WrestleZAYNia XXXIX - 4/1 & 4/2/2023

[Matt D]

That's going to be one of the big questions coming out of Mania, right? Can WWE actually book babyface champions in 2023? Cody's lucky in that he has some fresh opponents ahead of him. It sort of defeats the purpose of him to keep him from wrestling all that much though. This is the guy going through flaming tables vs Andrade for no real good reason other than to get a shot on the commercials forever.

[EVA]

I’m kinda getting the sense that the Profits are breaking up soon. Their whole presentation last night sort of felt like a Mania curtain call for them as a team. Also easy to read Dawson being allowed to truck Strowman at the end as giving him some credibility ahead of the inevitable heel turn.

[Niners Fan in CT]

I think Zayn/K.O. and Cody (if he wins) have a lot of potential future opponents where they could stretch out their respective title reigns for months.  

If Cody wins, he already has ready made feuds with Gunther, Solo Sikoa and Seth Rollins. He could also fight Randy Orton if he does end up coming back at some point and there's a lot of story there between those two.  

[A_K]

The roster / promotion as a whole is absolutely ludicrously stacked with quality from top to bottom. Combined across nights this will be, what, c. 8 hours of event and top to bottom practically every single bout and vignette is fresh. Hyperbole is lame but for the first time in practically two-decades they have the depth of talent and storytelling that stands up there with any other period in the company's entire history. Athleticism, drama, comedy, youth. Remarkably strong build.

[Andrew POE!]

Just now, A_K said:

The roster / promotion as a whole is absolutely ludicrously stacked with quality from top to bottom. Combined across nights this will be, what, c. 8 hours of event and top to bottom practically every single bout and vignette is fresh. Hyperbole is lame but for the first time in practically two-decades they have the depth of talent and storytelling that stands up there with any other period in the company's entire history. Athleticism, drama, comedy, youth. Remarkably strong build.

Yeah, the matches I saw last night (and this is after not watching WWE and watching a few AEW matches here and there) were incredible. It makes me wonder what would have happened if Vince McMahon was still booking the show (we'd probably see the Usos win and have Owens turn on Zayn).

[EVA]

Eh, I don’t know. Vince definitely would’ve bungled the Bloodline on a week-to-week basis long ago, but on a Mania basis, rewarding KO and Sami with a big Mania moment after they did such a good job taking care of the celebrities last year is 100% a Vince thing to do.

[John from Cincinnati]

On 3/25/2023 at 10:01 AM, EVA said:

Gotta keep washed Charlotte happy, brother.

Didn't close. Didn't win. Isn't washed. How 'bout that. 

[EVA]

20 minutes ago, John from Cincinnati said:

Didn't close. Didn't win. Isn't washed. How 'bout that. 

Love to see a talented person show up motivated to work for a change!

[Octopus]

Speaking of chopping, I’m excited for the IC match.

[Steventon]

Wrestlemania has always been more about the spectacle than incredible wrestling and it certainly delivered on that front. I really enjoyed the main 2 matches but everything else was 'fine' in the ring but forgettable. That said, it was a fun show.

- Cena's entrance with the kids was so unbelievably awesome and wholesome. What a guy. In the ring he only knows how to repeat his trademark spots these days but he gets a pass for that, for being here because he loves it, and for putting over Theory. Compared to plenty of other one-match-a-year legends, he's so selfless.  Theory showed nothing to justify the rub and has a garbage finisher though.

- The tag team fourway was OK, pretty RAW quality match with a couple big spots and some stuff that looked questionable

- I skipped most of Paul vs Rollins because Seth is insufferable, but you have to hand it to Logan. He gets to have a marquee match at Wrestlemania match against one of their top stars, gets his buddy in on the act, gets to cosplay all his favourite moves, gets to promote his shitty sports drink, and gets paid for the pleasure of it. I mean he has really grifted the grifters here. KSI in the outfit was good stuff though.

- Womens 6-man was OK. More spectacle of Lita and Trish having a match in 2023 than anything good, the heels are a good unit but they can only carry so much.

- Rey vs Dom had some good sections but way too much schmozz. I could have lived with the family melodrama, but that plus all the interference plus Bad Bunny getting a spot was too much for me. Hopefully there's a rematch.

- Charlotte vs Rhea over-delivered! For such a cold match, this was real good. Charlotte, for all her flaws, can be a really physical worker when in the ring with someone who makes her rise to the occasion, and Rhea has long proven herself one of the best female workers going. I mean this was the stiffest match on the whole show.

- God bless Kevin Steen and El Generico. Add them to the growing list of mid-2000s indy alumni who have gone on to become legends. I've been a low voter on this Uso's run - I think they peaked years ago - but the match delivered the emotional beats we all wanted. The Usos don't seem to have much idea how to structure matches, they feel like like they skip the first 2/3 and go straight to the big finisher-filled end run. I mean, we were less than 10 minutes into a near half hour match and already getting big nearfalls and guys selling exhaustion. No feeling out process, no 'middle' section or heat, just all final act. I'll say this though, their characters and emoting feel really organic, and despite Cole's worst efforts, there was no awful NXT face reactions to suffer through. Really though this was all about the babyfaces having brilliant timing and emotion, and delivering a super satisfying payoff. When was the last time the tag titles main evented a WWE PPV, let alone Wrestlemania with a massive payoff? 2000s indy scene might be my favourite era of wrestling, it was when I went from fan to super-fan in my younger years, and seeing another 2 guys who I've followed for close to 20 years get this moment was so, so wonderful. What an incredible scene.

[EVA]

4 minutes ago, Steventon said:

Wrestlemania has always been more about the spectacle than incredible wrestling and it certainly delivered on that front. I really enjoyed the main 2 matches but everything else was 'fine' in the ring but forgettable. That said, it was a fun show.

- Cena's entrance with the kids was so unbelievably awesome and wholesome. What a guy. In the ring he only knows how to repeat his trademark spots these days but he gets a pass for that, for being here because he loves it, and for putting over Theory. Compared to plenty of other one-match-a-year legends, he's so selfless.  Theory showed nothing to justify the rub and has a garbage finisher though.

Yeah, my expectations were pretty low for this, given that there’s only so much that not-in-ring-shape Cena physically could or would be willing to do here, but I was shocked Vince didn’t at least cook up some smoke and mirrors ga-ga to help out his pet project, because this came across so…flat. They left it totally on Theory’s shoulders to make himself, and…he did not. It was the Cena house show match with a heel who didn’t know how to get heat. A bore.

I don’t think this did anything for Theory besides giving him a boo line to use in promos for the next little while.

[The Natural]

https://twitter.com/ProfanityNewz/status/1642374900991119361

Keep watching this back. A finisher kick out that meant something, Sami Zayn to the 1D.

Edited April 2, 2023 by The Natural

[Greggulator]

24 minutes ago, Steventon said:

Wrestlemania has always been more about the spectacle than incredible wrestling and it certainly delivered on that front. I really enjoyed the main 2 matches but everything else was 'fine' in the ring but forgettable. That said, it was a fun show.

- Cena's entrance with the kids was so unbelievably awesome and wholesome. What a guy. In the ring he only knows how to repeat his trademark spots these days but he gets a pass for that, for being here because he loves it, and for putting over Theory. Compared to plenty of other one-match-a-year legends, he's so selfless.  Theory showed nothing to justify the rub and has a garbage finisher though.

- The tag team fourway was OK, pretty RAW quality match with a couple big spots and some stuff that looked questionable

- I skipped most of Paul vs Rollins because Seth is insufferable, but you have to hand it to Logan. He gets to have a marquee match at Wrestlemania match against one of their top stars, gets his buddy in on the act, gets to cosplay all his favourite moves, gets to promote his shitty sports drink, and gets paid for the pleasure of it. I mean he has really grifted the grifters here. KSI in the outfit was good stuff though.

- Womens 6-man was OK. More spectacle of Lita and Trish having a match in 2023 than anything good, the heels are a good unit but they can only carry so much.

- Rey vs Dom had some good sections but way too much schmozz. I could have lived with the family melodrama, but that plus all the interference plus Bad Bunny getting a spot was too much for me. Hopefully there's a rematch.

- Charlotte vs Rhea over-delivered! For such a cold match, this was real good. Charlotte, for all her flaws, can be a really physical worker when in the ring with someone who makes her rise to the occasion, and Rhea has long proven herself one of the best female workers going. I mean this was the stiffest match on the whole show.

- God bless Kevin Steen and El Generico. Add them to the growing list of mid-2000s indy alumni who have gone on to become legends. I've been a low voter on this Uso's run - I think they peaked years ago - but the match delivered the emotional beats we all wanted. The Usos don't seem to have much idea how to structure matches, they feel like like they skip the first 2/3 and go straight to the big finisher-filled end run. I mean, we were less than 10 minutes into a near half hour match and already getting big nearfalls and guys selling exhaustion. No feeling out process, no 'middle' section or heat, just all final act. I'll say this though, their characters and emoting feel really organic, and despite Cole's worst efforts, there was no awful NXT face reactions to suffer through. Really thought this was all about the babyfaces having brilliant timing and emotion, and delivering a super satisfying payoff. When was the last time the tag titles main evented a WWE PPV, let alone Wrestlemania with a massive payoff? 2000s indy scene might be my favourite era of wrestling, it was when I went from fan to super-fan in my younger years, and seeing another 2 guys who I've followed for close to 20 years get this moment was so, so wonderful. What an incredible scene.

I think they paced the main event the way they did because:

1) It’s the last match on a very long show.

2) They just had the cool-down stuff with Miz and Pat Mac.

3) The previous match existed to steal every show. 

I think they read the room right in that you had to cut some of the normal build in order to get to where the crowd wants to go. It would be a different match at a different PPV. But it was still awesome.

[The Natural]

Keep going back and forth on Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes and who will win. Reigns is so close to 1,000 days as WWE Universal Champion, shame it's not with the belt with all the history and names who have held it, the WWE Championship. Reigns is a day short of holding the WWE Championship for a year which so few men have. Cody Rhodes returned to WWE a year ago at WrestleMania XXXVIII beating Seth Rollins and a year later in the main event going for a title his Dad never held. It's the biggest stage to end Roman Reigns err reign on so I think Cody Rhodes wins. You get the story of the Bloodline's fall.

[Steventon]

Eh I'd say it's just an Usos thing, all their recent matches with the New Day and Street Profits were the same deal, one long finishing stretch. But ultimately the live crowd were into it so I'll be in the minority I'm sure.

 

[The Natural]

Bobby Lashley's open challenge. I haven't any rumours, just pure speculation throwing some names out there:

Randy Orton, AJ Styles, Matt Riddle, Jay White.

Edited April 2, 2023 by The Natural

[Just Adam Bay Bay]

5 minutes ago, The Natural said:

Bobby Lashley's open challenge. I haven't any rumours, just pure speculation throwing some names out there:

Randy Orton, AJ Styles, Matt Riddle, Jay White.

Orton is still dealing with a bad back supposedly, and I don’t see them jobbing Jay White in his debut. I’d go with Riddle as he can most easily eat the loss. As for your other post we get it you don’t like that Roman hasn’t been WWE champion the entire time. It doesn’t matter, and if anything it adds more prestige to the Universal title. That belt was worthless before he got it, and now it’s been held by one guy for almost three years. It couldn’t possibly be more valuable now. 

[EVA]

I think what’s tricky about the Uso’s is that 90% of their offense is super kicks—like, way more than the Young Bucks, who used to get criticized for being “all super kicks”—so it can be hard to distinguish between their heat and their finishing runs, because you’re not seeing the same escalation in the moves being used like you would with most people. It’s just all kicks, all the time.

But I would say they actually did double heat last night. They immediately went into heat on Sami, and then after KO got hot tagged in off that, there was a long stretch with KO getting controlled (with super kicks) while Sami was out, building up to him getting a hot tag later.

[The Natural]

Just now, LF2 said:

Orton is still dealing with a bad back supposedly, and I don’t see them jobbing Jay White in his debut. I’d go with Riddle as he can most easily eat the loss. As for your other post we get it you don’t like that Roman hasn’t been WWE champion the entire time. It doesn’t matter, and if anything it adds more prestige to the Universal title. That belt was worthless before he got it, and now it’s been held by one guy for almost three years. It couldn’t possibly be more valuable now. 

Fair point on the Universal Title.

[The Natural]

https://twitter.com/TheEnemiesPE3/status/1642327700063809538

So impressive by Chad Gable.

Edited April 2, 2023 by The Natural

[Niners Fan in CT]

Triple H last night at the press conference said he's never seen a tag team as good as The Usos and I think he's right.  Their body of work holds up well against anyone.  

[A_K]

1 hour ago, Andrew POE! said:

Yeah, the matches I saw last night (and this is after not watching WWE and watching a few AEW matches here and there) were incredible. It makes me wonder what would have happened if Vince McMahon was still booking the show (we'd probably see the Usos win and have Owens turn on Zayn).

Incredible is the word. Even the celebrity  matches — which in bygone years would have been clunky, fusty, corny pieces — now have the likes of Logan Paul doing standing jumps from apron-to-top-turnbuckle and standing moonsaults, while the low card tag team fluff pieces have Gable germaning Braun then getting legitimate audience pops to catchphrases mid match, a comparatively very weak member of the roster like Dom Mysterio gets over by virtue of great character work and the top of the card bouts steal the show in every way. 
 

Their decision making in who you let go, who to recruit and who to build the company around has been completely vindicated. Wish LA Knight had something big to play with but c’est La vie.

[Octopus]

Dawkins shoulder tackling Braun on the outside got a huge pop from me.

[Greggulator]

8 minutes ago, Niners Fan in CT said:

Triple H last night at the press conference said he's never seen a tag team as good as The Usos and I think he's right.  Their body of work holds up well against anyone.  

I do not even think there is a question anymore. I think The New Day had the lead for a while because they had match quality, were a stable that filled every part of the card, and also were socially significant because they really transcended racial representation in wrestling. But their highest highs came with KofiMania and then the short-lived Big E. championship, and not in tag glory.

But Jimmy and Jey probably have a bit more in match quality (reminder: Rewatch them versus The Wyatts) but played the key roles in what Sami accurately said was “The Sopranos of Wrestling” in terms of what is possible from a storyline. And their decade long greatness capping the storyline made the tag titles WM main event level important. They were the antagonists in a storyline that reinvented what is possible in wrestling. They really elevated the art form. 

I think that a whole bunch of wrestling fans who skipped out on WWE really missed out on the two best tag teams in WWE history.

I keep on harping on it, but the New Day’s Last Stand match on Smackdown last year was perfect wrestling. It was the two best tag teams in WWE history, who are each other’s greatest rivals, with The Usos trying to take their streak. They had a banger of a match with historic stakes and capped off the best tag rivalry since Midnites/RnR. They even touched on the brilliant KofiMania moment where The Usos forfeited in the tag gauntlet. Like… you really can’t do better than that. 

It really is awesome that The Usos got a WM Main Event match. Well deserved because like KO said in the press conference last night — as great as they are, they really are underrated.

[Greggulator]

I actually was not feeling good last night and was in any out on the early party of the show and need to rewatch. But man they have so many good tag teams right now — a spectacular mix of good tags and also guys who can leave their partners for a huge singles run. 

Would you be surprised if Chad Gable broke out in a Daniel Bryan sort of way? I know he gets the Angle comparison for obvious reasons but he reminds me more of Dragon. He’s undersized but the most technically talented. He also has a ton of charisma and has had it from the jump. He started on NXT as an annoying dweeb but the crowd immediately made American Alpha faces. He is a Team Hell No type of gimmick from having that momentum.

We all know Montez is poised for something huge. But man Dawkins is secretly overall a better wrestler. Dawkins friggin’ rules so hard. They barely even scratched the surface of those guys. 

I really want to see what Sami/KO could put together with Braun and Ricochet. Also Imperium vs. a KO/Sami/Cody stable book it now cowards.