Euro 2016: England 1 - 1 Russia: Poor Decisions Cost England Win

Euro 2016: England 1 - 1 Russia: Poor Decisions Cost England Win

 

It was yet again the same old story for England fans that anticipated an England win for the first game of a major tournament. Even I, one of the more spectical fans watching yesterday, felt that we definitely had the three points in the bag after Eric Dier's 73rd minute free-kick goal, from which he became the first-ever English player to score from a free-kick at the European Championships.

 

Then the 'old England' turned up.

 

With about a minute to go to the final whistle, Russia's Vasili Berezutski headed home to earn his country a point that they barely deserved. Now, you can't blame Russia for coming back and getting a point when they spend the majority of the second half as the dominate team, even though they only had two shots on target and was their first shot since the 17th minute. In contrast with England's 15 shots, five of which were on target, and the fault doesn't fall onto the players but the manager, Roy Hodgson. 

 

The three problems I have with Roy Hodgson in regards to this match was the fact that Raheem Sterling was picked over Jamie Vardy in the starting XI, Wayne Rooney was taken off for Jack Wilshere in the 78th minute and James Milner coming on for Raheem Sterling in the 87th minute. How do you justify Sterling ahead of Vardy?? Jamie Vardy scored 24 league goals in 36 league games, were as Sterling scored only 6 league goals in 31 league games. Yet Sterling starts? BBC Sport Journalist Phil McNulty said in April 2015 that Sterling was "very good with the potential to be outstanding" but it truly baffles me that Roy can start Sterling over one of the best finishers that the Premier League has to offer. Then Rooney, who had an awesome game with a 86 percent success rate from 55 passes, was taken off for Jack Whilshere. Although Jack did do okay, the choice to take off Rooney when he was playing his best game for England in a long time is quite baffling. The final nail in the coffin for me with regards to poor decisions was when James 'Boring' Milner came on in the 87th minute. Milner? This just makes the fact that Vardy didn't get on the pitch at all that little bit more annoying.   

 

Anyway, the positives from the game was that England played excellent in the first half and created a big array of chances but ultimately poor decisions cost England the three points they deserved.

 

What's next for both teams?

 

Russia face Slovakia on Wednesday 15th June at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy in Villieneuve-d'Ascq and England face Wales on Thursday 16th June at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis in Lens.

 

 

 

 



 

England still haven't won their opening game at the European Championship. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

  

Euro 2016 Preview: My 5 Teams Who Could Win The 2016 Euros

Euro 2016 Preview: My 5 Teams Who Could Win The 2016 Euros

Heading into the 2016 European Championship, which will take place between 10th June till 10th July, there will be many fans who are quite optimistic due to the huge development of European talent across a number of countries. England will be one of the nations with high hopes due to the new generation of players, such as Jamie Vardy, Delle Alli and Ross Barkley to name just a few but there are quite a few countries that could potentially win the Euros and in this post, I will be detailing the five countries that could win the 2016 Euros, ranked from fifth to first.


A remainder of the Groups:

Group A: France, Romania, Albania and Switzerland.

Group B: England, Russia, Wales and Slovakia.

Group C: Germany, Ukraine, Poland and Northern Ireland.

Group D: Spain, Czech Republic, Turkey and Croatia.

Group E: Belgium, Italy, Republic of Ireland and Sweden.

Group F: Portugal, Iceland, Austria and Hungary.
 

 

 

5, England

Now this is a more optimistic choice than a deadly serious choice. Ultimately, it seems that England always get their fans hopes up when they get to a tournament and then subsequently fail to put in a good enough performance (see the 2014 World Cup for evidence). However, with the recent influx of fresher and bolder players that are hungry to restore pride into the English Football team's name, such as Kane, Vardy, Drinkwater and Rashford. Even with doubts over the current manager, Roy Hodgson, and his ability to motivate the next wave of English talent, the possibility of England winning a major trophy since 1966 is a thing (even if it's not a massive possibility).

Final Squad:

Goalkeepers: Joe Hart (Manchester City), Fraser Forster (Southampton), Tom Heaton (Burnley).


Defenders: Gary Cahill (Chelsea), Chris Smalling (Manchester United), John Stones (Everton), Kyle Walker (Tottenham Hotspur), Ryan Bertrand (Southampton), Danny Rose (Tottenham Hotspur), Nathaniel Clyne (Liverpool).


Midfielders: Dele Alli (Tottenham Hotspur), Ross Barkley (Everton), Eric Dier (Tottenham Hotspur), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Adam Lallana (Liverpool), James Milner (Liverpool), Raheem Sterling (Manchester City), Jack Wilshere (Arsenal).


Strikers: Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur), Jamie Vardy (Leicester City), Daniel Sturridge (Liverpool), Marcus Rashford (Manchester United).

 

 

Key Player: Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur).



4, Belgium

For a while, Belgium were always the team that had a lot of good talent but never really the structure of a really good team, leading to them becoming the Internet's favourite team or 'dark horse' team. However, the names of Kevin De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku and Axel Wistel, as well as many others, have become famous through their fantastic performances, leading to many people realising how many awesome players Belgium have at their disposal. I know that Belgium haven't shown anything that makes them look unbelievable but I seriously think that this is the tournament where they will finally announce themselves to not just Europe but the World. They might not win it necessarily but they don't have to win the tournament for their best players to shine through (possibly even Hazard??...).

Final Squad:


Goalkeepers: Thibaut Courtois (Chelsea), Simon Mignolet (Liverpool), Jean-Francois Gillet (Mechelen).


Defenders: Jan Vertonghen (Tottenham Hotspur), Toby Alderweireld (Tottenham Hotspur), Thomas Vermaelen (Barcelona), Laurent Ciman (Montreal Impact), Jason Denayer (Galatasaray), Thomas Meunier (Club Brugge), Jordan Lukaku (Oostende), Christian Kabasele (Genk).


Midfielders: Marouane Felliani (Manchester United), Axel Wistel (Zenit Saint Petersburg), Mousa Dembele (Tottenham Hotspur), Radja Nainggolan (Roma).


Strikers: Eden Hazard (Chelsea), Dries Mertens (Napoli), Romelu Lukaku (Everton), Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City), Christian Benteke (Liverpool), Divock Origi (Liverpool), Yannick Ferreira Carrasco (Atletico Madrid), Michy Batshuayi (Marseille).    

Key Player: Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City).



3, Spain

Don't get me wrong Spain are still a good team but their performance in the 2014 World Cup was extremely underwhelming to say the least. For a nation that has amazing coming out of their ears, you would think that they would storm this tournament but it is now common knowledge that the tiki-tika style of Football is not as popular among International teams as it first was when Spain won the 2008 Euros in Austria and Switzerland. International teams now want to have an alternative ready for a difficult opponent, such as the counter-attack that Real Madrid model their play on or the tiki-tackle philosophy that Pep Guardiola implemented during his tenure at Bayern Munich. The defending champions will have a good tournament, better than most expect, but I don't think they'll retain their European Champions status on 10th June.

Final Squad:

 

Goalkeepers: Iker Casillas (Porto), David De Gea (Spain), Sergio Rico (Sevilla).


Defenders: Cesar Azpilicueta (Chelsea), Gerard Pique (Barcelona), Marc Barta (Barcelona), Hector Bellerin (Arsenal), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid), Juanfran (Atletico Madrid), Mikel San Jose (Athletic Bilbao), Jordi Alba (Barcelona).


Midfielders: Sergio Busquets (Barcelona), Andres Iniesta (Barcelona), Koke (Atletico Madrid), Cesc Fabregas (Chelsea), Thiago (Bayern Munich), Bruno Soriano, David Silva (Manchester City).


Forwards: Alvaro Morata (Juventus), Lucas Vazquez (Real Madrid), Pedro (Chelsea), Aritz Aduriz (Athletic Bilbao).


Key Player: Andres Iniesta (Barcelona).



2, Germany

The current World Champions will be looking to add the European Championship to their trophy cabinet for the first time since 1996 and when you look at their squad, they have every chance to do just that. Marco Reus being left out of the squad for the second tournament in a row, on his 27th Birthday as well, has left a bitter taste about the announcement of the German squad but they will have a good tournament never-the-less.

 

Final Squad:

Goalkeepers: Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich), Bernd Leno (Bayer Leverkusen), Marc-Andre ter Stegen (Barcelona).


Defenders: Jerome Boateng (Bayern Munich), Emre Can (Liverpool), Jonas Hector (Cologne), Benedikt Hoewedes (Schalke 04), Mats Hummels (Borussia Dortmund), Shkodran Mustafi (Valencia), Antonio Ruediger (Roma).


Midfielders: Julian Draxler (VfL Wolfsburg), Sami Khedira (Juventus), Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich), Toni Kroos (Real Madrid), Thomas Muller (Bayern Munich), Mesut Ozil (Arsenal), Lukas Podolski (Galatasaray), Andre Schurrle (VfL Wolfsburg), Bastian Schweinsteiger (Manchester United), Julian Weigl (Borussia Dortmund).


Forwards: Mario Gomez (Besiktas), Mario Gotze (Bayern Munich), Leroy Sane (Schalke 04).


Key Player: Thomas Muller (Bayern Munich).
 

 

1, France
If I was a betting man, I would bet on France to win the Euros. 100 percent. It's not just because they're the host nation and will be riding through on a wave of pride and nationalism, due to the Paris terrorist attacks on 13th November 2015. It's because they have the best squad heading into the tournament and have some of the best young players at their disposal, such as Kingsley Coman, Paul Pogba and everyone's favourite box-to-box midfielder, N'Golo Kante. I think the final will either be France vs Germany or France vs Spain and France will become three-time European champions and re-establish themselves on the World stage.


Final Squad:

Goalkeepers: Hugo Lloris (Tottenham Hotspur), Steve Mandanda (Marsellie), Benoit Costil (Rennes).

Defenders: Christophe Jallet (Lyon), Patrice Evra (Juventus), Adil Rami (Sevilla), Eliaquim Mangala (Manchester City), Lucas Digne (Roma), Bacary Sagna (Manchester City), Laurent Koscielny (Arsenal), Samuel Umtiti (Lyon).


Midfielders: N'Golo Kante (Leicester City), Yohan Cabaye (Crystal Palace), Dimitri Payet (West Ham), Morgan Schneiderlin (Manchester United), Blaise Matuidi (Paris Saint-Germain), Paul Pogba (Juventus), Moussa Sissoko (Newcastle United), Kingsley Coman (Bayern Munich).


Forwards: Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid), Olivier Giroud (Arsenal), Andre-Pierre Gignac (Tigres UANL), Anthony Martial (Manchester United).


Key Player: Paul Pogba (Juventus).






























Premier League 2015/16 review: January - May

Premier League 2015/16 review: January - May

The second half of the 2015/16 Premier League season continued much like the first, with Leicester continuing to amaze fans and annoy bookies as they racked up the points that would ultimately see them be crowned champions on 2nd May. Newcastle, Norwich and Aston Villa were relegated, Manchester United qualified for the Europa League and Leciester, Arsenal, Tottenham and Manchester City qualified for the Champions League.

 

 

 

 

January

In the first round of games of 2016, Liverpool lost 2-0 to West Ham at Upton Park, Aguero scored the winner for City in their 2-1 win against Watford, Jermaine Defoe scored a brace against Aston Villa and Manchester United secured an important win over Swansea, which ultimately eased the pressure on manager Louis Van Gaal. On 12th January, Newcastle fought back against Manchester United and drew 3-3, West Ham ruined Bournemouth 3-1 (which involved two amazing free-kicks from Payet and Enner Valencia) and Aston Villa won their first Premier League game under Remi Grande with a 1-0 win over recent strugglers Crystal Palace. The following day, Joe Allen rescued Liverpool a point in another 3-3 game against Arsenal at Anfield, Jermaine Defoe scored a hat-trick against Swansea in a 4-2 away win and Leicester City continued their amazing run in the Premier League with a 1-0 away win over Tottenham.

On the weekend games, there was a massively controversial equalling goal by John Terry against Everton in the 98th minute, which was offside, and therefore lead to a huge social media outcry for action replays (lets see how far that gets). Tottenham rolled over Sunderland 4-1 and Manchester United won 1-0 at Anfield, with Wayne Rooney scoring his second-ever goal at Anfield (and waited 4,020 days). Liverpool then won a crazy nine goal thriller away to Norwich (4-5), Tottenham rolled over Palace at Selhurst Park which was outlined by a wonder goal from Alli, Sergio Aguero gained City a point away to West Ham. January ended with Arsenal losing to Chelsea and Everton shockingly losing to newly managed Swansea 2-1 at Goodison.

February

February started with Jamie Vardy silencing the haters with a wonder goal against Liverpool in Leicester's 2-0 victory.  Manchester United actually looked like a decent side when they beat Stoke 3-0 and Everton actually won at home against Newcastle (what a wonder dropping Howard and Stones does). They followed this up with a very comfortable 3-0 win at the Britannia Stadium. Villa picked up their third league win of the season against Norwich and Arsenal stayed in the title race after beating Bournemouth. However, the biggest result of early February was Leicester winning 3-1 at the Etihad and making them the official bookies favourites for the title for the first time this season.

Chelsea pumped Newcastle 5-1, Everton and Palace continued to struggle in the league as they lose to West Brom and Watford respectively and Stoke bounced back against a below-par Bournemouth side. Then, a fantastic Super Sunday came around that saw the top four (Leicester, Tottenham, Arsenal and Manchester City) face off. Danny Welbeck returned after nine months out to score a 95th minute winner against Leicester and generated 18,000 tweets a minute after Arsenal's 2-1 win. Tottenham won 2-1 at the Etihad to make them serious title contenders, with Christian Eriksen keeping a cool head whenever he is called upon. As a filler game on the Sky Super Sunday package, Aston Villa were humiliated 6-0 at home to Liverpool and furthering the feeling among Football fans that they are all but doomed to the Championship.   

March

Everton actually won a game, okay it was against Aston Villa, but three points is three points. West Brom fought back to gain a 2-2 draw with Leicester. Liverpool pulled off a 3-0 win against Manchester City, who are falling down the Champions League spots. In one of the biggest North London derbies in recent years, Arsenal saved themselves from local humiliation through Alexis Sanchez's equaliser to make it 2-2. Everton continued their awful home form in the Premier League as they lost 3-2 to West Ham after being 2-0 up.

Steve McClaren was then sacked as Newcastle manager after losing 3-1 away to Bournemouth (Rafa Benitez replaced McClaren for their game away to Leicester, which they lost 1-0). Two days before that Monday night game, Bournemouth pulled away from the regelation battle by beating Swansea 3-2. Everton then lost to Arsenal 2-0 in what, for me at least, was the worst Everton game I have ever seen due to the sheer lack of ambition. Anyway, my team's lack of care aside, Chelsea fought back against West Ham for a 2-2 draw. Manchester United further crushed Manchester City's title hopes thanks to Marcus Rashford's cool 18th minute strike. March finished. March ended with Leicester five points clear at the top of the table, three teams fighting for fourth spot (Manchester City, West Ham and Manchester United) and three teams continue their fight for Premier League status (Norwich, Sunderland and Newcastle).    

April

Newcastle didn't help their hopes of staying up when they lost to Norwich 3-2 at Carrow Road. West Ham had an amazing 3-3 draw with Arsenal, in a match that West Ham should have won five or six to Arsenal's three goals. Newcastle did then give some hope to their fans, as much as YouTubers like The-True-Geordie probably don't want it, by beating Swansea 3-0 at St James' Park. This was helped by Sunderland beating Norwich 3-0. Tottenham beat Stoke 4-0 to keep their title hopes alive and to keep the pressure on Leicester after they only just got a 2-2 draw with West Ham after Jamie Vardy was controversially sent off.

Everton were then destroyed 4-0 at Anfield (what's new?).  Leicester put themselves three points within winning the Premier League title as Ulloa perfectly stepped in for Vardy with two goals. Spurs gave their titles hopes a huge dent as they drew 1-1 with West Brom, with Craig Dawson scoring at both ends. Newcastle added another twist to the relegation battle by beating Crystal Palace 1-0, thanks to Andros Townsends stunning free-kick goal, and the Geordies got another morale boost as Sunderland only just managed a draw away to Stoke from a last-minute penalty from Jermaine Defoe.

May
To the disappointment of neutral fans, Leicester didn't wrap up the title race as they drew 1-1 with Manchester United. However, the title race was then ended by Chelsea drawing with Tottenham at Stamford Bridge, which handed Leicester their first-ever top flight title and completing the most amazing story in English Football History. Sunderland then beat Chelsea 3-2 to significantly boost their survival chances, especially with Newcastle drawing 0-0 with Aston Villa and Manchester United beating Norwich 1-0.

The final day of the 2015/16 Premier League season wasn't actually the final day, as a suspicious package was discovered at Old Trafford before kick-off and therefore lead to the game being abandoned, rescheduled for Tuesday night and one company being absolutely financially destroyed by Ed Woodward and co. On the 'last day', Arsenal finished above Tottenham after the Gunners beat Villa 4-0 and Spurs bottled it against relegated Newcastle, 5-1 (therefore leading to Spurs fans being destroyed on Twitter as it was 'St Totteringhams Days'). West Ham missed out on Europa League Football next season in the Olympic Stadium as they lost to Stoke City 2-1 and in the final game of the season, Manchester United beat Bournemouth 3-1 but didn't reach the Champions League place as they didn't score 19 goals, subsequently allowing for Manchester City to retain fourth spot for Pep next season.


PFA Team of the Year: David De Gea (Manchester United), Hector Bellerin (Arsenal), Toby Alderweireld (Tottenham Hotspur), Wes Morgan (Leicester City), Danny Rose (Tottenham Hotspur), Riyad Mahrez (Leicester City), N'Golo Kanté (Leicester City), Dele Alli (Tottenham Hotspur), Dimitri Payet (West Ham), Jamie Vardy (Leicester City), Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur).

Claudio Ranieri won his first-ever top-flight title.  



Leicester City: From 5,000/1 to Premier League Champions

 

Leicester City: From 5,000/1 to Premier League Champions

Before the season started, I predicted that Leicester City would finish 13th in the Premier League. I didn't know much about Claudio Ranieri's tactics, except from the fact that he had the nickname 'Tinkerman' from his time at Chelsea, and wasn't really sure how his appointment would affect the squad. I assumed from Gary Lineker's tweet (which said 'Claudio Ranieri? Really??') that Leicester fans weren't all that happy with his appointment.

Ooh, how we were wrong!


On 2nd May, Leicester City were crowned Premier League champions after Tottenham drew 2-2 with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. The media ate it up more than a Twitter beef (I'm now realising that I'm contributing to this but let's move swiftly on) and it has been deemed a miracle by some media outlets, obviously by Piers Morgan and Suzanna Reid from Good Morning Britain. Now almost every single Football or general Sports organisation will have analysed the death out of the Leicester City squad, possibly game-by-game or player-by-player importance in the starting XI but I will be breaking down Leicester's season in terms of how it happens and what it means for the other Premier League clubs, the players and the club has a whole.


First off, Leicester's team spirit is amazing. You often hear about the amazing foreign teams that have built up the ethos of a modern club based upon the brother-like connection that players make, much like Atletico Madrid have done under Diego Simeone in the last few years. Leicester have proven to the World that it doesn't matter how much you spend on the overall squad, as long as you don't have egos and keep yourselves grounded you can achieve anything. Another aspect of Leicester's title win is the integrity that Ranieri has shown in keeping his faith firmly within the players that were largely left over from Nigel Pearson's mixed reign as manager. This is by Ranieri only fielding 23 players during the course of the title 'challenge' and the overall cost of the squad being £57 million (with the fact that they didn't sign anyone in January being unheard of for a future champion). These almost forgotten aspects of a Footballing squad in the modern game were brought back by the 'Tinkerman' and this fantastic group of players, whom many have come from a rugs-to-riches lifestyle, in terms of a Footballing journey.


So what does this mean for the club itself? Worldwide recognition for sure, with Twitter exploding the day of Tottenham drawing with Chelsea to hand Leicester the Premier League. For next season, many have predicted mid-table if some of their key players leave, such as Mahrez and Vardy, but I predict that they will have a fairly decent season and finish eight, but will keep their key players because they've just won the Premier League and will be in the Champions League next season! What more motivation do you need to stay at a club? As for the other Premier League clubs, it just shows that anyone can have a fantastic season when you have time spirit and don't blindly spend for the sake of having money.


Can anyone 'do a Leicester' next season? Simply, no. What Leicester have done is one of IF NOT THE greatest Footballing achievement of all-time, especially when you consider how they were written off to be relegated by the majority at the start of this season.



5 WWE Storylines That Had Real-Life Implications

5 WWE Storylines That Had Real-Life Implications

 

I get it.

 

Wrestling isn't real (nether is Star Wars but let's move on).

 

Wrestling is built on storylines that are often centred around the babyface (good guy) vs heel (bad guy) idea, in order to provide the audience with the best form of 'sports entertainment' possible. However, sometimes a feud between two Wrestlers can become real due to the Wrestlers' personal feelings to each other or events outside the ring. In this list, I will be outlining five WWE storylines that had real-life implications during their duration.

 

 

5. CM Punk vs Jeff Hardy (2009)

In 2009, CM Punk vs Jeff Hardy was the best feud in WWE, with spectacular matches on PPV late in the year. This is how WWE would like you to remember the feud as the feud between the two was very real indeed. Aside from the World Heavyweight Championship, the feud was focused around the contrast between Punk's straight-edge lifestyle and Hardy's living-in-the-moment lifestyle. Punk at one pint told Hardy that he knows a thing or two about narcotises, just that Hardy doesn't know that he has to go to a Doctor to get them. A week after leaving WWE to apparently leave to heal up, Hardy was arrested for attempting to ship illegal drugs.

 

But definitely just remember the PPV's, as WWE want you to.  

4.Matt Hardy vs Edge (2005)

When you talk about blurring the lines between fiction and reality, look no further than the Matt Hardy vs Edge feud. During Hardy's injury from WWE in late 2004 to early 2005, girlfriend Lita started to spend more time with Hardy's real-life friend Edge. Hardy sounded off on the two online and was subsequently fired. However, fan demand saw Hardy resigned to WWE, attack Edge in a work invasion of RAW and go on to have a reasonable feud with his former best-friend. This is still one of my favourite feuds, not just because it was one of the first I was invented in.   

3. End of an Era (2012)

When the Undertaker returned and challenged Triple H to a match at Wrestlemania 28 for a rematch of their bout at Wrestlemania 27, Triple H rejected as he had he would have to finish the Deadman. Taker then said that Triple H couldn't do what his best-friend Shawn Michaels couldn't do because Shawn was always better than Hunter (much is massively true). Tripe H accepted and with HBK as the guest referee, it was an emotional rollercoaster. What makes it even better fans was that the three men had amazing respect for one and other and this showed as the Undertaker's Wrestlemania streak continued to 20-0. The final shot of the three at the top of the ramp is an iconic picture and has got to be one of the WWE's favourite ever photos.

2. Summer of Punk (2011)

This storyline takes place in the late part of 2011 when CM Punk pushed himself into the main event scene as he cut a viciously honest promo in Vegas, won the WWE Championship at the second annual Money In The Bank (in his hometown of Chicago) and left the WWE (for eight days). The rest of the storyline was absolute rubbish, with Punk losing on three consecutive pay-per-views, but what makes this storyline so memorable is the real nature of Punk's promos, discussing Kevin Nash's return as WWE continuing the status quo, the fact that Cena was always favoured as the good guy and how he was subbed for Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson for the Wrestlemania 28 main event. For me, there isn't a more honest portrayal of a Wrestler's frustration and as Punk said himself, it was six years of pent-up anger in the making.   

1. The Montreal Screw-Job (1997)
It's the most famous Survivor Series moment all-time, where Shawn Michaels, Vince McMahon and various others screwed Bret Hart out of the WWE championship before he left for arch-rivals WCW (World Championship Wrestling). Bret had stressed that he wasn't going to drop the belt in Canada but unfortunately for Bret, he forgot that Vince McMahon rules all in WWE and will therefore crash anyone's momentum if he has to. Add into the mix that Bret hated Shawn Michaels for his backstage political antics, which I can't blame him for to be honest, and you have the number one Wrestling storyline that had the realist implications and shocking aftermath.

 

Wrestlemania 32 Preview

 

Wrestlemania 32 Preview

Wrestlemania. THE Wrestling event of the year. Its the time of year where every old wrestling fan, and all the people bored on Twitter and Facebook, tune into the 'show of shows'. However, this year is slightly different. One, there is a LOT of injured Wrestlers that have been ruled that have been ruled out of the PPV (John Cena, Randy Orton and Seth Rollins to name a few). Two, there is frustration among fans that the main event, Triple H vs Roman Reigns, is predictable for Reigns to win his third WWE World Heavyweight title because Triple H is semi-retired and there is no other main event babyfaces (good guys for those who don't regularly watch Wrestling) to carry the WWE until ex-champion Seth Rollins returns. Anyway, Wrestlemania is still a massive event in the Sporting calendar and in this post I will be breaking down the matches that will feature in Wrestling's thirty-second annual grand event, Wrestlemania.  

 

Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal (30 men enter for the Andre the Giant Trophy)

This will be the third annual Wrestlemania Andre the Giant Battle Royal Memorial Battle Royal in which 30 men will compete for the Andre the Giant Trophy of the legendary French pro-wrestler in his iconic stance. The last two winners have been mid-carders in Cesaro and Big Show so expect someone you almost certainly forgot about to win this Battle Royal.

WINNER: Kane (just picked a random mid-carder to be honest).

 

 

The Total Divas (Brie Bella, Paige, Natalya, Alicia Fox, and Eva Marie) vs. B.A.D. & Blonde (Naomi, Tamina, Lana, Emma, and Summer Rae)
It's a shame that these ten 'Divas' will most likely do nothing more than screaming, pulling hair and/or throwing rabbit punches in this match (except Paige maybe because she's the only developed one in this tag match aimed to give men over the age of 13 something to look at without having to think too hard). I won't go to in detail with my opinion on the so-called 'Divas Revolution' that has taken place in WWE over the last ten or so months but in short, it only gave a handful of 'Divas' (can't stand that word) a platform to show their legitimate wrestling ability. Unfortunately, I see this being an awful match with a win for the Total Divas.



WINNER: The Total Divas.


Kalisto(c) vs Ryback (for United States Championship)
Well, this match is going to be quite bad. I, like a lot of fans, thought that there would be a multi-man ladder match for the US title that would actually be fairly decent from a group of mid-carders with good ladder spots. But this match won't be good due to Kalisto being a botch machine when he's got some eyes on him and Ryback tries too hard to be a 'beast'. Not interested one bit in a singles match between these two.



WINNER: Ryback.

 

The Usos vs The Dudley Boyz
Again, this looks like a match that no-one will be massively interested in seeing as the Usos are boring and the Dudley Boyz are too old and past it with their gimmick of being old-fashioned and 'extreme'.



WINNER: The Usos.


The New Day (Big E, Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods) vs the League of Nations (Sheamus, Alberto Del Rio, Rusev and King Barrett)
I feel like a broken record here but again WWE have created yet another match that I'm not at all bothered about. Mostly due to the New Day being one of the weirdest things that Vince McMahon has thought of (although there have been a lot of them) and the League of Nations are an awful group.



WINNER: The New Day.

Chris Jericho vs AJ Styles
The actual lay-out of the feud aside, meaning the stupid chants that they do when they walk down to the ring at each other, this match could be very interesting for two reasons. One, to see how these two fantastically technical Wrestlers work together in what should be their best match of their feud. Two, to see if WWE will have a repeat of Wrestlemania 31 and have Styles lose his first Wrestlemania match (like they did with Sting against Triple H last year). I'm very excited to see how Styles does and hopefully wins in the year that he has featured at both NJPW 's (New Japan Pro Wrestling) Wrestle-Kingdom, their flagship show, and WWE's flagship show, Wrestlemania.



WINNER: AJ Styles.


Seven Man (Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, Dolph Ziggler, Zack Ryder, Sin Cara, The Miz and Stardust) Ladder Match (for the Intercontinental Championship)
So in this match, there will be quite a few good spots with ladders and then some quite boring brawling in and around the ring. The realistic candidates for winning this match are Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn and Dolph Ziggler. I think that a Owens vs Zayn feud will appear from the ending of this match so I think that Owens will retain the title, potentially costing Zayn the belt at the last second.



WINNER: Kevin Owens.


Charlotte vs Becky Lynch vs Sasha Banks (for Divas Championship)
Women's Wrestling has been the best it has been since the days of Lita and Trish feuding, in which they once main evented RAW (but probably won't reach those heights again). Charlotte, being Ric Flair's daughter, is the favourite to walk out champion but with Sasha and Becky being two of the best women Wrestlers I have seen make it hard to predict. I think Charlotte will win however due to WWE playing it safe and continuing with Charlotte as champion, and therefore confirming that they're not that confident in Sasha or Becky as champion.



WINNER: Charlotte.

 

 

Brock Lesnar vs Dean Ambrose (No Holds Barred/Street Fight)

Brock Lesnar is always guaranteed a big match at Wrestlemania, as he attracts the most attention for the run to Wrestlemania from casual fans and just general Sports fans. This may not be the main event of Wrestlemania that Lesnar, and his manager Paul Heyman, push for but it is a big match with an opponent that is built for this type of match. Following on from their mini feud before, during and after Fastlane, Ambrose is hell-bent on proving he can beat Lesnar, like some have since he returned in 2012. Lesnar is like he has always been since he first left the WWE in 2004, aggressive and not the littlest bit bothered of speaking in order to promote the match. I think Lesnar will win because he's due a win after not getting a shot at Triple H and the WWE World Heavyweight title. Unfortunately, Ambrose is going to take another loss in quite a frustrating PPV run for the 'unhinged' Superstar.



WINNER: Brock Lesnar.

 

 

 

Shane McMahon vs Undertaker (Hell in a Cell) (if Shane wins he will gain control of RAW)

Now this is a weird one. Bizarre, but very weird. In February, Shane McMahon returned to WWE after six years away building successful businesses and announced he wanted to gain control of RAW, too many fans' joy. Vince then said well that's all great but you've got to beat the Undertaker at Wrestlemania... in Hell in a Cell. Well, fantastic. In a way. It had been largely rumoured that Undertaker vs John Cena was the planned match for Wrestlemania. However, with Cena out for Wrestlemania, it's quite clear that Vince needed a plan B for the Undertaker. For me, the Undertaker hasn't been the same big-name since he lost his Wrestlemania streak to Brock Lesnar at Wrestlemania 30 but it's still amazing to think that Shane, a guy who hasn't wrestled since 2009 and looks very old, is wrestling in a very dangerous situation for control of RAW (which the majority want to see). To be fair to WWE this maybe the one match that pulls a lot of the casual fans back into the WWE viewing figures for a decent amount of time.

In terms of who wins, I want Shane to win because it will be interesting if there might be a brand split for the first time since RAW and SMACKDOWN joined together in August 2011. But does that mean fans are expected to boo the Undertaker at Wrestlemania? In front of a record Wrestlemania crowd? I don't think the fans will do that. One thing is for certain though. ALOT of interference will happen (surrounded by some crazy spots). Possible interferes? Sting? Vince? Who truly knows. Anyway, I think that Shane will win because they wouldn't had built up this angle on the road to Wrestlemania up if they were going to just have the Undertaker kill it. AND, if Undertaker loses, it will be his last Wrestlemania and therefore subsequently destroying any hope of a dream Wrestlemania match next year with John Cena. I'm predicting this to be the match of the night, purely for drama purposes.



WINNER: Shane McMahon.

 

 

 

Triple H vs Roman Reigns (for WWE World Heavyweight Championship)
Now this is where it gets hard to swallow to for regular Wrestling fans. Prior to this year's Royal Rumble, which was for the WWE title and not for a World title shot at Wrestlemania like the winner usually gets, Roman Reigns was the champion after Seth Rollins was forced to vacate the title after getting injured at a house event. Reigns lost the title at the Rumble (as he should have, being against 29 other competitors) and Triple H won the Rumble and the title. Reigns then gained a championship shot by defeating Dean Ambrose and Brock Lesnar at Fastlane.

Quite rightly, many are annoyed that Triple H keeps appearing in big and irregular events in order to sustain his personal feelings in regards to main event storylines and PPV outcomes. However, I'm pretty sure Reigns will win and launch into the next big Superstar that WWE want him to become (due to John Cena not getting any younger). Therefore, I can understand why Triple H is holding the championship until Wrestlemania, to give Reigns his Wrestlemania moment. But the fans won't be happy and this will be were Wrestlemania could end in a course of boo's.



WINNER: Roman Reigns.

 



10 Things WWE Want You To Forget About CM Punk

 

10 Things WWE Want You To Forget About CM Punk

It's fair to say that many WWE fans are still one of the following in regards to CM Punk having left WWE in 2014. Annoyed. Angry. Not bothered. The ones who start the 'CM Punk' chants whenever they see Roman Reigns. Writing rumour articles on his expected return. OR have completely moved over to UFC at the time Punk signed for them. Many, many articles have been written about the things WWE want fans to forget about Punk and his career and I'm jumping on the bandwagon, as you can see by the title.

 

 

10, The 'CM Punk' chants

Whenever the current state of WWE becomes boring and pathetically painful to sit through, often featuring Roman Reigns and/or the New Day, fans often chant 'CM Punk! CM Punk!', due to fans' perspective of Punk as an ideal anti-establishment status quo promo King that he was in the middle to end of 2011. Now, WWE do't acknowledge these chants outright on TV but they surely want to them to go away and be replaced with chants such as 'This is Awesome'.

 

 

9, His feud with Jeff Hardy

Not the matches from the feud in 2009 between the two of the most athletic wrestlers in WWE's recent history. What WWE want you to forget is the real-life edge to the feud that came from the clash between Hardy's drug-filled lifestyle and Punk's straight-edge lifestyle. At one point, Punk said that Hardy knew a thing or two about buying narcotise but didn't know he could get some from a Doctor. A week after Hardy left WWE in late 2009, he was arrested for trying to move illegal drugs. So WWE would like you to forget their personal clash and remember the matches they had.   

 

 

8, The Shield was his idea

On Colt Cabana's podcast, Punk stated that WWE Creative approached him with the idea of a heel stable that would feature Big Show and Daniel Bryan. Punk quite rightly said this was stupid and wanted a three man NXT heel stable, that would allow for Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose. Creative were fine with this up until the very last minute when they decided to have the group, later called the Shield, attack everyone and not have Punk allied with them. WWE want you to remember the spring of the Shield and not that Punk came up with the actual idea himself.

 

 

7, He wasn't a fan of Roman Reigns

In relation to the previous point, Punk wanted a heel alliance made up of NXT stars. WWE were fine with this but they want current Number 1 Good Guy Roman Reigns to be a part of it. Punk accepted but didn't really approve (which didn't really matter considering he wasn't even allied with them).

 

 

6, His time in TNA

Punk had a brief time in TNA during 2002 to 2004 but the WWE NEVER mention TNA at all. This was evident in the WWE's 2012 release of 'The Best In The World' DVD that detailed Punk's life and career up-till the 2011 Money In The Bank PPV. That's all well and good but WWE left out his time in TNA before moving to WWE's development system. They were happy to mention Ring of Honor, where Punk had signed his WWE contract on the ROH belt, but didn't mention TNA as they didn't want fans to remember that one of their best Wrestlers hadn't just come straight from Ring of Honor.

 

 

5, His lawsuit with a WWE Doctor

Punk is currently involved in a lawsuit with a WWE Doctor that didn't treat his concussions and staph infection and has therefore lead to WWE becoming annoyed by the case's long-winded nature and the sheer fact that it just won't go away.

 

 

4, He had the best match of Wrestlemania 29

The Wrestlemania 29 card had three good matches (Brock Lesnar vs Triple H, Punk vs Undertaker and Cena vs The Rock II). Punk's match was hands down the best one. Due too not being in the Wrestlemania main event for the third year in a row, Punk quite literally put his body on the line to prove a point to Vince and co backstage. And he did, with many saying that the match should have gone on last. On Cabana's podcast, Punk recalls his discussion with Vince after the match with Punk saying that he hadn't watched it back because he was there. I'm pretty sure that Vince would look back now and say that it should have closed the Wrestlemania 29 card instead of Cena and Rock's underwhelming rematch.

 

 

3, He had the longest WWE Championship run of the Modern Era

Punk held the WWE Championship for 434 days between the 20th November 2011 till 27th January 2013. You would think that WWE would want to promote this and reference it as the sixth longest reign of all-time but when you consider the way that things ended with WWE and Punk, you'll understand why they want you to forget about Punk's historic title reign.

 

 

2, He was fired on his Wedding Day

After Punk initially left the company after the 2014 Royal Rumble, he was suspended for two months. Evidently, WWE then fired Punk and sent him his termination papers on June 13th 2014. However, that day was Punk's wedding day. Punk obviously took this personally like any other normal person and this is most likely the final nail in the coffin for Punk never returning to WWE.

 

 

1, The Pipebomb Promo still has relevant factors

When Punk took to the mic on 27th June 2011 and cut one of the best promos in Wrestling history, the Internet ate it up and analysed it to the death. However, what WWE want you to forget about the 'Pipebomb Promo' is that it STILL is relevant to the way in which WWE run five years later. A few examples being Vince McMahon being out of touch, the reliance on part-timers to boost ratings/views, the lack of respect and opportunities for genuine professional wrestlers and the number of 'kiss-asses' in WWE history.

 

Ultimately, it doesn't seem likely that Punk will return to the WWE and quite subsequently, he will have a good run in UFC for the next few years.