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They aired the pre game show announcement of TKO buying AAA. They showed the AAA people from the announcement. Richard will have their names. June 7th we have the first show for Worlds Collide.
HBK is announced. The announcers put over Shawn still being away and also Oba Femi. Femi is great. Steph Vaquer stepped up big too.
They said it was a sold out crowd of 61,467. Well, if you only put that many seats on sale, that is the number you will get. Just sayin'. There are empty seats and more that could have been released. I have peeps at the stadium.
Stephen Amell is there. So is a UFC guy and his boss Dana White. White got a mixed reaction in his home city, with more boos than cheers. He didn't seem to appreciate it. Not for nothing, he isn't loved by a lot of us here in Las Vegas.
Tiffany Stratton defends against Charlotte Flair.
Tiffany was out first, coming out of a Barbie House made by Mattel for her. Big pops for Tiff. OK, I am already pissed off. Why is the champ out first? It better be because she is looking at the lights because the crowd already hates her and if she comes out last AND wins, they totally have screwed the pooch here. Charlotte needs to do what is best for business (and her standing in the locker room) and do the job here. I want to make it clear, I have a ton of respect for her, but she should not win here for the same reason that John Cena should not win tomorrow.
As it should have, it started out nasty with each throwing hands. This seems like it will be STIFF! Fan is chanting Tiffy Time from the start. They are working stiff, which is what they should do given what they turned this into. I like the logic of it. Charlotte is getting a lot in early, including stealing Stephanie Vaquer's move. The crowd largely hates her. She is dominating Tiffy, which I hope means she should lose. It had better mean that.
Tiffy came back and got a two.
Now it's turning into more wrestling. Charlotte is giving Tiffy some learning tree moments, and I mean that in the best possible way.
Charlotte is calling Tiffy a bitch and telling her to show her what she's got. Tiff fired up a bit but Charlotte got out of the way. She hit a sit out Powerbomb for two when Tiff avoided Natural Selection.
Say what you want about Charlotte but she is awesome in the ring. If Tiff wins, it means a lot. If it ends up that they actually planned this all out, Tiffy has to win. She keeps coming back and throwing bombs.
Charlotte came off the top with a splash but Tiff rolled through and got a two (close to a three). Tiff went to the floor and Charlotte went for the moonsault. Tiff pushed her and Charlotte sold the knee. Tiff went right after it but Charlotte came back. She used the post to hurt Tiff's leg. Charlotte locked on the Figure Four but couldn't get the 8. Tiff started to attack the knee when Charlotte was yelling at her. Tiff attacked the knee and Charlotte sold it. Tiff hit the moonsault but Charlotte got the knee up, which was a win lose because of the knee. She only got a two. This is freaking great.
Charlotte is up first and went to the top. Tiff caught her and beat her on the top. Flair dropped her on her face and hit Natural Selection from the top, two count only! Great near fall.
Charlotte is talking crap and the crowd hates it. She took out Tiff's knee but they are both up. Charlotte charged the buckle but Tiff moved. Tiff senton, moonsault, 1-2-3, Tiffany retains.
That was great stuff! It was a coming of age story for Tiffy. It looks like she broke a tooth. They went to war and it was great, great stuff. The GOAT may have just passed the torch to the future GOAT.
Charlotte rolled out after the win and Tiff held up the Title. Charlotte then gave her the look. Great stuff, kudos all around.
The Hall Of Fame stuff was cool. I was happy for everyone. I wish Bret Hart could look happy, I really do. Bro, we are still alive. Enjoy it.
Seth Rollins vs. Roman Reigns vs. CM Punk, with Paul Heyman.
Rollins was out first. He is dressed in white and had a flamethrower, which he used. It was cool. He may as well wear white because the fans are singing. Sure he has been a complete heel but this year it is what it is.
Roman is our next. Hopefully that means we get Living Colour live for Punk. Mike Johnson will pop in a big way if so. Roman has “it”. The guy just exudes star.
They did a really cool retro video package on Punk, who is coming out last. If he wins here and moves on while Roman and Seth keep their issues going, it’s the best outcome I can think of. The video ended and the fans were ready. Mike Johnson is happy, he gets the live entrance. And he mugged for the selfie on the way out! Punk rules.
And then Paul came out. They are to the ring. When it ended the crowd popped big and chanted for Punk. He appreciated it. I do too. Life is about growth. Punk has grown and I love that for everyone who chooses to do that.
Now they are chanting Roman’s name. And now Punk. This will be wild. The bell rang and the crowd cheered. They are ready. More Punk chants.
Punk went to the floor and embraced Paul so that Seth and Roman would go at it and we are off.
What a match! Damn, they killed it. And the finish? It got me wondering.
The work, obviously, was awesome. You have three Hall Of Famers and they did what they do best.
So let’s get right down to it. The big story is Paul Heyman‘s turn. Obviously, he’s a heel. The big questions are why would he join Rollins? We can’t say that he didn’t turn on his best friend because he gave the chair to Roman and he used it on him. He did it because he wanted to watch Roman get his, and Punk was expendable. So, Heyman is a heel.
We also have to wonder about Punk’s motivations because he willingly accepted the chair. He is a face, but would he have used it?
So at the end of the day, they want us to wonder why he sided with Seth Rollins. I wonder that too. We also need to wonder why he would turn on both people he was aligned with. Tune in Monday, and I want to see what happens.
I am glad that they let Punk be the last one out of the ring and I’m sure he is too because he kissed it. He got his Wrestlemania main event and I think that’s awesome. I’m also really happy that he’s now out of the Roman-Seth dynamic. It's time for him to move onto something better.
The one thing I’m happy about is that Punk wasn’t pinned. That tells me he is done with Rollins and Reigns. Those two have issues going forward. Punk does too, but Paul has turned on him before so it's not urgent since he didn't take the pin.
I will say this. I wasn’t excited for the booking going in, but after night one, I’m excited to see where they go from here. They delivered a strong night one.
Thanks for reading.
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