Greetings.
Another Wrestlemania has come and gone and this week. I’ll render my assessment of the WWE’s show of shows, from start to finish.
#1 – Buddy Murphy (champion) vs Tony Nese: Cruiserweight title match
This match seemed to set the tone for the evening, with the WWE Cruiserweight crown being the first of many titles to change hands. The Cruiserweight belt hasn’t even been defended that I know of since Murphy won the belt last year and since there were no prevailing issues between he and Nese, the crowd reaction to this one was pretty muted. Even so, both guys worked hard and deserve credit for that.
#2 – Women’s Battle Royal
This match featured mostly the rookies, leftovers and retreads from the women’s division. While most of the girls appeared to be trying their best, it never really seemed to get off the ground and, in the end, the favorite Asuka was eliminated by Sarah Logan, leading to a Carmella victory, as if anybody cared.
#3 – The Revival (champions) vs Zack Ryder & Curt Hawkins: Raw Tag Team title match
While Wilder and Dawson, like the aforementioned Buddy Murphy, hadn’t really been getting much of a push since they won the belts, it still came as a surprise to see them drop the tag straps, given that Ryder and Hawkins, had lost 247 straight matches prior to this. That begs the question, how or why the hell were they even given a title shot in the first place? No offense to Ryder and Hawkins, but the tag team division in the WWE these days is a far cry from back in the day when iconic teams like the Bulldogs, Hart Foundation, Legion of Doom and the Demolition used to rule the roost.
#4 – Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal
When they chose to name this event the Andre the Giant Battle Royal, the WWE’s intent, I’m sure, was to honor Andre, but unfortunately this whole gambit has become more of a dishonor to his legacy, given that most of the contestants are the leftovers, nondescripts and has beens who weren’t in a meaningful match already. I’m not really sure why the WWE sees fit to even have this match or the women’s battle royal at Wrestlemania, given that they already have a far more auspicious battle royal type format at the Royal Rumble pay-per view every January. About the only reason they even have this fiasco, I suspect, is to enable most of the jobbers and preliminary card types to be on the Wrestlemania card, but in my estimation it would be best for business would be to just scrap both of them, addition by subtraction, I guess you could call it. In any case, the winner, if any one really cares, was (yawn) Braun Strowman.
#5 – Brock Lesnar (champion) vs Seth Rollins: WWE Universal title match
Somewhat surprisingly, the Universal title match, which had been hyped as one of the main events on the card was one of the early matches on the show, which is about like having the Rolling Stones or U2 coming out as one of the warm up acts at a rock music festival. Regardless, this match was better than I’d anticipated, with Lesnar getting decent heat on Rollins after having attacked him on his way into the ring and sustaining the onslaught for several minutes. Rollins eventually would turn the tables on the Beast, albeit with a blatant nut shot (which was kind of lame, given that Seth’s supposed to be the face) and then curb stomped the Beast and pinned him. Not a great match, by any means, but at least there was a straight finish and it was probably a step in the right direction for Lesnar, who’s rumored to be going back to the UFC anyway, to have relinquished the title, as it had become pretty stagnant in recent months, because of his infrequent and often uninspired title defenses. Hopefully Rollins will restore some interest in the Universal title.
#6 – Randy Orton vs. A.J. Styles
Following the Lesnar/Rollins match was the much anticipated showdown between two of the WWE’s premiere performers – the “Viper” and the “Phenomenal One“. This one more than lived up to my expectations, as proved to be a definite match of the year candidate. In the end, Styles pinned Orton right in the middle, which should serve to reaffirm Style’s status as one of the WWE’s elite competitors. Orton, on the other hand, despite having been beaten cleanly, still remains a serious contender for either the world or universal titles. Kudos to both of these savvy veterans for rising to the occasion on the grand stage of Wrestlemania.
#7 – Smackdown Tag Team title match: Uso’s vs Sheamus & Cesaro vs Nakamura & Rusev vs Ricochet & Black
Giving credit where credit is due, all four of these somewhat mismatched teams appeared to be trying hard, however this match never really seemed to get off the ground, perhaps because it followed two pretty monumental matches and also because it tended to be little more than a less than scintillating high spot fest, with little or no wrestling to hold it together. Beyond that, the fans had already seen so many high spots and over rehearsed combinations that they were becoming non reactive. In the end, the Uso’s emerged victorious, which was one of the few occasions on the whole card where a title didn’t change hands, although they would drop the tag straps to the Hardys on Smackdown a couple of days later.
#8 – Shane McMahon vs The Miz: Falls Count Anywhere match
I’ve long been a fan of Shane O’Mac, who takes some incredible bumps and tries hard, while the Miz, in spite of his lack of wrestling acumen, generally rises to the occasion when the chips are down. Having said that, this match, which was a no DQ, falls count anywhere format, never really lived up to my expectations. Much like the preceding four way tag match, it had way too many high spots and there wasn’t enough wrestling to hold the whole thing together. Although Shane went over, the reaction seemed to be pretty muted.
#9 – Women’s Tag Team title match: Bayley & Sasha (champions) vs Natalya & Phoenix vs The Iiconics vs Nia & Tamina
This match actually exceeded my expectations, as it sustained a pretty decent pace and there weren’t nearly as many over-choreographed high spots as I had expected. As for the outcome, to the surprise of many, the Aussie team of The Iiconics pulled off the upset to become the new tag champs. Congratulations to them on their victory!
#10 – Daniel Bryan (champion) vs Kofi Kingston: WWE title match
This match, in the minds of many, should have been the main event of the whole show and it certainly didn’t disappoint, with both delivering superlative performances. Even though, in my opinion, Bryan has been miscast as a heel, he, nonetheless, got good heat throughout the match and nicely set the stage for Kofi to turn the tables at the end and become the first actual black world champion in WWE history, something which was long overdue and elicited a huge pop from the audience. Props to Daniel for dropping the strap with no contingencies and props to the WWE for seeing fit to finally put the belt around the waist of an African American. Congratulations to Kofi on your monumental triumph!
#11 – Samoa Joe (champion) vs Rey Mysterio: United States title Match
It was, understandably, a tough act for Joe and Rey to follow the Bryan/Kingston classic. As a consequence, this match went mercifully short and sweet, with Joe destroying Rey in short order. Not much to write home about here.
#12 – Roman Reigns vs. Drew McIntyre
The next match on the marathon card was the showdown between the irresistible force (Roman), who was making an inspiring return to the ring after his difficult battle with leukemia, and the “Scottish Psychopath“, McIntyre, who’s been getting pushed as a potential top heel. Ultimately, Reigns pulled off the victory, after a pretty hard fought and intense battle. While it was nice, albeit, somewhat predictable, to see Roman get his hand raised, it probably would have been better, all things considered, to have had McIntyre snatch victory from the jaws of defeat by, perhaps, perpetrating some dastardly heel skull doggery. To me, it would have solidified McIntyre’s position as a dominant heel (which is something the WWE seems to be lacking these days). At the same time, I think Roman probably would have benefitted just as much from some sympathy as he did from going over.
#13 – Elias and John Cena
I’m not sure if this can really be considered a match, as it consisted of Elias doing his usual (yawn) singing in the ring and Cena coming out to interrupt him, with a somewhat flat altercation ensuing afterwards. I’m not sure what the point of this whole ill-conceived charade was, given that it took way too long and didn’t really elicit much of a reaction anyway. Beyond that, given that Elias is supposedly on his way up and Cena appears to be on his way out, it would have made more sense for Cena to have put Elias over, or simply not even bother having this unnecessary overkill on the card, in the first place.
#14 – Triple H vs. Batista (No Holds Barred)
While there was a fair bit of anticipation for this match, the whole thing was compromised by the fact that there was virtually no wrestling involved – just an orgy of assaulting each other with steel chairs, sticks, screwdrivers, pliers, tool boxes and, of course, the obligatory sledgehammer, none of which, I might add, requires any wrestling acumen and tended to wear really thin after a while. As for the outcome, Hunter, who had vowed that he would retire if he lost, to nobody’s surprise, went over, however reaction was somewhat subdued.
#15 – Kurt Angle vs. Baron Corbin
This match had been billed as Kurt Angle’s retirement match. By that token, given that Angle had a legendary career, as the only Olympic wrestling gold medallist in WWF history and former WWE champion, I figured the WWE would see fit to let him go out a winner, especially since Corbin has been beaten numerous times as of late, anyway. That didn’t happen though, as Angle did the job and headed off into the sunset as a loser. Regardless, it didn’t diminish my, or any of the fans’ respect or regard for him, a great athlete, a class act and someone who overcame a lot of adversity to make it to the top of the mountain. Props to you Kurt, for a great career and happy trails to you!
#16 – Bobby Lashley (champion) vs. Finn Balor: WWE Intercontinental Title match
I was surprised to see Balor, who looked almost puny compared to Lashley, win this one, especially considered that Lashley had seemed to be getting over as the Intercontinental champion and hadn’t really had the belt that long. I would have thought that if they had left the strap on Lashley, he could have done some serious business with newly crowned World Champion Kofi Kingston, in a black versus black showdown. It’s too bad, but the Intercontinental title, like the tag team belts, seems to have a lost a lot of its mojo in recent years, being constantly switched and with nobody being able to gain any traction with it. Sad to say, but seeing as the WWE already has the World, Universal and United States championships, it would almost be better if they put it the Intercontinental strap out to pasture.
#17 – Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair (champion) vs. Ronda Rousey (champion): Winner Take All match
This eagerly anticipated showdown between three of the most dominant women’s wrestlers in WWE history didn’t really live up to its hype, but, even so, wasn’t bad. While many had predicted that Rousey would go over, that didn’t prove to be the case, as Lynch pulled off the monumental upset to become the undisputed women’s champion, although I’ve since been told that the outcome wasn’t necessarily what the WWE had planned and that the finish was botched. Regardless, the fans still seemed to be satisfied with the outcome. Rousey, much like fellow former UFC champion Brock Lesnar, appears to have run her course in the WWE, something most of the fans could care less about.
On that note, I’ll call this a wrap. Thanks for your ongoing support, candid comments and whatnot. I appreciate the input. Look forward to catching up with you all next time.
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