WWE WrestleMania XXXIV- General Discussion Thread
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Wow, the worst Wrestlemania I've seen since I'm a Wrestling fan...
The Preshow was actually good, with Cedric, Matt Hardy and Naomi winning.
ATGMBR: Shocking Wyatt return, nice to see them teaming for a while.
CWC Final: It should have been in the Main Card. Without the IC match, my fav of the night...
WBR: Naomi won it, but Sasha vs Bayley is the obvious feud to look forward.
*Note: No CW division rather than the Final, I was the only who notice it? And Aiden shaved his hair between his and Rusev match.
The Main Show, wasn't that good... I have more complains about the order of the matches and how they where booked, rather than the results.
IC Triple Threat: Match of the Night. Really strong, protected Demon Balor, Seth looked savage at the end, Miz all over his character... Love it.
SD Women's: First things first, why was so early? It was a short match, a really bad end of Asuka streak, maybe as random as was Charlotte's PPV streak. Put them at the end, before the Main Event, make the women shine. They were able to do that.
US Fatal 4-Way:Cool match, a good mid-card match, I was hoping to see Rusev win, Jinder should be really good backstage to make it again. It seems like he is Orton's kryptonite. I'm looking forward for them, hopefully Randy is gonna win to even the score.
Kurt&Ronda vs Steph&HHH:Good match for being Ronda's first ever, and Kurt actually looks a lot better in the ring.
SD Tag Team Triple Threat: So short, so easy for the BB. The Usos and New Day looked so weak. They are destroying both divisions...
Cena vs 'Taker: Taker looked so good in the match. The angle was really good, the storyline was great, even we can expect Cena to interfere in some match... I hope he stills run for a while more, and Cena really make it look cooler despite of the lenght.
Owens&Zayn vs Shane&Bryan: Even I have to say I was expecting a heel turn or a double turn, it was a good match, not great, not conclusive, and that was what should have been if the result was gonna be that.
RAW Women's: Why this was here and not Charlotte vs Asuka? We have the Carmella factor running wild all the match, Nia looking dominant and Alexa being sneaky. Nothing special...
WWE Championship: (I was the only who saw the fail WWE Universal Champion, AJ Styles ?) Not the dream match like in NJPW, but in WWE, that match is probably happening more, so don't burn that bridge so fast. Loved Nakamura heel turn, as the "Artist" gimnick is so bad.
RAW Tag Team:No return, no debut, nothing. Braun is better than all the tag division? That makes it so weak... Sheamus is a World Champion, damn it! It was a PG moment and NOT a Wrestlemania moment.
WWE Universal Championship: Good match, shocked Roman is 0-2 on Brock. Hoping to see who dethrones him, as all the obvious options are gone now...
The Preshow was actually good, with Cedric, Matt Hardy and Naomi winning.
ATGMBR: Shocking Wyatt return, nice to see them teaming for a while.
CWC Final: It should have been in the Main Card. Without the IC match, my fav of the night...
WBR: Naomi won it, but Sasha vs Bayley is the obvious feud to look forward.
*Note: No CW division rather than the Final, I was the only who notice it? And Aiden shaved his hair between his and Rusev match.
The Main Show, wasn't that good... I have more complains about the order of the matches and how they where booked, rather than the results.
IC Triple Threat: Match of the Night. Really strong, protected Demon Balor, Seth looked savage at the end, Miz all over his character... Love it.
SD Women's: First things first, why was so early? It was a short match, a really bad end of Asuka streak, maybe as random as was Charlotte's PPV streak. Put them at the end, before the Main Event, make the women shine. They were able to do that.
US Fatal 4-Way:Cool match, a good mid-card match, I was hoping to see Rusev win, Jinder should be really good backstage to make it again. It seems like he is Orton's kryptonite. I'm looking forward for them, hopefully Randy is gonna win to even the score.
Kurt&Ronda vs Steph&HHH:Good match for being Ronda's first ever, and Kurt actually looks a lot better in the ring.
SD Tag Team Triple Threat: So short, so easy for the BB. The Usos and New Day looked so weak. They are destroying both divisions...
Cena vs 'Taker: Taker looked so good in the match. The angle was really good, the storyline was great, even we can expect Cena to interfere in some match... I hope he stills run for a while more, and Cena really make it look cooler despite of the lenght.
Owens&Zayn vs Shane&Bryan: Even I have to say I was expecting a heel turn or a double turn, it was a good match, not great, not conclusive, and that was what should have been if the result was gonna be that.
RAW Women's: Why this was here and not Charlotte vs Asuka? We have the Carmella factor running wild all the match, Nia looking dominant and Alexa being sneaky. Nothing special...
WWE Championship: (I was the only who saw the fail WWE Universal Champion, AJ Styles ?) Not the dream match like in NJPW, but in WWE, that match is probably happening more, so don't burn that bridge so fast. Loved Nakamura heel turn, as the "Artist" gimnick is so bad.
RAW Tag Team:No return, no debut, nothing. Braun is better than all the tag division? That makes it so weak... Sheamus is a World Champion, damn it! It was a PG moment and NOT a Wrestlemania moment.
WWE Universal Championship: Good match, shocked Roman is 0-2 on Brock. Hoping to see who dethrones him, as all the obvious options are gone now...
Sexcellence of Sexecution
#SwerveKing
Up front I'll start with what I say every year. WrestleMania is too long and it's impossible to sustain a crowd for 5 hours. But that aside.
This was a solid show that went off a fucking cliff in the main event. Just like Survivor Series.
The triple threat was the perfect hot opener, got the crowd fired up. Then Charlotte and Asuka killed it (in a good way) with probably the match of the night. That's 2 out of the last 3 Manias now where Charlotte has had the best match. Her match with Bayley and Sasha at 32, and now with Asuka at 34. Keep this up and she'll be Miss WrestleMania, and not the Santino Marella kind.
The Rousey match was a lot of fun, and the crowd was 100% into it so it worked. I liked Charlotte/Asuka a lot, and the fans were hot for it, but for the live crowd this was clearly the match fo the night. Ronda looked great, and they did the proper finish. Stephanie probably got too much offense in, but near the beginning when she was just hitting cheap shots for heat she was excellent. Not a fan of her somehow having a Jiu Jitsu game though. That was clearly just stupid vanity project nonsense and was embarassing to watch. If Ronda sticks with it I could see Ronda vs. Charlotte Flair for a Women's Title easily being one of the marquee matches at WrestleMania next year. Ronda was over as a babyface tonight, but in general she's not very likeable, and is kind of a piece of shit. So she's probably more suited to a Lesnar type heel role.
Speaking of fun, the Braun Strowman tag team partner segment was fucking awesome. People shitting on this are taking fake fighting way to seriously. You are the worst kind of wrestling fans. It was a handicap match, and the giant mosnter guy beat two guys at once. Simple. It doesn't bury Sheamus & Cesaro or the Tag Titles or whatever you idiots say. It puts over Strowman as unstoppable, and was a hilarious highlight for the show. The win will of course be removed from the record books on RAW because his partner was not of age to compete, and then Braun will have to find a new partner. Hopefully, this becomes his gimmick for a bit because it will get mega over. People will bring signs that say "pick me Braun" and it'll make him an even bigger babyface. They'll probably do the same thing on RAW tonight, but he'll pick a woman from the crowd and the win won't count again. THe people went crazy for this, it was one of the msot voer things on the show.
Styles and Nakamura was good, and was clearly the first part of a larger story. They didn't overdo the finishers and had a solid match. I figured Styles was going to win, but I did not predict the heel turn coming. That was a legit swerve and WrestleMania moment that sets up the rematch and will give Nakamura the added edge his WWE character needs. Most of his work in Japan he was a heel, and if they put him with paul Heyman as a mouthpiece on SmackDown it would be awesome. I expect Nakamura to win the rematch with Styles as a heel, then complete the trilogy possibly at next year's WrestleMania.
So Styles and Nakamura had a real wrestling match, and didn't overdo the finishing moves. Then we get to Reigns/Lesnar. Forget the fact that Reigns shooting on Lesnar was comletely counterproductive in the build and absolutely helped to kill this match, the fact is that Roman Reigns is never going to be cheered at WrestleMania ever. It felt like Nicholas was the road agent for this match and was jsut like "AND THEN! AND THEN! AND THEN HE KICKS OUT OF ANOTHER ONE!" All year, it took a single F5 for Lesnar to put guys away. Then Reigns kicks out of five of them. Go fuck yourselves. You can tell the same story with Reigns kicking out of one, maybe two, and then getting busted open earlier. It was just so stupid and became almost a parody of a WWE main event. Easily one of the worst handled main events in WrestleMania history. Impressive because their first match at Mania 31 was one of the best handled, best structred WrestleMania main events of all time. Lesnar winning means that it's going to be Bryan vs. Lesnar for the belt, probably at SummerSlam, which will be the ultimate David and Goliath match.
Overall a good show that left a sour taste in your mouth in the end and suffered because of it. Here's the lesson WWE needs to learn from this weekend: have a babyface and a heel. Seems pretty fucking straight forward. Look at all the best matches this weekend. Gargano vs. Ciampa in NXT had a true heel the fans all hated and a true babyface the fans all loved. And then the proper pay-off. That's how wrestling is most effective. In ROH you had Kenny vs. Cody, again a match the people were excited for and were into because it had a true babyface and a true heel. Even at WrestleMania, Triple H & Stephanie had fuck you heat and the people wanted Steph to get her arm broken. Now look at the big title matches for WrestleMania. Styles/Nakamura you had two babyfaes. Lesnar/Reigns you had essentially two heels, two guys getting booed. Wrestling is built on heat and comeback, you need a proper babyface/heel dynamic for that to work. Good babyface matches like Charlotte vs. Asuka are the exception to the rule, and the babyface mutual respect match is completely overdone in today's wrestling.
Also, Nia Jax should've squashed Alexa in like 2 or 3 minutes.
This was a solid show that went off a fucking cliff in the main event. Just like Survivor Series.
The triple threat was the perfect hot opener, got the crowd fired up. Then Charlotte and Asuka killed it (in a good way) with probably the match of the night. That's 2 out of the last 3 Manias now where Charlotte has had the best match. Her match with Bayley and Sasha at 32, and now with Asuka at 34. Keep this up and she'll be Miss WrestleMania, and not the Santino Marella kind.
The Rousey match was a lot of fun, and the crowd was 100% into it so it worked. I liked Charlotte/Asuka a lot, and the fans were hot for it, but for the live crowd this was clearly the match fo the night. Ronda looked great, and they did the proper finish. Stephanie probably got too much offense in, but near the beginning when she was just hitting cheap shots for heat she was excellent. Not a fan of her somehow having a Jiu Jitsu game though. That was clearly just stupid vanity project nonsense and was embarassing to watch. If Ronda sticks with it I could see Ronda vs. Charlotte Flair for a Women's Title easily being one of the marquee matches at WrestleMania next year. Ronda was over as a babyface tonight, but in general she's not very likeable, and is kind of a piece of shit. So she's probably more suited to a Lesnar type heel role.
Speaking of fun, the Braun Strowman tag team partner segment was fucking awesome. People shitting on this are taking fake fighting way to seriously. You are the worst kind of wrestling fans. It was a handicap match, and the giant mosnter guy beat two guys at once. Simple. It doesn't bury Sheamus & Cesaro or the Tag Titles or whatever you idiots say. It puts over Strowman as unstoppable, and was a hilarious highlight for the show. The win will of course be removed from the record books on RAW because his partner was not of age to compete, and then Braun will have to find a new partner. Hopefully, this becomes his gimmick for a bit because it will get mega over. People will bring signs that say "pick me Braun" and it'll make him an even bigger babyface. They'll probably do the same thing on RAW tonight, but he'll pick a woman from the crowd and the win won't count again. THe people went crazy for this, it was one of the msot voer things on the show.
Styles and Nakamura was good, and was clearly the first part of a larger story. They didn't overdo the finishers and had a solid match. I figured Styles was going to win, but I did not predict the heel turn coming. That was a legit swerve and WrestleMania moment that sets up the rematch and will give Nakamura the added edge his WWE character needs. Most of his work in Japan he was a heel, and if they put him with paul Heyman as a mouthpiece on SmackDown it would be awesome. I expect Nakamura to win the rematch with Styles as a heel, then complete the trilogy possibly at next year's WrestleMania.
So Styles and Nakamura had a real wrestling match, and didn't overdo the finishing moves. Then we get to Reigns/Lesnar. Forget the fact that Reigns shooting on Lesnar was comletely counterproductive in the build and absolutely helped to kill this match, the fact is that Roman Reigns is never going to be cheered at WrestleMania ever. It felt like Nicholas was the road agent for this match and was jsut like "AND THEN! AND THEN! AND THEN HE KICKS OUT OF ANOTHER ONE!" All year, it took a single F5 for Lesnar to put guys away. Then Reigns kicks out of five of them. Go fuck yourselves. You can tell the same story with Reigns kicking out of one, maybe two, and then getting busted open earlier. It was just so stupid and became almost a parody of a WWE main event. Easily one of the worst handled main events in WrestleMania history. Impressive because their first match at Mania 31 was one of the best handled, best structred WrestleMania main events of all time. Lesnar winning means that it's going to be Bryan vs. Lesnar for the belt, probably at SummerSlam, which will be the ultimate David and Goliath match.
Overall a good show that left a sour taste in your mouth in the end and suffered because of it. Here's the lesson WWE needs to learn from this weekend: have a babyface and a heel. Seems pretty fucking straight forward. Look at all the best matches this weekend. Gargano vs. Ciampa in NXT had a true heel the fans all hated and a true babyface the fans all loved. And then the proper pay-off. That's how wrestling is most effective. In ROH you had Kenny vs. Cody, again a match the people were excited for and were into because it had a true babyface and a true heel. Even at WrestleMania, Triple H & Stephanie had fuck you heat and the people wanted Steph to get her arm broken. Now look at the big title matches for WrestleMania. Styles/Nakamura you had two babyfaes. Lesnar/Reigns you had essentially two heels, two guys getting booed. Wrestling is built on heat and comeback, you need a proper babyface/heel dynamic for that to work. Good babyface matches like Charlotte vs. Asuka are the exception to the rule, and the babyface mutual respect match is completely overdone in today's wrestling.
Also, Nia Jax should've squashed Alexa in like 2 or 3 minutes.
George Steele's Barber
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Show was bordering on being the most enjoyable WM's of all time before the last two main events.
I don't know what they do with Rousey from here but she stole the show. That was such a well booked and executed match that it could have been the mainest main event on the card and I would have not batted an eye. Stephanie was incredible in her role, she is clearly taking time away from the camera like last year. HHH was terrific, Angle didn't seem out of place for a second. Definitely his best performance since his return. But Rousey was the star. She hit her marks, told a good story and none of the discomfort that we've grown accustomed to showed once she came out.
Other than that most of the show delivered. The opener was slower than I expected but still highly enjoyable. Miz kept up just fine as Rollins continues his to be a guy who just goes out and puts on a good show. Charlotte and Asuka was terrific. It could have headlined its own PPV. Nia and Bliss was a very good story. They got more time than I expected and delivered a strong outing. The SD tag match was fun. I enjoyed the pancake thing. My kid thought it was great. He has never seen a little person before so that took some explaining.
Speaking of kids, I don't know why people are so upset about Braun. He basically fulfilled the dream of so many kids that ever watched pro wrestling. That was wonderful.
I will admit though that UT/Cena was terrible. UT looked good for the most part but that was the only nice thing about it. The rest was just bad. Really bad. That boot four inches from Cena's chin was a travesty but that was far from the only problem. I hope this is leading to something bigger for Cena or at least something different. Maybe him and Roman can join forces as heels. They have a similar story to tell. Nah, Cena probably will be too busy promoting other stuff.
US Title match was fine. I wasn't much invested in the match to begin with.
The main events were what they were. AJ and Nak wasn't bad, it just didn't meet my expectation. Clearly the point was to finally give them a proper feud in the near future as opposed to what they have been doing for the the past two months. Lesnar and Reigns was also fine but I was tuned out. I just struggle so much to enjoy Roman. I didn't need the blood at all.
Forgot to mention how great it is to have DB back.
I don't know what they do with Rousey from here but she stole the show. That was such a well booked and executed match that it could have been the mainest main event on the card and I would have not batted an eye. Stephanie was incredible in her role, she is clearly taking time away from the camera like last year. HHH was terrific, Angle didn't seem out of place for a second. Definitely his best performance since his return. But Rousey was the star. She hit her marks, told a good story and none of the discomfort that we've grown accustomed to showed once she came out.
Other than that most of the show delivered. The opener was slower than I expected but still highly enjoyable. Miz kept up just fine as Rollins continues his to be a guy who just goes out and puts on a good show. Charlotte and Asuka was terrific. It could have headlined its own PPV. Nia and Bliss was a very good story. They got more time than I expected and delivered a strong outing. The SD tag match was fun. I enjoyed the pancake thing. My kid thought it was great. He has never seen a little person before so that took some explaining.
Speaking of kids, I don't know why people are so upset about Braun. He basically fulfilled the dream of so many kids that ever watched pro wrestling. That was wonderful.
I will admit though that UT/Cena was terrible. UT looked good for the most part but that was the only nice thing about it. The rest was just bad. Really bad. That boot four inches from Cena's chin was a travesty but that was far from the only problem. I hope this is leading to something bigger for Cena or at least something different. Maybe him and Roman can join forces as heels. They have a similar story to tell. Nah, Cena probably will be too busy promoting other stuff.
US Title match was fine. I wasn't much invested in the match to begin with.
The main events were what they were. AJ and Nak wasn't bad, it just didn't meet my expectation. Clearly the point was to finally give them a proper feud in the near future as opposed to what they have been doing for the the past two months. Lesnar and Reigns was also fine but I was tuned out. I just struggle so much to enjoy Roman. I didn't need the blood at all.
Forgot to mention how great it is to have DB back.
d_henderson1810
Mid-Card Championship Winner
My thoughts on Wrestlemania:-
Andre Battle Royal:- Gee, Mojo and Baron Corbin have really come on since winning this match (oh no they didn't, Mojo was in this match last year, and Corbin was in the Kickoff match last year now back on another kick-off match this year. That's upward progress
- I liked Matt winning and Bray helping him.
Mustafa Ali v Cedric Alexander- I would have been happy with either result.
Women's Battle Royal:- NOT the first Women's Battle Royal at WM (WM 25 has that honor) but at least a man in drag didn't win it this time. I think that either Sasha or Bayley should have won instead of Naomi. But this match did little for Becky Lynch.
Also, notice how Becky, Sasha and Bayley got their own entrances, but the others all came out together. Seperating the wheat from the chaff.
Main show
I am not familiar with the girls who sung "America The Beautiful" but they were pretty good.
WWE IC Title Match:- Happy no matter who won. I just hope that they don't turn Miz face because he is a doting father now.
SD Women's Title:- I thought that people here would be pissed off that Asuka lost the Streak. Two Streaks ended at two New Orleans WMs.
Also, I was convinced that Asuka would keep the Streak, they would have Ronda Rousey have a winning streak too, and then have them fight - Streak v Streak, and have Rousey beat Asuka.
I also thought that Carmella may cash in here, but she didn't.
WWE U.S. Title Match- What a year Jinder Mahal had. He should have won the Andre Battle Royal last year, then it would have meant something.
I am surprised that Rusev didn't win, since I thought including him in the match last was because they decided to put the belt on him, and because he and "Rusev Day" are really over at the moment.
Angle/Rousey v Triple H/Steph- I didn't know what to make of this match going in, but it was far better than I thought, especially the performance by Rousey and Stephanie.
Do you know that this is Stephanie McMahon's first ever Wrestlemania match?
This is MOTN and MOTY so far.
-The Bludgeon Brothers v New Day v Usos- Good to see Usos get on the main card at WM for once (it should have happened before now).
I knew that BB would win the belts.
-Undertaker v John Cena- Strange build-up and short match. But while some are scratching their heads about this, I might have a guess where this will lead to.
John Cena v Undertaker II -Wrestlemania 35.
I think it will be like Rock-Cena at WM27. Sometime in the next year, this match will be announced early, and it will be promoted a lot more.
Taker might be headlining the HoF next year, so I can them having at WM35 a Career v Career Match with Cena, Taker loses and retires.
If this leads to nothing, I will be very upset.
Nia Jax v Alexa Bliss- My brother pointed out that it is hard to believe that Bliss is such a bully to Nia, since Nia could crush her easily. He sees Nia more as a believable bully.
Bryan/Shane 'O Mac v Owens/Zayn- Good to see Daniel Bryan back. I knew that Shane would take the beating, and Bryan would get the hot tag. I tip that Owens and Zayn will jump to RAW tomorrow night, and hopefully beat Strowman and child for the RAW Tag-Team belts. The Draft Lottery can't come soon enough.
A.J. Styles v Shinsuke Nakamura- I knew that Nakamura would get live entrance music. Good match. Bit surprised that Nakamura went heel, since he is still cheered.
Braun Strowman and random child v The Bar- One of the most ridiculous, stupid, inane things I have ever seen. Now, I don't blame the kid, as it would be a thrill for him or her (get your hair cut).
But Strowman is one of the most over guys in the company, and the Bar had some MOTY candidate matches last year. Yet they and the belts are relegated to this.
I was tipping people like Chris Jericho returning, Rey Mysterio, even Alberto Del Rio (since he just left Impact. Or maybe some guy being brought up from NXT, or ROH, or Japan.
When Braun went into the crowd, I expected that he would came back with a big, burly guy, who then becomes a wrestler, like how Hillbilly Jim or Earthquake first got introduced.
But NOOOOOOO! They do something stupid like this.
I would have stuck Braun in the main event and make it a Triple-Threat, and Braun wins the Universal Title, to take it off Brock and keep it off Roman.
Maybe the Bar should have fought The Club v The Miztoruage v Titus International in a Fatal-4-Way. It couldn't be worse than this.
Whoever came up with this idea, to quote someone I thought would be Braun's partner:- "You stupid idiot! YOU'RE ON THE LIST!"
Brock v Roman- I don't get it. If Brock is leaving, why didn't the title change?
The only three explanations I can think of are:-
-Brock re-signed a new contract (which means that we have to put up with his bullshit absentee title reigns for more years).
-Roman is so unpopular that they didn't want to send the fans home unhappy (so then, how about instead putting Angle/Rousey v Triple H/Steph or Cena v Taker on last instead?)
-Roman got a concussion when he got opened up, and couldn't legitimately continue the match (again, like Summerslam a couple of years ago against Orton, ending the match prematurely because Brock works stiff and doesn't care about hurting talent).
Also, I HATED the staging this year. It looked ugly, and I am not a fan of indoor Wrestlemanias, and what was with the blue lighting on the crowd all night?
Overall, it started well, and I liked the first four matches, but then only DB/Shane v Owens/Sami and A.J. v Shinsuke after that. The other matches were forgettable, a bit dull, and the RAW Tag-Team Match was unforgivable.
Interested to see where they go with these angles going forward.
Andre Battle Royal:- Gee, Mojo and Baron Corbin have really come on since winning this match (oh no they didn't, Mojo was in this match last year, and Corbin was in the Kickoff match last year now back on another kick-off match this year. That's upward progress
- I liked Matt winning and Bray helping him.
Mustafa Ali v Cedric Alexander- I would have been happy with either result.
Women's Battle Royal:- NOT the first Women's Battle Royal at WM (WM 25 has that honor) but at least a man in drag didn't win it this time. I think that either Sasha or Bayley should have won instead of Naomi. But this match did little for Becky Lynch.
Also, notice how Becky, Sasha and Bayley got their own entrances, but the others all came out together. Seperating the wheat from the chaff.
Main show
I am not familiar with the girls who sung "America The Beautiful" but they were pretty good.
WWE IC Title Match:- Happy no matter who won. I just hope that they don't turn Miz face because he is a doting father now.
SD Women's Title:- I thought that people here would be pissed off that Asuka lost the Streak. Two Streaks ended at two New Orleans WMs.
Also, I was convinced that Asuka would keep the Streak, they would have Ronda Rousey have a winning streak too, and then have them fight - Streak v Streak, and have Rousey beat Asuka.
I also thought that Carmella may cash in here, but she didn't.
WWE U.S. Title Match- What a year Jinder Mahal had. He should have won the Andre Battle Royal last year, then it would have meant something.
I am surprised that Rusev didn't win, since I thought including him in the match last was because they decided to put the belt on him, and because he and "Rusev Day" are really over at the moment.
Angle/Rousey v Triple H/Steph- I didn't know what to make of this match going in, but it was far better than I thought, especially the performance by Rousey and Stephanie.
Do you know that this is Stephanie McMahon's first ever Wrestlemania match?
This is MOTN and MOTY so far.
-The Bludgeon Brothers v New Day v Usos- Good to see Usos get on the main card at WM for once (it should have happened before now).
I knew that BB would win the belts.
-Undertaker v John Cena- Strange build-up and short match. But while some are scratching their heads about this, I might have a guess where this will lead to.
John Cena v Undertaker II -Wrestlemania 35.
I think it will be like Rock-Cena at WM27. Sometime in the next year, this match will be announced early, and it will be promoted a lot more.
Taker might be headlining the HoF next year, so I can them having at WM35 a Career v Career Match with Cena, Taker loses and retires.
If this leads to nothing, I will be very upset.
Nia Jax v Alexa Bliss- My brother pointed out that it is hard to believe that Bliss is such a bully to Nia, since Nia could crush her easily. He sees Nia more as a believable bully.
Bryan/Shane 'O Mac v Owens/Zayn- Good to see Daniel Bryan back. I knew that Shane would take the beating, and Bryan would get the hot tag. I tip that Owens and Zayn will jump to RAW tomorrow night, and hopefully beat Strowman and child for the RAW Tag-Team belts. The Draft Lottery can't come soon enough.
A.J. Styles v Shinsuke Nakamura- I knew that Nakamura would get live entrance music. Good match. Bit surprised that Nakamura went heel, since he is still cheered.
Braun Strowman and random child v The Bar- One of the most ridiculous, stupid, inane things I have ever seen. Now, I don't blame the kid, as it would be a thrill for him or her (get your hair cut).
But Strowman is one of the most over guys in the company, and the Bar had some MOTY candidate matches last year. Yet they and the belts are relegated to this.
I was tipping people like Chris Jericho returning, Rey Mysterio, even Alberto Del Rio (since he just left Impact. Or maybe some guy being brought up from NXT, or ROH, or Japan.
When Braun went into the crowd, I expected that he would came back with a big, burly guy, who then becomes a wrestler, like how Hillbilly Jim or Earthquake first got introduced.
But NOOOOOOO! They do something stupid like this.
I would have stuck Braun in the main event and make it a Triple-Threat, and Braun wins the Universal Title, to take it off Brock and keep it off Roman.
Maybe the Bar should have fought The Club v The Miztoruage v Titus International in a Fatal-4-Way. It couldn't be worse than this.
Whoever came up with this idea, to quote someone I thought would be Braun's partner:- "You stupid idiot! YOU'RE ON THE LIST!"
Brock v Roman- I don't get it. If Brock is leaving, why didn't the title change?
The only three explanations I can think of are:-
-Brock re-signed a new contract (which means that we have to put up with his bullshit absentee title reigns for more years).
-Roman is so unpopular that they didn't want to send the fans home unhappy (so then, how about instead putting Angle/Rousey v Triple H/Steph or Cena v Taker on last instead?)
-Roman got a concussion when he got opened up, and couldn't legitimately continue the match (again, like Summerslam a couple of years ago against Orton, ending the match prematurely because Brock works stiff and doesn't care about hurting talent).
Also, I HATED the staging this year. It looked ugly, and I am not a fan of indoor Wrestlemanias, and what was with the blue lighting on the crowd all night?
Overall, it started well, and I liked the first four matches, but then only DB/Shane v Owens/Sami and A.J. v Shinsuke after that. The other matches were forgettable, a bit dull, and the RAW Tag-Team Match was unforgivable.
Interested to see where they go with these angles going forward.
d_henderson1810
Mid-Card Championship Winner
My thoughts on Wrestlemania:-
Andre Battle Royal:- Gee, Mojo and Baron Corbin have really come on since winning this match (oh no they didn't, Mojo was in this match last year, and Corbin was in the Kickoff match last year now back on another kick-off match this year). That's upward progress
- I liked Matt winning and Bray helping him.
Mustafa Ali v Cedric Alexander- I would have been happy with either result.
Women's Battle Royal:- NOT the first Women's Battle Royal at WM (WM 25 has that honor) but at least a man in drag didn't win it this time. I think that either Sasha or Bayley should have won instead of Naomi. But this match did little for Becky Lynch.
Also, notice how Becky, Sasha and Bayley got their own entrances, but the others all came out together. Seperating the wheat from the chaff.
Main show
I am not familiar with the girls who sung "America The Beautiful" but they were pretty good.
WWE IC Title Match:- Happy no matter who won. I just hope that they don't turn Miz face because he is a doting father now.
SD Women's Title:- I thought that people here would be pissed off that Asuka lost the Streak. Two Streaks ended at two New Orleans WMs.
Also, I was convinced that Asuka would keep the Streak, they would have Ronda Rousey have a winning streak too, and then have them fight - Streak v Streak, and have Rousey beat Asuka next year at WM.
I also thought that Carmella may cash in here, but she didn't.
WWE U.S. Title Match- What a year Jinder Mahal had. He should have won the Andre Battle Royal last year, then it would have meant something.
I am surprised that Rusev didn't win, since I thought including him in the match last was because they decided to put the belt on him, and because he and "Rusev Day" are really over at the moment.
Angle/Rousey v Triple H/Steph- I didn't know what to make of this match going in, but it was far better than I thought, especially the performance by Rousey and Stephanie.
Do you know that this is Stephanie McMahon's first ever Wrestlemania match?
This is MOTN and MOTY so far.
-The Bludgeon Brothers v New Day v Usos- Good to see Usos get on the main card at WM for once (it should have happened before now).
I knew that BB would win the belts.
-Undertaker v John Cena- Strange build-up and short match. But while some are scratching their heads about this, I might have a guess where this will lead to.
John Cena v Undertaker II -Wrestlemania 35.
I think it will be like Rock-Cena at WM27. Sometime in the next year, this match will be announced early, and it will be promoted a lot more.
Taker might be headlining the HoF next year, so I can them having at WM35 a Career v Career Match with Cena, Taker loses and retires.
If this leads to nothing, I will be very upset.
Nia Jax v Alexa Bliss- My brother pointed out that it is hard to believe that Bliss is such a bully to Nia, since Nia could crush her easily. He sees Nia more as a believable bully.
Bryan/Shane 'O Mac v Owens/Zayn- Good to see Daniel Bryan back. I knew that Shane would take the beating, and Bryan would get the hot tag. I tip that Owens and Zayn will jump to RAW tomorrow night, and hopefully beat Strowman and child for the RAW Tag-Team belts. The Draft Lottery can't come soon enough.
A.J. Styles v Shinsuke Nakamura- I knew that Nakamura would get live entrance music. Good match. Bit surprised that Nakamura went heel, since he is still cheered.
Braun Strowman and random child v The Bar- One of the most ridiculous, stupid, inane things I have ever seen. Now, I don't blame the kid, as it would be a thrill for him or her (get your hair cut).
But Strowman is one of the most over guys in the company, and the Bar had some MOTY candidate matches last year. Yet they and the belts are relegated to this.
I was tipping people like Chris Jericho returning, Rey Mysterio, even Alberto Del Rio (since he just left Impact. Or maybe some guy being brought up from NXT, or ROH, or Japan) being Braun's surprise partner.
When Braun went into the crowd, I expected that he would came back with a big, burly guy, who then becomes a wrestler, like how Hillbilly Jim or Earthquake first got introduced.
But NOOOOOOO! They do something stupid like this.
I would have stuck Braun in the main event and make it a Triple-Threat, and Braun wins the Universal Title, to take it off Brock and keep it off Roman.
Maybe the Bar should have fought The Club v The Miztoruage v Titus International in a Fatal-4-Way. It couldn't be worse than this.
Whoever came up with this idea, to quote someone I thought would be Braun's partner:- "You stupid idiot! YOU'RE ON THE LIST!"
Brock v Roman- I don't get it. If Brock is leaving, why didn't the title change?
The only three explanations I can think of are:-
-Brock re-signed a new contract (which means that we have to put up with his bullshit absentee title reigns for more years).
-Roman is so unpopular that they didn't want to send the fans home unhappy (so then, how about instead putting Angle/Rousey v Triple H/Steph or Cena v Taker on last instead?)
-Roman got a concussion when he got opened up, and couldn't legitimately continue the match (again, like Summerslam a couple of years ago against Orton, ending the match prematurely because Brock works stiff and doesn't care about hurting talent).
Also, I HATED the staging this year. It looked ugly, and I am not a fan of indoor Wrestlemanias, and what was with the blue lighting on the crowd all night?
Overall, it started well, and I liked the first four matches, but then only DB/Shane v Owens/Sami and A.J. v Shinsuke after that. The other matches were forgettable, a bit dull, and the RAW Tag-Team Match was unforgivable.
Interested to see where they go with these angles going forward.
Best Match:- Kurt Angle & Ronda Rousey v Triple H & Stephanie McMahon
Worst Match:- RAW Tag-Team Title Match (and it hurts me to say that, since the Bar have many MOTN performances, but this was such a stupid way to go).
Andre Battle Royal:- Gee, Mojo and Baron Corbin have really come on since winning this match (oh no they didn't, Mojo was in this match last year, and Corbin was in the Kickoff match last year now back on another kick-off match this year). That's upward progress
- I liked Matt winning and Bray helping him.
Mustafa Ali v Cedric Alexander- I would have been happy with either result.
Women's Battle Royal:- NOT the first Women's Battle Royal at WM (WM 25 has that honor) but at least a man in drag didn't win it this time. I think that either Sasha or Bayley should have won instead of Naomi. But this match did little for Becky Lynch.
Also, notice how Becky, Sasha and Bayley got their own entrances, but the others all came out together. Seperating the wheat from the chaff.
Main show
I am not familiar with the girls who sung "America The Beautiful" but they were pretty good.
WWE IC Title Match:- Happy no matter who won. I just hope that they don't turn Miz face because he is a doting father now.
SD Women's Title:- I thought that people here would be pissed off that Asuka lost the Streak. Two Streaks ended at two New Orleans WMs.
Also, I was convinced that Asuka would keep the Streak, they would have Ronda Rousey have a winning streak too, and then have them fight - Streak v Streak, and have Rousey beat Asuka next year at WM.
I also thought that Carmella may cash in here, but she didn't.
WWE U.S. Title Match- What a year Jinder Mahal had. He should have won the Andre Battle Royal last year, then it would have meant something.
I am surprised that Rusev didn't win, since I thought including him in the match last was because they decided to put the belt on him, and because he and "Rusev Day" are really over at the moment.
Angle/Rousey v Triple H/Steph- I didn't know what to make of this match going in, but it was far better than I thought, especially the performance by Rousey and Stephanie.
Do you know that this is Stephanie McMahon's first ever Wrestlemania match?
This is MOTN and MOTY so far.
-The Bludgeon Brothers v New Day v Usos- Good to see Usos get on the main card at WM for once (it should have happened before now).
I knew that BB would win the belts.
-Undertaker v John Cena- Strange build-up and short match. But while some are scratching their heads about this, I might have a guess where this will lead to.
John Cena v Undertaker II -Wrestlemania 35.
I think it will be like Rock-Cena at WM27. Sometime in the next year, this match will be announced early, and it will be promoted a lot more.
Taker might be headlining the HoF next year, so I can them having at WM35 a Career v Career Match with Cena, Taker loses and retires.
If this leads to nothing, I will be very upset.
Nia Jax v Alexa Bliss- My brother pointed out that it is hard to believe that Bliss is such a bully to Nia, since Nia could crush her easily. He sees Nia more as a believable bully.
Bryan/Shane 'O Mac v Owens/Zayn- Good to see Daniel Bryan back. I knew that Shane would take the beating, and Bryan would get the hot tag. I tip that Owens and Zayn will jump to RAW tomorrow night, and hopefully beat Strowman and child for the RAW Tag-Team belts. The Draft Lottery can't come soon enough.
A.J. Styles v Shinsuke Nakamura- I knew that Nakamura would get live entrance music. Good match. Bit surprised that Nakamura went heel, since he is still cheered.
Braun Strowman and random child v The Bar- One of the most ridiculous, stupid, inane things I have ever seen. Now, I don't blame the kid, as it would be a thrill for him or her (get your hair cut).
But Strowman is one of the most over guys in the company, and the Bar had some MOTY candidate matches last year. Yet they and the belts are relegated to this.
I was tipping people like Chris Jericho returning, Rey Mysterio, even Alberto Del Rio (since he just left Impact. Or maybe some guy being brought up from NXT, or ROH, or Japan) being Braun's surprise partner.
When Braun went into the crowd, I expected that he would came back with a big, burly guy, who then becomes a wrestler, like how Hillbilly Jim or Earthquake first got introduced.
But NOOOOOOO! They do something stupid like this.
I would have stuck Braun in the main event and make it a Triple-Threat, and Braun wins the Universal Title, to take it off Brock and keep it off Roman.
Maybe the Bar should have fought The Club v The Miztoruage v Titus International in a Fatal-4-Way. It couldn't be worse than this.
Whoever came up with this idea, to quote someone I thought would be Braun's partner:- "You stupid idiot! YOU'RE ON THE LIST!"
Brock v Roman- I don't get it. If Brock is leaving, why didn't the title change?
The only three explanations I can think of are:-
-Brock re-signed a new contract (which means that we have to put up with his bullshit absentee title reigns for more years).
-Roman is so unpopular that they didn't want to send the fans home unhappy (so then, how about instead putting Angle/Rousey v Triple H/Steph or Cena v Taker on last instead?)
-Roman got a concussion when he got opened up, and couldn't legitimately continue the match (again, like Summerslam a couple of years ago against Orton, ending the match prematurely because Brock works stiff and doesn't care about hurting talent).
Also, I HATED the staging this year. It looked ugly, and I am not a fan of indoor Wrestlemanias, and what was with the blue lighting on the crowd all night?
Overall, it started well, and I liked the first four matches, but then only DB/Shane v Owens/Sami and A.J. v Shinsuke after that. The other matches were forgettable, a bit dull, and the RAW Tag-Team Match was unforgivable.
Interested to see where they go with these angles going forward.
Best Match:- Kurt Angle & Ronda Rousey v Triple H & Stephanie McMahon
Worst Match:- RAW Tag-Team Title Match (and it hurts me to say that, since the Bar have many MOTN performances, but this was such a stupid way to go).
The Perfect Max
I Am Jericho
I thought WrestleMania 34 delivered in areas I didn't think it would, shocked and surprised with moments I thought I would never see, and disappointed me a couple of times I wish I hadn't been. Ultimately though, I was thoroughly entertained for about six and a half hours. I'll go through each match quickly and say what I've got to say.
André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal: This was a tad boring, primarily because there were hardly any stars in it. I did think it was smart to finish with Corbin, Rawley and Hardy, getting the crowd firmly behind Woken Matt. The save by Bray was well executed and got the crowd going. At least the Battle Royal win looks to serve a purpose in extending a story this year, which I look forward to, and a deserving guy who isn't likely to disappear after this win gets the trophy.
Cruiserweight Championship: Unfortunately, I think there were better matches on 205 Live heading into this tournament final. It wasn't a bad match, but it just didn't seem to click at times. I also felt they took a little long in certain places setting up spots. You cannot deny the athletic ability of Alexander and Ali though. An alright match which hopefully leads to better things for 205 Live.
Women's Battle Royal: This was better than the men's Battle Royal, though not by much. I question some of the early eliminations of top stars like Becky Lynch who don't seem to be getting a break, and rising stars like Absolution who did absolutely nothing unfortunately. A nice spot for the NXT stars though. The finish was well put together. Bayley and Sasha are a segment or two away from all-out war, hopefully. I'm not sure Naomi was the right winner. Don't get me wrong, I like Naomi. But, I might have preferred someone like a Mandy Rose or Sonya Deville to get the big win here. Failing that, giving the win to Bayley after her elimination of Sasha would have had more impact for their feud considering Bayley upstaged Sasha again.
Intercontinental Championship: This was a great choice to open the show. I was glad they kept the Miztourage out of it, allowing for all out action. All three men delivered big spots and fast-paced action to get the crowd hot. I was happy with any result in this match, though I favoured Finn. I think Seth Rollins will continue to raise the value of the Intercontinental Championship.
SmackDown Women's Championship: Well my jaw hit the floor with Asuka tapping out, but this was a good match. I would have preferred it to last a bit longer, but that is a testament to how much I enjoyed it. Good showing by both women. WWE might have left money on the table with Asuka's streak now over, but I am intrigued to see how both women move forward. Clearly, Charlotte is the woman in WWE now.
United States Championship: Jinder Mahal pinning Rusev on Rusev Day at RusevMania only served the purpose of getting heat on Mahal, not that he needs anymore because everyone knows he sucks. We got the standard match I expected. Surprised by the result. Next.
Kurt Angle & Ronda Rousey vs. Stephanie McMahon & Triple H: I couldn't have been more pleasantly surprised with this match. At times it was a bit of a hot mess, but an entertaining one that served its purpose as being a hot introduction to Ronda Rousey's WWE career. A much better outing that I expected going in, and a highlight of the night.
SmackDown Tag Team Championship: The Bludgeon Brothers dominated and claim the titles, which they are long overdue (thinking back to their Wyatt Family days). I'm glad The Usos and New Day got their WrestleMania match, but I think it was a little off at times. Not much impressive about it, but it got the job done positioning The Bludgeon Brothers strongly.
John Cena vs. The Undertaker: The tease and set up was great. Undertaker looked in much better shape that last year. I was stunned how WWE chose to let Taker just roll right over Cena, especially as this is really a dream match of sorts. I was entertained though. I suspect this sets up a match at WrestleMania 35, career vs career? We shall see.
Daniel Bryan & Shane McMahon vs. Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn: The match started painfully slow, but when Bryan entered the action it was thoroughly enjoyable to witness the entire crowd just succumb to their hype for the return of Daniel Bryan, who looked in good form. I'm so glad to have him back.
Raw Women's Championship: I honestly would have preferred a squash match here for Nia's victory, a bit like Ivory vs. Chyna from WrestleMania X-Seven. However, I respect WWE for wanting to let Alexa go out as a fighting champion, which she deserves. Nia has earned that title and I'm happy she has it. Also, has anyone managed to scrape Mickie James off of the floor yet? That pre-match beat down had me laughing.
WWE Championship: Not the match many of us expected, but they didn't exhaust their big spot moments which, given the post-match Nakamura heel turn (which was hugely surprising and very interesting), bodes well for what I suspect is a better rematch. I appreciated what they did, but it didn't live up to the hype and wasn't anywhere near as impressive as their Japan match. It was still good though.
Raw Tag Team Championship: The reveal that a child would be Braun's partner didn't really do anything for me to be honest. I was a little disappointed. The concept was funny, don't get me wrong, but this became the handicap win I was hoping wouldn't happen. I love Braun, but WWE shouldn't crap all over what tag team division they have left with a single guy going through their champions. Just my opinion though.
Universal Championship: Man alive, this was baaaaadddd. Roman kicking out of five F5's was ridiculous, but the match itself was just plain awful. Brock has become so limited and it's not entertaining anymore. The whole suplex thing got old a long time ago. I don't know if Brock shooted on Reigns with the elbows, but that blood was nasty. It didn't help get the sympathy for Reigns though. The crowd couldn't have given less of a shit. A disappointing end to WrestleMania. A shock win though, which at least has been intrigued for who's next for Lesnar.
André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal: This was a tad boring, primarily because there were hardly any stars in it. I did think it was smart to finish with Corbin, Rawley and Hardy, getting the crowd firmly behind Woken Matt. The save by Bray was well executed and got the crowd going. At least the Battle Royal win looks to serve a purpose in extending a story this year, which I look forward to, and a deserving guy who isn't likely to disappear after this win gets the trophy.
Cruiserweight Championship: Unfortunately, I think there were better matches on 205 Live heading into this tournament final. It wasn't a bad match, but it just didn't seem to click at times. I also felt they took a little long in certain places setting up spots. You cannot deny the athletic ability of Alexander and Ali though. An alright match which hopefully leads to better things for 205 Live.
Women's Battle Royal: This was better than the men's Battle Royal, though not by much. I question some of the early eliminations of top stars like Becky Lynch who don't seem to be getting a break, and rising stars like Absolution who did absolutely nothing unfortunately. A nice spot for the NXT stars though. The finish was well put together. Bayley and Sasha are a segment or two away from all-out war, hopefully. I'm not sure Naomi was the right winner. Don't get me wrong, I like Naomi. But, I might have preferred someone like a Mandy Rose or Sonya Deville to get the big win here. Failing that, giving the win to Bayley after her elimination of Sasha would have had more impact for their feud considering Bayley upstaged Sasha again.
Intercontinental Championship: This was a great choice to open the show. I was glad they kept the Miztourage out of it, allowing for all out action. All three men delivered big spots and fast-paced action to get the crowd hot. I was happy with any result in this match, though I favoured Finn. I think Seth Rollins will continue to raise the value of the Intercontinental Championship.
SmackDown Women's Championship: Well my jaw hit the floor with Asuka tapping out, but this was a good match. I would have preferred it to last a bit longer, but that is a testament to how much I enjoyed it. Good showing by both women. WWE might have left money on the table with Asuka's streak now over, but I am intrigued to see how both women move forward. Clearly, Charlotte is the woman in WWE now.
United States Championship: Jinder Mahal pinning Rusev on Rusev Day at RusevMania only served the purpose of getting heat on Mahal, not that he needs anymore because everyone knows he sucks. We got the standard match I expected. Surprised by the result. Next.
Kurt Angle & Ronda Rousey vs. Stephanie McMahon & Triple H: I couldn't have been more pleasantly surprised with this match. At times it was a bit of a hot mess, but an entertaining one that served its purpose as being a hot introduction to Ronda Rousey's WWE career. A much better outing that I expected going in, and a highlight of the night.
SmackDown Tag Team Championship: The Bludgeon Brothers dominated and claim the titles, which they are long overdue (thinking back to their Wyatt Family days). I'm glad The Usos and New Day got their WrestleMania match, but I think it was a little off at times. Not much impressive about it, but it got the job done positioning The Bludgeon Brothers strongly.
John Cena vs. The Undertaker: The tease and set up was great. Undertaker looked in much better shape that last year. I was stunned how WWE chose to let Taker just roll right over Cena, especially as this is really a dream match of sorts. I was entertained though. I suspect this sets up a match at WrestleMania 35, career vs career? We shall see.
Daniel Bryan & Shane McMahon vs. Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn: The match started painfully slow, but when Bryan entered the action it was thoroughly enjoyable to witness the entire crowd just succumb to their hype for the return of Daniel Bryan, who looked in good form. I'm so glad to have him back.
Raw Women's Championship: I honestly would have preferred a squash match here for Nia's victory, a bit like Ivory vs. Chyna from WrestleMania X-Seven. However, I respect WWE for wanting to let Alexa go out as a fighting champion, which she deserves. Nia has earned that title and I'm happy she has it. Also, has anyone managed to scrape Mickie James off of the floor yet? That pre-match beat down had me laughing.
WWE Championship: Not the match many of us expected, but they didn't exhaust their big spot moments which, given the post-match Nakamura heel turn (which was hugely surprising and very interesting), bodes well for what I suspect is a better rematch. I appreciated what they did, but it didn't live up to the hype and wasn't anywhere near as impressive as their Japan match. It was still good though.
Raw Tag Team Championship: The reveal that a child would be Braun's partner didn't really do anything for me to be honest. I was a little disappointed. The concept was funny, don't get me wrong, but this became the handicap win I was hoping wouldn't happen. I love Braun, but WWE shouldn't crap all over what tag team division they have left with a single guy going through their champions. Just my opinion though.
Universal Championship: Man alive, this was baaaaadddd. Roman kicking out of five F5's was ridiculous, but the match itself was just plain awful. Brock has become so limited and it's not entertaining anymore. The whole suplex thing got old a long time ago. I don't know if Brock shooted on Reigns with the elbows, but that blood was nasty. It didn't help get the sympathy for Reigns though. The crowd couldn't have given less of a shit. A disappointing end to WrestleMania. A shock win though, which at least has been intrigued for who's next for Lesnar.
Watched the show live, and genuinely thought it was one of the worst Manias ever...Upon reflection I was wrong and the more I think about it the more I like it.
André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal: This was great with the correct winner, I loved the R-Truth/Goldust part and the 10/delete off. Bray returning was a little strange but interesting to see where this is going.
Cruiserweight Championship: Brilliant match, They knocked it out of the park like they have been doing on 205 live for a while now. Correct winner too. Probably my favorite match of the night.
Women's Battle Royal: Loved it, although they should have had Bayley win it, although seeing as she was so focused on Sasha that she forgot about Naomi was great storytelling. Hopefully this will make Naomi do something now as since she lost the title she has been floundering.
Intercontinental Championship: Excellent between three of the best on the roster right now, Seth's entrance was cool as fuck and this just worked well as all three have amazing chemistry with each other. Would have liked Finn to win, but not unhappy with Seth being champ. Now all three shield members are Grand Slam Champions.
SmackDown Women's Championship: urghhhhhhh. I was so salty at the end of this. The match itself was very good, but the ending spoiled it. Asuka should not have lost here, it was not the right time. I personally don't find Charlottes matches all that entertaining and think she's only where she is because of who her father is. I hate how Roman gets booed but she is universally loved despite being the female version of him. Good match but wrong winner.
Also side note, Cena jumping the rail and running up the ramp past Charlotte completely shit all over her moment. That was stupid.
United States Championship: I was still so angry from the previous match finish that I wasn't exactly interested in this match. Rusev is so over and should have won, Jinder winning is meh, don't think he'll do anything of note with it but hopefully he can work with Rusev in the next few weeks and have a decent feud. Need to re-watch this though.
Kurt Angle & Ronda Rousey vs. Stephanie McMahon & Triple H: This was brilliant. Completely expected Rousey to be horrendous and she was anything but. Trips and Steph were perfect here and did their jobs of making Ronda look like a million dollars. Right winners, brilliant match.
SmackDown Tag Team Championship: This was here...it was a squash as it should be, not great but not bad. Who's next to challenge them? AOP maybe?
John Cena vs. The Undertaker: This was fun, everyone knew Taker was there and I thank GOD (even though I don't believe in him) that he wasn't the American Bad Ass. Surprised it was a squash, but this is what Taker needs his matches to be now. Nobody wants to sit through a 20 min Taker match anymore unfortunately. What now for Cena though? devastating defeat for him.
Daniel Bryan & Shane McMahon vs. Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn: I liked it, not as much as others but that's neither here nor there. Shane looked strong, Bryan being took out early on was great...making people wait that much longer for him to get back in the ring. Surprised no Shane heel turn. Atmosphere was amazing when Daniel did get in. Welcome to Raw Zayn and KO
Raw Women's Championship: Boring. Neither of these two entertain me and I was so hoping for a Carmella cash in. Bliss has had the title for far too long and hopefully will go now feud and put over Ember Moon.
WWE Championship: Unspectacular. We all expected too much I think from this. It should have closed the night especially with the Shinsuke heel turn. This was a great match, but something was missing. Expectations were too high and that's probably what cost it. AJ reversing the Kin into the Clash was excellent. Shinsuke should have won here though. Both Royal Rumble winners fail in their Mania matches. Don't think anyone saw that coming.
Raw Tag Team Championship: Stupid. All that build...for nothing. I would rather him do it alone then the kid angle. Up there with Asukas loss as worst moment on the night.
Universal Championship: This was good until it got stupid. Crowd ruined it but the match itself was good for the first part. Then it just delved into Superman Punch, Suplex, Spear, F5...rinse and repeat. Roman has had better matches and ultimately looked like Brock wasn't arsed. Roman being busted was a great picture, and Brock winning was the wrong (and shocking) decision. Deffo should not have been the Main event.
André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal: This was great with the correct winner, I loved the R-Truth/Goldust part and the 10/delete off. Bray returning was a little strange but interesting to see where this is going.
Cruiserweight Championship: Brilliant match, They knocked it out of the park like they have been doing on 205 live for a while now. Correct winner too. Probably my favorite match of the night.
Women's Battle Royal: Loved it, although they should have had Bayley win it, although seeing as she was so focused on Sasha that she forgot about Naomi was great storytelling. Hopefully this will make Naomi do something now as since she lost the title she has been floundering.
Intercontinental Championship: Excellent between three of the best on the roster right now, Seth's entrance was cool as fuck and this just worked well as all three have amazing chemistry with each other. Would have liked Finn to win, but not unhappy with Seth being champ. Now all three shield members are Grand Slam Champions.
SmackDown Women's Championship: urghhhhhhh. I was so salty at the end of this. The match itself was very good, but the ending spoiled it. Asuka should not have lost here, it was not the right time. I personally don't find Charlottes matches all that entertaining and think she's only where she is because of who her father is. I hate how Roman gets booed but she is universally loved despite being the female version of him. Good match but wrong winner.
Also side note, Cena jumping the rail and running up the ramp past Charlotte completely shit all over her moment. That was stupid.
United States Championship: I was still so angry from the previous match finish that I wasn't exactly interested in this match. Rusev is so over and should have won, Jinder winning is meh, don't think he'll do anything of note with it but hopefully he can work with Rusev in the next few weeks and have a decent feud. Need to re-watch this though.
Kurt Angle & Ronda Rousey vs. Stephanie McMahon & Triple H: This was brilliant. Completely expected Rousey to be horrendous and she was anything but. Trips and Steph were perfect here and did their jobs of making Ronda look like a million dollars. Right winners, brilliant match.
SmackDown Tag Team Championship: This was here...it was a squash as it should be, not great but not bad. Who's next to challenge them? AOP maybe?
John Cena vs. The Undertaker: This was fun, everyone knew Taker was there and I thank GOD (even though I don't believe in him) that he wasn't the American Bad Ass. Surprised it was a squash, but this is what Taker needs his matches to be now. Nobody wants to sit through a 20 min Taker match anymore unfortunately. What now for Cena though? devastating defeat for him.
Daniel Bryan & Shane McMahon vs. Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn: I liked it, not as much as others but that's neither here nor there. Shane looked strong, Bryan being took out early on was great...making people wait that much longer for him to get back in the ring. Surprised no Shane heel turn. Atmosphere was amazing when Daniel did get in. Welcome to Raw Zayn and KO
Raw Women's Championship: Boring. Neither of these two entertain me and I was so hoping for a Carmella cash in. Bliss has had the title for far too long and hopefully will go now feud and put over Ember Moon.
WWE Championship: Unspectacular. We all expected too much I think from this. It should have closed the night especially with the Shinsuke heel turn. This was a great match, but something was missing. Expectations were too high and that's probably what cost it. AJ reversing the Kin into the Clash was excellent. Shinsuke should have won here though. Both Royal Rumble winners fail in their Mania matches. Don't think anyone saw that coming.
Raw Tag Team Championship: Stupid. All that build...for nothing. I would rather him do it alone then the kid angle. Up there with Asukas loss as worst moment on the night.
Universal Championship: This was good until it got stupid. Crowd ruined it but the match itself was good for the first part. Then it just delved into Superman Punch, Suplex, Spear, F5...rinse and repeat. Roman has had better matches and ultimately looked like Brock wasn't arsed. Roman being busted was a great picture, and Brock winning was the wrong (and shocking) decision. Deffo should not have been the Main event.
Jack-Hammer
YOU WILL RESPECT MY AUTHORITAH!!!!
Overall, I thought it was an entertaining show.
The surprise ending for the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal was fun with Wyatt helping Hardy win.
The Cruiserweight Championship match was good, but there have been better matches on 205 Live than this one.
The WrestleMania Women's Battle Royal was solid and I kind of like that the developing program with Sasha Banks and Bayley was featured but wasn't the center of attention.
The IC title match was a great effort from all 3 with no complaints from me.
The SD Women's Championship match was a fun outing for the ladies. I was shocked that Asuka lost but at least it was to Charlotte rather than some lousy MITB cash in via Carmella after both ladies were spent.
The US title match was about what I figured it'd be. It was solid overall, though unremarkable with Jinder getting another title run.
The mixed tag team match was great, far better than I was expecting. Fun storytelling and it settled a lot of doubts as to Rousey's transition. Everyone here was great in their respective roles and they generated enough drama to make me think there was just the slightest chance the faces would lose.
The SD Tag Team Championship match was okay for what it was. I know that we were expecting some MOTY candidate but there were bigger things going on, quite frankly, and this was what it needed to be at the time and had the right outcome. Plus, the fact that it followed such a hot mixed tag match would've meant these six guys would've had to practically kill each other to get that sort of reaction. It was a come down match.
Taker vs. Cena was a nice little nostalgia moment and a good moment for anyone that's ever wanted to see Cena get squashed at the biggest show of the year. Taker looked healthier than he has in the past several years.
Bryan & Shane vs. Owens & Zayn was fun and didn't overstay its welcome. They generated some nice drama with Bryan on the verge of being stretchered out as, for me, I had the idea in my head that it was always possible that Bryan might be legitimately hurt considering his history. It ultimately gave the crowd what it wanted, which was Bryan returning, kicking a little ass and winning.
The Raw Women's Championship was better than I expected. I do think they could've gone further with the story and made Alexa's insults to Nia more scathing but if they did, it'd wind up pissing off someone and the claims of WWE endorsing fat shaming and all that would be all over the place.
The WWE Championship match was good, not some earh shattering epic but I don't think I ever truly expected that. I've watched the matches they had in New Japan and they weren't really any better than this. AJ retaining was a nice surprise as was Nakamura's heel turn.
The Raw Tag Team Championship match was something I was initially okay with as I thought that maybe they were doing some special wish fulfilment for a terminally ill kid but that's not what it was. This kid, Nicholas, is the son of referee Mike Cone and when I found that out, it pissed me off. I hate it when WWE sacrifices the tag division, and the champions themselves, all for the purpose of putting over a singles wrestler, especially when there's no need for it.
The Universal Championship match went almost exactly as I expected, except for the ending. I knew going in that 90% of the match would be Reigns going to Suplex City, hitting a barrage of Superman Punches on Lesnar, Reigns kicking out of a ridiculous numbers of F5s, Reigns delivering several spears that Lesnar would kick out of and the crowd pissing all over the match.
I've read some complaints on various sites as to how matches didn't end like they expected and whenever I read stuff like that, I always think about all the times I've heard people bitch about how predictable WWE is, how they don't do enough unexpected stuff.
I figure last night's show was a B- overall, not bad at all but not a grand epic and certainly not on the level of TakeOver: New Orleans on Saturday night.
The surprise ending for the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal was fun with Wyatt helping Hardy win.
The Cruiserweight Championship match was good, but there have been better matches on 205 Live than this one.
The WrestleMania Women's Battle Royal was solid and I kind of like that the developing program with Sasha Banks and Bayley was featured but wasn't the center of attention.
The IC title match was a great effort from all 3 with no complaints from me.
The SD Women's Championship match was a fun outing for the ladies. I was shocked that Asuka lost but at least it was to Charlotte rather than some lousy MITB cash in via Carmella after both ladies were spent.
The US title match was about what I figured it'd be. It was solid overall, though unremarkable with Jinder getting another title run.
The mixed tag team match was great, far better than I was expecting. Fun storytelling and it settled a lot of doubts as to Rousey's transition. Everyone here was great in their respective roles and they generated enough drama to make me think there was just the slightest chance the faces would lose.
The SD Tag Team Championship match was okay for what it was. I know that we were expecting some MOTY candidate but there were bigger things going on, quite frankly, and this was what it needed to be at the time and had the right outcome. Plus, the fact that it followed such a hot mixed tag match would've meant these six guys would've had to practically kill each other to get that sort of reaction. It was a come down match.
Taker vs. Cena was a nice little nostalgia moment and a good moment for anyone that's ever wanted to see Cena get squashed at the biggest show of the year. Taker looked healthier than he has in the past several years.
Bryan & Shane vs. Owens & Zayn was fun and didn't overstay its welcome. They generated some nice drama with Bryan on the verge of being stretchered out as, for me, I had the idea in my head that it was always possible that Bryan might be legitimately hurt considering his history. It ultimately gave the crowd what it wanted, which was Bryan returning, kicking a little ass and winning.
The Raw Women's Championship was better than I expected. I do think they could've gone further with the story and made Alexa's insults to Nia more scathing but if they did, it'd wind up pissing off someone and the claims of WWE endorsing fat shaming and all that would be all over the place.
The WWE Championship match was good, not some earh shattering epic but I don't think I ever truly expected that. I've watched the matches they had in New Japan and they weren't really any better than this. AJ retaining was a nice surprise as was Nakamura's heel turn.
The Raw Tag Team Championship match was something I was initially okay with as I thought that maybe they were doing some special wish fulfilment for a terminally ill kid but that's not what it was. This kid, Nicholas, is the son of referee Mike Cone and when I found that out, it pissed me off. I hate it when WWE sacrifices the tag division, and the champions themselves, all for the purpose of putting over a singles wrestler, especially when there's no need for it.
The Universal Championship match went almost exactly as I expected, except for the ending. I knew going in that 90% of the match would be Reigns going to Suplex City, hitting a barrage of Superman Punches on Lesnar, Reigns kicking out of a ridiculous numbers of F5s, Reigns delivering several spears that Lesnar would kick out of and the crowd pissing all over the match.
I've read some complaints on various sites as to how matches didn't end like they expected and whenever I read stuff like that, I always think about all the times I've heard people bitch about how predictable WWE is, how they don't do enough unexpected stuff.
I figure last night's show was a B- overall, not bad at all but not a grand epic and certainly not on the level of TakeOver: New Orleans on Saturday night.
Spidey Revivey
Porn is okay here long as it ain't dudes.
I had a good time with my buds and even for a seven hour long endeavor, we were in pretty high spirits through it all. Few matches were pretty meh but in the end we enjoyed ourselves and that's what matters.
André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal
Was hoping for either Goldust or Matt Hardy to win it. Glad to see my overall pick did. Maybe he'll do something with it past winners didn't, who knows he at least hyped it. Last year's Wrestlemania Bray Wyatt came in as the WWE Champion, now he's running interference for the Pre Show. That's the biggest fall from grace I've seen in WWE.
Cruiserweight Championship
My friends who don't watch a lot of wrestling loved this. Again good entrances, especially Ali's. Good enough bout to showcase what cruiserweights do so can't really say much else. One of a few respectful endings and I love seeing those.
Women's Battle Royal
Naomi has been integral to this revolution WWE spouts about, but is completely ignored for the Four Horsewomen and Bliss/Nia so good on her for taking it. Practically symbolic of her career, as she's really good but fans pine for Banks and Bayley. And to see Bayley evolve as a character made me smile. Another match that was more about the end than the technical bits.
Intercontinental Championship
Fun entrances all around. Legit happy to see WWE, a program mostly seen as a straight conservative show who's mocked the gay community countless times, show some acceptance with having Balor out with the LGBT charter. Also noticed Sonya Deville repping the rainbow in her Battle Royal getup too. Surprised again to see Rollins take it, but so many opportunities for fresh matches there so right on.
SmackDown Women's Championship
Match of the night. Excellent work by both women. Even Charlotte was bleeding at her elbows in this. To see Asuka not only lose, but tap out was completely jarring. New Orleans continues to be the place streaks end. Glad it was Charlotte who did it as there really weren't many others who could and it be believable. Now they can focus more on Asuka as a person. I hope they fight forever.
United States Championship
Completely forgettable minus how loved Rusev was here. I didn't peg Mahal to get the W, but he wasn't awful out there. Bobby Roode continues to be a guy who likes his song, and still that's more personality than Orton had.
Kurt Angle & Ronda Rousey vs. Stephanie McMahon & Triple H
I remember seeing people here worry about how they thought this match would go on last. Hindsight is hell. Solid outing for Rousey and even a bit more work from Stephanie than I expected. Triple H still makes everything look good and I'm just glad Angle didn't smudge it all up for the celebrity debut. Yeah, times are weird.
SmackDown Tag Team Championship
Didn't really see the appeal of this fight, but maybe that's just me not caring for multi-man tag matches. It was fine. Bludgeon Brothers finally secured the win, though frankly my group was all "...that's it?". They got more from the Universal Championship match.
John Cena vs. The Undertaker
John Cena whined his way into an impromptu squash match. I don't really know what else to say here.
Daniel Bryan & Shane McMahon vs. Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn
Story here was completely on Daniel Bryan being ready for the ring and Shane still fucked up from their last encounters. Kinda dragged but since this was all Bryan and the crowd came unglued for him, who cares. I'm just happy to see the GOAT back in form.
Raw Women's Championship
It wasn't too long for me, though I see why some may be disappointed. Nia Jax should definitely beat the hell out of Bliss soundlessly, but then again WWE built Bliss up as a powerful entity for a year and for her to be squashed by a complete loser would have been even lamer. For what this was it was decent. Glad Mickie got knocked out.
Raw Tag Team Championship
Wrestling is about wish fulfillment, so when some guy gets mad about a kid standing there and becoming a Tag Team Champion, well it's just as believable as an employee going around beating the shit out of their boss every other week. I didn't mind this one bit. Better than it just being a Handicap Match for sure. The memes going around about Nicholas are well worth this tiny foray into the absurd.
WWE Championship
The crowd was exhausted by this point. They didn't have any breathers for this event so it was definitely going to come eventually. Even without the fans complete disinterest, it was an average match at best. This won't be one of those fights that we're going to remember. But yeah, cool that somebody turned in the end so there's that.
Universal Championship
The only positive here is that it ended in a way not many expected it would. That's not enough to call the match good, but there you go.
André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal
Was hoping for either Goldust or Matt Hardy to win it. Glad to see my overall pick did. Maybe he'll do something with it past winners didn't, who knows he at least hyped it. Last year's Wrestlemania Bray Wyatt came in as the WWE Champion, now he's running interference for the Pre Show. That's the biggest fall from grace I've seen in WWE.
Cruiserweight Championship
My friends who don't watch a lot of wrestling loved this. Again good entrances, especially Ali's. Good enough bout to showcase what cruiserweights do so can't really say much else. One of a few respectful endings and I love seeing those.
Women's Battle Royal
Naomi has been integral to this revolution WWE spouts about, but is completely ignored for the Four Horsewomen and Bliss/Nia so good on her for taking it. Practically symbolic of her career, as she's really good but fans pine for Banks and Bayley. And to see Bayley evolve as a character made me smile. Another match that was more about the end than the technical bits.
Intercontinental Championship
Fun entrances all around. Legit happy to see WWE, a program mostly seen as a straight conservative show who's mocked the gay community countless times, show some acceptance with having Balor out with the LGBT charter. Also noticed Sonya Deville repping the rainbow in her Battle Royal getup too. Surprised again to see Rollins take it, but so many opportunities for fresh matches there so right on.
SmackDown Women's Championship
Match of the night. Excellent work by both women. Even Charlotte was bleeding at her elbows in this. To see Asuka not only lose, but tap out was completely jarring. New Orleans continues to be the place streaks end. Glad it was Charlotte who did it as there really weren't many others who could and it be believable. Now they can focus more on Asuka as a person. I hope they fight forever.
United States Championship
Completely forgettable minus how loved Rusev was here. I didn't peg Mahal to get the W, but he wasn't awful out there. Bobby Roode continues to be a guy who likes his song, and still that's more personality than Orton had.
Kurt Angle & Ronda Rousey vs. Stephanie McMahon & Triple H
I remember seeing people here worry about how they thought this match would go on last. Hindsight is hell. Solid outing for Rousey and even a bit more work from Stephanie than I expected. Triple H still makes everything look good and I'm just glad Angle didn't smudge it all up for the celebrity debut. Yeah, times are weird.
SmackDown Tag Team Championship
Didn't really see the appeal of this fight, but maybe that's just me not caring for multi-man tag matches. It was fine. Bludgeon Brothers finally secured the win, though frankly my group was all "...that's it?". They got more from the Universal Championship match.
John Cena vs. The Undertaker
John Cena whined his way into an impromptu squash match. I don't really know what else to say here.
Daniel Bryan & Shane McMahon vs. Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn
Story here was completely on Daniel Bryan being ready for the ring and Shane still fucked up from their last encounters. Kinda dragged but since this was all Bryan and the crowd came unglued for him, who cares. I'm just happy to see the GOAT back in form.
Raw Women's Championship
It wasn't too long for me, though I see why some may be disappointed. Nia Jax should definitely beat the hell out of Bliss soundlessly, but then again WWE built Bliss up as a powerful entity for a year and for her to be squashed by a complete loser would have been even lamer. For what this was it was decent. Glad Mickie got knocked out.
Raw Tag Team Championship
Wrestling is about wish fulfillment, so when some guy gets mad about a kid standing there and becoming a Tag Team Champion, well it's just as believable as an employee going around beating the shit out of their boss every other week. I didn't mind this one bit. Better than it just being a Handicap Match for sure. The memes going around about Nicholas are well worth this tiny foray into the absurd.
WWE Championship
The crowd was exhausted by this point. They didn't have any breathers for this event so it was definitely going to come eventually. Even without the fans complete disinterest, it was an average match at best. This won't be one of those fights that we're going to remember. But yeah, cool that somebody turned in the end so there's that.
Universal Championship
The only positive here is that it ended in a way not many expected it would. That's not enough to call the match good, but there you go.
Dragonslayer
Getting Noticed By Management
Well, this year's Mania was one thing - surprising. Last year, I got pretty much all my predictions right, but this year, not so much for fairly obvious reasons.
Didn't expect Asuka to lose here - I like Charlotte, and the match to me was the singles match of the night for sure, they could've even gone longer for my liking. But I was surprised they would waste both the Rumble victory AND Asuka's streak here, instead of elevating her yet another notch, to have a big victory down the road for someone to finally take her down. I understand they want to position Charlotte as THE leading woman in WWE, and rightfully so, but a loss here would have hurt her less than Asuka.
Obviously I also expected Reigns to walk out with the title, as it seemed that had been coming for about three years now (on a side note: are we now done with this sh*t already?!), but still - nope. Still, Lesnar winning was still a bit of a lesser surprise - with everyone (including Dana White) going off before the event on how Lesnar is "definitely" coming back to UFC, they made it almost a bit too apparent that all this talk might be a swerve. Still, surprising they went through with it regardless of whether Reigns re-signed or not, since - as bad as this sounds - Roman finally defeating Lesnar and winning the belt was already way overdue. If we have to sit through yet ANOTHER YEAR of WWE trying to get Reigns over as a face over Lesnar, to absolutely NO AVAIL... sheesh.
The Undertaker return was a bit awkward, but at least the match was kept short and protected him. He looked good and dominant due to the fact that his age and suffering conditioning couldn't show in that short timeframe, and I could imagine the whole match was Cena's idea to begin with, to sort of "give something back" to Taker by re-establishing some of that dominance that he lost in the past years when he lost to Lesnar and Reigns. I wonder if Taker will be back for another go at WM 35, but I'd rather see him go into the Hall of Fame.
Really the only prediction I got right was Jinder Mahal winning, but that to me was obvious for one reason: Without a title to brag about, Jinder is ridiculously irrelevant, jacked-up look or no. Of course, Rusev should have won, considering how over he is at the moment (imagine Rusev winning the Rumble and taking the belt off Lesnar? That would have blown the roof off the place), but he actually does not need the belt to be over and relevant now, and neither do Roode or Orton. If you want to have a good heel who people want to see get beat, Jinder is a safe bet because he is just not a great wrestler, which makes him being "on top" even more unlikeable. Smart decision, though Rusev really would deserve his "moment" sooner rather than later.
AJ and Nakamura was maybe a bit overhyped, the match to me was just "OK". I thought Charlotte vs Asuka was the better singles match between these two bouts. Again, surprised that they wasted the OTHER Rumble victory as well, and still didn't put the belt on Nakamura, who I fear will now fade into the midcard, unless they decide to give him a short run as a heel after his turn. I just feel that WWE is reluctant with putting the title on him because, charisma or no, his English is just very, very bad and he can barely get out the most basic sentence. Damn, if only Mr. Fuji were still alive...
And obviously the big surprise of the night was the Rousey match. With Angle past his prime, and Rousey green as hell, I along with pretty much everyone else I guess, was expecting this to be cringeworthy to watch, but props to the agent who produced the match and of course HHH and Steph, who played classic, old-school dastardly heels to a T, and the spots and planning of the match were extremely well done, hitting all the right notes from the hot tag, to essentially keeping both Rousey and Angle protected, and you could tell that Ronda really is a fan of wrestling, as her in-ring acting was way better than anything we'd seen from her in her promo segments before, and she knew what she had to do. The wrestling moves itself showed that she is still green as her timing is still a bit off, but her natural athleticism helped her a great deal here to cover that up in several instances. Definitely the most entertaining match of the night for me.
All in all I was not disappointed with this year's Mania, though I would at least have given Asuka the win, after that multi-year-buildup of her streak. It made little sense to end it here, before her winning the belt.
Didn't expect Asuka to lose here - I like Charlotte, and the match to me was the singles match of the night for sure, they could've even gone longer for my liking. But I was surprised they would waste both the Rumble victory AND Asuka's streak here, instead of elevating her yet another notch, to have a big victory down the road for someone to finally take her down. I understand they want to position Charlotte as THE leading woman in WWE, and rightfully so, but a loss here would have hurt her less than Asuka.
Obviously I also expected Reigns to walk out with the title, as it seemed that had been coming for about three years now (on a side note: are we now done with this sh*t already?!), but still - nope. Still, Lesnar winning was still a bit of a lesser surprise - with everyone (including Dana White) going off before the event on how Lesnar is "definitely" coming back to UFC, they made it almost a bit too apparent that all this talk might be a swerve. Still, surprising they went through with it regardless of whether Reigns re-signed or not, since - as bad as this sounds - Roman finally defeating Lesnar and winning the belt was already way overdue. If we have to sit through yet ANOTHER YEAR of WWE trying to get Reigns over as a face over Lesnar, to absolutely NO AVAIL... sheesh.
The Undertaker return was a bit awkward, but at least the match was kept short and protected him. He looked good and dominant due to the fact that his age and suffering conditioning couldn't show in that short timeframe, and I could imagine the whole match was Cena's idea to begin with, to sort of "give something back" to Taker by re-establishing some of that dominance that he lost in the past years when he lost to Lesnar and Reigns. I wonder if Taker will be back for another go at WM 35, but I'd rather see him go into the Hall of Fame.
Really the only prediction I got right was Jinder Mahal winning, but that to me was obvious for one reason: Without a title to brag about, Jinder is ridiculously irrelevant, jacked-up look or no. Of course, Rusev should have won, considering how over he is at the moment (imagine Rusev winning the Rumble and taking the belt off Lesnar? That would have blown the roof off the place), but he actually does not need the belt to be over and relevant now, and neither do Roode or Orton. If you want to have a good heel who people want to see get beat, Jinder is a safe bet because he is just not a great wrestler, which makes him being "on top" even more unlikeable. Smart decision, though Rusev really would deserve his "moment" sooner rather than later.
AJ and Nakamura was maybe a bit overhyped, the match to me was just "OK". I thought Charlotte vs Asuka was the better singles match between these two bouts. Again, surprised that they wasted the OTHER Rumble victory as well, and still didn't put the belt on Nakamura, who I fear will now fade into the midcard, unless they decide to give him a short run as a heel after his turn. I just feel that WWE is reluctant with putting the title on him because, charisma or no, his English is just very, very bad and he can barely get out the most basic sentence. Damn, if only Mr. Fuji were still alive...
And obviously the big surprise of the night was the Rousey match. With Angle past his prime, and Rousey green as hell, I along with pretty much everyone else I guess, was expecting this to be cringeworthy to watch, but props to the agent who produced the match and of course HHH and Steph, who played classic, old-school dastardly heels to a T, and the spots and planning of the match were extremely well done, hitting all the right notes from the hot tag, to essentially keeping both Rousey and Angle protected, and you could tell that Ronda really is a fan of wrestling, as her in-ring acting was way better than anything we'd seen from her in her promo segments before, and she knew what she had to do. The wrestling moves itself showed that she is still green as her timing is still a bit off, but her natural athleticism helped her a great deal here to cover that up in several instances. Definitely the most entertaining match of the night for me.
All in all I was not disappointed with this year's Mania, though I would at least have given Asuka the win, after that multi-year-buildup of her streak. It made little sense to end it here, before her winning the belt.
You have to laugh at the bipolar smarky fans in an outrage over Mania.
Rousey showed them up. The vile hate aimed towards her was laughable. Lots of eggs on face.
Cena getting squashed and doing the job is now a problem for them?! The bipolar smarks have been talking about him burying guys and refusing to job for years now he does they are in outrage.
Strowman with the kid - the tag belts are a prop and nothing more. It was a bit of fun for storytelling purposes.
Nakamura turning heel was intriguing. The bipolar smarks have moaned he isnt connecting with fans as a face.
Reigns loses. They moan again. Laughable!!!! I thought unpredictability was a good thing?
When it is said and done the bipolar smarks are angry Rousey looked great, Cena vs Taker happened (he isnt retired) and Brock bear Reigns. You were wrong!!!!!!!! But why so serious!!!
Rousey showed them up. The vile hate aimed towards her was laughable. Lots of eggs on face.
Cena getting squashed and doing the job is now a problem for them?! The bipolar smarks have been talking about him burying guys and refusing to job for years now he does they are in outrage.
Strowman with the kid - the tag belts are a prop and nothing more. It was a bit of fun for storytelling purposes.
Nakamura turning heel was intriguing. The bipolar smarks have moaned he isnt connecting with fans as a face.
Reigns loses. They moan again. Laughable!!!! I thought unpredictability was a good thing?
When it is said and done the bipolar smarks are angry Rousey looked great, Cena vs Taker happened (he isnt retired) and Brock bear Reigns. You were wrong!!!!!!!! But why so serious!!!
Deoxyribonucleic A.C.I.D.
Kamehamehaaaaa!!
The entire pre-show was fun to watch. Nothing to comment here of importance. I liked everything. There were things I would have done differently with Sasha and Bayley's feud, a different booking, but we're here to discuss what went down and not propose a new card.
IC triple threat/ Perfect. Nothing to say here.
Charlotte vs Asuka. Needed more time. I like the fact that Asuka lost, but not the way. Why not have Asuka win in order to give Charlotte a little bit of a chip on her shoulder and have break the streak at the main event of Summerslam? Anyways, Asuka shouldn't have tapped out. Period.
US title four-way. If Rusev doesn't end up chasing Jinder and winning the belt in the process, then all of this was a waste. I'll judge this after I see where they are going.
Mixed Tag. This ended up being the match of the night. Speechless. The WWE locker room should take note.
SD tag team championships. I never expected anything more. I wanted the Usos to retain, but I don't hate the result. It makes sense to have the Bulgeon Bros win. I would include weapons in this. It had a pretty personal build-up. Three "gangs" beating the crap out of each other for 6 minutes would have been better.
Cena-Undertaker. I loved this. I hope this leads to a new more personal storyline between Cena and Undertaker. The storytelling was great here. I didn't like the placement of this. Why not have it be the main event? It would fans home happy and not in apathy for a third year in a row.
Bryan/Shane-KO/Sami. It was great. Nothing to say about this. No turn was needed.
Nia-Alexa. Great start, fell flat really quickly. This was the sacrificial lamb, in order to relax the crowd after all the great stuff that had happened. We were already at 5,5 hours into the show I think. I was exhausted and I was watching on the laptop. I can't imagine how fans felt. Leaving the crowd out of it and my personal exhaustion, it was good. At first I thought that it should been quicker, but why make Alexa look weak? So now I think that it was good.
Shinsuke vs Styles. Underwhelming. Needed 10 more minutes of action. It didn't feel like a big deal. And no, the crowd is not to blame. The match was decent to good. But we're talking about AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura. You don't expect decent to good. You expect a classic. Steamboat vs Savage was 15 minutes. So time shouldn't be an issue here. I couldn't connect to it. The fans there couldn't connect to it. Both of them seemed off. I don't know what happened. The turn was so much needed. Nakamura's expressions were perfect. Nak is a guy that talks with his body and a heel can do that much easier than a face can. I support Nak and I hope he nails this heel gimmick.
Braun and the greatest wrestler of all time Nicholas vs The Bar. I loved this. Wrestling doesn't have to be serious. This is wrestlemania. Braun is an amazing entertainer. I wanted Nicholas to get some offense in and go after Cesaro, but I think he didn't know this would happen. He was scared so so much.
Lesnar vs Reigns. Dreadful. 6 F5s? C'mon now... I don't know what they could have done to avoid the crowd they got. Really. But it's the same. If they didn't have this crowd then they would have gotten the crowd that boos everything. So, what can you do? Maybe stop giving Roman WM main events. Maybe stop giving Lesnar the belt. Since last year I wanted Brock vs Roman to happen at Mania but without the freaking belt. Without it. Non-title. At least send the fans home happy. Have someone return and take out Lesnar. Reigns gets yet another failed main event under his belt. 4th in a row. I hope you're really happy about that Roman. You will remembered as the biggest WM main event failure.
Overall, great show. The two title match killed what could have been the greatest, or one of the greatest WMs of all time. Had they delivered, this could have rivaled WM 17. The undercard stands out here. WWE should take note.
IC triple threat/ Perfect. Nothing to say here.
Charlotte vs Asuka. Needed more time. I like the fact that Asuka lost, but not the way. Why not have Asuka win in order to give Charlotte a little bit of a chip on her shoulder and have break the streak at the main event of Summerslam? Anyways, Asuka shouldn't have tapped out. Period.
US title four-way. If Rusev doesn't end up chasing Jinder and winning the belt in the process, then all of this was a waste. I'll judge this after I see where they are going.
Mixed Tag. This ended up being the match of the night. Speechless. The WWE locker room should take note.
SD tag team championships. I never expected anything more. I wanted the Usos to retain, but I don't hate the result. It makes sense to have the Bulgeon Bros win. I would include weapons in this. It had a pretty personal build-up. Three "gangs" beating the crap out of each other for 6 minutes would have been better.
Cena-Undertaker. I loved this. I hope this leads to a new more personal storyline between Cena and Undertaker. The storytelling was great here. I didn't like the placement of this. Why not have it be the main event? It would fans home happy and not in apathy for a third year in a row.
Bryan/Shane-KO/Sami. It was great. Nothing to say about this. No turn was needed.
Nia-Alexa. Great start, fell flat really quickly. This was the sacrificial lamb, in order to relax the crowd after all the great stuff that had happened. We were already at 5,5 hours into the show I think. I was exhausted and I was watching on the laptop. I can't imagine how fans felt. Leaving the crowd out of it and my personal exhaustion, it was good. At first I thought that it should been quicker, but why make Alexa look weak? So now I think that it was good.
Shinsuke vs Styles. Underwhelming. Needed 10 more minutes of action. It didn't feel like a big deal. And no, the crowd is not to blame. The match was decent to good. But we're talking about AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura. You don't expect decent to good. You expect a classic. Steamboat vs Savage was 15 minutes. So time shouldn't be an issue here. I couldn't connect to it. The fans there couldn't connect to it. Both of them seemed off. I don't know what happened. The turn was so much needed. Nakamura's expressions were perfect. Nak is a guy that talks with his body and a heel can do that much easier than a face can. I support Nak and I hope he nails this heel gimmick.
Braun and the greatest wrestler of all time Nicholas vs The Bar. I loved this. Wrestling doesn't have to be serious. This is wrestlemania. Braun is an amazing entertainer. I wanted Nicholas to get some offense in and go after Cesaro, but I think he didn't know this would happen. He was scared so so much.
Lesnar vs Reigns. Dreadful. 6 F5s? C'mon now... I don't know what they could have done to avoid the crowd they got. Really. But it's the same. If they didn't have this crowd then they would have gotten the crowd that boos everything. So, what can you do? Maybe stop giving Roman WM main events. Maybe stop giving Lesnar the belt. Since last year I wanted Brock vs Roman to happen at Mania but without the freaking belt. Without it. Non-title. At least send the fans home happy. Have someone return and take out Lesnar. Reigns gets yet another failed main event under his belt. 4th in a row. I hope you're really happy about that Roman. You will remembered as the biggest WM main event failure.
Overall, great show. The two title match killed what could have been the greatest, or one of the greatest WMs of all time. Had they delivered, this could have rivaled WM 17. The undercard stands out here. WWE should take note.
enviousdominous
Behold my diction
My biggest takeaway from the show was Ronda's performance.
I was dead wrong in my assumptions of Ronda. She exceeded my expectations to the point where her performance and my expectations of her performance were polar opposites.
Ronda might have been preparing for a long time, but she looked like an absolute natural out there. Everything about her performance showed that she was not just ready to be a wrestler, but she's ready to rock a WrestleMania match on any given night.
I never thought that the armbar could look cool. It's one of the most painful submission holds, but it tends to look stupid. I remember Chris Jericho mocking the move as one of his 1,004 moves, among arm-drag and other such marginalized moves. I think that Alberto Del Rio's career suffered from having an armbar as a finisher. Ronda's armbar looks cool. She puts the arm in position, and then jerks it back in a manner that makes it look damn devastating to casual Joes like myself. Steph did a fabulous job of selling the move as well.
I've been proven wrong, and I'm very happy for it. I look forward to seeing Ronda do more in the WWE.
Another big takeaway was Charlotte's entrance, which was breathtaking to put it mildly. Her match was great as well, but damn that entrance gave me goosebumps that didn't go away for the rest of the night.
I was dead wrong in my assumptions of Ronda. She exceeded my expectations to the point where her performance and my expectations of her performance were polar opposites.
Ronda might have been preparing for a long time, but she looked like an absolute natural out there. Everything about her performance showed that she was not just ready to be a wrestler, but she's ready to rock a WrestleMania match on any given night.
I never thought that the armbar could look cool. It's one of the most painful submission holds, but it tends to look stupid. I remember Chris Jericho mocking the move as one of his 1,004 moves, among arm-drag and other such marginalized moves. I think that Alberto Del Rio's career suffered from having an armbar as a finisher. Ronda's armbar looks cool. She puts the arm in position, and then jerks it back in a manner that makes it look damn devastating to casual Joes like myself. Steph did a fabulous job of selling the move as well.
I've been proven wrong, and I'm very happy for it. I look forward to seeing Ronda do more in the WWE.
Another big takeaway was Charlotte's entrance, which was breathtaking to put it mildly. Her match was great as well, but damn that entrance gave me goosebumps that didn't go away for the rest of the night.
shooter_mcgavin
Mid-Card Championship Winner
I want to do a detailed review but I lack time to do so.
Just one question: After the last three Wrestlemania and the audience not caring about the Main Event this year does anyone think WWE should scale back WM in terms of length? 5 hours of the main show is exhausting enough as it is but I would imagine the 7 hour length might be reason why the crowd died half way through the main show.
To me 4 hours of the main show + 1 hour of pre-show activities should be the sweet spot.
Just one question: After the last three Wrestlemania and the audience not caring about the Main Event this year does anyone think WWE should scale back WM in terms of length? 5 hours of the main show is exhausting enough as it is but I would imagine the 7 hour length might be reason why the crowd died half way through the main show.
To me 4 hours of the main show + 1 hour of pre-show activities should be the sweet spot.
TakeTheSting
Dark Match Winner
Maybe thats not exactly the right word because no Wrestlemania is ever a failure from a profitable andc business success, but I just thought they totally missed the mark this year. I thought taker should have won but to dominate cena and that quick made no sense to me. I guess taker couldnt take a lengthy match. IMO I think asuka should have won and went undefeated and remained champ to set up a feud with her and eventual unstoppable Rhonda Rousy. The biggest head scratcher to me though is booking Reigns for a full year saying hes going to be the man only to lose is beyond stupid to me, and I think they only did it for the shock factor. I cant say I didnt enjoy mania because I did, Im just hoping these decisions are part of future plans for wwe to make it better. We'll see.
Much like my NXT Takeover New Orleans review, I am late to the party on this post. It's been a rather busy couple of weeks and I wanted to get this post up long ago. Better late than never. Besides, the last several days have given me time to think about the event rather than post my initial disappointments. Let's get to it then.
Pre-show: Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal
Not surprised whatsoever at this being on the pre-show. Matt winning was cool. Now he can go on to achieving all sorts of success like Cesaro, Big Show, Corbin, and Mojo due to winning this prestigious match. Not. This match still means nothing but a chance for "everyone else" to get onto the card. The new alliance with Bray will be good for them both, however.
Pre-show: Cedric Alexander VS Mustafa Ali [Cruiserweight Championship]
No one at my PPV party cared about this match. It was met with socializing, eating chips, and ordering pizza. Cedric winning was the less boring of the two. I expect the title to pre-show every PPV going forward and doubt it will ever mean anything.
Pre-show: Women’s Battle Royal
Started out better than the mens' one until the end. Naomi!? Way to ruin a good thing with a stupid ending, WWE. She sucks. Bayley, Sasha, or Becky would have made way more sense. Also with the name.... They could have avoided the controversy in the original name and the boredom of the second name had they just gone with calling it the Sensational Sherri Battle Royal. That would have gone well alongside the Andre match for the men. Anyway, history was made here. The match will go on to matter as little as the mens' one at future Wrestlemania events.
Finn Balor VS Seth Rollins VS The Miz [Intercontinental Championship]
And we have the opener for the main card. I tried hard to give it a chance. It's hard to see guys like Seth or Finn be in a match like this when they are worthy of being in the Universal Championship tier. It felt like a demotion to see them competing for the Intercontinental Championship. That being said, it's good for the belt and the match was a fun opener. Seth's entrance was really cool. So was him getting a title win, even if he's worthy of better.
Asuka VS Charlotte [Smackdown Women's Championship]
Surprised that this went on as early as it did, given that it could have been near the end of the night. Yet another shocking end to an undefeated streak. I'm honestly happy it went the way it did. Asuka was getting boring with always "knowing" she would win. Now we can just enjoy her matches for what they are. A friend of mine who is a huge Asuka fan exploded at this match and almost quit watching WWE altogether. Charlotte's entrance was awesome.
Bobby Roode VS Jinder Mahal VS Randy Orton VS Rusev [United States Championship]
Most of the people at my PPV party were infuriated by Jinder winning this. We were watching at a friend's house and even his dog started barking when we were all in uproar over Jinder. The match itself was ok. Stupid ending. In retrospect it did give us Jeff Hardy's win against Jinder, but at the time this was highly disappointing.
Kurt Angle & Ronda Rousey VS Stephanie McMahon & Triple H
This was great and arguably the match of the night. From Trips & Stephanie's great entrance to the shenanigans in the match to the very end, it was a ton of fun. Ronda will be a big star in the WWE and this match was a great debut for her in the ring. In retrospect, it should have main evented.
Bludgeon Brothers VS The New Day VS The Usos [Smackdown Tag Team Championship]
This was a bit chaotic and all over the place. It's fine. Nothing would have been able to follow the Ronda match. Bludgeon Brothers winning was a good call. They got a tag team title reign they deserved back when they were still the Wyatts.
John Cena VS Undertaker
So, this happened. Cena started out as a fan, randomly ran up the ramp after Charlotte's match, and had whined his way into a squash by the Undertaker. Did this really need to happen? It would have been better last year or the year before, things just didn't work out. I had little to no interest in seeing this match. My friends watching with me liked it for the nostalgia of seeing Taker again. Weird in how it all played out and ultimately was unnecessary. The silver lining is this.... At least it wasn't Biker Taker.
Daniel Bryan & Shane McMahon VS Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn
The second tag team match featuring a brand commissioner. It was all about Daniel Bryan getting a big moment. After being skeptical at first due to concerns that he would get injured again, I'm glad he's back in the ring. The match was fun and accomplished what it needed to.
Alexa Bliss VS Nia Jax [Raw Women's Championship]
Here is where the evening began to take a massive drop in quality. Nia has no business being anywhere near the title. She's awful. She can't wrestle, sucks at promos, and would never have made it as far as she did if she was not related to The Rock. Alexa should have retained and the challenger should have been Mickie. Just put the title on Ronda and get it over with. I have zero desire to see Nia in title matches.
AJ Styles VS Shinsuke Nakamura [World Heavyweight Championship]
There was no way this was going to live up to the hype. Nakamura had a really cool entrance and the match was the last good match on the card. Shinsuke's heel turn was unexpected. I ended up re-watching this a couple of days later due to screen buffering issues. If you are watching this event for the first time, stop after this match. Everything that follows it is garbage.
The Bar VS Braun Strowman [Raw Tag Team Championship]
This was unbelievably stupid. They seriously had Braun team up with a child? Why couldn't they have Elias, Kane, or even freaking Big Show be his partner? Awful decision and one of the stupidest things WWE has ever done. At least they relinquished the titles due to the child having school as a scheduling conflict.... Ugh.... Moving on.
Brock Lesnar VS Roman Reigns [Universal Championship]
The match that NOBODY other than Vince cares about. All that time of making Brock look invincible to anybody not named Roman Reigns only for.... Brock to retain? What? Come on! I can understand if they want Roman to win at the middle east show instead so that he is less likely to be boo'ed out of the building, but why throw away a Wrestlemania main event for this trash? No one wanted to see it and the Lesnar retention just made for a disappointing ending to a disappointing event.
Overall Thoughts
The show started out good but from the Raw Women's Championship onward it made a massive downhill turn ten times over. The show was far too long and the disappointments of the second half make it drop pretty far down on the list of Wrestlemania events. It's not horrible, but goodness the bad parts are BAD. This is the worst Wrestlemania since 27 and in my bottom 10, if not even my bottom 5. It's an understatement to say that NXT had the better event of the weekend. I expect the middle east show coming up as well as Backlash to be steps up from this disaster of a Wrestlemania. If you missed it go ahead and watch up to the Alexa VS Nia match then skip that, watch AJ VS Shinsuke, then just shut it off after that unless you want to see how bad the rest is. The main event was dang near torture to watch.
Pre-show: Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal
Not surprised whatsoever at this being on the pre-show. Matt winning was cool. Now he can go on to achieving all sorts of success like Cesaro, Big Show, Corbin, and Mojo due to winning this prestigious match. Not. This match still means nothing but a chance for "everyone else" to get onto the card. The new alliance with Bray will be good for them both, however.
Pre-show: Cedric Alexander VS Mustafa Ali [Cruiserweight Championship]
No one at my PPV party cared about this match. It was met with socializing, eating chips, and ordering pizza. Cedric winning was the less boring of the two. I expect the title to pre-show every PPV going forward and doubt it will ever mean anything.
Pre-show: Women’s Battle Royal
Started out better than the mens' one until the end. Naomi!? Way to ruin a good thing with a stupid ending, WWE. She sucks. Bayley, Sasha, or Becky would have made way more sense. Also with the name.... They could have avoided the controversy in the original name and the boredom of the second name had they just gone with calling it the Sensational Sherri Battle Royal. That would have gone well alongside the Andre match for the men. Anyway, history was made here. The match will go on to matter as little as the mens' one at future Wrestlemania events.
Finn Balor VS Seth Rollins VS The Miz [Intercontinental Championship]
And we have the opener for the main card. I tried hard to give it a chance. It's hard to see guys like Seth or Finn be in a match like this when they are worthy of being in the Universal Championship tier. It felt like a demotion to see them competing for the Intercontinental Championship. That being said, it's good for the belt and the match was a fun opener. Seth's entrance was really cool. So was him getting a title win, even if he's worthy of better.
Asuka VS Charlotte [Smackdown Women's Championship]
Surprised that this went on as early as it did, given that it could have been near the end of the night. Yet another shocking end to an undefeated streak. I'm honestly happy it went the way it did. Asuka was getting boring with always "knowing" she would win. Now we can just enjoy her matches for what they are. A friend of mine who is a huge Asuka fan exploded at this match and almost quit watching WWE altogether. Charlotte's entrance was awesome.
Bobby Roode VS Jinder Mahal VS Randy Orton VS Rusev [United States Championship]
Most of the people at my PPV party were infuriated by Jinder winning this. We were watching at a friend's house and even his dog started barking when we were all in uproar over Jinder. The match itself was ok. Stupid ending. In retrospect it did give us Jeff Hardy's win against Jinder, but at the time this was highly disappointing.
Kurt Angle & Ronda Rousey VS Stephanie McMahon & Triple H
This was great and arguably the match of the night. From Trips & Stephanie's great entrance to the shenanigans in the match to the very end, it was a ton of fun. Ronda will be a big star in the WWE and this match was a great debut for her in the ring. In retrospect, it should have main evented.
Bludgeon Brothers VS The New Day VS The Usos [Smackdown Tag Team Championship]
This was a bit chaotic and all over the place. It's fine. Nothing would have been able to follow the Ronda match. Bludgeon Brothers winning was a good call. They got a tag team title reign they deserved back when they were still the Wyatts.
John Cena VS Undertaker
So, this happened. Cena started out as a fan, randomly ran up the ramp after Charlotte's match, and had whined his way into a squash by the Undertaker. Did this really need to happen? It would have been better last year or the year before, things just didn't work out. I had little to no interest in seeing this match. My friends watching with me liked it for the nostalgia of seeing Taker again. Weird in how it all played out and ultimately was unnecessary. The silver lining is this.... At least it wasn't Biker Taker.
Daniel Bryan & Shane McMahon VS Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn
The second tag team match featuring a brand commissioner. It was all about Daniel Bryan getting a big moment. After being skeptical at first due to concerns that he would get injured again, I'm glad he's back in the ring. The match was fun and accomplished what it needed to.
Alexa Bliss VS Nia Jax [Raw Women's Championship]
Here is where the evening began to take a massive drop in quality. Nia has no business being anywhere near the title. She's awful. She can't wrestle, sucks at promos, and would never have made it as far as she did if she was not related to The Rock. Alexa should have retained and the challenger should have been Mickie. Just put the title on Ronda and get it over with. I have zero desire to see Nia in title matches.
AJ Styles VS Shinsuke Nakamura [World Heavyweight Championship]
There was no way this was going to live up to the hype. Nakamura had a really cool entrance and the match was the last good match on the card. Shinsuke's heel turn was unexpected. I ended up re-watching this a couple of days later due to screen buffering issues. If you are watching this event for the first time, stop after this match. Everything that follows it is garbage.
The Bar VS Braun Strowman [Raw Tag Team Championship]
This was unbelievably stupid. They seriously had Braun team up with a child? Why couldn't they have Elias, Kane, or even freaking Big Show be his partner? Awful decision and one of the stupidest things WWE has ever done. At least they relinquished the titles due to the child having school as a scheduling conflict.... Ugh.... Moving on.
Brock Lesnar VS Roman Reigns [Universal Championship]
The match that NOBODY other than Vince cares about. All that time of making Brock look invincible to anybody not named Roman Reigns only for.... Brock to retain? What? Come on! I can understand if they want Roman to win at the middle east show instead so that he is less likely to be boo'ed out of the building, but why throw away a Wrestlemania main event for this trash? No one wanted to see it and the Lesnar retention just made for a disappointing ending to a disappointing event.
Overall Thoughts
The show started out good but from the Raw Women's Championship onward it made a massive downhill turn ten times over. The show was far too long and the disappointments of the second half make it drop pretty far down on the list of Wrestlemania events. It's not horrible, but goodness the bad parts are BAD. This is the worst Wrestlemania since 27 and in my bottom 10, if not even my bottom 5. It's an understatement to say that NXT had the better event of the weekend. I expect the middle east show coming up as well as Backlash to be steps up from this disaster of a Wrestlemania. If you missed it go ahead and watch up to the Alexa VS Nia match then skip that, watch AJ VS Shinsuke, then just shut it off after that unless you want to see how bad the rest is. The main event was dang near torture to watch.
