But wait, there’s more. After an historic main event on the first night of Wrestlemania 37, the superstars of the WWE are back in business to do it all again. In the main event of Night 2, the Universal Champion, and Head of WWE’s Samoan Dynasty, Roman Reigns, will defend his title match against not one, but two hungry opponents: in one corner, the winner of the 2021 Royal Rumble, Edge; in the other, Daniel Bryan, arguably the best wrestlers of all time. The dominant Raw Women’s Champion, “The Empress of Tomorrow” Asuka, will also defend her championship against The New Nightmare of the WWE, former NXT Women’s Champion, Rhea Ripley, in the latter’s main roster debut. The rivalry between Randy Orton and “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt and Alexa Bliss also comes to a head, as the two meet in a Wrestlemania match for the second time in their careers. Will Wyatt’s deranged new persona make the difference in this meeting from their previous occasion, and what role will Alexa Bliss play?
Three more championships will also be decided on this second night of Wrestlemania action, as the laidback Riddle puts his United States Championship on the line against the Irish brawler, Sheamus; Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax contend with the winners of the Tag Team Turmoil match from Night 1, Natalya & Tamina, for the Women’s Tag Team Championships, and; Big E and Apollo Crews battle once more for the Intercontinental Championship in a Nigerian Drum Fight. Finally, internet and sports sensation Logan Paul joins Sami Zayn as Zayn faces long time friend, partner and now enemy, Kevin Owens.
+ Roman Reigns (c) (w/ Paul Heyman) vs Edge vs Daniel Bryan (WWE Universal Championship): this was fantastic. I was blown away by not only how heated everything in this match was, but the way in which all three guys were seemingly neither 100% good or bad; all three had claims to being in the match themselves and not wanting someone else in the match, and all three clearly wanted the championship for their own reasons. From the beginning of the phenomenal video package until the end of this, this was damn near perfect
+ Asuka vs Rhea Ripley (WWE Raw Women’s Championship): Rhea Ripley’s entrance fell into the same potholes that most of these live band entrances fall into; not as good as just playing their theme song loudly. I’m confused as to which of these two are meant to be the one to get behind: Asuka is clearly the best working woman in the WWE right now, but she’s arroagent; Ripley is the new blood that we’ve all loved in NXT, but she’s being rude. The wrestling itself was good to great, and while the finish felt a bit flat, this was a good semi main event
+ Big E (c) vs Apollo Crews (Nigerian Drum Fight for the WWE Intercontinental Championship): this was a No Disqualification match by another name, but it was good for what it was. The feud has been portrayed as something intense enough to justify the stipulation, and overall I enjoyed the weapon use and intensity from both men. I wasn’t a big fan of the ending and how it came about, but it’s a rare situation where I am happy to see where it goes
+ Riddle (c) vs Sheamus (WWE United States Championship): these two have great chemistry, and this was no exception. Similar to WALTER/Ciampa on Takeover last week, this wasn’t necessarily a pretty match, but if you’re a fan of two tough basters beating the hell out of each other then it was certainly something beautiful
+ Kevin Owens vs Sami Zayn (w/ Logan Paul): fans have been clamouring for a match between these two at Wrestlemania since Owens’ debut in late 2014, though frankly I’d have liked this to be a bigger deal than just “Logan Paul is also here”. I did enjoy the hatred that Logan Paul got from the crowd, and it translated to a lot of love for Kevin Owens, but the way the crowd was singing Zayn’s song shows that he really should be a bigger deal. This was good, overall. JBL on commentary was the worst part this match, as he consistently referenced old (not just older) wrestlers, making the current crop of stars look like nothing but parodies
– Nia Jax & Shayna Baszler (c) vs Natalya & Tamina (WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships): holy crap, Natalya’s implants were wider than my whole body. I really liked any part of this that either Natalya or Baszler was involved in, but Nia Jax is just the absolute god-awful worst wrester in a top position in any company on the planet right now. This was probably the best Tamina has looked in a long time, at least since that Eliminiation Match last year. At least Baszler made Tamina look okay. Still, this was not good, and the fact it was a match between two “bad guy” teams was an odd choice
– Randy Orton vs The Fiend (w/ Alexa Bliss): this kicked off the show, and I need to try and be fair: Orton looked good in white, The Fiend did a short but sweet Brodie Lee tribute, and Alexa Bliss looked GREAT at the end. This was hot garbage, and either The Fiend has run its course, or I need to rethink my constant praise of Bray Wyatt
> I really thought the Big E/Apollo match was going to be surrounded by people playing the drums, which would get faster and louder as the match got more intense. Oh well.
Should you watch this event: This was probably better overall than Night 1, with only two matches (coincidentally or not, the first two) being not worth watching. The main event is an absolute must see match, and you’ll probably get a kick out of Sheamus/Riddle, Owens/Zayn and Asuka/Ripley, as well.
MoshFish Reviews 