Roman Reigns vs. WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar is now official for WrestleMania 34 after Reigns won the men’s Elimination Chamber match at tonight’s pay-per-view in Las Vegas.
Order of Entrances
1. WWE Intercontinental Champion The Miz (started the match)
2. Seth Rollins (started the match)
3. Finn Balor (started the match)
4. John Cena
5. Roman Reigns
6. Braun Strowman
7. Elias
Order of Eliminations
1. The Miz (eliminated by Braun Strowman)
2. Elias (eliminated by Braun Strowman)
3. John Cena (eliminated by Braun Strowman)
4. Finn Balor (eliminated by Braun Strowman)
5. Seth Rollins (eliminated by Braun Strowman)
6. Braun Strowman (defeated by winner Roman Reigns)
With all expectations pointing towards Roman Reigns winning this weekend’s Elimination Chamber match, and going on to face Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania for the Universal Title, one question remains – what’s next for “The Monster Among Men” Braun Strowman?
This weekend’s pay-per-view (PPV) will see the first-ever Seven-Man Elimination Chamber match between Reigns, Seth Rollins, John Cena, Elias, Finn Balor, WWE Intercontinental Champion The Miz, and Strowman. The winner will go on to challenge Lesnar at WrestleMania. A recent report from Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio suggests WWE is planning for a match between Strowman and The Miz at WrestleMania 34.
Meltzer said that the real story coming out of this Sunday will be the setup to Strowman vs. The Miz at Mania. Not much else was mentioned about the feud and it’s unclear if the Intercontinental Title will be on the line. Should Miz retain the strap heading into “The Show Of Shows,” however, it can be assumed it will be. Previous reports suggested a match between The Miz and Finn Balor could be in the works but those plans seem to have changed. Perhaps Balor can still find his way into the match and make it a Triple Threat for the Intercontinental Title at WrestleMania?
Regardless, it should be interesting to see how WWE books a feud between The Miz and Strowman coming out of the Elimination Chamber.
Discussion: What would you like to see WWE do with Strowman for WrestleMania this year? Do you think “The Monster Among Men” will win his first singles title at the event?
Monday’s edition of WWE RAW featured a standout performance by Seth Rollins in the 7-Man Gauntlet match. The match, officially the longest match in WWE history, saw Rollins best the other participants in Sunday’s Elimination Chamber match, including Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, John Cena, Elias, Finn Balor, WWE Intercontinental Champion The Miz, and Braun Strowman.
Rollins started off the night with Reigns and picked up the upset win via rollup pin. The pair put on quite the back-and-forth before “The Architect’s” win and John Cena entered next. Rollins and Cena probably put on the best bout within the Gauntlet match, but again Rollins was able to pull off a clean pinfall win over “The Leader Of The Cenation.” He lasted in the match for over an hour and picked up two clean pinfall wins over WWE’s biggest stars.
According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Rollins’ big night on RAW was the beginning of an effort to position him as a heel challenger to Roman Reigns in the months after WrestleMania 34. Rollins’ role at WrestleMania is currently undecided after his originally scheduled opponent, Jason Jordan, was forced to undergo neck surgery.
This weekend’s Elimination Chamber match will determine who will go on to WrestleMania and challenge Brock Lesnar for the Universal throne. It’s no secret that Roman Reigns is the strong favorite to emerge victorious on Sunday and challenge The Beast on April 8th.
With Dean Ambrose out of action due to injury and this latest Shield reunion effectively dead on arrival, it will be interesting to see how Rollins is transitioned to a heel and how they’d jumpstart a potential post-WrestleMania program with Reigns.
Does a post-WrestleMania Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins program interest you? Let us know in the comments.
– WWE posted the following video of Seth Rollins cutting a great backstage promo to hype this weekend’s Elimination Chamber match. Rollins talked about originally not having a match for the pay-per-view (PPV) event, but now being a part of the biggest Elimination Chamber match of all time. He vowed to win the match, go on to WrestleMania 34, and slay “The Beast” – again – to win the Universal Title. Check it out:
– WWE has been teasing an upcoming feud between RAW Tag Team Champions The Bar (Sheamus and Cesaro) against The Revival, perhaps for a title match at Elimination Chamber. WWE posted a backstage video of Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson calling out The Revival, calling them a pair of “NERDS!” Could this lead to a title eliminator match between the two teams?
– Alexa Bliss took to Twitter to react to getting her own Mattel doll. Bliss recalled telling her former teacher she wanted to grow up to be a Barbie Doll:
When I was 5 I said when I grew up I wanted to be a Barbie Doll … here’s to my teacher who said I couldn’t ???? pic.twitter.com/Jugt1JKciU
Ronda Rousey’s in-ring debut for WWE is expected to take place at WrestleMania 34. Reported plans have Rousey teaming with a mystery partner against Triple H and Stephanie McMahon. Sports Illustrated is reporting that there are four names that WWE is currently considering to partner with Rousey at “The Show Of Shows.”
Those names, in order of WWE’s preference, are The Rock, RAW General Manager Kurt Angle, SmackDown Live Commissioner Shane McMahon, and Seth Rollins. It’s also possible that top WWE officials already know who Rousey’s partner will be. WWE would like for The Rock to partner with Rousey as a way to continue on from the foursome’s encounter at WrestleMania 31. We’ll keep you updated as we learn more…
Rumours and speculation have spread over the last few months about what matches will make up the WrestleMania card in April. And now that things are starting to fall into place, with Shinsuke Nakamura winning the Royal Rumble, betting odds for which match will mainevent WWE’s biggest PPV of the year have been revealed.
The odds have been provided by Grosvenor Casino’s who also have betting options on Daniel Bryan’s next match, the end of Asuka’s winning run in WWE, as well as when Carmella will cash-in her Money In The Bank contract.
The conditions, stipulations, and odds can be found below:
Exact combination of participants in the last match on the show
Bet refers to the exact combination of participants advertised to compete in the match that starts last on the show. Settlement will be based on the card as advertised 24 hours before the start of the specified event and will disregard any previous or subsequent announcements as much as the match actually takes place. Impromptu/unannounced matches will not be taken into consideration for settlement purposes. Bets will remain valid in case of multi-person matches and regardless of any changes to previously advertised match stipulations as much as these do not involve a change from the advertised participants. Stakes will be refunded if the event is cancelled, moved for more than 7 days than the originally scheduled date and/or moved to a different location. Bets placed after any announcement on any WWE/official social media platform will be declared void. No refunds on non starters. Others on request.
Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns -150
Any Women’s Match +100
Any Match Featuring The Undertaker +100
AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura +200
Any Match Featuring The Rock +300
Braun Strowman & Ronda Rousey vs. Triple H & Stephanie McMahon +300
Any Match Featuring Daniel Bryan +500
Braun Strowman vs. Brock Lesnar +800
Brock Lesnar vs. Shinsuke Nakamura +1500
Opinion:
It seems most likely that Brock Lesnar vs Roman Reigns will headline, unless The Undertaker returns; but WWE wouldn’t repeat an Undertaker WrestleMania mainevent retirement two times in a row, would they?
Personally, I’d like to see Asuka headline WrestleMania but I think that’ll be in the books for 2019, and it’d be an opportunity for her to end her winning streak.
I also love that Brock Lesnar vs Shinsuke Nakamura has been thrown in, just in case!
As WrestleMania 34 approaches there has still been very limited news as to whether or not we’ll actually see the rumored match-up between John Cena and The Undertaker. Several months ago it was being reported that Cena’s plans for WrestleMania were bigger than the title matches on the card.
It was then reported that Cena vs. Taker was penciled in for “The Show Of Shows.” Many fans expected the feud to setup at RAW 25, however, Undertaker’s appearance on the show was arguably the most disappointing segment of the night. Wrestling Observer Newsletter’s Dave Meltzer reports that, as of a few weeks ago, Cena vs. Undertaker at WrestleMania 34 is still the plan.
Meltzer speculated that if WWE still wants to do it they could set it up after Cena loses the Elimination Chamber match. It should be interesting to see how creative books the feud between these two legends on the road to New Orleans.
WrestleMania 34 is less than three months away and plans are well underway to lock in the top matches planned for the show. In the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer confirmed that WWE has settled on the top two matches for the show.
The main event will surprise nobody, as Roman Reigns will challenge Brock Lesnar for the WWE Universal Championship. This match has been years in the making and was effectively set in stone going back over a year, when Meltzer reported it prior to last year’s Mania.
The other top match for WrestleMania 34 will see “free agent” John Cena finally squaring off against The Undertaker.
With Taker being backstage at SmackDown this week and the sports entertainment company promoting him for the RAW 25 Anniversary show, the feeling is that the angle for Cena vs. Undertaker will be shot in two weeks at the special edition of RAW.
WrestleMania 34 is set to be held on April 8, 2018, at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. This event airs on pay-per-view (PPV) and WWE Network and is the most successful and longest-running professional wrestling event in history.
As for the WWE Hall of Fame’s Class of 2018, Meltzer confirmed the names that were on a list first reported by Brad Shepard of Bleacher Report. The headliner for this year’s HOF class will be former WWE & WCW World Champion Bill Goldberg, who had a successful return to WWE after over a decade out of the ring.
WrestleMania 34 is set to feature in New Orleans during the city’s tricentennial celebration in 2018. However this was not always going to be the case. According to a source from PWInsider, the original venue was set to be the Metlife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
The last time New Jersey hosted WrestleMania was in 2013:
With New Orleans hosting a year after in 2014:
Therefore, it seems like that the Metlife Stadium is in the running for hosting WrestleMania 35, much to the disappointment of all UK fans who pleaded for a London based venue, although nothing has been confirmed yet.
https://youtu.be/U4r26kTMakc?t=10s
Opinion:
From an unbiased logical point of view, it makes sense to have WrestleMania in the US, both logistically and financially. And if there were ever a venue for UK and European fans to visit, New Jersey is on the East coast which is one of more accessible points to those who can hop over the pond.
As we’ve previously reported, the main event for WWE’s Fastlane pay-per-view (PPV) in March has been leaked out – a Fatal-Five Way match for the WWE Title between AJ Styles, Randy Orton, Shinsuke Nakamura, Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn. The match has yet to be confirmed by WWE, however, if that match does take place it would indicate that Orton, Nakamura, Owens, or Zayn won’t be winning the Royal Rumble match as it wouldn’t make sense for them to challenge for the title at Fastlane after winning the rumble.
There has been speculation that perhaps John Cena could win the Royal Rumble and go on to challenge AJ Styles for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 34, with the storyline being Cena trying to break the record he shares with Ric Flair of being a 16-time World Champion. Per a report from Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Cena vs. Styles will not be happening as Cena will be involved in a much bigger match at WrestleMania 34 instead.
Meltzer noted that he didn’t know who Cena would be facing, however, he was told it would be made clear over the next several weeks. The only names Meltzer could come up with were The Undertaker, Batista, Goldberg or Hulk Hogan. Hogan would be a huge surprise given the leak of his racist comments a few years ago and the issues he has with his back. It’s expected that some matches for WrestleMania 34 will begin to build-up at RAW’s 25th Anniversary special on Monday, January 22, 2018.
The event will be a special simulcast event from both the Barclays Center and the Manhattan Center in New York City; with names such as John Cena, The Undertaker, Kevin Nash, Shawn Michaels, and more scheduled to appear. We’ll keep you updated as we learn more….
– Some speculation has seemed to have emerged after Roman Reigns’ recent defeat of The Miz for the Intercontinental Championship, leading some to believe that he may no longer be taking on Brock Lesnar in the main event of WrestleMania 34. This is not the case, per a report from Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio, who notes that plans have not yet changed.
As of last week Reigns is still scheduled to challenge Lesnar for the Universal Title, but it’s unknown if he will go into “The Show Of Shows” as Intercontinental Champion. It’s expected that “The Big Dog” will drop his title before then.
– WWE Hall Of Famer Diamond Dallas Page has released a commercial for his new DDP Yoga Rebuild DVDs. You can check it out here below:
With the release of James Ellsworth from WWE, most have speculated about his future within the world of sports entertainment. Many have suggested that he could easily demand more money when appearing in other promotions, and that he has an open and easy career ahead of him.
However, James McKenna has revealed some outrageous plans for James Ellsworth that were discussed at creative meetings. The plans, that are reported to have originated from Vince McMahon, would place Ellsworth in a championship match at WrestleMania 34.
What championship match?
The SmackDown Live Women’s Championship match.
Around the time of Money In The Bank, after James Ellsworth won the first Money In The Bank match for Carmella, Triple H was interviewed on Sky Sports saying: “I wasn’t there, but it doesn’t seem right […] although we are still trying to confirm that James Ellsworth is 100% a man.”
The comment came across as a joke, however the source from James McKenna suggests that Triple H’s interview wasn’t just a joke, but a potential seed for Vince McMahon’s idea – to reveal that James Ellsworth was transgender.
McKenna said that the Chairman and CEO of WWE brought this idea forward and that the creative team had to debate and discuss how it would work. The whole plan would be for James Ellsworth to eventually feature at WrestleMania 34 to compete with Charlotte (as the champion) for the SmackDown Live Women’s Championship.
WWE have done some pretty weird and offensive things in the past; usually resulting in some form of relationship or feud that results in a wedding and nudity. But using, or even suggesting, gender transitioning is not only ridiculous, but also insensitive. Thankfully it was stopped in its tracks well before getting out of hand.
WWE has revealed a new poster for WrestleMania 34 to support the ticket sales of the event at New Orleans on April 8th next year. The WWE Universe is expecting to have Roman Reigns come up against Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship, while AJ Styles could face Shinsuke Nakamura for the WWE Championship title.
The report focuses on Jinder Mahal being featured ahead of the new WWE Champion AJ Styles, who won the title at SmackDown Live last Tuesday. The main focus of the report highlights the negative response on Twitter, with fans being less than happy to see Jinder Mahal and not AJ Styles on the poster.
Jinder Mahal followed the defeat on Tuesday with a post on instagram to try and solidify his position as a dominant force in WWE.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BbPYTbVDVkl/
Mahal’s run as WWE Champion has not been popular with fans. He, and the company have been consistently criticized over the experiment to gain more viewers in India. This was emphatically proven as the ratings were released, highlighting a significant increase as AJ Styles won the title from Mahal.
Therefore fans of the WWE Universe may be concerned when they see the former WWE Champion feature on a poster for WrestleMania 34, ahead of AJ Styles. If this poster was an accurate representation of what to expect at WrestleMania 34, then fans should be frustrated to not see the current WWE Champion, but a crucial piece of information has been missed.
The poster was initially released via this article on wwe.com which was put up on October 30th, over a week before AJ Styles won the WWE Championship from Jinder Mahal. While the showdown between Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar has had speculation since the end of WrestleMania 33, Styles’ role in New Orleans has not had as clear a path.
Fans appear to be jumping up and down, assuming that Mahal is guaranteed to win the title back off AJ Styles, however it’s not that clear cut when all of the information is put together.
Others have pointed out Naomi’s appearance on the poster ahead of Natalya or Charlotte, but with 6 months to go, there are numerous women who could be champion by WrestleMania 34, Naomi is just one of many.
Opinion:
WWE would not have wanted to accidentally give away any spoilers through this poster, and I am sure updated posters will be revealed closer to the event as the matches and feuds become more clear. Jinder has improved as a talent in the ring, he’s a heel, he’s meant to be disliked; but I think AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura will be the match-up at WrestleMania 34.
With SummerSlam in the books, WWE has reportedly settled on a main event for WrestleMania 34 event from New Orleans. On the latest edition of Wrestling Observer, Dave Meltzer stated that the current plan is for Brock Lesnar to face Roman Reigns.
WWE officials were considering John Cena vs. Roman Reigns as one of the marquee matches for WrestleMania, but the decision was made to begin that feud earlier and we’re already seeing the seeds planted for that match to take place in the coming months.
The Lesnar vs. Reigns match was the original plan for WM34 going back several months, but WWE backed off on that scenario for a few months before coming back to it recently.
Lesnar vs. Strowman and Lesnar vs. Reigns were discussed for SummerSlam before WWE ultimately went with the Fatal 4 Way match.
Right now the biggest money match for Lesnar is Braun Strowman, which WWE announced last night as the main event for next month’s No Mercy pay-per-view (9/24).
Lesnar’s current WWE contract expires after WrestleMania, so it will be interesting to see if he signs on for another year or who Lesnar works with in his final program before finishing up with the company once again.
WWE released a new 4K video of Superstars backstage at Wrestlemania 33. The video shows Superstars like the Hardy’s, Brock Lesnar, AJ Styles, Goldberg, Randy Orton and Roman Reigns moments before they made their way to the ring.
Four Things WWE Fans Want To See At Wrestlemania 34
WWE has uploaded a new video entitled “4 things we want to see at Wrestlemania 34”. The four things listed were Stephanie McMahon competing in a match, Roman Reigns versus John Cena, WWE Champion versus Universal Champion and a Battle Royal with Superstars from the Attitude Era.
Earlier this week, WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross pitched Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns as the main event of next year’s WrestleMania. In a blog at JRsBarBQ.com, JR wrote, “I like it as it would give Lesnar a one year run as champ which also would necessitate Lesnar working a few more dates on his last year of his current contract. Seems logical to me. Lesnar could defend the title monthly, if required, quite easily on an enhanced albeit manageable schedule.”
As it turns out, that’s exactly what WWE has planned. According to the the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, WWE is hell bent on positioning Roman Reigns as “the next John Cena” and he’ll get another crack against Brock Lesnar in the main event of WrestleMania next year. From the Observer:
“The plan is to once again build for a year and have the big coronation at WrestleMania. The idea between now and then is for Reigns to be the face, not just when he wins the title, but to fully replace John Cena as the lead babyface of the company.”
“The goal is very much to make Reigns the next Cena, which was the plan for Santa Clara two years ago, until they decided to delay it based on fan reaction.”
In just a few weeks at WrestleMania 33, Brock Lesnar challenges Goldberg for the RAW Universal Championship and Roman Reigns faces The Undertaker. It’s widely expected that Lesnar will finally get revenge on Goldberg and capture the Universal title at Mania. Lesnar defending that championship against Roman Reigns at 34 doesn’t necessarily mean that Lesnar will have a year-long title reign, but it would be an interesting way to elevate that title and build up the significance of whoever dethrones The Beast.
WWE has been positioning Roman Reigns as the company’s next top babyface for 3 years now.
WrestleMania 34 takes place on Sunday, April 8, 2018, at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Visit f4wonline.com for details on how you can subscribe to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
– Heath Slater and Rhyno defeated The Usos in the dark match before this week’s WWE SmackDown. The dark main event of the show saw WWE Intercontinental Champion Dean Ambrose retain over The Miz.
– Here’s the promo for Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman’s return to RAW next Monday in New Orleans to discuss Goldberg and the Royal Rumble match:
With this year’s WrestleMania 33 around the corner on April 3rd, WWE is already planning next year’s WrestleMania. Next year’s WrestleMania 34 will take place on April 8th at the Superdome in New Orleans, and this week WWE began releasing more details on the show.
In a press release issued this week, New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu was quoted as saying 2004’s WrestleMania 30 at the Superdome was a world-class event and the week-long series of events beforehand boosted their local economy. According to WWE, WrestleMania 30 generated $10.9 million in ticket revenue and a $142.2 million economic impact on New Orleans. The show set the Superdome’s attendance record at 75,167.
WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon also provided a quote for the press release, saying that New Orleans is the perfect setting for a celebration like WrestleMania.
The press release mentioned several of WWE’s events taking place during WrestleMania week leading up to the show on April 8th, including their Axxess fan conention and the Hall of Fame induction ceremony.
Here’s the press release in it’s entirety:
WrestleMania® Returns to The Big Easy
NEW ORLEANS–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards, New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu, the Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation, the New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau and WWE® (NYSE: WWE) are proud to announce that the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans will host WWE’s pop-culture extravaganza, WrestleMania, on Sunday, April 8, 2018.
“We are excited to bring WrestleMania back to Louisiana,” said Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards. “This is a great event being hosted in one of the greatest cities in the world. We cordially invite WWE fans from all over to be part of WrestleMania Week and experience all that our beautiful state has to offer.”
“New Orleans is proud to have WrestleMania return to the Mercedes-Benz Superdome,” said New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu. “WrestleManiabrought a world-class event to our city in 2014, and the week-long series of events generated a boost to our economy. We look forward to another historic week of events in 2018, all as part of our city’s Tricentennial celebration.”
“New Orleans is a perfect setting for WWE’s biggest celebration of the year,” said WWE Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon. “On behalf of everyone at WWE, we thank Governor Edwards and Mayor Landrieu for welcoming WrestleMania back to the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.”
WrestleMania is more than just a one-day event; it’s a week-long celebration that will stretch throughout the New Orleans region. In addition to WrestleMania, other activities will include: WrestleMania Axxess, WWE’s four-day interactive fan festival at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center; the 2018 WWE Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony at the Smoothie King Center; NXT®TakeOver at the Smoothie King Center; Monday Night Raw® at the Smoothie King Center; SmackDown® Live at the Smoothie King Center; Be a STAR® anti-bullying rallies; hospital visits and other community outreach initiatives designed to give back to the host community. The event will be broadcast live on WWE Network and pay-per-view in more than 180 countries. Over the past 10 years, WrestleMania has generated nearly $1 billion in cumulative economic impact for the cities that have hosted the event. This year, WrestleMania takes place Sunday, April 2 at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, FL.
