Watry Q&A: Sasha Banks, WrestleMania 35, WWE Superstar Shakeup, More

This is my reader feedback column for April 2019. As always, no cussing or insults allowed.

Previous Q&A

Jaybird: I must finally admit I’m a fan of Watry articles, if for nothing else, the simple troll hate he receives. Read his stuff and mentally detach yourself from his moniker. These wrestling articles and opinions are pretty fun.

Thanks. We all love wrestling, so why not have some fun? That’s what this is all about.

MikeK.: I must admit, I did laugh at his reply to I Am Lars

Mr. Sullivan is my biggest fan.

Joseph Saylor: I have a question, why is the picture of Arn with his eyes closed during an interview being posted every time there’s an article on him on this web site? Seems pretty lazy to me.

Full disclosure: I do not pick the images for my columns. I just provide the content. The editing, title, pictures, and all that junk is out of my hands. My GUESS is that the images used are best for copyright use. Don’t want to steal unauthorized material or invite legal BS like that.

WrestleMania Special Attractions

Uwe Hentschel: “I predicted something that happened 8 years ago” – Justin Watry

The Rock as the host of WM27 or Sheamus defeating Daniel Bryan in less than a minute? Still waiting on apologies from that one…

DiMera: Macho Man vs Hogan was huge Hogan vs Warrior was huge Rock vs Austin 2 took over the world

All huge in their own right, except the column was the biggest money makers. Kinda like how Invasion 2001 is the biggest non-WM buy rate of all for WWE but would never rank on a ‘best of’ list. Those do not rank at the top. All great though, no doubt. As mentioned above, I do not select the column titles. I had a different headline in mind to make the criteria more clear.

Michael L: Apparently, Watry doesn’t know what “special attraction” means, as he includes Hogan/Andre which was a program that lasted over a year, and an entire PPV as a special attraction.

Read above. It seems I have to repeat this every month.

AG Awesome: I’ve still never watched 27. Just the taker vs HHH match.

Pretty under rated show to be honest. Edge vs. Alberto Del Rio for the World Title was a good opener. Cody Rhodes vs. Rey Mysterio was fun. Randy Orton vs. CM Punk was fairly solid and had a memorable ending. Triple H vs. The Undertaker was great. The Miz vs. John Cena (and The Rock getting involved) was a forgettable main event but was built up in the entrances and pre-match videos. There was even a cool moment where The Rock and Stone Cold had a tense staredown backstage. Plus, you had The Corre and Snooki! One of the biggest pay-per-view buy rates in WWE history.

Womens Division Going Forward

MikeK.: Dude Love wasn’t Foley’s best character and you know it. Not saying Foley wasn’t over or anything but of all people to wrestle, Dude Love? Mankind or Cactus Jack sound way better.

I caught some heat for recently mocking the Stone Cold-Dude Love post WM14 feud. I will break down my intention point by point.

1. I grew up a huge Mick Foley fan. HUGE. Most of my memorabilia as a kid was something related to his career. Heck, I once waited in line for over four hours in early 2001 to get his autograph and a picture with him. Cool story there if anybody cares. A photo I still have to this day actually. Do not think for one second I was bashing him. Not at all.

2. The main point was that when guys (or girls in 2019’s case) reach the top at WrestleMania, win the title in the main event and by default…they have to take a step down. Once you reach the top of the mountain, there is only one way to go, and that is down. We are seeing it now with Becky Lynch entering a feud with Lacey Evans. No knock on her at all. I like the act. However, you can’t get any bigger than the main event of WrestleMania against your biggest rival Charlotte Flair and mega-star Ronda Rousey, which brings me back to Austin in 1998…

3. You do not go from Mike Tyson, Shawn Michaels, DX, Vince McMahon and ESPN/WM main event coverage to Dude Love in April 1998. Sorry. Obviously, that is a step down. Nobody can argue that. I love both characters, but even Mick Foley has admitted in later interviews that he felt like him entering the Austin/McMahon picture was a big dud. Hence the losses and fall back to Mankind weeks later, which led to his confidence issues and wanting to impress everyone so much that he volunteered getting thrown off the top of the freakin’ cell in June 1998. 

Matthew Burrows: Charlotte gets pinned by Becky so Becky has both titles. Rousey can still claim to be unpinned. They rematch at Money In the Bank. Becky almost has Rousey beat until the other MMA horsewoman get involved, so Rousey wins via shenanigans. Starting the build for 4 Horsewomen vs 4 Horsewomen at Summerslam.

This is why the fantasy bookers are in the comment section. Let me guess – Dean Ambrose leaving WWE is a work too?

Heelchamp: The worst part is his referencing WWE generator, since its clearly another watry account under a different name

As usual, you are 100% wrong. That is not my Twitter account. Pretty low and quite frankly pointless to use different Twitter accounts. I have a podcast, a column, and my own platform to voice my opinion. I’m not hiding from anything. I feel I have proven over the past 11 years that I am not afraid to say something that may not be popular with readers. Feel free to follow my ramblings on Twitter @JustinWatry – that is me and only me. I swear to that on my family, my girlfriend, my bank account, Heck on a Deck, and anything else you can think of. Love me or hate me, you are getting me. The only me. The real me.

WrestleMania 35 Review

Aneesh Raikundalia: Wait but you didnt mention how Ronda got pinned…didn’t it bother you? If you have answers to why not, please give them; only part weighing me down as of yet

It didn’t bother me. The finish was Becky Lynch over Ronda Rousey clean, and that was the endgame all along. Others tried making a big deal about Charlotte Flair taking the loss or some kind of other BS. It was always Becky beating Ronda. My assumption is the referee simply went to the count a split second too soon as the shoulders were still getting set to be pinned. Whatever. I talked more about the closing moments on the 411 Foresight Wrestling Podcast if you want my full thoughts. On the whole though, meh. A screw up. A mess up. It happens. No big deal.

Ken Wood: Yeah, it was about a 7.5 for me too. The match quality wasn’t necessarily the greatest but there were plenty of really good matches and several amazing moments. Happy for Seth, Kofi, and Becky. Very good show.

I was misquoted in my own column, haha. I actually gave WM35 an 8.5 out of 10. Darn editor! Doesn’t matter regardless. I don’t get too wrapped up in star ratings or that kind of thing. I enjoyed the majority of the show, thought it was super duper long but pulled through in the end. Biggest takeaway was the three new champs. That will be what WWE history remembers from April 7th, 2019.

Gpjunk: Nothing memorable or historic inside the squared circle? Kofi vs Bryan says hi.

Best match on the card without a doubt…but not even the best match of the weekend. I could argue barely top three match of the weekend. Again, a much more in depth WM35 review from yours truly can be HEARD on the 411 Foresight Wrestling Podcast right here!

Sasha Banks: No Legit Loss

Whole F’n Truth: Banks is no big loss because of the amount of talented women on the main roster and in NXT

I am not sure if Sasha Banks thinks she has leverage or what. She doesn’t. WWE is a seven billion dollar company with or without her. So many talented guys/gals on the roster.

Steven Ross: She won’t be a loss at all. She’s paid to do a job and is showing how unprofessional she really is.

I will give Sasha Banks the benefit of the doubt because of the timing. It had to suck to find out last minute you were losing the WWE Womens Titles that you thought would be in your possession for awhile across ALL the brands. They had to hurt. It also had to sting to find out your best friend was no longer going to be your tag team partner coming out of WM35. A huge blow right there. Worst of all, it had to be a dagger to the heart to know your best friend was ALSO being moved to a different brand. Bayley, Charlotte, and Becky Lynch (kinda) on one brand. You on another. Ouch, ouch, ouch, and double ouch. That is a lot to take in. I’m not sure how I would respond to all that bad news either. Even so, yeah. WWE is stacked and would move on without skipping a beat.

Wheeljack84: I like the IIconics and I’m glad they won the belts.

Same here. I was rooting for them but actually believed Sasha Banks and Bayley would win. The entire Four Horsewomen with gold (some of them cross branded) anchoring the entire division seemed like a great fit. Becky on Raw, Charlotte on Smackdown LIVE, Bayley and Sasha as traveling tag team champions. Instead, we have Becky 2 Belts and The IIconics, which works as well.

2019 WWE Superstar Shakeup

Lord Regal: Do you have a girlfriend Watry? Just curious. Feel like you would have mentioned it.

Yes. You can hear her WWE WrestleMania 35 predictions on The Foresight Wrestling Podcast. Google that episode.

Eric Duckman: im tired of watry more than im tired of roman

Sorry Mr. Duckman, you will be watching Smackdown Live with Roman Reigns, and you will be reading my columns! Believe that.

Jonah: The more I think about it, the more I think that Ember was the biggest winner of the Shakeup. With Asuka and Kairi as a team now and Becky most likely on Raw(after she drops the SD title obviously), she has the inside track to that #2 spot behind Charlotte. She was like, #8 on Raw.

Good breakdown. I hope it happens. Ember Moon more than deserves a legitimate shot at the top of the WWE women’s division. Money in the Bank briefcase winner perhaps?

The Voice of Logic Experience: You all forget about that disaster? Yeah, it was a mess and ended after one year. Didn’t he win his only WWE title (not the World heavyweight championship) during that year? yeah absolutely terrible, I guess.

Nope, no logic once again. His WWE Title win was in July 2011 when the brands were merged into the RAW SuperShow. Remember that? Mysterio, while technically on Raw versus The Miz, lasted two hours as champ…and he was then gone for another year after knee surgery…so no. Another glorious highlight of Mr. 619 in his later years. I was referring to his disastrous mid-2008 through early 2009 Raw run. That was the mess. You’re not very good at commenting; try a different experience next time.

AG Awesome: I thought for sure they’d do a few people to NXT though.

Does Wolfe to NXT UK count? Agreed. The brands are so loaded anyways it is not THAT big of a deal. Would have liked to see NXT included more. Personally, I am ready for the next batch of NXT guys to step up now that Ricochet, Aleister Black, Ciampa, Kairi Sane, Lars, EC3, Lacey Evans, Heavy Machinery, and others are on the main roster. Matt Riddle, Keith Lee, Dominik, Kushida, and more come to mind immediately. Bright future ahead for sure.

Josh: Gotta agree with Watry on most posts here.

Thank you sir.

2019 WWE Superstar Shakeup Early Review

Acolyte Of Glorious La Parka: I click on Watry articles just to read the comments.

Same here. You should hear the podcast…

Ken Wood: The women’s division on SD is awesome now. Hoping for the best for Black, Ricochet, Gable, Sane, Bayley, and Andrade. Wondering where Nikki Cross ends up. Sad Pete Dunne wasn’t part of it.

Pete Dunn not being called up (yet) was a minor disappointment. I thought he was done in NXT UK. I know it was just one loss, but Takeover New York felt like the end of that chapter. Turns out he has more business to take care of. The rest of the names you listed…we will find out.

Don’t worry! I’m just reinventing the wheel at the moment. But catering has been fantastic. https://t.co/eKqyMoFZYg

— Mickie James~Aldis (@MickieJames) April 25, 2019

Travis Homewood: here’s hoping that if Sheamus and Cesaro are going their separate ways that Sheamus can heal up, and be the transitional champ to get the belt from Kofi to Reigns in a few months.

Not sure if serious. A lot of folks forget, but Sheamus is a former King of the Ring winner. A former Royal Rumble winner. A former Money in the Bank winner. A former WWE Champion. A former World Champion and has wins over Randy Orton, John Cena, Triple H, Roman Reigns, and many more. If the company ever decided to back him again as a solo star, he has the credibility and in ring skills. As noted on the 411 Foresight Wrestling Podcast though, it feels like Cesaro is next in line. Not Sheamus. He had his chance (or chances), while Cesaro had one legitimate main event shot with Paul Heyman…which could be argued anyways.

Cheap Plugs

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Thanks.