The end is near. This is the penultimate blog in what has been a rollercoaster of a series; one that saw John Cena become a 17-time World Champion, CM Punk return to the top of the mountain, only to fall down again… and then climb his way back to the top… or almost anyway… We also had the coming together of and then immediate disintegration of the evil forces of Uncle Howdy and Bray Wyatt, and of course, we had an ELITE level invasion! But all that will come to an end here. The AEW invasion of WWE WILL end at WrestleMania, one way or another…
With that in mind, some changes to the championship scene will take place before, during and after WrestleMania, they are as follows: The TNT Championship will be retired in WWE, and that will instead take the form of WWE’s United States title. The WWE Women’s Tag Team titles will return, as will the current day IC Title design. The AEW Women’s title match at WrestleMania will end up being for the WWE Women’s Championship, and similarly the AEW tag titles will take the form of the WWE equivalent. And of course, the big one changes at the very top too… but we will get to that later. For now, lets tell you all what happens BEFORE we get to the show of shows…
The Kabuki Warriors once again win Women’s tag team gold, winning a tournament final against Gigi Dolin & Cora Jade. We also have Carmelo Hayes end things as the United States Champion, virtue of a fatal 4-way win over TNT Champion Wardlow, Darby Allin and Bron Breakker. Things also culminate with DIY (Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa) holding the WWE Tag Team Championships.
And so with all that cleared up, it’s time to run you through the card for my WrestleMania itself… and my, OH MY, WHAT A FUCKING CARD!
Intercontinental Championship: Seth Rollins (C) vs Sheamus vs Gunther vs Drew McIntyre vs Jey Uso vs Will Ospreay – Ladder Match
I had seen this as a formula that has worked in the past, and one I too have utilised in past Universe Mode series. Lets kick off Mania with a BANG, and get some of my very best together, chuck a load of ladders in there, and put a title on the line too! We have Seth defending against former IC Champions, an AEW star looking to take a title back to the land of the Elite with him, and one notable Irishman looking to finish his own story… it can only promise to be a BANGER… after BANGER… after BANGER… after BANGER… after BANGER… after BANGER… after BANGER… after BANGER… after BANGER… after BANGER… after BANGER… after BANGER… after BANGER…
Women’s World Championship: Becky Lynch (C) vs Charlotte Flair
A tale as old as time. The one you can never escape. Just when Becky though everything was sweet, back comes Charlotte to try and talk it all away. Yes, these two have had a number of bouts in the past, but never one on one at a WrestleMania. So why the heck not? Charlotte has even said she is sick and tired of the disrespect from WWE, and might just go and win their women’s world title and take it to AEW! Lets wait and see if she can deliver on her terrifying promise…
John Cena vs Kazuchika Okada
This is one of those matches where I had a chance to do a dream match, and I thought why the heck not? Cena had to be on this card, and when I was looking at AEW roster members, The Rainmaker was the top name that stood out. Two icons of different parts of the wrestling world, the kings of their domain, and yet we will never see them face off… until now!
WWE Tag Team Championship: Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn vs AEW World Tag Team Champions ‘The Young Bucks’ (Matt & Nick Jackson) – No DQ Match
After what happened at Elimination Chamber, KO and Sami get their chance again here on the biggest stage of them all. Originally I had other plans for this slot, but decided this was the way to go after just how good their previous encounter was. Will Owens & Zayn win tag team gold at Mania once again? Or will the Bucks have another big win in their illustrious career, but finally on the grandest stage?
Uncle Howdy vs Bray Wyatt – Hell In A Cell match
It really does end here. I have decided that this is the last time I will be booking Bray Wyatt in a Universe Mode. Leave the memories alone I think is best. And I can’t think of a better opponent than his brother. As for the stip, I originally thought about a Buried Alive match, but thought it was a bit too much of an… issue… given Bray’s passing. My plan is to try and make this match absolutely carnage, as there really is only enough room for one of these two in WWE. The future of The Sicks and The Wyatts is at stake, as is the future of the whole company. There can only be one, and it ends HERE!
WWE Women’s Championship: Royal Rumble winner Bianca Belair vs AEW Women’s World Champion Mercedes Mone
A rematch of one of the best women’s matches ever at a WrestleMania. Mercedes didn’t get nearly enough big Mania singles matches, in fact I am sure it was just that Bianca one. And Belair is a star, in every way imaginable. So I see no better match to put on this stage than these two going at it once again!
Sting vs The Undertaker
I so wanted to make this my WrestleMania main event, such is the gravity that this match alone brings with it. For me it’s the ultimate ‘what if’ match that we never got. But in my WWE Universe, anything is possible, and dreams and dream matches do come true. How on earth will it turn out? You’ll have to wait and see…
Undisputed WWE Championship: Elimination Chamber winner CM Punk vs Royal Rumble winner Cody Rhodes vs AEW World Champion Kenny Omega vs WWE Champion Roman Reigns
How did we get here? Well, stay with me and I’ll explain… CM Punk (after winning the Chamber match to get a shot at Kenny Omega’s AEW title at WrestleMania) calls out Omega, who instead tells Punk he will face him for the title the next week… Omega then gets himself intentionally DQ’d to retain his title. A furious Punk demands a rematch, with Kenny telling him that he is instead moving on to ‘bigger things’… Those bigger things are the fact he wants in on Cody vs Roman for the WWE Title! Reigns says yes to Kenny, BUT… only if he puts his own title on the line too! They then discuss the issue of Cody Rhodes previous stipulation from his AEW days, that means he can’t now challenge for the AEW World Championship. Omega says he will officially void that stip providing Cody lets Omega in on his earned title show at Reigns… And just when it looks like a triple threat is on the cards, out comes CM PUNK! All 4 men argue their cases back and forth, before Paul Heyman interjects. Heyman tries to play peacemaker and suggests that Roman face Cody and Punk face Omega with the winners facing off, but Cody and Punk both reject this, asking why they should have to compete twice when they earnt their title shot? We then get Tony Khan AND Triple H come out, and they announce that they have agreed that everything will be settled once and for all at WrestleMania, with the WWE and AEW titles at stake, and the two top contenders also involved, and the winner to be crowned the Undisputed WWE Champion* in a fatal 4-way match!
And that… is how we get to the biggest WrestleMania main event of ALL TIME!
*(Just to point out that if I was carrying on this series post-Mania, I would bring in the current day World Heavyweight title belt to be the world championship for the other brand)
And so that’s everything set up. All that is left now is for next time, the final blog of the series, where it all comes to an end, at WRESTLEMANIA!
Josh.