Fantasy Booking WM36

Hope all is well. Yes, I bother you with this every year.

This is my attempt to book “WrestleMania 36”. I started putting this together the day after “Crown Jewel, 2019” (as I wanted to see how Valesquez and Fury would be handled), and finished on December 31^st, with real-world incidents like injuries, suspensions, releases, and legal issues taken into account.

Criteria:

– With the exception of Brock, I’m not using any part-timers, celebrities, or anyone that’s basically “up in the air”, so that means no Ronda Rousey, Cain Velasquez, Tyson Fury, Cena, Taker, Rock, Trips, etc.

– Vince likes to utilize everyone on the Raw and Smackdown rosters in order to give everyone an extra bonus/pay-day, so I’ll be doing the same. I’m also going to include a number of NXT performers, as Vince is interested in pushing the brand. The exceptions would be those that are currently “in the doghouse”, such as Jeff Hardy, Jimmy and Jey Uso, etc.

– There will be fourteen matches announced, with eleven on the “main” card and three on the pre-show. The main card will run five hours, with the pre-show going two hours. I know, I agree, it’s too long, but that’s just what “WM” is now.

– I’ll just list the matches here, and then go into the booking/story details below. That’ll include things like people crossing brands/shows for certain title matches.

WWE Title: Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Big E Langston

Universal Title: The Fiend (c) vs. Aleister Black

Raw Women’s Title: Asuka (c) vs. Kairi Sane

SD Women’s Title: Becky Lynch (c) vs. Shayna Baszler

Raw Tag Titles: “Authors of Pain” (c) vs. Ricochet & Cedric Alexander

SD Tag Titles: Metalik & Dorado (c) vs. [Mystery Opponents]

Women’s Tag Titles: Alexa & Nikki (c) vs. Sasha & Bayley

US Title, Ladder Match: Rollins (c) vs. Morrison, Rey, Murphy, Andrade, Carrillo

IC Title: Bryan (c) vs. Cesaro vs. Nakamura vs. Miz

NXT Title: Johnny Gargano (c) vs. AJ Styles

NXT Women’s Title: Rhea Ripley (c) vs. Charlotte

Cruiser Title: Raul Mendoza (c) vs. Tozawa vs. Ali

36-Man “Andre Memorial Battle Royal”

36-Woman “Chyna Memorial Battle Royal”

—

I know that this has never been your thing, but what do you think? Not enough celebrities and part-timers? Too many multi-person matches? Dumb idea to have main-roster stars challenge for NXT titles? Or can you see where I’m coming from on some of these? My explanations of how I got to each are below. Take care,

Explanations for matches:

WWE Championship:

– Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Big E Langston

Like many fans, I was very disheartened with the decision to have Kofi drop the title to Brock in about five seconds. It felt disrespectful to Kofi and like yet another “troll” move by Vince. If there had been some follow-up, like Kofi refocusing and pushing himself harder, at least that would have constituted a story, but there was literally nothing here. Well, this is the follow-up. If Kofi’s loss isn’t going to be used to further develop Kofi’s character, then let’s use it to further develop Big E’s character. Big E wins the “Rumble”, and decides to avenge Kofi’s humiliation by challenging Brock at “WM”. Brock and Heyman, of course, treat Big E like an after-thought, calling him the least relevant member of “The New Day” and noting that E has only a fraction of the accomplishments and experience that Kofi has. Also, since Brock is on “Raw” and Langston is on “SD”, Heyman will negotiate special permission for both competitors to appear on both shows; this will lead to some unfair situations, as Heyman (a manager) will be allowed to travel with Brock, but Kofi (a wrestler) will not be allowed to travel with Langston, leading to Brock trying to lure Langston to “Raw” where he (Langston) won’t have his best friend to watch his back.

—

Universal Championship:

– The Fiend (c) vs. Aleister Black

Dark character vs. dark character, the aesthetic just makes too much sense. Plus, I absolutely believe that Black should get a rocket strapped to him, he’s already got the in-ring talent, is good enough on the mic, has a unique look/character, carries himself like a star… there’s no point in making him “pay his dues” for another year or two. Black wins the “Elimination Chamber” and challenges Wyatt. Like Brock and Langston, these two will also appear on both shows, though it will be less of “permission” situation and more of Fiend just being an uncontrollable force of chaos and violence that does whatever he wants. Black will quickly get fed-up with the idea of having to stick to one show, and start making appearance on both brands, consequences be damned; management will try to stop Black from appearing on “SD”, but Black is not only stubborn, but highly intelligent, daring management to suspend him and put one of the main-events of “WM” in jeopardy.

—

Raw Women’s Championship:

– Asuka (c) vs. Kairi Sane

Okay, this one’s a bit more complicated. Going into “Survivor Series, 2019”, Asuka-Kairi are the Women’s Tag-Team Champions. They are on Bayley’s five-woman team, and face Becky’s five-woman team; the heels win, though Bayley is eliminated during the match, meaning that Asuka-Kairi have earned shots at Becky’s and Bayley’s titles due to outlasting both of them. At “TLC”, Asuka beats Becky for the Raw women’s title in a Chairs match, while Kairi beats Bayley for the SD women’s title in a Tables match; this is done to protect Becky and Bayley from getting pinned. At “Royal Rumble”, Asuka-Kairi have to put all of their titles on the line: Asuka defends against Charlotte, Kairi defends against Sasha, and they defend their Women’s Tag titles against Alexa-Nikki. Kairi’s match is first, and she manages to retain the SD Women’s title due to Asuka’s interference; Asuka’s match is next, but she drops the Raw Women’s title to Charlotte because Kairi’s interference back-fires. Finally, Asuka-Kairi defend against Alexa-Nikki, but Asuka – incensed over not only losing her Raw title, but also suffering yet another loss to Charlotte – turns on Kairi, allowing Alexa-Nikki to get the win and the titles. The following night on “Raw”, Asuka attacks Kairi again, leading to Kairi being hospitalized and eventually being stripped of the SD Women’s title. Asuka demands a rematch with Charlotte, and while automatic rematches generally aren’t done anymore, Charlotte’s ego won’t allow her to turn down that challenge. At “Elimination Chamber”, Asuka beats Charlotte in a totally clean match, thus showing that she (Asuka) is capable of doing so. Later that week, Kairi returns, attacks Asuka on multiple occasions, and the match is made for “WM”. As for a non-kayfabe reason to book this match, that’s simple: “WM” is taking place at Raymond James Stadium, which features a big Pirate Ship. Passing up on the opportunity to do a crazy pirate-themed entrance for Kairi would be insane. Both performers are part of “Raw”, so there’s no need to have them appear on “SD”.

—

SD Women’s Championship:

– Becky Lynch (c) vs. Shayna Baszler

As described above, Kairi wins the SD Women’s title in December, is injured by Asuka in January, and stripped of the title in February. Elsewhere, Shayna wins the women’s “Rumble”, and Carolina (the female luchador that was recently paired with Sin Cara) is quietly moved to SD and joins “Lucha House Party”. The lack of a champion leads to an “Elimination Chamber” match to crown a new SD Women’s champ, featuring Bayley, Sasha, Nia, Lacey, Carmella, and Carolina. To everyone’s surprise, Carolina actually ends-up winning the “Chamber” match and the title! Except, Carolina removes her mask (and wig) to reveal that it’s actually Becky that has won the match and title. This leads to Becky defending against Shayna at “WM”. While Becky is a “Raw”-contracted performer, winning the SD Women’s title will allow her to appear on “SD”, and if Becky is going to be on “SD”, then Shayna insists on doing the same.

—

Raw Tag-Team Championships:

– “Authors of Pain” (c) vs. Ricochet & Cedric Alexander

By the time “WM” rolls around, Akam-Rezar have been champs for a few months and pretty much cleared-out the division. They’ve also started working with Rollins, with the trio becoming known as “The Architects of Pain”. An eight-team tournament is held, with the winners getting to face “AOP” for the titles at “WM”. The teams are: Ivar-Erik, Dawkins-Ford, Gallows-Anderson, Ryder-Hawkins, Owens-Joe, Rey-Carrillo, Ricochet-Alexander, Andrade-Murphy (who have come together because Zelina recognizes Murphy’s talent, and feels that he and Andrade could easily win the tournament and titles). Keep these teams in mind, as some of them will be mentioned again. Ricochet-Alexander beat Andrade-Murphy in the finals.

—

SD Tag-Team Championships:

– Gran Metalik & Lince Dorado (c) vs. [Mystery Opponents]

I know, a lot of people aren’t going to like the idea of Metalik-Dorado winning the Tag titles, but it’s only being done so that they can be destroyed by a debuting team at “WM”. Metalik-Dorado win the titles in February, get a few wins to validate their reign, and then are challenged to a title-match at “WM” by Drake Maverick. There are no hints given as to who the challengers will be.

—

Women’s Tag-Team Championships:

– Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross (c) vs. Sasha Banks & Bayley

Alexa-Nikki won the titles at “Royal Rumble”, after Asuka turns on Kairi. Come March, Sasha and Bayley realize that they won’t be getting any shots at the Raw or SD Women’s Championships on the big stage, so they shift their focus to the Tag titles. Sasha-Bayley are extremely egotistical, mentioning that they were the first Women’s Tag champs, taking credit for the entire “Women’s Evolution”, and basically looking down on Alexa-Nikki.

—

US Championship, Ladder Match:

– Rollins (c) vs. Morrison vs. Rey vs. Andrade vs. Murphy vs. Carrillo

Told ya to keep some of those make-shift teams from the tournament in mind. Rollins wins the US title early in the year, thanks in part to help from “AOP”. Morrison returns in the “Rumble”, and then immediately sets his sights on Rollins. Rollins defends against Morrison, but “AOP” once again interfere, with Morrison pretty clearly getting screwed out of the title. Meanwhile, the teams of Rey-Carrillo and Andrade-Murphy have been feuding since the tag tournament, with the heels coming out on top; this leads to Andrade believing that he deserves a shot at the US title, which Murphy objects to, and then Rey and Carrillo object to either of them getting the shot. The six competitors are basically thrown together into one big ladder match. As for why these six, not only should it lead to one great match, but you could easily mix-and-match these guys to fill TV time with multiple great matches.

—

IC Championship:

– Bryan (c) vs. Cesaro vs. Nakamura vs. Miz

To vary things up, I’m doing one three-way, one four-way, and one six-way on the card, and I like the parity of booking both the IC and US titles in multi-man matches. Anyway, Bryan wins the title from Nakamura at the end of 2019, pretty much so that he can help anchor the weekly “Smackdown” episodes with high-quality title-defenses on a regular basis. Cesaro and Nakamura have a bit of a falling out, with both feeling that the other is responsible for their lack of success; they don’t feud (yet), but it’s obvious that they’re not on the same page and that Zayn is barely keeping them together. Come “WM”, Cesaro challenges Bryan for the title, Nakamura takes offense and thinks that he deserves the shot instead of Cesaro, and Miz wants to get himself back on top after a disappointing 2019. Things get progressively more heated and personal as the feud continues.

—

NXT Championship:

– Johnny Gargano (c) vs. AJ Styles

And here’s where we get into the NXT representation. Styles is worried about being left off of the “WM” card, so he makes a challenge to face the NXT champ (whomever that may be) at “WM”. Trips and Regal don’t take much time in accepting the challenge. At “TakeOver” the night before “WM”, Gargano wins the NXT title.

—

NXT Women’s Championship:

– Rhea Ripley (c) vs. Charlotte Flair

Basically the same as the above, as Charlotte is also fearful of being left off of the “WM” card. Rhea retains her title at “TakeOver” the night before.

—

Cruiserweight Championship:

– Raul Mendoza (c) vs. Akira Tozawa vs. Mustafa Ali

With Trips-Regal already agreeing to let two of their champions defend at “WM”, they figure, what the hell, they’ll do the same with the Cruiserweight championship. However, unlike the last two matches that came about because of challenges from specific people on the main-roster, they leave it up to “management” (the McMahon family, basically) to nominate one person from “Raw” and one from “SD”. Angel Garza has been on a months-long reign as Cruiserweight Champion, but one night before “WM”, he loses the title to Raul Mendoza in a bit of an upset. I realize that it probably seems odd to take the title off of Garza, but he has a very defined character, and if he ever does get called up, it should be with a bunch of vignettes to hype him up beforehand. Mendoza, on the other hand, can just flat-out go in the ring but is more of a vanilla personality, and doesn’t really need to be handled in a certain way, he can just show up out of the blue and have a great match. Plus, it gives an excuse to run a big Mendoza/Garza rematch in “NXT”.

—

36-Man “Andre Memorial Battle Royal”

– (Benjamin, Dawkins, Ford, Erik, Ivar, Joe, Lashley, Mahal, Mcintyre, Orton, Owens, Rowan, Rusev; Corbin, Crews, Dawson, Elias, Matt, Otis, Reigns, Roode, Sheamus, Strowman, Tucker, Wilder, Ziggler; Dain, Dijakovic, Klee, Priest, Reed; Bate, Dennis, Mastiff, Ohno, Walter)

Okay, so, this has basically become just a throw-away jobber match over the last few years, but I want to do something different here. Instead of a bunch of bottom-rung guys, I want to load this up with names, under the theme of this match being for the biggest and baddest people on the roster. Reigns, Owens, Joe, Lashley, Mcintyre, Strowman, Lee, Dijakovic… yeah, there are a few people that don’t really fit the theme, but even a guy like Matt Hardy has credibility as a tough badass due to his history of gimmick matches, or Ziggler can make a claim due to his physique. And, yes, Tyler Bate gets in because he’s a “big strong boy”, and because I want to see him airplane-spin everybody possible. Oh, and just because I have OCD, the numbers will break down to thirteen people from “Raw”, thirteen from “SD”, five from “NXT”, and five from “NXT-UK”.

—

36-Woman “Chyna Memorial Battle Royal”

– (Billie, Liv, Natalya, Peyton, Ruby, Sarah; Carmella, Dana, Lacey, Mandy, Sonya, Tamina; Bianca, Candice, Carolina, Chelsea, Dakota, Deonna, Io, Jessamyn, Kayden, Marina, Mia, Taynara, Tegan, Vanessa, Xial; Kaylee, Isla, Jazzy, Jinny, Killer, Nina, Niven, Toni, Xiab)

Yes, I know, they probably aren’t going to use Chyna’s name, but they should. The break down is six “Raw”, six “SD”, fifteen “NXT”, and nine “NXT-UK”. Unfortunately, with this one, there just aren’t enough big names to mean much, so this one will be on the preshow. That said, I still wanted to stretch the number to thirty-six so that it could basically whet the appetite of a lot of the “NXT” and “NXT-UK” performers; give them a little taste of performing on this stage in order to motivate them just little bit more, not to mention that it’d be a fun treat and morale-booster.

—

[Unused People]

Anyone from “Raw” or “SD” that I haven’t mentioned yet will be used on the show, most likely in backstage skits for the 24/7 Championship. I do have plans for everyone, though.