WrestleMania Today - Thursday edition
March 26, 2015
Aired on WWE Network
San Jose, Calif. at WrestleMania Axxess
By James Caldwell, PWTorch assistant editor

Michael Cole was joined by Booker T and Corey Graves at WrestleMania Axxess for a two-hour show hyping WrestleMania storylines and checking in with a collection of roster members...

- First up, Cole fed to footage from Brock Lesnar's ESPN SportsCenter interview announcing his decision to re-sign with WWE and close the door on his UFC career. The video ended on Lesnar vowing to retain the WWE World Title at WrestleMania, setting up a storyline-driven discussion on how this affects Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns on Sunday.

- Cole transitioned to Intercontinental Title discussion. Cole tried to own the "hot potato" criticism by setting up a video package on the belt going back and forth between Bad News Barrett and the six challengers in the ladder match. The video was set to a Benny Hill theme, complete with goofy music.

Bad News Barrett then joined the studio to discuss the title match and the other six competitors trying to steal the belt from him. Asked about the odds being against him, Barrett this isn't fair, but he's not going to complain. Just win.

- Next up was focus on Randy Orton vs. Seth Rollins. WWE cut to footage of Booker sitting down with Orton inside Orton's bus for an interview. The interview started at WM30 when Daniel Bryan won the WWE World Title by tapping out Batista, not him. But, he never got his title re-match. Flash-forward to November when Triple H gave the okay to take out Orton. So, Seth Rollins gave him a Curb Stomp into the ring steps.

Orton then returned, made Seth and The Authority sweat, and picked his spot to take out Seth. Orton said he's been around longer than Seth and he knows all the tricks in the game. But, if Seth beats him at WrestleMania, then he has to be the Future. Orton said he'll be the better man, though. "The Future is still right here," Orton said.

- The next focus was on John Cena vs. Rusev, flashing back to WrestleMania 20 when Cena captured the U.S. Title from Big Show. And, the crowd was strongly behind him. 11 years later, Cena goes for the U.S. Title again. In-between, Cole noted Cena has turned into one of the most polarizing figures in WWE history. Cole then fed to video of Rusev's big training program for the title match.

- Next was focus on Sting coming to WWE to go after Triple H. First was a video package on Sting turning black & white in WCW to fight the NWO. "And he stayed there until they shut the doors," Gene Okerlund said in the video package. Now, Sting has come to WWE to remove Hunter from power.

Back at the WrestlrMania Today set, Cole brought in Ric Flair to discuss the Sting-Hunter match. Flair said he feels like Sting has unfinished business in his career. He said there's the NWA Hall of Fame, "other Hall of Fames" he didn't want to mention, and there's the WWE Hall of Fame. Booker said now Sting gets to prove that WCW had the best wrestlers during the Monday Night Wars.

Cole transitioned to whether Hunter or Sting is rustier in the ring, wondering aloud what Sting has been doing since WCW went out of business 14 years ago, a topic WWE has tried to avoid in the TV build-up. This forced Flair to have the "TNA" discussion without mentioning the letters. "He was in the ring at least once a week for the past ten years. Booker, you were down there for a while with him. He wasn't wrestling guys like us every night, but he was in the ring, okay," Flair said.

Cole quickly transitioned to a prediction for who wins the match. Flair picked Hunter, despite being super-close to Sting. Flair said Hunter lost to The Undertaker and Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania, so he can't lose again. Cole wrapped up Flair's segment by noting Flair will be part of the Hall of Fame ceremony. He did not specify that Flair is scheduled to induct Tatsumi Fujinami.

- The Miz and Damien Mizdow joined the set to discuss the Andre the Giant Battle Royal after a video package on Arnold Schwarzenegger. But, Curtis Axel crashed the interview to hype his 59-day Royal Rumble run. Axel talked over Cole trying to get him off the set, then ripped off his Axel-mania t-shirt and ran off the set. "I knew his dad," Booker deadpanned. Cole transitioned to the Niagara parody video.

Back at the set, Miz complained about Cole treating him like a joke. E.D. puns around the horn, including Cole cracking himself up that Miz didn't make the cut for the "Get Hard" movie with Will Ferrell and Kevin Hart. Miz shot back that his wife (Maryse) calls him Big Mike. He told everyone to ask his wife if they see her around town during Mania Weekend. Cole tried to transition to what Sandow will do if the battle royal comes down to him and Miz on Sunday. Miz interjected by noting Alex Riley is nothing after trying to pull what Sandow is thinking about, so he shouldn't even think about it.

- Cole, Booker, and Corey Graves reset the show, then transitioned to The Undertaker vs. Bray Wyatt. Booker picked Taker to win and Graves went for Wyatt, making it 22-2. Cole said he does not think Taker will go out with a WrestleMania losing streak, but make a grand return on Sunday.

- Next was Seth Rollins sitting down with Booker for an in-character interview on Randy Orton. Seth said his time is now and Orton's time is over as the Future of WWE. Asked how it felt to be played by Orton, though, Seth said it did not feel good and was probably a result of him letting his guard down because he's smarter than that. "It's personally embarrassing to be honest with you," Seth said.

Asked if he's intimidated by facing Orton at WrestleMania, Seth laughed and said his Shield team beat Orton's team at WrestleMania two years ago. So, he's not afraid of facing Orton on the biggest stage. Seth said he's younger, faster, more agile, and stronger than Orton. Seth cockily said that Orton was the Legend Killer, but now he's in Orton's place taking out guys like Orton like a cold-blooded killer.

Booker asked Seth if he feels like he's been handed everything to him by The Authority. Seth said he respects Booker, but he doesn't like the question. He said he's worked extremely hard since Day 1 to maintain his position, whitewashing help from The Authority with tough talk, so he's slightly insulted by that question. Seth said he thinks beating Orton at WrestleMania will be a symbolic changing of the guard. But, he ominously said he always wants something more. The video focused on Seth's MITB briefcase. He vowed to be the best Seth Rollins anyone has ever seen in 2015.

- Next up, Paige joined the interview set to discuss the Divas tag match at WrestleMania. Paige said her goals going forward are to be on every PPV, become the longest-reigning Divas champion of all-time, and one day make the Hall of Fame. The discussion transitioned to "Total Divas," which Paige called "Total Paige."

- To wrap up the show, Cole flashed back to Brock Lesnar's ESPN SportsCenter interview discussing his decision to re-sign with WWE and not return to UFC. This led to WWE's hype video on Lesnar ahead of the WrestleMania main event. Back at the set, Booker talked about Lesnar's history of success at WrestleMania. Meanwhile, Roman Reigns is in the Mania Main Event spotlight for the first time. So, how will he handle the moment? Cole closed with a plug for Smackdown on Syfy.

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