LIVE WrestleMania 34 thoughts - April 8, 2018

12:03 - Wow, I gotta say I'm surprised.  I'm overall pleased, because I thought they went a little overboard with the Roman overcoming everything story.

But honestly, Lesnar HAS to lose the title, though.  The year long reign where he barely appeared wasn't all that enjoyable, in my view.  So who takes it from him?

11:45 - So this is the first WrestleMania that is main evented with the Universal Championship.  Kinda monumental, I guess.  This is also Reigns' fourth WrestleMania main event in a row.....has anybody done that since Hogan?

11:42 -  Modified gear for Reigns (new top).  Looks kinda cool.  Obviously, I'm guessing Reigns wins this one.

11:34 - They literally could have done that same exact angle with Ellsworth but it would have called back to their history and the audience would have probably been more invested.

11:26 - Do they know it's 11:30 pm?  And they have this guy spending 5 minutes walking the arena?  I don't know if there's still a surprise coming, but this seems like a lame payoff.

11:21 - My prediction for Braun's partner is, I don't know, James Ellsworth?  Rey Mysterio is also a popular suspicion.  I'm betting guessing Braun takes home the titles.

11:19 - Those are bad ass jackets that the Bar has on there.

11:15 - A really good match, although I'm not 100% sure it met my (admittedly very high) expectations.  I'm disappointed Nakamura didn't win, BUT I did love the post match beat down.  I think a heel turn could be a very good thing for Nakamura (which will ultimately lead him to the WWE Championship), although I do find some level of irony hat they will turn an already very popular Nakamura heel as they refuse to do anything with Reigns.

10:47 - Anyone else catch them referring to AJ Styles as the Universal Champion?

10:44 - Very cool entrance for Nakamura.  Any time there's a live performance of his music, it sounds so cool.

10:39 - I do hope these two get a nice amount of time.  Also, call me old fashioned, but the fact that this match is so late in the night does make it feel more prestigious.  If I were a betting man, I'd bet on AJ.  But I want Nakamura to win, so I'm going to go with him.

At the very least, here's hoping we get that big, breakout performance from Nakamura that we've been waiting for.

10:36 - Bravo to Alexa Bliss who took some nasty looking bumps.  I don't know why they insist upon making big monsters cry, though.

10:27 - How tiny is Mickie James if she wears giant heels and is still barely taller than Alexa Bliss?

10:22 - Love that both Women's Champions made elaborate entrances -- that doesn't typically happen.  I've got Nia winning this one, but Alexa is my favorite woman on the roster so I'd be happy if she retains.

10:15 - They only debuted this clip from "Fighting With My Family" two days ago and I've seen it no less than 38 times.  I will personally finance for them to cut a second video if they insist on showing it so often.

And that intro from Paige could not be more awkward.  Again, why not edit it so there's not an awkward 5 seconds of silence before she starts speaking?

10:12 - They painted themselves in a corner with that stipulation, but they ultimately went with the right winners.  Enjoyable match, but it's still somewhat uncomfortable watching Bryan doing some of those risky and high impact moves.  Then again, I went through the same thing when HBK first returned.

10:09 - So it seems clear that Daniel Bryan isn't slowing down at all.....

10:01 - So wait, does Bryan re-emerge in the new blue gear?  Or is that too subtle of a message that he's a new man?  I remember people thought Angle would do something similar (when he returned in the Shield gear and was removed from the match) and that didn't end up happening.

9:53 - I liked the "Yes Movement" video to kick off Bryan's entrance.  Also, Bryan went with the black/maroon trunks, but oddly went with a blue t-shirt.....

9:45 - My prediction:  Bryan wears his blue ring gear and he and Shane win.  Owens and Zayn either go to Raw or there's some hijinx that gets them rehired.

9:33 - Cena has got to be the most selfless top guy in the history of wrestling -- and I think that does include Rock.  Dude just got completely squashed -- did he even get in more than one move?

9:31 - They replaced the Smackdown referee with a Raw one.....

9:25 - That was a really well done and fun introduction to this match.  The assumption that it's going to happen from Cena, the tease with the lights going off and Elias showing up.  The appearance that things won't happen after the Elias segment completed, and then the bit with the hat and gloves in the ring appearing and then disappearing.  Fun stuff.

Let's hope this match is better than the Reigns one was last year.  I have Undertaker winning this one (but kinda want Cena to win).

9:16 - At least it appears to be a Smackdown referee.

9:15 - It frustrates me that this is being pushed as a Raw match since neither guy is affiliated with a brand.

9:11 - Not shocked to see the Bludgeon Brothers win here.  I'm atualy a little surprised they didn't just go for a pure squash when they eliminated everybody and the Uso was still just lying in the ring from the Trouble in Paradise.

9:01 - Fun entrance and new gear for the New Day.  But yeah, really not feeling these Snapchat filter-esque WrestleMania entrances.

Smart money is on the Bludgeon Brothers winning here, but I'm going to go with the Usos as I expect to see the remaining titles to change.

8:56 - That match was a lot of fun, actually!  I thought Angle and Ronda BOTH exceeded expectations.  Awesome intensity from Ronda -- who has struggled to show that intensity in her promos and segments.  Fun stuff.

8:29 - Triple H and Stephanie's entrance has gotta diminish the possibility that the Undertaker returns as the American Badass, right?

This is going to be an interesting match, if only because it's very unclear whether or not both Kurt and Ronda can really perform to a great level.  Who carries the match, the men or the women?

8:23 - Surprised to see this match so early in the show.  I'm guessing that Roman/Lesnar DOES end the show, then.

I'm guessing Rousey and Angle win this.  I performed well with my predictions during the pre-show, but haven't been right since!

8:18 - So they had the guy people least wanted to see win get the victory by pinning the person that most people wanted to see win.  That's one way to do it, I guess.  Rusev should've won this one.

8:05 - My heart wants Rusev to win, I suspect Orton will win, I fear Mahal will win.  I'm going with my heart -- let's see Rusev win this!

8:04 - Did Aiden English get a haircut since the battle royal?

7:58 - I really don't mind Asuka losing -- it had to happen SOMETIME, and why not to an established person at a huge stage? -- but it came sorta out of no where.  Did Charlotte even work the knee?  There really wasn't much drama....I never thought Asuka was going to tap, because they never built up to it.  Therefore, the moment was more shocking than impactful.

7:57 - Wow.....  Legitimately shocked.....

7:51 - Very cool spot with the moonsault into the choke hold.  Also, that suplex onto the outside spot would have looked a lot more impactful if we hadn't seen the same move last night.  While NXT tends to have stronger overall performances, they should refrain from using actual big moves that will appear on a bigger show.

7:41 - I'm not really loving these CGI enhancements to people's entrances (we've now seen it for Asuka and Miz).  It feels a little hokey.  Also, I'm disappointed they didn't do the mask montage for Asuka's entrance.  Her entrance felt rushed.

7:39 - Really, really, really liked Charlotte's entrance -- with the preamble referencing her father's theme and the whole queen motif, before leading into her standard entrance.  She feels like a big deal here.

7:33 - Surprised to see this match on so early in the night, especially after a title change.  I am going with the obvious pick here -- Asuka wins the title.  I don't think we'll see a successful cash in, but it may be teased.

Actually, I wouldn't be shocked to see Carmella attempt to cash in for this match, fail to cash in at all, and then successfully cash in against Bliss later in the night.

7:29 - Well, I was wrong about Balor winning but right about Miz losing.  And hey, now all three members of the Shield are Grand Slam Champions!

7:20 - I see a lot of people on Twitter predicting a Miz win.  I feel like they need to get the title off of him so that he can take a little time off and (more importantly) so they can move him to Smackdown to finally pay off the multiyear Daniel Bryan feud.  Plus, they typically go with a babyface win in the opening match.

7:12 - I guess not -- but still a nice message.

7:09 - Cool contacts for Rollins.  At least unique.  I like Miz's entrance too, actually. I like anything that feels special.

PS - If Balor is coming out last, we're seeing the Demon....

7:07 - Looks like I'm wrong an that the Intercontinental Championship match will kick off the show.  I have Balor winning this.  The question is -- do we see the Demon?

7:06 - That was an unusual opening video as it didn't really have anything to do with wrestling or any of the matches happening.  I will say this, though:  I'm glad that they seem to be over their whole "anti Hogan" stance, because he appeared in three separate major moments -- more than anybody else in that video.

6:47 - Alright, I'm now 2/3 on my predictions.  I did like the swerve where Bayley turned on Sasha instead of the other way around, but they need to crap or get off the pot with these two.  One needs to go heel (it should be Sasha, although Bayley was obviously heelish in her actions tonight) and they need to have a proper feud.

6:37 - I'm guessing they mistimed that commercial and that it was supposed to play during the 17 woman entrance and not cut off Sasha's individual entrance.

Also, is there anything more stereotypically female than a group of women singling out one person and completely ganging up on them.

6:32 - I totally get the time constraints and why they can't do 20 televised entrances, but the decision to air Lynch's individual entrance, and then having about 15 people walk out to generic music, and then have Bayley and Sasha each make individual entrances was an odd decision.  Totally get why you need to do it -- maybe just don't air it.

6:29 - This is somewhat tough to call.  I think I'm going with Sasha Banks winning.  Next pick would be Bayley or Becky.

6:19 - And that's two for two!  Fun, energetic match that highlighted the skills of these Cruiserweights.  I also liked the ongoing story of it being 205 Live's heart and soul against each other.

6:06 - Very cool ring gear for Mustafa Ali.

It also occurs to me that the Superdome may not be open (I can't quite tell), so I may be off about all those comments I made about certain matches having to happen when it gets dark.

6:04 - That Sam Roberts segment was very uncomfortable.  I have Cedric Alexander winning this one.

5:56 - So that's one correct prediction!  I like the swerve with Wyatt, although the delayed announcement that Hardy won made it a bit uncomfortable.  Also, they need to start giving Cena a heads up when the camera is on him.  His "authentic" reactions are always delayed.

5:45 - Gotta admit, I loved the Ryder/Ziggler/Mojo sequence.  It just played off of so much history -- the ongoing WrestleMania match story between Ryder and Ziggler, and then the ongoing feud between Ryder and Mojo.  Ryder goes for a big move against Ziggler, but is blindsided by Mojo and eliminated as a result.  And visually, it looked pretty cool.

5:43 - Speaking of which, the lack of seeing any entrances really makes it difficult to get invested in this.  I feel like I barely know who is in there and nobody feels particularly important.

5:39 - It looks like Ascension has some new green gear.  I like Goldust's Dusty dots attire as well.  Twitter indicates that Ryder has a cool cape for his entrance.....which wasn't televised.

5:37 - Alright, we're getting things started with the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal.  My money is on Matt Hardy, for what it's worth.

5:23 - For what it's worth, I'm guessing the US title match opens the show.  I'm thinking we MAY see a Demon appearance, which means the IC title needs to wait until it's dark out as well.

5:20 - I REALLY hope that AJ/Nakamura doesn't open up the show.  I understand that a lot of people want this match to go on early so that the fans aren't burnt, but I still think having the title match that fans already view as the "less important" match open the show sends a very negative message.  Plus, I think they can have a lot of fun with Nakamura's entrance when it's dark out.

5:10 - People on Twitter are noting that Cena is, in fact, sitting in the audience as a fan.  Very cool touch.  Hopefully he's dressed in street clothes and not his wrestling gear (which is basically street clothes, I know....) as well.

5:05 - If anybody has been watching the videos on WWE.com, Bryan is teasing some potential new ring gear for tonight.  He said he had two pieces of gear made -- one for the classic Bryan (black and maroon) -- and one that honors the Seahawks (blue and green).  I predict he goes with the blue gear, as it's a new beginning and it goes with the whole Smackdown thing.

5:01 - Has that WrestleMania logo always had a green swoosh WWE logo?  How have I never noticed that?

4:56 - We are minutes away from the WrestleMania pre-show.  Check back for my live thoughts of the big show, which I will keep updating for as long as I can before retreating to my bed.