Wrestlemania 37 watch party/discussion

[The Manhattan Mauler]

It's getting better, that match and Sami/KO were both a lot of fun, if a bit short.

[Another 8MWR Tag Champion]

Here's my ratings for both nights -

Rain delay - Fuck you Mother Nature. On the bright side, we got to see all the best superstars do unscripted promos. A bit crazy, but it all turned out okay. Also, why is "Save Your Tears" the theme for WrestleMania this year? It doesn't make me hyped or anything of the sort :/

(WWE Championship) Bobby Lashley (c) vs Drew McIntyre - The right man won here, and the finish also made McIntyre still look strong. It went on for a long time though, and MVP shouting distracted Drew? Eh. Right down the middle for me. (⭐⭐⭐)

Women's Tag Team Turmoil - The weakest match of night one for me, also went for too long. Lana and Naomi getting eliminated first kinda sucked. Also, seeing Billie Kay here made me miss the Iiconics. Also, Tamina/Natalya won. Tamina and Nia Jax in the same match. Woohoo. One star. (⭐)

Cesaro vs Seth Rollins - I think we all knew that this could be the sleeper match. And it delivered. Cesaro was the star here, 23 giant swings in a row and a UFO, a move which spits in the face of physics. Rollins did a great job selling to. Good match. (⭐⭐⭐⭐.5)

(RAW Tag Team Championship) - New Day (c) vs AJ Styles and Omos - I think I'm in the minority that really enjoyed this match. Good storytelling, and Omos with a stellar in-ring debut. He's still a bit green, but he has potential. And plus, the pop that AJ got when he finally tagged in Omos. And AJ is a grand slam champion! Good stuff. (⭐⭐⭐⭐)

Braun Strowman vs Shane McMahon - The build for this match was extraordinarily shite. But it's a Shane McMahon match, so the only thing that kept me going was that I knew Shane was going to take an epic bump. He did. A very fun match which was hurt by it's poor build. (⭐⭐⭐.25)

Miz and Morrison vs Bad Bunny/Damian Priest - Wow. This was the match I was least excited for, and it overdelivered. Bad Bunny with an epic WrestleMania moment and honestly made me forget that Priest was in this match. Best WrestleMania celebrity match, hands down. And also one of the best matches in general. (⭐⭐⭐⭐)

(SD Women's Championship) Sasha Banks (c) vs Bianca Belair - I never thought that Bad Bunny could be a tough act to follow. But this was absolutely the right call, making this the main event. Everything about this match was great, hair whip was glorious, and you could see Bianca really wanted this. 5 stars. (⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐)

Night 1 was amazing, and 5 out of 7 matches overdelivered. McIntyre vs Lashley was also a solid opening - the tag team turmoil was the only weak spot. And Night 2 was better than Night 1 on paper. I was so, so hyped. But then...

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Randy Orton vs The Fiend - The only thing I liked about this match was Randy's gear. None of this made sense. This should've been an epic match to end this long feud, but it stunk. Hard (-⭐, that's right, negative stars)

(Women's Tag Team Title Match) Baszler/Jax (c) vs Tamina/Natalya - I can now see why "Save Your Tears" is the theme song. I want to cry. This match wasn't great and went longer than I would've liked, taking away precious time from some other matches (see the IC title match). Better than the opener, but still downright bad. (⭐)

Kevin Owens vs Sami Zayn - Fun match, but needed a bit more time. Wasn't as spectacular as it could've been tho. Appreciate the Logan Paul Stunner at the end. (⭐⭐⭐)

(US Championship) Riddle vs Sheamus - My internet started to play up during this match, but I saw the start and the end. Some good stuff during this match, end was pretty cool. I don't think Sheamus needed this win though (⭐⭐⭐.25)

(Intercontinental Championship) Big E (c) vs Apollo Crews - This match should've been great, but they were given nowhere NEAR enough time. Hot start, decent finish, it needed to go way longer. Big E just looks weak. (⭐⭐)

(RAW Women's Championship) Asuka (c) vs Rhea Ripley - Back and forth action. Nothing spectacular, but it was still a good match. Congratulations Rhea! (⭐⭐⭐.5)

(Universal Championship) Roman Reigns (c) vs Edge vs Daniel Bryan - The video hype package before this was amazing. The match admittedly got off to a slow start, but the end was amazing. Edge's crossface to Reigns with the bit of the chair was epic, and Daniel Bryan then applying the Yes Lock. Amazing. And what do you do when you can't decide who takes the pin? Pin 'em both! Reigns looks even more dominant, but also his weak spots are starting to show. Excellent. (⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐)

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This is definitely Top 10 Mania. Night 1 was excellent, and Night 2 was a bit shaky but finished strong.

Bayley, despite not having a match, was great as the role of host-- oh, sorry. Titus O'Neil and Hulk Hogan were hosts (which was incredibly awkward) and they were horseshite. Bayley's segments were great.

The segment before Night 2 main event made me angry. Whoever thought that getting the Bella Twins to beat up Bayley was a good idea should be shot immediately. And the crowd hated it too, you could hear the boos behind the artificial cheers.

The road to WrestleMania was also shitty. This really could've stunk. A lot. But the live crowd and the actual matches saved this show from total failure.

I give this show ⭐⭐⭐.75

[Dyno]

I don't disagree with most of that Another 8MWR Tag Champion, except:

- Womens Turmoil gets an extra star for me coz Nattie won, which is worth an extra star on its own. ⭐⭐
- Orton/Fiend was an ok match, wierd end, epic entrance. For me it depends where this is going as to what to make of it. It was the right decision putting this first with the weird finish. ⭐.5 (potential to increase based on what happens next)
- Womens Tag match was a lot better than I thought it was going to be with Jax involved, but Tamina looked the best she's ever had and when Nattie & Shayna are left to it, they will deliver. I gave it ⭐⭐.75 because I was expecting a clusterf**k so I ended up really enjoying it.
- IC title match was solid for me, so ⭐⭐⭐. But they deffo could've done with another 10 mins, same with Sami/Owens (I said on a chat group that a Takeover would've given Sami/Ownes at least another 15 mins). Logan's sell on the stunner was superb though!

[Another 8MWR Tag Champion]

Apr 12, 2021 8:13:48 GMT -5 Dyno said:

Logan's sell on the stunner was superb though!

Agreed, amazing sell for any wrestler, let alone a celebrity!

Also glad that Logan Paul knew that the people would enjoy seeing him get beaten up.

[Another 8MWR Tag Champion]

Apr 12, 2021 8:13:48 GMT -5 Dyno said:

Orton/Fiend was an ok match, wierd end, epic entrance. For me it depends where this is going as to what to make of it. It was the right decision putting this first with the weird finish. ⭐.5 (potential to increase based on what happens next)

In my opinion, I think Big E vs Apollo could've opened - fast-paced action and that controversial finish.

This match could definitely have the potential to increase stars, but I have no idea how they're going to explain themselves out of this one. The match was decent throughout the way, the "box-like structure" as Michael Cole likes to call it, even Alexa Bliss's weird spot was cool, the crowd was literally chanting "Holy shit". But it ends after a single RKO? Ugh. It started to get really interesting, but it just stopped. I may have been a bit harsh with the negative rating, but the ending to that match just left a sour taste in my mouth.

Also Wyatt loses another Mania match that he really shouldn't have :/

[The Manhattan Mauler]

Drew Vs .Bobby: 4.25/5

Tag Team Turmoil: 2/5

Cesaro Vs. Rollins: 3.75/5

Raw Tag Title Match: 3.25/5

Brain Vs. Braunnnnnnn: 3/5

Bunny & Priest Vs. Miz & Morrison: 3.75/5 (WOW!)

Bianca Vs. Banks: 4/5


Orton Vs. Fiend: 1/5

Womens Tag Title Match: 3.25/5

Zayn Vs. Owens: 3.75/5

Riddle Vs. Sheamus: 3.75

Crews Vs. Big E: 2.75/5

Rhea Vs. Asuka: 2.5/5

Bryan Vs. Reigns Vs. Edge: 4.75/5

I'm really happy this show was this good. Night 1 especially was a big surprise!

[The Manhattan Mauler]

Apr 11, 2021 23:14:44 GMT -5 Another 8MWR Tag Champion said:

Here's my ratings for both nights -

Rain delay - Fuck you Mother Nature. On the bright side, we got to see all the best superstars do unscripted promos. A bit crazy, but it all turned out okay. Also, why is "Save Your Tears" the theme for WrestleMania this year? It doesn't make me hyped or anything of the sort :/

(WWE Championship) Bobby Lashley (c) vs Drew McIntyre - The right man won here, and the finish also made McIntyre still look strong. It went on for a long time though, and MVP shouting distracted Drew? Eh. Right down the middle for me. (⭐⭐⭐)

Women's Tag Team Turmoil - The weakest match of night one for me, also went for too long. Lana and Naomi getting eliminated first kinda sucked. Also, seeing Billie Kay here made me miss the Iiconics. Also, Tamina/Natalya won. Tamina and Nia Jax in the same match. Woohoo. One star. (⭐)

Cesaro vs Seth Rollins - I think we all knew that this could be the sleeper match. And it delivered. Cesaro was the star here, 23 giant swings in a row and a UFO, a move which spits in the face of physics. Rollins did a great job selling to. Good match. (⭐⭐⭐⭐.5)

(RAW Tag Team Championship) - New Day (c) vs AJ Styles and Omos - I think I'm in the minority that really enjoyed this match. Good storytelling, and Omos with a stellar in-ring debut. He's still a bit green, but he has potential. And plus, the pop that AJ got when he finally tagged in Omos. And AJ is a grand slam champion! Good stuff. (⭐⭐⭐⭐)

Braun Strowman vs Shane McMahon - The build for this match was extraordinarily shite. But it's a Shane McMahon match, so the only thing that kept me going was that I knew Shane was going to take an epic bump. He did. A very fun match which was hurt by it's poor build. (⭐⭐⭐.25)

Miz and Morrison vs Bad Bunny/Damian Priest - Wow. This was the match I was least excited for, and it overdelivered. Bad Bunny with an epic WrestleMania moment and honestly made me forget that Priest was in this match. Best WrestleMania celebrity match, hands down. And also one of the best matches in general. (⭐⭐⭐⭐)

(SD Women's Championship) Sasha Banks (c) vs Bianca Belair - I never thought that Bad Bunny could be a tough act to follow. But this was absolutely the right call, making this the main event. Everything about this match was great, hair whip was glorious, and you could see Bianca really wanted this. 5 stars. (⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐)

Night 1 was amazing, and 5 out of 7 matches overdelivered. McIntyre vs Lashley was also a solid opening - the tag team turmoil was the only weak spot. And Night 2 was better than Night 1 on paper. I was so, so hyped. But then...

----------

Randy Orton vs The Fiend - The only thing I liked about this match was Randy's gear. None of this made sense. This should've been an epic match to end this long feud, but it stunk. Hard (-⭐, that's right, negative stars)

(Women's Tag Team Title Match) Baszler/Jax (c) vs Tamina/Natalya - I can now see why "Save Your Tears" is the theme song. I want to cry. This match wasn't great and went longer than I would've liked, taking away precious time from some other matches (see the IC title match). Better than the opener, but still downright bad. (⭐)

Kevin Owens vs Sami Zayn - Fun match, but needed a bit more time. Wasn't as spectacular as it could've been tho. Appreciate the Logan Paul Stunner at the end. (⭐⭐⭐)

(US Championship) Riddle vs Sheamus - My internet started to play up during this match, but I saw the start and the end. Some good stuff during this match, end was pretty cool. I don't think Sheamus needed this win though (⭐⭐⭐.25)

(Intercontinental Championship) Big E (c) vs Apollo Crews - This match should've been great, but they were given nowhere NEAR enough time. Hot start, decent finish, it needed to go way longer. Big E just looks weak. (⭐⭐)

(RAW Women's Championship) Asuka (c) vs Rhea Ripley - Back and forth action. Nothing spectacular, but it was still a good match. Congratulations Rhea! (⭐⭐⭐.5)

(Universal Championship) Roman Reigns (c) vs Edge vs Daniel Bryan - The video hype package before this was amazing. The match admittedly got off to a slow start, but the end was amazing. Edge's crossface to Reigns with the bit of the chair was epic, and Daniel Bryan then applying the Yes Lock. Amazing. And what do you do when you can't decide who takes the pin? Pin 'em both! Reigns looks even more dominant, but also his weak spots are starting to show. Excellent. (⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐)

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This is definitely Top 10 Mania. Night 1 was excellent, and Night 2 was a bit shaky but finished strong.

Bayley, despite not having a match, was great as the role of host-- oh, sorry. Titus O'Neil and Hulk Hogan were hosts (which was incredibly awkward) and they were horseshite. Bayley's segments were great.

The segment before Night 2 main event made me angry. Whoever thought that getting the Bella Twins to beat up Bayley was a good idea should be shot immediately. And the crowd hated it too, you could hear the boos behind the artificial cheers.

The road to WrestleMania was also shitty. This really could've stunk. A lot. But the live crowd and the actual matches saved this show from total failure.

I give this show ⭐⭐⭐.75

I do agree Orton Vs. Fiend was really bad. Should've been a firefly funhouse match and failing that a squash match win for spooky clown would've been excellent for the Fiend. Shame the storyline I enjoyed WAY too much ended so poorly and opened the show..

[Another 8MWR Tag Champion]

Apr 11, 2021 23:14:44 GMT -5 Another 8MWR Tag Champion said:

Randy Orton vs The Fiend - The only thing I liked about this match was Randy's gear. None of this made sense. This should've been an epic match to end this long feud, but it stunk. Hard (-⭐, that's right, negative stars)

Huh. Dave Meltzer agreed.