WrestleMania 32: What you need to know about WWE's biggest show of all time

If you've ever been intrigued by the popularity of professional wrestling, now is the time to give the oft-misunderstood performance art the ol' college try.
That's because this Sunday is the 32nd annual WrestleMania, which is frequently referred to as the Super Bowl of pro wrestling. The event is the culmination of a year's worth of narrative build-up and is where the biggest showdowns of the year take place.
This WrestleMania is even more special than usual. With around 100,000 fans expected to pack Dallas, Texas' AT&T Stadium, it'll quite literally be the biggest wrestling event in America's history. It'll be available in the US on pay-per-view for $60, but most people will be watching it on the WWE Network, the wrestling world's Netflix, which costs $9.99 per month. If you're new to the Network, you'll get the first month -- WrestleMania included -- for free.
The main show starts on Sunday, April 3 at 4 p.m. PT/7 p.m. ET (Sunday 12 a.m. UK and 9 a.m. AEST), with the pre-show, packed with matches and interviews, starting on the Network two hours earlier.
Not only does the Network air monthly special events, but it also has a backlog of every WWE pay-per-view ever, as well as a ton of original programming. That's handy if you're new to wrestling, as you can use the Network to get yourself better acclimated with Sunday's stars (more on that below).
A brief primer for the uninitiated:

• Pro wrestling combines the storytelling of a weekly TV show, the athleticism of sports and the theatre of, well, theatre.
• The endings of the matches are predetermined, but the action itself is largely improvised (and often dangerous).
• It's about heroes and antagonists, with fans getting behind different characters and watching them (hopefully) rise through the ranks to become a champion.
• The headline bouts on Sunday are: Roman Reigns vs. Triple H for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship; Dean Ambrose vs. Brock Lesnar; and The Undertaker vs. Shane McMahon in a Hell in a Cell-style cage match.

Here's a quick rundown of what you need to know about each of the biggest matches.

WrestleMania 32 match: Triple H vs. Roman Reigns, WWE World Heavyweight Championship

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WWE

Story background: Behind the scenes, Triple H (aka Paul Levesque, the actual Executive Vice President of Talent, Live Events & Creative of WWE) is being groomed to take over the company from current CEO and Chairman Vince McMahon. This feeds into his onscreen persona of the company's "COO" and the leader of the Authority, a villainous faction that does its best to keep the little people down.
Challenging Triple H for his WWE Championship is Roman Reigns. Though the odds are often stacked against him on TV, behind the scenes the company has been trying for two years to establish him as its leading man. There's a problem here though: He's cast as a top babyface (good guy) but a large section of the fan base has been rejecting him by booing him out of arenas.
Stakes: The big question going into this match, then, is will the WWE have Reigns topple Triple H on Sunday and become "The Man", as has been the plan for a year, or will it finally throw the towel in on the Roman Reigns experiment?
What to watch on the WWE Network to prepare
Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar: WrestleMania 31, March 29 2015, Levi Stadium, California
The main event of last year's WrestleMania. A brutal, hard-hitting match that saw Reigns play an underdog against then-champion Brock Lesnar, who was written as an unbeatable monster of a fighter.
Triple H vs. The Undertaker in a Hell in a Cell: WrestleMania 28, April 1 2012, Sun Life Stadium, Florida
Taking place in a Hell in a Cell-style cage and officiated by WWE icon Shawn Michaels, this bout is a bona fide epic encounter with as many twists and turns as a Gillian Flynn novel.

WrestleMania 32 match: Dean Ambrose vs. Brock Lesnar, No Holds Barred match

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WWE

Story background: Most bouts in WWE see a good guy take on a bad guy. This will be an exception, as it'll feature two heroes duking it out to see who's tougher.
Brock Lesnar is a former UFC Heavyweight Champion and is the company's best athlete and most believable fighter. He's famous for taking his opponents to "Suplex City" -- that is, for tossing them around the ring up to 16 times before dealing a fatal blow.
Despite being about 65 lbs (30 kg) smaller, Dean Ambrose is the perfect opponent for the former mixed martial artist. He's fearless, written as the only wrestler with enough moxie to slap "The Beast Incarnate" Brock Lesnar across the face.
Stakes: This is a No Holds Barred match, meaning there are no rules and weapons are legal. Imagine this match as David vs. Goliath, except instead of a slingshot, David has a barbed wire baseball bat. Many expect this bout to steal the show.
What to watch on the WWE Network to prepare
Dean Ambrose vs. Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns: Fastlane, February 21 2016, Quicken Loans Arena, Ohio
This wonderfully chaotic triple-threat contest from February set up both Roman Reigns vs. Triple H and Dean Ambrose vs. Brock Lesnar.
Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins: Hell in a Cell, October 26 2014, American Airlines Centre, Texas
Ambrose's 2014 rivalry with his arch nemesis Seth Rollins culminated with this cage match. It perfectly shows off why Ambrose is a beloved, larger-than-life character.

WrestleMania 32 match: The Undertaker vs. Shane McMahon, Hell in a Cell

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WWE

Story background: The Undertaker is WrestleMania's phenom. The WWE's most enigmatic performer, he went undefeated at the event for over two decades before having his winning streak broken at WrestleMania 30 by Brock Lesnar. His current record is nothing to scoff at: 22-1.

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Shane McMahon is known for taking lots of punishment in his matches. WWE

Shane is the son of WWE CEO Vince McMahon and recently returned to the company after a seven-year absence. Now back on the scene, the onscreen story is that he wants to wrestle the company off his father. He'll need to beat 'Taker to do that.
On the surface, this is a horrific mismatch -- Shane is more average Joe than first-class athlete, while The Undertaker has been written as a near unbeatable competitor for 20 years. However, as you can see to the right, Shane has a reputation for being able to put his body through insane trauma. It begs the question: How much is he willing to endure to defeat the undefeatable?
Stakes: This is another rare protagonist vs. protagonist match. It was put together by the tyrannical Vince McMahon (the character, that is), who said he'll give his son Shane control of the company if he can defeat The Undertaker in a Hell in a Cell match. However, if The Undertaker loses, he'll be made to retire.
What to watch on the WWE Network to prepare
Shane McMahon vs. Kurt Angle: King of the Ring, June 24 2001, Continental Airlines Arena, New JerseyIn 2001, McMahon took on Olympic gold medallist Kurt Angle in a match that shows just how much punishment he's willing to go through for the enjoyment of the fans.
The Undertaker vs. Mankind: King of the Ring, June 28 1998, Civic Arena, Pennsylvania
This match, which also took place in a Hell in a Cell cage, features one of the most (in)famous stunts in wrestling history. There's likely to be more where that came from on Sunday.

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Microsoft's HoloLens is super limited -- and hella magical

Microsoft's HoloLens is one of the most magical pieces of technology I've ever seen. It could change the world. But if you bought one today, for your own personal use, I guarantee you'd hate it.
For over a year, journalists have written breathless descriptions of the amazing things they've seen inside the HoloLens headset, but they've never been able to give you the full picture. Microsoft planned it that way. The first time I tried HoloLens, I actually had to surrender my camera and phone, only to walk through a set of scripted experiences in a secret bunker underneath Microsoft's Redmond campus.
It was exciting stuff. And still is, honestly. Have you seen our video yet?
But this week, Microsoft let us see what it's actually like to use HoloLens for real. I spent 90 minutes with an actual $3,000 Microsoft HoloLens Development Edition on my head, watching as computer-generated objects popped into existence in my real world. I walked around an ordinary hotel suite, with no Microsoft supervision, and saw what these holograms were capable of. It made my mind swirl with the possibilities.
It also made me very, very glad that Microsoft has no intention of ever releasing the current developer kit to regular, non-developer people. It's not even close to ready.

A closer look at the Microsoft HoloLens (pictures) See full gallery

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Not ready

The HoloLens developer kit already looks like a consumer product, sure -- a futuristic one, anyhow. The headset is composed of a pair of concentric circles that unfold like two rings of a 3D solar system. The inner circle goes around your head, with a bicycle-helmet-style ratcheting dial to tighten it down. The front is supposed to stick to your forehead, while the back rests underneath the back of your skull.
Beneath a visor worthy of "Star Trek" engineer Geordi La Forge are a pair of lenses that glint with rainbow light. When you look through them, you can see additional objects appear around you that don't exist at all. Things only you can see. Things as small as a little CG bird perched on top of your television, or as big as the surface of Mars suddenly appearing underneath your feet. You can select apps from a Windows-like menu, but you can also just place them in your real world.

They'll be there, waiting for you wherever you left them, whenever you put the headset on.

But you don't see these holograms all around you. They're only in the center of your view. They only exist within a box, roughly the size of a smartphone, held a few inches away from your head. Look away, even a little bit, and they're gone (though, thanks to built-in 3D speakers, you may still be able to hear them as you turn.)
If they're large, like a virtual person, maybe you only see the top of them. Until you look down, their bottom half is invisible. Which means there's no point in blowing up a virtual Web browser or virtual TV screen to cover a wall, because you'd only be able to see a small chunk of it at a time.
It feels nothing like the Oculus Rift or HTC Vive virtual reality headsets, which completely surround you with worlds that don't exist. HoloLens is more than that, but right now, it's also much less.
Then there's the matter of controlling the experience. To activate, grab and resize virtual objects, you need to reach out and bend your index finger in a very specific way to "airtap" them. Often as not, I missed tapping what I meant to, or failed to tap it at all. You can also just speak to the headset, issuing voice commands, but Microsoft's Cortana personal assistant often had a tough time recognizing me.
I got pretty frustrated very quickly, and I'm generally fairly patient with technology.

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Fitting the Microsoft HoloLens Development Edition to my head. James Martin/CNET

Another problem I had was keeping the damn thing on my head with its amazing holographic images centered in my field of view. I had to constantly adjust it, cinch it ever tighter until it had my skull in a vice-like grip before it would stay put. I later found out that it comes with a pair of optional straps that go over the top of the head like a baseball cap. I wish I'd used those from the beginning.
While we're talking caveats, you should also probably know that the HoloLens has a meager 2 to 3 hours of battery life, and it won't work nearly as well outdoors. In dim rooms, the holograms feel like they've got some substance, but in bright light they'd appear ghostly.

But it's still amazing

Have you watched our video yet, the one at the top of this post?
Regardless of the technology's current limitations, it blows my mind that a completely wireless headset can do what this one does.
Microsoft's not trying to hide the HoloLens's current flaws. The company knows the technology isn't ready, and it sounds like Microsoft won't set a price or release date for a consumer version until it's a product that people will actually want to use.
The just-released Oculus Rift virtual-reality headset had two developer kits before it became a real product. I spent plenty of time with each, and they had lots of flaws as well. It was hard to wear the first one for long without feeling sick. Both the software and the hardware needed years to mature -- but the potential was there from day one.
The HoloLens feels like it could have the same potential. I can't wait to see if it pans out.

Dell XPS 13 (2016, Gold Edition)

Picking the perfect portable laptop can be a trying task for both head and heart (and wallet). Some sentimental longtime favorites, such as the 13-inch MacBook Air, are still good general-purpose laptops, but with each year that goes by, the design gets older, and features fail to keep up with the times. Slick hybrids like the Lenovo Yoga 900 are powerful, slim, and play at the tablet game, too, but you'll pay for the privilege of folding the screen all the way back. Even the new Razer Blade Stealth manages to nail a lot of functionality for a decent price, but the gamer-centric design skews toward Call of Duty players.
Shoppers are stuck between choosing based on price, features, or design -- and generally speaking, settling on two out of those three is the best one can hope for. The Dell XPS 13 came close to nailing the perfect formula last year, with an eye-catching barely there screen bezel, decent power, and a sub-$1,000 starting price in the US. But, that entry-level model skipped the touch screen, a must-have feature for a premium Windows laptop (while the more expensive touchscreen model also had less battery life).

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Sarah Tew/CNET

Despite this, the XPS 13 became one of our favorite 13-inch class laptops, and the recent 15-inch version (naturally called the XPS 15) impressed with its own large screen and minimal bezel.
Rather than continuing to try squeezing out features to hit a more mainstream price, the latest version of the XPS 13 takes a more premium approach. The processor is a current-gen Intel Core i7, paired with 8GB of RAM and a big 256GB of solid-state storage. The touchscreen display has a very high 3,200x1,800-pixel native resolution, and the same very narrow bezel (Dell calls it the Infinity Display) that made last year's original such a standout. Graphics get an upgrade, too, adding the Intel Iris GPU, which isn't as good as having a discrete graphics card from Nvidia or AMD, but is a big step up from standard laptop fare.
Finally, as if to drive home all the premium features and upgrades, the aluminum outer shell is now gold-colored. And it's got a price to match, topping out the XPS 13 line at $1,649 in the US.

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Sarah Tew/CNET

Yes, it's a premium price (for example, we've even seen some Oculus Rift-ready gaming desktops for less), but the gold XPS 13 has a great design, a fantastic keyboard, and even more than one year later, no one else has come close to matching the striking no-bezel look. If it's just too expensive, dropping the gold design, downgrading to a Core i5 CPU and losing the Iris graphics gets you down to a much more reasonable $1,399 configuration.

Dell XPS 13 (Gold Edition)

Price as reviewed	$1,649
Display size/resolution	13-inch 3,200 x 1,800 touchscreen
PC CPU	2.2Ghz Intel Core i7-6560U
PC memory	8GB DDR3 SDRAM 1,600MHz
Graphics	128MB Intel Iris Graphics 540
Storage	256GB SSD
Networking	802.11ac wireless, Bluetooth 4.0
Operating system	Windows 10 Home (64-bit)

Going for the gold

While the gold chassis is a selling point, the look is actually rather muted in person. It's gold-ish, rather than bright and in your face. It's also not the first time we've seen this in a laptop, as gold hues are available as an option in the Apple MacBook and LG Gram, although it's still rare. Still, it's a nice break from the usual silver/gray look of most laptops, just don't expect it to read as especially bling-y.
Color aside, this new update doesn't stray much from the original. It's still a wedge-shaped laptop with a wide touchpad and generous keyboard, with enough ports and connections to keep most users happy. New is a USB-C port, used for data and video, but not power (other systems such as the 12-inch Apple MacBook and Razer Blade Stealth also use USB-C for power).

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Just as it the original XPS 13 did, this system has a relatively small footprint -- largely because there's no thick border around the display. The end result is that the XPS 13 has smaller dimensions than a MacBook Air, Lenovo Yoga 900 or Microsoft Surface Book, while weighing just about the same, 2.8 pounds (1.27kg) in this case. That makes the XPS 13 feel a little heavy when picked up, because you're packing the same weight into a smaller volume of space. Plus, recent lightweight laptops such as the Razer Blade Stealth and Lenovo LaVie have really spoiled me when it comes to laptop weight.


Shop Now   $1,649.99

Introducing VR Day at TechNet HQ

If we've learned anything from the launch of the Oculus Rift this week, it's that people are excited about virtual reality -- and the potential of VR in general. Will it change lives? Is it just for gaming? Is it just the biggest ViewMaster the world's ever seen? Or is it just one big nerdgasm? That's still TBD.
But at CNET we serve the community's needs by helping you figure out how technology fits into your current -- and future -- lives, and we have been for more than 20 years. And since VR is one of those things you really have to experience firsthand, we had an idea. Let's open our doors, gather up all of the VR gear we can find, and let you, our community, come try it out!
From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. PT, next Wednesday, April 6, at CNET's San Francisco headquarters we're having a VR Day. Anyone is welcome to attend (it's free!), but you must sign-up to get an e-ticket in advance (tickets are very limited).
Don't miss out on this opportunity to go hands on (eyes on?) with the Oculus Rift, Samsung Gear VR and HTC Vive. We'll have some games and other VR experiences ready for you. Plus you'll get to meet CNET staff and editors and ask your most burning tech questions in person. We'll also have some fun giveaways at the event.
So sign up now!
If you are NOT in the Bay Area, you can fill out this form to let us know you'd like an event like this in your area. If there's enough interest and excitement, we'll try to rinse and repeat as much as we can. Can't wait to meet you!

Your Google Wallet card is about to die. Here's what you need to know

Google is shutting down its Wallet Cards, the physical debit cards for Google Wallet accounts. The debit cards let Wallet users spend money from their Wallet account when shopping at a retailer that doesn't support contactless NFC payments.

When does support for Wallet Cards end?

Wallet Cards will stop working on June 30, 2016 and you will not be able to add money (including any recurring transfers) to your Google Wallet account after May 1, 2016.

What will happen to my Wallet Card?

Your Google Wallet account will remain, but after June 30 you will only be able to use it to make Google Play purchases as a peer-to-peer payment service to send and receive money from friends. If you created a Google Wallet account for the sole purpose of using a Wallet Card, you can transfer your Wallet balance to your bank account at anytime.
For those who set up Android Pay with a Wallet Card, you will need to add another card to Android Pay before June 30. Same goes for any automatic payments you make with your Wallet Card -- you'll need to pick a new card for those payments before June 30.

Wallet Card alternatives

If you live in an area slow to adopt NFC mobile payments and want a similar card to your soon-to-be-deactivated Wallet Card, Google suggests the American Express Serve card or the Simple Visa card.
With the Amex Serve card, you'll earn 1 percent cash back on purchases, but pay a $5.95 monthly fee (unless you live in New York, Texas or Vermont). And for Wallet Card users, Amex will give you $20 after your third direct deposit of $500 or more. There are no fees with the Simple Visa card, and Wallet Card owners will get $20 just for opening a Simple account.

Shootout: 2016 Audi S7 vs. 2016 Tesla Model S 90D

Gasoline versus electric, the old world versus the new -- these primal conflicts play out in the automotive landscape of today. Perfectly embodying each side of this struggle sit the Audi S7 and the Tesla Model S 90D.
Tesla represents the future, a window into how the average driver will experience the road in five or 10 years. Its Model S eschews legacy, automatically turning on when you get in. A 4G/LTE data connection comes standard, connecting the car to Tesla for periodic software updates and letting drivers navigate with Google maps, listen to Internet-based radio stations and even browse the Web. Favoring a giant touchscreen in the cabin, the dashboard is essentially bare of buttons.
Audi still builds engines that burn fossil fuel, but the company brings cutting edge engineering to the S7. This car's twin turbocharged V-8 and seven-speed dual clutch transmission strive for maximum efficiency and power. Its cabin shows old-world automotive craftsmanship, using diamond-pattern leather covering seats that embrace the driver. Carbon fiber trim elements work as a modern sign of performance.

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The Audi S7 and Tesla Model S 90D not only come in similar four-door hatchback body styles, they match up in both performance and price. Wayne Cunningham/Roadshow

Despite these differences, the Tesla Model S 90D and Audi S7 bear striking similarities. Both add a hatchback for increased cargo versatility to their sleek, four-door sedan bodies. The S7 includes Audi's Quattro all-wheel-drive system while the Model S 90D gains all-wheel drive with two electric motors. Automatically adjusting air suspension lends to ride comfort and handling performance in both cars.
The S7 even matches the Model S 90D with its own 4G/LTE data connection, and also shows Google-derived maps in its navigation system.
The Audi has two siblings, the A7 and RS7, while the Model S can be had as the lesser 70D or more aggressive P90D Plus. We chose the S7 and Model S 90D partially due to how well they match up in price. The S7 starts at about $83,000 while the Model S 90D goes for $88,000. Add in options, and both cars we tested come to around $95,000.
Pitting the S7 and Model S 90D against each other, we considered how it would be to live with each as a daily driver, how they handled on a race track, and the pure acceleration of a drag race.

Road-worthy

Where the S7 makes you hit a start button to fire up the engine, the Model S 90D exhibits its future-forward style by readying itself to go as soon as you enter the car. And lacking a transmission tunnel, the Model S cabin feels light and airy, offering elbow room and little barrier between the driver and passengers. The S7 may have premium cabin appointments, but its seats feel a little more cramped, cocooning you among its controls and trim.

Game over: Betting sites sack college fantasy sports

The bets are off for fantasy college sports.
A deal between the National Collegiate Athletic Association and two online fantasy-sports giants, DraftKings and FanDuel, suspends betting on fantasy college sports indefinitely. All college contests will cease after the college basketball games played this week, ESPN reported Thursday.
The agreement resolves months of discussion that involved not only the NCAA and betting companies but also member schools and state legislatures.
Fantasy sports are a popular online activity, letting people create their own teams that succeed or fail based on the real-world performance of players in college or professional leagues. But many states still haven't ruled whether it's legal to wager money on college fantasy sports.
That makes fantasy gaming just the latest Internet-era idea that doesn't quite fit into the older system of laws and conventions. We've also had to wrangle with muddy areas like online bullying, how search engines affect your reputation, teenagers sending nude selfies to one another, taxes on e-commerce and privacy for consumers visiting websites.
The central point of contention in this case: Are fantasy sports contests actually gambling? Daily fantasy sports sites argue that their contests are a game of skill. The NCAA, opposed to all forms of sports betting, disagrees.
The fantasy sites point to progress with laws that provide a framework for the activity. "We continue to see tremendous support for fantasy sports in legislatures across the country, with nearly 30 states advancing thoughtful and appropriate regulations for fantasy play," DraftKings said in a statement.
For its part, the NCAA "appreciates and commends DraftKings and FanDuel's action" to put a halt to their contests, President Mark Emmert said in a statement Thursday. "This action culminates months of hard work between all parties to reach a place that is good for amateur sports and most importantly, the young people who participate."