Wrestlemania 32

If you enjoyed Wrestlemania 32 then stop right here. It’s pretty bleak from here on out, with just few dazzling moments that I can count on one hand that made WM special for me. I can’t help but join in with the chorus of sighs as another year rolls by that leaves a sour taste in my mouth.

But hey! It’s not all that bad, as the show pretty much kicked off with the validation of the rumours about the Diva’s Title being dumped in favour of the Women’s Championship. The death of the butterfly has never been so welcome and the new belt is beautiful in comparison. I, along with so many others, felt this was long overdue especially now that the women’s division has seen a soar in talented personnel bringing back credibility. Presented by Lita, this garnered a huge positive reaction from me and left me excited for the impending triple threat match later on.

Other than that, the pre-show was largely forgettable. Kalisto thankfully retained the US Title in a ‘been-there-done-that-I-have-12-tshirts-already’ match against Ryback. Ryback, being one of the most uninspired and generic characters rolled out by WWE in recent years, offered nothing remarkable.

The divas tag match between Team Total Divas and Team BAD and Blonde wasn’t as bad as I expected, with both Lana and Eva Marie holding their own quite well. It was predictable however and hardly a special match worthy of WM. Team Total Divas picked up the win and Nikki Bella showed up to demand attention back on her and away from Brie (who has announced her retirement) as she hasn’t been able to stroke her ego in some time.

Talking of formulaic and predictable, The Usos defeated The Dudleyz and The Dudleyz were so livid they decided to make tables a thing again, but ended up going through them themselves.

So, onto the main show?

7-Man Intercontinental Title Ladder Match

The 7-man ladder match for the Intercontinental Title opened up the main show and it proved to be a great opening match. The chemistry between Owens and Zayn recieved numerous roars from the crowd and gave me a tingling feeling when thinking about a future feud between these two. Sin Cara proved his worth with some incredible moves, and whilst largely forgettable (through no fault of his own, mind you) Stardust had the most poignant of tributes to his late father, Dusty, that is worthy of many mentions. The Miz and Ziggler also proved forgettable, with Owens and Zayn taking centre stage for the majority of the match. It was only when Zayn made Owen eat a ladder and the floor of the ring, did the 7th man really come out and take advantage – Zack Ryder. 

Winner: Zack Ryder

Thoughts: This is going to be controversial but here we go… Why Ryder? I don’t understand the fascination with him. All 6 other men made more sense then this jobber who has rarely been seen in recent years. I love me a good old “holy shit!” surprise and I’m happy for Ryder, but I’m just left beginning the question… Why? I missed Ryder’s original run a few years ago, so maybe that’s why I’m indifferent to him, but I would have much preferred Ziggler, The Miz, Zayn or Owens to have won.

Chris Jericho vs AJ Styles

Jericho vs Styles followed the IC Title match and was a great match built on weeks of building tension between the two. Laden with almost-finishers and 2 counts, Styles proves himself as a worthy competitor for Jericho. Though new to the WWE, Styles is a veteran in the ring and I think the best is yet to come from this man – given the freedom and trust, he could prove himself amazing. After a few near falls, Jericho catches Styles mid jump, serves him a Codebreaker and picks up the win.

Winner: Chris Jericho

Thoughts: I was wholly unimpressed with this outcome – why does Jericho need to go over Styles? Styles desperately needed this win, not Jericho. Rather unfortunately, I have the feeling this feud will drag out longer than needed, and will culminate with Styles winning at the next PPV. Should have had his Wrestlemania moment though, it was deserved.

The New Day vs The League of Nations

The New Day had one of, if not the best, Wrestlemania entrances of all time. Everything about it was glorious, ridiculous and hilarious. The New Day are the best faction in a long time, and it was wonderful to see them get the reaction and adulation they so thoroughly deserve.

But that’s where that happiness ends, as they lost to the League of Nations in what can only be described as a Smackdown worthy match at best. I just didn’t feel it, and with no titles on the line – why bother investing hype? The New Day losing is an issue itself, but one I can get behind for further development of a story, but I just don’t understand any of it. LON picked up the win when Sheamus delivered a Brogue Kick to Xavier and got the 3 count. 

Winner: The League of Nations

Thoughts: The aftermath of this match proved more memorable than the match itself. King Barrett took to the mic to trash talk, but out came Mr Wrestlemania himself, Shawn Michaels, accompanied by Mick Foley/Cactus Jack and the Texan-bred legend, Stone Cold Steve Austin. I understand having to pull in some big names to excite the fans – but why do it at the expense of younger, newer talent? Austin, Michaels and Foley all buried The League of Nations and then – for reasons I can only describe as being a big “fuck you” to the fans – Austin stunnered Xavier Woods.

What in the actual living hell was the point of all of that? 3 “retired” wrestlers came out and single handedly buried 7 current, younger superstars – for what? I love and adore Austin, Michaels and Foley but that segment left me with a sour taste in my mouth and only appealed to the causal fans who won’t tune in again for another year.

Street Fight: Dean Ambrose vs Brock Lesnar

This match ultimately ended up disappointing me – it was too short, horribly PG and did they even leave the ring that much? Wasn’t this supposed to be a no holds barred, bloody and brutal street fight? Weeks of building up led to nothing – it was just Suplex City Brock. Which, surprise surprise, caught on last year and is now being played out to death. I had no doubt that Brock would win, but I wanted Dean to try more. Obviously you can only make the most of what you’re given, and such a short time for a supposedly brutal match couldn’t tell enough of a story. Dean suffered in this – I wanted him to play the role of the insane masochist so badly. Dean ate 13 suplexes, barely touched any of the weapons bestowed upon to him by hardcore legends, took a brutal F5 and Brock picked up the win. Such a shame, because this match could have been. So. Much. More. 

Winner: Brock Lesnar

Triple Threat Women’s Championship Title Match

This was the best match of the entire night, hands down. Charlotte, Sasha and Becky have extraordinary talent and went all out tonight to prove that to the masses – and personally, I didn’t care who won as they are all worthy of being the first WWE Women’s Champion. Sasha paid homage to Eddie Guerrero through the match with her attire and moveset, Becky pushed her body to the limit, receiving most of the blows in the match, but it was Charlotte who had the upper hand with her amazing move set and father in the mix, Ric Flair, who held Sasha back as Becky tapped out to the Figure Eight applied by Charlotte. 

Winner: Charlotte

Thoughts: By far the best match of the night, I squealed with delight through it. As a woman, it was a goddamn pleasure to see this and to see the appreciation from everybody else. It’s been a long time coming! Even though most people wanted Sasha to win, I’m unaffected by Charlotte retaining – she’s a great heel and this puts a big target on her back.

Shane McMahon vs The Undertaker: Hell in a Cell

Second favourite match of the night, Shane proves he still has the biggest balls in the company – appearing suicidal at times. His leap from the top of the cell that unfortunately missed The Undertaker below on the announce table will be spoken about for years to come – an ultimate Wrestlemania moment if there ever was one. Absolutely phenomenal.

The Undertaker looked and performed better this year, but it was Shane that outshone him. In a horribly confining PG era, Shane is the breath of fresh air that sticks two fingers up to those who doubt him.

The match was great – it was nasty, physical and personal. After Shane’s death defying stunt, Undertaker managed to carry him to the ring, deliver a tombstone and get the win. Shane left on a stretcher.

Winner: The Undertaker

Thoughts: I get why The Undertaker was and is cheered – he IS Wrestlemania – but I found it odd and disappointing that there wasn’t enough momentum behind Shane who wanted to take down The Authority and get control of RAW. What was the point of Shane coming back, middle fingers up and trash talking, just for WWE to go… hmm, nah, nothing is changing? Seems like a bit of a waste. The match was great, the story and aftermath however… disappointing. I hope this isn’t the last we see of Shane.

Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royale

What a shit show this was: stupid gimmicks, pointless celebrities and no overall direction. Purely filler, no killer. After eliminating Dallas and Young, Kane was eliminated by NXT’s Baron Corbin in a surprising victory.

Winner: Baron Corbin

Thoughts: Of all the directions they could have taken, I firmly believe this was one of the few that can garner a positive reaction – Last year’s victory by Big Show felt forced, outdated and unnatural but this year’s win by a rookie was pleasantly surprising. I’m left patiently waiting to see the direction they decide to take with Corbin.

The Rock (and The Wyatts and John Cena)

The worst thing about Wrestlemania this year is the constant disappointment I felt when watching older talent going over younger talent, with the exception of Ryder and Corbin. So far, Shawn Michaels, Steve Austin, Mick Foley, The Undertaker, Chris Jericho and Brock Lesnar have all come out victorious – is this 1996? No, it’s 2001. No sorry, it’s 2003. Actually, wait it’s 2016 and it’s still happening. The Rock appearing just (literally) adds flames to this fire.

When The Wyatts (minus Luke Harper) come out to interrupt The Rock’s show-boating, they are completely destroyed by him. Even though The Rock did briefly put over The Wyatt family, nobody will remember that – what people will remember is The Rock demanding a match and then winning that match in 6 seconds with a Rock Bottom to Eric Rowan. Just baffles me how the WWE allows their roster to be made to feel like a joke by part timers. But of course, who cares? Highest attendance record broken and probably the most financially successful Wrestlemania to date. John Cena then makes his return to firmly bury The Wyatts and any hope that they could be a legitimate, dominating heel faction. Where do we go from here, when a man who hasn’t been involved in any notable matches for the last few years (Ryder) becomes more relevant than a promising and talented faction of young wrestlers?

WWE World Heavyweight Championship Title Match

Stephanie shone tonight; even if I am incredibly bored of her and her husband’s domination of the entire product, she is great at what she does. So effortless is her ability to make me hate her, her introduction to her husband, Triple H is powerful and fantastic.

The reaction Roman Reigns get is equally as powerful – a chorus of boos dominate the stadium throughout the majority of his time spent out there. I am a fan of Reigns really, I truly do think he’s a superstar in the making, but it’s so hard to get behind him when the booking of his character is so poor. And it’s harder to do so when WWE make the same mistake at Wrestlemania 2 years in a row – as if the chorus of boos from last year didn’t solidify the opinion of Reigns, this year is the nail in the coffin. Reigns needs to turn heel, it’s the only way this can be saved. However, I doubt this will ever happen – equal parts frustrating and disappointing. So badly do they want him to be the “face of the company”, they are willing to jeopardise everything else around them. The overall match isn’t bad and does have a few highlights, especially so when it moves outside of the ring over to the announce tables.

The booing from the crowd only seemingly lets up when Reigns ‘accidentally’ speared Stephanie, and this lays the foundation for Reigns to relentlessly attack Triple H, avoid getting hit with the sledge hammer, superman punch Triple H twice, get the 3 count and win the Championship Title. It’s as simple and anti-climatic as that.

Winner: Roman Reigns

Wrestlemania pandered to the causal fans last night and what a shame that was. I hope the RAW after ‘Mania provides something for the patient fan, because right now, this show falls short of being a great PPV, let alone what is supposedly meant to be the biggest and best night of the year.

Agree with me? Disagree with me? Want to have a go at me for wasting your time? Find me @Rachelskiiiiiii