It's finally here, Wrestlemania XL (aka 40) taking place in Philadelphia starts tonight. We're having my amazing girlfriend Paula and maybe another friend coming over to watch.
We're of course very excited to see The Rock back in action after....oooh lemme check....His last official announced match was at Wrestlemania 29 where he was pinned by John Cena to cap his last comeback which was all of 3 matches long. Sure he had a match at Mania 32 but it was an impromptu challenge against Erick Rowan, then of the Wyatt Family, and it took 30 seconds.
Prior to the 2013 comeback, he had wrestled twice since 2003. Yeah, The Rock hasn't been an active wrestler since 2003. He's had 7 matches in 21 years. That's even less than The Undertaker.
I'm really glad that they didn't go with the Rock vs. Roman storyline right away. That needs to be built up. This weekend is going to be the start, because I totally see Rock and Roman winning tonight and then Rock having something to do with Roman losing tomorrow, which then creates a big SummerSlam event.
Anyway, here's the rest of my predictions, based on my gut and the actual current betting odds.
Bianca Belair, Jade Cargill & Naomi vs. Damage CTRL (Asuka, Dakota Kai & Kairi Sane)
Roman Reigns back in 2016 at
Staples Center House Show
before Money In the Bank
Sadly Asuka’s winless streak at the showcase of the Immortals will continue in this most meaningless of all the matches tonight.
Andrade & Rey Mysterio vs. Santos Escobar & Dominik Mysterio
In the second most meaningless match tonight, originally we all thought that Dragon Lee and Rey would give it up to Santos and Dom, but now that Andrade is back int he mix, he’s pinning Santos for the victory.
Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship -- The Judgment Day [Finn Balor & Damien Priest] (c) vs. #DIY [Johnny Gargano & Tomasso Ciampa] vs. The Awesome Truth [R-Truth and The Miz] vs. The New Day [Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods] vs. A-Town Down Under [Austin Theory & Grayson Waller] vs. New Catch Republic [Pete Dunno & Tyler Bate] (Six Pack Ladder Match)
No way Finn & Damien come out of this with both sets of straps. Yes, BOTH sets are on the line and I guarantee they’ll be split up. I’m going with Awesome Truth getting one set and DIY getting the other.
Intercontinental Championship -- Gunther (c) vs. Sami Zayn
Gunther has been champion for 666 days as of today, and is the longest reigning Intercontinental Champion in WWE history. To put that in context - Gunter is the 182nd Intercontinental champion. The previous record holder was the Honkey Tonk Man, who reigned for 454 days back between 1986 and 1988. He was the 12th champion. I love Sami Zayn. He’s a great worker, a charismatic talker and one of the all around good guys in Wrestling today. He has his own foundations for the causes he supports and isn’t unwilling to speak out. I’d love to see him win here. But I just don’t think he will. Betting odds have been wavering all week, but as of this writing Sami is a -120 to win. This is a tough pick, but and unless the odds change again before showtime, I'll go with Sami.
Jey Uso vs. Jimmy Uso
A battle of Brothers. No way Jimmy gets over on the resurgent Prime Time Jey. I'm really not invested here.
Women's World Championship -- Rhea Ripley (c) vs. Becky Lynch
Rhea will most likely retain here. I’d love to see another belt on Becky, and they could do it since she has a book out, but the current odds are on Rhea.
The Rock & Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes & Seth Rollins
The stipulation here is that if The Rock and Roman win then it’s “Bloodline Rules” for Cody’s challenge of Roman tomorrow. No way that doesn’t happen. Rock and Roman going over. Wouldn’t be surprised if the newly beltless Damien Priest cashes in or tries to cash in his Money in the Bank contract on Seth after he eats the pin.
I'll be back tomorrow morning with results from today and my predictions for tomorrow's Night 2.
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