Reviews

The John Report: WWE Smackdown Live Review 03/13/18

By John Canton • Published 14th March 2018

The road to WrestleMania continues with this week’s edition of Smackdown Live. It’s the first show after Sunday’s Fastlane pay-per-view (read my review here if you missed it) and there are four episodes of Smackdown to go until WrestleMania on April 8. We know some of the big Smackdown brand matches at WrestleMania like AJ Styles defending the WWE Championship against Shinsuke Nakamura and Charlotte Flair defending the Smackdown Women’s Championship against Asuka. What else is there going to be? Let’s find out.

Live from Indianapolis, Indiana, this is Smackdown Live for episode #968. Follow me on Twitter @johnreport. Thanks to Melo Man for the banner up top.

The show began with a live shot of the crowd in Indianapolis

Coming up this week: New US Champion Randy Orton is there, Asuka makes her Smackdown debut and Shane McMahon’s huge WrestleMania announcement.

The WWE Champion AJ Styles made his entrance to a great ovation. Styles soaked in the cheers for a little bit and made his way into the ring for a promo. The graphic let us know it’s Styles vs. Nakamura at WrestleMania. Oh hell yeah.

The Smackdown announce team of Tom Phillips, Corey Graves and Byron Saxton were shown on screen.

Let’s Hear From AJ Styles

Styles stood in the ring ready to talk as the fans chanted “AJ Styles” for him and Styles welcomed us to the house that AJ Styles built. Styles talked about how the odds were stacked against him at Fastlane and when John Cena put him through the commentator’s table, he was in trouble. Styles said his victory was unbelievable, but not impossible. Styles talked about how if you want something bad enough, you can get back on your feet and find a way. Styles said he’s the WWE Champion and he’s going to WrestleMania (sign point). Styles spoke about how in the past, his going to WWE was unbelievable, winning the WWE Title was unbelievable and now going to WrestleMania as WWE Champion was unbelievable, but not impossible. Fans chanted “you deserve it” for him. Styles told the fans he earned it. He’s damn right.

Styles talked about how in four weeks the man standing against him at WrestleMania is one of the biggest Japanese stars in WWE history, Shinsuke Nakamura. Styles mentioned that he has respect for Nakamura because they had similar paths getting to WWE, but when it comes to the WWE Championship, those comparisons stop. Styles said that he’s okay with people calling him an everyman, but that’s until he steps through the ropes because when he’s in that ring…“I am phenomenal.” Nakamura’s music hit for the interruption.

Shinsuke Nakamura, the 2018 Royal Rumble winner, made his entrance as the crowd chanted along with his song like usual.

Nakamura stood across the ring from Styles. Fans were chanting for both guys. Nakamura told AJ he’s a champion and everyone likes him with Nakamura adding that everyone likes him too. Nakamura told Styles he respects him. Nakamura said at WrestleMania, dreams come true. Nakamura’s dream…knee to face and he will become champion.

Rusev’s music hit to interrupt them. Rusev entered with his buddy Aiden English to wish all of us a Happy Rusev Day. The show went to break as they went down to the ring for a match against AJ Styles.

Analysis: The promo from Styles was pretty good. He spoke with a lot of confidence about how what he did at Fastlane was unbelievable, but not impossible. Styles also put over Nakamura while noting they had similar paths to get to WWE (both guys left New Japan and signed with WWE in January 2016). Nakamura joined Styles for the respect fest, which is fine because they are two of the biggest faces on Smackdown. Nakamura’s speech is tough to hear sometimes due to English being a second language, so that hurts a bit sometimes. Nakamura didn’t say a lot and he got through it fine.

(Commercial)

The match began after a break.

AJ Styles vs. Rusev (w/Aiden English)

This is not for the WWE Title held by Styles. Shinsuke Nakamura was seated at ringside watching the match.

Rusev showed his power early by shoving Styles down. Styles kicked Rusev in the left thigh, but Rusev came back with a shoulder tackle. Rusev worked over Styles with knees to the ribs. Styles avoided a corner charge and punched Rusev. Clothesline by Rusev. Styles avoided a Rusev attack and hit a dropkick followed by a clothesline that sent Rusev over the top rope to the floor. Styles launched himself over the top rope leading to a forearm on Rusev on the floor. Back in the ring, Styles worked over Rusev with strikes, but Rusev avoided a whip into the ropes and Rusev hit a double chop to the throat. Rusev with a spinebuster got a two count. They went to break there.

(Commercial)

Back from break, they showed a clip of Rusev hitting a back body drop on Styles. Rusev set up Styles on the top rope. Styles slipped out of an attack and sent Rusev face first into the turnbuckle. Styles with a clothesline followed by a running forearm. Corner clothesline by Styles. Rusev went for a kick, Styles ducked it, but Rusev overpowered Styles with a knee to the ribs followed by a hard kick to the head by Rusev for two. That kick looked great. Styles was down for a bit. Styles avoided a Machka kick and came back with a Pele Kick followed by a fireman’s carry into the neckbreaker. Styles tried for a Styles Clash on Rusev, but Rusev slipped out of it. Styles hooked the leg of Rusev and set him up in the middle of the ring for the Calf Crusher. Aiden English went into the ring to break it up. The match went 11 minutes as the ref called for the disqualification.

Winner by disqualification: AJ Styles

Analysis: *** Good match while it lasted even with the cheap finish. I liked the physicality of the match with some strong kicks from Rusev like usual while Styles did a fantastic job of countering everything. The finish didn’t surprise me that much with English lurking around ringside. A disqualification is fine in that case. If they did the match again it would probably be a win for Styles. I know WWE likes booking champions to lose non-title, but I really hope they don’t do that to Styles leading into WrestleMania.

Post match, English stomped away on Styles. Rusev got in a Machka Kick on Styles. Nakamura went into the ring, he kicked English and Nakamura hit the Kinshasa on Rusev. Nakamura stood tall as his music played to end it. Nakamura left the ring while Styles was seated against the turnbuckle. Graves pointed out that Nakamura waited to save Styles rather than go in right away.

Analysis: No surprise that Nakamura made the save in that situation out of respect for Styles. This will probably lead to a tag match between these four guys in the near future.

There were images shown from the Bludgeon Brothers attack against The Usos and The New Day with Xavier Woods taking the worst beating of all when he was Powerbombed on the steel steps.

Big E of The New Day was shown walking backstage. Dasha Fuentes showed up for an interview. Big E said he wishes he could tell us they were the Tag Team Champions or they were having fun by putting pancakes in Corey Graves rental car. Big E said that the Bludgeon Brothers took out 2/3 of the New Day, but Woods and Kingston will be back. Big E said that as long as he is standing he will represent The New Day. Jimmy Uso showed up with a taped right arm. Jimmy said they got his brother too. Jimmy said they can have a match down the road, but tonight they are going to team up. Big E was cool with that and off they went.

Analysis: I like the way that was set up with Big E fighting for New Day and Jimmy fighting for his brother. They have a common rival in the Bludgeon Brothers now, so it makes sense to team them up this week. I liked Big E’s promo a lot too. Long term, I really think Big E can be a main event singles wrestler. He has improved a lot in terms of promos and personality while in The New Day, so it wouldn’t shock me if he’s a World Champion in the next five years.

Still to come is Shane McMahon’s WrestleMania announcement. Also, Bobby Roode vs. Jinder Mahal.

(Commercial)

The WWE Hall of Fame video aired about this year’s celebrity inductee Kid Rock. Same video that was on Raw.

AJ Styles was shown walking backstage. Styles walked up to Nakamura and told him he didn’t need his help at Fastlane or tonight. Nakamura said it looked like he helped. Nakamura told him he’ll help him until WrestleMania when he’ll beat him with a knee to the face.

Analysis: They may do the tag match in two weeks. Next week will probably English vs. Nakamura, Rusev causes the disqualification and then Styles makes the save.

Jimmy Uso made his entrance carrying his Smackdown Tag Team Title. Big E made his entrance with a serious look on his face. There was no standard pre-match intro for Big E because he’s in a serious mood.

The Bludgeon Brothers duo made their entrance.

Big E and Jimmy attacked Harper and Rowan outside the ring before the bell could ring. Big E whipped Harper into the side of the ring apron. Big E and Jimmy got steel chairs and went into the ring. Harper and Rowan grabbed their mallets. The ref left the ring to get the hell out of there. That was smart.

The four wrestlers faced off with the crowd cheering the staredown.Rowan used the mallet to knock the chair out of Jimmy’s hand. Harper knocked the chair out of Big E’s hand and Big E bailed to the floor. Jimmy and Big E were on the floor as the show went to break.

Analysis: I liked the way that was done with Big E and Jimmy attacking before the match began. They should be mad with the Bludgeon Brothers, so having them attack before the bell is an understandable way to begin things. The crowd was really into it, so that helps too.

(Commercial)

The bell rang after the break with Phillips saying it took four officials to get them under control.

Big E and Jimmy Uso vs. The Bludgeon Brothers – Harper and Rowan

Harper hit a sidewalk slam on Big E. Rowan tagged in with a splash. Rowan with a body slam on Big E. Harper worked over Big E with chops. Big E managed to break free, he tagged in Jimmy, who hit Harper with an uppercut punch, a forearm, more punches and Harper blocked a superkick. Jimmy with an elbow smash and a dive off the top onto Harper. Jimmy kicked Rowan off the apron. Harper nailed Jimmy with a superkick. Harper sent Big E out of the ring. Rowan sent Big E into the steel steps. Rowan tagged in, Harper slapped him and Rowan hit a corner splash on Jimmy. Double team Powerbomb by Harper and Rowan on Jimmy led to Harper pinning Jimmy in the ring. It went about three minutes.

Winners by pinfall: The Bludgeon Brothers

Analysis: *1/2 It was a dominant win for the powerful Bludgeon Brothers, who continue to be undefeated since they got their new Bludgeon Brothers name. Jimmy and Big E got some offense, but not a whole lot and the Bludgeon Brothers ended up with the win.

Post match, Harper with a running elbow smash on Big E against the barricade. Rowan hit a running cross body block on Big E on the floor. The Bludgeon Brothers went back in the ring, walked past a fallen Jimmy, they left the ring, grabbed their mallets and walked to the back.

Analysis: I like how the Bludgeon Brothers gimmick is about kicking ass and then they leave when they are satisfied with what they did. This is probably leading to a 3-Way match at WrestleMania with The Usos vs. The New Day vs. The Bludgeon Brothers.

There were images shown from Fastlane with Shane McMahon pulling the ref out of the ring when Kevin Owens tried to pin and then Shane pulled Sami Zayn out of the ring to break up his pin attempt.

Sami Zayn was interviewed by Renee Young in the interview area. Zayn complained about Shane McMahon pulling him off the cover at Fastlane. Zayn said he blamed Kevin Owens and if it wasn’t for Shane’s obsession with Owens, Zayn would have won the WWE Title. Zayn said that Owens is a funny guy, he’s extremely talented and he’s been there for Zayn outside the ring, but in the ring he’s a self-absorbed egomaniac. Zayn pointed out he was milliseconds from being WWE Champion, but he paid the price due to being guilty by association. Zayn said that’s a price he’ll never pay again for Kevin Owens or anybody.

Analysis: Good promo by Zayn putting the blame on his buddy Owens more than Shane. I was hoping that Zayn and Owens would get back on the same page again. It still might happen, but for that promo at least it was Zayn angry at Owens.

Asuka is up next.

(Commercial)

The video aired for WrestleMania noting it was 26 days away.

Let’s Hear From Charlotte Flair and Asuka

Charlotte Flair, the Smackdown Women’s Champion, made her entrance in her ring gear including her customary peacock robe. Charlotte will be teaming up with Bobby Roode on Mixed Match Challenge against Rusev and Lana, which is after Smackdown.

A graphic was shown reminding us that it’s Charlotte Flair vs. Asuka at WrestleMania for the Smackdown Women’s Championship.

Charlotte said when you are a champion you are always a target, so when Asuka’s music hit she knew of her intentions at WrestleMania. Charlotte said she was honored. Charlotte said she wanted to make sure she was out there standing in the center of the ring to meet her woman to woman.

Asuka made her entrance and joined Charlotte in the ring. It’s the first time Asuka has appeared on Smackdown.

Charlotte welcomed Asuka to Smackdown Live and told her to be careful what she wished for. Asuka thanked her. Charlotte talked about how she has traveled around the world defending her title with people saying congratulations to her and what would happen if she faced Asuka. Charlotte noted that Asuka has beaten every woman she has faced in WWE and wondered what would happen when they had a match. Charlotte said she wanted the opportunity and the challenge of facing Asuka. Charlotte said that she got goosebumps when Asuka’s music hit on Sunday. Charlotte told Asuka she has never faced anybody like her and told Asuka that she has never faced anybody like Charlotte. That led to Charlotte telling Asuka to be careful what she wished for and she’s going to end the streak while cementing her legacy. Charlotte said: “Woo!”

Asuka told Charlotte she chose her because she likes a challenge. Asuka told Charlotte that she’s the queen, but Asuka is the empress. Asuka said she bows to no one because…no one is ready for Asuka. They had a staredown and Asuka’s music played.

Analysis: It was a decent promo exchange. Charlotte spoke more because Asuka’s English isn’t great. Charlotte showed a lot of confidence like usual. The “queen” and “empress” names don’t mean that much really, but it’s just WWE wanting to give people nicknames. There was no interruption by other women because it would have been repetitive since they had heels interrupt the Styles/Nakamura promo. This feud does have a similar feel to Styles/Nakamura because you have credible face champions against Japanese face challengers that won the Royal Rumble.

Randy Orton’s music hit to interrupt the staredown by the women. Orton walked down to the ring with the US Title on his shoulder.

Still to come is Shane McMahon’s WrestleMania announcement, which is apparently the main event of this show. Jinder Mahal vs. Bobby Roode is up next.

A video aired for Angle and Rousey vs. Triple H and Stephanie at WrestleMania.

(Commercial)

Let’s Hear From Randy Orton

Randy Orton was in the ring. Images were shown from Fastlane showing Orton’s RKO on Bobby Roode to win the US Title for the first time.

Orton said he’s been called many different things in his career, some good and some not so good, but the one thing he’s never been called until now is United States Champion. Orton held up the title. Orton said winning this title put him on the list of elite superstars that make him a Grand Slam Champion and that’s a list he cares about. Orton said that former champion Bobby Roode earned his respect. Orton said this title is his now. Orton said he’s taking that title to WrestleMania and nobody is going to stop him.

Bobby Roode made his glorious entrance. Roode got in the ring with Orton. Roode congratulated Orton on his win. Roode pointed out that he gets his rematch and that rematch is going to take place on the grandest stage of them all, WrestleMania. Roode said when he retains that United States Championship it is going to be absolutely glorious. The fans were not reacting well to that Roode promo.

Jinder Mahal entered with Sunil Singh by his side. Mahal congratulated Orton and he said that he’s been in WWE for an eternity and he’s finally accomplished that title. Mahal said that Roode has only been in WWE for a cup of coffee, yet Roode won the title first. Mahal said he’ll beat Roode this week just like he beat Randy Orton last week.

Analysis: It was just okay. Orton didn’t show much enthusiasm or passion like usual, so it’s hard to tell if he’s happy or if he hates being in the midcard title picture instead of in main events. A triple threat match seems likely for WrestleMania.

Orton left the ring as the match began with Orton sitting at ringside.

Jinder Mahal (w/Sunil Singh) vs. Bobby Roode

Mahal started with punches. Roode kicked Mahal, went for the DDT, but Mahal bailed to the floor and the show went to break.

(Commercial)

Mahal was in control with an armbar as they returned from the break. They did a spot where Mahal ran the ropes and they hit heads for a collision, so both guys were down. Roode was in control with two clotheslines and a neckbreaker. Roode went up top and hit a clothesline. Mahal avoided the DDT, but Roode came back with the Blockbuster off the ropes. Mahal sent Roode out of the ring. When Roode went back in, Mahal hit a superkick for a two count. They each countered their finishing moves, Roode rollup got two and a Roode spinebuster also got two. Roode went to the apron and Sunil was there talking trash to him. Roode shoved Sunil into the turnbuckle. Roode went up top, Mahal knocked him down and Mahal hit The Khallas to win the match by pinfall. It went about 7 minutes.

Winner by pinfall: Jinder Mahal

Analysis: *3/4 The match was just okay and on the short side since it was under seven minutes with only about four minutes shown here. They just didn’t have a lot of time to tell an interesting story. The crowd seemed to be dead for most of it. It was a bit of a cheap finish to put Mahal over. The build to the triple threat match continues since Mahal beat Orton last week and he beat Roode this week.

After the match was over, Orton slid into the ring and hit a RKO on Mahal. The crowd loved that.

Analysis: That was payback from what happened at Fastlane when Roode laid out Orton and Mahal.

Shane McMahon announcement still to come.

(Commercial)

Kevin Owens was shown walking backstage. Renee Young walked up to him for an interview. Owens ranted about how Sami Zayn claimed that Owens was the one to blame. Owens talked about how it was all Shane McMahon’s fault and that he got screwed over first before Sami did. Owens said that he would be WWE Champion right now and Sami would not have been screwed. Owens complained about Sami being sick of it. Owens called Zayn a liar, a manipulator and now he’s blaming KO for his own shortcomings. Owens said he should be WWE Champion right now if not for Shane McMahon. Owens whiled about Shane saying he’s like the other McMahons that try to steal the spotlight from the people that believe it like himself. Owens wondered why Shane even needed to be at ringside. Owens said he can open Sami’s eyes about Shane being the problem.

Analysis: Solid promo from Owens like usual. It sounds like problems with Zayn will continue unless they are just trying to fool people, which is expected by two heels like them.

The video aired about the Fabulous Moolah Women’s Battle Royal at WrestleMania.

Analysis: A lot of people are complaining about WWE naming the battle royal about her. Moolah’s 27-year reign as champion was in part because she refused to drop the belt to anybody else. This video talked about women’s equality, yet there are many stories about Moolah abusing women, prostituting them and it’s terrible to read stuff like that. Why would WWE honor her? It’s not like fans are unaware of her history. You can read about it on Reddit right here if you want more info. You’ve got Charlotte Flair calling Moolah a woman that wants to empower other women. Actually, it was quite the opposite since she prostituted other women and treated them like shit. Anyway, fans are right to complain about it because Moolah ruined the lives of a lot of women, so having WWE play a video about Moolah as this legendary figure feels so wrong.

They showed tweets from women in WWE about the battle royal. I guess we must pretend like these women are glad to be in a battle royal than in a more featured match? Sure. It’s better than not being on the card, I guess.

Naomi made her glow entrance.

(Commercial)

The commercial for next week’s Raw focused on Asuka vs. Alexa Bliss, Matt Hardy vs. Bray Wyatt in Ultimate Deletion and Vince McMahon saying Brock Lesnar will be there next week.

Carmella entered for this match. They showed a clip of Carmella talking about how she’s going to be in the battle royal and teased a surprise at WrestleMania by cashing in the Money in the Bank contract.

Naomi vs. Carmella

Carmella tossed Naomi across the ring. Carmella stepped on Naomi’s hair and did some shouting to wake up the dead crowd. Carmella kicked Naomi in the back into the turnbuckle. Carmella pulled Naomi’s hair against the turnbuckle. Is that supposed to be a good move? Naomi came back with a press to take down Carmella. Naomi slapped Carmella followed by a clothesline and a back elbow. Naomi missed some kicks and connected with a knee to the face. Naomi went for a springboard attack, Carmella blocked it and slammed Naomi down by the hair. Carmella covered to win after about 3 minutes.

Winner by pinfall: Carmella

Analysis: * A short match to give Carmella a win. Pulling hair against the ropes is a move? Weak. It was nice to see a Carmella win after she also won on Sunday, so at least WWE is trying to make her more relevant as the Money in the Bank contract holder.

Shane McMahon was shown walking backstage because he’s up next. That’s the main event.

(Commercial)

Let’s Hear From Shane McMahon

Shane McMahon entered to a decent ovation. Images were shown of Shane McMahon costing Kevin Owens a pinfall win in the WWE Title match at Fastlane and Shane also cost Sami Zayn the win. Post match, Shane had staredowns with Zayn and Owens.

Shane said over the last several months he’s had a myriad of issues with Owens and Zayn. Shane talked about how Kevin started it all when he put his hands on Shane’s father Vince. Shane said he knows Vince isn’t the most sympathetic of characters, but imagine what you would do if a guy beat up your father. Shane talked about how at Hell in a Cell he had Kevin where he wanted him to exact revenge, but it was taken from him by Sami Zayn.

Shane admitted that sometimes his conduct was detrimental to Smackdown. Shane said he talked to Smackdown’s General Manager Daniel Bryan and added that he was pleased to say Bryan will be returning to Smackdown next week. There were some boos from fans that probably wanted to see Bryan this week. Shane said he told Bryan that he’s going to go it alone. Shane said that effective immediately after this show, he’s taking an indefinite leave of absence.

Shane announced a match for WrestleMania: Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn. Shane’s music played to end it…or so we thought.

Kevin Owens walked out to wish Shane the best of luck in his future endeavors. Owens said as far the WrestleMania announcement goes, he can beat up Zayn any time he wants and doesn’t have to wait until WrestleMania.

Sami Zayn made his entrance. He walked by Owens and went into the ring. Zayn told Shane that he’s just doing this because it made him so happy that these people were cheering when Sami and Kevin were beating the hell out of eachother at Fastlane. Zayn told Shane that if he’s basing his decisions on what these people think then Thank God he is leaving.

Shane said he gave them the opportunity to face eachother, which many people don’t get, on the grandest stage of them all…WrestleMania. Owens said they appreciated it and told Shane he’ll appreciate this too. Zayn punched Shane in the back to knock him down and the beating was on.

Analysis: It was at this point where it was obvious that Owens and Zayn really didn’t have any animosity toward one another. It was all a ruse to fool dumbass Shane.

Owens and Zayn stomped away on Shane, who tried to fight back, but they were too much for him with Zayn beating on Shane with more punches and Owens kicked Shane. Owens set up Shane in the corner and Zayn hit the Helluva Kick on Shane. Zayn shoved Shane right into a Popup Powerbomb by Owens. Referees went into the ring and Sami/Kevin stomped on them. Owens threw referee Ryan Tran out of the ring. That looked like a hard landing for him. Zayn grabbed a chair. They put it around Shane’s neck. They teamed up to send Shane face/chair/throat first into the ring post. That’s a nasty looking bump although likely doesn’t hurt much. It’s all about the sell.

Owens and Zayn dragged Shane up the ramp. Zayn sang the “na na na na” hey hey goodbye song as they pulled Shane by his arms. There was a shot of Owens and Zayn backstage as they dragged Shane on the floor. Owens said one more thing before Shane goes. There was a stack of metal objects (a “metal rack” as WWE.com calls it) about three feet high off the ground. Owens picked up Shane and hit a Powerbomb on the metal objects. It sounded pretty loud. It was the upper back of Shane that hit the metal. Shane was on the ground groaning and coughing while in a lot of pain. Referee Mike Chioda showed up to check on Shane while telling Kevin and Sami to get back. Medical personnel showed up with a stretcher to check on Shane. That’s how Smackdown went off the air.

Analysis: Great angle to end the show. It was a violent attack with some big spots like the chair against the ring post and the Powerbomb onto the objects backstage. When you do stuff like that it really stands out because we’re so used to seeing the attacks out of the ring. It reminds me of last year before WrestleMania when they had AJ Style send Shane face first into a car window. Moments like that tend to stick out.

I think it’s fair to assume that Owens vs. Zayn isn’t going to happen at WrestleMania now. It’s probably going to be Owens and Zayn vs. Shane and a partner. I doubt the partner is going to be Daniel Bryan although some people may speculate that. I’m not sure if WWE will ever clear Bryan to wrestle due to his concussion history, so it may be somebody else. It’s another situation like what happened with Braun Strowman on Raw facing the tag team champions on that show. I’m not sure who the Shane partner could be. Perhaps WWE may want to turn a guy like Baron Corbin face or finally pull the trigger on Rusev as a face. Rey Mysterio is a possibility if he’s healthy or maybe Bobby Lashley can be a surprise partner. There are a few options there.

Three Stars of the Show

AJ Styles
Rusev
Shane McMahon – Give him credit for taking that beating.

The Scoreboard

5.5 out of 10

Last week: 6

2018 Average: 5.86

Last 5 Weeks: 6, 6.5, 6.5, 6, 6.5

2018 High: 7.5 (January 23)

2018 Low: 4.5 (January 2 and January 9)

Final Thoughts

It gets a 5.5 out of 10.

This was a tough show to grade. The only worthwhile match was Styles vs. Rusev and that didn’t have a clean finish. The promos from Styles/Nakamura and Charlotte/Asuka felt very repetitive. I feel like they should have done something different instead of making them so similar.

I liked the main event angle a lot and I’m interested to see what happens next. That’s the sign of a good storyline because it left us wanting more.

Can you believe we're going to see #EmpressvsQueen in 26 days at @WrestleMania?#SDLive @MsCharlotteWWE @WWEAsuka pic.twitter.com/bo3Zlv8iys
— WWE WrestleMania (@WrestleMania) March 14, 2018

The next WWE PPV is WrestleMania 34 on April 8. Here’s what we know so far as the official matches.

Universal Championship: Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns

WWE Championship: AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

Triple H and Stephanie McMahon vs. Kurt Angle and Ronda Rousey

Smackdown Women’s Championship: Charlotte Flair vs. Asuka

Intercontinental Championship: The Miz vs. Finn Balor vs. Seth Rollins

Raw Tag Team Championships: Sheamus & Cesaro vs. Braun Strowman and ???

Fabulous Moolah Women’s Battle Royal

Andre The Giant Men’s Battle Royal

Cruiserweight Championship Tournament Finals

I’m going to leave off Owens vs. Zayn because I doubt they go with that. There will be more added to the card in the coming weeks.

—