WWE: The Game Begins

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Just weeks after WrestleMania 33, Vince McMahon spilled beans behind private, closed, locked, and secured doors that he would be stepping away little by little from the current product. Not even Dave Meltzer knew this was taking places. Triple H, Stephanie McMahon, and Shane McMahon were of the handful that knew. Vince chose to stick around through WrestleMania 34 and he desires to begin taking steps back and spending more time with his grandchildren. This means, the future is now in the next generation. With Vince taking a role as a consultant and occasional on-screen personality, he is no longer the big man on campus. In fact, he's split it between those three key figures. The man in most control? With the final word in his mouth, Triple H now runs the place.

What does this mean for the WWE? Only time will tell.

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RAW ROSTER

Akam

Alexa Bliss

Alicia Fox

Apollo

Bayley

Big Cass

Billie Kay

Bo Dallas

Braun Strowman

Bray Wyatt

Brock Lesnar

Cesaro

Chris Jericho

Curt Hawkins

Curtis Axel

Dana Brooke

Dash Wilder

Dean Ambrose

Dolph Ziggler

Drew McIntyre

Elias

Ember Moon

Finn Balor

Goldust

Heath Slater

Jason Jordan

Jeff Hardy

Jey Uso

Jimmy Uso

Jinder Mahal

Kane

Karl Anderson

Kevin Owens

Konnor

Liv Morgan

Luke Gallows

Mandy Rose

Matt Hardy

Mickie James

Nia Jax

Paige

Peyton Royce

Randy Orton

Rezar

Rhyno

Roman Reigns

Ronda Rousey

Ruby Riott

Rusev

Samoa Joe

Samir Singh

Sarah Logan

Sasha Banks

Scott Dawson

Seth Rollins

Sheamus

Sonya Deville

Sunil Singh

The Miz

Titus O'Neil

Viktor

Absolution
Mandy Rose, Paige & Sonya Deville

The Ascension
Konnor & Viktor

Authors of Pain
Akam & Rezar

The Bar
Cesaro & Sheamus

The Club
Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows

The Miztourage
Bo Dallas, Curtis Axel & The Miz

The Revival
Dash Wilder & Scott Dawson

The Riott Squad
Liv Morgan, Ruby Riott, Sarah Logan

The Usos
Jey Uso & Jimmy Uso

Titus Worldwide
Apollo, Dana Brooke & Titus O'Neil

The Woken Universe
Bray Wyatt & Matt Hardy

Billie Kay & Peyton Royce

Heath Slater & Rhyno

Jinder Mahal, Samir Singh, Sunil Singh

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SMACKDOWN! LIVE ROSTER

Aiden English

AJ Styles

Asuka

Baron Corbin

Becky Lynch

Big E

Bobby Roode

Carmella

Chad Gable

Charlotte Flair

Epico

Fandango

Harper

Johnny Gargano

Kofi Kingston

Lana

Maria Kanellis

Mike Kanellis

MoJo Rawley

Naomi

Natalya

Primo

Rowan

Sami Zayn

Shelton Benjamin

Shinsuke Nakamura

Tamina Snuka

Tye Dillinger

Tyler Breeze

Xavier Woods

Zack Ryder

The Bludgeon Brothers
Harper & Rowan 

Breezango
Fandango & Tyler Breeze

The New Day
Big E, Kofi Kingston, Xavier Woods

The Shining Stars
Epico & Primo

Chad Gable & Shelton Benjamin 

Maria Kanellis & Mike Kanellis

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Title History

WWE Universal Championship

Holder	Reign	Date won	Date lost	Days held
Brock Lesnar	1	April 2, 2017	April 8, 2018	371 days
Roman Reigns	1	April 8, 2018

Intercontinental Championship

Holder	Reign	Date won	Date lost	Days held
The Miz	8	January 22, 2018	April 23, 2018	91 days
Seth Rollins	1	April 23, 2018

Raw Tag Team Championships

Holder	Reign	Date won	Date lost	Days held
The Bar	4	January 28, 2018	April 8, 2018	70 days
The Revival	1	April 8, 2018

Raw Women's Championship

Holder	Reign	Date won	Date lost	Days held
Alexa Bliss	2	August 28, 2017

WWE Championship

Holder	Reign	Date won	Date lost	Days held
AJ Styles	2	November 7, 2017	April 8, 2018	152 days
Shinsuke Nakamura	1	April 8, 2018

United States Championship

Holder	Reign	Date won	Date lost	Days held
Randy Orton	1	March 11, 2018	April 8, 2018	28 days
Chad Gable	1	April 8, 2018

SmackDown Tag Team Championships

Holder	Reign	Date won	Date lost	Days held
The Usos	3	October 8, 2017	April 8, 2018	182 days
The New Day	3	April 8, 2018

SmackDown Women's Championship

Holder	Reign	Date won	Date lost	Days held
Charlotte	1	November 14, 2017	April 8, 2018	145 days
Asuka	1	April 8, 2018

Cruiserweight Championship

Holder	Reign	Date won	Date lost	Days held
Cedric Alexander	1	April 8, 2018

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Date: 6 May 2018
Location: Prudential Center (Newark, NJ)
Brands: Dual-branded

WWE Universal Championship Match
Roman Reigns (champion)
v.
The Miz (challenger)

SmackDown Women's Championship Match
Asuka (champion)
v.
Charlotte Flair (challenger)

Raw Women's Championship Match
Alexa Bliss (champion)
v.
Nia Jax (challenger)

SmackDown Tag Team Championships Match
The New Day (champions)
v.
Breezango (challengers)

Raw Tag Team Championships Match
The Revival (champions)
v.
The Bar (challengers)

Raw Singles Match
Braun Strowman
v.
Elias

Raw Tag Team Match
Absolution with Paige
v.
Riott Squad

Singles Match
Dolph Ziggler
v.
John Cena


Upcoming Dates:
June 17: Money in the Bank
July 15: Extreme Rules
August 19: The 31st annual SummerSlam

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Why should I tune in to see WrestleMania?

The card is absolutely loaded! After Fastlane, the final four weeks gave a more definitive outlook on the biggest sports entertainment show of the year... and it is truly a can't miss!



[ Bayley v Sasha Banks]

Bayley and Sasha Banks were once considered the best of friends after their journey through NXT together gave them a nearly inseparable bond. However, as both women vied for a shot at the Raw Women's Championship through the first ever women's Royal Rumble and Elimination Chamber contests, that friendship was put to the test. Then after Asuka selected Charlotte Flair for WrestleMania, these two were put in a Fatal-4 Way to determine the new #1 contender for the Raw Women's Championship. Sasha was closing in on a victory when Bayley tugged the official out of the ring, then prompting Sasha to hit a suicide dive on the outside. Michael Cole called the action and as tempers boiled over the top, this match was made official at WrestleMania to settle their differences.



[ Alexa Bliss(c) with Mickie James v Nia Jax ]

In that Fatal-4 Way match, Nia Jax and Mickie James were also in vying for an opportunity at WrestleMania. While the official was taken out by the suicide dive by Sasha, Alexa Bliss stepped in and decided to clock Nia Jax with the women's title, but Nia stopped Alexa Bliss in her tracks, pried the title from her hands, and decked the champion! This was before she then turned around and clocked Mickie James before becoming #1 contender for this match. With Bliss and James becoming close as of the Elimination Chamber event, Mickie is confirmed to be in Alexa's corner as she defends her title against Nia Jax at WrestleMania.



[ Kevin Owens v Sami Zayn; Shane McMahon serves as Special Guest Referee]

A feud that has went on for months is Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn calling out Shane McMahon's vendetta against them. However, things took an interesting turn as Owens and Zayn have some old bitter feelings arise between them. This was all in the stirring pot, which included Shane McMahon costing not one, but both Owens and Zayn an opportunity to main event WrestleMania as WWE Champion. This made Daniel Bryan take initiative in telling Shane he's taking this over, once and for all. Bryan made a match between Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn, one-on-one, and made Shane McMahon the special guest referee! Bryan told Shane there must be a winner. In the meantime, Owens and Zayn have both tried getting on Shane's good side headed in, while going at odds with one another as old beef has been brought up headed into New Orleans.


[ The Usos(c) v The New Day ]

The Usos and The New Day are arguably two of the best tag teams of this generation and have had a year-long rivalry that would have commenced at WWE Fastlane, but the Bludgeon Brothers got involved and ruined it all. After capturing everyone's attention, the Bludgeon Brothers had a #1 contenders match with The New Day and actually fell short in this opportunity. Now, we will have the culmination of one of the best rivalries in recent memory for the SmackDown Tag Team Championships.


[ Dolph Ziggler v John Cena in an Unsanctioned Match ]

John Cena's path to WrestleMania was shaky. After losing both WWE and WWE Universal Championship matches, the free agent appeared the next night on Raw and after breaking down in the middle of the ring, the lights go out. A vignette is shown with a WrestleMania date and a dark message sets the challenge to John Cena, demanding he'll be laid to rest, in which Cena immediately says yes as the lights come back on! John Cena shows up the next night on SmackDown with a message to The Undertaker after last night, but the lights go out again and a second vignette airs as it warns Cena he'll be stripped of his "face of WWE" title and after WrestleMania, he'll be the one put out to pasture. The vignette calls for Cena to meet him face-to-face on Monday Night Raw. Cena appears on Raw, and as another vignette airs with a spotlight on Cena, the vignette abruptly ends and the lights come back on. Cena turns around and eats a superkick from a man in a black trenchcoat and cowboy hat. The man looks down at John Cena, as he removes the hat and it's Dolph Ziggler laughing. The night after, Dolph Ziggler appeared on SmackDown and explained it was all him, that he wants the one-on-one match with John Cena. Cena then agrees, but on one condition, that Ziggler sign away his safety prior to. The next week, a contract signing takes place as neither one can hold each other responsible for any injuries sustained in an Unsanctioned Match.


[ The Bar(c) v The Revival v Good Brothers ]

The Bar was in need of a match at WrestleMania, and so Kurt Angle let them know they'd be defending their titles at the event... against two tag teams! The Revival would defeat Titus Worldwide and in a separate qualifier, Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows beat Heath Slater and Rhyno. Since, they have been intertwined together with each team grabbing momentum in different ways headed into Mercedes-Benz SuperDome with no clear favorite.


[ Randy Orton(c) v Bobby Roode v Jinder Mahal v Baron Corbin v Rusev v Aiden English v Chad Gable v Shelton Benjamin in a Ladder Match ]

At Fastlane, Randy Orton became a grand slam champion by winning the United States Championship from Bobby Roode. Jinder Mahal put his name in the hat to be the next to challenge. However, there were others who felt they deserved such an opportunity like Baron Corbin and Rusev. They each impressed enough to get in on it, when Chad Gable goes up to Daniel Bryan, asking to prove his worth, he asks for a singles match against the champion Randy Orton himself. Gable then upset The Viper, and this had Bryan make a 6-man ladder match for the United States Championship at WrestleMania between Roode, Mahal, Corbin, Rusev, Gable, and champion Randy Orton. The following week, Rusev and English competed against Gable and Benjamin, and after Aiden English trapped Chad Gable's shoulders to the mat, Benjamin spoke out about his thoughts. Benjamin said he is a former United States Champion and came to win gold, so if he doesn't do it in a tag team, he wants to win it by himself. Shane McMahon responded by this to add both Benjamin and English to the match, making it an 8-man ladder match for Orton's prized possession.


[ Cedric Alexander v Mustafa Ali in Cruiserweight Championship Finals ]

Drake Maverick's first order of business as the new 205 Live general manager was to address the vacant Cruiserweight Championship situation. After Maverick made a tournament, the weeks leading up to WrestleMania were dedicated to deciding who would compete for the title in New Orleans. Alexander and Ali would clear their brackets and now two of the more promising 205 Live competitors will have the opportunity to become Cruiserweight Champion, either one for the first time.


[ Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal - 5th annual ]

The 5th annual battle royal in Andre the Giant's memory will take place the same stadium it began. The inaugural winner Cesaro said last Monday he vows to do double duty Sunday, declaring for the battle royal. But the big storyline is the "Monster Among Men" Braun Strowman. Strowman took exception to not being in the main event of WrestleMania against Brock Lesnar and in the first meeting between Reigns and Lesnar, he would come to the ring and lay both men out. Strowman is demanding he be put in the main event, in which Kurt Angle wouldn't budge. It was Stephanie McMahon, however, who compromised with Strowman. Stephanie promised Strowman that if he wins the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, he can be placed in the WWE Universal Championship match as the main event becomes a triple threat. Other notables competing are Bray Wyatt, Elias, Matt Hardy, Mojo Rawley, Kane, Lars Sullivan, Pete Dunne, Tyler Bate, and some 205 Live competitors.