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!

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.

#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.

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. 

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!