wrestling / TV Reports
No Punches Pulled: WrestleMania 2016 Review
Image Credit: WWE
Loading...No Punches Pulled is a hard-hitting, no B.S., call-it-right-down-the-middle, review column dedicated to delivering unbiased thoughts and criticisms from the world of WWE to readers everywhere. Just because professional wrestlers pull their punches, doesn’t mean we have to pull ours.
WWE WrestleMania takes place from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas in front of a record-breaking crowd of 101,763 (Reports say there were actually somewhere between 93,000 and 94,000).
Pre Show: Kalisto (c) vs Ryback for the WWE United States Championship
Atmosphere: Not much of a feel to this one. No one really cares about Ryback and not much was done to build the feud or make it feel like a fight. The crowd was loosely into the match, but that was probably because most of the crowd had been hanging out there for hours and were excited to see some action.
Finish: Kalisto hits Salida del Sol on the exposed turnbuckle to retain. WINNER and STILL WWE United States Champion, Kalisto.
PJ: This was an ok match to hype up whatever crowd was in their seats at this point. For the life of me I can’t understand why these two weren’t part of the ladder match and Owens and Zayn weren’t one on one for the IC Strap. I guess they were planning on a Ryder win for a while to make that snickers commercial later in the night. Um anyways, I dislike Ryback quite a bit, but he was ok here. I think the David vs Goliath storyline is a little played out and any attempt to recreate them is just going to make Kalisto look like Rey Mysterio lite. I wish they’d find someway to push him without going to that well. No major botches from him here and these two had enough chemistry together to make me think that given more time the results wouldn’t be disastrous. My guess is this feud continues.
Eric: I’ve yet to figure out why they haven’t given up of Ryback yet. All they do is repackage him and try to push him a different way; Face, heel, tag team, face again, heel again, and no one ever cares. There are more talented guys backstage that never get a chance, or the chance they’re given is too difficult to work with, and yet Ryback is practically given everything in the world. Swagger, Sandow, even fandango is more talented than Ryback and should be used more than Ryback. Kalisto looked decent in this match and it wasn’t as bad as I expected it to be. My main hope for Kalisto is that he doesn’t get stuck in Rey Mysterio’s shadow. If he can fins a way out of it, he definitely has a very bright future. I was originally skeptical when Kalisto won the title because the previous 3 champions had elevated it a massive amount (being that there were 20 world championships between them), and Kalisto was just a tag team wrestler. If he keeps getting CONVINCING wins in his title defenses, he will put together a very respectable title run.
Rating: 2 Stars
Pre Show: BAD & Blonde vs Total Divas
Atmosphere: The atmosphere almost has to be taken with a grain of salt with these pre show matches because thousands upon thousands of people are still filing in at this point. Although what was there of the audience promptly dropped a deuce on Eva Marie. Rightfully so. She did nothing to deserve a spot here. Nattie and Brie received good pops upon their tag ins and the crowd actually seemed to care about this match once it got going. It was a little too spotty and erratic to really build momentum for the crowd to get behind any one particular woman, but when Brie executed some Daniel Bryan offense the crowd popped appropriately.
Finish: Brie Bella slaps the YES! Lock on Naomi for the win.
PJ: Immensely better than I thought it was going to be. Great job of including everyone, yet hiding the inferior wrestlers’ abilities. I DUG the Hart Attack being performed by Nattie and Paige, cool stuff there. Lana did next to nothing in her big in ring debut, although that is probably for the best. Naomi actually looked really solid here and rose to the occasion as the heel team’s main punching bag. Nice to see Emma back on the main roster even if it is as a cameo. Her new character is legit and I hope they use her better. These women did their best to prove they’re not afterthoughts in the Diva’s Revolution, and I think it actually added something to the card which is the best thing I could have pictured myself saying about it going in.
Eric: I, like my partner, came into this match thinking it would be a joke just to get Divas on the card, but I was pleasantly surprised. Everyone looked relatively good, especially Naomi and Brie Bella. Initially, I was disappointed in Lana’s lack of a debut and it was very obvious they were doing all they could to protect her (short tag in, hit off the apron, getting involved with members of the other team outside the ring, etc.), but I knew it was a good move when I saw her awkwardly getting out of the ring and off the apron as if she was still wearing a skirt. However, the few kicks she did get in looked pretty good and I thought she channeled her inner Nakamura and killed Paige on that roundhouse. All in all, the match was at least fun which is more than you can usually say for these types of matches.
Rating: 2 Stars
Pre Show: The Usos vs The Dudley Boyz
Atmosphere: Crowd was hot for the Uso’s entrance but wasn’t very behind them after that. The Dudley Boyz new found heel turn almost did not resonate with this audience at all as I think being a tag team for 20 years and making your first appearance at Mania in 12 years usurps any sort of fickle heel turn they could have made. This never lasted long enough for the crowd to get too crazy into it one way or another but when the Uso’s turned the tides on the Dudley’s in the aftermath with the tables, they got some Roman Reign’s level heat and sort of defeated the purpose of the spot which would be start the main show with the crowd happy.
Finish: The Usos hit D-Von with a double Superkick for the three.
PJ: Thoughts: Nothing special that added nothing to the card. Should have been a tables match or a multi person team match so it least it could have been spotty enough for someone to care. Bubba is a great heel and he does his best to channel his old Bully Ray persona here saying he is beating Jey down “Just like your father.” Even personal jabs like that can’t make me hate Bubba in a WWE platform against the Usos. I was bummed by the abrupt ending and the fact that a superkick beat the Dudley Boyz is very weird to me. Oh well. This could have passed for a RAW match.
Eric: I like the Dudley Boyz as heels. They play it well and Bubba does a great job as he always has. The abrupt ending really killed this for me. You’d think after the years the Dudleys put in in ECW and working those Ladder Matches with Edge & Christian, and the Hardys, they would be able to withstand a superkick. Guess not.
Rating: 1.5 Stars
Ladder Match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship
Atmosphere: Crowd is hot for the main card opener as Zayn, and Owens get huge pops and the crowd goes banana pancake when they drop their ladders and decide to brawl a little bit first. Crowd also behind Ziggler and Ryder a bit too. They seem apathetic towards Sin Cara and Stardust. That is until Stardust pulls out the polka dotted Dusty Rhodes Ladder and the crowd breaks out in a huge dusty chant. Heel points for Owens for tossing the ladder out. Miz gets booed heavily and eats it up as he basks in it at various points in the match. Say what you will about him, but great pure heel. In the 80’s he would have been upper mid card for life. Crowd pops huge for various stunts, as well as nice “holy shit” chants for Sami Zayn suicide diving through an upright ladder. After Owens gets nearly decapitated by a Zayn suplex on a ladder the crowd seems to be beside themselves as who will win. Zack Ryder eventually answers the call, shocking (yet popping) the 100,000 + in Dallas.
Finish: Zack Ryder pushes Miz from the top of the ladder to pull down the title. WINNER and NEW WWE Intercontinental Champion, Zack Ryder.
PJ: This was a spot fest intended to create some WrestleMania worthy highlights, and get the crowd pumped. It worked. Zayn wowed the audience and Sin Cara continued his recent penchant of not caring about his own well being in ladder matches with a sick Swanton and another “ladder break” spot this time with him falling onto Stardust. Wow. Now this match isn’t going to get into the territory of other Mania ladder matches, I thought it was good. A lot of people including my colleague are saying the wrong person won, I don’t disagree let me just play devil’s advocate: I enjoyed seeing Ryder win because it was the least likely outcome. It gives credibility to future ladder matches, or battle royals or Royal Rumble’s where you think, “OK he is a throw in no way he wins.” Well this time, the throw in won. I do wish there was some sort of qualifying system to have gotten into this match to lend it some more credibility, but it’s not a bad precedent to set when your mantra is “Anything can happen in the WWE.”
Eric: The spots in this match were awesome. So many good moments. The crowd popped huge for Zayn and especially Owens. I’m not going to rehash all of the awesome moments my partner named, but I will say that I do believe the wrong guy won. If Zack Ryder deserves to win, why doesn’t Stardust? Why not Sin Cara? If you wanted to make Zayn vs Owens non-title, why not give the title to Ziggler? Zack Ryder spends most of his time wrestling in an extremely annoying tag team in NXT with Mojo Rawley, joining the roster every now and then to count lights or pick up a cheap win off a distraction to advance a feud for two other guys. In fact, Zack Ryder wasn’t even supposed to be in the match. It was supposed to be Neville (which upsets me even more since I have been dying for Neville to get a real push and clearly this was supposed to be his chance). If you really wanted to give it to an NXT guy for a surprise, why not move Ryder to the battle royal and give the title to Breeze, since he’s been robbed of just the ability to showcase himself, let alone a push. A lot of people are happy for Ryder and think he will have a good run (and I don’t hate Ryder), so I guess I’ll buy in and sip the Long Island Iced Z.
Rating: 3 Stars
AJ Styles vs Chris Jericho
Atmosphere: The crowd was hot for this match at the beginning and at the apex, with a noticeable lull in the middle. We think certain people expect constant chanting after watching an NXT event to warrant a “good crowd” but we took the relative quiet to be observational. Styles was over huge for his first mania a fact that can’t have gone unnoticed backstage. As they work into their crisp, calculated finishing sequence the crowd comes alive. Even the heel Jericho gets popped for reversing a phenomenal forearm into a Codebreaker for the win. After the match both men receive a standing ovation saying all there is to say about this match’s reception.
Finish: As AJ Styles attempted the Phenomenal Elbow, Chris Jericho caught him on the way down with a Codebreaker for the three count.
PJ: This was fantastic yet again. The two have developed some serious chemistry. Liked AJ’s new tights after months of the blue. Both men seem to be great dance partners taking moves that are high risk and easily botchable and they save each other. (the backflip reverse DDT, or one legged Codebreaker) It adds legitimacy to me. In a real fight not everything you hit is going to hit perfectly. So long as you don’t miss completely and look like an ass clown, all is well that ends well. I really like Jericho’s current heel run. His G.O.A.T. tights might be to try to get a rise out of the audience but when he’s putting on this caliber of match at 46 years old you’re not going to hear a single argument from me. Styles atomic drop slam is an awesome move; I wish he were big enough to do it to all his opponents. Psyched they still let him hit the Styles Clash even though it’s not his finisher anymore. This match unlike the last, I feel as though the wrong man one. I love Jericho but come the next Fozzy tour he is gone. Styles is the guy who is staying all year. He needs the win. That might be too predictable but Jericho lost to Fandango FFS. He can afford a loss to A.J. Interesting to see where both of these guys go tonight on Raw.
Eric: Yet another awesome match out of these two. I didn’t think they would go a fourth match for Mania, but they did and it was well worth it. These two clearly have great chemistry, as exemplified in their last three matches, and it definitely showed again in this one. Many of my friends, as well as a lot of the Internet community, were very against the booking choice to have Styles lose this match. I was, and still am, skeptical of the choice as well, but the ending sequence of the match was so good I almost didn’t mind it. The interesting thing is Jericho and Styles are now tied 2-2 in their feud, so although Styles lost at Mania, there may be a continuation of the feud, of which Styles will most likely win. In terms of the quality of this match, definitely match of the night quality wise. If you count Shane almost dying, then I guess that puts that match over this one, but based on pure wrestling, psychology, and quality, this one takes it for the night.
Rating: 4 Stars
The New Day vs League of Nations (Non-Title Match)
Atmosphere: You have to divide this into two portions, the match, and the segment afterwards. The crowd was big time hot for the New Day’s Booty O cereal entrance, and stayed appropriately hot for the match. New Day as babyfaces seems to be working and they could have worse heels to work off of than the league. After a cheap win via Barrett’s help, the league gets on the mic and argues that no 3 men can stand up to the lad’s. Well out come HBK, Foley and Austin to absolute bananas responses and hit their respective signature moves on the league. Austin wants beer as New Day get’s Michaels and Foley to dance with them, Austin obliges for a minute before stunning Woods, and crushing about 12 beers. Word.
Finish: Sheamus hits the Brogue Kick on Xavier Woods for the victory.
PJ: The match was pretty good. I was confused by Barrett not being in the match because it was billed as a handicap match. Once I settled into that, I found myself enjoying some of the spots and I think these teams have a lot more to explore than they touched on in this non-title match. It’s good to see Woods look strong in the ring. Some forget he is more than a glorified manager. I honestly think any single member of the New Day has break out potential as a single’s wrestler on an upper midcard level if played right. Big E’s double spear through the ropes is as dangerous and badass a spot as you’ll see in a guy that size. I like the finish because it gives this a reason to continue and this time a stipulation is possible. The segment afterwards was very fun. Michaels looks amazing, and it’s always a treat to see Stone Cold, especially get physical. I found myself laughing like a little kid after he stunned Woods and that’s what WrestleMania is all about folks.
Eric: Following what could have been the greatest (and most hilarious) WrestleMania entrance ever by the New Day, was a pretty solid match. The offense looked crisp, which is more than you can usually say with Sheamus in there nearly decapitating people. Only big issue with the match was I didn’t see Kofi tag in following the Big E double spear. Everyone went to the outside and Kofi just grabbed Sheamus and rolled him back in the ring. Even Michael Cole made a comment on it. It was a little weird that the Tag Team Champions had a non-title tag match at WrestleMania. What’s the point in not having a title match? Just from a psychology standpoint, why, as the League of Nations, would you accept a tag team match at WrestleMania, against the Tag Team Champions, but not for the title? I guess I can’t complain too much since I like the New Day and want them to stay champions. Either way though, LoN won, so I’m guessing that means they are lined up for a title shot soon anyway.
Rating: 2.75 Stars
Dean Ambrose vs Brock Lesnar in a No Holds Barred Street Fight
Atmosphere: Massive fight feel to this match. Ambrose has been pushing Lesnar for weeks now and the beatings Ambrose has received has almost forced you to pray for the guy, hoping Lesnar didn’t kill him. The best part of the storyline was the meetings with Ambrose from Foley and Funk, giving him the barbed wire bat and the chainsaw. Ambrose walking out during the Lesnar promo to collect weapons in his little red wagon was a great segment. All of this focus on hyping up Ambrose made you think; maybe he’d be able to conquer Lesnar. He’s certainly crazy enough to not stay down. Not afraid to go as far as necessary.
Finish: Brock Lesnar hits an F5 on Dean Ambrose, on top of a pile of chairs, to pick up the pinfall.
PJ: Thoughts: Went into this match thinking we might see the live execution of one Dean Ambrose. Turns out he didn’t take the crazy bump I was expecting him to. (That happened later in the night) A lot of weapon use here. I understand why they can’t use a chainsaw or a barbed wire bat in PG WWE, but why build them up on TV just to tease them and not use them? Lesnar looked like the monster he is, tossing Ambrose around with reckless abandon. No regard whatsoever. Ambrose, wielding a kendo stick, looked like he did some serious damage to Lesnar’s back and sternum. This honestly felt a little short on time for me. It was good but not great; a microcosm of this mania as a whole. I felt a little cheated as I think I set expectations too high for myself and let myself down. I liked that Lesnar won and Dean still looked good in defeat, I was just expecting him to look even better
Eric: I was hoping Ambrose was going to come out New Jack style with a shopping cart full of weapons. This feud has definitely culminated to a point where massive weapon use makes sense. Especially since Dean is booked as a huge underdog. Unfortunately this didn’t happen, but his awesome shirt made up for it with the DA logo painted over the Suplex City sign. Ambrose was dominated for the majority, but not before getting some solid damage in with the kendo stick and steel chair. Match was a little short for my liking, especially being booked as one of the bigger matches on the card. I will admit though, I am getting a little tired of the pile of chairs that always ends up in the center of the ring in any Dean Ambrose match. Every now and then its fine, but recently it feels like it always happens. Coming in I thought Ambrose might find a way to take it, especially since this is the first time Lesnar has faced a guy who genuinely doesn’t care about his own well being. I sort of expected Brock to eventually get worn down after hitting Ambrose with 20 suplexes and F5s and Ambrose would win out of fatigue. Hopefully Ambrose caught enough of a rub in this match to forward him to something bigger and better. Maybe a Reigns feud?
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Charlotte (c) vs Becky Lynch vs Sasha Banks for the WWE Women’s Championship
Atmosphere: A triple threat match with three of the Four Horsewomen on paper is a match that can get a crowd hyped. This match felt like, especially with the awesome video package, the big payoff of the Diva’s Revolution. The unveiling of the new Women’s Title added to this feel as its only fitting a match of this caliber changes the division. The crowd was popping big for Sasha and Becky, both of which had great entrances that got the crowd going. Everyone expected Sasha to take this one so the chants for her were huge; especially since she was wearing Eddie Guerrero inspired ring gear from the day he won the WWE Title.
Finish: Charlotte locks in the Figure-8 on Becky Lynch to retain and pick up the brand new title. WINNER and STILL/NEW Women’s Champion, Charlotte.
PJ: Love Lita introducing the new WOMEN’s championship. Belt looks awesome. Snoops rapping Sasha to the ring added to this match. Pretty big fight feel here as the Diva’s haven’t gotten this kind of prime real estate since Mickie and Trish at Mania 22. Sasha almost broke her neck via a suicide dive, and then Becky dives and takes out Naitch! Love that. They unfortunately used my most hated triple threat tactic where one wrestler spends time outside off camera and the other two gals fight. Another confusing tidbit to me was the announcers saying there was no rope break, yet the ladies continuously went for the ropes? Out of instinct? Is Cole just stupid???? Don’t answer that. Anyway, I liked this match. The moonsault spot by Charlotte jacked this crowd up louder than I think they got the entire night outside of a few key moments. Match heated up with all the submission reversals and moments where they would try to lock l in submissions on the other wrestler simultaneously. Charlotte finally locks on the figure 8 while fucking Ric Flair holds down Sasha for Charlotte to win. I’ve said it before I will say it again. Stop undermining the WOMEN’S revolution by using contrived finishes with RIC FLAIR!!
Eric: Great match overall. The ladies really went all out for this especially with Sasha’s suicide dive and Charlotte’s moonsault to the outside as my colleague named already. Sasha very nearly botched that dive, but some how miraculously recovered smoothly. Charlotte’s moonsault was very crisp and by this point the crowd was hyped big time. As stated earlier, this match really felt like the big payoff we were all waiting for since Becky, Charlotte, and Sasha’s debut, joining their respective teams and its only fitting that the big payoff is a match between the three for a brand new title that will rename the division to the Women’s division. Having Charlotte win it here was questionable, especially in the fashion she did. It seems strange to me to have the match be for a new belt and have the champ retain, rather than go with a new face for a new division. I definitely didn’t like the Flair involvement. Why include a spot in the match where Flair is taken out if he’s just going to be the decisive factor in the end anyway? These ladies can clearly handle themselves, why does Flair need to be a factor in the decision? With how big this match feels, it being the big payoff of the revolution, I feel cheated of a great ending by his involvement. These kinds of endings, in big matches like these, make it hard to take the division seriously. Not a good move in my opinion.
Rating: 3.25 Stars
Shane McMahon vs The Undertaker in Hell in a Cell (If Shane Wins, He Gets Control of RAW and Undertaker is Barred from Competing at WrestleMania)
Atmosphere: The return of the prodigal son. If Shane wins he takes RAW away from Vince McMahon and gives the fans everything they ever wanted. On the downside, if Undertaker loses, he can’t compete at Mania again. That description alone should set the feel of this match. If you have ever watched Shane before, you’d know how crazy this match could get. Both Stars got huge pops on their entrances, as expected. Shane came out with his kids all dressed like him, sat them in the front row, and kissed his wife as a potential goodbye in case Undertaker eviscerates him.
Finish: Shane McMahon succumbs to the Tombstone Piledriver. Undertaker picks up his 23rd WrestleMania win.
PJ: Thoughts: Wow. I suspended my disbelief immensely for this match as was much happier because of it. I wasn’t expecting a technical classic but it was hard to wrap my mind around Taker selling Shane’s offense. This match was basically a pre requisite to one of the craziest bumps you will ever see someone take on this planet. That bump might be the craziest thing sans Mick Foley I have ever seen. Keep in mind the Cell is HIGHER than when Mick Foley performed a similar feat (albeit he was thrown). This was much less out of nowhere than Mick’s dive but wow was it crazy. They used some type of airbag and I see people complaining about that. Are you serious?!?! Him free falling looked like a suicide video of someone jumping off a bridge. Thank God he isn’t paralyzed. Fuck an airbag. This was awesome and was sheer proof that Shane O Mac always delivers. He is an absolute animal and will do anything for the fans and color me happy. I for one am glad I didn’t have to swallow him beating Taker at Mania too. I was hoping to see him stick around on Raw but we will see where it goes. Technically Vince just asked him to have a match…not win won. Wasn’t expecting a technical classic, and this is very hard to rate. Id rate it higher if I had gotten a mean street posse appearance babayyyyyy.
Eric: Shane McMahon always delivers. Sure, he might not be Brett Hart, but the guy is dedicated to keeping the crowd on their feet and entertained. No man would jump from a 25ft cell through a table if he didn’t care about the crowd reaction. Things like that are what made Mick Foley the legend he is today. The match itself was solid and the opening Boxing sequence was a nice change from how most of Undertaker’s opponents start their matches with him. And even if he isn’t Brett Hart, that didn’t stop him from turning Hell’s Gate into the Sharpshooter. The submission trading was a nice touch and Shane playing possum on multiple occasions made you feel like maybe he had a chance. Undertaker did a great job selling to make it look like Shane was really doing a number on him. That is, up until Shane nearly died by jumping off the cell. Even after the massive bump, Shane was still with it enough to taunt the Undertaker, making the whole moment completely insane. Undertaker winning means Shane doesn’t get the company, but it leaves me, and probably everyone else wondering, what’s next for Shane? Maybe a brand split is in the future for the WWE? Not something I personally want to see again, but you truly never know with WWE.
Rating: 3 Stars
Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal
Order of Eliminations:
Fandango eliminated by Big Show
Damian Sandow eliminated by Shaq
Shaq eliminated by Everyone
Big Show eliminated by Everyone
Viktor eliminated by DDP
DDP eliminated by Konnor
Konnor eliminated by Goldust
Tatanka eliminated by Baron Corbin
Jack Swagger eliminated by Kane
R-Truth eliminated by Heath Slater/Adam Rose
Goldust eliminated by Bo Dallas/Curtis Axel
Curtis Axel eliminated by Kane
Adam Rose eliminated by Baron Corbin
Heath Slater eliminated by Mark Henry
Tyler Breeze eliminated by Mark Henry
Mark Henry eliminated by Darren Young/Kane
Darren Young eliminated by Kane
Bo Dallas eliminated by Kane
Kane eliminated by Baron Corbin
Finish: Baron Corbin eliminates Kane for the win.
PJ: Shaq being added to this match was a legit surprise that helped this go from job squad over the top rope invitational to something worth watching. It was cool to see him and Show stare down in some continuity from RAW years back. After those shenanigans were over we get to more by seeing DDP lay out Konnor and Tatanka whom the announcers didn’t even acknowledge till halfway through doing his war dance. This was a farce for the most part but I was glad to see Corbin win. The one guy who could use it as a jumping off point when he makes his Main Roster debut (did he already?)
Eric: A few cool surprises in this match. Shaq being the last entrant was hilarious, DDP was a cool surprise, and on the down low, Tatanka was in the match as well. Lets not forget the surprise of Baron Corbin from NXT, our big winner. Although I expected Henry to win since he’s from Texas and close to retiring, (not to mention he was outside of the ring for half the match, which is a common way to try and make a surprise out of the winner), I was pleasantly surprised to see Corbin take it this year. The past editions of this match have meant nothing in terms of the “what’s next?” factor, so to see someone win who has nothing to lose and can only go up is a nice and interesting change. From what I read this looks to be his official main roster debut. Personally, I don’t think he’s ready for it, but obviously the WWE does, so hopefully they involve him in something good, so he doesn’t fall into the abyss like many other of his recent NXT colleagues.
Rating: 1.5 Stars
Triple H (c) vs Roman Reigns for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship
Atmosphere: Triple H’s entrance included Stephanie McMahon channeling Ursula from the little mermaid berating the audience into hating HHH, in an effort to save Roman a little face. Well it didn’t work dear readers. He was crucified the second his music hit and the boo’s lasted the entire match. There was some sporadic cheering for Reigns in specific parts of the audience but man; it was overwhelmingly not what WWE wanted. Lot of “Roman Sucks” chants and it feels that the experiment to put him against the Authority in an effort to gain him traction was a failure.
Finish: Roman Reigns hits the spear for the win. WINNER and NEW WWE World Heavyweight Champion, Roman Reigns.
PJ: Thoughts: God this started slow didn’t it? I liked the unique modus operandi of working over the nose, but it presented for a weird television presentation. When HHH hits his usual offense the crowd erupts, and when Reigns hits his they boo. Triple H also weirdly works over the arm in this match even using an arm bar at one point. Eventually this did pick up some steam and the crowd reached a fever pitch even when Reigns speared Stephanie. Reigns pulls off some cool feats of strength with the powerbombs but we’ve seen everything he did in this match before. It’s nothing new. I’m no Roman hater if you’ve read our columns in the past but even I find myself sitting here thinking, what is supposed to impress me about him in this match? He’s solid sure. With all the injuries, I can even see him main eventing Mania. But why not give the guy an actual chance to succeed by turning him heel or at least not setting him up to fail. The match was pretty bad by mania main event standards, something that will hurt this Mania’s prospective re-watch value. I wasn’t a fan of this match. I don’t know if I felt burned out after nearly 6 hours, of content or what, but during the first watch I almost fell asleep. I found myself a little happier when I re-watched it but still, it wasn’t 3 stars and it needed to be for this card to succeed in a big way.
Eric: If there was one thing I was happy about with this match it was the build of Roman Reigns leading up to it. Many of you may remember last year’s main event where Reigns came into that match with essentially zero build. He looked so weak that Daniel Bryan would have been a more believable opponent for Lesnar and he’s half Reigns’ size. This year, however, was a big change. Those brawls leading up to 32 made Reigns look enormous, which he definitely needed especially with how good Triple H has been looking against Ambrose and Ziggler. Unfortunately for Reigns, no one wanted to see him. No one wanted him to win. Even before his music hit, fans were already crucifying him with boos and every move he hit resulted in a fury of boos. The match itself was at least 3 stars, but the atmosphere really screwed this one. The reversal of reaction and support completely destroyed the feeling this match was supposed to have. The fan support was supposed to make this match feel huge when Roman Reigns finally overcame the authority and the slow-burn ended, but the fans turning on it caused it to lose all effect. Stephanie McMahon getting speared was my favorite moment of the match. I was tired of watching her slap superstars, but the male stars being unable to do anything because, well you know, PG. It was nice to see her get a taste of her own medicine. Regarding Reigns’ future, I almost feel like he has to turn heel to at least give the fans a reason to boo him rather than them take a giant dump on his entire title reign.
Rating: 2.75 Stars
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