Seven Wrestlemania 33 Moments We Can't Stop Talking About
Mojo Rawley Wins Andre The Giant Battle Royal
And so we start on a down note. A really really big down note. One of the biggest down points of the night. The Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal is something I actually really like. I don't believe it has always been built up the best as it could I have however always felt as though the right man has been picked for the win... right up until last night that is. Going into this battle royal there were several names that stood out but two obvious picks, both men coming from Monday night RAW, Sami Zayn and Braun Strowman. If you have read some of my posts from the past couple of weeks you would have seen me talk about the battle royal and always come back to these two men. With their fantastic history and what we have seen from both men during the build up of Wrestlemania and this match it seemed fitting to have these two as the final two. On the one side we have the dominate Braun Strowman who has simply been on fire since the brand extension and would have benefited most from the win and the fan favorite/ obvious pick and on the other hand we have Sami Zayn; the baby face easiest to get behind and with the story we have seen being told with him it would have been great to see him get that final push and also finally an upper hand over Strowman. He would have made a fantastic winner, the both would. However, both superstars were eliminated rather early and I cannot tell you how strong the genuine frustrations were. I literally sat there pissed off. Once both men had been eliminated I began to wonder who on earth I should back now and looking at who was left I had to go with Luke Harper or NXT Superstar Killian Dane. I have already mentioned in previous blog posts that Harper is someone I would have also liked to have seen get the win and someone who really would have benefited from taking the win this year. Killian Dane previously known as Big Damo is someone I have been a fan of for a really long time and while I loved seeing him come down to the final two (that level of exposer will do him really good) I would have much preferred to have seen him walk out the victor. In the end however, the WWE went with Mojo Rawley. Anyone that has been following me for long enough will know far too well that he is someone I am far from a fan of and my reaction to his win last night said it all. Now, I believe he does have potential but when there were so many other deserving names that would have made far more sense to get the win it angered me so much seeing Mojo become the fourth winner. It made me feel as though the Battle Royal means nothing. We also saw no stories being told which only made things worse and made me dislike the whole thing more. This could have been so much stronger and I'm so disappointed with the result.
John Cena proposes to Nikki Bella
One of the matches I was most disappointed with last night was the mixed tag team match between The Miz and Maryse and John Cena and Nikki Bella. The build up for this match was so strong and they all did a fantastic job changing the general opinion of the match and getting fans invested in the story but when it came down to it they just failed to present us with a match that lived up to the build up. Mid way through I was sat there with my brother and both us were wishing we were watching Bryan and Miz going one on one and the Undertaker and John Cena. The end result is something I was completely expecting but certainly didn't want to see. I had no doubt that Nikki and John would be getting the win however I just like the majority of fans I despertaley wanted to see Miz and Maryse take home the victory. With John leaving to film a movie and Nikki rumored to be retiring soon it didn't feel as though they should have got the win and I feel as though a better story could have been told. The Miz needed the victory last night far more and would have done wonders for his character and story at the moment. However, now, John is off to film a movie while the Miz has to now bounce back from the loss and build himself back up. Personally, I don't feel as though he will suffer too badly. He's so over at the moment with last night proving that and I believe he will be just fine but that doesn't take away the fact that he deserved that win last night. Thinking back this match last night felt quick and rushed just to get to the segment after that saw John unsurprisingly propose to Nikki Bella in the middle of the ring in what was one of the most non passionate proposals of all time. It honestly felt like I a terribly acted scene from a movie or a reality show. I just didn't believe it at all and while it is a great Wrestlemania moment and we are all still talking about it just looked and came across really bad. Me and my brother spent the majority of the rest of night joking about hearing of their break up in a few weeks. We called it. Watch this space.
Impressive Performance of the Night
Lets move onto something that actually got us all talking for a good reason and the first high note of the post, Shane McMahon. Now, I have made it perfectly clear when it comes to how I felt about the booking for AJ Styles at Wrestlemania and even last night as this match began I tweeted out saying how I felt as though he had been completely misused and went on yet another rant about him deserving more and better. I understand the dilemma they had with the lack of potential matches but to be there was more they could have done, but this is a high note point so lets stick to it! I had low expectations of this match and when it kick started the night I wasn't the most excited Wrestling fan in the world however, I have to say I was actually left very very impressed. Now, this match was far from the match of the night. It wasn't this big wrestling spectacular but I have to give it to Shane McMahon because he bloody killed it last night. He was stepping in the ring with one of the best wrestlers in the world and I honestly thought this match was going to be a lot shorter and a lot lot worse. Instead we got some fantastic storytelling a decent match that had be interested rather early. We saw Shane actually take control of this match going straight on the attack and pulling out moves we haven't seen from him. We got to see how he had adapted his in ring style, trained harder, and worked at being able to challenge AJ in a WRESTLING match. There was a moment that saw AJ take himself out of the ring and the confused look on his face really showed that he wasn't expecting that performance from Shane and the story from there was really being told. Now, Shane did look bloody exhausted but he put up a pretty good fight and we actually a really entertaining match that by the end of the night was one of my favourite matches of the evening.
The Return of all Returns
Despite the fact there were many down moments and sad moments throughout Wrestlemania last night there was one happy moment that tops them all and over shadows every single thing that happened. One moment the whole world has not stopped talking about and the moment that legit meant that my neighbors were woken up thanks to my sever marking out. A moment I have waited eight years to see as the biggest return of years took place. As Cesaro and Sheamus, Enzo and Big Cass, and Anderson and Gallows stood in the ring waiting for the bell to ring the Wrestlemania hosts, the New Day made another appearance with the huge announcement that the RAW tag team championship match would now be a fatal four way with one more team being added to the mix, that team... the returning Hardy Boys. I honestly have not ever marked out so much in my life. Me and my brother grew up the biggest Matt and Jeff Hardy fans to the point where we would legit dress up as them and wrestle one another in our garden and while we have followed their careers since they left the WWE we have been waiting to see their faces back in the WWE. For eight years my brother has told me "this will be the year" and so last night a lot of happy tears came flooding my way. It was one of the best Wrestlemania moments in history and the best moment of the night. We had all heard the rumors that they were on their way back and while I believed we would be seeing them tonight on the RAW after Mania show it was really special seeing them last night and nothing could have topped it. They really did deserve that big return and everything about it was perfect. The match itself was brilliant and of course to top the whole thing off Matt and Jeff walked out the new RAW Tag Team Champions. I'm honestly so excited to see what is to come from them and what will go down tonight on RAW! It really is an exciting time to be a wrestling fan.
A Disappointing Night for the Womens Division
There was a lot that disappointed me about last nights show from the kick off matches, to Mojo's win in the battle royal to that final match but nothing has left me feeling more disappointed than what we got from the women of both RAW and Smackdown. Now, let me just make it clear, I think both matches were strong in different ways. They both had really great spots and I was genuinely invested in both matches. However, they just were not given enough time at all. Both these matches could have been so much stronger and I feel as though they both had the forgettable matches of the night. I still feel as though the RAW Womens championship match should have gone on later on in the show and there is a lot I would have changed with that match anyway which is something I will be talking about in more detail in an up and coming blog post. If the match had gone on longer we could have seen such a better performance from all women and I'm so disappointed with how little we saw of Nia Jax however I thought how she was eliminated was really fitting and such a great moment. I'm hoping we can see a program between Nia and Charlotte kick start on the show tonight. I wasn't surprised to see Bayley retain but again it all could have been done better. What I did like was how she won. It was very fitting and really did give you an old school vibe that I loved. Again, to save last night I really do believe we need to see Sasha finally turn on Bayley tonight. As for the Smackdown LIVE women I actually was more entertained by their match. It was more about spots than actual wrestling but it had some great moments and I was very very entertained. Again, if it had gone on longer we would have got something far better. No surprise to see Naomi regain the championship and it was great seeing her do so in her home town and to get the reaction she got. I'm hoping both sets of women are given the spotlight in the coming weeks to make up for what we saw. In was such a shame that these matches weren't as strong considering the women had the match of the night at Mania last year.
A Night of New Champions
While Bayley, Dean Ambrose, Neville all retained their championships at Wrestlemania every other title on the line last night changed hands and while some were great decisions there was one in particular I really didn't agree with, the WWE Championship. The match between Bray Wyatt and Randy Orton was for me one of the best matches of the night and the story that was being told was fantastic. I loved the graphics in the ring, it just made the whole thing feel so much bigger and played with their story just perfectly. However, there was no part of me that believed that Bray Wyatt should have dropped the title last night. It just didn't make any sense. Sure there is a lot for Randy to do as champion and I understand why the decision was made but there is so much that they could have done with Wyatt as champion. I am still interested in seeing what is coming up for both men in the future especially with new talents making their way to Smackdown LIVE including hopefully, Shinsuke Nakamura. We also saw Kevin Owens crowned the new United States Champion in what was another strong match. I one hundred percent back this move. I was really hoping to see Owens walk out with the win and the title here and I'm so glad he did. There is still so much more of a story to be told here and I'm hoping to see them go one on one at Payback with Owens putting the title on the line and Jericho forced by Owens to put his career on the line. This again, is something that I will be talking about in more detail soon. As for the WWE Universal Championship the decision was one hundred percent correct. The match itself was short and I didn't have as much of an interest but I was so so so happy to see Brock Lesnar walk out as champion.
The End of an Era
I will hold my hands up. Fine. Okay. You win WWE. I enjoyed that main event between the Undertaker and Roman Reigns. I still strongly dislike the fact that Roman Reigns defeated the Undertaker at Wrestlemania but the match itself was so strong, the story was told well, and I can't complain. Now, the chances of this being Takers final match at Mania are strong and I have to say
that he ended on a high. He had a fantastic performance, the fans were completely invested in the actions and my opinions changed so much. Now, I would have loved to have seen him take on John Cena in his final Mania match but this was fitting. He passed on the torch to a young up and comer and it makes it far more difficult to hate on this match. I felt as though both men had a fantastic performance and I know Roman is going to get a lot of heat but I actually can't complain here for once. Now, I'm going to be doing a full in depth blog post talking about this match and why it was so strong in a post later on this month. I felt as thought it made sense for this match to go on last considering it really was the end of an era. Taker was given the time to have his moment with the fans and after leaving his jacket, gloves, and hat in the ring it really did hit me; this is the man that got me into wrestling. Who captivated me more than anyone else and who has been such a n iconic figure in not only the WWE but in pro wrestling. He's a true legend and last night was a really emotional moment and way to close the show. It was also really special hearing JR call the match. It was the icing on top of the cake and a real bittersweet moment.
Overall this years Wrestlemania in my opinion was very very strong. It exceeded expectations and went from a show catered to casual fans to one that warms the hearts or hardcore fans. There was a lot I would have changed but so much I loved and all the points we spoke about in today's post really did make this event so much bigger this year. I do still have plenty more content coming your way in regards to Wrestlemania this week so keep an eye out for that soon. For now, you can let me know what you thought of the show and what was your moment and match of the night by leaving a comment bellow or by tweeting me at @TezangiVictoria.
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