Last year's WrestleMania received critical acclaim to the point where it is one of the highest regarded Mania's ever. Honestly, this year's Mania was a lot better. Why did so many people find last year's better? This year's Mania wasn't as good as XXX, or 24, or 3, but it was still pretty awesome.
The biggest flaw I'd say was that as the longest Mania ever, it drained the audience. The pre-show along with the regular show was about 7 hours. That is too long.
The first bout of the pre-show was Kalisto vs Ryback for the US Title. The US Title deserves to be defended in the regular show, but I guess the writers knew the match wouldn't be very good. Just a regular match between the two that we've all seen on RAW. Kalisto won, which I am happy about. 6.5/10
Team Total Divas defeated Team BAD and Blonde in a 10-girl tag match. I love matches of this magnitude. 8/10
The Usos defeated the Dudley Boyz. I know the Dudleyz are booked to make the younger guys look good, but I was underwhelmed with this. And I was expecting them to pull out tables after the match. It wasn't bad, just decent. 7/10
The first match of the regular show was Kevin Owens, Stardust, Zack Ryder, Miz, Sin Cara, Dolph Ziggler and Sami Zayn all went at it in a ladder match for the Intercontinental Title. Same thing happened at last year's Mania, but this was better. This was full of sheer intensity, wildness, and unpredictability at new heights. I was so happy to see Zack Ryder win. He lost it the next night on RAW to Miz, but I think they are slowly building him up again. 10/10
AJ Styles did not get his moment when he lost against Chris Jericho. He shouldn't feel bad because the match was awesome. Sure it isn't very different from their others, but these guys never put on a bad match. 8.5/10
The League of Nations defeated The New Day. I don't care for the League, but I can't stand New Day!!! I totally hate them!!! Their entrance sucked and the match was lame! 4/10
It was no surprise that Brock Lesnar would beat Dean Ambrose in the street fight. But this was so underwhelming, I don't blame people for saying this match sucked. A match where anything goes with two daredevils should have been amazing. Nope. No mayhem, and no insanity. The match was way too one-sided. People whine about John Cena being predictable as he never loses. At least Cena's matches can suspend your disbelief as he is on the verge of losing. Brock Lesnar does 95% of the attacks and pulls off the win. Too predictable. Also, the use of weapons was too safe. While the match wasn't great, it was watchable. Just like a RAW or Smackdown event. 6.5/10
Charlotte defeats Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks for the new WWE Women's Championship. What WWE has done with these gals is so awesome! I was rooting for Becky Lynch, but Charlotte's win didn't bother me. The match was awesome. 9.5/10
Undertaker vs Shane McMahon was perhaps the most important match of the night. Shane made his WWE return with demands to control RAW. The Authority is one of WWE's worst ideas ever that has been horrid since their start in 2013. If Shane could beat Undertaker at Mania inside Hell in a Cell, Shane would get his wishes. If Undertaker would lose, he would have to retire. The stipulations sucked. I really hope Shane gets control somehow since he lost. The match itself was a bit dull. Both guys were out of shape and really tired throughout most of the fight. The match was saved by some insane moments. It really elevated the match. 7.5/10
The Andre the Giant Battle Royal always get me going. This match saw the returns of Tatanka and Diamond Dallas Page, as well as the debuts of NXT's Baron Corbin and Shaquille O'Neal. Baron Corbin won, which was a pleasant surprise. 8/10
The Rock came out and did his thing. Then the Wyatt Family came out and exchanged with Rock. A quick match happened, but the whole segment was great. 8/10
The final bout Triple H vs Roman Reigns for the WWE title. Roman was booed and H was cheered. Why dump on Reigns? Think he is being forced down our throats? H has been doing that for nearly 20 years! Roman winning was predictable? He needed to win! The Authority is terrible! A younger guy needs a chance to shine. Does that excuse the match for sucking? Nope. Roman has put of some dazzling matches. I thought this would be one of them. What the hell happened!? The only good part was Roman spearing Stephanie. 6.5/10
Overall, a pretty good show. The look was better than last year's and there were some candidates for match of the year. Not winners, just nominees. I wasn't expecting anything massive, just what I got. People that trash this event need to chill out and remember Mania 9, 11, 27, and the other bad ones.
Total score 7.5/10
