WWE Intercontinental Champion Kevin Owens spoke with the Montreal Gazette to promote WrestleMania 32. Here are some highlights:

– Owens said he’s been a lifelong wrestling fan and always had an affinity for the Intercontinental championship. “When I was a kid, I would have replica belts, the foam belts, and the one that I always liked the most was the Intercontinental title,” he said. “Every time that I would beat my pillow in one of our matches, I would win the Intercontinental title.”

– Even though he does not currently have a match announced for WrestleMania 32, Owens says it’s an incredible feeling going into Mania as Intercontinental Champion. He can’t believe that he was sitting in the crowd for WrestleMania 30 just two years ago and now he’ll be on wrestling’s grandest stage making history. “There’s really no way to put that into words.”

– His recent “KO Mania” slogan is not just a gimmick. He expects to make his mark on April 3rd and leave fans with a lasting memory. Owens said, “I want whatever I do at WrestleMania to be something people talk about at the end of the night.”

You can read the full interview at Montrealgazette.com.

WrestleMania is now less than 3 weeks away and we’ve got an updated look at the betting lines courtesy of 5Dimes and WWELeaks.org:

• Roman Reigns is favored (-.650) to defeat Triple H (+420) for the WWE World Heavyweight championship.
• The Undertaker is favored (-280) to defeat Shane McMahon (+200) in their Hell in a Cell match.
• Brock Lesnar is a -320 favorite to beat Dean Ambrose (+240).
• Sasha Banks is the favorite (-160) to win against Charlotte (+130) and Becky Lynch (+600) in the Divas Championship match.

For the 6th consecutive year, the team at SEScoops will be there in person for WrestleMania. Join us here during WrestleMania 32 Weekend for our wall-to-wall coverage of all the events.

– WWE has already locked in the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida for an NXT Takeover show on March 31, 2017 during WrestleMania 33 weekend.

– Last week it was reported that WWE has already sold over 84,000 tickets for WrestleMania 32, shattering the company’s (legitimate) all-time attendance record. That number includes standing-room-only tickets, so the final attendance number will not be significantly higher than that. Of course the company will announce attendance above 93,000 – we’ll see how far they push the envelope regarding the elusive 100,000 figure.

WrestleMania ticket sales have grossed approximately $13 million, another record for the company. The previous record was set at last year’s WrestleMania ($12.6 million). Despite the fact that WWE sold far more tickets for this year’s WrestleMania, ticket prices were lower were this year.

The $13 million gate is larger gate than UFC’s biggest show in history. UFC 129 back in April 2011 featuring GSP vs. Jake Shields grossed over $11 million at the Rogers Centre in Toronto (the former SkyDome, which hosted 2 WrestleManias).

None of these figures some even close to boxing’s top shows. According to the Nevada State Athletic Commission, there have been 10 events that have grossed over $13 million. The record is held by the Mayweather vs. Pacquaiao fight from last May at MGM in Vegas which drew a staggering $72 million.

H/T: Wrestling Observer Newsletter

“Legends of WrestleMania Month” on ESPN SportsCenter continued on Tuesday night with WWE Hall of Famer Edge. For the “Off The Top Rope” segment, Jonathan Coachman looked back at Edge’s top WrestleMania moments – Top Main Event was against The Undertaker at WrestleMania 24, Top Spot was spearing Mick Foley through the flaming table at WrestleMania 22, Top Match was the TLC Match from WrestleMania 16 with The Dudley Boyz and The Hardy Boyz.

Edge then joined the show and spoke about being in the crowd for Hulk Hogan vs. The Ultimate Warrior at WrestleMania 6 and knowing he wanted to be in that ring one day.

Regarding the infamous TLC match at WrestleMania 2000, Edge says they all knew they had to do something different to get noticed in WWE at that time because there were so many other top stars.

Regarding the flaming table spot with Foley, Edge says he was in the mind-frame where he wanted to be in the main event and if he wasn’t, he was going to make sure everyone came out of the event thinking he should have been in the main event.

Coach brought up The Undertaker vs. Shane McMahon at WrestleMania 32 and asks about Edge vs. Taker in 2009. Edge says when he got the call to do the match he thought “finally” because that’s where he had been trying to get to, especially against an icon like The Undertaker. Edge says he knew he had done something right. Edge says he made his entrance and had never been that amped before.

They spoke about Edge’s tag team with Christian and Edge said there is no Edge without Christian. It was a tough transition for them establishing themselves as singles stars. They’ve having fun with their new Edge & Christian show and are not afraid to embarass themselves.

Coach also asked about the final weeks leading up to his final WrestleMania and retirement. Edge called the last week a “whirlwind” but knew that his career was winding down. He was at the point where he just wanted to work with younger talents.

Edge spoke more about his favorite WrestleMania moments to end the segment.

At Tuesday night’s SmackDown tapings, United States Champion Kalisto accept Ryback’s challenge for a match at WrestleMania 32. Additionally, it has been confirmed that the League of Nations vs. New Day tag team title match will be a 4-on-3 handicap match.

With those matches set, here’s the updated card for WWE WrestleMania 32:

WWE World Heavyweight Title Match
Triple H (c) vs. Roman Reigns

Hell In a Cell for Control of WWE
Shane McMahon vs. The Undertaker

No Holds Barred Street Fight
Dean Ambrose vs. Brock Lesnar

Triple Threat for the Divsa Championship
Charlotte (c) vs. Sasha Banks vs. Becky Lynch

Handicap Match for the WWE Tag Team Titles
The New Day vs. The League of Nations

WWE United States Title Match
Kalisto (c) vs. Ryback

Third Annual Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal
– Participants TBA

– The Usos vs. The Dudley Boyz

WWE has announced The Usos will square off against The Dudley Boys at WrestleMania.

On RAW, the League of Nations challenged The New Day and Ryback challenged Kalisto, so it looks like those title matches will also be taking place at the show.

BREAKING: The @WWEUsos will finally square off with The #DudleyBoyz at @WrestleMania! https://t.co/lnME0SEDih pic.twitter.com/mqDOMU9O7d

— WWE WrestleMania (@WrestleMania) March 15, 2016

– London Mayor Boris Johnson held a Q&A session on Twitter on Monday and said he’s “dead keen” on bringing WrestleMania to Wembley Stadium. The venue hosted SummerSlam back in 1992, which currently holds the record for WWE’s largest crowd in history (for 3 more weeks).

my gt grandfather was briefly a fairground wrestler so i am dead keen..grassroots sport benefited 400k since 2008 #askboris @maxpowley

— Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan (@MayorofLondon) March 14, 2016

– NXT General Manager William Regal tweeted this x-ray of his surgically repaired neck:

This is my neck today.You don't want to go through this.Its a miserable experience.Be careful and cut them out. pic.twitter.com/8KA7vomFQ6

— William Regal (@RealKingRegal) March 14, 2016

WWE Hall Off Famer Jerry Lawler appeared on Cerrito Live this past weekend and revealed that WrestleMania 32 might feature two separate [English] announce teams.

According to Lawler, there has been a strong push to have Mauro Ranallo featured on the show. While it’s not yet a done deal, he has heard “scuttlebutt” behind the scenes of it happening. He noted that fans have been requesting that he and Ranallo get a chance to call a few matches at WWE’s biggest show of the year.

The King also spoke about his heel turn on commentary, noting that it was actually his idea. Lawler knew Ranallo wouldn’t want to say anything bad about anyone since he’s the new guy, and that Byron Saxton was too nice of a guy, so he suggested to Vince McMahon that he return to his old heel announcer character.

He pointed out that he has only scratched the surface of his heel turn thus far, as he is still “easing into it.” He mentioned that McMahon loved the idea of him turning heel and even told him that he misses the days of “The King” playing the heel on commentary.

One of the top storylines heading into WrestleMania 32 is Shane McMahon battling The Undertaker inside Hell in a Cell. If Shane McMahon is victorious, The Authority is removed from power and Shane assumes complete control of WWE.

While this is not necessarily a spoiler, it’s worth noting that Vince McMahon, Stephanie McMahon, and Triple H are advertised for several upcoming RAW tapings after WWE’s biggest show of the year:

• April 4th from Los Angeles
• April 25th from Hartford, CT
• May 2nd from St. Louis, MI
• May 9th from Omaha, NE
• May 23rd from Baltimore, MD

Additionally, Shane McMahon is not listed for any shows after Mania.

• Latest WrestleMania 32 Betting Odds: Find Out Who Is Favored To Win

“Legends of WrestleMania Month” on ESPN SportsCenter kicked off last night with the weekly “Off The Top Rope” segment. This week, Jonathan Coachman gives his Top Moments from the career of tonight’s guest, The Heartbreak Kid Shawn Michaels. Coach named HBK’s Top Feud with The Undertaker, his Top Move the splash off a ladder to Razor Ramon at WrestleMania 10, Top Moment was retiring Ric Flair at WrestleMania 24 and his Top Entrance was at WrestleMania 12.

Coach asked Shawn about WrestleMania season and how preparation for WrestleMania matches was different. Shawn acknowledged it is the biggest event of the year and said just getting a spot on the card is the first objective. He said there have been many competitors over the years who elevated their careers with big performances at Wrestlemania. Starting around WrestleMania 9 or 10, he took a lot of pride in having a buzzworthy WrestleMania match, no matter where he was on the card. He said it was an honor to do that job.

Coach asked about Shawn’s favorite WrestleMania moments and Shawn said he can’t pick just one because they’re all special in their own way. Shawn also talked about Ric Flair’s retirement match from WrestleMania 24 and his close friendship with The Nature Boy.

Coach asked why he decided to retire at WrestleMania and Shawn said it was to spend more time with his family. Walking away from WWE was the end of a very special chapter in his life but at the end of the day, it was not a tough decision. He wants to be a full time father and husband.

Coach said maybe we will see Shawn at WrestleMania 32 and HBK said he’s looking forward to being there.

Bray Wyatt spoke with the Philly Voice this week to promote WWE’s upcoming RAW taping from Philly on March 21st. The Eater of Worlds will square off against Brock Lesnar this coming Saturday night at WWE Roadblock, which airs live on the WWE Network.

Bray says he’s very much looking forward to the challenge and he’s been studying Lesnar for quite some time. Every opponent he’s faced has been different, from The Undertaker to John Cena and Chris Jericho. He knows Lesnar is a very dangerous individual – but so is he. He teased that he’s a little sick in the head and defeating Brock Lesnar would immediately shoot him to the top of WWE’s ranks.

Even though he’s happy to finally get a crack at The Beast, he is a bit disappointed their match won’t be taking place at WrestleMania 32. Wyatt said,

“Of course I’d rather do it at WrestleMania. Then again, you don’t know what I’m gonna do at WrestleMania. It’s still an open-ended game for me. Like I said, to beat Brock Lesnar right before WrestleMania, you should be owed some kind of spot, some kind of high place – you know, I view myself as a high place player – I’m a serious player in this game and I intend to keep that.”

Bray Wyatt and his minions do not yet have a match announced for WrestleMania, but it sounds like Bray has something up his sleeve.

WrestleMania won’t be so bad after all. At least, that’s the popular opinion floating around the WWE Universe. A month ago, positive vibes were in jeopardy after three of the top stars in the got injured in a short amount of time.

Seth Rollins went down with a bad knee injury, which required surgery and while his recovery is ahead of its expected time, he won’t be back until after WrestleMania.

John Cena tore his rotator cuff in the beginning of January. Even though he heals faster than an Avenger, Cena probably won’t be ready for WrestleMania.

Cesaro, who was about to be pushed to the moon, hurt his shoulder and had to get surgery to fix it. The former-United States champion confirmed that he won’t be back before WrestleMania. In the span of two months, Vince McMahon had three less stars to work with.

So, what did he do?

McMahon pulled out the big guns and got Shane McMahon to return for WrestleMania. After what was shown on WWE Raw the past few weeks, he’s going to face the Undertaker. If he wins, Shane gets control of Monday Night Raw. 

Even though it won’t be the main event, Shane’s return brings back that feeling of “art imitating life.” It also gives something for WWE fans to believe in. This is a storyline that means something and isn’t just a random match that WWE officials threw together in a matter of minutes backstage.

When Roman Reigns returns on WWE television and faces Triple H for the WWE World Heavyweight championship, that will still generate interest. Fans will wonder if they swerve the audience like they have the past two years.

Sami Zayn returned on Raw last night, so that’s something else to look forward to. If he rekindles his feud with Kevin Owens and it encapsulates in a big match at WrestleMania, that will give the fans something to be happy about.

However, that’s only three matches to really get all the WWE fans excited. What else is there?

That isn’t a complaint, but rather a serious question.

WrestleMania is the biggest event in the WWE and having only three high-profile matches just isn’t enough.

This is why the WWE needs to raise the bar even higher. Thanks to Finn Balor’s continuous teasing of the Bulletproof Balor Club’s WWE debut. They haven’t even showed up in NXT. Now that Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows are skipping WWE NXT, they are set to come to the main roster immediately.

Having Balor and his new faction appear on the main roster before WrestleMania would add intrigue and immediately create a new storyline. Even if they debut at WrestleMania itself, it would still give fans another reason to watch.

Let’s be honest, the WWE has a lot of work to do before that Sunday in April.

Each location for Raw leading up to the Grandaddy of Them All is in a “mark city.” It isn’t like the crowd won’t know who they are. The timing is perfect for more hype and excitement in the last month of WWE’s current “season.”

Balor’s time in WWE NXT is coming to an end. He will probably remain there past May, but just like Zayn, he may pull double-duty. Zayn is scheduled to wrestle Shinsuke Nakamura at NXT Takeover Dallas two nights before WrestleMania.

Zayn is scheduled to wrestle Shinsuke Nakamura at NXT Takeover Dallas two nights before WrestleMania.

There’s no reason why Balor can’t do both, but drop the belt at that show. Even if NXT officials still want Balor to hold the belt for another NXT Takeover show, he can still work both shows. NXT tapes shows four weeks in one night.

More often than not, NXT stars who make the jump to the main roster will be on both shows for at least a few weeks.

Point is, adding Balor, who is arguably the WWE’s next mega-star, can spark more controversy in the company. This will only enhance the product.

This will only enhance the product.

Is this asking too much of the WWE, or should Balor’s stable wait until after WrestleMania to debut? Because at this point, WrestleMania will only have three good matches, and two-and-a-half hours of hoping it is good.

Hopefully WrestleMania won’t be so bad after all.

WWE WrestleMania 33 will take place on Sunday, April 2nd, 2017 from Orlando, Florida at the Citrus Bowl.

The news has been speculated for months. Last week, the Orlando Business journal picked up on the story but classified it as a rumor. Soon after, Justin LaBar of of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review said he got confirmation about it.

On Monday evening, an employee from the Citrus Bowl tweeted the following photo, adding additional support to the previous reports.

A formal announcement from WWE is expected by this weekend.

– The Undertaker is now being advertised for the March 28th episode of WWE RAW, the final show before WrestleMania. He’s also scheduled to appear next week (3/14).

– Kalisto’s WWE United States Championship will be defended at WrestleMania. He’ll be working triple threat matches against Alberto Del Rio and Ryback at upcoming live events, but Del Rio has been ruled out as his Mania opponent. With the recent push Ryback has been getting and Kalisto’s role as the consummate underdog, we could see The Big Guy getting the title shot on April 3rd.

– Becky Lynch will be rocking some special ring gear for the Divas Championship triple threat match at WrestleMania.

Designers Julie Youngberg and Mikai Mosley are collaborating on the costume, which will include “some cool mechanical things.”

I am so excited to be working with @AnJewelsBrand to help make an some awesome WRESTLEMANIA gear for @BeckyLynchWWE

— TheRealMikalMosley (@Themikalmosley) March 6, 2016

WWE tag team champion Big E recently spoke with Guide Live to promote next month’s WrestleMania 32 pay-per-view. During the interview, Big E revealed that the New Day is working on something big for their entrance at WrestleMania, but they’re not 100% certain it’s going to take place.

“We’ve already kind of started getting people excited about our entrance – which I’ve kind of wanted to temper expectations, but we had some media hits this morning, and Woods and Kofi were already telling people to look out for our entrance. So, I suppose our WrestleMania entrance is the big plan. There’s a good chance that it all gets nixed, and people are very disappointed, but we have something cooking.”

He also revealed that there are two WrestleMania matches in particular that he’s most looking forward to.

“Shane and ‘Taker, for sure. I think that’s such an interesting matchup with so much on the line that a lot of people will have their eyes turned to that one. And also, I’m really excited to see what the women will do. I’m not sure what that match will be. If I had to guess, I’m assuming, possibly it looks like maybe we’re looking at a triple threat for the Divas title – Charlotte, Becky, and Sasha appears to be lining up. There’s a decent amount of pressure on those women with the whole ‘Diva’s Revolution.’ I think a lot of people are excited to see what they do to represent for all the talented women in wrestling.”

Head over to GuideLive.com to read the full interview.

Update: The Rock’s ‘big news’ tweet was actually related to WWE announcing that new subscribers to the WWE Network will get WrestleMania 32 for free. WWE issued the following:

This year’s WrestleMania will be absolutely free for new WWE Network subscribers.

Leave it to The Great One to break the big news.

The Rock took to Twitter today to help kick off WWE’s first-ever #FreeWrestleMania campaign. New subscribers who sign up now for WWE Network will receive a free month trial that includes this year’s Showcase of the Immortals, WrestleMania 32, on April 3!

Previously: The Rock is teasing some electrifying, heart stopping, elbow dropping news for WretleMania 32, which is now less than a month away. The People’s Champ announced months ago that he’ll be at WWE’s biggest show of the year and has promised to make history and deliver an experience fans will never forget. As of this writing, we still don’t know exactly what his role will be at the show.

Get ready @WWE Universe for some electrifying 'heart stoppin' elbow droppin' news for #WrestleMania32… ??? pic.twitter.com/NmFLrvAfTT

— Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) March 4, 2016

There had been speculation for a while, but it looks like we finally know where next year’s WrestleMania, WrestleMania 33, is going to be held. Early this morning, the Orlando Business Journal posted what they classified as a “rumor” that the show is going to be held at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida, with an official announcement coming as soon as next week. According to the article, Orlando “has been in the mix” for at least the lost month or so, with visions of, in the words of reporter Richard Bilbao, “steal[ing] the show from long-rumored market Minneapolis.” The city of Orlando confirmed in January that they had put in a bid to get the show, with hopes of a $50 million economic impact on the city. WWE, of course, has a major presence in Orlando these days, with the WWE Performance Center and NXT tapings both in the Orlando metropolitan area.

A few hours later, Justin LaBar of TribLive tweeted that he had confirmed the story with a WWE source:

Lot of speculation & I just confirmation from source in #WWE—WrestleMania 33 will be in Orlando at the Citrus Bowl.

— Justin LaBar (@JustinLaBar) March 3, 2016

He later added that the plan right now is for the show to take place on April 2nd, 2017. That;s tentative, though: WWE has also drafted promotional materials that list April 9th, 2017 as the date, and it’s currently being mulled over with local and stadium officials

The Orlando Business Journal had also reported last month that the cities in consideration were Orlando, Minneapolis, and Los Angeles. It surprised a lot of people when Raw hit Minneapolis in December for the Slammy Awards show and there was no announcement about WrestleMania. Why? In August, the Minnesota Vikings posted a video claiming that WrestleMania was coming to the brand new U.S. Bank Stadium, with the claim that “Before the building is even open we have already secured the Super Bowl in 2018, the NCAA basketball Final Four in 2019, we are a finalist and seem to be in a pretty good position to secure the college football playoffs, the BCS championship game, you know we’ve got WrestleMania coming.” WWE responded to news stories about the video with the following statement:

Minneapolis is one of the many cities that has expressed an interest in hosting a future WrestleMania. Beyond WrestleMania in Dallas, TX on April 3, 2016, locations for future WrestleMania’s have not been announced.

Nobody thought much of it, because WWE likes to announce the WrestleMani location themselves. Four months later. the lack of an announcement at the Slammy Awards show (which was a lot closer to when it’s usually announced then an announcement next week would be) appeared to signal that they were out of the running for WrestleMania 33.

Two of the WWE’s biggest stars in history will make the trip to Dallas, Texas for WrestleMania 32. The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin are confirmed for the event. Rocky announced it on his Instagram page and Austin just confirmed it for a second time in a recent interview.

That doesn’t include the third person in this title, Shawn Michaels. He’s not guaranteed for the event, but it is in his hometown and the rumors about his involvement in the main event have run rampant recently.

Despite the alliteration, these three men need to have a plan if they’ll be there. WrestleMania is the biggest show of the year and WWE fans aren’t keen on the main event. At this very second, Roman Reigns is set to take on Triple H for the WWE World Heavyweight championship.

There’s nobody in their corners and a special guest referee hasn’t been announced. Less than six weeks still remains between now and April 3. WWE fans are so enraged, that “#CancelWWENetwork” was trending after WWE Fastlane.

In a recent column, I talked about how Shane McMahon, the Undertaker and Vince McMahon saved WrestleMania 32. There match will build suspense, drama, and it already has a great story to go along with it.

While many disagreed, more might need to be done before WrestleMania is “saved.” These three men could do just that, but it’s going to take a creative angle and originality. In this writer’s opinion, here’s what the Rock, Stone Cold and HBK should do for WrestleMania:

• The Rock – He has to protect Roman Reigns as much a possible. Sure, they tried that at the Royal Rumble in Philadelphia in 2015, but Reigns was despised then. There are more fans that support Reigns, that didn’t use to support him. Most WWE fans know that Reigns will beat Triple H to win the title. If that’s the case, then he needs to be over-booked. Put the Rock in Reigns’ corner against the Authority. When Stephanie or even someone in HHH’s corner tried to do something, have the Rock perform one of his finishers on HHH while the referee is distracted. That allows for a big pop from the Mania crowd, by giving the WWE fans a chance to cheer indirectly for Reigns. It’s worth a shot.
• Shawn Michaels – This one is a big difficult to figure out. If he is involved in WrestleMania, then he must be backing up his friend, Triple H. Then again, why not throw the entire kitchen sink at the Authority and have the Heartbreak Kid back up Reigns instead? Vince doesn’t want AT&T Stadium booing Reigns out of the building. He’s supposed to be the next face of the company. It won’t be as a heel, even though Reigns’ inevitable heel turn will succeed. Triple H is still the heel in this feud. HBK will be a babyface no matter what he does. HHH needs to reach for a sledgehammer and the Sweet Chin Music must connect with Paul Levesque’s face.
• Stone Cold Steve Austin – WWE officials have some thinking to do before deciding what Stone Cold is doing at WrestleMania 32. Frankly, where does Austin fit? It wouldn’t make sense for him to get involved in the main event. For Austin, it’s probably best to put over a young guy in a big match. In that vein, a promo war between the New Day and Stone Cold would put “butts in the seats.” It doesn’t make much sense by looking at it, but Edge and Christian already helped put over the New Day even more. Giving Austin the platform to go back-and-forth with Big E, Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods isn’t a bad idea.

None of those ideas are guaranteed to happen. Reigns will surely be over-booked in fear of him getting booed out of the building at AT&T Stadium.

WWE put themselves in a precarious position with the booking of Reigns. Monday Night Raw was a great example of that. Triple H was beating him to a pulp and feeding off the crowd. HHH was the babyface in that exchange. The show ended with HHH standing over Reigns with the strap as the crowd cheered.

Something needs to get amended if they want Reigns to go above and beyond with the WWE Universe.

At one point, the Rock wasn’t well-liked by the fans. He was Rocky Maivia. When he turned heel, the rest is history.

Perhaps Roman Reigns should follow that path. WrestleMania would be a great place to do that.

With WWE Fastlane in the rear view mirror, we’re now full speed ahead on the road to WrestleMania. Roman Reigns defeated Dean Ambrose and Brock Lesnar in the main event to earn his WrestleMania title shot against Triple H – but it turns out there was a late change to the booking of last night’s main event.

As we had been reporting in recent weeks, the original plan for the WWE  Fastlane main event called for The Wyatt Family interfering, costing Lesnar the match and setting up Lesnar vs. Bray Wyatt at WrestleMania. That scenario was scrapped over the weekend because WWE decided to go in a different direction with Lesnar’s WrestleMania opponent.

Brock Lesnar is now scheduled to face Dean Ambrose at WrestleMania 32, as first reported by Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Live.

In the buildup to Fastlane, we’ve seen Dean Ambrose being protected and looking strong as he stood up to Lesnar in the face of The Beast’s unique brand of violence. WWE fans might not be thrilled about the predictable Reigns vs. Triple H main event, but Lesnar vs Ambrose has the potential to deliver in a big way.

• The Undertaker’s WrestleMania 32 Opponent Has Also Been Finalized

John Cena recently spoke with FOX Sports about his status for WrestleMania 32. “Percentage-wise, I’m somewhere between zero and 100,” Cena said. “That’s a safe estimation for me. As far as me participating in WrestleMania 32, the Magic 8-Ball says ‘ask again later,’” Cena joked.

Cena continued, “But if I can’t perform, it would be unfortunate for the people watching WrestleMania to see me suffer through something that isn’t worthy of the event. I take a very unselfish approach to my job and what I do because people spend their hard-earned money to enjoy what we do,” added Cena.

If he is unable to return by WrestleMania, Cena knows there is always next year and the year after that.

“And our goal is to deliver the best show possible. If I can contribute to that, great. If I can’t then, it not helping any of fans … we’ll see how it works. I know there will be a WrestleMania 33 and 34 and 35,” said Cena. “And hopefully, 100.”

The Miami Herald has published an article looking at the city of Orlando’s efforts to host not only WrestleMania 33 in 2017 but also WrestleMania 34 in 2018. Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer said, “We’re in a competition right now, and we understand it’s down to a handful of cities for 2017. We put in bids for both 2017 and 2018”

Orlando’s Citrus Bowl hosted WrestleMania 24 back in 2008 and the venue has undergone a dramatic renovation process since then. “Now we’ve got a really high quality stadium that we have about 14 months under our belt. It opened in November [2014]. That’s going to be a light years difference in the experience people are going to have in coming to the actual event.”

Considering WWE’s strong presence in Orlando and the tens of millions of dollars WrestleMania brings to the host city’s local economy, it’s no surprise that Orlando wants to host WrestleMania again. In fact, Major Dyer said, “We’d love to get in a rotation where [WrestleMania] comes here every four or six years.”

Allen Johnson, Executive Director of the Orlando Venues, recently spoke with Jim Varsallone of the Miami Herald about Orlando’s bid to host WrestleMania 33 next year.

The location for WrestleMania 32 was already announced by this time last year, so an announcement should be imminent.  Johnson told Jim Varsallone:

“I think we’re ready for it. We’re prepared to whatever year they decide to come back. We’re ready for them, and we now have the infrastructure in place to accommodate it much better than before, and they know that.”

Orlando’s Citrus Bowl hosted WrestleMania 24 back in 2008. Since then, the stadium has undergone $207 million in renovations.

“They’ve toured the stadium. They’ve been here and seen what we now are capable of versus what we were capable of. That gets us in the conversation to host one of those events.”

A big theme in this weeks’ column is such: “Are you ready?”

The WWE is in the middle of the “Road to WrestleMania” and the big matches are starting to be shown to the public. Like WWE officials do each year, they get a tentative plan together for WrestleMania in the Summer. If plans change, it’s most-likely due to injury or creative differences.

When the term, “creative differences” is used, that basically means the fans loathed the idea, so WWE officials changed their minds.

That way, nothing gets lost in translation.

Before even looking at a report by SEScoops.com, here’s a guess as to what the big matches at WrestleMania 32 will look like:

• Roman Reigns vs. Triple H
• Bray Wyatt vs. Brock Lesnar
• Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte vs. Becky Lynch
• Braun Strowman vs. TBD

Remember, that was before the report from SEScoops was applied. It’s evident that Reigns and Triple H will fight for the WWE championship at WrestleMania. To make it even more obvious, the WWE was advertising Reigns as the WWE World Heavyweight champion for their upcoming European Tour in April.

Lesnar and Wyatt was a match that was first teased on the WWE Raw right before the Royal Rumble. It was solidified during the match when the Wyatt Family took out Lesnar and eliminated the Beast Incarnate. It’s only a matter of time before Lesnar and Wyatt trade blows, leading to a big match at WrestleMania.

The news that Charlotte will take on Brie Bella at WWE Fast Lane, which should infuriate everyone, only means Lynch and Banks will get a chance at the Divas championship at WrestleMania 32. If not, then the last few months were a complete waste of time.

In recent reports, Vince McMahon is very high on Strowman. The fact that he hasn’t had a marquee match yet is mind-boggling.

That’s what WrestleMania 32 is for.

Without further ado, here’s SEScoops’ report on the big four matches that are rumored to take place at WrestleMania 32:

• WWE Champion Triple H vs. Roman Reigns
• Brock Lesnar vs. Bray Wyatt
• The Undertaker vs. Braun Stroman
• Divas Champion Charlotte vs. Becky Lynch vs. Sasha Banks

Don’t they look similar? The only undecided is Undertaker’s opponent, but that’s what the WWE is looking to do.

Remember, everything is subject to change. Daniel Bryan and Seth Rollins are the only examples relevant to help that argument. Where’s Dean Ambrose and Kevin Owens? Wouldn’t it make sense to put them in a high-profile match? Besides, they are two of the most-over wrestlers in the WWE.

When the question, “Are you Ready?” was asked earlier on, there’s a reason why. For the first time ever, the WWE is holding an NXT Takeover show the weekend of WrestleMania 32. Many are calling it the best wrestling card in years, which is why the hype for it is unfathomable. The matches, wrestlers, storylines and championship bouts are off the charts.

At this time, here’s the rumored card for NXT Takeover Dallas:

• NXT Championship: Finn Balor vs. Samoa Joe II
• Shinsuke Nakamura debuts against Sami Zayn
• Women’s Championship: Bayley vs. Asuka
• Tag Team Championships: Dash and Dawson vs. Jason Jordan & Chad Gable
• Austin Aries vs. Baron Corbin

Every match could headline the show. Every match showcases a great feud, personal story and background of the match. Every match means something. That’s what wrestling is all about. It’s about telling stories in the ring that mean something to the fans.

That begs the penultimate question: which card is better and who wins that weekend?

Realistically, it’s all under the WWE banner, so officials shouldn’t care in that respect. They are just going to bring in more fans from different demographics. If it were me, I’d go to both shows. That’s what the WWE is wishing.

There will be those who just want to see WrestleMania and those who wish to watch NXT Takeover Dallas and be on their way.

That last part is what the main roster should worry about.

From top-to-bottom, the NXT Takeover card is better than WrestleMania’s. It’s not even close. NXT Takeover Dallas will sell out whatever venue they want. They aren’t worried about selling 100,000 seats, the main roster is.

AT&T Stadium holds 80,000 people for a football game. The WWE wants to break the attendance record once again. Right now, it stands at 93,173 and that was at WrestleMania 3. McMahon wants over 100,000.

NXT Takeover Dallas is being held at the Kay Bailey Hutchinson Convention Center in Dallas, Texas. It holds approximately 10,000. That will sell out in minutes.

That will sell out in minutes.

Months back, there were reports that said the main roster was jealous of WWE NXT and that those superstars were getting out-performed.

Well, it’s true.

That weekend in April, WWE NXT will be on the big stage once again. They haven’t disappointed yet, and with the roster they are gathering for the show, there’s no chance they will get out-performed.

What does this mean for the main roster?

The WWE has to understand that fans aren’t interested in the entire card. To build a great WrestleMania, every match has to mean something. Every match has to build a story that people want to see. WrestleMania is where stories are resolved and the conclusions of a big build-up appear.

The theme of this column was, “Are you ready?”

WWE Universe, are you ready for NXT Takeover to out-perform WrestleMania 32?

With the current card what it is right now, that’s exactly what is going to happen.

Former WWE Superstar Batista was backstage at Sunday’s Royal Rumble PPV from Orlando and met with Vince McMahon about an appearance at WrestleMania 32, according to Ryan Satin over at ProWrestlingSheet.com. Batista reportedly declined Vince’s pitch for a one-time ‘guest appearance’ gig that would not have required him to wrestle a match.

The 2014 Royal Rumble winner has been outspoken about WWE’s creative process since his last run with the company went completely off the rails in part due to the Daniel Bryan YES! Movement. During an interview with HeyUGuys last April, Batista said he’s open to wrestling for WWE one day, but only at live events, since WWE’s scripts “aren’t that great.”

WrestleMania could be returning to Orlando, Florida in 2017.  Heather Fagan, deputy chief of staff for Mayor Buddy Dyer, confirmed to the Orlando Sentinel that the city has submitted a formal bid to host WrestleMania 33.

“We have not received any notification and are waiting to hear just like other cities.”

While other cities such as Minneapolis, Minnesota have also expressed interest, Orlando is high WWE’s list in part due to the city being a tourism and entertainment hub. WWE has strong ties to the Orlando area, which houses the WWE Performance Center and Full Sail University, home of NXT .

Orlando hosted WrestleMania 24 back in 2008, which drew a stadium-record of 74,635 fans at the Citrus Bowl, which was recently rennovated. A WWE study estimated its economic impact for Central Florida at $50 million.