What if the Daily Mail had predicted the Euro 2016 Squad correctly in 2007?

It is a well known point of conversation in the footballing community to bring up the 2007 Daily Mail article that attempted to predict England's starting team at Euro 2016, and got it horribly wrong as they predicted now Trinidad and Tobago international Gavin Hoyte and Stevenage midfielder Dean Parrett to feature in the Three Lions' starting line up. However, when considering this team (that can be seen below) I wondered that if the Daily Mail had been right, what kind of 2007 players would they have been selecting? And so, I decided to do a little research and present a short piece on what the current England first eleven (or rather starting side against Portugal in the last friendly) were doing in 2007.

GK- Joe Hart- The now first team Manchester City goalkeeper and shampoo connoisseur, Joe Hart was starting to garner quite a bit of attention in 2007, having just completed a £100,000 transfer from Shrewsbury to Manchester City. He spent much of the 06-07 season on loan at League One's Tranmere Rovers and Blackpool, however he did make one first team appearance in October 2006 against Sheffield United in the Premier League when first choice goalie Andreas Isaksson (now at Turkish club Kasimpasa) and second choice Nicky Weaver (who retired at Aberdeen in 2014) were both injured. Hart kept a clean sheet that day, and by June 2008 he had made his England debut vs Trinidad and Tobago.

RB- Kyle Walker- Kyle Walker is currently one of Tottenham's stand out players, but before his move in July 2009 Walker was at Sheffield United. Like Hart, Walker was not yet a first team regular, however unlike Hart, Walker was not even playing first team, lower league football. The then 17 year old was struggling to get in the Sheffield United reserve team, and so it is no surprise that he was not fancied in front of Chelsea's promising young right back Sam Hutchinson, who now plays for Sheffield Wednesday.

CB- Gary Cahill-  By the start of the 06-07 Premier League season, young English centre back Gary Cahill had made seven first team appearances for Aston Villa and had even scored a goal. At the age of just 21, it was obvious then that young Gary was destined for big things. In the 06-07 season itself he was a regular for Aston Villa making 20 league appearances, and following his moves to Bolton and then Chelsea, he has now become the first choice for England.

CB- Chris Smalling- In 2007, Chris Smalling was just 17 years old and was playing for lowly Maidstone Town. He made his debut for 'The Stones' in April 2007 against Tonbridge Angels in the Kent Senior Cup. Meanwhile, the Daily Mail's choice for captain, Micah Richards, had played 41 times in the Premier League for Manchester City by the end of the 06-07 season, which is why it is no surprise to see why Richards was picked by the Mail and Smalling was not.

LB- Danny Rose- Another Tottenham fullback, Daniel Lee Rose was just 16 in 2007 and was working his way through the ranks at Leeds United. He was on the bench for a Capital One Cup game in September 2006 against Barnet; however the manager who named him there was sacked after the game. Money troubles meant that the youngster was sold in the summer of 2007 and that was when he joined Tottenham Hotspur for around £1 million. The rest, as they say, is history.

CDM- Eric Dier- Another position, another Tottenham player, however this time it's not a full back but a tough tackling defensive midfielder. Dier is said to have been a player tipped for greatness from the start, with Sporting Lisbon's scouts being alerted to him when he was just eight years old. He joined the Portuguese club's academy at the age of 9, and in 2007 he would have been just 13 years old, still 5 years away from his first appearance from the Sporting Lisbon B team. It would have been pretty spectacular for the Daily Mail to have called this one.

CM- Jack Wilshere- Jack Wilshere would have been 15 in 2007, meaning that firstly, just like today, he would have been acting like a teenager off the field and secondly, that he was still in the Arsenal academy ranks. Despite this, Jack was touted for special things from a young age, and I remember personally having heard of him in around 2008. So it wouldn't have been impossible for the Daily Mail (with professional journalists who weren't 8 at the time) to have heard of and then subsequently to pick Jack, who would go on to be a passionate, skillful and rather injury prone talent in the middle of the park, over Michael Johnson, who would go bald and then eventually retire. Although as a side-note, Johnson was himself a very talented player that names like Roberto Mancini and Dietmar Hamann had described as the next big thing, and so it's easy to see why he was picked.

CM- Dele Alli- After a short break looking at Wilshere we hop back upon the Tottenham players express in order to look at Dele Alli, the former MK Dons man who is turning out to be a real star. He has scored some excellent goals for both club and country, and is a creative heartbeat in both the England side and for Spurs. However, it is still impossible to lament the Daily Mail for their oversight of Alli, because in 2007 he was just 11 and had only just joined the MK Dons academy.

CAM- Wayne Rooney- When it comes to the current England skipper, this is where the Daily Mail really dropped to the ball. The now record goalscorer for England came to prominence in English football in 2003 when he was playing for Everton and scoring screamers against Arsenal. In 2004 he signed for Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United for a fee of £25.6 million. In the 06-07 season, Rooney scored 23 goals for United in all competitions, and had already played for England 36 times, scoring 12 goals and getting sent off in the World Cup Quarter Finals against Portugal. It was obvious that the then 21 year old was not going away any time soon, and although the Daily Mail was trying to pick players that were relatively unknown, they should have recognised that Rooney would still be playing in 2016.

ST- Harry Kane- The 2015-16 Premier League Golden Boot winner Harry Kane was just 13 in 2007, and was playing for Tottenham's youth academy, following spells in Ridgeway Rovers, Arsenal (yes really) and Watford's youth systems. He would go on to score 49 goals in 83 games for Tottenham Hotspur. The striker has a bright future, and is just 3 England goals behind Theo Walcott, despite having played 31 less games than the man picked by the Daily Mail. Let's hope that the Tottenham striker gets those 3 goals and more at Euro 2016.

ST- Jamie Vardy- To be fair to the writers of the Daily Mail, you would have been laughed at in 2014 for picking Jamie Vardy to be one of England's leading two at Euro 2016, let alone in 2007. However, the fairytale story that is Jamie Vardy has kept rolling on and now Vardy ,with a Premier League winner's medal to his name, is set to go to his first major tournament with England and hopefully continue rising above expectations. As Vardy is 29 now in 2007, unlike many of the other players in the squad now, Vardy was playing first team football. However, this football was at Stocksbridge Park Steels, after Vardy had been released by Sheffield Wednesday. In 2010 Vardy had impressed enough at Stocksbridge to get his move up to the 7th tier of English football with Halifax Town. He then went on to join Conference side Fleetwood Town in 2011 before being signed by then Championship side (now Champions League side) Leicester City for around £1 million, in a move that was ridiculed and was a non-league record. If Vardy can go on and fire in enough goals to win England the Euros, then to England fans at least, he will be worth 100 times that amount.

So there you have it, that's what the current England side was up to in 2007 when the Daily Mail made their article. To be honest you can't really blame the Daily Mail, with most of the current side being unknown academy players in 2007. However the omissions of Gary Cahill, Joe Hart, Wayne Rooney and Jack Wilshere are notable. Overall the main thing that the Daily Mail seem to have got wrong was the age of the 2016 side, with many of the players in the article being around 27/28 now whilst many of the actual side are closer to 23/24. Anyway, I hope you found this article interesting, and let's all hope that England can go on and end the 50 years of hurt this summer!

Thanks for reading,
James
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WWE Extreme Rules 2016 Predictions

Another month passing means another WWE PPV, and since it's May, it's time to get extreme as this month's PPV is Extreme Rules. With the main event of the evening being AJ Styles' second attempt to gain the WWE World Heavyweight Championship from Roman Reigns, it promises to be an exciting evening of wrestling. Below you can see my predictions for the night's matches.

Also just as a reminder, last month I was 6 for 6 , with my predictions coming before Corbin vs Ziggler was announced and with the Tag Team match being stopped early due to Enzo Amore suffering a wince-inducing injury.

Match 1:

Dolph Ziggler vs. Baron Corbin

No Disqualification match

This pre-show match will kick off the evening just as it did last month at Payback, with Corbin and Ziggler having feuded for two months now since Corbin won the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at Wrestlemania 32. At Payback Ziggler picked up a roll-up victory over the Lone Wolf which was as shocking as it was confusing, given the streak of destruction that Corbin was on. Since Ziggler has been a glorified jobber to the stars for years now, despite his apparent talent, it seems logical that Corbin will pick up a crushing victory at Extreme Rules and frustratingly set up a rubber match at Money In The Bank in July.

My Winner: Baron Corbin

Match 2:

Kalisto (c) vs. Rusev (with Lana)

Singles match for the WWE United States Championship

Kalisto has now been US Champion for 119 days, which seems like a long time especially given the less than overwhelming reaction that his once popular character is now getting due to his series of boring feuds and pre-show matches with the likes of Ryback. However, now steps up Rusev who, along with Lana, is a fairly popular character due to his great character work and in ring ability. With John Cena returning at the end of the month, it seems likely that he will want to regain the US Championship, so I am predicting that Rusev will pick up the title at Extreme Rules in order for Cena to take it off of him in the coming months.

My Winner: Rusev

Match 3:

The Usos (Jimmy Uso and Jey Uso) vs. The Club (Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows)

Tornado tag team match

The next match is a tornado tag match between Roman Reigns' fellow Samoans, The Usos, and AJ Styles' allies, now know by the terrible moniker, The Club. This match will probably be early on the card as both teams will likely feature in the main event. As this match is not a normal tag match, but a tornado tag match, it will simply be an all out brawl. Whilst the Usos have been booked very strongly reasonably recently, it would surely be nonsensical for them to beat Gallows and Anderson who, as a big man tag team, need to be made to look strong. For this reason I'm taking The Club, in a reasonably quick match.

My Winner: The Club

Match 4:

The New Day (Big E, Kofi Kingston and/or Xavier Woods) (c) vs. The Vaudevillains (Aiden English and Simon Gotch)

Tag team match for the WWE Tag Team Championship

Whilst at Payback, the Vaudevillians didn't actually win the number one contenders match, Enzo Amore's injury meant that they got a pass through to the WWE Tag Team Title match against The New Day. This match has had a pretty meagre build up on Raw and Smackdown, aside from the New Day's time machine sketch, which leads me to believe that despite The Vaudevillians looking pretty strong recently, that the occasion is not big enough for the New Day's lengthy reign to end just yet.

My Winner: The New Day

Match 5: 

The Miz (c) (with Maryse) vs. Kevin Owens vs. Cesaro vs. Sami Zayn

Fatal 4-Way match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship

The last few weeks have had these four in similar matches almost every week, despite the New Era tagline, which has left the storyline losing some of it's huge potential. Despite this, the story has been pushed a long way, with each of the four competitors being made to look strong in some way. With the in-ring talents of Zayn, Owens and Cesaro and the great character work of The Miz and Maryse, this promises to be a great match. I can see the title changing hands at Extreme Rules, but it won't be the Miz who is pinned, setting up a feud going towards Summerslam. I think that in the end, Sami Zayn is winning the Intercontinental Championship at Extreme Rules.

My Winner: Sami Zayn

Match 6: 

Dean Ambrose vs. Chris Jericho

Asylum match

Another rematch from Payback sees Dean Ambrose go head to head with Chris Jericho in the first ever Asylum match, a stipulation that is similar to TNA's Lethal Lockdown match, with all sorts of "weapons" hanging from the steel cage. This feud, which has seen plants being destroyed and jackets being cut up, will only benefit Dean Ambrose as Jericho is already certified as a legend of the business. However, I believe that Jericho will beat Ambrose tonight due to interference of the Wyatt family, which will set up Dean Ambrose's next big feud.

My Winner: Chris Jericho 

Match 7: 

Charlotte (c) vs. Natalya

Submission match for the WWE Women's Championship If Ric Flair disregards his ban from ringside, Charlotte will lose her title

The Women's Championship match at Payback ended with Natalya getting screwed out of the title by referee Charles Robinson, in a finish not dissimilar to the Montreal Screwjob. This was a poor booking decision as it devalued the Women's Championship match as it made the match more about Bret Hart and Ric Flair ,who were at ringside, than the two women competing in the ring. However, this time Ric Flair is banned from ringside, with the title being given to Natalya if he turns up. This means we are going to get a match without interference from Flair, and so likely a clean finish. This seems a perfect opportunity to give Natalya the belt as a transitional champ, as she can then lose it to Sasha Banks in the near future. This means that Sasha can get the title without beating Charlotte one on one  thus setting up a big potential PPV match in the future.

Match 8: 

Roman Reigns (c) vs. AJ Styles

Extreme Rules match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship

The main event of Extreme Rules was booked immediately following the main event of Payback and it features the second match between Roman Reigns and AJ Styles, only this time it is an Extreme Rules match. Both men have been booked to look strong at some stage since Payback, with the Usos, Anderson and Gallows as supporting characters. Neither man is the 'heel' in the traditional sense, rather both have displayed both face and heelish tendencies. The match at Payback was a very entertaining, high-quality match and with AJ Styles being pulled from some house shows, we can expect a long bout of similar quality. It is obvious that there is going to be interference from the previously mentioned supporting tag teams, however it is unclear whether they will be the only ones. In the end, as much as I'd like to see AJ win the belt, I believe that Reigns will hold it until Seth Rollins' return and so I've got him retaining at Extreme Rules.

My Winner: Roman Reigns 

So there are my thoughts on what might happen at WWE Extreme Rules, check back on my Facebook page after tonight to see how my predictions' fared.

Thanks for reading,

James

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WWE Payback Predictions

A week on Sunday, WWE Payback will take place and as the first Pay Per View since Wrestlemania 32, there is a lot of intrigue as to how the new characters will shape up following the traditional introduction of fresh performers following Wrestlemania. There are some fascinating match ups including AJ Styles taking his first shot at the WWE World Heavyweight Championship since he joined the WWE in January. In this piece, I will offer my thoughts and predictions for the matches of Payback.

Match 1: Kalisto (c) (with Sin Cara) vs Ryback- Singles match for the United States Championship

This match is the one that I assume will be on the pre-show and hence I can't see a title change happening. Kalisto is a popular character who is seen as the heir to Rey Mysterio and is currently enjoying a lengthy US title reign after a feud with Alberto Del Rio. At Wrestlemania 32 Kalisto beat Ryback in the first match of the pre-show and I can see a similar result happening at Payback. Additionally Ryback has recently been publicly slating the direction of his character in WWE, which will surely not sit well with the higher-ups. The only way I can see Kalisto dropping the belt is through Sin Cara double crossing him and turning heel, and whilst I believe this will happen, I don't think it will be at Payback.

My Winner: Kalisto

Match 2: The Miz (c) (with Maryse) vs Cesaro- Singles match for the Intercontinental Championship

Despite not winning the seven man ladder match as Wrestlemania, the Miz somehow comes into Payback as the Intercontinental Champion. Through interference from the returning Maryse and the general squashing of Zack Ryder (who deserves better), the Miz has managed to win the belt and brings it to Payback to fight the also returning Cesaro. This match seems to be a little rushed in its booking to me, as I felt that Ryder should have got a real feud that at least resulted in one PPV match, however WWE chose to give that honour to the excellent Cesaro, who is a real fans favourite. With the Miz being one of the last truly despised heels, I wouldn't mind seeing him have a serious run with the belt, especially since Cesaro should really be fighting for the world title at this stage. I think it would do no good to have Miz drop the belt at this stage and WWE knows this too, so I believe he will defend his belt with some help from Maryse.

My Winner: The Miz

Match 3: Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady vs The Vaudevillains (Simon Gotch and Aiden English)-

Tag Team match to determine the #1 contender for the Tag Team Championship

The introduction of these two tag teams has been a real breath of fresh air for a tag team division that was really being carried by the New Day. Both teams have already got over, Enzo and Cass with their Jersey Shore, loud-mouth gimmick, and the Vaudevillains with their old-school throwback style. Whilst it is important to remember that Enzo and Cass never won the NXT Tag Team Championship, something which Gotch and English did achieve, despite this I believe that it is the team of Enzo and Cass that will win at Payback. I think that WWE is pushing Amore and Cassady a little more that the Vaudevillains, as shown by them debuting on the first Raw after Wrestlemania whilst the Vaudevillains debuted on Smackdown. For me, Enzo and Cass are being primed for a big feud with the New Day that WWE know will get over in a big way.

My Winner: Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady

Match 4: Charlotte (c) (with Ric Flair) vs Natalya (with Bret Hart- Singles match for the Womens Championship

The build to this match has felt as if the WWE is giving the Women's division a cool-down following the thrilling matches with Charlotte, Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch whilst climaxed with a fantastic match as Wrestlemania. There is no doubt that Natalya is an excellent worker, but she recently lost to Charlotte at Roadblock and if seems as if this match will be more about the return of Bret Hart, who is recovering following an intially successful battle with prostate cancer, and the comeuppance that he can give to Charlotte's father, Ric Flair, who has been getting involved in a number of his daughter's matches. Overall, I can't see Charlotte dropping the title to Natalya, and thus I have to predict a win for the "Dirtiest Diva in the Game".

My Winner: Charlotte

Match 5: Dean Ambrose vs Chris Jericho- Singles match

This feud began somewhat at Night of Champions when Jericho shoulder checked Ambrose following the their loss in the the 6 man tag match against the Wyatt Family (they teamed with Roman Reigns). However, WWE dropped the angle until now and ,following Jericho's win at Wrestlemania and Ambrose's loss, it seems like a great time for Ambrose to go over. Jericho is 45 years old and coming towards the end of his career, whilst Dean Ambrose is arguably the most over babyface on the roster. Ambrose, in my opinion, should have won at Wrestlemania over Brock Lesnar an now feels like a great time for him to bounce back with a win that won't really hurt Y2J, who is already secured in his status as a legend. 

My Winner: Dean Ambrose

Match 6: Sami Zayn vs Kevin Owens- Singles match

This is will be WWE's first main roster instalment, in a feud that started when Owens arrived in WWE at NXT TakeOver: R Evolution in 2014, and has continued intermittently ever since. These two wrestlers are both excellent performers in the ring and on the mic, and are destined to be contending for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in the future. In the meantime, however, this is an excellent substitute and the match will almost certainly be one of the best of the night. The build up to the match has featured a number of brawls between the two men, which has given the contest a real emotional factor. For me, this is the hardest match of the night to predict, but since this is a night in which a number of faces will take victories, I have Kevin Owens winning the first of what I can see as being a series of at least three PPV matches.

My Winner: Kevin Owens

Match 7: Roman Reigns (c) vs AJ Styles- Singles match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship

It came as a huge shock to me when WWE had Styles win the fatal four way on the Raw following Wrestlemania, since Styles had just lost at Wrestlemania, and is one of the most popular babyfaces in the company, Roman Reigns is WWE's big project, however fans have responded in a less than perfect way, booing the champ out of the building. Therefore it seemed at first to be a poor step to have his first contender since winning the title to be the insanely popular AJ Styles. With the introduction of Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson of Bullet Club to the storyline, this match is enthralling even if the result is a foregone conclusion. Reigns will win, but how? I believe that Finn Balor, who has just lost the NXT Championship on a house show to Samoa Joe, will make his main roster debut as Bullet Club double cross AJ Styles, giving Roman a big win and setting up a Balor vs Styles feud. It is doubtful that this will be a great match as ,despite AJ's huge in ring talent, Reigns is still a relatively average performer with a limited move-set, however, it is the choice of storytelling that WWE take that will make or break this clash.

My Winner: Roman Reigns

So there are my predictions for Payback, check back after May 1st when I'll look back at how the event went and how my predictions fare. 

Thanks for reading,

James

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Wrestlemania 32 Review

On Sunday evening, from 12 until around 5am I watched the spectacle that is Wrestlemania. WWE's flagship event, which was held in Dallas in the AT&T Stadium in front of a record attendance of over 101,000, was the event that the whole of the year was building up to and it promised to be a thriller after the great showing on Friday by NXT at TakeOver:Dallas. So, in this piece I will offer my views on each of the main show matches and the event as a whole.

Zack Ryder defeated Kevin Owens (c), Dolph Ziggler, Sami Zayn, Sin Cara,Stardust and The Miz Ladder match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship

The first match of the evening saw Zack Ryder defeat six other men to become the new Intercontinental Champion in what was an thrilling opener. There were some excellent ladder spots, as expected out of a match like this, and the tribute to Dusty Rhodes by Stardust through his outfit and the custom ladder was touching. It was also amazing to see Sami Zayn, who it is clear to see will be a great star, and Kevin Owens face off  in a rivalry that is set to enthral for years to come. Overall this was a brilliant way to start the show, with a shocking result to boot.

Overall grade: 9/10

Chris Jericho defeated AJ Styles Singles match

The next match featured WWE's newest blockbuster signing: AJ Styles, face off against veteran Chris Jericho in a rivalry that saw Y2J turn on AJ due to Styles' great popularity amongst the WWE universe. This was a great technical match that saw some impressive aerial ability and chain wrestling. Furthermore the sight of AJ kicking out of a pin after a Codebreaker then Jericho after the Styles Clash was shocking. However despite this, the overall impression that the match left me with was disappointing. Don't get me wrong  Jericho winning with a Codebreaker on a flying AJ Styles was an impressive spot, however having Jericho win seems pointless as it is AJ who has just arrived and would have surely benefited more from a Wrestlemania win than an ageing Chris Jericho. However it seems that Vince gave AJ the same treatment as Sting, punishing them for their stint in TNA.

Overall grade: 6.5/10

The League of Nations (Sheamus, Alberto Del Rio and Rusev) (with King Barrett) defeated The New Day (Kofi Kingston, Big E and Xavier Woods) Six-man tag team match

The following clash saw the League of Nations beat the reigning Tag Team Champions; the New Day. This was an odd match as it was billed as a 3 vs. 3 match with King Barrett accompanying the other 3 League of Nations members, which surely means this could have been a match for the Tag Team Titles? Overall the match was sound but not exhilarating, with New Day's entrance being a particular highlight.  The result of having the League of Nations win seemed strange at first but it led to Stone Cold, Shawn Michaels and Mick Foley coming out to provide an amazing Wrestlemania moment. This meant that I was OK with the result of the match as it was a set-up to an insane moment, however it will be interesting to see how this rivalry. This match also showed why WWE will miss King Barrett when he leaves at the end of his contract. Overall the legends saved this match from being irrelevant.

Overall grade: 7.5/10

Brock Lesnar (with Paul Heyman) defeated Dean Ambrose No Holds Barred Street Fight

Brock Lesnar vs Dean Ambrose had a great build up with the plucky contender who refused to give up going up against the seemingly unstoppable champion(of course Lesnar isn't actually a champion but you get what I mean). It had the feeling of a Rocky movie and it promised to be a great contest in which it seemed Ambrose would finally get his big moment. However, I found the match itself to be a deeply disappointing spectacle. Lesnar gave Ambrose 13 suplexes but had little other offence, whilst the match largely relied on the shock factor of the appearance of weapons such as Kendo Sticks, Steel Chairs, a Fire Extinguisher, a Chainsaw and the Baseball Bat wrapped in Barbed Wire that Mick Foley handed down to Ambrose. This seemed like the perfect opportunity to give Dean a moment against a part-timer who wrestles a handful of times a year. However in the end, Lesnar won with an F-5 and left Ambrose to pick up the pieces on Raw tonight. This was another result that I found was pointless as if Dean, a crowd favourite, would have won, it would have given him a great push and potentially kick-started a title challenge,but in reality Lesnar won another match that he didn't really need to and he will now head off back home until Summerslam, whilst Ambrose will be back on Raw tonight with another lost feud to his name.

Overall grade: 5.5/10

Charlotte (c) (with Ric Flair) defeated Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks by submission Triple Threat match for the inaugural WWE Women's Championship

The next match was one of the most exciting bouts of the night. In the pre-show Hall of Famer Lita announced that the Divas Championship (a sexist name with a sexist belt design) was to be replaced with the WWE Women's Championship which was fantastic news and showed that WWE is finally moving with the times. This added to the hype of this match, which featured three excellent women's wrestlers and promised to be a great match. The entrances were fantastic with Charlotte wearing an outfit reminiscent to Ric Flair's Wrestlemania 24 attire (one of my favourite events) and Sasha's entrance being performed by her cousin and now Hall of Famer Snoop Dogg as she wore an outfit that paid tribute to the late, great Eddie Guerrero. The match itself was a brilliant show of just how good the women's division is and proof that despite the revolution faltering at first, it has now has firmly taken effect. There was some excellent chain wrestling with a plethora of submissions and some great agile moves including Sasha's frog splash (another tribute to Eddie) and Becky Lynch's dive to the outside. In the end, Charlotte picked up the win by submission whilst her father Ric held Sasha Banks from entering the ring. All in all, while it was annoying to see Ric interfering again, the quality of the match and the importance of the leaps made in women's wrestling made this result acceptable, with the match being one of the highlights of the night.

Overall grade: 8.5/10

The Undertaker defeated Shane McMahon Hell in a Cell match; had Shane won, he would have gained control of Raw and Undertaker would have been barred from competing at WrestleMania.

Next up was what was probably the most intriguing match on the card. There were so many questions coming into the match such as how would Shane perform after seven years away?  and would this be the last Wrestlemania for the Undertaker? Before the match, it seemed as if the match was tailor-made for Shane O'Mac to win. With the bout being held in Texas, Taker's home state, it seemed perfect for him to retire there. Furthermore it would make sense if both Shane won and Roman Reigns won (as it would almost certain that he would) as it would get rid of the Authority, usher in a new era and keep viewers tuning in. Furthermore, it looked perfect for Taker, in his last match, to eventually lay down for Shane and in his final act, rid WWE of the Authority.  The match itself was good, with the two participants making a combine age of 97, no-one expected great technical wrestling and as such the match relied heavily on big spots such as the Coast to Coast and Chokeslam onto the Steel Steps. However, once Taker put Shane through the Cell wall and the match spilled to the outside, the match went from good to great. This was two ageing stars of yesteryear, putting it all on the line one final time. The absolute, undoubted highlight of the night was a true OMG moment as Shane McMahon leapt off the top of the 20ft high Cell and dropped straight through the announce table below, with Taker rolling out of the way just in time. At this point, I thought it was clear that Shane had to win, and as he signalled for more, I thought that Taker was about see what Shane was going through and lay down for him. However, he quickly Tombstoned him and won, leaving me thoroughly disappointed and making it clear that this match was arranged about a month before Wrestlemania and that Shane was only brought back as a final resort. It was a truly ridiculous result that ruined what was a great storyline and a potentially classic Wrestlemania match.

 Overall grade: 8/10

Shane McMahon steals the show.

Baron Corbin won by last eliminating Kane 20-man Battle Royal for the André the Giant Memorial Trophy

This next bout was essentially a cool-down match between the main events that gave the fans some cheap cheers and time to settle down for the main event . As a result there isn't really much to say about this match, the appearance of DDP and Tatanka was cool (despite DDP getting a special entrance and Tatanka not for some reason) whilst the appearance of Shaq seemed desperate as WWE tried to progress a storyline that started almost 7 years ago, just to get some more mainstream media attention. Overall, the result was refreshing as NXT performer Baron Corbin won, which was an interesting result and nice way to build up a new star (even if it was at the expense of one of my favourites in Kane) and the match did what it was intended to do as wrestlers got their Wrestlemania pay-check and fans got some time to relax.

Overall grade: 6.5/10

The Rock defeated Erick Rowan (with Bray Wyatt and Braun Strowman) Singles match

So, next up the Rock came out and did his usual thing for what seemed like forever, before announcing that the attendance was a Wrestlemania record. He was then interrupted by the Wyatt Family (minus Luke Harper ) before he engaged in the usual Rock bravado, making some sex jokes and accusing the Wyatt's of incest (*yawn*). At this point it was painfully clear that a forty something year old actor was about to squash one of the WWE's brightest stars. And eventually he did, as he challenged any Wyatt to an impromptu match which was answered by Erick Rowan who then was beaten in 6 seconds. Then just as the three Wyatt Family members were about to attack the Rock, he was saved by a returning John Cena. Whilst this was a nice, if predictable, moment it made no sense as The Rock and John Cena had a two-year feud and two Wrestlemania matches, and now we are supposed to believe they are allies? Also, what was the point in squashing Bray Wyatt again? No-one is ever going to see him as a credible threat if he constantly gets beaten up by part-timers. Overall this was a stupid segment and another reason why the Rock is nothing to get excited about anymore.

Overall grade: 2/10

Roman Reigns defeated Triple H (c) (with Stephanie McMahon) Singles match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship

Finally, it was time for the main event, the world title match, the big time clash. And at this point, I was extremely tired and ready for the most predictable main event ever to be over. Triple H had his usual grandiose entrance which was actually a little bit creepy, however Stephanie did provide some actual heat for the man, who despite being the heel, was being cheered. Then Reigns entered to a chorus of boos and the match begun. This match was largely forgettable as Roman Reigns reminded us that despite his massive push, he is still massively average in the ring, showing little technical ability at all. However, the boos weren't as massive throughout the match as expected, and some of the crowd even played along and cheered him, although most just seemed not to care. The most interesting moment came when Triple H moved out of the way of a Roman Reigns spear which meant that Stephanie, standing behind him, got hit. This was a) the largest cheer of Roman Reigns' night and b) a rare use of man on woman violence, albeit accidental. In the end, Reigns won, shocking absolutely no-one, and providing a fitting conclusion to one of the worst Wrestlemania main events of all-time. The crowd reacted with exhaustive impartiality to the finish, with many not even bothered enough to boo. The main problem with this match was that nobody wanted Reigns to be in the main event, however once he was the rest of the card was stacked in a way that if certain people won, then it wouldn't;t be a disaster. However what WWE decided to do was to have all of the babyfaces lose in a vain attempt to make people cheer for Reigns which in the end just resulted in people being disappointed already before the main event even began and so Reigns had no chance of a good reception. Overall, this match was not worth waiting 4 hours for and wouldn't have been out of place in the mid card.

Overall grade: 4/10

So overall this four and a half hour Wrestlemania was a largely mixed affair. Whilst the wrestling was mostly of a very high standard, the results showed that WWE and Vince McMahon still have no idea what fans really want. All in all this was a night of great wrestling but frustrating endings leaving fans to think of what could have been.

Overall show grade: 6/10

Thanks for reading,

James 

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BPL Predictions

Back before the start of the season I made my predictions on what the Premier League table would look like at the end of the season in May. Now in February, after 26 league games, I feel it is a good time to check on how my predictions are holding up with just 12 games to go.

As you can see from the table on the left I have got most of my predictions pretty spot on, with 3 correct predictions, and 13 predictions that are within 5 spaces of the team's position in the real Premier League table.

However there have been 4 teams which I predicted to finish more than 6 places from where they actually are. I will now attempt to explain the reason for each of these 4 teams being so far from where I thought they would be.

First, there is Swansea who I predicted to finish in 9th, however in real life they sit down in 16th place. This is largely down to a lack of goals from Gomis, Ayew and particularly Eder, who I thought would achieve much more than he has. Furthermore a change in manager has meant that the team has lacked stability and therefore any streak of good form.

Secondly, there is Chelsea who I thought would finish 3rd but are actually languishing down in 12th. This is because I, much like the rest of the footballing world, could not see last years champions falling so far in such a short spell of time. Mourinho's poor spell as manager at the start of the year has meant that my prediction has ended up being far from correct.

Thirdly, there is Watford, who as a newly promoted team with a new manager, who didn't get them promoted, I believed would struggle and so I predicted them to finish dead last in 20th. However, the great form of Ighalo and Deeney, combined with a sound tactical approach has meant that Watford actually sit in 9th place with 12 games to go.

Finally, there is Leicester City, who after nearly being relegated last season, I predicted to finish 14th in Premier League. However, they have spent the entire season proving critics wrong and have, with the help of Vardy, Mahrez, Okazaki, Morgan, Huth, Drinkwater and Schmeichel (among others) under the guidance of Claudio Ranieri, found themselves leading the Premier League, and head into March with a great chance of winning the Premier League.

So that's how my predictions sit after 26 of the 38 Premier League games. At the end of the season I will make a similar article to see how I end up doing overall.

Thanks for reading,
James
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Why WWE's next signing should be EC3

WWE has been consumed recently with the rumours that it has signed four of Japanese wrestling's hottest stars in AJ Styles, Shinsuke Nakamura and tag team Doc Gallows and "Machine Gun" Karl Anderson. Whilst these rumours are unconfirmed as of yet, if they prove true, then the WWE will have acquired some of the top performers in the world. However, once the fan-fare is over and the stars have settled in,  the fans will be looking to the next hottest acquisition and in my opinion TNA's Ethan Carter the Third should be the answer to that question.

Suited to the role... 

EC3 or ,as he previously appeared in WWE's NXT, Derrick Bateman is one of my favourite current stars in North American Wrestling. He currently plies his trade at TNA who have recently moved to Pop TV, and he is one of the mainstays of the main-event scene. He is, as of writing this, the undefeated two-time TNA world heavyweight champion after winning the TNA world title series. He is an excellent technical wrestler and a great physical specimen. He plays the heel character phenomenally and is one of the top reasons people even watch TNA. But why should WWE sign him you ask? Well let me tell you.

EC3 could be an excellent member of the authority. He's charismatic, he has the heel talents already and could easily slot in to the best for business, cheating to win, Ric Flair mixed with Randy Orton type character who is lifted to the title by Triple H and has a fantastic main event feud with, say, a Face Seth Rollins. 

In reality it is unlikely that TNA will give up one of their top young main event stars, so EC3 in WWE is unlikely to be seen in a 4 sided ring for a while yet. Until then, lets hope that the 4 new boys can shake up the stagnating WWE scene.

Thanks for reading,

James

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2016: an update and a confession

First, I want to start by saying Happy New Year and that I'm sorry for the lack of content. Whilst I'd like to say that this is due to me being busy, simply put I haven't been writing because I've been taking some time to rediscover the spark that makes writing this blog more of a hobby than a chore. Hopefully, this post will be the first of many in 2016 as I'm glad to say that I (and hopefully other writers in the future) am ready to start really pushing this blog again. In the meantime however, I thought I'd start of the year by talking about a sport that I very much enjoy and have recently began re-enjoying from a whole different perspective, and that sport is Professional Wrestling.

Professional Wrestling- Blending Physicality, Entertainment and
Showmanship.

Now before you all get out your pitchforks, I am well aware that Professional Wrestling is not really a sport, rather sports entertainment. The outcomes are pre-decided and the moves done inside the squared circle are choreographed. However notice that I do not call Professional Wrestling "fake" and I never will. It may not be as brutal and real as UFC but I can promise you that the ring apron is no trampoline, and those moves still hurt. The risks are real and the absolute physicality required to be a Professional Wrestler is phenomenal. In my eyes, Professional Wrestling deserves to be respected as if it were a sport rather than ridiculed as being fake. Just because there are story lines, some of which even I cannot stand, does not mean that the performance and the talent is any less impressive. The art of Professional Wrestling is quite brilliant when perfectly executed and is as entertaining as any combat sport I can think of. Recently I have began to start watching Professional Wrestling again, however now I am older and wiser, I can appreciate and enjoy it from a whole new level as well as being able to interact with the wider Wrestling community. And it is for that reason that Professional Wrestling, no matter how fake people may say it is, is one of my favourite sports, and indeed one that in the future that I will no doubt be writing about.

Thanks for reading,

James 

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