The “Is This Thing On?” Sunday Evening Open Thread

I thought I’d be a good boy and prep this early, in case the ongoing technical issues crop up & prevent my access. (Stupid Al Gore’s internet always freezing out Canadian access.)

For those who care, tonight is Night Two of Wrestlemania.

I don’t know how many of you are active fans of the pro graps. Joliet Jake does an awesome job on Wednesdays prepping & repping the AEW Open Thread. I know Redshirt is a fan, and there are a few others who discovered the old place through With Leather and it’s Raw live blogs, and gravitated over here when KSK met its demise.

The decision to make Wrestlemania stretch over two nights is both pandemic-related and self-induced. The pandemic part is fairly straightforward. They want fans in the stadium, and Florida is allowing 25,000 fans to attend. Having it last two nights guarantees they can somewhat satisfy the fans who want to attend while guaranteeing a sizeable crowd for the wrestlers to work off. The self-induced part is because two years ago in NYC, the bloated card ran so long the event ended at 1:30AM, after the trains stopped running, so people had to walk away from The Meadowlands. There are still pending civil suits against the WWE, NJ Transit, and the company that runs MetLife Stadium. Stretching the show out means they get to tell the stories they want without affecting the fan experience.

Anyway, here’s the Night Two card: (scheduled order of appearance)

• Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler (c) vs. winners of Tag Team Turmoil match for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship
• Riddle (c) vs. Sheamus for the WWE United States Championship
• Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn (with Logan Paul)
• Big E (c) vs. Apollo Crews for the WWE Intercontinental Championship in a Nigerian Drum Fight
• The Fiend vs. Randy Orton
• Asuka (c) vs. Rhea Ripley for the WWE Raw Women’s Championship
• Roman Reigns (c) vs. Edge vs. Daniel Bryan for the WWE Universal Championship

If you don’t follow Vince’s product, this is a very solid card. The last title match is obviously the star of the show, but for my money – $30 USD/night, if you don’t subscribe – the highlight will be the Owens-Zayn match, because they will get to do on a Wrestlemania stage what they’d been doing across the indies for 10 years prior to their WWE arrival.

Anyway, if it’s your thing, tonight is very definitely your thing. The highlights, to me, of Night One were the singer Bad Bunny pulling out a Canadian Destroyer on John Morrison,

BAD BUNNY 😱#WrestleMania https://t.co/58kHdhY0ER

— Complex Sports (@ComplexSports) April 11, 2021

and Bianca Belair whipping Sasha Banks with her hair.

https://twitter.com/Era_Of_Bliss/status/1381091023275835393

And in case there’s any “it’s all fake” people out there – remember, the pain is real even if the outcomes are predetermined.

Tonight’s unscripted sports:

• NHL:
  • Capitals vs, Bruins – 7:00pm | Sportsnet360
  • Penguins at Devils – 7:00pm | NHLN
• NBA:
  • Raptors vs. Knicks – 7:00pm | Sportsnet1
  • Spurs vs. Mavericks – 9:00pm | TSN
  • Pistons vs. Clippers – 10:00pm | Sportsnet360
• MLB:
  • Phillies vs. Braves – 7:00pm | ESPN / TSN2

Of course, the Masters should be wrapping up sometime this evening, so there’s the thrill of watching someone your grandad likely considers a punk try on a green jacket more appropriate for a movie theatre usher.

And in case something does go wrong, you know our crack staff will be here trying to make things right.