Andrew SpoorsToo big for one night, WrestleMania now sprawls over an entire weekend and this time it’s going Hollywood. Live from SoFi Stadium, the show of shows has a stacked card with exhibition fights, blood feuds and championship showdowns aplenty.
Heralded as the biggest show in the wrestling industry, WrestleMania has burrowed itself into the popular zeitgeist. You don’t need to know or follow wrestling all year to have heard the name and what it means. The vast majority of Superstars spend their formative years watching the event, one day hoping to be the main event.
A perfect blend of popular culture and wrestling, winning and losing isn’t the be all and end all. Instead, the chance to create a Mania Moment, something so special it is repeated on highlight reels for decades, is tantalising.
Here to talk us through the highlights of the card, is our King of the Ring and resident wrestling expert, Andy Spoors…
Bloodline Battle
A highly anticipated thread throughout the weekend, is the potential for the epic dominance of The Bloodline to finally come to an end.
Two epic matches will decide the landscape of WWE moving into post-WrestleMania season.
Both The Usos vs Sami Zayn & Kevin Owens for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championships and Roman Reigns vs Cody Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship look set to headline nights one and two respectively.
It seems somewhat apropos that the culmination of both these stories will take place in the City of Angels.
Some of the moments provided in the last six months have been nothing short of cinematic in their execution.
From the return of Cody Rhodes at the Royal Rumble, the rise, fall and rise again of Sami Zayn, through to the emotional rollercoaster of Jey Uso and the near implosion of Roman’s Bloodline.
There’s been laughter and tears throughout, but drama has never been too far away.
Inside SoFi stadium it’s time to settle down with some popcorn and enjoy what promises to be a couple of Oscar worthy sagas come to an end.
One Way Ticket To Hell
For too long Hell In A Cell matches have been diluted down to just another match. In its early life, HIAC was the match to end only the most vicious of feuds.
The images of Mankind or Shawn Michaels flying off the top and side of the cell live long in the memory.
Even a slightly bizarre lick of red paint failed to recapture the fear and awe the original commanded.
In L.A. that could change when Edge faces off against Finn Balor in a rivalry that simply has to end.
This is a rivalry that has been running for far too long, both Edge and The Bloodline have been stuck in a holding pattern that has to finish.
A few weeks ago, Edge used very similar words when laying down the challenge to Balor, “For the last year of my “comeback” I’ve wasted it on all of you.
I need to accomplish what I need to do before I can be done.”
Although this story has rumbled on, it hasn’t been a boring one by any means. Let us remember Edge started The Judgement Day before being surreptitiously dumped out of his own group last June.
Even an ‘I Quit’ Match only intensified the rivalry after Rhea Ripley smashed a steel chair over the head of Edge’s wife Beth Phoenix.
With both The Rated R Superstar and Finn Balor valuing storytelling above all else in matches, this match could restore the grandeur of a Hell In A Cell Match.
Whether someone takes a tumble from the top of the structure or not, expect a punishing and brutal affair that has the WWE Universe buzzing on social media.
Father & Son
If you had told wrestling fans that they would be excited for a match between Rey Mysterio and his son Dominik, you would have been laughed out of the building.
The latter faced calls of nepotism and called all names under the sun due to uninspiring storylines and mundane matches.
All that changed in the UK at Clash At The Castle with one low blow to Edge and a clothesline to his father, Rey.
Aligning with The Judgement Day turned out to be the best thing he could have done for his fledgling career.
Closely aligning with fellow Judgement Day member, Rhea Ripley and calling her “Mami” along with some hilarious social media posts, slowly changed public opinion of the young Mysterio.
The last few weeks have seen a consistent effort from Dom to get a rise out of his so-called “deadbeat dad” and agree to a match at WrestleMania.
The latter was something Rey resisted at every turn, claiming it would be the biggest disgrace in his life to fight his son. But every man has his limits when pushed.
Just eight days out from L.A. Rey found his, when Dominik pushed one step too far and targeted his own mother/Rey’s wife.
It was a moment the WWE Universe had been waiting for and the crowd’s reaction emphasised just how invested they have become in this storyline. This clip on social media reached two million in just days.
Fantastic character work by Dom throughout, the intriguing twist of his dad being inducted into the Hall Of Fame the night before WrestleMania introduces even more potential for the rivalry to grow in the most unusual and sacred of settings.
Ladies To Light Up L.A.
Four women’s matches of various degrees of anticipation have been sprinkled throughout the card.
Unfortunately, none of the quartet have truly caught fire and sparked the imagination of the WWE Universe this year.
That isn’t for the lack of trying. Rhea Ripley is one of the most popular Superstars on any roster right now.
But her divided attention between The Judgement Day, a relationship with Dominik Mysterio and her opponent at WrestleMania, Charlotte Flair, have certainly not helped the crowd fully buy into her Mania match.
After two critically acclaimed matches in the past two years even Bianca Belair’s popularity and athleticism haven’t quite gelled with a rejuvenated Asuka.
The pair just haven’t found the spark or chemistry to interest the wider audience.
Both ladies are remarkably talented, so the saving grace could be allowing the pair to have a longer match to tell their story inside the ring and let the action do the talking.
A hastily put together fatal four way tag match, allows eight more of the women’s locker room on to the show, but also demonstrates the fall from the main event picture to midcard obscurity can be steep.
Who could have guessed the likes of Ronda Rousey would feature in nothing more than a filler match with precisely zero stakes.
And finally, a six woman tag match sees the team of Bayley, Dakota Kai and Iyo Sky (Damage CTRL) face off against Becky Lynch and Hall of Famers Lita & Trish Stratus.
Another rivalry that has rumbled on, this match has to signal the end and allow all six women involved to move on to their next venture.
For both Lita and Trish, this match grants at least one last opportunity to show what they can do on the biggest stage, albeit years after their respective heydays.
Like, Share and Subscribe
In the kind of match only WrestleMania can offer, social media superstar Logan Paul squares off against Seth Rollins.
Even with no championships on the line, this could easily be the match everyone is talking about when all is said and done.
Seth Rollins has made no secret of his disdain for Paul and his polarising antics on social media, claiming he has no place inside WWE.
A loss would be devastating for The Visionary, but after being knocked out twice in the build up to LA, the result is far from a foregone conclusion.
There will be high flying action aplenty and plenty of crowd interaction as the match will no doubt be played out to the soundtrack of Rollins’ entrance theme.
In every match Logan Paul has had in WWE so far, there has been one moment that sends social media into meltdown.
Expect nothing less here, as Seth looks to banish an unwelcome outsider and Paul looks to do what he does best and become the centre of attention.
Full WrestleMania 39 Match Card
Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes
United States Champion Austin Theory vs. John Cena
Seth “Freakin” Rollins vs. Logan Paul
SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair vs Rhea Ripley
Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions The Usos vs. Sami Zayn & Kevin Owens
Raw Women’s Champion Bianca Belair vs. Asuka
Trish Stratus, Lita & Becky Lynch vs. Damage CTRL (Six-Woman Tag Team Match)
Brock Lesnar vs. Omos
Edge vs. Finn Bálor (Hell in a Cell Match)
Intercontinental Champion Gunther vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Sheamus (Triple Threat Match)
Women’s WrestleMania Showcase Match
Four explosive tag teams to compete in a Men’s WrestleMania Showcase Match
Rey Mysterio vs. Dominik Mysterio