Saturday, April 10th, 2021
Raymond James Stadium
Tampa, Florida
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
Vince McMahon is out on the stage with the roster and welcomes us to WrestleMania. Bebe Rexh is here to sing "America The Beautiful". After a lengthy hype video, it is announced that we are in a lightning delay.
We go to backstage with Shane McMahon and I'm not sure he's the guy I would pick for an impromptu interview. Lashley and MVP then interrupt and MVP lets us know that tonight will be the crowning moment of the All Mighty era. Drew McIntyre comes in and says that if they have to do this backstage, he'll do it. Drew they yells that this match will happen tonight. They go to the kickoff panel and then back to New Day. In sneaks Big E to join them and they have some fun. Now to Braun Strowman and he is fighting for everyone who's ever been bullied. Now it's Kevin Owens turn and he gives a quick history between him and Sami Zayn. Michael Cole and Samoa Joe in tarps let us know that the show will start in 5 minutes. Bianca Belair says that she is nervous because she cares. Seth Rollins lets us know that he loves the chaos. Miz and Morrison let us know they are the best tag team of the 21st century, be jealous. At this point we are at 8:30 pm local time.
They now bring out the hosts Titus O'Neil and Hulk Hogan. This is painfully awkward.
WWE Championship Match
Drew McIntyre vs. Bobby Lashley
I am very curious to see what reactions each wrestler gets after a year of no fans. At 8:45 pm, we are finally underway. After locking horns, Lashley strikes first with a shoulder tackle. McIntyre then tosses Lashley with an overhead throws. McIntyre clotheslines Lashley over the top rope, but Lashley then drives McIntyre into the barricade. Lashley brings it back into the ring and continues the assault. McIntyre avoids Lashley and he hits his shoulder on the ring post. Drew gets in a few suplexes, but Lashley then drops McIntyre face-first. Lashley then hits a chokeslam and then tries to put on the Hurt Lock. McIntyre fights it off and fires off some elbows and forearms. McIntyre hits a face-first Alabama Slam for a 2 count. McIntyre goes for a superplex, but Lashley is able to block it. McIntyre puts on the Kimura. Lashley is able to get out of it and McIntyre throws him off. McIntyre goes for a Claymore Kick, but Lashley hits another chokeslam. McIntyre kips up and hits a belly-to-belly suplex. McIntyre hits the Future Shock three times, but Lashley kicks out. McIntyre goes for another Claymore Kick, but Lashley rolls out of the ring, so McIntyre hits a somersault dive onto Lashley and MVP. McIntyre goes up to the top rope, but Lashley catches him and then hits an overhead suplex. Lashley goes for the Hurt Lock again, but McIntyre is able to drive him into the turnbuckle. McIntyre puts the Kimura on, but after a struggle, Lashley is able to get to the bottom rope. McIntyre goes for a Claymore Kick yet again and MVP provides an awkward distraction and Lashley ducks. Lashley puts on the Hurt Lock in the center of the ring. McIntyre uses the turnbuckle to roll out, but Lashley is able to keep the hold on and the ref calls for the bell. For real? I will say, they have built Lashley into a believable main eventer. However, they spent an entire year in front of no fans and built McIntyre as their guy. The match was pretty average overall, as it started off kind of sluggish. I'm not sure if the weather/rain had anything to do with it.
Match Rating: **1/2
Bayley walks in and tries to hang out with the nWo and so I guess this is what the COVID MVP gets at WrestleMania?
Tag Team Turmoil Match To Determine The #1 Contenders For The WWE Women's Championships
Naomi & Lana vs. Carmella & Billie Kay vs. The Riott Squad vs. Mandy Rose & Dana Brooke vs. Natalya & Tamina
I'm not sure why this match couldn't have happened on SmackDown since the men's tag title match did. Lana and Naomi dominate the early going and hit a double X Factor. Billie Kay rolls up Naomi and Carmella illegally uses her legs to push Billie up to steal the victory. The Riott Squad are next. Carmella hits a bronco buster. This match is already just a mess. They do the same spot, but this time Carmella gets caught by the referee. Liv Morgan hits a big forearm and they hit a Codebreaker/Senton combo for the victory. Carmella hits a superkick on Morgan on her way out. Now we get Mandy Rose and Dana Brooke. Mandy slipped on her way down to the ring. Mandy hits a superplex and Dana hits a swanton. Morgan is able to reverse the pin though and eliminate Brooke and Mandy. The ring announcer screws it up, but is notified of his error. Out come Natalya and Tamina. Natalya hits a sit down powerbomb on Morgan. They hit their combo again, but Tamina is able to kick out. It's pretty obvoius that the Riott Squad is the best tag team out of this clump of teams. Morgan runs into a superkick by Tamina and they then hit the Hart Attack. Natalya was going for the Sharpshooter, but instead tags in Tamina. She hits the Superfly splash and they get the victory. No thanks. Tag team turmoil matches are rarely good. This was no exception.
Match Rating: 3/4*
Seth Rollins vs. Cesaro
It's time to save this show before it goes off the rails. The fact that this is Cesaro's first singles match at a WrestleMania is pretty crazy. Cesaro hits a springboard uppercut and this match already feels like it's on 4x speed compared to the first two matches. Cesaro hits a dropkick on Rollins on the top rope. Cesaro goes up top and leaps up for the superplex and then rolls through into the Falcon Arrow. People love to hate on Seth, but he is truly a top tier talent. Cesaro fights back with a series of uppercuts and a spinning clothesline. Cesaro gets the swing going and then turns it into a Sharpshooter, but Rollins gets to the bottom rope. Rollins goes for the Neutralizer, but Rollins counters out and then avoids a Cesaro uppercut. Cesaro is selling the injured arm and Rollins hits a leaping knee. Rollins hits a very nice corkscrew splash from the top rope for a nearfall. Cesaro hits a Neutralizer out of nowhere, but Seth is able to kick out and Cesaro is stunned. Rollins counters another Neutralizer and hits a Pedigree out of it and this time Cesaro kicks out. Rollins goes for the Stomp, but Cesaro hits him with a sweet uppercut and then gives him the UFO spin. It's time for the Cesaro Swing again and according to Michael Cole it's 23 rotations. Cesaro hits the Neutralizer and picks up the victory. My expectations were probably a little too high for a mid-card match, but it still was very good. Cesaro deserved this victory here and I'm sure Seth was more than glad to be the guy to give it to him.
Match Rating: ***3/4
After recapping last night's matches on SmackDown, they interview the SmackDown Tag Team Champions Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode.
Raw Tag Team Championship Match
New Day vs. AJ Styles & Omos
Big E comes out to do his introduction for his former partner. Kofi and AJ have a fun exchange to start things off. New Day cuts the ring in half and Woods even announces that's what they're doing. They have a couple of different routes they can go here with this match and I am actually interested to see what they do with it. Kofi hits a splash for a 2 count. AJ is finally able to tag in his partner and he is almost legitimately twice the size of Woods. He destroys both members and we have new Raw Tag Team Champions. This match was basically built completely around Omos being tagged in, so it wasn't obviously as good as I had hoped.
Match Rating: **1/4
Steel Cage Match
Shane McMahon vs. Bruan Strowman
For some reason Jerry Lawler is used as a guest commentator for this match. Before Braun can get into the ring, he is attacked by Elias and Ryker. Braun is selling the leg injury from the attack and Shane is taking advantage. Shane is able to rip off a piece of metal from the cage and uses it on Braun. Shane hits the coast to coast, but Braun is able to kick out. I'm not sure why this match is still going on. Elias and Ryker try to help Shane climb over the top rope, but Braun runs into the cage and knocks both guys to the floor. Shane tries to escape again, but Braun is there to stop him. Shane reaches grabs a tool box and hits Bruan on the head with it. Shane is almost out and he sticks his hand out to wave bye and Bruan grabs it. I wish I was making this up. Braun then rips the cage apart and pulls Shane in the ring. They are now both on the top of the cage and Braun tosses him off the top of the cage into the ring. Braun hits the running powerslam and it's finally over. I actually like Shane matches more than most, but this one just wasn't very good and the story to go with it was even worse.
Match Rating: *1/4
Out comes Bayley to push Michael Cole out of the way and she then introduces the Hall of Fame package. They then announce them in front of the live crowd.
Miz & John Morrison vs. Bad Bunny & Damian Priest
A bunch of people in bunny costumes come out and Miz and Morrison rapping to their song. Bad Bunny hits a right hand on Miz and then another. Miz goes after him and I swear to god there have been 50 camera cuts. Bad Bunny hits a nice tilt-a-whirl headscissors, but then runs into a back elbow from Morrison. Miz adds a right hand for good measure. Miz hits a big boot and a DDT. Booker T is a guest announcer, so Morrison does the Spinaroonie. They are really working a slow pace here. Bad Bunny gets his boot off and hits a DDT on Miz. He finally tags in Priest and he of course cleans house. Priest hits South of Heaven for a 2 count. He and Bunny hits stereo Falcon Arrows, but they both kick out. Bunny hits a top rope dive to the floor. Back in the ring, Priest goes for his finisher, but Miz hits the Skull Crushing Finale. Bunny saves his partner and then hits a Canadian Destroyer on Morrison out of the ring. He then hits a top rope crossbody on Miz, who was on Priest's shoulders. The match was a little slow during the heat segment, but it kicked into gear after. Bunny was impressive and the crowd enjoyed the hot finish. Props go to Miz and Morrison for making him look good as well.
Match Rating: ***
SmackDown Women's Championship Match
Bianca Belair vs. Sasha Banks
I am really rooting for these ladies to tear the house down. We start things off even-steven, with both competitors showing off their athleticism. Banks hits a suicide dive, but Belair rolls through and walks up the stairs with Sasha in a military press. Banks blocks the moonsault and grabs Belair's hair and now she gets her opening. Sasha really is a great choice for Bianca's big moment, much like Rey Mysterio always was. Belair hits an awesome vertical suplex that would make new Hall of Famer British Bulldog proud. Belair hits a standing Shooting Star Press and a variation of the Glam Slam. Belair goes up top and goes for a 450 splash, but Banks gets here knees up. That looked painful. Belair is able to hit two powerbombs, but Banks counters the third one by slamming Belair face-first. Sasha hits a unique double tornado DDT and a little bit of a weak looking frog splash. Banks is frustrated and slams Belair into the steps. Banks then uses Belair's hair against her and then puts on the Bank Statement. Belair is able to roll through and grab the bottom rope. Belair goes for a superplex, but it turns into Banks missing the Meteora twice. Belair hits the 450 splash this time, but Banks kicks out. They play tug of war with the hair, with Belair winning and then smacking her with it. Belair hits the KOD and we have a new SmackDown Women's Champion. They really did a nice job of making this feel like the main event it deserved to be and both women played their roles well. I think this one just narrows out Seth/Cesaro for the match of the week so far.
Match Rating: ****
I thought the show got off to a bit of a sluggish start with the weather delay playing a part in that. From there, it was still a mixed bag, but the good outweighed the bad. This was far from an all time classic show, but the main event was memorable and the Bad Bunny match will be talked about any time this show is brought up as well. Thumbs up, but maybe not quite as enthusiastically as I think I might see from others.
Overall Rating: 70%
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