Randy Orton def. The Fiend
Um…….okay? I don’t even have the words to convey about how I felt. But if it helps any, none of the words are good. All I can say is this. The best part about whatever that was were the entrances. That is when everything hit its peak. Orton and Wyatt never had the best of chemistry, so another saving grace about this match was the fact that it was kept brief. With all of that being said, I just have two questions. What and why? The match was as bare bones as it gets. And of course, what everyone will remember this for….the finish.
Orton burns The Fiend alive, he has all kinds of paranormal things happen to him for months, The Fiend finally returns and the payoff his an RKO off a distraction? The Fiend seems to be a never-ending story and the finish to the match was to clearly have us tune in to see what happens tomorrow, but this ultimately fell flat on its face. I saw The Fiend take about 25 Curb Stomps and kick out of all of that and then felt just fine after a sledgehammer to the face, but one RKO out of nowhere is now all it takes to do away with him? After he spent the previous 5 minutes no selling his offense? Whatever. A real bummer and deflating opener on multiple levels. This isn’t the way to open a WrestleMania. It’s like they consciously tried to see how they can make their match at WrestleMania 33 even worse. On the bright side, if you bet actual money that Orton was going to win, you would have made bank since he was a massive underdog in the betting odds. *
Nia Jax (C) and Shayna Baszler (C) def. Natalya and Tamina – WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships
Sorry guys, but I just couldn’t get into this one either. This match showcased the reason why it is important to treat every match that is on a WrestleMania card with importance. Instead, a makeshift tag team who only wrestled two matches at a team that won a below average tag team turmoil match faced another makeshift tag team who haven’t feuded with anyone all year. So ultimately, no matter how hard these four worked, this match hit a wall because the story was lame and none of the four workers have the intangibles in the ring to make a great match come from a bad story (unlike last night’s main event).
I also don’t think longer matches are what favors Tamina and Nia, as they are not the strongest of workers. The prolonged heat segments with Natalya fighting off Nia and Shayna just didn’t do it for me. That being said, all four did work very hard and the match actually picked up nicely towards the end. Especially when it came to Tamina getting the crowd on her side. So I’ll grade this match on a bit of a curve. The result kind of took the air out of the crowd, so the women’s tag team titles are going to need some serious focus going forward. So in the end, it’s a more than passable match, but not something anyone will remember for all the effort involved. **1/2
Kevin Owens def. Sami Zayn
Thank goodness, we finally got something to wake the crowd up. I was fearful that the focus of the match was going to be on Logan Paul and that he’d get involved in the match. Thankfully, he just sat on his chair and no funny business happened. And thankfully, Owens and Zayn showcased what they are capable of doing when given time to tell a story and put on a great match. I really would have liked for this to have gotten the time that the women’s tag match, but on its own, the match is far and away the best thing that has happened so far.
As a side note, while I normally find JBL to be annoying on commentary at times, one thing I did appreciate was when he mentioned that a portion of the match resembled the finish to their one on one match at Battleground 2016 when Sami hit a Helluva Kick, held Owens’ unconscious body, and hit him with another one to win the match. Instead, the tables turned, and Owens got revenge for that moment. I thought that was a nice wrinkle in there, building on their previous encounters. In a perfect world, the year would have been 2016 and the character roles would have been reversed, but I’ll take what I can get. Nice job from all involved. This is probably what should have opened WrestleMania. ***3/4
Sheamus def. Riddle (C) – United States Championship
Exactly what I wanted from these two. A hard-hitting, physical match that was evenly fought throughout. I think these two have some pretty great chemistry with each other and wouldn’t mind seeing them prolong this feud a little longer. I was a bit surprised they gave Sheamus the win here since he already defeated Riddle coming into tonight. That being said, Sheamus has been one of the undercover workhorses of the pandemic era of WWE, and while he’s already won the United States championship twice, having him win here is a good call and it is absolutely deserved.
It is a shame that Sheamus slipped while attempting that top rope Celtic Cross, because I’m sure it would have gotten a good pop, but aside from that flub, this is a high quality match over a title that has gradually lost significance over the past few months. Nice work from these two. Very nice work. ***3/4
Apollo Crews def. Big E (C) – Intercontinental Championship (Nigerian Drum Fight)
Aw, man. This match was going to very good places, but I think the finish came way too early. I don’t know if a call was made during the match to get to the finish, but it looked like they had some more moves in them before the finish came, which is a shame because I would have loved to see 5 or so more minutes of this. These two were absolutely making both of their presences felt, and I absolutely loved some of the moves here. We should make it a point to say that this wasn’t a Nigerian Drum Fight. Instead, this was a Street Fight With Nigerian Drum Props.
I think this match went about 9 or so minutes, but in those minutes, these two occupied that time tremendously, and they were on their way to doing more great stuff before Kato came and interfered. High quality outing in the time given, but a missed opportunity. ***1/4
Rhea Ripley def. Asuka (C) – RAW Women’s Championship
Another very good match that we got here, albeit I wasn’t emotionally invested because there’s not a story to follow. Ripley got her WrestleMania match literally by just asking for it on her first night. So if anyone was wondering how to get a slot at WrestleMania, just ask for it. But while the emotions for me, this was a job well done by both ladies and definitely a make up for Rhea Ripley having her moment robbed from her last year. Some of the submission reversals were rather gnarly here as well.
The right decision was absolutely made here by having Ripley win, as I think it’s high time that the RAW Women’s Championship get moved into a different direction. I don’t really have anything bad to say here past that. ***1/2
Roman Reigns (C) def. Daniel Bryan and Edge – Universal Championship
The adjectives and superlatives aren’t there yet. Maybe they will come after I watch this match again another 40 or so times. But for what little I can say at the moment, this match was absolutely and positively incredible. The work and storytelling by all three men were phenomenal, but at the end of the day, this is about one man, and that’s the Head of the Table. Seriously, if this isn’t a coronation, I don’t know what is. Some people thought it was when he first won the WWE Championship. Others thought it was when he defeated Undertaker at WrestleMania. And some others thought it was when he finally got over the hump and defeated Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship. But I dare say that this was the crowning moment right here.
Roman is the Head of the Table. He’s the reason why Jey can put food on the table for his family and why Paul Heyman is still in WWE. But he’s also where dreams come to die. Edge is back, won the Royal Rumble at #1 and is competing in the main event of WrestleMania. He wants to win back what he never lost? Forget it. Daniel Bryan isn’t sure how many WrestleManias he has left in him and wants one more moment in the sun? Not happening. Roman is the Head of the Table and sometimes, dreams don’t come true. But you want to know what the biggest flex was? In Roman’s promo Friday, Roman said that he was going to beat them and that he was going to STACK them, and what did he do? He hit the conchairto to Edge and STACKED his lifeless body on top of Bryan’s and pinned both of them simultaneously, and I’m sure that’s the only time that’s ever been done at WrestleMania.
This is how you do a signature moment. Leave no doubt in anyone’s mind who runs things. This was absolutely perfectly done. I had Edge winning because I didn’t think they were going to have him fail to win the title at WrestleMania after winning the Royal Rumble. I also thought that this was a way to get the title off of him without him having to be involved in the decision, because it’s not like anyone on SmackDown’s roster measures up to him one on one at this point. But in the end, I think it made for a better narrative.
Another thing to consider is that all three of these men were built to be in the main event. The entire crowd was standing for the duration of the match because of the twists and turns that were taking place, and Edge nearly winning the championship had the crowd hot, as he was the sentimental favorite. And Roman absolutely crushed their dreams and stood tall with the title in hand. If there is any quibble I had with the match, it’s that Jey got involved at the end. I would have preferred Roman to have done the job on his own to fully show his dominance and not show the side of chickensh*t heel tendencies that tend to overtake characters, but that’s neither here nor there. I don’t know who’s going to take the title off of Roman, but he’s firing on all cylinders now, and I can’t imagine him losing the title for the foreseeable future. I mean, how could he? Are they really going to ride this out until WrestleMania next year? Is a future match with The Rock in store? What a feud that would be.
As you can tell, I got a bit too excited, but overall, this was just a fantastic main event, and one of the greatest endings to WrestleMania I can remember. All three men ought to be proud of themselves. Props to Edge and Bryan for putting Roman over as strongly as they did, and may we all officially acknowledge the one and only Roman Reigns. ****3/4
Conclusion:
The two night format for WrestleMania certainly worked out here, because I don’t think I would have been able to stay awake for everything on this card. If you ask me, both nights had their forms of entertainment and were more or less even in quality. Night One was a bit more well-rounded, while Night Two had a sluggish start, but a near perfect ending with some quality outings sprinkled in between.
So overall, I’d say the WrestleMania experience delivered. While this may vary considering the rain delay on Night One, I think both nights overall delivered a great culmination to what was a very crazy year for WWE. Both world champions retained in relatively strong fashion, new stars were made and I’d say for the most part, all of the right people who should have won did. I have little to complain about overall, so I give WrestleMania 37 as a whole a pretty solid thumbs up.
