United States Championship: Austin Theory VS John Cena
After a cool video narrated by Kevin Hart as well as The Miz and Snoop Dogg welcoming everyone to WrestleMania, Austin Theory came out to kick off the biggest wrestling show of the year. John Cena’s entrance was really cool as he had a bunch of “Make a Wish” kids on the top of the ramp and wrestling always feels like a bigger deal when the 16-time World Champion is around. Unfortunately, this match wasn’t nearly as good as I hoped. Cena clearly wasn’t “ring ready” and this match was run at a slow pace as a result. Cena did get to do his trademark comeback move and at one point, he made Austin Theory tap out in the STF. However, the referee was out after an earlier incident. Theory took advantage of this by giving Cena a low blow before the Champion hit A-Town Down to get the victory over his childhood hero whilst retaining his gold at the same time. Massive win for Theory, but Austin definitely deserved a better Mania match after the year he’s had.
Grade: C+
Men’s Showcase Match: The Street Profits VS Braun Strowman and Ricochet VS Alpha Academy VS The Viking Raiders
The next match saw the Street Profits take on Braun Strowman and Ricochet, Alpha Academy and the Viking Raiders in a WrestleMania showcase match. My problem with this match was there weren’t any stakes to it. However, it didn’t really matter as this was a fun, action-packed contest. Chad Gable hit a ridiculous Suplex on Braun Strowman, there was a crazy tower of doom spot and Angelo Dawkins bulldozed through Strowman before Ricochet took out Erik and Dawkins with a beautiful shooting star press. He then hit another one on Angelo inside the ring, but this time, Montez Ford also delivered a Frog Splash onto Ricochet, allowing Dawkins to get the roll-up victory (even though Strowman was the legal man). Good stuff overall.
Grade: B
Seth “Freakin” Rollins VS Logan Paul
Both Seth “Freakin” Rollins and Logan Paul got special entrances as it was time for their big match. To start with, this was a pretty mediocre affair as it seemed like neither guy was willing to go all out. However, the pace really picked up in the final half and it was a lot of fun. Logan Paul was hitting all sorts of different moves including a different version of the Frog Splash and a GTS (Go To Sleep). Paul also nearly got the victory after he hit Rollins with the “One Lucky Punch”, but Seth Rollins also was able to kick out. The big moment came when the Prime Mascot (who came out during Paul’s entrance) pulled Logan to the outside. He then revealed himself to be none other than KSI before he set Seth Rollins up on the table. As Logan Paul was on the top rope, Rollins moved off the table whilst pulling KSI onto it and Paul went crashing through the table that the YouTube star was on. Rollins then chucked his opponent in the ring and delivered a Pedigree that Logan was able to kick out of. It didn’t matter too much though as in the end, Seth “Freakin” Rollins picked up the victory after delivering the Stomp. This match certainly got better.
Grade: B
Becky Lynch, Lita and Trish Stratus VS Damage CTRL
Becky Lynch teamed up with two WWE Hall of Famers to take on Damage CTRL in a six-woman tag team match. I really didn’t like this match, it felt really clunky and slow. Lita looked particularly poor in this match and I have no idea why Becky Lynch wasn’t given more offense. Damage CTRL’s Dakota Kai and Iyo Sky looked suited to WrestleMania, but they were mostly there to take bumps for the old-timers. In the end, though, it was Becky Lynch who got the victory after she delivered the Manhandle Slam to Bayley off the middle rope. This will most likely go down as the worst match of this year’s WrestleMania weekend.
Grade: C-
Rey Mysterio VS Dominik Mysterio
It was time for Father VS Son, Mysterio VS Mysterio at WrestleMania as Rey went one-on-one with Dominik. Both guys got pretty cool entrances and I thought there were some decent spots in this match. Dom throwing a drink in Alayah’s face (Rey’s daughter) was pretty funny and Legado del Fantasma evening the odds by taking out the Judgment Day was also a nice touch. However, something felt off about this match and no, it wasn’t the cinnamon cereal that was sponsoring the match. The end of the match saw Dominik go to hit his father with a steel chain only for Bad Bunny to pull it away from him. This allowed Rey to deliver a 619 and a Frog Splash to get the victory. Father, Wife and Daughter all celebrated in the ring whilst his son was carried to the back. This was decent, but it was by no means special.
Grade: C+
SmackDown Women’s Championship: Charlotte Flair VS Rhea Ripley
In a surprising turn of events, the SmackDown Women’s Championship wasn’t on the line in the Main Event, but that doesn’t mean that Charlotte Flair and Rhea Ripley didn’t bring it. This match also started off slow, but once it got going, it was truly great. Charlotte took some nasty falls in this match, particularly one when she landed on her face after a German Suplex. Both Charlotte and Rhea hit their respective finishers, but neither woman was able to seal the deal. Rhea Ripley then went to her submission move, but that wouldn’t finish it and neither would Charlotte’s Figure-8. In fact, the only thing that could end this match was a thunderous Riptide from the middle rope which saw Rhea Ripley beat Charlotte Flair to become the new SmackDown Women’s Champion. This was really, really good. Rhea looked like a star, the crowd were fully into it and Charlotte showed that not only is she one of the greatest wrestlers of all time, but she’s also a brilliant storyteller. Definitely my match of the night.
Grade: B+
The Miz VS Pat McAfee
The Miz and Snoop Dogg were back in the ring to announce tonight’s WrestleMania attendance. The figure was actually 80,497 which is pretty impressive. Snoop then said Miz should have a match so Pat McAfee came out. The Miz then said he doesn’t have the power to book matches (he did a few weeks ago), but somehow, Snoop Dogg does so he got a referee and the match started. This was literally here to allow people to go for a bathroom break and it wasn’t great. However, I like Pat McAfee, I like the Miz and I also like George Kittle who got involved in this match by hitting a clothesline on the A-Lister. Pat won with the Punt Kick which is a pretty cool move.
Grade: C
Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championships: The Usos VS Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn
The Main Event of WrestleMania Saturday saw The Usos put their record-setting tag team championship reign on the line as they defended their titles against Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn. This was another match that started slow up until Kevin Owens got tagged in and decided to run wild. This match was full of storytelling and the first big instance of this was when Jey Uso delivered a Helluva Kick to Sami Zayn. The Usos then hit their double splash combination, but somehow, the Master Strategist was able to kick out. Sami Zayn then delivered a Helluva Kick of his own to the Right Hand Man whilst KO delivered a Stunner to Jimmy, but he could only get a two count out of it. The Usos then put Kevin Owens through the announce table before they hit the 1D onto Sami Zayn. Somehow, Sami managed to kick out! In the end, Kevin Owens delivered another Stunner to Jimmy Uso before Zayn hit three Helluva Kicks to Main Event Jey Uso to get the win meaning WrestleMania ended with brand-new Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions. By the looks of it, I didn’t enjoy this match nearly as much as other people. It was only from KO going through the table that I actually got properly invested in the match. However, the story of Sami Zayn beating Jey Uso after hitting three Helluva Kicks is awesome. The best thing however is these four guys getting to Main Event WrestleMania after years of being the highlights of their respective shows.
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