It appears that after the Undertaker vs. AJ Styles match was changed into a Boneyard match, another top WrestleMania fight will be converted into a stipulation bout.

WWE had announced that this week’s episode of SmackDown will feature a Firefly Fun House segment where Bray Wyatt will address John Cena.

The former Universal Champion then hosted the segment in the second hour of the show where he created ‘the perfect smoothie’ to defeat the Cenation Leader at Mania.

Wyatt said that Cena deserves a match which is not ordinary and proceeded to challenge his opponent to a Firefly Fun House match at the upcoming PPV event.

There is no word yet on the characteristics of the bout but you can check out a video of the SmackDown segment where Bray mentions the WrestleMania match below:

.@WWEBrayWyatt challenges @JohnCena to a #FireFlyFunHouse Match at #WrestleMania! #SmackDown pic.twitter.com/bZZJfqbi1m

— WWE (@WWE) March 28, 2020

• Also Read: NXT Star Replaces Current Champion On WrestleMania

WWE has since announced that John Cena will be returning to SmackDown for next week’s go-home episode of the show where he will respond to this challenge from the Fiend.

If Cena does accept this challenge then it will be the third stipulation match for Wrestlemania after WWE announced AJ Styles vs. Undertaker bout as a boneyard match and Edge vs. Randy Orton as a Last Match Standing match for the show.

The news of Roman Reigns pulling out of WrestleMania 36 made a lot of headlines yesterday and latest reports have now revealed two more names which have been removed from the show.

PWinsider is reporting that the current United States Champion Andrade suffered a rib injury on this week’s episode of Raw and he was not cleared to compete at the WrestleMania tapings which took place later in the week.

Andrade was expected to team up with Angel Garza on WrestleMania and the duo was scheduled to challenge the Raw Tag Team Champions, The Street Profits at the event.

However, he was replaced by an NXT star in the match and Post Wrestling is reporting that former Evolve Champion Austin Theory worked as the substitute for the Mexican star.

Another star that was removed from the show is the former champion Murphy and reports state that he was “not cleared to appear,” though it doesn’t provide any further details.

Murphy was not scheduled for a match at WrestleMania but he was expected to be at ringside for the announced Seth Rollins vs. Kevin Owens match at the show.

It’s likely that the company had to make changes to their plans for the bout because of Murphy’s removal and it would be interesting to see if they brought in Samoa Joe to play a part in the story.

Roman Reigns has been removed from WrestleMania.

Pro Wrestling Sheet is reporting that the former World Champion recently let WWE know that he did not feel comfortable doing any more of the Performance Center shows amidst the coronavirus pandemic.

Roman was concerned about his well being because he is immunocompromised from his previous battle with leukemia and he didn’t want to risk his health.

The company officials honored his request and they will be replacing Reigns in the upcoming Universal Championship match against Goldberg.

So far there is no word on who the company will choose as the replacement for the former Shield member at the show but we should get a better idea on tomorrow’s episode of SmackDown Live.

• Also Read: Rey Mysterio Not Competing At WrestleMania

Roman Reigns’ Battle With Leukemia

Roman Reigns’ battle with leukemia is well documented and he was first diagnosed with the disease when he was only 22 years old. This diagnosis is believed to be the reason why he had to retire from football.

His cancer returned in 2018, which forced the WWE star to relinquish his Universal Championship in October that year and leave the company for his treatment.

Reigns returned to the promotion in February 2019 where he announced that his leukemia was once again in remission and the former Champion received a huge ovation from the crowd.

It has been confirmed before that WrestleMania 36 will be a taped show and new reports reveal that the company has already taped some important matches for the event.

Bryan Alvarez provided an update on the event on the latest episode of Wrestling Observer Live and he revealed that the company held the first day of WrestleMania tapings at the Performance Center this Wednesday.

The belief was that the officials will tape night one of the show on Wednesday and night two on Thursday. However, the report says that they have already filmed some of the bigger matches for the show.

Orange County officials recently announced a “stay at home” order that will come to effect from Thursday night and it will affect the company’s ability to film shows. So the WWE crew is working hard to get everything taped before the deadline.

The company is expected to tape all the shows until WrestleMania before this Thursday. No word yet on if the tapings will include the post WrestleMania episode of Raw as well but it was rumored to be the case.

• Also Read: Rey Mysterio Staying In Quarantine, To Miss WrestleMania

WWE is taping the shows from multiple locations but other than the Performance Center, there is no news on any other facility that is being used. The Full Sail University campus is believed to be one of the locations but there is no confirmation of the same.

WrestleMania will be a two-night streaming event this year with the first night airing on Saturday, April 4 and night two airing on Sunday, April 5 at 7pm ET.

This week’s episode of SmackDown saw Paige making an appearance on the show through Skype and announcing a six-pack challenge for the SmackDown Women’s Championship at WrestleMania 36.

During the latest episode of Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer talked about this announcement and revealed the original plans for the championship at the Show Of Shows.

According to him, the original plans called for Sasha Banks to challenge her friend for the title at the Grandest Stage Of Them All but they nixed these arrangements.

The company felt that there wasn’t enough time to build a feud between the two. So the officials decided to hold off the bout for a later late and announced the six-pack challenge for WrestleMania instead.

While not confirmed, it’s likely that they will use the announced bout to kick off the feud between the two and have a singles match with a longer build somewhere down the line.

For those who don’t know, Paige announced that Bayley will be defending her SmackDown Women’s Championship against Sasha Banks, Lacey Evans, Naomi, Tamina Snuka, and Dana Brooke in a six-pack challenge at WrestleMania.

There is no word yet on which night of the show this match will take place on but you can check out the updated match card for the event at this link.

With WWE having split WrestleMania 36 across two days, fans have been naturally wondering what matches will be taking place on what day. WWE.com has now revealed when fans can expect specific matches to take place. At the time of writing, each WrestleMania 36 match preview on WWE’s official website stated the date.

As it stands, the WWE Universe can expect Brock Lesnar’s WWE Championship defense against Drew McIntyre to close Saturday, April 4. The WWE Universal Championship match between Goldberg and Roman Reigns will round out the weekend on Sunday, April 5.

WrestleMania Schedule

The current card, per WWE.com, looks like this:

Saturday, April 4th, 2020

• WWE Championship: Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Drew McIntyre
• NXT Women’s Championship: Rhea Ripley (c) vs. Charlotte Flair
• The Undertaker vs. AJ Styles
• Kevin Owens vs. Seth Rollins

Sunday, April 5th, 2020

• WWE Universal Championship: Bill Goldberg (c) vs. Roman Reigns
• RAW Women’s Championship: Becky Lynch (c) vs. Shayna Baszler
• John Cena vs. “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt

It’s worth noting that, although each match is listed as taking place at the WWE Performance Center, WWE intends to broadcast WrestleMania from multiple locations.

• Details On WrestleMania Taking Place From Multiple Locations

WrestleMania 36 was initially intended to take place at Raymond James Stadium on April 5. It will now take place on April 4 and April 5. The decision to relocate was made due to the current coronavirus pandemic. 

WWE made the interesting announcement recently that WrestleMania 36 will be broadcasted in two parts on Saturday, April 4 and Sunday, April 5, from multiple locations.

The broadcast from multiple locations will actually make the production easier for WWE. The company has been very careful about having only a limited number of personnel for tapings at the performance center. This the reason why big-name talents like Edge and Randy Orton are being cycled on the show instead of making same night appearances.

WWE has taken the CDC’s social distancing edicts very seriously and they have only brought in a restricted number of talents for the shows despite the fact that many of them live locally in the Tampa and Orlando area.

Broadcasting WrestleMania from a singular location in one day would cause a lot of production issues for the company in terms of managing so many talents, producers and staff members who would have to gather at the same place for the show.

The multiple locations will also allow the company to switch places during the broadcast and keep the show from looking and feeling ‘monotonous’.

This can also allow the company to pre-tape segments and even matches for WrestleMania since a closed set would make it easier for them to stop the spoilers from leaking.

There is no word yet on what other locations the company could use but Titan Tower and WWE HQ in Stamford, and the 3-D suite in the Performance Center are some of the locations they control and could film the show in.

They can also lean on their relationships with Fox Network or NBC Universal for assistance in finding places and possibly set material outdoors, allowing them to use pyro the fans have come to expect from the show of the caliber of WrestleMania.

Seth Rollins should not be asked questions about WrestleMania – he made it very clear that he doesn’t know what the company is planning.

Rollins hosted a Q&A session on his Instagram Live on Saturday and when he was getting questions about WrestleMania’s status, he said that he has no idea if the show is going to take place or not.

“WrestleMania, I don’t know! Don’t ask me questions, I don’t know! I am not in charge of that. I go where they tell me. This Monday, I’ll be in Orlando at the PC doing Raw in front of nobody just like SmackDown was on Friday. Probably just how NXT will be on Wednesday. About WrestleMania. Nobody knows. It’s all up in the air,” said Seth Rollins.

14th March, 2020 Deadboys Fitness Instagram Live Video #SethRollins #DeadboysFitness

Full Video: https://t.co/XzTU3xyEk8

Join: https://t.co/UTsKi48C0a pic.twitter.com/CZqSO9KzSN

— Seth Rollins Fans Media (@SRFansMedia) March 15, 2020

The upcoming Raw episode is going to take place at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida in front of no audience just like this week’s SmackDown.

On March 13, WWE had released a statement saying that they had no plans to cancel WrestleMania. While the company seemed to be committed to moving ahead with the event as planned, they have confirmed that contingency plans are in place in case the local authorities in Tampa decide to cancel the show.

Hillsborough Commissioner Les Miller has said that Tampa officials will “probably have to pull the plug” on WrestleMania if WWE can’t come to a decision by themselves on canceling the event. “I’m hoping that Vince McMahon and WrestleMania and WWE make that call themselves. But a week from now, if they have not done that and we consider the situation we’re in, we will probably have to pull the plug on that,” Miller was noted as saying.

WWE talent are concerned over performing in front of the massive WrestleMania crowd – and most of them feel that the event will be canceled due to the worsening situations of the outbreak.

The coronavirus outbreak has been affecting sporting events across the globe and just in the last 24 hours, both the NBA and XFL have suspended their ongoing seasons.

WWE has not remained unaffected either and the company recently confirmed that they are moving this week’s episode of SmackDown to the performance center.

Not only that but the promotion has also canceled Sunday’s live event in Youngstown, Ohio and more events are expected to be rescheduled or canceled in the coming times.

These changes are expected to affect the company’s financial performance and so the officials are trying to assure the investors that they are prepared to handle the situation.

The company recently released a statement regarding the epidemic affecting their business and revealed that they have financial resources available in cash and debt capacity to manage the challenges ahead, totalling in more than $0.5 billion.

You can check out their full statement below:

WWE Statement on Potential Impact of COVID-19

WWE (NYSE: WWE) today communicated perspective regarding the potential impact of COVID-19 on the Company’s financial performance.

WWE has substantial financial resources, both available cash and debt capacity, which currently total more than $0.5 billion, to manage the challenges ahead. The fundamentals of the Company’s business remain strong reflecting the passion of WWE’s fans and the quality of its content. Management continues to believe the Company is well positioned to take full advantage of the changing media landscape and increasing value of live sports rights over the longer term.

The health and safety of WWE’s fans, performers and employees are the Company’s top priorities and management is monitoring the situation closely domestically and internationally. The potential impact of COVID-19, and corresponding changes in the way WWE operates, may adversely impact the Company’s business including, but not limited to, its live event ticket sales and the sale of merchandise at those events.

It should be noted that the Company may be directed to cancel, postpone or relocate certain upcoming events and the number of these changes is unknown at this time. The Company is currently unable to quantify the potential financial impact of COVID-19, but the financial impact to the Company may be material.

Accordingly, the Company is withdrawing its previously announced first quarter and full year 2020 guidance due to the increased uncertainty of the financial impact of COVID-19 to the Company.

WrestleMania 36 will take place on April 5th, 2020 from the Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Bay, Florida. The lineup for the show is said to have been in a state of flux over the last few weeks, however.

2 news matches have been added to the planned lineup. These include Otis taking on Dolph Ziggler and a women’s tag titles match pitting the Kabuki Warriors against Natalya and Beth Phoenix.

According to a report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, here is what is currently planned for WrestleMania. Please note that plans for these matches could be changed.

Planned Matches:

1. WWE Championship: Brock Lesnar (c) vs Drew McIntyre
2. Universal Championship: Goldberg (c) vs Roman Reigns
3. John Cena vs Bray Wyatt
4. Edge vs Randy Orton
5. Undertaker vs AJ Styles
6. RAW Women’s Championship: Becky Lynch (c) vs Shayna Baszler
7. NXT Women’s Championship: Rhea Ripley (c) vs Charlotte Flair
8. WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships: The Kabuki Warriors (c) vs Natalya & Beth Phoenix
9. Otis vs Dolph Ziggler
10. Men’s Battle Royal
11. Women’s Battle Royal

5 additional matches to be added:

• A match involving Seth Rollins
• A Smackdown Women’s title match
• Intercontinental title match
• Smackdown tag team titles match
• A U.S title match

The report would continue to say there have been rumors of Tyson Fury coming in after his victory over Deontay Wilder but they are nothing more than rumors at this point.

WrestleMania 35 saw a slew of new champions crowned in WWE.

As Jim Ross sees it, the booking of the show says that the WWE front office has not been pleased with their product.

On The Jim Ross Report, JR explains that with so many new champions, WWE has essentially done a reboot.

Jim Ross On WWE Hitting The “Reset Button”

• AEW Plans To Use 3-Man Commentary Booth

“They decided to hit the reset button at WrestleMania,” says Ross.

“You don’t crown seven new champions without being displeased with their predecessors.”

Ross says that if the WWE decision-makers had been happy with the direction of the product, they would not have gone so far in making wholesale changes.

“You don’t have massive changes in your booking, unless there was some disillusionment,” Ross says. “So now they’ve hit the reset button across the board.”

WrestleMania saw a new Universal Champion crowned, a new Cruiserweight Champion, new Raw Tag Team Champions, a new Intercontinental Champion, new Women’s Tag Team Champions, and a new Raw and Smackdown Women’s Champion.

Now that the changes have been made, Ross says that it is up to the new champions to deliver in the ring.

“Everything’s new. Everybody’s got a chance to create their own legacies and stardom,” Ross says.

“They’re going to get the ball. Now it’s dependent upon them.”

New, SlobberKnocker Audio Show has just escaped with ?@HeyHeyItsConrad? and I chopping up #Wrestlemania Week, ?@StarrcastEvents?, Grilling Jim Ross, & much more! https://t.co/xlIK3J0S9y

— Jim Ross (@JRsBBQ) April 10, 2019

Despite being pre-determined, WWE likes to treat its brand of sports entertainment under a strict set of rules. One of those rules, as enforced by their officials, is to call each match as though it were a shoot. That means only counting a pinfall if a competitor’s shoulders are to the canvas.

This past Sunday, during the main event of WrestleMania 35, a three-count took place. However, the woman taking the loss, Ronda Rousey, didn’t have her shoulders pinned for a full count of three. This has led to some controversy over the finish of the match itself.

Turns out that this incident hasn’t been ignored by WWE’s top brass.

According to Fightful, the referee who made the count, Rod Zapata, has been fined an undisclosed amount by the company for counting the pinfall. This win allowed Becky Lynch to claim both the RAW and SmackDown Women’s Championships.

Zapata allegedly had some heat backstage due to the finish after the event. This was said to have been minor, at best. The next night on RAW, however, Zapata was taken aside by Vince McMahon himself. A discussion was had, and the referee would end up being fined.

He was apparently informed that, although the pinfall was meant to happen via the crucifix as witnessed on Sunday, he should have waited for the shoulders to be firmly against the mat. If the performers struggled on the way to that final position, then he, as an official, can’t be held accountable for that.

Setting An Example

This isn’t the first time that a fine has been issued to a referee.

Dan Engler was the recipient of a fine due to an incident during the recent Chad Gable and Bobby Roode vs Ricochet and Aleister Black matchup from Monday Night RAW.

Although speculated to have been a small mistake, Vince McMahon wanted to set an example for the rest of his officials going forward.

It was a surprise for a lot of fans to see the Universal Championship match between Brock Lesnar and Seth Rollins open the WrestleMania 35 PPV.

Though if we believe Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer, then the company hadn’t planned this match order in advance and the decision to make it the opening bout was made very late.

According to Meltzer, the decision wasn’t made until around 5:30 pm ET and Hulk Hogan who was part of the opening segment of the night wasn’t aware of it.

Hogan was called to the stage by the show’s host Alexa Bliss. These two welcomed the fans to the show and hyped the PPV but they were interrupted by Paul Heyman.

Heyman walked past them as the two were doing Hulk’s signature poses and the former World Champion reportedly had no idea why Paul was walking towards the ring.

Paul Heyman then proceeded to claim that if his client Brock Lesnar was not in the main event, then he won’t stick around and wait.

He called for the Universal Championship match to be the opening match for the show and it saw Seth Rollins defeating the Beast and taking the title off him with the help of a low blow.

The final betting odds are in for the WrestleMania 35 event. The latest list was released by Bet Wrestling.

Becky Lynch is still favored at +425 to win the RAW and Smackdown Women’s Championships while Seth Rollins is favored to beat Brock Lesnar to win the Universal Title.

The favorites to win are listed as – while the underdogs are listed with +. Here are the early betting odds:

WWE RAW and Smackdown Women’s Championship Match

Ronda Rousey (c) +425 vs Charlotte Flair(c) -600 vs Becky Lynch -425

WWE Universal Championship Match

Brock Lesnar(c) +125 vs Seth Rollins -160

WWE Championship Match

Daniel Bryan(c) +210 vs Kofi Kingston -290

WWE Intercontinental Championship Match

Bobby Lashley (c) +550 vs Finn Balor -1050

WWE United States Championship Match

Samoa Joe (c) -350 vs Rey Mysterio +250

WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship Match

Boss ‘n’ Hug Connection(c) -180 vs The IIconics +150 vs Nia Jax & Tamina +4000 vs The Divas of Doom +6500

WWE Smackdown Tag Team Championship Match

The Usos -180 (c) vs The Bar +600 vs Ricochet & Aleister Black +290 vs Shinsuke Nakamura and Rusev +1000

WWE Raw Tag Team Championship Match

The Revival(c) +145 vs Zack Ryder and Curt Hawkins -185

Cruiserweight Championship Match

Buddy Murphy(c) -190 vs Tony Nese +150

No Holds Barred Match

Triple H -230 vs Batista +300

Farewell Match Match

Kurt Angle -230 vs Baron Corbin +170

Falls Count Anywhere Match

Shane McMahon +205 vs The Miz -285

Singles Match

Roman Reigns -400 vs Drew McIntyre +280

Singles Match

AJ Styles -175 vs Randy Orton +125

Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal

Braun Strowman -110

Kevin Owens +700

Curt Hawkins +1000

Andrade +1000

Mustafa Ali +1050

Lars Sullivan +1500

Rob Gronkowski +1500

Rey Mysterio +3500

Velveteen Dream +3500

No Way Jose +3500

Sami Zayn +3500

Wrestlemania Women’s Battle Royal

Lacey Evans -155

Asuka +320

Carmella +365

Mandy Rose +750

Sonya Deville +2000

Nikki Bella +2500

Ruby Riott +3000

Naomi +3000

Nikki Cross +3000

Zelina Vegas +3000

Lana +3500

The card for tonight’s (Sunday, April 7, 2019) WWE WrestleMania 35 pay-per-view event has been finalized.

The company has already officially announced the main event of this event that takes place in East Rutherford, NJ at MetLife Stadium that will air on the WWE Network. WWE RAW Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey vs. Becky Lynch vs. WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair will serve as that role.

As a reminder, we will be providing live play-by-play coverage of this special on Sunday night starting at 5 PM EST. Here is the final card for the show:

Final WWE WrestleMania 35 Card

WWE RAW Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey vs. Becky Lynch vs. WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair – Triple Threat Winner Takes All Match

WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar vs. Seth Rollins

WWE Champion Daniel Bryan vs. Kofi Kingston

Batista vs. Triple H – No Holds Barred Match with Triple H’s career on the line

Kurt Angle vs. Baron Corbin – Angle’s Farewell Match

Randy Orton vs. AJ Styles

Shane McMahon vs. The Miz – Falls Count Anywhere Match

Roman Reigns vs. Drew McIntyre

WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Bayley & Sasha Banks vs. Nia Jax & Tamina vs. Beth Phoenix & Natalya vs. The IIconics – Fatal 4-Way Match

WWE United States Champion Samoa Joe vs. Rey Mysterio

WWE Intercontinental Champion Bobby Lashley vs. Finn Balor

WWE SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos vs. The Bar vs. Shinsuke Nakamura & Rusev vs. Ricochet & Aleister Black – Fatal 4-Way Match

WWE RAW Tag Team Champions The Revival vs. Zack Ryder & Curt Hawkins

WWE Cruiserweight Champion Buddy Murphy vs. Tony Nese (Pre-Show)

6th Annual Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal (Pre-Show): Colin Jost and Michael Che, Braun Strowman, Andrade, Apollo Crews, Titus O’Neil, Tyler Breeze, Jinder Mahal, No Way Jose, Bobby Roode, Chad Gable, Kalisto, Gran Metalik, Lince Dorado, Bo Dallas, Curtis Axel, Heath Slater, Rhyno, Viktor, Konnor, Ali, Shelton Benjamin, Luke Gallows, Karl Anderson, Matt Hardy, Jeff Hardy, Otis, Tucker, EC3.

Women’s Battle Royal (Pre-Show): Asuka, Carmella, Naomi, Lana, Mandy Rose, Sonya Deville, Nikki Cross, Dana Brooke, Ruby Riott, Liv Morgan, Sarah Logan, Mickie James, Zelina Vega

Triple H is scheduled to take on his old Evolution stablemate, Batista, this Sunday at WrestleMania 35. The two will face off in a No Holds Barred match with Triple H’s career on the line.

Turns out that Triple H’s initial WrestleMania plans were drastically different only a few months ago.

In an interview with ESPN, Triple H recalled not only being told he would be inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame, but that Vince McMahon would “need” him to wrestle on April 7th. “The Game” had originally believed he was going to have “an easy year this year.”

“I Need You To be In WrestleMania This Year”

“I went from a month ago thinking, ‘Oh, this is great — I’m going to have an easy year this year, I just go watch the Hall of Fame and then I get to work behind the scenes at [Wrestle]Manias,” he said. “It will be easy. Then, Vince tells me I’m in the Hall of Fame … and then next thing [I know], I’m working at WrestleMania. So I got busy quick.”

He shared that he was approached by Vince McMahon in February about actually wrestling on the event, despite not being confident for an in-ring return post-injury. Triple H suffered a torn pectoral muscle during October’s WWE Crown Jewel event.

“So I didn’t feel that way — Vince came to me and told me, ‘I need you to be in WrestleMania this year,'” Levesque said, recalling a conversation from February. “And I was like, ‘Really? Because I haven’t been cleared to train yet even — I don’t know that I’m going to make that.’ Batista and I had this conversation a while ago about trying to do this … then I had to call him and go, ‘Dude, I tore my pec and I don’t know what’s going to happen. I’ll see.’ To this day, I’m still … I’m going to get in the ring next Sunday, and you and I will both find out at the same time whether my pec will hold on.”

“At This Point In My Career, It’s all Gravy”

Although he was eventually cleared to return to the ring, he still has some lingering concerns:

“[…] until you get in there, lifting dumbbells and getting hit by Batista are two totally different things. So I’ll see how it goes, but I feel good and I’m excited to get in there. And at this point in my career, I don’t ever want to make it sound like it’s not as big as it is, but at this point in my career, it’s all gravy.”

Triple H’s appearance at this year’s WrestleMania marks his 23rd WrestleMania appearance. This puts him second only to The Undertaker, who holds the record at 26.

This Sunday sees a historic WWE moment take place as Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair, and Ronda Rousey main event WrestleMania 35. The women will compete in what has been dubbed a ‘Winner Take All’ matchup, with both the RAW and SmackDown Women’s Championships on the line.

Speaking with The Orlando Sentinel, “The Man” Becky Lynch reflected on being told that she would be making history, describing her emotional reaction as “waves of gratitude and relief.”

“I just felt waves of gratitude and relief,” Lynch said. “We really did it. We got the main event. There were tears, lots of tears just streaming down my face. Everything I worked my entire life for was coming to fruition.”

“There Is Your Comeback Story. There’s The Message”

When the Sentinel juxtaposed her current position within the company to her NXT TV debut in 2014, she would remark that this comparison acts as a perfect comeback story.

Though it may be hard to believe now, back when Lynch debuted she would dance an Irish jig, playing heavily into her roots and background in an uninspired gimmick hoisted onto her by WWE.

“Oh my God. There is your comeback story. There’s the message,” she said. “If I can debut that way and get to the main event of WrestleMania, anything is possible, for anybody.”

Addressing potential frustrations in the past, she adds that she loves “proving people wrong, so I use that frustration as rocket fuel.”

This Sunday sees the culmination of her personal journey so far. One that has taken her to the top of WrestleMania. It’s another opportunity for her to prove her doubters wrong, as she stands poised to win either belt—that is if she’s able to pin or submit Charlotte Flair or Ronda Rousey.

Seth Rollins is no longer favored to beat Brock Lesnar for the Universal Title at WrestleMania 35.

This is according to the latest betting odds for the WrestleMania 35 event that was released by 5Dimes. Since the match was announced, Rollins had been the favorite to win. That has changed after Monday’s RAW episode as Lesnar is at -125 as a favorite while Rollins is at -115.

The favorites to win are listed as – while the underdogs are listed with +. Here are the early betting odds:

WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar -125 vs. Seth Rollins -115

WWE RAW Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey +400 vs. Becky Lynch -445 vs. WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair +1,350 – Triple Threat Winner Takes All Match

WWE Cruiserweight Champion Buddy Murphy -230 vs. Tony Nese +170

Triple H -260 vs. Batista +180 – No Holds Barred Match with Triple H’s career on the line

Kurt Angle -195 vs. Baron Corbin +155 – Angle’s Farewell Match

AJ Styles +110 vs. Randy Orton -150 – Falls Count Anywhere Match

Samoa Joe -260 vs. Rey Mysterio +180

6th Annual Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal: Braun Strowman +100

WWE United States Champion Samoa Joe -260 vs. Rey Mysterio +180

WWE Intercontinental Champion Bobby Lashley +500 vs. Finn Balor -900

Drew McIntyre +225 vs. Roman Reigns -305

WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Boss N Hug Connection -335 vs. The IIconics +400 vs. Nia Jax and Tamina +850 vs. Divas of Doom +1,150

WWE Champion Daniel Bryan +180 vs. Kofi Kingston -260

WWE presents the WrestleMania 35 pay-per-view event on Sunday, April 7, 2019 in East Rutherford, NJ at MetLife Stadium that will air on the WWE Network.

A new match has been announced for WWE WrestleMania 35. WWE SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos will defend their titles against The Bar, Shinsuke Nakamura & Rusev, and Ricochet & Aleister Black in a Fatal 4-Way Match.

WWE presents the WrestleMania 35 pay-per-view event on Sunday, April 7, 2019 in East Rutherford, NJ at MetLife Stadium that will air on the WWE Network. WWE will be announcing more matches for this show in the coming days. WWE RAW Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey vs. Becky Lynch vs. WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair will headline the show. Here is the updated card:

Updated WWE WrestleMania 35 Card

WWE RAW Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey vs. Becky Lynch vs. WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair – Triple Threat Winner Takes All Match

WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar vs. Seth Rollins

WWE Champion Daniel Bryan vs. Kofi Kingston

Batista vs. Triple H – No Holds Barred Match with Triple H’s career on the line

Kurt Angle vs. Baron Corbin – Angle’s Farewell Match

Randy Orton vs. AJ Styles

Shane McMahon vs. The Miz – Falls Count Anywhere Match

Roman Reigns vs. Drew McIntyre

WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Bayley & Sasha Banks vs. Nia Jax & Tamina vs. Beth Phoenix & Natalya vs. The IIconics – Fatal 4-Way Match

WWE United States Champion Samoa Joe vs. Rey Mysterio

WWE Intercontinental Champion Bobby Lashley vs. Finn Balor

WWE Cruiserweight Champion Buddy Murphy vs. Tony Nese

WWE SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos vs. The Bar vs. Shinsuke Nakamura & Rusev vs. Ricochet & Aleister Black – Fatal 4-Way Match

6th Annual Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal: Colin Jost and Michael Che, Braun Strowman, Andrade, Apollo Crews, Titus O’Neil, Tyler Breeze, Jinder Mahal, No Way Jose, Bobby Roode, Chad Gable, Kalisto, Gran Metalik, Lince Dorado, Bo Dallas, Curtis Axel, Heath Slater, Rhyno, Viktor, Konnor, Ali, Shelton Benjamin, Luke Gallows, Karl Anderson, Matt Hardy, Jeff Hardy, Otis, Tucker, EC3.

Women’s Battle Royal: Asuka, Carmella, Naomi, Lana, Mandy Rose, Sonya Deville, Nikki Cross, Dana Brooke, Ruby Riott, Liv Morgan, Sarah Logan, Mickie James, Zelina Vega

What are your thoughts on this match being added to the card? Sound off in the comment section.

WWE has announced that there will be a contract signing this Tuesday. The Daniel Bryan vs Kofi Kingston match for WrestleMania will be made ‘official’ on Smackdown Live. The WWE Championship match for WrestleMania has been locked in for quite some time backstage, but on television Kingston has been made to work for it.

Kofi was added to the Elimination Chamber match earlier this year when Mustafa Ali was unable to compete in the structure. Fans rallied behind Kofi who appeared to once again be in his “good hand” role for the evening. Kingston had stolen the show in a gauntlet match on the Tuesday night prior. The winner of that bout would be entered into the Chamber last, Kofi was eliminated by AJ Styles after an incredible showing. Randy Orton went on to win the bout and enter the Chamber last, but fans were right behind Kingston.

This spot had originally been slated for the aforementioned Ali, who if reports are to be believed would’ve faced Daniel Bryan at Fastlane. Kevin Owens would then have gotten the Championship bout at WrestleMania. Owens ended up facing Bryan at Fastlane, giving Kofi the opportunity to challenge for the belt at WrestleMania.

What is intriguing is that Kofi is one of the only performers who could’ve had this run. Ali, whilst an impressive performer does not have the tenure that Kingston has, not even close. Kingston is also in that class of ‘never used to their potential’ in WWE and he has seen many Superstars come and go. Kofi is the ‘Royal Rumble spot guy’ and nothing more…until the fans got right behind him.

BREAKING: @WWE Champion @WWEDanielBryan & @TrueKofi will make their #WrestleMania match official with a contract signing this Tuesday on #SDLive. https://t.co/DLuqQC8iTx

— WWE (@WWE) March 31, 2019

Last Tuesday’s episode of SmackDown Live, saw Charlotte Flair claim the SmackDown Women’s Championship for an eight time. This impromptu matchup against Asuka would see a previously planned Fatal Four Way scrapped. Naomi, Carmella, Sonya Devilla, and Mandy Rose all lost an opportunity to become number one contender. The winner would have gone on to face Asuka on “The Grandest Stage Of Them All” at WrestleMania 35.

Understandably, the women involved in that decision weren’t particularly happy about this direction. Naomi, in particular, has been pretty vocal about her feelings.

Feel The Glow

Naomi has previously provided a sarcastic response to WWE’s announcement regarding the second annual Women’s Battle Royal at ‘Mania, writing:

“Y’all sure this ain’t going to get cancelled too? Btw thank you so much for the opportunity”

A recent exchange with a fan only highlights her frustrations. The fan, calling the Superstar “entitled” would be told that Naomi’s feelings refer to “the [SmackDown Women’s] division as a whole” and not just her.

“This isn’t about me this is about our division as a whole we all work to hard & have come to far to come THIS FAR! So go back to your cave bish this don’t concern you”

https://twitter.com/NaomiWWE/status/1111793283431350274

Given that the WrestleMania 35 event is scheduled for a staggering seven and a half hours, a Battle Royal at least gives the women from all brands an opportunity to feature on the show. So is her frustration justified?

We’re just over a week away from the biggest show in WWE’s year. WrestleMania 35 will be taking place on Sunday April 7th from MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

The WWE Network schedule has now been updated and we have a clearer view of the night’s timings. The schedule confirms that the WrestleMania 35 Kickoff pre-show will begin at 5pm ET. The second hour of the Kickoff Show will also air on the USA Network.

The main WrestleMania card is expected to begin on the WWE Network at 7pm ET. WWE’s biggest event of the year is currently expected to last around 5 and a half hours. This would mean the show ending around 12:30am ET. According to WWE’s current schedule WrestleMania will overall last around 7.5 hours. You read that right, 7 and a half hours of Sports Entertainment.

There is currently no confirmation on what matches will be taking place on the Kickoff Show. Last year’s event featured 3 bouts on the pre-show. These were the Cruiserweight Title bout and both the Men’s and Women’s Battle Royals. There is a good chance that the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal is featured on the pre-show once again.

WWE has announced several stars that will be competing in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania 35.

Those stars include Colin Jost and Michael Che, Braun Strowman, Andrade, Apollo Crews, Titus O’Neil, Tyler Breeze, Jinder Mahal, No Way Jose, Bobby Roode, Chad Gable, Kalisto, Gran Metalik, Lince Dorado, Bo Dallas, Curtis Axel, Heath Slater, Rhyno, Viktor, Konnor, Ali, Shelton Benjamin, Luke Gallows, Karl Anderson, Matt Hardy, Jeff Hardy, Otis, Tucker, EC3. There are now 28 Superstars confirmed for the match.

Gospel singer Yolanda Adams will sing America the Beautiful next Sunday to kick off WrestleMania 35.

Adams was named ‘Gospel Artist of the Decade” by Billboard in 2009. She has sold over 8 million albums in her career and has won countless awards, including 5 Grammys.

She posted a video on Twitter announcing the news:

Hey Guys. Big announcement. This time next week, I’ll be at WRESTLEMANIA!! YEP!!! I’ll perform #AmericaTheBeautiful. Go to @WWE and follow #Wrestlemania for more info. Love Yall💝💝 pic.twitter.com/IIcqHFvx8v

— Yolanda Adams (@YolandaAdams) March 29, 2019

Yolanda Adams & Titus O’Neil

Yolanda Adams is a close friend of WWE Superstar Titus O’Neil. They have been seen together at various entertainment industry functions, which fueled rumors that they were dating.

Back in February, reps of Ms. Adams told TheJasmineBrand.com,

“We are flattered that people would love for her and [Titus] to be a couple. However, they are only best friends and are enjoying sharing red carpets and outings together.”

Last June, Titus O’Neil welcomed “the incomparable” Yolanda Adams backstage at a WWE RAW event.

So honored and Happy to have @yolandaadams as my guest here at @wwe #RAW tonight ❤️Her❤️ #titusworldwide pic.twitter.com/zPwxDPsknE

— Titus O'Neil (@TitusONeilWWE) June 5, 2018

Ronda Rousey has become known for frequently bending, if not flat out breaking, the fourth wall on her personal YouTube show, Ronda On The Road.

This weeks episode of the show follows her journey to this week’s Monday Night RAW in Boston, Massachusetts. During the video, Ronda would speak candidly on her match at WrestleMania. She would admit she thinks Becky Lynch vs Charlotte Flair wouldn’t be enough to main event the show. She went on toe say they “need” her in the match to elevate their feud. Their triple threat will see womenclosing the show for the first time in WWE history.

“It’s really cool to see people so p****d off, that thought I would fail miserably,” Rousey said. “And see that within one year, I’m in the main event of WrestleMania. And, you know what? I could promise you that Charlotte vs. Becky 9000 would not have made the main event of WrestleMania. They need me and I made it happen.”

Under Pressure

The pressure of main eventing WrestleMania on April 7th isn’t lost on the champion. She shares that “Going into this WrestleMania, I think it’s just… we just need to make sure the event is a huge success.”

She continues, “It needs to do extremely well views, I mean, it needs to do extremely well on pay-per-view buys. I want it to be the best ever because we need the women headlining WrestleMania to not be an isolated event. We need it to be, like, proof that this works and if we don’t do that, everything that we’ve done is for nothing, and we’re going to take so many years and steps back. So, there’s just so much depending on the success of this event. It really reminds me of me and [Liz] Carmouche for UFC. Everything depended on that event [UFC 157] being a success. The whole future of women in that sport, and I think the future of the women in this industry depends on the success of WrestleMania 35.”

Ronda Rousey defends her RAW Women’s Championship against SmackDown Women’s Champion, Charlotte Flair, and “The Man” Becky Lynch in a triple-threat at WrestleMania 35. The history-making matchup goes down on April 7th from MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.

The WWE Universe is still reeling at the surprise title change that went down this past Tuesday on SmackDown Live. For those that missed it, Charlotte Flair would challenge and defeat Asuka for the WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship. 

This decision saw a previously slated Fatal 4 Way between Mandy Rose, Naomi, Carmella, and Sonya Deville cancelled. The winner of that match would have gone on to face Asuka at WrestleMania 35. Unsurprisingly, Flair stepping in to claim the championship wasn’t well received by the women who lost their opportunity for it. 

Since all of this went down, Dave Meltzer of F4WOnline.com has discussed WWE’s reasoning behind the decision. He said that the “decision was made at the last minute.”

Meltzer has now discussed why WWE decided to pull the trigger on this decision. He claims that the promotion intends to close WrestleMania with the Four Horsewomen all holding gold. 

“This is not about Asuka, it’s about Charlotte. The Women’s Champion could have been Asuka, it could have been Naomi, it could have been Carmella—it doesn’t matter who the SmackDown Champion would have been. They want the Horsewomen closing out the show as champions at WrestleMania, so whoever was the SmackDown champion was losing that title to Charlotte.”

If this does occur, and a WWE Four Horsewomen reunion is on the horizon, could this potentially lead into the long-awaited feud between them and Ronda Rousey’s MMA Four Horsewomen faction?