Welcome to the WrestleMania Season Roundup! Over the next four weeks, I’m going to take a look around the landscape of the WWE and – you guessed it – round up all the news and updates as to how the show is shaping up. LFG.
WRESTLEMANIA SEASON ROUNDUP: MARCH 26, 2019
- It’s official – Charlotte Flair vs. Becky Lynch vs. Ronda Rousey will be the main event of WrestleMania 35. Pretty crazy to see, but well-deserved.
- I’m usually a pretty optimistic WWE guy – in fact, I typically can’t stand negativity. That said, this week’s roundup is probably going to feel pretty negative. Consider this me giving you the opportunity to dip out if you are enjoying this WrestleMania season and don’t want to read some criticism.
- Raw felt pretty uneventful to me – we had some ‘Mania matches that were made official (see below). Had a pretty good match with Drew McIntyre and Dean Ambrose. But, all in all, it was kind of a snoozefest of promo after promo. Last week, I wondered if it even felt like WrestleMania season at all. This week, I’m doubling down. Let’s just get to the go-home shows at this point.
- Kurt Angle just looks completely gassed after all of these farewell tour matches. I’m telling you guys – he just needs to hit that Angle Slam, put Baron Corbin in the ankle lock, and get the hell out of dodge at ‘Mania. Just let him parade around the ring a bit and call it a night.
- Charlotte Flair and Asuka had one hell of a match on SmackDown that saw Flair capture the SmackDown Women’s Championship. It just feels like the WWE can’t get out of its own way with this triple threat – things have gotten complicated, and now Asuka is out of a title match at ‘Mania.
- Another good gauntlet match that saw Big E and Xavier Woods defeat a bunch of other tag teams and earn a title shot for Kofi Kingston at WrestleMania. The highlight of the match, to me, was The Usos coming out and forfeiting out of respect for Kofi. I imagine Vince McMahon will exact revenge by having them wrestle 18 tag teams at WrestleMania for their titles. Nonetheless, it’s official – Vince closes the show by acknowledging that Kofi WILL get his shot at the WWE Championship and Daniel Bryan.
- Other than that, and a fun little promo from The Miz and Shane McMahon, Smackdown largely felt like a snoozefest, too. WWE, wut is you doin?
- Raw’s ratings have actually been decreasing week over week. Probably not a good sign, but we’ve talked about it before – there’s just not a whole lot of rich story and interesting build going on this year.
- I actually like Colin Jost and Michael Che entering the Andre. It’s a rare glimpse of positivity in this week’s column, but I found their promo on Monday pretty refreshing and think, as far as celebrity involvement goes, the WWE could’ve done a lot worse. They probably realize the fans don’t want them there, and both guys are playing to that perfectly. Count me in on this one.
- I love that The Hart Foundation is going into the Hall of Fame. In case I haven’t made it clear, I think they are the best tag team of all time.
- I would’ve bought that maybe Conor McGregor would show up at WrestleMania 35, given he’s been rumored to be interested in coming to WWE for a while now. Buuuuuuut, then that whole sexual assault investigation….
- The WWE has two more shows to tie everything up – the only outstanding items are what the hell they’re going to do with both brand’s Tag Team Championships, the women’s battle royal, and whether or not we’re actually going to see John Cena. I’m ready to just sit down and hammer out this show.
UPDATED OFFICIAL CARD
- Universal Championship: Brock Lesnar vs. Seth Rollins
- Raw Women’s Championship: Charlotte Flair vs. Becky Lynch vs. Ronda Rousey
- Cruiserweight Championship: Buddy Murphy vs. Tony Nese
- No Holds Barred, Triple H’s career on the line: Triple H vs. Batista
- Randy Orton vs. A.J. Styles
- Falls Count Anywhere: Shane McMahon vs. The Miz
- Kurt Angle vs. Baron Corbin (Angle’s retirement match)
- Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal
- A musical performance by Elias
- United States Championship: Samoa Joe vs. Rey Mysterio
- Intercontinental Championship: Bobby Lashley vs. Finn Balor
- Drew McIntyre vs. Roman Reigns
- WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship: Bayley and Sasha Banks vs. Beth Phoenix and Natalya vs. Tamina and Nia Jax vs. The IIconics
- WWE Championship: Daniel Bryan vs. Kofi Kingston
Rumored: John Cena vs. R-Truth, Women’s Battle Royal, The Usos vs. The Hardy Boyz, multi-team Raw Tag Team Championship match
MORE WRESTLEMANIA COVERAGE
If The First Wrestlemania Happened In 2019…
I’m All For A Big Batista Match At WrestleMania 35
Matches I Do and Don’t Want to See at WrestleMania 35
People Were Mad About Charlotte Being Added to ‘Mania Main Event
Podcast: The Greatest WrestleMania Main Event Of All Time
Re-grading WrestleMania 21
The SoBros Fantasy Wrestlemania Challenge Is BACK For 2019!
The Top 35 WrestleMania Matches In History
Who Should Get The NXT Call-Ups After Wrestlemania 35?
Catch ya next week (ONE MORE TIME this WrestleMania season), wrasslin’ fans.
Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD and #BeBetter. “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Alabama Crimson Tide football, the WWE, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley
Check out the SoBros Shop. Subscribe to our Patreon. Give us money for no reason. Like us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter @SoBrosNetwork. Listen on SoundCloud. Watch on YouTube.
