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Last year, defeats began seriously midway through the main event. It was the universal champion Brock Lesnar against Roman Reigns, and the crowd did not have it. It was late, the end of a long show, and the match at the head of the poster did not attract any fundamental interest. Even though it was a living legend with a mythological character, the title holder in defense had little to prove or offer, and the challenger was largely the despised favorite reserved as an outsider . The end seemed fatal and, even if it did not work out as planned, maintained Lesnar, weariness was suspended in the air like a cloud of smoke. The public did what only a professional wrestler audience can do: he expressed his disapproval, an ironic grunt that turned into a disdainful sound boom.
"Boring! Bo-ring!" "It's … terrible …" clap clap clap-clap-clap. CM Punk, former champion long gone, has been referenced. Beach balls were hit. If a glimpse of 78,000 people could be distilled into one and the same inflatable metaphor, it would be a beach ball, falling over a sea of Bullet Club t-shirts. It was not so much a revolt as a disrespectful nod of mass. It was the complaint of the fanboy. No matter who won or lost, the match was a failure anyway.
This year is … different. Of course, there were a lot of things to complain about: People complained of the inevitability of Roman Reigns until he was diagnosed with a return of leukemia and that he was diagnosed with leukemia. it takes several months. (Miraculously, he's fine now.) People complained that the WWE had upset Becky Lynch until they announced she would make the headlines. WrestleMania, with Ronda Rousey and Charlotte Flair. People have complained that WWE was withholding Kofi Kingston just a few weeks ago. Retaining it was part of the story.
A funny thing happened on the way to the complaints office. WWE exploited the anxiety of fans to make it a powerful drug. People's complaints are based on the fear that the story will not unfold as they wish. This is exactly what professional wrestling is built on. Of course, now that this is the match you want will happen at all as opposed to only if your favorite will win. And guess what, with the exception of Braun Strowman's relentless, most viewers have what they're looking for. Becky Lynch, Kingston Kofi, Seth Rollins – to WrestleManiait's like we're all winners.
And since someone must lose Sunday and since WrestleMania could be spoiled, despite the incredible map: let us anoint the winner of the night now. As I have said a million times, wins and losses do not matter anyway anyway. Here is who has already won WrestleMania 35.
Winner: Becky Lynch
Forget "without a doubt" – she is the most popular star in society and the biggest star of professional wrestling since the rise of Daniel Bryan five years ago. It started with a near miss to Slam summer last year. As her hype grew, the WWE turned its heels in a semi-friendly rivalry with Charlotte Flair, apparently lacking fan support dictating her position as a favorite. When she exploded on her expectations of what could be a villain – and then claimed her rightful place in the sacred fire – something in the air began to change. When she had her broken face before a Survivor Series confrontation with Ronda Rousey and was forced to miss the match, it only strengthened his appeal. Cured, there was only one place where she could have her revenge: WrestleMania.
And of course, if Lynch had not taken off, WWE could have put Rousey and Charlotte Flair in the main event, eager to join the good public relations associated with an all-female main event. But Becky is the wrestler who has climbed into the biggest game of the night. Rousey is the crossover star and Flair is the unicorn flagship of the women's division. But watching Lynch in recent months is like watching Zion Williamson capture the country's imagination this season. People stop what they do to see it. On Sunday, she will close the show and, unless the WWE wants to stir up a riot at the MetLife stadium, will leave the unified champion. And even if it loses, it reaches a rarefied air level in professional wrestling that few wrestlers can claim.
Will she really win? If the WWE does not want to call on the National Guard to disperse 90,000 fans, yes.
Winner: Ronda Rousey
Rousey had a lovely year. The distance she has traveled from her beginnings to last year WrestleMania–one year, people – is beautiful. She is a natural in the ring, a dedicated performer and a huge draw. The women's fight had come a long way before she came to WWE, but that match would probably not be WrestleMania main event without it. Lynch certainly would not have had the same effect by inserting Flair into the social media she has with Rousey as her foil.
And speaking of foils, this story (and the uncontrollable popularity of Lynch) gave Rousey the role of a villain, a job in which she embarked. (We must assume that Rousey, a long-time wrestling fan and Roddy Piper brand, had his first heel promotion at the top of his list.)
Will she really win? Not if Lynch does it, obviously. But you can never let Vince McMahon let the strap on an MMA star at the heel (see Lesnar, Brock) even when – or especially when – everyone predicts the opposite. Rousey has a chance to fight.
Winner: Seth Rollins
Rollins has long been the anchor of Monday evening and one of the safest things in society on this side of AJ Styles. Unlike Styles, it is a product of the WWE development system and has the glow of a man made, even if he works hard at the mid-card. But after his former comrade Shield, Roman Reigns left the picture for months (and later), and more, in the absence of any other babyface fixture like John Cena, Rollins was responsible for bearing the burden. And as in his race heel champion in 2015, he managed brilliantly.
On Sunday, he will have a chance to unseat the universal champion, Brock Lesnar – a role long held by Reigns, and one of the many presumed Reigns would play again this year before being added to the list. It is generally thought that the time has come for Lesnar to give up the belt – whether it returns to the UFC or not – and whether Rollins can do what Reigns could ever quite, that in will say a lot about how the reception perceives "the architect. "The WWE apparently wanted to put the belt on Reigns for years, but it was always cold at the last minute, until it finally beat Brock last year. Slam summer and quickly reunited the shield to make sure the fans would cheer him up. If Rollins manages to win a relatively decisive victory, he will succeed where Reigns was never able to: win the trust of the WWE front office. The fight may be wrong, but it's real.
Will he really win? Chances are in his favor, but with Lesnar everything is possible.
Winner: Brock Lesnar
He reportedly reported $ 12 million last year. He fought eight times.
Will he really win? With this money, who cares?
Winner: Kofi Kingston
Let's get right to the point – Kofi Kingston does not need that push. As a third of New Day, he's already one of the biggest stars in the world and, as Paul Heyman pointed out, every time fans fuss about New Day separating, there was a obvious answer: they did it too. a lot of money to mess with a good thing. But as with all the good things in professional wrestling, fate sometimes comes into play. And a number as popular as New Day is the professional wrestling version of a room filled with gasoline: they give you the vertigo of joy, but if you get too close to a match, they will explode. The elimination chamber was the match.
Mustafa Ali (who has just been replaced by "Ali") was injured before the February 6 opponent's February game, leaving an open spot occupied by Kingston and something incredible (but ultimately pretty obvious) happened: Kofi became the favorite of the match's fans. He was an outsider because of his lack of inclusion in the original lineup. The WWE saw the wave come and let it win at the old – a performance of an hour and more in a tough match in front of the room, an almost heroic victory in the room. elimination and another in another glove game last month to win his way into WrestleMania. (He failed, but his New Day partners have earned him the place next week.) Vince McMahon has rallied to make sure that the narrative of corporate antagonism at the time of the day is not a problem. Kingston was clear and heel champion Daniel Bryan was a volunteer. spoke of his own rise to the top five years ago to make sure everyone in the bottom row understood the issue. Eleven years of play for the WWE, and four and a half years to become the third of the most popular group of the WWE, Kofi is your Next Big Thing, it is your feeling of oppressed, he is an A + player.
Will he really win? One of those challengers facing a baby must be short on Sunday, but this is really Kofi's moment, especially given the parallel they had with Bryan's past tale. I imagine they will give him a win on Sunday and a chance to revel in it, then bring him back through shenanigans keep the hunt alive.
Winner: The Miz
Miz started as a reality TV star who wanted to be a professional wrestler like Rock. When he arrived at the WWE (surprisingly enough), he was always considered a guy acting like Rock. He had a run as a WWE Champion and got the title WrestleMania 27 In front of John Cena, who got help from Rock, but since then, he has been playing in entertaining but largely non-vital settings. Two years ago, while his wife Maryse was returning to the screen, the Miz became the evil, the bad, to see absolutely. His relationship with Daniel Bryan is an infinitely renewable resource, allowing him to stay at the top of the rankings. His current identity as a baby's face – a feat that few people might think possible – positioned against the irritating Crown Prince Shane McMahon only reinforces his rise. Miz manages to share the WrestleMania ring with the owner's son, play the hero and install him in his entirety. Now, it's a victory.
Will he really win? That match is Falls Count Anywhere, and Shane has a long history of jumping in big games, so there's definitely an argument for the boss. But Miz defied our expectations of him so dramatically that I would not be surprised to see him doing a WrestleMania dive on his own on Sunday.
Winner: Batista
Or Dave Bautista, if you prefer his name in IMDb format. I must be honest: when Big Dave left WWE for Hollywood in 2010, it was like crazy. John Cena could not even align his films at that time. Despite his guilty pleasure status and his chiselled physique, no one would confuse Batista with Dwayne Johnson. But Batista cleverly avoided these comparisons in Hollywood, stating at the Tampa Bay Times: "I want good roles. I'm mad Fast and furious or bumblebee. … This is not the kind of celebrity I want. … I want to be in dune. I want to work with Denis Villeneuve. I want to work with Sam Mendes and Jodie Foster. I want to work with the Oscar winners. I am proud to be a character actor. I want this respect, this credibility and this education.
Even though he was last seen (at the WWE) being booed for attempting to divert Bryan WrestleMania Five years ago, it was perhaps not surprising that this new author produced two of the best segments of recent memory, one in which he plunged like an evil Batman to attack the backstage of Ric Flair and pronounce a combined total of 12 words.
In the same way that Kingston got the kind of fan-fan response normally reserved for indie darlings, Batista has turned from a mid-range star into an icon by exploiting both the powers of economy and irony. And it's a living lesson of "Less is more" – a concept normally untenable in a promotion with 10-15 hours a week of programming. He will face his former running friend, Triple H, on Sunday, and honestly, the less we say, the better. It's a legendary match between two guys who found second acts extremely different but equally successful. And frankly, Batista does not have much to fear.
Will he really win? Since Triple H's wrestling career is at stake, I doubt it. Hollywood stars do not normally return to WWE to tarnish their resumes – but again, Batista is not a hero of the action that comes to save the world. It's a character actor, and sometimes they take the fall for the sake of history.
Winner: Ricochet and Aleister Black
These two people were called from NXT to the main lineup in a confused crisis ofWrestleMania stung, but they immediately showed that they were built for the big time – Ricochet is a ready-made megastar, like AJ Styles before him, who immediately communicated with the crowds with his literally incredible arsenal of acrobatic maneuvers, and Black is a substitute all prepared for Undertaker, who seems to be too busy making diet plans on Instagram to make his annual report WrestleMania appearance. It's an unlikely team, but their union has allowed them to avoid the normal awkwardness of introducing new wrestlers. Why spend time with the background when they can start kicking?
Will they really win? I think that they have a shot. They are fighting over the rights of Usos Smack down The tag belts in a case of four teams that did not have a lot of build, so the flaw in these low-stakes situations is that the champions are keeping. But Ricochet and Black are already insinuated in the main formation and the beginning of a feud with Usos will only strengthen their position.
Winner: Bayley and Sasha Banks
They created the women's team belt and found their raison d'être in their promising but winding career arcs. Sasha seemed to be a sure thing when she appeared on the main list, and she was up to it, participating in some of the most prestigious games in WWE history. And Bayley – the fourth rider in a development team that also counted Banks, Lynch and Flair – had a comforting sea of heads. But both were set aside following Rousey's ascent and Lynch's explosion. Despite WWE's commitment to telling multiple stories from women's side, they never seemed to find the time to Gross Fans care about these two as they did when they were on NXT. Now, with the belts around the waist, they live the story, even if the main event eclipses them.
Will they really win? Sure. Their toughest competition on Sunday is anyway half-retired.
Winner: Roman Reigns
We will see what happens when he is relocated to the main event. But as it stands now, this guy has conquered cancer and finally conquered the heart of an ocean of fight fans hardened by irony. His match against Drew McIntyre at Mania It will be fun, but it's hard not to see it as a problem. He's a winner, period.
Will he really win? Probably, but it does not matter.
Here are some other winners of the night, provided that my pink glasses are polished: Charlottebecause it is inscribed in the main event and is engraved in stone – and (although this is a tail of the scenario) because of its indispensability for the new era of the female fight. AJ Styles and Randy Orton, which could well steal the show on Sunday with a veteran spotfest. Usos, who has has strengthened its reputation as one of the best tag teams in the industry – in an area where team wrestling is developing primarily around the WWE – and has signed two new contracts to prove it. Samoa Joe is the best wrestler in the WWE and this Sunday he will finally have his place on the biggest stage after two missing years. WrestleMania. Kurt Angle will come out in style, even if it seems a little anticlimatic. Braun Strowman manages to maltreat the hosts of SNL"Weekend Update" (yes, really), which is a great honor if you just go for it.
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