WWE WRESTLEMANIA 37: NIGHT 2

WWE WRESTLEMANIA 37: NIGHT TWO

The Fiend vs. Randy Orton
I find it interesting that people are calling this a WOAT-tier Mania match or whatever -- I mean it wasn't GOOD, but it was also like 5 minutes long. Give me it over all the actually bad matches that are LONG, very much including their previous meeting at Mania. Okay I definitely get the criticisms though, as it's a bit silly that The Fiend loses to one RKO after surviving ungodly amounts of big movez in the past. This was a Fiend match with a ridiculous ending, it wasn't good, but I also had some fun with it because it was such a short lil' number. Harmless Fiend fuckery. Also Bray's Harper tribute at the start was pure love. *1/2

Natalya & Tamina vs. Nia Jax & Shayna Baszler
Not good, but not that bad either! Probably better than expected. They got a surprising amount of time & there was a few legitimately nice sequences there. *1/2

Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn
THESE TWO having THIS MATCH at THIS STAGE. Neat as hell. It was classic Zayn vs. Owens stuff; bombs bombs bombs with everything looking magnificently dangerous & destructive. A badass 9-minute sprint. ***3/4

Riddle vs. Sheamus
These guys compliment each other so well. This was so awesome. Both of 'em have such amazing arsenals of badass offense, and that was on full display here; beautiful bombs, counters, very nice sense of urgency & feel of pure physicality. The finish was great & I also loooved the way Sheamus instantly recovered from that White Noise botch by delivering a vicious knee drop from the top. ***3/4

Apollo Crews vs. Big E
This was a yet another extremely good sprint on this card. Let's goo! Pure intensity right from the get go with the kendo stick duel; both guys showed so much charisma throughout & the whole thing just ruled. Big E's big Spear spot was awesome, as was that Uranage. A really good use of the stipulation, even if no drums were harmed. Weapons stuff in WWE can be very hit or miss, but I thought the way E & Apollo implemented them into this match, it was very much a hit. The interference ending probably isn't something you'd expect or want in a Mania match, but I thought even that was well done, especially the initial moment it happened out of nowhere, so it didn't suck much juices at all from the really good match they had imo. ***1/4

Asuka vs. Rhea Ripley
This was pretty solid, but sadly nothing to write home about really. A couple of pretty sweet moments, but most of the match was just there. Very forgettable. **

Roman Reigns vs. Edge vs. Daniel Bryan
This is an all-time great three-way dance. It felt like a big match with its phenomenal build, and it lived up to the hype & then some more. There was absolutely ZERO downtime, it was absolute nonstop, great action from the opening bell till the finish. Some silly Edge facial expressions of course, but honestly even those didn't take anything away, as it all added to his "crazed old man on a mission" character. Speaking of characters, I looooove the differences in all 3 men here. It made the whole dynamic so compelling even before the match had started, and they played up those differences in their characters wonderfully throughout the match. Great damn shit, all of it. Some of my favorite moments were Bryan's kick counter to Reigns' Superman Punch attempt, Reigns getting "Roman Sucks" chants & answering by dumping Bryan through the announce table, the sequence w/ the chair-struggle between Edge & Reigns, the whole Crossface bit & the aftermath w/ Bryan destroying Edge, that legitimately superb nearfall after Edge's Spear to Reigns. Love the finish too! It's the first time Roman Reigns actually feels like THE ACE that he has always been positioned to be. Took them a while, but it has happened. ****1/4