For any professional wrestling fan, WrestleMania is the biggest show of the year. Known as the greatest stage of them all, WrestleMania brings an end to the wrestling calendar in hopes to bring the best show of the year.
WrestleMania has not been the show it has been hyped up to be. This year’s WrestleMania was good but not great. Definitely didn’t suck, but some things could have been better.
Neville retained over Austin Aries to retain the Cruiserweight title. Neville did a good job attacking the eye of Aries. Not a bad match, but nothing really great by it.
The Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal saw Rob Gronkowski helping Mojo Rawley with the push of Braun Stowman. Not having Samoa Joe, who is supposed to be a destroyer, gets a down for me.
The intercontinental title saw Dean Ambrose retain against Baron Corbin. The big question was why was this match was on the preshow? If you want to build the title back up and make it prestigious again, don’t put it on the preshow.
Moving to the main card, there was some good but also some bad.
Opening up with AJ Styles versus Shane McMahon. This match was a lot better than most. Shane did a shooting star press and hit AJ with a steel garbage can and then hit the coast to coast. AJ won but still made Shane look strong in the process.
The U.S. title was between Chris Jericho and Kevin Owens. After all Owens did to Jericho at the Festival of Friendship and Jericho causing Owens to lose at Fastlane, this match had a lot of build to it. Owens hit a power bomb on the apron before pinning Jericho to win the title.
The Fatal Four Way Elimination Match for the Raw Women’s Title match was nothing special. It did take Bayley, Charlotte and Sash Banks to triple power bomb Nia Jax off the turnbuckle before all three pinned Jax. This keeps Jax looking strong without her winning.
Bayley retained the title, but I would have had Charlotte hold the title before losing to Bayley. Charlotte would keep her Pay-Per-View winning streak until WrestleMania and Bayley’s first title win and her WrestleMania moment is more special.
The Raw Tag Team match saw the return of the Hardy Boyz. The match was announced as a Ladder Match. With the rumors of the Hardys returning, this was the best time for them to show up. The comeback was on for the Hardys.
John Cena and Nikki Bella then defeated The Miz and Maryse. With Cena taking time off in the future and Nikki planning on retiring due to neck problems, the win was more of a setup. The victory allowed Cena to propose, making it an emotional, if predictable, moment.
Seth Rollins pinned Triple H in a non-sanctioned match. The highlight was Rollins hitting Triple H with a reverse pedigree. This caused Stephanie McMahon, wife of Triple H, to fall off the apron and through the table. Didn’t you learn not to stand on the ring last year Steph?
Randy Orton defeated Bray Wyatt to win the WWE Championship. Both men hit their finishers outside of the ring with Orton hitting an RKO out of nowhere to become a 13-time WWE world champion.
Brock Lesnar and Goldberg going for the Universal Championship was a quick match. With a total time of four minutes and 47 seconds, this match was a nice break from the long matches on the night. It was exciting and Lesnar was finally able to beat Goldberg to win the title.
The SmackDown Women’s Championship saw a six pack challenge with Naomi forcing Alexa Bliss to tap in the middle of the ring. Naomi had to relinquish the title about the month ago due to injury.
The main event of the night was a no holds barred match to determine whose yard it is between Roman Reigns and The Undertaker. After 25 minutes, five spears, one broken Spanish announce table and many Superman punches, Reigns was able to pin Taker.
The moment was less about the win, but Taker’s exit. He left his hat and coat back, soaking up the cheers from the crowd before taking them off, along with his gloves, and leaving them in the center of the ring. As he walked out, giving a kiss to his real life wife, former WWE Superstar Michelle McCool, Taker walked up the ramp with his fist in the air as the ramp lowered him underneath signaling his last match.
After 27 years and 25 WrestleManias, with a record of 23-2 at WM, it is safe to that was the last of the dead man wrestle in a ring.
This year’s WrestleMania was a long five hours but was better than it has been in the past 10-15 years. You may disagree with me, but I believe that. I liked it, but it definitely could have done better. We will see you next year for WrestleMania 34 in New Orleans.