WWE Wrap-Up
This week in WWE: Cena tries to get a response from Undertaker as Nakamura plays mind games with Styles
Mar 28, 2018, 3:11 pm
This is a weekly look at the action in the WWE:
Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman opened the show discussing Lesnar’s attack on Roman Reigns. Suddenly, Reigns appeared from the crowd in hopes of getting some payback, but ended up a victim of another vicious attack from Lesnar. Nia Jax soundly handled Alexa Bliss’ friend, Mickie James, in the first match of the night. Bliss tried attacking Jax but ended up running away from her ‘Mania opponent.
The Miz aired out his dirty laundry with the Mizterauge and their inabilities to “get the job done.” Rollins and Balor did a great job instigating and causing Axel and Dallas to turn on Miz, or so they thought. The two, suddenly, began attacking Balor and Rollins. An assist from Gallows and Anderson helped Balor get the last laugh. The tensions between Bayley and Sasha Banks finally erupted when the two fought backstage after Bayley hit Sasha where it hurts reminding her that she never held the Women’s Title in a lengthy title reign.
Kurt Angle took to the ring to explain to Ronda that ‘Mania will be fun, but it will not be easy. Absolution tried to attack Rousey after she refused to join the group, but Rousey handled them swiftly. John Cena took on Kane in a No DQ match to close the show. Cena mocked Undertaker with his patented death throat slash and even smashed Kane with a Chokeslam. Cena defeated Kane after hitting him with an AA through a table. “ No lightning, no bells of terror, no Undertaker?” asked Cena after the match. “ I know you’re not deaf, you’re just a coward! I hope, for the sake of all that is good in this ring, I see you next week,” exclaimed Cena.
SmackDown opened with Randy Orton and Bobby Roode tagging against Jinder Mahal and Rusev. Orton and Roode, of course, could not work well together and Rusev was able to pin the champion to win for his team. This lead to Rusev being added to the match for the US Title at ‘Mania. Becky Lynch defeated Ruby Riott via a roll up pin. The Riott Squad tried spoiling her win, but Lynch handled them easily enough and threw them out of the ring, much like she hopes to at ‘Mania in the Women’s Battle Royal.
Daniel Bryan shared his proposal with the WWE crowd in Pittsburgh. Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan will tag against Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn at WrestleMania. If Owens and Zayn win, they will be reinstated. Otherwise, if they lose, they will remain fired. The Bludgeon Brothers tried to use their mallets on the New Day during their tag match, but The Usos raced down to the ring to prevent the attack from happening. Shinsuke Nakamura, with AJ Styles in his corner, defeated Shelton Benjamin. Nakamura called Styles into the ring to tell him he did not need him in his corner. He just wanted him to see how he plans beat him at ‘Mania. Benjamin and Gable tried attacking Styles, leading Nakamura to race back down to the ring to save him. He teased Styles, acting as he was going to hit him with a knee. Instead, he degraded him by patting him on the head.
Boy, oh boy, was this week full of promo packages.
Granted, this is a given, it is WrestleMania season, after all. It felt extremely excessive, especially on Raw. This can quickly be explained by the fact that Raw has an additional hour to fill, but having meaningless matches like Balor Club vs Mizterouge and Elias vs Rhyno feels completely meaningless a week out from ‘Mania.
SmackDown, too, had filler matches, but Ziggler and Breeze did not really go on for long, and the show, simply flowed a lot better. Perhaps it was the lengthy matches, or the excellent placement of Bryan’s promo at the top of the second hour, but, for once, the show flew by.
Last year, ‘Mania had a problem. The matches on the blue show, simply, did not feel like they mattered as much as the matches from the red show. This is absolutely not the case this year, though. Bryan tagging with Shane will be memorable for years to come, Styles and Nakamura should absolutely tear the house down, and Charlotte and Asuka, the clash of the titans, will bring a much-needed important match to the SmackDown Women’s Division. All in all, I can genuinely say I am more excited for this year’s WrestleMania than I was for last year’s, and the event last year ended up being a good one.
If you’ve been casually watching the last few months, next week is an absolutely “can’t miss” week. Go home shows always tend to deliver some excitement, this will especially be the case for the ‘Mania go homes. Roman will probably get his hands on Lesnar, we could possibly find out who Braun’s partner will be, and we will get some sort of sign from Undertaker. On SmackDown, we are sure to see a pair of uninvited superstars from Owens and Zayn, a face off from Asuka and Charlotte, and things between Styles and Nakamura may finally get physical. As intriguing as the build to the biggest event has been, it all needs to be validated next week during the go home shows. If recent times are any indication, we are in for a treat in the final stops before WrestleMania.
The Houston Astros will look to even their three-game set against the Cleveland Guardians on Tuesday night at Daikin Park, with ace-in-the-making Hunter Brown taking the mound.
The Astros (55-36) dropped the series opener 7-5 on Monday, snapping a stretch that saw them win six of their last eight games. But they'll have their best arm on the hill in Brown, who enters with a 9-3 record, a sparkling 1.82 ERA, and a microscopic 0.90 WHIP. The right-hander has been the definition of dominant this season, striking out 126 batters and giving Houston a clear edge in any matchup he starts.
Cleveland (41-48) will counter with Joey Cantillo, who has impressed in limited action. The lefty owns a 3.41 ERA and will face a Houston lineup that has been red-hot, batting .298 over the last 10 games and piling up runs behind contributions from Victor Caratini, Cam Smith, and Jose Altuve.
Despite Monday’s setback, the Astros are still 32-15 at home and boast a 43-13 record when outhitting their opponent. Cleveland, meanwhile, has lost nine of its last 10 and is hitting just .187 over that span — though Jose Ramirez and Steven Kwan remain threats to change a game with one swing.
TOP PERFORMERS: Jake Meyers has 15 doubles, two triples, three home runs and 21 RBIs for the Astros. Meyers is dealing with a calf issue and was out of the lineup for Game 1 versus the Guardians.
Caratini is 10 for 38 with two doubles and four home runs over the past 10 games.
Tuesday marks the fifth meeting between the two clubs this season, with the series tied 2-2. With Brown on the mound and the offense continuing to click, Houston will try to reclaim control and keep pace atop the American League.
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Astros -211, Guardians +173; over/under is 7 runs.
Lineup breakdown
Here's an early look at Houston's lineup for Game 2. Spots 1-6 are the same as Game 1, except Cooper Hummel is playing left field, with Altuve in the DH spot. Mauricio Dubon is hitting seventh and playing second base, with Zack Short (SS) hitting eighth, followed by Taylor Trammell batting ninth and playing center field. Jake Meyers is out of the lineup again with a calf issue.
Image via: MLB.com/Screenshot
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