While I'm genuinely excited by the potential WrestleMania lineup coming up.... on paper, this show feels more like a speedbump than the final stop on the Road To WrestleMania.
Sasha Banks & Bianca Belair vs. Nia Jax & Shayna Baszler had a very "last Saturday Night's Main Event before WrestleMania" vibe to it -- which is not a bad thing at all! Although the match itself wasn't anything spectacular, Belair looked quite strong here, and this definitely builds intrigue to their upcoming title match at Mania.
I was looking forward to Big E vs. Apollo Crews match.... but it ended up really being nothing more than an angle. Meh. The Old Spice commercial was better booked.
Ugh? Braun Strowman vs. Elias?!? No comment.
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Seth Rollins was much better than I'd expected to be. Both guys had a bit more fire than usual and it produced a decent result. I wonder where Rollins goes from here for Mania - a match with Cesaro?
Drew McIntyre vs. Sheamus was their usual well-above-average match, and the No Holds Barred stipulation allowed them to level things up somewhat. It definitely felt like a blowoff of their rivalry and played off their 20-year friendship much better than anything else has to date. The Braveheart war paint was a nice touch as well. A tremendously-brutal match that will only help up to build up McIntyre for his big WrestleMania match.
Alexa Bliss versus Randy Orton was.... well, something. It was fine as a creepy AF angle to give us the newest incarnation of The Fiend and I actually enjoyed the entire segment.
Daniel Bryan vs. Roman Reigns was exactly what the doctor ordered to turn this into a definitive 'thumbs up' show. Not to be too cliched, but it definitely had a big fight feel and was one of Daniel Bryan's better matches since his return. He's legitimately better now than he was in 2014. Roman Reigns has transformed into the best heel in the business, bar none, but it's so much more entertaining when he has someone great to play off of. I also like how they didn't use Edge until they absolutely needed to. DAMN GOOD MATCH! Does this set up a Triple Threat Match for Mania now?
Overall, this was a top-heavy show with the final 90 minutes or so much better than the first portion.