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WrestleMania 37 is in the books. It was a show that saw fans finally watching a live WWE event for more than a year. Everyone would continue to state that throughout the two nights. There were great moments, bad moments and weird moments. Case in point, Alexa Bliss here. Here are honest points about the 37th annual showcase of the immortals.
HAVING THE WORLD CHAMPIONS RETAIN WAS A SMART MOVE
As much as everyone wanted Drew McIntyre to have his big moment in front of the Tampa fans (And yes, Tampa minus the Bay), booking Bobby Lashley to retrain makes him as a legitimate heel powerhouse as Raw's world champion. This should have happened in 2018, when he returned. Lashley was put in a difficult situation due to bad storylines during his current tenure. Then, the powers-that-be decided to put him with MVP and magic happened. Lashley had his best year in the WWE. Putting him with the WWE Championship gives Lashley unlimited potential to become one of the best in the company....and hopefully, he gets his match with Brock Lesnar. Fingers crossed.
Everyone knew Reigns was going to retain, but having Edge and Daniel Bryan set him up to succeed at WrestleMania makes Roman a worthy champion as his heel persona becomes more dastardly. I was skeptical about him being the Universal Champion. Then, they added Paul Heyman to the mix. Now, Roman Reigns is a made man. It's nice to talk about him winning in the main event of WrestleMania and not be mad about it.
HAVING THE WOMEN CHAMPIONSHIPS CHANGE HANDS WAS ALSO A SMART MOVE
The women's division needed an uprising. Look at the booking at WrestleMania and tell me it needed a jolt. No respect to Sasha Banks and Asuka, who carried the division. So did Bayley, but that's another story later on. Bianca Belair and Rhea Ripley were top stars in NXT and have the potential to be the top women in the WWE. This company needs to stop relying on Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch to carry them. Time to make stars. Especially, if you have the longest reigning Smackdown women's champion doing segments with Titus O'Neill and Hulk Hogan.
Speaking of which,......
TITUS O'NEILL AND HULK HOGAN WAS CRINGEWORTHY TO WATCH
I get that WWE wanted to offer an olive branch between these two, but clearly, Titus looked uncomfortable and probably was thinking "Why am I paired with this guy?" They want people to forget all the horrible things Hogan said on that leaked sex tape. People won't, unfortunately, due to the internet. Also, having them dress up as pirates on night two was funny. But not ha ha funny. Titus had the week to remember, but this didn't make it memorable.
CESARO AND APOLLO CREWS SHOULD HAVE A GOOD PUSH, NOW.....RIGHT?
Cesaro has been underutilized since his debut in 2012. Yet Michael Cole would state that the fans didn't see his potential. What a tool. Everyone did, however, management continued to put him in tag teams and mid-card situations. The match with one of the best workers in the business, Seth Rollins, was a great opportunity for Cesaro to succeed. Rollins was really willing to put him over since both are good friends and had the one of the best matches in night one. Apollo Crews always had the intangibles to be a huge star in WWE. He won the United States title in 2010, when Paul Heyman was the creative czar of Raw. Then he was fired and Apollo's push was stopped. He went to Smackdown and Daniel Bryan's influence gave him new life. Also, and a gimmick change gives him range. Winning the Intercontinental title gives Crews the push that he needs.
WHAT HAPPENS TO THE TWO SUPERSTARS WHO LOST THEIR MID-CARD TITLES?
For Big E and Matt Riddle, hopefully there is a push. Riddle has been sacked due to sexual assualt allegations, a gimmick where he rides a scooter and numerous quotes portraying a smokable substance. C'mon, you know what he is talking about that. For him, he is talented. However, all of the black clouds surrounding him could stop that. Big E is going to be pushed. The company has been planning his push for years. Losing the IC title doesn't diminish him.
WWE HAS TO CUT DOWN ON CELEBRITIES BEING INVOLVED IN MATCHES
After a couple of nights sleeping on it, I realize that Bad Bunny did what he could in his match at WrestleMania. Yet the company decided to do the narrative and have every media outlet praise his performance, including one stating that he raised the bar on celebrities wrestling. I beg to differ. The Canadian Destroyer that was executed, that was more John Morrison than Bad Bunny. Change my mind. Logan Paul did nothing, absolutely nothing for the Kevin Owens/Sami Zayn but. He just sat at ringside and took a stunner from Owens after the match concluded. The match was solid, but WWE decided to pan on Logan Paul, just sitting there. I understand that WrestleMania is where the celebrities show up and they have done this for years since the first event, but use them correctly.
SHANE MCMAHON NEEDS TO STOP WRESTLING
The man is pushing 50, and isn't in the best shape of his life. His WrestleMania match with Braun Strowman should have never happened due to the worst build-up in history. There have been some stinkers, but this one takes the cake. Even when he flipped off the top of the cage, I felt concerned about his well-being. No more matches when Shane McMahon please.
THERE ARE GOING TO BURY THE FIEND.......AGAIN
I don't know what Wyndham Rotunda, the man who portrays Bray Wyatt, (Breaking kayfabe) did to WWE. Maybe having a relationship with the ring announcer JoJo doesn't do him any favors, but c'mon! He had the most talked about gimmick in recent history. Then the company decided to have him win the Universal Championship, when his gimmick was starting to get off the ground. Wyatt would go on to lose the title in Saudi Arabia to a 52 year old part-timer. At TLC, Bray Wyatt would be "burned alive" by Randy Orton and a very interesting program between the two that lasted for months with Alexa Bliss involved. The Fiend faced off against Orton, then Bliss turned "heel?....and Wyatt gets pinned. Poor Bray Wyatt.
The opening segment where Vince McMahon addresses the crowd with the roster behind him was an excellent moment. The decision to bring fans back at WrestleMania drew a lot of praise from various people.
There you have it. Despite a rain delay that forced the first night to start 45 minutes later, WrestleMania 37 was a solid two night show which could be a platform for positive things in 2021 going forward.
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