Its WrestleMania Eve and I haven't written about WWE in over a month. The truth is, I stay fairly busy and I haven't yet received much interest in this online blog. I remain focused on what is most important in my day to day and must prioritize where I spend my time. With that, I enjoy writing so I felt compelled to give my take on WrestleMania XL before it happens.  

WrestleMania Saturday (Night One)

Six-Woman Tag Team Match                                                                                  

Bianca Belair, Jade Cargill & Naomi vs. Damage CTRL 

This match was put together to showcase Jade Cargill.  WWE doesn't appear to want to throw her out into the deep end on her own. This is why we got her at the Royal Rumble and appearing in a tag match with very experienced partners and opponents. I like the pairing with Naomi and Bianca Belair. This sets up opportunities for longer story telling. Let's see these ladies form a group that eventually breaks up and pits Jade against Bianca. I see this as planting seeds for WrestleMania 41 where Jade will have a year's worth of experience and build with Bianca. 

Kairi Sane and Asuka are strong champions but have nothing on the line here. I would have preferred a straight tag team bout for the titles, however, I understand WWE not wanting to take the titles off of the Kabuki Warriors as well as defaulting Jade Cargill to a tag team competitor. I like Naomi and Dakota as additions here as both are deserving of a match on the card. 

My prediction: Jade Cargill, Bianca Belair, and Naomi. Jade isn't being showcased here to lose.

Rey Mysterio & Andrade vs. Santos Escobar & "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio

I consider this to be a filler match. Everybody loves Rey Mysterio. He has unfinished business with Santos Escobar. Adding Dom to the match is a nice touch to the secondary father vs. son story that continues. Andrade replacing Dragon Lee makes sense. I think Dragon was taken out by Carlito so that Rey would choose Carlito as his new partner. Let's be honest, for the generation that remembers him, Carlito is cool...but he needs to be a "bad" guy. Andrade is phenomenal in the ring, but lacks the ability to speak good English which makes it harder for him to connect with the crowd. Putting him with Rey gives him instant credibility with the crowd. I see you Triple H. I see you WWE Creative.

My prediction: Rey and Andrade. Andrade is going to get the push that Santos has earned. As great as Santos is, Andrade is married to Charlotte Flair. WWE is going to highlight this at some point.

Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship Six-Pack Tag Team Ladder Match

The Judgment Day (c) vs. The Awesome Truth vs. The New Day vs. #DIY vs. New Catch Republic vs. A-Town Down Under

I think we can all agree that ladder matches are always fun to watch. This ladder match may be too crowded for us to really enjoy it for what it is. I don't believe DIY, New Catch Republic, or A-Town Down Under should be in this match. New Day hasn't really done much to "earn" the spot, but its New Day. You aren't having a tag team ladder match without Kofi. 

This match only needed to have six men in it to make it spectacular. I pointed out in my very first blog that I thought Bate and Dunne were headed for a championship run. WWE is teasing a Tag Team Unified championship split here as it has been clarified that both sets of titles must be pulled down before the match is over. I would almost guarantee a title split here because both shows need tag team champions. The roster is too deep to keep them unified.

My prediction: The Awesome Truth wins one set of titles (Raw) and the New Catch Republic wins the other set (Smackdown). I would be surprised at any other outcome. Miz and Truth are definitely winning one set. We will see if my bold prediction pays off here.

Jey Uso vs. Jimmy Uso

Brother vs. Brother! It gets no better than this. If you had brothers like I do, you grew up wrestling each other having epic battles in the living room and back yard. You also probably ended up with outside interference from your parents! What young boy doesn't want to face their brother at WrestleMania? I love the build to this. I love the idea of this match.

My prediction: Main Event Jey Uso gets the win here. While I think Jimmy should get the win to further the fued, Jey has taken some big losses lately and needs the W. Jimmy has been packaged like the guy that is going to lose all of his matches anyway. I'm not saying I like that for Jimmy- but I'm saying he's portrayed as the guy that is going to always lose the singles match that he's in.

Intercontinental Championship Match
Gunther (c) vs. Sami Zayn

I most certainly called this pairing in my first blog well over a month ago. And I did so long before there were any hints of Sami being put in this match. How did I know? C'mon, I've been watching this stuff my whole life. I bet it plays out just as I've said it would. Spoiler alert, we aren't going to get some of the big title changes that fans think we are. Sami is going to be that "feel good" win that the good guys need. I'll come back to this towards the end and bring it full circle for you.

My prediction: Sami Zayn will be your new Intercontinental Champion. Gunther has done all that he needs to do as the Intercontinental Champion. He's the longest reigning IC champ of all time. It will be 20 years before that record is broken again (if ever). Gunther begins his ascent to challenging for the World Heavyweight Championship. I'm not saying he's going there immediately, but his journey in that direction begins after he loses the Intercontinental Championship. Enjoy this feel good moment with Sami. I have a feeling you won't be getting too many of them this year.

Women's World Championship Match
Rhea Ripley (c) vs. Becky Lynch

This is one of the matches that I'm most looking forward to. This match could be a Main Event on any PLE, including WrestleMania. I predicted that this would be the pairing, but won't brag too much as it was pretty easy for most fans to see coming. Rhea Ripley needs to develop high profile nemeses. She has done that with Charlotte Flair, who I would argue would most certainly be involved in this somehow if she were healthy. The Rock had Stone Cold. He also had Triple H. He also had the Undertaker. The list goes on. Rhea Ripley must add more arch rivals in high profile matches in order to further cement her legacy. 

My prediction: Rhea Ripley will win this match. She has to. Becky Lynch has had her moments. She too needs to build her rivalry with other top stars. The Man isn't going to come out as champion here. Becky needs to face some character adversity to continue to remain interesting. Becky doesn't need to win to cement her place in history either. Charlotte Flair already holds the mantle for winning the title an unthinkable number of times. That's not Becky's story. Rhea needs this win just like Roman needed all of his title wins to string together the current run he's on. Rhea is too dominant and has too much star power to lose the title here.

Match to determine Bloodline banned or Bloodline Rules
Cody Rhodes & Seth "Freakin" Rollins vs. Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson & Roman Reigns

Personally, I find this match to be over saturating the Sunday title matches. The Rock has been on his greatest run yet in my opinion. This Final Boss thing he's doing is bridging generations of story telling and fan bases. He's bringing people back to WWE and capturing a whole new fan base. 

The Rock's movies have been watered down into the same thing by countless sequels and similar roles. He had a few good ones. His politics aren't my flavor and I find celebrities who push their politics to be disingenuous. I'm not hating on the guy, he's the most famous person on the planet (and may always be for all time). He belongs in this WWE role, both on the board, and on shows. There are few that can hang with him in that setting. I hope we potentially see more from his rivals to counter act his on screen presence. 

He has admittedly overshadowed Roman and exposed some weakness in both Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins as neither of them are anywhere near that level the Rock is on. I think overshadowing Roman is being done on purpose to set up a future match between the two of them. Both Cody and Seth have the potential to rise to the occasion here. 

My prediction: The Bloodline wins this tag team match setting up Bloodline Rules for the main event on night two. I don't know how they get there. Perhaps Drew McIntyre interferes? We know Solo and Jimmy will interfere. Will Jey get involved? Will Seth Rollins somehow cost Cody the match? Will Seth turn on Cody? There are way too many variables involved here for me to guess. So I won't guess. I will fantasy book it though! If I'm writing the ending on this match, I'm definitely making Seth Rollins take the pin fall or cause a disqualification that results in Cody being forced into the Bloodline Rules match. This re-ignites the feud between Seth Rollins and Cody Rhodes which will be necessary based on my later predictions.

WrestleMania Sunday (Night Two)

Six-Man Tag Team Philadelphia Street Fight
Bobby Lashley & The Street Profits vs. Final Testament

I'm surprised this match isn't being put in the middle of the card. They have tried to build this to be interesting. I like everybody involved...I'm just bored with the entire feud. Karrion Kross needs to pick up the win here. He has lost too many bouts since debuting in WWE. The only hope this match has for entertainment value would be the fact that it's a Street Fight match.

My prediction: Final Testament wins. I hope this match is a quick one. 

LA Knight vs. AJ Styles

These two have been lost in the shuffle. LA Knight seems to be fading as a potential main event talent and AJ Styles hasn't been a bad enough "bad" guy. I like both. Both need a win here. It's very hard to predict a winner. The build up has been lack luster outside of the Elimination Chamber interference perpetrated by AJ Styles.

My prediction: LA Knight YEAH! I think AJ needs the win more, but LA Knight is going to get the win to avenge the Elimination Chamber interference.

United States Championship Triple Threat Match
Logan Paul (c) vs. Randy Orton vs. Kevin Owens

I like all three of these guys. The booking here doesn't make sense to me. I didn't find the build up to be strong enough. It should be a one on one match between Orton and Logan Paul. I have no issues with KO. I find his work to be strong. Two good guys in a triple threat is awkward. 

My prediction: Logan Paul retains as Randy and KO end up fighting each other. Logan Paul is putting too many eyes on the product. He needs the title whereas the other two do not need a championship to remain elevated. If Logan loses the title now, he loses too much credibility as a potential top star in WWE.

WWE Women’s Championship Match
IYO SKY (c) vs. Bayley

This match should be the one opening the show. Its too important in terms of storyline arcs to be buried in the middle of the card. I told my daughter Chloe and my friends who attended the Royal Rumble with us that Bayley would win it. They sat in disbelief as I called that as if it were picking winning lottery numbers. Bayley has been working hard to bring up younger stars to her level which was once portrayed much higher than it has been during the last year or so. Bayley has more stories to tell us in that ring.

My prediction: Bayley overcomes the odds with help from Jade Cargill and crew to defeat a worthy champion in Iyo Sky.  

World Heavyweight Championship Match
Seth “Freakin” Rollins (c) vs. Drew McIntyre

Drew McIntyre is doing some of his best work right now. I don't think he's ever been better. CM Punk will get involved in the match at some point. Rollins may be working an injury from the night before. The Bloodline may interfere in this one as well. There are too many variables to predict how it will happen, but...

My prediction: Drew McIntyre walks out of WrestleMania 40 as the World Heavyweight Champion. Seth Rollins needs to evolve. He has had a lengthy run with the title. He has tried various characters. I suspect we see Seth returning to "bad" guy territory as he looks to reclaim his gold. Meanwhile, Drew needs a few title defenses before ultimately facing off against a returning CM Punk. (Hopefully in time for Summer Slam.)

Undisputed WWE Universal Championship Match
Roman Reigns (c) vs. Cody Rhodes

This has been the single biggest build to a WrestleMania main event ever in WWE. Two years in the making! This match will likely be contested under Bloodline rules which will make it far more interesting and entertaining. This also allows for the finish to fully protect the loser from dropping any credibility in taking a clean pin fall. I've read reports that the Rock will turn on Roman and help Cody. I don't see that happening. The Rock isn't whipping Cody Rhodes half to death with a weight belt two weeks in a row and then helping him win the match. The Rock is going to hold this heel turn longer. In fact, what I'm about to lay out is going to disappoint the "Cody Crybabies". Not only is the Rock going to remain a member of the Bloodline, Roman is going to retain. 

Yes...you read that right. Roman is going to retain. Did you watch the A&E Biography on Roman Reigns? If you didn't, treat yourself. This was a very well produced episode and it paints Roman in a very positive light. This will prevent an absolute revolt amongst the fanbase when Cody doesn't finish his story on Sunday. I'll double down and suggest that the Paul Heyman HOF induction speech Roman gave further emphasizes a heroic side to Roman's persona. Roman dropped several hints in both presentations. Most notably stating that he would not be "here" if he was not the champion. He also stated that he had no intentions of leaving anytime soon. 

Cody should ultimately be the man to dethrone Your Tribal Chief one day. It just won't be on Sunday night at WrestleMania. Cody's story will take a detour and head back into the direction of Seth Rollins, who will also be looking for some form of redemption after losing his title. Cody and Seth must go to war. I see Cody getting involved in the World Heavyweight Championship scene on Raw. He would eventually win that championship. He goes on to have a storied career full of big wins that lead up to Roman again.

Roman is going to continue smashing lesser opponents until he has at least broken Hulk Hogan's record as Champion. Why you ask? Why not? When else are you going to have an opportunity to make history? Roman has already cleared so much time as champion. Why not take him as far as possible. I'd take him out beyond Bruno. His legend shall overshadow even what the Undertaker accomplished in the WrestleMania win streak. Have Roman remain champion until he's ready to retire. He would be known as the greatest champion of all time without that pesky fact that Bruno was champion for far longer. Heck, Bob Backlund was champion for far longer.

Cody's legacy will be that of always chasing Roman's title. He gets Roman every year at some point in the year and always falls short. But eventually, career vs title, many years down the road, Cody will win that title. And that win, in the end will be the biggest win in the history of the WWE. Cody will end that streak. Think of it! This would be the greatest story ever told in professional wrestling. Imagine an older, beaten up Cody Rhodes in his late 40's.

Of course there is always the possibility that Cody wins and pays off the younger fans with their hero finishing his story. Me, I think Paul "Triple H" Levesque learned that long term story telling is where the money is. Cody needs the longest possible story in order to have the best hero's story arc there ever was.