#yay package piledriver!

[hazyheel]

G1 Supercard Review

First match of the night was the Honor Rumble, starting with Kenny King and Minoru Suzuki. Just gonna run through some of the fun spots, such as the tag teams teaming up. Taguchi had a moment where he directed Rocky Romero’s corner clotheslines, eventually leading almost all members of the match to hit BUSHI in the corner. Jushin Thunder Liger got a huge pop, entering and eliminating Brawler Milonas with Shoteis. Colt Cabana took Yano’s spot in the match, in a heartwarming moment. King Haku made a big return, got a decent pop. Haku was beating down Cabana, so Yano ran into the match to help him out. And at #30, the Great Muta made a huge return. Yano accidentally nailed Cabana with the corner pad, leading to them both being eliminated. Ishii and Suzuki renewed their rivalry, leading to Suzuki’s elimination. The two finalists were Jushin Thunder Liger and The Great Muta. They had a nice little match, before Kenny King, who had not been eliminated, threw them both out and won the match. King got misted for his deceit, but still won the match.

Grade D+. Just a weirdly rushed Royal Rumble rip off. Really not into this. It wasn’t very smooth, there wasn’t much story to it, and even though it was for a world title shot, I just couldn’t care. Still, nice to see Muta wrestle again. He kinda still had it.

And in the first actual match of the night, Will Ospreay took on Jeff Cobb, in a winner take all match for the NEVER Openweight Championship and the ROH World Television. They started out fast and furious, with Cobb hitting a huge European uppercut to start the match. Cobb even hit an awesome delayed superplex for a near fall, showing incredible core strength and balance from Ospreay. Ospreay went for his flip off the chest, but Cobb countered with a huge lariat. Ospreay went for the os cutter, but Cobb caught him and threw him into the corner, only for Ospreay to land on the middle rope and hit the os cutter anyway, for an awesome near fall. Ospreay tried to hit the stormbreaker off the top, but Cobb countered with a super tour of the islands, then hitting a normal tour of the islands for the win.

Grade: A-. Great match. They had awesome chemistry, and hit some awesome moves on each other. I don’t know why I thought that Ospreay would end Cobb’s undeafeated streak, but I was happy to be wrong. Really great match, and I am looking forward to seeing how long Cobb is a double champion. Definitely a match worth watching as their counters were actually awesome.

Next up, a special singles match between Rush and Dalton Castle. This match was over in seconds, as Rush nailed three huge corner dropkicks and got the win. After the match, Castle was so pissed about his loss, and pissed at the boys for trying to cheer him up, he attacked them with a gutwrench suplex and a bangarang, turning heel. I am not going to grade this match, but it was pretty awesome to see.

Then we had a woman of honor championship match, pitting Mayu Iwatani against Kelly Klein. Before the match, Klein sent away camp klein, opting to fight the match fairly. The two had technical exchanges, with Klein coming away with the advantage during mat wrestling. But as Klein got too comfortable, Iwantani locked in a sleeper hold, nearly able to get the win off of that. Kelly Klein got the win after two K powers. At the end of the match, Velvet sky and Angelina Love came down to the ring. As the women distracted her, Mandy Leon attacked, laying out Klein and several other women of honor. They drew the anarchy symbol on her head, and walked out. New stable in the women of honor division.

Grade: D. Just a bad match. I liked the story of Klein showing that she has become a better person, but other than that this was a boring match that was kinda awkward. I didn’t really care for the post match antics either, just becuase it wasn’t particularly good. But they did hit some cool moves, it just wasn’t awesome.

Mega Ran did a rap. Yay, but thankfully Bully Ray came out to interrupt. He was given a big babyface reaction because they all hated Mega Ran. He drove Mega Ran out of the ring, and confessed attacking Juice Robinson.  He said that the challenge was still open, and Flip Gordon answered the call. Back from injury, he got a huge reaction. He quickly started out with a superkick, and a springboard spear. It didn’t take long for Bully to get the table, and for Shane Taylor and Silas Young, but LifeBlood’s Juice Robinson and Mark Haskins came out to save Flip Gordon. They offered to change this to a 3 on 3 match, and came to beat down Bully. Gordan had to take huge kendo stick shots from all of the heels, no selling all of them until his Lifeblood allies came, for a kendo stick fight among all six. The heels fought back, and powerbombed Gordon through a table. In the finish, Bully was hit with a superkick, powerslam, stinkface and a 450 for the win

Grade: C. Perfectly fun soap opera bullshit. It was a lot of hard core stuff, but nothing too crazy. Awesome to see Flip Gordon back, and doing his thang, happy to see Silas Young and Lifeblood, just fun. Not the best hardcore match ever, but it was fine for what it was.

Into the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship match, Taiji Ishimori took on both Dragon Lee and Bandido. Lee quickly picked up the pace with a slingshot hurricanrana to Bandido, only for Ishimori to hit a huge moonsault. Lee was really beating the shit out both of his opponents, with shots that were as stiff as they come. They just kept hitting crazy flying moves, mexican destroyers, hurricanranas and ddts. Ishimori hit Lee with the Bloody Cross for a near fall. Bandido hit both men with a moonsault powerslam, which the commentators accurately said wasn’t a real move. Lee was able to get the win after hitting a knee lift to Ishimori and some sort of vertical powerslam to Bandido.

Grade: B+. Flippy flippy flippy match. These guys flew all over the place, with awesome and dangerous moves. It was surprisingly short, but still quite fun. Dragon Lee winning the belt makes me think that Hiromu Takahashi will be back for the Best of the Super Juniors. Happy to see Lee have the belt, he really deserves it. And although I think Ishimori’s reign ended a bit short, I think that it ended at the perfect time for the story of Takahashi vs. Lee to continue. Hope to see that soon.

Into the tag team championships match, the Guerillas of Destiny vs. Villain Enterprises vs. The Briscoes vs. Los Ingobernables de Japon. PCO had to be revived in his entrance, but it looked pretty cool. They started out with a wild brawl, and there didn’t even seem to be rules in this match. The Briscoes seemed to be working together super well, destroying their opponents with chairs. Sanada and Evil hit awesome tag team offense, with huge kicks and such. PCO hit a huge moonsault for a big near fall. Tama Tonga and Tonga Loa gave PCO a huge powerbomb out of the ring, to the floor, with no protection, it looked horrendous, but he sat up afterwards, so I think he is okay. In the finish, Jado got involved, smacking Brody King with a Kendo Stick, allowing Tama Tonga to hit a gunstun, and then a superpowerbomb from Tonga Loa for the win. However, as they went to grab the belts, Toru Yano had stolen them, and looked to run away with them. 

Grade: A-. Wild match right from the start. There were crazy bumps, crazy spots, non stop action, and I couldn’t look away. It was a lot crazier that I had thought it would be, but it was still awesome. Briscoes had some awesome hardcore spots, Brody King and PCO did some crazy stuff, Evil and Sanada kept ahold of their classic wrestling style, while Tama Tonga and Tonga Loa kept their heads down, interfered when they needed to, and came away with the win. Fun, car wreck of a match.

Next up was a singles match between Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi for the British Heavyweight Championship. The two exchanged technical holds, with Sabre not commiting too hard in the beginning of the match. Sabre continued to play mind games throughout the match, working over Tanahashi’s arm. When tanahashi couldn’t skin the cat, Sabre realized that he needs to target that limb and began to destroy it. Sabre did his best to counter Tanahashi’s submissions, but Tanahashi was able to keep outwrestling Sabre. However, when Tanahashi went up for the high fly flow, Sabre quickly ran to the top rope to stop it. Sabre seemed to have the advantage during striking contests, but not in technical wrestling, oddly enough. Tanahashi began to psych himself up, hitting several twist and shouts and slingblades. However, Sabre was able to outlast Tanahashi, locking in his submission that has a super long name and getting the verbal submission.

Grade: B. A bit slower than the matches that these two normally, but still quite good. I liked the story of Tanahashi actually being able to best Sabre, but sabre just outlasted him. He was younger, had better conditioning, and knew that he could outlast the Ace. Good stuff, but far from their best match.

And then we had the Intercontinental Championship match, Kota Ibushi vs. Tetsuya Naito. They started with the quick strikes right off the bat, targetting each other’s necks as these two so often do. It didn’t take long before they started busting out the big moves, with ibushi hitting a hurricanrana off the apron, and then hitting a springboard double stomp for a near fall. Ibushi hit his second rope german, Naito hit a spike hurricanrana off the top rope. The two battled for the opportunity to hit a package piledriver on each other, with Naito eventually getting the honors. The two began to exchange forearms, kicks and palm strikes. Naito then hit a huge reverserana into a destino, but Ibushi actually kicked out. Ibushi then nailed a bomboye to the back of the head, and then to the face for a near fall. He then hit a last ride for a near fall, before picking him up for a Kamegoye and the win. 

Grade: A. As awesome as ever, these guys can do no wrong. They hit each other as hard as they could, they threw each other onto their necks, and the whole thing was just so so scary. Awesome to see Ibushi finally getting a long term title reign, unlike his run with the Openweight Belt. He will probably hold it for a couple months, hopefully into the G1 Classic, but I am just happy that he won here.

Now into the ROH main event, Jay Lethal vs. Marty Scurll vs. Matt Taven, for the ROH World Championship, in a ladder match. The men didn’t take long to start throwing ladders at each other. At one point, Scurll trapped Lethal’s head in a ladder, before hitting the latter with a chair. Scurll even attempted to grab the belt by climbing a shorter ladder and grabbing it with his umbrella. Throughout the match, Scurll injured his knee after being stuck in a figure four in a ladder. Taven hit a huge powerbomb to lethal through a ladder suspended between two chairs. Taven and Scurll faced off in the middle of the ring, with Scurll attempting to hit all his offense, but Taven kept playing spoiler to that, drawing chants of fuck you taven. Scurll hit a huge superplex to take out Taven. Lethal was about to win the match, but Scurll locked in the chicken wing and threw him off the top. Taven and Scurll then battled at the top, only for Scurll to break Taven’s fingers, before getting punched off. Taven had it won, but his fingers hurt too much and he fell off. Lethal was able to land a lethal injection on Scurll, but did not have a ladder to capitalize. Scurll took a lot of punishment, as Taven delivered a huge spear through the ropes and through a table. At one point, Lethal went up to the top of a huge ladder to hit the biggest elbow drop ever on Taven, through a table. At one point, Taven introduced a huge, purple ladder, with ladders suspended between lower rungs and the ropes of both sides. Scurll got taken out after Taven swept his leg, and he tumbled out of the ring. Lethal and Taven battled atop the ladder, and Taven smacked lethal with the belt, sending him down through the ladder. Taven then grabbed the title, the new ROH World Champion.

Grade: A. This was a great match. They destroyed themselves with ladder shots, and falling from huge heights. These guys will be sore tomorrow, and they put on a hell of a match. Scurll probably took the most sickening bumps, but everyone did some terrifying stuff. I didn’t expect this match to be as good as it was, but I was pleasantly surprised. Bummed that Scurll didn’t win, but Taven really does deserve it. Congratulations Taven, you deserved it. Surprisingly enough, this was probably the match of the night for me.

And the main event for New Japan, Kazuchika Okada vs. Jay White for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. White started playing mindgames immediately, but Okada played them right back. Every time Okada seemed to be gaining the advantage, Gedo got involved to keep White in the lead. It got to the point where, after booting Jay White over the barricade, Okada threw Gedo in after him, before hitting a huge splash to the both of them. White desperately tried to counter Okada’s signature moves, but even when he did, Okada would manage to hit them anyway. Okada was hitting his dropkicks as hard as he ever has, nailing one in the face and one in the chest. At one point, White hit a huge Saito suplex out of the ring, onto the apron. Jay did everything he could to make sure that he doesn’t get hit by the Rainmaker, at one point just sitting down to avoid it, and another time reversing into a sleeper suplex. Okada nailed a spinning rainmaker, into another Rainmaker for a great near fall. Jay hit the blade runner, but did not make the pin due to his exhaustion. As Okada was about to get the win again, but Gedo distracted the ref and White hit a low blow. They had a series of counters, before Okada hit two rainmakers, a jumping tombstone, and then one more rainmaker for the win.

Grade: A-. Really great match. They played on all the apsects of their rivalry over the past few months, like Gedo’s betrayal, the reversal of the rainmaker into Bladerunner, and Okada’s need to go super overkill to put down white. The action was fast and intense, and although I thought it would be better if White retained, it does feel good to see the belt back on Okada.

Overall Grade: B+

Pros: Cobb vs. Ospreay; junior heavyweight championship; tag championship; british championship; intercontinental championship; ladder match; main event

Cons: honor rumble; Dalton Castle heel turn :( ;women of honor match; mega ran

[hazyheel]

Wrestlemania 35 Review

The pre-show started with the Cruiserweight Championship, Buddy Murphy vs. Tony Nese, and the two started out fast and violently. Murphy got split open somewhere around his eye early on in the match, after he slipped off the turnbuckle. The two exchanged heavy strikes in the match, and Nese seemed to have the advantage for much of the match. At one point, Nese hit a springboard moonsault to Murphy, who was hanging between the ropes. Nese even hit a reverse rana to Murphy, and Murphy really landed right on his head. The two again began to exchange combinations of strikes, each countering the final hit into a combo of their own. Nese even hit a package piledriver for a near fall, and then a 450 splash for a near fall. Nese went for the running Knese, but Murphy intercepted with a bicycle knee and Murphy’s Law, but Nese got his foot on the ropes. Murphy went for the running knese as well, but Nese got the interception with a superkick, before hitting a german suplex into the corner, and then the running Knese for a big win.

Grade: B+. Really good way to open up the show. I was shocked at how much offense Nese scored, almost a burial of Murphy, but I think that it will play into the story. I was pleasantly surprised to see Nese win the match, I really wasn’t sure if it would play out well, but it looked super good and by the end of the match, it felt like Nese’s time. Congratulations to him, I look forward to his title reign.

It didn’t take long for them to jump into the women’s battle royal. No Lacy Evans, so I was automatically wrong about this match. Asuka had a staredown with Nikki Cross, reminiscent of their feud in NXT a few years ago. Ember Moon hit a cool looking eclipse over the top rope to eliminate Naomi, and must’ve hit 3 before getting eliminated. For some reason, Sarah Logan and Lana hugged, before the rest of the riot squad destroyed Lana. The Riott Squad completely destroyed their opponents throughout the match, until Dana Brooke eliminated both Ruby Riott and Liv Morgan. Final four were Asuka, Sonya Deville and Sarah Logan, but Carmella was on the outside hiding on the outside. Deville, Asuka and Logan had an awesome sequence together, and Logan eliminated both of them, only for Carmella to come in. The two fought, and Logan even held on to the middle rope to stay in, until Carmella got the win with a superkick. 

Grade: A-, because I like to be positive. I am not normally a fan of battle royals, but this one was really good. There were a lot of interweaving stories, everyone got time to shine, and it told a fun tale. Lots of creative eliminations, and really non stop action. They really stole the pre-show today. 

Next up was the Raw Tag Team Championship match, Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder vs. The Revival. Dawson and Hawkins started the match out, but it seemed like the challengers were pretty outclassed. Ryder was beaten down for most of the math, with the Revival destroying any limb they could get their hands on. Hawkins eventually got the hot tog, and absolutely lit up the champions. Ryder went for a suplex to Wilder out of the ring, but both men ended up tumbling out of the ring. There was then a flurry of offense on the outside, with Hawkins nailing a spear on Wilder, and then getting hit with a nasty brainbuster from Dawson. Dawson dragged him back into the ring, and Hawkins looked to be out. Dawson tried to bring him up for some sort of move, but Hawkins got a rollup for a shocking win.

Grade: B+. Another really good match. Started out slow, but it really picked up by the end of the match, with a flurry of offense during his hot tag. All hope seemed lost when the Revival nailed their big moves on the outside, but Hawkins finally pulled off a win. It was a good payoff to such a long story, and I was into it. So happy for Hawkins to pull it off, and to win a belt at the same time is just a cherry on top.

Then right into the Andre the Giant memorial Battle Royal. Che and Jost made their entrance, looking absolutely lost being in the ring with these guys. The two comedians immediately hid underneath the ring. A fun elimination from Andrade, as he monkey flipped Kalisto over the top rope. Luke Harper tried to vertical suplex Ali out of the ring, but Braun hit a big boot to eliminate them both. Ali took a terrible bump as a result. In the final three, Jost and Che actually got in the ring, and Jost attempted to get Braun to talk to a therapist, but Braun, of course, beat up the therapist. Che tried to run, but Braun got in a punch to take him out. He then threw Jost a a pile of superstars on the outside.

Grade: C-. When all was said and done, this was a silly comedy match, and it was actually pretty fun and funny. Just some stupid action, Jost and Che were funny in their attempts to eliminate Braun, and considering that Che and Jost didn’t actually get eliminations, nor did they really fight anyone, it went better than these types of matches normally go. Celebrity stuff is always iffy, but this went well.

Before anything started, Alexa Bliss came out for a promo. She said that she was going to give herself a Wrestlemania moment, and she snapped her fingers and Hulk Hogan came out. He cut the stereotypical Hogan promo. Then they posed together. Kinda cute. But then Paul Heyman marched out to the ring, and cut a promo in the ring. He said that Lesnar would not be leaving for Las Vegas right after the match is over.

So, we opened the main card with Brock Lesnar vs. Seth Rollins for the universal Championship. Lesnar had a special entrance video, where a sword destroyed Lesnar’s beast skull. Lesnar started the match with a stiff knee to the stomach. beating him down outside, and hitting the F5 quickly. Lesnar threw him around ringside, over the announce table and into a commentator. The match officially began, and Seth was drilled with several german suplexes. Seth shoved the Lesnar into the ref, and then nailed a low blow. He was then able to hit the curb stomp three times, and got the win.

Grade: D+. The beatdown was fun, but there wasn’t much to this match. Rollins hitting the low blow felt odd from an underdog babyface. It was an exciting moment, but I bet these two could’ve had a great match. It’s also odd that this match came on first. It just felt like an odd victory to open the show. Although, I am pretty happy about the outcome.

Next up was Randy Orton vs. AJ Styles. It didn’t take long for Orton to start cheating, hitting a thumb to the eye early on. Orton just kept trying to hit the RKO, but Styles wiggled out of it each time. At one point, AJ faked going for a phenomenal forearm and orton went for the RKO, obviously missed and Styles nailed a 450 splash. AJ was desperate in his attempts to avoid the RKO, but did take one after a rollup, for a near fall. AJ hit a big phenomenal forearm to the outside. He then hit a Phenomenal Forearm in the ring for the win.

Grade: B. Not as fast of a match as I thought it would be, but still pretty good. They worked together quite well, and the story of AJ desperately attempting to avoid the RKO was good, and it made the near fall even more convincing. Shocked to see that Styles went over, but still happy to see one of my favorites go over. I hope these guys wrestle again, because I think they can do better.

Lacy Evans did a catwalk. Then there was the Smackdown tag team Championship match, Usos vs. Aleister Black and Ricochet vs. Shinsuke Nakamura and Rusev vs. The Bar. The action was very fast, with a flurry of offense from everyone and many quick tags. Cesaro had a huge swing on Ricochet for about a minute before locking in the sharpshooter, before an Uso broke them up. Rusev and Nakamura actually did really well as a tag team, better than I thought they would, putting together some hard hitting striking combinations.  There was then a huge ass tower of doom, but Ricochet flipped out of it. Ricochet went up for the 630 senton on Sheamus, with Black covering him, but everyone broke it up. There was a big finisher fest, with Ricochet selling a brogue kick like he was shot. The usos then hit sheamus with three superkicks and a double splash for the win.

Grade: B+. A lot faster than I assumed it would be. This match really reminded me how good the bar, Nakamura and Rusev all are. They have been in some less than flattering matches lately, but this one was really good. Everyone got in tag moves, showing that all of these teams will work well in the tag division. I am bummed that Black and Ricochet didn’t win, but hopefully they can go on to feud with the Usos sooner rather than later.

Next match was Miz vs. Shane McMahon in a Falls Count Anywhere match. Shane started out by running away, but quickly got the advantage via cheap shots. At one point, Shane was going to elbow Miz through an announce table, but his dad (yay) got in the way. Shane and Mr. Miz squared off in the ring, with Shane utterly destroying Mr. Miz, only for the Miz to run in and take down shane. They began to brawl through the crowd, near the LED pillars, and into the stands. They even started destroyed the announce tables in the crowds, and Miz hit him so hard with a moniter that he fell over a railing and about a 6 foot fall. Miz then hit the Skull Crushing Finale on a platform for the cameras, for a near fall. They battled even higher, with Miz superplexing shane through a platform, and it completely caved it in. Shane was able to get the arm over Miz for the win.

Grade: B+. A wild, brawl, with some big spots, and every bit of soap opera crap. That superplex will be shown in video packages for years to come. It was good clean fun, and although I wasn’t too pleased with Miz losing, but given the spot, it was just a coincidence that Shane got the pin. It wasn’t too serious, nor did I think it would be. If they had more weapon spots, then maybe this would’ve been higher. But still, I thought it was really good.

Into the Women’s Tag Team Championship match, the Boss N’ Hug Connection took on the Divas of Doom, The IIconics and Nia Jax and Tamina.  The IIconics quickly established that they would only tag in if they were in the advantage. Pheonix and Natalya hit a hart attack on Billie Cay for a near fall. Jax and Tamina were taken out pretty early, only to come back in and absolutely destroy the IIconics. Banks and Bayley were lying in the corners, and Jax and Tamina went up for splashes, but Phoenix took Jax out. Bayley nailed an elbow drop to Natalya, followed by a splash from Banks for a near fall. Phoenix nailed Bayley with a super glam slam, but the IIconics threw her out of the ring and made the pin to win the belts.

Grade: D. Decent action, but it was a little short for the speed of it all. I think that they definitely should have gone with a standard tag match if Bayley and Sasha were gonna get pinned anyway. The super Glam Slam was a memorable moment, and I think it was in character for the IIconics to steal the pin. Maybe I am just upset that Bayley and Sasha lost the belts without having a real classic match for the belts. Maybe they will get them back in the future, but the IIconics will probably make for some very entertaining TV in the next few weeks.

And for the WWE championship, Kofi Kingston took on Daniel Bryan. The crowd was fully behind Kingston right from the beginning of the match. Bryan did what he could to keep the match on the mat, but he was also able to go at a fast pace with Kingston. Bryan attempted to work over Kingston’s leg. At one point, Kofi went for a springboard splash to the outside, but Bryan dodged it and sent him careening into the table. Kofi went for several double stomps throughout the match, but Bryan had it scouted at one point, picked him out of the air, and locked in a lion tamer. At one point, Kingston Nailed the SOS, only for Bryan to counter it into a Lebell Lock, raining down elbows into the ribs. Eventually, Bryan just kept kicking Kingston in the chest and sides, until Kingston screamed at him telling him to keep hitting him, and the two dueled with kicks until Kingston hit an inverted suplex for a near fall. Kingston then followed Bryan to the outside, but Rowan got in his way. Kingston hit Rowan with a trouble in paradise, and then Big E and Xavier Woods nailed him with the midnight hour. Back in the ring, there was a great near fall as Kofi was hit with the running knee. In his frustration, Bryan stomped on Kingstons face and head, before locking in the lebell lock once again. Kofi fought out of it, and returned the favor with stomps as the crowd cheered along. Kofi then hit the Trouble in Paradise for the win, finally gaining the WWE Championship after 11 years. After the match, Kofi celebrated with his kids and even a new shirt.

Grade: A. This match was absolutely awesome. The suspense was awesome, the selling from everyone was great, and Daniel Bryan’s work as a despicable heel made the match so much more fun. It felt like Kofi wouldn’t win due to how Bryan kept countering everything kofi threw at him at first. Kofi played a great underdog, and even the knew day on the outside kept the crowd hyped up. Kofi totally deserved this win, and I think he will be a fantastic WWE Champion. I can’t wait.

Backstage, Alexa Bliss talked to Colin Jost and Michael Che backstage, with some trainers. Bliss said that Strowman is a nice guy. They all argued, before Bliss said they were in good hands, before Scott Hall and Kevin Nash were revealed as their doctors.

Next was Rey Mysterio vs. Samoa Joe. They started out quick, with Joe beating his ass quickly. Mysterio did hit the 619, but Joe quickly choked him out for the win. Not gonna grade this one.

Then it was Drew McIntyre vs. Roman Reigns. The two squared up in the beginning of the match, before absolutely destroying each other with punches. McIntyre had most of Roman’s moves scouted, such as countering the drive by with a vertical suplex. Throughout the match, McIntyre got into Reigns’ head by telling him that he broke the Shield, and destroyed his brothers. That only fired up Roman. He then unleashed a fury of great offense, followed by several superman punches and then a spear for the win.

Grade: B-. Good match, but not nearly enough time. They could’ve put on a classic together, but since the story was Roman as an underdog, he couldn’t get in as much offense. But I think that these guys could do a lot better, and I am bummed that they didn’t get time to really put on an awesome match.

Then, Elias had his concert. First playing drums on the tron, then piano on the tron, then the guitar in the ring. He was his own band. What a fun little segment. He was about to start his full song, but he was interrupted by some older baseball footage. Cena then came out in his old Thuganomic persona. He even had a huge scowl on his face. He announced that he was about to turn heel, and that Elias’ music sucks more than his own movies. There was too much to talk about in this “promo,” but he hit the five knuckle shuffle and hit the FU and left.

Grade: C. What the flying fuck was that? I think it was good, but I really don’t know. I’ll call it down the middle, because it was funny, but probably a burial of Elias. I don’t know, I just don’t know.

Into the No Holds Barred Match of the night, Batista vs. Triple H. Batista entered with an enterage of bodyguards in a nice van, while Trips entered on a Mad Max type car. Shawn Michaels was on commentary, which I assumed would factor into things. Two went at each other with absolute fury, it was a visceral match, very much like a street fight. It wasn’t long before Trips began choking Batista with a chain, also whipping him. He then stretched Batista’s fingers with pliers, and even pinned him down with a chair and ripped out his nose ring. It was disgusting, I don’t know how they did it. Batista attempted several times to put Trips through a table, but it did not work. They continued to beat each other down with weapons and stiff shots. Batista went to batista bomb Trips through an announce table, but Trips back body dropped him instead, but the table didn’t break. What is with these tables? Trips then hit a huge running spear through another announce table, which thankfully broke. Trips finally got a sledgehammer from under the ring, but as he went to attack Batista, Batista speared him for a near fall. Batista then brought Trips up for a batista bomb for another good near fall. As Batista went for a superplex onto the steel steps in the ring, but Trips countered with a powerbomb onto the stairs, and then the pedigree for a near fall. Eventually, Flair came out to give Trips a sledgehammer, then distracting Batista so that Trips gets a sledge shot and another pedigree for the win.

Grade: B-. Shockingly decent. I flip flopped on this match a lot in the build up, thinking it could suck or be great. It was actually good, but really nothing more. The weapon shots were stiff, and it had a very ruthless aggression feel. Very fun, and I am not very shocked with the outcome. I thought Batista would win, but I understand if Trips doesn’t want to retire yet. Pretty good match, nothing more.

Now, Kurt Angle’s farewell match, against Baron Corbin. For some reason, they kept saying that Corbin was “Wrestlemania’s favorite son.” I don’t know why that is, but it is certainly incorrect. The two had a pretty decent match, and Corbin sold pretty well for angle. Corbin hit a big deep six for a near fall. Angle hit the angle slam for a near fall, but then he took the straps down and locked in the ankle lock for a submission sequence. Angle even went for a moonsault, but he missed, allowing Corbin to hit the end of days for the win. The crowd was piiiiiiiiissed. But Corbin quickly left the ring, and Angle cut a goodbye promo, asking them to play his music one last time, the crowd chanted you suck, and people cried. They even cut to a sign that said you never sucked, and I teared up.

Grade: B. The match wasn’t good, but with respect to angle, and the emotion of his retirement, I will cut it some slack. Corbin sold a lot, and made Kurt look good. And although I was shocked at the outcome, it was the right call. Corbin gets a huge boost from that. But anyway, thank you Kurt, we will never forget you. You suck will never mean the same thing again thanks to you.

And we moved swiftly into the intercontinental title match, Bobby Lashley against the Demon Finn Balor. Lashley came out with weird, yellow contacts in. But of the two entrances, Balor’s was definitely better. He was on a huge pillar surrounded in smoke, with body paint that resembled a pharaoh, I think. The bell rang, and Balor started off in a much more aggressive manor than he normally does. However, Lashley quickly fought back, hitting huge suplexes and lariats. Lio Rush was super scared the entire time, running away from Balor at any point. Lashley even hit a spear through the ropes, followed by another in the ring for a near fall. Balor even hit a huge powerbomb, followed by the Coup de Gras for the win.

Grade: B+. Short but sweet. I never thought that I would give this match a good grade, but this match made me realize what makes a good, or great match: back and forth. WWE matches are often very one sided, but this had swinging momentum, and that is what made it so good. So these guys can put on a good match, they just aren’t often given the chance to. I really liked this match, and I wish they would do more like it. Good stuff to both of these guys.

They had a bit of a dance break with R-Truth and Carmella. Good times, they are funny.

And in the main event, possibly the most important Wrestlemania main event ever, Becky Lynch, Ronda Rousey and Charlotte Flair fought for the Raw and Smackdown Women’s Championships. Charlotte arrived in the arena via helicopter, with people rolling out the red carpet for her. Rousey had live music for her entrance, smiling at the Joan Jet and the Blackhearts, but turning all business when she stormed down the ramp. Becky didn’t get anything special, but the fan support for her was huge. Rousey wasn’t holding anything back in this match, delivering the stiffest kicks I have ever seen from a man or woman in all of wrestling. Lynch and Flair exchanged very stiff strikes in the middle of the ring, each going for the other’s submission. Flair and Lynch tried to powerbomb Rousey out of the ring, but she latched on a (bad looking) armbar on Flair between the ropes. Becky then nailed a basement dropkick to Rousey, still hanging, sending her tumbling to the floor. Charlotte went for a moonsault early on, only for Lynch to reverse it into a disarmer, only for Rousey to break it up quickly. Rousey attempted a double armbar, but Lynch and Flair worked together hitting three double powerbombs before Rousey fell. At one point, Lynch loced in the disarmer through the ropes, before Flair broke it up. Flair then hit a huge avalanche spanish fly on Lynch for a near fall. Rousey’s leg was absolutely destroyed throughout the match, with Flair even locking in the figure four on the ringpost for a time. Flair almost locked in the figure 8, but Lynch broke it up with a flying senton. Becky then introduced a table, but Rousey flipped it, saying “tables are for bitches.” Charlotte nailed a double spear for a pair of near falls. Flair then set up a table in the corner, attempting to double spear the opponents through it, but they countered with a flip into the table. In the finish, Rousey attempted to hit Lynch with the pipers pit, but Lynch countered into a crucifix cover, for the win. The pin was iffy, but no big deal.

Grade: A-. Non stop action once again. These women went at it as fast as they could, and it was really great. This was not one of those triple threat matches where people were constantly resting on the outside. They were always in the ring, with hard hitting sequences and awesome moves. I thought the finish was a bit anticlimactic, but considering how the show went so far overtime, I am not surprised that this is what they went with. They really did do great in the main event, and I am happy to see Becky with the belts that she so rightfully deserves.

Overall Grade: B

Pros: Cruiserweight Championship; women’s battle royal; raw tag team championship; Styles vs. Orton; smackdown tag team championship; falls count anywhere; WWE Championship; Intercontinental Championship; Women’s Championship

Cons: Men’s battle royal; Universal championship match; Women’s tag team championship; Cena promo (i think); matches were very short