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5. Woman's Title Asuka vs. Charlotte -My Expectations for this match are insanely high. I look at Charlotte as the best woman's wrestler ever and I'm very high on Asuka. Predicted an Asuka win. I don't think they would ruin the mystique of this match with a Carmella Cash in. However, she might try AFTER their match is over. I doubt it goes through tho -- I think she's cashing in on the Raw title. -Awesome entrance for Charlotte. Great WM moment for her this entrance and match. Champion should never come out first tho. - Great counter by Asuka on Charlotte's aerial maneuver. Amazing match so far. - WOW what a move by Charlotte from the top rope never seen that before. Unreal. -Oh My God, Asuka taps. Insane. Great Storytelling, great moment for Charlotte. Incredible match by Asuka. With her tap I'm predicting Carmella cashes in NOW. - I was wrong. Carmella not coming here. Insane match GREAT start to WM. Awesome work with Ref coming to Cena and Cena going to the back. First hour of Wrestlemania has been BRILLIANT.

QUOTE (Buehrle>Wood @ Apr 8, 2018 -> 06:10 PM) Preshow also airs on facebook, YouTube, usa, wherever else. That's why they're running ads for wrestlemania there. The point of the preshow is to sell wrestlemania. OK, that makes sense, still -- very low to put it during mid-match. Put it before or after (which they already do as well).

4. IC Title 3-Way, I picked Finn. - Rollins Eyes are cool. He's won me over this year. - Miz is f***IGN AWESOME. Sending his guys to the back and how hyped he is. AWESOME. Tho, I wonder why they announce the champion second instead of last. Always bothers me. - Oh, I see, they Gave Balor an entrance with 100+ people on the stage with him. Kinda cool, but still could have done it before Miz's Entrance. Great Match. I was wrong picking Finn, but Rollins winning is awesome. Great opener! Nothing negative to say.

QUOTE (fathom @ Apr 8, 2018 -> 05:53 PM) You even said you don't watch 205, so how would you ever know his character? I'm judging it based on the impression he had here (his chance at Wrestlemania) and the few times I've seen him on Raw. This is a big opportunity for talent like Ali to win over fans, he didn't do it here. Aries did it last year (or two years ago whenever). I'll gladly give Ali more chances in the future, but he didn't do it here. What I saw was your basic cookie-cutter crusierweight wrestling a good match.

QUOTE (fathom @ Apr 8, 2018 -> 05:32 PM) Congrats, never heard anyone say Ali is boring His wrestling style may be action packed for sure, but I need to be more invested in his character. His character is not inviting to me at all. As a viewer, I tend to give the wrestler the benefit of the doubt when it comes to character. I'm not ready to count him out, but I do not have a good impression for him or Alexander, even tho their wrestling is good/fine.

3. Woman's Battle Royal - It's such a shame that wrestlers like Becky Lynch, Bayley, and Sasha Banks are stuck without big time matches on Wrestlemania. Sure, I can't get it both ways -- I can't have classic 1on1 matches and ALL the wrestlers on the card, but these three in particular deserve a lot better. - KAIRI SANE IS THERE f*** YES. - It's whack that they give Becky / Bayley / Banks big time Entrances but then the others just walk to the ring. Just makes it weird. - Bayley with no inflatables? That's unfortunate. Love her entrance gear tho, looks like a super hero! Oh, look, an ADVERTISEMENT interrupts Banks entrance. f*** off WWE. - Once again, to reiterate, WWE deliberately shows us who the jobbers are via entrances. -Carmella gets eliminated first and early. Wonder if this means she's pulling double duty tonight and cashing in later. My prediction is that she cashes it in on Alexa after Nia decimates her and wins via DQ. - Becky Lynch "Im orange, orange is MY COLOR" rofl. Kaira Sane looks LOST out there so far. - This Bianca girl is pretty unique. The 450 and the hair whiplash is cool. -Banks vs. Bayley in the end. Interesting route to go. Nice. I picked Bayley and she wins via not trusting Banks. Naomi shows up as she hadn't been eliminated .... ANDDD Naomi wins. Overall, good fun, bad ending IMO. WWE teased the Bayley vs. Banks at the end and instead just had Bayley eliminate Banks immediately. Would have loved to see them go at it at Wrestlemania, but I understand that this furthers their storyline so i'm OK with it. Did not want to see Naomi win even tho she is a decent winner here as it will help her, but I don't think anyone wanted to see Naomi win.. Meh ending.

QUOTE (Buehrle>Wood @ Apr 8, 2018 -> 05:14 PM) The preshow is free off the network, including USA. That's why you get advertisements. Doesn't that mean WWE is putting Advertisements for WWE on their own network? Or am I missing something that would explain it better?

2. Cruiserweight Title Match They went with Cedric here. I picked Ali. I haven't watched 205 live since pre-Enzo Amore. I hear HHH is doing well on 205 live so maybe i'll check it out. Both wrestlers seemed boring but the match was decent/average cruiserweight match.

Thoughts on Mania. 1. Men's Battle Royal -They have advertisements FOR WM during the WM Men's Battle Royal Match. That's sad and makes me hate the product. Not a good way to start out. I can't stress how much this turns the mood off. Mood goes from WOW, Wrestlemania, to "oh yeah, this s***ty company still sucks." -Also, the men's battle royal is horrid. Worth nothing, holds no credibility, and is a bunch of guys that aren't on TV. BAD, BAD, BAD. -Wyatt surprises us and makes the Match somewhat meaningful. I correctly picked Hardy to win (5 points to me). It was a very nice ending to continue to the storyline with Wyatt/Hardy from a match that could have been a complete disaster.

I really hope Carmella cashes it in on Nia Jax vs. Bliss after their match. I do NOT want her to mess with Asuka vs. Charlotte.

Time for some fun predictions from prior thread and updated with points: Time for some WM Predictions for the fun of it all. 1. Woman's Battle Royal [Worth 5 points] I'm changing my mind here. I think it will be one of Bayley or Banks and I think Bayley is taking it to further the heel persona over Bayley i.e. Banks can use this to turn heel eventually. 2. Men's Battle Royal [Worth 5 points] s***ty match, absolute filler. I think it's down to either a surprise or Matt Hardy. Gotta think either Samoa Joe or Big Cass will be one of the surprises to win it. However, I'm not sure they will put Joe in this to 'ruin' his surprise return. I think Matt Hardy takes this. 3. Cruiserweight Title Cedric Alexander vs. Mustafa Ali [Worth 10 points] Tough to predict. They seem to be pointing towards Ali winning this... so I'm not going to get tricky and just pick Ali here. 4. US Championship: Orton vs. Roode vs. Rusev vs. Jinder [Worth 10 points ] Jinder's not winning. Rusev was a late add due to merch movement... but the fans love him. I think WWE gives the fans a bone here and let's Rusev Day live on and win. I mean, if Orton wins people won't be happy... Roode is cool but not cool as a face. 5. Raw Tag title: The Bar vs. Strowman + ??? [Worth 10 points ] Another very tough one to predict. Gotta think Braun + ??? take this as the titles need to have a switch to make things more interesting... but at the same time, is the mystery partner there just to take the pin?? Going with Braun + ??? 6. Smackdown Tag Titles: Usos vs. Bludgeon vs. New Day [Worth 10 points ] Another tough one to predict! Love that it's hard to predict so far. I guess the Bludgeon brothers win this and we see a shake up with either Usos or New day going to Raw. 7. Raw Womans Title: Bliss vs. Jax [Worth 3 points ] Gotta go with Jax in a slightly more predictable match, but she will win via DQ or countout. Then she will destroy Alexa and Carmella will cash in. 8. Raw IC Title three way: Balor vs. Rollins vs. Miz [Worth 10 points] Somewhat tough to predict, but I think they give it to Finn as he could be a great IC champion and mid card competitor. 9.Bryan + Shane vs. KO + Zayn [Worth 5 points ] Should be KO+Zayn winning here since their 'careers' are on the line. That makes it somewhat obvious to predict. 10. Smackdown Woman's Title: Asuka vs. Flair [Worth 1 point] Asuka wins. Kinda easy to predict 11. Rousey + Angle vs. HHH + Steph [Worth 1 point ] Rousey is winning here. Maybe the second most obvious choice on the card (first is Reigns winning). 12. John Cena vs. The Undertaker [Worth 5 Points] I'm going with Undertaker here, although it's not obvious who wins this. It's a hard one to predict. 13. Smackdown Title: Aj Style vs. Nakamura [Worth 10 points] Man, another tough one to predict. A big part of me wants to predict AJ Styles only because we know Roman Reigns is winning and WWE likes to keep the cornaton to one person per Wrestlemania.... But another part of me wants Nakamura to rise from the RR win to this. But I think AJ Styles takes this and Naka gets his revenge in the future. 14. Lesnar vs. Reigns [Worth 1 point due to how predictable] Reigns wins 100%

LET'S GO! Every. Single. Year. I have huge expectations for the Wrestlemania event and they continually fail. None harder than last years absolute failure. However, this year is a better card and my expectations are high after the Takeover event.

In the honor of our tradition to make a new thread every Wrestlemania, here we are. My feelings: Reigns vs. Lesnar Build: B- My excitement level for the match: D+ The build has been pretty good so far... up until tonight's Raw. We saw Reigns 'superman punch' Lesnar some 5-6 times. That move may be the worst move in all of wrestling. This build actually had me rooting for Reigns for a moment... Lesnar may be the only guy in WWE that I hate more than Reigns... however, when Reigns finally got the momentum going and then landed the weakest move in wrestling (superman punch) I just lost my s***. Build has been good, but when you have the two worst players in WWE squaring off, you can't overcome that. This is a match that we all saw coming since last year and the entire year has been built around it. Therefore my excitement level is a D+. BAD. AJ Styles vs. Nakamura Build: C- Excitement: A This build has been sub-par for what should have been a masterful build between two fan-loved babyfaces. They put Nakamura on the mic way too often and make him speak english. Why not have him cut pre-recorded japanese promos with captions? That'd make him sound like a legit badass. Overall the play between AJ and Naka has been fine, but this could have been done much better. Match excitement is still a dream level match and I have high expectations. Charlotte vs. Asuka Build: C+ Excitement: A Again, another Japanese wrestler throwing English down our throats. Problem with Asuka is the undefeated streak is causing fans to lose interest. Build has been OK as we are getting a match between what I think is the two best woman's wrestlers on the roster. Excitement level is extremely high for what could be the best woman's match in the history of WWE. Nia vs. Alexa Build: B+ Excitement: C This has been a story made throughout the past year. The build has been surprisingly good for this one as it has made me really want to root for Nia. I'm happy that Nia, the monster, get's her shot, but it should have been done at a sub PPV. The true dream talent on Raw really is Banks/Bayley and perhaps Bliss. A better match here would have been a great build between heel banks and face bayley, but we all know they ruined that. Excitement level is very low since Bliss can't wrestle all too well and this match should be a 5 minute or so match up. Great build tho. Braun + ??? vs. Cesaro + Sheamus Build: B- Excitement: B- Build has been fine for what we expect in a Raw tag title match at WM. I'm on the edge of my seat wondering who will be Braun's partner and it's good they haven't given it away yet meaning we get a surprise at WM. Fully expect Braun to win so that hurts the excitement a bit, but overall, a decent bout. McMahon + HHH vs. Rousey + Angle Build: D Excitement: C+ Build has been horrid. From Rousey's cringeworthy everything to McMahon's ego being shoved down our throats. Everything about this stinks of just a publicity stunt and that's not good for any wrestling fan. I'm excited because it's Rousey, but she hasn't shown anything natural in the ring so that hurts it. It hurts my soul that Stephanie McMahon will be in a headline match here just to get her name out to the public. Finn Balor vs. Miz vs. Rollins Build: A Excitement: A The best formed match on the card. The build has been phenomenal with all three getting at each other on the mic and in the ring. The three entities are represented perfectly and the match should be one hell of a match. This is how it's done. Rusev vs. Roode vs. Orton vs. Jinder Build: C Excitement: C+ I'm a sucker for good mid-card feuds, unfortunately this one is hurt badly by the dynamics of face/heel. Rusev is playing a heel that the fans treat as a Face, Roose is playing an awkward face when he should be a classic heel, orton is playing a face when he is 100x better as a heel. Jinder is, well, Jinder. The build has been OK for what it is, but unlike the triple threat build that came almost naturally, this one feels more like we need to get these stars on the card some how so throw them together here. Therefore we get a Meh average grade from me, but I'm still excited for Roode's first WM match and a possible stronger push for Rusev. Bryan + McMahon (shane) vs. Owens + Zayn Build: B Exciement: B Once again, a McMahon is put on Wrestlemania likely out of ego, but at least this McMahon can wrestle. The build has been very long and that has hurt it a bit, but it has been overall good. The length of the build and repetitiveness has made it sluggish, but there has been great moments littered throughout. The return of Bryan makes this match very worth while. Cena vs. Taker Build: C- Excitement: D- I don't want to see Taker wrestle again, he's old. The build has been all Cena, but without Taker showing up there's not much that you can do. This definitely does not feel like a Taker Mania match. So that's why it's a bad build. I can't fathom seeing old taker go through the motions therefore a D- in excitement level. New Day vs. Usos vs. Bludgeon Brothers Build: C+ Excitement: C+ The good? New Day and Usos have amazing chemistry and great matches. The bad? This s*** has been going on forever now between them. Now we get the Bludgeon brothers added, which is good, but this feels again like your typical "need to get them on the card" bout. It's not bad, it's not great, it's average from a division built around just two teams for over a year. Hopefully they make it a ladder match. The battle royals are whatever and the Cruiserweight I have no idea about.

Lopez with his new Velocity should cruise to an easy win here.

YOAN MONCADA

One of the best PPVs I've ever seen. Maybe the best wrestling event ever.

What an amazing NXT Takeover so far. That ladder match that opened the show is near 5* classic. The heel turn from Roderick Strong to join UE was extremely well done. It's amazing just how much better NXT Takeover is compared to anything the main show does.

This is an easy one.. Matt Davidson.

Cool, a few days ago I thought they wouldn't get the games in this weekend. Now it's looking promising. Awesome. Go SOX

Time for some WM Predictions for the fun of it all. 1. Woman's Battle Royal Who f***ing knows. All I know is that it won't be Bayley or Banks as they will eliminate each other. Doesn't make sense for one of them to win it and the other to lose really. I guess I'm going to go with Ember Moon. It'd be cool for Kairi Sane to be in the Rumble. 2. Men's Battle Royal s***ty match, absolute filler. I think it's down to either a surprise or Matt Hardy. Gotta think either Samoa Joe or Big Cass will be one of the surprises to win it. However, I'm not sure they will put Joe in this to 'ruin' his surprise return. I think Matt Hardy takes this. 3. Cruiserweight Title Cedric Alexander vs. Mustafa Ali Tough to predict. They seem to be pointing towards Ali winning this... so I'm not going to get tricky and just pick Ali here. 4. US Championship: Orton vs. Roode vs. Rusev vs. Jinder Jinder's not winning. Rusev was a late add due to merch movement... but the fans love him. I think WWE gives the fans a bone here and let's Rusev Day live on and win. I mean, if Orton wins people won't be happy... Roode is cool but not cool as a face. 5. Raw Tag title: The Bar vs. Strowman + ??? Another very tough one to predict. Gotta think Braun + ??? take this as the titles need to have a switch to make things more interesting... but at the same time, is the mystery partner there just to take the pin?? 6. Smackdown Tag Titles: Usos vs. Bludgeon vs. New Day Another tough one to predict! Love that it's hard to predict so far. I guess the Bludgeon brothers win this and we see a shake up with either Usos or New day going to Raw. 7. Raw Womans Title: Bliss vs. Jax Gotta go with Jax in a slightly more predictable match. 8. Raw IC Title three way: Balor vs. Rollins vs. Miz Somewhat tough to predict, but I think they give it to Finn as he could be a great IC champion and mid card competitor. 9.Bryan + Shane vs. KO + Zayn Should be KO+Zayn winning here since their 'careers' are on the line. That makes it somewhat obvious to predict. 10. Smackdown Woman's Title: Asuka vs. Flair Asuka wins. Kinda easy to predict 11. Rousey + Angle vs. HHH + Steph Rousey is winning here. Maybe the second most obvious choice on the card (first is Reigns winning). 12. John Cena vs. The Undertaker I'm going with Undertaker here, although it's not obvious who wins this. It's a hard one to predict. 13. Smackdown Title: Aj Style vs. Nakamura Man, another tough one to predict. A big part of me wants to predict AJ Styles only because we know Roman Reigns is winning and WWE likes to keep the cornaton to one person per Wrestlemania.... But another part of me wants Nakamura to rise from the RR win to this. But I think AJ Styles takes this and Naka gets his revenge in the future. 14. Lesnar vs. Reigns Reigns wins 100%

wow the wrestlemania set looks absolutely amazing.

I don't know a damn thing about Leury... probably because I don't expect him in the league past this season.

Nice to see a lot of new faces here at SoxTalk... seems most have come from the MLB.com boards. Welcome aboard!

QUOTE (knightni @ Apr 5, 2018 -> 03:14 PM) "All-time" doesn't seem to remember anything much pre-1960. You are right, misleading title from the article considering they write: "When looking at the post-war, modern era (from about 1950 until now), there are 25 hurlers who stand above the rest as the greatest starting pitchers in history. Here are those men, sorted by Wins Above Replacement (via Fangraphs)."

QUOTE (Y2HH @ Apr 5, 2018 -> 04:06 PM) Crrrrrringe. Better than the Undertaker wrestling in any match, ever again. :unsure: