bray Wyatt will be going to Smackdown. The brand with the part time World Champion. This seems like WWE's way of trying to again avoid the disaster of the Hell in a Cell main event. IT HAPPENED WWE. You can't run from it. Anyway, The Fiend on Smackdown is a weird one. Currently, he only has Reigns or Strowman to feud with and after the horrible way they handled him at HIAC, I'm nervous for the future of Mr. Wyatt. #5 was Drew McIntyre. DREW MCINTYRE. A guy who hasn't been on TV for over a month. This must mean that a big push is coming. A push I, as a huge McIntyre fan, am looking forward to. If The Fiend can't become Universal Champion, then surely McIntyre has to be the one to end Rollins' reign.
Raw seems to be focused on big single stars. The men's division is freaking stacked. McIntyre, Styles, Ricochet, Randy Orton, Kevin Owens and Bobby Lashley are all Raw stars. If Rollins stays on Raw with the Universal Championship, he'll have a lot of challengers. The US Title picture should be interesting as well. Raw's women division looks to be the same, with Becky, Natalya, Alexa and Nikki Cross. But that men's division?? STACKED. Smackdown got Lacey Evans and Sasha Banks, making The Blueprint on the blue brand. Coincidence? Smackdown stacked their tag division, getting their tag champs The Revival, Lucha House Party and Heavy Machinery. Hopefully LHP will get more serious and make a run for the Smackdown Tag Titles. Stars like Cesaro, Chad Gable, Drew Gulak and Humberto Carrlillo went undrafted. Hope they all head to Raw; the new wrestler's favorite show.
One of the best things that happened on Smackdown was outside of the draft, which saw Bayley finally start to solidify her heel turn, with a new haircut, destroying the Bayley buddies and berating the crowd. Bayley shockingly regained her Women's Championship in the process and looks to be a major player on the Smackdown women's scene, if she gets drafted to the show on Monday.
Great first night. McIntyre will be a major face for Raw and WWE in the coming months. Wyatt will probably die on Fox. Raw will be the less promoted show but the better show in the coming months. We still have to see where both World Champions end up, Bayley, The New Day, Ali, Andrade and many others on Monday. Can't wait!
Saturday, October 5, 2019
Hell in a Cell 2019 Predictions
You may have forgot with the massive amount of wrestling premieres this week but WWE Hell in a Cell is on Sunday! A whooping FOUR matches have been announced for the show, with at least 5 others to be announced after I post this! Seriously, they're probably just announce a bunch of matches on their social media accounts. That's a little sad though. I feel for those who bought tickets as they only advertised three matches for the show as the fourth was added LATE Friday night. Anyway, it will make for a short post, figured I should do one seeing as how I completely missed Clash of Champions. Let's get to it!
Charlotte will get another shot at becoming a 10 time women's champion as she again challenges Bayley for the Smackdown Women's Championship. I'm a big Bayley fan but I think her time is up. The tag match from this past Smackdown was Charlotte's moment to show the world what she can do and she made Bayley tap, AGAIN. She's the perfect embodiment of a champion they want for their brand. I'm not sure who she would feud with but Charlotte being champion fits Fox and hey, maybe it will bring out the fully heel Bayley as well. Lord knows she needs a total heel makeover. I'm going with Charlotte to defeat Bayley and become Smackdown Women's Champion for a 5th time.
Common enemies will force together Roman Reigns and Daniel Bryan as they face Erick Rowan and the returning Luke Harper in a big tag team clash. This could be a lot of fun, given enough time. And why wouldn't it, it's only one of FOUR matches. Anyway, the obvious ending here would be for Bryan to turn on Reigns and reveal he's the true culprit behind the attacks on Reigns. This would lead to the blowoff match at Crown Jewel 2, that is, if Bryan wants to compete in Saudi Arabia. Although WWE could definitely use a face Daniel Bryan in this current environment, I think Bryan leading Harper and Rowan in some new twisted stable could do some good for whichever brand they end up on. Is that ending too obvious? Maybe, but WWE has proven the obvious thing is usually what they tend to go with. That being said, I'm going with Harper and Rowan to win here with Bryan turning back heel.
The Raw Women's Championship will be defended inside Hell in a Cell for only the 2nd time ever, first in 3 years and it's a feud worthy of the finality of the Hell in a Cell structure. Sasha Banks will get her rematch against Becky Lynch with the title on the line inside the dangerous structure. Becky Lynch is now the only remaining underdog from WrestleMania 35 who hasn't lost their title. Rollins may have regained the title at SummerSlam but Lynch's reign has been continuous since Mania. Sasha has been her biggest challenger to her reign yet and the only one who gives her reign a sense of danger. It's pretty obvious the way this one is going to go down. Becky had an amazing moment on Smackdown, getting the rub from Smackdown's 'creator' The Rock. To be featured in such a prominent role on the first edition of Smackdown on Fox, it's pretty clear that she's going to be one of the faces going forward. They may even do Charlotte/Becky again. For that to fully happen, she has to drop the title here. Sasha has been fantastic since coming back as a heel and it's time to pull the trigger on the comeback. Sasha Banks will defeat Becky Lynch for the Raw Women's Championship. Sasha would become the 1st woman to hold the Raw Women's Title on 5 different occasions. Funny that Charlotte is trying to do the same with the opposite brand's title...
Seth Rollins can't catch a break. He's slain a Beast in Brock Lesnar, a Monster in Braun Strowman and now he's up against The Fiend Bray Wyatt. Rollins will defend the Universal Championship against Wyatt INSIDE the Hell in a Cell. Do I really need to talk about this? We all know Wyatt is getting that title. He is the hottest act going in WWE right now and it's time to pull the trigger while it is hot. I really don't know how it will work with Fun House Bray Wyatt and The Fiend Bray Wyatt but it's time for Wyatt to reign again. The Fiend will defeat Seth Rollins and become the NEW Universal Champion. Wyatt will make history as the first man to have won the WWE and Universal Titles AND both Raw and Smackdown Tag Titles. Surprising that this feat hasn't been accomplished yet.
That's Hell in a Cell. Crown Jewel is at the end of the month on Halloween! See you then
Charlotte will get another shot at becoming a 10 time women's champion as she again challenges Bayley for the Smackdown Women's Championship. I'm a big Bayley fan but I think her time is up. The tag match from this past Smackdown was Charlotte's moment to show the world what she can do and she made Bayley tap, AGAIN. She's the perfect embodiment of a champion they want for their brand. I'm not sure who she would feud with but Charlotte being champion fits Fox and hey, maybe it will bring out the fully heel Bayley as well. Lord knows she needs a total heel makeover. I'm going with Charlotte to defeat Bayley and become Smackdown Women's Champion for a 5th time.
Common enemies will force together Roman Reigns and Daniel Bryan as they face Erick Rowan and the returning Luke Harper in a big tag team clash. This could be a lot of fun, given enough time. And why wouldn't it, it's only one of FOUR matches. Anyway, the obvious ending here would be for Bryan to turn on Reigns and reveal he's the true culprit behind the attacks on Reigns. This would lead to the blowoff match at Crown Jewel 2, that is, if Bryan wants to compete in Saudi Arabia. Although WWE could definitely use a face Daniel Bryan in this current environment, I think Bryan leading Harper and Rowan in some new twisted stable could do some good for whichever brand they end up on. Is that ending too obvious? Maybe, but WWE has proven the obvious thing is usually what they tend to go with. That being said, I'm going with Harper and Rowan to win here with Bryan turning back heel.
The Raw Women's Championship will be defended inside Hell in a Cell for only the 2nd time ever, first in 3 years and it's a feud worthy of the finality of the Hell in a Cell structure. Sasha Banks will get her rematch against Becky Lynch with the title on the line inside the dangerous structure. Becky Lynch is now the only remaining underdog from WrestleMania 35 who hasn't lost their title. Rollins may have regained the title at SummerSlam but Lynch's reign has been continuous since Mania. Sasha has been her biggest challenger to her reign yet and the only one who gives her reign a sense of danger. It's pretty obvious the way this one is going to go down. Becky had an amazing moment on Smackdown, getting the rub from Smackdown's 'creator' The Rock. To be featured in such a prominent role on the first edition of Smackdown on Fox, it's pretty clear that she's going to be one of the faces going forward. They may even do Charlotte/Becky again. For that to fully happen, she has to drop the title here. Sasha has been fantastic since coming back as a heel and it's time to pull the trigger on the comeback. Sasha Banks will defeat Becky Lynch for the Raw Women's Championship. Sasha would become the 1st woman to hold the Raw Women's Title on 5 different occasions. Funny that Charlotte is trying to do the same with the opposite brand's title...
Seth Rollins can't catch a break. He's slain a Beast in Brock Lesnar, a Monster in Braun Strowman and now he's up against The Fiend Bray Wyatt. Rollins will defend the Universal Championship against Wyatt INSIDE the Hell in a Cell. Do I really need to talk about this? We all know Wyatt is getting that title. He is the hottest act going in WWE right now and it's time to pull the trigger while it is hot. I really don't know how it will work with Fun House Bray Wyatt and The Fiend Bray Wyatt but it's time for Wyatt to reign again. The Fiend will defeat Seth Rollins and become the NEW Universal Champion. Wyatt will make history as the first man to have won the WWE and Universal Titles AND both Raw and Smackdown Tag Titles. Surprising that this feat hasn't been accomplished yet.
That's Hell in a Cell. Crown Jewel is at the end of the month on Halloween! See you then
Thursday, September 19, 2019
The Bray Wyatt Situation
I think we can all agree that Bray Wyatt, the Firefly Funhouse and The Fiend have been the most consistently great thing about the WWE main roster post WrestleMania. All the leadup promos to something sinister, the original fakeout of that Firefly Funhouse, the reveal of The Fiend, the jump from weekly episodes to the puppets making cameos on both Raw and Smackdown and of course, the in ring reveal after Extreme Rules against Finn Balor. It's been a pretty slow burning build for Sir Wyatt but it has worked beautifully as Wyatt has to be considered one of, if not THE, most over guy on the main roster. With him being so over, WWE made the decision to put The Fiend Bray Wyatt against Seth Freakin Rollins for the Universal Championship at Hell in a Cell, better yet, INSIDE Hell in a Cell. A feud that only has three weeks of build. Blame McIntyre for getting injured as the original plans called for McIntyre to get the push but you know, that's luck for the United Kingdom wrestlers in main event pushes.
Anyway, there are some who are against the call. Many are saying this is too early Wyatt to challenge Rollins and I can understand where they are coming from. Wyatt has had ONE televised match since his debut. ONE. And his 2nd match will most likely be a main event match for the top title on Raw? I get it. Others are saying putting the title on Wyatt will lessen The Fiend's aura, overexposing the one good thing WWE has. I get that as well but I offer two counter arguments for those complaints.
For the first, many forget Wyatt has been in WWE for close to a decade. Yes, this is a new gimmick but this is an accomplished superstar already. Former Raw and Smackdown Tag Team Champion, former WWE Champion, the man has faced the very best WWE has to offer, including legends like Chris Jericho, The Undertaker and John Cena. If anyone is 'ready' for a title run, it would be Bray Wyatt. It would be better to give him the title now when he's red hot then later when fans have started to cool off The Fiend. You know it's coming. Remember WrestleMania, when everyone wanted Kofi, Seth and Becky to walk out with titles and they did? Now, people are sick of them and clamoring for new faces in those spots. That was pretty clear at Clash of Champions, when there were very audible boos for all three, especially Kofi. Why wait 3 months when he's cooled off when you can capitalize on it now? And it would be good for a potential Demon Balor VS Fiend rematch at Royal Rumble.
The 2nd complaint is a easy fix as well. The Fiend can win the title but he doesn't have to appear every week or even wrestle weekly. They can leave that to Firefly Funhouse Wyatt and he can finally cut some promos live, instead of pretaped vignettes. I understand where people are coming from but Undertaker and Kane made careers off their characters and their supernatural abilities and I believe The Fiend, no matter how many times I see him, will continue in that same legacy. If they continue to feature the insanity that is FFFH and continue to have surprising moments, The Fiend can appear as often as he wants. The only one worthy of dethroning him would be Demon Balor and that in itself presents another problem but that's another post for another day.
Maybe we're all jumping the gun. Maybe Wyatt won't even defeat Rollins. We all know this company has a history of pushing supremely over guys to the title picture and then didn't have them succeed. Wade Barrett always comes to mind, probably the biggest squandering of talent in the 2010s. This could be another dropped pass by the company.....but yeah, I don't think so. I'm going all in on the hype train for Wyatt. I've been a big fan of his, even back from NXT season 2 Husky Harris days. I'm all in for rocket strapping Wyatt to the main event scene this 'early'. Yes, I'm incredibly bias and I don't care.
Long live The Fiend as WWE Universal Champion.
Anyway, there are some who are against the call. Many are saying this is too early Wyatt to challenge Rollins and I can understand where they are coming from. Wyatt has had ONE televised match since his debut. ONE. And his 2nd match will most likely be a main event match for the top title on Raw? I get it. Others are saying putting the title on Wyatt will lessen The Fiend's aura, overexposing the one good thing WWE has. I get that as well but I offer two counter arguments for those complaints.
For the first, many forget Wyatt has been in WWE for close to a decade. Yes, this is a new gimmick but this is an accomplished superstar already. Former Raw and Smackdown Tag Team Champion, former WWE Champion, the man has faced the very best WWE has to offer, including legends like Chris Jericho, The Undertaker and John Cena. If anyone is 'ready' for a title run, it would be Bray Wyatt. It would be better to give him the title now when he's red hot then later when fans have started to cool off The Fiend. You know it's coming. Remember WrestleMania, when everyone wanted Kofi, Seth and Becky to walk out with titles and they did? Now, people are sick of them and clamoring for new faces in those spots. That was pretty clear at Clash of Champions, when there were very audible boos for all three, especially Kofi. Why wait 3 months when he's cooled off when you can capitalize on it now? And it would be good for a potential Demon Balor VS Fiend rematch at Royal Rumble.
The 2nd complaint is a easy fix as well. The Fiend can win the title but he doesn't have to appear every week or even wrestle weekly. They can leave that to Firefly Funhouse Wyatt and he can finally cut some promos live, instead of pretaped vignettes. I understand where people are coming from but Undertaker and Kane made careers off their characters and their supernatural abilities and I believe The Fiend, no matter how many times I see him, will continue in that same legacy. If they continue to feature the insanity that is FFFH and continue to have surprising moments, The Fiend can appear as often as he wants. The only one worthy of dethroning him would be Demon Balor and that in itself presents another problem but that's another post for another day.
Maybe we're all jumping the gun. Maybe Wyatt won't even defeat Rollins. We all know this company has a history of pushing supremely over guys to the title picture and then didn't have them succeed. Wade Barrett always comes to mind, probably the biggest squandering of talent in the 2010s. This could be another dropped pass by the company.....but yeah, I don't think so. I'm going all in on the hype train for Wyatt. I've been a big fan of his, even back from NXT season 2 Husky Harris days. I'm all in for rocket strapping Wyatt to the main event scene this 'early'. Yes, I'm incredibly bias and I don't care.
Long live The Fiend as WWE Universal Champion.
Wednesday, August 28, 2019
September 2019 Gaming Releases
It's finally time for fall gaming! The end of August was a doozy with three releases for me in three days and September looks to be more of the same. In these posts, I'm highlighting games that I will either be playing or owning that release in the respective month. Let's get to it!
September 3rd: Catherine: Full Body - Probably Buy on Sale
Hard to believe that Catherine first released back in 2011, nearly at the start of this decade and I haven't replayed the game since. Catherine was a departure of normal games I buy as it was more of a puzzle game with visual novel choices and narrative. I remember being very engrossed with it and that it helped me with my own life choices at the time. While I'm very excited to replayed the game, especially since I just learned when doing research on the game, it's built using the Persona 5 engine. The only thing that's holding me back from a day one buy is the price. Most remakes or re-releases ask for $40-$50. Grandia HD Collection on Switch was a shocking $40. Atlus is asking for the full $60. While I understand it's essentially a new game, I've already put most of my money into the games of August and I can't see myself paying full price for this. I certainly want to experience Vincent's story again but maybe once it goes on sale.....and when I have less games to play.
September 10th: Gears 5 - Play by GamePass
My Xbox One is lonely. I haven't played it since my Crackdown 3 binge back in February. Gears 5 is a great excuse to go back. I really enjoyed the Gears 4 so if it's more of the same then I'll be happy. The best thing is that while I paid $30 for Gears 4, Gears 5 is free if you have GamePass. And you know for sure I will be subscribing in a few days to get this benefit. I'm hoping for another short experience so I can get ready for the other heavy hitters to come but I can't wait to blow some Locust heads off.
September 10th: Blasphemous - Buy
I remember first hearing about this game on Kotaku back in 2017. I was reading the article at work and I'll never forget the gif of a giant baby ripping apart the main character in two. It was so amazing. Then reading about it, it looks like this will be a Dark Souls Castlevania hybrid. Other games have tried it and haven't gripped me like I wanted, like Death's Gambit but I have high hopes for this one. It looks very polished, gory and will scratch that Metroidvania itch that never seems to go away. Juggling this and Gears 5 so it will be a bloody week at my house!
September 17th: AI: The Somnium Files - BUY
I'm so ready for this. I don't know much about this game other than that it's by the people who brought us the AMAZING Zero Escape series. They hooked me from the gate. I couldn't get enough of that series and I actually played through 999 earlier this year to prepare myself. 2019 hasn't provided me with a really gripping visual novel game yet so I'm hoping AI provides the great mix of adventure and visual novel that I love so much. I have no doubt that this will be another mind bending tale that will have me wanting more after it ends.
September 20th: The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening - Already Bought
Hard to believe I haven't played a Zelda game since Breath of the Wild in 2017! While I'm sure everyone is excited for the sequel to Breath of the Wild, I'm happy to be playing a more traditional Zelda experience for the Switch. And it's one where Link can jump! Well, after he gets the Roc Feather but still! This is another welcome remake of a game as I haven't played Link's Awakening DX since my childhood. Also, again, I haven't played a traditional Zelda game in a very long time so it will be fun playing through in a way from my childhood. Good thing is, I forgot mostly what happens in the game so it will be like playing a new game come September 20th. Looking forward to experiencing one of Link's greatest adventures all over again. Side note, this is the only game on the list that's already paid for. Thanks $400 trade credit at GameStop!
September 27th: Code Vein - Buy
Code Vein was suppose to come out in September 2018. Yeah, we're talking a whole darn year ago. It was originally apart of my crazy gaming September last year. You remember? The one that included Dragon Quest XI, Spider-Man and Tomb Raider within 10 days of each other? Well it's apart of another busy release window this year! Dark Souls clones are always around and in my book, welcome additions to my gaming library. Remnant: From The Ashes is a fantastic example of a of a Dark Souls esque game done right. Not you Immortal Unchained. Code Vein already has something going for it as it's unique look sets it apart from other DS clones. Anime Dark Souls is the name I and many of the gaming community have christened it. I missed my chance to play the demo but from the gameplay I've seen, I know it going to hit on every level. This will be a good way to end September segue-way into October's games, which are few but contain two major RPGs.
I just hope I can finish some of these before October. Zelda doesn't bother me but it's games like AI and Code Vein that need to be completed by October 22nd. If I was to wager a guess, I know Gears 5 will be finished relatively fast as it's for sure going to be a short game. Blasphemous will probably be normal Metroidvania length. Again, Zelda is for more my coming and goings to work and such and with no big Switch release in sight, it will probably last me until late October. AI is probably going to steal A LOT of my time in September, hence why I'll be off to experience the craziness. Same thing for Code Vein. I'm just excited to get deep into gaming this fall! We're talking four or more releases for three months straight!
Next up is October, highlighted by the RPG I've been waiting four years to play and the 3rd entry into another RPG series that took a lot of my time this year. Stay tuned....
September 3rd: Catherine: Full Body - Probably Buy on Sale
Hard to believe that Catherine first released back in 2011, nearly at the start of this decade and I haven't replayed the game since. Catherine was a departure of normal games I buy as it was more of a puzzle game with visual novel choices and narrative. I remember being very engrossed with it and that it helped me with my own life choices at the time. While I'm very excited to replayed the game, especially since I just learned when doing research on the game, it's built using the Persona 5 engine. The only thing that's holding me back from a day one buy is the price. Most remakes or re-releases ask for $40-$50. Grandia HD Collection on Switch was a shocking $40. Atlus is asking for the full $60. While I understand it's essentially a new game, I've already put most of my money into the games of August and I can't see myself paying full price for this. I certainly want to experience Vincent's story again but maybe once it goes on sale.....and when I have less games to play.
September 10th: Gears 5 - Play by GamePass
My Xbox One is lonely. I haven't played it since my Crackdown 3 binge back in February. Gears 5 is a great excuse to go back. I really enjoyed the Gears 4 so if it's more of the same then I'll be happy. The best thing is that while I paid $30 for Gears 4, Gears 5 is free if you have GamePass. And you know for sure I will be subscribing in a few days to get this benefit. I'm hoping for another short experience so I can get ready for the other heavy hitters to come but I can't wait to blow some Locust heads off.
September 10th: Blasphemous - Buy
I remember first hearing about this game on Kotaku back in 2017. I was reading the article at work and I'll never forget the gif of a giant baby ripping apart the main character in two. It was so amazing. Then reading about it, it looks like this will be a Dark Souls Castlevania hybrid. Other games have tried it and haven't gripped me like I wanted, like Death's Gambit but I have high hopes for this one. It looks very polished, gory and will scratch that Metroidvania itch that never seems to go away. Juggling this and Gears 5 so it will be a bloody week at my house!
September 17th: AI: The Somnium Files - BUY
I'm so ready for this. I don't know much about this game other than that it's by the people who brought us the AMAZING Zero Escape series. They hooked me from the gate. I couldn't get enough of that series and I actually played through 999 earlier this year to prepare myself. 2019 hasn't provided me with a really gripping visual novel game yet so I'm hoping AI provides the great mix of adventure and visual novel that I love so much. I have no doubt that this will be another mind bending tale that will have me wanting more after it ends.
September 20th: The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening - Already Bought
Hard to believe I haven't played a Zelda game since Breath of the Wild in 2017! While I'm sure everyone is excited for the sequel to Breath of the Wild, I'm happy to be playing a more traditional Zelda experience for the Switch. And it's one where Link can jump! Well, after he gets the Roc Feather but still! This is another welcome remake of a game as I haven't played Link's Awakening DX since my childhood. Also, again, I haven't played a traditional Zelda game in a very long time so it will be fun playing through in a way from my childhood. Good thing is, I forgot mostly what happens in the game so it will be like playing a new game come September 20th. Looking forward to experiencing one of Link's greatest adventures all over again. Side note, this is the only game on the list that's already paid for. Thanks $400 trade credit at GameStop!
September 27th: Code Vein - Buy
Code Vein was suppose to come out in September 2018. Yeah, we're talking a whole darn year ago. It was originally apart of my crazy gaming September last year. You remember? The one that included Dragon Quest XI, Spider-Man and Tomb Raider within 10 days of each other? Well it's apart of another busy release window this year! Dark Souls clones are always around and in my book, welcome additions to my gaming library. Remnant: From The Ashes is a fantastic example of a of a Dark Souls esque game done right. Not you Immortal Unchained. Code Vein already has something going for it as it's unique look sets it apart from other DS clones. Anime Dark Souls is the name I and many of the gaming community have christened it. I missed my chance to play the demo but from the gameplay I've seen, I know it going to hit on every level. This will be a good way to end September segue-way into October's games, which are few but contain two major RPGs.
I just hope I can finish some of these before October. Zelda doesn't bother me but it's games like AI and Code Vein that need to be completed by October 22nd. If I was to wager a guess, I know Gears 5 will be finished relatively fast as it's for sure going to be a short game. Blasphemous will probably be normal Metroidvania length. Again, Zelda is for more my coming and goings to work and such and with no big Switch release in sight, it will probably last me until late October. AI is probably going to steal A LOT of my time in September, hence why I'll be off to experience the craziness. Same thing for Code Vein. I'm just excited to get deep into gaming this fall! We're talking four or more releases for three months straight!
Next up is October, highlighted by the RPG I've been waiting four years to play and the 3rd entry into another RPG series that took a lot of my time this year. Stay tuned....
Friday, August 9, 2019
Takeover and SummerSlam 2019 Predictions
It's finally time for the 3rd biggest weekend of WWE's year; Takeover and SummerSlam weekend! This will be the first time in five years that Takeover and SummerSlam will be in a city other than Brooklyn. WWE heads North to Toronto for four days of action. Takeover Toronto (II) will feature 5 matches while SummerSlam is currently slated for 10 matches but we all know that will change! Let's start with Takeover first!
Takeover Toronto (II) features 5 matches, with the four NXT Titles on the line. The Undisputed Era look fulfill their prophecy as all four members are in title matches. The results of all five matches will likely react with each other. I'll get into it during the post but let's get it started!
The Streets Profits won the NXT Tag Team Titles at Takeover XXV in their first ever Takeover event. Their reign may be a short one as they will face Kyle O'Reilly and Bobby Fish of the Undisputed Era for their newly won titles. This may be the start of a big night for UE. I don't think NXT would have proclaimed that UE would be draped in gold and then not have that come to fruition. Of course, it could be a red herring but I guess we'll see. Street Profits have been appearing more and more on Raw and Smackdown so it's only a matter of time before Vince sticks his filthy claws in them and steals them away for himself. With the return Breezango to NXT, there may not be a need for a face team to be holding those titles right now. UE VS Breezango at a future Takeover for the title seems likely but it can only start here. I'll be upset for the boy but I got Undisputed Era in this one, capturing the NXT Tag Team Titles for the 3rd time. Kyle O'Reilly already holds the record for most cumulative days held. This will add to the record.
In a rare Takeover with TWO women's matches, newly heel Io Shirai will face Candice LeRae in a grudge match. It's amazing to finally have a heel Japanese female in NXT. Asuka was going that route for a bit but they never went full heel and Kairi was too pure during her run for it. Io makes the most sense. This is all definitely leading to a title reign for her as well. As much as I want Candice to get on track here and finally start competing for the title at Takeovers, she can't lose to a star who just turned heel. Io Shirai will defeat Candice LeRae in a competitive match.
In what might be the best match of the night, NXT North American Champion Velveteen Dream will defend against Roderick Strong and NXT UK's Pete Dunne in a Triple Threat match. I don't need to say it again but I will; THIS is going to be epic. As with the tag title match, UE's declaration to get all the titles is clear and Strong has the best chance out of them all to walk out with a title. He's got momentum on his side and Dream has been champion since January so it might be time for a change. Dunne's in the match to make it even better. Kind of surprised Dunne isn't on the next NXT UK Takeover. Anyway, after a grueling match, I got Roderick Strong winning his first singles title in NXT by capturing the NXT North American Championship.
Shayna Baszler is chasing history. The already record setting 2 time NXT Women's Champion will defend her title against Mia Yim. Baszler is already the 3rd longest reigning NXT Women's Champion so one, she's looking to get closer to the #2 position. We all know Asuka's 510 day reign isn't going to be surpassed but she's 20 days shy of Paige's 308 day reign. Baszler has held the title twice and is just less than 100 days from having the record for most cumulative days as NXT Women's Champion. If you're a math person, you'll know the next NXT Takeover following Toronto is Wargames in Los Angeles. That's just about a little more than 100 days after Toronto. Do you follow me? Now, I've gone against Baszler at Phoenix and I was wrong. I went against her at New York, I was wrong. I'm not making that same mistake. I think Yim will look fantastic in the match, but she's not the one. Shayna Baszler will retain her title in the same way she's done in the past few Takeovers; submission. Night night Yim. Sorry.
The main event is the third and probably final match in the Johnny Gargano and Adam Cole feud. After the trilogy of matches between Cole/Ciampa last year, you'd think I be tired of seeing Gargano main event and compete at Takeovers but man, these last two battles with Adam Cole have been barn burners. I truly believe their first match at New York was the best WWE match since Punk/Cena at Money in the Bank 2011. The amount of emotion and anticipation during the match was unmatched and their rematch was more of the same. It's the greatest two match series in NXT history and now, it's time for the last match. Can they top what they've done already?
Johnny Gargano will try to avenge his Takeover XXV loss and regain his title when he challenges Adam Cole for the NXT Championship. This will be their 2nd 2 out of 3 Falls match but it will be a bit different. The first fall will be a normal singles match, the 2nd a street fight and the third will be decided IF/WHEN it's needed. My guess would be a Ladder match ala Triple H/HBK 3 Stages of Hell back at Armageddon 2002. Granted, they had a Cage match as their 2nd fall but you get it. Anyway, this is it for one of these guys.
Gargano and Cole have both done everything there is to do in NXT. They've won all the titles that's available to them, they've main evented multiple Takeover events and have raised the bar for the black and yellow brand. A loss here would either mean two things; either a call up to the main roster or taking a different role in NXT, maybe that of a gatekeeper for the newer talent to prove themselves. I honestly don't want either on the main roster just yet as we've seen not all the call ups get storylines right away and I'm sure a guy like Gargano would get lost in the shuffle. Anyway, this will be another barn burner. Cole/Gargano's chemistry is off the charts and they can't have a bad match. This will go the distance, all three falls, 40+ minutes. I absolutely love Gargano and I want the best for him in his WWE career but if Cole's other faction members are going to win, Cole HAS to win. We need Undisputed Era to have all the title. And it will be so. Adam Cole will defeat Johnny Gargano to retain his NXT Championship. And that's....Undisputed.
Takeover Toronto will be an amazing lead in to SummerSlam!
SummerSlam with its 10 matches and likely growing, especially with a 2 hour pre show. The Cruiserweight championship will take its usual spot on it but I'm not sure about any other matches. Reigns will definitely be on the show and maybe Andrade and Rey will have one more match. Let's just focus on the 10 announced for now.
Drew Gulak will defend the Cruiserweight Title against Oney Lorcan. This will be another great match as the Cruiswerweights have not disappointed this year on PPV. Lorcan will destroy Gulak in this match but he won't be the one to end the reign. I still think Humberto Carrillo will be that guy. Drew Gulak retains in a fun hard hitting match.
In a SummerSlam 2017 rematch, Finn Balor will battle Bray Wyatt but this time, Bray Wyatt is under a new gimmick as The Fiend, who's making his in ring debut, I guess? Anyway, we all know how this is going to go. They've done a great job at building up the appearance and putting him over Hall of Famers like Mick Foley and Kurt Angle was genius. Balor is apparently going on vacation after SummerSlam so he's doing the job here. It also opens up the opportunity for a future Demon VS Fiend match. This might be a squash match too. Regardless, Bray's winning here.
For some reason, Dolph Ziggler is facing Goldberg. That will put butts in seats. This will be a squash. Spear, Jackhammer, payday. Goldberg wins.
Dream match! Trish Stratus is coming back for one more match and it's a doozy. She's facing former 9 time champion Charlotte in a generational match in Trish's hometown in Toronto. This is a SummerSlam match, even if it was thrown together 12 days before the show. This is a passing of the torch match. I, like many of you who may read this, grew up on Trish. She is the greatest female star since Fabulous Moolah. We are now in an era of great women's wrestling and it's time for a new GOAT. Charlotte, whether you love her, hate her or are tired of them shoving her down our throats, is worthy to be that person. Trish will get her hits in, hit her signature moves, but Charlotte will walk out victorious.
Kevin Owens will face Shane McMahon and if Owens loses, he will quit WWE. Despite the hatred in this feud, this is a normal match, a decision that I hope will be changed on the pre show. Many of have predicted and said this is the way that Shane will eventually leave TV for good so I can't see Owens losing here. Kevin Owens will win and start the eradication of Shane on our TVs every week.
Ricochet will get his shot at regaining the United States Championship when he faces AJ Styles for the fourth time. Ricochet is 1-2 against The Phenomenal One. These two deserve a lot of time on Sunday to showcase what they can do. Their match at Extreme Rules was great and I'm looking for more of the same here. With Undisputed Era potentially holding all the titles, New Day holding all the titles and The OC with all the titles, one of those factions will have to lose a title first. I don't think a heel Styles was done for the US Title. The money is in a heel Styles chasing the Universal Championship right? Let Ricochet win here and feud with Cesaro. Or, maybe heel Styles is best for the mid card right now? Styles/Mysterio could finally happen as could Styles/Alexander. THAT might be best with the uncertainty of a World Title on Raw for the foreseeable future. OK, I'm going with Styles to retain.
Bayley will face her hardest challenge yet when she faces Ember Moon for the Smackdown Women's Championship in a battle of former NXT Women's Champions. This is Ember's big chance to show the world what she's got. This is Bayley chance to show that even the best can't contend with her. This is probably the match I want to see most at SummerSlam, based on in ring talent and with how things could go. Moon winning would mean that Smackdown is predominantly filled with black champions, which would be a first and something to see right? Bayley winning would mean she would need a new challenger. As much as I want Ember to win, I STILL think this is how WWE will reintroduce Sasha to WWE. With the focus of WWE 2K20 on the Women's Revolution, wouldn't it make sense to promote it by having two of the Four Horsewomen feud for the title? Sorry, Ember, but for that to happen, Bayley has to retain here. Ember won't go down without a fight and I hope we get to see the Eclipse reversed into a Bayley to Belly. Bayley retains.
Becky Lynch looks to continue her reign when she defends the Raw Women's Championship against Natalya in a Submission match. Nattie is the 3rd Canadian in a big match at SummerSlam and she's got a tough road to win the championship. This will be great! This should be a wrestling fan's dream. Becky is the cover star of WWE 2K20 and because of it, she's not losing here. I don't know who's next for her but depending on if Baszler wins her respective match, maybe she'll be looking for revenge for her friend Ronda. That would be something. Anyway, Becky retains with the Dis-Arm-Her.
Kofi Kingston's magical journey as WWE Champion is in serious jeopardy as he faces a foe from his past. It will be Kingston defending against Randy Orton at SummerSlam. If anyone can claim to be Mr. SummerSlam, it might be Randy Orton. Orton has had 3 of his 13 World Title reigns BEGIN at SummerSlam. 2002, 2011 and 2013 if you're keeping record. And with Smackdown moving to Fox soon, they may want a guy like Orton holding onto the title heading into the deal but honestly, that doesn't work for the overall story. Kingston called Orton out to close an old chapter of his career. he has to go over Orton to basically validate his reign. If Kofi loses the title to anyone, let it be Andrade and give Andrade the heel Latino stable the world needs! Kingston NEEDS this win here. He can't become champion only to lose it to the guy who held him down in the first place years ago. This title run and reign has all been for this exact moment in time. Kofi Kingston will defeat Randy Orton to retain the WWE Championship. He will run into Andrade next. Mark my words.
Brock Lesnar is back at his favorite event and will defend the Universal Championship in a Wrestlemania rematch against Seth Rollins. This will be Lesnar's SIXTH STRAIGHT SUMMERSLAM MAIN EVENT, his eighth overall counting the 2002 and 2012 matches. His reign over this event is insane and I know I gave kudos to Orton as Mr. SummerSlam, but Lesnar is the SummerSlam God. His battle with Rollins is very important as it will determine the future of the red brand for awhile. Will we have another part time champion again until Wrestlemania or will Rollins come through and slay the beast once again? I'm going with the former. Although it wouldn't make sense for Raw to again LOSE their main champion, especially if the Wild Card rule will be ending soon with Smackdown moving to Fox. They need that title around. Guys like Strowman, Drew McIntyre, Samoa Joe, Ricochet, Cesaro, The Fiend Bray Wyatt and AJ NEED a main title to contend for. Their hopes rely on Rollins. The way the story goes, they want you to believe he doesn't stand a chance come Sunday. He's been decimated these past two weeks right? While I know Rollins will put up a big fight come Sunday, I just don't see Lesnar losing back to back SummerSlam main events. I really REALLY hope I'm wrong and it pains me to even type this, but I got Brock Lesnar retaining the Universal Championship at SummerSlam, holding the title hostage until God knows how long. I hope I'm wrong and Rollins wins, only to be attacked by Wyatt....
There is it! SummerSlam weekend! You excited?!/
Takeover Toronto (II) features 5 matches, with the four NXT Titles on the line. The Undisputed Era look fulfill their prophecy as all four members are in title matches. The results of all five matches will likely react with each other. I'll get into it during the post but let's get it started!
The Streets Profits won the NXT Tag Team Titles at Takeover XXV in their first ever Takeover event. Their reign may be a short one as they will face Kyle O'Reilly and Bobby Fish of the Undisputed Era for their newly won titles. This may be the start of a big night for UE. I don't think NXT would have proclaimed that UE would be draped in gold and then not have that come to fruition. Of course, it could be a red herring but I guess we'll see. Street Profits have been appearing more and more on Raw and Smackdown so it's only a matter of time before Vince sticks his filthy claws in them and steals them away for himself. With the return Breezango to NXT, there may not be a need for a face team to be holding those titles right now. UE VS Breezango at a future Takeover for the title seems likely but it can only start here. I'll be upset for the boy but I got Undisputed Era in this one, capturing the NXT Tag Team Titles for the 3rd time. Kyle O'Reilly already holds the record for most cumulative days held. This will add to the record.
In a rare Takeover with TWO women's matches, newly heel Io Shirai will face Candice LeRae in a grudge match. It's amazing to finally have a heel Japanese female in NXT. Asuka was going that route for a bit but they never went full heel and Kairi was too pure during her run for it. Io makes the most sense. This is all definitely leading to a title reign for her as well. As much as I want Candice to get on track here and finally start competing for the title at Takeovers, she can't lose to a star who just turned heel. Io Shirai will defeat Candice LeRae in a competitive match.
In what might be the best match of the night, NXT North American Champion Velveteen Dream will defend against Roderick Strong and NXT UK's Pete Dunne in a Triple Threat match. I don't need to say it again but I will; THIS is going to be epic. As with the tag title match, UE's declaration to get all the titles is clear and Strong has the best chance out of them all to walk out with a title. He's got momentum on his side and Dream has been champion since January so it might be time for a change. Dunne's in the match to make it even better. Kind of surprised Dunne isn't on the next NXT UK Takeover. Anyway, after a grueling match, I got Roderick Strong winning his first singles title in NXT by capturing the NXT North American Championship.
Shayna Baszler is chasing history. The already record setting 2 time NXT Women's Champion will defend her title against Mia Yim. Baszler is already the 3rd longest reigning NXT Women's Champion so one, she's looking to get closer to the #2 position. We all know Asuka's 510 day reign isn't going to be surpassed but she's 20 days shy of Paige's 308 day reign. Baszler has held the title twice and is just less than 100 days from having the record for most cumulative days as NXT Women's Champion. If you're a math person, you'll know the next NXT Takeover following Toronto is Wargames in Los Angeles. That's just about a little more than 100 days after Toronto. Do you follow me? Now, I've gone against Baszler at Phoenix and I was wrong. I went against her at New York, I was wrong. I'm not making that same mistake. I think Yim will look fantastic in the match, but she's not the one. Shayna Baszler will retain her title in the same way she's done in the past few Takeovers; submission. Night night Yim. Sorry.
The main event is the third and probably final match in the Johnny Gargano and Adam Cole feud. After the trilogy of matches between Cole/Ciampa last year, you'd think I be tired of seeing Gargano main event and compete at Takeovers but man, these last two battles with Adam Cole have been barn burners. I truly believe their first match at New York was the best WWE match since Punk/Cena at Money in the Bank 2011. The amount of emotion and anticipation during the match was unmatched and their rematch was more of the same. It's the greatest two match series in NXT history and now, it's time for the last match. Can they top what they've done already?
Johnny Gargano will try to avenge his Takeover XXV loss and regain his title when he challenges Adam Cole for the NXT Championship. This will be their 2nd 2 out of 3 Falls match but it will be a bit different. The first fall will be a normal singles match, the 2nd a street fight and the third will be decided IF/WHEN it's needed. My guess would be a Ladder match ala Triple H/HBK 3 Stages of Hell back at Armageddon 2002. Granted, they had a Cage match as their 2nd fall but you get it. Anyway, this is it for one of these guys.
Gargano and Cole have both done everything there is to do in NXT. They've won all the titles that's available to them, they've main evented multiple Takeover events and have raised the bar for the black and yellow brand. A loss here would either mean two things; either a call up to the main roster or taking a different role in NXT, maybe that of a gatekeeper for the newer talent to prove themselves. I honestly don't want either on the main roster just yet as we've seen not all the call ups get storylines right away and I'm sure a guy like Gargano would get lost in the shuffle. Anyway, this will be another barn burner. Cole/Gargano's chemistry is off the charts and they can't have a bad match. This will go the distance, all three falls, 40+ minutes. I absolutely love Gargano and I want the best for him in his WWE career but if Cole's other faction members are going to win, Cole HAS to win. We need Undisputed Era to have all the title. And it will be so. Adam Cole will defeat Johnny Gargano to retain his NXT Championship. And that's....Undisputed.
Takeover Toronto will be an amazing lead in to SummerSlam!
SummerSlam with its 10 matches and likely growing, especially with a 2 hour pre show. The Cruiserweight championship will take its usual spot on it but I'm not sure about any other matches. Reigns will definitely be on the show and maybe Andrade and Rey will have one more match. Let's just focus on the 10 announced for now.
Drew Gulak will defend the Cruiserweight Title against Oney Lorcan. This will be another great match as the Cruiswerweights have not disappointed this year on PPV. Lorcan will destroy Gulak in this match but he won't be the one to end the reign. I still think Humberto Carrillo will be that guy. Drew Gulak retains in a fun hard hitting match.
In a SummerSlam 2017 rematch, Finn Balor will battle Bray Wyatt but this time, Bray Wyatt is under a new gimmick as The Fiend, who's making his in ring debut, I guess? Anyway, we all know how this is going to go. They've done a great job at building up the appearance and putting him over Hall of Famers like Mick Foley and Kurt Angle was genius. Balor is apparently going on vacation after SummerSlam so he's doing the job here. It also opens up the opportunity for a future Demon VS Fiend match. This might be a squash match too. Regardless, Bray's winning here.
For some reason, Dolph Ziggler is facing Goldberg. That will put butts in seats. This will be a squash. Spear, Jackhammer, payday. Goldberg wins.
Dream match! Trish Stratus is coming back for one more match and it's a doozy. She's facing former 9 time champion Charlotte in a generational match in Trish's hometown in Toronto. This is a SummerSlam match, even if it was thrown together 12 days before the show. This is a passing of the torch match. I, like many of you who may read this, grew up on Trish. She is the greatest female star since Fabulous Moolah. We are now in an era of great women's wrestling and it's time for a new GOAT. Charlotte, whether you love her, hate her or are tired of them shoving her down our throats, is worthy to be that person. Trish will get her hits in, hit her signature moves, but Charlotte will walk out victorious.
Kevin Owens will face Shane McMahon and if Owens loses, he will quit WWE. Despite the hatred in this feud, this is a normal match, a decision that I hope will be changed on the pre show. Many of have predicted and said this is the way that Shane will eventually leave TV for good so I can't see Owens losing here. Kevin Owens will win and start the eradication of Shane on our TVs every week.
Ricochet will get his shot at regaining the United States Championship when he faces AJ Styles for the fourth time. Ricochet is 1-2 against The Phenomenal One. These two deserve a lot of time on Sunday to showcase what they can do. Their match at Extreme Rules was great and I'm looking for more of the same here. With Undisputed Era potentially holding all the titles, New Day holding all the titles and The OC with all the titles, one of those factions will have to lose a title first. I don't think a heel Styles was done for the US Title. The money is in a heel Styles chasing the Universal Championship right? Let Ricochet win here and feud with Cesaro. Or, maybe heel Styles is best for the mid card right now? Styles/Mysterio could finally happen as could Styles/Alexander. THAT might be best with the uncertainty of a World Title on Raw for the foreseeable future. OK, I'm going with Styles to retain.
Bayley will face her hardest challenge yet when she faces Ember Moon for the Smackdown Women's Championship in a battle of former NXT Women's Champions. This is Ember's big chance to show the world what she's got. This is Bayley chance to show that even the best can't contend with her. This is probably the match I want to see most at SummerSlam, based on in ring talent and with how things could go. Moon winning would mean that Smackdown is predominantly filled with black champions, which would be a first and something to see right? Bayley winning would mean she would need a new challenger. As much as I want Ember to win, I STILL think this is how WWE will reintroduce Sasha to WWE. With the focus of WWE 2K20 on the Women's Revolution, wouldn't it make sense to promote it by having two of the Four Horsewomen feud for the title? Sorry, Ember, but for that to happen, Bayley has to retain here. Ember won't go down without a fight and I hope we get to see the Eclipse reversed into a Bayley to Belly. Bayley retains.
Becky Lynch looks to continue her reign when she defends the Raw Women's Championship against Natalya in a Submission match. Nattie is the 3rd Canadian in a big match at SummerSlam and she's got a tough road to win the championship. This will be great! This should be a wrestling fan's dream. Becky is the cover star of WWE 2K20 and because of it, she's not losing here. I don't know who's next for her but depending on if Baszler wins her respective match, maybe she'll be looking for revenge for her friend Ronda. That would be something. Anyway, Becky retains with the Dis-Arm-Her.
Kofi Kingston's magical journey as WWE Champion is in serious jeopardy as he faces a foe from his past. It will be Kingston defending against Randy Orton at SummerSlam. If anyone can claim to be Mr. SummerSlam, it might be Randy Orton. Orton has had 3 of his 13 World Title reigns BEGIN at SummerSlam. 2002, 2011 and 2013 if you're keeping record. And with Smackdown moving to Fox soon, they may want a guy like Orton holding onto the title heading into the deal but honestly, that doesn't work for the overall story. Kingston called Orton out to close an old chapter of his career. he has to go over Orton to basically validate his reign. If Kofi loses the title to anyone, let it be Andrade and give Andrade the heel Latino stable the world needs! Kingston NEEDS this win here. He can't become champion only to lose it to the guy who held him down in the first place years ago. This title run and reign has all been for this exact moment in time. Kofi Kingston will defeat Randy Orton to retain the WWE Championship. He will run into Andrade next. Mark my words.
Brock Lesnar is back at his favorite event and will defend the Universal Championship in a Wrestlemania rematch against Seth Rollins. This will be Lesnar's SIXTH STRAIGHT SUMMERSLAM MAIN EVENT, his eighth overall counting the 2002 and 2012 matches. His reign over this event is insane and I know I gave kudos to Orton as Mr. SummerSlam, but Lesnar is the SummerSlam God. His battle with Rollins is very important as it will determine the future of the red brand for awhile. Will we have another part time champion again until Wrestlemania or will Rollins come through and slay the beast once again? I'm going with the former. Although it wouldn't make sense for Raw to again LOSE their main champion, especially if the Wild Card rule will be ending soon with Smackdown moving to Fox. They need that title around. Guys like Strowman, Drew McIntyre, Samoa Joe, Ricochet, Cesaro, The Fiend Bray Wyatt and AJ NEED a main title to contend for. Their hopes rely on Rollins. The way the story goes, they want you to believe he doesn't stand a chance come Sunday. He's been decimated these past two weeks right? While I know Rollins will put up a big fight come Sunday, I just don't see Lesnar losing back to back SummerSlam main events. I really REALLY hope I'm wrong and it pains me to even type this, but I got Brock Lesnar retaining the Universal Championship at SummerSlam, holding the title hostage until God knows how long. I hope I'm wrong and Rollins wins, only to be attacked by Wyatt....
There is it! SummerSlam weekend! You excited?!/
Thursday, July 11, 2019
Extreme Rules 2019 Predictions
It's already July and we're one month away from the biggest party of the summer; SummerSlam! There's one more PPV stop before that though and it's Extreme Rules, live from my hometown of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania! 10 matches currently on the card and it looks like a fairly good card. Let's go through the matches.
Drew Gulak shockingly won the Cruiserweight Championship at Stomping Grounds and now, he has to defend the title against former champion Tony Nese. These two have great chemistry and the CW Title matches have been a beacon of hope the entire year on PPV so this will be another barn burner. I don't watch 205 Live but I'm a huge fan of Humberto Carrillo so no matter who wins, I hope he's next in line. Since Gulak just won the title, I don't think they're going to do a quick title switch so I'm going with Gulak to retain.
Braun Strowman and Bobby Lashley will hopefully end their pointless rivalry when the two clash in a fan favorite Last Man Standing match. While I may not be a fan of the feud, I'm certainly a fan of these two meat heads destroying each other. I'm hoping for some crazy mayhem and of course, some major spots. Both guys have kind of been directionless post Wrestlemania and they need wins. They haven't done Lashley right since he came back in 2018 so I'm going with Strowman to get the win here.
In one of the most anticipated tag matches of the year, The Usos will challenge The Revival for the Raw Tag Team Championships. Do I really need to say why this is anticipated? Fine. How's this; WWE is pitting the greatest NXT Tag Team Champions versus one of the greatest tag teams post Attitude Era in one mega clash. They gave us a taste a few weeks ago on Raw and I've been craving another go ever since. Given enough time, this could be the match of the show. Raw is lacking a lot of babyface teams and The Usos winning could potentially set up a clash with The Viking Raiders, another dream tag team match up, down the line. Also, with The Club reforming, Gallows and Anderson will definitely be coming for the gold sooner rather than later. Basically, the Raw tag division would flourish if The Usos were the champs. I'm going with The Usos to win the Raw Tag Team Titles, giving them their 7th reign together. They would tie them with my favorite tag team of all time; Edge and Christian.
Not to be outdone, Smackdown will have their tag champs Daniel Bryan and Rowan defend against two teams; The New Day's Big E and Xavier Woods and Heavy Machinery's Otis and Tucker. HM have done well in their appearances thus far and their match with the Planet's Tag Champs was much better than anticipated at Stomping Grounds. New Day being in the match as well adds another grea dynamic and will definitely make for a very good match. This is New Day's first shot at the titles since Kofi won the WWE Championship. It hasn't been lost that a win here for New Day would make them all champions at once, something that hasn't happened yet in their near 5 year tenure. I'd love to see it but Bryan and Rowan have done well in the role as the heel gatekeepers. I already picked The Usos to pull one out so I don't think both tag titles will change hands. I gotta go with Bryan and Rowan to retain in an absolute barn burner.
Aleister Black will make his in ring return on Sunday when he faces the man who knocked on his door, Cesaro. It's another Raw VS Smackdown match but I don't care. Black hasn't wrestled since Wrestlemania. That's a whole quarter of the year. He could have wrestled just about anyone and I would have been pumped. Cesaro is the perfect opponent to reintroduce the world to Black. I expect this match to be filled with plenty of kicks and uppercuts. While Cesaro will look amazing, his job is to put Black over and make him look like a star in the process. Cesaro may come close but he will Fade to Black. Aleister Black for the win in his return.
Bayley will defend her Smackdown Women's Championship against Alexa Bliss AND Nikki Cross in a 2-on-1 handicap match. I'm tired of this feud, only because Bliss and Cross are Raw stars and Smackdown stars like Ember Moon, Carmella, Sonya Deville and Mandy Rose aren't getting a shot at their brand's title. This feud took an interesting turn once Bliss and Cross started claiming Bayley doesn't have any friends to back her up. We all know her famous friend right? Maybe it's finally time for WWE to get some Boss Time again. My fantasy booking for years has been to do Bayley VS Sasha at SummerSlam but that was when it was in Brooklyn. I'll still take it. I'm going with Bayley to retain, thanks to a returning Sasha Banks, who then turns on Bayley to try and claim the only women's title that has alluded her. That's good TV!
Ready for the best match of the show (which I've said now three times)? Newly crowned United States Champion Ricochet will defend against The Phenomenal and newly heel AJ Styles. This will be their rubber match as they both have victories over one another in the past few weeks. The first two matches were good but they were teases of what these two can really do. I've always preferred heel Styles. I just think he works better as a heel. It's more fun being the bad guy. This match won't end cleanly and I don't think Styles will walk out with the title. The endgame for this heel turn certainly isn't the US Title so I think Ricochet will win here by DQ. The bigger picture is Seth Rollins and his Universal Championship, which could easier be the main event of SummerSlam, despite happening back in May. Anyway, Ricochet retains, maybe to start a feud with Mysterio for SummerSlam. I can dream
You want a desperate match? Look no further than The Undertaker teaming with Roman Reigns to face Shane McMahon and Drew McIntyre in a No Holds Barred tag team match. I don't really care about how the match is presented or how it comes across on TV. It's just very important that Drew McIntyre gets a victory here. I don't care if he pins Reigns or Taker, he needs a win on PPV here. If this guy is suppose to be a big star, he's not going to get there by losing all the time. Again' don't care about the match but Drew McIntyre and Shane must win, but only by McIntyre getting the pin. That's all I ask of Extreme Rules.
Kofi Kingston looks to keep his dream, near 100 day WWE Title reign going when he defends against Raw's Samoa Joe. I'm cool with Joe getting a shot but again, there are plenty of Smackdown guys who could use the rub. Ali, Buddy Murphy, Black, Andrade, Smackdown is literally riddled with amazing talents for WWE Title feuds. Let Joe feud with Rollins or Styles again over on Raw. Anyway, this should be a great match. WWE Champion Kofi Kingston has been on another level since that faithful night in February when the world remembered just who the hell Kofi Kingston was. Since becoming WWE Champion, Kingston has defeated Daniel Bryan, a former ROH and WWE World Champion, Sami Zayn, former NXT Champion, AJ Styles, former IWGP/NWA/TNA/PWG/WWE Champion, Kevin Owens, former NXT, ROH and Universal Champion and Dolph Ziggler, former World Heavyweight Champion. Kingston's list of defeated opponents spans different companies and Joe would be another great notch in the belt for a star who's looking to stake his claim as the greatest WWE Champion of all time. Joe, on the other hand, is looking to complete the US Triple Crown (not an official name) and become the first man to have held the WWE, TNA and ROH World Titles. Styles has his own milestones, but he can never claim this. Bryan has his own milestones, but he can never claim this. Seth Rollins as well but Joe is looking to make history Sunday. Unfortunately, it won't happen. Kofi overcomes the odds no matter who is in front of him and Joe isn't the one to beat him. Kingston's dream run is coming up, only in part of the Fox TV deal, but it won't be to Joe. Kofi Kingston will retain the WWE Championship, probably by a pinning combination reversal of the Cocquina Clutch.
The main event is one I called right after Stomping Grounds went off the air. It will pit WWE Universal Champion Seth Rollins and Raw Women's Champion Becky Lynch against the challengers they've defeated twice now Baron Corbin and Lacey Evans. It's a unique match though. It's a Last Chance Winners Take All Mixed tag Extreme Rules match. Did you get all of that? Certainly a mouth full! Anyway, there's no way Rollins and Lynch lose here. They're making them out to be the next major power couple. Why would they have them lose their titles the first time they're together on a major event? While I'm going with Rollins and Lynch to win the match, I don't know if Rollins will walk out with the Universal Championship. Paul Heyman has teased a cash in at Extreme Rules on either Kofi or Rollins but based on history, I'm assuming it will be Seth. The cash in could lead to Rollins getting one more shot at SummerSlam. Or, hear me out on this one, what if Ronda Rousey makes her return? What if somehow, someway, this leads to Rousey and Lesnar as the top dogs with BOTH titles? Maybe, since Heyman will be running things on Raw soon, the cash in will extend to Rousey and they both crash the Extreme Rules match. This could even lead to a much more interesting and anticipated tag match of Rollins/Lynch VS Lesnar/Rousey. I'm selling dreams I know but even if we don't get that tag match, Rousey/Lynch for SummerSlam would be nice. Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch will retain their titles but watch out for The Beast and The Baddest Woman on the Planet.
Extreme Rules looks pretty good on paper, even without the rumored Finn Balor VS Shinsuke Nakamura IC Title match. I kind of want to go but that's going to be a gameday decision. Regardless, I can't wait until Sunday. Here's hoping all the matches live up to the hype!
Drew Gulak shockingly won the Cruiserweight Championship at Stomping Grounds and now, he has to defend the title against former champion Tony Nese. These two have great chemistry and the CW Title matches have been a beacon of hope the entire year on PPV so this will be another barn burner. I don't watch 205 Live but I'm a huge fan of Humberto Carrillo so no matter who wins, I hope he's next in line. Since Gulak just won the title, I don't think they're going to do a quick title switch so I'm going with Gulak to retain.
Braun Strowman and Bobby Lashley will hopefully end their pointless rivalry when the two clash in a fan favorite Last Man Standing match. While I may not be a fan of the feud, I'm certainly a fan of these two meat heads destroying each other. I'm hoping for some crazy mayhem and of course, some major spots. Both guys have kind of been directionless post Wrestlemania and they need wins. They haven't done Lashley right since he came back in 2018 so I'm going with Strowman to get the win here.
In one of the most anticipated tag matches of the year, The Usos will challenge The Revival for the Raw Tag Team Championships. Do I really need to say why this is anticipated? Fine. How's this; WWE is pitting the greatest NXT Tag Team Champions versus one of the greatest tag teams post Attitude Era in one mega clash. They gave us a taste a few weeks ago on Raw and I've been craving another go ever since. Given enough time, this could be the match of the show. Raw is lacking a lot of babyface teams and The Usos winning could potentially set up a clash with The Viking Raiders, another dream tag team match up, down the line. Also, with The Club reforming, Gallows and Anderson will definitely be coming for the gold sooner rather than later. Basically, the Raw tag division would flourish if The Usos were the champs. I'm going with The Usos to win the Raw Tag Team Titles, giving them their 7th reign together. They would tie them with my favorite tag team of all time; Edge and Christian.
Not to be outdone, Smackdown will have their tag champs Daniel Bryan and Rowan defend against two teams; The New Day's Big E and Xavier Woods and Heavy Machinery's Otis and Tucker. HM have done well in their appearances thus far and their match with the Planet's Tag Champs was much better than anticipated at Stomping Grounds. New Day being in the match as well adds another grea dynamic and will definitely make for a very good match. This is New Day's first shot at the titles since Kofi won the WWE Championship. It hasn't been lost that a win here for New Day would make them all champions at once, something that hasn't happened yet in their near 5 year tenure. I'd love to see it but Bryan and Rowan have done well in the role as the heel gatekeepers. I already picked The Usos to pull one out so I don't think both tag titles will change hands. I gotta go with Bryan and Rowan to retain in an absolute barn burner.
Aleister Black will make his in ring return on Sunday when he faces the man who knocked on his door, Cesaro. It's another Raw VS Smackdown match but I don't care. Black hasn't wrestled since Wrestlemania. That's a whole quarter of the year. He could have wrestled just about anyone and I would have been pumped. Cesaro is the perfect opponent to reintroduce the world to Black. I expect this match to be filled with plenty of kicks and uppercuts. While Cesaro will look amazing, his job is to put Black over and make him look like a star in the process. Cesaro may come close but he will Fade to Black. Aleister Black for the win in his return.
Bayley will defend her Smackdown Women's Championship against Alexa Bliss AND Nikki Cross in a 2-on-1 handicap match. I'm tired of this feud, only because Bliss and Cross are Raw stars and Smackdown stars like Ember Moon, Carmella, Sonya Deville and Mandy Rose aren't getting a shot at their brand's title. This feud took an interesting turn once Bliss and Cross started claiming Bayley doesn't have any friends to back her up. We all know her famous friend right? Maybe it's finally time for WWE to get some Boss Time again. My fantasy booking for years has been to do Bayley VS Sasha at SummerSlam but that was when it was in Brooklyn. I'll still take it. I'm going with Bayley to retain, thanks to a returning Sasha Banks, who then turns on Bayley to try and claim the only women's title that has alluded her. That's good TV!
Ready for the best match of the show (which I've said now three times)? Newly crowned United States Champion Ricochet will defend against The Phenomenal and newly heel AJ Styles. This will be their rubber match as they both have victories over one another in the past few weeks. The first two matches were good but they were teases of what these two can really do. I've always preferred heel Styles. I just think he works better as a heel. It's more fun being the bad guy. This match won't end cleanly and I don't think Styles will walk out with the title. The endgame for this heel turn certainly isn't the US Title so I think Ricochet will win here by DQ. The bigger picture is Seth Rollins and his Universal Championship, which could easier be the main event of SummerSlam, despite happening back in May. Anyway, Ricochet retains, maybe to start a feud with Mysterio for SummerSlam. I can dream
You want a desperate match? Look no further than The Undertaker teaming with Roman Reigns to face Shane McMahon and Drew McIntyre in a No Holds Barred tag team match. I don't really care about how the match is presented or how it comes across on TV. It's just very important that Drew McIntyre gets a victory here. I don't care if he pins Reigns or Taker, he needs a win on PPV here. If this guy is suppose to be a big star, he's not going to get there by losing all the time. Again' don't care about the match but Drew McIntyre and Shane must win, but only by McIntyre getting the pin. That's all I ask of Extreme Rules.
Kofi Kingston looks to keep his dream, near 100 day WWE Title reign going when he defends against Raw's Samoa Joe. I'm cool with Joe getting a shot but again, there are plenty of Smackdown guys who could use the rub. Ali, Buddy Murphy, Black, Andrade, Smackdown is literally riddled with amazing talents for WWE Title feuds. Let Joe feud with Rollins or Styles again over on Raw. Anyway, this should be a great match. WWE Champion Kofi Kingston has been on another level since that faithful night in February when the world remembered just who the hell Kofi Kingston was. Since becoming WWE Champion, Kingston has defeated Daniel Bryan, a former ROH and WWE World Champion, Sami Zayn, former NXT Champion, AJ Styles, former IWGP/NWA/TNA/PWG/WWE Champion, Kevin Owens, former NXT, ROH and Universal Champion and Dolph Ziggler, former World Heavyweight Champion. Kingston's list of defeated opponents spans different companies and Joe would be another great notch in the belt for a star who's looking to stake his claim as the greatest WWE Champion of all time. Joe, on the other hand, is looking to complete the US Triple Crown (not an official name) and become the first man to have held the WWE, TNA and ROH World Titles. Styles has his own milestones, but he can never claim this. Bryan has his own milestones, but he can never claim this. Seth Rollins as well but Joe is looking to make history Sunday. Unfortunately, it won't happen. Kofi overcomes the odds no matter who is in front of him and Joe isn't the one to beat him. Kingston's dream run is coming up, only in part of the Fox TV deal, but it won't be to Joe. Kofi Kingston will retain the WWE Championship, probably by a pinning combination reversal of the Cocquina Clutch.
The main event is one I called right after Stomping Grounds went off the air. It will pit WWE Universal Champion Seth Rollins and Raw Women's Champion Becky Lynch against the challengers they've defeated twice now Baron Corbin and Lacey Evans. It's a unique match though. It's a Last Chance Winners Take All Mixed tag Extreme Rules match. Did you get all of that? Certainly a mouth full! Anyway, there's no way Rollins and Lynch lose here. They're making them out to be the next major power couple. Why would they have them lose their titles the first time they're together on a major event? While I'm going with Rollins and Lynch to win the match, I don't know if Rollins will walk out with the Universal Championship. Paul Heyman has teased a cash in at Extreme Rules on either Kofi or Rollins but based on history, I'm assuming it will be Seth. The cash in could lead to Rollins getting one more shot at SummerSlam. Or, hear me out on this one, what if Ronda Rousey makes her return? What if somehow, someway, this leads to Rousey and Lesnar as the top dogs with BOTH titles? Maybe, since Heyman will be running things on Raw soon, the cash in will extend to Rousey and they both crash the Extreme Rules match. This could even lead to a much more interesting and anticipated tag match of Rollins/Lynch VS Lesnar/Rousey. I'm selling dreams I know but even if we don't get that tag match, Rousey/Lynch for SummerSlam would be nice. Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch will retain their titles but watch out for The Beast and The Baddest Woman on the Planet.
Extreme Rules looks pretty good on paper, even without the rumored Finn Balor VS Shinsuke Nakamura IC Title match. I kind of want to go but that's going to be a gameday decision. Regardless, I can't wait until Sunday. Here's hoping all the matches live up to the hype!
Tuesday, June 11, 2019
2nd Half of Gaming for 2019
With E3 almost over, many games were given solid releases dates in the fall and winter months. Add that to the games remaining in the summer months and my wallet is not happy. Let me map out the remaining games I want in 2019.
July 19 - Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3
July 26 - Wolfenstein: Youngblood, maybe Fire Emblem: Three House
August 27 - Control
August 30 - Astral Chain and Dark Picture: Man of Medan
September 3 - Catherine: Full Body (probably will rent)
September 10 - Gears 5 (definitely playing with Xbox Game Pass)
September 17 - AI: The Somnium Files
September 20 - Link's Awakening and Ni No Kuni Remaster
September 27 - Code Vein
October 25 - The Outer Worlds
November 8 - Death Stranding
November 13 - XIII (where is gameplay for it?)
November 19 - Shenmue III
November 22 - Doom Eternal
Definitely I'm most excited for MUA3, Control, AI, Code Vein, Shenmue III and Doom Eternal. MUA3 is the Marvel game I need in my life. I'm at the apex of my superhero fandom so I'm pumped for a game in this universe. Control is the next game from Remedy, who made Alan Wake and Quantum Break. AW is one of the most innovative action adventure games of its generation and QB was a fun time bending action shooter. Control looks to mix more of that mind bending fun together. AI is the next game from the twisted mind behind my favorite visual novel series Zero Escape. I don't think I need to say much more about why I'm excited for that. Code Vein is anime Dark Souls. While I've had my share of challenge with Sekiro this year, I'm hoping this lives up to the hype and is worth the year delay it had. Shenmue III is a game I've literally been waiting for for nearly two decades. Doom Eternal is the sequel to the best FPS of this generation. The E3 run of the game looked like it's going to be more gory and visceral than the original. I just want to blast some demons from Hell all over again.
Anyway, this doesn't include any indie title that gets released or any other 2019 that has been announced with no release date, like Luigi's Mansion 3, Indivisible (the biggest title I want with no release date), etc.
2019 has been a good gaming year so far. It will end with a bang if these all meet their release dates.
July 19 - Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3
July 26 - Wolfenstein: Youngblood, maybe Fire Emblem: Three House
August 27 - Control
August 30 - Astral Chain and Dark Picture: Man of Medan
September 3 - Catherine: Full Body (probably will rent)
September 10 - Gears 5 (definitely playing with Xbox Game Pass)
September 17 - AI: The Somnium Files
September 20 - Link's Awakening and Ni No Kuni Remaster
September 27 - Code Vein
October 25 - The Outer Worlds
November 8 - Death Stranding
November 13 - XIII (where is gameplay for it?)
November 19 - Shenmue III
November 22 - Doom Eternal
Definitely I'm most excited for MUA3, Control, AI, Code Vein, Shenmue III and Doom Eternal. MUA3 is the Marvel game I need in my life. I'm at the apex of my superhero fandom so I'm pumped for a game in this universe. Control is the next game from Remedy, who made Alan Wake and Quantum Break. AW is one of the most innovative action adventure games of its generation and QB was a fun time bending action shooter. Control looks to mix more of that mind bending fun together. AI is the next game from the twisted mind behind my favorite visual novel series Zero Escape. I don't think I need to say much more about why I'm excited for that. Code Vein is anime Dark Souls. While I've had my share of challenge with Sekiro this year, I'm hoping this lives up to the hype and is worth the year delay it had. Shenmue III is a game I've literally been waiting for for nearly two decades. Doom Eternal is the sequel to the best FPS of this generation. The E3 run of the game looked like it's going to be more gory and visceral than the original. I just want to blast some demons from Hell all over again.
Anyway, this doesn't include any indie title that gets released or any other 2019 that has been announced with no release date, like Luigi's Mansion 3, Indivisible (the biggest title I want with no release date), etc.
2019 has been a good gaming year so far. It will end with a bang if these all meet their release dates.
Tuesday, May 14, 2019
Money in the Bank 2019 predictions
Money in the Bank comes early this year! Instead of the usual June slot, WWE is trying to keep the Wrestlemania momentum going and do a big PPV right after their biggest show of the year. MITB is home to unpredictable moments and the 2019 version should be no different. Let's discuss matches.
New Cruiserweight Champion Tony Nese will defend against Ariya Daivari on a match that will most likely be on the pre show. I still don't watch 205 Live on a weekly basis but Nese is a great talent and one that will flourish even more once his 205 Live stint is over. It won't end here so I got Nese retaining in a fun match up.
Samoa Joe will defend his United States Championship against Rey Mysterio in a rematch from a Raw last month, which was a rematch from Wrestlemania. The two are 1-1 against each other and this rubber match, given enough time, should be a lot of fun. Joe has great competition on Raw and I'd love to see Cedric Alexander get a crack at Joe in the future or even Cesaro or Zayn. Problem is, the last two are heels. Maybe a Mysterio US Title run isn't the worst thing. He would join the growing list of Grand Slam champions in WWE with the win. Regardless, I'm going with Samoa Joe for the win.
Roman Reigns will face Elias in a pointless match. This is the 2nd year in the row where Reigns is in a directionless singles match as you may remember he faced Jinder Mahal. Remember him? Next Tuesday, it will be two years since his shocking WWE Title victory. Anyway, Roman is not losing his first singles match back from leukemia to freaking Elias. If McIntyre couldn't do it, you really think going nowhere Elias is? Reigns wins and will get closer to our nightmare of him challenging Kofi for the WWE Title.
The Miz and Shane McMahon will hopefully end their rivalry when they face each other inside a Steel Cage. Miz went from being on the cusp of being WWE Champion, to this. Putting him on Raw was a major mistake and he's away from the Intercontinental Championship now, meaning we have to wait longer for Jericho's record to be tied. This should be a good match with a major spot sprinkled in there somewhere. Miz needs his win back from Wrestlemania so I got Miz winning.
The Women's Money in the Bank features some elite talent within the women's division, 5 of the competitors being former champions in the past two years. Raw features Dana Brooke, Natalya, Naomi and Alexa Bliss while Smackdown features Bayley, Ember Moon, Carmella and Mandy Rose. Notably absent is Ruby Riott, Sarah Logan and Liv Morgan, who were broken up during the Superstar Shakeup and have only been seen on social media since. Sasha Banks was reportedly in the match but, you know the story with her. Anyway, this will be the 4th Women's MITB match in history. The first two were exclusive to Smackdown and last year's featured Raw and Smackdown, with Raw's Alexa Bliss winning. Since Alexa won last year and held the briefcase on the go home edition of Raw, I'm counting her out. Smackdown's women just look to have a better shot this year. Carmella is a past winner so I don't think she's in the running. It's going to come down to Bayley, Ember Moon and Mandy Rose. Bayley has been champion before but that was back in 2017. She's been up and down since. Ember hasn't really gotten a chance yet and Mandy Rose is most likely the next chosen one in WWE. If I had to pick just one, it would be Rose due to that. Moon and Bayley can definitely make it to the main event scene on their on but having a heel Mandy Rose flaunt around with the briefcase would be best for the division. She may even cash in on the same night. Not likely. It's also not likely a heel would win the match for the 4th time in a row. That's never happened in the history of the match. I think history will be made. I'm going with Mandy Rose to win the Women's Money in the Bank Ladder match, with Ember Moon as my back up pick. Should be a good match, I'm hoping for an Eclipse off the ladder, although I know how dangerous and ridiculous that sounds.
Becky Two Belts is a catchy nickname but it also might spell doom for Lynch, as she has to face two blonde bombshells in one night. For the Raw Women's Title, she'll face newcomer Lacey Evans. For the Smackdown Women's Title, we're treated to Lynch/Charlotte XVIII. Not the actual number but by God, give someone else a freaking shot. It's highly improbable for a competitor to win two matches in one night right? Albeit two championship defenses. Charlotte just lost the Smackdown Women's Title at Wrestlemania but she's shown before that she can win a title back just as quickly as she loses one. And if Charlotte can win another title, it will be her NINTH on the main roster. Lacey Evans is everything Vince wants in a female star. Blonde, built and beautiful. Evans is being fast tracked to stardom. If she was in the MITB match, her winning would have been a foregone conclusion.
WWE has gone all in on Becky Lynch, giving her both championships and winning the first ever women's main event at Wrestlemania. They didn't do that for her to lose both titles in her first defense. The odds are against Becky and she was on the losing end on the go home edition of Raw. I don't know how but Becky Lynch will retain both her championships against Lacey and Charlotte. Now, will she walk out as Becky Two Belts? Depending on match placement, while Lynch could walk out the winner from both her matches, Ms. Money in the Bank could still steal one of those titles. This will be very interesting.
Kofi Kingston will have his first PPV WWE Title defense against Kevin Owens, in a first ever match up between the two. Both guys know what it's like to be stuck in the mid card and rise to the main event and it's crazy these two have never faced one another until now. This will be a great title match. Kingston has always been good but he's turning it up to another level. His match with Bryan was Match of the Night from Wrestlemania. Owens is a similar style of opponent as Bryan so I expect it to be a great affair. Kingston has already defended his title against Daniel Bryan, AJ Styles and Sami Zayn, three top tier ROH alumni. He'll add Kevin Owens to that list. I'm going with Kofi Kingston to retain the WWE Championship in a barn burner. Kingston/Reigns is on the way folks.
The Men's Money in the Bank match is very important this year. It's important because the winner is almost guaranteed to win a championship after the past two winners have squander their opportunity. WWE doesn't want to make MITB look irrelevant so how do you fix it? You make sure to definitely put the title on whoever wins it. Raw is represented by Vince's favorite son, Baron Corbin, Ricochet, Drew McIntyre and Sami Zayn. Zayn just got into the match by beating Braun Strowman in a Falls Count Anywhere match. He had help from competitors McIntyre and Corbin. Smackdown is represented by Randy Orton, Ali, Finn Balor and Andrade. Corbin and Orton have both won the match before and while I wouldn't be surprised with a shock Corbin win, he doesn't need it. He'll get back to the main event scene soon enough. I definitely need to see some interaction between Ricochet and Ali. That's almost a must or this match is a major bust. As with many years, it's going to come down to two guys who need it the most; Andrade and Drew McIntyre.
McIntyre is so close to the main event scene but he just needs that something else to finally solidify his spot and this contract can be it. The thing is, he helped Zayn screw over Braun Strowman. You think he's just going to take that lightly? He might go on a tear like he did last year and destroy Zayn, Corbin and McIntyre, taking them out of the running. Andrade is a mega star just waiting to happen. Reports are coming in that Fox wants Andrade on Smackdown because they want big Hispanic stars on the show. What's bigger than a Hispanic with the WWE Championship around his waist? Plus, Andrade VS just about anyone on Smackdown is best for a more sports oriented program they're looking for.
This is much like 2012's MITB match, where two rising stars, Dolph Ziggler and Cody Rhodes, were both on the cusp of breaking out and both needed the win to get to that next level. Ziggler won and had the greatest cash in attempt ever (at that point). This is a hard one for me. I love both guys, two former NXT Champions and two guys who represent the future of WWE. Andrade will have his moments, the guy is only 29, and Vince is high on the guy. Plus, he's dating Charlotte. He'll have his opportunity. McIntyre on the other hand, this is his 2nd run. His shot at redemption. He's still young (33) but it feels like it's now or never with him. I'm picking the Scottish Psychopath Drew McIntyre, regardless of Strowman's interference, to win the Men's Money in the Bank. They want the winner to come out looking stronger than ever right? He would be that guy for sure. Andrade is my 2nd pick.
The main event of Money in the Bank 2019 is a match WWE fans have been clamoring for since 2016. Newly crowned Universal Champion Seth Rollins will make his first defense of his title against AJ Styles. This will be the first time in WWE these two will clash. This is a Wrestlemania worthy encounter and it darn sure better main event this show. Many may wonder why they've rushed to do this match when a stage like SummerSlam would have been more apropos but Money in the Bank has a history of big time mega dream matches. Punk/Cena's classic was in 2011. Punk/Bryan's war was in 2012. Owens/Cena II was in 2015. Styles/Cena for the first time was in 2016 as was the big clash of Reigns/Rollins. Styles/Nakamura ended their rivalry at the 2016 edition in the best match of their feud. MITB is the PERFECT stage for this first ever match. I don't think I have to tell you this but this is a Match of the Year contender, given enough time and given no one, like Mr. Money in the Bank messes it up. What if we get a Wrestlemania 31 ending with McIntyre ruining the dream match everyone has been waiting for? Hahahaha, I kid but think about it. This needs to go 25 minutes. I need big counters, near falls and a hot crowd. WWE's main roster haven't had many classic encounters this year (Andrade/Rey and Kofi/Bryan are the only two coming to mind right now) so hopefully this was jump start the entire roster. Rollins isn't losing in his first match with the title, no matter how great Styles is. It will be a hard fought match but it will end with Seth Rollins standing over Styles with the Universal Championship in hand.
Or it could end with Mr. Money in the Bank holding the title, ruining the biggest dream match of 2019.
Money in the Bank comes Sunday! A Bray Wyatt appearance would be nice.
#yowiewowie
New Cruiserweight Champion Tony Nese will defend against Ariya Daivari on a match that will most likely be on the pre show. I still don't watch 205 Live on a weekly basis but Nese is a great talent and one that will flourish even more once his 205 Live stint is over. It won't end here so I got Nese retaining in a fun match up.
Samoa Joe will defend his United States Championship against Rey Mysterio in a rematch from a Raw last month, which was a rematch from Wrestlemania. The two are 1-1 against each other and this rubber match, given enough time, should be a lot of fun. Joe has great competition on Raw and I'd love to see Cedric Alexander get a crack at Joe in the future or even Cesaro or Zayn. Problem is, the last two are heels. Maybe a Mysterio US Title run isn't the worst thing. He would join the growing list of Grand Slam champions in WWE with the win. Regardless, I'm going with Samoa Joe for the win.
Roman Reigns will face Elias in a pointless match. This is the 2nd year in the row where Reigns is in a directionless singles match as you may remember he faced Jinder Mahal. Remember him? Next Tuesday, it will be two years since his shocking WWE Title victory. Anyway, Roman is not losing his first singles match back from leukemia to freaking Elias. If McIntyre couldn't do it, you really think going nowhere Elias is? Reigns wins and will get closer to our nightmare of him challenging Kofi for the WWE Title.
The Miz and Shane McMahon will hopefully end their rivalry when they face each other inside a Steel Cage. Miz went from being on the cusp of being WWE Champion, to this. Putting him on Raw was a major mistake and he's away from the Intercontinental Championship now, meaning we have to wait longer for Jericho's record to be tied. This should be a good match with a major spot sprinkled in there somewhere. Miz needs his win back from Wrestlemania so I got Miz winning.
The Women's Money in the Bank features some elite talent within the women's division, 5 of the competitors being former champions in the past two years. Raw features Dana Brooke, Natalya, Naomi and Alexa Bliss while Smackdown features Bayley, Ember Moon, Carmella and Mandy Rose. Notably absent is Ruby Riott, Sarah Logan and Liv Morgan, who were broken up during the Superstar Shakeup and have only been seen on social media since. Sasha Banks was reportedly in the match but, you know the story with her. Anyway, this will be the 4th Women's MITB match in history. The first two were exclusive to Smackdown and last year's featured Raw and Smackdown, with Raw's Alexa Bliss winning. Since Alexa won last year and held the briefcase on the go home edition of Raw, I'm counting her out. Smackdown's women just look to have a better shot this year. Carmella is a past winner so I don't think she's in the running. It's going to come down to Bayley, Ember Moon and Mandy Rose. Bayley has been champion before but that was back in 2017. She's been up and down since. Ember hasn't really gotten a chance yet and Mandy Rose is most likely the next chosen one in WWE. If I had to pick just one, it would be Rose due to that. Moon and Bayley can definitely make it to the main event scene on their on but having a heel Mandy Rose flaunt around with the briefcase would be best for the division. She may even cash in on the same night. Not likely. It's also not likely a heel would win the match for the 4th time in a row. That's never happened in the history of the match. I think history will be made. I'm going with Mandy Rose to win the Women's Money in the Bank Ladder match, with Ember Moon as my back up pick. Should be a good match, I'm hoping for an Eclipse off the ladder, although I know how dangerous and ridiculous that sounds.
Becky Two Belts is a catchy nickname but it also might spell doom for Lynch, as she has to face two blonde bombshells in one night. For the Raw Women's Title, she'll face newcomer Lacey Evans. For the Smackdown Women's Title, we're treated to Lynch/Charlotte XVIII. Not the actual number but by God, give someone else a freaking shot. It's highly improbable for a competitor to win two matches in one night right? Albeit two championship defenses. Charlotte just lost the Smackdown Women's Title at Wrestlemania but she's shown before that she can win a title back just as quickly as she loses one. And if Charlotte can win another title, it will be her NINTH on the main roster. Lacey Evans is everything Vince wants in a female star. Blonde, built and beautiful. Evans is being fast tracked to stardom. If she was in the MITB match, her winning would have been a foregone conclusion.
WWE has gone all in on Becky Lynch, giving her both championships and winning the first ever women's main event at Wrestlemania. They didn't do that for her to lose both titles in her first defense. The odds are against Becky and she was on the losing end on the go home edition of Raw. I don't know how but Becky Lynch will retain both her championships against Lacey and Charlotte. Now, will she walk out as Becky Two Belts? Depending on match placement, while Lynch could walk out the winner from both her matches, Ms. Money in the Bank could still steal one of those titles. This will be very interesting.
Kofi Kingston will have his first PPV WWE Title defense against Kevin Owens, in a first ever match up between the two. Both guys know what it's like to be stuck in the mid card and rise to the main event and it's crazy these two have never faced one another until now. This will be a great title match. Kingston has always been good but he's turning it up to another level. His match with Bryan was Match of the Night from Wrestlemania. Owens is a similar style of opponent as Bryan so I expect it to be a great affair. Kingston has already defended his title against Daniel Bryan, AJ Styles and Sami Zayn, three top tier ROH alumni. He'll add Kevin Owens to that list. I'm going with Kofi Kingston to retain the WWE Championship in a barn burner. Kingston/Reigns is on the way folks.
The Men's Money in the Bank match is very important this year. It's important because the winner is almost guaranteed to win a championship after the past two winners have squander their opportunity. WWE doesn't want to make MITB look irrelevant so how do you fix it? You make sure to definitely put the title on whoever wins it. Raw is represented by Vince's favorite son, Baron Corbin, Ricochet, Drew McIntyre and Sami Zayn. Zayn just got into the match by beating Braun Strowman in a Falls Count Anywhere match. He had help from competitors McIntyre and Corbin. Smackdown is represented by Randy Orton, Ali, Finn Balor and Andrade. Corbin and Orton have both won the match before and while I wouldn't be surprised with a shock Corbin win, he doesn't need it. He'll get back to the main event scene soon enough. I definitely need to see some interaction between Ricochet and Ali. That's almost a must or this match is a major bust. As with many years, it's going to come down to two guys who need it the most; Andrade and Drew McIntyre.
McIntyre is so close to the main event scene but he just needs that something else to finally solidify his spot and this contract can be it. The thing is, he helped Zayn screw over Braun Strowman. You think he's just going to take that lightly? He might go on a tear like he did last year and destroy Zayn, Corbin and McIntyre, taking them out of the running. Andrade is a mega star just waiting to happen. Reports are coming in that Fox wants Andrade on Smackdown because they want big Hispanic stars on the show. What's bigger than a Hispanic with the WWE Championship around his waist? Plus, Andrade VS just about anyone on Smackdown is best for a more sports oriented program they're looking for.
This is much like 2012's MITB match, where two rising stars, Dolph Ziggler and Cody Rhodes, were both on the cusp of breaking out and both needed the win to get to that next level. Ziggler won and had the greatest cash in attempt ever (at that point). This is a hard one for me. I love both guys, two former NXT Champions and two guys who represent the future of WWE. Andrade will have his moments, the guy is only 29, and Vince is high on the guy. Plus, he's dating Charlotte. He'll have his opportunity. McIntyre on the other hand, this is his 2nd run. His shot at redemption. He's still young (33) but it feels like it's now or never with him. I'm picking the Scottish Psychopath Drew McIntyre, regardless of Strowman's interference, to win the Men's Money in the Bank. They want the winner to come out looking stronger than ever right? He would be that guy for sure. Andrade is my 2nd pick.
The main event of Money in the Bank 2019 is a match WWE fans have been clamoring for since 2016. Newly crowned Universal Champion Seth Rollins will make his first defense of his title against AJ Styles. This will be the first time in WWE these two will clash. This is a Wrestlemania worthy encounter and it darn sure better main event this show. Many may wonder why they've rushed to do this match when a stage like SummerSlam would have been more apropos but Money in the Bank has a history of big time mega dream matches. Punk/Cena's classic was in 2011. Punk/Bryan's war was in 2012. Owens/Cena II was in 2015. Styles/Cena for the first time was in 2016 as was the big clash of Reigns/Rollins. Styles/Nakamura ended their rivalry at the 2016 edition in the best match of their feud. MITB is the PERFECT stage for this first ever match. I don't think I have to tell you this but this is a Match of the Year contender, given enough time and given no one, like Mr. Money in the Bank messes it up. What if we get a Wrestlemania 31 ending with McIntyre ruining the dream match everyone has been waiting for? Hahahaha, I kid but think about it. This needs to go 25 minutes. I need big counters, near falls and a hot crowd. WWE's main roster haven't had many classic encounters this year (Andrade/Rey and Kofi/Bryan are the only two coming to mind right now) so hopefully this was jump start the entire roster. Rollins isn't losing in his first match with the title, no matter how great Styles is. It will be a hard fought match but it will end with Seth Rollins standing over Styles with the Universal Championship in hand.
Or it could end with Mr. Money in the Bank holding the title, ruining the biggest dream match of 2019.
Money in the Bank comes Sunday! A Bray Wyatt appearance would be nice.
#yowiewowie
Sunday, April 28, 2019
New Era for the MCU
So, an obvious disclaimer but this post will be covering spoilers for Avengers: Endgame. I suggest do what the entire world is doing and watch it and then come back to read this post and give your thoughts as well.
This is your FINAL WARNING!!
You still with me?
So, first off, WOW. Let's talk the who's gone. We lost some major players in Infinity War and Endgame, including Vision, Black Widow, Iron Man and Captain America. While the first three died in the wake of Thanos and his master plan, Capt got a proper send off. This means the Avengers are without a proper leader. Captain America was able to live a proper life thanks to time travel and he past the mantle of Captain America to The Falcon, real name Sam Wilson and not Bucky as many of us thought he would. I don't know how he plans to be a full Cap without the powers but I'm looking forward to see where this goes. Black Widow was a more shocking death, as there are plans of a movie with her but it obviously will be a prequel now. Widow was one of the ones I thought would die as she's apart of the original core but still, it was sad to see her go. Finally, Iron Man sacrificed himself to destroy Thanos' army. After assembling all the Infinity Stone and uttering the I Am Iron Man line from the original movie, he snapped his fingers and they were gone. The power of the stones was too great and he succumbed to his injury. They had a massive service for him, compromised of just about every major MCU character imaginable. It also featured a teen in the background who the camera was all too focused on. Turns out it was the kid from Iron Man 3, who helped Tony during the movie. The kid has grown into a teenager and may be a big part of the MCU post Endgame. We all expected Cap and/or Iron Man to bite the dust but it was still a hard pill to swallow that BOTH are done. It's truly a new era.
Second, as everyone expected, all those who faded away in Infinity War come back in Endgame's massive battle scene and they return in grand fashion. The electricity of seeing all these characters together, a cast featuring 11 years of 22 movies, was insane. Everyone in my theater agreed as we all popped huge when they returned. Personally, I had tears in my eyes when Spider-Man swung on the scene. It was also a nice moment to see Stark and Parker reunite. Captain Marvel made her grand debut to the team and literally destroyed an entire ship. She's legit too powerful. It was also nice of them to assemble all the remaining female stars they had, including Pepper, The Wasp, Mantis and many others.
Third, can we show some respect for my man Thanos? Yes, I know he's a villainous mad titan but man, he was a great villain for them wasn't he? He accomplished his goal in Infinity War and got his wish, to see a sun rise of a grateful universe. His happy life was interrupted within 20 minutes of the movie when the remaining Avengers from The Decimation ambush him and Thor proceeds to CUT HIS HEAD CLEAN OFF. Little late for it but it was cool to see. 2014 Thanos ALMOST got his wish of wiping out the entire universe but it wasn't meant to be. As his whole army faded away, Thanos looked somber and defeated then, he faded away. It was a sad moment. I was more sad to see Thanos go than I was for Iron Man. Thanos brought something no other villain brought to the MCU, REAL consequences. For basically a year, most of the Avengers were dead because of him and Iron Man gave his life just to defeat him. You can hate Thanos all you want but there's no denying that he made the MCU much MUCH better.
Lastly, I'm all in for Thor in the next Guardians of the Galaxy movie! Star Lord and Thor battling to see who has the right to be the leader of the GOTG sounds like it will be a fun adventure if it comes to fruition.
Endgame was amazing. It's the best Avengers movie and one of the top movies in the MCU. The hype was real and I'm excited to see where we go from here. I can't wait to hit the reset button with Spider-Man: Far From Home and hope we get a little tease of what's to come from Phase 4. I mean, Disney owns Fox now right? Let's get those characters integrated and watch more Marvel movies for the next 20 years!
Thank you to everyone who has worked on this film universe. All the directors, stars, writers, everyone. Thank you to all the creators of these iconic characters that have become so important to our lives. It goes without saying but thank you to Stan Lee, who I know is smiling big time right now. Here's to more amazing Marvel movies!
This is your FINAL WARNING!!
You still with me?
So, first off, WOW. Let's talk the who's gone. We lost some major players in Infinity War and Endgame, including Vision, Black Widow, Iron Man and Captain America. While the first three died in the wake of Thanos and his master plan, Capt got a proper send off. This means the Avengers are without a proper leader. Captain America was able to live a proper life thanks to time travel and he past the mantle of Captain America to The Falcon, real name Sam Wilson and not Bucky as many of us thought he would. I don't know how he plans to be a full Cap without the powers but I'm looking forward to see where this goes. Black Widow was a more shocking death, as there are plans of a movie with her but it obviously will be a prequel now. Widow was one of the ones I thought would die as she's apart of the original core but still, it was sad to see her go. Finally, Iron Man sacrificed himself to destroy Thanos' army. After assembling all the Infinity Stone and uttering the I Am Iron Man line from the original movie, he snapped his fingers and they were gone. The power of the stones was too great and he succumbed to his injury. They had a massive service for him, compromised of just about every major MCU character imaginable. It also featured a teen in the background who the camera was all too focused on. Turns out it was the kid from Iron Man 3, who helped Tony during the movie. The kid has grown into a teenager and may be a big part of the MCU post Endgame. We all expected Cap and/or Iron Man to bite the dust but it was still a hard pill to swallow that BOTH are done. It's truly a new era.
Second, as everyone expected, all those who faded away in Infinity War come back in Endgame's massive battle scene and they return in grand fashion. The electricity of seeing all these characters together, a cast featuring 11 years of 22 movies, was insane. Everyone in my theater agreed as we all popped huge when they returned. Personally, I had tears in my eyes when Spider-Man swung on the scene. It was also a nice moment to see Stark and Parker reunite. Captain Marvel made her grand debut to the team and literally destroyed an entire ship. She's legit too powerful. It was also nice of them to assemble all the remaining female stars they had, including Pepper, The Wasp, Mantis and many others.
Third, can we show some respect for my man Thanos? Yes, I know he's a villainous mad titan but man, he was a great villain for them wasn't he? He accomplished his goal in Infinity War and got his wish, to see a sun rise of a grateful universe. His happy life was interrupted within 20 minutes of the movie when the remaining Avengers from The Decimation ambush him and Thor proceeds to CUT HIS HEAD CLEAN OFF. Little late for it but it was cool to see. 2014 Thanos ALMOST got his wish of wiping out the entire universe but it wasn't meant to be. As his whole army faded away, Thanos looked somber and defeated then, he faded away. It was a sad moment. I was more sad to see Thanos go than I was for Iron Man. Thanos brought something no other villain brought to the MCU, REAL consequences. For basically a year, most of the Avengers were dead because of him and Iron Man gave his life just to defeat him. You can hate Thanos all you want but there's no denying that he made the MCU much MUCH better.
Lastly, I'm all in for Thor in the next Guardians of the Galaxy movie! Star Lord and Thor battling to see who has the right to be the leader of the GOTG sounds like it will be a fun adventure if it comes to fruition.
Endgame was amazing. It's the best Avengers movie and one of the top movies in the MCU. The hype was real and I'm excited to see where we go from here. I can't wait to hit the reset button with Spider-Man: Far From Home and hope we get a little tease of what's to come from Phase 4. I mean, Disney owns Fox now right? Let's get those characters integrated and watch more Marvel movies for the next 20 years!
Thank you to everyone who has worked on this film universe. All the directors, stars, writers, everyone. Thank you to all the creators of these iconic characters that have become so important to our lives. It goes without saying but thank you to Stan Lee, who I know is smiling big time right now. Here's to more amazing Marvel movies!
Wednesday, April 24, 2019
Sekiro Rage
2019 has been a fun gaming year so far with me finally playing through Kingdom Hearts III, trying to survive a re-imaging of a horror classic in Resident Evil 2 and playing through some revamped JRPGs from a past generation in Tales of Vesperia, The Caligula Effect and Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel (Vesperia I played when it first came out and I fully completed it, TOCS I played on Vita when it first released and got 30 hours in before I moved onto another game and Caligula Effect I've never played). Man, it's been a year for JRPGs released in the past decade huh? I even played 999 to completion during the hangover from KH3. March 22nd came around and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice was released. Sekiro was always on my watchlist, simply because it was a new game coming from FromSoftware. FromSoftware has been testing my gaming skills for just about a decade now so I always look forward to challenging the games they make.
Demon's Souls was one of the first games I got for my PS3 back in June 2010 (holy crap, life is flying by) and while I never finished it, I enjoyed it for the difficult game it was. Dark Souls took over my life in 2011 and while everyone has fond memories of being destroyed by Ornstein and Smough, I remember waking up early one Sunday morning before church to play (early as in 4am or 5am after just going to sleep at 12am) and came across Chaos Witch Quelaag, who proceeded to wreck my stuff for 2-3 hours. She was, for me by FAR, the toughest boss in that game. I just could not get the rhythm of the fight. When I defeated her, pure ecstasy. Sorry, this is not a Dark Souls walk down memory lane post. Dark Souls II was more of the same toughness but it was a bit watered down to me. Or maybe I just got better at it, who knows. Bloodborne was next and it's the main reason I got my PS4 when I did. Bloodborne is still one of my favorite games on the system. It's tough but never too much where you can't overcome it. Overcoming bosses like the Blood Starved Beast and Vicar Ameila was seriously a euphoric feeling. I would say this is my favorite of the Soulsborne games, right next to the original Dark Souls.
Sekiro, while made by FromSoftware, is a completely different beast. It retains the insane difficulty presented in the Souls games but that's it. This is more of an action/stealth game, not unlike the former Tenchu series. The combat is where the game shines though. It's all about parrying and finding your opportunity to counter. You and all the enemies have two meters; one for your health and the other for your posture. Your posture's bar will be depleted anytime you guard or parry. Too many hits to your posture will leave you stunned and open for attacks. The same works for enemies. Bosses are more about how much damage you can do to their posture, not their actual health bar because once their posture reaches max, it leaves them open to Deathblows. Deathblows are attacks that drain the enemy's lifebar completely, no matter where it sits. Bosses usually have two or three of these so breaking their posture is of maximum importance if you want to win. Bosses in this game are tough, as expected.
I'm at the last area in the game now, just about 30 hours in. This, of course, hasn't been straight progression as there have been NUMEROUS bosses that have halted my progress, five in particular that come to my mind. Spoilers ahead if you don't want to know bosses.
Lady Butterfly, one of the first real bosses in the game, challenged how I played the game. I think I was trying to approach the game with a Dark Souls mindset. You know, dodge when you can and then unload with attacks but as I said before, this game is more about the parrying and countering, so I had to really learn her attacks and when to counter so I could break her posture. This literally took me over 45 minutes to finally get a hang of the fight but once I did, I felt unstoppable. I felt like if I mastered her, I should be fine with besting everyone else. Yeah...that really wasn't the case unfortunately.
Genichiro Ashina was a major jerk. Seriously. He's the first fakeout boss. By fakeout, I mean that once you think you've beaten him, he gets another form. When I finally took out the first form, I got so hype that I finally beat him...only to find out he had one last form and of course, there was no refill on healing items or anything. Genichiro was the hardest boss to this point, just because he's a reality check. Do not get comfortable in this game, ever. And Genichiro doesn't even die, so I know for a fact he'll be back one more time. Genichiro was the hardest boss I encountered....
...until I faced off against the Guardian Ape. Guardian Ape is exactly what he sounds like; a big freaking monster monkey, with wild attacks and unpredictable movements. He proceeded to destroy me until I finally got the hang of things. He has only one lifebar so the fight shouldn't be that hard but it's just something about this stupid ape that had me going crazy for almost two hours. Guardian Ape has a Shinobi execution where you cut off its freaking head. When I finally executed it, pure relief washed over me and I smiled....then the darn thing picks up his head and the massive sword that was in his neck and fights me again. Really? I fell for the old okey doke again. This is also the first time I learned about the worst thing in this game and it's the Terror status effect. Much like the curse status in Dark Souls, if your gauge fills up completely and you're infected with it, you die. Instantly. It sucks to be deep into the 2nd form, only to die straight out from Terror. This boss taught me patience and only attack him when he does certain attacks. GA would always do this massive swing that when deflected put him off balance. That was when I could get some easy strikes in. I finally felled him after dozens upon dozens of more tries and felt accomplished! I then learned that the GA is immortal and can only die once you get something called The Mortal Blade, which is essential for the main story. He then relocates to a different area and you have to FIGHT HIM AGAIN. Not a problem though since I was a pro at fighting him and he only had two lifebars. Once you get the first one down, he summons one of his friends so now, there's TWO massive apes coming at you. TWO. This one didn't take too long but it was still annoying but there was such satisfaction when you finally kill the stupid immortal centipede. Guardian Ape, the first time, became the hardest boss I've challenged....
...UNTIL you have to fight Great Shinobi Owl. OH MY GOODNESS. This guy man! This was another close to two hours of my life. He's just too unpredictable and his attacks are always hard to read. I was failing so much that this was the first boss I had to look at a Youtube video for. Like many bosses, he has an attack that can be exploited so once I learned that, IT WAS STILL A STRUGGLE! I couldn't posture break his 2nd form. I just couldn't. So this fight was just be waiting for him to do one attack, sweep in, get a few hits, then run until he does it again. I had to keep doing this until the lifebar diminished and I could finally get that last, final, sweet Deathblow in. I was so happy to have felled this boss, who many say is the toughest boss in the game. I started fighting Owl at around 2am and didn't get the trophy for beating him until 4am.
I then went to the next area, which I thought would be the final area in the game because the trophy popped up that I've explored all areas of the game, so I decided to see if I could at least get close to the final boss before I'd go to sleep. I would learn later that while this is the last new area you explore, the game will end in a familiar location. Upon walking into this area, the next boss drops in. It's the Corrupted Monk, who I faced earlier and beat without too much trouble. Turns out, she's immortal as well! Fun! She has three lifebars so I'm already a little scared but she has the same attack pattern so while I'm nervous, I know her attacks a bit. 2nd form though, she starts this doppelganger crap that wrecked me the first time. I learned that you can swing to the branches above where she is and can catch an instant Deathblow while she's sending her copies at you. That takes care of the 2nd phase. 3rd phase, the nasty little centipede comes out and she's becomes super aggressive and does a lot of attacks you can't block. She gets me a few times and as I'm getting more and more tired, I know that my gaming skills are fading. I give myself an ultimatum; I can't sleep until I beat this boss. It took a few tries after that but I was able to fell this stupid boss. Luckily, no boss inside Fountainhead Palace is challenging as the Divine Dragon is more of a gimmick boss than anything. I'm now going to attempt the last area and see if I can finish it before Days Gone releases in less than 48 hours.
UPDATE 4/26/19
I. DID IT! This was one of the most demanding final bosses in recent memory. Isshin required you to be close to perfect to fell him. I usually can beat a boss in one sitting after trying enough times but I had to do three different sessions. This had to be close to the 4 hour mark as well. The thing about the fight is that you have to face stupid Genichiro first but he's a far cry from when I fought him, what, 10 hours before? Once you beat him, he sacrifices himself to bring Isshin in his true form. Isshin has, of course, three lifebars and each bar represent a different phase of the fight. Phase 1 is a straight sword duel. It's pretty manageable once you know what to counter. Phase 2, Isshin pulls a giant spear out of the ground and becomes even more dangerous. He has amazing range with it and becomes almost god like in this phase. It took me such a long time to get the hang of it. Phase 3 is the same as 2 but he's more aggressive and adds lightening to his attacks. The lightening was his downfall though as you can get it transferred to you and throw it back to him, causing massive vitality and posture damage. This is the key to the third phase. I sincerely got lucky and had I just got caught in one of the several mistakes I made, I would probably still be facing this boss. It was a bittersweet ending, as in beating any game. You're upset that it's over but excited you got through it and got to experience the various worlds and lore. Sekiro, Dark Souls and Bloodborne are the shining jewels in the FromSoftware library. I beat Sekiro at 3:30am on April 26th, 2019, the day Days Gone released. Goal achieved
Seikro is amazing, it's easily my Game of the Year so far. FromSoftware attempted another genre and they crushed it. I still think if they did a survival horror game, it would be the new king of the genre. Sekiro is a great accomplishment for new IPs and I hope the trend continues with Days Gone and other games I'm looking forward to like Judgment and Astral Chain.
Days Gone impressions will be coming soon.
Demon's Souls was one of the first games I got for my PS3 back in June 2010 (holy crap, life is flying by) and while I never finished it, I enjoyed it for the difficult game it was. Dark Souls took over my life in 2011 and while everyone has fond memories of being destroyed by Ornstein and Smough, I remember waking up early one Sunday morning before church to play (early as in 4am or 5am after just going to sleep at 12am) and came across Chaos Witch Quelaag, who proceeded to wreck my stuff for 2-3 hours. She was, for me by FAR, the toughest boss in that game. I just could not get the rhythm of the fight. When I defeated her, pure ecstasy. Sorry, this is not a Dark Souls walk down memory lane post. Dark Souls II was more of the same toughness but it was a bit watered down to me. Or maybe I just got better at it, who knows. Bloodborne was next and it's the main reason I got my PS4 when I did. Bloodborne is still one of my favorite games on the system. It's tough but never too much where you can't overcome it. Overcoming bosses like the Blood Starved Beast and Vicar Ameila was seriously a euphoric feeling. I would say this is my favorite of the Soulsborne games, right next to the original Dark Souls.
Sekiro, while made by FromSoftware, is a completely different beast. It retains the insane difficulty presented in the Souls games but that's it. This is more of an action/stealth game, not unlike the former Tenchu series. The combat is where the game shines though. It's all about parrying and finding your opportunity to counter. You and all the enemies have two meters; one for your health and the other for your posture. Your posture's bar will be depleted anytime you guard or parry. Too many hits to your posture will leave you stunned and open for attacks. The same works for enemies. Bosses are more about how much damage you can do to their posture, not their actual health bar because once their posture reaches max, it leaves them open to Deathblows. Deathblows are attacks that drain the enemy's lifebar completely, no matter where it sits. Bosses usually have two or three of these so breaking their posture is of maximum importance if you want to win. Bosses in this game are tough, as expected.
I'm at the last area in the game now, just about 30 hours in. This, of course, hasn't been straight progression as there have been NUMEROUS bosses that have halted my progress, five in particular that come to my mind. Spoilers ahead if you don't want to know bosses.
Lady Butterfly, one of the first real bosses in the game, challenged how I played the game. I think I was trying to approach the game with a Dark Souls mindset. You know, dodge when you can and then unload with attacks but as I said before, this game is more about the parrying and countering, so I had to really learn her attacks and when to counter so I could break her posture. This literally took me over 45 minutes to finally get a hang of the fight but once I did, I felt unstoppable. I felt like if I mastered her, I should be fine with besting everyone else. Yeah...that really wasn't the case unfortunately.
Genichiro Ashina was a major jerk. Seriously. He's the first fakeout boss. By fakeout, I mean that once you think you've beaten him, he gets another form. When I finally took out the first form, I got so hype that I finally beat him...only to find out he had one last form and of course, there was no refill on healing items or anything. Genichiro was the hardest boss to this point, just because he's a reality check. Do not get comfortable in this game, ever. And Genichiro doesn't even die, so I know for a fact he'll be back one more time. Genichiro was the hardest boss I encountered....
...until I faced off against the Guardian Ape. Guardian Ape is exactly what he sounds like; a big freaking monster monkey, with wild attacks and unpredictable movements. He proceeded to destroy me until I finally got the hang of things. He has only one lifebar so the fight shouldn't be that hard but it's just something about this stupid ape that had me going crazy for almost two hours. Guardian Ape has a Shinobi execution where you cut off its freaking head. When I finally executed it, pure relief washed over me and I smiled....then the darn thing picks up his head and the massive sword that was in his neck and fights me again. Really? I fell for the old okey doke again. This is also the first time I learned about the worst thing in this game and it's the Terror status effect. Much like the curse status in Dark Souls, if your gauge fills up completely and you're infected with it, you die. Instantly. It sucks to be deep into the 2nd form, only to die straight out from Terror. This boss taught me patience and only attack him when he does certain attacks. GA would always do this massive swing that when deflected put him off balance. That was when I could get some easy strikes in. I finally felled him after dozens upon dozens of more tries and felt accomplished! I then learned that the GA is immortal and can only die once you get something called The Mortal Blade, which is essential for the main story. He then relocates to a different area and you have to FIGHT HIM AGAIN. Not a problem though since I was a pro at fighting him and he only had two lifebars. Once you get the first one down, he summons one of his friends so now, there's TWO massive apes coming at you. TWO. This one didn't take too long but it was still annoying but there was such satisfaction when you finally kill the stupid immortal centipede. Guardian Ape, the first time, became the hardest boss I've challenged....
...UNTIL you have to fight Great Shinobi Owl. OH MY GOODNESS. This guy man! This was another close to two hours of my life. He's just too unpredictable and his attacks are always hard to read. I was failing so much that this was the first boss I had to look at a Youtube video for. Like many bosses, he has an attack that can be exploited so once I learned that, IT WAS STILL A STRUGGLE! I couldn't posture break his 2nd form. I just couldn't. So this fight was just be waiting for him to do one attack, sweep in, get a few hits, then run until he does it again. I had to keep doing this until the lifebar diminished and I could finally get that last, final, sweet Deathblow in. I was so happy to have felled this boss, who many say is the toughest boss in the game. I started fighting Owl at around 2am and didn't get the trophy for beating him until 4am.
I then went to the next area, which I thought would be the final area in the game because the trophy popped up that I've explored all areas of the game, so I decided to see if I could at least get close to the final boss before I'd go to sleep. I would learn later that while this is the last new area you explore, the game will end in a familiar location. Upon walking into this area, the next boss drops in. It's the Corrupted Monk, who I faced earlier and beat without too much trouble. Turns out, she's immortal as well! Fun! She has three lifebars so I'm already a little scared but she has the same attack pattern so while I'm nervous, I know her attacks a bit. 2nd form though, she starts this doppelganger crap that wrecked me the first time. I learned that you can swing to the branches above where she is and can catch an instant Deathblow while she's sending her copies at you. That takes care of the 2nd phase. 3rd phase, the nasty little centipede comes out and she's becomes super aggressive and does a lot of attacks you can't block. She gets me a few times and as I'm getting more and more tired, I know that my gaming skills are fading. I give myself an ultimatum; I can't sleep until I beat this boss. It took a few tries after that but I was able to fell this stupid boss. Luckily, no boss inside Fountainhead Palace is challenging as the Divine Dragon is more of a gimmick boss than anything. I'm now going to attempt the last area and see if I can finish it before Days Gone releases in less than 48 hours.
UPDATE 4/26/19
I. DID IT! This was one of the most demanding final bosses in recent memory. Isshin required you to be close to perfect to fell him. I usually can beat a boss in one sitting after trying enough times but I had to do three different sessions. This had to be close to the 4 hour mark as well. The thing about the fight is that you have to face stupid Genichiro first but he's a far cry from when I fought him, what, 10 hours before? Once you beat him, he sacrifices himself to bring Isshin in his true form. Isshin has, of course, three lifebars and each bar represent a different phase of the fight. Phase 1 is a straight sword duel. It's pretty manageable once you know what to counter. Phase 2, Isshin pulls a giant spear out of the ground and becomes even more dangerous. He has amazing range with it and becomes almost god like in this phase. It took me such a long time to get the hang of it. Phase 3 is the same as 2 but he's more aggressive and adds lightening to his attacks. The lightening was his downfall though as you can get it transferred to you and throw it back to him, causing massive vitality and posture damage. This is the key to the third phase. I sincerely got lucky and had I just got caught in one of the several mistakes I made, I would probably still be facing this boss. It was a bittersweet ending, as in beating any game. You're upset that it's over but excited you got through it and got to experience the various worlds and lore. Sekiro, Dark Souls and Bloodborne are the shining jewels in the FromSoftware library. I beat Sekiro at 3:30am on April 26th, 2019, the day Days Gone released. Goal achieved
Seikro is amazing, it's easily my Game of the Year so far. FromSoftware attempted another genre and they crushed it. I still think if they did a survival horror game, it would be the new king of the genre. Sekiro is a great accomplishment for new IPs and I hope the trend continues with Days Gone and other games I'm looking forward to like Judgment and Astral Chain.
Days Gone impressions will be coming soon.
Friday, April 12, 2019
#UnderdogMania
Now that the dust has settled from another Wrestlemania week, I can take a step back and examine it. I've already talked about the near perfection that was NXT Takeover New York and with Johnny Gargano finally realizing his dream, it looked like that trend was going to continue. And continue it did as all the underdogs in the major matches were able to overcome the powers at be. I'm not going to discuss the whole Mania card but I will say that on predictions, I was 9-6-1. I'm not counting the Women's Battle Royal as Lacey Evans wasn't in. Surprised she wasn't, especially seeing her interactions with the new double women's champion the nights following Mania. A win there could have solidified her status as a major threat to come.
Rollins/Lesnar starting Mania was smart. The match was a short affair as expected but the winner wasn't as expected. Yes, it was the logical choice for Lesnar to drop the title but we all remember what happened last year with Roman Reigns. This was not the case this year. After getting a low blow in against Lesnar, Rollins proceeded to hit a thrust kick followed by three Curb Stomps and it was enough to put down The Beast and win the WWE Universal Championship in an absolute shocker. The crowd popped big, I popped big, it was an amazing way to start Mania. Plus, we got a near repeat of what happened in the main event of Wrestlemania 31, title swing and all! I'm very happy for Rollins, who won his first World Title in 3 YEARS. Rollins' journey back to the main event picture has been exciting and I'm glad all the hard work he's done in the midcard and always putting on exciting matches has translated to this win. I'm happy for Raw in general, who now have a World Champion who will at least defend the title on more PPVs. This is big for stars like Drew McIntyre and Braun Strowman, both who are still looking for that ever elusive first World Title reign. Rollins winning was the perfect start to Mania.
Another big moment was in the Women's Tag divisions. In another shocking moment, Peyton Royce and Billie Kay of the IIconics shockingly won the titles at Wrestlemania. The emotion on both of their faces told the whole story. It even made me a little emotional. I've been a big fan of these two once they turned heel and became a duo. To see their dream realized on such a big stage to such an amazing reaction, it was perfect. I obviously feel for Sasha and Bayley, mainly because they just got the titles and I was looking forward to them going to face Kairi and Io in the future but I think that's going to be a dream Wrestlemania 36 match as Kairi might be on her way up to Raw or Smackdown. It has been reported that the decision took Sasha by surprise as well who was so emotional about it ended up threatening to quit the company. She's apparently on vacation while she thinks about it. I would hate for a simple title change to end her young career in WWE. She'd obviously do well outside of the company but I want all The Four Horsewomen together for the inevitable feud with the Ronda's group. Sasha's (and apparently Bayley's) response has put a bad taste in my mouth about her. I understand her frustrations but you can't win them all. Regardless, the IIconics will flourish in their new role. On a more storyline front, Paige was backstage at Smackdown and said she would be bringing a new team in, leading to ride speculations from everyone. The Sky Pirates seem to be the favorite from everyone but I'm looking for a twist, like Rhea Ripley and Reina Gonzalez, two insanely powerful women who would be game changers in the absence of Nia Jax and Tamina (Nia is getting double knee surgery). Maybe Absolution with Sonya Deville and Mandy Rose will be getting back with their old mentor? Regardless, it's going to be a must see segment.
In what was my most anticipated match of this year's Wrestlemania, Kofi Kingston challenged Daniel Bryan for the WWE Championship. This was Kofi's first one on one shot for the title in his 11 year career. He was hungry and resilient and would not be denied. Bryan even hit Kofi with his signature flying knee and Kofi kicked out of that. Clearly, Johnny Wrestling's actions at Takeover New York motivated Kofi and despite taking everything Bryan had, Kofi was able to fight back, get the crowd solely on his side and hit a major league Trouble in Paradise. I thought Bryan would kick out so I didn't get too excited but when that final three count hit, I screamed. I stood up and clapped. There were tears in my eyes, some even fell. Kofi Kingston had just become WWE Champion in front of my very eyes. On January 1st, 2019, NO one could have said that Kofi Kingston would defeat Daniel Bryan for the WWE Championship at Wrestlemania 35. That sentence made no sense but on April 7th, 2019, it was the reality. Big E and Xavier Woods celebrated with their friend, Woods was bawling, overcome with emotions. Woods said in multiple interviews way before Wrestlemania 35 that his main goal was to make sure Kofi became a World champion. Goal achieved. Woods and E discarded Bryan's eco friendly title for the authentic WWE Championship, fit with Kofi sideplates. Fun fact, they accidentally showed the podium the title was sitting on BEFORE putting Bryan's title on it was a clear sign the title change was going to happen. They lifted Kofi up, fireworks went off and WWE finally has a champion that a whole different audience can identify with. The icing on the cake? He was able to celebrate with his two sons. Kai, the oldest, stole the show, lifting up the championship and even throwing out the new merchandise to fans at ringside. THIS is a Wrestlemania moment, one that will be played for years to come, hopefully one that my future children will see and be inspired by. Not only was it one of the best matches of the night, it was easily the biggest moment of the entire show.
Triple H and Batista went to war. I was a little skeptic of this match, just because of the age of the two men competing, mixed with ring ruse and of course, Crown Jewel 2018. Thankfully, both guys benefited from the No Holds Barred stipulation. Trips pulling out Batista's nose ring with the pliers?!? Amazing. It was brutal but it ended the way I thought. Sledgehammer shot and then the Pedigree. Flair even got involved as well. Batista announced his retirement the night after Mania so it really was his swansong. I'm glad everything fell into place, like Triple H recovering fast enough for the match and Batista's busy schedule allowing him to wrestle in the first place. It was a fantastic feud throughout the years and it's great to have come full circle here.
Fun fact, did you know Triple H has wrestled every member of the infamous Class of 2002 at Wrestlemania? He actually accomplished this 6 years ago when he faced Lesnar at Wrestlemania 29. With his win over Batista, he's now defeated 3 of the 4 at Wrestlemania. So book it now. Cena/HHH, WM36. HHH will get a full blown Pirates of the Caribbean entrance.
Main event was good! Yes, it was a VERY weird and abrupt ending and I'm insanely mad Charlotte didn't do a corkscrew moonsault through a table but I liked what they presented. Kudos for them to try and keep things interesting on HOUR 8 of Wrestlemania. Becky winning was the obvious outcome but once the other underdogs started to win, I got nervous. Becky has come A LONG WAY and to see her get her just due, it's amazing.
So, Johnny Gargano won. Seth Rollins won. KOFI KINGSTON WON. Becky Lynch won. Why are we complaining? We have #johnnywrestling, The Beastslayer, Mr. 24/7 and The Man running things right now. It's insane to even think about! I leave you saying this; I enjoyed Mania. Only thing I absolutely hated was Reigns/McIntyre. I knew McIntyre would lose but to one silly spear? That's ridiculous. The Corbin/Angle match wasn't nothing amazing either but I expected that. Anyway, good show, I'd rate a solid 8/10, based on moments alone.
Superstar Shakeup is coming this week so I wonder what big stars are coming to Raw and Smackdown. I still believe Reigns will be going to Raw. I realize I said that last year as well but I really feel it this time!
Thanks for all the fun this week WWE.
Rollins/Lesnar starting Mania was smart. The match was a short affair as expected but the winner wasn't as expected. Yes, it was the logical choice for Lesnar to drop the title but we all remember what happened last year with Roman Reigns. This was not the case this year. After getting a low blow in against Lesnar, Rollins proceeded to hit a thrust kick followed by three Curb Stomps and it was enough to put down The Beast and win the WWE Universal Championship in an absolute shocker. The crowd popped big, I popped big, it was an amazing way to start Mania. Plus, we got a near repeat of what happened in the main event of Wrestlemania 31, title swing and all! I'm very happy for Rollins, who won his first World Title in 3 YEARS. Rollins' journey back to the main event picture has been exciting and I'm glad all the hard work he's done in the midcard and always putting on exciting matches has translated to this win. I'm happy for Raw in general, who now have a World Champion who will at least defend the title on more PPVs. This is big for stars like Drew McIntyre and Braun Strowman, both who are still looking for that ever elusive first World Title reign. Rollins winning was the perfect start to Mania.
Another big moment was in the Women's Tag divisions. In another shocking moment, Peyton Royce and Billie Kay of the IIconics shockingly won the titles at Wrestlemania. The emotion on both of their faces told the whole story. It even made me a little emotional. I've been a big fan of these two once they turned heel and became a duo. To see their dream realized on such a big stage to such an amazing reaction, it was perfect. I obviously feel for Sasha and Bayley, mainly because they just got the titles and I was looking forward to them going to face Kairi and Io in the future but I think that's going to be a dream Wrestlemania 36 match as Kairi might be on her way up to Raw or Smackdown. It has been reported that the decision took Sasha by surprise as well who was so emotional about it ended up threatening to quit the company. She's apparently on vacation while she thinks about it. I would hate for a simple title change to end her young career in WWE. She'd obviously do well outside of the company but I want all The Four Horsewomen together for the inevitable feud with the Ronda's group. Sasha's (and apparently Bayley's) response has put a bad taste in my mouth about her. I understand her frustrations but you can't win them all. Regardless, the IIconics will flourish in their new role. On a more storyline front, Paige was backstage at Smackdown and said she would be bringing a new team in, leading to ride speculations from everyone. The Sky Pirates seem to be the favorite from everyone but I'm looking for a twist, like Rhea Ripley and Reina Gonzalez, two insanely powerful women who would be game changers in the absence of Nia Jax and Tamina (Nia is getting double knee surgery). Maybe Absolution with Sonya Deville and Mandy Rose will be getting back with their old mentor? Regardless, it's going to be a must see segment.
In what was my most anticipated match of this year's Wrestlemania, Kofi Kingston challenged Daniel Bryan for the WWE Championship. This was Kofi's first one on one shot for the title in his 11 year career. He was hungry and resilient and would not be denied. Bryan even hit Kofi with his signature flying knee and Kofi kicked out of that. Clearly, Johnny Wrestling's actions at Takeover New York motivated Kofi and despite taking everything Bryan had, Kofi was able to fight back, get the crowd solely on his side and hit a major league Trouble in Paradise. I thought Bryan would kick out so I didn't get too excited but when that final three count hit, I screamed. I stood up and clapped. There were tears in my eyes, some even fell. Kofi Kingston had just become WWE Champion in front of my very eyes. On January 1st, 2019, NO one could have said that Kofi Kingston would defeat Daniel Bryan for the WWE Championship at Wrestlemania 35. That sentence made no sense but on April 7th, 2019, it was the reality. Big E and Xavier Woods celebrated with their friend, Woods was bawling, overcome with emotions. Woods said in multiple interviews way before Wrestlemania 35 that his main goal was to make sure Kofi became a World champion. Goal achieved. Woods and E discarded Bryan's eco friendly title for the authentic WWE Championship, fit with Kofi sideplates. Fun fact, they accidentally showed the podium the title was sitting on BEFORE putting Bryan's title on it was a clear sign the title change was going to happen. They lifted Kofi up, fireworks went off and WWE finally has a champion that a whole different audience can identify with. The icing on the cake? He was able to celebrate with his two sons. Kai, the oldest, stole the show, lifting up the championship and even throwing out the new merchandise to fans at ringside. THIS is a Wrestlemania moment, one that will be played for years to come, hopefully one that my future children will see and be inspired by. Not only was it one of the best matches of the night, it was easily the biggest moment of the entire show.
Triple H and Batista went to war. I was a little skeptic of this match, just because of the age of the two men competing, mixed with ring ruse and of course, Crown Jewel 2018. Thankfully, both guys benefited from the No Holds Barred stipulation. Trips pulling out Batista's nose ring with the pliers?!? Amazing. It was brutal but it ended the way I thought. Sledgehammer shot and then the Pedigree. Flair even got involved as well. Batista announced his retirement the night after Mania so it really was his swansong. I'm glad everything fell into place, like Triple H recovering fast enough for the match and Batista's busy schedule allowing him to wrestle in the first place. It was a fantastic feud throughout the years and it's great to have come full circle here.
Fun fact, did you know Triple H has wrestled every member of the infamous Class of 2002 at Wrestlemania? He actually accomplished this 6 years ago when he faced Lesnar at Wrestlemania 29. With his win over Batista, he's now defeated 3 of the 4 at Wrestlemania. So book it now. Cena/HHH, WM36. HHH will get a full blown Pirates of the Caribbean entrance.
Main event was good! Yes, it was a VERY weird and abrupt ending and I'm insanely mad Charlotte didn't do a corkscrew moonsault through a table but I liked what they presented. Kudos for them to try and keep things interesting on HOUR 8 of Wrestlemania. Becky winning was the obvious outcome but once the other underdogs started to win, I got nervous. Becky has come A LONG WAY and to see her get her just due, it's amazing.
So, Johnny Gargano won. Seth Rollins won. KOFI KINGSTON WON. Becky Lynch won. Why are we complaining? We have #johnnywrestling, The Beastslayer, Mr. 24/7 and The Man running things right now. It's insane to even think about! I leave you saying this; I enjoyed Mania. Only thing I absolutely hated was Reigns/McIntyre. I knew McIntyre would lose but to one silly spear? That's ridiculous. The Corbin/Angle match wasn't nothing amazing either but I expected that. Anyway, good show, I'd rate a solid 8/10, based on moments alone.
Superstar Shakeup is coming this week so I wonder what big stars are coming to Raw and Smackdown. I still believe Reigns will be going to Raw. I realize I said that last year as well but I really feel it this time!
Thanks for all the fun this week WWE.
Saturday, April 6, 2019
I'm speechless
I could not experience NXT Takeover New York live this year. As in live, I mean as it aired. With a card as stacked as this, I wanted to see it. The good thing about watching on the Network after something has aired, you know how much time you have to give to it. When I saw this Takeover went 3 hours and 15 minutes, I got insanely giddy. That meant every match got time. And boy, did they. This doesn't bode well for people who are expecting a short Mania. I'm doing a post on the best Takeovers of all time. I meant to have it out by the 5th anniversary of NXT live specials and for the 5th birthday of the WWE Network, but, you know how life works. If the post ever sees the light of day, I will have to update it to reflect this show as it was the best and most rounded NXT special yet.
The NXT Tag Title match was just as amazing as we knew it was going to be but the big moment came at the end. War Raiders retained in a war and shook hands with Ricochet and Black before laying the titles down and bowing to them, paying respect to what they've done for the black and yellow brand. The crowd did as well and it made for a great swan song for them, like we knew it was. It was very reminiscent of Zayn losing at Takeover Dallas. While he wanted to win, there was a big opportunity at Wrestlemania two days later. Black and Ricochet have a big moment as well come Sunday as they both make their Mania debuts and challenge for the Smackdown Tag Titles in their THIRD different tag title match this year. Ricochet has been responsible for both losses so far. Will a third push Black over the edge? Keep an eye on that. Anyway, I suspect The Forgotten Sons will be next for War Raiders. 1-0 on predictions so far.
It was fun seeing Riddle play a heel in this match as the crowd was fully behind Dream. Dream continues to improve and continues to shine in Takeover matches with big stars. This was a fun back and forth contest that saw Riddle really dial it up but it wasn't enough as Dream was able to reverse that Bromission into a pinning combination. Dream retained and both guys showed respect afterwards. Keith Lee might be the next logical step for Dream. 2-0 on predictions.
Walter VS Pete Dunne was violent. Like, almost hard to watch at times. The most surprising thing here was the amount of time these two got. This was almost a half hour long. I thought for sure they were going to get shafted but they went all out with the time received. This was something else. A freaking war. The amount of forearms, slaps, joint manipulation, it's insane. The powerbomb off the top? Forget about it. That was insane. Walter was just too much for Dunne. Walter is now the NEW WWE United Kingdom Champion. Dunne's reign ends at 685 days. I'm sad it's over but glad I was along for the ride. I'd love to see a rematch and then see what's next for Dunne. I can't imagine him leaving NXT UK but the main roster needs a star like him. Walter's challengers in NXT UK are endless. Tyler Bate, Trent Seven, Gallus, Jordan Devlin, etc but I could see Walter having a crazy long run with the title as well. Congrats to Walter, congrats to Dunne, congrats to the whole UK division. That was a firing shot on OG NXT turf. 3-0 on predictions.
NO NO NO NO NO NO! Shayna won?!?! Without the help of Duke and Shafir? What is life?!?! I knew Kairi and Io weren't winning. I'm still sticking with Boss N Hug VS Sky Pirates at Takeover San Jose. Belair needed this win but instead, she was the one to tap. I'm glad she got her mega feat of strength in but come on! I guess it's just not her time. I can only hope this is now leading to Candice LeRae finally getting her chance to win the title. And it would make perfect sense since....
JOHNNY GARGANO IS THE NEW NXT CHAMPION!!!!! I can't believe it! I'm so happy that it FINALLY happened. This main event was everything. Did it have a few too many close calls on Gargano's part? Yeah but it's Mania weekend! The time for ALL the underdogs to overcome the odds. And despite The Undisputed Era trying to save their man, it wasn't meant for Cole to be champion. This was one of the best Takeover main events in history and these two deserve all the credit in the world. Great storytelling, great spots and excellent in ring chemistry. So Johnny wins, his wife Candice comes out like she did at Takeover New Orleans and they celebrate. This was especially emotional because Gargano's father was in attendance unlike at Takeover Philadelphia and he was able to see his son achieve his biggest goal. Johnny and Candice make their way to the top of the ramp, they do the little graphic at the bottom saying it's over but if you've been watching Takeovers, you know that's not the case. Out comes Tommaso Ciampa and the crowd instantly reacts to which Johnny humorously says "He's right behind me isn't he?" Ciampa comes out to hug Gargano and congratulate him. The show ends with Candice and DIY standing tall. It was a full circle moment of a storyline that started 3 years ago. We all know Ciampa would have loved to drop the title to Gargano himself but this was just as good. An amazing moment to start the weekend.
Takeover New York was magical. It was spectacular. It was five stars. I'm not one for Dave Meltzer's ratings but if the NXT Tag Title, the UK Title or NXT Title doesn't get five stars, then I don't know what else WWE could have done. It was an amazing show.
Follow THAT main roster.
The NXT Tag Title match was just as amazing as we knew it was going to be but the big moment came at the end. War Raiders retained in a war and shook hands with Ricochet and Black before laying the titles down and bowing to them, paying respect to what they've done for the black and yellow brand. The crowd did as well and it made for a great swan song for them, like we knew it was. It was very reminiscent of Zayn losing at Takeover Dallas. While he wanted to win, there was a big opportunity at Wrestlemania two days later. Black and Ricochet have a big moment as well come Sunday as they both make their Mania debuts and challenge for the Smackdown Tag Titles in their THIRD different tag title match this year. Ricochet has been responsible for both losses so far. Will a third push Black over the edge? Keep an eye on that. Anyway, I suspect The Forgotten Sons will be next for War Raiders. 1-0 on predictions so far.
It was fun seeing Riddle play a heel in this match as the crowd was fully behind Dream. Dream continues to improve and continues to shine in Takeover matches with big stars. This was a fun back and forth contest that saw Riddle really dial it up but it wasn't enough as Dream was able to reverse that Bromission into a pinning combination. Dream retained and both guys showed respect afterwards. Keith Lee might be the next logical step for Dream. 2-0 on predictions.
Walter VS Pete Dunne was violent. Like, almost hard to watch at times. The most surprising thing here was the amount of time these two got. This was almost a half hour long. I thought for sure they were going to get shafted but they went all out with the time received. This was something else. A freaking war. The amount of forearms, slaps, joint manipulation, it's insane. The powerbomb off the top? Forget about it. That was insane. Walter was just too much for Dunne. Walter is now the NEW WWE United Kingdom Champion. Dunne's reign ends at 685 days. I'm sad it's over but glad I was along for the ride. I'd love to see a rematch and then see what's next for Dunne. I can't imagine him leaving NXT UK but the main roster needs a star like him. Walter's challengers in NXT UK are endless. Tyler Bate, Trent Seven, Gallus, Jordan Devlin, etc but I could see Walter having a crazy long run with the title as well. Congrats to Walter, congrats to Dunne, congrats to the whole UK division. That was a firing shot on OG NXT turf. 3-0 on predictions.
NO NO NO NO NO NO! Shayna won?!?! Without the help of Duke and Shafir? What is life?!?! I knew Kairi and Io weren't winning. I'm still sticking with Boss N Hug VS Sky Pirates at Takeover San Jose. Belair needed this win but instead, she was the one to tap. I'm glad she got her mega feat of strength in but come on! I guess it's just not her time. I can only hope this is now leading to Candice LeRae finally getting her chance to win the title. And it would make perfect sense since....
JOHNNY GARGANO IS THE NEW NXT CHAMPION!!!!! I can't believe it! I'm so happy that it FINALLY happened. This main event was everything. Did it have a few too many close calls on Gargano's part? Yeah but it's Mania weekend! The time for ALL the underdogs to overcome the odds. And despite The Undisputed Era trying to save their man, it wasn't meant for Cole to be champion. This was one of the best Takeover main events in history and these two deserve all the credit in the world. Great storytelling, great spots and excellent in ring chemistry. So Johnny wins, his wife Candice comes out like she did at Takeover New Orleans and they celebrate. This was especially emotional because Gargano's father was in attendance unlike at Takeover Philadelphia and he was able to see his son achieve his biggest goal. Johnny and Candice make their way to the top of the ramp, they do the little graphic at the bottom saying it's over but if you've been watching Takeovers, you know that's not the case. Out comes Tommaso Ciampa and the crowd instantly reacts to which Johnny humorously says "He's right behind me isn't he?" Ciampa comes out to hug Gargano and congratulate him. The show ends with Candice and DIY standing tall. It was a full circle moment of a storyline that started 3 years ago. We all know Ciampa would have loved to drop the title to Gargano himself but this was just as good. An amazing moment to start the weekend.
Takeover New York was magical. It was spectacular. It was five stars. I'm not one for Dave Meltzer's ratings but if the NXT Tag Title, the UK Title or NXT Title doesn't get five stars, then I don't know what else WWE could have done. It was an amazing show.
Follow THAT main roster.
Thursday, April 4, 2019
Takeover New York and Wrestlemania 35 Predictions
LET'S GO!!!!
It's time for Wrestlemania weekend! 5 straight nights of entertainment for WWE but we'll be only covering two of them; NXT Takeover New York (which should be Brooklyn V but whatever) and Wrestlemania 35. For only the 2nd time in history and first since Takeover Dallas in 2016, Takeover will be live on a Friday night, leaving wrestling fans the option of either watching the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony or the ROH/NJPW show G1 Supercard on Saturday. Let's do it!
5 amazing matches on the card as usual, but the talent and match ups definitely makes this the most stacked Takeover in history. Any one of the five could steal the show and with it being Mania weekend, I expect everyone to go all out.
The War Raiders will make their first defense of the NXT Tag Team Titles when they face the winners of the Dusty Rhodes Classic, Ricochet and Aleister Black. Black and Ricochet were paired together when they got their surprise call up/checking out of the main roster and they really meshed together nicely in a short amount of time together. While they are definitely a great put together tag team, this is likely the end of their respective NXT runs. Both guys were champions and had amazing Takeover matches in their careers so going out on the biggest Takeover of the year will be a big moment for them. This will be a fast paced, high flying match and if these teams open the show, good luck everyone else. The War Raiders will retain in an amazing contest.
Pete Dunne will defend his WWE United Kingdom Championship against Walter in a highly anticipated war. The UK Title hasn't been defended at an OG NXT Takeover since Dunne's title victory at Takeover Chicago in 2017 and you remember how amazing that match was in just 15 minutes. This will definitely be another instant classic. Dunne's reign with the title is closing in on the 700 day range, nearing two years of domination. Dunne's dominance as the longest reigning champion of the modern era will never been taken from him, as I just don't see someone else holding on to this title or any other for that long for quite some time. With all that being said, I think it might finally be Dunne's time. The man has carried the NXT UK brand on his back and has put on some amazing matches in his wake but Walter is a different beast unlike anyone he has faced yet. I don't know if a Dunne loss here means we'll see him on Raw or Smackdown, mainly due to the reason that NXT UK needs main event players and Dunne is that. Regardless, his time is up as champiom. We might just be in for another 2 year reign after all! Walter will defeat Pete Dunne to win the WWE United Kingdom Championship. Dunne won't go down without a fight.
The NXT North American Championship will be up for grabs when current champion Velveteen Dream defends the title against Matt Riddle. Dream is one of NXT's best success stories and one of the last remaining homegrown talents that they have. Every time he's in the ring with one of the top indie stars, he puts on a great performance but when it comes to those matches happening at Takeover, he loses. Wargames 2017, despite a career breakout performance against Aleister Black, he came up short. At Takeover Chicago II, despite a great match against Ricochet, he loss. Even at Wargames 2018, with the NXT Championship on the line against Tommaso Ciampa, he couldn't get the job done. Riddle fits into the same boat as Black, Ricochet and Ciampa, major indie signings that have forever changed the course of NXT. This is Riddle's first championship match at a Takeover event and Dream's first defense of the title. NA Champions haven't had the best of luck at Takeovers as every time it's been defended at a Takeover, the title has changed hands. Cole to Ricochet at Takeover Brooklyn IV and Ricochet to Johnny Gargano at Takeover Phoenix. Will the same fate hinder Dream? No, probably not. I don't see Dream, as over as he is, losing the title just yet. Riddle's NXT career is just starting so taking a first loss here won't hurt him. This will be a fun match for sure but I'm definitely going with Velveteen Dream to retain over Matt Riddle. Don't think it will be a clean victory either but a victory is a victory.
A HUGE Fatal Four Way will take place when NXT Women's Champion Shayna Baszler defends against Bianca Belair, Kairi Sane and Io Shirai. Baszler has defeated Sane and Belair in previous Takeovers and Shirai has pinned Baszler in a 6 women's tag leading up to the show. I love Fatal Four Way matches but as previous Takeovers have shown, they can be given little time. Even though the Fatal Four between Sasha Banks, Becky Lynch, Charlotte and Bayley was a thing of beauty, it was only 12 minutes. The Fatal Four between Asuka, Nikki Cross, Billie Kay and Peyton Royce from Takeover San Antonio was close to 10 minutes, as was the match between Ember Moon, Kairi Sane, Peyton Royce and Nikki Cross a few months later. I realize that having a 15 minute match doesn't necessarily make it bad (Dunne/Bate Takeover Chicago), but I really hope they give these ladies time to show the world what they can do. Baszler has to be called up soon, especially if Ronda may be taking a break or leaving after Wrestlemania. The main roster will need a vicious heel to replace her. I'll get into the Mania main event later but Shayna losing the title here is helpful to what I think will take place in the coming days. Question is, who is the one to win it here? Kairi and Io need to stay together to be a formidable challenge for Sasha and Bayley. Here's a prediction for you; I think Boss N Hug will defend against The Sky Pirates at Takeover San Jose in June. It's two months away I know but there's only one PPV after Mania before the next Takeover so it could definitely work so by process of elimination, Bianca Belair is the only one who I think will walk out as champion. Sure, they could give it Shirai and build towards the inevitable Shirai/Sane match up, but that type of match should be saved for next year's Mania Takeover show don't you think? Belair could win here, drop it to Sane or Shirai in Toronto in August then they can do Sane/Shirai at Takeover Tampa next year. Belair winning would be good for the division and she would have a great division of challengers. The Sky Pirates obviously but also Candice LeRae, who they've apparently forgotten about, Kacy Catanzaro, who I think could be the next big face of the division for them, Lacey Lane, another athletic talent who I think could be a face of women's wrestling, Rhea Ripley, someone who could match Belair's power and has experience as a champion, Mia Yim, Deonna Purazzo, the list goes on. I'm going with Bianca Belair to finally win the NXT Women's Championship. She can't be denied for much longer.
The main event of NXT Takeover New York is one they had to put together quickly. The scheduled main event was to see reigning NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa defend against Johnny Gargano in a match that would have been their fourth main event together but one that would have been the blow off match for a feud brewing for the better part of three years. It was an end to the most ambitious and greatest storyline in NXT history. Fate interfered and Ciampa needed neck surgery and had to vacate the title so we'll have to wait a little longer for their final match. While Triple H and the team had to pull out a quick main event for the show, it's one that promises to be something special if done right. Johnny Gargano will still get a shot at becoming champion but now it's against another of NXT's top stars in Adam Cole (Bay Bay). It will be a 2/3 Falls match, a match type that has become the signature match type of NXT.
Ciampa's injury has put a new spin on plans. While Adam Cole and the Undisputed Era looked like they were on their way out of NXT, they may have found their way back in. Cole stated that each member would be covered in gold in 2019 and this may be the way they start it. I've been a huge Gargano supporter since the DIY days and I was there last year when he put on that 5 star performance against Andrade in Philadelphia. Gargano winning the title would make things come full circle. Regardless of who you back in this match, this will be a barn burner and one that looks to set the mood for the entire wrestling weekend. I'm cool with either guy winning but I'm trying to think who would be next in line for a shot at the title? I've already said Ricochet and Black are on their way out and they're both guys who've had matches with both Gargano and Cole at Takeovers past. You still have Keith Lee, Matt Riddle and Dominik Dijakovic as guys who can be main event players to come. Rumored signings Shane Strickland and/or Kushida could appear in the crowd during Takeover, leading them to be interjected in the mix. NXT has a bright future. It's hard to pick just one but I'm going to go with Johnny Gargano to finally win the NXT Championship, becoming NXT's first Triple Crown winner. In typical Gargano fashion, he'll lose the first fall and win two straight. You know, underdog stuff. It's the theme of the weekend.
That's Takeover. I'm excited! Now, let's get to Wrestlemania!
16 matches booked for the show right now, 10 being singles matches. which is strange for their biggest show of the year. As with all the big shows now, there is a 2 hour pre show and it looks like there will be three matches on it and it's the same ones as last year; a Cruiserweight Title match and both the Andre the Giant Memorial and Women's battle royals. That means 13 matches will make the main show. Let's break all 15 down. Jesus...
205 Live's best success story Buddy Murphy will defend the championship against Tony Nese. Now, I don't really know the story here as I don't watch 205 Live but I do know that anytime Murphy gets a chance on a PPV, he shines. He's one of those guys who I hope gets put on the main roster after his run in 205 is over. Nese has the look of a superstar, His signature 8 pack is god like and I've always been high on him since his appearance in the Cruiserweight Classic back in 2016. Murphy is nearing a record reign with the title and if he can get past Nese, he would most definitely pass Neville's 197 day reign with the title and based on WWE trying to replace records from stars who've wronged them, I think that's the goal. That being said, this will be a great match but Murphy will be retaining that title.
I hate to say this but this year's Wrestlemania Women's Battle Royal is pointless. There are no compelling rivalries with the women who are involved and it's so obviously done to get them all on the show. That being said, as of this typing, there are only 13 women confirmed for the match. Last year, there were 20 ladies involved so I fully expect some of the NXT ladies to get the call here as they did last year. 2018 saw Kavita Devi, Kairi Sane, Peyton Royce, Bianca Belair, Tanyara Conti, and Dakota Kai enter the fray. Kairi or Bianca might be NXT Women's Champion but I'll say whoever doesn't win the Fatal Four Way at Takeover will be in the match excluding Shayna. So if Belair wins like I predicted, expect to see Kairi and Io. Kacy Catanzaro is a must, especially after her performance in the Royal Rumble. I could see either Aliyah or Vanessa Bourne getting the nod as well as Deonna Purrazzo (born in Jersey, literally a half hour away from MetLife Stadium), Mia Yim or even Toni Storm. And of course, the winner who hasn't been announced, Lacey Evans. Yeah, that's who I'm going with to win. Regardless of whoever they get from NXT, it won't matter as the Southern Sassy Belle will get the win in Metlife. She'll probably eliminate Asuka last. Mandy Rose is my back up pick.
I'm a bit surprised the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal isn't featured on the main card only due to the celebrity involvement. I guess this will be the match that airs on USA Network because, you know, NBC. 29 stars confirmed so I'm expecting one more star to be added to make it an even 30 like last year. Your guess on that one is as good as mine (Bray Wyatt please but probably Kevin Owens). Anyway, this match is centered around Colin Jost and Michael Che of Saturday Night Live fame and fallen from grace Braun Strowman. I don't think either of those three will win the match but most of it will definitely center around them. There's really no one in the match that stand to Strowman's power, except maybe Otis and Tucker so maybe they'll team up and get him out. I'm going with a dark horse pick in Andrade to win it all. Andrade will need the momentum to push him forward on Smackdown and this is perfect to build momentum upon. If rumors are true that he's dating Charlotte, then I could see 2019 being a very good year for the Tranquilo One. Let's go Andrade!
OK, now we've come to the main card and it's time for the opening match, which is just as important at the main event. The Intercontinental Championship Triple Threat was a barn burner start last year but I don't think this year's IC Title match can hold a candle to that so that will be saved for later. If I had to pick, it's either between The Miz VS Shane McMahon or Drew McIntyre VS Roman Reigns.
The Miz will face heel Shane McMahon in a Falls Count Anywhere match. Great job by whoever put the stip on. For two reasons. One, a heated feud like this needs a stipulation where both men can go all out (I'm looking at you HHH/Orton and HHH/Reigns from Mania 25 and 32 respectively). Two, we'll probably get to see Shane jump off of something, like maybe the Wrestlemania set itself. With the stipulation, I expect a great match between the two and one that will help flesh out babyface Miz going forward. Miz needs the victory here more than anything, especially after coming up short at the past FIVE Wrestlemanias. He lost in both ATGMBRs at 30 and 31, lost in the IC Title Ladder match at 32, lost to Cena and Nikki at 33 and of course, lost the IC Title at 34. He hasn't won at Mania since it was at MetLife in 2013. The Miz needs the win more than Shane. Shane had a successful win outing last year with Bryan so it's owed to him. I'm going with The Miz to win big here.
So....The Revival will defend their Raw Tag Team Titles at Wrestlemania. The team they're facing? Uh...Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder. Is this Wrestlemania or Backlash? I'm not sure who thought about this one but the only reason I can see this being a WM worthy match is if they finally give Hawkins a win here. I think the crowd would be behind the win as well. While it's a random Mania match, it could provide an underdog win, which seems to be the overall theme of Wrestlemania 35. I'm going with Zack Ryder and Curt Hawkins to win the Raw Tag Team Championship.
The Usos made it on the card! They will defend their Smackdown Tag Team Titles against Ricochet and Aleister Black, Rusev and Shinsuke Nakamura and The Bar. No New Day, no Good Brothers, no Sanity or most importantly, no Hardys. So, let me get this straight, they bring The Hardys back together on a random Smackdown and then they DON'T do the dream tag team match between The Hardys and The Usos? That's dropping the ball. Anyway, this will be a very fun match, given 10-15 minutes. Kudos to Aleister Black and Ricochet who will be making history by challenging for 3 out of the 4 male tag team championships in WWE in a week's time. They've already lost their shot against The Revival and I have them booked to lose against The War Raiders. Will they finally win tag gold on their third attempt? Probably not. I still think New Day will win the titles sooner rather than later so no reason to do a title change here and then to New Day. I'd love if Nakamura and Rusev won the titles though but I'm picking The Usos to retain in this makeshift match.
Demon Balor will make his grand debut at Wrestlemania and he will challenge Bobby Lashley for the Intercontinental Championship. I don't really need to go in depth with this one right? Demon Balor is used rarely and as a way to make Balor larger than life. With a character like that, he's not losing anytime soon with the paint on. Demon Balor will win the Intercontinental Championship. It won't be a long affair.
Samoa Joe will (maybe) defend his United States Championship against Rey Mysterio. I put maybe because Mysterio hurt his ankle during his Raw match with Baron Corbin. His status is now up in the air. I'm hoping the match will happen and I'm also hoping that Rey will be replaced, mainly because John Cena is still without a match for this show. Joe/Cena was one of the matches I just knew that was going to happen at Mania. Well, even if Mysterio is good to go, this will still be a fun match. If Mysterio wins, he'll be a Grand Slam Champion, which is a great accomplishment to achieve at Mania. I like Joe's run as champ and I hope it continues so he can run into Kevin Owens and we finally get a feud between those two. Mysterio's high flying antics won't be enough and he'll go to sleep. Samoa Joe retains.
Kurt Angle will wrestle his final mattch in WWE against Baron Corbin. This is funny to me. I'm all for Corbin getting the rub against Angle in his final match. You know, pushing future stars and what not. The backlash for the match has been severe, mainly because they had such a great opportunity to have John Cena be Angle's last opponent, especially when he announced his last opponent in Chicago, in the same arena Cena debuted against Angle. Nope, we're getting Angle/Corbin. The crowd will eat this alive. I'm looking forward to that and what chants we'll be getting. I hope Angle wins and taps Corbin out, go out on his own merit. I'm not looking forward to the match but the crowd should make this fun.
The Women's Tag Team Titles will make their debut at Wrestlemania when Sasha Banks and Bayley defend their titles against Nia Jax and Tamina, Beth Phoenix and Natalya, and The IIconics Billie Kay and Peyton Royce. Beth Phoenix returning to the ring was definitely a shocker, mainly because I know I was expecting Trish and Lita coming back instead. I'll take it though. Beth looked fantastic in the ring on Monday. She could come back full time if she wanted. Anyway, her return is solely to put the titles over with her friend Natalya. I hope she does stick around afterwards though. Sasha and Bayley retaining is best for the end of the show so that's the route I'm going with, although I would not be upset if Kay and Royce picked up the win.
In one of the biggest matches of this year's Wrestlemania, Randy Orton will face AJ Styles. WWE has done a great job of having these two stay away from each other for most of their careers in WWE. Yes, they had a match two years ago on the road to Wrestlemania but nothing since. This might be the best pure wrestling match at this year's show. Orton always performs best when he has a compelling feud or someone that can work with him ala John Cena so this will be fun. They've already done the Forearm into RKO spot on Smackdown so they have to come up with something else. I'm looking forward to whatever it is. AJ Styles could use the win so I'm picking him.
The Big Dog will be making his singles return to PPV from leukemia when he faces Drew McIntyre. Roman will not main event Wrestlemania this year. Reigns has spent many of his time at past Wrestlemanias in matches that were meant to push him to the top of the card. He now finds himself in the opposite role as the one doing the pushing. This is McIntyre's first Wrestlemania since his return to WWE and he's going against a four time Wrestlemania main eventer. This is one of those crossroads matches. I can see why either guy could win. Reigns is coming back from cancer and it's his first big singles match back. He NEEDS the win. McIntyre has destroyed The Shield and Reigns is the last one standing. He's a big star and a win against the biggest star in the company is a major statement at the Grandest Stage of them all. I'm torn. My heart says McIntyre but my brain says Reigns. This will be a hard hitting match for sure. I'm going with my brain. Roman Reigns will win in his return to singles competition. Darn it.
It's a match 14 years in the making. Triple H will face Batista in a No Holds Barred match and if Triple H loses, his in ring career will be over. Batista has been wanting a match with HHH for awhile now and after his injury at the horrible event that was Crown Jewel, it looked like it would never happen. That is not the case though. I don't know the in ring prowess of Batista, especially since he hasn't been in the ring since 2014. Triple H's last match was a tragic disaster. This has the making for a terrible match, hence why they made it No Holds Barred. Triple H has never defeated Batista so I think he'll finally get his win back, although it would make sense for him to finally hang up the boots and focus on his behind the scenes role. It would definitely be the shocker WWE needs for the show though. I'm still going with Triple H to win after the expected slegdgehammer shot followed by a Pedigree.
I can't believe I'm actually typing this but Daniel Bryan will defend the WWE Championship against Kofi Kingston at Wrestlemania. If I told you on April 1st, 2018 that Daniel Bryan would enter Wrestlemania 35 as WWE Champion, you probably could believe that. Now, if I said it was going to be a heel Daniel Bryan, you probably would be less likely to believe me. Now, if I said a heel Daniel Bryan would defend against a crazily over Kofi Kingston who's on his WM30 Daniel Bryan run, you'd probably think I'm crazy but that it what is happening. I love pro wrestling. This was not my idea for the WWE Title match at the beginning of the year but it's now the match I want to see most at Wrestlemania. Kofi's rise in popularity has been amazing to watch and we can only hope it leads to the moment we all want to see; Kofi Kingston with the WWE Championship. I mean, that's where this is all leading to right? I can't imagine them not pulling the trigger here. It's the Wrestlemania moment that this show needs. It's funny to think I'm rooting against Daniel Bryan, especially 5 years after his amazing WM30 win. Maybe it's now Kofi's turn at a big moment. Kofi winning would be a huge moment and he'd make a lot of history. He'd become a Triple Crown winner and the first black Grand Slam champion. I think it's time. We're all ready. Pull. The. Trigger. Plus the merchandise sales would be amazing for him. Kofi Kingston will defeat Daniel Bryan for the WWE Championship, becoming only the 51th man to hold the championship.
Now the only thing about this is what happens afterwards. Rumors are circulating that John Cena will compete at Wrestlemania and it's being kept secret. What if, and I'm sorry for putting this out there, Vince brings out someone for Kofi to defend against after finally winning the title? What if he brings out Cena to face him? Or Kevin Owens? Or Bray Wyatt? What if Kofi gets his moment but it's taken away from him. I'm nervous for the aftermath, especially with the whole Cena thing....
Royal Rumble winner Seth Rollins will finally get his shot come Wrestlemania as he will face Universal Champion Brock Lesnar. Rollins hasn't had a shot at a World Title in some time, dating back to 2016. That's a super long time without at least one shot. He's been in #1 contender matches but with Raw without a Universal Champion for much of the title's inception, it's been hard on him. This is Rollins' big opportunity to get back to the main event picture. I want to believe he'll do it but with Reigns back and McIntyre getting hot, Rollins might not be the chosen one anymore. Lesnar, if he won, probably wouldn't defend the title again until they return to Saudi Arabia, which is scheduled for June now. That's anoter 2 months without a main title on the show. There's also the case of having all the underdog faces win on one show. I already got Kofi winning, Reigns winning and you can guess my pick for the main event. All are underdogs. There has to be a heel winning and I think it will be here. I'm unfortunately going with Brock Lesnar to win here and continue his stranglehold of the Universal Title. This should go 15 minutes or less.
The main event of Wrestlemania will be Raw Women's Champion Ronda Rousey facing Smackdown Women's Champion Charlotte Flair and 2019 Royal Rumble winner Becky Lynch in a Winner Takes All Triple Threat match. Ronda being in the main event of Wrestlemania was talked about last year but it will come to fruition on Sunday. The ladies will do everything in their power to put on a show with the lights on bright. This match might receive the most time come Sunday and I'm expecting a war. If Charlotte doesn't do a Corkscrew Moonsault off of something, I'll be severely disappointed. Who wins the first ever women's main event of Wrestlemania? Ronda might be on her way out or taking a break so not her. Charlotte has won enough but I wouldn't put it past Vince to do a swerve and give it to her. Becky is the people's choice and had to scratch and claw her way to the main event. If Becky wins, she wins two titles in one night. I just hope they don't unify them. Fitting with the whole underdog theme of the night, Becky Lynch will make Ronda tap out to win both women's championships. Don't miss this barn burner.
Now, the ending of the show should see Sasha and Bayley come out to celebrate with the Becky, with Becky and Charlotte squashing things between them, only for Ronda to get upset. This would lead to the ladies tossing her from the ring, while the WWE Four Horsewomen hold their titles up and the iconic 4 hand gesture, signaling the end of the PPV. This would lead to Raw the next night, with Becky coming out with both titles, talking about how she took out Ronda. This would lead to Shayna Baszler making her main roster debut either with or without Jessamyn Duke and Marina Shafir. If they do it probably, they can start the build to the inevitable Four Horsewomen showdown for SummerSlam. ALL TITLES on the line mega main event. It would be hard to push it towards Mania 36 so SummerSlam is the next best thing.
And there you go! That's the weekend. I wonder who will interrupt Elias though? Taker? Cena? Honky Tonk Man? The options are endless! Anyway, enjoy the wrestling everyone!
It's time for Wrestlemania weekend! 5 straight nights of entertainment for WWE but we'll be only covering two of them; NXT Takeover New York (which should be Brooklyn V but whatever) and Wrestlemania 35. For only the 2nd time in history and first since Takeover Dallas in 2016, Takeover will be live on a Friday night, leaving wrestling fans the option of either watching the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony or the ROH/NJPW show G1 Supercard on Saturday. Let's do it!
5 amazing matches on the card as usual, but the talent and match ups definitely makes this the most stacked Takeover in history. Any one of the five could steal the show and with it being Mania weekend, I expect everyone to go all out.
The War Raiders will make their first defense of the NXT Tag Team Titles when they face the winners of the Dusty Rhodes Classic, Ricochet and Aleister Black. Black and Ricochet were paired together when they got their surprise call up/checking out of the main roster and they really meshed together nicely in a short amount of time together. While they are definitely a great put together tag team, this is likely the end of their respective NXT runs. Both guys were champions and had amazing Takeover matches in their careers so going out on the biggest Takeover of the year will be a big moment for them. This will be a fast paced, high flying match and if these teams open the show, good luck everyone else. The War Raiders will retain in an amazing contest.
Pete Dunne will defend his WWE United Kingdom Championship against Walter in a highly anticipated war. The UK Title hasn't been defended at an OG NXT Takeover since Dunne's title victory at Takeover Chicago in 2017 and you remember how amazing that match was in just 15 minutes. This will definitely be another instant classic. Dunne's reign with the title is closing in on the 700 day range, nearing two years of domination. Dunne's dominance as the longest reigning champion of the modern era will never been taken from him, as I just don't see someone else holding on to this title or any other for that long for quite some time. With all that being said, I think it might finally be Dunne's time. The man has carried the NXT UK brand on his back and has put on some amazing matches in his wake but Walter is a different beast unlike anyone he has faced yet. I don't know if a Dunne loss here means we'll see him on Raw or Smackdown, mainly due to the reason that NXT UK needs main event players and Dunne is that. Regardless, his time is up as champiom. We might just be in for another 2 year reign after all! Walter will defeat Pete Dunne to win the WWE United Kingdom Championship. Dunne won't go down without a fight.
The NXT North American Championship will be up for grabs when current champion Velveteen Dream defends the title against Matt Riddle. Dream is one of NXT's best success stories and one of the last remaining homegrown talents that they have. Every time he's in the ring with one of the top indie stars, he puts on a great performance but when it comes to those matches happening at Takeover, he loses. Wargames 2017, despite a career breakout performance against Aleister Black, he came up short. At Takeover Chicago II, despite a great match against Ricochet, he loss. Even at Wargames 2018, with the NXT Championship on the line against Tommaso Ciampa, he couldn't get the job done. Riddle fits into the same boat as Black, Ricochet and Ciampa, major indie signings that have forever changed the course of NXT. This is Riddle's first championship match at a Takeover event and Dream's first defense of the title. NA Champions haven't had the best of luck at Takeovers as every time it's been defended at a Takeover, the title has changed hands. Cole to Ricochet at Takeover Brooklyn IV and Ricochet to Johnny Gargano at Takeover Phoenix. Will the same fate hinder Dream? No, probably not. I don't see Dream, as over as he is, losing the title just yet. Riddle's NXT career is just starting so taking a first loss here won't hurt him. This will be a fun match for sure but I'm definitely going with Velveteen Dream to retain over Matt Riddle. Don't think it will be a clean victory either but a victory is a victory.
A HUGE Fatal Four Way will take place when NXT Women's Champion Shayna Baszler defends against Bianca Belair, Kairi Sane and Io Shirai. Baszler has defeated Sane and Belair in previous Takeovers and Shirai has pinned Baszler in a 6 women's tag leading up to the show. I love Fatal Four Way matches but as previous Takeovers have shown, they can be given little time. Even though the Fatal Four between Sasha Banks, Becky Lynch, Charlotte and Bayley was a thing of beauty, it was only 12 minutes. The Fatal Four between Asuka, Nikki Cross, Billie Kay and Peyton Royce from Takeover San Antonio was close to 10 minutes, as was the match between Ember Moon, Kairi Sane, Peyton Royce and Nikki Cross a few months later. I realize that having a 15 minute match doesn't necessarily make it bad (Dunne/Bate Takeover Chicago), but I really hope they give these ladies time to show the world what they can do. Baszler has to be called up soon, especially if Ronda may be taking a break or leaving after Wrestlemania. The main roster will need a vicious heel to replace her. I'll get into the Mania main event later but Shayna losing the title here is helpful to what I think will take place in the coming days. Question is, who is the one to win it here? Kairi and Io need to stay together to be a formidable challenge for Sasha and Bayley. Here's a prediction for you; I think Boss N Hug will defend against The Sky Pirates at Takeover San Jose in June. It's two months away I know but there's only one PPV after Mania before the next Takeover so it could definitely work so by process of elimination, Bianca Belair is the only one who I think will walk out as champion. Sure, they could give it Shirai and build towards the inevitable Shirai/Sane match up, but that type of match should be saved for next year's Mania Takeover show don't you think? Belair could win here, drop it to Sane or Shirai in Toronto in August then they can do Sane/Shirai at Takeover Tampa next year. Belair winning would be good for the division and she would have a great division of challengers. The Sky Pirates obviously but also Candice LeRae, who they've apparently forgotten about, Kacy Catanzaro, who I think could be the next big face of the division for them, Lacey Lane, another athletic talent who I think could be a face of women's wrestling, Rhea Ripley, someone who could match Belair's power and has experience as a champion, Mia Yim, Deonna Purazzo, the list goes on. I'm going with Bianca Belair to finally win the NXT Women's Championship. She can't be denied for much longer.
The main event of NXT Takeover New York is one they had to put together quickly. The scheduled main event was to see reigning NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa defend against Johnny Gargano in a match that would have been their fourth main event together but one that would have been the blow off match for a feud brewing for the better part of three years. It was an end to the most ambitious and greatest storyline in NXT history. Fate interfered and Ciampa needed neck surgery and had to vacate the title so we'll have to wait a little longer for their final match. While Triple H and the team had to pull out a quick main event for the show, it's one that promises to be something special if done right. Johnny Gargano will still get a shot at becoming champion but now it's against another of NXT's top stars in Adam Cole (Bay Bay). It will be a 2/3 Falls match, a match type that has become the signature match type of NXT.
Ciampa's injury has put a new spin on plans. While Adam Cole and the Undisputed Era looked like they were on their way out of NXT, they may have found their way back in. Cole stated that each member would be covered in gold in 2019 and this may be the way they start it. I've been a huge Gargano supporter since the DIY days and I was there last year when he put on that 5 star performance against Andrade in Philadelphia. Gargano winning the title would make things come full circle. Regardless of who you back in this match, this will be a barn burner and one that looks to set the mood for the entire wrestling weekend. I'm cool with either guy winning but I'm trying to think who would be next in line for a shot at the title? I've already said Ricochet and Black are on their way out and they're both guys who've had matches with both Gargano and Cole at Takeovers past. You still have Keith Lee, Matt Riddle and Dominik Dijakovic as guys who can be main event players to come. Rumored signings Shane Strickland and/or Kushida could appear in the crowd during Takeover, leading them to be interjected in the mix. NXT has a bright future. It's hard to pick just one but I'm going to go with Johnny Gargano to finally win the NXT Championship, becoming NXT's first Triple Crown winner. In typical Gargano fashion, he'll lose the first fall and win two straight. You know, underdog stuff. It's the theme of the weekend.
That's Takeover. I'm excited! Now, let's get to Wrestlemania!
16 matches booked for the show right now, 10 being singles matches. which is strange for their biggest show of the year. As with all the big shows now, there is a 2 hour pre show and it looks like there will be three matches on it and it's the same ones as last year; a Cruiserweight Title match and both the Andre the Giant Memorial and Women's battle royals. That means 13 matches will make the main show. Let's break all 15 down. Jesus...
205 Live's best success story Buddy Murphy will defend the championship against Tony Nese. Now, I don't really know the story here as I don't watch 205 Live but I do know that anytime Murphy gets a chance on a PPV, he shines. He's one of those guys who I hope gets put on the main roster after his run in 205 is over. Nese has the look of a superstar, His signature 8 pack is god like and I've always been high on him since his appearance in the Cruiserweight Classic back in 2016. Murphy is nearing a record reign with the title and if he can get past Nese, he would most definitely pass Neville's 197 day reign with the title and based on WWE trying to replace records from stars who've wronged them, I think that's the goal. That being said, this will be a great match but Murphy will be retaining that title.
I hate to say this but this year's Wrestlemania Women's Battle Royal is pointless. There are no compelling rivalries with the women who are involved and it's so obviously done to get them all on the show. That being said, as of this typing, there are only 13 women confirmed for the match. Last year, there were 20 ladies involved so I fully expect some of the NXT ladies to get the call here as they did last year. 2018 saw Kavita Devi, Kairi Sane, Peyton Royce, Bianca Belair, Tanyara Conti, and Dakota Kai enter the fray. Kairi or Bianca might be NXT Women's Champion but I'll say whoever doesn't win the Fatal Four Way at Takeover will be in the match excluding Shayna. So if Belair wins like I predicted, expect to see Kairi and Io. Kacy Catanzaro is a must, especially after her performance in the Royal Rumble. I could see either Aliyah or Vanessa Bourne getting the nod as well as Deonna Purrazzo (born in Jersey, literally a half hour away from MetLife Stadium), Mia Yim or even Toni Storm. And of course, the winner who hasn't been announced, Lacey Evans. Yeah, that's who I'm going with to win. Regardless of whoever they get from NXT, it won't matter as the Southern Sassy Belle will get the win in Metlife. She'll probably eliminate Asuka last. Mandy Rose is my back up pick.
I'm a bit surprised the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal isn't featured on the main card only due to the celebrity involvement. I guess this will be the match that airs on USA Network because, you know, NBC. 29 stars confirmed so I'm expecting one more star to be added to make it an even 30 like last year. Your guess on that one is as good as mine (Bray Wyatt please but probably Kevin Owens). Anyway, this match is centered around Colin Jost and Michael Che of Saturday Night Live fame and fallen from grace Braun Strowman. I don't think either of those three will win the match but most of it will definitely center around them. There's really no one in the match that stand to Strowman's power, except maybe Otis and Tucker so maybe they'll team up and get him out. I'm going with a dark horse pick in Andrade to win it all. Andrade will need the momentum to push him forward on Smackdown and this is perfect to build momentum upon. If rumors are true that he's dating Charlotte, then I could see 2019 being a very good year for the Tranquilo One. Let's go Andrade!
OK, now we've come to the main card and it's time for the opening match, which is just as important at the main event. The Intercontinental Championship Triple Threat was a barn burner start last year but I don't think this year's IC Title match can hold a candle to that so that will be saved for later. If I had to pick, it's either between The Miz VS Shane McMahon or Drew McIntyre VS Roman Reigns.
The Miz will face heel Shane McMahon in a Falls Count Anywhere match. Great job by whoever put the stip on. For two reasons. One, a heated feud like this needs a stipulation where both men can go all out (I'm looking at you HHH/Orton and HHH/Reigns from Mania 25 and 32 respectively). Two, we'll probably get to see Shane jump off of something, like maybe the Wrestlemania set itself. With the stipulation, I expect a great match between the two and one that will help flesh out babyface Miz going forward. Miz needs the victory here more than anything, especially after coming up short at the past FIVE Wrestlemanias. He lost in both ATGMBRs at 30 and 31, lost in the IC Title Ladder match at 32, lost to Cena and Nikki at 33 and of course, lost the IC Title at 34. He hasn't won at Mania since it was at MetLife in 2013. The Miz needs the win more than Shane. Shane had a successful win outing last year with Bryan so it's owed to him. I'm going with The Miz to win big here.
So....The Revival will defend their Raw Tag Team Titles at Wrestlemania. The team they're facing? Uh...Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder. Is this Wrestlemania or Backlash? I'm not sure who thought about this one but the only reason I can see this being a WM worthy match is if they finally give Hawkins a win here. I think the crowd would be behind the win as well. While it's a random Mania match, it could provide an underdog win, which seems to be the overall theme of Wrestlemania 35. I'm going with Zack Ryder and Curt Hawkins to win the Raw Tag Team Championship.
The Usos made it on the card! They will defend their Smackdown Tag Team Titles against Ricochet and Aleister Black, Rusev and Shinsuke Nakamura and The Bar. No New Day, no Good Brothers, no Sanity or most importantly, no Hardys. So, let me get this straight, they bring The Hardys back together on a random Smackdown and then they DON'T do the dream tag team match between The Hardys and The Usos? That's dropping the ball. Anyway, this will be a very fun match, given 10-15 minutes. Kudos to Aleister Black and Ricochet who will be making history by challenging for 3 out of the 4 male tag team championships in WWE in a week's time. They've already lost their shot against The Revival and I have them booked to lose against The War Raiders. Will they finally win tag gold on their third attempt? Probably not. I still think New Day will win the titles sooner rather than later so no reason to do a title change here and then to New Day. I'd love if Nakamura and Rusev won the titles though but I'm picking The Usos to retain in this makeshift match.
Demon Balor will make his grand debut at Wrestlemania and he will challenge Bobby Lashley for the Intercontinental Championship. I don't really need to go in depth with this one right? Demon Balor is used rarely and as a way to make Balor larger than life. With a character like that, he's not losing anytime soon with the paint on. Demon Balor will win the Intercontinental Championship. It won't be a long affair.
Samoa Joe will (maybe) defend his United States Championship against Rey Mysterio. I put maybe because Mysterio hurt his ankle during his Raw match with Baron Corbin. His status is now up in the air. I'm hoping the match will happen and I'm also hoping that Rey will be replaced, mainly because John Cena is still without a match for this show. Joe/Cena was one of the matches I just knew that was going to happen at Mania. Well, even if Mysterio is good to go, this will still be a fun match. If Mysterio wins, he'll be a Grand Slam Champion, which is a great accomplishment to achieve at Mania. I like Joe's run as champ and I hope it continues so he can run into Kevin Owens and we finally get a feud between those two. Mysterio's high flying antics won't be enough and he'll go to sleep. Samoa Joe retains.
Kurt Angle will wrestle his final mattch in WWE against Baron Corbin. This is funny to me. I'm all for Corbin getting the rub against Angle in his final match. You know, pushing future stars and what not. The backlash for the match has been severe, mainly because they had such a great opportunity to have John Cena be Angle's last opponent, especially when he announced his last opponent in Chicago, in the same arena Cena debuted against Angle. Nope, we're getting Angle/Corbin. The crowd will eat this alive. I'm looking forward to that and what chants we'll be getting. I hope Angle wins and taps Corbin out, go out on his own merit. I'm not looking forward to the match but the crowd should make this fun.
The Women's Tag Team Titles will make their debut at Wrestlemania when Sasha Banks and Bayley defend their titles against Nia Jax and Tamina, Beth Phoenix and Natalya, and The IIconics Billie Kay and Peyton Royce. Beth Phoenix returning to the ring was definitely a shocker, mainly because I know I was expecting Trish and Lita coming back instead. I'll take it though. Beth looked fantastic in the ring on Monday. She could come back full time if she wanted. Anyway, her return is solely to put the titles over with her friend Natalya. I hope she does stick around afterwards though. Sasha and Bayley retaining is best for the end of the show so that's the route I'm going with, although I would not be upset if Kay and Royce picked up the win.
In one of the biggest matches of this year's Wrestlemania, Randy Orton will face AJ Styles. WWE has done a great job of having these two stay away from each other for most of their careers in WWE. Yes, they had a match two years ago on the road to Wrestlemania but nothing since. This might be the best pure wrestling match at this year's show. Orton always performs best when he has a compelling feud or someone that can work with him ala John Cena so this will be fun. They've already done the Forearm into RKO spot on Smackdown so they have to come up with something else. I'm looking forward to whatever it is. AJ Styles could use the win so I'm picking him.
The Big Dog will be making his singles return to PPV from leukemia when he faces Drew McIntyre. Roman will not main event Wrestlemania this year. Reigns has spent many of his time at past Wrestlemanias in matches that were meant to push him to the top of the card. He now finds himself in the opposite role as the one doing the pushing. This is McIntyre's first Wrestlemania since his return to WWE and he's going against a four time Wrestlemania main eventer. This is one of those crossroads matches. I can see why either guy could win. Reigns is coming back from cancer and it's his first big singles match back. He NEEDS the win. McIntyre has destroyed The Shield and Reigns is the last one standing. He's a big star and a win against the biggest star in the company is a major statement at the Grandest Stage of them all. I'm torn. My heart says McIntyre but my brain says Reigns. This will be a hard hitting match for sure. I'm going with my brain. Roman Reigns will win in his return to singles competition. Darn it.
It's a match 14 years in the making. Triple H will face Batista in a No Holds Barred match and if Triple H loses, his in ring career will be over. Batista has been wanting a match with HHH for awhile now and after his injury at the horrible event that was Crown Jewel, it looked like it would never happen. That is not the case though. I don't know the in ring prowess of Batista, especially since he hasn't been in the ring since 2014. Triple H's last match was a tragic disaster. This has the making for a terrible match, hence why they made it No Holds Barred. Triple H has never defeated Batista so I think he'll finally get his win back, although it would make sense for him to finally hang up the boots and focus on his behind the scenes role. It would definitely be the shocker WWE needs for the show though. I'm still going with Triple H to win after the expected slegdgehammer shot followed by a Pedigree.
I can't believe I'm actually typing this but Daniel Bryan will defend the WWE Championship against Kofi Kingston at Wrestlemania. If I told you on April 1st, 2018 that Daniel Bryan would enter Wrestlemania 35 as WWE Champion, you probably could believe that. Now, if I said it was going to be a heel Daniel Bryan, you probably would be less likely to believe me. Now, if I said a heel Daniel Bryan would defend against a crazily over Kofi Kingston who's on his WM30 Daniel Bryan run, you'd probably think I'm crazy but that it what is happening. I love pro wrestling. This was not my idea for the WWE Title match at the beginning of the year but it's now the match I want to see most at Wrestlemania. Kofi's rise in popularity has been amazing to watch and we can only hope it leads to the moment we all want to see; Kofi Kingston with the WWE Championship. I mean, that's where this is all leading to right? I can't imagine them not pulling the trigger here. It's the Wrestlemania moment that this show needs. It's funny to think I'm rooting against Daniel Bryan, especially 5 years after his amazing WM30 win. Maybe it's now Kofi's turn at a big moment. Kofi winning would be a huge moment and he'd make a lot of history. He'd become a Triple Crown winner and the first black Grand Slam champion. I think it's time. We're all ready. Pull. The. Trigger. Plus the merchandise sales would be amazing for him. Kofi Kingston will defeat Daniel Bryan for the WWE Championship, becoming only the 51th man to hold the championship.
Now the only thing about this is what happens afterwards. Rumors are circulating that John Cena will compete at Wrestlemania and it's being kept secret. What if, and I'm sorry for putting this out there, Vince brings out someone for Kofi to defend against after finally winning the title? What if he brings out Cena to face him? Or Kevin Owens? Or Bray Wyatt? What if Kofi gets his moment but it's taken away from him. I'm nervous for the aftermath, especially with the whole Cena thing....
Royal Rumble winner Seth Rollins will finally get his shot come Wrestlemania as he will face Universal Champion Brock Lesnar. Rollins hasn't had a shot at a World Title in some time, dating back to 2016. That's a super long time without at least one shot. He's been in #1 contender matches but with Raw without a Universal Champion for much of the title's inception, it's been hard on him. This is Rollins' big opportunity to get back to the main event picture. I want to believe he'll do it but with Reigns back and McIntyre getting hot, Rollins might not be the chosen one anymore. Lesnar, if he won, probably wouldn't defend the title again until they return to Saudi Arabia, which is scheduled for June now. That's anoter 2 months without a main title on the show. There's also the case of having all the underdog faces win on one show. I already got Kofi winning, Reigns winning and you can guess my pick for the main event. All are underdogs. There has to be a heel winning and I think it will be here. I'm unfortunately going with Brock Lesnar to win here and continue his stranglehold of the Universal Title. This should go 15 minutes or less.
The main event of Wrestlemania will be Raw Women's Champion Ronda Rousey facing Smackdown Women's Champion Charlotte Flair and 2019 Royal Rumble winner Becky Lynch in a Winner Takes All Triple Threat match. Ronda being in the main event of Wrestlemania was talked about last year but it will come to fruition on Sunday. The ladies will do everything in their power to put on a show with the lights on bright. This match might receive the most time come Sunday and I'm expecting a war. If Charlotte doesn't do a Corkscrew Moonsault off of something, I'll be severely disappointed. Who wins the first ever women's main event of Wrestlemania? Ronda might be on her way out or taking a break so not her. Charlotte has won enough but I wouldn't put it past Vince to do a swerve and give it to her. Becky is the people's choice and had to scratch and claw her way to the main event. If Becky wins, she wins two titles in one night. I just hope they don't unify them. Fitting with the whole underdog theme of the night, Becky Lynch will make Ronda tap out to win both women's championships. Don't miss this barn burner.
Now, the ending of the show should see Sasha and Bayley come out to celebrate with the Becky, with Becky and Charlotte squashing things between them, only for Ronda to get upset. This would lead to the ladies tossing her from the ring, while the WWE Four Horsewomen hold their titles up and the iconic 4 hand gesture, signaling the end of the PPV. This would lead to Raw the next night, with Becky coming out with both titles, talking about how she took out Ronda. This would lead to Shayna Baszler making her main roster debut either with or without Jessamyn Duke and Marina Shafir. If they do it probably, they can start the build to the inevitable Four Horsewomen showdown for SummerSlam. ALL TITLES on the line mega main event. It would be hard to push it towards Mania 36 so SummerSlam is the next best thing.
And there you go! That's the weekend. I wonder who will interrupt Elias though? Taker? Cena? Honky Tonk Man? The options are endless! Anyway, enjoy the wrestling everyone!
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