The Super Network

It is that time of year again, WWE’s biggest night of the year! This is basically my Christmas, and this year we also had NXT TakeOver – maybe their best event yet! The build up has been fairly average, and some of the matches didn’t entirely have my attention. So how did Wrestlemania 32 stack up for me personally? Well read on …

Kick Off Match 1: US Title Match Kalisto (c) vs. Ryback

Honestly this feud has been rather lackluster, Ryback really lost his momentum when he changed his ring attire and suddenly turned heelish. It was honestly uneventful, and this feud came out of no where and this match didn’t do anything for either guy. Sure Kalisto in the end got a win over a much larger opponent but he’s done that already. No one was interested in the match, the arena was still filling when it happened. A filler really, it wasn’t a bad match but there was no investment.

Rating: 1.5/5

KickOff Match 2: Team B.A.D & Blonde vs. Total Divas

A reason to showcase the women and I am not complaining, a 5 on 5 match was a great idea and it had some good build up. This was likely Brie’s last match as she is set to retire, and she got her moment to shine. The feud started between her and Lana and grew to include the other women on the roster and for some odd reason Eva Marie. What really annoyed me was Eva looked so disinterested in being there, and the others were relished in every moment. Each woman got to hit their spots and it was a pleasure to see them all showcased, even Lana who has only really started training looked decent. A win for the faces, and I am glad for them.

Rating: 3/5

KickOff Match 3: The Usos vs. The Dudleys

Not a bad match, but it is obvious the Dudleys are extremely over even in their heel role and the Usos are meant to be faces but they feel so stale the crowd doesn’t care and boos them. It was strange to see how this was booked, The Dudleys getting the tables when they vowed to stop using them to please the crowd. They ended up eating the tables and the crowd did not want to see that, they wanted to see the Usos go through. I would definitely over haul the Uso’s because they are talented as anything but need change.

Rating: 2.5/5

Wrestlemania Match 1: IC Title Ladder Match Kevin Owens (c) vs. Sin Cara vs. The Miz vs. Zack Ryder vs. Stardust vs. Sami Zayn vs. Dolph Ziggler

No surprises here that the ladder match kicked off the main show, its a good one to get everyone amped up and excited. This match did exactly that, everyone delivered here and there were some really cool spots. In what may surprise everyone, Sin Cara did not botch and he hit some great moves. Everyone really wanted to see Sami and Kevin go at it and they went nuts when they had the chance to. It was wonderful to see Stardust pay tribute to his late father with the yellow polka dots, even a ladder that was done up. The ending was suspensful and I thought Sami had it won, but The Miz came in and ruined that but, but, but, but, but … Zack Ryder showed up and he bloody won the match and title! He wasn’t my pick but I marked out big time for him, what a moment! He deserves it so much and his father came out to celebrate as well. Thank you creative for finally giving him his time to shine.

Rating: 4/5

Wrestlemania Match 2: Chris Jericho vs. AJ Styles

 Let’s face facts, these two are magic together and as fun as it was seeing them as a team, this is better. Jericho being a heel is what comes so natural to him and it made sense to have him turn and give this match a good solid build up. This was maybe my favourite of their matches so far, there was a story being told and it was glorious. So much back and forth action, tension with each pin fall and what could happen next. It was awesomely surreal to see AJ Styles at Wrestlemania, and he really fits in well. I was really hoping to see the Bullet Club show up but maybe at Raw. The ending came as a surprise as I did not think AJ would lose his Mania debut, but this ties them 2 for 2 and they can definitely have a tie breaker at some stage. A top notch match in the end that was a lot of fun to watch.

Rating: 4.5/5

Wrestlemania Match 3: The New Day vs. League Of Nations

This was worth the price of admission for The New Day’s entrance, they came out of a huge box of Booty O’s! Their attire was very power rangers and Xavier Woods was sporting super saiyen hair. That was all amazing, and the match itself was really good, lots of back and forth action. League of Nations actually have great chemistry together, they just need to be much better booked because they are lingering right now. I expected The New Day to win but they threw a curve ball and they actually lost. However this was pretty much an excuse for the Nation to brag, which brought out HBK in his ring gear, followed by Mick Foley and then followed by Stone Cold Steve Austin. They did their finishers on the Nation and poor Barrett got hit with all three, no wonder he wants to leave. New Day came back in the ring to celebrate, they got HBK and Foley dancing. Austin eventually came around and did a few dance moves, but he’s the Rattlesnake so Xavier ate a stunner as well. It was a silly moment but three legends together is a mark out moment and I loved it.

Rating: 3.5/5

Wrestlemania Match 4: Street Fight Brock Lesnar vs. Dean Ambrose

This match had a lot of build up, a lot of great build up and lots of awesome mic work by Paul Heyman. This was one of the matches I was invested in and excited about. It started off with Suplex City, and the hits were hard but Dean Ambrose really held his own. The weapons started to come out and and things were getting intense and really exciting. The chemistry between the two was strong, and as JR would call it a slobberknocker. But then it suddenly ended, almost as if they were told to cut the match short. I knew Lesnar was going to win, but I expected this match would have had a lot more time. You don’t just end a match once it really starts hitting hard. I would love to see them fight again with more time.

Rating: 3.5/5

Wrestlemania Match 5: WWE Women’s Championship Match Charlotte vs. Becky Lynch vs. Sasha Banks

In the KickOff show, Lita introduced the brand new WWE Women’s Championship belt and announced the Diva’s Title was officially being retired and the winner of the Triple Threat would win the new title belt. I cannot tell you how happy it makes me to see that awful butterfly belt go and a brand new belt and title come in. You want this division to be the best you need to brand it that way and finally it is! It is now a Women’s Division again, and the belt looks like the WWE World Heavyweight Championship one. This is how you take the women seriously and have a revolution.

Becky Lynch came out to her normal entrance, Sasha Banks had her theme song performed and her cousin Snoop Dogg walked her out, her ring attire was paying tribute to Eddie Guerrero. Charlotte came out wearing one of her fathers coats that had been redone for her. It was a bit disappointing to see Becky not get special treatment, and despite the fact she worked her ass off in this match it was almost like she was second fiddle. However this was my match of the night, they delivered a hell of a match with some really fantastic spots. Each woman had their moments and proved that they belong to be there, but they are a main event attraction. Charlotte especially has come a long way, from being extremely green a few years ago to being one of the best on the roster. Becky and Sasha continue to improve and all three are proof that hard work pays off. In my eyes they all won, however Charlotte won the match and I think its a good thing because these matches are great.

Rating: 5/5

Wrestlemania Match 6: Hell In A Cell The Undertaker vs. Shane McMahon

Very excited for this match, I really have missed Shane and boy does he look damn good for a guy in his mid 40’s. He looks to be in great shape, and his entrance was awesome. He brought out his three sons with him, and what a moment for the boys to go out with Shane. The Undertaker’s entrance is always fun, even if it goes for 10 minutes. This match started off slow but it packed a punch, and these two hit each other hard and really went for it. The match got more exciting as it went on, but it was obvious that Undertake got tired very quickly. There were some really awesome big spots, and as expected Shane decided to be a daredevil and he bloody dived off of the top of the cage, he didn’t hit Undertaker but he did go through the announce table. Shane showed so much heart and soul, that never give up attitude that we have always admired from him. The end was interesting and Shane lost, which shocked us all, he was the one we all wanted to win. He got a big ovation as he was rolled out by the EMT’s and he had a great send off.

Rating: 3.5/5

Wrestlemania Match 7: Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal

It was moved to the main show this year, and it really started off as a joke where Shaq, yes Shaq was a surprise entrant. They also had DDP and Tatanka in there as well, which was fine. Shaq and Show had a stare down and the rest eliminated them, yay. Oh look NXT’s Baron Corbin is in there, awesome! The Social Outcasts were a big highlight as they usually are, and honestly the only other thing I took notice of was BARON CORBIN winning the damn thing! I will give it to James, he said he was hoping this would happen and it did. Now creative and booking, you have given Corbin a big win, now roll with it and do not mess him up.

Rating: 2.5/5

Wrestlemania Match 8: The Rock vs. Erick Rowan

I cannot even begin to explain this, The Rock as I noticed came out wearing wrestling boots. It took him longer than The Undertaker to come out as he had a flamethrower for some reason. He lit up his name with it, and finally got the ring. He announced the all time attendance record for Wrestlemania had been broken, absolutely amazing effort. Then Bray Wyatt with Braun and Erick came out. Bray delivered a great speech and as expected The Rock came back as he does. The crowd were clearly into Bray and they went nuts when The Rock said he has charisma. And then it went down hill, The Rock challenged one of them to a match. Erick went in and in 6 seconds The Rock pinned him. They went to all surround The Rock and John Cena made his return to make the save, shout out to our buddy Stephen who caught Cena’s tshirt. They got the upper hand and celebrated. My issue is this, now I am sure The Rock wanted to work with them, but why the hell continue to bury them? WHY? This hurts them badly, Bray especially just doesn’t win and gets trampled on. He should be the future of the company along with a few other names but they keep doing this. I am sure all three guys enjoyed worked with The Rock, but why bury them like this? I will only be okay with this if Bray gets put over by The Rock well in the future. He deserves so much better.

Rating: 1.5/5

Wrestlemania Match 9: WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match Triple H (c) vs. Roman Reigns

The entrance of Triple H and Stephanie was very theatrical, Stephanie even delivered this speech that was so damned cool because she looked awesome and she knows how to act. I liked the entrance given to Roman, and the crowd were booing hard, they definitely tried to fade those boos out. I feel sorry for Roman, he has done nothing wrong except be booked really poorly. He should be turned heel so he can work his way back to being a face, drop that ball already. This match was actually pretty good, and both men did really well and they looked strong. The spear through the barricade looked brutal, that had to have hurt. It was a well paced match and I did enjoy it, Stephanie even took a very hard bump when Roman accidentally hit her with a spear. Roman gets the wins and is once again Champion, to a mostly chorus of boos and he was lapping it up.

Rating: 3.5/5

Overall this was a fun Wrestlemania, some unpredictable finishes, which really should have been expected from me. I really look forward to see where they go from here, it should be interesting. I really cannot understand the complaints about this being the worst Wrestlemania, it wasn’t. They all gave us so much, and honestly the wrestlers try their best even with the bad booking.

Overall Rating: 3.5/5