(I don't want to say it's unprecedented, but it's super, super rare - between writing Part 1 and writing Part 2, my planned finish in a prominent match has changed; I had already written down in longhand the results of the PPV and something IRL in real time has caused me to flip....a lot of future booking. A lot.)
In Part 1 we set up the 5 title matches:
WWF TITLE: ROMAN REIGNS v. CODY RHODES
-Roman's been champ for a year, can he extend that reign or does Cody take the WWF Title and the Triple Crown?
IC TITLE: PRINCE DEVITT v. RICOCHET
-It's the biggest rival for each man in their respective WWF careers; will history repeat, with Ricochet taking Devitt's IC Title - or does the Prince get his redemption?
TAG TITLES: NO DQ: DANGEROUS ALLIANCE (WALTER/LESNAR w/Heyman) v. HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE (MCINTYRE/GABLE w. Lashley)
-Walter/Lesnar look like a superteam, do they win this No DQ rematch against the HRE?
WOMENS TITLE: BIANCA BELAIR v. RONDA ROUSEY (w/Heyman)
-Rousey's taken two pinfall losses in WWF, losing the title to Belair was one of them, she looks to regain the belt here.
WOMENS TAG TITLES: FIGHT FOREVER (BECKY LYNCH/CHARLOTTE FLAIR) v. HORSEWOMEN (RHEA RIPLEY/SHAYNA BASZLER w. Stratton)
-Its the inauguration of the modern womens tag title belts, who will become the first WWF modern womens tag team champions?
7 More Matches Now Announced:
2 OF 3 FALLS: ASUKA v. IYO SKY
-The 2 time Womens Champ Asuka returned after long injury layoff to find her former stablemate Sky with a fully Americanized persona; Sky defeated Asuka, who then turned on her - Asuka got revenge in a brutal Rumble win and here's the rubber match; it's sold as potentially the best womens wrestling match in promotion history.
MONEY IN THE BANK: KEVIN STEEN v. SAMI ZAYN v. JEY USO v. JIMMY USO v. TYLER BLACK v. ?
-Why not have a big multi-man ladder match? Winner can challenge for any title over the next year.
Steen and Zayn's relationship is now one of the epic stories in promotion history; over the course of this wrestling year Steen has given up in an attempt to repair their relationship; one talking point mentioned by announcers for months has been that while Steen had occasion multiple times to "save" Zayn, attempting to cut against the claim that he has been selfish in their long friendship. Zayn, however, has never shown appreciation or reciprocated, and while Steen did commit the sin that ended their friendship (I'm not going through that whole thing, you can look it up) there's a lot of miles in the rear view such that fans in 2023 should find themselves saying that its Zayn now who needs to step up.
The Usos are 4 time tag champs, but are broken up now, Roman's rejection of them as part of his stable caused a fissure that couldn't be repaired.
There's a moment in the build that teases the tag match that never happened - "I mean, obviously we're not ever going to have this match...but if we did...who do you think would win...."
They do a tag in the build - Jey and Zayn beating Steen and Jimmy when Jey (the only heel in the mix) pulls out some knucks and knocks Steen out - Zayn maybe could have stopped it - but does not, taking the win instead of aiding Steen.
Add Black - who spent the previous wrestling year chasing the IC in an attempt to win the Triple Crown - he's focusing on the briefcase and teasing that maybe, if he won, it's that IC belt that he'd be going after.
Add a mystery 6th entrant and you've got the match.
EMANCIPATION MATCH: REY MYSTERIO v. DOMINIC MYSTERIO
-After a couple of years of stumbles, Dom has achieved some success as a chickenshit heel - Rey is disgusted by this and so a deal is struck - if Rey wins, then Dom has to give him the rest of 2023, allow Rey to train him, do what Rey asks entirely - and if, at that point, Dom still wants to do things his way, Rey won't stand in his way anymore. However - if Dom wins, that freedom comes now, Dom (an adult) is emancipated, and he doesn't ever need to listen to Rey again. Dom's a masked wrestler, like his dad - and as part of this build Rey gives Dom a special mask from his career (maybe the one he wore when he became WWF Champ, lets say). It's a touching moment, from a father to his boy.
LEGENDS MATCH: JOHN CENA v. LOGAN PAUL (Special Guest Referee: Pat McAfee)
-Paul ended Edge's WWF career at the Rumble and is at the highest possible level of cockiness; he declares himself the only real WWF legend - Cena returns to challenge; they insult each other - Paul promises a legendary Mania to his followers. McAfee returns here to resume the Paul rivalry and is named guest referee.
SHEAMUS v MIZ
-Former rivals, then partners, now rivals again - Miz does a "I'm a vet, who are you" thing with McDonagh, talking about how his big brother Devitt is too busy to protect him - that leads to Sheamus emerging; the backstory of Sheamus bullying Miz comes into play - the two of them becoming tag champs with McIntyre and then it all blowing up provides the backdrop.
BAYLEY/NATTY/TRISH v. LIV/RAQUEL/CHELSEA
-As part of the launch of the tag belts, a documentary about the evolution of the role of women in WWF is shot, unsparing look at the misogyny evident earlier days of the Mania era. Trish and Natty, representing the Clique and the Harts, come to detente over the course of the shooting; they get called out by Bliss and Morgan doing a "can you get your old asses out of our ring" thing - Bliss gets hurt and Morgan grabs another young team, Rodriguez and Green, and they stomp out the vets. Bayley then comes in near the end and we've got a 6 woman match.
STREET PROFITS v. VIKING RAIDERS
-Straight opening tag, the babyface Profits against the heel Raiders.
And that's the show - multiple dark matches, including Dragon Lee defending the Dark Ride title against Ilja Dragunov.
We're off to Los Angeles for Wrestlemania 39 - coming in April
