There were a number of moments which were just magical and reminded us all why it’s great to be a wrestling fan. I’m here to remind all of you about those moments and make my case as to why this was an excellent WrestleMania…inspite of the fact that Roman Reigns was booked too strong yet again.
A number of matches up and down the card delivered on the hype which had been built. So, without further ado, here are 5 matches at WrestleMania 33 which were booked perfectly:
#5 Neville vs Austin Aries
Going first on the preshow is never a nice feeling. Not only are you relegated from the main card but you’re also performing in front of a half-empty arena. Not a nice feeling, at all. Despite these handicaps, Neville and Austin Aries put on a fabulous match for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship.
It was everything you would expect out of a cruiserweight match with the high-flying and technical wrestling coming to the fore in a back and forth contest which was much much better than its place on the undercard suggested.
Neville would eventually channel his heelishness to attack Aries’ recently healed orbital socket and then deliver a jaw-dropping Red Arrow to pick up the victory. It perfectly sets up their inevitable rematch and also did a great job on emphasising past events such as Aries’ injury.
These two are making a real effort to rebuild the reputation of the Cruiserweight Division.
#4 Chris Jericho vs. Kevin Owens
There wasn’t much chance that this match wouldn’t live up to expectations, but there was a very real possibility that the WWE was going to mess up the finish. And, it was very easy to mess up the finish in this one. Anything except a clean Kevin Owens victory would have brought an unsatisfactory end to a fabulous tale between these two former best friends.
The WWE handled it correctly as the two went back and forth for 16 minutes before KO channelled the ruthlessness he has regained since his betrayal to Powerbomb Y2J onto the apron and walk away as the new WWE United States Champion.
With it unlikely that he is going to return to the WWE Universal Championship picture in the near future, this was the perfect way to ensure that Owens’ reputation as a fearsome wrestler was restored. Excellent booking from back to front.
#3 AJ Styles vs. Shane McMahon
Well, who would’ve thought that we would be seeing this match on the list? Ever since it was announced that AJ Styles’ opponent for WrestleMania would be Shane McMahon, the WWE Universe has been up in arms protesting.
But, the two proved everyone wrong to have one of the matches of the night as they went at it for over 20 minutes. It had everything from mat wrestling to striking to the high-risk manoeuvres that Shane O’Mac has become famous for.
Also read: 5 Botches, slip-ups, and outrageous moments from WWE WrestleMania 33
Thankfully for everyone involved, the WWE also allowed AJ to have his first major WrestleMania moment as he picked up the victory with a devastating Phenomenal Forearm after Shane missed with a Shooting Star Press. A Shooting Star Press from Shane McMahon. That by itself deserves a place on this list.
All in all, the two stole the show.
#2 Seth Rollins vs. Triple H
This is the one match where everyone was fearful of the result. Would Triple H actually take another loss and put over his protege, Seth Rollins? We can all rest easy as he indeed took the loss, but it was more than that. The way the match was built made this the match of the night.
The Unsanctioned Match went over 25 minutes and saw some truly spellbinding piece of storytelling and wrestling between the two men. It was crafted wonderfully, especially the whole Rollins knee injury bit. And, how good was it to see Stephanie McMahon crash through a table?
The final sequence with each both Rollins and Trips countering each other’s attempts at the Pedigree leading to the Stephanie table spot and then to The Architect hitting The Pedigree to secure the well-deserved win? Superb stuff.
Hats off to both men and Stephanie as well. It would be Number 1 on this list except for the utter delight our next entry gave us…
#1 The Club vs Enzo & Cass vs Cesaro & Sheamus vs The Hardy Boyz
The Hardy Boyz returned to the WWE on The Grandest Stage of Them All and won the WWE Raw Tag Team Championships in a Ladder Match. Is there a more perfect sentence in all of WWE than that?
I don’t think so. The match itself was good but nothing special. What made it truly special was the unexpected return and the following triumph of one of the most beloved tag teams in the world today.
It’s good to have you back, Matt and Jeff.
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