Note: This review reflects thoughts and opinions before Monday night Raw the following night.
WrestleMania 32 was a fine show. Leading up to the show I was concerned with how the end product was going to turn out. Why? Well injuries to key stars such as Randy Orton, Cesaro, John Cena, and Daniel Bryan among others became a factor. Another contributing factor could be the booking on some stars felt flat. The creative writers seemed to be on a cold streak (in fact, the WWE are in the process of hiring new writers). I don’t envy the job however. It’s tough to do! At the end of the day though, I can say that WrestleMania 32 exceeded my expectations. I enjoyed it and everyone involved did a great job of putting together a quality product. The AD report will gladly rate and give a brief review on each match on the card. Starting with the first match I saw, the Intercontinental Title Ladder Match. Intercontinental Title Ladder Match; Winner: Zack Ryder I was pretty surprised by the outcome of this. My original pick was to see Sami Zayn win and continue his feud with the defending champ at the time Kevin Owens (who is one of my favorite heels right now). I thought him, Owens (retaining), or even Dolph Ziggler winning the match would’ve been an expected outcome. However, it was Zack who came through. The match itself was full of energy and fun moments. It was easily the top 2 match of the night. However, I’m not sure what to make of Ryder winning. He was so buried down the roster that I had no idea how to react. We’ll see where it goes from here. 9/10 *IT looks like the Miz put an end to his day old reign* AJ Styles vs. Chris Jericho (W) The fourth installment to their series, the phenomenal one took on Y2J. I enjoyed this match and it was probably the 2nd time I’ve seen them face off. There was suspense and good spots included. I’m confused on the Jericho win though. It looked like the WWE was going to launch Styles in as a marquee player and yet Jericho was booked to win. Maybe that means the feud continues and Styles gets the last laugh but as of now, it seems strange. 7.3/10 *AJ Styles appears to be the new no.1 contender for the WWE WH Title* League of Nations (W) vs. the New Day I picked the League of Nations in this one and I was happy to see that I was correct (not really because I like to see my black brethren succeed!). This match was satisfying and the post-match segment where Shawn Michaels, Stone Cold, and Mick Foley buried pretty much everyone afterwards was good for nostalgia purposes. Other than that, this whole moment was a fine one. 6/10 Brock Lesnar (W) vs. Dean Ambrose In the Street Fight contest, Ambrose took on Lesnar in what was again a fine match, however, I feel a bit disappointed in this one. The match felt like it ended early and Brock came out with the W. The WWE should be taking these opportunities to push newcomers/young stars and I’m not sure how this makes Ambrose look strong. Yeah he put up a good fight and Brock seemed vulnerable for a few moments but this ended flat. This was my pick to being the best match of the night and it fell short of that. 6.5/10 Triple Threat Match for Women’s Title; Winner - Charlotte Becky Lynch, Charlotte, & Sasha Banks. The winner of this triple threat would take home the new belt which was introduced in the pre-show by Hall of Famer Lita. High risk moves, near-falls, and good tactics resulted in possibly the best match of the night along with the ladder match. The Women’s wrestling division has come a long way and is about to enter a golden age with these three women at the helm. Charlotte picked up the victory thanks to her dad Ric Flair’s antics by restraining Sasha from breaking up Charlotte’s figure eight hold on Lynch. I don’t agree with Charlotte winning over the other two but you figure, one of the other two ladies will get their due. 9.5/10 Shane McMahon vs. the Undertaker (W) This Hell in a Cell bout had plenty on the line. If Shane won, he takes control over WWE over his father Vince and the Undertaker’s WrestleMania career would be over (it probably should have been over by now). This match had its spots but this isn’t worth revisiting in all honesty. It had low energy and grinding pace. Also, the outcome didn’t make much sense. If Shane had won, the possibilities going forward would have been endless. Undertaker winning does what now? He already lost once. Regardless, this match WILL be in fact remembered for this (Vince how could you!). 6/10 Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal; Winner - Corbin There were a few surprised entrants including Tatanka, DDP, Corbin (from NXT), and the recently named Basketball Hall of Famer (his entrance was the best of the night, don’t argue with me!). I expected someone like Mark Henry or Kane to win it but instead Corbin won it. It was a good decision considering the aspect of building the resume of younger stars. He now has some momentum to build upon for when he gets called up. The Battle Royal felt somewhat rushed and the funny thing about this was I had no idea some of the entrants were still employed by the company. 5/10 (The Rock & the Wyatts promo) In terms of the verbal segment, Bray and Rocky did pretty good here and this was like Steph Curry starring up to Karl Anthony-Town. They are so different from each other, it was fascinating. This then turned into a 6 second bout between Erick Rowan & the Rock (He rock bottomed him and that was it). As the Wyatt family was prepared to jump rocky, John Cena came in and helped the great one dispelled of them all. The moment was pretty dope, however like I said, this doesn’t help a younger star like Bray (in fact, him among others have been booked oddly in the past year). 8/10 Triple H vs. Roman Reigns (W) With the WWE World Heavyweight Championship on the line, current COO Triple H took on Roman Reigns. Their rivalry has been a good one all starting since late last year (or two years ago by technicality). The match had its back and forth in addition to each other being good at selling each attack. Reigns eventually came out on top to become the new champion much to the dislike of the crowd in Dallas. This hard hitting bout was a decent one but the creative behind this was a bit lukewarm. There was a shocking twist when Reigns accidentally speared Stephanie McMahon but for the most part many weren’t feeling it. It’s not a good thing when the corporate heel champ in HHH is being cheered and your savior face in Reigns is being booed. The company is trying to push Reigns as the heir apparent to John Cena and the fans aren’t having it. I’m not really sure what to do at this point to put Reigns over. He isn’t bad at all and has improved both on the mic and in the ring. This is a deeper topic within itself but for now. Congrats to Reigns! 7.5/10
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