WWE WrestleMania 40 - Night One

By Steve Ward

The 40th installment of the Showcase of the Immortals, WWE WrestleMania, emanated from the home of the Philadelphia Eagles, Lincoln Financial Field, in Philadelphia, PA. As has become the norm for the past few years, WWE again elected for a two night event in order to capitalize on their ability to produce to sellout gates with two mediocre cards padded with unnecessary vignettes and advertisements between every bout. This evening’s card featured seven matches with three titles contested and was headlined by Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins teaming up against The Rock and Roman Reigns to determine the stipulation for night two’s Universal Championship match.

Women’s World Championship

Becky Lynch vs. Rhea Ripley (c)

Winner: Rhea Ripley via pinfall

The opening bout of the weekend would have the potential to set the bar high as Becky Lynch, winner of the Women’s Elimination Chamber, earned her shot at the dominant Rhea Ripley’s RAW Women’s Championship. Becky Lynch gave a commendable effort but was clearly slowed as she battled strep throat. In the closing moments, Ripley was simply too much for The Man as she delivered a Riptide into the turnbuckle and immediately followed it up with yet another Riptide to successfully defend her title.

Six Pack Challenge for the Undisputed Tag Team Championship Ladder Match

DIY (Tommasso Ciampa & Johnny Gargano) vs. Awesome Truth (R-Truth & The Miz) vs. New Catch Republic (Tyler Bate & Pete Dunne) vs. A-Town Down Under (Austin Theory & Grayson Waller) vs. The New Day (Xavier Woods & Kofi Kingston) vs. The Judgement Day (Finn Balor & Damian Priest) (c)

Winners: Smackdown Tag Team Championship - Grayson Waller & Austin Theory; RAW Tag Team Championship - R-Truth & The Miz

Although this match was for the Undisputed Tag Team Championship, both the RAW and Smackdown Tag Team titles were suspended above the ring separately and the match would continue until both sets were retrieved. The first set of titles removed from their suspension above the ring were the Smackdown titles by Grayson Waller and Austin Theory. In the closing moments, R-Truth dumped Damian Priest out of the ring with an Attitude Adjustment and scaled the ladder to retrieve the RAW Tag Team Championship.

Rey Mysterio & Andrade vs. Dominik Mysterio & Santos Escobar

Winners: Rey Mysterio & Andrade via pinfall

The leader of the LWO, Rey Mysterio, recently returned from injury and dove right back into his bitter rivalry with former stablemate Santos Escobar (who has since reformed Legado del Fantasma). Dominik Mysterio then decided to insert himself back into Rey’s business making tonight’s affair a tag team match. Rey was set to team with Dragon Lee initially, however, he was taken out on Smackdown last night leaving the door open for Andrade to step in after he decided he didn’t agree with Escobar’s tactics. The match reached its conclusion shortly after Dominik Mysterio attempted to get a chair from ringside to use on his father. Before he was able to crack Rey’s skull with the steel chair, a pair of men donning luchador masks emerged from the crowd to thwart his efforts. This left Escobar vulnerable to the Tadpole Splash from Rey Mysterio which secured the pinfall.

Jimmy Uso vs. Jey Uso

Winner: Jey Uso via pinfall

Following his departure from The Bloodline, Jey Uso left Smackdown for RAW in search of a new start - his brother Jimmy, however, would not allow this as he has continued to insert himself in his brother’s business time and time again which brought us to, tonight. The conclusion of the match saw Jey Uso deliver a spear and subsequent splash from the top rope to solidify the victory.

Damage Ctrl (Kairi Sane, Asuka, & Dakota Kai) vs. Bianca Belair, Naomi, & Jade Cargill

Winners: Bianca Belair, Naomi, & Jade Cargill via pinfall

Interestingly enough, WWE decided to book the Women’s Tag Team Champions, The Kabuki Warriors, in a six-woman tag team match instead of a title bout. The Kabuki Warriors teamed with fellow Damage Ctrl member Dakota Kai as Bianca Belair recruited Naomi and Jade Cargill who returned/debuted at the Royal Rumble. In the closing moments of a rather brief bout, Jade Cargill was left alone with Dakota Kai who she dispatched with Jaded.

WWE Intercontinental Championship

Gunther (c) vs. Sami Zayn

Winner: Sami Zayn via pinfall

Gunther put his record-setting Intercontinental Championship reign on the line this evening against the resilient Sami Zayn. “The Ring General” Gunther dominated the entire match and seemed to have an impressive victory at hand after delivering a barrage of power bombs and splashes. After Zayn kicked out of a late pinfall attempt, Gunther scaled the turnbuckles only to be intercepted with a Helluva Kick. Zayn then delivered a brain buster in the corner and immediately followed with another Helluva Kick to shock the WWE Universe and end the record championship reign of Gunther.

The Rock & Roman Reigns w/ Paul Heyman vs. Cody Rhodes & Seth Rollins

Winners: The Rock & Roman Reigns via pinfall

The main event of Night One had significant implications for the stipulation of Cody Rhodes match with Roman Reigns on Night Two with the Universal Championship hanging in the balance. If Rhodes and Rollins were victorious, the Bloodline would be banned from ringside, however, if The Rock and Roman Reigns prevailed, then the Universal Championship would be contested under Bloodline Rules. This carnage-filled encounter showed that The Rock didn’t lose a step in his near decade away from the ring. With broken tables and broken bodies galore, the final moments of the match saw Seth Rollins incapacitated by Roman Reigns after being speared through the ringside barricade. This left The Rock and Rhodes in the ring alone. The Brahma Bull executed The Rock Bottom and immediately proceeded to hit the most electrifying move in sports entertainment, The People’s Elbow, to put away The American Nightmare and set up Bloodline Rules for Night Two’s main event.

WWE Elimination Chamber 2020

By Steve Ward

The final stop on the Road to Wrestlemania arrived this evening to the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. Some of the luster was removed from the event as the men’s Elimination Chamber to determine who would compete for the Universal Championship was cancelled. Apparently it was already a foregone conclusion that Roman Reigns would end up receiving the opportunity so he simply walked out on Smackdown two weeks ago, declared he’s “next,” and there you have it - Roman Reigns vs. Goldberg at the Showcase of the Immortals. Don’t fret though because tonight’s card still featured two chamber matches among the seven bouts on the card.

Daniel Bryan vs. Drew Gulak

Winner: Daniel Bryan via submission

This evening’s main card opened with two competitors boasting prominent technical IQs - the leader of the rejuvenated YES Movement Daniel Bryan and Philly’s own master of the PowerPoint presentation Drew Gulak. While not conducive towards evoking a rousing crowd reaction at times, these two men put on a grappling clinic for the fans in attendance. Despite being one of the best matches I’ve ever seen Gulak put on, Daniel Bryan was able to cinch in the YES Lock solidifying his victory as Gulak passed out.

United States Championship
Andrade (c) w/ Zelina Vega vs. Humberto Carrillo
Winner: Andrade via pinfall

Andrade appeared to be in dire straits late in this contest after Carrillo executed an awe-inspiring vault over the referee and the top rope that put Andrade on his back. Carrillo subsequently rolled up Andrade in a pinfall attempt, however, it was reversed as Andrade grabbed his tights to steal the victory and retain his title.

Smackdown Tag Team Championship Elimination Chamber Match
The Miz & John Morrison (c) vs. Robert Roode & Dolph Ziggler vs. Lucha House Party vs. Heavy Machinery vs. The New Day vs. The Usos
Winners: The Miz and John Morrison via pinfall

The Miz and Morrison were immediately thrown into the fire as the first defense of the titles they just won at Super Showdown was in the sadistic confines of the Elimination Chamber. The New Day and The Usos were tasked with the distinct disadvantage of  kicking off the match. The first team to be released from their chamber was the Lucha House Party. After the Lucha House Party scaled to the top of one of the pods to clear out their adversaries with some of their signature acrobatics, the defending champs Miz & Morrison were the next to enter the fray. The two proceeded to dismantle the other men in the ring with a proficient display of tandem offense reminding the WWE Universe why they were such a proficient team years ago. The next team to emerge from their respective chamber was Heavy Machinery. Just after Otis executed the Caterpillar followed by the elbow drop, Lince Dorado climbed to the top of the chamber in American Gladiators fashion and dropped to the ring taking out all of the other competitors in the ring. Heavy Machinery emerged then to hit the Compactor on Gran Metalik to eliminate the Lucha House Party. Roode and Ziggler then became the final team to enter the contest after winning the tag team gauntlet on Friday Night Smackdown this week. 

Otis attempted to exact revenge on Ziggler for ruining his Valentine’s Day date with Mandy Rose, however, it backfired and he ran through the pod landing out on the floor as Dolph evaded him. Tucker was left to fend for himself, however, Roode and Ziggler were too much. Roode drilled ASU alumni Tucker Knight with the Glorious DDT to eliminate Heavy Machinery. Their brief celebration didn’t last long as The New Day laid waste to Roode and Ziggler setting up The Usos to dive from opposite pods setting up the pinfall and leaving us with three teams. Our next elimination arrived after Kofi attempted a dive of his own off the top of one of the pods only to find his target moved. Miz and Morrison proceeded to pick up the scraps and piled on Kofi for the pinfall. This left us with the defending champs and one of the first teams to start this match in the Usos as our final two. Shortly after executing Starship Pain on Jimmy Uso, The Miz rolled him up and Morrison launched over the top rop for a tandem pinfall to retain their titles.

No Disqualification Match
AJ Styles w/ Gallows & Anderson vs. Aleister Black
Winner: Aleister Black via pinfall

Black “earned” his shot at The Phenomenal One after The O.C. laid waste to him this past week on RAW. Aside from the no disqualification stipulation, one was also left to wonder whether the Undertaker would make his presence felt after he easily defeated Styles in the final match of the gauntlet at Super Showdown in addition to Styles continued mocking of The Deadman - most notably how he emulated Taker’s signature pin on Black Monday night. This turned into a brutally contested bout as Styles was unable to put Black away. Frustration on the part of the O.C. spilled over as they brought the numbers game into play and proceeded to beat down Black. Just as he appeared doomed, the lights in the arena faded to black as the ominous “gong” echoed through the Wells Fargo Center. As the lights came back up, The Undertaker was standing with his hands wrapped around the throats of Gallows and Anderson. Styles attempted to attack The Undertaker from behind with a Phenomenal Forearm, however, he was caught in midair and suffered a vicious choke slam. Just as quick as the Undertaker appeared, the lights faded, the bell tolled, and he vanished. Black then capitalized on the opportunity and tattooed Styles with the Black Mass for the victory.

RAW Tag Team Championship
The Street Profits (c) vs. Seth Rollins & Murphy w/ AOP
Winners: The Street Profits via pinfall

After Kevin Owens cost Rollins and Murphy their tag team titles on Monday night, they promptly enacted their rematch clause this evening. The Monday Night Messiah attempted to stack the deck in his favor this evening as the Authors of Pain joined him at ringside. This advantage was swiftly neutralized as The Viking Raiders made their way to ringside and the two teams proceeded to brawl their way out of the arena. Late in the contest, Kevin Owens entered through the crowd to ringside where he posed just enough of a distraction towards Rollins that allowed the Street Profits to take control of the contest. Montez Ford put the finishing touches on their title defense as he landed the frogsplash for the victory. After the contest, Kevin Owens grabbed Rollins from behind as he berated Buddy Murphy for being pinned to suffer the fate of a Stunner in the middle of the ring seemingly setting up their date at Wrestlemania.

Intercontinental Championship Three On One Handicap Match
Braun Strowman (c) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Cesaro, and Sami Zayn
Winner: Sami Zayn via pinfall

The Monster Among Men found himself in this predicament after Sami Zayn twisted his words at the contact signing for this bout and had it changed into a handicap match. After allowing Nakamura and Cesaro to do all of the heavy lifting for a majority of the bout, Zayn was there to pick up the scraps in the end. After he was dealt a Kinshasa by Nakamura, Strowman was left dazed. Zayn proceeded to tag himself in as Nakamura and Cesaro hoisted Strowman up and delivered a Helluva Kick as he was dropped to the canvas. Zayn then covered Strowman for the shocker of the evening crowning a new champion in the process.

Women’s Elimination Chamber Match
Natalya vs. Liv Morgan vs. Shayna Baszler vs. Asuka vs. Sarah Logan vs. Ruby Riott
Winner: Shayna Baszler via submission

The main event of the evening pit six women against each other in the visceral Elimination Chamber with a shot at Becky Lynch’s RAW Women’s Championship at Wrestlemania hanging in the balance. Natalya and Riott kicked off this match and Natalya wasted no time taking her to the platform of the chamber where she quickly cinched in a Sharpshooter to no avail. Sarah Logan was the next to enter the bout and she immediately propelled herself at Natalya with a double knee strike so she could focus on her former cohort Ruby Riott. Baszler next entered the match and after launching Natalya into a ring post, the Queen of Spades proceeded to eliminate both Sarah Logan and Ruby Riott in a span of less than 60 seconds with back-to-back Kirifuda Clutches. Baszler then redirected her attention to Natalya and brutalized her with the door of one of the empty pods. With Natalya beaten senseless, Baszler cinched in another Kirifuda Clutch for yet another submission elimination. Liv Morgan was the next to enter the match and attempted to mount some offense but it didn’t phase Baszler. Baszler then dragged Morgan to the corner in front of Asuka’s pod and locked her in another Kirifuda clutch until she passed out. Finally after a few minutes of Asuka shouting at Baszler in Japanese, she made her way into the match as the final entrant. Asuka was game for Baszler, however, the Queen of Spades overcame the Asuka Lock to finally cinch in yet another Kirifuda Clutch. While Asuka didn’t tap out, she eventually passed out solidifying Shayna Baszler as Becky Lynch’s challenger in 28 days at Wrestlemania.



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WWE Royal Rumble 2020

By Steve Ward

The Road to Wrestlemania commenced this evening as WWE presented the Royal Rumble from the home of the disgraced Houston Astros - Minute Maid Park. The 33rd installment of the event’s main card featured six matches including both a men’s and a women’s 30-competitor over the top Rumble match.

The respective winners of the Royal Rumble matches would be afforded the opportunity to call out their champion of choice at Wrestlemania setting the landscape for the next couple months. Also among the six matches, both of the women’s titles were defended, as well as, the Universal Championship in what one could only hope would be under normal lighting and not the god awful, headache inducing, red light that The Fiend’s matches have recently been shrouded in.

Pre-show Quick Results

Sheamus vs. Shorty G

Winner: Sheamus via pinfall

United States Championship

Andrade (c) vs. Humberto Carillo

Winner: Andrade via pinfall

Main Card

Falls Count Anywhere Match

Roman Reigns vs. King Corbin

Winner: Roman Reigns via pinfall

For weeks, Roman Reigns has feuded with King Corbin, Dolph Ziggler, and Robert Roode leaving Roman as the recipient of several beatings and even being doused with canned dog food. This evening tensions came to a head as The Big Dog and King Corbin did battle throughout Minute Maid Park in a Falls Count Anywhere match. It didn’t take long for the match to spill into the WWE Universe where Reigns was able to gain some momentum back from Corbin as he created carnage in the International announce table area. Roman proceeded to put the king through two tables with back to back Samoan drops leaving the ground strewn with pieces of table and monitors.

This quickly turned into a six-man affair as Robert Roode and Dolph Ziggler came to the aid of Corbin not long before The Usos also entered the fray coming to Roman’s assistance. In the closing moments, Roman shoved Corbin into a port-a-potty and tipped it over before the fight spilled onto the top of the Houston Astros dugout. Personally, I believe it would have been fitting for Roman to beat Corbin down with a trash can but instead he delivered a devastating spear for the 1-2-3.

Women’s Royal Rumble Match

Winner: Charlotte Flair

Notable Entrants:

1: Alexa Bliss

2: Bianca Belair

28: Tegan Knox

29: Santina Marella

30: Shayna Baszler

Final Four:

Charlotte Flair
Beth Phoenix
Shayna Baszler
Natalya

Final Two:

Charlotte Flair
Shayna Baszler

Entering the match, there was great speculation as to who would comprise the field as there were only seven confirmed participants. While there were a number of the slots filled by NXT Superstars, fans were treated to four surprise entries. Might Molly (aka Molly Holly) entered at number three, Beth Phoenix at number 19 (who made an outstanding showing for herself despite a gash to her head that turned her hair color from blonde to crimson), Kelly Kelly at number 21, and lastly Santina Marella at number 29.

Yes, you read that correctly…Santino Marella made his way to the ring dressed as a woman. Before he could make any waves in the match he was confronted by Natalya and Beth Phoenix. Rather than suffer a lashing from them, he pulled out his old cobra sleeve, struck himself in the neck, and toppled over the top rope.

The final four competitors in the match were Charlotte Flair, Beth Phoenix, Shayna Baszler, and Natalya. First, after double teaming Baszler with Natalya, Beth Phoenix eliminated her old running mate. Next, Baszler quickly eliminated Phoenix as Charlotte was hanging for dear life on the opposite side of the ring leaving us with our final two women. As Flair continued to hang from the top rope, Baszler approached her with victory seemingly seconds away. Charlotte, however, prevailed as she reached her legs up around the head of the Queen of Spades and propelled her over the top rope.

Smackdown Women’s Championship

Bayley (c) vs. Lacey Evans

Winner: Bayley via pinfall

Despite a strong showing by Evans, Bayley withstood a late moonsault attempt to roll up Lacey with a handful of tights for the pinfall.

WWE Universal Championship Strap Match

“The Fiend” Bray Wyatt (c) vs. Daniel Bryan

Winner: “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt via pinfall

After being dragged under the ring and having his hair torn out by The Fiend several weeks ago, Bryan reemerged looking like Bryan Danielson as the reinvigorated leader of the Yes Movement. Following a barrage of mind games recently on Smackdown, Bryan proposed a strap match for this evening so that Wyatt could no longer escape through the ring. The two competitors were bound by a 13 foot leather strap with the winner being declared via pinfall or submission.

The WWE Universe was completely disengaged in the early going of this match as Wyatt was in total control and relentlessly assaulted Bryan with the leather strap until his back was peppered with welts. Bryan eventually turned the tables as he was able to cinch in a LeBell Lock with the use of the strap shortly followed by a running knee. The match reached it’s conclusion as Wyatt rose to his feet, withstood a lashing with the strap to his chest unfazed, and finally trapped Bryan in the Mandible Claw. Wyatt, with the Mandible Claw still engaged, lifted Bryan from his feet and slammed him into the mat for the pinfall.

RAW Women’s Championship

Becky Lynch (c) vs. Asuka

Winner: Becky Lynch via submission

This match was all about redemption for Becky Lynch. Lynch lost via submission to Asuka at last year’s Royal Rumble and recently found herself the recipient of multiple attacks including being sprayed in the eyes with green mist. In another uncommon occurrence, The Man called out Asuka for this match - behavior not normally becoming of a champion. Asuka brought the fight to The Man, however, the champ withstood several vicious kicks and the Asuka Lock. In the closing moments, Lynch avoided the green mist as the referee was briefly disposed to trap Asuka in the Disarmer which lead her to a submission victory.

Men’s Royal Rumble Match

Winner: Drew McIntyre

Notable Entrants:

1: Brock Lesnar

2: Elias

28: Aleister Black

29: Samoa Joe

30: Seth Rollins

Final Four:

Edge
Drew McIntyre
Roman Reigns
Randy Orton

Final Two:

Drew McIntyre
Roman Reigns

In an unprecedented move this year, WWE Champion Brock Lesnar declared he would enter the Royal Rumble match as entrant number one so that he could dominate the 29 other participants. Brock Lesnar tied the record for eliminations at 13, however, Drew McIntyre entered at 16 and while Lesnar was preoccupied, Ricochet struck The Beast between the uprights allowing McIntyre to kick him right out of the ring.

While the surprise entries were a bit on the light side this year, they certainly resonated with the fans in attendance as MVP entered at number 12 and in an even more shocking turn of events, Edge entered at 21. Fans may recall that Edge was forced into retirement back in 2011 due to a neck injury that required triple fusion neck surgery. Rumors had swirled recently that Edge had been cleared to return to the ring and tonight he substantiated them as the 46-year old was absolutely shredded and looked like he hadn’t missed a step.

The final four of the match were Drew McIntyre, Roman Reigns, Randy Orton, and Edge (which I found amusing after his wife, Beth Phoenix, also made it to the final four in the women’s match). Initially, Randy Orton tried to turn on Edge as he stood poised to deliver an RKO, however, The Rated R Superstar shocked The Viper by tossing him over the top rope after catching him in the act. Next, Edge and Roman found themselves fighting on the ring apron until Edge was finally shoved to the floor.

This left us with McIntyre and Roman remaining. Roman attempted to finish of McIntyre, however, he fell victim to a Claymore Kick and was subsequently thrown over the top rope. Assuming McIntyre decides to remain within the RAW brand and Lesnar retains his title in the coming weeks, we should see the two engage in an epic showdown at Wrestlemania.

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