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WrestleMania 34, Raw, and Smackdown Live after Mania
Wow, so much has happened over the past few days. Here is a post of what happened at WrestleMania, and what we got on the Raw and Smackdown Live after Mania.
Overall being at WrestleMania 34 was an amazing experience. I felt that the card was stacked with not one single match that wasn’t exciting or at times surprising. For me, the biggest moment was seeing Charlotte defeat Asuka. It was not what I had predicted would happen, but it was what should’ve happened, because if you saw the match, there is no other person who could’ve ended Asuka’s streak but Charlotte. At some point, she had to lose, and there is no other superstar who could’ve dealt her that without it feeling like a real “loss”. So let’s start at the top and recap what else happened and some thoughts.
Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal
Winner: Matt Hardy with the help of Bray Wyatt
The Battle Royal was a very exciting match to watch, and though my prediction was wrong (and Elias wasn’t even in it), Matt Hardy winning was fantastic and getting to see the new Bray Wyatt (not only at WrestleMania, but also last night on Raw) has started a great story and really gotten me invested in the Woken saga.
Cruiserweight Championship
Winner: Cedric Alexander
After building toward WrestleMania with the Cruiserweight tournament, Cedric Alexander came away with the championship over Mustafi Ali.
Women’s Inaugural Battle Royal
Winner: Naomi
After what seemed was a sure victory for Bayley after eliminating Sasha Banks, Naomi, who had not been eliminated, surprised Bayley in the ring, eliminating her and becoming the first Women’s Battle Royal winner.
On Smackdown Live, Naomi is enjoying a moment backstage when Nattie enters, pointing out that no one wanted Naomi to win. A few verbal jabs between the two (“Naomi, neon is so 7th grade, Nattie, whining is so 7th grade”) sets up a great match between the two, and Naomi comes out victorious.
Intercontinental Championship
Winner: Seth Rollins
If I had realized that Seth Rollins had never held the IC Title and would need it to become a grand slam champion, I may have chosen him to win. But I had picked The Miz, assuming he would retain to become the longest reigning champion. That did not occur though, Seth won in what was an electric match, getting the title for the first time and becoming the final member of the Shield to be a grand slam champion.
At Raw, he would team with Finn Balor and Jeff Hardy (yup, he’s back!) in a six man tag team match against The Miz and The Miztourage, coming away with the win. The Miz also let us know that he’d like to invoke his rematch at Backlash, but it seems that Seth will defend before then in a ladder match at The Greatest Royal Rumble in Saudi Arabia at the end of the month.
Smackdown Live Women’s Championship
Winner(s): Charlotte at WrestleMania then Carmella on Smackdown Live
Charlotte and Asuka had a phenomenal match. Charlotte put Asuka into the Figure 8, and trying to push it further, did it one handed! As I said above, the best possible way to end Asuka’s streak was by the queen, who is, in my opinion, the best superstar, male or female, in the WWE today. At the end, Asuka was very humble stating that, “Charlotte was ready for Asuka,” which was very unexpected. My only critique is that, at the end, as the women were exiting, a ref ran out to let Cena know something (as he sat in the crowd), and I wish they could’ve let the women’s exits finish before diverting our attention.
On Smackdown Live, as Charlotte addresses the crowd after her much deserved win over Asuka, Billie Kay and Peyton Royce (The Iconics) from NXT come up to challenge the Queen – after a very rough beat down on Charlotte, including a power bomb on the floor, Charlotte was not in good shape, allowing Ms. Money in the Bank to successfully cash in and become the newest Smackdown Live women’s champion.
United States Championship
Winner: Jinder Mahal
After so much anticipation built for Rusev Day, the win goes to Jinder Mahal. On Smackdown, we got a triple threat match between Bobby Roode, Rusev Day, and Randy Orton for US Championship #1 contender at Backlash. Randy Orton wins to face Jinder Mahal, revisiting a great rivalry, for the US Championship
Mixed Tag Team Match
Winner: Ronda Rousey and Kurt Angle
First off, Ronda Rousey’s ring gear looked great for her. This match was everything I wanted it to be. It took Ronda from the “cutesy” persona that she has shown lately, and made her look very strong (I mean, she put Triple H up on her shoulders!) With a submission arm hold on Stephanie, Ronda gets her to tap out. This was a solid match for Ronda.
At Raw, Stephanie attempted to apologize. Ronda accepted for about a second, and then put her in another hold, inflicting even more pain to the already injured arm of Stephanie McMahon. I cannot wait to see of this Ronda.
Smackdown Live Tag Team Titles
Winner: Bludgeon Brothers
This was an even match I thought, but very short. In the end, the Bludgeon Brothers came out victorious.
For Smackdown, the Usos face the New Day for #1 contender at Greatest Royal Rumble for tag team titles. This match had a lot of great moves, splash off the top ropes on both sides, and very physical. Usos take the win for the #1 contender and the Bludgeon Brothers made a quick appearance at the end.
John Cena and The Undertaker
Winner: The Undertaker
Cena comes out, and no Undertaker. Lights go down, and it’s…Elias? After a quick beat down, we start to notice something on the ramp as Cena is walking out…smoke. Lights go down and then we notice a spotlight in the ring. The hat and jacket sit there, just as they did last year. Lightning strikes and the hat and jacket disappear. Then we hear the gong. Ooo, I’m getting chills just writing about it. The match was short, but it was perfect. Taker and Cena gave us everything, and Taker ended with a tombstone drop (not a pile driver – illegal in the state of Louisiana), taking the win, and showing that his work is far from over at WrestleMania.
Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon versus Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens
Winner: Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon
As I said in my previous post, I was very excited for this match, and I’ll say that overall, it did not disappoint. The comeback heard round the world. Sami and Kevin took out Daniel Bryan immediately, leaving Shane to carry the match. Daniel was able to get back and show us that he is back, with some of his best moves looking like he hasn’t missed a day. Daniel and Shane win.
Sami and Kevin showed up at Raw, looking for a job from Kurt Angle. Kurt only had one spot available, allowing them to face each other for it. In the end, Kevin and Sami both got counted out, so they both lost, and neither have a job now. But don’t worry, Kurt angle heard TNA is hiring (ooh, Kurt, that burns).
On Smackdown Live, we hear that Daniel Bryan has resigned as GM to become a full time wrestler. The new GM is…corporate PAIGE! That was quite unexpected. And, in her first official act, she sets up Daniel Bryan’s first TV match in over 3 years against AJ STYLES! Now, that’s a dream match. The match did not disappoint. Daniel and AJ have very complimentary styles. But we don’t get a winner, unless you want to consider it to be Shinsuke, as he comes in at the end and takes out both AJ and Daniel, delivering another low blow to AJ.
Raw Women’s Championship
Winner: Nia Jax
At the beginning of this match, Nia gets slapped by Alexa. Nia responds by letting out a scream of frustration and anger toward Alexa, who then responds with a scream of fear toward Nia, which I thought was a really nice touch. After a physical match and several near falls, Nia picks up the win and her first Women’s Championship. At Raw, Alexa and Mickie face Nia and the debuting Ember Moon from NXT.
WWE Championship
Winner: AJ Styles
Really cool entrance with Nita Strauss on guitar, but we expect nothing less of Shinsuke’s entrances. What I was hoping for on this match was the appropriate amount of time, and that is what we got. Twenty minutes including entrances. We got a good number of kickouts and near falls. In the end, AJ caught Shinsuke, put him into the Styles clash, and Styles retains the title. At the end, Shinsuke shows some humility, but we get a heel turn as he issues a low blow, setting up a “phenomenal” feud.
Raw Tag Team Championship
Winner: Braun Strowman and Nicholas
My prediction here was that Braun would have no partner and would win the tag team titles all by himself. And, I was close. Braun needed a partner, so he chose someone from the crowd, a 10-year old boy named Nicholas. Nicholas clearly looked star struck, and spent most the match at the side, but did get in for one tag, which he quickly tagged back out of. Braun ended up defeating The Bar, and winning the titles.
On Monday night at Raw, Braun and Nicholas had to relinquish the titles due to scheduling conflicts (i.e., Nicholas is still in school). So what will become of the titles? Kurt set up a tag team tournament for the titles to face Sheamus and Cesaro at the Greatest Royal Rumble. After several matches, going into next week we have The Revival, Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt, and the Authors of Pain, up from NXT.
Universal Championship
Winner: Brock Lesnar
After holding the Universal Title for over a year, the hope of most was that Brock Lesnar would lose to Roman Reigns. And this was a great match, but in the arena, you couldn’t feel that. Roman kicked out of 5 F-5’s and Brock busted him open with an elbow! But, in the end, Brock retains, and we got an announcement Monday morning that he is resigning with WWE.
And if you’re wondering about all the references to the crowd being “an eclectic, international crowd,” on Raw and Smackdown Live, that was a reference to the energy from the crowd the previous night. From the beginning of the Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar fight, the crowd was not into it. We got chants of, “this is awful,” and some beach balls bouncing through the stands. I don’t want to condone those reactions, but I will say that 2-3 weeks is a quick turnover for people who didn’t like Roman Reigns to start cheering for him, and the plan was to get us to hate Brock Lesnar, so if you weren’t on Roman’s side and you don’t like Brock, I can understand no one cheering for that match.
Final thoughts and other items from Raw and Smackdown Live:
-Roman needs to be pitted against a true, hated heel to get the push he needs
-Paige delivered her retirement speech on Monday night and will truly be missed from the ring – now GM on Smackdown Live
-Bobby Lashley re-debuted
-Samoa Joe returned and really delivered a good promo on Roman Reigns
-Next week were getting a superstar shakeup and then in two weeks were getting the Greatest Royal Rumble
-Shinsuke turning heel is going to be great – “Sorry, no speak English”
