I can't wait for mania. My hype level for mania this year is through the roof - much more so then in past years. I absolutely love a lot of the top matchups this year - whereas WM31, 32, 33 and 34 have had some of the worst matchups ever for me in comparison. Here are my thoughts on some of the matches that interest me:
Becky vs Ronda vs Charlotte - I'm going to set the bar really, really high, but to me this is MOTY candidate or bust. And it's not always about "technical wrestling" to make it a MOTY, simply a great story/brawl can do that too. I have very high hopes that the 3 women will put on an absolute show stealer. Love her or hate her, Ronda has been fantastic in big matches so far, her debut last year was insane. Becky has been on fire, and this is her big chance, and i'm sure she'll do everything she can to make it memorable. And although I would have preferred Charlotte not be included in the matchup - Charlotte is absolutely fantastic when it comes to putting on a good match, so she'll help a lot here. I hope the finish is memorable too (I wouldn't even be mad if we had a recall to WMX7, where Ronda aligns herself with Stephanie to come out with victory as a heel). I like the possibility of leaving mania with a 1vs1 Ronda vs Becky feud, and having Ronda win at mania to have Becky win out the next one could be passable for me. If Becky wins at mania - that's fine too of course.
Bryan vs Kofi. I'm still a huge Daniel Bryan fan, so i love seeing him in a top spot. I don't like Kofi as much as others have - but i've always liked him as a midcard guy. Not sure I see him as a credible main event guy yet - but i love that WWE is giving up this matchup, and listened to the crowd reactions with Kofi. It should be a great match. I'm rooting for Bryan - but would be ok with Kofi winning. The one thing I hope doesn't happen is - Daniel Bryan doesn't cheat to win. Even though he's small i think he's a legitimate champion - I love that he won at EC clean. I want this to be clean too - regardless of outcome.
Seth Rollins vs Brock Lesnar. I think this will be a fantastic show. A bit like WM31 turned out (though no cash-in involved here). I love that this isn't the biggest match on the card anymore, so expectations aren't as high. Win or lose I want to be surprised by the outcome, so I hope they have memorable spots and mostly intrigue during match. I could see it going either/way, and for a Lesnar match this makes it special to me.
Orton vs AJ Styles. I'm not a big fan of either guy - but i love that they held off on this and that mania is their first match ever. I think it'll be a great match.
Other matches I look forward to include Miz vs Shane, HHH vs Batista, Joe vs Rey...i even usually enjoy Battle Royals, so hoping they end up being harmless fun too.
I'm intrigued to see who comes out to interrupt Elias. The easy money says it's John Cena - but if it ended up being someone else, like Taker, Rock, Austin or Hogan - it would be even better.
Should be a great show - i'm hyped.