WrestleMania Night 1 Preview

WrestleMania is here. We have two jam packed nights of great matches and legendary feuds. I wrote this in my Royal Rumble blog, but if there was an ever a time for someone to get into wrestling (or back into wrestling) it’s now. Triple H has taken over as head of creative and he has turned WWE into a well oiled machine. Wrestling is in the best place it’s been since the Attitude Era and the trajectory is continuing to go up. Night 1 of WrestleMania is Saturday, 7 PM EST Let’s breakdown what is sure to be an industry changing weekend.

Rey Mysterio vs. El Grande Americano

You read that correctly. At 50 years old Rey Mysterio is still doing the damn thing and he’s doing it at a high level. The crowd favorite turns his attention to El Grande Americano, a character that seems to be created by superstar Chad Gable to disrespect Mysterio and the rest of the luchadores. Americano unmasked Mysterio’s tag team partner Dragon Lee, the ultimate sign of disrespect. Mysterio will get his revenge in this match and I’m hoping and praying this launches Chad Gable back into the mix the rest of 2025. He is a stud in the ring and excellent on the mic. He deserves to be a champion.

Naomi Vs Jade Cargill

Wrestling is at its best when the lines of reality and what we see on camera start to get blurred and that’s exactly what we have here between these two. Months ago, Cargill was running the women’s tag team division with partner Bianca Belair until she was attacked and injured backstage in the parking lot forcing her out of competition. We didn’t know who attacked Cargill but we did know that Naomi swooped in and took her title and partner. Jade made a surprise return at Elimination Chamber and beat the living hell out of Naomi. Ultimately, Naomi admitted it was her who ambushed Cargill and its been all gas no brakes since. This storyline is built on hate and jealousy. Delicious. I think Jade pulls out the win and turns her attention to her ex-partner Bianca Belair and we get a feud that will be talked about for years to come.

United States Championship: LA Knight (c) vs. Jacob Fatu

LA Knight has gone through hell and back with Fatu and the Bloodline and Saturday won’t be any different. The Megastar has his hands full with one of the most dangerous men to step in between the ropes. Fatu is a rising star and is hungry for his first Single’s Championship in WWE. LA Knight is a crowd favorite (rightfully so) and one of the best there is on the mic but mic work can only get you so far against the Samoan Wearwolf. Fatu is the real deal and it’s not a matter of if but when he takes the leap into a championship reign and for me, his first reign starts at WrestleMania.

World Tag Team Championship: War Raiders (c) vs. The New Day

The New Day went from being one of the great babyface tag teams of all time to being one of the most hated groups in company history after turning on longtime partner Big E during their anniversary celebration. With that betrayal, it injected some life into the group. Without Big E things just felt uncertain with no real path for them and now they are getting booed out of arenas. People having really started to care about them again which is exactly what you want as a wrestler. Erik and Ivar of the War Raiders have a really cool story. Both guys dealing with injuries that could’ve ended their careers. They aren’t the most prototypical wrestlers but their styles gel well together and they put on great shows. I think New Day does get their hands raised and regain gold for the first time as “the bad guys”. I would keep your eyes peeled for a possible Big E interference though. It might be wishful thinking but he deserves the opportunity to kick the shit out of both Kofi and Woods.

WWE Women's Championship: Tiffany Stratton (c) vs. Charlotte Flair

Not many people have risen through the ranks to stardom as fast as Tiffany Stratton. Being an athletic freak in the ring and ruthless on the mic will get you there. Charlotte Flair has been a flop since returning and winning the Royal Rumble. These two had a HEATED and real encounter at Smackdown a few weeks ago and it got ugly. Stratton hurling insults at Flair about being divorced 3 times, always being in the shadow of her dad Ric Flair, not being able to ever get respect from the WWE fans, and more. Charlotte has the resume of the greatest Women’s wrester of all time but everything comes to an end, no matter how great you WERE. This is feud is real. It’s personal and it’s going to be a war. Give me Stratton.

World Heavyweight Championship: Gunther (c) vs. Jey Uso

There’s not a Superstar that’s more of a fan favorite right now than Jey Uso. He has live crowds eating out of the palm of his hand. Jey won the Royal Rumble which sent shockwaves through the WWE Universe and he has set his sights on the Ring General, Gunther. Gunther is the perfect heel to face Jey. He is sinister and violent. He doesn’t care about being a showman and giving a damn what the WWE fans what he thinks. He wants to hurt you and then beat you. Things escalated to another level a few weeks back when Gunther beat the wheels off Jey’s twin brother, Jimmy, leaving him a bloody mess. The buildup for this match has been great. Each week it gets bigger and bigger and the culmination is here. Gunther lost to underdog babyface Sami Zayn at Mania’ last year. I think he deserves his win but when people are as over with the fans as Jey, it’s hard to see them not winning. Jey Uso takes it.

Triple-threat match: Seth Rollins vs. Roman Reigns vs CM Punk

Three colossal talents will have the Main Event on Wrestlemania Saturday. There are so many storylines I’m not entirely sure where to start. Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns were in one of the greatest WWE Factions of all time until Seth turned on Roman and hit him with a steel chair to the back. Seth also has been feuding for months with CM Punk who he feels like turned his back on WWE and shouldn’t be able to waltz back in over a decade later and get inserted right back into the main event picture. Paul Heyman has also been by Roman Reigns’ side during his title run and his ride to the top of the food chain. But Heyman won’t be in his corner for this match. He’ll be in Punk’s corner due to a favor that Heyman owes Punk. Rollins has been in the shadow of Reigns since the Shield split. Seth has been awesome but this reign from Reigns (pun intended) has been one of the most dominant ones ever. Anything can happen in this match. Anyone can win it, anyone could interfere, Heyman could pledge his allegiance to any of three. The uncertainty of everything combine with 3 of the best wrestlers of our time going after each other make this a dream match. I’ll take Seth Rollins.

Thanks for reading. I hope everyone enjoys the event. Look out for my Night 2 blog soon!

Twitter:  @PaulyGroove

Instagram: @paulgroover