Wrestlemania 34
WrestleMania 34 takes place live from the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, La., on Sunday, April 8, at 7 ET/4 PT, streaming live on WWE Network.
WWE Universal Title Match
Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns
WWE Title Match
AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
WWE Intercontinental Title Match
The Miz vs. Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor
WWE United States Title Match
Randy Orton vs. Bobby Roode vs. Jinder Mahal vs. Rusev
WWE Raw Women’s Title Match
Alexa Bliss vs. Nia Jax
WWE Smackdown Women’s Title Match
Charlotte Flair vs. Asuka
WWE Raw Tag Team Title Match
The Bar vs. Braun Strowman & TBA
WWE Smackdown Tag Team Title Match
The Usos vs. The New Day vs. The Bludgeon Brothers
WWE Cruiserweight Title Match
Cedric Alexander vs. Mustafa Ali
Mixed Tag Team Match
Ronda Rousey & Kurt Angle vs. Stephanie McMahon & Triple H
Daniel Bryan & Shane McMahon vs. Sami Zayn & Kevin Owens
If Owens & Zayn win, they will be reinstated; if they lose, they will remain fired
Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal
Dolph Ziggler, Baron Corbin, Mojo Rawley, Tyler Breeze, Fandango, Tye Dillinger, Dash Wilder, Scott Dawson, Matt Hardy, others TBA
WrestleMania Women’s Battle Royal
Sasha Banks, Natalya, Ruby Riott, Sarah Logan, Liv Morgan, Becky Lynch, Naomi, Bayley, others TBA
WrestleMania 34 coverage
WWE announced its WrestleMania Week programming on USA Network on Twitter this past Thursday:
Monday, April 2
Emanating live for three hours at 8/7 C from the Philips Arena in Atlanta, Monday Night Raw, features WWE Superstars Brock Lesnar, Roman Reigns, Ronda Rousey, Seth Rollins, Alexa Bliss, Sasha Banks and more.
Tuesday, April 3
Emanating live for two hours at 8/7 C from the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn., SmackDown LIVE features WWE Superstars AJ Styles, Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, The New Day, Randy Orton and more.
Thursday, April 5
At 8/7 C, WrestleMania’s Greatest Moments gives fans a look back at the legendary moments in the history of The Showcase of the Immortals.
Saturday, April 7
The 2018 WWE Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony one-hour special airs at 10/9 C and features WWE Legends, including Goldberg, The Dudley Boyz, Ivory, Jeff Jarrett, Hillbilly Jim, and Mark Henry, all of whom will be immortalized for their accomplishments and contributions to WWE in this year’s Hall of Fame class. Celebrity Hall of Fame inductee Kid Rock and Warrior Award recipient Jarrius “JJ” Robertson will be honored at this year’s Hall of Fame.
Sunday, April 8
At 6/5 C, USA presents a live, one-hour broadcast of the second hour of the official WrestleMania Kickoff Show, including predictions and commentary by Renee Young and other all-star panelists.
Pyro to make a one night stand at WrestleMania
Pyrotechnics have been noticably missing from the WWE for the past seven months, but according to Dave Meltzer, pyro is said to be returning for Wrestlemania 34.
WWE Hall of Fame Induction news
Road Dogg of the New Age Outlaws will induct Jeff Jarrett into the WWE Hall of Fame during WrestleMania Weekend in an announcement from WWE. Road Dogg got his start as the King of The Mountain’s errand boy in 1994 before joining the legendary faction known as Degeneration X. Paul Heyman has also been confirmed as being the inductor for Goldberg. According to Wrestling Observer, Heyman emerged as the pick because of the chemistry and mutual respect that developed between the two during Goldberg’s feud with Brock Lesnar. Batista was considered to be among this year’s inductees into WWE’s Hall of Fame but he declined because he doesn’t consider himself retired. He is currently looking into returning to the WWE full time for a farewell run. It was announced Saturday that Jimmy “The Mouth of The South” Hart will induct Hillbilly Jim.
TLC Match at WrestleMania?
The WWE may’ve leaked on the WWE app that the Triple Threat Tag Team Match for the SmackDown Tag Titles may be a Table, Ladders, and Chairs (TLC) Match.
Women’s Division Tag Team Division returning
According to @BeltFanDan, WWE will reintroduce the Women’s Tag Team Title after a 29 year hiatus. Rumors began last year that the female tag division would return given the growth of the Women’s Division. It’s thought that the announcement will be made official sometime this summer, possibly around SummerSlam.
WWE upcoming documentaries
WWE has four documentaries on tap. According to Wrestling Observer Newsletter, three documentries will tie in with WrestleMania 34. One documentary will be about WrestleMania itself, the second will cover The Undertaker’s comeback, and last will cover Ronda Rousey’s debut. The fourth documentary will be in conjunction with Showtime on Mauro Ranallo. The project will focus on his battle with mental illness and his present announcing career and is going to debut in May.
No female matches the Greatest Royal Rumble event
WWE has confirmed that there will be no women’s matches at The Greatest Royal Rumble in Saudi Arabia on April 27.
Kid Kash enters the training business
ECW & TNA/Impact Wrestling vet, Kid Kash, has announced that he’s opening a pro wrestling academy in May on Twitter. Kid Kash was in ECW from 1996 until 2001 and was in WCW, WWE, TNA/Impact Wrestling, and various indie promotions until 2015. He also has fought MMA.
Vader’s health status
The man they call Vader underwent major open heart surgery in Dallas this past Monday. The iconic big man has had well documented health issues over the years and his son revealed that the state of his of heart was worse than previously thought but that the procedure was successful. He stated that he has a long road to recovery and thanked everyone for their concern and prayers.
WWE Network to get WCW Saturday Night
WWE announced that episodes from WCW Saturday Night from 1992-1994 will be uploaded to the WWE Network beginning April 2.
Paul Heyman’s upcoming hustles
According to The Wrap, Paul Heyman has signed a deal with Roy Bank’s Banco Studio to produce several unscripted television shows, one of which is a talk show styled project. With Brock Lesnar’s future with the WWE unclear with his contract winding down, Heyman has been linked to becoming the advocate for Roman Reigns or Ronda Rousey should Brock concentrate on UFC. He could also leave the WWE as well but is said to be free to continue with the WWE whether or not Brock stays.
Rosa Mendes to return?
Rosa Mendes (Milena Roucka) revealed that she will be making a comeback to active competition during an interview on Pancakes & Powerbombs. She retired in February 2017 but she had been out of in ring competition since WWE’s European Tour back in April 2015.
John Cena confirms October WWE Australian super event
John Cena confirmed rumors that the WWE will host an event in Australia on October 6th. He didn’t specify whether he’d be at the event but he commented that “I hope to be.” John has a busy schedule coming up. He was recently confirmed to play Duke Nukem in the long rumored and gestating live action adaptation of the iconic video game and he was also just cast in a upcoming remake of Dr. DooLittle.
Cruiserweight Tag Team Division coming to 205 Live!?
The WWE may’ve revealed the existence of and the design of the Cruiserweight Division’s Tag Team Belts in legal documentation aimed at stopping the sale of bootleg merchandise. Earlier this month, PWInsider revealed plans for a tag division to generate viewership and interest in the flagging 205 Live show/cruiserweight division. Pro Wrestling Sheet confirmed the report when documents acquired by TMZ showed the belts which went out as part of the WWE’s plan to fight bootlegging in New Orleans during WrestleMania Weekend.
Goldberg hosting Forged in Fire
Goldberg is set to host a spin-off of Forged In Fire. Forged In Fire: Knife or Death is set to premier April 17 on the History Channel. It will have six episodes.
Rey Mysterio return date
According to Dave Meltzer, Rey Mysterio may be returning to WWE anywhere from late summer to this fall. Rey is still recovering from a biceps injury and is also scheduled to wrestle in three New Japan Pro Wrestling matches, the most anticipated being against Justin Thunder Liger. This match is a rematch 20 years in the making and is a candidate for Match of the Year, promotion regardless.
Hulk Hogan and WWE deny return (For now…)
Hulk Hogan was in attendance for the premiere of the Andre The Giant documentary this past Thursday and it fueled some specualation to the recent possibility that he would be returning to the WWE. The Hulkster denied that his return is inevitable and the WWE issued the following statement: “Hulk Hogan is an important part of Andre the Giant’s history, however his appearance at tonight’s HBO premiere of the documentary and his plans to help others learn from his mistakes does not mean WWE is rehiring him. Hogan is not scheduled to be at any upcoming WWE events.”
NXT Takeover: New Orleans
NXT Takeover: New Orleans will be held April 7, 2018 and will air exclusively on the WWE Network. Here’s the card thus far:
NXT World Championship
* Andrade “Cien” Almas (c) vs. Aleister Black
NXT Women’s Championship
* Ember Moon (c) vs. Shayna Baszler
NXT World Tag-Team Championship
* The Undisputed ERA (c) vs. The Authors Of Pain vs. Roderick Strong & Pete Dunne
NXT North American Championship (Ladder Match)
* Adam Cole vs. EC3 vs. Ricochet vs. Killian Dain vs. The Velveteen Dream vs. Lars Sullivan
Unsanctioned Match
* Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa
