Happy WrestleMania Weekend! This blog will be updated throughout the evening, and feel free to check out our Required WrestleMania Reading section for tons of unique columns are articles.
Shinsuke Nakamura & Rick Boogs vs. The Usos wouldn't have necessarily been my choice to open the biggest wrestling show of the year. That said, it wasn't a terrible match or anything. It *was* short, though, and probably could have used a little bit more meat on the bone. Wondering the injury to Boogs was legitimate?
Drew McIntyre vs. Happy Corbin exceeded my expectations (though honestly they weren't very high - I just really dislike this pairing). The Scottish Warrior is still insanely over with the crowd, and I think they want him to succeed. Hopefully this silly feud is over now and Drew can move on to something, anything else. I have to admit - McIntyre cutting the ropes with his sword made for a cool visual.
Rey & Dominik Mysterio vs. The Miz & Logan Paul was WAY better than it had any right to be. Paul obviously has tremendous upside potential and fit in quite well there. Dominik worked his ass off, and it was probably his best match since his debut against Seth Rollins. I enjoyed the hell out of this one, and even the post-match turn came out of nowhere.
Both Bianca Belair and Becky Lynch had killer entrances that made them look like rock stars. It set the tone for one of the best womens matches I've seen since Bayley vs. Sasha Banks at TakeOver all those years ago. It may have even been better than that! Just a tremendous back-and-forth contest and absolutely worth every bit of the WrestleMania moniker. As for Bianca, she's quickly turning into Mrs. WrestleMania.
Never say that WWE doesn't give fans what they want.... The debut of Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania (complete with all of his AEW IP), while hardly a secret, was a big win for WWE. Was it match of the year? Not really. The match moved far too slowly for my liking... though it did really pick up in the final few minutes. But what it did was immediately build Rhodes as a star... which is exactly what this company needs right now. This was a WrestleMania Moment, big time.
Ronda Rousey vs. Charlotte Flair was a very different match than Belair-Lynch from earlier, but that's not to say it wasn't enjoyable. The match was extremely physical and submission-based, which fits the style of both women perfectly. The finish came out of nowhere and was probably the most unexpected part of this evening so far. But there's no reason we can't have Rousey-Flair II some time soon.
I'm so glad that Stone Cold Steve Austin faced Kevin Owens in an actual match instead of a KO Show brawl. After 19 years away from the ring, Austin looked almost as good as ever, and Owens was the perfect foil - selling everything and looking great in the process. It was a (ahem) stupendous WrestleMania match.
Tremendous first night of the show!