And now, the grandaddy of them all.

WWE WrestleMania 29 takes place tonight, Sunday, April 7, live from New York New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium. The event is main-evented by the ONCE IN A LIFETIME 2: THIS TIME, IT ONLY HAPPENS ONCE showdown between WWE Champion The Rock defending against John Cena.

As always, With Leather’s wrestling community will be on hand to make the best jokes, most insightful commentary and astute observations while the guy who runs the site sits behind a skyscraper decoration and tries to watch the show live.

Your full card is below:

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Pre-show notes:

- If you’re wondering what I’m up to this weekend, make sure to stick around after the Top 10 Comments of the Week for a handy “Brandon At WrestleMania And Assorted Things” guide. I want to hang out with you and be friends in real life!

- The With Leather Bad Wrestling Theme Lyrics March Madness Tournament has reached its final four, so if you haven’t voted in that yet, please hop over and do so now. Worst case scenario, you’ll get to listen to Funaki’s music.

- Comments, shares, likes, and anything else that gets people to come here are appreciated.

- Follow us on Twitter @withleather, follow me personally @MrBrandonStroud and like us on Facebook.

- IMPORTANT REMINDER: I”M MAKING A MOVIE AND COULD SURE USE YOUR HELP. Me, Dustin Rhodes (!) and a bunch of other crazy talented folks are making a horror movie in Austin this May called Meet Me There, and it’s gonna be rad. It also sorta needs your help, so if you read the report and you want to be kind (or you’re just rich) (either way works) please consider hopping on over to our IndieGogo fundraiser and chipping in. We’re almost to the 3K mark, and if you put us over, e-mail me about it and I’ll give you a special perk. MY EVERLASTING LOVE.

Please click through to enjoy the Best and Worst of WWE Raw for April 1, 2013.

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photo credit: WWE.com

For anyone who has harbored skepticism about the earnestness of AJ Lee’s love for video games (a medium that the Diva has repeatedly raved about), the October 31, 2011 edition of Monday Night Raw busted the hell out of that myth. During a Halloween-themed Divas battle royal, Lee hit the ring as the spitting image of Kitana from Mortal Kombat. Witnessing someone dressed up as the Princess of Edenia of all characters on WWE programming was surreal in itself, but the true coup de grâce to the skeptics was when Lee broke out a Fan Lift at the beginning of the match. Disappointingly, “Kitana wins” would not be uttered that night (Eve, who went as Robin, won), but it still was the most loving shout-out to the gaming faithful on Raw since John Cena did that Punch-Out!!-themed promo in 2010.

The New Jersey native born April Jeanette Mendez originally got into gaming as a child via her brother. The first game she played was either Super Mario Bros. or Excitebike, but as she seriously fell for the hobby later on, she became loyal to the PlayStation. “I was so obsessed with it. Now, I have an Xbox and I love that, so I can’t pick one or the other. They’re both really, really cool,” she says. “Growing up, I was like, ‘Ah, screw Xbox,’ which is terrible because I’m obsessed with it now.”

As of now, Lee’s plans for WrestleMania 29 on Sunday, April 7 involve scheming alongside Dolph Ziggler and newly crowned Twitter demigod Big E Langston when they face against Team Hell No for the tag titles, but hey, a Divas Championship match could always fall out of the sky. Way before the big show, we had a chance to speak with the ex-General Manager of Raw about her 10 most beloved vidja games. Not only was Lee up for the challenge, but she compiled the whole list before the call and put them in order. That’s dedication. (Also, check this space again shortly for another similarly gaming-informed WWE talent dropping knowledge about his favorites.)

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Pre-show notes:

- Comments, shares, likes, and anything else that gets people to come here are appreciated.

- Follow us on Twitter @withleather, follow me personally @MrBrandonStroud and like us on Facebook.

- GIFS courtesy of Jerusalem at Punchsport Pagoda.

- IMPORTANT REMINDER: I AM MAKING A MOVIE AND COULD SURE USE YOUR HELP. Me and a guy you’ve probably heard of (Goldust) (no, seriously) are making a horror movie in Austin this May called Meet Me There, and it’s gonna be rad. It also sorta needs your help, so if you read the report and you want to be my friend forever (or you are ridiculously rich), please consider hopping on over to our IndieGogo fundraiser and chipping in. There are a lot of cool perks, and it’s a great way to say “hey, I appreciate this wordy-ass wrestling column you write every week. LIVE YOUR DREAMS.”

Please click through to enjoy the Best and Worst of WWE Raw for March 25, 2013.

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Pre-show notes:

- Things you should read from the last week of posts at The Mandible Claw include the thing I wrote about Donald Trump’s “appearance” on the Gorgeous Ladies Of Wrestling and an hour of me and Danielle talking to ACW and National Pro Wrestling Day star Jojo Bravo. Also, everything else on the site. You should check it out daily.

- Don’t forget to vote in our first annual With Leather Bad Wrestling Theme Lyrics March Madness Tournament! Round one matches are happening right now. They need your votes!

- Comments, shares, likes, and what-have-you are appreciated. We’re got a handy “sharing” bar at the bottom of each page of the post, so if you see or read something you like on one of them, share this somewhere.

- Follow us on Twitter @withleather, follow me personally @MrBrandonStroud and like us on Facebook.

- GIFS courtesy of Jerusalem at Punchsport Pagoda.

And now, Raw goes REGULAR SCHOOL! The Best and Worst of WWE Raw for March 11, 2013, is after the jump.

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This week on Amor Prohibito...

Pre-show notes:

- If you’re unaware, I’m helping Best and Worst of Impact columnist Danielle with her new wrestling site, The Mandible Claw. There’s a new post up every weekday, and so far we’ve done a pretty rad podcast (which I’ll help host every week) and an incredible piece on Vickie Guerrero by Ari Amaru. This is seriously worth your time. Go read it, and keep reading it.

- Comments, shares, likes, and what-have-you are appreciated. Showing this column to wrestling types you know is the only way to keep it moving forward. Otherwise I’m stuck writing WrestleCrap entries in 2013 like some kind of weirdo.

- Follow us on Twitter @withleather, follow me personally @MrBrandonStroud and like us on Facebook.

- GIFS courtesy of Jerusalem at Punchsport Pagoda.

And now, Raw goes OLD SCHOOL! I bet you aren’t tired of hearing that yet. The Best and Worst of Old School Raw is after the jump.

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