Wrestling fans
around the world joined the road to WrestleMania at Royal Rumble. Next, we experienced life in the Fast Lane before hitting an unexpected Roadblock. We’ve made it through rush hour traffic jams, toll
booths and navigated mini-roundabouts all without being Over the Limit (that was a genuine pay-per-view name in 2010-2012).
Enough of the driving puns because we have reached our destination. It is time
for the showcase of the immortals, the granddaddy of them all. It is time for
WrestleMania 32!
WrestleMania XXXII was broadcast on Sunday 3rd, April, 2016.
Spoiler alert: I have also watched
RAW and SmackDown following WrestleMania. This blog will reference some of
those events so please be warned if you haven’t caught up yet.
WrestleMania Hits
Chris Jericho vs A.J. Styles: Their
forth encounter was top quality entertainment with big moves and false
finishes. I particularly enjoyed numerous counters that showed their
familiarity from previous matches. The stakes were high and both men sold
emotion during key dramatic moments. Styles and Jericho are now tied at 2-2 in
their excellent rivalry. They may have a decider eventually but would be better
apart for a while. Fortunately, this seems to be happening. Styles won a great
Fatal Four way match on RAW to become #1 contender.
Ladies Triple Threat: Wonderful
because it felt like a change in attitude towards women’s (not Diva’s)
wrestling. NXT has a women’s championship so it was only a matter of time
before WWE caught up. Production values felt lavish throughout with a new belt
announcement, epic fireworks and Snoop Dog rapping during Sasha Banks’
entrance. The action in the ring was also compelling; Charlotte retained with
assistance from her father. She now looks likely to face Natalya in a ‘family
(Flair) vs family (Hart)’ feud. Should be fun, especially if ‘The Hitman’ makes
a special appearance in Natalya’s corner.
Shane’s elbow drop off the roof during
Hell in a Cell: Credit to Shane McMahon for his daredevil antics and going
through the announcers table for our entertainment. I’ve always admired Shane’s
dedication, even though his back catalogue has generally involved stunts,
weapons, and other shortcuts. This was no exception but a well-constructed and
effectively executed brawl nonetheless and one of the pleasant surprises of the
night. Undertaker improves his WrestleMania record to 23-1 and will hopefully
retire in a colossal showdown against a worthy opponent. Barring injury, John
Cena is the obvious choice.
Dean Ambrose looks tough in defeat:
Brock Lesnar took his underdog opponent to ‘suplex city’, used multiple weapons
and finished with an F5. Mick Foley’s barbed wire bat made an appearance but
wasn’t used; this felt like an anticlimactic waste of pre-match hype. Ambrose
had some comeback moments but this was all about ‘the beast’ looking strong for
a greater battle, possibly at SummerSlam. After SmackDown, it looks like
Ambrose faces Jericho next. Hopefully he gets a desperately needed win after
four major losses this year.
Zach Ryder wins the Intercontinental
Championship: The multi-man
ladder opener generated decent excitement but was less dangerous than previous
years. If you weren’t aware of betting odds the outcome was a genuine surprise.
Ryder had a ‘WrestleMania moment’ and celebrated with his father. This ended up
being a one-night reign. The Miz won the championship on RAW and subsequent
rematch on SmackDown. Meanwhile, Kevin Owens doesn’t look weak from losing
against the odds. His feud with Sami Zayn is now on another level and will
probably be the highlight of WWE in the upcoming months.
WrestleMania Misses
The main event: Roman Reigns vs HHH was underwhelming and did not
receive a response worthy of the occasion. Roman won the championship twice
before this victory and got screwed over by the authority repeatedly to the
point where fans no longer cared. WWE only have themselves to blame for his
lukewarm coronation. Heel HHH got a special, ego-boosting entrance; no fuss was
made of face Reigns who was passionately booed by the Dallas crowd.
The match itself was slow, methodical and just plain boring. Only a spear
through the barricade and spear on Stephanie McMahon lifted the audience temporarily.
HHH’s trusty sledgehammer made an appearance for nostalgia purposes. It was
ducked and Reigns hit a spear to mercifully conclude the tedious storyline.
Judging by RAW and SmackDown, Roman is slowly morphing into a cocky heel; a
welcome and long overdue development.
New Day vs League of Nations: Not
terrible but another snoozer with no drama before the finish. Both entrances
were disappointing; League of Nations wore non-matching outfits and New Day had
cereal box props instead of riding to the ring on unicorns. League of Nations
booted out King Barrett after their unsuccessful tag-team championship
opportunity on RAW. They urgently need to break up permanently. New Day still
need fresh challengers, recently called-up NXT teams would be a good start.
Battle Royal: NXT’s Baron Corbin was
a worthy winner because he has heel potential and followed up on his debut by
battling Ziggler on RAW. Everything else about the Battle Royal was mediocre. Big
Show and Shaquille O’ Neil had a random face-off but the lack of credible winners
really hurt the atmosphere.
Legends overload: Stone Cold, HBK,
Mick Foley and Rock turned up. John Cena also made a brief return. It is
unlikely these interactions will lead to a meaningful grudge match down the
road to put over the younger talent. League of Nations, New Day and the Wyatt
Family all looked expendable and had their star power severely weakened at
WrestleMania.
Please Note: I’ll be skipping coverage of Payback but will be back with another Hits and Misses shortly after Extreme Rules in May.
See you then wrestling fans.
Philip.
