WrestleMania 37 will historically go down as the first WWE show with a live crowd since the pandemic began.
This was so wholesome to see. Hearing fans physically pop again at their favorites destroying each other got us rather emotional at all the live wrestling we have missed over the year.
WrestleMania 37 had a lackluster build but once it reached its destination, it stood and delivered. Clearly, ‘Mania is the reason we continue watching through the really bad episodes of Raw or constant burials of our favorite talents.
We see WrestleMania as the time for change. The future on full display. Furthermore, with Undertaker, Triple H, Brock Lesnar and John Cena all absent from the Showcase of the Immortals, this was a showcase of new immortals.
8. Bobby Lashley Retains WWE Championship
Florida had its usual wild weather on Saturday evening, and as a result, we all had to wait a little bit longer to see the atmosphere of a live crowd once again. During this unprecedented 40 minutes, we got unscripted promos, Michael Cole and Samoa Joe in ponchos, and more.
It was rather amusing to bear witness to this unpredictable piece of wrestling history.
Then the show kickstarted with the WWE Championship defended in front of 25,000+ fans for the first time all year. Bobby Lashley vs Drew McIntyre in their rematch from Backlash 2020. This was surely going to be a feat of strength and power.
Lashley worked full heel here, working the crowd and displaying his extreme aggression all over McIntyre. As with most of McIntyre’s matches, there was an old-school structure to the match, brawling and technical wrestling moves being very apparent throughout.
McIntyre also hit his huge over-the-top dive onto Lashley and his only Hurt Business partner MVP. It was an insane way to welcome back the fans. We truly were ‘Back In Business’.
After three Future Shock DDTs, McIntyre was completely in focus mode. It was his destiny to win this. He had been waiting since last year to win the WWE Championship in front of a sold-out crowd. Emotionally, the pandemic ripped that achievement away from him when he destroyed Lesnar at last year’s ‘Mania.
However, the match simply ended with Lashley locking in a ruthless Hurt lock and McIntyre passing out for one of this show’s biggest upsets. Alexa, play ‘Broken Dreams’.
Lashley totally deserves to have a full run with the WWE Championship and it is a bittersweet moment to see him remain with the top title. Firstly, it is sweet because Lashley hasn’t really had the time to showcase his full force as the top guy.
Hopefully, the Hurt Business reunite and Lashley can have a dominant run as champ before losing it to someone like Drew McIntyre or Keith Lee further into the calendar.
7. AJ Styles & Omos Wins Raw Tag Team Championship
As I said earlier, WrestleMania 37 conveyed the future of the company. Omos is a great example of this.
Unusually, this match saw the babyfaces, Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods fight in the heel format against Styles and Omos.
Styles was beaten and bruised for several minutes before he could reach the hot tag on Omos.
Once Omos eventually got into the match – his main roster in-ring debut no less – he thrilled us with what to expect from him in the future. He is a mighty dominant dude. The New Day didn’t stand a chance.
The finale saw Styles hit a Phenomenal Forearm from Omos’ shoulders. Omos also unveiled that his finisher is the double handed chokeslam, which is nothing new for tall guys. The Great Khali was profound for defeating his opponents that way.
Nevertheless, Omos is indeed in for a successful time on the main roster. Vince loves larger-than-life height and Omos towers over everyone. It was hilarious seeing the new Grand Slam Champion Styles cockily celebrate with the Raw Tag Team Title even after Omos destructed the New Day.
It will be interesting to see who challenges for them next as the main roster is lacking in tag team talent, especially on Raw. WWE must learn from its addiction to splitting up tag teams. Regardless, AJ Styles’ presence with this title is already elevating the division.
6. Bad Bunny Had An Incredible Match
Who would’ve guessed this was one of the matches of the night?
Cesaro vs Rollins was a delight to hardcore wrestling fans. Even Braun Strowman vs Shane McMahon in a steel cage was a pleasant surprise after the terrible storyline that played out prior. However, nobody stood out like Bad Bunny did.
Remember when Bad Bunny was announced to sing on the Royal Rumble and lots of people ignorantly questioned who he was? Well, Bad Bunny has proven himself to these type of people.
This match was a tag team encounter with Bunny teaming up with Damian Priest to face off against the arrogant duo of Miz & Morrison.
Despite, the ‘Archer of Infamy’ standing in Bunny’s corner, Bad Bunny fought for himself, proving he wasn’t just another celebrity tryout.
Miz and Morrison had a run for their money being whacked hard by punches, a hurricanrana, a flying dive and even a Canadian Destroyer. This just proves that if you are passionate enough and put the time and effort in to get somewhere, you can make it.
Bad Bunny, one of Latin America’s biggest stars jumped out of his career zone and stood in the big leagues of professional wrestling.
On night two, there was a video package seemingly announcing the farewell of Bad Bunny as he hops into his next endeavour with a world tour in 2022. However, I wouldn’t be mad to see more Bad Bunny appearances/matches one day.
Also, let’s not forget how remarkable Miz and Morrison were in this match. They are terrific sellers and made Bad Bunny look like a megastar.
Moreover, Damian Priest has only been on the main roster for a few months and is already looking like one of its top names.
Whoever decided to place Priest with Bunny deserves to be praised and now it is time to catapult Priest to the moon. He should be an example of not everyone being crushed on the main roster.
5. Bianca Belair Wins SmackDown Women’s Championship
In many fans’ favorite match of night one, Bianca Belair challenged Sasha Banks for the SmackDown Women’s Championship in the main event position.
This was an iconic moment. WWE has developed over the years and it isn’t even out of the ordinary to have women main event their biggest show now.
Witnessing Banks and Belair make their entrance in front of the sold-out crowd was a magical moment. Moreover, the match delivered efficiently.
Belair was teary before the bell rang, which made the outcome even more emotional. Then the match kicked off with stunning action by two of WWE’s best athletes.
Belair showed why she is the ‘StrongEST’ by holding Banks above her head and carrying The Boss into the ring. She also displayed why she is the ‘FastEST’ by hitting standing moonsaults out of the blue keeping everyone engaged.
Plus, don’t let Belair’s spectacular showcase defy the main event status of Sasha Banks. There is no one more deserving than Banks to fight in the headliner of a WrestleMania.
She kept the challenger on her heels until being loudly whipped by the ‘ToughEST’ braid in the women’s division. Bianca Belair becomes the SmackDown Women’s Champion.
This was a fantastic closing shot of night one and proved why fan attendance does matter in the world of wrestling. Where will Belair go next?
4. Randy Orton Beats The Fiend
Despite all the fun and thrills of night one, night two had quite a big damper to kick things off: Randy Orton pins “The Fiend”.
This storyline has been a reckless rollercoaster of ups and downs but as soon as this match was announced as a straight-up singles encounter, no cinematic match whatsoever, there was reason to worry.
On the other hand, the beginning brought joy to Raymond James Stadium. It proved why we all fell in love in love with The Fiend in the first place. His demonic entrance saw the burned monster magically transform into a fresher version of the original Fiend.
Additionally, Bliss cranked up a jack-in-the-box to release him into our reality. This was so cool!
The vengeful Fiend was destroying Orton from the get-go until Alexa Bliss was seen in a different attire from what she started in. She was cross-legged on the box with black goo oozing down her face. It must be said, Bliss totally fits this psychotic character.
Unfortunately, it seems like WWE is trying to split this act up as this led to Wyatt being distracted. During his confused state, Orton RKO’d him for an easy win.
WHAT THE HELL ARE THEY DOING WITH THE FIEND?!
Consistently, WWE ruins the intrigue and mystique of the Fiend.
3. US & Intercontinental Championships Both Change Hands
Night two changed the landscape of WWE with plenty of titles changing hands. Two of these epic wins saw Sheamus become the United States Champion and Apollo Crews finally win the Intercontinental Title. Let’s discuss the latter…
Big E had to defend his Intercontinental Championship against Apollo Crews in a Nigerian Drum Fight. Reportedly, even WWE didn’t know the stipulation was going to be heading into the WrestleMania.
Basically, it was just a on disqualification match with some kendo sticks and drums at ringside.
E and Crews put on a decent match – what else would you expect? Kendo sticks battered their bodies like drums and both men proved why they should be at the top of the card someday.
Big E looked to be winning this match and celebrating with Wale afterwards until Crews revealed his special guest – Dabba-Kato.
Reportedly now going by the name Commander Azeez, he slaughtered Big E to help Crews win the Intercontinental Championship for the first time in his career.
This has added an interesting dynamic to Crews’ character and gives Azeez something to do going forward. Plus, Azeez does have Nigerian heritage, so placing these guys together does make sense.
On another note, let’s wish Big E’s next plans are the Universal Championship. Overall, WrestleMania seems to be a win for Raw Underground with Azeez and Omos placed in big-time storylines.
Next, let’s talk about the epic fight between Riddle and Sheamus. Beforehand, Riddle and Rob Van Dam looked up high at The Great Khali and then he scooted to the ring for pirate-themed birds to go flying after his sandal-flip thing. WWE and its 3D animations are something to behold.
Nevertheless, Riddle vs Sheamys was an awesome encounter and not just your average Raw match. Sheamus is severely underrated and he hammered Riddle like there was no tomorrow. Plus, he proved his veteran skills by saving a botched white noise from the top rope.
The ending saw Riddle take a Brogue Kick mid-moonsault, which burst his mouth in the process. Sheamus as United States Champion doesn’t take away the credibility of Riddle.
The former champ is certainly going places in this company and seems to be over with the audience. It was just a deserving moment to see Sheamus raise a singles title above his head once again.
2. Rhea Ripley Wins Raw Women’s Championship
Last year, Rhea Ripley lost her precious NXT Women’s Championship to Charlotte Flair. This year, things look a bit different for the ‘Nightmare’.
After a live performance of Ripley’s theme song, Asuka and Ripley were ready to lock arms.
This match was quite good, displaying the power of Ripley and resilience of Asuka. It took so much for Asuka to fall to the hands of the new Raw Women’s Champion.
Perhaps one problem with this was Ripley’s heel presence throughout the match. Ripley would work much better as a babyface champion considering the shows are already so dominated by heel characters.
Plus, this match may have been better in a babyface vs babyface ‘dream match’ scenario. It would’ve been way superior if they both just got to give it their all.
Hey, at least Charlotte Flair wasn’t added last minute to the match. Speaking of The Queen, it looks like she’s back in the title picture now too. Let’s hope they reverse the roles as Charlotte is way more suited as a heel.
8. Roman Reigns Retains Universal Championship
Finally, the main event of night two excelled in the way we all hoped it would. Roman Reigns vs Edge vs Daniel Bryan looked like a masterpiece on paper, and certainly delivered in person.
Bryan was heading into this match with nothing to lose. He had been at a standstill in his career for quite a long time and this was the moment he was going to relive the glory of his WrestleMania 30 victory.
Then there was the Universal Champion, Roman Reigns. Reigns was the Head of the Table and losing that belt would crush the reputation of the Tribal Chief.
Lastly, Royal Rumble winner, Edge was fighting for the title on his 10-year anniversary, to the day, of his career-shattering announcement. Imagine if someone told you back then that the Rated-R Superstar would be fighting in the main event of WrestleMania a decade later. Some would’ve called you crazy…
Some of the best moments of this match included Jey Uso instantly getting involved. This is smart heel booking and made a lot of sense. Why should he wait when he can help Reigns retain instantly?
Also, Bryan’s aggressive streak was notable throughout. He stomped on his opponents without hesitation. This side of Bryan was great to see and his future in the company remains exciting.
Reigns & Edge battling it out really makes us eager to see the ‘Spear vs Spear’ singles fight someday. They both hit their deadly finishing move on each other – one of Edge’s was off the steel steps – and they even went for the spear at the same time!
The ending saw Bryan & Edge both lock Reigns in crossfaces, with additional damage being done by a loose part of a steel chair locked in Reigns mouth.
The Tribal Chief managed to escape this really unique move, but Edge had snapped at this point. He used the steel chairs to deliver a Con-Chair-To to Bryan and when he went to unleash damage on Reigns, Uso returned to save the day.
Reigns, built up with frustration and anger, whacked a Con-Chair-To on Edge, dragged him atop of Bryan and pinned them both to retain his title and close the show.
This match was great, and with Reigns remaining atop of SmackDown’s ladder, he will be getting even more cocky as the Head of the Table. Where will all three stars go next?
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