WrestleWar 2018

Participants

Kazuchika Okada
AJ Styles
Kenny Omega
Tetsuya Naito
Kevin Owens
Sami Zayn
Finn Balor
Seth Rollins
Bray Wyatt
Cody Rhodes
Will Ospreay
Aleister Black
Adam Cole
Johnny Gargano
CM Punk
Daniel Bryan

Alexa Bliss
Bayley
Asuka
Becky Lynch
Charlotte
Sasha Banks
Candace LaRae
Ember Moon

The Young Bucks
The Revival
The New Day
Undisputed Era
The Bar
The Usos
The Briscoe Brothers
The Authors of Pain

Location

Rogers Arena
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Dates

March 9th - 11th, 2018

The lottery is complete and all entrants in WrestleWar 2018 have been paired off for the elimination rounds.

"To Be Determined" entrants will be revealed at match time.

WrestleWar 2018 - Day 1

Kazuchika Okada vs. TBD
Kevin Owens vs. TBD
AJ Styles vs. Aleister Black
Seth Rollins vs. Kenny Omega
Tetsuya Naito vs. Sami Zayn
Finn Balor vs. Will Ospreay
Bray Wyatt vs. Cody Rhodes
Adam Cole vs. Johnny Gargano

Alexa Bliss vs. Candace LaRae
Bayley vs. Becky Lynch
Asuka vs. Sasha Banks
Ember Moon vs. Charlotte

The New Day vs. The Authors of Pain
The Usos vs. The Briscoe Brothers
The Bar vs. The Young Bucks
The Revival vs. Undisputed Era

There will be an intermission on Day 1 only due to the extensive card.

Doors at 4:30PM, show at 5:00PM sharp. Do not be late.

Day 1 Results
CM Punk def. Kevin Owens
Kevin Owens opened the show and warmed up in the ring until "Cult of Personality" hit and a look of pure shock crossed his face. The arena erupted and the tone for the evening was set: the first TBD entrant was here and now we were about to live through Kevin Owens vs. CM Punk. Where were you when WrestleWar shook the wrestling world to its core?
The two put on one hell of a show to open the weekend and beat the living hell out of one another. Kevin Owens just wouldn't stay down and it took TWO GTS' to win the match and put CM Punk on Saturday's card.

Seth Rollins def. Kenny Omega
Rollins promised ahead of this match that he and Omega would steal the show, and to follow up the opening match just put that much more weight on his shoulders. But many would say that Rollins delivered as he and Kenny Omega tore the roof down. When it was all said and done, Rollins reversed an OWA into a cutter, then followed up with a Blackout for the win in what many would call the first upset of the weekend.

Finn Balor def. Will Ospreay
Do you like flips? Because this match was flips and then some. Balor and Ospreay used everything in their vicinity to throw their bodies at one another and the fans ate it up. Ospreay almost pulled out the win with a 540 Senton but Balor kicked out at 2.999 and eventually hit a Bloody Sunday to pick up the win.

Candice LaRae def. Alexa Bliss
The first women's match of the night was interesting from the get go. Alexa Bliss entered to a chorus of boos while Candace LaRae got one of the biggest pops of the evening. And that carried right through the match until LaRae picked up the win with a Ms. Garga-No-Escape.

The Usos def. The Briscoes
Following the first women's match was the first tag team match and it was a slaughterhouse. The Uso Penitentiary was open for business but The Briscoes walked in and shived the first guy they saw. Jimmy & Jey couldn't have expected to deal with the level of violence The Briscoe Bros. were bringing, but somehow they picked up the win with a Superplex/Frogsplash combo to seal the deal.

Adam Cole def. Johnny Gargano
The fans were absolutely lit up for this battle, and a battle it was. Adam Cole (baybay!) and Johnny Wrestling put on a clinic of epic proportions, and by the time it was all said and done it didn't seem like anyone in the crowd cared who won: both these men were getting applauded out of the arena.
Cole may have taken the win but an uncharacteristic handshake with Gargano and huge ovation was the real story to this ending.

Charlotte def. Ember Moon
Not much to say about this one as it was easily the most disappointing match of the night. Ember Moon was off her game and Charlotte carried the whole thing, which was a surprise to everyone in attendance. Charlotte stopped an Eclipse by tossing Moon onto her back and locked in a Figure Eight for the win.

The Authors of Pain def. The New Day
Some would call this an upset, but if you saw the match, you'd know better. The New Day walked in with their usual antics and showmanship, and clearly underestimated AoP. They walked in with business on their minds and nothing else, and they quite literally destroyed The New Day. Not only was this an upset on paper, but it was so one-sided nobody could believe what they had just witnessed. Akam and Rezar left all three members of The New Day laid out as we headed to intermission.

INTERMISSION

During the intermission we get an interview with CM Punk, who states that he returned strictly for WrestleWar and nothing else. He says that despite all his accomplishments over the years, "WrestleWar Champion" is not one of them, and he plans on righting that wrong here in Vancouver. CM Punk is then approached by Seth Rollins, who says he can't wait to send CM Punk back to his full-time Twitter job after Round 2.

We then see Kevin Owens hanging around the building with Sami Zayn, helping him get psyched up for his match against Tetsuya Naito. Owens is asked about his loss to his surprise opponent and being out in Round 1 and instead of answering he simply shoves the reporter out of view and yells "WE'RE TRYING TO CONCENTRATE!"

Lastly we see Kenny Omega, Finn Balor, AJ Styles and The Young Bucks hanging out in a dressing room, catching up. Omega is all smiles despite his loss, until Cody Rhodes enters the room with Brandi in tow, and tries to join in mid-conversation. Omega looks embarrassed and he and the Bucks hang their heads as Cody shakes hands with Balor and Styles. Rhodes then says he's honoured to be in the same room as other great Bullet Club leaders, and that he hopes he can do as good a job as they all did before selling out. Balor and Styles look like they're about to kill Rhodes but he leaves in a hurry, chuckling to himself.

Day 1 Results (cont'd)
The Young Bucks w/Kenny Omega def. The Bar
Matt and Nick were accompanied by Elite teammate Kenny Omega for this bout and were the heavy crowd favourite. Sheamus and Cesaro tried to brawl their way through this one and keep the high-flying Bucks grounded, but it was not meant to be and a Meltzer Driver put away the WWE Raw Tag Team Champions.

Bayley def. Becky Lynch
Two crowd favourites and two good friends put on what was easily the best women's match of the night. Both got in a lot of offense and near fall after near fall kept the crowd on the edge of their seat. Bayley took home the W but it took two Bayley-to-Belly's to keep Lynch down for the 3. The two shook hands after the match and hugged.

The Revival def. The Undisputed Era (Bobby Fish & Kyle O'Reilly)
The final tag team match of the evening was the best one by far, and the crowd was on their feet the entire match. This was nothing more than a fight and these two teams may have stole the show on night one. Both teams refused to back down from stiff strikes throughout the match, but it was also a technical showcase in good ol' fashioned tag team wrasslin'. When it was all said and done, not one man was standing and all four were shedding blood, and somehow The Revival got a 3-count before the 20-minute time limit was up with a Shatter Machine.

Aleister Black def. AJ Styles
If you're a wrestling fan in 2018, this is a dream match for you, and it didn't disappoint. The crowd was red hot despite the long evening and coming off an insane tag team match, and AJ Styles and Aleister Black tore the building down. Unfortunately, the match was stained by the arrival of Cody Rhodes, who appeared early for his upcoming match with Bray Wyatt. The fans booed his presence as he went around the ring, shaking hands with fans, clearly not reading the room. Eventually Rhodes saw an opening. Aleister Black hit the turnbuckles hard and went down in a heap. While the ref had his back to the ring and was checking on Black, Rhodes slid into the ring and dropped AJ Styles with a Cross Rhodes. Neither the referee nor Aleister Black saw it, but Black capitalized anyway and took the WWE Champion out in Round 1.

Bray Wyatt def. Cody Rhodes
After the match, Cody Rhodes cut a promo leading into his match with Bray Wyatt, saying he didn't respect the "OG BC" because they were nothing more than sellouts trying to live off the Bullet Club name. Rhodes hated what the WWE was doing to the group he had the honour of leading, and said that after being embarrassed backstage he would make sure that Bullet Club was properly represented, which meant AJ Styles had to go and that Finn Balor wouldn't make it past Round 2. He continued to taunt AJ Styles as he was helped to the back, then Bray Wyatt's music hit and he made his entrance. When Wyatt got in the ring and blew out his lantern, the arena stayed dark for a moment before the lights returned to normal and Bray Wyatt was back outside the ring, cackling to himself, while Finn Balor lurked behind Cody Rhodes! Balor connected with a Bloody Sunday, then escaped the ring and left Cody Rhodes to Wyatt's wrath. A Sister Abigail later and this one was over. Rhodes eventually left, embarrassed and shook.

Asuka def. Sasha Banks
Not Sasha Banks' worst match, but definitely not her best. Asuka carried most of the offense in this one and Banks' weaknesses were heavily exposed as she tried to hang with arguably the greatest women's wrestler on the planet. Asuka was trapped in a Banks Statement at one point but that was really the only time it looked like Asuka could lose, but she eventually escaped and got the win.

Tetsuya Naito def. Sami Zayn w/Kevin Owens
Another dream match and another instant classic as two of the world's best did battle. Owens accompanied his friend to the ring and stayed out of the match for the most part, despite being vocal and trying his best to get to Naito, but tranquilo prevails over all. Kevin Owens eventually got on the apron and distracted the ref for his friend Sami Zayn, but it proved to be his undoing as Naito knocked Owens out cold with a stiff kick to the head, then got the jump on Sami Zayn and won with Destino.

Kazuchika Okada def. Daniel Bryan
Yeah, you read that right. Daniel Bryan returned to the ring for WrestleWar and the main event was one to behold. Okada made his grand entrance with the IWGP Heavyweight Championship firmly around his waist, and he made it abundantly clear that he didn't appreciate not knowing who his opponent would be. Then Daniel Bryan's music hit and as the crowd erupted around him and the announce team went ballistic, the stone-faced Okada....smiled.

The two men shook hands before the bout and even the iconic Kazuchika Okada knew what a special moment this was. Daniel Bryan had the crowd firmly in his corner and despite being out of action for two years, he hadn't lost a step. He and Okada went shot for shot, take down for take down, submission for submission, and after 18+ minutes of some of the best wrestling you could ever ask for, Daniel Bryan had the Yes Lock in tight. Okada was fading, the crowd was roaring, it looked like this would be the moment...but Okada's Fighting Spirit is unmatched and he made it to the bottom rope. Seconds later, Bryan watched as Okada got to his knees and was in perfect position for a Busaiku knee. He went for it, but Okada dove forward and dropped Bryan with a clothesline that almost put him right back on the sidelines. Not to be outdone and ensure his victory, Okada dragged Daniel Bryan to his feet and hit a Rainmaker for good measure, silencing the crowd and winning the match with just seconds left to spare.

END DAY 1

WrestleWar 2018 - Day 2

Kazuchika Okada vs. Aleister Black
Seth Rollins vs. CM Punk
Tetsuya Naito vs. Finn Balor
Adam Cole vs. Bray Wyatt

Charlotte vs. Candace LaRae
Bayley vs. Asuka

The Usos vs. The Young Bucks
The Authors of Pain vs. The Revival

.....

AJ Styles vs. Cody Rhodes
Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn vs. Daniel Bryan & Johnny Gargano
The New Day & Becky Lynch vs. Kenny Omega, Sasha Banks & TBD