Road to WWE Wrestlemania 34: Week 6
This week on the Road to Wrestlemania we saw a title finally become the main focus of what WWE is suppose to be about and we also saw a shocking betrayal heading into Fastlane. The Cruiserweight Championship tournament continued and we know who will be challenging for the NXT Championship at Takeover: New Orleans. Before I begin with my thoughts for the week here are the results on this weeks Road to Wrestlemania:
WWE Raw
Asuka defeated Nia Jax
The Bar defeated The Revival
John Cena defeated Goldust
Bayley defeated Mandy Rose
Braun Strowman defeated Elias
Bray Wyatt defeated Rhyno
Finn Balor and Seth Rollins defeated The Miztourage
WWE Smackdown Live
Jinder Mahal defeated Randy Orton
Becky Lynch defeated Carmella
AJ Styles and Dolph Ziggler ended in a No Contest
Sami Zayn defeated Kevin Owens, AJ Styles, Dolph Ziggler, and Baron Corbin in a Fatal Five Way
205 Live
Drew Gulak defeated Mark Andrews to advance in the Cruiserweight Championship Tournament
Hideo Itami and Akira Tozawa defeated Two Local Competitors
Mustafa Ali defeated Buddy Murphy to advance in the Cruiserweight Championship Tournament
WWE NXT
The Authors of Pain defeated TM-61 in the Dusty Rhodes Classic
Bianca Belair defeated Miss Drew Renee
Aleister Black defeated Killian Dain to become #1 Contender for NXT Championship
This time of year there is always rumors and quite frankly I hate rumors. Every wrestling journalist out there claims to know everything going on inside WWE. Well I got news for the Dave Meltzer’s of the world. You don’t work for WWE, you don’t book for WWE and you have become less credible as the years go by. The stories these people come out with change every single week so why would anyone consider them reliable? For example, these stories about Brock Lesnar fighting with Vince and Triple H are completely false. If Brock Lesnar was really at odds with WWE then Paul Heyman would have laid that title in the middle of the ring and just left. Vince is trying to book Lesnar as the ultimate bad guy to Roman Reigns over. Well ladies and gentlemen the most over guy on the Raw roster doesn’t even have a match at Wrestlemania yet, but apparently there is a rumor that he won’t get one. Braun Strowman will be on Wrestlemania and so will Sheamus and Cesaro. Do you honestly think The Bar would keep bringing up not having opponents for Mania if something big wasn’t coming out of it? This why I hate rumors and dirt sheets. We did find out on Raw that The Miz will defend Intercontinental Championship against Finn Balor and Seth Rollins which will be a classic match of epic proportions. Another epic match that was announced was the Mixed Tag Team Match between Ronda Rousey/Kurt Angle and Triple H/Stephanie. I believe this match could steal the show depending how good of shape Kurt Angle is in. The Monday Night Raw side of Wrestlemania is shaping up nicely and we still have four weeks left.
On Smackdown, they are struggling to use all the pieces correctly heading into Wrestlemania. They have Fastlane this Sunday and other then the three title matches it seems very uninteresting. They are not doing anything The Bludgeon Brothers, Jinder Mahal, Mojo Rawley, Chad Gable, Shelton Benjamin, The Ascension and Breezango. All of these guys have incredible talent and can bring something to the table. My fear is once the NXT callups come after Wrestlemania that these guys are going to be released or continued to be put on the back burner. Smackdown had one shocking moment this week that I honestly didn’t see happening yet. Sami Zayn took out his best friend Kevin Owens to win the Fatal Five Way that was a preview of things to come this Sunday. When we talk about stealing the show I truly believe Zayn vs. Owens at Wrestlemania could easily be the best match of the night. These two have fought together, fought against each and have created some memorable moments together. Even though fans are clamoring to AJ Styles vs. Nakamura, but I think at some point it should be Owens and Zayn feuding over the WWE Championship. After Fastlane we will have a better picture of what the Smackdown side of Wrestlemania will look like
Tuesday Night ended with the continuation of the Cruiserweight Championship Tournament that will culminate at Wrestlemania. Drew Gulak defeated Mark Andrews and Mustafa Ali defeated Buddy Murphy. The Semifinal Matches are Roderick Strong vs. Cedric Alexander and Mustafa Ali vs. Drew Gulak. I wish this was a Fatal Four Way match because I am so torn on who I want to see in the finals. I believe all four competitors have the case on why they should be the face of 205 Live. One interesting thing I noticed is the teaming of Hideo Itami and Akira Tozawa which plays into the RUMOR of WWE having a Cruiserweight Tag Team Championship. I believe that his is a great way to bring more attention to the Cruiserweights and use them more effectively. I am personally excited for the future of 205 and the Cruiserweights after Wrestlemania because the right guy if finally overseeing what happens on 2o5 Live. The week concluded with a massive showdown between Killian Dain and Aleister Black on NXT. I love watching these two guys in the ring together, but Black is light years ahead of everyone else on the NXT roster. At Takeover New Orleans I believe Andrade “Cien Almas” will fade to black.
This Sunday is Fastlane and all three titles are on the line which will give us a clear indication of who is going to Wrestlemania and who will be left out. These next four weeks are going to be intriguing, interesting and intense. When it comes to rumors and dirt sheets I am not buying into any of them because they are being fed the wrong information to keep the fans guessing and honestly WWE probably gets humor out of making them look bad. Check back next week to find out what happen in week 7 of the Road to Wrestlemania
Current NXT Takeover New Orleans Card:
NXT Championship: Andrade “Cien” Almas(c) vs. Aleister Black
Current Wrestlemania 34 Card
WWE Universal Championship: Brock Lesnar(c) vs. Roman Reigns
WWE Championship: AJ Styles(c) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
WWE Intercontental Championship: The Miz(c) vs. Finn Balor vs. Seth Rollins
Mixed Tag Team: Kurt Angle and Ronda Rousey vs. Triple H and Stephanie McMahon
