{"id":11970,"date":"2019-04-04T19:43:41","date_gmt":"2019-04-04T18:43:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/?p=11970"},"modified":"2019-04-04T21:07:15","modified_gmt":"2019-04-04T20:07:15","slug":"wrestlemania-what-happens-afterwards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/2019\/04\/04\/wrestlemania-what-happens-afterwards\/","title":{"rendered":"Wrestlemania and Beyond – What happens next?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The\nUniversal Title Picture<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Are we about to see the dawn of an era\nwhich sees the Universal Championship back on TV on a regular basis? It\u2019s hard\nnot to get caught up in the debate about what\u2019s really going to happen when\nBrock Lesnar defends the Universal Championship against Seth Rollins at\nWrestlemania but one thing I do know for sure, is the way that title is treated\nneeds to change. In an ideal world, Lesnar will drop the title and take some\ntime away, leaving Rollins to be the hero of the day and restore the young\ntitle to it\u2019s formal glory. In reality, I don\u2019t think this will happen,\nalthough part of me wonders if Lesnar may emerge victorious on the grandest\nstage of them all but come up short against Rollins or possibly someone new on\nthe Raw after. Can Brock Lesnar make Seth Rollins look like a believable and\nworthy champion? Can Rollins keep his emotions in check and pull of the\nperformance of his life? I guess we\u2019ll find out on Sunday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tag\nTeams<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another topic of ongoing discussion is the\nongoing state of the tag team division across both brands. WWE have a tendency\nto throw superstars together who aren\u2019t functioning well in singles competition\nor those they\u2019ve run out of ideas for. This leads to none organic teams, trying\nto learn how to work together. Every now and then it works, eg, Sheamus and\nCesaro but Roode and Gable, didn\u2019t do a lot for me. Even the women\u2019s tag team\nchampionship picture is pretty bleak going forward. The only legitimate team\nhas been the IIconics and I am praying they walk out of Wrestlemania with the gold.\nAll brands have the fundamentals of great tag team divisions but they need to\nnot throw people together and expect it to stick. They need to spend more time\nhoning the teams that already exist, giving them consistent exposure,\nbelievable storylines and smart booking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Multi\nBrand Performers<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ve already started to see some movement\nof performers across brands. The Raw women\u2019s championship picture has allowed\nBecky Lynch and Charlotte to move around, the women\u2019s tag team titles have seen\nBayley and Sasha Banks show up on NXT, even the Kurt Angle stroryline has seen\nAJ Styles pop up on Raw. Not mention the thrilling success of Aleister Black\nand Ricochet on Raw and Smackdown. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is something I think we should expect\nto continue and grow post Wrestlemania. It not only creates brand and performer\nfluidity but it also cements NXT as the WWE\u2019s third brand, whilst still\nmaintaining it\u2019s development vibe. Going forward I feel it will give the NXT\nsuperstars who are perhaps almost ready to take the next step, a chance to test\nthe waters, giving them a clear indication of whether or not a move away from\nNXT is right for them. I wouldn\u2019t be surprised if those ready to make the jump\nfrom NXT are told it\u2019s on the premise they will compete across multiple brands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moving superstars across different brands\nwill hopefully avoid any stagnation. If someone has exhausted all avenues on\nSmackdown, there\u2019s further potential on Raw and vice versa. This is\nparticularly important to the RAW and Smackdown mid-card wrestlers, who at\ntimes can stagnate and never break through as intended or desired. How many\ntimes have we pondered if Finn Balor would have been utilised better if he\u2019s\nbeen moved the Smackdown? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It will also allow titles to be represented\nacross all brands. Could it perhaps lead to a unification of titles, especially\nas WWE\u2019s future television deal looms? Who knows? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rhonda\nRousey needs to take a pin<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now bear with me, because as you know, I\u2019m not a massive fan of Rousey\u2019s character but I\u2019m starting to turn a corner. I truly believe she will not be the one who takes the pin or taps out at Wrestlemania, although I do believe she will lose the Raw women\u2019s championship. The build up for the main event of Wrestlemania has been really special. It\u2019s had so many twists and turns, my head has been spinning. But it\u2019s been emotional, fun and engaging and all three women have contributed to that. I truly think that in order to further Ronda Rousey\u2019s character development, at some point, she is going to have to lose. Clean! It won\u2019t hurt her, in fact, it\u2019ll make her less invincible and perhaps more relateable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recognize\nsooner when something isn\u2019t working<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

WWE have a tendency to hold onto a gimmick longer than they really should. The way Braun Strowman\u2019s character has been handled over the last 18 months, has at times been laughable. Bray Wyatt was another example of a gimmick that simply didn\u2019t work for me and for a lot of others. And sometimes I think this is to do with the translation of characters from NXT to the main roster and something that can be fixed with the brand fluidity discussed earlier. I appreciate it isn\u2019t an exact science knowing if a character or gimmick is going to work but going forward, I think WWE need to be more receptive and act quicker when something isn\u2019t working.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\ncontinued momentum of the women\u2019s division<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This Wrestlemania is going to be amazing\nand having the women main event is absolutely historic. The women will\nundoubtedly want to fight for their position as the top draw at all future\nevents and I expect an emergence of other strong characters emerging form the\nwomen\u2019s pack, who not only want to be up there with Charlotte, Becky and Ronda,\nbut to surpass them. The division is going to get even more competitive and I\nwould imagine it won\u2019t be long before the ones who are dialing it in (see my\nrecent tweet re the current women\u2019s tag team championship holders) either have\na rocket up their assess to sharpen up or the pack will be thinned for some of\nthe hungry and talented ladies waiting in the NXT and NXT UK.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

New\nstories. New blood<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wrestlemania has always closed the book on\nrecent storylines and fans head into the Raw after Mania hungry for something\nnew. I don\u2019t know what will happen going forward. I\u2019m expecting a retuning Sami\nZayn to appear on Raw next week. I imagine Lars Sullivan will make an\nappearance too. Who is going to be the next break out star? Isn\u2019t it so much\nfun to speculate? It\u2019s my absolute most favorite part of being a WWE fan. I\nexpect a big year for Drew McIntyre, EC3, Bobby Roode and Ricochet. Lacey\nEvans, I\u2019m sure will do something dazzling very soon and perhaps another of the\nNXT ladies will make an appearance soon. Look out for some of the talent in NXT\nUK, as some of those folks are ready to make a permanent jump to the US scene,\nespecially Pete Dunne, Moustache Mountain, Rhea Ripley and perhaps Toni Storm. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Happy new year to all WWE fans and enjoy\nWrestlemania!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My Wrestlemania 35 Predictions <\/u><\/p>\n\n\n\n

My Wrestlemania 35 Predictions <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Raw Women\u2019s Championship Match \u2013 Winner Takes All. Ronda Rousey (c) v Charlotte v Becky Lynch. Winner: Becky Lynch<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WWE Championship Match. Danie Bryan (c) v Kofi Kingston. Winner: Kofi\nKingston<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Women\u2019s Tag Team Championship Match. Boss n Hug Connection (c) v Tamina &\nNia Jax v The IIconics v Natalya & Beth Phoenix. Winner: Nia Jax and Tamina<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Andre The Giant Men\u2019s Battle Royal. Winner:\nAli<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Women\u2019s Battle Royal. Winner: Lacey Evans<\/p>\n\n\n\n

AJ Styles v Randy Orton. Winner: AJ Styles<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Miz v Shane McMahon \u2013 Falls Count\nAnywhere. Winner: Shane McMahon<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Roman Reigns v Drew McIntyre. Winner: Drew\nMcIntyre<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Baron Corbin v Kurt Angle. Winner: Baron Corbin<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Universal Championship Match. Brock Lesnar (c) v Seth Rollins. Winner: Brock Lesnar<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cruiserweight Championship Match. Buddy Murphy (c) v Tony Nese. Winner: Buddy Murphy<\/p>\n\n\n\n

United States Championship Match. Samoa Joe (c) v Rey Mysterio. Winner: Samoa Joe<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Intercontinental Championship Match. Bobby Lashley (c) v Demon Finn Balor. Winner: Finn Balor<\/p>\n\n\n\n

HHH v Batista \u2013 HHH\u2019s career on the line and No Holds Barred. Winner: HHH<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Smackdown Tag Team Championship Match. The Uso\u2019s (c) v Ricochet & Aleister Black v The Bar v Rusev & Nakamura. Winner: The Uso\u2019s<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Raw Tag Team Championship \u2013 (Rumour) The Revival v Hawkins & Ryder. Winner: Hawkins & Ryder<\/p>\n\n\n\n

John Cena to make an appearance to some\npoint. Possibly to squash Elias or make fun of Alexa Bliss. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Universal Title Picture Are we about to see the dawn of an era which sees the Universal Championship back on TV on a regular basis? It\u2019s hard not to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":11972,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[2,228,960,185],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11970","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-featured","category-wrestlemania","category-wrestlemania-week","category-wwe"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9jnWd-374","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Raw-Smackdown-Logos-WWE.jpg?fit=1280%2C720&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11970","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11970"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11970\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11974,"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11970\/revisions\/11974"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11972"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11970"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11970"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11970"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}