Lesnar vs Reigns Announced for Wrestlemania, Rousey set to return tonight

[cero2k]

Source: f4wonline.com

-- Ronda Rousey will appear on Raw this week to continue the storyline between herself, Kurt Angle, and the Authority that began tonight.

Stephanie McMahon confirmed on Raw Talk after the Elimination Chamber that Rousey will appear live tomorrow. She said that she hopes to air things out between all parties following what went down tonight, and assured everyone that everything would be just fine.

During the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view, Rousey came out to sign her contract. It went along pretty well until Angle mentioned to Rousey that Triple H told him backstage that this had been in the making for three years and now they “owned the b****”." Triple H tried to get Angle out of the ring, with Stephanie mentioning that he had the flu and was out of it, but before he could make his exit, Angle said Stephanie had badmouthed Rousey as well, saying that she was washed up and even she could take her.

This led to a confrontation between Rousey and Stephanie. Triple H tried to intervene, but Rousey put him through the contract table. Stephanie slapped Rousey, but bolted before Rousey could do anything. She then signed the contract, slamming it on Triple H's chest.

-- What had been expected for nearly a year became official tonight as Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns was announced for WrestleMania 34.

Reigns defeated Braun Strowman, Seth Rollins, Finn Balor, John Cena, Elias, and The Miz in tonight's Elimination Chamber main event and will challenge for Lesnar's Universal Championship in New Orleans. Though Reigns won the Elimination Chamber, the show ended with Strowman standing tall after a post-match attack on him.

Reigns and Strowman were the final two in the match, with Reigns putting him down with two spears. Strowman eliminated the other five wrestlers before it came down to him and Reigns.

Dave Meltzer first reported last March that WWE was planning on doing Lesnar vs. Reigns for the Universal title as the main event for WrestleMania 34.

There will be a face-to-face segment with Lesnar and Reigns on Raw this week. They previously faced each other in the main event of WrestleMania 31, which ended with Seth Rollins cashing in his Money in the Bank briefcase and winning the WWE Championship. If Lesnar vs. Reigns goes on last this year, it will be the fourth straight WrestleMania that Reigns has headlined.

WrestleMania 34 will take place at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans on April 8th. Shinsuke Nakamura challenging for the WWE Championship, Asuka challenging for either the Raw or SmackDown Women's Championship, and the finals of the Cruiserweight title tournament are also set for the show.

[KILLdozer]

All garbage, except Asuka vs whoever and Nakamura vs Styles.

[XIV]

All garbage, except Asuka vs whoever and Nakamura vs Styles.

Asuka vs Bliss mate...

but I agree that Nakamura vs Styles and seeing how they play out Asuka vs Bliss is the only reason to watch Wrestlemania right now.

The thought of Rousey and Angle vs Triple H and Stephanie isn't exactly drawing me to the show right now either.

[Big Red Machine]

The thought of Rousey and Angle vs Triple H and Stephanie isn't exactly drawing me to the show right now either.

Same here. Nothing against Ronda, but WWE is overstuffed with badass women who should only lose very rarely (her, Baszler, Asuka) and there isn't room for all of them. Throw in Stephanie and part-timer vs. part-timer factor of Hunter vs. Kurt, and the only thing that could make me want to watch this match less is if Kurt winds up being replaced by Dwayne.

[cero2k]

Asuka vs Bliss mate...

but I agree that Nakamura vs Styles and seeing how they play out Asuka vs Bliss is the only reason to watch Wrestlemania right now.

The thought of Rousey and Angle vs Triple H and Stephanie isn't exactly drawing me to the show right now either.

i really don't see Asuka vs Bliss. As of last night, it's either Asuka vs Charlotte (hence Asuka not making her announcement and waiting til after Fastlane) OR Asuka vs Nia vs Bliss, with Nia pinning Bliss and Asuka staying "WWE-style undefeated". Regardless of what Asuka does, Jax vs Bliss is definitely a thing

[Big Red Machine]

Asuka vs Bliss mate...

but I agree that Nakamura vs Styles and seeing how they play out Asuka vs Bliss is the only reason to watch Wrestlemania right now.

The thought of Rousey and Angle vs Triple H and Stephanie isn't exactly drawing me to the show right now either.

i really don't see Asuka vs Bliss. As of last night, it's either Asuka vs Charlotte (hence Asuka not making her announcement and waiting til after Fastlane) OR Asuka vs Nia vs Bliss, with Nia pinning Bliss and Asuka staying "WWE-style undefeated". Regardless of what Asuka does, Jax vs Bliss is definitely a thing

WWE-Style undefeated? Dude. That's a TNA thing, going all the way back to Christian being built up as undefeated for years after his debut, even though he had lost the world title twice. Then also did it more recently with EC III and there were others in between (Joe, Crimson etc.) I honestly don't ever recall WWE doing that.

[XIV]

The thought of Rousey and Angle vs Triple H and Stephanie isn't exactly drawing me to the show right now either.

Same here. Nothing against Ronda, but WWE is overstuffed with badass women who should only lose very rarely (her, Baszler, Asuka) and there isn't room for all of them. Throw in Stephanie and part-timer vs. part-timer factor of Hunter vs. Kurt, and the only thing that could make me want to watch this match less is if Kurt winds up being replaced by Dwayne.

That is the problem they've created. Too many badass women. It's a good problem to have, but a problem nonetheless.

For me Ronda's first match should've been 1 v 1 against somebody who could carry her if necessary (I don't know how much Ronda has trained or how good she is as all she's done is a judo throw). Where is the benefit in having what will be a relatively short match where Ronda no doubt pins Stephanie. In theory, any female on the roster should be able to beat Stephanie. This match does nothing to build Ronda at all. It does nothing for anyone involved and sadly the highlight of this match will probably be whatever entrance Triple H has, because they're usually awesome.

[Big Red Machine]

The thought of Rousey and Angle vs Triple H and Stephanie isn't exactly drawing me to the show right now either.

Same here. Nothing against Ronda, but WWE is overstuffed with badass women who should only lose very rarely (her, Baszler, Asuka) and there isn't room for all of them. Throw in Stephanie and part-timer vs. part-timer factor of Hunter vs. Kurt, and the only thing that could make me want to watch this match less is if Kurt winds up being replaced by Dwayne.

That is the problem they've created. Too many badass women. It's a good problem to have, but a problem nonetheless.

For me Ronda's first match should've been 1 v 1 against somebody who could carry her if necessary (I don't know how much Ronda has trained or how good she is as all she's done is a judo throw). Where is the benefit in having what will be a relatively short match where Ronda no doubt pins Stephanie. In theory, any female on the roster should be able to beat Stephanie. This match does nothing to build Ronda at all. It does nothing for anyone involved and sadly the highlight of this match will probably be whatever entrance Triple H has, because they're usually awesome.

It's a good problem to have if you're competent. They're not. As you've noted, we have no idea how Ronda actually is in the ring, and her being rushed up to the main roster exacerbates this. Asuka has already beaten everyone worth beating on Raw, and Smackdown only has four big match-ups for her (Charlotte, Becky, Ruby, and Nattie- MAYBE you could get one more from a WWE mark perspective with Naomi and Tamina, but it won't feel as big). Asuka vs. Ronda seems obvious, but there is no way they'll do that anywhere but Mania, so they're left with Asuka running through the paper-thin Smackdown women's division while Ronda is on Raw, where we literally just did the undefeated babyface badass gimmick. Even worse, they'll have Ronda trying to play Steve Austin but with no strong heels for Steph to throw at her other than arguably Nia, who just lost to undefeated babyface badass Asuka. The only other possibility would be Sasha as Rock to Steph's Vince, but we all know Steph won't let another heel have the spotlight, so Corporate Sasha will be portrayed as a lackey at best.
Now factor in that the only really over people in the SD women's division at this point are Cross, Ember, Kairi, and Baszler- who is a heel better Ronda, and if you take any one of them away to ehlp the main roster, that division is right back into wheel-spinning mode. (That being said, I could maybe see Baszler as the corporate enforcer, but Ronda vs. Baszler also feels like the kind of thing they'd save for Mania, which is over a year away.)

[XIV]

Same here. Nothing against Ronda, but WWE is overstuffed with badass women who should only lose very rarely (her, Baszler, Asuka) and there isn't room for all of them. Throw in Stephanie and part-timer vs. part-timer factor of Hunter vs. Kurt, and the only thing that could make me want to watch this match less is if Kurt winds up being replaced by Dwayne.

That is the problem they've created. Too many badass women. It's a good problem to have, but a problem nonetheless.

For me Ronda's first match should've been 1 v 1 against somebody who could carry her if necessary (I don't know how much Ronda has trained or how good she is as all she's done is a judo throw). Where is the benefit in having what will be a relatively short match where Ronda no doubt pins Stephanie. In theory, any female on the roster should be able to beat Stephanie. This match does nothing to build Ronda at all. It does nothing for anyone involved and sadly the highlight of this match will probably be whatever entrance Triple H has, because they're usually awesome.

It's a good problem to have if you're competent. They're not. As you've noted, we have no idea how Ronda actually is in the ring, and her being rushed up to the main roster exacerbates this. Asuka has already beaten everyone worth beating on Raw, and Smackdown only has four big match-ups for her (Charlotte, Becky, Ruby, and Nattie- MAYBE you could get one more from a WWE mark perspective with Naomi and Tamina, but it won't feel as big). Asuka vs. Ronda seems obvious, but there is no way they'll do that anywhere but Mania, so they're left with Asuka running through the paper-thin Smackdown women's division while Ronda is on Raw, where we literally just did the undefeated babyface badass gimmick. Even worse, they'll have Ronda trying to play Steve Austin but with no strong heels for Steph to throw at her other than arguably Nia, who just lost to undefeated babyface badass Asuka. The only other possibility would be Sasha as Rock to Steph's Vince, but we all know Steph won't let another heel have the spotlight, so Corporate Sasha will be portrayed as a lackey at best.
Now factor in that the only really over people in the SD women's division at this point are Cross, Ember, Kairi, and Baszler- who is a heel better Ronda, and if you take any one of them away to ehlp the main roster, that division is right back into wheel-spinning mode. (That being said, I could maybe see Baszler as the corporate enforcer, but Ronda vs. Baszler also feels like the kind of thing they'd save for Mania, which is over a year away.)

Ronda vs Baszler or Ronda vs Asuka at WM 2019 would be a good shout. An amazing long term plan would be to have Asuka win the title at this year's WM and hold it for a full year until the next WM... in that time you build Ronda and have her win next year's Rumble. (Yes, it's an obvious win, but it is believeable) leading to what could be a huge match up.

However... I don't feel we'll get that.

But Ronda would have been good to start against somebody like Nattie Neidhart or Mickie James. Someone who could carry her if needs be, but also could legitimately work it into a decent story with Ronda giving it the "you're a veteran, one of the best of all time, I'm here to show I'm better" sort of storyline. It would also be a good storyline into the business PLUS you know Nattie and Mickie would do the job with no questions asked. While you could argue it's not "big". It's better than having her feud with a female authority figure who hasn't had a proper match in years.

[KILLdozer]

That is the problem they've created. Too many badass women. It's a good problem to have, but a problem nonetheless.

For me Ronda's first match should've been 1 v 1 against somebody who could carry her if necessary (I don't know how much Ronda has trained or how good she is as all she's done is a judo throw). Where is the benefit in having what will be a relatively short match where Ronda no doubt pins Stephanie. In theory, any female on the roster should be able to beat Stephanie. This match does nothing to build Ronda at all. It does nothing for anyone involved and sadly the highlight of this match will probably be whatever entrance Triple H has, because they're usually awesome.

It's a good problem to have if you're competent. They're not. As you've noted, we have no idea how Ronda actually is in the ring, and her being rushed up to the main roster exacerbates this. Asuka has already beaten everyone worth beating on Raw, and Smackdown only has four big match-ups for her (Charlotte, Becky, Ruby, and Nattie- MAYBE you could get one more from a WWE mark perspective with Naomi and Tamina, but it won't feel as big). Asuka vs. Ronda seems obvious, but there is no way they'll do that anywhere but Mania, so they're left with Asuka running through the paper-thin Smackdown women's division while Ronda is on Raw, where we literally just did the undefeated babyface badass gimmick. Even worse, they'll have Ronda trying to play Steve Austin but with no strong heels for Steph to throw at her other than arguably Nia, who just lost to undefeated babyface badass Asuka. The only other possibility would be Sasha as Rock to Steph's Vince, but we all know Steph won't let another heel have the spotlight, so Corporate Sasha will be portrayed as a lackey at best.
Now factor in that the only really over people in the SD women's division at this point are Cross, Ember, Kairi, and Baszler- who is a heel better Ronda, and if you take any one of them away to ehlp the main roster, that division is right back into wheel-spinning mode. (That being said, I could maybe see Baszler as the corporate enforcer, but Ronda vs. Baszler also feels like the kind of thing they'd save for Mania, which is over a year away.)

Ronda vs Baszler or Ronda vs Asuka at WM 2019 would be a good shout. An amazing long term plan would be to have Asuka win the title at this year's WM and hold it for a full year until the next WM... in that time you build Ronda and have her win next year's Rumble. (Yes, it's an obvious win, but it is believeable) leading to what could be a huge match up.

However... I don't feel we'll get that.

But Ronda would have been good to start against somebody like Nattie Neidhart or Mickie James. Someone who could carry her if needs be, but also could legitimately work it into a decent story with Ronda giving it the "you're a veteran, one of the best of all time, I'm here to show I'm better" sort of storyline. It would also be a good storyline into the business PLUS you know Nattie and Mickie would do the job with no questions asked. While you could argue it's not "big". It's better than having her feud with a female authority figure who hasn't had a proper match in years.

"One of the best of all time"....

You're really into that WWE style thinking there huh, where literally EVERYTHING has to be "Awh yeah, that guy is AN ALL TIME GREAT!"

Or, "AWH YEAH, ONE OF THE BEST CLASSICS I'VE EVER SEEN!"

[XIV]

It's a good problem to have if you're competent. They're not. As you've noted, we have no idea how Ronda actually is in the ring, and her being rushed up to the main roster exacerbates this. Asuka has already beaten everyone worth beating on Raw, and Smackdown only has four big match-ups for her (Charlotte, Becky, Ruby, and Nattie- MAYBE you could get one more from a WWE mark perspective with Naomi and Tamina, but it won't feel as big). Asuka vs. Ronda seems obvious, but there is no way they'll do that anywhere but Mania, so they're left with Asuka running through the paper-thin Smackdown women's division while Ronda is on Raw, where we literally just did the undefeated babyface badass gimmick. Even worse, they'll have Ronda trying to play Steve Austin but with no strong heels for Steph to throw at her other than arguably Nia, who just lost to undefeated babyface badass Asuka. The only other possibility would be Sasha as Rock to Steph's Vince, but we all know Steph won't let another heel have the spotlight, so Corporate Sasha will be portrayed as a lackey at best.
Now factor in that the only really over people in the SD women's division at this point are Cross, Ember, Kairi, and Baszler- who is a heel better Ronda, and if you take any one of them away to ehlp the main roster, that division is right back into wheel-spinning mode. (That being said, I could maybe see Baszler as the corporate enforcer, but Ronda vs. Baszler also feels like the kind of thing they'd save for Mania, which is over a year away.)

Ronda vs Baszler or Ronda vs Asuka at WM 2019 would be a good shout. An amazing long term plan would be to have Asuka win the title at this year's WM and hold it for a full year until the next WM... in that time you build Ronda and have her win next year's Rumble. (Yes, it's an obvious win, but it is believeable) leading to what could be a huge match up.

However... I don't feel we'll get that.

But Ronda would have been good to start against somebody like Nattie Neidhart or Mickie James. Someone who could carry her if needs be, but also could legitimately work it into a decent story with Ronda giving it the "you're a veteran, one of the best of all time, I'm here to show I'm better" sort of storyline. It would also be a good storyline into the business PLUS you know Nattie and Mickie would do the job with no questions asked. While you could argue it's not "big". It's better than having her feud with a female authority figure who hasn't had a proper match in years.

"One of the best of all time"....

You're really into that WWE style thinking there huh, where literally EVERYTHING has to be "Awh yeah, that guy is AN ALL TIME GREAT!"

Or, "AWH YEAH, ONE OF THE BEST CLASSICS I'VE EVER SEEN!"

You cannot tell me that Nattie & Mickie aren't all time greats of female wrestling.