Superstar Shakeup | Review (kind of) |

Welcome back to the blog. The Superstar Shakeup is in the books. Here are my thoughts about some of the draft picks.

Raw picks

The Miz

Good to see Miz on Raw, perhaps they'll allign him with the B-team again to reform the Miz-tourage.

Andrade + Zelina Vega

Nothing to say here, on to the next.

Ricochet + Aleister Black

I'm surprised they have kept these guys on the same brand. 

The Viking Experience 

Has anyone seen the War Raiders? This is what happens when Vince calls you down to the main roster...

Rey Mysterio

I guess with Andrade being on Raw also, him and Rey can continue their story on this here brand.

The Usos + Naomi 

This was going to happen seeing as Usos lost the smackdown tag titles to the Hardys and Naomi and Jimmy are married. Logical and easy prediction to make. 

Eric Young

Its the end of Sanity with this pick. 

EC3

Someone send this guy back to NXT. He's done nothing since the call down from the yellow brand. 

Cedric Alexander

Good luck to Cedric on the main roster. Hopefully he will challenge for the US title in near future. 

Lars Sullivan (?)

I'll talk about this guy later. 

Lacey Evans 

It looks like Lacey will challenge Becky for the Raw women's title considering events on Monday past.

AJ Styles

Looking forward to see AJ vs. Seth for the Universal title in the near future. Whoever is heel when they meet, it'll make for fantastic television that's for sure.

Pending: Samoa Joe. 

SmackDown picks

Finn Balor 

The IC champ defeated Mustafa Ali on SmackDown debut.

Ember Moon

Good pick this, I hope she challenges Becky for the SmackDown women's title.

Bayley 

The crowd reacted differently to her, WWE should turn her heel. 

Kairi Sane

She will be teaming up with Asuka and be managed by Paige.

Lars Sullivan (?)

There is a question mark with his name because he was on Raw the night before. He attacked Truth and locked eyes on Carmella. Carmella to turn against Truth and align with Lars. 

Buddy Murphy 

A potential contender for Balor's title? Time will tell...

Elias 

He should've stayed on Raw to be honest. How are they going to fill ten minutes on Monday Night? Did you detect sarcasm? Good. 

Roman Reigns 

When It was suggested that Vince was going to announce the biggest acquisition in SmackDown history, I thought it was going to be Brock or Roman. To the surprise of no one, it was Roman. The Big Dog is on Tuesday nights. 

The following names are also on SmackDown following announcements on WWE.com.

Liv Morgan 

Chad Gable  

Apollo Crews 

Mickie James

Heavy Machinery

Free Agent: Nikki Cross. 

The results are in. I was expecting the draft randomiser to return to make interesting viewing over the two nights. It wasn't to be. Instead we had people just showing up without any announcement whatsoever. I hate that. 

Who "won" the Shakeup? I'd say SmackDown. I reckon we will see Ronda or Brock (or both) on SmackDown when it goes to Friday nights on Fox later in the year. 

Thanks for reading. 

WWE SmackDown Live | Post 'Mania Review |

The show started off with the New Day celebrations for Kofi winning the WWE championship at Wrestlemania but that was interrupted by The Bar. This was just a follow up to what happened on Raw basically.

The Bar challenged the New Day to a six man tag for later on, their partner? Drew McIntyre. They should've started the superstar shakeup this week instead of next week. 

Staying with the six man tag theme, up next was Aleister Black, Ricochet and Mustafa Ali vs. Andrade, Rusev and Nakamura. Won by the face team. I didn't care much for this match as you can probably tell. After the match, Randy Orton hit Ali with the RKO from outta nowhere followed by Kevin Owens hitting Rusev with the Stunner. A random finish to this part of the show but I liked it. 

R-Truth and Carmella were interrupted by the United States champion: Samoa Joe, they got into a fight before Joe got Truth into the clutch, afterwards he got on the mic and issued a warning to the rest of the WWE roster. Before being interrupted by Braun Strowman. The monster among men stood tall at the end of this as the champ bailed. Seriously, why wait till next week for the shakeup? First McIntyre and now this?

The new women's tag team champions IIconics were out next to defend the titles against a local team called the Brooklyn Belles. This was a waste of time. 

During a backstage interview, Paige mentioned she would be bringing a tag team to next weeks show. 

Shane McMahon hyped up his win vs.Miz on Sunday. This was a nothing segment, let's move on. 

Teddy Long must have put this show together because we were set to watch another tag team match, this was for the SmackDown Tag Team championships. The Usos vs. The Hardys. 

We've got new Tag Team champions! The Hardys! now this was unexpected. Their celebrations were interrupted by Lars Sullivan.This is what is stupid about wrestling, why do people in the ring just freeze in "shock" when someone's music hits? 

I guess the Usos losing the titles mean they'll probably end up on Raw next week. I want to see them chase the tag titles against the Hardys. With the feud ending in a TLC match at SummerSlam or something like that. 

Becky Lynch walked to the ring to talk about recent events, Lacey Evans hit Becky with the "Women's Right" punch to continue the build up to Money in the Bank. 

In the main event, The New Day defeated The Bar and Drew McIntyre after Kofi pinned Sheamus. New Day celebrated with Kofi's family as SmackDown went off the air.

This was a flat show, the so called buzz after 'Mania is over, other than Braun and Drew appearing nothing of note happened. It's like I mentioned earlier here, They should've started the superstar shakeup this week. 

That's all I'm gonna say for this weeks SmackDown. Next weeks Raw and SmackDown superstar shakeup reviews could be my last for a few weeks, because what usually happens is after WrestleMania we get storylines and episodes that have that slow build, where you probably know what's going to happen in the end, but they take a long time to get the finale if that makes sense, I could do with a break also so there you go. Thanks for reading.

RAW After Mania | Impromptu Review

The title of this review says it all really, this is an impromptu review (kind of) with a twist-ish because I'm not going to go through EVERY single detail of the show as I'm still tired from watching WrestleMania. Let's just go through the action of the show shall we.

Raw's after 'Mania crowds are generally good and this one started off that way. Starting with Seth Rollins talking about his win on Sunday vs. Brock and then he was interrupted by The New Day. Kofi challenged Seth to a winner take all match, which was accepted by The Architect. 

The Revival lost to Hawkins and Ryder, are we surprised? Really? I'm not. I think they are leaving the company for AEW soon. Can I say that? I just did. It's my blog, I can say whatever I want to, as long as it's clean and not offensive. 

Lars Sullivan made his debut and attacked Kurt Angle. Which was strange. Alexa defeated Bayley, interesting to note there was no Sasha. It looks like they are setting up The Man vs. The Lady. After Lacey Evans finally did something other than walk up and down the entrance every week. She attacked Becky. This match is happening at Money in the Bank. 

Skipping ahead here because I can, to Dean Ambrose's last match in WWE. vs. Bobby Lashley. That match never happened seeing as Lashley ended up putting Ambrose through the announce table. The final ever time we will ever see Dean on WWE tv. 

Sami Zayn returned and lost his match for the IC title vs. Finn Balor. Zayn cut a standard heel promo belittling the crowd. Elias was interrupted by The Undertaker. Great to see the Phenom make an appearance here.

It was main event time. Remember at the start of this I said the crowds are good? Well they were until the Bar made the ref stop the match between Seth and Kofi. They completely lost the crowd during the tag match, the crowd could not care less! I don't blame them at all. There were beachball chants, Bullsh*t chants and many more. RAW was decent to good. But the last ten minutes killed that vibe dead. I'm not even exaggerating. 

I'll be watching SmackDown tomorrow, as always. I'll probably writing an impromptu review for that also. Thanks for reading. 

WrestleMania 35 | Review

WrestleMania 35 was LIVE from the Met Life Stadium, There's so much to talk about so let's get started. The Kick-off Show had four matches and here are the results..

Cruiserweight Championship: Buddy Murphy (c) vs. Tony Nese 

Winner: AND NEW Cruiserweight Champion. Tony Nese.

Women's Battle Royal 

Winner: Carmella - Eliminating Sarah Logan last for the win.

Raw Tag Team Championship -- The Revival (c) vs. Zack Ryder & Curt Hawkins

Winners: AND NEW Raw Tag Team Champions. Zack Ryder & Curt Hawkins.

Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal 

Winner of the match: Braun Strowman.

Main Card

Alexa Bliss kicked off the show as WrestleMania host, she promised a WrestleMania moment which resulted in Hulk Hogan walking out to the stadium to a decent crowd reaction. He made the tired old Silverdome joke, I'll be honest with you, I'm not a fan of Hogan and think he is overrated with the work he's done in the past. I'm happy this segment didn't last long. All of a sudden. Paul Heyman walked out in the middle of all this and said he wants Brock last on the card, what was surprising was that it went on first. 

Universal Championship Match: Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Seth Rollins

Seth Rollins won the Universal Championship after being dominated by the Beast early on. I picked Lesnar to win, but, I'm happy to be wrong. WrestleMania was off to a great and unpredictable start. Brock was the "Architect" of his own downfall for taking Rollins lightly, thinking it was going to be an easy win. Nope! Winner: AND NEW Universal Champion: Seth Rollins.

AJ Styles vs. Randy Orton

This was a fun back and forth match between these guys, slow at times, that's a typical Orton match for you. AJ picked up the win with the Phenomenal forearm after countering the RKO. Winner: AJ Styles. 

SmackDown Tag Team Championship -- The Usos (c) vs. Ricochet & Aleister Black vs. The Bar vs. Rusev & Shinsuke Nakamura:

A really entertaining match, every team played a nice part in the match. The right team prevailed in the end. The tag team titles remain in the Uso penitentiary. Winners: AND STILL SmackDown Tag Team Champions. The Usos.

The Hall of Fame class of 2019 was introduced next, with DX out last.

The Miz vs. Shane McMahon (Falls Count Anywhere)

This was your usual run of the mill falls court anywhere match, ending with Miz superplexing Shane off the scaffolding, that was a good spot to be honest. Shane landed on top of Miz and won via the three count. Winner: Shane McMahon.

Women's Tag Team Championship -- Sasha Banks & Bayley (c) vs. Beth Phoenix & Natalya vs. Nia Jax & Tamina Snuka vs. The IIconics

Billie Kay capitalised on Phoenix's finishing move and stole the win for her and Peyton Royce. They received a nice reaction from the crowd. Winners: AND NEW Women's Tag Team Champions: The IIcoincs.

WWE Championship -- Daniel Bryan (c) vs. Kofi Kingston

This was the match of the night, Daniel Bryan as a heel was fantastic, Kofi hit the Trouble in Paradise for the win. He deserved it. It's been eleven years and he's finally made it to the top of the mountain. KofiMania is here ladies and gentlemen. Winner: AND NEW WWE CHAMPION. Kofi Kingston.

United States Championship -- Samoa Joe (c) vs. Rey Mysterio

Joe made easy work of Rey, winning via the clutch in his first match at WrestleMania.

Winner: AND STILL US Champion. Samoa Joe.

Roman Reigns vs. Drew McIntyre

The Big Dog picked up the win over McIntyre in a physical match via the SuperMan punch and Spear. Winner: Roman Reigns.

Elias was next, playing various musical instruments. Would he get interrupted? The answer was yes. John Cena went back to the Dr of Thuganomics days. Word Life! This was a great throwback to the Ruthless Aggression Era. This was their big plan for John Cena instead of putting him in a match vs. Kurt Angle? they've missed out on telling an easy story there. Creative booking isn't very creative is it? 

Triple H vs. Batista (No Holds Barred; Triple H's career on the line)

Perhaps the best thing about this match was the entrances. More so Triple H's. Actually, I take that comment back. The spear from announce table to announce table was class. The Game hit the Pedigree after an assist from Ric Flair for the win. Winner: Triple H.

Kurt Angle vs. Baron Corbin (Farewell Match)

Corbin won via the End of Days. After the match. Kurt thanked the crowd and walked away in a feel good moment. Another legend retires. It was about time to be honest. Winner: Baron Corbin. 

Intercontinental Championship -- Bobby Lashley (c) vs. Finn Balor

Predictably, Balor won the match. I would've gone into more detail about it but I was getting tired at this stage of the show. Winner: AND NEW Intercontinental Champion. Finn Balor.

Winner Take All -- Ronda Rousey (c) vs. Charlotte Flair (c) vs. Becky Lynch 

This was a history making match, the crowd was fading at this point of the event, trying their best to support "The Man" and they gradually woke up. This was a fast paced main event which featured near falls to keep us guessing who was going to win it all. That was "The Man" Becky Lynch, defeating Rousey with the reverse pin. Winner: AND NEW Raw and SmackDown women's champion. Becky Lynch.

Overall, this was a good WrestleMania, but too long. 7 and a half hours. I don't know how I got through the show still awake as it finished at around 5:30am UK time. There might be a Raw and SmackDown follow up if anything of importance happens. I'll see you for the upcoming WWE Draft / Superstar Shakeup. 

Thanks for reading. 

WrestleMania 35 | Predictions

Welcome to the WrestleMania 35 predictions blog, let's not waste anymore time and get started with the Kickoff Show matches....

Women's Battle Royal (Kickoff Show)

I'm going to select two competitors in this match and for the men's match for the winner of the respective Battle Royal matches. They're essentially knock off Royal Rumble matches aren't they? 

Winner of the match: Asuka or Lacey Evans.

Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal (Kickoff Show)

Winner of the match: Braun Strowman or Kevin Owens.

Cruiserweight Championship -- Buddy Murphy (c) vs. Tony Nese (Kickoff Show)

There's nothing else for Buddy Murphy to do on 205 Live, I see him being called up to the main roster in the very near future.

Winner: AND NEW Cruiserweight Champion. Tony Nese.

Raw Tag Team Championship -- The Revival (c) vs. Zack Ryder & Curt Hawkins

I thought all along it was going to be Ricochet and Aleister Black challenging the Revival for the titles instead of being included in the SmackDown match. To me it seems like it's the Revival of Curt Hawkins (no pun intended) meaning his defeat streak is ending.

Winners: AND NEW Raw Tag Team Champions. Zack Ryder & Curt Hawkins.

SmackDown Tag Team Championship -- The Usos (c) vs. Ricochet & Aleister Black vs. The Bar vs. Rusev & Shinsuke Nakamura:

I'm going to break this match down like this. Ricochet & Aleister Black should be pushed individually on the main roster instead of being a team, The Bar have already won the titles before so been there, done that. Rusev & Nakamura look like they're not going to last long. Which means only one thing....

Winners: AND STILL SmackDown Tag Team Champions. The Usos.

Kurt Angle vs. Baron Corbin (Farewell Match)

Winner: Baron Corbin. (unfortunately)

The Miz vs. Shane McMahon (Falls Count Anywhere)

This is perhaps the most consistently well booked feud of all the matches, there has not been a moment where I've thought "Yeah, this feud needs to end quickly" Miz's dad is going to give his son the assist here.

Winner: The Miz.

Women's Tag Team Championship -- Sasha Banks & Bayley (c) vs. Beth Phoenix & Natalya vs. Nia Jax & Tamina Snuka vs. The IIconics

It's way too early to take the titles off the current Women's Tag Team Champions.

Winners: AND STILL Women's Tag Team Champions. Sasha Banks and Bayley.

United States Championship -- Samoa Joe (c) vs. Rey Mysterio:

There's reports of Rey being injured and there's a lot of doubt of this match taking place. If this match does go on as planned then here is my prediction.

Winner: AND STILL United States Champion. Samoa Joe.

Intercontinental Championship -- Bobby Lashley (c) vs. Finn Balor: 

Finn Balor is coming to Wrestlemania as the Demon and guess what? He's winning here. Winner: AND NEW Intercontinental Champion. Finn Balor.

Triple H vs. Batista (No Holds Barred; Triple H's career on the line)

A match that has been rumoured for many years is finally happening this Sunday. It's going to be GAME OVER for The Animal. Winner: Triple H. 

AJ Styles vs. Randy Orton

Originally, I had Orton to win via the RKO out of nowhere, but they gave it away on SmackDown and so I've changed my mind. Winner: AJ Styles.

Roman Reigns vs. Drew McIntyre

Drew McIntyre has been really good lately, taking credit for ending The Shield, if he was facing anyone else on the roster. I'd have him winning the match, but he's facing Vince's guy. Winner: Roman Reigns.

WWE Championship -- Daniel Bryan (c) vs. Kofi Kingston

WWE to their credit have built up Kofi superbly since the Elimination Chamber, the crowds on SmackDown have been fully behind him also. I wouldn't be shocked if Vince swerved us all during or after the match like many times before, or if Big E and Xavier Woods both turned heel. Big E is looking like he's turning, either at WrestleMania during or after the match or on SmackDown on Tuesday, because his character as of late has been heelish as it were. I've made my choice.

Winner: AND NEW WWE Champion. Kofi Kingston.

Universal Championship -- Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Seth Rollins

Question: Would WWE have all the Faces win the big matches or have two out of three win. I'm going with the latter. I'm picking Brock to remain champion, until RAW Monday Night. RAW's after WrestleMania have generally been much talked about shows. I say, have Brock get provoked verbally by Rollins which results in the Beast putting his title on the line which Rollins wins. I like the sound of that.

Winner: AND STILL Universal Champion. Brock Lesnar.

Winner Take All -- Ronda Rousey (c) vs. Charlotte Flair (c) vs. Becky Lynch 

If you've made it this far, I applaud you. The segment on the go home episode of RAW has me looking forward to watching this history making main event, This match has a scenario where anyone could win, but for me and every WWE fan, there's only one winner (obviously) AND NEW RAW & SmackDown Women's Champion. "The Man" Becky Lynch.

It was bought to my attention that I haven't talked about Alexa Bliss - The host of this years WrestleMania. Why? Because I had no idea what she was going to do besides your standard backstage segments and interviews, the same old stuff. Having said that, I do have a bold prediction or two for what she could do on the show. Alexa could come out instead of Vince to interrupt Kofi during his celebrations, if you looked closely at Kofi's contract on SmackDown, it had a completely different date to the one WrestleMania is taking place. Bliss could bring that to our attention and deem the result and match null and void.

Or...Plan two. This depends on if she is healthy and cleared to wrestle, Alexa has some sort of Authority to make matches for 'Mania right? She could walk out during the main event and insert herself in the Winner Take All match, making it a fatal four way, she won't win, but that would make the match even more interesting so there you go...

During this event. I hope we see cameos from Stone Cold, The Undertaker, If Elias is singing on Sunday, I pick The Rock to interrupt him and have a singing contest of sorts that ends with a Rock Bottom and People's Elbow. John Cena's potential plans (if he appears on the show) have been kept very quietly, I sense that he will either accept Samoa Joe's open challenge (if Rey is unable to compete) or take out Corbin before the match. 

That's it for the predictions. The WrestleMania review will be on here on late Monday or early Tuesday at the latest. Enjoy the show if you're watching.