Welcome to another edition of FANTASY BOOKING where we discuss what we would do if we were given the power to control what happens when it comes to WWE Creative and the planning of events.
SummerSlam 2020 just ended, so its time for us to look many months into the future and try to figure out what we'd like to see happen for the biggest show to build toward: WrestleMania 37.
Being so far in advance, we have no indication what WWE may have planned (if anything at all) for The Grandest Stage of Them All in 2021. Therefore, it's open season with free rein to play match maker in any way we choose.
The idea is to book a card with what you would do if you had the influence over WWE Creative to be able to control how the next few months play out and what to build toward for the lineup of this pay-per-view. I invite you to do the same and tell us what you would do if you were in charge of creative control picking the matches scheduled for the biggest event of the year!
The Rules:
1) The earliest time frame you can begin planning from as a reference point is the day after SummerSlam. You cannot change the outcomes on that show and just have to roll with the punches, but you're not beholden to the events of Raw and SmackDown afterward.
2) You need to justify your choices within a reasonable mindset of what WWE has in store. Just because someone is a favorite of yours does not mean WWE would be pushing them to the title in any realistic fashion. IE, there is no chance over the next few months that Denzel Dejournette will be built up to beat The Undertaker in a First Blood match for the Universal Championship.
3) You cannot include people who are not a member of the roster, whether they are retired, working for another company, or obviously deceased. You can, however, work under the assumption that injured stars might possibly return in time for certain events (if it is within reason). That means no people from New Japan Pro Wrestling, All Elite Wrestling, Impact Wrestling, Ring of Honor or elsewhere. You're only working with Raw, SmackDown, 205 Live, NXT, NXT UK and the Performance Center with a tiny bit of leeway for legends.
4) Be realistic when it comes to bringing up NXT stars to the main roster. WWE never brings up 30 people in a year, so don't flood the market.
5) The brand split cannot be undone. WWE continually says they have no intention of doing this. You can, though, trade people between rosters, as WWE has shown a precedent to do random trades throughout the year and mentioned a draft is coming in the fall.
6) Time constraints need to be taken into consideration. This cannot be a 14 hour show unless you split it in two nights. When it comes to my setup down below, "Hour 1"is a rough estimate. There is obviously a bleed into each hour, or in some cases, the next match starts while the previous hour is still going on.
7) As the world still suffers from the COVID-19 pandemic, that must be addressed. There's a chance WrestleMania does not take place in front of a live crowd in Hollywood and many members of the roster are unavailable due to travel restrictions or health reasons. Of course, none of us know how this virus will get better or worse in the coming months, so there's flexibility.
FANTASY BOOKING WRESTLEMANIA 37 MATCH MAKER
Some notes to take into account:
1) I'm once again assuming The Rock won't be able to perform. I'll also be applying that rule to John Cena and The Undertaker.
2) I'm splitting my WrestleMania up into two nights like they did with WrestleMania 36. I'd like to see them try that again. This means no NXT TakeOver event ahead of time, but I'm totally fine with that. I think you can do the TakeOver show another time. Frankly, I'd like to see them do that in March so that the main roster can get a bit of a break between Elimination Chamber and WrestleMania, but you're still getting a pay-per-view. Then, anyone who gets the post-Mania call-up can be wrapped up in March and not have to worry about cramming things in at the last minute for Mania weekend.
3) I'm playing around with the idea of there being fans in attendance. We have no clue what that's going to be like. Maybe we'll still have the Thunderdome or maybe they'll actually be able to have a live crowd. I'll try to book my matches based on both scenarios and just assume the worst but hope for the best. The show must go on and if you treat it like it isn't still WrestleMania, it won't be worth booking at all.
4) I'm going to preemptively plan for chaos. At Royal Rumble, everyone will be fighting each other regardless of their roster, per usual. As a result from that, I'll have Vince McMahon or Triple H say they're going to try something new this year and institute the Free for All Rule wherein on the Road to WrestleMania, the brand split has been temporarily suspended. People can go between rosters. That way, you allow much more flexibility to do different matches and to fill in the blank where needed. However, you can mostly stick to the rosters you have. This also accounts for me not knowing how WWE will book the draft to come. If you see some weird matches from people across rosters, those are your reasons why—possible draft moves as well as this wildcard type thing.
PRE-SHOW
The pre-show is 30 minutes per night. All it consists of is video packages, promotional material, recaps, panel analysis, and so forth. There isn't a single match on the kickoff because if there is, people treat it like it didn't matter as much anyway. No need. You're either going to watch the show or you aren't. You're not watching a kickoff match and then making your decision. It's WrestleMania, for God's sake.
That means there aren't any recap things on the main card. At most, maybe they have a 30 second video package to remind people of the feud (and its different from the one that was on the pre-show). This way, you don't bog down the show with too much filler and you can cram in more matches.
We had 19 for WrestleMania 36, so I'm working within that range.
NIGHT 1
Note: The 24/7 Championship is defended/won at random times as bumpers throughout both shows.
SmackDown Tag Team Championship Four Corners Elimination Match:
The Miz and John Morrison (c) vs. Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura vs. The
Street Profits vs. The Usos or The New Day (depending)
~ 15 minutes
Chyna Memorial Women's Battle Royal
I maintain my stance that since Andre the Giant was The Eighth Wonder
of the World and Chyna was The Ninth Wonder of the World, they should
rename the WrestleMania Women's Battle Royal and give that distinction
to Chyna.
Competitors in this match include, but aren't limited to: Alexa
Bliss, Bayley, Carmella, Dana Brooke, Ember Moon, Jessamyn Duke, Lacey
Evans, Lana, Liv Morgan, Marina Shafir, Mickie James, Naomi, Natalya,
Nia Jax, Nikki Cross, Ruby Riott, Tamina, Zelina Vega as well as some
women from NXT and NXT UK.
Possible winners would be Bayley (who is the biggest focal point),
Nia Jax, Mickie James, Alexa Bliss, Dana Brooke...really, for the most
part, just take your pick. It could also be someone from NXT getting a
big boost, like Mia Yim. She could be a great fit for the winner.
~ 20 minutes
United States Championship Match: Mustafa Ali (c) vs. Aleister Black
Think of Black as a villain and an agent of negativity while Ali, a former cop, is about positivity and heroism. That's your story here.
Ali triumphs because good wins over bad.
~ 15 minutes
Cinematic Match: Bray Wyatt vs. Jeff Hardy
They want the feud. Wyatt's got his cavalcade of personalities, while
Hardy has Willow and all that stuff. Hardy really desperately wants to
be more artistic with his matches during his last run, so let's just see
what he can do if he's allowed to go batshit crazy with this idea.
~ 20 minutes
SmackDown Women's Championship Match: Sasha Banks (c) vs. Bianca Belair
Give me heel Banks beats heel Bayley for the title, then has her own
reign that gets put to an end by the super underutilized Belair, who
wins the Elimination Chamber for this title shot.
~ 25 minutes
No Holds Barred Fight Pit Match: Brock Lesnar (with Shane McMahon and Paul Heyman) vs. Matt Riddle (with Triple H)
This started off as a holdover from my Fantasy Booking of last year of a scenario with Brock and Kevin Owens. Even on this most recent podcast, I still had that as my lineup. I had forgotten about Matt Riddle and how that makes infinitely more sense than the Owens setup I was going for.
The idea with Owens was that he could be looking to regain his edge by becoming a true prizefighter in Raw Underground, which would upset someone like Lesnar. Triple H would either back one of them and Shane McMahon would back the other. It could be interesting to have Owens/Shane and Lesnar/HHH because they've feuded before, or Owens/HHH because of their ties in NXT with Lesnar/Shane because he's a McMahon golden child.
Instead, though, I'm switching it up to be a little more streamlined. Matt Riddle starts destroying people on Raw Underground and Brock Lesnar is sick and tired of hearing about how great of a fighter this guy is and how he's called him out before, so he plans to shut him up. Shane McMahon backs Lesnar because, as mentioned before, he's always been favored by the McMahon family. Triple H, meanwhile, is the guy who brought Riddle in and he says its time to stop kissing Brock's ass.
I'd maybe even give a tease that Paul Heyman would be considering ditching Lesnar in favor of Riddle as "the next big thing" but I'm not too sure about that.
Riddle either beats
Lesnar and they give him a massive, massive push, or he only loses to
Lesnar because Brock does something like a low blow to cheat.
~ 20 minutes
Women's Tag Team Championship Match: The IIconics (c) vs. Fire and Desire
Funny enough, I already want Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville to make up.
Let's give them the tag titles here. I know Deville is supposed to be
gone from WWE, but that's temporary.
~ 10 minutes
WWE Championship Match: AJ Styles (c) vs. Drew McIntyre
Let's face it. Otis hasn't and won't be worth this Money in the Bank briefcase. I like the guy and all, but WWE botched everything and he's not going to cash in and be taken seriously as a contender, let alone champion.
Instead, how about we have AJ Styles steal the briefcase from him. Then, he can cash in on Drew McIntyre when he's vulnerable after some hard-fought match. McIntyre has to win the Elimination Chamber to earn a shot to win his title back, since he loses it post-Royal Rumble match and can't win that instead.
Hopefully, at
this point, we have fans and McIntyre can get his "I won the title at
WrestleMania" pop that he deserves, even though it won't be the same as
when he conquered The Beast Incarnate.
~ 25 minutes
NIGHT 2
Daniel Bryan vs. Seth Rollins
It's a battle for the soul of WWE with the leader of The Yes Movement against The Monday Night Messiah who champions The Greater Good.
C'mon. It's Bryan against Rollins. Nuff said.
~ 20 minutes
Grudge Match: Charlotte Flair vs. Rhea Ripley
Rhea Ripley never should have lost to Charlotte Flair at WrestleMania 36. Never. Absolutely not.
This isn't the same as going back in time and changing it, but it does help her momentum if she comes up to the main roster, eliminates Flair in the Royal Rumble and beats her straight-up in a match here.
Then, down the line, they can do a rubber match and Ripley can win that, too.
~ 20 minutes
Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal
Now that we've had several matches since the previous battle royal, we can have another. Amazing how much more this will mean when it's not on a kickoff. Also, I'd probably have both battle royals have a built-in title shot opportunity.
Participants of this match include, but aren't limited to: Akam, Akira Tozawa, Apollo Crews, Ariya Daivari, Bo Dallas (but I'd send him to NXT), Bobby Lashley, Brian Kendrick, Cedric Alexander, Dolph Ziggler (I'd maybe send him to NXT), Drew Gulak, Elias, Erik, Gran Metalik, Humberto Carrillo, Ivar, Jaxson Ryker, Jinder Mahal, Kalisto, Lince Dorado, Mojo Rawley, Lars Sullivan (if he's not just released; not a fan of him enough to push him past this point), Murphy, MVP, Otis, Rezar, Ricochet, Riddick Moss, Robert Roode, Sami Zayn, Samoa Joe (if available to wrestle), Shelton Benjamin, Shorty G, Steve Cutler, Titus O'Neil, Tony Nese, Tucker Knight, Wesley Blake as well as either Jimmy/Jey Uso or members of The New Day (depending on who is injured) and stars from both NXT and NXT UK who could make it and fill it up a bit.
There aren't really any storylines for this. Pretty much just have a few people say they want to win it because the win means something (even though it doesn't, as WWE has never followed up with a push on any of the winners) and have some people call their shot ahead of time like that. That's all you need. It's not there to be the thing that sells the card in the grand scheme of things.
I think some of the major contenders to win would be Otis
R-Truth could get involved and possibly win or lose the 24/7 Championship during this segment.
~ 20 minutes
Raw Tag Team Championship Match: Andrade and Angel Garza (c) vs. Dominik and Rey Mysterio
I feel like the Mysterios winning tag titles together could be a special moment, and since there's a reverence for Andrade with Rey, where they were going to do a hair vs. mask match, we can play into that.
As
far as how Andrade and Garza get the belts? Well, I don't know. I would
have probably had them beat The Street Profits, so maybe I can get away
with some hot potato stuff. Maybe The Street Profits drop the belts to
The Hurt Business, who drop them to some combo of the trio of Cedric
Alexander/Mustafa Ali/Ricochet, who drop them to Andrade and Garza. The
point is that this is where we go for Mania.
~ 15 minutes
Intercontinental Championship Fatal 4-Way Match: Braun Strowman vs. Kevin Owens vs. King Corbin vs. Sheamus
No clue who walks in as champion. No clue who walks out. That stuff would depend on where they'd want to go with a lot of things.
My original intention was that Sheamus would win this title here, so a babyface is likely champion heading in. Is Braun Strowman going to be a face or a heel, though? If he's a heel, maybe Sheamus turns face by this point and he can beat a heel King Corbin for the title here or something.
This is your standard big man match. All four guys are sizable and slug it out while also being deceptively athletic.
~ 20 minutes
I Quit Match: Edge vs. Randy Orton
They did a Last Man Standing match and a regular match. This is the
only thing left I can think of that feels like there could be a
definitive end to this feud.
~ 20 minutes
Raw Women's Championship Match: Asuka (c) vs. Shayna Baszler
First off, I would never turn Shayna Baszler babyface. Second, I would not have set her up with Nia Jax to team with her and become tag team champions. Third, even though they've teased the idea that these two will fight soon, I think I'd hold off on it until WrestleMania and have it be one of those situations where they somewhat fix what mistake they made last year.
Baszler wins the Royal Rumble and goes on to beat Asuka for the title at WrestleMania 37. Plain and simple.
~ 20 minutes
Universal Championship Match: Roman Reigns (c) vs. The Rock, Goldberg, or Keith Lee
This is kind of wild, but hear me out. This card is, in some ways, a bit all over the place, because there's absolutely no telling who will be not injured, available to travel, if there are fans, what's happening over the next few months, and all sorts of things.
If you're able to get The Rock, you easily go with him against Reigns. No question.
If not, maybe you go with the Goldberg match you were thinking about doing last year.
But if you're sticking to the roster we have, I give the Royal Rumble victory to Keith Lee and I have him challenge Reigns and beat him.
If you can get The Rock, then I need to find a whole new spot for Keith Lee and I'm not about to book a whole new alternate card, as I highly doubt Rock or Goldberg would be available and/or a better option than just going with Lee.
~ 25 minutes
WRAP UP THOUGHTS:
You may notice this is very "babyface wins" heavy. That's because after the horrible year 2020 has been, I think wrestling fans will want a happy WrestleMania, rather than one that tries to get under their skin so they watch whatever pay-per-view follows it.HOW WOULD YOU BOOK WRESTLEMANIA THIS YEAR?
LEAVE YOUR THOUGHTS IN THE COMMENTS BELOW!
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