I watched WrestleMania Night 2 last night in the presence of friends. People. Community. Some guy named Craig. I got a little emotional about it. There’s texting and tweeting and blogging and then there is just being with the boys, talking shop and half-watching whatever WWE chose to do that particular evening.
WWE returns to the Thunderdome tomorrow, but if anything was clear this weekend the energy of “people” — even those packed together in questionably close quarters — is what makes this whole thing go round.
1. The Fiend w/ Alexa Bliss vs. Randy Orton
How did it all begin with this, though? The entrance was incredible, and by that I mean Randy Orton’s entrance where he reacted with an actual excitement over his reaction then passive aggressively meandered down the ramp for the rest of it to probably how dangerous it was and probably prove a point to some production guy in the back probably assigned a project by his boss at the last minute. Corporate America, man.
Wyatt’s tribute to Brodie Lee was beautiful, but the rest was just bad special effects and embarrassing pro wrestling. Stop insisting on this, especially if you’re going to execute it so poorly. DUD
2. WWE Women’s Tag Team Title: Nia Jax & Shayna Baszler [c] vs. Natalya & Tamina
There was a choice made to follow Alexa Bliss’ face erupting in a black liquid with this, the second-longest match on the show. It’s the kind of match that compels even a group of friends not gathered together in a while to look at their cell phones, that kind of match.
Occasionally someone got hit in the face here for real, and that upped the intensity if not the quality. It was just sad though, an indictment on whatever potential Nia and Shayna used to have and general waste of time considering how many ladies WWE could be showcasing here — at WrestleMania, man! The bodyslam Nia Jax and Tamina were building to looked like shit when it happened, too. Sometimes it’s just bad. *
3. Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn w/ Logan Paul
Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn got 10 minutes to do their thing at WrestleMania and didn’t waste a second. This is no layered or violent classic of the past, but they’re wise enough now to know they don’t necessarily need to do that. The system is the system: sometimes it gets changed, but work through its’ confinements and you may pop out something beautiful within it.
Kevin and Sami are the MOVES guys so they did MOVES, all the moves. Every single move. Suplexes on the neck, kicks to the face — this is what we like, folks! Logan Paul way over-performed too, proper mark-outs at ringside and a tremendous tall guy bump after the match for Owens’ Stunner. ***3/4
4. WWE U.S. Title: Riddle [c] vs. Sheamus
The tough guy match is one of the only things that works in the Thunderdome, though it still works in real life too. Pro wrestlers hitting each other hard doesn’t really go out of style, folks. Helps when the two guys doing it are credible and just good as far as hard-hitting goes. The slip on the top rope Celtic Cross was a brief bummer, but after Sheamus countered a Lionsault mid-air with a Brouge kick (!!) it just didn’t really matter. Go back and watch Sheamus’ top rope kneedrop here too – that could be a finisher itself. ***1/2
5. Nigerian Drum Fight – WWE Intercontinental Title: Big E [c] vs. Apollo Crews
Did they even use a drum? I don’t think so, but in the moment the Nigerian Drum Fight was a blast: something completely different, something that should have opened the show if we’re dropping “thoughts” here. They got 7 minutes — seven — but like Owens and Zayn, packed enough big moments in to make it a whole match. Those kendo stick shots were on a space of their own and Dabo-Katto’s back too as some kind of Nigerian commander, what a trip this was. The WWF is back. ***1/2
6. RAW Women’s Title: Asuka [c] vs. Rhea Ripley
This hit: the character, the wrestling, the result. There was an actual feel of struggle here, badass GAWD Ripley not afraid of Asuka’s bullshit at the bell and just bringing it to her all match. It created an interesting pace, which made all the physical and solid pro wrestling work that much more. The Riptide Outta Nowhere finish was perfect too; unstoppable Asuka just got caught by the new dominance in town. It wasn’t in a spot to be epic, but it got across what it needed to at the same time. ***1/2
Things that made me sigh: Hulk Hogan says “yo, yo, brothers!” Hulk Hogan dresses up as a pirate. The Bella Twins beat up Bayley and dance with Hulk Hogan.
7. Triple Threat Match – WWE Universal Title: Roman Reigns [c] w/ Paul Heyman vs. Edge vs. Daniel Bryan
As a wise man once said, we live in a society.
Sorry. But this is a type of match. Most know what the deal is. WWE is good at this kind of match, but it’s kind of silly sometimes too. Daniel Bryan was giggling before it! Not because he doesn’t take it seriously, but due to the weight of the ridiculousness that he is once again here — in a silly main event of WrestleMania. He built a legend on being the wrestler’s wrestler, but if he wants the Big One he’s doing dueling crossfaces with Edge and getting powerbombed through a table. That’s just how this works now.
It does kind of work, too. It works for what people expect, both those who follow WWE and those who don’t. It delivers The Wrestling Experience, which WWE tries really hard to ensure is just professional wrestling. There’s wrestling holds and dives, aggressive interference and manager reactions. There’s two men trying to hit a spear simultaneously and colliding skulls mid-air along with other stuff that just generally makes you go WHOA. They tie it in a package that’s a little all over the place and can occasionally run together but it is impressive in how they actually do package it all together.
Great finish, great WrestleMania event. ****
Happy Thoughts: This felt more consistent in-ring than last night, though the vibes of the FIRST audience back plus Sasha/Bianca puts Night 1 slightly ahead. It’s been bad vibes with WWE most of the year, but good vibes for WrestleMania. Well done. 3.75 / 5.0
