Mayhem Mania 2019: Round 7

This. is. Mayhem Mania!

Not quite a game. Not really a contest. More like a competitive thought experiment. The object is to create the best WrestleMania card possible – NOT necessarily to predict what WWE will do.

This is not fantasy booking. It’s more like reality booking. Any match created must have at least a chance of happening in this year’s WrestleMania. That means all wrestlers come in their current physical, emotional and contractual state. Anyone selected for a match must have a reasonable chance of being hired by WWE to appear on the real-life WrestleMania card. 

Simply put, you’re Vince McMahon with infinite cash and no self-control. (more…)

Mayhem Mania 2018: Patreon In The Bank

This. is. Mayhem Mania!

Not quite a game. Not really a contest. More like a competitive thought experiment. The object is to create the best WrestleMania card possible – NOT necessarily to predict what WWE will do.

This is not fantasy booking. It’s more like reality booking. Any match created must have at least a chance of happening in this year’s WrestleMania. That means all wrestlers come in their current physical, emotional and contractual state. Anyone selected for a match must have a reasonable chance of being hired by WWE to appear on the real-life WrestleMania card. 

Simply put, you’re Vince McMahon with infinite cash and no self-control.


Catch up with Mayhem Mania 2018: Week 1 – Week 2 – Week 3 – Week 4 – Week 5 – Week 6 – Week 7 – Week 8

It all comes down to this. After more than two months, Mayhem Mania 2018 has reached its final stop: the epic Patreon In The Bank round! Only Patreon supporters of the Wrestling Mayhem Show were invited to participate and I’m happy to report that we had eight of them take the time to joins us live during Episode 613 of the Wrestling Mayhem Show.

(more…)

Mayhem Mania 2016 – Final Round!

This… is… Mayhem Mania! Not quite a game. Not really a contest. More like a competitive thought experiment. The object is to create the best WrestleMania card possible – NOT necessarily to predict what WWE will do.

This is not fantasy booking (even though it kind of is). Any match created must be possible in real life. That means all wrestlers come in their current physical, emotional and contractual state. Anyone selected for a match must have a reasonable chance of being hired by WWE to appear on the real-life WrestleMania card. Simply put, we have to play by the same rules as Vince McMahon.

If you’re just joining us, here are the recaps of previous rounds.
Round 1Round 2 – Round 3 – Round 4 – Round 5 – Round 6 – Round 7 – Round 8 – Round 9 – Patreon In The Bank 


 

The spectacular and unpredictable Patreon In The Bank round is history, and the SUPERCARD is set (you can see it by clicking the link above). but there’s always something to fight over in Mayhem Mania. During the final round on the Wrestling Mayhem Show (@MayhemShow) on March 22, seven members of the WMS Universe were invited to fine tune the “undercard”, the eight matches that didn’t GRADUATE. Only one will earn a place on the Mayhem Mania preshow!

This week’s participants had the usual 3 options:

1. SWAP a wrestler/tag team for one already on the card.
2. ADD an unused wrestler/tag team to an existing match.
3. KILL a match AND CREATE an entirely new match with unused wrestlers.

Under the “Alex Kahrs Rule”, both Ed Burke and Alex Kahrs himself got to hand out some “punishment”. This week, it’s a name drawn from The Jar Of The Unloved, which is filled with the names of those main roster wrestlers in WWE whose names have yet to be called during Mayhem Mania 2016. Alex gave it to Eamon. Ed gave it to Mad Mike.

Now, on with the show!

MAYHEM MANIA 2016 – FINAL ROUND

Move 1 (@HotWheelzRWA)
ADD R-Truth to Darren Young vs. Michael Tarver

Move 2 (@TheeRizz)
SWAP Ronda Rousey for Todd Chrisley

Move 3 (@Sorgatron)
ADD Blue Pants to Eva Marie vs. Lana

Move 4 (Antonio Garza – @TheWRevolution)
KILL El Torito vs. Hornswoggle AND CREATE Alex Riley vs. Damien Sandow vs. Fandango vs. Wade Barrett

Move 5 (@MadMike4883)
(*Erick Rowan drawn from The Jar Of The Unloved)
KILL Darren Young vs. Michael Tarver vs. R-Truth AND CREATE Bobby Roode & Eric Young vs. Erick Rowan & Braun Strowman

Move 6 (@Bobbyfjtown)
KILL Snooki & David Arquette & Kevin Federline vs. Todd Chrisley & Stephen Amell & Karl Malone AND CREATE Undertaker vs. Baron Corbin

Move 7 (@Eamon2Please)
(*Jack Swagger drawn from The Jar Of The Unloved)
KILL El Torito vs. Hornswoggle AND CREATE Jack Swagger vs. Tommaso Ciampa

Several players took advantage of their ELIMINATOR, which can banish any name from being used in Mayhem Mania 2016. Garza ELIMINATORED Stephen Amell after Bobby killed his match. Sorgatron ELIMINATORED El Torito after Garza killed his match. Finally, Bobby ELIMINATORED two people, Ronda Rousey and Stephen Amell. There was a lot of backlash to that celebrity match.

With the final moves of the final round now in the books, let’s take a look at the updated “undercard”.

Kennel From Hell Match
Alberto Del Rio vs. Austin Aries
(Created by Antonio Garza – @TheWRevolution)
W9M1

Sasha Banks vs. Becky Lynch
Presented by “Sunny Side Up”
(Created by @EdBurke37)
W10M5

Ladder Match for Divas Championship
Paige vs. Asuka vs. Charlotte vs. Bayley
(Created by @MadMike4883)
W10M7

Chris Jericho vs.  Dolph Ziggler
(Created by @Sorgatron)
W10M8

Erick Rowan & Braun Strowman vs. Bobby Roode & Eric Young
(Created by @MadMike4883)
W11M1

Lana vs. Eva Marie vs. Blue Pants
(Created by @Sorgatron)
W11M3

Jack Swagger vs. Tommaso Ciampa
(Created by @Eamon2Please)
W11M2

Undertaker vs. Baron Corbin
(Created by @Bobbyfjtown)
W11M4

As mentionted, you will decide which one of these eight matches will get a coveted spot on the Mayhem Mania 2016 preshow. Everyone else will be thrown together into a pointless battle royal. So, head over to the WMS Facebook group and cast your vote for your favorite.

Who was left out of Mayhem Mania that deserved a spot? Is the “undercard” better than the SUPERCARD? Share your feedback with us, and thanks for your support of Mayhem Mania!

What’s At Stake: Fastlane 2016

As we head into yet another special event on the WWE Network, I’ll try to answer one simple question: What are these guys and girls fighting over? As always, we welcome your feedback. Leave a comment below or send an email to [email protected].

Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns vs. Dean Ambrose
What’s At Stake – WWE World Heavyweight Championship match against Triple H at WrestleMania
Are we doing this, or not? Is WWE going all the way with Roman Reigns, or is the company about to get cold feet again? It’s now been nearly a year since Reigns’ coronation as WWE’s next top star was put in an indefinite holding pattern. Now, here are again. It should be a foregone conclusion that Reigns will overcome the odds, defeat the nearly unstoppable juggernaut he nearly conquered last year at WrestleMania along with his longtime friend and Shield co-founder and go on to defeat Triple H for the WWE World Heavyweight Title in front of the largest live crowd in company history. Everyone say it along with me – “The Roman Reigns era has begun!”

This should be all about Reigns, but it’s not. The past few weeks have been more about Lesnar and Ambrose, who appear to be building toward a match against one another at WrestleMania or their own opportunity to dethrone Triple H. All which feel like more appealing options at this moment in time.

Reigns feels like the third wheel, even after WWE spent the past week trying to convince us that his friendship with Ambrose could implode at any moment. Perhaps that’s by design. If we’re not paying attention to him, we can’t boo him, right? The only problem is the longer WWE leaves the door open for someone else, the more likely it is that someone will walk through it.

A.J. Styles vs. Chris Jericho
What’s At Stake – A.J. Styles’ future in WWE.
A.J. Styles is, in the opinion of many, the best professional wrestler on the planet. He was my choice for Wrestler Of The Year in 2014. He was named the Wrestling Observer Newsletter’s Wrestler Of The Year for 2015. When he made his WWE debut in the Royal Rumble match, he was instantly the most popular guy in the building.

A.J. Styles didn’t spent a second in NXT. He is the ultimate rarity in the current WWE landscape, a guy whose skills and reputation make him worthy of a spot on the main roster the moment he signs his contract. In that way, Styles has been treated as a star by WWE. In other ways, he hasn’t. If he beats Chris Jericho decisively at Fastlane, my personal fears will probably subside. Anything less than that, and Styles could find himself on that slippery slope that others have struggled to ascend.

Charlotte vs. Brie Bella
What’s At Stake – WWE Divas Championship. That dream match between Charlotte and Sasha Banks at WrestleMania.
A funny thing happened on the way to that Divas Championship match at WrestleMania between Charlotte and Sasha Banks. Perhaps this was planned all along, but it seems somewhat suspicious that suddenly sympathetic fan favorite Brie Bella is riding the wave of emotion following Daniel Bryan’s retirement into a title match that no one saw coming a few weeks ago.

Brie has openly talked about her imminent retirement. Is this a throwaway title match with fortuitous timing, or are the wheels in motion for Brie’s last hurrah as the defending Divas champion on the big stage at WrestleMania. It was supposed to be the night fans’ NXT-fueled dreams of that long-rumored Divas Revolution became reality. Instead, it could turn into a Total Divas crossover.

Kevin Owens vs. Dolph Ziggler
What’s At Stake – WWE Intercontinental Championship. Perhaps, a long overdue first singles match at WrestleMania for Ziggler.
It pains me to say this about someone who’s just won the Intercontinental Title, but poor Kevin Owens. It wasn’t that long ago when rumors were swirling about him as a possible opponent for Undertaker at WrestleMania.

So much for that. It feels like Owens is stuck, even though he’s one of the most entertaining guys in WWE.

Dolph Ziggler has been beating Owens at just about every turn over the past few weeks. There’s a lot on the line for him at Fastlane. If Ziggler loses, he could tumble all the way backward into the Andre The Giant Battle Royal or some other cluttered multi-man match at WrestleMania. If he wins, he has a much better shot at a career first – a singles match at WWE’s biggest show of the year.

Becky Lynch & Sasha Banks vs. Naomi & Tamina
What’s At Stake – More than likely, the next shot at the WWE Divas Championship.
Sasha Banks hadn’t been seen on television in weeks before she returned at the Royal Rumble, and appeared to literally and figuratively boot Becky Lynch out of the Divas Championship picture. It didn’t quite work the way Banks intended. Despite losing in her title match against Charlotte at the Royal Rumble, Lynch didn’t simply go away. Now, both Lynch and Banks are reluctant partners against Team B.A.D., who didn’t appreciate Banks distancing herself from them following her return. The Boss wants a Divas Championship match, but her hasty bridge burning is leaving her with too many fires to put out.

Big Show & Ryback & Kane vs. The Wyatt Family
What’s At Stake – Big man supremacy in WWE.
Here’s the beef! The Wyatt Family’s latest mission is to take down the “titans” of WWE. For the purpose of this match, that includes Big Show, Ryback and Kane. Are they merely a stepping stone for the Wyatt Family before they resume their tormenting of Brock Lesnar after Fastlane, or is this a new direction entirely?

The Cutting Edge Peep Show – Guests: The New Day
What’s At Stake – A direction for the WWE Tag Team Champions heading into WrestleMania.
What do you do when you’ve run out of worthy challengers to the W…W…E…World…Tag…Team…Champions? It’s an ugly problem this time of year. The New Day absolutely deserves to be in a big match at WrestleMania, but there aren’t many worthy contenders. The Usos have had more than enough chances, and the Lucha Dragons can’t move forward as long as Kalisto is the United States Champion. Some are hoping his segment will introduce a new tag team, perhaps a call-up from NXT, who can challenge The New Day at WrestleMania, but it seems more likely this will be more about promoting Edge and Christian’s new show on the WWE Network.

Kalisto vs. Alberto Del Rio
What’s At Stake – WWE United States Championship. Kalisto’s bid to make it as a singles star.
These two have been at it forever. So, it makes perfect since that they settle their differences in a 2-out-of-3 falls match. If WWE thinks the Lucha Dragons can be the answer to their depleted tag team division, Alberto Del Rio is probably going to win this match and become U.S. Champion…again. Time truly is a flat circle.