4th and a Mile with Paul Muth

WrestleMania 36 for beginners, because what else is on - Part 2

WrestleMania 36 for beginners, because what else is on - Part 2
Royal Rumble in January is the beginning of the road to WrestleMania. Photo By Paul Muth

The following is part 2 of a two part guide to watching WrestleMania for people who don't normally watch wrestling.

Part one can be found here.

Let's get back to it:

Singles Match: Kevin Owens

vs Seth Rollins


The skinny

Seth Rollins has been an outspoken on obnoxious bad dude with a big old posse that beats up every one and plays dirty, win or lose. Kevin Owens is out to "shut Rollins up," and has been harassing him and interfering in matches since. They've been building this match up for some time, so it should be pretty good.

Who should I root for?

Personally I don't like either of them. WWE continues to push Rollins on fans, trying angle after angle and it's exhausting. Plus, he's glove guy. I don't like glove guys. Owens is supposed to be the guy you root for, but I can't root for anyone who uses Stone Cold Steve Austin's signature stunner move. Can't do it.

Prediction

Owens wins because he hasn't been great in WrestleMania matches and I figure they'll throw him a bone this year.

Raw Tag Team Championship -- The Street Profits (Champs)

vs Austin Theory & Angel Garza

The skinny

The Street Profits just recently won the belts, and the original match was supposed to be against newcomer Angel Garza and Andrade, but Andrade suffered an injury on Monday. He was replaced by Austin Theory, another NXT guy making his debut, so there's no real backstory build up to this match really. Any chance to watch the Street Profits is worth it though, so it should be fine.

Who should I root for?

The Street Profits hands down. They bring an unmatched energy to every performance, and their social media game is on point. Angel Garza and Austin Theory were piecemeal-ed together at the last minute, there's nothing there.

Prediction

Street Profits. Easy.

SmackDown Tag Team Championship Ladder Match -- The Miz & John Morrison (Champs)

vs. The New Day

vs. The Usos

The skinny

Well there's speculation that this match might not even happen, but if it does here's the rundown.

The New Day and The Usos have beef over who should get to challenge for the titles, but after the champs interfered both teams were given the chance.

Who should I root for?

The New Day are a lot of fun, but I'm a fan of just how good Miz and Morrison are at being heels. The Usos don't do much for me.

Prediction

Assuming the match happens, I'll go with The Usos I guess. The other two teams have had the belts more recently, so maybe they're trying to regain some credibility with them, I don't know.

Women's Tag Team Championship -- The Kabuki Warriors (Champs)

vs Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross

The skinny

The Kabuki Warriors have held the titles for some time and now they'll be defending them against the tag team they win them off of. It seems like a match for the sake of having a match, but there's talent on both sides so it should be fine to watch.

Who should I root for?

Both teams are easy to root for. The Kabuki Warriors are crazy as hell, and the chemistry between Bliss and Cross is top notch. I'm a bigger fan of Asuka's insanity though.

Prediction

The Kabuki Warriors retain their titles. They're more entertaining when they're rubbing their belts in opponents' faces.

Aleister Black

vs Bobby Lashley

The skinny

None. There was no build up to this at all. But Lashley is a big dude, and Black is an up and comer that looks like WWE is trying to give a huge push to.

Who should I root for?

Black for sure. He's got the whole dark and brooding thing going, but he also has some awesome tattoos and kicks people in the face.

Prediction

They put in a hell of a show and Black gets put over. Black wins.

Elias

vs King Corbin

The skinny

This is another filler match. King Corbin is a heel, and a good one, but WWE just can't seem to find a gimmick that works. Elias I guess wants to fight him. This match is just there. It's a thing.

Who should I root for?

A quick match

Prediction

Corbin wins to maintain relevancy so he can go harass another big name on the roster.

Singles "Firefly Funhouse" Match: John Cena

vs "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt

The skinny

John Cena returns for a WrestleMania match against one of the most unique characters WWE has seen in some time. Bray Wyatt is part Mankind, part Kane, and there isn't a better wrestler on the roster when it comes to mic skills. I have no idea what a Firefly Funhouse Match is, but it sounds a lot like Undertaker and AJ Styles' Boneyard Match. I expect this to be one of the better matches this weekend.

Who should I root for?

Bray Wyatt. John Cena is just here to do some WrestleMania stuff and then he's back to Hollywood.

Prediction

Cena wins, because otherwise why would he come back?

Singles "Last Man Standing" match: Edge

vs. Randy Orton

The skinny

They've done a really good job building this story line up since late January. After nine years Edge was medically cleared to go back to wrestling (real life, not story line), and did so by debuting as an entrant in the Royal Rumble. The following Monday Orton and Edge reunited in the ring on Raw, where Orton then attacked his former tag team partner and "tried to end his career again." Orton brutalized anyone coming to Edge's defense and once Edge came back it was pretty apparent that they were going to meet up at WrestleMania. Like I said, they built it up really well so this should be awesome.

Who should I root for?

Edge, are you kidding? The dude's been working to get back to wrestling for NINE YEARS. Root for him, jeez.

Prediction

If Edge doesn't win, America loses.

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That's five straight losses for Houston. Composite Getty Image.

Pete Crow-Armstrong hit a tiebreaking two-run homer for his first major league hit, and the Chicago Cubs swept the Houston Astros with a 3-1 victory on Thursday.

Nico Hoerner had three hits and Mike Tauchman went 1 for 1 with three walks as Chicago won for the fourth time in five games. Hayden Wesneski (2-0) pitched 2 1/3 perfect innings for the win in relief of Javier Assad.

Houston has lost a season-high five straight and eight of nine overall. At 7-19, it is off to its worst 26-game start since it was 6-20 in 1969.

First-year manager Joe Espada was ejected by plate umpire Jansen Visconti in the top of ninth.

Crow-Armstrong was recalled from Triple-A Iowa when Cody Bellinger was placed on the 10-day injured list on Wednesday with two fractured ribs. The 22-year-old outfielder, who is considered one of the team’s top prospects, made his big league debut last year and went 0 for 14 while appearing in 13 games.

He picked a perfect time for his first major league hit.

Houston had a 1-0 lead before Dansby Swanson scampered home on a fielder’s choice grounder for Miguel Amaya in the sixth.

Espada then replaced Rafael Montero with Bryan Abreu, who threw a wild pitch with Crow-Armstrong trying to sacrifice Amaya to second. Crow-Armstrong then drove his next pitch deep to right, delighting the crowd of 29,876 at Wrigley Field.

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