The 5 News Week: Wrestlemania 38 To Be Hosted In Tampa!?, Mauro Ranallo Doing Commentary At His Home!?

Hello, my fellow wrestling fans and welcome to the 5 news week. The post where I report 5 .major or minor news of the week that I don't have time to do it separately. Without further ado, here are the 5 news week.

Wrestlemania 38 To Be Hosted In Tampa!? 

This year's Wrestlemania was supposed to take place in the Tampa Bay area but they decided to nix that for obvious reasons (No sh*t, Omar). WrestleVotes has stated that the 38th edition of the biggest wrestling show of the year will take place at Raymond James stadium reading….. 

Now that the weekend that “was to be” has passed, I can say that Tampa Bay will be in the running to host #Wrestlemania⁠ ⁠ 38 in 2022.

All the initial legwork is obviously done, with the city still very much eager to host the event. Might be a shoe in. Time will tell.

— WrestleVotes (@WrestleVotes) April 6, 2020

In WWE's Wrestlemania earnings, they contained the economic impact of the particular region. For instance, last year's Wrestlemania made $165 million for the New York/New Jersey area while the year before that generated over $175 million so I think it makes sense that the Tampa Bay area wants that cheddar. 

By the way, If you want to know more of the business side of the industry, I highly recommend you check out the Wrestlenomics Radio podcast. I guaranteed that you're going to learn something. 

An Interesting Fact Regarding Sasha Banks' Win/Loss Record At Wrestlemania. 

Sasha Banks is one of the best performers out there and with being one of the bests, you would think that she would be scripted to win a match at Wrestlemania right? Well, the numbers say, "nope, that is not true". Here are the statistics (from Cageside Seats):

• WrestleMania 32: Charlotte Flair won a Women’s Championship Triple Threat match over Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch. 

• WrestleMania 33: Bayley won a Raw women’s championship Fatal 4-way match over Banks, Flair, and Nia Jax.

• WrestleMania 34: Naomi won a pre-show 20-woman Battle Royal that included Banks.

• WrestleMania 35: The IIconics won the Women’s tag team titles from Banks & Bayley, in a Fatal 4-way match that also included the teams of Beth Phoenix & Natalya, and Nia Jax & Tamina.

• WrestleMania 36: Bayley won a SmackDown women’s championship match in a Fatal 5-way elimination match over Banks, Tamina, Naomi, and Lacey Evans.

Banks at least on the championship reign side of things, hasn't been fantastic, to say the least, and that has to do with the company not having confidence in Banks holding the title for more than 4 months. 

And, yes, not every long championship run is fantastic for example Dean Ambrose aka Jox Moxley as US champion but giving her the chance to make that title special (with engaging storylines) is something WWE should consider. 

The Current Situation With WWE's Flagship Programs And Whether It's The Right Thing To Cancel. 

World Wrestling Entertainment was supposed to film all their shows and the hope is that the episodes would last until this year's Money In The Bank PPV according to PWInsider's Mike Johnson. 

However, in a separate report, Johnson mentioned that WWE's filming plan was "thrown out altogether" and the shows will instead be broadcasted live ("awesome idea" says no one besides an out of touch 74-year-old CEO and probably JBL). 

To make things worse, a report from Fightful Sean Ross Sapp (which was later confirmed by WWE) stated that an employee of WWE had tested positive for COVID-19 and if you were wondering, no, it wasn't a pro wrestler. 

Should WWE cancel their shows? ABSOF'INGLUTELY!! The fact that WWE finds a legal loophole in this, calling themselves "an essential business" is disgusting. Will a RAW Or a Smackdown episode entertain me for a few hours? 

Probably depending on how good the show is but a pro wrestling television show is not important for anybody. Trust me, I can find entertainment like reading the reviews for the movie Cats. 

The last thing I want is for the talent and the crew to risk themselves in a GLOBAL PANDEMIC for our entertainment. Those guys and gals deserve a break and it would be foolish for WWE to not give them a much needed time off. 

The Miz Scheduled To Defend The Smackdown Tag Team Title Match Against Big E And Jey Uso. 

This past week's episode of Friday Night Smackdown regarding the tag team division, saw The Miz and John Morrison verbally interact with The Usos and The New Day which sounds like the segment from last week's episode. 

Hours after the show aired, WWE officials booked a triple threat match between Miz, Jey Uso and Big E for the tag team championship this coming week on the blue brand. I just caught up with Smackdown a few hours before writing this piece and it was okay. 

The Forgotten Sons made their main roster debut so that's something. Sheamus returned to in-ring action and it felt like he's been out of TV for a year. 

Mauro Ranallo Doing Commentary At His Home!? 

The play by play commentator for NXT came back to call the show solely but it's not the way you think. Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio (from 411Mania) mentioned that he recorded his commentary at his residence in California. 

While I was watching the show, I didn't assume that the commentary was recorded in his home based on how it sounded like. Gotta give WWE some credit here even though I just chewed them up before this. 


What do you think about the news I just reported and follow me on the tweets @omartheplayaguy. Anyways, stay safe smarks.