Each week, Sporting News runs down the biggest stories in the world of professional wrestling.
WrestleMania, NXT weekend
WrestleMania 34 is in the books and will go down as one of the more decisive shows in the event’s recent history — some people loved it, others, not so much.
Everyone believed this would be Roman Reigns’ coronation as “the guy" in the WWE with Lesnar returning to the UFC. Instead, it was a shocking ending to the night with “The Beast” leaving Reigns battered and bloodied as he retained the WWE Universal Champion.
MORE: Buring questions after WrestleMania
Ronda Rousey wowed in her debut in what was arguably the best match of the night teaming with Kurt Angle to defeat Stephanie McMahon and Triple H. As we saw on “RAW” Monday night, Rousey has no plans to be a corporate talent and this is just the start of a long storyline with McMahon.
Charlotte Flair surprisingly ended Asuka’s unbeaten streak to become the “SmackDown” Women’s Champion in a fantastic match, possibly setting up a showdown at WrestleMania 35 between herself and Charlotte. AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura had a very good match but needed another 5-10 minutes to live up to the high expectations.
The Triple Threat match with Seth Rollins beating The Miz and Finn Balor for the Intercontinental Championship was a great opener for the main show. Daniel Bryan looked like he never missed a beat despite not having a match in more than two years in his emotional return with he and Shane McMahon scoring a win against Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn.
John Cena started out the show sitting in the crowd but got his wish to face The Undertaker. It wasn't a long affair as "The Deadman" quickly defeated Cena, looking the best he has in years, springing off the ropes and moving around easily.
Braun Strowman picking 10-year-old Nicholas from among the WWE Universe to team with him in winning the “RAW” Tag Team Titles was hit and miss with fans. While Reigns and Lesnar had a physical battle, the crowd was disconnected due to its disdain of Reigns being the WWE’s chosen guy and a show that was hitting the seven-hour mark at that point.
WrestleMania used to be the conclusion to the year for WWE where storylines and feuds would reach a crescendo to play out on the “grandest stage of them all." In some cases now, it is being used as a launching point or even a continuation of those same stories.
The one thing you cannot take away is the grandiose aura and the pageantry of WrestleMania as the WWE knows how to put on a big show.
On that same note, NXT did it again as the brand once again put on the best show of the weekend. NXT TakeOver was a hellacious thrill ride from top to bottom, ending with an emotional submission win for Johnny Gargano over his former best friend and tag team partner Tommaso Ciampa.
It turned out to be a huge night for Undisputed Era with Adam Cole winning the inaugural North American Championship in an incredible six-man ladder match while also helping retain the NXT Tag Team Titles alongside Kyle O’Reilly when Roderick Strong turned on his partner Pete Dunne to join the group.
Aleister Black dethroned Andrade “Cien” Almas for the NXT Championship while Shayna Baszler defeated Ember Moon to become the women’s champion in a pair of excellent matches.
NXT takes these weekends as a huge challenge and an opportunity to step up its game and always seems to come through, proving itself as a brand to watch for incredible wrestling action.
Moving and shaking
And the beat goes on in the WWE.
“RAW” saw the debuts of NXT talent Ember Moon, No Way Jose and the Authors of Pain while Jeff Hardy and Samoa Joe returned from injury. Bobby Lashley also returned following a run with Impact Wrestling.
Samoa Joe eviscerated Roman Reigns with a scathing promo after Reigns groaned about Brock Lesnar following news from earlier in the day that the “Beast” had re-signed with the company. Joe has main-event star written all over, with his ability to connect with the audience as a true badass who can talk a good game and back it up in the ring. The question is how far Vince McMahon is willing to go with him.
Meanwhile, the Lesnar-Reigns saga will continue at the Greatest Royal Rumble event on April 27 in Saudi Arabia when the two square off for the Universal Championship in a Steel Cage match. No one is certain how long Lesnar’s new contract is for and it could be just long enough for him to drop the title that night. Plus, it could be a much more receptive crowd for Reigns rather than the negative reaction he receives on most nights in the U.S.
“SmackDown” saw the debut of NXT stars Peyton Royce and Billie Kaye — together known as “Iconic” — who made an immediate impact by beating up Charlotte with Carmella cashing in her Money in the Bank case to win the championship.
Fans were also treated to a “fantasy match” between AJ Styles and Daniel Bryan that did not have a conclusion due to Shinsuke Nakamura’s interference. His heel turn is just what the Japanese star needed to further develop his character with big-time matches available against both Styles and Bryan going forward.
That is, should they all remain on the same show with the Superstar Shakeup coming next week and talent changing brands. I would look at The Miz, Seth Rollins, Alexa Bliss, along with Anderson and Gallows as possibly moving to “SmackDown." Bobby Roode, Jinder Mahal, The New Day and Natalya could head to “RAW”
There could also be more NXT talent moved to those brands with Andrade “Cien” Almas along with his fantastic manager Zelina Vega, Sanity and Drew McIntyre — who has been out with an arm injury — as prime candidates.
Another change that took place was Paige becoming the new general manager of “SmackDown” after giving a heartbreaking retirement speech the night before on “RAW” due to a neck injury. It’s a rough story for the 25-year-old who was cut down before the prime of her career. She has a real opportunity to flourish in her role while remaining in the business she loves.
Andre the Giant
HBO debuted its fascinating Andre the Giant documentary on Tuesday night detailing the incredible life of the late Andre Roussimoff, who passed away at the age of 46 due to congestive heart failure.
The film chronicled the amazing life of the “Eighth Wonder of the World” in amazing audiences but also having to live a life of ridicule and seclusion due to his size along with an incredible amount of pain as he got older.
I was fortunate enough to attend a screening of the documentary in New Orleans last Saturday and see how emotional road it took people on including The Big Show along with Linda McMahon who was brought to tears several times.
The film will continue airing on HBO and is also available on their HBO Now platform.
News and notes
— WWE continues to add to the upcoming Greatest Royal Rumble in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia in a show that is expected to have a packed house of more than 60,000 fans. Already announced: a 50-person Royal Rumble match, the Lesnar-Reigns rematch for the Universal Championship inside a steel cage, John Cena vs. Triple H, a ladder match between Seth Rollins, Finn Balor, The Miz and Samoa Joe for the Intercontinental Champion along with The Bludgeon Brothers defending the “SmackDown” tag titles against The Usos.
If that isn’t enough for this event — which will air live on the WWE Network — also announced is a casket match between The Undertaker and Rusev. This shows how enormous and important the partnership is between WWE and the Saudi General Sports Authority as this show is on par with WrestleMania.
#GreatestRoyalRumble #WWE pic.twitter.com/xPLXNiSNz5
— Brian Fritz (@BrianFritz) April 11, 2018
— Leadership of the Bullet Club is still in question after Cody defeated Kenny Omega last weekend at Ring of Honor’s Supercard of Honor event. While Cody scored a win, it came with controversy, as the Young Bucks accidentally superkicked Omega. Cody followed soonafter with his Cross Rhodes finish and scored the victory.
The angle continues on the “Being the Elite” video series and it wouldn’t surprise anyone to see a rematch at the All In event on Sept. 1.
— Major League Wrestling will conclude its world championship tournament on Thursday night at Gilt Nightclub in Orlando with Matt Riddle facing Shane Strickland in the finale. It’s the latest step in the growth of MLW which just signed a television deal with beIN Sports that begins on Friday, April 20.
— Jerry “The King” Lawler revealed on the latest edition of his “Dinner with the King” podcast that he suffered a stoke at his home on March 21 that left him unable to speak for nearly three days with his face sagging. Fortunately, he woke up that Saturday morning and miraculously recovered. He went right back to his normal life that saw him including various appearance and duties during WrestleMania weekend.
— Yes, we even got to see Lawler confront Joey Ryan who was mocking “The King” while dressed as Andy Kaufman that ended with Lawler throwing a fireball at the special weapon of the “King of Dong Style." Yep, this is wrestling in 2018.
Brian Fritz can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @BrianFritz and listen to his Between The Ropes podcast on Blog Talk Radio.
