Author: Doug Turrington
We have less than two weeks until WWE’s grandest show of them all, Wrestlemania. Before the show kicked off, WWE announced that the main event will officially be Becky Lynch vs Charlotte Flair vs Ronda Rousey— making it the first ever women’s main event in Wrestlemania history. With the second to last Raw emanating from Boston, Massachusetts, what else did we learn?
#7 – Colin Jost and Michael Che enter the Andre the Giant Battle Royal
Yay.
Seriously, though, Che and Jost haven’t done a bad job. Mixing it up with the biggest monster in the yard throws it back to the days where Pete Rose was getting manhandled by Kane.
As long as it doesn’t drag out too much or make anyone look stupid (except for Jost, continue making him look as dumb as possible, it works) it should be good for what it is and one of the better ways of integrating celebrity hosts.
#6 – Dream Over at Takeover… Game Over at Wrestlemania?
Triple H came out to read a letter from Batista’s lawyer, giving us a chance to see that Triple H still has it when it comes to reading fake letters for comedic effect. The man with three H’s proceeded to use the Spice Girls parody of Batista’s promo that has been making the rounds on social media comment sections. Of course, it was instantly funny again coming from a guy like HHH. However, the mood changed when Triple H announced that Batista wanted Hunter to put his career on the line. HHH accepted, saying if he can’t beat him, he doesn’t deserve to be around anyway.
We all know that nothing is final in WWE, but it would be tough to see HHH step down at this point. He’s kind of the new Undertaker, in the way that he’s there to put over talent at Wrestlemania each year. Batista doesn’t need a win or a loss, so it seems like Triple H is a favorite to come out of that stipulation. Its possible Triple H loses, especially because he of all people could reverse that decision later, but it’s kind of a weird request for a guy that isn’t sticking around. It would be wasted heat if Batista comes out on Raw to brag about retiring Triple H and then just leaves again. With Triple H still being an on-screen authority figure across multiple brands it just wouldn’t have the same effect as someone else being retired.
#5 – Baron Corbin continues to draw heat, but a swerve still seems possible
Baron Corbin continued to run his mouth at Kurt Angle prior to his win over the ever-floundering Apollo Crews. The feud does make sense on paper, I guess. No one has been linked more consistently with Angle than Corbin. The problem is that it seems a little silly that Angle is still mad about Corbin’s actions. There’s been a few times that Corbin has supposedly been given his comeuppance for his actions, both with Angle and the rest of the roster, really. He’s been put in handicap matches, been beaten to death two nights in a row by half the locker room, he was fired, and aside from some continued chirping, hasn’t really done much to Angle recently.
A random pick might have flopped and picking John Cena doesn’t follow the tradition of putting a younger talent over on the way out the door. As much as a Cena match might have a nice coming full-circle element to it, Cena certainly doesn’t need to beat Angle, especially at this stage of his career. At this point, I wouldn’t hate a clean win by Corbin, followed by shenanigans that Cena stops after running in for the save. Cena can say a few words about what the “Ruthless Aggression” promo meant to his career and help send Angle off with his standing ovation. But, as far as what we know for sure, it seems to be anyone’s guess for now. WWE loves manufacturing “Wrestlemania Moments.” With the retirement storyline, it’s all there for them to do something memorable, but I’m personally hoping we don’t get another old Hall of Famer embarrassing a heel they want us to believe is a threat.
#4 – Ronda is still proud of the product she mocks
Ronda Rousey continued with the weird, kayfabe/fourth wall breaking promos tonight. She mocked the “Beat the Clock” challenge as another “gimmick” and a “farce.” Obviously, this is all part of the plan, but when CM Punk was calling Triple H out as Paul Levesque, it came off better than this does. Punk was doing so under the guise of two performers hating each other on and off screen, but only did so because of his passion and love for the product or at least the sport. When Ronda trashes the product it makes little sense.
Sure, they can say that she is only around for the money, but they haven’t, at least not on Raw. If she thinks this is all a farce and that these aren’t real competitors, why is she here? Why didn’t she easily snap every arm in the locker room by now? It’s a tough sell and while it draws heat (and cheers) it also draws groans and makes it tough to suspend disbelief in the right way. It doesn’t seem to be something that’s going away (unless she does), so if they are going to keep throwing winks and nods at us, hopefully they tighten up the psychology of the execution.
#3 – Reigns and McIntyre will collide at Wrestlemania.
Roman Reigns, the pro wrestler, accepted the Wrestlemania challenge from Drew McIntyre, but after hearing the “Scottish Psychopath” share a few choice words regarding his family, Joe the man, clocked McIntyre. The two tangled for a bit before McIntyre caught Reigns with the Claymore. It’ll be interesting to see where this goes.
McIntryre could certainly use a high-profile win over a top guy at a meaningful event to really go over as a legitimate threat as a top heel, but it’s hard to bet against Reigns, especially with the circumstances he’s returning to the grandest stage of them all. But, with plenty on the line and both guys being top talent, especially with the bright lights on, it could be the hard-hitting, athletic, heavyweight throwback that WWE used to aim for.
#2 – The Boss N Hug Connection stack the deck against themselves
After setting up their rivalry with The IIconics on Smackdown Live last week, Bayley and Sasha Banks got in the mix with the Divas of Doom on Raw when Natalya faced Banks. The match ended with interference from Nia Jax and Tamina, as things broke down.
After taking some lumps after the match, Charly Caruso caught up with Banks and Bayley backstage, where Banks said to bring them all on. It’s beginning to smell a lot like a fatal four way.
#1 – If Dean Ambrose is still leaving, it’s going to be with a bang
Dean Ambrose was back on Raw last night (good call on him being written off TV in the last match, dirt sheets) and he wanted more of McIntyre after their Falls Count Anywhere match from the March 11 episode of Raw. If Ambrose is still leaving, WWE is certainly taking advantage of Ambrose’s ability to put on a good stipulation match. Even with tonight’s Last Man Standing match ending with McIntyre standing tall, we at least know that Ambrose is getting a chance to showcase his strengths to the WWE Universe one last time.
Having the “Lunatic Fringe” go out by throwing caution to the wind seems only right and doubles as a logical way to write someone off TV. Time will tell if it’s his last lap for the WWE (at least for now) or a reboot on what made him a fan favorite all along.
We are two weeks away from Wrestlemania, and WWE has a lot to prepare for in order to put on a good show. Hopefully it all goes well.
Follow Doug on Twitter: @DougTurrington
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