Oh what a time it is to be a part of the WWE universe right now. Coming hot off of WWE Fastlane and the return of Roman Reigns, fans are getting to see the card really stack up for the grandest stage of them all. With WrestleMania less than two weeks away, we have some exciting matchups to look forward to. Fans will get to see Seth “Freakin” Rollins go one on one with “The Beast Incarnate” Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship. Becky Lynch, Ronda Rousey, and Charlotte Flair will face off in a triple threat match for the Raw’s Women Championship. Shane McMahon vs. “A-lister” The Miz + Randy Orton vs. A.J. Styles, and the rise of “KofiMania” also headline a packed pay-per-view event.
Starting off with arguably one of the hottest stars in wrestling, if not the hottest in 2018, is “The King Slayer” Seth Rollins. Seth has had an impressive 2018, winning the Intercontinental Championship multiple times as well as becoming a Raw tag team champion with Jason Jordan and later in the year with Dean Ambrose. Seth also had some classic matches during 2018- which featured him in a 105-minute gauntlet match where he started the match and squared off against the likes of the “Big Dog” Roman Reigns, “The Leader of the Cenation” John Cena, and The Miz. Rollins lasted a historic 65 minutes in the match before losing to The A-lister. It was only fitting that The Architect bested 29 other men in the Royal Rumble to earn his way to a WWE championship opportunity. His chance is no slouch however, following the PPV the next night on Monday Night Raw, Seth announced he would face Brock Lesnar. Brock Lesnar currently holds the universal championship. The Beast Incarnate is currently in his second run holding the Universal Championship. His first run lasted 504 days. Which stands as the longest streak for the belt.
The Beast lost the title at SummerSlam against one of the former SHIELD brothers Roman Reigns. Reigns were forced to relinquish the WWE Universal Championship due to Leukemia. The title was later put up for grabs at WWE Crown Jewel in a one-on-one match where The Beast battled the “Monster Among Men” Braun Strowman. Five F5’s later, Brock has crowned the new WWE Universal Champion. He has had it by his side since. And someone who has been by his side even longer, Paul Heyman. Some make a case that Brock wouldn’t be champ without him and all the mind games he plays with the Mayor of Suplex City’s opponents. Did I forget to mention that these two have had run-ins in the past? Well yeah, the Architect cashed in his Money in the Bank contract at WrestleMania 31 to Curb stomp Roman Reigns and become The WWE Champion. So there are still some unsettled scores in this matchup as Seth vows to burn down Suplex City and slay The Beast.
Seth Rollins is one of the biggest stars right now, but there may be one star that shines brighter, and her name is “The Man” Becky Lynch. Becky has been white-hot since SummerSlam in August, rivaling long-time best friend Charlotte Flair. How does Ronda Rousey tie into this? Well at Survivor Series, the two brands’ respective champions faced off one-on-one. And Lynch was prepared to face Rousey at the pay-per-view in Los Angeles, but the Monday before, the Smackdown women’s locker room invaded Raw’s, led by none other than the Irish Lass-Kicker Becky Lynch. A brawl ensued; Nia Jax, who was apart of the Raw women’s locker room, caught Becky with a right hand, breaking her nose and giving her a concussion- ruling her out for Survivor Series. The next night on Smackdown Live, Becky chose who she wanted to face Ronda Rousey. She chose her ex-best friend Charlotte. Ronda won the match via disqualification after Flair snapped and proceeded to hit the Raw’s Women Champion with a brutal shot from a kendo stick. Now fast forward to the TLC pay-per-view, the Smackdown Woman’s Title held by Becky was on the line in a hellacious Triple Threat “Tables, Ladders, and Chair”s match against Asuka and Charlotte Flair. After the three superstars put on a hell of a show, Lynch and Flair went climbing to the top of the ladder to reach up and grab the title. Rousey came out of nowhere and pushed the ladder over causing both women to fall and Asuka to remain. She capitalized on the opportunity- securing the win and more importantly gaining the Smackdown Woman’s Championship.
Neither Becky nor Charlotte forgot what Ronda did to them and the feeling was mutual. Rousey being victorious at the Royal Rumble left The Man and Charlotte to meet again in the women’s second-ever 30-person Royal Rumble. Unsurprisingly these two women were the last left in this over-the-top rope competition. Becky, who had an apparent knee injury, still somehow managed to get Charlotte over the ropes and stand up on her one good leg as she reigned victoriously. Much like the Architect, The Man chose who she wanted to face at the Show of Shows for the Championship, and she chose (you guessed it) “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey. After earning the opportunity, a lot of animosities built up between the two from promotions in the ring to jabs on Twitter. A few weeks after Becky was declared the number 1 contender for the Raw Women’s Championship, she was replaced by (you guessed it again) Charlotte Flair. The WWE Universe went into a frenzy when Vince McMahon announced this to the world.
Becky, showing her willingness to do anything to get back in the title picture in time for Mania, showed up to Raw Weekly, got arrested, beat up Ronda and Charlotte, then got a “No DQ Match” with Charlotte. The stipulation was if Lynch won, she would be added to the WrestleMania main event and it would become a triple threat match. This match took place at WWE Fastlane when Ronda again interfered in a bout of best friends as she struck the Irish Lass-Kicker in the stomach, causing a win for Becky Lynch via disqualification. All of this is leading up to one of the most hyped WrestleMania matches of all time. These women will disappoint and will look to do nothing more than try to dismantle each other come to the biggest stage in April.
On the topic of hot superstars going into WrestleMania, one who has been picking up speed since a little before WWE Elimination Chamber is Kofi Kingston. After an outstanding performance in a gauntlet match, the WWE universe has been cheering his name loud ever since. The New Day member was one of two men still standing in the Elimination Chamber for the WWE Championship, the other man was the new Daniel Bryan who is the current holder of the championship. Kingston almost walked out victorious as the new WWE champion, but he came up just short in another performance that was jaw-dropping. After earning the chance to do battle with the new Daniel Bryan for the gold, Mr. McMahon’s music started playing, and he walked out and announced to the WWE universe that Kofi was being replaced. Kofi was replaced by a returning Kevin Owens to face the champion at WWE Fastlane. Kofi and company were not happy with the decision made by the CEO, causing fans to chant “Kofi” all over the arenas and thus, catalyzing “KofiMania”. Kingston has been trying to insert himself in the title picture week after week on the road to Mania, going through gruesome matches just for an opportunity on the grandest stage of them all.
Daniel Bryan has a way of words with the fans of the WWE universe and his opponents to the point where a punch in the face may do him justice. Bryan has the in-ring ability to back up anything he says, and not to mention he has a 6’6 300 pound bodyguard walking around with him in Erik Rowan. Daniel Bryan has put on this “new” persona since winning the WWE Championship back in November, even going so far to change the look of the title into something more biodegradable. Daniel Bryan’s WrestleMania opponent is still up in the air, but hopefully, Kofi can get the chance he deserves to take on the champion and advantage of his first WWE Championship title opportunity in his 11-year career.
WrestleMania is where superstars put it all on the line and dreams come true. Unfortunately, at this WrestleMania, a WWE legend and Hall of Famer is retiring. Kurt Angle announced on Monday Night Raw that Mania will be his last match and he wants to take on no one there except Baron Corbin. Corbin has been a thorn in the side of the Olympic gold medalist and he plans to return the favor and make Baron tap out in the last match of his legendary career. AJ Styles looks to be phenomenal against the Viper Randy Orton, as lines have been crossed and words have been exchanged in this brewing rivalry. Another match to look forward is The Animal Batista versus The Game Triple H. This is a duel between two friends and former members of the illustrious group; Evolution. It all started on the 20th anniversary of Smackdown, when Batista was giving praise to all the former members of Evolution (Randy Orton, Ric Flair) before adding that “Triple H has done it all in this business, except beat me.” Triple H put a smirk on and let it go, time passed and these two were set to see each other again during Ric Flair’s 70th birthday celebration on Monday Night Raw. Well to get the attention of the Cerebral Assassin, The Animal beat down Ric Flair dragging him all through the backstage area. This was enough to enrage The Game, as he set up a “No Holds Barred Match” on the grandest stage of them all. The Show of Shows this year will be hosted in New York and most certainly will not disappoint. The 35th installment of WrestleMania will bring along a spectacle and a lot of matches that’ll get a “this is awesome” chant.
