Open: Tinashe is in the ring to perform a rendition of ‘America, The Beautiful’, complete with a fly-over by fighter jets and a “USA” chant.

Video: “You’ve come from all around the world, all walks of life, all in search of that feeling. That emotion, that one thing that takes your breath away and leaves an impression that lasts forever. The time has come once again to gather for that universal rush. Now, buckle up and let yourself go, let the moments take you where you least expect in a worldwide convergence on the ultimate thrill ride.” This is WrestleMania.

In The Arena: The New Day heads to the squared circle with Kofi riding the New Day Pops cart, Woods says they’re honored to be hosting WrestleMania because there were a lot of people being looked at for the job. Xavier talks about seeing the mightiest colliding in battle tonight for the people’s enjoyment, Kingston stating there will be joy and excitement, as well as moments where you may need to blow your nose on the shirt in front of you. E says it’s officially time to “pull their levers”, Kofi & Woods scold him, but he corrects himself and claims it’s time to pull “the lever” to kickoff the show.

Match #1: Shane McMahon vs. AJ Styles
Shane squares up with AJ and Styles ducks into the ropes, has some words for the Commissioner, they tie-up, AJ with a side headlock, then pushes McMahon away. Another collar & elbow and Shane-O-Mac hooks on a top wristlock, The Phenomenal One counters to a hammerlock, Shane reverses to a side headlock, but Styles counters back to one of his own. Shane shoves him off to the ropes and gets knocked down by a shoulder block, AJ goes back into the ropes, McMahon leapfrogs over, Styles puts on the brakes and snapmares him over. He mocks the Commissioner, Shane-O-Mac pulls himself back up, they lock-up again and Shane with a single-leg takedown, then brings AJ down with a side headlock.

The Phenomenal One squirms away and rushes in, gets caught with multiple arm drags, the Commissioner rolls him up for a 1 count and AJ quickly rolls outside to regroup, Shane returning the favor by taunting him. Styles takes his time stepping back inside, The Phenomenal One clobbers him with a right hand, Shane comes back with a series of lefts-and-rights, unloads on AJ in the corner and the official tries to create a break. Styles looks to surprise him with a kick that’s blocked, Shane-O-Mac rocks him with a spinning back elbow, uncorks more stiff shots, but gets pulled to the outside by the pants. Styles hits the ropes and sends Shane flying over the announce table with a baseball slide, The Phenomenal One goes out it pursuit, rams him head-first off the apron, tosses the Commissioner back into the squared circle, then buries stiff kicks into the chest.

AJ hits the ropes and scores with a knee drop, pummels McMahon with forearms in the corner, the official backs him away, Styles charges back in and delivers a clothesline for a 2 count. He continues to hammer Shane with right hands, the Commissioner starts to fire back, Styles looks for the Phenomenal Blitz, Shane-O-Mac ducks the clothesline, buts staggers to the corner after a kick to the ribs. AJ runs in and gets elevated over the top, lands on his feet on the apron, attempts to springboard back in, McMahon takes him out at the legs and Styles crashes to the mat. He connects with a flurry of jabs, whips Styles to the ropes for a jumping back elbow, throws him with a standing back body drop, then hits an Olympic Slam for a 2 count.

The Commissioner hauls AJ up for a suplex, The Phenomenal One slips out of it, scores with a kick to the leg, cracks Shane with the Ushigaroshi, then hooks him for the Styles Clash. McMahon powers out of it to drive Styles into the turnbuckles, takes a breather, The Phenomenal One surprises him with the Calf Crusher, but Shane counters into a rear naked choke, then switches to a cross armbreaker. AJ tries to work out of it, Shane-O-Mac switches into a roll-up for 2, both guys are back up quick, run in for a clothesline and connect to double down. The Phenomenal One rolls out to the apron, McMahon reaches over the ropes to get him, gets dropped throat-first on the top rope, Styles back to his feet and springboards in with a 450 splash, but gets caught in a triangle.

AJ finds his footing and dead-lifts Shane up, plants him with the Styles Clash, but the Commissioner just gets a shoulder up before the 3 count. Both guys stumble back to a standing position and trade-off blows, Shane drives AJ intot he corner with knees, the referee tries to separate them, Styles looks for an enzuigiri, McMahon ducks it and the official gets drilled instead. Shane quickly looks for a clothesline, The Phenomenal One avoids it, connects with the Pele Kick, AJ realizes the ref is down, rolls to the outside and pulls a couple of garbage cans out, throwing them into the squared circle. Styles drags McMahon to the corner, positions the trash can in front of him, steps out to the apron on the other side of the ring, then goes upstairs for his own version of Coast To Coast.

Shane pops to his feet and clobbers AJ in mid-air with the can, sets The Phenomenal One in the corner, places the other garbage can in front of him and heads upstairs, scoring with Coast To Coast. The official starts to come to his senses, Shane-O-Mac makes a cover, but AJ barely kicks out before the 3 count. He rolls to the outside and starts to clear off the announce table, drags Styles out and lays him across it, climbs to the high-rent district for the elbow drop, but The Phenomenal One rolls out of harm’s way, Shane crashing through the table. AJ hauls McMahon up and sends him inside, climbs up to the apron, springboards in for the Phenomenal Forearm, gets caught and then spiked with a DDT.

The Commissioner pulls him near the corner, ascends to the top for a shooting star press, nobody’s home, Styles heads back to the apron and this time connects with the Phenomenal Forearm to finish it.
Winner: AJ Styles (Phenomenal Forearm)

• EA’s Take: Surprising choice for an opener, but an excellent one at that. I think this was put in that spot to really set the tone and boy, they sure did. I knew that without this being a Street Fight or something of the sort, Shane would pull some stuff out of his arsenal we haven’t seen for years and years, which he definitely did with that shooting star press. The correct choice was made here, Styles is arguably the best wrestler on the planet and really has no business losing to Shane. Did he deserve a more high-profile match? Probably, but this is a damn good secondary option and they delivered.

Match #2 for the WWE United States Championship: Kevin Owens vs. WWE United States Champion Chris Jericho
Both guys rush right in with heavy right hands at the bell, Owens goes to the breadbasket with a knee, hits the ropes, gets taken down by a double leg and the champion hooks on the Walls Of Jericho early. The Prize Fighter quickly squirms to the ropes and outside, Y2J surprises him with a baseball slide, comes off the top with a double axe handle, bounces the challenger off the steel steps, then throws him into the ring. Jericho ascends the corner and comes off the top with a right hand, pummels KO with shots to the back of the head, whips him into the corner and follows in, but gets dropped by a superkick.

The Prize Fighter unloads with heavy fists, measures the champion in the corner, squashes him with the Cannonball and Y2J rolls to the apron against the ring post. Owens steps out, delivers another Cannonball against the steel, Jericho falls to the floor and KO sends him back in for a 1 count. He buries stiff kicks to the spine, trash talks The Ayatollah of Rock & Rollah, then grinds him down with a rear chinlock. The champion tries to work back to his feet, KO hits the ropes for a kick to the chest, follows with the running senton, hooks the leg and gains a count of 2. He batters Y2J with crossface shots, slaps him in the mouth multiple times, hits the ropes and Jericho explodes up with a dropkick.

The challenger rolls out to the apron for a breather, Jericho springs off the 2nd rope and knocks him to the floor with a dropkick, slides out after him, but gets driven back-first into the apron. Owens sets for a powerbomb and gets tossed by a back body drop, the champion levels The Prize Fighter with multiple shoulder blocks, pushes him into the squared circle, then goes upstairs for a back elbow that gets 2. He puts the bad-mouth on the challenger and hits stinging chops in the corner, irish whip across is reversed, Y2J hops up-and-over as KO follows in, looks to surprise him with a Codebreaker, but it’s blocked and Owens plants him with a package powersbomb for a 2 count.

The Prize Fighter steps out to the apron, ascends the corner to the top, the champion hits the ropes to crotch him on the top turnbuckle, climbs up after him and delivers a super hurricanrana, but still can’t finish it. He hauls Owens up for a knee to the ribs, irish whip to the ropes is reversed, the challenger ducks down for a back body drop, eats a kick, Y2J scores with the running bulldog, then springs off the ropes for the Lionsault. KO rolls out of the way, Jericho lands on his feet, turns into a superkick, The Prize Fighter rolls to a cover, but only gains a count of 2. He heads back to the top turnbuckle and looks for the Bullfrog Splash, the champion gets the knees up, attempts the Lionsault again, this time Owens gets the knees up, then ascends the corner once more.

He takes flight with a senton bomb, Y2J gets the knees up into the spine, both guys pull themselves back to their feet and the champion goes for the Walls Of Jericho. The Prize Fighter powers his way out of it, swings wildly with a clothesline, The Ayatollah of Rock & Rollah ducks it, hits the ropes for a crossbody, but gets caught and driven down with a modified White Noise for a near fall. He drags the champion back up and sends him to the ropes for the Pop-Up Powerbomb, Y2J lands on his feet, rocks him with a back elbow, finally connects with the Lionsault, but still can’t put it away. Jericho brings KO back up and tries to send him to the corner, the challenger reverses, runs into a back elbow, Y2J charges out for a hurricanrana, but it’s blocked and Owens hooks on his own Walls Of Jericho.

The champion rolls his way out, The Prize Fighter catapults him into the corner, Y2J lands on his feet on the 2nd rope, comes off and gets clocked by a superkick. He builds a head of steam and rushes in for the Cannonball, this time he’s caught, The Ayatollah of Rock & Rollah slaps on the Walls Of Jericho, but KO crawls to the bottom rope to force the break. Y2J puts the boots to him, runs in for a clothesline, Owens ducks it, plants him with a Pop-Up Powerbomb, hooks the leg, but only gets 2. The Prize Fighter can’t believe it, pulls the champion up by the hair and trash talks him, slaps Y2J across the face and attempts another Pop-Up Powerbomb.

Jericho counters in mid-air with a Codebreaker, crawls to a cover, KO reaches out and just gets a finger on the ropes at 2. The challenger stirs around and spills to the floor, ties Jericho up in the ropes as he steps out, connects with a superkick to the knee, then drives him into the apron with a powerbomb. He shoves the champion into the ring, slides into a cover and we have a new champion.
Winner and NEW WWE United States Champion: Kevin Owens (Apron Powerbomb)

• EA’s Take: First off, I have to say that I didn’t find this to be a bad match by any means and I actually quite enjoyed it, but not as much as Shane/AJ. Don’t get me wrong, these are two of the best in the world (no pun intended), but I was hoping to see something more, I wanted to see more of those innovative moves that KO has yet to pull out in the WWE. We know that Jericho’s sticking around a little bit longer, so I don’t think these guys are finished, likely with a rematch coming at Payback.

Match #3 is a Fatal 4-Way Elimination Match for the RAW Women’s Championship: RAW Women’s Champion Bayley vs. Nia Jax vs. Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte Flair
The bell rings and Charlotte charges Nia, gets driven backwards into the corner, Sasha & Bayley join the fight, but Jax makes them all pay. She sends Sasha into the corner to sandwich the champion squashes them with a splash, tosses Banks to the floor, then delivers a banzai drop to Bayley. The Queen tries to attack her from behind, unloads with trademark chops, irish whip to the corner is reversed, Charlotte flips herself to the apron, but gets thrown to the floor into Sasha & Bayley. The Huggable One pulls herself back to the apron, The Boss climbs up next to her, Charlotte joins them and they step in to surround Jax.

Banks goes to the leg, they all deliver heavy shots, Sasha & Bayley hooks her for a back suplex, The Queen with a big boot to assist them and covers for a count of 2. Nia swats the champion to the outside, kicks The Boss away, shoves Charlotte into the corner and rushes in with a splash, then goes to the 2nd rope for another banzai drop. The Huggable One climbs up to distract her, they all plant Jax into the mat with a triple powerbomb, pile on top of her and get the 3 count. Nia Jax has been eliminated. The Queen calls for a high-five with Sasha & Bayley, they look puzzled and Charlotte slides to the outside to get away, the champion and Banks now squaring off.

They tie-up and back to the ropes, Charlotte pulls Bayley to the outside, The Boss hits the ropes for a somersault plancha, The Queen avoids it and the champion gets hit instead. Charlotte climbs to the apron, ascends the corner to the top rope, takes flight with a corkscrew moonsault and takes out both of her opponents. She drives Banks into the ring post, rolls her back inside, tries for Natural Selection, The Boss blocks it and hooks on the Bank Statement. Charlotte quickly slips out of it, looks for the Figure Eight, gets kicked away to the corner, Sasha charges in, but gets cracked with a modified backbreaker. The Queen follows with an STO for a count of 2, rips off the 2nd turnbuckle pad, gets surprised from behind with a schoolboy for 2, trades shots with Banks and hits the ropes, but runs into a heavy forearm.

The Boss tries to shoot her across, Charlotte reverses, gets thrown to the corner with a tilt-a-whirl headscissors and Sasha runs in for another forearm. The Queen elevates her over the top, Banks lands on her feet on the apron, comes off the top with double knees and gains a near fall. She quickly hooks on the Bank Statement, Charlotte powers to her feet, The Boss flips around, rolls her up for a 2 count, but gets sent face-first into the exposed turnbuckle off the kick-out, The Queen covering for the elimination. Sasha Banks has been eliminated. The champion pulls herself back into the ring and unleashes a barrage of forearm shots, Charlotte goes to the knee with a kick to stop the onslaught, drives Bayley’s leg into the exposed turnbuckle, then climbs upstairs for a moonsault.

The Huggable One avoids it and hooks the leg for a 2 count, looks to go up top herself, gets caught in mid-air and The Queen slaps on the Figure Eight. The champion drags herself to the ropes to force the break, Charlotte goes right to work on the bad knee, hooks Bayley in the tree of woe, then climbs up to deliver more punishment to the joint. She drags the champion up to the top turnbuckle, Bayley surprises her with stiff forearm shots, back body drops her down to the canvas, but can’t unhook herself. The Queen charges back in and only finds the exposed turnbuckle, The Huggable One climbs upstairs, connects with a diving elbow drop and puts it away.
Winner and STILL RAW Women’s Champion: Bayley (Top Rope Elbow Drop)

• EA’s Take: I was immediately disappointed when Nia was the first one eliminated, that was a great opportunity to elevate someone new to the top of the RAW Women’s Division, but unfortunately it didn’t happen. This did not live up to the billing for me, if you were going to have Bayley win it, then she should have come in as a challenger. It would have been so much better of a moment had she not already won the title. The biggest question I have is, now what? Where do you go? Are we going to get that much talked about Sasha heel turn? Quite honestly, I just really had my heart set on someone new getting the title. It would have been so refreshing.

Pages: 1 2 3 4 5