Category: Wrestling

Last Friday evening, Chairman and CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) announced that he is to retire.

At 77, time for me to retire.
Thank you, WWE Universe. 
Then. Now. Forever. Together. #WWE #thankful

— Vince McMahon (@VinceMcMahon) July 22, 2022

At first, you would think that his Twitter account was compromised, as he had only reassured talent (WWE Superstars) a mere month ago at the Money in the Bank PPV that he wasn’t going anywhere.

A follow-up announcement was published on WWE Corporate website detailing more about this. https://corporate.wwe.com/news/company-news/2022/07-22-2022a

This includes that he is to retire but still be a shareholder (He is the majority shareholder of the company) and his replacements is his daughter, Stephanie McMahon and Nick Khan as “Co-CEO’s”.

Earlier on Friday, it was announced that Paul “Triple H” Levesque had resumed his position as Executive Vice President of Talent Relations, a position that he held from the beginning of NXT (The wrestling promotion, not the gameshow) in 2013 until 2020 when he stepped back due to health concerns.

Vince’s retirement comes soon after the Wall Street Journal published 2 articles about incidents of sexual misconduct, going back to at least, the mid-2000s with ‘hush’ payments of at least $12 million being made to various people, in and out of the ring.

The first report from the Wall Street Journal, detailed about how a paralegal was hired by WWE who was paid $3 million dollar in a ‘hush’ payment from Vince, but while employed, her wages were increased from $100,000 to $200,000 during this relationship.

To date, several law firms have begun investigating these claims of sexual misconducts. As of writing, there hasn’t been any update to any of these investigations.

With Vince leaving the most prominent position in WWE since he bought then-named WWWF from his father back in 1982, Vince leaves behind a legacy that seen him sent Professional Wrestling into mainstream entertainment domination.

Without Vince, we would never have had Wrestlemania, the infamous Attitude Era, John Cena, The Rock, Batista, The Undertaker, Eddie Guerrero, Roman Reigns, Sasha Banks, plus thousands of other professional wrestlers, managers, commentators, backstage interviewers.

We wouldn’t have had the Monday Night Wars between WWF and WCW back in the 90’s. We wouldn’t have had NXT. We wouldn’t have had competition in the form of TNA (Now, IMPACT Wrestling), Combat Zone Wrestling, Game Changer Wrestling, Ring of Honor, All Elite Wrestling and multiple various different promotions that has come and gone. Indie promotions that has produced home-grown talent who have gone onto WWE to become massive households names.

Without Vince, professional wrestling would still more than likely be a circus attraction.

Now with Vince leaving the company, we are entering a new era of Professional Wrestling.

Fans are itching to see how well Stephenie and Nick can produce new and exiting superstars. The thoughts of the proverbial ‘Forbidden Door’ being swung open, just like how AEW has already opened its door with New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) with their AEW x NJPW: Forbidden Door PPV back in June.

Some talent that are in other promotions (mainly AEW) would see this as a great opportunity to go back to a place that they worked for previously. Perhaps they were frustrated by Vince personally or the way that WWE was being run. The likes of CM Punk comes to mind. Tag teams like FTR could see themselves back in the company to be on the world stage once more.

That may not happen today, nor tomorrow thought as they are not expected to make big changes just yet.

Over the next 3 – 5 years, we will see a change in Professional Wrestling. New management, new talent, new opportunities. Younger minds making these sweeping changes that would reintroduce healthy competition between all promotions to make professional wrestling bigger and better.

In some cases, WWE as a company was/is being held back by Vince but maybe that changes. Or has the ‘powerfulness’ of Vince over the years, become second nature for the likes of Stephanie, Nick and the rest of WWE management.

I am personally excited for a new change. Not just lipstick on a turd and blaming Baron Corbin for poor ratings.

It’s Night 2 of Wrestlemania 38 and here are my predictions for the most stupendous Wrestlemania Sunday of all time

(I am doing this late, so just my predictions)

Non-Title Matches

• Xavier Woods & Kofi Kingston vs. Sheamus & Ridge Holland

See my post from yesterday with my prediction. It was cut from the card due to time constraints.

• Johnny Knoxville vs. Sami Zayn (Anything Goes Match)

Johnny Knoxville to win!

• Pat McAfee vs. Austin Theory

Pat McAfee to win!

• Bobby Lashley vs. Omos

Bobby Lashley to win!

• Edge vs. AJ Styles

Edge to win!

Title Matches

• RK-Bro (C) vs. The Street Profits vs. Alpha Academy in a Triple Threat for the RAW Tag Team Championships

The Street Profits to become the NEW RAW Tag Team Champions

• Queen Zelina & Carmella (C) vs. Sasha Banks & Naomi vs. Rhea Ripley & Liv Morgan vs. Natalya & Shayna Baszler in a Fatal 4-Way for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship

Rhea Ripley & Liv Morgan to become the NEW WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions

• WWE Champion Brock Lesnar (C) vs Universal Champion Roman Reigns (C) in a Winner Take All Championship Unification Match.

Brock Lesnar to become both WWE and Universal Champion.

The most stupendous 2 night event, Wrestlemania, WWE’s flagship Pay-Per-View takes places this weekend from the AT&T Stadium in Dallas, Texas.

This will be the 2nd time that WWE will hold the event over 2 nights. Wrestlemania 37 last year, the first PPV with a crowd since March 2020 really solidified that you don’t have to have a 6 hour PPV (Looking at you Wrestlemania 35)

As there is going to be a lot of matches on the card for tonight, I will keep the predictions concise.

Note: At time of writing, these matches are scheduled to happen tonight, matches may not happen, competitors may change and matches may have moved to tomorrow

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UPDATE:

• Seth Rollins vs ???

Well, this has been confirmed in the last few mins (at 5:30pm IST on 2nd April 2022) It’s quite obvious that the person that is going to face Seth is Cody Rhodes.

I can see Cody winning his return match at Mania. Should be a fun one.

Non-Title Matches

• King Woods & Kofi Kingston vs Sheamus & Ridge Holland

The small stable that Sheamus has with Ridge Holland and B U T C H (fka. Pete Dunne) has really grown on me since the introduction of B U T C H and them being the heels, I can see them taking the victory from Woods and Kofi.

There is nothing at stake if Kofi and Woods lose so hopefully the heels go over here.

Sheamus & Ridge Holland to win.

• Drew McIntyre vs Happy Corbin

This hasn’t been the best build for these. It feels like that we have seen this match, plenty of times. I could see Madcap Moss turning on Corbin which will cost him this match.

Drew needs to get back into the title picture as him floundering around in the mid-card is not doing him any favours.

Drew to win.

• Rey & Dominik Mysterio vs The Miz & Logan Paul

I hate this feud. This is nothing more than to make Logan Paul look good here and as much as I despise him, I suppose he’ll do as a competitor here. I would like to see Ray & Dom win this but there is no reason for them to do so.

The Miz & Logan Paul to win…

• “Stone Cold” Steve Austin to ‘confront’ Kevin Owens

I don’t see this becoming a match, but more so a brawl to build up to another PPV… perhaps Summerslam and then have the two face off. If they do a match, Stone Cold to win. But I see this as a fun closure of Night 1 regardless of what happens.

Title Matches

• The Usos (C) vs Shinsuke Nakamura & Rick Boogs for the SmackDown Tag Team Championship

I like Shin & Boogs but the story isn’t about them, it’s about the Usos and whether they can ‘do the job’ and keep the titles in the Bloodline. I feel a shake up coming with the Usos is coming but not yet… Perhaps at BackLash or another PPV but for now The Usos to retain.

• Becky Lynch (C) vs Bianca Belair for the RAW Women’s Championship

As much as I adore Becky for being an Irish badass, you can’t look past the fact that Bianca is here and is here to get revenge for the Summerslam loss.

I’m torn though, Becky would be untouchable if she can retain the title, but then questions would need to be answered about Bianca… If she can’t beat Becky, what is the point of her being there? Is she going to admit defeat or are we going to go for another match down the line at Summerslam and then let her have the big moment then?

Becky Lynch to retain!

• Charlotte Flair (C) vs Ronda Rousey for the SmackDown Women’s Championship

Well, there is nothing much to say about this. Take the title off Charlotte and give it back to her later in the year to pad the number up again. A great excuse for Ronda to get that big Wrestlemania moment that she didn’t get at Wrestlemania 35.

Her running rampant in the SmackDown’s Women’s locker room will keep her tied over until some big returns like Asuka and Bayley happen and then have a big match at Summerslam.

Ronda to win the championship.

After a 17-month hiatus, I am proud to announce that I am back to doing WWE and AEW PPV Predictions.

This is my predictions for  NXT TakeOver Stand & Deliver PPV 2022.

Non-Title Matches

• Tommaso Ciampa vs Tony D’Angelo

This looks to be the very end of Tommaso’s run in NXT. He has outlived pretty much everyone on the roster and he has done everything that he could possibly do on the rainbow brand and I feel that his time to go to the main roster is well overdue.

Giving the rub to Tony D 🤌is the right way to tie a nice little bow on this chapter of his professional wrestling career.

I don’t see Ciampa leaving WWE at all, but I hope to see him full time on the main roster after this weekend and hopefully be in the upper card and gunning for the world title.

Tony D’Angelo to win.

• LA Knight vs Gunther

This is a difficult one to call. Gunter has been in WWE for a few years now and LA Knight has been shooting up in terms of becoming a main event star and I could see him coming along with Tommaso to the main roster and being a great guy on the mic.

Gunther (And the rest of IMPERIUM) could go to the main roster as well to mix things up and become a dominant force on RAW/SmackDown because I feel that they have done everything already by being in NXT and NXT UK. Gunther had that long NXT UK Championship reign and I don’t see him going after the NXT Championship any time soon, so bring them all up.

This would be a great match none-the-less and I hope that Gunther wins.

Title Matches

• Toxic Attraction (C) vs Raquel Gonzalez & Dakota Kai for the NXT Women’s Tag Team Championship.

It was a bit jarring this week when Raquel and Dakota came back together as a tag team, but going into this match and looking at this, it’s quite obvious that Raquel’s and Dakota’s time on NXT is coming to an end. Being on the main roster would be a great addition.

Both have been great and just like Ciampa, Kai has been in NXT since late 2015 (Signing a contract in late 2016). And with Raquel being as impressive as she has been in the last couple of years, it’s great if the likes of them were rewarded by coming to the main roster.

They would make a great dent in the WWE Women’s Tag Team scene which is in desperate need of saving. There is no reason for Toxic to lose the titles at this stage. I feel that they can go all the way to <summer ppv event> with the titles…  

Toxic Attraction to retain the titles.

• IMPERIUM (C) vs The Creed Brothers vs MSK in a Triple Threat for the NXT Tag Team Championships

As I have said previously about Gunther, IMPERIUM’s time in NXT is pretty much done. They have had a great run and would be nice to see them being the monster heels on the main roster. They have been great in NXT and NXT UK and would fit in great.

The Creed Brothers have really grown on me since the Dusty Cup and would be fitting for them to be the new champions. MSK don’t need the titles as they are a charismatic duo that can stand on their own feet without the title.

I don’t see MSK moving up just yet and for now they could be in a great programme with Creed Bros, the lumberjack dudes (Josh Briggs and his friend)  and perhaps Jacket Time.

The Creed Brothers to become champions.

• Carmelo Hayes (C) vs Santos Escobar vs Solo Sikoa vs Grayson Waller vs Cameron Grimes in a Ladder Match for the NXT North American Championship

This is probably going to be the most fun match of the night. Every time NXT does a ladder match for the title, it is always a blast! This is a harder match to predict given that you have so many men but also so many great opportunities. Through shenanigans, I can see a screwy finish quite easily and given their recent actions, my money would be on Santos Escobar.

He seems to have been lost in the shuffle ever since losing the NXT Cruiserweight Championship to Carmelo Hayes. Solo and Grayson have only come onto the scene and while I could see a programme between Grayson and Santos, it would leave Solo hanging around in the mid-card.

For Cameron, I think he is ready for the main roster, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he doesn’t win it. I would like to see Carmelo retain it until the summer PPV event.

Santos to win the title if Carmelo doesn’t retain.

• Mandy Rose (C) vs Cora Jade vs Io Shirai vs Kay Lee Ray in a Fatal 4-Way for the NXT Women’s Championship

One thing for sure about the NXT Women’s Division, it is STACKED. There is so much great female talent and this has been showcased with the arrival of Mandy Rose from RAW/SD, KLR from NXT UK and Io being well… Io!  

This has been a great feud. Unfortunately, I don’t think we are going see Toxic Attraction leave with all 3 belts. Mandy (in my opinion) is going to lose the Championship. She has been great as a champion, but I feel that the cowardly heel is not going to help. There may be some interference from Gigi and Jaycie but it won’t work to her advantage.

Since October (Halloween Havoc), Mandy has only defended the title twice and it was against Cora Jade and Kay Lee Ray. But I feel that Cora could be the one to get the title. There has been a lot of hype around Cora Jade as of late and while I also like the idea of Kay Lee Ray becoming champion, I don’t think it’s time for her reign yet.

If they don’t put the title onto Io, I would not be surprised if she is moved to the main roster soon afterwards. She has done a lot on the brand I feel that her time could be up. As for Mandy, I see her staying in NXT with TA but I don’t see her or the others moving up to the main roster any time soon.

Cora Jade to win the NXT Women’s Championship.

• Dolph Ziggler (C) vs Bron Breakker for the NXT Championship.

You would think that this is an easy one to predict. DZ goes down to Florida, gets the title and hot potato it back to Bron at Stand & Deliver. No. Not me.

I think the show-off is sticking around for a while. He doesn’t need to go back to RAW full time… to do what? Be on Main Event and tag with Robert Roode? Let him stay in Florida for a bit, let him train up some of the guys down there and while that is happening, let him hold that title.

Plus, I would expect some shenanigans from Robert Roode at some stage in the match.

Bron is great and don’t get me wrong, he could well be on the main roster by Monday night, but that would be pulling the trigger too soon. WWE should hold off until at least later this year, but ideally this time next year.

Bron still needs a bit of work on promos in my opinion and a bit more experience in ring. 2022 is going to be a good year for Bron if he can keep up his training and the development of his character. For now:

Dolph Ziggler to retain the NXT Championship.