Like last year, this WrestleMania was a total of seven hours in length. I see Mania being the longest ppv of the year, but I personally think that six hours should be the bear maximum. I think this is the reason people criticized the second half of the show while praising the first half. Luckily for me, I recorded this and I went to be so I was less fatigued.
Seems like once every few years, WrestleMania is held outside. I know people praised the hell out of WrestleMania 31, but 90% of that took place in the burning sunlight where the pyro-technics and cool lighting were invisible. In terms of general looks for an outside WrestleMania, this was the best.
The kick-off show was two hours. First of three bouts was Neville and Austin Aries for the Cruiserweight Championship. These two men have revived the entire division. I wanted Aries to win, but I didn't mind the victor being Neville. 7.5/10
Second was the Andre the Giant Battle Royal. It appears that WWE is starting to push some new stars. Patriots footballer Rob Gronkowski even got involved in the match helping Mojo Rawley be the last man standing. I love Battle Royals and this was handled very well. And I am happy Mojo won. 8.5/10
The Intercontinental Title being defended in the pre-show was not a good move. It is too important. Because of this, Baron Corbin and Dean Ambrose refused to perform to the best of their abilities. Corbin sucks, but the match could have actually been good. Ambrose won. Worst match of the night. 4/10
The first of the main show was AJ Styles vs Smackdown commissioner Shane McMahon. This was probably the most acclaimed bout of the night. Certainly the perfect opener. Glad AJ won. 9/10
Kevin Owens defeats his former fake best friend, Chris Jericho for the US Championship. The storyline with these guys in fantastic. So was the match. 9/10
Bayley retained the RAW Women's Championship in an elimination match with Charlotte Flair, Sasha Banks, and Nia Jax. The Diva matches at Mania aren't usually very good. This is a major exception. Bayley's moment was wonderful. 8.5/10
A triangular ladder match for the tag team title was next. Enzo & Cass, Sheamus & Cesaro, and The Club would be carrying the tradition of Edge & Christian, the Dudley Boyz, and the Hardy Boyz. Before the match started, the New Day (the hosts) announced another team being inserted. Suddenly, the Hardy Boyz' music hits!! They are currently in a legal battle with TNA over their "Broken" gimmick, so we won't see that for a while. Team Xtreme won! The match was insane and the Hardyz' return was unbelievable. 10/10
The matches seemed to be getting better. But the mixed tag team bout with John Cena & Nikki Bella against Mia and Maryse proved otherwise. This was no different than the average match on RAW. And the build-up was great! Cena and Nikki won, followed by a heartfelt marriage proposal. Because of the proposal, I'm giving this bit 7.5/10.
Seth Rollins against Triple H was the RAW match I was looking forward to the most. Many people didn't even like the match, but the great story was brought into the match, so I loved it. All of Seth Rollins' accomplishments were made possible by Triple H. He later formed one of the most dominant trios in WWE history with Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns called "The Shield." Seth eventually sold out and joined Triple H and Stephanie McMahon's power-abusing and unfair "Authority" faction. I hated that faction with a passion. Last year, Seth got legitimately injured in his knee and was out for several months. Upon his return, Triple H prevented Seth from winning the vacant Universal championship. The building hostility and subtle change in both men (both for the better) was great. Seth got injured again by Samoa Joe a few weeks ago, so that just added. Done rambling! Seth won! 8/10
Randy Orton against Bray Wyatt for the WWE Championship. Was another letdown that could have been great. Images of maggots and cockroaches on the ring were so awesome and original, that ultimately saved this match. Randy won. 7/10
Next up was Goldberg against Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship. This dates back to the 2004 Royal Rumble where Lesnar cost Goldberg the match. This led to their infamous disaster at WrestleMania XX. Nothing wrong with Goldberg winning, but the match stunk royally. Fast- forward 12 years and they meet again at Survivor Series 2016 where Goldberg beat Brock in just over a minute. Nobody wanted them to face off at Mania for the title for three reasons: their match thirteen years earlier sucked; the match would be too short; both are part-timers. Brock Lesnar's victory over Goldberg here is the only clean win over Goldberg in his entire career. Brock is a one- trick pony and the match wasn't that good, but I'll give it a pass. 6.5/10
Next was a six-way match for the Women's Championship. Naomi won. Definitely the lesser of the two Diva matches. But this was enjoyable. 7/10
The closer was Roman Reigns against the Undertaker. People have been hating on Roman since the Shield broke up, but his victory over Undertaker legitimized him being hated. Taker then retired. It made sense for this to close the show as WWE's greatest performer and Mania's main man called it quits. Remember WrestleMania 24 when Shawn Michaels retired Ric Flair? This is a similar case, but much more important. Both Reigns and Undertaker have done better matches, but this was actually quite good (aside from a botched Tombstone-reversal). 7.5/10. Thank you, Taker.
This Mania was full of so much emotion that it probably turned fans off. I loved it! There was very little not to like with this.
7.7/10
Seems like once every few years, WrestleMania is held outside. I know people praised the hell out of WrestleMania 31, but 90% of that took place in the burning sunlight where the pyro-technics and cool lighting were invisible. In terms of general looks for an outside WrestleMania, this was the best.
The kick-off show was two hours. First of three bouts was Neville and Austin Aries for the Cruiserweight Championship. These two men have revived the entire division. I wanted Aries to win, but I didn't mind the victor being Neville. 7.5/10
Second was the Andre the Giant Battle Royal. It appears that WWE is starting to push some new stars. Patriots footballer Rob Gronkowski even got involved in the match helping Mojo Rawley be the last man standing. I love Battle Royals and this was handled very well. And I am happy Mojo won. 8.5/10
The Intercontinental Title being defended in the pre-show was not a good move. It is too important. Because of this, Baron Corbin and Dean Ambrose refused to perform to the best of their abilities. Corbin sucks, but the match could have actually been good. Ambrose won. Worst match of the night. 4/10
The first of the main show was AJ Styles vs Smackdown commissioner Shane McMahon. This was probably the most acclaimed bout of the night. Certainly the perfect opener. Glad AJ won. 9/10
Kevin Owens defeats his former fake best friend, Chris Jericho for the US Championship. The storyline with these guys in fantastic. So was the match. 9/10
Bayley retained the RAW Women's Championship in an elimination match with Charlotte Flair, Sasha Banks, and Nia Jax. The Diva matches at Mania aren't usually very good. This is a major exception. Bayley's moment was wonderful. 8.5/10
A triangular ladder match for the tag team title was next. Enzo & Cass, Sheamus & Cesaro, and The Club would be carrying the tradition of Edge & Christian, the Dudley Boyz, and the Hardy Boyz. Before the match started, the New Day (the hosts) announced another team being inserted. Suddenly, the Hardy Boyz' music hits!! They are currently in a legal battle with TNA over their "Broken" gimmick, so we won't see that for a while. Team Xtreme won! The match was insane and the Hardyz' return was unbelievable. 10/10
The matches seemed to be getting better. But the mixed tag team bout with John Cena & Nikki Bella against Mia and Maryse proved otherwise. This was no different than the average match on RAW. And the build-up was great! Cena and Nikki won, followed by a heartfelt marriage proposal. Because of the proposal, I'm giving this bit 7.5/10.
Seth Rollins against Triple H was the RAW match I was looking forward to the most. Many people didn't even like the match, but the great story was brought into the match, so I loved it. All of Seth Rollins' accomplishments were made possible by Triple H. He later formed one of the most dominant trios in WWE history with Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns called "The Shield." Seth eventually sold out and joined Triple H and Stephanie McMahon's power-abusing and unfair "Authority" faction. I hated that faction with a passion. Last year, Seth got legitimately injured in his knee and was out for several months. Upon his return, Triple H prevented Seth from winning the vacant Universal championship. The building hostility and subtle change in both men (both for the better) was great. Seth got injured again by Samoa Joe a few weeks ago, so that just added. Done rambling! Seth won! 8/10
Randy Orton against Bray Wyatt for the WWE Championship. Was another letdown that could have been great. Images of maggots and cockroaches on the ring were so awesome and original, that ultimately saved this match. Randy won. 7/10
Next up was Goldberg against Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship. This dates back to the 2004 Royal Rumble where Lesnar cost Goldberg the match. This led to their infamous disaster at WrestleMania XX. Nothing wrong with Goldberg winning, but the match stunk royally. Fast- forward 12 years and they meet again at Survivor Series 2016 where Goldberg beat Brock in just over a minute. Nobody wanted them to face off at Mania for the title for three reasons: their match thirteen years earlier sucked; the match would be too short; both are part-timers. Brock Lesnar's victory over Goldberg here is the only clean win over Goldberg in his entire career. Brock is a one- trick pony and the match wasn't that good, but I'll give it a pass. 6.5/10
Next was a six-way match for the Women's Championship. Naomi won. Definitely the lesser of the two Diva matches. But this was enjoyable. 7/10
The closer was Roman Reigns against the Undertaker. People have been hating on Roman since the Shield broke up, but his victory over Undertaker legitimized him being hated. Taker then retired. It made sense for this to close the show as WWE's greatest performer and Mania's main man called it quits. Remember WrestleMania 24 when Shawn Michaels retired Ric Flair? This is a similar case, but much more important. Both Reigns and Undertaker have done better matches, but this was actually quite good (aside from a botched Tombstone-reversal). 7.5/10. Thank you, Taker.
This Mania was full of so much emotion that it probably turned fans off. I loved it! There was very little not to like with this.
7.7/10