It’s WrestleMania weekend, which means tonnes of events happening in Las Vegas. What are we watching?
There are now more episodes of AEW Dynamite than there were WCW Nitro. What’s stood out in 289 of them?
The NJPW roster is getting a shakeup with BUSHI, Jeff Cobb, and Tetsuya Naito all leaving within the next month. How will their departures affect our NJPW viewing?
Join us as we answer these—and more—questions in this week’s Gimme Five!
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1. WrestleMania weekend has arrived! Which events are you watching live from Las Vegas?
Steve McCleary (@stevemccleary):
My yearly tradition of catching a wide array of the shows on TrillerTV+ continues. I’m most likely going to throw down extra cash to watch Spark Joshi as well. Stardom is a maybe, but it’s all pretty pricey.
Grady Hooker:
Stardom American Dream was a great weekend kick-off for me, and there’s still heaps more to come with more Stardom and some TJPW tomorrow. Obviously the big stretch of the weekend is SmackDown, Hall of Fame, Stand and Deliver, WrestleMania, Raw, and then a big nap.
David Dunn (@david_dunn):
I’ve watched bits and pieces of eight different events over the last two days, which is an exciting if not particularly practical way to keep up with everything unfolding in Las Vegas. Outside of everything WWE, I’m excited to see how Joey Janela’s Spring Break 9 pans out tomorrow afternoon – a real something-for-everyone throwback to the original WrestleMania weekend supercards.
Sammy G:
I’m in the midst of celebrating WrestleMania weekend with Capital Pro Wrestling (CPW), but will play catch-up on SmackDown and the Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony as soon as possible before NXT Stand and Deliver and WrestleMania.
AJ Murtagh:
I’ll be quite busy this Easter, so I imagine I’ll stick pretty strictly to the WWE output for WrestleMania weekend. Really looking forward to the Hall of Fame and Lex Luger being inducted, NXT Stand and Deliver, and of course the big show itself. I really like how WrestleMania weekend has become an industry-wide event though and intend to make the effort to enjoy more non-WWE stuff in 2026.
2. The WrestleMania main events are confirmed, and neither feature a Royal Rumble winner. What do you make of the relationship between the Royal Rumble and the WrestleMania card?
Steve:
I don’t love it but I understand it. Although less so in the case of Night 1’s triple threat match, as the winner of that match is just the winner of the main event, and my old school soul wishes a world title was involved. But that’s a case of story trumping everything else and at the end of the day it’s entertainment – they make the rules and they break them when needed.
Grady:
I don’t mind it, I think the balance of the Rumble winner getting one championship shot and the Chamber winner getting the other works well on the road to WrestleMania. In terms of going on last, I don’t think I really care much about match order, a banger in the middle of the card is better than a stinker on last.
David:
The biggest possible match should headline Night 2, whether we get there via the Royal Rumble or not. It would be nice to see Night 1 guaranteed for a Rumble winner, but I can understand why Gunther vs. Jey Uso and Tiffany Stratton vs. Charlotte Flair might not have been suitable candidates this year…
Sammy:
I am disappointed that Jey Uso didn’t at least get the Night 1 main event, but I am excited for what’s on offer in his place, so I’ll allow it. Funnily enough, this is the second time John Cena has bumped a Royal Rumble winner that I was invested in from their rightful spot as the final match of ‘Mania – the first being The Undertaker at WrestleMania 23.
AJ:
I’m of two minds on this topic. As a bit of a traditionalist, I like the clear path from Royal Rumble winner to WrestleMania main event. But with two ‘Mania main events and two Rumble matches every year now, I think a certain amount of dilution was inevitable. In an ideal world I’d want to see the men’s Rumble winner main event one night of WrestleMania and the winner of the women’s Rumble main event the other.
3. After yesterday, AEW Dynamite has officially aired more episodes than WCW Nitro. What’s stood out to you over the last five years of Dynamite?
Steve:
In general, the fact that AEW helped save the pro-wrestling business by providing an alternative product that, while its quality has varied over the years, has given more wrestlers a high-profile opportunity to earn money and raise their stock. As for a specific memory, it’s how they handled everything with Sting over his final run. A picture-perfect series of events to send off one of the all-time greats.
Grady:
AEW Dynamite provided something that we had been missing for many years: competition for WWE. It highlighted a bunch of wrestlers who may have not got a shot at WWE, it gave wrestlers’ negotiations a leg up, and ultimately it’s made the wrestling ecosystem healthier.
David:
What’s the phrase? Restore the feeling? Dynamite has produced some of the best wrestling matches of the last five years, and added another to the shortlist yesterday with Will Ospreay vs. Konosuke Takeshita. Wild to the think that the match of the week—this week—likely won’t have happened in Las Vegas!
Sammy:
I was once taught that if I had nothing nice to say, say nothing. So I’m honouring that here.
AJ:
In the early days of Dynamite, I really appreciated having a “bigger” competitor for WWE. Feeling like there was a choice again was a massive deal to me in 2019 and it still is. I think Dynamite has had some incredible moments: the tribute to Brodie Lee for example, and it’s lesser moments: airing the CM Punk/Jack Perry footage. Ultimately, no product is perfect but variety is the spice of life, and wrestling!
4. NJPW has announced the departures of BUSHI, Jeff Cobb, and Tetsuya Naito. Does their leaving affect your enjoyment of New Japan Pro-Wrestling?
Steve:
It does not, given my interest in NJPW is fairly low. I’ve heard a lot of different opinions from fans, but in the end this is just part of the business. There’ll be plenty of roster members wanting to step up to fill the gap, and that’s always exciting.
Grady:
People come and people with go, especially with New Japan – it seems like a tradition for them to lose some of their big stars. None of these three are particularly my favourites, but they all did what they did well. Naito in particular will leave a hole in some fans’ hearts, but that should make you excited to see who steps up to fill it.
David:
With Hiroshi Tanahashi’s retirement tour well underway, Naito was the last holdout of the Okada/Naito/Nakamura/ Tanahashi era that I imagine introduced many western fans&myself included—to NJPW. Thank god for Hirooki Goto.
Sammy:
All three were a shock, for sure, especially considering Cobb was a reigning champion. But if rumours are true, we’ll see him and the others again soon enough.
AJ:
I’ll be honest, I’m very sparse in my watching of NJPW—it’s just not my preferred style of wrestling—so I imagine it won’t affect my enjoyment all that much. It will be interesting to see where these talents end up and what they do when they get there.
5. WWE has ranked its “50 Greatest WrestleMania Matches Ever” in a YouTube playlist. How’d the company’s countdown compare to your own?
Steve:
And next year they’ll release another list, shuffling a few matches around to create controversy. I don’t mind the list, it’s got a good mix of matches from across the eras. I’d place Shawn Michaels vs. Kurt Angle a lot higher, but that’s how these things go.
Grady:
It has the correct matches, but you could argue the exact order until the cows come home. I think the cooler thing to come out of this list is WWE giving away 50 of best WrestleMania matches in full for free on YouTube as a sampler platter for this weekend.
David:
I’ve got Kurt Angle vs. Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania 21 at the top of my list, but I wouldn’t begrudge anyone picking Michaels vs. Undertaker from WrestleMania 25. I did find it interesting Austin vs. Hart wasn’t the overall number one, seeing as it’s headed to the WWE Hall of Fame. Maybe a sign we can expect Michaels vs. Undertaker next year?
Sammy:
I freely admit my bias when it comes to The Deadman. The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania 25 was a master-class, and is still talked about, enjoyed, and studied to this day. The fact it started a four-year WrestleMania story between The Undertaker and DX was a bonus. Totally well-deserved. The biggest match missing from the official WWE list for me is The Undertaker vs. Bray Wyatt from WrestleMania 31. Most people won’t think much of it but it was an important point in time for both Bray and Taker.
AJ:
These lists are super subjective and change every year and with every person. I don’t find a lot of fault with this list, though I’ll argue all day that Hogan vs. Andre at WrestleMania III was a good match. Surprised both Shawn Michaels vs. Bret Hart, and Michaels vs. Kurt Angle weren’t higher though. Austin vs. Hart is where it belongs and I’m happy with Michaels vs. Undertaker at number one.
