Every year there is a video paired with an exciting song promoting WrestleMania. The colorful and exciting images of fireworks and Superstars and Divas alike doing what they do best in the ring matches perfectly with the lyrics and beats of the year’s WrestleMania theme song. While one of the themes for this year’s event is “Money and the Power” by Kid Ink, the main theme associated with WrestleMania 31 is “Rise” by David Guetta featuring Skylar Grey. Grey, along with Kid Ink and Travis Barker are scheduled to perform at the event, joining the ranks of previous WrestleMania singers such as Living Colour, Flo Rida, POD, Rev Theory, Saliva, Run DMC, and Salt-N-Pepa. Musicians from John Legend and Limp Bizkit to Reba McEntire and Kid Rock have performed at the event, and it always adds to the energy and excitement of WrestleMania.

While the mini concerts at the actual event is a thrill itself, the theme song plays a huge role in generating this energy for WrestleMania to begin with. With video packages highlighting WWE talent ending with a countdown to how many days there are left until WrestleMania, it’s hard to not get pumped up for the action that awaits. While the theme song has evolved from being more hard rock based to becoming more rock, hip-hop, and pop-rock, the songs are always exciting and can be seen resonating with crowds at live events and tapings where WrestleMania is hyped on the TitanTron. Perhaps “California” from WrestleMania 2000 may make a comeback since Sunday’s show is back in California in the San Francisco Bay Area. From “My Way” by Limp Bizkit to Rev Theory’s “Light It Up”. From Tinnie Tempah’s “Written In The Stars” to Peter Gabriel’s “Big Time”, “Rise” is among good company. May the soundtrack of WrestleMania continue on for many years to come.

-Celine

(Photo Source X)

It’s that time of year again. WrestleMania is only a few days away. While reading reviews on RAW and fan opinions on the storyline build up leading to the big day, there has been a sense that there hasn’t been that much build up yet. However, the March 23rd edition of RAW silenced the naysayers by dramatically pushing every storyline scheduled for Sunday’s Super Bowl of professional wrestling.

Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns facing each other in the ring and ending with a tug-of-war over the title will be the last image fans will have of the two in a WWE ring before WrestleMania. After months of build up, from Roman fighting to maintain his title match spot from his Royal Rumble victory to Lesnar’s more frequent appearances, the WWE Universe will want to see how this last image is resolved. Sting working with Randy Orton the previous week on RAW shows a push of both the Rollins/Orton storyline as well as the Sting/Triple H rivalry. Sting meeting Stephanie for the first time and the references to WCW also added much more fuel to the HHH/Sting flame.

You have the Intercontinental Championship match participants fighting with a ladder and Rusev/Cena promotion as well. AJ and Paige ended the night with friction after AJ helped cost Paige her match and Bray Wyatt cut an incredible promo calling out his WrestleMania opponent, The Undertaker. The pre-show tag match and the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal had to be mentioned but were both able to get more steam due to positive delivery from each respective match’s participants. Once again, the RAW before WrestleMania pushes the energy for WrestleMania to a high level, making an even stronger reason that the biggest event of the year should once again live up to its name of being a global phenomenon.

-Celine

(Photo Source X)

On March 28th, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is scheduled to host Saturday Night Live for the 4th time. He’ll be promoting his new movie, Furious 7, the latest installment in the Fast & Furious franchise by returning to the famed late night sketch-comedy show. With it being the night before WrestleMania, perhaps The Rock may mention the Super Bowl of professional wrestling occurring the next day. Even if WrestleMania isn’t brought up, it’s definitely a weekend for WWE fans, with the Hall of Fame taking place the night before WrestleMania following WrestleMania week in the California Bay Area, home of WrestleMania 31.

While The Rock is one of the biggest stars to come out of the WWE, it is always a positive to see WWE alum making big splashes in the mainstream world. Who knows? Maybe someone like John Cena may host in the near future, especially considering that he’s in two films with flooded with SNL alum—Trainswreck costars Bill Hader and features appearances by alum Colin Quinn and current cast member Vanessa Bayer while Sisters stars SNL alum Tina Fey and Amy Poehler along with Maya Rudolph, Rachel Dratch, and current SNL-er Kate McKinnon. Here’s to wishing The Rock a fun 4th time out hosting Saturday Night Live.

-Celine

(Photo Source X)

WrestleMania is one of the most exciting times of the year. One interesting thing about this year as opposed to previous years is the situation that John Cena is in. As one of the biggest stars to come out of the WWE, John Cena is considered the “face” of the company. Over 10 years ago, Cena defeated the Big Show and won the United States Championship at WrestleMania XX. Since that 2004 match, Cena has exploded into being one of the biggest stars ever from professional wrestling, being a 15 time WWE Champion. At this year’s WrestleMania, he faces Rusev for the United States title.

While the US Title is very prestigious, I never thought I would see the day where Cena finds himself in a mid-card title match, let alone a match at the granddaddy of them all, WrestleMania. With mainstream movie roles coming up and having been in the company for over ten years, this appears t is the mark of a new chapter of Cena’s career. While he’s not done just yet, it gives more of an opportunity for other wrestlers to enter the championship spotlight while having Cena still chasing a title. It’s actually a refreshing change and it’s interesting to see what will happen next for the “face” of the WWE.

-Celine

(Photo Source X)

On the March 9th edition of Monday Night RAW, the night ended with Randy Orton delivering a vicious beat down to Seth Rollins, throwing insults at him sporadically during the assault. Rollins knew that Orton would not associate himself with The Authority when during the match, Orton flipped the bird on both hands, signaling his allegiance against Rollins and his support. The more aggressive side of Orton being unleashed, a sight that is familiar to wrestling fans who have witnessed Orton during his career over the years, was refreshing to see and an example of the WWE listening to fans cries of wanting more extreme situations and less “PG fluff.”

The WWE seems to be continuing to listen to the #GiveDivasAChance campaign, with AJ Lee’s return on the March 2nd edition of RAW featuring her saying, “I figured I’d come back and help give divas a chance,” opening alluding to the worldwide trend generated by fans wanting more air time and respect given to the talented women of the WWE. While these are only just a couple of instances seen, perhaps there are even more changes to be made, and for the better. Social media is a powerful tool for speaking for change, and the more fans are vocal about what they want more of and less of, the more we may be seeing an even better product. Here’s hoping this is the beginning of these news “winds of change.”

-Celine

Image Source (x)

On the March 2nd edition of WWE Monday Night RAW, Seth Rollins hosted his own version of the popular late night Comedy Central news satire show, The Daily Show after having a feud with its host, Jon Stewart following comments Rollins made on a previous RAW that he could be a better host of The Daily Show and make it “watchable.” Stewart responded in a video that Rollins was in for “a world of hurt.” Their feud went to the next level when Rollins was made a surprise appearance on the actual Daily Show by interrupting Stewart’s “Moment of Zen” segment and then showing up in studio moments later inviting him to Monday Night RAW. On RAW, Rollins and Stewart finally had their confrontation, resulting in Stewart eventually kicking Rollins in the groin as he was distracted by Randy Orton walking to the ring.

One of the things that was very enjoyable about this feud was the fact that Jon Stewart is a known and passionate wrestling fan. He has been seen ringside at pay-per-view events, discussing WWE on The Daily Show, and even took a photo at last year’s SummerSlam with his son and Zeb Colter. On the July 21st, 2014 edition of The Daily Show (Link at 3:46) , when discussing current events involving Russia and used a clip of Lana in the ring to help get his point across before going into a comedic rant involving the likes of Jack Swagger, Cesaro, and Rusev—names the common/passive celebrity wrestling fan would not know of. Stewart also showed his fan love during his June 18th, 2014 interview with comedian Kevin Hart (Link at 1:39), when names such as Bruno Sammartino, Chief Jay Strongbow, Junkyard Dog, Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka, and Haystacks Calhoun were discussed, both being passionate wrestling fans and making RAW appearances.

On the March 9th RAW, Wiz Khalifa performed wearing a John Cena shirt and seemed to be having a fun time. However, this has been seen many times with celebrities who are promoting something on the show. Wiz has had ties with the WWE previously, having his song “We Own It” be the 2014 Royal Rumble theme song and collaborating with John Cena for the WWE2K15soundtrack. His music featured in the Fast and Furious franchise, which has featured WWE alum Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as one of its stars since the 5th installment. While he may be a fan, it’s a different type of fan than the passionate type of member of the WWE Universe Jon Stewart. Perhaps Stewart makes an appearance at WrestleMania. In the end, it’s always fun to see celebrities on RAW but to see the ones who are enthusiastic and openly passionate fans, whether associating with the WWE at an event or not, is truly something special.

-Celine

Image Source (x) 

The first sighting of the Intercontinental Championship on the March 2nd RAW was of Dean Ambrose carrying it. While Wade Barrett is indeed the champion, Ambrose was physically holding it after he had stolen it from Barrett. While the two contested in a non-title match, R-Truth stole the title as he was ringside for commentary. Luke Harper then took it after Truth gave it to him to prevent getting hit with a steel folding chair. Harper then left with the belt as the distraction allowed Ambrose to perform Dirty Deeds on Barrett and win.

If I hadn’t seen wrestling in a couple weeks, I may wonder who really is the Intercontinental Champion having come in during the middle of the match. While it was announced that the title will be defended in a ladder match at WrestleMania 31 with Truth, Ambrose, and Harper in the mix as of press time, it is interesting to see will this “hot potato”-esque storyline will continue to Levi’s Stadium or will perhaps one wrestler a week hold the title. There can be a lot you can do with so many characters vying for a single title, but it is also easy to get lost in the shuffle. Here’s hoping the build up and the match will both be full of pure excitement.

-Celine

Photo Source (x) 

On the March 2nd edition of Monday Night RAW, it was announced that Alundra Blayze/Madusa was going into the Hall of Fame for the 2015 class. With three WWF Women’s Championship title reigns in the mid 90’s (1993-95), Blayze was instrumental in reviving the women’s division after her feuds with the likes of Bertha Faye and Bull Nakano. She was the first woman to win Pro Wrestling Illustrated’s Rookie of the Year in 1988 and even became the WCW Cruiserweight Champion in 1999, being the first woman to accomplish that feat.

It is interesting that her induction is announced the first Monday after the #GiveDivasAChance movement took the Internet by storm. Was this just a coincidence or was it a strategic way to time when this announcement was made on WWE’s part to help push the women of professional wrestling in as positive of a spotlight as possible. Regardless, it is wonderful to see Blayze become a member of the WWE Hall of Fame with the likes of “Macho Man” Randy Savage, Arnold Schwarzenegger, The Bushwhakers, and Rikishi.

-Celine

Photo Source (x)