The grandest stage of them all, the showcase of the immortals, the place where dreams come true....sort of. In an event with a few highs and plenty of lows, the overall mood felt just a little off. Whereas Takeover: Dallas felt like the best NXT had to offer, Wrestlemania 32 was certainly not the best the main roster had to offer. That's not to say this event was horrible, it was more pleasantly mediocre. It wasn't the worst 'Mania of all time, but it definitely wasn't the best. Let's stop rambling and get to it.
I'll start with the pre-show, lumped into one paragraph. The US Title Match wasn't bad, but there was quite a few problems getting fans in so the arena was mostly quiet during the match. The Diva's tag match was fine, I guess, and the Usos and Dudleyz had a match that was a match. By far the highlight of the pre-show came from guest Lita, who hinted that she had a big announcement. She was not pregnant, though thanks for that one Twitter, but was tasked with the responsibility of unveiling the new WWE Women's Championship, which looks amazing, I might add. Enjoy it while you can, because this is one of the only good things I have to say about this show.
We opened with the IC Title Ladder Match, which was a great match with several incredible spots. The WWE seems to have found it's niche with the IC belt at 'Mania, just opening with a big ladder match. There was a lot of speculation over who would walk away with the belt, but almost everyone was wrong when the Savior of Mis...oops, the Broski Zack Ryder became the new champ. Although a few criticized the decision, the majority loved Zack finally getting his due, and I was among that majority. Zack Ryder has been busting his tail for this company for about six or seven years now with little to no recognition, and it was cool to see him get not only a Wrestlemania moment but also legitimately shock the fans, which rarely happens nowadays. Next up was Styles-Jericho 16,789, which was the best of their massive series of matches. Jericho put on his best performance in several years, and deserved to win the match. Styles will get other chances, and this will likely be Jericho's last 'Mania, at least in the spotlight.
Get ready folks, 'cause it's all downhill from here. New Day-League of Nations was okay, with New Day's entrance being awesome and the clear highlight. The shenanigans after the match were decent, and it was cool enough to see the dream team of Austin, HBK and Foley. Lesnar-Ambrose somehow achieved the honor of being, on paper, the best match on the card, and not coming close to that in the slightest. Lesnar's shtick is getting old, Ambrose didn't really seem to have his heart in it, and the no holds barred stipulation was not taken advantage of for the most part. This could've been an awesome, game changing type of match, and instead was one of the biggest disappointments in recent memory and a lowlight of the show.
Hope is on the horizon, as the new Women's Championship was set to be decided. This match was set up for a Sasha Banks win, with the audience in her corner, Snoop Dogg escorting her to the ring, and some nice honorary tights to Latino Heat. The match was fantastic, a culmination of everything the WWE has built up sense last summer. These women gave it their all, but were undone by yet another booking gaffe. It's not that Charlotte is a bad champion, and the finish was told well. The problem is that they did this at the biggest show of the year, and went with a classic run of the mill pay per view finish. But kudos to these 3 gals, they put on a show. The Cell then lowered, and we were staring down the war for Monday Night Raw. Most had speculated that the match was going to be bad, and guess what? It was! I'm kind of surprised I didn't go to sleep during this bout, and there were several points where I wish I had. And then Shane O'Mac nearly killed himself jumping off the cell, and I felt really, really bad. The insane spot didn't cover that this was not only a horrible match, but it all seemed rather pointless in the end. If Shane was never going to win, then why bother? My only guess is that Vince is the cruelest man alive, offering the fans hope just to take it away at the last second.
Booking then decides, f*** it, we're finally going to do the ring thing for a change, as the Andre Battle Royal marked one of the only good decisions made on this show. For some reason Shaq was in this match, but that isn't important. Baron Corbin is the kind of guy that the WWE could really use, a big guy, which Vince loves, but he also knows how to talk and is steadily growing in the ring. It was another Wrestlemania moment for a guy that worked his a** off for it and deserved his moment in the spotlight. You know how I was just complementing the booking team? Well, I take it all back. The Rock-Bray Wyatt segment will go down as one of the worst in Wrestlemania history, but at least it somewhat made sense. What followed was even worse, with Rock squashing Rowan in six seconds to achieve an all time record in pointlessness. Even better than that, John Cena then returned, and everything before that was so bad, I actually loved his comeback. For the first time in five years, I marked for a John Cena entrance. Imagine that.
It's main event time, and time to sh** on Roman. I've never really liked or disliked Roman, and I think he's a good guy and a decent wrestler trapped between Vince and the fans. His match with Triple H, starring dominatrix Stephanie McMahon, was a decent bout. I didn't hate it, and I didn't love it. It happened and Roman is now the champ. Now, let me say this. Roman is a good worker who can get over in the right scenario, and there are plenty of good matches potentially in store. But Roman will not achieve any of this as a face. The only way the WWE can save Roman is to turn him heel, and quickly. Then, down the line, there's people like Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, and even his cousin, The Rock, which could all main event big shows. Vince, if ever you were going to listen to the fans, do it now. It's done and dusted, Vince. Roman will not get over as a face, at least not the way you're doing it, so just throw in the towel. Maybe a few years down the line you could turn him back, but the time is not now. A heel Roman would do wonders for the company, and would make the product watchable again. If not, you risk losing more and more viewership until there is no one left.
Overall, this show didn't make me hate wrestling or the WWE anymore that I did before. I'm not going to cancel my Network subscription, and I'm not going to watch every Raw and Smackdown. There was an opportunity to do something really special with this event, even with all the injuries, and they blew it. Despite that, there was enough here for most WWE fans to enjoy.
5/10
I'll say it again: pleasantly mediocre. If Vince can finally listen to the fans and start making changes the way he did with the new Women's Title, then the WWE can finally make up for lost momentum. Maybe while we're at it, cats and dogs can rain from the heavens and Donald Trump can disappear into a hole in the ground. Stay tuned for more new posts, and happy reading.
-Henry
I'll start with the pre-show, lumped into one paragraph. The US Title Match wasn't bad, but there was quite a few problems getting fans in so the arena was mostly quiet during the match. The Diva's tag match was fine, I guess, and the Usos and Dudleyz had a match that was a match. By far the highlight of the pre-show came from guest Lita, who hinted that she had a big announcement. She was not pregnant, though thanks for that one Twitter, but was tasked with the responsibility of unveiling the new WWE Women's Championship, which looks amazing, I might add. Enjoy it while you can, because this is one of the only good things I have to say about this show.
We opened with the IC Title Ladder Match, which was a great match with several incredible spots. The WWE seems to have found it's niche with the IC belt at 'Mania, just opening with a big ladder match. There was a lot of speculation over who would walk away with the belt, but almost everyone was wrong when the Savior of Mis...oops, the Broski Zack Ryder became the new champ. Although a few criticized the decision, the majority loved Zack finally getting his due, and I was among that majority. Zack Ryder has been busting his tail for this company for about six or seven years now with little to no recognition, and it was cool to see him get not only a Wrestlemania moment but also legitimately shock the fans, which rarely happens nowadays. Next up was Styles-Jericho 16,789, which was the best of their massive series of matches. Jericho put on his best performance in several years, and deserved to win the match. Styles will get other chances, and this will likely be Jericho's last 'Mania, at least in the spotlight.
Get ready folks, 'cause it's all downhill from here. New Day-League of Nations was okay, with New Day's entrance being awesome and the clear highlight. The shenanigans after the match were decent, and it was cool enough to see the dream team of Austin, HBK and Foley. Lesnar-Ambrose somehow achieved the honor of being, on paper, the best match on the card, and not coming close to that in the slightest. Lesnar's shtick is getting old, Ambrose didn't really seem to have his heart in it, and the no holds barred stipulation was not taken advantage of for the most part. This could've been an awesome, game changing type of match, and instead was one of the biggest disappointments in recent memory and a lowlight of the show.
Hope is on the horizon, as the new Women's Championship was set to be decided. This match was set up for a Sasha Banks win, with the audience in her corner, Snoop Dogg escorting her to the ring, and some nice honorary tights to Latino Heat. The match was fantastic, a culmination of everything the WWE has built up sense last summer. These women gave it their all, but were undone by yet another booking gaffe. It's not that Charlotte is a bad champion, and the finish was told well. The problem is that they did this at the biggest show of the year, and went with a classic run of the mill pay per view finish. But kudos to these 3 gals, they put on a show. The Cell then lowered, and we were staring down the war for Monday Night Raw. Most had speculated that the match was going to be bad, and guess what? It was! I'm kind of surprised I didn't go to sleep during this bout, and there were several points where I wish I had. And then Shane O'Mac nearly killed himself jumping off the cell, and I felt really, really bad. The insane spot didn't cover that this was not only a horrible match, but it all seemed rather pointless in the end. If Shane was never going to win, then why bother? My only guess is that Vince is the cruelest man alive, offering the fans hope just to take it away at the last second.
Booking then decides, f*** it, we're finally going to do the ring thing for a change, as the Andre Battle Royal marked one of the only good decisions made on this show. For some reason Shaq was in this match, but that isn't important. Baron Corbin is the kind of guy that the WWE could really use, a big guy, which Vince loves, but he also knows how to talk and is steadily growing in the ring. It was another Wrestlemania moment for a guy that worked his a** off for it and deserved his moment in the spotlight. You know how I was just complementing the booking team? Well, I take it all back. The Rock-Bray Wyatt segment will go down as one of the worst in Wrestlemania history, but at least it somewhat made sense. What followed was even worse, with Rock squashing Rowan in six seconds to achieve an all time record in pointlessness. Even better than that, John Cena then returned, and everything before that was so bad, I actually loved his comeback. For the first time in five years, I marked for a John Cena entrance. Imagine that.
It's main event time, and time to sh** on Roman. I've never really liked or disliked Roman, and I think he's a good guy and a decent wrestler trapped between Vince and the fans. His match with Triple H, starring dominatrix Stephanie McMahon, was a decent bout. I didn't hate it, and I didn't love it. It happened and Roman is now the champ. Now, let me say this. Roman is a good worker who can get over in the right scenario, and there are plenty of good matches potentially in store. But Roman will not achieve any of this as a face. The only way the WWE can save Roman is to turn him heel, and quickly. Then, down the line, there's people like Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, and even his cousin, The Rock, which could all main event big shows. Vince, if ever you were going to listen to the fans, do it now. It's done and dusted, Vince. Roman will not get over as a face, at least not the way you're doing it, so just throw in the towel. Maybe a few years down the line you could turn him back, but the time is not now. A heel Roman would do wonders for the company, and would make the product watchable again. If not, you risk losing more and more viewership until there is no one left.
Overall, this show didn't make me hate wrestling or the WWE anymore that I did before. I'm not going to cancel my Network subscription, and I'm not going to watch every Raw and Smackdown. There was an opportunity to do something really special with this event, even with all the injuries, and they blew it. Despite that, there was enough here for most WWE fans to enjoy.
5/10
I'll say it again: pleasantly mediocre. If Vince can finally listen to the fans and start making changes the way he did with the new Women's Title, then the WWE can finally make up for lost momentum. Maybe while we're at it, cats and dogs can rain from the heavens and Donald Trump can disappear into a hole in the ground. Stay tuned for more new posts, and happy reading.
-Henry
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