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PWInsider Madness 2020 – East Bracket
# 1 Brock Lesnar vs. # 16 Paul Heyman
If this was a purely physical contest, it would be a no-brainer who would win. “The Vanilla Gorilla” is one of the most impressive physical specimens on the planet, but while Lesnar is the most dominating force in the WWE, he might still be unable to defeat the cunning mind of his own manager. Paul Heyman is by no means an athlete, just look at him, but what he can do, he can do better than anyone else in this tournament. He is famous for being a tremendous liar and it wouldn’t surprise me even the slightest if “The Advocate” is able to gather enough friends and supporters to defeat his own client. This battle will be a wonderful test to see what is more important, Lesnar’s overwhelming power or Heyman’s cunning mind.
# 2 Velveteen Dream vs. # 15 Roderick Strong
Velveteen Dream and Roddy Strong are no strangers to each other. Strong won the NXT North American Championship from Dream, and Dream has since avenged this by disrespecting Strong and his family. It is a very even match-up and both competitors have complained about having to face each other again, but this time the stakes will be even higher as they are competing to become the very first, and maybe last, PWInsider Madness winner. Will it be “The Purple Prince” or “The Messiah Of The Backbreaker” who will come out of this terrific match? Only time will tell.
# 3 Sami Zayn vs. # 14 Cesaro
While neither of these two talented wrestlers do anything to endear themselves to the audience, both Zayn and Cesaro have become big crowd favorites simply due to their almost limitless abilities in the ring. There are very few people I will put money on against “The Swiss Cyborg” since he has everything a champion needs, and he does speak five languages. In his way is his partner in crime, Sami Zayn, who is as ruthless as they come when he has to be, and also has a tremendous level of endurance. This man will not quit. It will be the pure talent of Cesaro against the heart and willpower of Zayn in this match up between regular partners.
# 4 Hulk Hogan vs. # 13 Jimmy Hart
Hulk Hogan is one of the biggest, if not the biggest star in the history of this great sport. Problem is just that he is old and has numerous injuries. The official doctors have tried to convince Hogan to resign from the tournament but “The Hulkster” is ready to have one final shot at glory. Against him is his good friend “The Mouth Of The South” Jimmuy Hart and while he isn’t nearly as big and strong as his opponent, Hart has proven to be a talented enough antagonist to overcome the odds by cheating if he has too. If this becomes a fair contest, I don’t think Hart has a very good chance, but the rules are still up in the air and Hart still has his trusted megaphone.
# 5 Sting vs. # 12 Ric Flair
What a classic in th forst round. “The Icon” versus “The Nature Boy”. Two of the biggest stars of WCW against each other from the start. This might be a dream match already. At least it would if the match happened 20 years ago. Both Sting and Flair are starting to get up there in age, but with age also comes experience and these two have plenty of that. Will “The Dirtiest Player In The Game” live up to his name or will Sting be able to beat the man to become the man?
# 6 Braun Strowman vs. # 11 Marko Stunt
Braun Strowman is billed at 6’8’’ and 385 punds. Marko Stunt is billed at 5’2’’ and 120 pounds. For all intents and purposes, this shouldn’t even be a fight and if this tournament was under any athletic commission, it would be outlawed due to the brutality that might happen here. Rumor has it that Vegas has already suspended all bets on this battle because it looks too one-sided, but this is the PWInsider Madness and anything can happen. If you are a betting man and you can find someone willing to give you a good line on this match, then I would suggest to bet on the underdog.
# 7 Tony Khan vs. # 10 Orange Cassidy
There are two main points of interest in this contest. The first is whether Tony Khan will dress up as his opponent like he did for Halloween last year. The other is whether he will get help from his family. His dad Shad Khan, his long lost cousin Chaka Khan, his pet tiger Shere Khan, as well as an unknown amount of ex Khans and Khan men. The Khan dynasty is a very powerful one indeed, but Orange Cassidy doesn’t care about that. Truthfully no one really knows what Cassidy cares about, but we have heard that when he decides to take it seriously, he is very talented and would pose a threat for anyone he would face.
# 8 Eric Bischoff vs. # 9 Vince McMahon
A delicious match between two very proud, very stubborn, very eccentric, and maybe very eclectic, men. “The Genetic Jackhammer” is still in tremendous physical shape for his age but his opponent, the man that beat him for over a year in the ratings during The Monday Night War, Eric Bischoff is not without talents either. “Easy Eric” is known to have trained martial arts and while McMahon probably won’t believe any of it, he can very quickly face the wrath of the man he has fired on several occasions. McMahon against Bischoff is something you definitely don’t dare miss as anything can literally happen here.
Alternates in case of injury
James Storm: James Storm wasn’t sure he would be able to participate in the tournament, because he had to remove Ms. Dixie’s Christmas trees, but now “The Cowboy” has been allowed to be an alternate in the East Bracket if someone goes down with an injury. While that is highly unlikely. Storm is always looking for a challenge as he preferred to go back to Impact Wrestling over taking a WWE NXT deal. He will be a dangerous competitor if he enters.
Stuart Carapola: Since Mr. Carapola is no longer part of the PWInsider staff, he is allowed to participate in this year’s tournament. Problem is just that he didn’t leave PWInsider before the original application time was up, and he can therefore only be allowed in as an alternate in case of injury. If Carapola gets in however, he would be seen as one of the favorites to go all the way as he not only is a former high-school wrestler and still has his singlet at home, but also has an entire torture barn filled with equipment that will help him overcome all obstacles.
WALTER: “Der Ring General” might be the biggest snub in this competition and he has already talked about filing an official complaint to the governing body if he wasn’t allowed in as an alternate. Therefore, we are pleased to announce that WALTER will be joining the three other alternates for the East Bracket, and if he lives up to the hype, he can very easily chop his way through most of the competition.
William Regal: As “The Old Villiain” doesn’t know how much work he has to do over the next few weeks as NXT General Manager, he is able to join the cast of alternates for the PWInsider Madness. Regal has proven on countless occasions during his long career that he is willing to do anything to win, including punching his opponent’s with brass knuckles picked up from his trucks. While that might not be legal in these times where we have to make sure everything is clean, it is only cheating if you get caught, right?
