As we approach Wrestlemania Weekend, here is my fantasy-booked version of the show, presented in start-to-finish order. I've got 12 matches on the main card (as of right now Wrestlemania officially has 13 matches on the main card, and the two Battle Royals on the pre-show), which allows a little bit more time per match, although this, like the real version, would still be a very long show.
Pre-Show
Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal
With 29 wrestlers in the ring, Rob Gronkowski is announced as the final entrant. Gronk teams up with Mojo Rawley for several eliminations early on before Rawley tosses him with a cheap shot. Rawley goes on to come close to becoming a two-time winner, before Mustafa Ali eliminates him for the win.
Winner: Mustafa Ali
Wrestlemania Women's Battle Royal
In my scenario, Bianca Belaire is coming off a close loss in a one-on-one rematch with Shayna Baszler at Takeover. Here, she is victorious in what will end up being her main roster debut.
Winner: Bianca Belaire
Both Battle Royal winners will receive title shots ate Backlash.
Wrestlemania
The Shield vs. Evolution
Yes, we have seen this match before, but instead of blowing off the last ride of the Shield at Fastlane, have the Reigns vs. McIntyre match at Fastlane, and reunite the Shield here. This also gets Batista and Triple H on the show while letting Randy Orton do the heavy lifting for his side. Tension can be teased between Batista and Triple H, as well as between Ambrose and Rollins. Done right, this could be an awesomely hot opening contest.
Winner: The Shield
Charlotte Flair vs. Asuka (Smackdown Womens Championship)
In the exact same slot as last year, this time with the Queen as the challenger (no, Asuka does not drop the title on a random episode of Smackdown). Asuka redeems last year's defeat. I know there is often a lot of grumbling about 50/50 booking, but this is a case where it makes sense, and it's absolutely necessary to establish that Asuka is on the same level as Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair, especially with Ronda Rousey departing.
Winner: Asuka
AJ Styles vs. Andrade Cien Almas
Just a straight-up singles match between the up-and-coming Andrade and the all-time-great Styles. Andrade picks up a career-defining win here.
Winner: Andrade Cien Almas
The Usos vs. The Revival vs. New Day vs. The Bar vs Heavy Machinery vs. Rood & Gable (Double Tag Team Ladder Match for the Raw and Smackdown Tag Team Championships)
Okay, so I have no idea if this would be amazing or a giant mess, but I'm willing to give it a try here. Two sets of titles are hoisted over the ring in SEPARATE locations. First team to get a set of titles wins those titles, but the match continues. The same team could win both titles, or they could go to separate teams. Match ends when both titles are claimed. Any team that wins a title that is not of their own brand is automatically reassigned to that brand in the Superstar Shakeup.
Winners: The Usos become the new Raw Tag Team Champions. Heavy Machinery become the new Smackdown Tag Team Champions.
Drew McIntyre vs. Bobby Lashley (Intercontinental Championship)
I know that heel vs. heel can be a bit of a turn-off, but McIntyre would essentially be wrestling as a babyface here, while Lio Rush makes sure that Lashley gets plenty of heat from the crowd.
Winner: Drew McIntyre becomes the new Intercontinental Champion
Buddy Murphy vs. Tyler Bate (Cruiserweight Championship)
Set up is the same: Single elimination tournament on 205 Live. I like Bate here better than Neese because Neese something of a known commodity. This also gives some exposure to NXT UK.
Winner: Buddy Murphy
Kurt Angle vs. John Cena
Kurt Angle's retirement match, the match the fans wanted to see. Angle gets the feel-good win on a rollup.
Winner: Kurt Angle
Samoa Joe vs. The Miz (United States Championship)
Miz has more than earned the chance to compete for a title at Wrestlemania in the babyface role here. He still gets put to sleep by the Coquina Clutch.
Winner: Samoa Joe
Sasha Banks and Bayley vs. Kairi Sane and Io Shirai (WWE Womens Tag Team Championships)
Similar setup to the Cruiserweight Title match, the challengers are the winners of a cross-brand tournament. I think that the Iiconics and the Riott Squad deserve title runs eventually, but Sasha and Bayley deserve a long and memorable initial run as champions, so they should prevail here, and the Sky Pirates should put on an incredible match with the champs.
Winners: Sasha Banks and Bayley
Daniel Bryan vs. Kofi Kingston (WWE Championship)
I really can't complain about the buildup WWE has done for this one, but the way I'd do it differently is to have Kofi win the Royal Rumble match. From there, the storyline could pretty much play out the same way, with Vince McMahon throwing additional obstacles in his path because he considers Kofi a "B+ player". I'm going with a lot of feel-good endings for these top matches, but I'm okay with that. Kofi with the much-deserved win here.
Winner: Kofi Kingston becomes the new WWE Champion.
Brock Lesnar vs. Finn Balor (WWE Universal Championship)
Balor gets his rematch from the Royal Rumble show here, and goes full Demon, including an epic entrance. If I was going to go with a heel win in any of the top matches, this would be the place to do it, and Heyman could brag about the Beast Slaying the Demon. However, the fact is that Lesnar really has been champion long enough, and the reign may as well come to an end at Wrestlemania.
Winner: Finn Balor becomes the new WWE Universal Champion
Ronda Rousey vs. Becky Lynch (WWE Raw Womens Championship)
I just feel that a one-on-one match is a better finale to the show than a triple threat, especially when Charlotte Flair has an obvious rival for a match earlier on the card.
Winner: Becky Lynch becomes the new WWE Raw Womens Champion
Pre-Show
Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal
With 29 wrestlers in the ring, Rob Gronkowski is announced as the final entrant. Gronk teams up with Mojo Rawley for several eliminations early on before Rawley tosses him with a cheap shot. Rawley goes on to come close to becoming a two-time winner, before Mustafa Ali eliminates him for the win.
Winner: Mustafa Ali
Wrestlemania Women's Battle Royal
In my scenario, Bianca Belaire is coming off a close loss in a one-on-one rematch with Shayna Baszler at Takeover. Here, she is victorious in what will end up being her main roster debut.
Winner: Bianca Belaire
Both Battle Royal winners will receive title shots ate Backlash.
Wrestlemania
The Shield vs. Evolution
Yes, we have seen this match before, but instead of blowing off the last ride of the Shield at Fastlane, have the Reigns vs. McIntyre match at Fastlane, and reunite the Shield here. This also gets Batista and Triple H on the show while letting Randy Orton do the heavy lifting for his side. Tension can be teased between Batista and Triple H, as well as between Ambrose and Rollins. Done right, this could be an awesomely hot opening contest.
Winner: The Shield
Charlotte Flair vs. Asuka (Smackdown Womens Championship)
In the exact same slot as last year, this time with the Queen as the challenger (no, Asuka does not drop the title on a random episode of Smackdown). Asuka redeems last year's defeat. I know there is often a lot of grumbling about 50/50 booking, but this is a case where it makes sense, and it's absolutely necessary to establish that Asuka is on the same level as Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair, especially with Ronda Rousey departing.
Winner: Asuka
AJ Styles vs. Andrade Cien Almas
Just a straight-up singles match between the up-and-coming Andrade and the all-time-great Styles. Andrade picks up a career-defining win here.
Winner: Andrade Cien Almas
The Usos vs. The Revival vs. New Day vs. The Bar vs Heavy Machinery vs. Rood & Gable (Double Tag Team Ladder Match for the Raw and Smackdown Tag Team Championships)
Okay, so I have no idea if this would be amazing or a giant mess, but I'm willing to give it a try here. Two sets of titles are hoisted over the ring in SEPARATE locations. First team to get a set of titles wins those titles, but the match continues. The same team could win both titles, or they could go to separate teams. Match ends when both titles are claimed. Any team that wins a title that is not of their own brand is automatically reassigned to that brand in the Superstar Shakeup.
Winners: The Usos become the new Raw Tag Team Champions. Heavy Machinery become the new Smackdown Tag Team Champions.
Drew McIntyre vs. Bobby Lashley (Intercontinental Championship)
I know that heel vs. heel can be a bit of a turn-off, but McIntyre would essentially be wrestling as a babyface here, while Lio Rush makes sure that Lashley gets plenty of heat from the crowd.
Winner: Drew McIntyre becomes the new Intercontinental Champion
Buddy Murphy vs. Tyler Bate (Cruiserweight Championship)
Set up is the same: Single elimination tournament on 205 Live. I like Bate here better than Neese because Neese something of a known commodity. This also gives some exposure to NXT UK.
Winner: Buddy Murphy
Kurt Angle vs. John Cena
Kurt Angle's retirement match, the match the fans wanted to see. Angle gets the feel-good win on a rollup.
Winner: Kurt Angle
Samoa Joe vs. The Miz (United States Championship)
Miz has more than earned the chance to compete for a title at Wrestlemania in the babyface role here. He still gets put to sleep by the Coquina Clutch.
Winner: Samoa Joe
Sasha Banks and Bayley vs. Kairi Sane and Io Shirai (WWE Womens Tag Team Championships)
Similar setup to the Cruiserweight Title match, the challengers are the winners of a cross-brand tournament. I think that the Iiconics and the Riott Squad deserve title runs eventually, but Sasha and Bayley deserve a long and memorable initial run as champions, so they should prevail here, and the Sky Pirates should put on an incredible match with the champs.
Winners: Sasha Banks and Bayley
Daniel Bryan vs. Kofi Kingston (WWE Championship)
I really can't complain about the buildup WWE has done for this one, but the way I'd do it differently is to have Kofi win the Royal Rumble match. From there, the storyline could pretty much play out the same way, with Vince McMahon throwing additional obstacles in his path because he considers Kofi a "B+ player". I'm going with a lot of feel-good endings for these top matches, but I'm okay with that. Kofi with the much-deserved win here.
Winner: Kofi Kingston becomes the new WWE Champion.
Brock Lesnar vs. Finn Balor (WWE Universal Championship)
Balor gets his rematch from the Royal Rumble show here, and goes full Demon, including an epic entrance. If I was going to go with a heel win in any of the top matches, this would be the place to do it, and Heyman could brag about the Beast Slaying the Demon. However, the fact is that Lesnar really has been champion long enough, and the reign may as well come to an end at Wrestlemania.
Winner: Finn Balor becomes the new WWE Universal Champion
Ronda Rousey vs. Becky Lynch (WWE Raw Womens Championship)
I just feel that a one-on-one match is a better finale to the show than a triple threat, especially when Charlotte Flair has an obvious rival for a match earlier on the card.
Winner: Becky Lynch becomes the new WWE Raw Womens Champion
No comments:
Post a Comment