wrestling / Video Reviews
Pantoja’s RetrospectiveMania Series: WrestleMania 32
Image Credit: WWE
WWE WrestleMania 32
April 3rd, 2016 | AT&T Stadium in Dallas, Texas | Attendance: 80,709
After the huge disappointment in 2013, WrestleMania in 2016 enters on a hot streak of sorts with two great shows in a row. This was meant to be a major event with a “record breaking” attendance number and some notable changes in the company. Names like Sasha Banks, Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, and AJ Styles have arrived, while the likes of John Cena, Seth Rollins, and Randy Orton were injured for this show. Of note, this was the first Mania to start a trend of them being egregiously long..
As a reminder, I’m reliving these WrestleManias and rating them on a 1-10 scale in these seven categories. They’ll be ranked by their total score.
• Match quality – Self-explanatory. Will always be the longest section.
• Memorability – How memorable is the show?
• Historical significance – The impact the show had on wrestling
• Booking decisions – Did the event have logical booking decisions for the stories they told
• Presentation – Things like stage setup, video packages, commentary, etc.
• Pacing/Flow – How well is the show laid out? Does it drag or move along smoothly?
• Entertainment – The non-wrestling elements like promos, celebrity interaction, concerts, etc.
Match Quality
WWE United States Championship: Kalisto [c] vs. Ryback ~ We’re in for a long show as this is the first of THREE Kickoff bouts. In fact, this began so early that most of the seats weren’t filled yet as fans were still filing in or at the concession stands. The layout of this match was simple and I mean that in a good way. They followed the classic David vs. Goliath story which often works. The spot where Ryback walked up the steel steps while carrying Kalisto in a press slam was cool but missed the mark since Kalisto is really small. From there, Ryback dominated for a while until Kalisto started in with some hope spots that led to Ryback hitting an exposed buckle. From there, Kalisto retained with Salida del Sol in 8:58. A well-executed big vs. little match and nothing more. [**¾]
Alicia Fox, Brie Bella, Eva Marie, Paige and Natalya vs. Emma, Lana, Naomi, Summer Rae and Tamina ~ This doubled as Brie Bella’s retirement match (for a couple of years at least) and the in-ring debut of Lana. This was dubbed Team Total Divas vs. Team BAD and Blonde. For the most part, this was a standard multi-woman tag that gave everyone a moment to shine. The things that stood out were Eva Marie getting booed mercilessly, Naomi showing off her athleticism, and Lana getting a huge pop for her offense even if it wasn’t anything special. Paige played the face in peril for a short spurt before the hot tag came to Brie. She did her thing ahead of everyone hitting a signature move of sorts in succession all leading up to Brie making Naomi tap to the Yes Lock at the 11:26 mark. Again, nothing to write home about but a fine tag to give the women a spot on the card. Things were about to look up for the ladies in the coming years on this event. [**½]
The Dudley Boyz vs. The Usos ~ The final Kickoff match and it should’ve been the biggest. A team many consider to be the GOATs against a team I consider the GOATs. Unfortunately, this match wasn’t a mark on either of their skills. The Dudleys were way past their prime and The Usos were a few months away from a desperately needed gimmick change. The Dudleys were aggressive from the start and talked a bunch of trash as they worked over The Usos. They dominated a lot of this, including hitting the WASSUP headbutt but then The Usos kind of made a quick comeback and won from out of nowhere with a superkick in 5:18. That felt like an odd ending. The match was fine enough but the worst of the Kickoff Show. [**]
WWE Intercontinental Championship Ladder Match: Kevin Owens [c] vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. The Miz vs. Sami Zayn vs. Sin Cara vs. Stardust vs. Zack Ryder ~ I thought this multi-man IC Title ladder match was going to become a Mania thing but it didn’t keep going after this. It was really cool to see Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens make their Mania debuts. They were the most over guys in this thing. I will always love how, when they’re feuding, they will hockey fight ON SIGHT and they did it here. Outside of their rivalry, this was filled with some great spots from Sami’s dive off a ladder to the Sin Cara springboard onto a pile to a huge KO frog splash. I also popped for Stardust bringing out a polka-dot ladder in honor of the late Dusty Rhodes. Still, it was Owens who stole the show in this with some memorable spots and several of the night’s highlights. The wildest spot, or at least my favorite, was Sami’s suplex on KO onto a ladder. Miz stopped Sami from winning and seemed to have this won, only for Zack Ryder to knock him off and pull down the title, ending this in 15:23. A really fun way to start the main show, with this delivering the usual greatness from this kind of bout. More on the booking later. [****]
AJ Styles vs. Chris Jericho ~ At this time, AJ Styles was my favorite wrestler not named Sasha Banks but I was not big on most of the Jericho program. The story here was that Jericho grew jealous over how popular AJ was so soon into his WWE tenure, overshadowing him during their time as a team. Jericho wanted to outshine him, so he grounded this in the early goings. When it was that kind of match, Jericho held serve but when AJ got to take to the skies or do something high impact, he swung the tide in his favor. Jericho made a key mistake by trying to do the Styles Clash because AJ knew how to escape and he found a creative counter. When AJ hit the Clash, Michael Cole telegraphed a kick out. If you watch enough WWE, you can tell when it’ll be a near fall. Then, we got the finish. AJ’s Phenomenal Forearm attempt saw him leap into a Codebreaker, giving Jericho the win in 17:10. Better than I remember, though they had better matches though. More on the booking later. [***½]
The League of Nations vs. The New Day ~ Although they were in the midst of a record-breaking run as Tag Team Champions, no defense for New Day here. It’s wild how over New Day was at their peak. Del Rio, Sheamus, and Rusev were in action with Barrett at ringside. The match itself was very basic, with the heels ganging up on Woods for most of the bout, including some cheating from Barrett, before the hot tag went to Kofi. He did his thing and got some help from Big E who used his signature apron Spear spot to take out Rusev, Sheamus, and Barrett all at once. Other than that moment, this really felt like something you could see on any episode of Raw because nothing was special. It made total sense for New Day to win but after a Brogue Kick, they suffered a defeat in 10:03. It started dull and got better but never surpassed average. [**¼]
Street Fight: Brock Lesnar vs. Dean Ambrose ~ This should have been awesome. The idea coming in was that Dean could take so much punishment that it didn’t matter what Brock dished out. The tease of things like barbed wire and a chainsaw were never going to happen but they needed Brock to DESTROY him and for Dean to just keep coming back for more. Brock did a fair bit with 10 Germans in just a handful of minutes but it never felt like it went as far as it could’ve. Though Dean got in some hope spots with a low blow and some kendo stick shots, he didn’t truly ever threaten Brock. Even when he turned an F5 into Dirty Deeds, he didn’t even come close. Brock beat him with an F5 onto a pile of chairs in 13:06. I don’t think this is as bad as many made it out to be. It’s still hugely disappointing and lackluster though. You can tell Brock didn’t respect him. [**]
WWE Women’s Championship: Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte vs. Sasha Banks ~ Earlier in the night, it was announced that this would be to determine the first in a new line of Women’s Champions, marking the end of the Divas Title lineage. I’ve covered this match a lot for various reasons, including in my “Top 500 Matches of the 2010s” list. I’m copying and pasting most of that review here. For the first time since Trish Stratus vs. Mickie James a decade prior, a women’s match felt like it actually belonged on the biggest show of the year. This wasn’t just the company throwing women on the card for the sake of it, it was actually one of the more hyped and promoted matches of the show. Once the bell rang, these women went all out and it’s as if they knew the success of the future of the division hinged on their performances. There were some sloppy moments that kept this match from reaching the heights of their NXT stuff, though I give them credit for doing their best to cover them up. WrestleMania jitters and all. They attempted some wild things that were previously unseen in this division, setting the stage for the future. Each of them got a chance to strut their stuff and they put on a hell of a show. Thanks to interference from Ric Flair, Charlotte was able to win by making Becky tap to the Figure Eight in 16:01. The best women’s match in Mania history to this point. [****]
Hell in a Cell: Shane McMahon vs. The Undertaker ~ Shane McMahon’s return in early 2016 was a dope moment though it was ultimately kind of killed by a dumb storyline to get us here. The thing about this match was that we all knew the entire point of throwing Shane in Hell in a Cell was so he could do a wild spot and have a “WrestleMania moment.” That meant that the crowd and the viewers at home all mostly just sat around waiting for that and it took forever to get there. There were a few pops for the big spots like the Last Ride and Shane taking bumps. When Shane was on offense though, this lacked because his offense didn’t look convincing from his weak punches to his triangle choke attempts. Shane did eventually bust out the Coast to Coast, which always gets a good reaction. As noted though, the entire point of this was to build to the big spot from the top of the cell. Shane dove off for an elbow but missed, crashing through the table. Undertaker finished him off soon after with the Tombstone after 30:05. Had no business going 30, the stipulation for a winner was pretty dumb, and none of this really meant anything but the dive was cool. [**]
Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal ~ The big men got entrances here including Big Show, Mark Henry, and Kane. Then DDP got a pop as a surprise, only for Shaq to one up him, running out to “Panda.” To this day, hearing “I got broads in Atlanta” at random is one of the funniest Mania moments ever to me. Shaq and Show had a face off but everyone teamed up to throw them out. Tatanka was also in this for…reasons. The Social Outcasts had a short run that reminded me they even existed. In the end, Kane threw some people out only for NXT’s Baron Corbin to dump him over and win in 9:41. A nothing match with a tired finish. I do like me some Baron Corbin though. [*]
Erick Rowan vs. The Rock ~ I’ll get to more of it later but The Rock came out for another long-winded promo which was interrupted by the Wyatt Family. He then randomly challenged Erick Rowan and beat him with a Rock Bottom in 0:06. That was dumb, random, and didn’t work. [NR]
WWE World Heavyweight Championship: Triple H [c] vs. Roman Reigns ~ A year after being rushed into a Mania main event slot, Roman Reigns’ push was only going worse even though he had already been a two-time WWE Champion by this point. This match started a string of Roman Reigns in lackluster Mania main events. I’ve taken forever with this installment so I won’t go into too much detail now that I’m near the end of the show. The problem here was that it was a slog to get through and the crowd wanted no part of it. They weren’t into Reigns so the atmosphere sucked and Triple H tried to carry this to a lengthy singles match which was never his strong suit. He’s at his best in stipulation matches or with a guy like Michaels, Bryan, etc. who is an expert at the technical stuff. Without a lot of smoke and mirrors, this just plodded along until the expected, very telegraphed, spot of Reigns hitting Stephanie with a Spear, which did get the biggest pop of the match. Triple H responded with a Pedigree for two and went for the sledgehammer, only for Reigns to go on a run and beat him with the Spear in 27:11. Overly long, boring, and with little to no heat, it’s one of the worst Mania main events. [*]
I remember this show being better than this. I know I had issues with booking decisions (more on that later) but I recall the in-ring action being strong. There’s good in the women’s match, ladder match, and AJ/Jericho but that’s really it. While some stuff is solid enough like the pre-show women’s tag, everything outside of the three bouts I mentioned range from bad to, at best, forgettable.
SCORE: 5.5
Memorability
So there’s the return of the Women’s Title and the ladies going out there to steal the show, and there’s Shane McMahon’s elbow off the top of the cell. Other than that, I don’t really think there’s anything memorable going on here. Even the biggest Roman Reigns fans likely don’t have fond memories of this night. The whole show just feels like the kind of thing that you don’t remember.
SCORE: 5.5
Historical Significance
Here’s where things get a little interesting. For starters, there’s the aforementioned return of the Women’s Title, a belt that has stuck around in some formation ever since. It marked a changing of the guard as since then, for the most part, women have been taken seriously in WWE. You also have several notable Mania debuts for Banks, Charlotte, Becky, Styles, KO, and Sami Zayn. There’s also the interesting note that, to date, this is Roman’s only World Title win at a WrestleMania. Better than expected score here.
SCORE: 7.5
Booking Decisions
I remember watching this live and thinking, “Zack Ryder? That made no sense.” That set the tone for the night. Nothing against him but I’d be down for a win like that if it had any teases or build. He was a jobber with barely any TV time who they gave the belt to for shock factor. Then there was AJ Styles losing in his Mania debut and the New Day losing for no reason. The Undertaker winning was obviously fine but it made no sense for the story. To top it off, Sasha Banks should’ve won here. Charlotte was a good choice but given the constant cheating by Ric, Sasha could’ve ushered in a new era. All in all, just a mess here
SCORE: 2.0
Presentation
The set for this show was pretty cool with the star given that this was Dallas. There were some standout entrances like Sasha Banks coming out with Snoop Dogg and New Day’s cereal box entrance was top-tier. The video packages throughout were very strong though not on the level of the best WWE has produced. The biggest problem with this show was the commentary trio. JBL, Cole, and Saxton never worked well.
SCORE: 6.5
Pacing/Flow
I was surprised at how decently this was paced out for the first half or so. Then things fell off a cliff. Matches started going too long like Reigns/HHH and Taker/Shane but the real kicker was the extra stuff. The Cowboys cheerleaders were just out to kill time and then The Rock showed up, which went way too long, too late into the show. His whole thing needed to wrap up way quicker.
SCORE: 6.0
Entertainment
I felt like Fifth Harmony did well singing at the start of the show but we didn’t have much celebrity involvement outside of that, which was disappointing. The New Day/League of Nations/legends segment was fun at points, though kind of pointless. The Rock/Cena/Wyatt segment was a cool idea that was just poorly executed and may have worked to an extent live but doesn’t hold up well at all.
SCORE: 5.0
Overall
On paper, this should’ve been a great, or at least very good, event. Instead, it lands toward the bottom of the rankings because of the strange booking choices, some disappointing matches, and mostly being a show that doesn’t have much worth remembering about it. It’s a Mania that happened and that’s about it.
TOTAL: 38/70
WrestleMania Rankings
1. WrestleMania XXX – 62.5/70
2. WrestleMania XIX – 62/70
3. WrestleMania X-Seven – 61/70
4. WrestleMania XXIV – 59/70
5. WrestleMania III – 55/70
6. WrestleMania 21 – 52.5/70
7. WrestleMania X – 52/70
8. WrestleMania 23 – 51/70
9. WrestleMania VIII – 50.5/70
10. WrestleMania 31 – 50.5/70
11. WrestleMania XX – 50/70
12. WrestleMania I – 50/70
13. WrestleMania XII – 48.5/70
14. WrestleMania 22 – 48/70
15. WrestleMania VII – 46/70
16. WrestleMania XIV – 46/70
17. WrestleMania XXVIII – 45/70
18. WrestleMania XXVI – 44/70
19. WrestleMania VI – 44/70
20. WrestleMania XXV – 43.5/70
21. WrestleMania XXVII – 43.5/70
22. WrestleMania X8 – 43.5/70
23. WrestleMania 2000 – 39.5/70
24. WrestleMania V – 39/70
25. WrestleMania 13 – 37/70
26. WrestleMania 29 – 35.5/70
27. WrestleMania XV – 35/70
28. WrestleMania IV – 32/70
29. WrestleMania XI – 31.5/70
30. WrestleMania IX – 31.5/70
31. WrestleMania II – 29/70
