Wrestlemania 41 Discussion Thread

[d-d-d-dAz]

Nvm

Edited April 15, 2025 by d-d-d-dAz
Wrong thread lads. Don't mind me. Wrestlemania hey? Bag of shit.

[air_raid]

1 hour ago, The King of Old School said:

Depends how you look at it.

It really doesn't.

1 hour ago, The King of Old School said:

Drew facing Big Show after he beat Brock was made quite clear that it happened after Wrestlemania the next night on Raw.

So Therfore that for me makes it a aprr of Wrestlemania.

NXT have routinely taped matches the same night as TakeOver in the same building for airing on the weekly TV. Doesn't make them matches that were part of TakeOver.

Did Mick Foley win the WWF title on the 29/12/98 episode of Raw? Of course he didn't, there wasn't one. Raw aired on 28/12/98 and 04/01/99, so the show Rock vs Mankind was part of, was the 04/01/99 episode of Raw.

https://www.wwe.com/shows/wrestlemania/wrestlemania-36
Where's Big Show? He wasn't on the show. He was in the building and taped a match for Raw after they finished taping WrestleMania. He wasn't part of WrestleMania.

Shall we try again?

1 hour ago, The King of Old School said:

it happened after Wrestlemania

Correct. Happened after WrestleMania, which isn't WrestleMania, for airing on Raw, which also isn't WrestleMania. Not how I look at it, but how it is.

[Guest]

This is all CM Punk's fault for diluting the meaning of the Wrestlemania Main Event.

[air_raid]

16 minutes ago, Duke said:

This is all CM Punk's fault for diluting the meaning of the Wrestlemania Main Event.

That ship sailed long ago.

[tiger_rick]

2 minutes ago, air_raid said:

Great show. They're still selling tapes of it 32 years on.

[SuperBacon]

Saw this on the hellscape.

I want all of it to be honest. 

[NeverYield]

Been busy lately and haven't been able to watch as much wrestling as I was but I'm buzzing for 'Mania now.

[air_raid]

Here’s my hardly-bold predictions.

Positioning the Participation Belt first is telling. You might think they’ve given up on Jey as a failed experiment but historically when a title match goes on first - Edge vs Del Rio, Lesnar vs Rollins - it’s to do a big babyface win to get the energy levels up from the start, so I think that’s what’s going to happen.

In Tiffany vs Charlotte… we all know Charlotte will win the belt eventually. Usually I’d say the heel winning the first match works best because it gives the hero adversity to overcome but in this case, given how Charlie has castrated Tiffy on the mic more than once, I think Stratton looks weak as piss and possibly suffers irreparable damage as a face if she doesn’t win the first fight and shut Charl up on the night. Unfortunately I don’t know if Hunter feels that way, so Charlotte will win. Long run I fear they abandon Tiffy as a face and turn her back, maybe even aligned with Charlotte, even though there’s only room at the top for one.

AJ Styles vs Logan Paul - if Cody vs Cena isn’t match of the night, this will be. I’m tempted to say “bet the house on AJ” because back in the babyface saddle he might be a perfect challenger for if either heel walks out with a big belt.

Lyra turns on Bayley, Jacob wins, Rhea or Bianca pin the other so Io looks an afterthought again.

Rather than Heyman side with Rollins during the match as is predictable, he does so after the match (Punk pins Rollins)  meaning Punk vs Rollins continues to a final conclusion at a subsequent PLE and Punk vs Reigns to a decision is preserved for SummerSlam.

Bron loses the ICT without getting pinned. Should Jey beat Gunther, Bron vs Gunther for a future shot at Uso.

Cody vs Cena - Rock shows up, Cena wins, live crowd shocked. Cena works a couple of different babyfaces before he leaves, drops the title to Cody at SummerSlam, humbly admits he was wrong before getting a retirement match as a goodie. Anything else on the card I’ve either forgotten about, don’t care about, or don’t really have any thoughts beyond “is an announced match.”

Mania 42 - Cody vs Punk, Reigns vs Rock.

[Supremo]

Very unlikely anything that happens on the shows themselves will surpass Drew’s Wrestlemania Top Tips. Doing God’s work.

[FUM]

It’s a travesty that Chelsea Green isn’t part of this show. Why would you leave out a woman who very much looks like the next star of the division (of which there aren’t many) and currently holds one of the belts. She would be far more deserving being on the show than about 5 of the matches.

[The King of Old School]

Looks a mess of a Wrestlemania to me.

Only intrigue is in the Cody/Cena match.

Hopefully The Rock can show up to save the event again.

[The Gaffer]

Was unwell over the last few days so caught up on a few of the recent shows - having not really been following the build at all - and yeah, the UKFF's been telling the true true. 

It's so off the boil. I don't think it's as bad as the interminable Vince 2010s but it's also carefully presented with all the right ingredients so as not to merit rubber-necking a car crash, so it's just in this awkward middle ground where it feels - I dunno - satisfactory by their own standard, I guess. They've just had one of their best years ever and Steph's back proclaiming her love for The Game on camera with barely mustered enthusiasm. It's all good. The Self-Congrattitude Era. 

It's a shame and - to their sort of strength - a tantalising glimpse of what could be as all the ingredients are as good as ever, it's just that none of them are being used as well as they could be. I honestly think just about everyone on the card is either at their best or capable of their best work ever right now - including guys like Punk, Seth and Cena - but they've all walked into the first prolonged spell of Triple H "We're on top, we're the kings, this shit sells itself!" booking. 

There's no new insights here, I know. Was just mildly surprised to see it all confirmed when I had time to kill with that prone, illness-optimism of just wanting to eat up any old pre-'Mania shite. 

Instead the main anchor for one of the main events seems to be Paul Heyman pulling big, confused crying faces. 

It ran its course, but looking back my current feeling is that the Bloodline's longevity and protection just had everything else on TV successfully orbiting around it in a way that made total sense. It disintegrated and nothing took its place. 

The next big babyface champ's first year on top should have done that but - pop quiz - when's the last time the historically babyface champ on top company ever booked a satisfying first year on top for its top guy? 

[The Reverend]

Don't really watch any of the actual product week-to-week, so instead I'll just be watching it for the spectacle. I do love seeing a jam-packed arena, and hopefully they'll do some fancy entrances - which is what they are really good at when they make the effort. I'm sure match quality will eventually see me switching it off and then just watching it in chunks over the next couple of weeks whilst eating, ironing etc. 

It will be interesting to see with this being the very first Netflix WM, just how many will be watching it. With the advertising that Netflix have been doing it will I'm sure it will lure quite a few new and lapsed fans back to the product. 

[air_raid]

1 hour ago, The Gaffer said:

It ran its course, but looking back my current feeling is that the Bloodline's longevity and protection just had everything else on TV successfully orbiting around it in a way that made total sense. It disintegrated and nothing took its place. 

A big problem with that being that Reigns steamrolled everybody so, as we've seen during Cody's reign, nobody looks main event except Cody himself.

[SuperBacon]

1 hour ago, The Reverend said:

Don't really watch any of the actual product week-to-week

I do feel this massively enhances my enjoyment of the events.

I suppose as I get older I'm not so much bothered about the hows and whys, or long term booking, the story or making stars etc, and just want to be entertained on the night/s.

And that's not because I'm too cool to watch or care about wrestling (come on, have you just met me? ?) but I just feel its the best way for me to enjoy it going forward, as I still like to watch the big 4 events, and I just don't have the energy for most of it anymore.