Here’s our final thoughts on Raw and SmackDown Live’s WWE WrestleMania 33!
WWE SmackDown Live Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss to Defend Against All SmackDown Women Who Are Available to Compete
Reactions: So this match turned out to be a situation where whoever got the 1st pin/submission wins. This was obviously placed after the Lesnar/Goldberg war to give the crowd a bit of a breather. But thankfully, it was a quick affair that was fun while it lasted. Every woman included in this encounter pulled out their best moves, so at least we got to see everyone shine. Becky Lynch sent her opposition on her own trip to Suplex City, Natalya locked two women into her Sharpshooter, Mickie James broke out her nasty DDT finisher and Naomi went buck wild on everyone. Like we predicted though, Naomi ended up returning to her hometown to get the title she was forced to relinquish. This flew by, but we paid close attention to it all the while. This was pretty decent, actually.
Rating: 2 & a Half out of 5 Stars
4th Annual André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal
Reactions: This battle royal broke down into the usual mayhem of other multi-man brawls. There were a few zany moments strewn throughout it, such as Strowman’s opening elimination spree, Strowman and Show’s staredown and Ziggler’s sneaky heel tactics run. Other than those moments though, the action on display here was pretty basic and it was pretty disappointing to see no major surprise entrants (Shelton Benjamin is 100-percent again, so why didn’t he get a last minute entry?). WWE got its major media outlet moment out of this match at least with the participation of the NFL’s Rob Gronkowski. Mojo got the biggest win of his career, which is cool. But this was easily the weakest of all the Annual André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal matches put on thus far.
Rating: 2 out of 5 Stars
Neville (c) vs. Austin Aries (WWE Cruiserweight Championship)
Reactions: With these two men on the card against each other in a singles encounter, the chances of it being good were high. They made sure to deliver a fun, spirited matchup with a good bit of methodical grappling and high-flying moves. Aries kicked himself into high gear here and Neville wasn’t too far behind. The match started out with some back and forth countering that built up perfectly into Neville’s mid-match domination. But the action picked up even more once Aries came back to life. We got to witness his Heat Seeking Missile, top rope Double Axe Handle and the return of his patented 450 Splash. Neville may have been as surly as ever, but he still pulled out all the impressive moves that made fans adore him during his babyface days. The false finish from Aries even made us jump out our seat. Kudos goes to Neville for being a cheating dirtbag and bringing back his Red Arrow. This was a very pleasing opener for ‘Mania 33.
Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars
Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson (c) vs. Enzo Amore and Big Cass vs. Cesaro and Sheamus vs. The Hardy Boyz (Matt Hardy & Jeff Hardy) (Fatal 4-Way Ladder Tag Team Match for the WWE Raw Tag Team Championship)
Reactions: DELETE! DELETE! DELETE! Matt and Jeff Hardy shocked the hell out of everyone, including us! The New Day teased the hell out of the live crowd and made us think they were entering themselves into the match. But thank God they introduced the returning Hardy Boyz into this major Ladder Match. Their addition to the quality teams already featured here made this match just that much better. There’s so many moments to recount here – Enzo going sky high over two ladders to crash into Gallows, Jeff eating a Brogue Kick and crashing into everyone on the outside, Cesaro and Sheamus’ wild combinations, Matt’s Twist of Fate of the ladder etc. But most of all, Jeff Hardy’s shocking Swanton Bomb off a huge ladder onto both Cesaro and Sheamus was quite the sight to see! All eight of the competitors in this Ladder Match did an admirable job at keeping the energy high from start to finish. A shocking Hardy Boyz return combined with a stupendous Ladder Match equals one of the best parts of ‘Mania 33!
Rating: 3 & a Half out of 5 Stars
Dean Ambrose (c) vs. Baron Corbin (WWE Intercontinental Championship)
Reactions: Side note – we were pretty thrown off when Corbin’s music started blaring and we realized that this title match was relegated to the Kickoff Show. Now while this match wasn’t downright terrible, it was a bit of a slog to sit through. When Corbin was in control, the action was plodding and a bit uninteresting. With some more relaxed rules, we’re pretty sure the combined madness of Corbin and Ambrose would have been more fun with some weapons involved. But as a basic title match, both men performed the type of match you’d usually catch on an episode of SD Live. Nothing really stood out here except for the ending, which saw Ambrose pull off a slick backflip out of Corbin’s End of Days and finish him with a Dirty Deeds DDT. We’re glad it didn’t run too long, honestly. This was a pretty lifeless title match that could have been that much better with hardcore rules attached to it. Especially considering the two men we have here, by the way!
Rating: 2 out of 5 Stars
John Cena and Nikki Bella vs. The Miz and Maryse (Mixed Tag Team Match)
Reactions: The best part of this match? The adoration from the crowd towards The Miz. That says a lot about the match itself, doesn’t it? This was an incredibly average mixed tag that was full of a lot of stalling and bland action. We had more fun with the crowd reactions and Miz’s interactions with them all the while. This match was more of a vehicle to get us all to see Cena finally propose to Nikki. It wasn’t much of a shock to watch unfold, but it was still a sweet moment that opened our dark hearts a little bit. Skip the match and go straight to the big marriage proposal. There’s nothing much to appreciate from this entire segment except for that heartwarming WrestleMania moment.
Rating: 2 out of 5 Stars
Chris Jericho (c) vs. Kevin Owens (WWE United States Championship)
Reactions: Here’s one of the few matches on the ‘Mania 33 card that had actually had a great storyline going into it. We’re happy to see that these two proud Canadians put on a favorable grudge match for the US Championship. The pure hatred shared between both men was on full display here as Y2J and Owens cut each other off constantly. What entertained us the most were the unique ways Owens and Jericho pulled off their signature moves. Owens’ Cannonball Splash into Jericho while he sat on the outside ring apron was dope, as well as Jericho locking Owens into his Walls of Jericho after a failed Cannonball Splash. The rest of this bout was filled with some intense back and forth exchanges and even more shocking counters (Y2J’s Codebreaker counter to Owens’ Pop Up Powerbomb is highlight reel worthy!). The extremely painful looking ending was the perfect way to send Y2J off and give Owens his 1st WrestleMania moment. Owens and Jericho pulled off a satisfying conclusion that their feud definitely needed. Extra kudos goes out to Jericho’s super sized version of The List, too.
Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars
Bayley (c) vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Sasha Banks vs. Nia Jax (Fatal 4-Way Elimination Match for the WWE Raw Women’s Championship)
Reactions: While we got a kick out of this match, we felt that it just could have been even better. But it’s hard to fault what we witnessed here – a fast-paced title match between four of WWE’s best women. The storytelling elements we got to see here were well told – Nia Jax’s domination over her foes, her elimination at the hands of the three other competitors, Banks and Charlotte’s continued beef and Bayley’s tribute to Randy Savage. The action never slowed down as every woman engaged in some shocking multi-women exchanges. We were more than shocked to see Jax eat a big back suplex and a triple team Powerbomb! After her elimination, Banks, Bayley and Charlotte kept the match going at fast pace that didn’t take us out of the proceedings. While we would have preferred to see the final two women turn out to be Bayley and Banks (and a shocking heel turn by Banks), we’re still pleased with what was presented here. Bayley retained her title after an exceptional match, but it could have been even better with an intense Banks vs. Bayley closer.
Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars
Shane McMahon vs. AJ Styles
Reactions: When this match was announced, we were perplexed by the fact that it was nothing more than a wrestling match. We figured it would disappoint because of this strange decision, but boy were we wrong. AJ came into the match has the clear fan favorite but by the end of it, it was clear that Shane’s in-ring wizardry got him some more love. What’s shocking is the fact that Shane and AJ wrestled each other in a clean exchange that was the total opposite of sloppy. Shane’s usually weak looking punches looked stiff for once and AJ was amazing as always. Once the ref bump happened though, this match got kicked up a notch. We got a Coast to Coast from Shane, Shane crashing through an announce table, AJ landing a nasty Styles Clash to break Shane’s submission hold etc. We were then floored by Shane’s Shooting Star Press attempt! After AJ’s Phenomenal Elbow finally landed, we had to stand up and applaud them. Shane showed up in great form against one of the best wrestlers in the world and this great opener was the result of that meeting. We were wrong to doubt the combined greatness of Shane O’Mac and the “Phenomenal One.” This was a great way to open the main show.
Rating: 3 & a Half out of 5 Stars
Seth Rollins vs. Triple H (Non-Sanctioned Match)
Reactions: How badass was the police escort for HHH and Steph’s motorcycle entrance? And we gotta give Rollins props for his new golden ring gear and “fiery” message to “The Game.” Thankfully, those epic entrances gave led right into one of the best matches on the whole evening. Rollins and HHH fought tooth and nail during this battle between an injured Superstar and his once beloved mentor. The story of the match was all about Rollins fighting through the extreme pain caused by his injured knee. HHH cut Rollins down at every turn with steel chair strikes, painful leg submissions and other assorted moves that target the leg. But Rollins fought valiantly as he laid into HHH with big top rope maneuvers, plenty of signature moves out of his arsenal and weapon strikes. This match crescendoed into several big moments that looked like we were about to witness its end. The Pedigree countering exchange that led into Steph getting put through a table added another exclamation point to his awesome encounter. One Pedigree later and Rollins came out on the winning end of a commendable performance from both men. Go out of your way to watch this one. It was that (damn) good.
Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars
Roman Reigns vs. The Undertaker (No Holds Barred)
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Reactions: After seeing this match reach its end, we came to the realization that it shouldn’t have ended the show. While it had its good moments, it was mostly a depressing affair to watch unfold due to ‘Taker’s current state. It was hard to watch at times (we winced after Reigns failed to pick him up for a Tombstone Piledrive of his own). ‘Taker looked like he was struggling to stay afloat as the match wore on. The crowd’s pure apathy for Reigns was apparent during this heartbreaking main event. It was pretty hard to enjoy the repeated chair shots to ‘Taker, but we still got some sense of enjoyment after watching Reigns eat a Tombstone Piledriver. Reigns’ big Spear to ‘Taker atop an announcer’s table was a highlight as well. But overall, we struggled to get through this. The match itself wasn’t all that special to begin with, but it was even harder to watch unfold because of how ‘Taker looked. The post-match events really hurt the most. THANK YOU, ‘TAKER!
Rating: 2 & a Half out of 5 Stars
Bray Wyatt (c) vs. Randy Orton (WWE Championship)
Reactions: What. Thee. Hell? Bray Wyatt’s creepiness actually became a visual obstruction that was meant to throw Orton off his game. And it worked the 1st two times (man, those creepy crawlies in the middle of the ring still has us itching!). As for the in-ring product itself, it was just…okay. Orton and Bray tend to engage in somewhat plodding matches with other men. So we all knew that both of them would bring the pace of the show to a much slower one during this encounter. This wasn’t all the way bad, by any means. It was decent for what it was, but the uninspired RKO/Sister Abigail counters made it lose steam over time. The disappointing match and ho-hum ending knocked this match down a peg. We loved the visual mind games, but that’s all we really appreciated during this title match.
Rating: 2 & a Half out of 5 Stars
Goldberg (c) vs. Brock Lesnar (with Paul Heyman) (WWE Universal Championship)
Reactions: We know you’re confused at our unusual rating. But we’re not awarding it such a high score because it was some epic matchup that went over a full 30-minutes. We enjoyed every bit of it due to how it managed to include several high spots in such a short time span. Goldberg actually got taken down for once! Lesnar took him to Suplex City repeatedly, but Goldberg shook off that early onslaught and Speared the hell out of Lesnar. The Spear that was pulled off on the outside had us go even more nuts than before! But the rest of the action that transpired in the ring was what truly had us jump out of our seats. More German Suplexes, a missed Spear, a massive Jackhammer and match ending F5 all gave us what we wanted to see. Was it an amazing match? Not at all! But were we satisfied after it came to a close? HELL YEAH! Lesnar’s back to being the world beater he used to be before Goldberg returned.
Rating: THIS WAS AWESOME!!! (*clap clap clap clap clap*)
Match of the Night
Seth Rollins vs. Triple H!
Final Verdict
WrestleMania’s return to Florida turned out to be a worthwhile show. The match order was unique, which helped the entire card crescendo quite nicely into its closing moments. As far as big moments are concerned, we got the shock of a lifetime with the return of the Hardy Boyz. The matches themselves ranged from average to great. AJ vs. Shane exceeded our expectations, Y2J vs. Owens was good, the Ladder Match was a fun car crash to watch unfold and Neville vs. Aries was a quality pre-show match. But make sure you go out of your way to watch Rollins/HHH’s in-ring war. THAT easily took Match of the Night honors! But what keeps this ‘Mania from being scored a pint higher on our scale is the lackluster main event. Watching ‘Taker retire after such a disappointing match isn’t what we envisioned for such a legend. Besides that heartbreaking ending, the rest of the show still managed to get our blood pumping. We’d gladly watch WrestleMania 33 again. But we’re not prepared to watch ‘Taker’s exit from the ring a 2nd time…
Final Score: 3 & a Half out of 5 Stars
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