Mayhem Mania 2016 – Round 8

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 1 – Round 2 – Round 3 – Round 4 – Round 5 – Round 6 – Round 7

Round 8 of Mayhem Mania 2016 was held during the Wrestling Mayhem Show (@MayhemShow) on SUPER Tuesday, March 1. Five members of the WMS Universe were chosen to make a single “move” or a change to the card. They had the usual 3 options:

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

In addition, the SUBTRACT option is still in play. It can be used to remove one person from any match (singles matches not eligible. That would be weird). This option can be used only once during Mayhem Mania. After that, it’s gone forever.

Any match that survives 3 rounds in Mayhem Mania without being altered GRADUATES to the SUPER CARD, and it finally happened following Round 7.

MAYHEM MANIA 2016 – THE SUPERCARD!

Finn Bálor vs. Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn
(Created by @eamon2please)

That opens a slot for a new match to be created on the “undercard”. Since Eamon created the match that graduated, he got to the create the new match to fill the opening. In addition, Eamon was granted a second prize – The ELIMINATOR. He can use this at any time to remove any single person from Mayhem Mania 2016. Those on the current card are protected from the ELIMINATOR, but if they are traded out for someone else, they would be vulnerable. Eamon can hold on to this move as long as he wants before using it.

Eamon also got the last move in Round 8 under the “Alex Kahrs Rule”, and got to hand out a dose of “punishment” to one of the other participants, forcing one to spin the Wheel Of NXT Tag Teams Not Named Enzo & Big Cass and using whichever team is lands on. Eamon was a busy boy in Round 8, and as you will see, he proved himself to be a true master of Mayhem Mania. Even I was astonished by how well he played his accumulated advantage into something even greater.

Mayhem Mania 2016 – Round 8

Move 1 (@Eamon2Please)
CREATE Kane vs. Baron Corbin

Move 2 (@Sorgatron)
TRADE Luke Harper for Rusev

Move 3 (@Bobbyfjtown)
(*Forced to spin the Wheel Of NXT Tag Teams Not Named Enzo & Big Cass, which landed on Blake & Murphy)
TRADE Shane McMahon & Ronda Rousey vs. Triple H & Stephanie McMahon for Blake & Murphy vs. American Alpha vs. The Revival

Move 4 (Antonio Garza – @TheWRevolution)
TRADE The New Day vs. Enzo Amore & Colin Cassady & Mark Henry for Roman Reigns vs. Jimmy Uso vs. Jey Uso vs. Nia Jax

Move 5 (@MadMike4883)
TRADE Natalya vs. Asuka for Enzo Amore & Colin Cassady vs. Shane McMahon & Ronda Rousey

Move 6 (@Eamon2Please)
TRADE Kane for Mojo Rawley

That’s right. Eamon created a match with the intention of altering it later. Under the “Alex Kahrs Rule”, that gurantees him the final move in Round 9 next week. It’s devious. It’s brilliant.

Here are the 3 matches that survived Round 8 without being altered in any way.

Apollo Crews vs. Brock Lesnar vs. Bray Wyatt
(Created by @Sorgatron)

Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Kalisto vs. A.J. Styles
(Created by @HotWheelzRWA)

The Ascension vs. Gold & Stardust vs. Stephen Amell & Neville
(Created by @Sorgatron)

And now, here are the 5 newly created matches following Round 8.

Mojo Rawley vs. Baron Corbin
(Created by @eamon2please)

Jimmy Uso vs. Roman Reigns vs. Nia Jax vs. Jey Uso
(Created by Antonio Garza – @TheWRevolution)

Enzo Amore & Colin Cassady vs. Ronda Rousey & Shane McMahon
(Created by @MadMike4883)

Blake & Murphy vs. The Revival vs. American Alpha
(Created by @Bobbyfjtown)

Dean Ambrose vs. Rusev
(Created by @Sorgatron)

Round 9 is next Tuesday night on the Wrestling Mayhem Show. Don’t miss the live broadcast at live.sorgatronmedia.com starting around 9 p.m. A friendly reminder that the spectacular and unpredictable Patreon In the Bank Round is coming up on March 15. If you want to take part, and help keep the lights on at the Mayhem Studios, head to the WMS Patreon page and find out how cheap and easy it is to support the show and get in on an exclusive opportunity to make bold and numerous changes to the Mayhem Mania card. More tenured Patreon subscribers will get preferential treatment, so the time to act is now!

What changes would you make to the current card? Who needs to be added to the card before it’s too late? Is Eamon the greatest Mayhem Mania player of all time? Share your feedback with us, and thanks for your support of Mayhem Mania! As a reward for your loyalty, here is your very own Wheel Of NXT Tag Teams Not Named Enzo & Big Cass to play with.

Mayhem Mania – Round 6

If you’re just joining us, here are the recaps of previous rounds.
Round 1 – Round 2 – Round 3 – Round 4 – Round 5

Round 6 of Mayhem Mania 2016 was held during the Wrestling Mayhem Show (@MayhemShow) on February 16. Five members of the WMS Universe were chosen to make a single “move” or a change to the card. They had 3 options:

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

Under the “Alex Kahrs Rule”, Antonio Garza was granted the final move of Round 6. In addition, he got to choose who received this week’s “punishment” – being forced to use a former WWE World Heavyweight Champion.

Let’s ride.

Mayhem Mania 2016 – Round 6

Move 1 (@Sorgatron)
ADD Brock Lesnar to Bray Wyatt vs. Apollo Crews

Move 2 (@TheeRizz)
(*Forced to use a former WWE World Heavyweight Champion)
TRADE The Rock for Kane

Move 3 (@BobbyFJtown)
TRADE Sin Cara for Dean Ambrose

Move 4 (@WifeOfTheShow)
ADD Neville as a tag team partner for Stephen Amell

Move 5 (Antonio Garza – @TheWRevolution)
TRADE Bayley vs. Becky Lynch vs. Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte for Asuka vs. Natalya

With the latest moves now on the books, let’s look at the Mayhem Mania card after Round 6. First, here are the 3 matches that survived the round without being altered in any way. Any match that survives 3 rounds without being altered GRADUATES to the SUPER CARD. That will open a slot for a new match to be created. No more than 8 matches are allowed on the preliminary card at any one time. The goal is to graduate 8 matches before the real WrestleMania.

Finn Bálor vs. Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn
(Created by @eamon2please)

Shinsuke Nakamura vs. A.J. Styles
(Created by @BobbyFJtown)

The New Day vs. Enzo Amore & Colin Cassady & Mark Henry
(Created by @eamon2please)

And now, here are the 5 newly created matches following Round 6.

Natalya vs. Asuka
(Created by Antonio Garza – @TheWRevolution)

Stardust vs. Stephen Amell & Neville
(Created by @WifeOfTheShow)

Apollo Crews vs. Brock Lesnar vs. Bray Wyatt
(Created by @Sorgatron)

Dean Ambrose vs. Kalisto
(Created by @BobbyFJtown)

Kane & Roman Reigns vs. Luke Harper & Undertaker
(Created by @TheeRizz)

Round 7 is next Tuesday night on the Wrestling Mayhem Show. Don’t miss the live broadcast at live.sorgatronmedia.com starting around 9 p.m. We’re past the halfway point of this year’s Mayhem Mania. There will 10 traditional rounds, followed by the spectacular and unpredictable Patreon In the Bank Round. If you want to take part, and help keep the lights on at the Mayhem Studios, head to the WMS Patreon page and find out how cheap and easy it is to support the show and get in the last moves of Mayhem Mania 2016. I also encourage you to check out how Mayhem Mania played out last year.

Which matches should stay? Which should go? Who needs to be added to the biggest card of the year? Share your comments and thanks for supporting Mayhem Mania!

Mayhem Mania 2016 – Round 5

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 and emotional conditions. 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 1 – Round 2 – Round 3 – Round 4

Round 5 of Mayhem Mania 2016 was held during the Wrestling Mayhem Show (@MayhemShow) on February 9. Six members of the WMS Universe were chosen to make a single “move” or a change to the card. They had 3 options:

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

Under the “Alex Kahrs Rule”, Mad Mike was granted the final move of Round 5. In addition, I added a second special perk as compensation for Mike’s Round 4 move being undone before the round’s conclusion. He got to choose who received this week’s “punishment” and was forced to use a name drawn from the infamous Jar Of Midcarders. This addendum to the “Alex Kahrs Rule” will be observed in all future cases with a variety of “punishments” to be revealed as needed.

And now…on with the show!

Mayhem Mania 2016 – Round 5

Move 1 (@Eamon2Please)
ADD Mark Henry to The New Day vs. Enzo Amore & Colin Cassady

Move 2 (@TheeRizz)
TRADE Dean Ambrose vs. Triple H vs. Hornswoggle for Kalisto vs. Sin Cara

Move 3 (Antonio Garza – @TheWRevolution)
(*Curtis Axel was drawn from the Jar Of Midcarders)
TRADE Samoa Joe vs. Undertaker for Curtis Axel vs. Chad Gable

Move 4 (@Sorgatron)
TRADE Mr. McMahon for Undertaker

Move 5 (@JonFisherIQ)
TRADE Tyler Breeze vs. William Regal for Bray Wyatt vs. Apollo Crews

Move 6 (@MadMike4883)
TRADE Curtis Axel vs. Chad Gable for Stardust vs. Stephen Amell

With the latest moves now on the books, let’s look at the Mayhem Mania card after Round 5. First, here are the 3 matches that survived the round without being altered in any way. Any match that survives 3 rounds without being altered GRADUATES to the SUPER CARD. That will open a slot for a new match to be created. No more than 8 matches are allowed on the card at any one time. The goal is to graduate 8 matches before the real WrestleMania.

Bayley vs. Becky Lynch vs. Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte
(Created by @MadMike4883)

Finn Bálor vs. Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn
(Created by @eamon2please)

Shinsuke Nakamura vs. A.J. Styles
(Created by @BobbyFJtown)

And now, here are the 5 newly created matches following Round 5.

Stardust vs. Stephen Amell
(Created by @MadMike4883)

Bray Wyatt vs. Apollo Crews
(Created by @JonFisherIQ)

The New Day vs. Enzo Amore & Colin Cassady & Mark Henry
(Created by @eamon2please)

Kalisto vs. Sin Cara
(Created by @TheeRizz)

Roman Reigns & The Rock vs. Luke Harper & Undertaker
(Created by @Sorgatron)

The addendum to the “Alex Kahrs Rule” didn’t prevent Antonio Garza’s move from being undone before the end of Round 5. Therefore, he will be the latest to be granted a guaranteed invitation to make the final move in the next round. He will also choose who will be on the receiving end of next week’s “punishment”.

Round 6 is next Tuesday night on the Wrestling Mayhem Show. Don’t miss the live broadcast at live.sorgatronmedia.com starting around 9 p.m. We’re near the halfway point of this year’s Mayhem Mania. There will 10 traditional rounds, followed by the spectacular and unpredictable Patreon In the Bank Round. If you want to take part, and help keep the lights on at the Mayhem Studios, head to WMS Patreon page and find out how easy it is to support the show and get in the last moves of Mayhem Mania 2016. I also encourage you to check out how Mayhem Mania played out last year.

Which matches should stay? Which should go? Who needs to be added to the biggest card of the year? Share your comments and thanks for supporting Mayhem Mania!

What’s At Stake: Night Of Champions 2015

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. Send an email to [email protected].

Seth Rollins vs. Sting
What’s At Stake: WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Sting’s legacy in WWE.
Thanks to a couple wins Monday on Raw, Sting’s record in WWE is now 2-1. Not overwhelmingly impressive, but at least we no longer have to hear about him getting a title shot without ever winning a match in WWE. While this is a championship match, the weeks leading up to it have been focused on that statue of Seth Rollins, which Sting callously and gleefully destroyed for no reason a couple weeks ago.

Perhaps this is meant to distract us from the bigger story line, which is the pressure that’s on Sting. This could be his one and only shot at winning the “one title that’s eluded him” over his long, storied career. He’s presumably in a pay-per-view main event against the best professional wrestler on the planet. Can Sting deliver at the age of 56? Will there be a last-minute stipulation added to mask any perceived deficiencies? Perhaps most importantly, if Sting loses, will WWE fans still view him as one of the iconic, legendary figures of professional wrestling’s past quarter-century? The last time Sting competed for a major championship isn’t as long ago as you may think (He faced Magnus for the TNA Heavyweight Championship on his last night with that company back in January 2014). Still, questions surround him heading into Night of Champions.

Seth Rollins vs. John Cena
What’s At Stake: WWE United States Championship. Revival of John Cena’s U.S. Title Open Challenge.
It’s double duty for Seth Rollins at Night of Champions. This rematch from SummerSlam will be a tall order for him. Rollins needed help from Jon Stewart to win the U.S. Title, but I doubt the former host of “The Daily Show” will show up this time, mainly because his stated motivation for interfering at SummerSlam was to protect Ric Flair’s record as the 16-time world champion. Behind the scenes, Raw ratings are in a slump, and a crucial television ratings period is on the horizon. WWE management may think it’s time to bring back John Cena’s U.S. Title Open Challenge.

Nikki Bella vs. Charlotte
What’s At Stake: WWE Divas Championship. Sanity of every WWE fan with access to social media. The Diva Revolution.
The Bella Twins used “twin magic” last Monday night on Raw, and it barely worked. Charlotte won by disqualification, but Nikki escaped with her title and became the longest reigning Divas Champion in WWE history.

It was a really good match, but the end result set off a firestorm on social media, as fans clashed over Nikki’s worthiness as champion. Things have cooled down a little since then. In fact, I really enjoyed the #BellaBration on SmackDown, which turned into a disaster for Team Bella.

Of course, All this drama will be forgotten after Charlotte finally gets her crowning moment and ushers in the true beginning of the Diva Revolution at Night of Champions. She is winning, right? Right?

The New Day vs. The Dudley Boyz
What’s At Stake: WWE Tag Team Championship. The New Day’s #SaveTheTables movement.
The Dudley Boyz made their return to a thunderous ovation on Raw the night after SummerSlam, and they’ve had the tag team champions in their crosshairs ever since. I was becoming a little concerned that Xavier Woods’ trombone had upstaged the awesome “last table” The New Day was hauling around, but that changed on Wednesday, when The New Day launched a Save The Tables petition.

Can't @REALBully5150 & @TestifyDevon see the pain they cause across the world? @WWEUniverse https://t.co/E96nAi8EOy pic.twitter.com/nHuwB7b7WT

— Xavier Woods (@XavierWoodsPhD) September 16, 2015

The movement is as strong as ever, but I couldn’t help but wonder if breaking the “last table” will become a consolation prize for the Dudley Boyz…until I saw this. The Dudleys may have a secret weapon in their corner to even the odds at Night of Champions. Would you believe…Tommy Dreamer?

Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns and a mystery partner vs. The Wyatt Family
What’s At Stake: The Wyatt Family’s newfound momentum.
Who will step forward to team with Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns? That’s the big question, but I’m wondering if even they know the answer.

All kidding aside, you have to hope WWE has something big planned here. Some are dreaming of a bombshell return for Daniel Bryan, or the main roster debut of Baron Corbin or Samoa Joe, but the rumors about Kane sound a lot more plausible. As for the Wyatt Family, the addition of newcomer Braun Strowman has brought fresh credibility and momentum to the group. You’d hate to see it thrown away here, but the happy bromance between Ambrose and Reigns is one of the most reliable things WWE has right now, and Shield Lite has a knack for avoiding decisive losses.

Dolph Ziggler vs. Rusev
What’s At Stake: Personal pride.
Girls. Can’t live with ’em, can’t- Well, you can make up your own joke. I’ve been a fan of Rusev’s “broken up, but not over her” routine regarding Lana, but it looks like that’s over now that she’s out with a wrist injury. That brings us to Summer Rae, who may or may not have eyes for Dolph Ziggler. There’s a lot of different directions this can go, and it may be the toughest match on this card to predict.

Ryback vs. Kevin Owens
What’s At Stake: WWE Intercontinental Championship. Kevin Owens’ “upper mid-card” status.
When you start out by handing John Cena one of the few clean, pay-per-view losses of his entire career, there’s nowhere to go but down. So, Kevin Owens finds himself with a chance to win the much-maligned Intercontinental Championship. Ryback is finally past a long, underwhelming feud involving The Miz and Big Show. Fans of Owens live in constant fear that WWE management could cut bait on him at any moment, but this match could turn out to be a big vote of confidence. Or, it could…well, let’s try not to think about that.

Neville & The Lucha Dragons vs. The Cosmic Wasteland
What’s At Stake: The Ascension’s latest shot at relevance.
WWE is billing this match as the forces of good taking on the forces of evil. How can the stakes get any higher than that? I’m really hoping this new pairing with Stardust works out for The Ascension. It feels like the perfect fit. Now, they need to start winning some matches.

Yep. It’s getting weird. Remember, evil will always triumph, because good is dumb.

WWE RAW Wrap Up 8/17/15: Wrestling Super Villain Team Up

Stardust and Barrett as the Lords of Darkness are a great comic book inspiration and can infect the colorful characters, Is Undertaker vs Brock Lesnar really a face vs heel? Who do you cheer for in Summer Rae & Rusev vs Lana & Dolph Ziggler? Could John Cena vs Seth Rollins be bigger than Sorg expects?

Follow Michael Sorg (@sorgatron) and Mad Mike (@madmike4883) on Twitter!

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WWE RAW Wrap Up 8/25/14

Tonight, Michael Sorg (@sorgatron), Mad Mike (@madmike4883) and Eamon Paton (@eamon2please) talk about the attempted rebirth of John Cena (and perhaps burial of the Wyatts), why is Brock Lesnar is more important now than anyone, the Bella Twin implosion, what is the deal with the RAW Backstage Pass studio setup? The Tag Teams heat up with angry Goldust and Stardust! We love the Paige and AJ Lee hugging segment! Sort of.

Check out this, and other WMS extra shows by following our Youtube page or audio via the Wrestling Mayhem Show SUPER FEED on iTunes and Stitcher!