Nikki Bella finally got what she wanted last night at WrestleMania – a wedding proposal from her man, John Cena. Cena and Nikki flew to New York and were part of the NBC’s TODAY show this morning to discuss the proposal.
Cena said that he’s been through a lot of surgeries and Nicole was always there by his side. He always gives her the chance to ask him anything she wants during that 20 minutes when the anesthetic kicks in, and you’re able to talk but eventually don’t remember anything.
So when Nikki underwent her surgery, he did the same, but this time the roles were flipped and told her that someday he’s going to marry her. Nikki said she doesn’t remember anything and bugged him for a year to tell him what he said, but he always said he’d reveal it when the time is right.
When asked if there were anyone else who knew about the proposal officially, he said since this was a big production, there was one other person in the loop, but did not reveal who that is. He said it was once in a lifetime thing to tag with his partner at WrestleMania so it was the perfect scenario.
Cena also discussed being surprised that his mother was there. His mom, who lives in Boston, hates traveling and has never been to a WrestleMania before. His mom surprised him and he only found out when he came down the ramp and saw her ringside.
The former 16-time World champion said that he found the absolute right person to be with and he can certainly see babies in the future. “It took a person that strong to change my view on life,” Cena said of Nikki.
When asked if there’s any particular date yet, Cena said “it’s up to the boss,” and no, he wasn’t referring to Vince McMahon, but to Nikki! No date is set, although Nikki said she’s ready to get this party started right now!
Oh yeah, and no, their wedding will not be in a wrestling ring. We all know how those end up!
WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross revealed to FOX Sports that he has signed a new two-year deal with WWE, a deal that was signed on Friday.
Ross said that discussions began months ago and his deal includes a specific number of dates that he has to work. “I got my jersey back. I got brought back to my home team, and my opportunities back in WWE, I’m sure, will be multi-fold,” Ross continued. He explained that they have a lot of things that he can contribute to considering he pretty much did everything in the business, but what he did on Sunday night at WrestleMania was the fun part.
“I hope to have more ‘fun part’ assignments in the future, but I’ve got my jersey back,” he reiterated. “So if the team needs me to play, to work more than they anticipated because they need it, I’m in,” Ross said.
Meanwhile, JR also discussed how his late wife was so excited about coming to WrestleMania, dress up and walk the red carpet for the Hall of Fame, and see him get introduced at WrestleMania. “That was her dream, and I shared that dream, which is one of the reasons I was so willing to come here,” the Hall of Famer said.
“I’m not going to tell you that I didn’t have those bald eagle-sized butterflies, but that’s to be expected. To be on the card at WrestleMania is not a right. It’s really, indeed, a privilege, and I was very happy that WWE reached out and wanted to, as they say, in their own words, bring me home.”
Impact Wrestling’s Jeff Jarrett tweeted his congratulations to Jeff Hardy for his return to the WWE and Raw Tag Team title win at last night’s WrestleMania but left Matt Hardy out of the congratulatory message.
“Could not be more happier for my friends @JEFFHARDYBRAND n @BethBrittHardy_ … Super, super congrats,” he wrote. The second name tagged in the tweet is Jeff’s wife Beth.
Jeff was less vocal about his Impact Wrestling exit compared to his brother Matt, who waged an all-out war against Jarrett, Ed Nordholm, and the other men behind the Anthem owl which is perhaps why Jarrett did not feel like congratulating Matt as well.
Meanwhile, former TNA President Dixie Carter reacted to the photo that was published from Maxel’s Twitter account. Carter, who had no problems with the Hardys and vice versa, congratulated both.
“Love this pic! Congrats to @wwe for this great get. Can’t say enough about these two @MATTHARDYBRAND @JEFFHARDYBRAND #Wrestlemania,” she wrote, adding two love emojis in the tweet.
WWE announced an attendance record of 75,245 for last night’s WrestleMania, breaking the previous record of WrestleMania XXIV in 2008 which had 74,635 fans.
The number is obviously inflated because the stadium recently underwent renovation and the amount of seats were reduced. In addition, thousands of extra seats were missing due to the gigantic set and entrance ramp, which makes the 75,245 figure blown way out of proportion.
WrestleMania 33 was the longest WrestleMania in history in terms of running time, with the show clocking a whooping 5 hours and 10 minutes on the clock in addition to the two hour Kickoff show. The last 9 minutes of the show were the farewell to The Undertaker, with no commentary at all.
In a symbolic show of retirement, The Undertaker left the Camping World Stadium like Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Terminator character did in the second movie: fist up and lowered into the bottom of the ramp.
The Undertaker suffered his second WrestleMania loss last night against Roman Reigns following four spears, and as old school tradition goes, he “passed the torch” to the future of the company.
Following the match, The Undertaker wore his jacket and hat again while the replays were going on and then undressed again, leaving his gloves, jacket, and hat neatly in the middle of the ring before exiting. He hugged his family who were at ringside and then proceeded to walk up the ramp and descended through the trap door in the middle of the long, and high, entrance ramp. The final minutes of the show were all a celebration of the greatest character in the history of professional wrestling, giving The Undertaker a fitting farewell on the stage he was famous for.
With the addition of Jim Ross calling this match, the company is treating this as The Undertaker’s final match and then started the #ThankYouTaker hash tag on social media.
Tonight’s Raw will probably paint a better picture although it will be interesting to see if The Undertaker appears for one final time before the craziest crowd of the year.
WWE fans were given a wonderful and delightful surprise yesterday as the Raw Tag Team titles ladder match was turned into a fatal four-way instead of a triple threat, and the hosts, The New Day, introduced The Hardy Boys as the fourth team in the match.
The New Day teased that it was going to be them but then the Team Extreme song kicked in and 75,000 fans in the stadium had the biggest pop of the night by a mile! The hosts moved to the side and danced as Matt and Jeff made their way out.
The duo were not in their Broken gimmick wrestling attire but made several references to it and the fans had a blast chanting “Delete! Delete! Delete!”
This was Matt Hardy’s first appearance on WWE television since September 2010 and Jeff Hardy’s first appearance on WWE television since August 2009. The duo dropped the ROH Tag Team titles in a ladder match the night before WrestleMania to The Young Bucks.
Yesterday prior to Mania, Matt Hardy posted a photo on Twitter of his whole family at the airport saying, “Thanks for a WONDERFUL week, Orlando!” The photo does look a bit photoshopped but it sort of helped in thinking that the Hardys were on the way home.
But after the surprise, Matt Hardy said that their expedition has ended. “Our EXPEDITION ends with us winning the most PRESTIGIOUS Gold there is. NEW #RAW #TagTeamChampions, The Hardys!”
He then thanked “The Day of New” and for those who believed in them. “So many people have believed in my brother & I throughout EVERYTHING. Thank you. Those people are the ones who brought us back,” Matt continued. “WE ARE HOME!”
His wife Reby posted a GIF on Twitter saying “Surprise, bitch” and then Maxel’s Twitter account posted a photo of the baby wearing yellow diapers and a shirt with the WrestleMania logo on them climbing up a ladder. Reby also had another parting shot to Impact Wrestling. “And f*ck that owl.”
It’s that time of year again – our live coverage of WrestleMania as wrestling seems to be giving way to the Ultimate Thrill Ride!
Our live coverage will start once the pre-show matches commence – the pre-show starts at 5pm ET on the WWE Network (and many other places, including YouTube), whilst WrestleMania proper will kick-off at 7pm ET.
After over 35 minutes of video packages on the pre-show, we finally head to the ring for our first match… it’s the purple ropes, and that means the cruiserweights are the first ones heading down that 80ft aisle!
WWE Cruiserweight Championship: Austin Aries vs. Neville (c)
Yeah, the cameramen are going to be badly blown up by the end of this! Neville’s hit the fake tan or the sunbed hard this week as he’s massively orange for some reason…
Aries reverses a wristlock early, then catches Neville with an armdrag into an armbar, but Neville flips out only to get caught in a backslide as Aries tries for the Last Chancery… that forces Neville to roll to the floor. Back inside, a bell clapper and a dropkick keeps Aries on top, before a diving elbow gets Aries a near-fall as Neville once again rolls to the outside.
Aries tries for a dive, but his tope’s cut-off with a kick from the floor, and the champ takes over from there… but we have to cut away from this match to go to an ad break. Picture the head shaking…
We return from an ad break to this “Cruiser Weight Champion” as Neville is still in control, but he misses a Phoenix splash as Aries chops his way back into it. A gutbuster, backbreaker and power elbow keeps Aries in the ascension, before he backdrops Neville hard to the floor for an axehandle smash off the top rope.
The tope sends Neville flying into the barricade, but the champion manages to get back into it with a pump kick in the corner as a prelude to a superplex, but Aries shoves Neville down for a missile dropkick to score a two-count. Neville hits a Pete Dunne-esque snap German suplex off the ropes to fold Aries in half, but he doesn’t capitalise immediately, instead taking his time to deadlift the challenger up for another German… but he lands on his feet and into a superkick. That second German follows for a near-fall as Aries’ bell looks to be rung.
A Rings of Saturn from Aries is rolled up on for a near-fall, but he rebounds off the ropes with a Discus Five-arm that sends Neville rolling to the outside for cover. An enziguiri on the apron gets Neville back into it, sending Aries down to the mat and in perfect position for a Red Arrow… but Aries gets up for a top rope ‘rana! A flying forearm follows as Aries goes up next for a 450 Splash, but there’s no new champ! Neville kicked out at two!
From there, Aries goes for the Last Chancery, but he pokes Aries in the eye, then kicks the ropes towards that recently-healed orbital socket as Aries is left writhing on the mat for a Red Arrow – smashing into Aries’ midsection – as Neville retains. Bloody hell, these guys seemed to be proving a point, and they’ve set an insanely high bar… on the pre-show! ****
Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal
The second hour of the pre-show kicked off with a visual of a bunch of guys walking down the ramp, but nobody got identified… apart from the Big Show, who didn’t have a cart! Braun Strowman got his music and entrance too, and we’re underway for the usual organised cluster! Goldust busted out his old ring gear… Kalisto got bumped viciously by Big Show, as did Simon Gotch, whilst Heath Slater was launched out by Braun.
Yeah, this was a showcase for the two big lads… until everyone ganged up on them, and Braun eliminates Big Show before everyone else teamed up and tossed out Braun! The two favourites are gone… and we’re off to a break! Or perhaps not, they silenced the commentators for a break that didn’t happen.
Killian Dain was showcased a bit in his main show debut (of sorts)… Dolph Ziggler low bridges R-Truth to the outside, whilst American Alpha dispatches Curtis Axel and one of the Usos. It seemed that commercial break was only for USA Network, and they return to the show as the former SmackDown tag champs get turfed.
Another debutant in Tian Bing helps dispatch Breezango, before Sami Zayn helped eliminate Mark Henry. Hmm… Ziggler superkicks Bing out of the match as the Chinese debutant’s run ends, as does Epico’s eliminated with a Helluva kick from Zayn. Luke Harper almost gets rid of Ziggler, and now it’s Mojo Rawley in the spotlight, launching Bo Dallas then elevating Ziggler to the outside. Oh no…
Harper’s out next, with a Titus O’Neil boot being decisive, before Zayn clotheslines Sami out. Killian Dain throws out Zayn to a chorus of boos, and we end up with Jinder and Mojo fighting outside the ring after they went through the ropes. They fight in front of Mojo’s celebrity friend, the Patriots’ Rob Gronkowski, who then gets an empty cup thrown at his shoulder.
Gronkowski hops the rail as security rushes to stop him, and it seems that they weren’t clued in as a couple of referees look to call them off. Regarldless, Gronkowski ignores them and heads into the ring where he goes all Hacksaw Jim Duggan with a three point stance and a shoulder tackle takes down Jinder! Dain takes a couple of forearms as Mojo throws him out… and now it’s Jinder who’s the last man out as his attempt to suplex Mojo to the floor’s blocked, and Rawley charges him off the apron to secure the win. Yeah… that’s a weird choice, but hey, at least it’s an unexpected pick that’ll not have any expectations saddled onto them with this win. **½
Your entrants, in the order they were eliminated: Primo, Kalisto, Simon Gotch, Heath Slater, Jey Uso, Goldust, Konnor, Big Show, Viktor, Braun Strowman, Curt Hawkins, R-Truth, Rhyno, Aiden English, Curtis Axel, Jimmy Uso, Jason Jordan, Chad Gable, Tyler Breeze, Fandango, Sin Cara, Mark Henry, Tian Bing, Epico, Bo Dallas, Apollo Crews, Dolph Ziggler, Luke Harper, Titus O’Neil, Sami Zayn, Killian Dain, Jinder Mahal and Mojo Rawley
WWE Intercontinental Championship: Baron Corbin vs. Dean Ambrose (c)
Corbin looked THRILLED to be on the pre-show. And to make that long walk. Yes, this is the match that came as a result of Corbin pinning Ambrose under a forklift on SmackDown, and it was Corbin who was the early aggressor, only to end up taking a tope from Ambrose in the opening exchanges.
Corbin shoves Ambrose out of a headlock, sending the champion sliding into the ringpost, before an STO gets a near-fall for the challenger. We get a spot of brawling as Ambrose returns to try for the Dirty Deeds, but Corbin shoves him out and grounds him with a cobra clutch.
Ambrose gets back into it as Corbin’s shoulder charge hit the ring post, but the tables swing back as they go for a superplex, but a load of camera cuts almost mask Ambrose headbutting him down. Another Dirty Deeds is shoved out of as Corbin is low bridged to the floor, where he swats away a plancha from Ambrose with a forearm.
Corbin misses another charge, this time hitting the ring steps, and that sparks another comeback from Ambrose, who gets a neckbreaker for a near-fall before Corbin knees him in the midsection. A Deep Six is lost, but Corbin comes back with a big boot as Ambrose went for a rebound lariat. It was second time lucky for the Deep Six, getting Baron a two-count, before Ambrose hit that rebound lariat at the second try.
Another Dirty Deeds is turned into a back suplex for a near-fall, leading Corbin to yell “three” loudly. It’ll not catch on like it did for Tye… Corbin goes into Ambrose with some forearms, then goes for the End of Days, but Ambrose flips over and hits the Dirty Deeds for the win. This was fine by the end, but this took a while to get going; not helped by a subdued crowd. ***
After an advert for 205 Live (of all things!), it’s time for the main show – WrestleMania baby! Which this year comes with a trippy intro video based around the Ultimate Thrill Ride motif…
The New Day of course are hosting after a big pyro show, and they’ve got a bicycle to help them down to the ring! There’s a noticeable breeze in the ring, at least for Big E’s robe, and there’s five minutes of time killed with little content.
Shane McMahon vs. AJ Styles
Cue the cries of neoptism… which were drowned out the second AJ Styles’ music hit.
They start with holds, which is a bit strange for someone wanting to embarrass their boss, but then we get AJ mocking Shane’s shuffle, and we’re back to normality. With Shane almost out-wrestling AJ to send the former WWE champ to the floor to regroup as he wanted to know: are we fighting, or are we wrestling?
AJ punches Shane first, so we get some of those Shane punches as a receipt before Styles pulled Shane to the floor. A baseball slide dropkick sends Shane hard into the SmackDown commentary team in what was a fantastic bump, almost straight out of that All Stars video game, and we’re back to the punches from Styles. Shane knocks down AJ as he went for a Phenomenal Forearm.
Shane pulls a Tyler Bate punch, then an Angle slam for a near-fall, before AJ comes back with an ushigoroshi that looked to set up for a Styles Clash, but instead he has to make do with a Calf Crusher attempt. Somehow, Shane countered into a rear naked choke, then into a cross armbreaker, and finally a double armbar as Shane-O-Mac tried to turn into Shane-O-Zack (Sabre Jr).
An attempt at a springboard 450 is caught and turned into a triangle choke, but AJ lifts up and turns it into a one-armed Styles Clash to nearly nick it. That could have been so bad, but instead we get some boo/yay strikes from Shane, which lead to AJ’s roundhouse kick accidentally knocking down the ref en route to a Pele kick on Shane.
Medical staff check on AJ as he goes under the ring for some trash cans, and those medics awkwardly move the ref as AJ goes for the Coast to Coast… but Shane pops up and shoves the trash can into AJ in mid air. At least he didn’t nearly kill himself like against Roman… so Shane tries for the Coast to Coast himself as those medics look awfully uncaring for the still downed ref.
Shane’s Coast to Coast connects, and of course the referee recovers in time to count a near-fall. So Shane starts dismantling the SmackDown announce table – in the opening match – as he puts AJ on there for an elbow drop… Styles moves away just in time, and Shane crashes through the announce table! AJ rolls Shane back inside now, and winds up for a Phenomenal Forearm, but it’s caught and met with a floatover DDT, before Shane misses a shooting star press!
What am I seeing here?! The end’s nigh from there though, as the Phenomenal Forearm connects finally, and AJ gets the win. Well, that was full of smoke and mirrors, but really quite good for what it was. Not quite sure how they’ll be able to top this later on in the show, but hey, that’s not these guys’ problems! Shane did a good job of “playing wrestler”, even using some moves that you’d have expected out of AJ… but in the end it just wasn’t enough. ***¾
We go to a spoof Tapout advert featuring James Ellsworth, which is probably the first funny thing he’s done in weeks. It’s actually a Snickers advert that sees James morph into Charlotte, who then gives Michael Cole a bar as he tries to lift weights.
WWE United States Championship: Kevin Owens vs. Chris Jericho (c)
There was an inflatable List of Jericho on the stage, and Chris debuted… a light up scarf!
Owens lays into Jericho at the start, but he’s quickly tripped and caught in the Walls of Jericho, but Owens grabs the ropes and gets knocked to the floor… and already he’s lasted longer than against Goldberg!
After absorbing some punishment, a savate kick knocks Jericho down to the mat, which leads to a cannonball in the corner. Another one follows as Jericho’s sandwiched between the apron and the ring post, and it looks like Owens is going to be working over his former friend’s back for the time being, with a back senton helping the former Universal champion on his way.
Owens taunts Jericho for a spell, then eats a dropkick as Jericho then back body drops himself out of a powerbomb on the outside. We get a tease of a package piledriver, but Owens turns it into a package powerbomb that nearly won it, and somehow Owens has opened up a wound above his eye, which wouldn’t have been helped with a top rope ‘rana from Jericho.
A Lionsault misses, but Jericho lands on his feet to take a boot from Owens… then he blocks a frog splash with his knees, which gives Owens an idea on how to counter another Lionsault. More knees block a senton bomb (what the hell!), but Owens manages to swing Jericho into an Air Raid Crash as he almost won the belt.
Jericho leaps over a pop-up powerbomb attempt as he finally gets that Lionsault for a near-fall. A ‘rana from Jericho’s caught and turned into his own move by Owens, only for Jericho to power out and leap into a kick as he’s cornered for another cannonball… but Jericho catches THAT and turns it into the Walls of Jericho! Owens teases tapping, but he drags his way to the rope instead.
A pop-up powerbomb out of nowhere gets Owens a two-count, and he follows up from there by mocking Jericho some more, but another pop-up powerbomb’s turned into a Codebreaker… and Owens breaks the cover by putting A SINGLE FINGER on the bottom rope. GENIUS. We get another pop-up powerbomb, this time planting Jericho on the apron, and that’s enough as Owens rolls Jericho back in to snatch the win and become the new US champion. Well, this was really good… slow and deliberately-paced, for sure, but this told a heck of a story with two master craftsmen. ****
Elimination Match for WWE Raw Women’s Championship: Bayley (c) vs. Nia Jax vs. Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte
During the intros they announced the WWE Women’s tournament later this year… Sasha gets to ride on the back of a car, which is ironic for the smallest person on the card so far to get a lift!
Everyone tries to target Jax in the opening stages, but it backfires as she dominates them with ease. Bayley takes a Banzai drop, but she’s able to roll out as Charlotte decides to have her shots, which are just ineffective as Jax ends up hurling Charlotte off the apron like a cannonball.
Eventually the triple-teaming works… somewhat, as a big boot from Charlotte leads to a double jack suplex on Nia for a two-count. Bayley, Sasha and Charlotte work together to turn a Banzai drop into a triple-team powerbomb, before all three pile on Nia for our first elimination. Logic!
Charlotte slides out of the ring as she demands that Bayley and Sasha turn on each other, but of course she gets involved just in time for a Sasha tope con hilo! Charlotte follows up with a corkscrew moonsault to the floor, before returning to the ring for a Natural Selection on Sasha as they cycle through some teased finishers.
A massive forearm from Sasha rocks Charlotte momentarily, before a headscissor takedown leads to some knees in the corner and a Meteora that almost eliminates Charlotte. The Bank Statement comes next, but they roll through into a pinning predicament. Sasha gets kicked into an exposed turnbuckle, and that’s an elimination as we’re down to Charlotte and Bayley.
Charlotte lays into Bayley from there, before she rams her knee into that exposed turnbuckle. You know what was also exposed? The refereeing – surely that should have been fixed? A top rope moonsault misses from Charlotte, and allows Bayley to score a near-fall, before she flew off the top into a spinebuster from Charlotte.
Bayley’s caught next in a Figure Four, but she’s able to crawl to the ropes, so Charlotte decided to put more pressure on by putting the champ in a Tree of Woe. Somehow, Bayley sits up into a Spider Belly-to-Bayley, but Charlotte gets back to her feet first and chops Bayley in the corner again. Out of nowhere, Bayley pulls herself up and flies down with a Macho Man-esque elbow, and that’s it – she retained. This just felt distinctly flat once we got past the triple-teaming on Nia. If this was the story they wanted to tell… it was distinctly flat and nowhere near as good as Bayley winning the belt at WrestleMania. ***
The Hall of Fame recap segment followed, ending with Kurt poking fun at himself and pouring milk over him. There’s no Howard Finkel for this year’s in-stadium bit, which made me sad… instead it was Greg Hamilton (no relation).
Ladder Match for WWE Raw Tag Team Championship: Enzo Amore & Colin Cassady vs. Cesaro & Sheamus vs. The Club (Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows) (c) vs. The Hardy Boyz (Matt Hardy & Jeff Hardy)
Yes, we had a surprise announcement – the Hardy Boys (NOT Broken) were added into the ladder match by the New Day, who’d teased themselves as the fourth team.
We open with Poetry in Motion from the Hardys onto the Club, before Cesaro and Sheamus cut them off. Whisper in the Wind from Jeff cut off the former champs as we get a bunch of DELETE chants, because of course we should. Matt goes wild with a ladder to knock everyone off the apron, allowing Jeff to try and climb for the belts, but Matt failed to see the Club returning.
Sheamus drops Anderson with a Finlay roll, before Cesaro lands a double stomp… then nearly broke his ankle as his foot got caught in a falling ladder. The Hardys set up a pair of ladder bridges between the apron and the crowd barrier, but they get squashed between them as we moved to some crossface punches from Sheamus on Gallows. With extra Giant Swings on Anderson for good luck!
Matt and Cesaro take a flying Enzo to the outside, as Jeff decides to try his look with an Asai moonsault – only to be Brogue kicked to the floor. Sheamus and Gallows fight on the ladder, but Enzo pushes it down and gets some help from Big Cass to ascend that ladder… but the Club return to powerbomb him into the ladder in the corner as Enzo remained static… Gallows and Sheamus clothesline each other to the outside as Anderson returns to cut off Enzo, before he throws him into a European uppercut.
Sheamus and Cesaro double-team Anderson, but Gallows makes the save as the champions knock them down. A Twist of Fate gets rid of Gallows, before Anderson heads up to fight for the belts with Matt… who then hits another Twist of Fate from the top! Jeff’s climbing another ladder, but he’s nowhere the belts, and he sentons Cesaro through the ladder bridge (Sheamus was unscathed) as Matt secures the tag titles! On their return, the Hardys win the titles in a match that was more noted for the shock return and stunts than anything else. ***¼
Jerry Lawler was added to the commentary booth for the next match, because… reasons. Al Roker from NBC’s Today Show got booed for his role as ring announcer…
The Miz & Maryse vs. John Cena & Nikki Bella
Miz and Maryse play chase early on, suckering Cena into the ring as Miz gets plenty of cheers when he expected boos from the crowd. Maryse slaps Cena in the ropes and this is a really weird dynamic as the crowd are loving the Miz.
That corner clothesline has the Miz bouncing off the ropes, as does the “Miz is awesome” chants from a PK-ish kick to Cena. My God, Miz is relishing this, but he misses a second clothesline and crotches himself in the corner… but Cena can’t capitalise as Maryse pulls Nikki off the apron to keep herself out of it.
Miz kicks away from an AA and drills Cena with a DDT for a near-fall, before the crowd played along with the Daniel Bryan-baiting kicks. Nikki slaps Miz, which allows Cena to back drop him to the outside, as Nikki tags in… and she ends up taking out Miz with a tope! The Cenas come back with a forearm and a back suplex as we get a pair of Five Knuckle Shuffles, followed by an AA and a Rack Attack 2.0… and the Cenas win! Not much of a match, but it wasn’t meant to be… **
So, the real story then? After the match, John Cena gets the microphone and everyone’s expecting a proposal. Cena praises Nikki for recovering from a broken neck to get her WrestleMania moment… apparently he asked her something and got an honest answer… of course, the time’s right. THE PROPOSAL IS ON!
John Cena got down on one knee, and proposed to the woman we know professionally as Nikki Bella… and she said yes! Cue one monster engagement ring, and there’s your moment! Not going to lie, there’s a tear down my eye from that, even if you say it was predictable going in.
Unsanctioned Match: Triple H vs. Seth Rollins
Hunter came out with police escort on a big-ass bike… I could argue what the hell is Stephanie doing accompanying HHH here, given the feud’s between Hunter and Seth, but what the hell. That entrance more befit the American Badass Undertaker than any era of Triple H… but hey ho.
Meanwhile, Seth Rollins came out with FIRE. Does he have his name to set on fire like the Rock? Or is he carrying an Olympic torch?
Seth launches straight into Hunter at the bell, then rushes in with a wild dropkick before Hunter takes out the supposedly-good knee, as they end up brawling into the crowd. A back body drop sends Hunter back into the ringside area, where Rollins leaps off the barricades to take Hunter down once more. More topes takes Hunter into the barrier, and now it’s time to dismantle more announcer tables, as Triple H DDT’s Seth onto the German table… which didn’t break.
From there, Hunter takes a chair to Seth’s injured knee, before he wedges the knee between the announce table and a barricade, so he could drop his own knee on it. We’re back for a chop block and some work over Seth’s knee, before a Flatliner into the turnbuckle gets Rollins some breathing space.
Seth teases a sunset bomb – but the knee “gives” like it did against Kane when he picked up the first injury just over 18 months ago… despite the bad wheel, he tries for a Liger bomb, but then it gives, before it holds up for a bucklebomb! Rollins keeps up with an Irish whip that sends Hunter to the floor, in place for a big crossbody off the top, but Seth smashes his knee into the ground as they tease him injuring it again.
Rollins heads under the ring for a couple of steel chairs, and a table too! A frog splash gets Seth another near-fall, but the knees take a pounding on impact. Hunter comes back with a spinebuster before he Pillman-izes Seth’s leg… but a second try is blocked, as Seth comes back in with a superplex that rolls through into a Falcon arrow!
Stephanie gets involved to pull Seth off the top rope, and he falls into the path of a knee bar from Hunter, before Seth switches it into a Gargano Escape! Some kicks to the knee release the hold though, and Rolling heads to the floor where he takes another knee bar… but in pulling out plunder to try and free himself, the sledgehammer comes out, and it’s noticed. They go back and forth in the ring until a Triple H clothesline leaves both men laying, until an enziguiri cuts off an incoming sledgehammer attack.
Rollins gets control of the sledgehammer now, but Stephanie disarms him and Seth turns into a Pedigree that almost won the match. They go into the corner as Triple H teases doing a Pepsi Plunge (Hi, CM Punk!), but Rollins back drops his way free, then climbs to the top turnbuckle for a Phoenix splash! That gets him a two-count, before they go back and forth on Pedigrees.
Eventually that table comes into play as Steph’s on the apron and Seth superkicks Hunter into her… Steph falls through the table, allowing an angry Hunter to take a pedigree and Seth gets the win! Well, this was alright, but far too long for what it needed to be. Seth supposedly only had one leg and lasted over 20 minutes… so that injury can’t have been that bad, eh? Otherwise, your standard Triple H match at WrestleMania… fine, but went too long to be memorable. **¾
Your musical interlude came next. Yeah, because we’ve four matches left and really need to serenade 70,000 fans with a Pitbull song that isn’t even the theme to this show! At least they limited it to two songs…
WWE Championship: Bray Wyatt (c) vs. Randy Orton
I like the small touches they make here, like Bray Wyatt’s entrance graphic having fireflies in the shape of the title around his name…
Orton flies into Bray with a Thesz press, before a low dropkick and a powerslam suggests they’re gonna be quick… but an RKO is avoided as Bray rolls to the floor.
Bray does his creepy crab walk, and the camera cuts to an overhead view of the ring with a projected image of live maggots. What the hell? Orton flees the ring and returns to a crossbody as they teased their finishers once more, and Bray retains control as he arches back again… for some worms in the ring!
Bray Wyatt’s new ability: projection!
A uranage gets Bray a near-fall, before he goes for Sister Abigail… but Randy turns it into a roll-up for a near-fall – and those video shows have taken the crowd out of this. We get the Sister Abigail as Wyatt sent Randy into the crowd barriers, but Orton recovers and hits an RKO on the floor… to polite claps. Oh dear…
Orton sizes up Bray for a punt, but Wyatt avoids it and goes for another Sister Abigail… but Orton avoids that and goes for a backbreaker. A rope-hung DDT follows, but Bray finally gets Abigail in the ring for a near-fall – and right now this is boiling down to precious little more than movie time and teased finishers.
Bray crab walks as we get a video of cockroaches projected, but when that ends, Orton pops up for an RKO, and he beats Bray and his video show! What the hell did we just see there? **½
WWE Universal Championship: Brock Lesnar vs. Goldberg (c)
Well, neither man’s quit the company before WrestleMania this time, so this shouldn’t be the car wreck it was 13 years ago… unfortunately, the crowd turned mute when Goldberg came out.
Lesnar immediately hit a trio of German suplexes, only to be hit with a spear from Goldberg. A second spear sees Lesnar roll to the outside, where a third one takes Brock through into the timekeeper’s area!
Back inside, Goldberg gets boos as he goes for a Jackhammer, but Lesnar countered it into an F5, only for Goldberg to slip out and land a fourth spear. The Jackhammer follows, but Brock kicks out… then leaps over another spear attempt, as Goldberg’s going through his two moves.
Goldberg smashes himself into the turnbuckles, and gets met with some more German suplexes… and yes, this is like a game of WWE 2K17 where both people only know two moves! We’re up to 9 Germans… and a tenth is enough for a BEET RED BROCK to call it quits, as an F5 follows, and Brock wins the title. Two title changes in short order, and four enjoyment flakes for the destruction of the move spamming! ****
WWE SmackDown Live Women’s Championship: Alexa Bliss (c) vs. Becky Lynch vs. Mickie James vs. Carmella vs. Natalya vs. Naomi
Alexa got a huge pyro blast for her introduction, and they’re cutting time on entrances as Alexa barely made it halfway down the ramp before Becky Lynch came down. Still, at least we got a GLORIOUS Naomi entrance in the dark of night, at 11pm in Orlando!
No eliminations here – first fall wins, and we start with Naomi taking down Natalya with a ‘rana. A Bexplex sends Carmella flying, whilst we see Naomi take a suplex from Natalya and Alexa. Lynch kicks Mickie James off the apron, and now James Ellsworth gets involved to help Carmella hit some headscissors out of the corner.
Alexa and Carmella exchange words, before an STO on Carmella gets rid of her briefly as Lynch mounts a comeback. Ellsworth gets involved again, but a Bexploder gets rid of him with ease as this continues to be a constant stream of spots. Natalya catches a Sharpshooter on Carmella and Naomi, but Mickie breaks that up and gets out of the way of a legdrop from Lynch, who then takes a DDT for a near-fall.
Naomi comes back with a Rear View, then a plancha to everyone else, but Bliss forearms her springboard attempt, only be trapped in an Anaconca Vice by Naomi… and we have a new champion! That felt massively rushed and spotty, but fine for what it was **¾
The New Day return in suits for a pre-main event segment, where they announce the crowd number for the evening: it’s a record-breaker: 75,245. Let’s see where the real number falls in the weeks ahead!
Jim Ross comes out to commentate on the main event – just as some had reported earlier in the weekend…
No Holds Barred: Roman Reigns vs. Undertaker
They don’t turn down the crowd for Roman’s entrance, and we’re at 11.30pm ET when the Undertaker even makes his entrance a la Gangrel, through the ramp! That’s one way to save time!
The bell goes at 11.36pm ET, and it’s Undertaker who starts, throwing Reigns to the outside to declare “it’s still my yard”. Unfortunately, Reigns clotheslined him to the outside, where he was dragged for some headbutts, then a whip into the ring steps. Reigns takes over back inside, slugging away at the Dead Man, before shoving him into the ringpost as the Undertaker went for… something.
A Drive By apron dropkick knocks the Undertaker down, but he finally mounts a comeback with some right hands… to a crowd that seems to be beyond burnt out by this point. Reigns takes a Snake Eyes and a legdrop for a near-fall, before another Drive By from Reigns was cut-off with a straight right hand.
Undertaker clears the English announce table, but it’s the German desk that Reigns lands a Drive By onto, before a chokeslam sends Reigns onto that table… which doesn’t give. Like this crowd, the Undertaker is shot, but he’s still trying as he signalled for a chokeslam, but Reigns speared him through the Spanish announce table… which did give way!
We get the Undertaker sit-up as he staggered back into the ring, but Reigns boots away some more as the crowd continues to turn on him, and he gets caught doing some mounted punches, with an agonising-to-watch Last Ride almost winning the match for the Dead Man. A chair comes into play, which the Undertaker uses on Reigns’ back as that SWAT vest clearly doesn’t offer too much protection against those sort of things.
Reigns rolls outside again, then returns with a Superman punch as Undertaker took forever to leave the ring. Another Superman punch takes him into the ropes, but a third is caught and replied with a chokeslam onto the chair for a near-fall. From the kick-out, Reigns takes a tombstone, but he kicks out at two – to a smattering of boos!
As we pass the 15 minute mark, Reigns drops Undertaker on a Tombstone reversal, and this is beyond embarrassing for the legendary Dead man… another Superman punch doesn’t work, but from a Spear, the Undertaker catches Reigns in Hell’s Gate, which leads to a rope break. In a no-DQ match. Sigh.
Reigns stands on the chair as Undertaker went for it… then uses it himself on the Undertaker’s back several times. Undertaker pulls himself back up using the ropes, but he’s straight into another spear for yet another two-count. Yet another spear gets another two-count as it feels like we’re on loop, and we flip to the track marked Superman Punch as Reigns spams moves like Goldberg.
The Undertaker tries to sit-up, but he collapses to the mat, and now the crowd start booing heavily. Reigns moves to the punches, before a long run-up gets a spear… and that is it… a second WrestleMania loss for the Undertaker, who at 23-2 is almost surely finished. The story was fine, but the execution had no chance. The Dead Man’s mind was willing, but the body was simply not. *½
As we pass the midnight hour, Reigns heads to the back as the referee leaves the Undertaker in the ring on his back… Reigns gets his pyro and firework coronation, but the Dead Man is still in the ring. The crowd chanted “thank you Taker” briefly as he sat up, almost surely for the final time…
After the replays, the Undertaker is standing again, this time in his trench coat and hat. He surveys the scene, as the 75,000-so crowd applaud him for what should be the last time at a WrestleMania, before the Dead Man (for the second year in a row) left his gloves in the ring , along with his trench coat, and finally, his hat.
The Dead Man… is done. He left the way he came, through the ramp, with the lights going out and his infamous Dong’s sounding as WrestleMania, and the career of one of WWE’s all-time greats, came to a close.
For a show that felt like there was little hype for the card, this over-delivered. Sure, there were some bum notes, and the main event that was just horrific to watch. That being said, I cannot say that I was left disappointed with this show. Some good wrestling, some moments (good and bad), and some of WWE just being WWE. You knew what to expect with this show, and whilst the entertainment side may not be for everyone, we at least had enough of the good wrestling to make this worthwhile. My only complaint? Much like last year…
IT WAS TOO LONG! Over seven hours this year – and given the length of some matches, there’s definite room to tighten up this proverbial ship.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:Ian Hamilton has been a wrestling fan since 1992, and yes, he’s watched way too much wrestling this weekend. As usual. A lot of it is up to read on his website, BackBodyDrop.com
Live from the Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida, WWE presents its biggest pay-per-view of the year, WrestleMania! The full card is as follows:
Bray Wyatt vs Randy Orton for the WWE title; Goldberg vs Brock Lesnar for the WWE Universal title; The Undertaker vs Roman Reigns; John Cena and Nikki Bella vs The Miz and Maryse; Seth Rollins vs Triple H in a non-sanctioned match; Shane McMahon vs AJ Styles; Bayley vs Charlotte Flair vs Sasha Banks vs Nia Jax in a fatal 4-way elimination match for the WWE Raw Women’s title; Chris Jericho vs Kevin Owens for the WWE United States title; Dean Ambrose vs Baron Corbin for the WWE Intercontinental title; Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson vs Enzo Amore and Big Cass vs Cesaro and Sheamus in a triple threat ladder match for the WWE Raw Tag Team titles; and Alexa Bliss vs Carmella vs Natalya vs Naomi vs Mickie James vs Becky Lynch for the WWE Smackdown Women’s title.
The Kickoff show will have two matches, the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal and Neville vs Austin Aries for the WWE Cruiserweight title.
WrestleMania is FREE on the WWE Network for first time subscribers to the WWE Network. Sign up today at http://w-o.it/wwentwrk to active your free month.
The WrestleMania Kickoff show will be a two-hour affair live from the Camping World Stadium and airing on the WWE Network, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, WWE.COM, and every social media account that WWE uses. The second hour of the Kickoff show will also air on USA Network. The Kickoff starts at 5PM ET.
The show will be anchored by Renee Young and she will be joined by WWE Hall of Famers Shawn Michaels, Jerry “The King” Lawler and Booker T as they breakdown the whole card and also present the three matches which are presently on the Kickoff card.
The two matches on the Kickoff show are the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal and Neville vs Austin Aries for the WWE Cruiserweight title.
WrestleMania is FREE on the WWE Network for first time subscribers to the WWE Network. Sign up today at http://w-o.it/wwentwrk to active your free month.
Hello Wrestling Fans! Today is one of the most special days of the year! IT’S WRESTLEMANIA DAY, BABY! I can’t think of a better way to talk about WrestleMania XXXIII than to have the first-ever “WrestleMania Pick’em Challenge” featuring myself, Tricky Don (The Common Man’s Not-So-Common Fan), and our fearless Editor-in-Chief, Colin Vassallo. Please send us some feedback using Twitter (@TheMagnumDA), because we’d LOVE to see your picks for #WrestleMania as well! Make sure to use the hashtags #WPC and #WrestleMania when you send us your picks! Let’s start straight from the top of the card, BROTHER!
WWE Universal Championship Match
Brock Lesnar vs. Goldberg (c)
@TheMagnumDA: I’m inclined to think that this will be the one time where Goldberg has an extended bout. It’s not going to be very pretty. I think WWE knows this, and I think they’ll try to protect him to the best of their abilities. I only hope that they don’t let them go out there and die like they did at XX. What a terrible and boring match that was. I think this one will be slightly better, but it will be Goldberg’s swan song. Magnum’s Pick: Brock Lesnar wins the WWE Universal Championship
Tricky Don: I will keep this prediction short (like the match). What should be the rubber match, is now redemption for Brock Lesnar. Eat-Sleep-4 Minutes-Repeat. Tricky Don’s Pick: Brock Lesnar wins the WWE Universal Championship Colin Vassallo’s Pick: Brock Lesnar wins the WWE Universal Championship
WWE Championship Match
Randy Orton vs. Bray Wyatt (c)
@TheMagnumDA: Even though it has happened before, I don’t see both World Championships changing hands on the same night. Orton is a heavy Vegas favorite, and has never won the WWE Championship at a WrestleMania (he retained at XXIV). That said, I don’t think it makes much sense for Bray to lose everything. Think about it…Wyatt won the title, but after that he lost his backwoods home, his family, and his best friend. I think the crowd will be surprisingly sympathetic to Wyatt, and this will lead to his first victory at a WrestleMania. Magnum’s Pick: Bray Wyatt retains the WWE World Championship
Tricky Don: The top two title matches feature 2 wrestlers from the OVW Class of 2002 and 1 performer who debuted in 1997. WWE seems to be scrambling for a match for the WWE title, I believe. Orton has already done it all, and is talking about a reduced schedule. Bray has not won at WrestleMania yet, and he is due. But, then again…I placed a bet for the Generals to beat the Harlem Globetrotters once. Tricky Don’s Pick: Bray Wyatt retains the WWE World Championship Colin Vassallo’s Pick: Randy Orton wins the WWE World Championship
Fatal 4 Way Elimination Match for the RAW Women’s Title
Nia Jax vs. Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Bayley (c)
@TheMagnumDA: I am really surprised by how this storyline shook out. I was convinced that Sasha would eventually turn on Bayley before WrestleMania, but it feels like they’re going with the slow burn. I am happy for Nia Jax to get her shot on the big stage, but I don’t think she’s ready for a dominant title win. I have the eliminations taking place in this order: Nia is eliminated by Charlotte, Charlotte is eliminated by Sasha, and Bayley defeats Sasha to retain the Women’s Championship. Magnum’s Pick: Bayley retains the Women’s Championship for Raw
Tricky Don: The Women’s Championship match may have stolen the show at WrestleMania 32 with Charolette, Sasha, and Becky. Becky is not in this match, but we have two great competitors in Bayley and Nia Jax. Can this match top last year’s match? How will Bayley retain? Will Sasha turn heel? Will Nia follow in the footsteps of her cousin, The Rock? Will Charlotte capture the gold again? Tune in this Sunday to see the next chapter of the Women’s Revolution! Tricky Don’s Pick: Bayley retains the Women’s Championship for Raw Colin Vassallo’s Pick: Charlotte wins the WWE Women’s Championship for Raw
WWE United States Championship Match
Kevin Owens vs. Chris Jericho (c)
@TheMagnumDA: This feud petered out somewhat after Fast Lane, but it should still be a great match. Their first meeting was back in 2015 at Madison Square Garden, with KO retaining the Intercontinental Championship. I could see a similar result here, with Owens walking out of WrestleMania the US Champ. That doesn’t mean KO will have a long reign as US Champion…in fact, I see him losing the title one night later on Monday Night Raw. To whom, you might ask? I’ll give you a hint…KO’s going to lose to my pick for the Andre the Giant Battle Royal. Magnum’s Pick: Kevin Owens wins the WWE United States Championship
Tricky Don: This is a tough one. The WWE learned their lesson when they had Fandango go over Jericho at WrestleMania 29. I think that is why Jericho beat Styles last year. On the other hand, KO has a cool KO MANIA 2 shirt. Also KO MANIA is a lot like the “Konami Code”, so I think Owens will go “Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, B, A, B, A” on Jericho. I think they have Owens and Reigns (spoiler alert) win to build the stars for the future. Tricky Don’s Pick: Kevin Owens wins the WWE United States Championship Colin Vassallo’s Pick: Kevin Owens wins the WWE United States Championship
WWE Intercontinental Championship Match
Baron Corbin vs. Dean Ambrose (c)
@TheMagnumDA: This was a feud put together based on what happened at the Elimination Chamber. I think that Baron is stuck in second gear, but a victory here would put him in the driver’s seat. I think this card could use a babyface win or two, but it’s not going to happen here. Baron’s quest for a first Championship ends right here. Magnum’s Pick: Baron Corbin wins the WWE Intercontinental Championship
Tricky Don: This match is too close to call, and I am not an expert like the other two people who are making picks. I called my lifeline, who is part of the podcast “Hart Beat Radio”. My buddy Bob consulted with Bruce Hart from the legendary Hart Family. They said go with Baron Corbin. Tricky Don’s Pick: Baron Corbin wins the WWE Intercontinental Championship Colin Vassallo’s Pick: Baron Corbin wins the WWE Intercontinental Championship
Triple Threat Ladder Match for the RAW Tag Team Titles
Enzo Amore & Big Cass vs. Sheamus & Cesaro vs. Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson (c)
@TheMagnumDA: The match quality will be enhanced by the Ladder gimmick. That said, hopefully everyone is safe and doesn’t ruin their career trying to create a WrestleMania moment. The feel-good story would be a victory for Enzo & Cass, but they don’t need the titles to sell t-shirts. They’re over like rover…and their day will probably come at Summerslam. Unfortunately, today is not Summerslam. Magnum’s Picks: Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows retain the WWE Tag Team Championship
Tricky Don: If Enzo did not stay out too late at WaleMania III, they will win the tag belts. If ever there was a time to add a 4th team, this would be perfect timing for the Hardy Brothers. This will also allow Gallows and Anderson to go to SMACKDOWN and reunite with AJ Styles. Parmesan Don & Muscle Marinara go over. Tricky Don’s Picks: Enzo Amore and Big Cass win the WWE Tag Team Championship Colin Vassallo’s Picks: Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows retain the WWE Tag Team Championship
Non-Sanctioned Match
Triple H vs. Seth Rollins
@TheMagnumDA: I am very intrigued by this match-up. For some reason, I have visions of Summerslam 2002 dancing around in my head. I could see Rollins playing the role of Shawn Michaels, the never-say-die warrior who catches a quick fall on HHH (only to be destroyed after the match). In fact, that’s exactly how I see this playing out. Magnum’s Pick: Seth Rollins (Triple H massacres him after the match)
Tricky Don: Triple H does not lose back-to-back WrestleMania’s anymore. With the exception of the Undertaker at 27 and 28, his last set of back-to-back losses at WrestleMania happened at 22 and 24 (he was injured at 23). Plus, this will set up Seth Rollins to get his wins back after Mania, keeping the Network subscribers that signed up for WrestleMania happy…for a few more months, at least. It’s time to play the game. Tricky Don’s Pick: Triple H Colin Vassallo’s Pick: Seth Rollins
Roman Reigns vs. The Undertaker
@TheMagnumDA: I’m stumped by this one. I’ve heard quite a few rumors that this match will close the show. The question is this: if Vegas has Roman as the huge favorite, why would this go on last? Wouldn’t you want the crowd to leave happy? When I left WrestleMania 32, fans weren’t overjoyed with Reigns’ victory…they simply didn’t care. Here, I think they’ll care…but they’ll be furious about it. I don’t think it’s a good idea for this to go on last, but I do agree with the chalk. Magnum’s Pick: Roman Reigns
Tricky Don: Too tough to call, and now this match might go on last. I have a great idea for WWE: Let’s keep Roman as a face, and beat the Undertaker at WrestleMania…which could be Undertaker’s last Mania. That should stop the boo’s for Roman. Can’t turn back now, so might as well pass the torch. Tricky Don’s Pick: Roman Reigns Colin Vassallo’s Pick: Roman Reigns
John Cena and Nikki Bella vs. The Miz and Maryse Special Guest Ring Announcer: Al Roker
@TheMagnumDA: I’m happy with The Miz’s run in 2017 so far, but I believe this is all about John & Nikki. It’s widely rumored that this will be Nikki Bella’s final WrestleMania, so it only makes sense for her to go out on top. Plus, Cena probably wants that Wrestlemania XXVII win back. Magnum’s Picks: John Cena & Nikki Bella (and yes, John will propose after the match)
Tricky Don: I say, “Let’s go Cena!” My bro Tom says, “Cena sucks…but not in this match”. WWE Total Divas will have enough material for two more seasons after Sunday. My mind is saying Cena will turn on Nikki, and have his first heel run since 2003 as he pursues Hollywood. My heart says that Cena wins and proposes to Nikki after the match. Tricky Don’s Picks: John Cena and Nikki Bella Colin Vassallo’s Picks: John Cena and Nikki Bella
Shane McMahon vs. AJ Styles
@TheMagnumDA: This match could be a disaster, or it could blow away all expectations. I don’t know which way to lean, but I’ve got an idea who’s going to win…I think AJ comes out of this with a victory. I also think AJ will be the one to take the big bump (although I’m sure Shane will take some chances, as well). Magnum’s Pick: AJ Styles
Tricky Don: I saw pictures of the WrestleMania 33 staging set-up for the event. They have a ring display above the ring. The first thing that ran though my mind…was Shane O’Mac taking a bump from the ring above the ring. Therefore, AJ will get the pin after a huge bump. Tricky Don’s Pick: AJ Styles Colin Vassallo’s Pick: AJ Styles
Kickoff Pre-show: WWE Cruiserweight Title Match
Austin Aries vs. Neville (c)
@TheMagnumDA: I’m happy for Austin Aries to get a shot like this, but I believe that he will go down this Sunday. As wild as this may sound, I don’t see Aries competing with the Cruiserweights for very long. I think Aries is good enough to be Intercontinental/US Champion, so it would behoove WWE to give Neville even more credibility with a big win on the grand stage. Magnum’s Pick: Neville retains the WWE Cruiserweight Championship
Tricky Don: The man that gravity forgot, is also the man the main card forgot. AUSTIN 3:16 kick started the attitude era. AUSTIN 1:58 just opened a can of whoop ass on the 205 roster. Tricky Don’s pick: Austin Aries wins the WWE Cruiserweight Championship Colin Vassallo’s Pick: Austin Aries wins the WWE Cruiserweight Championship
Kickoff Pre-show: Six-Pack Challenge for the SmackDown Women’s Title
Naomi vs. Mickie James vs. Carmella vs. Natalya vs. Becky Lynch vs. Alexa Bliss (c)
@TheMagnumDA: Of all the matches, this is the one match that I cannot predict. It seemed as if Naomi was going to walk into WrestleMania as the Champion, but another injury derailed those prospects…until last week. With Naomi back in the title match, I think WWE is going to let her run with the ball. The original plan was for Naomi to walk in (and out) of WrestleMania XXXIII with the Championship…why stray from that now? Magnum’s Pick: Naomi wins the WWE Women’s Championship – Smackdown Live
Tricky Don: I am not going to lie, I am not sure about this match. When girls watch football and they do not know a lot about the sport, they pick the winner based on the hottest quarterback. With that being said, I was originally going to pick Kelly Kelly. Then I saw an advertisement for the new WWE shoe line. Then it hit me. Naomi. She has killer dance moves and some sweet sneakers. I am sure she will be wearing a pair of the new WWE sneakers, and will go on to victory in her hometown. Tricky Don’s Pick: Naomi wins the WWE Women’s Championship – Smackdown Live Colin Vassallo’s Pick: Naomi wins the WWE Women’s Championship – Smackdown Live
Kickoff Pre-show: Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal Apollo Crews, Big Show, Bo Dallas, Braun Strowman, Chad Gable, Curt Hawkins, Curtis Axel, Dolph Ziggler, Epico, Fandango, Goldust, Heath Slater, Jason Jordan, Jey Uso, Jimmy Uso, Jinder Mahal, Killian Dain, Mark Henry, Mojo Rawley, Primo, R-Truth, Rhyno, Sami Zayn, Tian Bing, Tyler Breeze
@TheMagnumDA: What, no love for the Cruiserweights? How does CURT F’N HAWKINS have a WrestleMania spot, while dudes like Tony Nese & Jack Gallagher do not? Makes zero sense to me. There’s a lot of names that are not accounted for. Tian Bing makes a lot of sense to me (if they really want to win over the Chinese market right away). Of the names that are accounted for, I gotta give this to Sami Zayn. I think Strowman gets massive heat by eliminating the Big Show (also in his final WrestleMania), opening the door for the David vs. Goliath showdown between Zayn and Strowman. Zayn stuns the world, wins the battle royal, and as a bonus…defeats KO the next night to become US Champion. You read it here first! Magnum’s Pick: Sami Zayn wins the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal
Tricky Don: When The Rock cut his promo before Royal Rumble 2000, he was concerned about 2 people (Headbanger Mosh and Crash Holly). The Rock got past both and went on to win that Royal Rumble. His last elimination? The Big Show. Since the Rock is not in this match, my pick is the Big Show. In addition, he is jacked and this may be his last Wrestlemania. He will go down as the 1st 2 time winner. Tricky Don’s Pick: The Big Show wins his second Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal Colin Vassallo’s Pick: Braun Strowman
We hope you enjoy tonight’s event! Don’t forget to send us your picks @TheMagnumDA using the hashtags #WrestleMania and #WPC. Be safe, have fun, and LET’S PARTY! IT’S WRESTLEMANIA!
One person who has been really quiet about WrestleMania this year is former WWE champion The Rock.
Whereas in previous years it was rumored that he would be appearing or even he announces his participation beforehand, there was no mention of him whatsoever in the lead up to WrestleMania 33.
You would have to go back to WrestleMania 26 for a WrestleMania without an appearance from the People’s Champion. At WrestleMania 27, he was the host of the show, then at 28 and 29, he was in the main event against John Cena, winning the first one, and then losing the title to Cena again at 29.
At WrestleMania 30, he was part of the epic opening that also involved Hulk Hogan and Stone Cold Steve Austin, while at WrestleMania 31 there was the special moment with Ronda Rousey as they faced off Triple H and Stephanie McMahon during an interview segment in the middle of the ring.
Last year at WrestleMania 32, The Rock announced the record-breaking crowd number and was then interrupted by The Wyatt Family. He had a quick – very quick – match against Erik Rowan, and then John Cena came in to help fend off the rest of the Wyatts.
Last month, The Rock acknowledged on Twitter when replying to a fan that he’s trying to get there for WrestleMania, but that was the only public comment he made regarding the show. He is famous though for making surprise appearances, but will he do one tonight?
WrestleMania is FREE on the WWE Network for first time subscribers to the WWE Network. Sign up today at http://w-o.it/wwentwrk to active your free month.
17 WWE Superstars on the card tonight for WrestleMania have all graduated from NXT over the past several years, an impressive number that is even more impressive when adding participants from the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal, a number that shoots up to nearly 30.
Bray Wyatt, Dean Ambrose, Alexa Bliss, and Bayley are all champions walking into the show as well, with many of their opponents, including Baron Corbin, Charlotte, Sasha Banks, Nia Jax, Becky Lynch, and Carmella also NXT graduates.
For those former NXT stars such as Carmella, Nia Jax, Alexa Bliss, Neville, Enzo Amore and Big Cass, this is also their first WrestleMania.
With stars in NXT like Bobby Roode, Shinsuke Nakamura, The Revival, #DIY, Ember Moon, Asuka, SAnitY, Cassuis Ohno, Roderick Strong, and many others, it will be interesting to see how next year’s WrestleMania shapes up!
WWE.COM now lists 25 Superstars so far as entering the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal, down from the list of 31 which was published already.
Notable misses are Titus O’Neil, Sin Cara, Kalisto, The Vaudevillains, and The Ascension.
The full updated list in alphabetical order of those participating so far is: Apollo Crews, Big Show, Bo Dallas, Braun Strowman, Chad Gable, Curt Hawkins, Curtis Axel, Dolph Ziggler, Epico, Fandango, Goldust, Heath Slater, Jason Jordan, Jey Uso, Jimmy Uso, Jinder Mahal, Killian Dain, Mark Henry, Mojo Rawley, Primo, R-Truth, Rhyno, Sami Zayn, Tian Bing, Tyler Breeze.
Killian Dain from NXT’s SAnitY was the latest addition along with WWE Performance Center student Tian Bing who was announced a few days ago.
If you are attending WrestleMania, you might want to familiarize yourself with the prohibited items and items that you cannot take into the Camping World Stadium.
The following items are prohibited from inside the stadium and if you’re caught with any of them, you will be turned away: Air horns, noise makers, megaphones, alcohol, animals except for service animals, banners/signs/posters larger than 2’x3’, beach balls, footballs, beverages, camcorders, audio/video recorders, coolers, aerosol cans, bottles, drones, food, fireworks and other explosives, frisbees, illegal Substances, laptops, tablets, later lights, mace or pepper spray, masks, skates, skateboards, poles, sticks, selfie sticks, strollers, carts, tripods, umbrellas, whistles and any kind of firearms.
If you will have any of the mentioned items on you, we suggest you leave them in your hotel or car as heavy security will prevent you from entering and the stadium will not store prohibited for fans.
Food, alcohol, and other beverage can be consumed inside the stadium as long as they are bought from a vendor inside.
Binoculars, photo cameras, and smart phones are allowed in the stadium. Digital cameras cannot have detachable lenses or lenses that expand to over 6”.
Due to strict security reasons, several type of bags will not be allowed inside the Camping World Stadium for WrestleMania 33 today. A clear bag policy has been implemented which limits the size and type of bags that may be brought into the stadium.
Prohibited bags include, but are not limited to: Purses larger than a clutch bag, coolers, briefcases, backpacks, fanny packs, cinch bags, luggage of any kind, camera bags, and computer bags.
Acceptable bags that will be allowed entry include bags that are clear plastic, vinyl or PVC and do not exceed 12″ x 6″ x 12,” one-gallon clear plastic freezer bag (Ziploc bag or similar), and small clutch bags, approximately the size of a hand, with or without a handle or strap.
An exception will be made for medically necessary items after proper inspection at a gate designated for this purpose.
Smackdown lead announcer Mauro Ranallo confirmed that he will not be doing any announcing at WrestleMania, as he continues to be absent from WWE television.
It has been three weeks since Ranallo called Smackdown and rumors are that he is battling depression again, something which he publicly acknowledged in the past. After being away from social media for nearly 10 days, Ranallo then posted a message thanking his fans and saying that his doctor ordered him to stay off social media.
But Ranallo used Twitter again to confirm that he would not be part of WrestleMania today. “While it breaks my heart that I won’t be at #WrestleMania, I’m extremely happy for my friend @JRsBBQ,” Ranallo wrote, tagging Jim Ross in the message.
JR will be calling one match on the show tonight, although it’s not clear yet which match that will be.
Ranallo made his WrestleMania debut last year, calling the Kickoff show matches.
For the second time, the Camping World Stadium will be hosting WrestleMania, 9 years after WWE took WrestleMania 24 to the same location, then known as the Citrus Bowl.
Located in downtown Orlando, the stadium is the home of the Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl and the Russell Athletic Bowl as well as a host of several college football games including the Florida Classic.
Built in 1936 for $115,000 – or the equivalent of $2 million in today’s money – the stadium was renovated and expanded multiple times, most recently in 2014. The last renovation cost a total of $207 million. It is owned by the city of Orlando.
Before the 2014 renovation, there were a total of 65,000 permanent seats, with the ability to add temporary bleachers in the north end zone of the stadium. After the renovation, fixed seating was reduced to 60,219 due to the introduction of chair-back seats in the lower bowl and Plaza Level. Temporary bleachers can still be added in the Plaza level in place of the Party Deck to increase the capacity to 65,194. WWE still holds the record attendance inside the stadium for WrestleMania XXIV which saw 74,635 fans.
Since the stadium now holds less people. WWE is expected to announce a lower number than the 74,000 figure, which was inflated to begin with.
Whereas, until a few years ago betting on WWE was at best, frowned upon by betting companies, it seems that such outlook is very rapidly changing. In the last few years, we have been noticing a rapid increase in the number of betting websites offering betting on outcomes of WWE matches.
What is really impressing us as of late is the variety in the offers being presented. No longer its a matter of betting on who will win a particular match but now bookies are offering a variety of prop bets going from duration of the actual match, number of times a listed move is performed or who will attempt the first near fall.
And that’s not all. Seems like in the past week, oddsmakers have listened to every wrestling podcast on the planet and put odds on all topics discussed in them….such as Shane jumping from some crazy height, Samoa Joe interfering in the Rollins vs HHH match or if John Cena will propose to Nikki.
Below is a quick look to how the odds look for each match at the time of print and some of the related props. Odds courtesy of 888sport.com.
Battle Royal
What seemed to be a sure win for Braun Strowman (favorite since the market started being offered back in December), is currently in doubt. Braun’s 7/10 odds are closely followed by big-climber Sami Zayn (at odds Evens) after Braun was lurking around the 1/10 area for most of last week. Noteworthy interest seems to have been attracted by Mojo Rawley over the weekend. He features as 3rd favorite @ 7/2.
Neville vs Austin Aries
Neville is 1/15 favorite to win the match against Aries 6/1. Duration: 14 minutes: Over 6/5, Under 3/5
John Cena & Nikki Bella vs The Miz & Maryse
Cena & Nikki are very strong favorites at 1/13. Duration: 11 minutes: Over 11/10, Under 13/20. Cena to propose is currently priced at 13/20.
Roman Reigns vs The Undertaker
Bettors seem believing Reigns will cause The Undertaker to chalk up another defeat to his WrestleMania record. Reigns is currently 1/8 to get the W, with Taker a 4/1 underdog. Duration: 18 minutes: Over 18/27, Under Evens. Interestingly Braun Strowman is also quoted at Evens to interfere in the match that should start after the predicted lengthy Undertaker entrance. Odds setters have put the Over/Under line at 5:00 minutes from the first gong to when Taker sets foot in the ring: Over 9/10, Under 4/5.
Triple H vs Seth Rollins
The Architect (1/15) is highly expected to beat The Game (6/1) if betting odds are anything to go by. Duration: 16 and half minutes: Over 1/2, Under 7/5. Samoa Joe is expected to continue playing a role in the feud (odds to interfere 1/5) alongside a crutch (1/10), the historic sledgehammer (1/7) and maybe the re-emergence of Rollins’ Curb Stomp (odds 33/50).
Shane McMahon vs AJ Styles
AJ is a strong 1/10 favorite against Shane (odds 19/4). Duration: 15 minutes: Over 4/5, Under 9/10. Besides the possibility to bet on whether Shane will take another one of his crazy bumps (odds 2/5 to jump from anywhere acknowledged to be 10 feet or over), it’s worth noticing the unusually low odds for such a match to end with anything but a pinfall or submission. Seems like the idea of a “non-clean” finish is gaining steam.
Bray Wyatt vs Randy Orton
Orton is a 1/10 strong favorite to win against Bray’s 5/1. Duration: 17 minutes: Both Over and Under options with odds 17/20. Bettors have backed Bray Watt to kick from an RKO (odds 3/5) but also Randy to successfully deliver 2 or more RKOs (odds 1/2).
Dean Ambrose vs Baron Corbin
Corbin is a 1/10 favorite to win against Ambrose (19/4). Duration: 13 minutes: Over Evens, Under 18/25. It is also possible to bet that during the expectedly hard-hitting contest Ambrose will deliver a successful lunatic fringe’s Rebound clothesline (odds 3/5) before Corbin executes Deep Six (odds 6/5) on the former Shield member.
Alexa Bliss vs Carmella vs Naomi vs Mickie James vs Natalya vs Becky Lynch
A hometown victory by Naomi (odds 1/5) seems to be the bettor’s choice followed by Carmella (5/2). Since the announcement that the match will not be on the preshow but on the main card there has been a change in the minutes line which have now fallen to the 10 minute mark with Under as favorite.
Gallows & Anderson vs Sheamus & Cesaro vs Enzo & Cass
Enzo & Cass are 1/3 favorites to win their first ever WWE gold. Gallows & Anderson have been attracting interest lately. As a consequence their odds have improved to 7/4 at the expense of Cesaro & Sheamus who have dropped to 6/1. Duration: 13 minutes: Both sides at 17/20.
Bayley vs Charlotte vs Nia Jax vs Sasha Banks
In a match that is expected to be one of the longest on the card (line has been set at 20 minutes), Bayley seems to have stabilized as a 1/10 favorite followed by Charlotte (odds 2/1). Though bettors seem to have little faith in Sasha regaining the gold (odds 8/1) and even less in Nia winning (10/1, and odds 1/4 to be first eliminated), they seem quite confident Sasha and Bayley will be the final 2 (odds 1/2). Possibly setting the stage for a Sasha turn.
Goldberg vs Brock Lesnar
Speaking about match duration…from the patterns we noticed over the weekend it seems like the question on everyone’s mind is not who will win the title. Lesnar having his odds at 1/34 and Goldberg having his at 8/1 seems like answering that question. Instead, a lot of interest has been noticed in whether the match will exceed a particular timeframe. Passing the 8 minute mark is currently the favourite at odds 4/5 against the 9/10 of the UNDER option. Goldberg might be in for a tough night given the over/under line of 6 suplexes executed on the 50-year old superhero. And for those who believe the former UFC Champ will be motivated enough to take Goldberg to Suplex City and beat the record of 16 suplexes delivered to Cena in August 2014, the bookies are offering a 7/1 payout.
Chris Jericho vs Kevin Owens
In another match expected to go long (line set at 20 minutes too), Owens (1/13) is expected to beat his former best friend Chris Jericho (odds 11/2). Samoa Joe could possibly play a role here too (odds 3/5 to interfere in the match).
Odds quoted from 888sport.com
WrestleMania 33 is live and FREE on the WWE Network for first-time subscribers. Go to http://w-o.it/wwentwrk to activate your subscription NOW!
Former TNA champion Drew Galloway appeared at NXT Takeover: Orlando before the start of the main event. He was acknowledged on camera using his old WWE name of Drew McIntyre.
The Scottish wrestler confirmed with ESPN afterward that he has signed a new WWE deal to be part of the NXT brand. ”I’ve won championships all across the world, I’ve helped build brands. So what’s the next logical thing for me to do? It’s to come here and win the NXT title,” McIntyre told ESPN.COM.
“If that’s not clear enough for everybody, Drew McIntyre has signed with NXT,” he added.
On February 27, he announced his departure from TNA after a two-year stint with the company. Prior to that, he spent three years in WWE developmental before he was called up to the main roster in August 2009, but was released from his deal in 2014. His last act in WWE was being a member of 3MB.
This time around, Drew McIntyre will be far from being just an act and will most likely be part of the main event picture immediately.
NXT may be have cooled off in recent months, but their WrestleMania curtain-raiser was anything but cold. At least until the main event…
During the pre-show they aired footage from Axxess of No Way Jose being beaten up by SAnitY – that leaves Jose off the card, so it’s either going to be a handicap match, or Jose’ll be replaced with another partner. I wonder if they can find a hero?
Triple H voices over the Takeover intro from backstage, proclaiming “tonight is our night”. It’s the same sort of rabble rousing speech that we’ve heard before, ending with the line that “tonight… we are home”. Well, it is the closest they’ve been to Full Sail! We start with a video package highlighting NXT’s growth, seguing into the usual building up of tonight’s title matches.
SAnitY (Eric Young, Killian Dain, Alexander Wolfe & Nikki Cross) vs. Tye Dillinger, Roderick Strong, Kassius Ohno & Ruby Riot
SAnitY had the panda eye makeup going for them, whilst Wolfe was so insane he wore his own group’s t-shirt. The mystery man came out as Kassius Ohno, making his Takeover debut too!
We start with an all-out brawl with Ohno giving a discus boot to Dain at the start whilst Riot and Cross kept windmilling each other with punches. Cross misses a charge in the corner then gets her face driven into the middle turnbuckle with a modified headscissors as Riot wanted more… but instead Wolfe comes in as Riot’s forced to tag out. Kassius Ohno just punches Wolfe and Young as they arsed around, before a flip senton onto Wolfe gets him a near-fall. My Network feed pixels out like crazy, then recovers as we go to Strong elbowing Wolfe, before an Angle Slam (?!) and a uranage backbreaker sees Strong clear house!
In the end, Strong gets overwhelmed by the SAnitY numbers game as he’s left laying before Killian Dain comes in. Repeated elbows from Dain leave Strong laying, but Roddy hits an enziguiri and almost leaps over the big guy to make a tag, only to be flown into the corner with a shotgun dropkick. Strong’s kept isolated by SAnitY, who target Roderick’s arm before an elbow drop sees Tye Dillinger walk in to break up the pin.
Roderick tries to fire back with forearms, before Eric Young’s attempt at cutting off ends with him missing a corner dropkick. Tye finally tags in and clears out SAnitY, decking Wolfe with a DDT as Ruby Riot neutralised a run-in from Nikki Cross. Dillinger lands a crossbody off the top rope, then a tope to Young, only for his energetic spree to end with Dain attacking him from behind. It all goes wild on the floor, but Ohno handstands his way to the floor… only to get charged into the apron by Dain.
Ruby Riot teases a dive, but a Cross forearm ends that before Riot goes back to the catfight punches as those two roll to the outside. We’re back to Young and Dillinger in the ring, and Tye’s a house on fire, dropping Dain with a superkick for a near-fall, before Ohno knees Wolfe… Young catches Ohno with a neckbreaker, only for that wheelbarrow neckbreaker to be halted with a Sick Kick from Strong.
Roderick faces up to Dain now, but Cross and Riot piggyback their respective opponents with chokes. The rabid women continue to take aim at each other, ending with Cross taking a missile dropkick off the apron as Riot looked to whack herself on landing. Dillinger tries to go for the Tye Breaker (ushigoroshi), but Wolfe breaks that up as the Ulster Plantation seals the win for SAnitY. This was a wild riot, and a great car crash to open up the show. Not a blow-off by any means, but Riot/Cross and Ohno/Dain are two mouth-watering feuds for down the line. ***¾
Enzo Amore’s still hell-bent on making out with some KFC… we see Edge and Beth Phoenix in the crowd next, and we’re onto the next match!
Andrade “Cien” Almas vs. Aleister Black
Not counting his surprise at the UK Championship Tournament finals (as Tommy End), this was Black’s NXT TV debut. Black’s entrance saw him rise from his back to his feet as if he were coming off his deathbed, and he’s got a custom chyron with the symbols that flip into his name.
We start with wristlocks and takedowns, before Almas leaps into the ropes to end a series of waistlock reversals. The crowd’s not liking this, and to be honest, I’m surprised it’s taking this long to see even a teased kick from Black. The Dutchman sends Almas to the outside, then backflips into a meditation, and now we’re going to the strikes! A combination of kicks takes down Almas, but “Cien” comes back with some strikes of his own to leave Black in the corner.
A rope-hung armbar gets Almas back in it, as does a missile dropkick, but Black comes back with more kicks and elbows to rock the Mexican, with a knee to the gut taking down the former La Sombra. Black connects with a moonsault off the middle turnbuckle to the floor, but when he returned to the ring, Almas threw in some kicks of his own.
Black knees Andrade as he comes into the ring, but that armbar’s tried again in the ropes… so Black just kicks his way free. A missile dropkick’s caught and turned into a powerbomb for a near-fall, but after kicking out Almas goes to a Fujiwara armbar, before he misses a charge into the corner. Of all things, Black almost wins with a small package, then gets sat down on a wheelbarrow roll-up for a near-fall as they knocked each other down with simultaneous kicks.
Almas takes Black into the corner for the rushing double knees, before setting up for a hammerlock DDT… but Black avoids it, only to get caught in a strait-jacket German suplex for a near-fall. Black comes back with a knee strike, then some stiff boots to the head, before finishing him off with the Black Mass roundhouse kick. A fine debut, although a weird match to debut in – Almas hasn’t been booked well enough for this to be anything other than a debut unless it was a squash, but they weren’t about to squash Almas either. A perfectly fine debut, but now we need to see what’s next for the former Tommy End. ***½
Elimination Match for NXT Tag Team Championship: The Revival (Scott Dawson & Dash Wilder) vs. #DIY (Tommaso Ciampa & Johnny Gargano) vs. Authors of Pain (Akam & Rezar) (c)
There was no Jim Cornette managing the Revival tonight, just in case anyone was thinking that could have happened. William Regal unveiled the new tag titles before the start of the match, and they look SWISH – almost remniscent of the TNA tag belts.
We started with both sets of challengers combining to lay into the Authors of Pain, with #DIY working over Akam whilst the Revival double-teamed Rezar. Gargano and Ciampa grab a table early to pop the crowd, but it’s not used as we end up with the Authors being laid out… and now the Revival stare down with #DIY and they go head to head! Double dropkicks take down the Revival, as Wilder takes a step-up forearm in the corner for a near-fall from Gargano. Ciampa tags in, but Akam also gets a blind tag and flattens Ciampa as the champions look to take over, mixing in some clubbing blows.
The Revival cower away from a tag as Ciampa looked for some respite, so he just gets clubbed again by the champs. When Ciampa does make a comeback, Dash Wilder forces a tag in as the Revival take over with an assisted legdrop that gets them just a one-count, and when Dawson tries to tag out, #DIY back away. Now Gargano tags in, and scores a slingshot spear for a near-fall on Dawson, before an up-kick to Wilder put the Revival ont he back foot. Gargano keeps up the pressure with a superkick off the apron as #DIY go flying! A slingshot DDT from Gargano gets a near-fall on Dawson, but Johnny’s quickly used by the Authors to block a tope from Ciampa – literally throwing Gargano into his partner’s path!
Gargano gets thrown into the Revival next, as the Authors tag themselves in to pick apart Johnny. Akam lifts up Gargano into a torture rack, before Johnny slips out and lands an enziguiri, only for his attempt to tag out fail as he instead shoves Akam into Dawson on the apron. Finally Ciampa gets the tag and flies in with clotheslines, then a big boot as he tries to knock Akam down, eventually succeeding with a German suplex! Another German takes Akam back to the mat, where a knee trembler almost eliminates the champions! That table comes into play as Rezar takes a sunset bomb from Ciampa – with the help of Gargano and the Revival!
The crowd go wild here, and now it’s just Akam left on his own against four men whilst Rezar pulls himself together. Akam’s quickly overwhelmed, but manages to knock down Ciampa and the Revival, who come back with a blind tag to hit a chop block on Akam, then an inverted figure four. Gargano rushes in to instinctively break it up, but then decides to throw in a Gargano Escape for the hell of it… but Akam resists two submissions as Rezar bulled his way back in to break it all up. The Revival worm out of a fallaway slam/Samoan drop combo as Rezar’s superkicked to the mat again, where he takes a #DIY superkick and knee from Gargano and Dawson. Ciampa and Wilder deliver a Shatter Machine to Akam as they mix up their finishers, and we’re back to #DIY vs. Revival…
Or are we? Yes we are! Gargano and Wilder break free of the pack to land a pair of topes to the Authors, and this is where I joined the match live, where we see Scott Dawson superplexing Tommaso Ciampa into the pile on the floor, before Rezar tags in and clotheslines Ciampa… the Last Chapter follows, and #DIY are the first team out! That’s not a popular elimination, and the Authors continue with something as my feed buffers. It recovers as Rezar chokeslams Dawson, who’s then set-up for the Last Chapter, but Dash Wilder sacrifices himself before Dawson rolls back on a sleeperhold to nearly win the match. A double powerbomb takes down the Revival, and we’re left with a prone Scott Dawson in the ring… to the point where he keeps collapsing every time he’s set up for a powerbomb.
Wilder holds Rezar back as Dawson small packages Akam for a near-fall, and the camera misses a pair of death valley drivers from the champions. A super collider follows, and the Authors of Pain retain. A hot start that held up – and despite the unpopular finish, this would end up being the match of the night. Good stuff, but we’ll hold off calling the AOP improved until they’ve had a few more matches against varied opposition. ****¼
NXT Women’s Championship: Ember Moon vs. Asuka (c)
One year ago, Asuka won the NXT title on the night before WrestleMania, beating Bayley. She’s still champion and still undefeated, and before the match, she handed in the title belt for a newer model, which had a bigger, shinier X in the middle, and looked like a cross between the old TNA X-Division belt and the old WCW World Heavyweight title strap.
Asuka starts out on fire with takedowns, but Ember more than matches her with armdrags and dropkicks as they seem evenly matched at the start. Plenty of shoving as both women are frustrated with the other, ending with an Asuka hip attack as she taunted Ember to go for a shoulder tackle. Ember thumbs her nose at Asuka before kicking her to the outside, but another hip attack leads to Moon bumping into the barriers. Back inside, Asuka nonchalantly boots away at Moon in the corner, before some spinning backfists take the challenger down, and it’s all Asuka here with kicks and hip attacks as Ember Moon’s left reeling.
Moon throws away from an Asuka lock and drills the champion to the floor with a forearm, before flying with her to the floor with an Ibushi-esque crossbody from the inside to the floor! Asuka’s rolled back inside, but she avoids an Eclipse, then shoves Ember down for a Shining Wizard for a near-fall. Another Asuka Lock’s rolled out of, but the champion holds onto it and traps Ember in the middle of the ring.
Ember holds on, but she looks to go limp and fall to the mat, before powering up and taking a back bump to free herself. Another hip attack misses, leading to Asuka taking a kick to the head as she was wedged in the ropes. A caught kick from Ember’s turned into a headscissor takedown, as the challenger strings together some moves ending with a fallaway slam!
Ember pops up and hits a handstand into a clothesline, before Asuka cuts off a springboard in the ropes, and turns it into a German suplex for a near-fall. Moon hits a rolling forearm, but Asuka pops back up, only to take a capture suplex from Moon, who rolls backwards to score a two-count out of it. Sensing an Eclipse, Asuka shoves the referee into the ropes to save herself, then scores a headkick to Moon to retain the title – and her undefeated streak. A great match that continued Asuka’s slow descent onto the other side of the good/evil divide. Rematch please! ****
Drew McIntyre was shown at ringside on NXT. Using that name. Guess someone’s had enough of the indys! Or specifically, one where he’d been in a months-long storyline to win a newly-created title, only to be written out of the match on show night!
NXT Championship: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Bobby Roode (c)
Nakamura didn’t get a flashier entrance than usual, but he did get some new gear that made him look like a red and black tiger. A pair of grand pianos played out Bobby Roode, who wasn’t fading away and classifying himself as Obsolete, but rather… Glorious! The new NXT title looks a LOT like the women’s belt, but with a golden X instead of a silver one, so they’re going down that road, I guess.
Roode starts by grounding Nakamura in a headlock, but Shinsuke turns him around and mocks Roode after a clean break. Nakamura boots Roode away as he tried to proclaim “glorious”, and it’s all the challenger’s way from there as he takes Roode into the corner for some choking with a boot.
Nakamura tries to suplex Roode to the outside, but instead the champion lands a dropkick and shoves Nakamura into the guard rail with a shoulder tackle. More feed stuttering as we return to Roode chopping Nakamura in the corner, before we get a nerve hold out of the champion. A knee drop gets Roode a near-fall, but Nakamura starts to show signs of life, rolling away from a sleeperhold and then kicking Roode to the mat.
Some kicks from Nakamura take Roode into the corner, where he takes a running forearm before being sent to the floor. A Kinshasa-like knee rocks Roode on the apron, but Roode recovers back inside to hit a clothesline, only for Nakamura to land a dropkick… then get his knee chopped out as he went for a Kinshasa. Roode wraps Nakamura’s knee around the ringpost, then takes him back inside for a figure four to add some pressure to the knee. They roll over as Nakamura reverses it, but Roode grabs the ropes and keeps up the attack, only to get caught in an arm triangle by Nakamura. The move transfers into a cross armbreaker, but Roode gets the ropes, and Nakamura looks to kick the arm out of Roode from there, but he’s caught in a back cracker as Roode almost retained!
From there, the pair reel as they go back and forth with forearms, before Nakamura knees his way free from a Glorious DDT and follows up with a diving knee strike for a near-fall. Roode rolls to the floor to get some distance, and by the time he’d been thrown back in, he’d recovered enough to hit another Glorious DDT, this time for a two-count. Frustrated, Roode heads outside and grabs the ring bell, but the referee stops him from using it… that distraction allows Nakamura to hit an inverted Exploder, but the Kinshasa is turned into a spinebuster as Roode came close to retaining. Nakamura charges into the corner to avoid another Glorious DDT, but Roode hits another chop knock to the knee as he goes for a tornado into the Glorious DDT… and Roode retains! Well, as a match it was fine – nowhere near the levels of the main events that some fans would expect, with several dull moments. I’d expect that Nakamura’s getting called up, as two losses in a row leave him in the same boat as the Revival in terms of having nothing left to do in this roster. Let’s see… ***
Well, for a Takeover that felt flat coming in, it was a good show – plenty of great wrestling up and down the card, until the main event just seemed to send the crowd to sleep. It’s a shame, but this felt like the NXT equivalent of those late 90s WCW PPVs with fantastic undercards, an a passable main event.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:Ian Hamilton has been a wrestling fan since 1992, and when he’s not watching WWE, New Japan or his latest wrestling love, PROGRESS, he’s usually suffering through Sunderland AFC and the New York Jets. He’s got a couple of books out on Amazon – “Wrestling’s Sinking Ship” and “Gone Too Soon”, and can be reached via his website, BackBodyDrop.com, or on Twitter @theianhamilton
