Results, Recap and Review of WWE Wrestlemania 33
Tonight was the Showcase of the Immortal, the Grandest Stage of them All, and the night where legends are made. For me, Wrestlemania has always been bigger then the World Series, Super Bowl and the NBA Finals. Where else do you have 5 day spectacle with four shows, a Hall of Fame and access to all the stars. Heading into tonight there was a lot of rumors, predictions and analyzing. After last years train wreck I decided not predict, not over analyze and not try to figure out what rumors are true of false. After the Hall of Fame and Takeover could Wrestlemania live up to the hype? Before I answer that here are the results of Wrestlemania 33:
-Preshow: Neville defeated Austin Aries to retain the WWE Cruiserweight Championship
-Preshow: Mojo Rawley wins the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal
-Preshow: Dean Ambrose defeated Baron Corbin to retain the WWE Intercontinental Championship
-AJ Styles defeated Shane McMahon
-Kevin Owens defeated Chris Jericho to win the WWE United States Championship
-Bayley defeated Charlotte, Sasha Banks and Nia Jax to retain the WWE Raw Women’s Championship
-The Hardy Boys defeated The Club, Enzo/Big Cass and Cesaro/Sheamus
-John Cena/Nikki Bella defeated The Miz/Maryse
-Seth Rollins defeated Triple H
-Randy Orton defeated Bray Wyatt for the WWE Championship
-Brock Lesnar defeated Goldberg for the WWE Universal Championship
-Naomi defeated Alexa Bliss, Carmella, Becky Lynch, Natalya and Becky Lynch to win the WWE Smackdown Women’s Championship
-Roman Reigns defeated The Undertaker
The opening match of Wrestlemania was Austin Aries challenging Neville for the Cruiserweight Championship. This was a good match to start of the show of shows. Neville has been having some of the best matches of his career and his heel tactics make those matches very note worthy. It was really great to see Austin Aries on the grandest stage because he’s a great performer. This match is a perfect example of how great the Cruiserweight Division can be when used right. I hope Aries and Neville continue to feud and put on a great matches. The Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal has been a Wrestlemania tradition since Wrestlemania 30. Tonight even though there was no surprising entrants it was great to see everyone on the Raw and Smackdown rosters be on the show. I was surprised to see Mojo Rawley win the Battle Royal. It was great to see him get a Wrestlemania moment with his good friend Rob Gronkowski. I hope this propels Mojo like it has for Baron Corbin but only time will tell to see if it happens. The final match of the Preshow was for the Intercontinental Title. I am sure wrestling traditionalists will be upset that the most presitgous title in WWE History was on a “preshow.” Wrestlemania is Wrestlemania and people are watching. Baron Corbin may have not won the Intercontinental Title but he’s got a bright future ahead of him.
The opening match of Wrestlemania 33 was AJ Styles and Shane McMahon. I was very skeptical of this traditional match because I don’t think Shane has ever been in a traditional match. It was not a 5 star classic but I was very impressed Shane’s ground game and how well we worked with AJ Styles. We went from a rivalry about power to a rivalry of former friends. Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho have been the most entertaining thing on WWE TV in a long time. They had a really great run together. They made you mad and made you laugh which is so hard to do. Jericho and The List was the most over thing on the entire WWE roster. I think Owens and Jericho have awesome chemistry as opponent just as they did as allies. The Jeri-KO story has come to an end and what an ending to the feud it was. The Powerbomb on apron has put a lot of men down so it was a good call to take out Y2J with KO’s most devastating move.
The Women’s Revolution has come a long way since Summerslam 2015. There are two Women’s Titles Matches on the biggest show of the year and that says a lot. The Women were the talk of last years Wrestlemania and this year they were just as impressive. The first Women’s match was the Fatal Four Way for the Raw Women’s Championship and as predicted Sasha, Bayley and Charlotte took out Nia Jax first. I was really disappointed that this much did not go as long as it should have. They could have easily done some great stuff but I feel like the match lacked an epic feel to it. We go from the Raw Women’s Match to the Raw Tag Titles Match. Before the three original teams could start the match the New Day interrupted with an announcement of a fourth team. I thought they were going to announce themselves but before they could The Hardy Boys came out and put on a show. This was an incredible Ladder Match. It was great to see the other three teams to interact with Matt and Jeff. I like the nostalgia feel to their title win but I also feel they are going to elevate the other tag teams. Welcome home Matt and Jeff Hardy.
The epic tag team ladder match was followed by an awesome mixed tag team match that’s been an awesome story on Smackdown over the last month. First and foremost John Cena is definitely in shape with his ability to run down that long Wrestlemania ramp. Secondly, it was great to see Maryse back in a WWE ring. This was not a classic or epic match but the moments after were completely epic. John Cena poured his heart out to Nikki Bella and asked her to marry him. I really think Nikki’s career has come full circle and it wouldn’t surprise me if she retires. After three years starting with the betraying The Shield, and from being in The Authority it’s all come full steam ahead. Seth Rollins and Triple H has been a match the many waited for and I knew it wasn’t going to let down. I am personally happy to see Seth Rollins back at Wrestlemania. I am also glad that Triple H continues to keep himself in shape because he still has superb in-ring skills. This match was an awesome match that had brawling, technical wrestling and told a great story. Welcome back to Wrestlemania Seth Rollins
After a pointless concert the WWE Championship was up for grabs between champion Bray Wyatt and challenger Randy Orton. I truly believe that this has been the best long-term storyline in WWE in the last five years. There was twists, turns and even at times I was uncertain which way is going to go. This match had a lot of creativity with the images in the ring and the mind games Bray was using. It played into the story that have seen this entire Wrestlemania. I think Randy Orton cemented his legacy tonight by capturing his 13th World Championship. As happy I am for Orton I feel like Bray deserved a long title reign and a victory at Wrestlemania. From Smackdown’s Championship to Raw’s Championship we go to great storytelling to a match I was never really excited about. I never embraced, liked, or cared about this match. It’s two part timers that are out of shape and don’t care about the business. This match lasted longer then their last encounters but it was four of the same moves. Thankfully the worst part of Wrestlemania was over.
The second Women’s Title Match of the night took place as Smackdown had their Six Pack Challenge. I truly feel that overall Smackdown has the better Women’s Division. I am glad all the women of Smackdown got put in the spotlight. I also have to say what a great moment for Naomi winning the title in her hometown. In the Main Event, The Undertaker appeared in his 25th Wrestlemania match against Roman Reigns. A lot of people don’t care for Reigns but he’s improved so much in the last year. Before the match began Jim Ross came out to do commentary for the match. They also made the announcement that the match would be No Holds Barred which was an interesting twist. They had some really good spots in the match and I was actually surprised that The Undertaker performed as well as he did. However towards the end of the match it got really stale and anti-climatic. At the end of the night, Roman Reigns stood as he gave The Undertaker his second loss in twenty five matches at Wrestlemania. The Undertaker has had a legendary career and a lot of legendary moments in WWE History.
Wrestlemania 33 was a very long show that takes a lot of you. Tonight gave me mixed emotions. I felt like the Women didn’t get enough time for their matches. After all the hype, predictions, and rumors I have to give the show 7.5 out of 10. The matches were solid but the Ladder Match stole the show for me. I also feel that if The Undertaker can walk away from Wrestlemania so should every other part timer. It’s time to build new stars and put new people in the spotlight. Now that Wrestlemania is over it’s time to see what unfolds on Raw and Smackdown this week. For now this has been Wrestlemania and the Showcase of the Immortals ended with most most iconic figure in WWE history leaving the ring one last time. Thank you Undertaker for all the memories.
