RAW Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey, Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch appeared on ESPN SportsCenter Tuesday morning to promote WrestleMania 35.

The host first asked Ronda Rousey about the big sports news of the day: Conor McGregor retiring from the UFC. Rousey seemed a bit surprised by the question, but said McGregor’s tweet was a creative and cryptic way to drop a big announcement like that. She said, “We’ll see how permanent it is” but added that McGregor has more than earned some time away from fighting.

• Finn Balor Tells Conor McGregor, “See You At Mania”

The discussion then shifted to pro wrestling and WrestleMania. Becky Lynch was asked about the significance of a women’s match main eventing WWE’s biggest event of the year for the first time. Lynch said she’s been working towards this “obsessively” since she was 15 years old. She left home and traveled the world learning her craft. At one point, she quit wrestling, but was drawn back because she felt there was more for her to accomplish.

When she first signed with WWE, Becky Lynch told one of her friends that she was going to main event WrestleMania. The friend told her it’s good to dream, but be realistic. “And here we are.”

Charlotte said main eventing WrestleMania is the pinnacle of the women’s evolution. This dream was ‘impossible’ just two years ago, but their progress and their success are undeniable.

Ronda Rousey said she wasn’t surprised when she learned the women would main event WrestleMania. In fact, she was expecting that. But it still made her happy. This was her ultimate goal when joining WWE. She said “The WWE product copies everything else that’s happening” and feels pro wrestling parallels what we are seeing around the world with female empowerment.

Watch: Ronda Rousey, Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch on ESPN SportsCenter

Insane Championship Wrestling (ICW) will be holding an event on Sunday April 7th from the Garage in Glasgow, Scotland. ‘So’s Yer Maw’ will be held on WrestleMania night and will be a huge Fight Club event for the ICW faithful. There will be two Championship bouts taking place on the night.

The ICW World Championship will be defended when Champion Lionheart takes on Ashton Smith. Smith is known in ICW for his work alongside tag partner Rampage, the WoS star will be looking to advance his singles career in the promotion.

ICW’s Tag Team Championships will also be on the line when the Kings of Catch defend against The Nines. The Kings won their titles back at the SSE Hydro event Fear & Loathing.

Here’s the card as it currently stands:

• ICW World Championship Match: Lionheart (c) vs Ashton Smith
• ICW Tag Team Championship Match: The Kings of Catch vs The Nines
• Rampage Brown vs Angelico
• Isla Dawn vs Kasey
• The Sinky Party vs The Wild Boys
• The Fite Network vs Bad Company
• Charlie Vyce vs Craig Anthony
• Leyton Buzzard vs Jody Fleisch vs Ricky Knight Jr

Tickets for the show are available here

More of the early betting odds for some of the matches that will take place at the upcoming the WWE WrestleMania 35 event have been released.

According to Bet Online, Kurt Angle is favored to beat Baron Corbin at -250 in his retirement match while Samoa Joe and Buddy Murphy are favored to retain their titles against the likes of Rey Mysterio and Tony Nese.

The favorites to win are listed as – while the underdogs are listed with +.

Here are the early betting odds:

Top WrestleMania 35 Matches

• WWE RAW Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey 5/2 vs. Becky Lynch 1/5 vs. Charlotte Flair 8/1 – Triple Threat Match
• WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar +170 (17/10) vs. Seth Rollins -250 (2/5)
• Batista +170 (17/10) vs. Triple H -250 (2/5) – No Holds Barred Match
• Randy Orton -165 (20/33) vs. AJ Styles +125 (5/4)
• Shane McMahon +250 (5/2) vs. The Miz -400 (1/4)
• Kurt Angle -250 vs. Baron Corbin +170 – Angle’s Farewell Match
• WWE United States Champion Samoa Joe -300 vs. Rey Mysterio +200
• WWE Cruiserweight Champion Buddy Murphy -500 vs. Tony Nese +300

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.

What are your thoughts on the early betting odds? Who do you think will win at this show?

Seth Rollins is set to challenge Brock Lesnar for the WWE Universal title at WrestleMania 35. As such, it was surprising to see the babyface challenger pinned in the main event of Monday’s Raw.

Rollins was distracted by Lesnar’s entrance music being played, then ate a Claymore Kick from Drew McIntyre, leading to the pinfall.

Jim Ross takes issue with Rollins’s portrayal in his loss to McIntyre, and lays out his reasoning on this week’s Jim Ross Report.

Jim Ross on Drew McIntyre Defeating Seth Rollins on RAW

“I didn’t like the way that Raw went off the air, where, again, a music interruption causes the decision of a match to be determined,” says Ross.

“It happens over and over again: Interrupt, distraction, screwjob. Interrupt, distraction, screwjob.”

Ross continues, saying that Rollins was made to look foolish, in a way that the top babyface stars of another era would not have been.

“Can you imagine Steve Austin or The Rock falling for that music interrupt piece of business? No. Because it wouldn’t happen,” says Ross.

JR goes on to discuss the perils of trying to maintain parity among talent.

“I have a big problem with trying to protect everybody on the roster,” Ross says.

“It’s not a game of protection. It’s a game of execution. If you can execute well, and you’re given the tools to execute well, there’s absolutely no reason that a loss to a talent that is already ‘over’, is going to significantly damage the persona of that individual.”

“Seth Rollins was made to look silly,” says Ross. “His best side was not on display there.”

“Seth is a magnificent athlete, we all can see that. And his match with Lesnar at WrestleMania can be a classic.”

“But you can’t make your babyfaces, your heroes, your protagonists, look dumb, and get them over to the top of the mountain,” Ross says.

Do you agree that Rollins was made to look foolish on Raw?

Kurt Angle recently announced that he would be finishing up his in-ring career at WrestleMania. The bout is being described as a “farewell” match and Angle’s opponent has not yet been named. It was announced by WWE that Angle would be confirming his opponent this Monday on WWE RAW. A statement was released saying the following:

“On Raw, live in his hometown of Pittsburgh, WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle announced and that he would embark on a farewell tour leading to his final match at this year’s WrestleMania. This Monday in Chicago, The Olympic Hero will reveal his opponent for that climactic contest.”

• Kurt Angle To Announce His WrestleMania Opponent On Raw

There have been many names bandied around for the upcoming bout. John Cena, Bobby Lashley, Drew McIntyre, Baron Corbin and AJ Styles were specifically mentioned by Angle himself. The current frontrunner appears to be John Cena, however a top NXT Superstar has put his name out there.

The ‘Original Bro’ Matt Riddle took to Twitter and stated that he wants to face Kurt at Mania. Riddle stated that “this is what the fans want and deep down it’s what you need.” If Riddle were to face Kurt at WrestleMania it would easily be the biggest bout of his career. Riddle has mentioned on may occasions that he intends on ‘retiring’ Brock Lesnar, he could easily start with the Olympic Gold Medallist.

Would you like to see Riddle vs Angle? Let us know in the comments

The answer is simple Kurt and the answer is BRO this is what the fans want and deep down it’s what you need! Riddle Vs Angle for the world ? #Bro #Stallion #ob #originalbro #kingofbros #wwe #nxt #WWENetwork #RiddlevsAngle https://t.co/tSp4zZtHpN

— Matthew Riddle (@SuperKingofBros) March 16, 2019

You can add Eric Bischoff to the list of people who think WWE should make history this year by having women headline WrestleMania 35.

WWE has already confirmed that WWE RAW Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey will make her next title defense against former WWE SmackDown Women’s Champions Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch in a triple threat match.

Since then, many have speculated as to whether this match is so big that it could headline the biggest show of the year for WWE. During an appearance on After 83 Weeks, Bischoff was asked about it and started out by praising Lynch and Rousey for their program. He’s such a fan of the women that he thinks the three women should main event WrestleMania 35

“I do. Everybody knows that has ever worked with me, I like a simple formula. A good woman and a bad woman. I like antagonists and protagonists. I like clear definitions and a story that is compelling with stakes involved.”

Bishoff noted that once making a triple threat, it makes it harder as visually the match is more interesting from an in-ring standpoint, but the story isn’t as good and the stakes aren’t the same.

“I would prefer to see it main event with Ronda and Becky, but if you’re going to have a triple threat then there is nobody better than Charlotte to be in there.”

https://youtu.be/RkWszIIjdVE?t=2041

The women’s revolution in WWE has been taking huge steps and breaking down barriers that were unimaginable a few years ago.

From main eventing weekly shows to main eventing PPVs, to having their own Royal Rumble, to having their dedicated PPV event, women’s wrestling in WWE has come a long way.

However, one thing that’s still remaining for the women’s locker room to achieve is to main event the Grandest Stage Of Them All, WrestleMania.

Female WWE stars have been very vocal about the possibility to be on the highlighting match of WrestleMania 35, and WWE Legend Mick Foley seems to think the same too.

• WrestleMania 35 Card

Foley says that if the Raw Women’s Championship match between Charlotte Flair, champion Ronda Rousey, and Becky Lynch doesn’t headline WrestleMania this year then fans are not going to take it too well.

“I believe the women are going to main-event WrestleMania this year and if they don’t, I think there’ll be a mass exodus of people from around the world,” he told Sky Sports.

Foley also believes that Lynch has earned her place to be in the spotlight.

“I believe their time has come. Becky Lynch has succeeded in becoming the biggest name in our business and I think that’s great.”

“She’s a good friend, she’s a wonderful person and it couldn’t happen to a nicer lass.”

Foley thinks that there is a lot of potential in the match with what Rousey is doing and how Lynch took steps to change her career and likens her to ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin.

“I see it being an exciting match; Ronda is going out on a limb to create this really dislikeable persona and I think it works. I go back to my messages about eight or nine months ago and when she came to me for some advice I told her to be patient and to be ready. Then when she got the opportunity, she ran with it like nobody I’ve ever seen, like ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin.”

It’s been widely believed that WrestleMania 35 would feature the RAW Women’s Championship match in the main event. This would be a history making first for the promotion.

In case you have somehow missed it, one of the biggest storylines this year revolves around the feud between Ronda Rousey, Charlotte Flair, and Becky Lynch. The long-standing belief being that these women would close out the show come April 7th.

This may not be the case, according to Ryan Satin of Pro Wrestling Sheet.

Satin shared that, apparently, Vince McMahon has yet to finalise his decision over which matchup will main event WrestleMania 35.

From what I’ve been told, the actual WrestleMania 35 main event that will be closing the show still hasn’t been set in stone by Vince McMahon.

Do you think there will be major fan outrage if Becky/Ronda/Charlotte aren’t the last match?

— Ryan Satin (@ryansatin) March 13, 2019

The WWE Universe is heavily invested in the feud for the WWE RAW Women’s Championship. Equally so for the women involved. WWE has placed themselves into a position where they could still headline, if Vince McMahon decided.

Kofi-Mania

For what it’s worth, SmackDown Live announcer, Tom Philips, has shared his thoughts on what should main event WrestleMania this year. He admitted that being a SmackDown guy, he “selfishly” would love to see Daniel Bryan vs Kofi Kingston for the WWE Championship close the show.

"I gotta be honest. If it's @TrueKofi that somehow gets a WWE title opportunity against @WWEDanielBryan, I selfishly as the #SDLive guy, would love to see that in the main event."

@TomPhillipsWWE tells @davidlagreca1 & @bullyray5150 why Kofi V Bryan is the WM main event he wants pic.twitter.com/CKJ6S8hQ2U

— SiriusXM Busted Open (@BustedOpenRadio) March 13, 2019

If WWE wanted to finally give Kofi an opportunity with the championship, ending the show with a feel-good moment like that would be an amazing way to do it — one that juxtaposes nicely with Daniel Bryan’s own victory at WrestleMania 30.

Which match would you close the show with? Does the Bryan/Kofi feud have enough momentum to justify main eventing at ‘Mania?

We are less than four weeks out from WrestleMania. Fastlane is in the rear view mirror, so the final push to WWE’s biggest show of the year is underway.

After Monday’s RAW, here is an updated look at the WrestleMania card:

RAW Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey vs. Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair

It has been a long and winding road en route to this bout. From Charlotte being added to Becky being removed and later re-added, there have been no shortage of shenanigans here. Many fans prefer a singles match between Rousey and Becky Lynch, but the these three women will probably make history in the first-ever WrestleMania main event headlined by women.

Universal Champion Brock Lesnar vs. Seth Rollins

Rollins won the 2019 Men’s Royal Rumble match to earn the right to challenge Lesnar at WrestleMania. Lesnar has been a dominant but absent champion. It remains to be seen how much longer the Beast will remain active on the WWE roster.

Batista vs. Triple H (No Holds Barred)

Batista made a surprise return to WWE by crashing what would have been Ric Flair’s 70th Birthday celebration. He assaulted Flair to reignite this rivalry with Triple H. Batista has been outspoken for years that he wanted to work a WrestleMania program with Triple H and he’s got it.

Triple H is on the mend from pectoral surgery late last year. Both men are ~50 years old. It’s been years since Batista wrestled a match. Despite these facts, this match has been been years in the making. You can bet they will both be training hard to ensure they deliver a performance fans will be happy with.

Kurt Angle’s Retirement Match

Kurt Angle announced on Raw that he plans to retire after wrestling one final match at WrestleMania. His opponent has not yet been announced, but Angle is a top-tier legend. He deserves a fitting send-off and thankfully he will end his WWE career on his own terms at WrestleMania.

• Kurt Angle Names Several WWE Stars As Possible WrestleMania Opponents

Cruiserweight Championship Match

A tournament is currently underway to determine the #1 contender to WWE’s Cruiserweight Championship. The winner will face Buddy Murphy for the belt at WrestleMania

Rumored Matches

Those are the five confirmed matches. Based on what we’ve seen in recent weeks (and using some common sense), the following matches are also expected:

• WWE Champion Daniel Bryan vs. Kofi Kingston
• AJ Styles vs. Randy Orton
• Roman Reigns vs. Drew McIntyre
• Shane McMahon vs. The Miz

There’s also the RAW and SmackDown tag titles, Samoa Joe’s United States Championship, IC Champion Bobby Lashley, John Cena and many more factors to consider.

WWE has a lot of loose ends to tie up in the next few weeks, but WrestleMania 35 is shaping up to be another can’t miss installment of the biggest wrestling event of the year.

WrestleMania 35 takes place Sunday, April 7th from MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. 

WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle is slated to call it a career.

During Monday’s episode of RAW in his hometown of Pittsburgh, PA at the PPG Paints Arena, the former WWE Monday Night RAW General Manager announced that he would compete in his farewell match at WrestleMania 35. His final in-ring opponent is to be announced.

.@RealKurtAngle will have his farewell match at this year's #WrestleMania. #ThankYouKurt #RAW pic.twitter.com/hZiiyiBPg7

— WWE (@WWE) March 12, 2019

Angle is a six-time world champion (four reigns as WWF/WWE Champion, one as WCW Champion and one as WWE’s World Heavyweight Champion), a one-time United States Champion, one-time Intercontinental Champion. He’s also one-time European Champion, one-time Hardcore Champion and one-time WWE Tag Team Champion.

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 weeks. Here is the updated card:

Updated WWE WrestleMania 35 Card

• WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar vs. Seth Rollins
• WWE RAW Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey vs. Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair – Triple Threat Match
• Batista vs. Triple H – No Holds Barred Match
• Kurt Angle vs. TBA – Angle’s Farewell Match
• WWE Cruiserweight Champion Buddy Murphy vs. TBA

What are your thoughts on Angle retiring at this show? Sound off in the comment section.

John Cena is scheduled for a book signing in New York City on April 5th. This happens to be over WrestleMania weekend.

It has been speculated that this might not be mere coincidence, and that Cena will be appearing at WrestleMania in order to compete.

His rumored opponent? The new United States Champion, Samoa Joe.

R-Truth held another US Open Challenge on SmackDown Live this week in honor of his hero, wanting to make him proud. Samoa Joe, however, would emerge victorious this past Tuesday during what became a Fatal Four Way matchup.

“I Sure As Hell Ain’t A Man Who Loves John Cena”

After his win, Samoa Joe would be interviewed backstage by Kayla Braxton. His words teased a future confrontation with John Cena.

When Braxton brought up that his fellow WWE Superstars “accused” Joe of being unable to win “the big one,” Joe would interrupt her.

“Accusations? No gentlemen, they were not making accusations. They were merely unanswered prayers. Because every SmackDown Superstar, they know the lengths I’ll go to win gold and they fear what I’ll do to keep it.

“You see, gentlemen, it’s quite simple — the champ is not one to come out here and do dance breaks. I don’t pander to the masses of the unexceptional, and I sure as hell ain’t a man who loves John Cena,” Joe claimed.

“Hustle, loyalty and respect? No, no, no. All my opponents will find is disrespect for any man who has the audacity to come for the king and his crown. And to all you SmackDown Superstars who wanna lie awake at night, every night, having nightmares about the day you might step in the ring against me…rest assured boys, I’ll be along soon enough to make you all go night-night.”

Despite being off WWE television, John Cena’s name and legacy has been mentioned a number of times, particularly around the United States Championship and R-Truth’s short run of US Open Challenges.

With all this name dropping, it seems apparent that WWE is prepping the WWE Universe for the return of John Cena. But could it be against Joe for the US Championship at WrestleMania 35?

WWE will be making a “very important announcement” Thursday morning at 11am (Eastern) from Tampa Bay, Florida. The press event will be streamed online via WWE’s YouTube and social media channels.

The “very important announcement” is that WrestleMania is coming to Tampa next year. WWE’s top stars will likely be in attendance and we’ll get a first look at the WrestleMania 36 logo.

WWE WrestleMania 36 will take place Sunday, April 5th, 2020 from Tampa, FL at the Raymond James Stadium. The venue can hold over 65,000 fans.

The Raymond James Stadium is home to NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It will also be the home of the Tampa-based XFL team. The Tampa XFL team just secured Marc Trestman as their head coach. Trestman formerly coached the NFL’s Chicago Bears.

WrestleMania 36 will be the 4th time Florida has hosted WrestleMania. Orlando hosted WrestleMania in 2008 and 2017, while Miami hosted the event in 2012.

WrestleMania is coming to Tampa, Florida.

We are less than 6 weeks away from WrestleMania 35, but plans have already been finalized for next year’s show.  Following up on a report from PWInsider, Collin Sherwin of 813area.com has confirmed the news and provides new details.

WWE WrestleMania 36 will take place Sunday, April 5th, 2020 from Tampa, FL at the Raymond James Stadium. A press conference to formally announce WrestleMania 36 is scheduled for next Thursday, March 7th.

Commonly referred to as Ray Jay, the home of the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers accommodates over 65,000 fans.

This will be the 4th time Florida has hosted WrestleMania. Previous WrestleMania events held in Florida include:

• WrestleMania XXIV (Orlando)
• WrestleMania XXVIII (Miami)
• WrestleMania 33 (Orlando)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AR739EdrI88

For those of you hoping Daniel Bryan will defend his WWE Title against Kofi Kingston at WrestleMania 35, we have some bad news. Bleacher Report’s Jeremy Botter reports that, as of yesterday (Tues. February 19, 2019) the plan is for Bryan to face the returning Kevin Owens in New Jersey:

https://twitter.com/jeremybotter/status/1097991241990590464

This makes sense considering a previous report from Wrestling Observer Radio’s Dave Meltzer, who suggests Owens will be returning as a babyface. Owens has been out-of-action for the past several months due to injury. WWE has been teasing his return with selfie promos in recent weeks.

On last night’s episode of SmackDown Live, Shane McMahon confirmed Bryan vs. Kingston for Fastlane. The New Day member has risen tremendously in popularity as of late. He was one of the final two, along with Bryan, in the WWE Championship Elimination Chamber match this past weekend.

Unfortunately, Kingston came up just short of his first-ever World Title in WWE. However, he’ll get a one-on-one shot at Fastlane from the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio on March 10, 2019. As always, plans change frequently in WWE all the time. With that being said, perhaps there’s still hope Kingston will get his WrestleMania moment after all.

What do you think about a possible WrestleMania match between Bryan and Owens?

We are on The Road To Wrestlemania with only WWE’s Fastlane PPV before the extravaganza itself takes place in April.

Whilst a number of main roster feuds have been developed, one brand had been left somewhat behind: 205 Live.

This week’s episode of 205 Live changed that.

The show opened with the brand’s General Manager, Drake Maverick. He proceeded to announce they would be running a single elimination tournament in the run-up to WrestleMania 35. The winner of the tournament will face current Cruiserweight champion, Buddy Murphy, on the “grandest stage of them all.”

Tournament Hype

Two first round matchups been revealed. These take place next Tuesday night and will feature Tony Nese in a matchup with Kalisto. Drew Gulak will also compete against The Brian Kendrick.

WWE has not confirmed the other participants in the tournament. It is likely that the men will be Humberto Carrillo, Cedric Alexander, Mike Kanellis, and Ariya Daivari.

WWE utilized their numerous Twitter accounts, uploading a few videos to hype the tournament announcement, writing:

“This is a HUGE opportunity!@WWEMaverick reveals that there will be a single-elimination tournament to determine @WWE #Cruiserweight Champion @WWE_Murphy’s #WrestleMania challenger! #205Live”

This is a HUGE opportunity!

@WWEMaverick reveals that there will be a single-elimination tournament to determine @WWE #Cruiserweight Champion @WWE_Murphy's #WrestleMania challenger! #205Live pic.twitter.com/8aid77tNJi

— WWE Network (@WWENetwork) February 20, 2019

https://twitter.com/WWE205Live/status/1098068737750650880

Are you looking forward to this mini-tournament? Who will face Murphy come WrestleMania? 

WWE legend Batista has a big choice in front of him. Does he return to WWE for a headline match at WrestleMania, or roll the dice and and join All Elite Wrestling?

According to Pro Wrestling Sheet, Batista is “deep in talks” with WWE about a featured role at WrestleMania. However, WWE is no longer the only game in town with deep pockets. Executives from AEW have also been courting the Guardians of the Galaxy star and he’s said to be on the fence about which way to go.

Batista’s most recent WWE television appearance was back in October. He appeared alongside his former Evolution teammates at SmackDown 1000. The Evolution reunion ended with a tense stare-down between Batista and Triple H, leading fans to believe WWE was planting the seed for a WrestleMania showdown.

• Batista Reveals the Advice Vince McMahon Gave Him Before Smackdown 1000

Triple H was injured at Crown Jewel the following month and underwent surgery to repair a torn pectoral muscle. He recently revealed that his recovery is going well and he’s been cleared to train again. Triple H would presumably be healthy in time for April 7th, but it’s not a sure thing that WWE can get Batista on board.

Batista’s Choice: WWE or AEW?

Should Batista return home to WWE or lend his star power to the upstart competition?

In WWE, he’d most likely work against Triple H. This is a ‘farewell’ feud he has talked about for years. One final run with the company ensures he will be portrayed favorably in the future. On the flip side, Batista has been outspoken about WWE in recent years. He still loves professional wrestling, but can’t stand WWE writers. He’s gone so far as to say he would like to return to WWE, but only work non-televised shows, so he doesn’t have to deal with writers.

All Elite Wrestling offers Batista the same thing they can offer Kenny Omega, Chris Jericho and other big names: Big money, more creative freedom and a lighter schedule. With AEW looking to secure a television deal, Batista is another household name that could put their TV negotiations over the top.

• Matt Jackson Comments On If Batista Was Considered For All In

With the Royal Rumble out the way and the women’s victor, Becky Lynch, established, it appears WWE is full steam ahead for WrestleMania 35. Despite the WWE Universe wanting “The Man” Becky Lynch to face off against “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey one-on-one, rumors still persist revolving around Charlotte Flair’s inclusion in the match.

• Becky Lynch Hints At WrestleMania Role for Conor McGregor

This week on Monday Night Raw, Lynch was involved in a storyline featuring Stephanie McMahon. “The Man” would find herself suspended after refusing Stephanie’s demands to see a doctor regarding her knee. This prompted her to then attack WWE’s Chief Brand Officer on live television.

According to Dave Meltzer of F4WOnline.com, there could be plans of a feud between the two women on the way to WrestleMania:

“The idea very much is, when this gets going, that Stephanie is a heel and they are doing — it is the beginning of kind of a Stephanie in a heel thing trying to hold down Becky because they only know one way to do this.”

Regarding Lynch’s hotly debated WrestleMania 35 matchup in April, Meltzer said that the “original [plan was] Becky Lynch beating Ronda Rousey. I assume Becky Lynch is still beating Ronda Rousey in the match. Perhaps they do something where she beats Charlotte Flair and they could come back with Becky Lynch vs Ronda Rousey in a singles [match] and Ronda will stay for an extra month. That’s certainly possible, that’s maybe even the way to do it.”

Becky Lynch’s well-received victory at the Royal Rumble earlier this week and the segment between her and Ronda Rousey on the following Raw made it clear that fans are behind this feud and they would love to see a one on one match between the two.

While the reports suggested that the company is planning to add Charlotte Flair to this bout later on, it appears that these two mentioned segments have made the official decide otherwise.

In the latest edition of their Week in Wrestling column, Sports Illustrated provided an update on the WrestleMania main event, revealing that the company is planning to close the show with the Raw Women’s Championship match:

“The picture for WrestleMania 35 is far clearer today than it was a week ago. With only 67 days until the event, sources close to WWE have told Sports Illustrated that the current plan is to close WrestleMania 35 with the Ronda Rousey-Becky Lynch match as the main event.”

This leaves Charlotte in an interesting spot as it’s not very likely that she will be left out of the WrestleMania card. So it’d be interesting to see what backup plans the company has for her and who the Queen ends up facing at the show.

Royal Rumble winner Becky Lynch appeared on Monday’s WWE RAW to announce she selected RAW Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey as her WrestleMania 35 opponent.  They had an intense confrontation and fans ate it up. Becky Lynch vs. Ronda Rousey has the makings of a WrestleMania main event for the ages. However, that’s not what WWE has planned.

According to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio, WWE still plans to add Charlotte Flair to the mix and make it a triple-threat match. Of course ‘plans can change’ any time, but Meltzer says WWE creative has already devised a storyline to insert Charlotte into the mix. Those plans were still in tact following Raw.

“For people who are wondering, it is a 3-way,” Meltzer said. “That segment was real strong with Ronda Rousey and Becky Lynch. The crowd was going pretty nuts for it, you had a very good dynamic and a lot of people are talking about it, thinking about the way that segment went, that it will be a singles match. I don’t know how they get to Charlotte Flair, I do know they have a storyline in place. After TV, that storyline was still in place.”

WWE has two more pay-per-view events scheduled before WrestleMania, which is still more than two months away. Elimination Chamber takes place on February 17th and Fastlane is set for March 10th. This leaves plenty of time to modify the RAW Women’s title match.

Which match would you rather see at #WWE #WrestleMania 35?

— SEScoops (@sescoops) January 29, 2019

WWE WrestleMania 35 takes pace on Sunday, April 7th from MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

• Ronda Rousey Taking Time Off After WrestleMania 35

During Monday’s edition of WWE Raw from Orlando, Florida, Sasha Banks earned the right to challenge Raw Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey at the Royal Rumble. According to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio, this was not the original plan for the match. Before WWE settled on Sasha Banks as Rousey’s Rumble opponent, the original plan was for Rousey to defend against Charlotte Flair.

Had Rousey faced Flair at Royal Rumble, the belief is that her next major feud would have been against Becky Lynch at Wrestlemania 35. There is still the possibility that we see Ronda vs Flair at Elimination Chamber in February.

Since this switch, Meltzer has speculated that WWE could be building towards a triple-threat matchup. The match would see Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, and “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey compete for the championship.

“It’s not official that it’s gonna be a three-way at Wrestlemania,” Meltzer said. “It sure seems that way, yes. I was told it’s not official, it’s under consideration and because it’s under consideration the decision was made to pull the match from the Royal Rumble, which means they’re leaning toward it.”

Ronda’s actions at the end of December’s TLC event, costing both Lynch and Flair during their triple-threat match against Asuka, definitely sets up a natural series of matches. But with Rousey already holding a victory over Charlotte at Survivor Series last year, it will be interesting to see how WWE bring the three women together as we approach Wrestlemania.

What do you think? Are you happy with a triple-threat at Wrestlemania 35 or would you have preferred Becky Lynch vs Ronda Rousey?

Bayley recently talked to The Star promoting the upcoming WWE Live Tour 2019 which is set to take place at the Sheffield FlyDSA Arena, Sheffield, England on May 16.

Besides talking about the tour, Bayley also said that she believes WWE WrestleMania will be headlined by female superstars in the future.

She said she does not know when or where it will happen, but according to her it is inevitable.

“Oh yes, I believe it definitely will happen,” said Bayley. “I don’t know when or where but with everything we’ve accomplished over the past few years I definitely know its going to happen. I don’t know who it will be. But I can’t wait for the day.”

Bayley also talked about the fact that how it was looked down upon for girls watching wrestling, and how much that is changing right now. She recalls her childhood when she used to be called weird for watching wrestling.

“It’s very cool to inspire other girls to be a WWE star. They used to say it wasn’t a girlie thing and it’s something i used to get all the time – they looked at me weird because I watched wrestling. But now it’s such a normal thing to be a fan and cool to be a female superstar some day.”

You can listen to the full interview on The Star’s website by clicking here.

WWE’s Sheffield tour has names such as Bayley, Sasha Banks, Finn Balor and Dolph Ziggler lined up for the event. Matches already set for the card are Braun Strowman vs Drew McIntyre and Seth Rollins vs Dean Ambrose. You can check out more info here.

Events that transpired over the past week have altered WWE’s plans for the next several months. Becky Lynch’s injury and Vince McMahon’s decision to put the WWE Championship on Daniel Bryan resulted in a dramatic shakeup to Survivor Series. This Sunday, Ronda Rousey now faces Charlotte Flair and Brock Lesnar squares off against Daniel Bryan.

Rousey vs. Flair had been seen as the likely WrestleMania main event. However, the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter states that Rousey vs. Becky Lynch now the frontrunner to headline that show. With Lesnar booked against Daniel Bryan on short notice, let’s consider possible WrestleMania scenarios for the Beast Incarnate.

Dave Meltzer has stated multiple times that he’s been told Lesnar’s WrestleMania opponent will not be Braun Strowman. That could have been a marquee match for WWE’s biggest show of the year, but they’ve already played that card multiple times. Beyond Strowman, there are not many viable options for what could be Brock Lesnar’s final WWE match.

Drew McIntyre, AJ Styles and Daniel Bryan were named as potential opponents in the Observer report. Bryan seems least likely since they’re fighting this weekend. “They can always take somebody out of nowhere but there doesn’t seem to be a lot of options for that spot so AJ does seem pretty viable for it,” Meltzer wrote.

Brock Lesnar’s WrestleMania Opponent

Lesnar recently signed a new deal with WWE that only calls for a few more appearances. For years, Brock Lesnar was portrayed to be in a class aof his own while  Roman Reigns was groomed to be the new face of the company. Reigns finally got his big win over Brock Lesnar this past August at SummerSlam, but is now sidelined indefinitely as he battles Leukemia.

After Brock Lesnar fights Daniel Bryan this Sunday, he probably only has one or two matches left with WWE. Even though we saw Lesnar vs. AJ Styles last year at Survivor Series, that’s still a high profile match suitable for WrestleMania.

Drew McIntyre is on the rise and WWE could use Lesnar’s final match at WrestleMania as a chance to pass the torch the Scotsman. McIntyre’s star is rising and WWE could solidify his main events status with a decisive win over Lesnar. Seth Rollins is also in play, but he is now embroiled in a heated feud with Dean Ambrose. There is big money in Rollins vs. Lesnar, but that would require WWE winding down the Shield feud before WrestleMania season gets underway.

For the latest on Brock Lesnar possibly returning to UFC, check out the Brock Lesnar news page over at our partner site, MMANews.com.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7zwYf3G2p8

Visit f4wonline.com for details on how you can subscribe to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

Triple H suffered an unfortunate injury during his tag team match up against The Undertaker and Kane at WWE’s Crown Jewel event, this past Friday.

The injury, believed to be related to his pec, is thought to have occurred as Hunter took a Harley Race-esque bump to the outside.

Because of this, it appears that Triple H will require surgery. News broke shortly after Crown Jewel had finished that he flew straight to Birmingham, Alabama.

A torn pectoral muscle usually requires six months to heal and rehab, if all things go smoothly. If not, then rehabilitation and healing could take as long as a year for full recovery.

With Wrestlemania 35 just five months away, there is a very real chance that Triple H simply won’t be fit to compete against Batista.

SmackDown 1000

WWE planted seeds for what they hoped would become a major feud at SmackDown’s recent 1000th episode celebration.

Batista’s flippant comments towards Triple H during the Evolution section of the show teased the start of their storyline.

Because of the injury, there is concern within the WWE that the match will no longer happen. Batista, to his credit, is thought to be determined with competing at Wrestlemania 35.

This decision would force the WWE into finding a suitable replacement for The Animal sooner rather than later.

WWE usually has their top WrestleMania matches planned months in advance, but it appears that this is not the case this year for the upcoming WrestleMania 35 event.

According to Wrestling Observer Newsletter, while the Officials often know about the top matches for the show months in advance, this time the company is undecided on the WrestleMania 35 main event.

There was a discussion of the Ronda Rousey vs. Charlotte Flair match main eventing the show a few months back. While it’s still possible, things are not locked as of yet.

Whether or not this match ends up in the main event will likely depend on the current Charlotte Flair vs. Becky Lynch storyline and how much more Charlotte is hurt by the time due to this feud.

If they don’t go with Rousey then the current Universal Champion Roman Reigns is going to be the headliner of the show once again, but no direction is set in stone for him either.

As far as the ongoing Shield reunion is concerned, it’s said that the company has long-term plans for this and they have a direction for how the teased tension with Dean Ambrose will play out. Though details or what they have in mind for Ambrose are not available yet.

On the other hand, they have no long-term plans for the Dogs Of War and the WWE writers have been coming up with weekly material for them, with no clear goal in mind.

Although the officials are still protecting Drew McIntyre as they see him as a top singles competitor for the company in the upcoming times.

This week’s Raw indicated that we might be getting a McIntyre vs. Braun Strowman feud in coming days and it’d be interesting to see which one of these two come on top in this rivalry.

Trish Stratus vs. Sasha Banks. It’s a match that many fans have been clamoring for since it was first teased in the first ever Women’s Royal Rumble match in January.

I spoke with both Banks and Stratus at personal appearances in August, and both seemed eager to face each other.

Although Stratus is booked for the upcoming WWE Evolution show, the company had a different creative vision, and announced Alexa Bliss as her opponent. Does this mean that Stratus vs. Banks will never happen? Not necessarily.

Both Banks and Stratus are appearing at New York Comic Con on Thursday, and if their social media chatter is any indication, it seems as though there may be a verbal confrontation of some sort between the two.

I’m sure this can be arranged @NY_Comic_Con @SashaBanksWWE https://t.co/0ckIvO0MZR

— Trish Stratus (@trishstratuscom) October 4, 2018

I can show you my music video I made for you ????

— Mercedes Moné Varnado (@MercedesVarnado) October 4, 2018

That will literally be the highlight of my day https://t.co/rqo6FyRmPy

— Trish Stratus (@trishstratuscom) October 4, 2018

Stratus is semi-retired, and Banks has not been pushed as a focal point of the women’s division in nearly a year.

Does WWE see Banks as a star at the level of working with a Hall of Famer like Stratus? Where would the match take place? Would the company deem it worthy of the television time needed to build the feud during a WrestleMania season?

Time will tell.

Do you want to see Trish Startus vs. Sasha Banks?