411’s WrestleMania 37 (Night One) Preview

Hello 411 guys, gals, enbies, and everyone else! Welcome to 411’s WrestleMania 37 Night One preview! I’m Jeremy Thomas as always, and WrestleMania week comes to an end over the next two days with the big show itself (no, not that one, he’s not The Big Show anymore). WWE has once again split WrestleMania into a two-night event, something I really hope they continue because it makes the show lengths much more bearable. The first night has some big matches in play — and a couple matches that are, shall we say, less big. But it’s not a bad card necessarily; it’s more of a palette cleanser before we get to night two. There’s a lot to discuss, so let’s jump right in!

Tag Team Turmoil
Lana & Naomi vs. Dana Brooke & Mandy Rose vs.
The Riott Squad vs. Natalya & Tamina vs. Carmella & Billie Kay

We’re kicking off our preview with the Tag Team Turmoil match that will determine a #1 contender to go on and face Shayna Baszler & Nia Jax for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships on night two. WWE has put four (or five?) teams into the mix for this match and honestly, only one of them makes sense for the match on night two. The Riott Squad are the most credible team here, but they have nothing going for them in terms of momentum right now and no storyline. Same goes for Brooke & Rose, while Natalya & Tamina have the added factor of being thrown together. Let’s be honest and just admit that only one team has an actual storyline that could culminate at WrestleMania, which would be Lana and Naomi with their feud (mostly Lana’s) with the champions. Despite her non-stop rivalry with Baszler & Jax, Lana has had only one shot at the tag titles, which was alongside Naomi back in early March. It makes the most booking sense to have them win here and go on to face the champs tomorrow, even if I would like to see another team get a shot. This match will … certainly be a match, but hopefully it will be short and confined to the Kickoff Show.

WINNER: Noami & Lana

Cesaro vs. Seth Rollins

It’s legitimately weird to realize that before this year, Cesaro has never had a singles match at WrestleMania. I’m not saying I’m surprised; after all, we all know how much WWE sees him as the dreaded “good hand” and he’s been so busy with tag stuff each year that it even makes a tiny bit of sense. Still, I’m excited to see what he can do on the big stage in a one-on-one bout and he has a great partner to work with in Seth Rollins. I know a lot of people hate Rollins’ personality but man, I’m digging the hell out of his ridiculous character. He hasn’t lost any of what makes him good in the ring and now that he’s not trying to pull good matches out of “Eye For an Eye” trash or bouts with The Fiend, he’s really able to deliver and Cesaro is the right guy to work a great match with. As much as I wish it were otherwise though, I don’t see Cesaro picking up the win here. No, it wouldn’t hurt Rollins to take the loss but WWE wants to have their big stars get big wins, and I feel like they think there’s more they can do with a Rollins win than a Cesaro one. One hopes that Vince won’t forget about Cesaro after this match because I think he has every potential to deliver her and make a real go at a singles run on Raw in the upper midcard.

WINNER: Seth Rollins

Steel Cage Match
Braun Strowman vs. Shane McMahon

And here we have the perfunctory “Shane McMahon does something crazy for a WrestleMania moment” match. Shane’s feud with Braun Strowman has been a lackluster, sometimes bizzare rivalry leading into WrestleMania that basically consists of Shane saying Braun is dumb and Braun being angry about it. That inspired writing has led to their match taking place within the confines of a steel cage, so that Shane can’t get away from Braun. It also coincidentally gives Shane a wall he can leap off of for some car crash moment or another. Shane has certainly proven that he loves doing crazy stuff at WrestleManias and more power to him, but I can’t see how this is going to be a good or particularly enjoyable match in any way. Braun will get his licks in but Shane will get advantage through some nefarious means or another and then will get way too much offense in on a supposedly-unstoppable monster. In the end, I don’t think anyone suspects Strowman won’t win. But this won’t elevate him in any way and is just going to be a time-filler on the show.

WINNER: Braun Strowman

Raw Tag Team Championship Match
AJ Styles & Omos vs. The New Day

I won’t lie, I didn’t imagine coming into 2021 that AJ Styles’ WrestleMania match would be a bout alongside Omos for the Raw Tag Team Championships. I’m not mad about it, I just figured WWE would go in a different direction. Then we were reminded that AJ just needs a tag team title win to become a Grand Slam champion in WWE, and it all made sense. And that made it clear exactly which way this match is going to go, too. If they really want Omos to get in the ring despite reports that it’s not exactly his forte, then giving him a win in his debut at WrestleMania would be a strong way to start it. And giving Styles a Grand Slam honor seems like a foregone conclusion anyway, so why not now? Woods and Kofi don’t need the win, so it seems like a pretty safe bet to go with a title change. What isn’t a safe bet is how good this match is going to be. Yes, obviously three out of the four competitors are great workers, but one bad worker can poison a whole match’s quality. I’m hopeful but realistic and am just keeping my expectations at “perfectly fine,” with the hope that I’ll be pleasantly surprised.

WINNER: AJ Styles and Omos (NEW Raw Tag Team Champions)

Bad Bunny and Damian Priest vs. The Miz and John Morrison

I will absolutely give WWE credit for their work with celebrity talent as of late. Between Pat McAfee and Bad Bunny, they’ve found guys that have almost made me forget that they gave Gronkowski a WrestleMania moment last year before he worked them and went back to the NFL. In all seriousness, the rapper has been nothing if not showing his dedication and appreciation for what WWE does, which is a fair sight better than some of the other guests we’ve had in the past. That said, we’ve seen Bunny in a few spots here or there; we still haven’t seen him in a situation like this so there could still be a lot to be desired. He does have some pretty good talent to work with though, and I also appreciate that instead of a tag match they’re using this to get Damian Priest a big win as well. And to be clear, a win by the babyfaces is a foregone conclusion. Except in extremely rare situations, celebrities don’t come into WrestleMania and lose. I don’t think Bad Bunny is one of those exceptions. This is fine; it gives Miz and Morrison a spot on the card and has been helping get Priest over, and that’s all I want from it. And again, Priest and Bunny are sure things to win here.

WINNER: Bad Bunny & Damian Priest

WWE Championship Match
Bobby Lashley vs. Drew McIntyre

I’ll say something I didn’t think I would be saying not so long ago: I am glad Bobby Lashley is WWE Champion and I kind of don’t want him to lose it anytime soon. I’ve never been Lashley’s biggest backer, but since he won the big title he’s been great. Okay yeah, the Hurt Business breakup has been infuriating but otherwise I’ve been totally on board with Lashley’s run. And yet, I’m also a big fan of Drew McIntyre and have enjoyed his run at the top. McIntyre didn’t get the big WrestleMania moment that had been envisioned for him, and it’s long been believed that McIntyre would win in order to do that. If that’s the case (and I suspect it is), making Lashley the guy to hold the title coming into the show was a solid move. I know not everyone digs McIntyre’s title run, but he’s always delivering the extra effort and WWE clearly has faith in him, which he’s proven to be warranted by generally putting on some pretty good matches. This match should by all rights be a solid opener, and the fact that it is opening Night One makes me a little less confident but I’m still going with Drew to retain. It’s the only reason waiting until they did in WrestleMania season to put the title on Lashley makes sense.

WINNER: Drew McIntyre (NEW WWE Champion)

SmackDown Women’s Championship Match
Sasha Banks vs. Bianca Belair

Bianca Belair’s coronation is here. No disrespect to Sasha Banks, but this has been on the wall since she won the Rumble and perhaps before. Belair is obviously someone WWE wants to strap the rocket to, and I don’t blame them. I’m not quite the fan of her that some others are, but she’s generally been great and now is obviously her time to shine. Putting this as the main event clinches it, because you’re not going to end the first night of your biggest PPV of the year without crowning the person the fans are fully behind. The feud between Banks and Belair has stumbled a bit due to cookie-cutter booking (how many “can these two get along?” feuds did we need this year?), but once it gets to the ring they have every chance to deliver. I’m looking forward to a fun match that ends with a feel-good moment to end night one.

WINNER: Bianca Belair (NEW Smackdown Women’s Champion)

And that’s all we have for WrestleMania 37 Night One! There are some pretty obvious picks for this night and some potential duds, but enough good ones that we should have cause for hope. Anyway, thanks once again for reading, and remember that we will have live coverage of the show courtesy of the one and only Scott Slimmer, right here on 411mania.com. Now I’d better go, I hear a cartoonish train sound coming and that can’t be good…