Welcome To The Club, Kevin Owens

A victory over John Cena? That’s rare.

A clean victory over John Cena? Even more rare.

A clean victory in a non-gimmick, one-on-one match on pay-per-view? Well, that's like the Halley's Comet of professional wrestling.

WrestleMania Predictions

WrestleMania is this Sunday. We shared our predictions on this week's Wrestling Mayhem Show. You can watch us make our picks here...

Or, you can just read our picks below.

Mayhem Mania - The SUPER CARD!

Mayhem Mania - The Final Round!

Mayhem Mania - Patreon In The Bank Round!

Mayhem Mania - Round 7

Mayhem Mania - Round 6

Mayhem Mania - Round 5

Mayhem Mania - Round 4

Mayhem Mania - Round 3

Roman Reigns: Too Much Too Soon? Or, Not Soon Enough?

Untested. Unproven. Inexperienced.

All adjectives used to describe Roman Reigns, the man in line for a main event match against the WWE World Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 31.

Even before his victory in the 2015 Royal Rumble match, I heard fans and people inside the professional wrestling industry openly question WWE's commitment to Reigns. They don't doubt his talent and potential, but they do doubt the timing of his rise to the top of company.

Many seem to think it's too much, too soon.

I wondered how Reigns compares to similar young/inexperienced champions from WWE's history. What I discovered surprised me. Like many of you, I believed WWE is taking an unprecedented risk. It appears bold. Perhaps, a little bit reckless. But the truth is that WWE does this kind of thing all the time. And it almost always works out for the best.

Mayhem Mania - Round 2

Mayhem Mania - Round 1

Welcome to Mayhem Mania! Not quite a game. Not really a contest. More like a competitive thought experiment. The object is to create the best WrestleMania card possible - NOT necessarily to predict what WWE will do.

When Paul Heyman Retweeted Me...

My Twitter account (@MainstreamMat) has about 250 more followers today than it did 48 hours ago. The reason is Paul Heyman.

Any thoughts, HustleTweeters? RT: @MainstreamMat Ranking @HeymanHustle's best promos isn't easy. How'd I do? http://t.co/zMuiUgEIoK …
— Paul Heyman (@HeymanHustle) April 17, 2014

Our favorite manager and master of the microphone shared my little blog post via his own Twitter account, and generated more feedback than I ever could have predicted. Thanks Paul. Now, let's take a look at what you had to say about my ranking of the Paul Heyman's Best Promos.

The Best Of Paul Heyman

At this point in professional wrestling history, there is little argument that the undisputed master of the microphone is Paul Heyman.

On the night after WrestleMania XXX, Paul was at it again. A question was asked. Was it one of the best promos of his career? Since no one seemed sure, I did a little research. I expected to compile a list of Paul Heyman's 10 best promos, but he could not be contained. Enjoy this trip down memory lane.

The Road To WrestleMania

Should we all be resigned to the fact that the main event of WrestleMania XXIX will be rematch between The Rock and John Cena for the WWE Championship? It appears that is the endgame being laid out as we approach the Royal Rumble. Where does that leave some of the other top stars? Here's some predictions following the first Raw of 2013.

#FiftyMatches - The Rock Goes Hollywood

July 21, 2002

The Undertaker v. The Rock v. Kurt Angle

WWE Undisputed Championship

Vengeance 2002

"The most awesome triple threat match I've ever seen in my life!" -Jim Ross

On April 19, 2002 the first movie to feature The Rock in a starring role arrived in theaters.

And the people came.

Spare Thoughts: What If Ryback Wins?

Ryback is in the right place at the right time.

Due to the apparent lingering effects of John Cena's recent surgery, Ryback will be in the main event at the upcoming Hell In A Cell pay per view with a shot at winning the WWE Championship.

World Wrestling Entertainment is in quite a predicament. If the match goes on as scheduled, the powers that be in the company will have to choose between Ryback's undefeated streak and CM Punk's 300+ day reign as WWE Champion. If there's a third door, I don't see it right now.

As far as I'm concerned, the big question isn't "Will Ryback Win?" as much as it is "What happens next if Ryback wins?". You'd assume there would be the inevitable rematch with Punk, but what happens beyond that would be even more interesting, and perhaps problematic for WWE.

Royal Rumble is little more than three months away, on January 27, 2013. The Rock is scheduled to compete for the WWE Championship on that night. Ryback as WWE Champion, would be almost immediately on a collision course with The People's Champion.

If Ryback gets through Royal Rumble 2013 as WWE Champion, things get even more interesting. Now, he's in one of the top matches at WrestleMania XXIX, and I think I know who his opponent should be: Brock Lesnar.

This would do little to end the comparison between Ryback and Goldberg, but it seems to be the most logical outcome for Ryback's reign as WWE Champion. Lesnar's expiring contract makes him perfect cannon-fodder for someone who could become a main event performer for years.

One nice thing about a Ryback v. Rock match at Royal Rumble 2013 is the fact that it frees up other headliners to be in the Royal Rumble match itself. The list of competitors would be star-studded: John Cena, CM Punk, Randy Orton, Daniel Bryan, Kane, Big Show, Dolph Ziggler and Alberto Del Rio. Add in Lesnar and perhaps even The Undertaker and you have the makings of something special. Then, have Lesnar win.

Have him eliminate Cena to polish the one blemish on his record since his return to WWE. I think Lesnar would be as feared as ever, and a worthy opponent for the undefeated Ryback. The top of the WrestleMania XXIX card would look just fine with CM Punk vs. The Rock and John Cena vs. The Undertaker as the other headlining matches.

Like I said, WWE has put itself in a tough spot going into Hell In A Cell. If those in charge do pull the trigger on a championship reign for Ryback, they'd had better understand where that decision could lead.

Spare Thoughts: Are Fans Over The Game?

We've seen this scene play out before.

The victorious villain disappears backstage. His music stops. The arena is quiet for a moment. Finally, the hero, gallant in defeat, stands in the middle of the ring. The fans applaud. He soaks in this ultimate show of respect before walking down the aisle, casting a final glance to the crowd before heading back behind the curtain.

This is what was supposed to happen just before SummerSlam went off the air, but while the familiar actions were there, the emotion was not.

WWE wanted fans in attendance to feel sorry for Triple H after he tapped out to Brock Lesnar. They didn't. They rejected this play for their sympathy with boos and chants of "You tapped out!"

Triple H was supposed to appear valiant in defeat. Instead, he was humiliated.

What went wrong?

It was a little over four months ago when a sold-out Sun Life Stadium roared with approval and respect for Triple H, The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels after their epic Hell In A Cell match at WrestleMania 28. Fans seized the opportunity to show their appreciation for all three men. If you didn't get chills while watching, you probably aren't a fan. It's been a long time since Triple H was beloved among hardcore fans, but he was embraced by them on that night.

Make no mistake about it, WWE got the reaction it wanted at WrestleMania. So, what changed at SummerSlam?

My best guess is Paul Heyman. While the main event match at SummerSlam was Triple H vs. Brock Lesnar, the feud was Triple H vs. Heyman.

Heyman holds a high level of respect among fans, and for weeks he was badgered and bullied by Triple H. All that seemed to be fine until Raw 1,000, when Stephanie McMahon got involved. Her words were so mean-spirited and seemingly personal, you couldn't help but feel sorry for Heyman. Does anyone really think his children are ashamed of him?

Brock Lesnar was now in the position of avenging his friend in their fight against the authority figures he felt slighted by. It sounds noble, as long as you can look past Lesnar breaking an arm or two.

WWE overplayed its hand with Triple H, and made a mistake that's become all too common lately - forgetting what makes the good guys good and the bad guys bad.