Mad Mike and Sorg are talking about WWE RAW, we look back on the coronavirus era of professional wrestling from the future, play WWE Cinematic Match Mad Libs (via @nugnahrgang on Twitter!), Batman Telltale Games gone wrong and more!
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Over the past five years, the Wrestling Mayhem Show has celebrated the weeks leading up to WrestleMania with Mayhem Mania. It’s kind of a competitive thought experiment that challenges players to make the best WrestleMania matches possible. WWE’s pool of talent has been historically deep in recent years, and our goal is to demonstrate the full potential of their roster.
The ground rules are simple. Only the talents that WWE can realistically book for the real WrestleMania are eligible. Current injuries, contract statuses and other factors help us decide who can be booked. We start by creating an 8-match card. Over the weeks that follow, players make changes to the card, swapping individuals or event entirely new matches. As the weeks go by, some matches survive long enough to graduate to a permanent supercard, opening up room for new matches.
At its most basic, Mayhem Mania is a popularity contest. The matches created over its first 5 years are like a time capsule, revealing who fans wanted to see in the biggest matches on the biggest show of the year. But, as most of us know, the tastes of pro wrestling fans are fickle. A talent who is hot one year can cool off quickly. The name we’re all fighting to book in Mayhem Mania this year may not be mentioned in the next.
Over the first five years of Mayhem Mania, 220 different names have been used to create a wide variety of matches of varying levels of quality, but no name has been used more often than Finn Balor.
That’s 35 weeks when Balor has been booked in a match in Mayhem Mania. He’s been one of the most consistently used names over the past five years, something that will become even more impressive as we take a closer look at his history compared to other names.
Although Balor’s usage was down slightly in 2019, a recent heel turn and well-received return to NXT sets the stage for a likely resurgence in 2020. Despite his ups and downs in WWE over the past five years, Balor has remained one of the most consistently popular personalities among fans.
It took a down year for the former holder of the top spot, Brock Lesnar, to open the door for Balor to claim it in 2019.
In the 2019 edition of Mayhem Mania, Brock Lesnar was booked in a match just once. That’s an alarmingly sharp decline for a name that was among the most popular in Mayhem Mania. It will be interesting to see if Lesnar bounces back or remains on the sidelines.
Balor and Lesnar are among an exclusive group of eight individuals who have been booked in a match for at least one week during every year of Mayhem Mania.
Bray Wyatt‘s history in Mayhem Mania is probably what you’d expect. He was extremely popular from 2015-2017, but he barely made it into a match in 2018 and 2019.
A lot has changed for Wyatt since the 2019 edition of Mayhem Mania. He’s now “The Fiend”, the WWE Champion, and more popular than ever in the eyes of many fans. A big bounce-back should be expected in 2020.
Among the “Five For Five” group, the most interesting name to me is Daniel Bryan. He spent a sizable portion of the past 5+ years retired from in-ring competition. Yet, somehow he kept finding his way into Mayhem Mania. Did we allow a little too much leeway in allowing our players to book a guy who wasn’t medically cleared by WWE? Maybe. It’s still a testament to Bryan’s enduring popularity and the hope fans always held onto that he would one day resume his in-ring career.
As for the two women in this group, Charlotte Flair leads all female competitors with 23 weeks being booked in a match over the five years of Mayhem Mania.
* “Michelle” refers to Michelle McCool. “Stephanie” refers to Stephanie McMahon
Charlotte’s position on top may not be surprising, but she may not hold it for much longer. Despite being used in just the past four years, Asuka has nearly caught her. Also, a closer look at Charlotte’s history shows that her popularity has declined.
As for Sasha Banks, she was popular during three of the first four years of Mayhem Mania, but her usage took a dramatic dip in 2019.
Now, let’s take a look at a slightly larger group – those who were booked in a match for at least one week during four of the first five years of Mayhem Mania. Included in parenthesis is the year they were not booked.
Some of the missed years are easily explained, and most deserve a place (with an asterisk) in the top tier list of those booked in all five years of Mayhem Mania. AJ Styles, Asuka, Eric Young, Samoa Joe and Tommaso Ciampa were not yet full-time competitors in WWE in 2015. Others were under contract with other organizations, meaning they were not eligible to be used. The absence of others in certain years is the result of them being off television due to injury: Cesaro, Dean Ambrose, John Cena and Rowan.
Despite each missing a year, AJ Styles (31) and Cesaro (29) are not far behind Balor for the top spot on the list of all-time most booked names in Mayhem Mania. Styles has been a very popular name, but can he sustain that popularity? It’s easy to be doubtful after taking a closer look at his Mayhem Mania history.
As for the reason why some other names are on the “4 Out Of 5 Years” list instead of the “5 Out Of 5” list…
Bayley was left out of the first edition of Mayhem Mania in 2015. She was still in NXT at the time, and was in the NXT Women’s Title picture for part of year. She competed in a fatal 4-way match for the championship in February 2015 at NXT TakeOver: Rival, but the best was yet to come. After Mayhem Mania 2015 concluded, “Peak Bayley” arrived with her championship victory at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn in August 2015. You can see the reaction. Bayley was a popular choice in Mayhem Mania in 2016. However, her popularity has eroded since then.
Dash and Dawson were teaming regularly in 2015, but they were not yet The Revival. They won the NXT Tag Team Championships for the first time in November of 2015.
Braun Strowman was rarely seen in NXT. His popularity didn’t start to rise until he debuted on WWE’s main roster in August 2015. He’s been a fairly consistent choice in Mayhem Mania ever since.
Chris Jericho likely would’ve been booked again in 2019 if he hadn’t signed a contract with All Elite Wrestling. Over the first four years of Mayhem Mania, he was a reliable option for our players.
Kevin Owens returned from injury in time to be eligible for Mayhem Mania in 2019, but he was never booked. In 2018, he was booked only once. Owens was one of the most popular names in Mayhem Mania in 2017 and 2016. So, what changed? Early 2017 marked the end of Owens’ reign as WWE Universal Champion. That appeared to mark the beginning of his slide. Owens seems to be in a much better place in early 2020. Perhaps a comeback is in the cards? According to injury lawyers in Crown Point, losing opportunities because if injuries is one of the major reasons to deserve compensations.
Undertaker‘s absence in 2019 after appearing in the first four years of Mayhem Mania is clearly a sign that fans are less interested in seeing him perform in the ring.
Bo Dallas is an interesting case. Inexplicably, he was booked in at least one match during the first four years of Mayhem Mania. But in 2019, his slowing momentum came to a full stop and he was not mentioned once. The high point of his modest success was in 2017, when was booked in a match during three weeks of Mayhem Mania. During that time Dallas was still a member of The Social Outcasts.
Now, we’ll look at some of the one-year absences that are less easily explained.
The Usos not being booked in Mayhem Mania in 2017 is somewhat puzzling. They were newly crowned SmackDown Tag Team Champions in March of 2017. But the titles were not defended at WrestleMania 33 in Orlando, Florida. Instead, The Usos participated in the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal. Just like WWE, the Mayhem Mania players couldn’t find anything interesting to do with The Usos.
Another tag team worth looking at is The New Day. All three members were left out entirely during the 2018 edition of Mayhem Mania. What makes this so unexpected is the fact that The New Day were still riding the wave of a hot feud with The Usos over the SmackDown Tag Team Championships. The two teams were in a three-way match for the titles, with the Bludgeon Brothers as the third wheel, at WrestleMania 34 in New Orleans. For some reason, The New Day in early 2018 wasn’t what the Mayhem Mania players were looking for.
In early 2016, The Miz was the WWE Intercontinental Champion, but he wasn’t capturing the imagination of the Mayhem Mania players. Perhaps WWE sensed that as well. After seeing Zack Ryder win the IC Title at WrestleMania 32, The Miz teamed up on-screen with his real-life wife Maryse to reclaim the title the following night on Raw. The addition to The Miz’ act worked. He’s been booked in every year of Mayhem Mania since then.
Rusev is a sad case. He was booked in the first four years of Mayhem Mania. His popularity and the “Rusev Day” phenomenon made him one of the hottest names heading into WrestleMania 34 in New Orleans in 2018. But Rusev’s star faded not long after that. In 2019, he wasn’t booked in a single Mayhem Mania match. His Mayhem Mania history is an uneven pattern. Rusev has been a big part of Raw recently. Maybe he’ll bounce back again.
Luke Harper‘s absence in 2017 may be the most baffling omission of all. During the months leading up to WrestleMania 33, you could argue he was having the biggest run of his career. He was in the middle of a long-simmering Wyatt Family breakup story line involving Bray Wyatt and Randy Orton. At the 2017 Royal Rumble, Harper turned on both Wyatt and Orton. He followed that up with some memorable in-ring encounters with AJ Styles. Unfortunately, it didn’t resonate with the Mayhem Mania players in 2017. Harper’s name wasn’t used a single time. For all his hard work, something about Harper’s run didn’t click with us or WWE. He found himself in the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania 33.
So, we’ve been able to pinpoint a good amount of names that started hot in the early years of Mayhem Mania before fading. Now, let’s try to find some “Ones To Watch”. There’s a group of names that have burst onto the scene and surged in popularity over the recent years of Mayhem Mania.
There’s another group that made a big splash in their Mayhem Mania debuts in 2019.
Io Shirai and Zelina Vega both benefited from being attached to a trios tag team match booked in 2019 that included The IIconics on one side and Asuka and Kairi Sane on the other. To me, their popularity individually is still something that needs to be proven in Mayhem Mania.
On the other hand, Ali and Rhea Ripley made far bigger impressions during Mayhem Mania 2019. Both kept finding their way into matches. Since the 2019 edition of Mayhem Mania, Ripley’s stardom has grown dramatically. She won the NXT Women’s Championship in December 2019. I’m proud to say we were on her bandwagon nearly a year earlier.
As for Ali, his momentum feels like it’s stalled since the early part of 2019, when he was orbiting the WWE Championship picture. We’ll see if the Mayhem Mania players remember him in 2020.
There are many more names we could break down. Producer Missy and Mad Mike deserve a ton of credit for helping to bring all the Mayhem Mania data together and organize it into spreadsheets. It’s really interesting to look at years of data and the trends that emerge. But as I mentioned earlier, this is pro wrestling. No one knows for sure what fans and our Mayhem Mania players will want to see in 2020.
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…)
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.
For those of you who are just joining us, here’s where you can catch up on Mayhem Mania 2019: Opening Round
Round 1 of Mayhem Mania 2019 was held during the Wrestling Mayhem Show on Tuesday, January 29. 5 people were invited to each make a single change to our existing card of 8 matches. Here’s how it went down.
With Round 2 now in the books, here are the 5 newly created matches on our card.
And here are the 3 matches that survived Round 1 without being altered in any way.
Any match that survives 3 consecutive weeks without being altered in any way will graduate to our SUPERCARD, opening up a new slot for new match ideas.
Prior to the start of Round 2, a bounty of ELIMINATORS were awarded based on the results of our Royal Rumble Challenge. ELIMINATORS allow a player to eliminate any single person from being used at all during this year’s Mayhem Mania. An ELIMINATOR can be used at any time once it’s been earned. Here’s the list of who’s been eliminated thus far.
Next week, five more players will join us to make more changes to our existing card. Which matches do you want to see changed? Which ones are destined for the SUPERCARD? Share your feedback and thanks for supporting Mayhem Mania.
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.
The 2019 edition of Mayhem Mania got underway during the Wrestling Mayhem Show on Tuesday, January 22. 8 members of the WMS family were invited to each create one match will serve as the starting point for this year’s Mayhem Mania. Here’s how it went down. (more…)
This week’s episode brought to you by Slice on Broadway, Occupy Pro Wrestling, and Indy Wrestling US!
The Heir Apparent, Chris LeRusso, is back in studio this week – with some Tag Team bling on his shoulder. He is joined by Sorg, Larry, Mad Mike, and Bobby as they talk this week’s wrestling news:
Remember that poster we were giving away? We took our list of Patreon supporters, booted up WWE 2K16, and let the bots settle it out. Congratulations to Bradley for winning the Skyscraper poster! Want to catch the Patreon bot fight we used to determine the winner? See it here.
Want a chance to win a Blockers poster? Become our patreon for a chance to win! (Even if it’s for $1.)
Follow our stable on Twitter: Chris LeRusso (@ChrisLeRusso), Bobby F J-Town (@BobbyFJtown), Mad Mike (@MadMike4883), Larry (@MutilatorLarry), and Sorg (@Sorgatron).
If you are in Pittsburgh, you’ve got to go to Slice on Broadway (@Pgh_Slice) and get their food! (sliceonbroadway.com)
You can support the show at Patreon.com/wrestlingmayhemshow!
Go to wrestlingmayhemshow.com for more entertainment!
Thanks to Basick Sickness (@basicksickness) for the awesome intro for the show.
Remember to LIKE and FOLLOW us on Facebook for updates and video.
At some point in the past week (or five minutes ago after a Google search), you’ve made a resolution to change your life.
Maybe you decided to exercise every day. Perhaps it’s time to start eating better.
Or maybe you decided to stop wearing jorts.
Well my friend, I’m excited for you, and I want you to know you’ve arrived at the right place!
We help folks build healthy habits as part of our 1-on-1 Online Coaching Program, so you’ve come to the right place to fulfill your resolution.
Here’s what we’ll cover in our Guide to Build Healthy Habits in 2022:
Let’s get right to it so you can start rocking 2022!
“I know what I’m supposed to do, I just can’t get myself to do it!”
Welcome to the club – we all know what we need to do, but we just can’t get ourselves to make the important changes.
We know how to get in shape: move more and eat less!
We know how to exercise: get your heart rate up, do some push-ups, get stronger.
We know how to eat healthy: more vegetables and less sugar.
And yet, we can’t get ourselves to stick with ANY of these things for longer than a few weeks.
Why?
Simple: Building new healthy habits is tough, our lizard brains crave instant gratification, we don’t fully understand how habits are built, life gets busy, and our default behavior is often as unhealthy as it is easy.
As a result, we don’t put the right systems in place in order to make changes stick. Read more about Exipure.
We also rely wayyyyy too much on willpower and motivation.
We tend to bite off more than we can chew, go too fast too soon, and then get overwhelmed too quickly.
Does this sound familiar?
If you’re somebody that eats a typically poor diet, never runs, and hasn’t set foot in a gym since grade-school dodgeball with Mr. Wazowski, changing alllll of these at once is almost a surefire way to succeed at precisely NONE of them.
We’re conditioned these days to expect and receive instant gratification. If we want food we can get it from a drive-through, stick a frozen meal in a microwave, or sit down at a restaurant that’s open 24 hours. If we want a game we can download it to our computers/phones/PS5s within a matter of seconds. If we want to watch a TV show, it’s a few clicks away.
Hell, Netflix even starts the next episode for you without any action required!
We expect getting in shape to go the same way.
And this is why we suck at building healthy habits that stick.
We tell ourselves “Hey, I’ve been dedicated for a whole two weeks, why don’t I look like Ryan Reynolds yet?”, not remembering that it took us decades of unhealthy living to get where we are, which means it’s going to take more than a few weeks to reverse the trend.
And then we miss a workout because life was busy or our kid got sick. And we get disheartened that exercise or giving up candy is not nearly as fun as Netflix and video games and Peanut M&M’s.
This is where everybody gives up:
This week’s episode is brought to you by Slice on Broadway, Occupy Pro Wrestling, and Indy Wrestling US.
It’s the last Tuesday before WrestleMania, which can only mean one thing…PATREON IN THE BANK! And, it’s a full house for the occasion. In addition to being joined by a special guest, Todd DeFazio of Idiot Radio, we’ve got Bobby, Billy F’n Johnson, Larry, Sorg, and Mad Mike talking about:
Thanks to Tonio Garza (@TheWRevolution) for putting together graphics for MayhemMania.
Heading to WrestleMania? If you see a Mayhemmer, say hi! If that Mayhemmer’s Mad Mike, give him a chop and send us a pic or video clip. We’ll include it on next week’s show!
Our good friend, Rizz is raising money and awareness through the Dick’s Sporting Goods Foundation Team Pittsburgh 2018 Pittsburgh Marathon. Check out his fundraiser page at: https://www.crowdrise.com/dsgfpitt2018/fundraiser/zachrizza
Follow our stable on Twitter: Todd DeFazio (@DeFazioTodd), Bobby (@BobbyFJtown), Billy Johnson (@billyj64), Larry (@MutilatorLarry), Sorg (@Sorgatron), and Mad Mike (@MadMike4883)
If you are in Pittsburgh, you’ve got to go to Slice on Broadway (@Pgh_Slice) and get their food! (sliceonbroadway.com)
You can support the show at Patreon.com/wrestlingmayhemshow!
Go to wrestlingmayhemshow.com for more entertainment!
Remember to LIKE and FOLLOW us on Facebook for updates and video.