Tuesday, April 4, 2017

WrestleMania 33 Weekend Review

We have finally reached that all important week of the year that all pro wrestling fans look forward to and plan ahead for months in advance. Every spring there is a feeling of excitement in the air for all pro wrestling fans as we know its time for WrestleMania. WrestleMania started as a one night extravaganza, but over time it evolved into an entire weekend of festivities and over time it has grown to the point where not even an entire weekend can contain it and has extended into an entire week. Promotions from around the world congregate to whatever city is hosting WrestleMania and put on some of their best shows of the year in order to gain even more exposure as during WrestleMania week they will have more eyes on them than ever before. This will be my first year reviewing shows from WrestleMania week and I hope I can deliver my best review yet.

I will only be reviewing the shows that WWE are putting on, but if your interested in reading reviews of the other shows that are going on during WrestleMania week I suggest checking out one of the following placetobenation.com, voicesofwrestling.com, or wrestlingwithwords.com as any of these sites have great reviews of the indy shows happening this week (ROH, Evolve, Chikara, Progress, Rev Pro, Wrestle Con, Joey Janella's Spring Break, Shimmer, & of course everyone's favorite Kaiju Big Battel along with many others)



WWE Hall of Fame 2017
Orlando, FL
Amway Center
3/31/17

Going into this year's Hall of Fame I wasn't quite as excited about this year's class as I was last year seeing as last year's headliner was one of my childhood favorites Sting and I was also really pumped up to see both Stan Hansen and The Freebirds get inducted. This year I was looking forward to Kurt Angle and The Rock N Roll Express and the rest of the inductees I could take or leave. I would have been excited for Rick Rude if he were still alive, but with all due respect to the families of those who have passed the inductees that are inducted posthumously are never that exciting and are more sad as it reminds you just how much you miss seeing them. Most of the time their families can't exude the same amount of charisma and excitement that their love one did while still alive and thus the speech falls flat, this is why I hope WWE inducts Vader next year as he isn't expected to be here much longer and I would want to see him inducted while he is still here to be able to accept it.

I want to talk about people saying the WWE Hall of Fame is not a legit Hall of Fame while they praise the Wrestling Observer Hall of Fame. First off I get why people say this isn't a legit HOF since the inductees are chosen pretty much solely by Vince McMahon, but the Wrestling Observer HOF has its flaws also. The WWE HOF inductees get to accept their award and give a speech and thank their fans and peers for the career they have had. In the WWE HOF they actually get a HOF ring and plaque where as the WON HOF inductees just get their name in a newsletter that only a very small minority of fans subscribe to where as the WWE HOF is seen by millions of people world wide. While the WWE doesn't have an official Hall of Fame building they at least have a display of that year's HOF inductees memorabilia at the WWE Axxess event during WrestleMania week. I respect Dave Meltzer and everything he has done with the WON, but I just can't stand to hear people criticize the WWE HOF and praise the WON HOF when the WWE HOF is closer to a legit HOF minus the process of how someone is selected to be inducted. 

There wasn't much to note on the red carpet pre-show other than my girl Alexa Bliss looking gorgeous all dressed up and Mick Foley was decked out in a crazy tye dyed suit. It's really cool to see all the superstars dressed up for one night every year.

Inductee #1: Diamond Dallas Page (Inducted by Eric Bischoff)
Eric Bischoff comes out and has a really good speech talking about DDP's heart and how he never gave up despite criticisms of him being too old to become a wrestler. He also talks about how because of DDP's two Hall of Famers are still here with us. 

DDP comes out being escorted by his four daughters and he said he went from having Diamond Dolls to having Diamond Daughters. DDP talks about how bittersweet it is to be inducted this year as he wishes Dusty Rhodes was there as he says there would be no DDP without Dusty Rhodes. DDP talks about how Jake Roberts helped him out early on in his career by watching his matches and telling him what he was doing wrong and what he was doing right. He thanks Johnny Ace for giving him the Cutter finish as well as William Regal for teaching him the cravat which made his cutter much different. He thanks Ron Reis for giving him the idea for the Diamond Cutter symbol.

DDP tells a story about how he was at a point in his career where he was doubting himself and wondered if he ever would become a world champion and Dusty Rhodes snapped at him and tells him if he doesn't think he will be world champion then he should get out of the business right then. DDP would use those words as motivation and four years and four months later he become the WCW World Heavyweight Champion. He finishes off by thanking everyone who has used his DDP Yoga and gives a few more thank yous including one to his ex wife Kimberly. In closing he ends his speech saying that you can never be an over achiever unless you are first an over believer.

This was a good speech to start the night off and was much shorter than I expected it to be given that it was DDP who is known to talk people's ears off.

Inductee #2: The Rock 'N' Roll Express (Inducted by Jim Cornette)I was really surprised when they announced that Cornette was going to be inducting the RnR Express as I never thought I would ever see him on any WWE stage ever again given his absolute hatred for any wrestling after the 1980s. I used to be a Cornette fan, but it feels like once you hear one of his rants you've heard them all and he seems like he is the most miserable person on planet Earth and I can't take someone who is as negative and completely closed minded as he is.

He cracks a joke about him having a live mic and the sound guy being out of it on Xanax. He says there is no way his speech is going to live up to the hype. Cornette talks about the RnR getting being put together as a team in Memphis by Jerry Lawler and how they were something special. He says that the RnR Express were Justin Bieber way before Justin Bieber came along as the women were all over them and that they had more sex on the way to the ring than most people have in a year. Cornette then goes on to talk about the RnR Express greatest rivals The Midnight Express and how they would go on to feud for over 20+ years.

Its actually good that Cornette did a great job on the history of the RnR Express because once they came out it got pretty scattered as they had notes, but they instantly got lost and pretty much just said whatever came to the top of their heads. It feels like they were going for some kind of comedy routine at times and it just didn't work out. Robert would go to say something to Ricky and Ricky would kind of  either ignore him or say something that had nothing to do with what Robert was talking about. The highlight was at the end when Ricky got teared up as he thanked Robert for being by his side and said that he has four blood brothers, but he considers Robert his fifth brother.

The Cornette part of this was pretty good although it went a little long and was probably the longest speech of the night by an inductor, but it did a great job of telling why Ricky and Robert deserve to be in the Hall of Fame. The Rock N Roll Express part was fun, but kind of hard to follow as they kept going on different tangents and couldn't be still the entire time on stage (especially Ricky). I hope to see the Midnight Express get inducted next year.

Inductee #3: Rick Rude (Inducted by Ricky Steamboat) 
Ricky Steamboat's speech was pretty basic and nothing special, he talks about Rude's strength and how he excelled at doing wrist curls with an 80 lb dumb bell. He also talks about how Rude was really snug in the ring when he would hit you. This was pretty much a typical speech I would expect from Ricky.

Rude's son, daughter, and wife come out and his son Rick Rude Jr is the one doing all the talking. He tells them to cut the music just like his father would have done. He then does the classic promo Rude was known for as he calls out the fat out of shape Florida sweat hogs and tells them to keep the noise down so the ladies can get what they came for tonight. He then talks about how Rude was outside of the business and as a father. He says that his father absolutely loved what he did in wrestling.

This is pretty much what you would expect from the family of a posthumous inductee. It should be noted that there were cat calls from the audience toward Rude's daughter who is a beautiful young lady (way to stay classy Hall of Fame audience).

Inductee #4: Beth Phoenix (Inducted by Natalya)
Natalya comes out and right out of the gate she plugs her cat 2Paws Instagram and I just rolled my eyes and was prepared for a terrible speech by Natalya. She talks about how when she first met Mark Henry the first thing he said to her was that she reminded him of Beth Phoenix. She talks about how Beth had contacted her online and said that the reason she become a pro wrestler was because of Bret & Owen Hart and their match at WrestleMania X and said that Owen was her inspiration. She talks about how both her and Phoenix grew up not wanting to be models, but rather to kick ass. They called themselves The Fabulous Moolah and Mae Young with Nattie being Mae and Beth being Moolah. Nattie says she believes Beth was a gift to her from Owen and that Beth is her best friend and her destiny.

Beth comes out and is emotional from the start and cuts a joke about putting the crowd in time out since she can do that now that she is a mom. She says that pro wrestling was her first love and she thanks her grandmother for introducing her to it as a kid. It was after watching the match between Bret and Owen at WrestleMania X that she decided she wanted to be a pro wrestler. She thanks all the people that helped her out when she first broke into the business. She talks about how Nora Greenwald (Molly Holly) became her best friend during training and gave her a box full of gear so she could look like a legit pro wrestler. She also says that Nora was so kind hearted and such a good friend that she paid all of Beth's tuition so she could continue to train as a pro wrestler. She thanks Paul Heyman for believing in her and Tommy Dreamer for believing in the little guy.

Beth goes on to thank all the women she worked with during her tenure in the WWE as well as thanking Santino Marella. She then talks a few minutes about her friendship with Natalya. She thanks the current roster of women for continuing on what she started for women's wrestling. She thanks everyone that helped through her entire career as well as the ones who she looked up to and paved the way for her especially Chyna. Beth then thanks her parents as well as her mother in law and then she goes to thank her husband Adam and the crowd erupts, she tries to introduce Edge but is interrupted by none other than former Smackdown ring announcer Tony Chimmel who does his well known intro for Edge where he sounds like a child going through puberty and his voice breaking as he says Rated R Superstar. Beth makes a few jokes about how difficult it is being a wrestler married to another wrestler and then thanks Edge for being an amazing husband and father. She finishes her speech by saying some words to her daughters in case they watch this one day.

I will say that I never expected this induction as a whole to be my favorite of the night, but surprisingly it exceeded my expectations. Beth had the perfect combination of humbleness, comedy, & seriousness that makes a great Hall of Fame speech in my opinion. I have to mention that I forgot just how beautiful Beth is as she looked stunning standing up there, also her and Edge's daughter is too cute.

Inductee #5 Warrior Award: Eric LeGrand (Inducted by Dana Warrior)
Dana's speech talked about how they were in Orlando and Orlando as well as WrestleMania is a place of fairy tales. She then goes on to make comparisons of how WWE is filled with the same characters that you can find in fairytales. She talks about her husband being a Warrior that was called Ultimate and that he did more than slay opponents, he inspired others and even in his last words he said we all need to believe. She talks about how Eric LeGrand is a warrior because he believes and that his mother is a warrior queen and Eric embodies the spirit that the Ultimate Warrior lived by.

Eric comes out and thanks God for giving him the power to make it through the trials and tribulations he has been through. He talks about his friendship with Triple H and then tells the story of how his accident happened. He talks about how he proved all the doctors wrong as he was able to breath and eat solid foods on his own as well as regain function of his neck and shoulders. He says that it's his job to help everyone with this kind of injury survive and hopefully walk again. He plans on carrying on the torch that Christopher Reeve lit and hopefully create a world full of empty wheelchairs. He talks about the wrestlers who inspired him including Stone Cold Steve Austin and Kane. LeGrand hopes he can represent the Warrior properly and that he will walk again one day.

This was pretty inspirational, but at the same time exactly what you would expect from pretty much anyone getting this award. I did like Dana's speech this year and felt it was much better than the two years prior and didn't seem to drag along as it had before.

Inductee #6: Teddy Long (Inducted by the APA)
The APA come out and say that once the old guys in wrestling get a hold of the mic they forget the most important phrase in wrestling which is go home. They start ripping on Teddy for being so cheap and Simmons pulls out a list that has how much Teddy owes them after the years going down the road with them. They tell a story about Teddy getting charged with a felony even though he hadn't drank the entire week and was arrested because he was driving while black. They then talk about how Teddy was around during the whole civil rights movement and everything that he witnessed and had to go through being a black man living in Alabama.

Teddy comes out all happy and having fun like he always does and tries to get the APA to dance with him, but they just walk off. Teddy wants the crowd to give him a holla holla holla. He clears up the story about him being charged with a felony and says that it was because Ron had made a smart comment that the officer made Teddy get out and take a sobriety test which he passed, but still got a fine of $200 that he somehow got the APA to pay. He talks about how he had many jobs in the business and thanks all the people that he had managed as well as the McMahon family for giving him the opportunity. He finishes off with saying that after APA said that stuff about him he is going to put them in a tag team match, but he knows Ron will say he is retired so he will instead just make JBL go one on on with The Undertaker.

Really fun speech by Teddy and the APA and it was pretty quick as they were aware it was getting late and probably wanted to make sure Angle got enough time for his speech.

Legacy Award Inductees: Haystacks Calhoun, Judy Grable, Bearcat Wright, Farmer Burns, Rikidozan, Luther Lindsey, June Byers, Toots Mondt, & Dr Jerry Graham

Inductee #7: Kurt Angle (Inducted by John Cena)
As Cena begins to speak he is met with chants of "Lets go Miz". He says that this induction is long overdue and that Angle is in a class all on his own. He talks about Angle winning the gold medals with a broken neck. He says that soon after Angle's debut in the WWE he became the measuring stick for all the WWE superstars. He says Angle is the type of guy fathers would tell their sons about, but their sons would question them and say that those things couldn't be true and the father would say that it's true, it's damn true!

He talks about the first time he was offered a contract by Vince McMahon and how it was for more money than he had ever seen in his life, but he told Vince that if he signs this contract then he can never lose a match in the WWE and once he said that the offer was off the table and he never heard from Vince again. A couple of years later he would start watching Raw and started to love everything having to do with WWE, so he called Jim Ross and asked if that offer Vince had for him was still on the table? Ross told him it wasn't, but he could come in and try out just like everyone else. He thanks everyone who helped him when he first started and said that he was lucky to work with unselfish superstars who would carry him through some of his early matches.

Angle says he is there to give advice to the superstars of today. Angle tells them to limit their mistakes, but follow the rules and use common sense. Angle tells them to not be the guy or girl that everyone says would have been great, but never made it. Take chances with your personality and sometimes making fun of yourself works in your favor. A PA then walks out and gives Angle the little cowboy hat and Angle says he didn't want to do that back then, but it worked out because he bought in. He then sings his version of Jimmy Crack Corn that he sang in that segment way back in 2001. He then goes on to talk about the wig and headgear he wore right after he had his head shaved and said that he made Hulk Hogan tap out wearing that thing. He then talks about riding a moped down to the ring in a match against The Undertaker as well as battle rapping with John Cena. He then sings "I'm just a sexy Kurt" which was his version of Shawn Michaels's entrance music.

Angle finally gets back to being serious and tells the current superstars that you have to make moments and although the fans will remember your matches you have to make moments. He said his favorite memory was when he drove a milk truck down to the ring. Angle then thanks his kids and his current wife (no mention of Karen). Angle finishes up by saying there is only one way he can celebrate his Hall of Fame induction and that's the only way he knows how, he is given two bottles of milk and says It's True, It's Damn True! Angle then proceeds to chug the milk with most of it pouring onto him to end the show.

Overall this was an ok show with two really good induction speeches by Kurt Angle & Beth Phoenix and a couple of moments that may get remembered.



NXT Takeover: Orlando
Orlando, FL
Amway Center
4/1/17

In the weeks leading up to this show I wasn't that excited for it like I usually am for the Takeover shows. NXT is really in a bit of a down period right now and doesn't have the same buzz around it like it did WrestleMania weekend last year. I have to admit that I hadn't watched the last 3 weeks of NXT tv as nothing that I read on the spoilers really made me want to watch. Going in I was hoping this show would get me back into being pumped up for NXT, so lets see if it does.



Match #1: SAnity def Tye Dillinger, Roderick Strong, Ruby Riot, & No Way Jose Kassius OhnoOn the pre-show we are shown a video of Sanity attacking No Way Jose prior to his match as Axxess as they would send him into the steps and then drop the steps on his leg. We are told that No Way Jose was unable to compete and Dillinger's team was given the choice of either finding another partner or competing in a handicap match. Once this was announced it was pretty obvious that this was their way of getting Kassius Ohno on the card. 

This was a great way of starting the show as it was action packed the entire time and never slowed down. The cons I have for this match is that I wish the women had more time in the ring as I don't feel like this matched showed off Ruby Riot at all as she was barely in the match. I don't see why SAnity needed the win here as they are established enough to have Wolfe take Ohno's finish and get pinned. Rating: ***1/4



Match #2: Aleister Black def Andrade Cien Almas
This match was pretty much what you have come to expect from a match where a new superstar debuts in NXT on a TakeOver just a showcase for the new guy, although Almas got in a bit more offense than I expected him to. Black gets the win when he hits his Black Mass kick for the pinfall. Rating: **3/4


Match #3: The Authors of Pain (c) w/ Paul Ellering def DIY & The Revival (NXT Tag Team Championship - 3 Way Elimination Match)
Before the match begins we are introduced to the first of three new title belts for NXT and in my opinion they are pretty generic looking and don't do anything for me really, but I guess I'll get used to them just like I did the Universal Championship. 

I liked how both DIY and Revival teamed up on AOP at the beginning and pretty much off and on throughout the entire match. AOP looked like the beasts they are slamming guys left and right and fighting off the odds. I liked that DIY actually payed The Revival back by stepping away from the corner when Dawson tried to tag them in as you usually only see the heels do that. I liked the spot where AOP throw Gargano into a diving Ciampa and then throw Gargano into The Revival. My first favorite spot of the match were when Dawson locked in the inverted figure four and then Gargano almost went to break it up, but both Wilder & even Ciampa begged him not to, so instead Gargano simultaneously locks in his submission. My other favorite spots were when one member of each team hit each member of AOP with one of the team's finsher (Dawson & Gargano hit DIY's finisher and Dash & Ciampa hit the Shatter Machine). In probably the craziest spot of the match Dawson superplexes Ciampa off the top to the outside onto all the other members of the match. AOP end up eliminating DIY after hitting Ciampa with the Last Chapter. Once DIY was eliminated the next part of the match wasn't quite as good as AOP pretty much dominated The Revival and finished them off with the Super Collider to retain the NXT Tag Team Championships.

I loved everything about this match and it was by far my favorite match of the night and probably my favorite match of the weekend (only talking WWE shows, I haven't seen any of the indy shows yet)
Rating: ****1/2


Match #4: Asuka (c) def Ember Moon (NXT Women's Championship)
We get Regal unveiling the new NXT Women's Championship and again it just feels basic and nothing special. Whats the point in changing the belts they had when they looked so good and hadn't been around that long?

So after the first three matches this show was on a roll and then we get to this match and I started losing interest pretty quickly. This could be because I just can't get into Ember Moon for some reason and other than her finisher she does nothing for me, and I freaking hate that her damn gimmick is so inconsistent. If you want to know what I mean go read the review I did for Takeover: San Antonio on my Royal Rumble weekend post. The match wasn't a bad match, but it just couldn't keep me interested throughout it like the previous matches on this show did. I guess after the finish where Asuka pushes the ref to knock Moon off the top rope means that Asuka is going full blown heel which I think could be a mistake as she is way over with the fans and they won't boo her. I imagine we get a rematch at the next Takeover since NXT love doing title rematches, but I'd rather see Nikki or Ruby in the spot of challenging and hopefully finally beating Asuka. 

After I wrote the above I went and re-watched the match and liked it a bit better on second viewing.
Rating: ***


Match #5: Bobby Roode (c) def Shinsuke Nakamura (NXT Championship)
I was more optimistic than most when this rematch was announced as I liked their first match way more than most as I enjoyed the leg work and how Nakamura sold it, but I have watched this match twice and neither time was I able to get into it and it made me zone out even worse than the Asuka vs Ember Moon match did. Seeing as Nakamura lost I would guess its pretty obvious that we will be seeing him on either Raw or Smackdown this week. It will be interesting to see who they put in line next to face Roode.  Rating: **1/2

Overall Takeover: Orlando was a decent show, but nowhere near their best and just like most of the Takeovers I enjoyed the undercard especially the tag match way more than the main event. I would give this show a C-



WWE WrestleMania 33
Orlando, FL
Camping World Stadium
4/2/17

I have finally come to the main event of this blog post WrestleMania and going into this year's show I was back and forth on whether I was looking forward to it or not. A week or two before I wasn't that excited for it and put it in the back of my mind as my mind was preoccupied with catching up on the first four seasons of Big Brother Canada so I could watch the fifth season, but once I finished with that my mind was back on Mania and after I looked at the card as a whole I once again got pumped up for it. I will say I was more pumped for WrestleMania itself rather than any particular match as there wasn't much long term build for most of the matches. The matches with the best build had to be Rollins vs Triple H, Owens vs Jericho, Shane vs AJ Styles, and the mixed tag and one of those four matches was pretty predictable. Once WrestleMania week came around I of course was at my ultimate excitement which always seems to happen despite how poorly the card looks going into the show as WrestleMania itself is a spectacle that you have to watch and it gets you excited, I guess it's kind of like the Super Bowl where you have to watch the Super Bowl no matter which two teams are playing each other. So lets go through this journey through the 33rd WrestleMania and see if my excitement for the show grows or lessens while watching it.



Kickoff Match #1: Neville (c) def Austin Aries (WWE Cruiserweight Championship)
I'm so glad that when these two came out for their match that they weren't wrestling in front of an empty arena like Ryback and Kalisto did last year as that wouldn't have been good at all. I have to say while the staging was pretty cool the roller coaster part didn't come off as great once the entire set was put together as it wasn't as big or as special as it looked in the pics, but the globe thing was pretty cool. I have to wonder how people live thought about it as maybe it came off better in person rather than on tv.

This was a good choice to start the night out with as it was a really good match that got a lot of  time. I haven't watched any 205 Live in a couple of months, but I don't need that show or any story leading up to this match to tell me this was going to be worth watching as both Neville and Aries are two of the very best in all of the WWE. This match was back and forth and as it was happening I could have seen either man getting the win. I liked the finish where Neville got out of the Last Chancery by raking the bad eye of Aries and using that as an opportunity to go up and hit the Red Arrow for the win. Rating: ***1/4


Kickoff Match #2: Mojo Rawley wins the Andre the Giant Memoral Battle Royal
This match was so bad and made no fucking sense from a booking perspective and this would be the first match of the night that pissed me off. First off I believe Big Show had said in an interview leading up to WrestleMania that he was retiring after this and he is eliminated way too quick which made no sense, but I was ok with that as it was Braun who eliminated him so I thought it was going to be Braun eliminates show and becomes the new dominant giant by winning this match, but nope screw that as Braun is eliminated right after by everyone. WTF what sense did that make, the man you have been building up as a monster gets eliminated while half of the participants in the match are still in. I was shocked to say the least and then I was like well ok then they must be setting up for Sami Zayn to win and then I remember Mojo is still in the match and I'm like oh hell no please don't tell me they are gonna have him win this thing. The match keeps going and then Sami is eliminated and now I'm really freaking out as the only one left in the match at this point that I would be happy winning it would have been Killian Dane as I thought maybe they are gonna shock everyone and give him a monster push, We then see Jinder throw Mojo out of the ring and get in Rob Grongowski's face and I knew then that damn it Mojo F'N Rawley is gonna win this damn match and that's exactly what he ended up doing after Gronk jumped the guardrail and got in the ring and tackled Jinder and Mojo eliminated both Jinder and Dane.

WWE threw away the chance to make Braun an even bigger monster by having a dominant performance in this match and instead chose to try and get some mainstream attention by having Gronk get involved and having his little buddy Mojo win the match instead. They already had a moment later on in the show that would get them mainsteam attention so why do they need to do this, especially when I doubt they will do anything with Mojo after this. Rating: 1/4 *



Kickoff Match #3: Dean Ambrose (c) def Baron Corbin (WWE Intercontinental Championship)
Yeah I bet nobody will ever remember this match as I barely do myself and unfortunately for Dean this is his second WrestleMania match in a row that I will forget about and will rack my brain in 3-5 years to remember who he faced at WrestleMania 33. I am glad they bumped this to the kickoff show as it had no reason to be a match on the main card as I don't think anyone cared about this match and that's mainly because of Dean Ambrose rather than Baron as he has actually been doing some pretty good work lately and has improved a good bit and actually made me interested in him. 

For most of this match Corbin was in control and the only time Ambrose got an advantage was when he moved out of the way of a move and Corbin would go out of the ring or into the steps. Every time Ambrose would try a big move Ambrose would cut him off. The finish comes when Ambrose counters the End of Days with the Dirty Deeds for the pin. This was a match that's pretty much all I can say and I wouldn't be surprised if we get a rematch on Smackdown. Rating: **1/2



Match #1: AJ Styles def Shane McMahon
Before I get to AJ vs Shane I have to mention that Tinashe (who I don't think I've ever heard of before this WrestleMania, which means I finally am getting old and not as up to date with today's current artists like I used to be) did a really good job singing "America the Beautiful". I also thought the opening video to start the show off was pretty cool. I'm not sure why WrestleMania has to have hosts as we barely even see them and unlike previous years when we had a host for WrestleMania New Day didn't even do anything out of the ordinary at the beginning of the show at least when Hogan was the host we got that awesome in ring segment with three of the biggest names in WWE history.

I was really surprised that this match opened the show as right before it I believe Michael Cole said the first match was going to be from Smackdown so I started thinking in my mind which match it could be and I was thinking they were gonna put the WWE Championship match first, which in hindsight may have been a much better idea. 

This match was really good and exceeded my expectations as I was worried about Shane being limited in a normal match, but I have to say up until the point where the weapons did come out Shane did a pretty good job. I like how in the build to this match AJ was poking at Shane about how this was a regular wrestling match and not some kind of street fight and then once the match starts going AJ gets pissed that Shane is out wrestling him and AJ ends up being the one to land the first punch. I liked the spot in the match where they quickly exchanged submission holds and then the spot where Shane catches AJ off a springboard 450 into a triangle choke. I'm so glad Shane remembered not to tuck his head when he took the Styles Clash. Once the ref bump happened it turned into a typical Shane McMahon match which I thought it eventually would. I would say they really kept AJ strong in this match as he kicked out of the Coast to Coast as well as having him move out of the way for both the elbow through the table spot and the shooting star press. I did like how Shane countered the Phenomenal Forearm with the Laying the Smackdown DDT. This was going to be a hard match to top as these two tore the house down. The only part I didn't like about this match was the selling of the referee after the bump and how they had the trainers come over to his aid and the fact that AJ had to tell him to move out of the way for his Coast to Coast. Rating: ****



Match #2: Kevin Owens def Chris Jericho (c) (WWE United States Championship)
This match was one I was really looking forward to as it had the best story going into it. The match itself was really good and did a great job playing off of them knowing each others moves and countering them. I liked the near fall where KO only gets his fingertip on the rope to break the pin. The finish where KO caught Jericho's leg as was getting out of the ring and superkicked it so he could get Jericho vulnerable enough to hit the apron power bomb was pretty cool. One problem with this match is that even though the match was good it will most likely be one of the matches that are forgotten from this show and that's a shame. Rating: ***1/2



Match #3: Bayley (c) def Sasha Banks, Charlotte, & Nia Jax (Raw Women's Championship - 4 Way Elimination Match)
I was the furthest thing from excited when it came to this match as the booking leading up to WrestleMania has been absolutely terrible for the Raw women's division. They took the two things away from us that would have made the intrigue for this match at an all time high. I still think it was so stupid that they put the title on Bayley before WrestleMania as that was the emotional moment everyone was looking forward to happening at WrestleMania and if that wasn't enough to take away from us they also had Bayley beat Charlotte and end her PPV streak on a B level PPV. 

If you look at this match and then look at last years women's match at WrestleMania this year's match felt like it was just there and really had no steam or prestige to it like the match last year. Just like at Takeover I enjoyed everyone teaming up on the biggest person in the match and this time they made sure they got her out first. The rest of this match was pretty much the same thing you would get in a match on Raw or another PPV. It was a decent match, but nothing blow away about it at all.
Rating: **3/4



Match #4: The Hardy Boyz def Anderson/Gallows (c), Sheamus/Cesaro, & Enzo/Big Cass (Raw Tag Team Championship - 4 Way Ladder Match)
I couldn't give two shits about this match going in as the Raw Tag Division was just as bad as it's women's division and I thought they just threw the ladder match stipulation in so the fans would have a reason to be excited for this match. I should have been smarter and seen what was going to happen. There have been rumors for months that the Hardyz were going to be coming back to WWE and I had it so cemented into my mind that they would be doing something with The New Day and didn't even give thought that they could've been in this match, even when the event started I was shocked that this match wasn't first and finally mid way through it popped in my head that they were saving this match for later in the show so that the Hardyz could make their big return. 

The pop the Hardy Boyz got had to be the loudest pop of the entire night and was the best happy moment of the night. The match itself was good, but once again even with this being a ladder match it fell short of being one of those epic all time ladder matches that will be remembered for years to come. People will remember the Hardyz returning more than they will the match itself.
Rating: ***1/2



Match #5: John Cena & Nikki Bella def The Miz & Maryse (Mixed Tag Match)
This match and the moment after it should have been a much bigger deal than it was, but the outcome was so predictable and everyone knew what was happening and it became where we were just waiting for them to get there and get it over with so we could move to the next match. I did like the stuff Miz and Maryse did in the build for this match and even in her few lines was ok on the mic, and then we got our typical Cena cutting down his opponents and not even letting them get back at him verbally. I always say that the passion in Cena's voice when he cuts promos is great, but the problem is that I don't believe anything that comes out of his mouth and the fact that The Miz was making valid points about Cena made it hard not to cheer for Miz and Maryse in this match even though it was inevitable they were going to lose.

The match was pretty basic and saw Miz get in a lot of offense at the beginning of the match and then once Cena got in control it was over for Miz as he never got a chance to make another comeback. I was surprised Maryse wasn't more involved than she was as the only offensive move she did was pull Nikki off the apron. I found it funny that Miz was so over to the crowd here that even when he started mocking Daniel Bryan the fans cheered for him and did the Yes Chants along with him. The finish was pretty much what we seen on Smackdown the last few weeks with both Cena and Nikki hitting their finishers simultaneously for the pinfall. 

After the match we get the expected proposal and as much as WWE wanted this to be a big moment and I'm sure the WWE expected the crowd to be going crazy and to see people crying in the stands like they did when Randy Savage and Miss Elizabeth reunited at WrestleMania VII, but that was not to be as the crowd only had a smattering of applause and you could hear a couple of girls screaming and overall the moment felt pretty flat, but it will still get them some main steam exposure and that's all WWE cares about so for that they were successful. Rating: **1/4



Match #6: Seth Rollins def Triple H w/ Stephanie McMahon (Unsanctioned Match)
This feud was pretty much carried by Triple H's promos as Rollins had to be out for most of the weeks leading up to WrestleMania and I feel he did a really good job. I feel Triple H gets a bit of a bad rap at times and while I agree sometimes his matches go way too long just as this one did, but people make him out to be worse than I see him to really be. I think Triple H's entrance was pretty cool, but if you compare it to last year's entrance it wasn't nowhere near as elaborate. I have to say Stephanie was looking pretty hot tonight and it reminded me of her looks from 2000-2002 which we only get to see once a year now. 

The only problem I had with this match was the length of it as they could have shaved off 5-10 mins and still had a really great match. I loved how they blended the the technical working on the leg of Rollins with the weapons and brawling. It was great that they did a callback to when Rollins originally injured his knee the first time. I also liked how they sort of played into the the NXT rivalry of DIY vs The Revival as Triple H used Scott Dawson's inverted figure four and Rollins used Gargano's submission finisher. I liked the table spot with Stephanie that led to Triple H being distracted long enough for him to turn around into a Pedigree that would give Rollins the win. One thing I did find a bit strange was that Triple H's "destroyer" Samoa Joe didn't get involved when his boss was in trouble, so some bodyguard he is. I'm sorry, but if someone says they didn't enjoy this match for any other reason than it being too long is crazy. I feel people automatically bash Triple H matches just because it's a Triple H match and don't judge it by the quality of the match. I would be saying something different if the match went that long and Triple H won, but he did the right thing and put Rollins over.
Rating: ***1/2


Match #7: Randy Orton def Bray Wyatt (c) (WWE World Championship)
I was back and forth on whether I was into the feud or not as some weeks as I liked some of the stuff they did and some things I didn't. I still would've rather had this be a triple threat with Luke Harper in the match as he was a big part of the whole Wyatt and Orton story early on. I am more welcoming than most to the strange and bizarre things WWE does with Bray Wyatt feuds and the build up here had to be one of the strangest. I actually liked the whole segment where Orton burnt down the Wyatt compound, but after that it fell a bit flat and I was hoping this would lead to something big happening at WrestleMania and oh how my hopes were crushed.

This match was the absolute shits and made no freaking sense what so ever, first off I wouldn't have had as big of a problem with the videos on the ring mat if they played into the finish, but when the announcers are trying to get over that these videos are freaking Orton out and Orton still gets the win despite the videos playing then what freaking purpose did the videos have. I was thinking throughout the match that the videos would just be the first thing and then eventually we would get some kind of zombie or ghost like character that is Sister Abigail and that distraction would lead to Orton losing the match and we would have another layer of the Bray Wyatt character in that since even though his brothers have abandoned him he still has Abigail by his side. It also didn't help that Orton didn't even sell that the videos were freaking him out. Also I can't tell you anything about the actual physical action in the match as the videos were so distracting and I was so interested to see where it was going that the match itself took a backseat. This was just absolute trash and I hope they make up for it on Smackdown with something better to further this story as I imagine we are headed to a rematch between the two at the next Smackdown PPV. Rating: *1/4



Match #8: Brock Lesnar w/ Paul Heyman vs Goldberg (c) (WWE Universal Championship)
After the abortion of a match we got for the WWE Championship at least they made up for it with the Universal Championship match as this match was exactly what it needed to be quick, hard hitting, and it got the job done. Both men looked good in this match and I couldn't ask for a better match from these two. This could be one of the greatest if not the greatest sub 5 minute match ever.
Rating: ****



Match #9: Naomi def Alexa Bliss (c), Mickie James, Natalya, Carmella, & Becky Lynch (Smackdown Women's Championship - 6 Pack Challenge)
What a crazy week it was for the women of Smackdown, at the beginning of the week they were stuck on the kickoff show just like at Royal Rumble, but due to fan outrage and complaints (and also because Naomi's entrance would look terrible in the daylight) they were moved to the main card and if you know me you know I love my women of Smackdown and will sing their praises all day so I was pumped up that this match was given its rightful place on the main card. All night I was sitting there watching the show with my Alexa Bliss shirt on and every time one match would end I was like ok the Smackdown women have to be next and over and over I was wrong, I got to the point that I thought they were going to run out of time and was going to bump this match off the card or just as bad they were going to do like they have done with the women in the past and not give them their entrances and just have them magically appear in the ring. Once I heard the music of my girl Alexa Bliss I was all pumped up and I was so excited that she got a special entrance with pyro.

So one thing I didn't like is they used this match as a cool down from the previous few matches so the fans would be ready for the main event and that pisses me off because it shows that even though they did have to force them on the main card they still don't think as much of the women of Smackdown as they do the women of Raw and they treated this match like they did women's WrestleMania matches before the Women's Revolution. If you ask me if they wanted to put one of the women's matches here it should have been the Raw women's match for once as they girls still could have gotten over more in that spot as they are more established while I feel the Smackdown women needed that fresh spot earlier in the show and also needed at least 5 more mins on their match. I can almost guarantee that if this match had as much time as the Raw women's match did it would have been way better. The match was what it was and because the thing was only 5 minutes nobody really got to shine for long periods of time. Alexa did great in this match screaming at the girls to get out of her ring and Becky got to have the spot where she beat up Ellsworth which was good for her. As much as I'll remember this match just because some of my favorite girls are in it I guarantee nobody else will remember it. I hope by next year the girls on Smackdown are given a fair spot on the show and not used as a damn cool down match. Rating: **1/2



Match #10: Roman Reigns def The Undertaker (No Holds Barred Match)
I feel like the video package for this match made it seem like this match had a longer and better build than it actually did as I can't remember too much happening other than Roman eliminating Undertaker from the Royal Rumble and Undertaker appearing on Raw to chokeslam him. It was great to hear Jim Ross back in the WWE announcing and I'm sure he was honored to call what could be Undertaker's last match.

This was another match that needed some time shaved off of it as it was the second longest of the night, although for some reason it felt like the longest as I started zoning out a bit as I was looking at twitter stuff (I don't see how people constantly tweet during these shows, I'm afraid I'll miss something while I'm typing a tweet). Basically the story of this match was Roman trying to keep Undertaker down and having to pull out everything in his arsenal and then some. While it wasn't the worst main event in WrestleMania history it was far from the best. I know people were pissed about Roman winning the last match on the show, but if you think about it Roman's win will be somewhat in the background of this match if this truly is Undertaker's last match as that's all people will remember it for. You also have to remember that there is no way Undertaker is going to lay down for Roman in his last match unless Undertaker feels he deserves it and is worthy of having the torch passed to. 

The match was decent, but the post match with Undertaker taking his gloves, jacket, and hat off and laying it in the ring was one of the most incredible and emotional things I've ever watched in wrestling and to watch him as he takes the hat off and he just gives this big exhale knowing that this it and it's finally over nearly had me in tears. He even broke character for a second to go over and kiss his wife which you would never see Undertaker do unless it was the real deal. If this truly is his last I will definitely miss him, but hopefully that means HOF next year for him. I hope now that he is retired he will be more open to breaking character and doing stuff like podcasts and stuff because he has always been a guy that I would love to see sit down in an interview setting and just share his knowledge and hear his thoughts on different topics that have happened during his career. I doubt he would do anything like a shoot interview, but maybe like a Stone Cold podcast. 
Rating: Match - ***   Post Match - *****


WrestleMania 33 overall I feel was a great show and the 7+ hours didn't bother me like it did other people because I know what to expect and I'm ok with one night being this long as it's their biggest show of the year. I guarantee if NJPW Wrestle Kingdom lasted that long nobody would say shit about it because it's NJPW, but those shows can be a drag to get through at times also. I'm just so freaking tired of every year right after WrestleMania people want to jump on the negative instantly and will never give this company credit when they put on a good show. I like to think I'm fair when it comes to WWE in that I will give them shit for the stuff they screw up on, but at the same time I will give them props when they do something I like and maybe it's just me, but I don't tend to be negative near as much as the IWC does. 

If your going to be so negative about a promotion or show then quit watching it nobody is forcing you to sit there in front of the tv the entire time nor are they forcing you to buy a ticket to go see the show. If you are watching this show from home and you feel it's going too long then stop it and come back to it the next day and as far as people that are there in the arena you now know what to expect from this show and it's going to be this way from now on most likely so if you don't want to be there for 6-7 hours then don't go to the freaking show it's as simple as that. 

As I said before top to bottom overall this was a great show and I will give it an A. The only reason it didn't get an A+ is because of the battle royal, Orton vs Wyatt, and the mixed tag match. 

WrestleMania 32 Weekend Match Rankings
18. Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal
17. WWE World Championship
16. John Cena & Nikki Bella vs The Miz & Maryse
15. WWE Intercontinental Championship
14. Smackdown Women's Championship
13. NXT Championship
12. Raw Women's Championship
11. Aleister Black vs Andrade Cien Almas
10. NXT Women's Championship
9. The Undertaker vs Roman Reigns
8. SAnity vs Tye Dillinger, Roderick Strong, Kassius Ohno, & Ruby Riot
7. WWE Cruiserweight Championship
6. WWE United States Championship
5. Raw Tag Team Championship
4. Seth Rollins vs Triple H
3. WWE Universal Championship
2. AJ Styles vs Shane McMahon
1. NXT Tag Team Championship 3 Way 

I hope you enjoy my review of all things WWE during WrestleMania 33 weekend and feel free to tell me what you think over on twitter @MTW3589 

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