The Road to Wrestlemania

This is going quite well for Rusev. Mainstream responses that he can use to play off with his Bulgarian wit.

I can still see him getting added to the IC match somehow. Miz could be primed to say he's the only celebrity worth a damn at WrestleMania.

Mark Henry is the latest rumoured additoin to the HoF this year.

Just searched WWE HOF for any more news, and there's a story about Batista turning it down because he has more to give. I know he wants to have a proper run in WWE with house shows if he can, as that's the bit he really enjoys, as well as the storytelling. But it hit me... he's a celebrity too. That would be a cool moment for Rusev, and a big name return wrapped up in one. Just a thought. Anyone else think that would be a good way to go? Rusev would lose and that would annoy people, but i doubt people would mind if they got to have a full blown rivalry.

I think I'd go with that next year. Get Dave back for the Rumble or something, give him a three month run to Mania, and then have him stick his career on the line against a Rusev - I've got a feeling would be happy to let a midcarder get the massive rub of retiring him, given the amount he got pinned or tapped out the last time he was wrestling.

Bring him in as a conceited heel too, don't bother trying to make him a good guy. Then the HoF after that.

I ead online that batista turns down HOF place every year because he thinks his wrestling career isn't over and once to come back for a few more years and do it all house shows and tv he don't want to do a lesnar and appear here and there which is pretty cool but hes bit old now to do that surly

The title made me laugh more than the footage. But it's definitely Mania Season now!

In recent events...

Rusev is in the US title match, making a fatal four way (still think that one is on the pre-show).

Shane & Bryan vs Zayn & KO confirmed. If KO and Zayn win, they're rehired.

The SD tag title match, Usos vs New Day vs Bludgeon Brothers also official. I reckon that needs a gimmick. TLC would be awesome and definitely get the Usos on the main card.

Broken Matt is in the Andre Battle Royal.

could they possible give rusev the title on rusev day haha

Is anyone looking forward to the HOF cermoney this year for me apart from the Dudley boyz im not fussed at all.

I do also want to see how WWE put JJ across considering Vince and HHH hated him for so long. But apart from that I don't really care. I normally look forward to a few speeches but not this year.

Depends who is inducting anyone I reckon. I'm not a Goldberg guy, but Heyman will give a good speech  

Edge and Christian are inducting the Dudley Boyz... So I actually do expect there will be a TLC stipulation for the current guys in honour of that, Grecian. Are they are the first of the ECW crew in too?

JJ I'm interested in for the acknowledgement that he started his own company and gave so many guys a legit platform to succeed despite being an ass hat. And for being as hateable as the kayfabe Vince lol.

I'm drawing blanks on who else is going in. Ivory. Reunite Right to Censor and I'm up for watching that induction. Have them try and stop the HOF ceremony. Writes itself haha



For WM itself I'd actually prefer there being surprise replacements for the BB's where all 5 of the rival teamates took them out next week. Keep them back for post WM. Either that, or the Uso's vs New Day alone and it would be a bigger draw than the 3 way for the tag match, even though Harper is fantastic. They are so gimmicky, and the foundation of the Uso's tag division was the real heat feeling, the ultra violent matches and aggressive promos. Young Bucks would be alright though lol.


And Bosch. Every day is Rusev Day. So yes.

The only interest I have in the HoF this year is if Mark Henry wears that pink jacket he wore when he did the fake retirement and swerve on Cena...

Gable & Benjamin have to be in a TLC or ladder match, I don't mind Harper and Rowan being in it. Two big lads chucking everyone else around is always worth watching. Plus Harper had a great ladder match with Ziggler a few years back...

I'm intrigued by who Strowman's partner is. A few decent possibilities: Wyatt? Ellsworth?

I don't mind bludgeon brothers being in the match in terms of the work they will do. They just don't fit in with what the Uso's have built up. I just feel they devalue the match with the current gimmick when it could be the best tag match in 2 decades and built up more in the reality era way. If they took them out next week and say "this is about the New Day vs The Uso's to determine who is the undisputed best tag team in the world" and then go on from there it would be epic. And if there was a team on stand by, Hardy's or anyone at all that could dispute their claim there would be a spot for whoever is acting GM to fill to give fans what they sold them, a triple threat.

Basically I think a wooden mallet devalues the finale of "the greatest tag feud of the century" which is what it could be billed as at WrestleMania if they wanted a tag main event as well as the 2 men's world title matches and the Streak vs Title women's match. I'd buy into that being 4 co main events if they built it as such

In a swiftly deleted post, WWE accidentally put online a graphic showing the SD tag match will be TLC. I cannot wait for that to be confirmed.

Mysterio is rumoured to be Strowmans tag partner, just to take the pin.

The cruiserweight title match, and both battle royals are confirmed for the pre-show.

I genuinely thought the Andre battle royal would be on the main show, and the US title match on the pre-show.

When Cena said Dead Man Walking this week I got a genuine shiver. If they do Cena hopping the barrier at WM calling out Mark Callaway before a motorbike revs and they have a street fight I'll be marking out like a bitch. I've built it up in my mind that this is the thing I want to see them do more than anything else and now they have teased that as much as they can. Cena is going to WM as a fan, but the match is obviously happening so what better way to do it?

Anyone else got that child like excitement bubbling ready for WM? Haha

On top of AJ vs Nakamura which defies words. Brock and Roman beating the piss out of each other. The streak vs title. The hopefully great tag match and all the other good stuff it's setting up to be mega.

Not bothered about battle Royales for lame plastic looking trophies but the pre show is just hype for the main show now with nothing that really matters to the masses. The CW have that story I thought they'd have, check my predictions and I made a point about them making a point about Ali being from America lol.

Now all we need is Mackem to appear ffs. Maybe he'll be Braun's partner

Wrestlemania is going to be on for 7, yes, SEVEN hours, 2 hour pre show, then 5 hour main show, ffs.

I'm excited for Mania, but there's not been that one moment that just sends me over the top yet. There's always that moment that hypes me up, whether it's the stadium reveal, Brock re-signing last time. This year's card looks like it could be awesome on paper, but it's bit had that defining moment for me yet.

That said, I'll go nuts when Bryan's music kicks in...

As for Taker, I just don't want him to wrestle. Him vs Cena should be left as one of those 'what if...?' matches. His match vs Reigns showed he should retire, not come back, regardless of his persona.

Yeah, for me it's if they have to do it do it like this. Just have them brawl, no lifting or attempted tombstone reversals or even much in the ring. Just have Mark Callaway come out to shut Cena up. I think it would surprise people that think they don't want to see it too. I leave myself open to being disappointed but there's enough good wrestling to revive me.

For me the moments were KO and Sami destroying Shane (Sami is amazing, he really is. Theres an article somewhere about him i'll try to find that explains why he's a great character heel in wwe) and then seeing Bryan really drive in those corner drop kicks looking as crisp as ever.

And I'm a Rousey Mark so there's that, even though her timing is cringey as anything. She's one happy bad ass haha.  

And the Charlotte vs Asuka match has potential for mark-out-ability. I feel like the world watching needs to throw on robes and walk around with Asuka swag transitioning into the Flair strut. They are OVER.

I'm hoping they go absolutely mental with pyro too. There's something depressing about the best wrestling production cutting its production values. Instead of spelling AAAAWWWWWWW NEW ORLEANS out on the screen in shitty PowerPoint spell it out in the god damn sky with rainbow coloured fire damnit.

I'm trying to avoid watching AJ vs Nakamura in NJPW, but I've been watching a few snippets just to remind myself how great this could be. The reversal spots alone will be worth the entrance fee

And there's this, which sadly can't happen unless bullet club becomes a thing in WWE

It'll have to be indoor pyro, the SuperDome is indoors. Which at least saves us the UA Airforce flyover.

I really do hope that someone else comes out to face Cena. I'm guessing he's going to get an entrance, grab the mic and call out Taker. But thinking about it, the place would go crazy if someone else answered it - Goldberg, Batista, Mysterio... which would then tie in with Vince sulking that Taker didnt wrestle and the Cena promo's about leaving his balls at home coming from Vince himself, rather than Cena.

We also have the mystery of who's partnering Strowman. I'm hoping Wyatt.

Oh yeah it's the dome. But they can still have indoor stuff and the roof firework displays where the camera feed heads to the helicopter they have to show the stadium dome all lit up for WWE. They have to improve entrances too from what they have been of late with the budget cuts, especially Nakamura's. Non stop strobes and the violin chap at the very least. Maybe some samurai shit, though that would fit Asuka better.

I think he'll hop the guard rail and grab a mic to attempt realism. But now you've said that I'm thinking Sting should bat Cena out of the ring and say if he's challenging anyone, it's me! I don't know if the crowd would be that positive about someone else challenging Cena to a match. Jericho telling Cena to shut the hell up wouldget a pop. But they've built the Undertaker aspect up too much for it not to be him.

Dana White has added to WWE storylines by saying Brock is coming to fight in ufc after he leaves WWE. I don't think he actually said when, but everyone is taking it as Brock's last match is WM.

Connor McGregor has been stripped of his ufc title too. They won't admit it, but UFC wants to be like WWE more than WWE wants to be like UFC. Heel boss vs working class hero, come on now

Reports going round today that Rusev asked for his release a couple of weeks ago, which is why he suddenly got added to the US title match, instead of being bunged in the Andre battle royal. If this is true, another example of WWE not having a clue what to do with someone who manages to get themselves over, with no help from them at all. Fuck it, I'm calling it the rUSev title match from here on.

If it's not Taker, it has to be someone for Cena that is totally unexpected. Batista admitted he turned down the HoF as he wants one more run, that would be a massive pop. Lashley (although I still can't stand him) would be unexpected, Sting, Rey's injury that may let him back in time for a short match (and for a Mania payday, I'd imagine he'd gut it out), Goldberg would be immense too. And to really chuck a curveball in, Austin's Mania plans are a bit quiet...

But its blatantly going to be Taker.

I saw the Dana White / Lesnar thing. That has to be a done deal, I can't imagine Dana wanting to play up to a WWE storyline, especially now they've got Ronda Rousey. UFC wants to be WWE, the money WWE generates is stuff UFC can only dream of. They'll never fill a stadium the way WWE, or generate the kind of money Vince can.

UFC is getting the rub on WM weekend so it's not totally crazy to play into WWE storylines. I think Vince and Dana get on because they know they aren't competing for the same deals and fans. UFC leaves Fox... WWE will go to Fox. The tv deals are brokered by the same management company. Everything is a work haha. I do think it's set he will fight in UFC, but I don't think he's done with WWE.

Talking of filling stadiums that is all down to the golden rule. You have to talk people in to an arena. At the very least you need a character filled story to make people really care. To be fair UFC have been catching WWE on revenue, but that was down to Rousey, McGregor and Brock, the 3 most marketable WWE style MMA fighters lol. Rousey lost two fights but I can only remember one of those who beat her and still wouldn't be able to pick her out of a lineup.

Yeah I kind of wish HHH would go to bat for Rusev. You can imagine what Vince sees when he looks at Rusev. Random foreign opponent made to be jobbed out to the big American. But when they booked him like that he only had one real rival, the one big time WWE American, so now he jobs out to Canadians too. He had a Tank vs Cena but after he did his bit for that event there was no point to him in that 80's role so it stunk the joint out. They built him up massively so he could lose to the one big star. It's stupid booking.

If WWE could see what assets they had they might stop trying so hard to create one from scratch. If they let him do his thing they could even commission a stupid Rusev and Lana show and not worry so much that people actually like the guy. He is untapped big money.

Have him win the US title and have him come out and interrupt Cena and then have him cost Shane and Bryan their match. It's Rusev Mania.

But I think we're being worked. I think he's the next MitB winner

Admin wrote:

Yeah I kind of wish HHH would go to bat for Rusev. You can imagine what Vince sees when he looks at Rusev. Random foreign opponent made to be jobbed out to the big American. But when they booked him like that he only had one real rival, the one big time WWE American, so now he jobs out to Canadians too. He had a Tank vs Cena but after he did his bit for that event there was no point to him in that 80's role so it stunk the joint out. They built him up massively so he could lose to the one big star. It's stupid booking.

That booking has been the foundation of Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns over the past two years - make Lesnar the biggest wrecking ball imaginable so Reigns can over him (if Brock wins, I'm going to edit the shit out of that).

I think it works in this instance. They built Brock because he makes money as an untouchable beast. When he loses he won't then go on to irrelevance. Whatever happens, stay or go Brock is Brock and a valuable entity whoever he faces. Rusev was and is not treated as a valuable commodity that has been built to last. At the time they probably didn't know he could be subtle and funny as fuck, but they should know by now he has actual range and likeability. Hopefully were being worked like I say, because he's obviously money.

A revelation I had about Rusev and potential WWE mindsets. Could it be that corperate sees the Bulgaria tag and thinks "piss pot market. Who cares. He's no Bin Wang" completely missing the fact that Rusev is money in the US, Canada, UK and European markets with wrestling fans and could easily be mainstream too in his own quirky way.

His instincts are great when reacting to live audiences and segment partners. He's funny as fuck even if he's not really doing much. It's obvious why he appeals to fans.

I have to give more props to Sami Zayn too, who is doing something really special with the depth of his performances lately. Watch the segments with Sami KO and Shane then with Bryan firing them and just watch his performance, it's seriously immense. These are the kind of things that signal money. Non robotic emotional performances with broad range. Since edge retired not many guys have impressed me as much with their character nuances and live acting and reacting skills. Wrestling doesn't have to be an action film all the time, it can have depth and subtlety. I genuinely think the overall fan base is a lot smarter now than it used to be, and I don't mean smart to the business.

Anyway... It's Wrestlemania weekend. Time to slip into mark mode and enjoy that shit

Sami is absolutely awesome as a heel, he's playing the smarmy prick perfectly!

Not sure if this counts as 'Road to Mania stuff', but I'll put it here anyway. if you've not done so, I'd massively recommend watching the Dudleys induction into the HoF. E&C doing the inducting honours are brilliant, the actual Dudleys speech is both hilarious, and touching (in particular the bits about Tommy Dreamer). Worth watching that alone.

The set has also been unveiled. It's stunning. Much better than 30.

And speaking of the set...:

Yeah I'll be putting various bits of the HOF on later I think. Ahh You were waiting for the set reveal to really get the WM feeling weren't you? Now that's a set to have if the Asuka Charlotte match goes last! That's like a mix of their colour schemes and looks. And PYRO! Looks like they are putting on a big, big, big budget show if they are promoting the set reveal with pyro (maybe they always do that i don't know)

Aye, the set reveal is the moment I always look forward to. It's a lovely set - not up to 29's standard, but I do like it a lot.

Does tonight's NXT TakeOver also count for the road to Mania?

Yeah might as well be as it's what the matches will have to live up to. All I know is I'm going to watch it, it will be good but I'm not up on any of the storylines. I know there's the big Gargano rivalry. Is Black in the main event? That will be an epic match, I really like Almas and Vega is a great heel manager, her random appearance on a pre show once showed her amazing ability to riff live with no script.

Speaking of E&C doing the honours for those damned Dudley's... They also have the Hardy's on their wrestelemania podcast this week which I'll also need to put on before WM. Might stick it on over the lesser bits of HOF.

Yeah, the main event is Almas vs Black. There's also a ladder match to win a new secondary title, with Ricochet and EC3 both making their debut in it, alongside Velveteen Dream, Killian Dain, Adam Cole and Lars Sullivan.

Pete Dunne is also on it, in a triple threat tag match for the tag titles and Dusty Classic tournament, teaming with Roddy Strong against the Authors of Pain and the Undisputed Era.

Plus the unsanctioned match between Gargano and Ciampa, and it could be a belter, as always.