The issues have not resulted in a total shake-up of alignments, nor in D-listers getting shots at top titles, so only so much unpredictability happened. I figured WWE was out of tricks, and I was settling back into the pace.

Then Shane McMahon reappeared.”Holy shit” indeed, live audience.

I'm a pessimist by experience, but WWE feels more fun right now than it has in a long while, and it's not just because of WrestleMania season or the breather I got from my hiatus. WWE is in a position that it cannot stick with its formulas that it's insisted on using for the past few years, and a little of the old “anything can happen” attitude is back. It may not stick around for long, but I'm going to enjoy it while it lasts. And the culmination of all these circumstances has led us to the following matches...
 

Triple H (c) vs. Roman Reigns

Match type: Standard singles

What's on the line: The WWE Championship

How we got here: The top title situation was the most shocking part of my hiatus, and the timing was a little too perfectly aligned with what transpired. At last year's WrestleMania, Roman Reigns faced defending WWE Champion Brock Lesnar after the former won the 2015 Royal Rumble. The fans rebelled against this choice, pretty much booing both guys; Lesnar was a heel at the time, but few fans considered Reigns worthy enough to be the face of the company. Seth Rollins, who still had his Money in the Bank contract, cashed it in after 90% of the match had been completed. To massive cheers, he managed to dispatch Lesnar and pin Reigns to become the new champion.

Rollins played a great heel backed by the power of The Authority, led by Triple H and Stephanie McMahon. Rollins played a cowardly heel role but always found a way to win—by hook or by crook—in his title defense matches. Even better, he really carried the ball in his role, bringing charisma and heel promos with the best of them. Rollins was booed, make no mistake; but he was booed for the right reasons. Reigns feuded with him for much of 2015 after WrestleMania, but Rollins always stayed one step ahead.

Rollins, however, took one too many steps it would seem, and in November at an overseas house show, he suffered a massive injury: complete tears of his ACL, MCL, and meniscus, sidelining him for likely close to a year. Though a #1 contender's match had already taken place—one in which Roman Reigns had won—any eventual title match was canceled and replaced with a big tournament. Triple H offered Reigns a couple bye rounds as long as he agreed to join The Authority, but Reigns declined.

Reigns pressed on, and at Survivor Series, he won the tournament and became the WWE Heavyweight Champion... for a few minutes before Sheamus, winner of the 2015 Money in the Bank match, cashed in and took the title.

Still, WWE seemed to be in a rush to keep pushing Reigns on the fans, and he was granted a title match against Sheamus on a December episode of RAW. He won the title for the second time then, despite Vince McMahon acting as a guest referee; I still haven't seen that match, and I have a feeling it's so convoluted that it would make me angry, so I'm not looking through Hulu's archive.

Vince and The Authority were not keen to leave Reigns alone, especially since Reigns didn't make things easier on himself by raising his fists against Triple H when rejecting offers to join The Authority. This culminated at the 2016 Royal Rumble: Reigns would have to defend his title that night in the Royal Rumble itself. It was a fairly historic stipulation, as the Royal Rumble had only once been used to directly determine the champion, and that was back in 1992 when the title was vacant. Reigns started at #1 and lasted most of the match, but was among the last few to be eliminated. The fans perked up: someone else would be taking the win, and WWE teased that it would be Dean Ambrose.

But with failing ratings and the smattering of other injuries, WWE stuck to the old faithful, a decision that I certainly can't blame them for, even if, as a fan, it wasn't exactly something I was rooting for. For better or worse, Triple H, who had inserted himself into the Rumble at #30, eliminated Ambrose at the end to win the WWE Championship, his 14th world title.

Then stupidity happened: without any contenders, and despite The Authority trying like hell to get the title off Reigns throughout autumn and winter of 2015/16, they randomly created a #1 contendership match between Reigns, Ambrose, and Lesnar at the Fastlane pay-per-view in February.

The storyline fell apart with the slightest examination. In addition to the nonsense with Reigns, The Authority tried to create a divide between Reigns and Ambrose, who consider themselves brothers. There were a lot of teases, but no payoff: though they fought each other as hard as they could, they didn't “break up” or anything. In fact, in between beating up each other at Fastlane, they worked together to minimize Lesnar's chances.

But that's another misstep: what was The Authority's end game here? Triple H (in-character) wouldn't want to face Lesnar, who has turned face since 2015 and has been booked as a massive, dominant, unstoppable force. But they didn't want Reigns either, and Ambrose has always been a thorn in The Authority's side (since his character is basically a lunatic; his personal logo is a bastardization of the anarchy symbol). What, exactly, was Triple H trying to achieve here? It was never explained, and although it ultimately doesn't matter, I always find it annoying when WWE doesn't at least try to make a cohesive story for its top title.

Regardless, no matter what WWE's plan is, the fans seem to be against it. Reigns is booed out of the building any time he goes toe-to-toe with Triple H, despite Trips's best efforts to be a heel. Trips even gets mightily booed in every other situation for the right reasons; but when Trips and Reigns interact no matter the context, the fans cheer Trips and boo Reigns for the wrong reasons.

WWE is not deaf, and it looked like they might throw us a curveball at the Roadblock pay-per-view, as Ambrose faced Trips one-on-one for the title. As Rick pointed out in a recent RAW recap, WWE has thrown this curveball the past two WrestleManias: with Daniel Bryan being inserted into the main event (and winning) two years ago due to the fans' absolute rebellion to the 2014 Royal Rumble, and with the Rollins cash-in last year. However, Ambrose failed to win at Roadblock, so the main event was set for WrestleMania, regardless of the fans' wishes.

Pyro's Prediction: The boos against Reigns have only increased in volume week to week, and there's little sign that they're going to soften by the time WrestleMania happens. With no indication that anything new or different is going to “shock the universe” in the next few days, I would be hard-pressed to recommend to WWE this match goes on last on the card, even though it's technically the main event.

The only out I see here to keep the fans from rioting (or “rioting” in the Modern Era, which is just boos and quiet acceptance) is if Shane McMahon wins his match (see below) before the main event happens, and then uses his power to change WrestleMania at the last possible second. But that would be a tremendous reach, and I don't see it happening regardless; though, Shane's match, whatever the outcome, should probably be the true main event. There's another match on the card that could potentially steal the show as well, so Reigns / HHH doesn't even work for a workrate main event. With no additional stipulations or gimmicks either, there appears to be little reason for the fans to get into it. If Reigns wins, he's going to get booed out of the whole city; if Trips wins, it's business as usual and a callback to a less-exciting era. The fans lose either way.

Perhaps that's just me being entirely too fatalist; I have a propensity to conflate my emotions and feelings when it comes to professional wrestling, for whatever reason. The bad feels really bad, the good feels really good. I'm trying to curb it, because it's an unhealthy personality trait. And besides, I'm still going to watch WWE regardless of the match's outcome. It's just that I don't think WWE really did their best effort here, between the nonsensical story and continually pushing Reigns despite the fans' rejection of him, and that's not just the fault of the spate of injuries.

That's not to say it'll be a bad match. I'm not shy about saying how much of a fan of Reigns I am, and Trips's experience leads him to one of the best in-ring competitors of all time. Trips also has barely missed any steps from his heyday in the Attitude Era. The match, technically speaking, will be good. But their work won't be able to counter the fans' rebellion, and the overall match atmosphere will suffer as a result.

So, who wins between the rejected upstart and the aging all-star? If it wasn't WrestleMania, I'd say Old Faithful should continue to hold the title a bit longer. But WrestleMania is historically the night of the faces, so Roman Reigns wins the match and the title, and the fans will mercilessly destroy him for it.

It can work if WWE isn't afraid to completely turn Reigns and throw his character under the bus. Reigns has been “robbed” of the title several times in the past couple years, and there's a chance he may just “snap” at the fans' reactions against him. Maybe Reigns works better as a heel; he certainly did during his Shield run. My biggest worry is that Reigns wins the title and then acts like a normal old-school babyface deaf to the fans' reactions, but I have a sneaking suspicion that WWE has something up its sleeve to make sure the main event doesn't quite end that way.

The Undertaker vs. Shane McMahon

Match type: Hell in a Cell singles

What's on the line: Control of Monday Night RAW (if Shane wins), Undertaker's career (if Undertaker loses), and a pointless macguffin

How we got here: A true breakdown of how we got here is going to be seven years' worth of information, so we'll try to keep it brief. Shane McMahon left WWE seven or eight years ago to pursue additional real-life businesses. I can't help but feel for the guy: born into a family business like that makes you sort of an heir to a throne, whether or not it's wanted, an Shane clearly wanted a break away from it. After playing around with a mixed martial arts company, Shane left for China and became quite independently wealthy as he pretty much created the concept and infrastructure of pay-per-view to the billion-plus population of the country in a field with no competitors.

I don't know why he left China; there is a 20-minute radio interview he did recently (linked to here) which, at the time of this writing, I still haven't listened to that may shed some light on that. Without knowing anything about him personally, my guess is that on some level, he always wanted to be a part of WWE, and it was always a question of “when” he'd come back, not “if,” but we all suffer burnout, and it's understandable that he wanted a break.

That's especially true of Shane, who fought some of the most physically intense matches during the Attitude Era. This is a guy who's routine finisher was to jump from one turnbuckle to the other laterally, and who willingly hit a leg drop off the top of the Titantron in a 30-foot freefall. Just typing that gives me vertigo and angina.

He made his return in the most spectacular and unexpected way on a random Monday Night RAW, the first after the Roadblock pay-per-view. Vince McMahon had created an award named after his father, Vincent J. McMahon, as a “lifetime of excellence award.” And he called down Stephanie McMahon to receive it, who said she totally didn't expect it, but still had a full binder of notes for her acceptance speech. Cute, and at the time, we just figured it was a function of additional heelishness as the evil McMahons rubbed each other's backs.

But after a couple lines from Stephanie, “Here comes the money!” fired up on the house speakers, and Shane appeared from gorilla looking just as young as ever aside from the gray hair. I usually make a joke about crowd ovation here like, “The fans reacted as if The Rock arrived and announced he was coming back full-time!,” but the joke is not apropos: the reaction to Shane was universal, loud, raucous, hopeful, and energetic. “Electrifying” doesn't do it justice; The Rock wishes he got greeted like that during his yearly cameos. It took no less than four chants before the fans calmed down enough to hear him speak, and when he did, you could have heard a pin drop in the center of the ring with how much the fans were enraptured by his words.

Shane proceeded to bleed reality into fantasy, stating that while Stephanie had been running the company in his absence, she had actually run it into the ground. He had numbers for proof: the injuries, the lowered pay-per-view buyrates, the lowered television ratings, lackluster ticket sales, and the general fan attitude. Much of that is unfair in reality—it's not like Stephanie pulled a Tonya Harding on John Cena's shoulder—but it serves as a strong premise for the story and Shane's comeback. Shane declared then that he's here to pull the company out of the gutter and keep it rolling for his own sons to eventually inherit, and he wants control of RAW, since that's the helm that steers the ship.

The story took a bit of an unnecessary turn from there, as Shane is also blackmailing Vince about something or other, but nobody really cares about that since it's so ham-handed and pointless that smarter fans tune it out. After all, unless you're in the tabloid business or a Kardashian fan, it's unlikely you would give a second of thought to a different family's internal drama that doesn't affect you in the slightest, whether the premise is grounded in reality or not.

Vince seems more upset about this magical lockbox macguffin than control of RAW, but regardless, he agreed to give Shane a chance to win said control. Shane just needs to win one match: against the Undertaker at WrestleMania in a Hell in a Cell. Shane agreed to the match before Vince informed him of the opponent or gimmick, but it's unlikely Shane would have backed down regardless. Vince has spent the intervening weeks being publicly disappointed in his son, while Shane has basically deflected all that nonsense and instead is concentrating on the match itself.

While Shane's goals are clear, the Undertaker's goals are less clear. For a few weeks, we had no idea why Taker would agree to all this in the first place; Vince finally implied a few weeks ago if that Taker loses, he's fired, but it if Shane wins, he could just rehire Taker immediately. I've been racking my brain to look for a different reason that would make sense to justify Taker's involvement, and the best I can come up with is that Taker is willing to follow Vince's orders as a favor or some sort of sign of mutual respect since they've operated together for decades. But even that's a stretch, and no reason has been stated on-air at all.

It makes no more sense now than it did when it was first announced, but Taker doesn't seem to need much motivation. He has stated, in his Undertaker less-is-more way, that all of Shane's heart and moxie—and newly acquired martial arts skills he has trained in since leaving WWE—won't be enough to beat him. Taker deflects blame for what he will do at Mania—“Your son's blood will be on your hands,” he's told Vince—but it's clear that for whatever reason, Taker is coming into this to not just win, but destroy Shane in the process.

Pyro's prediction: As a counterpart to the main event, the fans are incredibly into this matchup, vocally on everyone's side except Vince's. Shane is getting the loudest cheers, but Taker isn't getting booed; we want to see a fight, and the conditions are right that it's going to be a crowd-pleasing one no matter what direction it goes.

Conventional wisdom says not to bet against the Undertaker at WrestleMania. After Brock Lesnar snapped The Streak two years ago, a Taker win has been a little less of a sure thing. But every year I think will be Taker's last—I was completely, 100% convinced his match with Lesnar was Taker's last, especially after hearing reports that he legit collapsed in the back due to the physicality of the match. Yet he came last year to defeat Bray Wyatt, and even stuck around for a few post-Mania weeks to compete in some surprise matches. So I'm not about to guess when the guy will ever truly retire; even though I think every year is the last year, I wind up being wrong.

If I had a magic crystal ball and knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that this was Taker's last year, I'd call him to lose. It seems to be a professional wrestling staple out of legit respect that if an outgoing all-star says it's a retirement match, they will win; but if it's not a kayfabe “retirement match” even though it's a legit one, it's likely they'll lose it and go out on their shield, so to speak. Chris Jericho, for example, is on record as saying that when he's ready to leave the business for good, he'd prefer to lose and just disappear; while it's been many years since that interview, almost all veterans from the Attitude Era seem to have that mentality.

Undertaker, for all his faults, still probably draws the absolutely highest respect out of all professional wrestlers currently alive in the United States and Canada, regardless of brand and activity on their respective rosters. Whenever his last match will be, he will get all the applause from his peers, and he'll likely never have to buy his own drinks at any bar for the rest of his life. It's a near-sure thing that, whenever his last match will be, he will go out on his shield and put over someone who really, really needs the push and can make real use of it.

Shane doesn't need the push, and unless something goes tragically wrong, I don't foresee this being Taker's absolute last match. Undertaker wins, but it won't be the end of the McMahon family drama. Shane doesn't lose anything, and he can capture control of RAW some other way in the near future.

If nothing else, everything seems to be lining up for a Shane victory, and—please hear me out on this—this reminds me a bit of Jerry Lawler vs. Michael Cole from [[xxx]]. Lawler was trained while Cole was not, Lawler had Steve Austin as a guest ref, etc., etc. Everything looked be going Lawler's way, and no one had any reason to suspect otherwise, which is why WWE swerved us and pulled some weird chicanery, including a decision reversal, to give Cole the real “win.” Today, I'm seeing that absolutely everything is in Shane's favor (aside from Undertaker himself and the match stipulation), especially with the fans' fervor to see him win. This is usually the kind of situation where WWE likes to swerve us for God knows what reason.

Now, granted, WWE needs the ratings boost. Making Shane the on-screen general manager or RAW would put a lot butts in the seats and eyeballs on the screens. The post-Mania RAW is usually among the most highly rated episodes of a given calendar year, and the accompanying crowd is usually belligerent and incredibly fun. But any post-Mania boost, even from a Shane win here, is not going to last long. Shane is great, but long-time fans haven't been tuning out of WWE because of the on-screen administration, but the tepid storylines and lack of sizzle and excitement coming from the Creative Team and other WWE brass. And the negative numbers have only told part of the story: WWE still makes a lot of money. A change would be good, but a non-change isn't going to be the iceberg that sinks the Titanic.

As I said in the first entry, I've seriously considered with my fantasy booking seeing this match go second-to-last, Shane wins, and then he does something before or after the main event (but before the end of the pay-per-view) to make his first landmark decision to shake things up. But doing so would be a reach; it would go over better and wouldn't be the death knoll equivalent that was WCW's decision to reset all the titles and storylines in 2000, but I just don't see WWE having the guts to do it. Shane loses after a bloody, hard-fought match (though not as bloody as the second cell match ever since, although they keep replaying Mankind crashing through and from the cell roof, we're never going back to a match that hardcore), and he'll continue to pursue control of RAW afterward. Hell, maybe Undertaker wins the match and immediately starts to pitch Shane for the job anyway. However it happens, Shane will get what he wants... just not yet.

Brock Lesnar vs. Dean Ambrose

Match type: Street Fight (no countout, no disqualification)

What's on the line: Nothing

How we got here: Brock Lesnar walked into WrestleMania 31 with the WWE Championship, where was set to face 2015 Royal Rumble winner Roman Reigns. As mentioned previously in this article, Seth Rollins cashed in his Money in the Bank contract mid-match and pretty much stole the title from Lesnar. When Lesnar demaned a rematch, Rollins declined; Lesnar beat up everyone nearby, including the commentators and a cameraman, leading to a (kayfabe) suspension.

He returned in June after The Authority named him #1 contender, so he faced Rollins at WWE Battleground. However, the match ended after interference from Undertaker against Lesnar; Lesnar won the match, but Rollins kept the title. Lesnar then proceeded to face Undertaker in a couple matches throughout the rest of 2015.

Lesnar next appeared in the 2016 Royal Rumble. He lost thanks to half the roster ganging up on him, but he was entered in a triple threat match against Reigns and Ambrose at the Fastlane pay-per-view in February, with the winner to be the #1 contender to the title. Lesnar lost that too, and as Reigns won and moved on to the main event. Lensar focused on getting a measure of revenge against Ambrose, both because of the loss at Fastlane, and because Ambrose was being a jerk.

Ambrose was no innocent bystander, as he's spent most of the weekly RAWs before and since Fastlane either taunting Lesnar, calling him out, or physically attacking him. In each instance, Lesnar always comes out on top, usually by way of Suplex City off exit F5, but Ambrose—sometimes even half-unconcious from the ground—would continue taunting his way into the minds of Lesnar.

This is Ambrose's gimmick: an indestructible “lunatic fringe” who will take the biggest beating in the world but continue picking fights because it's what he loves to do. He's proved it over the last twelve months by fighting everything that moves, though he's always the bridesmaid and never the bride: despite flirting with the WWE Championship against Rollins in mid-2015 and again with Triple in early 2016, Ambrose is a perennial loser in feuds. He'll win his battles, especially when his attacks are unexpected, but he's had a tough time holding onto momentum long enough to stand tall when all is said and done.

Pyro's prediction: But this year will be different, and Ambrose will defeat Lesnar at WrestleMania. WWE generally books its plots to be fairly even heading into most pay-per-views: a non-decisive match here, a sneak attack there, and everything stays just about even. For this feud, it hasn't worked that way, and although Ambrose has a couple “wins” with sneak attacks or crotch kicks, he's been on the receiving end of punishment far more often than not. Ambrose has taken so many F5s over the past couple months that the Weather Channel is going to start calling it “Ambrose Season” instead of “tornado season.”

But as I said in the Shane/Taker match, this is the kind of situation that leads WWE to swing the metronome the other direction. WrestleMania is usually the time for fan-pleasing victories, and with Lesnar's limited schedule, he can't appear on weekly television much longer. Granted that Lesnar has been turned face by the fans since the Royal Rumble, but the fans are hot for Ambrose too, and I don't think they'd rebel against his win. Ambrose beats Lesnar here and rides that momentum for a while against different opponents.

Here's a fantasy booking for you: Reigns wins the title in the main event to massive boos. Ambrose hits the ring to congratulate him, since they're “brothers” and everything. Reigns, who is hearing nothing but the onslaught of disapproval, thinks Ambrose is just being sarcastic. Reigns snaps and beats the crap out of Ambrose, and boom: we have a heel turn, and Ambrose has an instant feud for the WWE Championship. It solves a few problems, and puts a non-rejected babyface in contention for the top title.

Of course, that wouldn't necessarily have to happen all in one night; it could be slow-burned for a while. Either way, Ambrose can actually use the win to keep going. Lesnar loses nothing with a loss, especially given the match gimmick. Ambrose can bring out every weapon under the sun to give Lesnar an excuse to lose. If it goes the other way, and Ambrose loses, then what was the point of the feud in the first place? I doubt Ambrose would lose any star power, but it would be a colossal waste of his time. The crowd is really hot for him; the momentum shouldn't be thrown away.

That's not to say that Ambrose is going to bury Lesnar. Far from it; in fact, this only works well if Ambrose is taken to his absolute limit, and a street fight implies a nice, long, bloody battle. Weapons galore, maybe some blood, and I'd be disappointed if the battle doesn't go through the crowd for a quarter of it.

I would wager this match will be at or near the opener. While Lesnar is money and perhaps shouldn't be jerking the curtain, don't forget that we have a huge Hell in a Cell match that will go on near the end of the night. As I said in the previous entry, we're long past the days when we're going to see thumbtacks and handcuffs in a cell match, but they're going not going to make it just a simple, glorified cage match either. As a result, WWE will want to space out its brutality a little, so I expect the street fight to be early in the show (and close to the seven-way ladder match; see below), and the Hell in a Cell to go third-to-last (with a different penultimate match to calm down the crowd). If it breaks the way I'm predicting, Ambrose will win and make the crowd ecstatic, which is a good reason to have the match early: pump them up for the rest of the night with a good, bloody fight where the craziest competitor involved finishes on top.

Seven-way Ladder Match

Who's involved: Kevin Owens (c), Dolph Ziggler, Sami Zayn, The Miz, Sin Cara, Stardust, and Zack Ryder

What's on the line: The Intercontinental Title

How we got here: Though Money in the Bank has its own pay-per-view now, it seems a multi-man ladder match is now a running a staple of WrestleMania, to no one's complaint. This year, we'll see the white belt hung above the center of the ring as seven men fight each other and gravity to earn it.

Kevin Owens hasn't been on the main roster long, debuting in May of 2015, when he assaulted John Cena during Cena's United States Title weekly open challenge. Though Owens didn't get the US Title by the end of the feud, he did earn the IC Title against Ryback at Night of Champions in October. He promptly lost it to Dean Ambrose, but won it back in February on RAW. So far, he's he's successfully retained it since.

However, he's not been short of challengers for it. Top of the list is Sami Zayn, a legit close friend of Owens and perhaps the man he's feuded the most with going back to their indy days. Zayn has been in WWE for a while in NXT, but was promoted to the main roster starting with Royal Rumble 2016, during which he eliminated Owens, thus kickstarting their rivalry in WWE. Owens has played the cowardly heel, avoiding Zayn as much as possible, though Zayn finally managed to get his hands on Owens (and hit him with his finisher) in a tag match last RAW.

Though Owens and Zayn could probably be considered the main “stars” of the match (in regards to them actually having a direct feud), Dolph Ziggler is arguably the most over one of the others. However, his character was slightly in limbo over 2015, not entirely through his fault. His only major storyline involved being romantically involved with Lana, Rusev's manager and valet, in a love triangle. However, Rusev legit proposed to Lana (being an off-screen legit couple), and the on-screen storyline was aborted. Which was all well and good, except it left Dolph in the lurch. Despite being generally visible, Dolph hadn't done anything else of note in the year, aside from losing to Owens at Fastlane for the IC Title.

The Miz isn't much better, spending the majority of 2015 losing matches when he wasn't filming movies. Some of those weren't necessarily his fault either, as he had a minor feud with Ryback, but Ryback's legit injuries canceled those payoff matches. He too sort of randomly inserted himself into this ladder match.

Sin Cara at least has had some success, as he and his tag partner Kalisto (forming the Lucha Dragons) held the WWE Tag Titles for a while in 2015. However, they lost them to The New Day at SummerSlam, and never regained them. Cara got legit injured in December, and Kalisto went on to win the United States Title; although Cara has healed up in plenty of time for WrestleMania, and although the Lucha Dragons are still a unit, they've been focusing on their solo feuds in the short-term.

Stardust has been visible too in 2015 with various feuds, including a match against Stephen Amell, the actor who portrays Green Arrow in the CW Arrow show, based off the DC Comics universe. As with most celebrity matches, the celebrity won; Stardust hasn't won many feuds otherwise. One such feud loss was against Titus O'Neil who teased trying to convert Stardust back to “Cody Rhodes,” but the efforts fizzled out. Stardust was at least involved in a five-way IC Title match on a February RAW, so he has a reason to be close to the title.

Finally, Zack Ryder spent 2015 carving out a new role for himself in NXT. Despite being off the main roster, he was making headway with his new teammate Mojo Rawley, calling themselves the Hype Brothers, and winning a bunch of matches, though they never captured the NXT Tag Titles. Ryder hadn't been seen on RAW or SmackDown, but was making a little progress with occasional victories on the main roster's D-shows. Apparently that was enough to get noticed.

The exact seven here came to cross paths finally when Zayn, Ziggler, and Miz all vied for Owens's title, and Owens agreed to “a triple threat #1 contender's match” on a March RAW. It was a nice little tease as we assumed to see those three involved, but instead Owens got Cara, Stardust, and Ryder to fight instead. The match was a watch as the former three came down to ringside to argue with Owens, thus resulting in everyone assaulting everyone else. Various combinations of the seven have been featured in different matches as the weeks went on, and oddly enough Ryder is the one who usually stands tall at the end of it.

Pyro's prediction: But that doesn't mean Ryder is going to win it now, nor will Stardust or Cara. Let's not mince words: the reason those three were featured in the triple threat match was because they're clearly below Owens's level. That's the joke, after all. But it's not like WWE would reverse the punch line: all three are over for various reasons, and Cara is capable (however likely) of doing something incredibly cool with the myriad ladders, but none of them are going to capture the title. Ryder especially has a good thing going on NXT with the Hype Brothers thing, so why would he want to stop that to defend the IC Title?

That leaves Owens to retain, or Zayn, Ziggler, or Miz to win it. The problem with Ziggler and Miz is that, unless something massively surprising happens, both their stars have likely peaked and will not return to their previous heights. Neither will probably hold a world title again, and I'm not even sure the IC is within their range anymore. I'd figure that maybe Ziggler has a shot based on little more than his previous goodwill among the fans, but I'd be amazed if Miz would get the nod.

So that leaves Owens and Zayn, and frankly, I think it's a no-brainer here: Sami Zayn captures the Intercontinental Title. It gives Zayn the push he needs to make an instant splash of credibility in the main roster, and it gives Owens and him an excuse to feud for a while (to SummerSlam at least), which will just be all sorts of awesome. It also stops Owens's hot garbage of his cowardly tactics, just so he can start them up again to chase the title.

...At least, I'd be 100% sure of that going down, had Zayn not won a moral (and match) victory last RAW. The “SmackDown Rule” isn't as hard and fast as it was in the Attitude Era, but remember that usually the last “winner” on the weekly shows is the loser of the pay-per-view payoff. But I'm going to stubbornly with my pick anyway, even though I can see the storyline benefit in having Owens win here despite the odds against him. It could even be Zayn who is Owens's last obstacle up the final ladder climb, which still gives Zayn a reason to kick off the feud and chase the title anyway. I wouldn't be disappointed in the slightest if they go that way with it, but I'll give Zayn the nod for my official pick.

Charlotte (c) vs. Sasha Banks vs. Becky Lynch

Match type: Standard triple threat; likely no-DQ and no-countout

What's on the line: The WWE Divas Title

How we got here: One year ago, none of these three women were on the main roster, but they all got their start in July 2015 after Stephanie McMahon called for a new “divas revolution,” mainly to add some new blood to the roster, especially after the fans clamored for more attention to be paid to the women. Many of the NXT divas were promoted to the main roster, including the three involved in this match, and several different three-woman teams were formed.

Charlotte and Becky started off allied with established diva Paige, forming a stable originally called “Submission Sorority” (since each woman had a submission-type finisher), but then called “Team PCB,” which sounds like an illegal psychedelic sold out of the van in a Walgreens parking lot. But Team PCB was the most successful of the three teams, beating them in a triple-threat 9-woman tag match at SummerSlam.

Charlotte continued to ride that momentum, edging out her teammates in a Beat the Clock Challenge in late August, thus becoming #1 contender to the championship, then owned by heel Nikki Bella. Charlotte won the title cleanly at Night of Champions, but was presently betrayed by Paige, who turned heel in the process. Paige attempted to win the Divas Title from Charlotte, but failed, then disappeared for a while as she rested a legit injury.

Throughout the rest of 2015, Charlotte slowly descended into more heelish tactics, especially once her father, Ric Flair, started interjecting himself more often in her matches. This included when Charlotte defeated Becky thanks to chicanery in the ring and an assist from Flair. Though Charlotte continued to berate and attack Becky as the weeks went on, Becky had two chances at the title and lost both times.

Meanwhile, Sasha Banks had allied herself with established divas Naomi and Tamina when Stephanie started the “divas revolution,” calling themselves Team BAD (Beautiful And Dangerous). Team BAD served as the heel foils to the other teams, and though they had limited successes, none of them were ever in a position to really challenge for the title. Sasha had a couple wins against Paige independent of any greater rivalry, but then disappeared from television with no explanation in December.

Sasha made her return at Royal Rumble 2016, interfering in a title match between Charlotte and Becky, just to make her intentions for the title known. Immediately after that, Naomi and Tamina started insulting Sasha for essentially rising up the ranks without their help, and soon the words turned to assault, turning Sasha face by proxy.

As Sasha's rivalry with her former partners heated up, Becky had been shut down by Charlotte and opted to help Sasha out. Sasha didn't turn into an all-trusting team player; quite the opposite, as Sasha and Becky continued to be rivals even while helping each other deal with Naomi and Tamina (who retained the Team BAD name). With Team BAD dispatched at Fastlane, both Becky and Sasha set their sights on Charlotte's Divas Title. Charlotte made them compete in a couple #1 contender's matches but interfered, leading to someone (it was never explicitly stated who) booking the triple threat match for WrestleMania.

Pyro's prediction: Aside from Natalya and Paige, these three women are the most ring-capable on the roster. That's in no particular order, by the way: the five are the best, but I'll leave rankings debates to others. The point is, this is going to be stellar match, and not just a “stellar match for the divas,” assuming WWE actually gives them a good fifteen to twenty minutes to actually have it and tell a story. Plus, I always enjoy triple threat matches since they're usually a faster pace than singles matches due to the fact that the wrestlers can catch their breaths without resorting to rest holds or teasing ten-counts.

And the match is going to end decisively, which is even better. By their nature, triple threat matches are usually no-DQ and no-countout. Given all the other hardcore matches on the card, and the fact that WWE hasn't introduced hardcore elements into women's matches since Chyna was active, it's not like the no-DQ stipulation means Becky is going to be swinging kendo sticks. It does, however, allow the women the freedom to move the battle to ringside now and then, further adding to the variety.

The feud recently has seen all the women trading wins by hook or by crook, and Charlotte has taken it upon herself to (unsuccessfully) try to convince her opponents to care more about each other than her. With Ric Flair's help, it's added up to a lot of cowardly results in Charlotte's favor. It would be incredibly redundant for them to pull that once more, so the odds are against Charlotte in retaining.

Between Becky and Sasha, I can't notice any appreciable difference in their in-ring overall abilities on a pure quality basis. If pressed, I suppose that Sasha makes her transitions between spots a little smoother, but on the whole I'd call them equal between the ropes.

However, Sasha is clearly more over between the two. She's not the second coming of Trish Stratus or anything, but her attitude, mic abilities, and general character are really resonating with the fans. Becky is popular to be sure, but she doesn't draw the eyeballs like Sasha does. To quote Stephanie McMahon, what's best for business here is Sasha Banks winning the Divas Title. I'd like to see her pin Becky, which not only extends the rivalry, but gives Charlotte a reason to demand a rematch since she didn't “lose” the title. However, for as long as it may last, I think the best play here is to give Sasha a run with the title for a while.

This also gives her plenty of options as the year rolls on toward SummerSlam. Naomi or Tamina (or both) would have reasons to step up to her and challenge for the title, and Becky could try again for revenge. Conversely, if Becky wins, her options are far more limited without more plot setup; Sasha winning allows them to smoothly transition into other rivalries while additional ones get setup. It's the smartest play, and Sasha deserves the chance.

AJ Styles vs. Chris Jericho

Match type: Standard singles

What's on the line: Nothing

How we got here: Neither guy needs much introduction in this day and age. Chris Jericho recently came back to WWE after another one of his Fozzy-related hiatuses, returning in early January to announce he'd be in the Royal Rumble. AJ Styles, who many thought would never come to WWE, made a surprise debut at Royal Rumble 2016 itself, where he lasted the majority of the match and made an incredibly strong showing. Jericho lasted a bit longer, though he didn't win either. Both men, strong fan favorites, returned as faces.

The next night on RAW, Jericho and Styles met in singles competition for the first time. Styles won clean, then offered a handshake, which Jericho accepted. But the loss was bitter, and Jericho said that while “good” wrestlers may beat him once, only “great” wrestlers could beat him twice. In the intervening week before the rematch, Jericho was attacked by The Miz during a Miz TV segment, and Styles made the save. Thus, they teamed together for a week or two, extending their rivalry. At Fastlane, their rematch happened, and once more Styles won.

Ostensibly impressed by Styles's skills, Jericho offered to form a tag team with him. Styles accepted, and as Y2AJ, they beat the Social Outcasts in short order. They also defeated WWE Tag Team Champions The New Day. It was a non-title match, but the victory earned them a title shot the next week. However, Jericho was pinned and lost the match. Styles tried to help him to his feet, but Jericho hit him with Codebreakers three times, thus turning heel.

The next week, Jericho explained that he felt betrayed by the fans for chanting for Styles over him, since Styles hadn't proven himself, and Jericho was the best in the world at what he did. Jericho then spent the remainder of the weeks assaulting Styles and sarcastically cheering for him, though Styles returned the favor with a new “Y-Two-Jack-Ass” chant that has picked up a little steam. Oddly enough, it took that chant in the middle of a Jericho match that pushed Jericho over the edge enough to accept a challenge at WrestleMania. The fact he lost to a Zack Ryder flash pin in the process due to the distraction probably didn't help matters.

Pyro's prediction: Jericho and Styles work really well together and have had some solid matches, but I don't think this one is the end of their feud. Styles has already won a couple times, so another victory wouldn't prove much; they need a gimmick match to finish off the feud. Chris Jericho wins here, bringing balance to the face-heavy picks otherwise, and likely will do so with some sort of chicanery. It'll give Styles an excuse to ask for another match, something more decisive.

I'm looking at this one to be as similar to a weekly match as anything else on the card. I'm not saying it will be bad or poor; both guys could make me look like a world-class wrestler if they wanted, and they'll have the pride to step up their game to top themselves in the past regardless of the venue, though WrestleMania will give it some extra sizzle. Styles is young enough and skilled enough, despite pushing 40, that this isn't going to be his only WrestleMania; he'll get a win here at some point, just not this year.

The match quality makes extra sense when you factor in how big the other matches are going to be. Proper crowd pacing is a real thing, and you can't have the Hell in a Cell, Street Fight, Seven-Way Ladder Match, and main event all consecutively without burning out the crowd. Even if Flo Rida or some other idiot sings for fifteen minutes and annoys everyone, WWE needs matches to help space out the intensity. This will serve perfectly in that role. I look for Jericho and Styles to do a serviceable job at WrestleMania, but steal the show in another pay-per-view or two.

The New Day vs. The League of Nations

Who's involved: Big E, Kofi Kingston, & Xavier Woods vs. Alberto Del Rio, Rusev, Sheamus, & Wade Barrett

Match type: Handicap 3-on-4, presumably tag rules

What's on the line: Nothing

How we got here: The New Day has gone through a dramatic personality change since their inception in 2014. Back then, their gimmick was all about the “power of positivity,” ostensibly supporting each other and cheerleading for each other in increasingly over-the-top ways. The fans booed them for the right reasons: they were too “good,” too wholesome, especially when they started showing heelish tactics but trying to dismiss it as us not getting them. I confess I fell for it at first, since I assumed they were always supposed to be faces and were just getting rebelled against. I was wrong: it was a long con, and they turned fully heels as they got angry at the crowd for bastardizing their chants and not believing in them hard enough.

They carried the gimmick throughout 2014 and much of 2015, but something changed as they progressed. Their antics became less about “postivity,” and more about whatever randomness they had come up with since we last saw them. Once Xavier Woods produced a trombone that he named Francesca and started involving “her” in his distractions against opponents, the fans slowly came around. The boos were far less frequent, and the bastardization of their “New, Day-rocks” chant turned back into the fans genuinely chanting along. They were so ridiculous at their “comedy” that they became parodies of themselves, ironically becoming truly hilarious in the process.

Francesca became a thing after their second WWE Tag Title win at SummerSlam (the first coming in early 2015 at Extreme Rules, just after WrestleMania), though it would still take a few more months before their face-by-crowd turn was complete. In the interim, they fought under Freebird Rules, meaning any two of their members could defend the titles. Generally, Kofi Kingston and Big E do the heavy lifting, which is just as well, since Woods is absolutely priceless at ringside.

They perhaps solidified their face turn in January, just after the Royal Rumble (though they were getting loudly cheered there). At Fastlane, Edge and Christian made a collective guest appearance to host a talk show segment, where they called down New Day and harassed them for essentially copying E&C's old Attitude Era shtick. It worked as a lampshade, though New Day has plenty of unique charm about them to not just be “E&C 2.0.”

Regardless, New Day has not lost the tag titles since regaining them at SummerSlam 2015. They have been challenged for them by many teams, including against members of the newly formed stable League of Nations, established just after Survivor Series 2015. There was no particular story there: all four members had their own things going on, including Sheamus winning the WWE Championship from Roman Reigns at Survivor Series after cashing in his Money in the Bank contract. But each of the four had been somewhat languishing on the roster without much to do, and all four allying together gave them a reason to watch each other's backs and become more than the sum of their parts. Sadly, Lana is not a part of it, but no one seems to mind too much.

The League of Nations teamed up with the New Day at one point very late in 2015, when New Day was still considered heel. However, their rivalry was only temporary and against mutual enemies. New Day, riding high on their success with their titles, publicly mocked all other tag teams on the roster over several weeks, but only the League of Nations actually came down to the ring to shut them up. Thus the rivalry started and, despite trading wins, the League has only been granted two tag title matches: one at Roadblock, and one two days later on RAW. Both resulted in failures for the League of Nations, but they attacked New Day in frustration anyway.

Pyro's prediction: Although the 4-on-3 stipulation is different than their recent matches and is a natural progression from various 2-on-2 combinations, this can't be an end game to the feud unless the New Day pins them decisively, and I'm not sure that's the right play here. I love the new New Day gimmick, but how long can they keep the titles while still maintaining this gimmick? Remember, they've held the titles since August; that's a pretty long run.

The Tag Titles are not on the line in this match (although I could easily foresee that being added as a last-second stipulation even if the teams aren't even), but a victory from the League of Nations would give them a reason to try one more time. We've seen two combinations of the League try New Day for the titles, meaning there are four other combinations they haven't tried. Long-term, it makes sense that a particular combination is the one that wins the titles, and even has the “best” success. It would give the entire stable a reason to fracture eventually, as those two would think they're better than the others.

They'd have to get the titles first though. The League of Nations wins at WrestleMania, and they use it to catapult themselves into the title situation later down the road. New Day can drop them and chase, and the feud can even continue much longer as a result.

My only hesitation would be if New Day is actually considering adding a fourth member. If so, I think they'll win, but there hasn't been a single tease or rumor about such a plot point. Just some fantasy booking, you understand; frankly, given that everything is going really well with New Day, there's no reason to alter the fire they've caught.

Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal

Who's involved: Adam Rose, Big Show, Bo Dallas, Curtis Axel, Damien Sandow, Darren Young, Fandango, Goldust, Heath Slater, Jack Swagger, Kane, Konnor, Mark Henry, R-Truth, Tyler Breeze, and Viktor (16 announced)

Match type: 20-man battle royal

What's on the line: Nothing

How we got here: The Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal is the last announced match of the main card. Started in 2014 at WrestleMania 30, it's become an annual tradition. The first was won by Cesaro (when the battle royal was randomly comprised of 31 men), and last year's was won by Big Show. Although the winner gets to lug around a big trophy for a while, the match has not been used as much of a status push. However, the match is entertaining and gives all the C- and D-listers who otherwise don't have matches a WrestleMania paycheck, so I'm always happy to see the match.

Pyro's prediction: I almost decided to write this in a way that didn't make it an “official” prediction, but it's not like I'm actually playing against anyone here for my prediction percentage to mean a damn thing, so screw it.

Ignoring the fact that not all twenty-ish competitors have been listed, I'm going to assume that the winner has to be one of the ones they've already mentioned. So let's run down the list...

First, I'm throwing out The Ascension since it wouldn't make sense to give the trophy to only a single member of a full-time tag team. Also, since R-Truth and Goldust are in the process of forming a tag team of their own, they wouldn't benefit from it either (or at best it would be a distraction from their already established story), so that leaves twelve.

Mark Henry, Kane, and Big Show meanwhile don't need it, and all three have stepped way down from full-time work. Fandango, Damien Sandow, and Jack Swagger are sort of treading water without much going on, so unless they're going to use the trophy as a relaunch point—which, again, WWE has not historically booked that way—I don't see them getting it either. That leaves six.

Darren Young is in some limbo, since Titus O'Neil is his tag partner but got suspended for an incredibly stupid reason a month ago. He won't get it either. Tyler Breeze is too green; not even sure he's technically part of the main roster yet, and it would be way too much of a stretch to see him win it at all.

That leaves four... and all four comprise the Social Outcasts. They haven't done much lately either, but they've been pushing promos on the fans now and then and getting reactions. The last time they were on the main shows was when they got the crap beaten out of them by Dean Ambrose a few weeks ago. They get reactions when they appear, even if the reactions aren't too heavy.

Curtis Axel has a cute accomplishment he's been claiming since 2015, as he never technically entered the ring during the Royal Rumble, and thus has been stating he's never been eliminated from it. You can only play up that angle so long—and WWE has wisely only had him mention it a couple times over the past year—but this could be his redemption, even if it's a redemption only in his eyes.

Meh, you know what? I'm sure it's going to be someone else, but I'm going to make Curtis Axel as my official pick of the Andre the Giant Battle Royal. The field is a much smarter choice, but who ever accused me of being smart around these parts of the Internet? If Axel wins, his promos will be insufferable, and it'll give WWE an excuse to push him and the other Social Outcasts, since I like their antics and it wouldn't be a bad thing to give them more TV time until all the A-listers start coming back from their injuries.

Kalisto (c) vs. Ryback

Match type: Standard singles

What's on the line: The United States Title

How we got here: Kalisto was promoted to the main roster in very early 2015 from NXT, already established with Sin Cara as his tag team partner to form the Lucha Dragons. Together, they've aimed for the Tag Titles and stayed in the running, but never managed to win them.

After Sin Cara suffered a legit injury in December, Kalisto stepped up and competed for singles gold. He upset then-champion Alberto Del Rio in a non-title match on a random SmackDown in January. They rematched on the next RAW, this time for the title, and Kalisto won it clean. Kalisto lost the belt back to ADR on the next SmackDown, thus holding the title only for a few days.

They had another rematch at Royal Rumble for the title, where Kalisto again captured it. Their final title match then occurred at Fastlane in a two-of-three falls match, and Kalisto solidified his hold on it.

Ryback meanwhile spent half of 2015 as the Intercontinental Champion, first winning it at Elimination Chamber back in February. He stuck with a fun-loving old-school face gimmick, though it was his raw strength that really put him over with the crowd. Despite a staph infection, Ryback retained the title for most of the year, finally losing it to Kevin Owens at Night of Champions. Ryback was unable to regain the title despite two rematches, and stopped pursuing it.

After a couple one-off matches, he teamed with Kane and Big Show at Fastlane when they faced the Wyatt Family, and won. However, the next night on RAW, the same teams faced each other in a rematch, and Ryback abandoned his team mid-match citing “nothing more to prove,” thus turning heel. Now he seems to be all about body comparison—which is what his gimmick was the last time he was a heel—and is challenging for the US Title on the grounds that a little guy like Kalisto doesn't deserve it.

Pyro's prediction: Though Kalisto is incredibly entertaining, and though he has shown to absolutely deserve the US Title, Ryback wins it here. With Sin Cara active again and the tag team division looking solid, there's no point in having the Lucha Dragons pursuing singles gold.

I'd only consider otherwise if the plan was to see Sin Cara or Kalisto turn against the other, but that just seems silly. And even if that did happen, their personal rivalry would be enough; any title would be superfluous. Ryback has plenty of playmates who could chase it, and the Lucha Dragons are probably due a tag title run soon. If my other prediction goes my way and the League of Nations (eventually) wins the tag titles off the New Day, there are worse choices for foils for the Lucha Dragons.

The Usos vs. The Dudley Boyz

Who's involved: Jimmy Uso & Jey Uso vs. Bubba Ray Dudley & D-Von Dudley

Match type: Standard tag

What's on the line: Nothing

How we got here: The Dudley Boyz made their surprise return to WWE in August 2015, the first time in ten years. (Technically, Bubba Ray returned in January 2015 as a surprise entrant into the Royal Rumble, but it had been a one-shot return.) They returned as faces and feuded with The New Day for the WWE Tag Team Titles, but never won the titles due to chicanery from New Day's antics. After the summer, they feuded with various teams for various reasons.

Meanwhile, The Usos had to go on a temporary hiatus for the middle of 2015 due to a legit shoulder injury suffered by Jey. Jimmy stayed visible, as he helped a few shows with solid commentary, and a few meaningless singles matches or random tag matches.

The Usos were reunited full-time in November, and they were granted a Tag Titles shot against The New Day at Royal Rumble 2016. They lost, but continued to feud against New Day. The Dudleys also reignited their feud against New Day as well, leading to an 8-man tag tables match shortly after Fastlane, in which The Dudleys and The Usos teamed up against New Day and Mark Henry. At the conclusion of that match, the Dudleys betrayed the Usos, thus turning them heel.

While the Usos don't really have a gimmick beyond being fun-loving babyfaces, the Dudleys have taken the position that they are not “nostalgia acts” and shouldn't be considered one-dimensional for their propensity to include tables in their matches, no matter what the fans think. This has led to them using the tables as tools to manipulate the crowd, bringing them out to get desperate cheers before putting them away to massive boos. It's worked well; the guys have enough experience, especially Bubba Ray's promo abilities, that they've worked the crowd into a booing frenzy in their appearances.

Pyro's prediction: The Usos and Dudleys haven't been feuding long, so it's doubtful this will be the end of it. I'm curious whether either team will chase for the title once it's over.

That doesn't matter for WrestleMania though, and my pick here will be pure logic. This match, along with the aforementioned United States Title match and the 10-Diva Tag Match listed below, comprise WrestleMania's pre-show. Pre-shows always feature at least one face victory to warm up the crowd like an opener at a stand-up comedy performance. No one is going to care about the 10-Diva Tag match, so with Ryback winning the US Title, I have to go with the Usos winning here. It might be by DQ, or perhaps they'll lose the match but have some sort of moral win afterward. (Maybe put a Dudley through a table? That'll upset them!) Either way, the Usos will stand tall on Sunday, though the Dudleys won't stay down long.

10-Diva Tag Match

Match type: Standard tag

Who's involved: Brie Bella, Paige, Natalya, Alicia Fox, & Eva Marie vs. Team BAD (Naomi & Tamina), Lana, Summer Rae, & Emma

What's on the line: Nothing

How we got here: Total Divas on E! is a “reality” television show that exists, and most of the cast is involved in the match. So... watch the show? Or, better: don't. Because reality TV is stupid.

Pyro's prediction: Even though reality TV is stupid though, WWE pushes the program to the moon. They're not going to stop now, but you don't get promotion by burying your stars. Team Bella wins. And I won't give the slightest crap.

...Well, other than the fact that it'll likely be Brie Bella's final match. It's no secret that she wants to retire and start a family with Daniel Bryan, and her twin sister Nikki Bella may need to retire as well due to lingering shoulder and neck injuries. It's pretty much certain both Bellas will leave after WrestleMania. Unlike what I stated in my second entry though, despite this not being a “retirement match” for Brie, there's more at stake (in WWE's eyes) than just her career, and the faces need to win if they're going to salvage any interest in Total Divas.

They won't, of course; Total Divas sucks on principle. But still, it's what they're going to try to do.

Prediction Summary

• Roman Reigns def. Triple H

• Undertaker def. Shane McMahon

• Dean Ambrose def. Brock Lesnar

• Sami Zayn wins the Intercontinental Title

• Sasha Banks wins the Divas Title

• Chris Jericho def. AJ Styles

• The League of Nations def. The New Day

• Curtis Axel wins the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal

• Ryback def. Kalisto

• The Usos def. The Dudley Boyz

• Brie Bella et al def. Team BAD et al

Prediction History

Final Thoughts

Wow, looking at those numbers, you'd think I don't know what the hell I'm talking about most of the time! What a revelation!

But here's the thing: all my prediction nonsense is just that, and I do it for my own personal fun. And fun is what WrestleMania is supposed to be all about, with a certain sizzle that they recaptured this year. The sizzle doesn't pertain to the main event, but the rest of the card—especially the Undertaker/Shane match—has me interested far more than it did last year. Also, I'm pumped enough that I covered the pre-show in this article, which I haven't done before.

Though this is entirely personal, one thing that's really helping me get excited this year is that I'm actually off work all day Sunday. I'll be watching the pre-show and everything else with my friends. I wrote that last year's WrestleMania was tough for me because I was going through some things, and that it would be “a catalyst rather than the objective” to try to regain a little happiness. This year is different: certain aspects of my life substantially improved since last March, and I'm really looking forward to WrestleMania 32 in general. It could be a variety of circumstances—the more random card, the new blood coming into the show, the excitement of Shane's return—on top of my life improvements, but whatever the reason, I'm looking forward to Sunday.

And you should too! It's only ten bucks at WWE Network, or free if you're a new subscriber. Whether you watch it or not though, come back to Online Onslaught shortly after 11pm on Sunday for Rick's recap of the event, with his always-insightful commentary and trademark Scaia wit. Which may or may not include harassing me over my picks.

Have a good weekend folks, stay safe, and I will be back once more next week for the first post-WrestleMania SmackDown recap!