Road to Wrestlemania 35-Part 1, The Singles Matches

The Rumble is here

Wrestlemania 35 is coming in April from East Rutherford.  

There are a dozen matches on the card – a half dozen singles, a half dozen tags. In this build, we’ll do the singles matches and in March, the tags. 

Here’s your singles half of the card.

WWF Championship: Shinsuke Nakamura v. AJ Styles

Women’s Championship: Asuka v. Ronda Rousey (w/Horsewomen)

IC Title: Prince Devitt v. Ricochet (w/BWI)

Bryan Danielson v. Samoa Joe

Claudio Castagnoli (w/Gargano) v. Tyler Black

Cage: Kingston (w/New Day) v. Rusev (w/Lana and Strowman)

Let's start with the two big title matches.

Nakamura v. Styles

Asuka v. Rousey

Wrestlemania 35. 

Both the big title matches have sport based builds; Nakamura and Asuka are both headed to Japan for most of the build (I mean, they might just be there for a weekend and do a lot of shooting, but clips will be shown over the next couple of months).  Lot of training stuff for both title matches; Nakamura training for quickness, the idea being that he’ll need to keep up with Styles – and Asuka (they’re not together, except maybe once, they just are both in Japan; they are similar builds but not coupled) is doing MMA training, because she’s facing Rousey.  In the states – Styles is in Georgia, as rural as it can be; like he’s pushing tires on a farm, that kind of thing.  And Rousey, who has been playing heel wrestler for several months, is now really playing it as if this was competition.  She’s in LA, she’s treating this like a real fight. Part of a video package is her really talking for the first time in her WWF run about her loss to Holm and how that took some element of her identity away – and now, facing an undefeated Asuka at Wrestlemania – she has a chance to get that back.

The layered element to AJ/Nakamura is their Bullet Club history – and as part of the taped packages building it up we get Prince Devitt talking about how he put AJ and Nakamura together.  This is rare – Devitt’s reducing his persona like 20% to talk about the Bullet Club like it was a shoot; like AJ and Nakamura were competitive athletes and he coordinated their coming together and then jumping to a rival league. The positioning here is that Styles and Nakamura were never friends, really, but as they were ramping up to their Wrestle Kingdom 10 match in 2016, their representatives were in secret meetings with Devitt. Devitt says even though there was a deal in principle, he knew it could fall through depending upon the outcome of that match.  But – that match was so great, it exponentially grew the respect the two had for each other and solidified their willingness to team together and come to WWF. 

That allows for this to be framed as a rematch of an all time great bout from New Japan, allows for the rivalry that was apparent between the two when they were both Bullet Club members to form the basis of this program.  And that’s what’s expressed by Styles and Nakamura in the training – as if they were former teammates who were never really close, but constantly in each other’s orbit – and now – after over 3 years where the two really have had a stranglehold on the WWF Title – the two men, both babyfaces, meet in the main event of WM35 for the biggest prize in the sport. 

That’s pretty good – it’s not a blood feud, but it’s not cold either; these are the guys positioned for the past 3 years as the top guys in the promotion – we’ve seen them both beat Lesnar, we’ve seen Styles beat Danielson, we’ve seen then as part of the dominant faction in the sport – we now see them as fan favorites – and here they meet in a rematch of what is framed as an all time great match from Japan.

They do one split screen satellite interview that gets a little heated; at the press conference there’s a face to face, both men in suits, where they have some intense words for each other – but there isn’t a real heat up angle.  It’s a sports build. 

And the women’s match is unstoppable force against immovable object – undefeated Asuka, Women’s Champion for a full year – against shootfighting legend Rousey who has destroyed the entire women’s division since entering the promotion.  Save for AJ Lee and Asuka, Rousey’s defeated every modern WWF women’s champion.  Asuka’s gotten that IRL Goldberg push and now she faces someone who has been positioned as a clear cut above…not just the other women in the division…but a clear cut above the entire sport. 

Rousey’s crew is on TV a lot in the build; Baszler moving into the role of wrestler with Duke and Shafir in tow – and she just cruelly brutalizes opponents; the Horsewomen show no mercy, just leaving enhancement bodies in their wake, when Baszler cuts promos, it’s about Wrestlemania, she becomes the wrestling hype woman for the match, about how Rousey’s going to crush Asuka, take that title belt, and embarrass this entire company on their biggest night.  Asuka and Rousey do an in ring contract signing near the end of the build – there’s a moment where Baszler, who has just had free reign since Rousey’s been away training, has a flash of irritation with Rousey when she re-asserts her control over the faction – Baszler has threatened for a couple of weeks in building to the contract signing that Asuka wouldn’t leave the ring under her own power – but at the signing, Rousey makes clear she doesn’t want Asuka to have a single excuse, and the Horsewomen wouldn’t touch her; Rousey wants Asuka at 100% when she ends her undefeated streak. 

Nakamura v. Styles

Asuka v. Rousey

Wrestlemania 35. 

How about 2 more?

Devitt v. Ricochet

Danielson v. Joe

Wrestlemania 35

Then we’ve got two workrate matches – the IC is probably going to be the match of the night; Devitt’s been feuding with Dark Ride Wrestling for over a year now; he’s promised to own that place before it’s over. And he’s done a helluva job – beaten Alexander, Dorada, Dunne, Tozawa.  A year of really sticking it to Dark Ride.  Well, it’s time that stops – says Dark Ride’s Champion – Ricochet. 

 “It’s time you fight me”

Devitt says – sure thing.  For my IC belt.  At Wrestlemania.

If you’re unfamiliar with the Dark Ride charter; the only people eligible for the title belt are those who haven’t wrestled for a calendar year on a WWF PPV.  Meaning – if Ricochet wants this match, he has to give up his belt.

That’s framed as a tough decision – but he does it.  Lays the belt down in the Dark Ride ring at the end of an episode. 

Now – when that happens, there’s a battle royal (Dark Ride Warfare) to crown a new champion; that happens on the go home episode of Dark Ride (IRL Takeover) The winner, in his debut, is Kushida – it’s a babyface win, he eliminates Cole and O’Reilly at the end to win the belt.

That’s what opens the show – what closes the show is a surprise – from the ring in an empty MetLife Stadium, where WM35 will take place that Sunday – is an episode of Renee Young’s new interview show Shooting With Renee (double entendre). Renee turned on Ambrose at the Rumble, joining the Bullet Club; she isn’t going to be their valet, she’s closer to IRL Bischoff, or if Mean Gene was a hot Canadian lady who joined the NWO. She’s still got a contract with WWF so still does backstage interviews – she’s just a heel now; sneering at the babyfaces (it might take a second to find the right tone and to not do too many of them, it could be she spends most of her time interviewing the Bullet Club; that could wind up being the bit). Her guest is Devitt – and he comes to the ring with both the IC belt and with the Dark Ride Wrestling title belt.

Devitt’s the cat who ate the canary – how did this happen – did he have a title belt made – did he find the belt at a Stuckey’s?  Not even two hours ago this belt was won, right there, in that very ring and now it is in the possession of Prince Devitt?  How did that happen?  Devitt tells Renee to introduce her next guest.  She says it’s the newest member of the Bullet Club – the Dark Ride Wrestling Champion, Kushida.

Kushida enters, wearing the Bullet Club t-shirt – and we see that Devitt’s long game plan has worked – as he promised – somehow, someway – the Bullet Club is now in control of Dark Ride Wrestling.

Danielson beat Joe at Survivor Series; Joe beat Danielson at the Rumble – it’s no surprise that it ends at Mania.  Even though Joe went over at the Rumble, the questions after are about Danielson’s willingness to use that steel chair even after Joe showed restraint (if you’re following along, we’ve seen tiny escalation of this behavior from Danielson since his two losses to AJ).  Danielson offers what has been his refrain – that these, honestly, are silly questions.  Danielson’s a wrestler, his job is to win wrestling matches; throughout his career he’s done what it takes, sometimes it means being a technician or a high flyer or a brawler, this is no different than that.  “Adapt or Die” Danielson says (buy the shirt).

The other thing that happens here is, as this is the big rubber match blow off – WWF has a fan vote to pick the stip – it’s gimmick matches, Ladder, Cell, Iron Man, 2 of 3 Falls – the vote is supposed to be two weeks; one week in, Danielson appears on RAW to shut down the vote. 

Danielson apologizes to the fans who have already voted but says none of those votes count, they will not be having a fan vote to select some type of stipulation – at Mania, he will face off against Joe in a wrestling match.  Someone wins, someone loses.  Just a wrestling match. 

Danielson says he’s not against all gimmick matches, he was once WWF Commissioner and he used to book gimmick matches.  But this is not right for that.  This is not just another WM match, not just another end of a feud – this is Bryan Danielson facing Samoa Joe at Wrestlemania.  These are two of the most important wrestlers of the century; they first faced off in 2002 – together, they built the independent wrestling movement that would turn into the creation of GDI – and that movement hasn’t just been the most important in the sport – it has been the sport.  When two of the greatest wrestlers of their generation meet for the first time at wrestling’s premiere event – they’re not going to be climbing a ladder.  They’re going to be wrestling. 

And Danielson says there’s one more thing – and he knows there are fans who won’t like it. 

WWF fans, important as they are, “will not tell me how to wrestle”  Danielson says Monet didn’t ask what he should paint, says John Lennon didn’t crowdsource his songwriting, and The American Dragon isn’t going have his wrestling matches decided by tweets. 

One more beat – there’s some match where Danielson wrestles a heel (let’s say Anderson) Danielson goes over and postmatch, Gallows and Kushida run in for a 3 on 1 beatdown.

Joe’s at the announce team during that match – and he isn’t interested in someone beating up Danielson before Mania – so he runs in and helps Danielson clean house.

And then it happens the other way in a subsequent week; Joe beats Gallows, Anderson and Kushida run in for the beatdown; Danielson’s been at the announce – and he doesn’t move.  He says he and Joe are competitors, not allies, Joe has allies in Roode and Strong, he thinks he saw them earlier in the evening, and maybe they can find their way out to the ring.  Eventually they do – but it’s after Joe’s taken a pretty good beating  (that leads to a brawl that is part of one of the tag angles). 

Devitt v. Ricochet

Danielson v. Joe

Wrestlemania 35

Two more.

Black v. Claudio

Kingston v. Rusev

Wrestlemania 35.

Black/Claudio is cold; just a workrate match – Black vanquished Ambrose and spends the build doing a victory lap, works a couple of matches against Gargano just to get in Claudio’s orbit – but there’s not an issue here, it’s just two good workers set to wrestle for wrestling’s sake.  And Rusev/Kingston is not that – it’s the blow off to a year+ long feud between Gods of Carnage and New Day; most of the build is that it’s a tag; Woods is too injured to work, but Langston is going to work through his injuries – but he and Strowman violate the “no physical contact before Mania between the two teams or you will be suspended” stip – and they get suspended just a couple of weeks prior to Mania.  The reconfigured match is the remaining men – Rusev and Kingston, in a cage to prevent any possible interference.  One additional stip – if Kingston loses, the New Day must break up.

Black v. Claudio

Kingston v. Rusev

Wrestlemania 35.

So – there we go.  All the singles matches for WM 35, half the card:

WWF Championship: Shinsuke Nakamura v. AJ Styles – the two top guys in the promotion for the past 3 years; former stablemates, now both babyfaces meeting in a rematch of their Wrestle Kingdom 10 match.

Women’s Championship: Asuka v. Ronda Rousey (w/Horsewomen) – two undefeated women, one of whom is a shootfighting superstar

IC Title: Prince Devitt v. Ricochet (w/BWI) – the culmination of a year long program, Ricochet from Blood Warriors International, really representing all of Dark Ride Wrestling against the leader of the Bullet Club and Dark Ride’s antagonist, Devitt.  Only the third ever meeting between the two men, first since 2013.

Bryan Danielson v. Samoa Joe – the pillars of ROH, the pillars of independent wrestling, they first squared off in 2002 and now it culminates in their first ever WM matchup

Claudio Castagnoli (w/Gargano) v. Tyler Black – Black sent his longtime partner Ambrose out of the promotion and now faces the former WWF Champion Castagnoli.

Cage: Kingston (w/New Day) v. Rusev (w/Lana and Strowman) – the culmination of a year long program; if Kingston loses, it’s the end of the line for the New Day.

Pretty good half of the card.

Next Month – tag matches; we’ve got the final match of Kurt Angle’s career; Rey Mysterio’s in ring return to Wrestlemania, Shoot Nation attempts to get revenge against Underground; the first mixed tag match at Wrestlemania history and more – Wrestlemania 35!  Coming in April!