Here are my final thoughts on Raw and SmackDown’s first evening of WrestleMania 37 action!
Bobby Lashley (c) (with MVP) vs. Drew McIntyre (WWE Championship)
Reactions: As the first match for the return of the fans and this year’s WrestleMania, Bobby Lashley and Drew McIntyre had to show and prove in the best way possible here. In my humble opinion, however, this opening WWE Championship bout kinda fell below my high expectations for it. It wasn’t bad by any means – it just didn’t do anything out of the ordinary as far as these guys’ previous matches are concerned.
The hard-hitting offense was all here and accounted for as expected, but there wasn’t anything added to the whole equation to put it a level above Bobby and Drew’s last PPV singles meeting. There were a few moments of noticeable miscommunication to boot, plus the way Drew got distracted at the end was pretty lame. This was solid at best, but I was hoping it would ascend to a quality level higher than that one. Bobby retained though, so all is still right with the world in that regard.
Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars
Lana and Naomi vs. Dana Brooke and Mandy Rose vs. The Riott Squad (Liv Morgan and Ruby Riott) vs. Natalya and Tamina vs. Billie Kay and Carmella (Tag Team Turmoil Match; Winners Face Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship on Night 2)
Reactions: So they really gave it to Natalya and Tamina, huh? I was all geared up for a big win by The Riott Squad, but them’s the breaks I guess. So this match was mostly a time filler that was used to get a lot of WWE’s main roster women onto the show. It wasn’t good, it wasn’t bad – it was just there for me.
The sloppiness at the start of this bout definitely made me cringe a few times (whatever the hell Lana was going for with that awkward kick of her’s sure was…something). But as the match wore on and new teams entered, the action got a tad bit smoother. It was hard to care about this match considering the weak build leading into it and its participants, but at least it had a few shining moments here and there.
Rating: 2 & a Half out of 5 Stars
Cesaro vs. Seth Rollins
Reactions: Leave it to these two modern-day greats to finally add some life to this show! Not only did Cesaro and Seth Rollins bring the usual awesomeness that fans are used to seeing from their past encounters, but they also broke out some brand new stuff that’s WrestleMania worthy. We got unique counters, the return of maneuvers that we haven’t seen in a good while, and some flashy maneuvers that proved Cesaro and Seth Rollins were willing to go above and beyond their usual performances.
I popped extra hard for Rollins’ Spinning Frog Splash and his Pedigree, plus I definitely flipped my lid when Cesaro countered Rollins’ Stomp with an Uppercut and broke out the old UFO for good measure. This was a great match that got the runtime it needed, plus it gave Cesaro his first-ever singles WrestleMania win. Job well done here, fellas. Here’s hoping this big win pushes Cesaro to a Universal Championship opportunity in the near future.
Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars
The New Day (Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods) (c) vs. AJ Styles and Omos (WWE Raw Tag Team Championship)
Reactions: Omos didn’t do much, but he really didn’t have to. He got in, towered over Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods, and tore them both apart with ease. It may have taken forever and a day for him to get in the ring, but I was entertained by his dominant showing once he finally went to work. The match as a whole wasn’t anything special, honestly. And that’s exactly what I expected it to be.
The first part focused on AJ Styles getting walloped by The New Day, while the second half was pretty much a showcase for Omos. The two moments that stood out to me here were Kingston’s sick splash to the back of AJ and AJ leaping off of Omos’ shoulders to land a Phenomenal Elbow on Kingston. Omon got to shine and that was the point of this tag team affair. And we got a title change to boot, so there you go.
Rating: 2 & a Half out of 5 Stars
Braun Strowman vs. Shane McMahon (Steel Cage Match)
Reactions:
Rating: out of 5 Stars
Bad Bunny and Damian Priest vs. The Miz and John Morrison
Reactions:
Rating: out of 5 Stars
Sasha Banks (c) vs. Bianca Belair (WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship)
Reactions:
Rating: out of 5 Stars
Match of the Night
Final Verdict
Final Score: out of 5 Stars
Click here to see if our WWE WrestleMania 37 predictions came true!
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