It’s WrestleMania season and this weekend we’ll witness the culmination of the biggest yearly event for professional wrestling. So it’s only right that I put on my FRO Horsemen shirt and talk about WrestleMania 39.
(Remember when nappyafro wrote about pro wrestling too? Good times).
First, let me show some love to the other FRO Horsemen, Saule Wright and GQ-Blu, who I talk to about wrestling almost every day (shout out to King Jerm too, the Mongo McMichael of the group). Here are my thoughts, rambles, and predictions for this year’s “Showcase of the Immortals”.
So, is Cody Rhodes really beating Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship?
Probably. While The Bloodline saga can be traced all the way back to 2020 when Roman Reigns returned and beat up Bray Wyatt/The Fiend, one of the best wrestling stories ever told has to end sometime. And what better time than at WrestleMania? Who on the roster is a better candidate than Cody Rhodes?
There is a story to be made about Roman beating Cody and crossing over 1000 days with the Universal title. Cody has had an easy run since his return, other than The Bloodline reminding him that he was a failure in his father’s eyes and threatening to fuck with his wife (Paul Heyman is a demon). So a story of Cody climbing his way back to the title after falling down could be good. But when does Roman lose his title? At Crown Jewel or something? Nah. (Although for the right price, WWE would probably do this).
What other match are you looking forward to besides Roman vs. Cody?
I really think Seth Rollins vs. Logan Paul is going to be interesting. To the surprise of everyone, Logan Paul is one hell of a pro wrestler and he basically owns Hangman Paige’s finisher (I can say all that because he hasn’t scammed me out of any cryptocurrency). I also always like to point out that Seth “Freakin” Rollins is literally the best wrestler on the planet, and nobody has realized this yet.
Wait. Isn’t there another match involving The Bloodline?
Yes. The Usos vs. Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship. Since Sami Uso was an integral part of The Bloodline storyline, some people think he should have Cody’s position in the main event against Roman. I am not one of those people. I do think this will be a very good match with Owens & Zayn winning the titles. They should have a good run as champions. Until they turn on each other. Again.
What match will be the show stealer?
I want to say Gunther (c) vs. Sheamus vs. Drew McIntyre for the WWE Intercontinental Championship (which should be a “banger”), but I’m going to go with Rey Mysterio vs. Dominik Mysterio. While not as epic as The Bloodline, the story of Rey vs. Dom as well as the story of Dominik Mysterio turning heel has also been in the making for a while (You could even say this started way back in 2005 when Rey Mysterio and Eddie Guerrero had a ladder match for custody of Dom). I haven’t wanted to see a father punch his son this much since Rocky V.
Also, be on the lookout for Dominik and Rhea Ripley to crash Rey Mysterio’s Hall of Fame speech. That should be good too.
Speaking of Rhea Ripley, what about the ladies?
I’ll admit that women’s wrestling in WWE isn’t as intriguing as it once was; there was no way a women’s match could headline this year. That being said, there are still four women’s matches scheduled as of this writing. Out of those four, the one to watch might be Charlotte Flair (c) vs. Rhea Ripley for the WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship. Charlotte and Rhea didn’t have much interaction during the buildup and that didn’t help (This is also a rematch from WrestleMania 36). But Rhea Ripley is not only the hottest person in her crew, The Judgement Day, she is also the hottest woman in the women’s division and her winning the title at WrestleMania 39 match be the start of a proper arrival to the main event and as a solo act.
As for the other matches, Trish Stratus, Lita, and Becky Lynch vs. Damage CTRL will be fun. I should be anticipating Bianca Belair (c) vs. Asuka for the WWE Raw Women’s Championship but I need to see more out of this murder clown version of Asuka. Shout out to Bianca Belair though. She doesn’t get enough credit for how good of a wrestler she has become.
On another note, the Women’s WrestleMania Showcase fatal four-way tag team match has a chance to be the worst match at WrestleMania 39.
Okay. What else?
John Cena is having a match with young and hungry Austin Theory for the WWE United States Championship. This should be okay. I expect Theory to win as I don’t assume Cena has the time to start having US Championship Open Challenge matches again (Which I would love). Also, Cena bodied Austin Theory in a promo so you can’t have Theory lose after that.
There is also a Hell in a Cell match on Night 2 with Edge versus (Hopefully Demon) Finn Bálor. The Judgement Day and Edge feud has probably been going on for too long, but this should be a worthy overdue finish.
I mention that the Women’s WrestleMania Showcase fatal four-way tag team match has the chance to be the worst match on the card but so does Brock Lesnar vs. Omos. Brock Lesnar vs. Omos can either be great or terrible. I’ll give it a pass if this match is used to restart The Hurt Business.
Will there be any surprises to look out for?
I hope to see the return of names like Big E, Matt Riddle, or Randy Orton. Maybe even The Rock having time out of his extremely busy schedule have a hand in the finish to the Roman versus Cody match, but that’s more of me fantasy booking crazy finishes in my head. Other than that, I have no idea but a lot of expectations.
The two nights of WrestleMania 39 should be fun, and besides doing dangerous wrestling moves on small kids around my house during the event, I am excited to watch this year.
Below is the full card as well as my prediction of the winners (Winners will be in bold).
NIGHT 1
- WWE United States Championship Match: Austin Theory (c) vs. John Cena
- Seth “Freakin” Rollins vs. Logan Paul
- Trish Stratus, Lita, and Becky Lynch vs. Damage CTRL (Bayley, Dakota Kai, & Iyo Sky)
- Braun Strowman & Ricochet vs. The Street Profits vs. Alpha Academy vs. The Viking Raiders
- Rey Mysterio vs. Dominik Mysterio
- WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship Match: Charlotte Flair (c) vs. Rhea Ripley
- Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship Match: The Usos (c) vs. Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn
NIGHT 2
- WWE Intercontinental Championship Match: Gunther (c) vs. Sheamus vs. Drew McIntyre
- Hell in a Cell Match: Edge vs Finn Bálor
- Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez vs. Natalya & Shotzi vs. Ronda Rousey & Shayna Baszler vs. Chelsea Green & Sonya Deville
- WWE Raw Women’s Championship Match: Bianca Belair (c) vs. Asuka
- Brock Lesnar vs. Omos
- Undisputed WWE Universal Championship Match: Roman Reigns (c) vs. Cody Rhodes