Drew McIntyre is the new WWE champion after Claymore’s four kicks against Brock Lesnar. Too bad it didn’t happen in front of more than 60,000 people at Raymond James Stadium. But it was still time.
This turned into a late festival very early in the match. McIntyre hit a Claymore at Lesnar immediately and then braced for a second. Lesnar evaded the kick and started a Suplex City. Lesnar hit McIntyre with three consecutive German suplexes and seemed set for an easy path to victory.
Lesnar lifted the Scotsman onto his shoulders and hit his F5 finisher. McIntyre kicked off at one. Lesnar hit another F5. McIntyre kicked at two. Then another F5. McIntyre kicked again.
Lesnar started laughing and almost playing with McIntyre. He said, “All night, buddy,” before lifting McIntyre back onto his shoulders to attempt an F5. McIntyre slipped, pushed Lesnar against the ropes, and landed a Claymore when he returned.
McIntyre settled in the corner and another Claymore landed. And then another, four in all, when Lesnar knelt down. McIntyre covered “The Beast” and collected all three counts for the victory.
This was a short encounter with almost every move completely big, almost like a UFC heavyweight title ending in the first round. It was probably always like this, whether in front of a crowd or not. It was not necessarily good or bad. But surely he did not stay longer than expected and got the correct result.
What follows: McIntyre will begin his title reign on Raw. Before the coronavirus pandemic and the absence of crowds, I was really beginning to outperform crowds. He definitely deserves this boost, as someone who was released by WWE years ago worked hard and then came back after a season at Impact and the Indies better than ever. Once nicknamed the “Chosen One” during his first career in WWE, McIntyre has closed the circle as the champion. There are several interesting challenges for him on Raw in the future.
As for Lesnar, it will probably be a little while before he returns. Maybe SummerSlam or the next show in Saudi Arabia? If he returns, Lesnar will surely play in a front-line story.
“THE DEVIL” BRAY WYATT ABOUT JOHN CENA
While Boneyard’s meeting on Saturday night felt like a highly produced short film of a graveyard fight, the counterpoint on Sunday night, the “Firefly Funhouse” match between John Cena and Bray Wyatt, felt like a feverish dream of a fight that never really felt like a real fight until its last moments.
When Cena entered the Performance Center arena and started walking down the ramp, there was some confusion about how this match could unfold. That changed quickly, the moment Cena said “Welcome to WrestleMania,” a featured reel from Vince McMahon and Gene Okerlund saying the same thing happened in a continuous replay.
Wyatt appeared on the screen inside the Funhouse, promising Cena: “You are about to face your toughest opponent: yourself.”
Once Wyatt walked out the front door, Cena teleported to the frame in the Funhouse, surrounded by puppets. Dinner soon went out the door, into a lightless space. Wyatt’s puppet Vince McMahon appeared, asked Cena if he had enough “Ruthless Aggression,” and then said, “Show me, or you’re fired.”
From there, he went to the races.
Wyatt stood in the ring, interspersed with footage of a Kurt Angle promotion on the night Cena debuted on SmackDown. Cena passed the infamous SmackDown metal fist with the same team he did that night, but as much as he tried, he ended up embarrassed by Wyatt as he couldn’t break the spell or stop saying “Merciless Aggression”, experiencing his greatest failure, as Wyatt said.
That scene fueled a scene from Saturday Night’s Main Event with puppets for Mercy the Buzzard and Vince McMahon in the comment. Dinner, playing the role of “Macho Man” Randy Savage (or “Johnny Largemeat,” as Wyatt suggested) and Wyatt taking on the role of Hogan. Cena didn’t realize it was Wyatt, as he kept pumping nonstop a pair of weights in each hand.
When she realized it was Wyatt, Cena’s arms were too tired. The scene faded and Cena transformed back into his rapper character and went through SmackDown’s fist again.
Cena was completely under Wyatt’s spell and could only speak in rhymes. He made a Husky Harris joke about Wyatt’s original WWE character. It was mixed with a good dose of dirty language, but Wyatt took the moment to properly punish Cena for his approach to his WWE career.
“How dare you speak to me about opportunities, John Cena?” Wyatt talked about having to win everything, while Cena was the golden goose from the start with limitless possibilities. From that perspective, Cena was a bully and not a hero, someone who takes the weaknesses of others and turns them into jokes. And he finished it off with a hammer for Cena to do anything for fame.
Wyatt channeled The Undertaker’s teleportation powers, hit Cena with his chain, and then Wyatt received a callback to his swamp character. That brought the entire circle to Wyatt and Cena’s first WrestleMania clash, at WrestleMania 30.
After recreating several key points from that encounter, Wyatt handed Cena a chair, as he did at WrestleMania 30. This time, a frustrated Cena swayed, but Wyatt disappeared once more.
A baffling interlude followed with Wyatt playing Eric Bischoff and Cena in the role of Hollywood Hogan, and it was then that Cena broke up. He struck what he believed to be Wyatt, only for him to look down to see Huskus, the pig puppet, in Wyatt’s place.
The Demon appeared behind Cena, locked in the Mandible Claw and followed with a Sister Abigaill.
Cena’s words from a pre-WrestleMania promotion played upon Wyatt’s attack, framing Cena as “the most overrated and overrated superstar the WWE has ever seen” portrayed over a fading Cena, and as “The Fiend” went to On the cover, Wyatt recounted the pinfall.
What follows: After a great time for Wyatt and redemption after his previous fight against Cena, Wyatt could return his focus to the Universal Championship and Braun Strowman after the events of night one of WrestleMania 36. On the other hand, the The way Wyatt dealt with Goldberg played, perhaps keeping him away from the best titles for a while. As for Cena, it could be a long, long time before we see him again on WWE TV.
GRONK WINS THE CHAMPIONSHIP 24/7 Rob Gronkowski, the WrestleMania host, decided that being a host just wasn’t enough.
Gronk jumped off a balcony between fights at WrestleMania 36 and landed on a group of superstars, including 24/7 champion Mojo Rawley. Gronk rose from the pack, covered Rawley, and became the last WWE starter.
Raw tag team championships: The Street Profits (c) def. Angel Garza and Austin Theory
It was an encounter altered several times in the weeks leading up to WrestleMania 36, and it felt more like a Monday Night Raw fight both in the atmosphere and in the way it unfolded. The fight for the Raw tag team championship between Street Profits and Angel Garza & Austin Theory was more about what happened after the match than during it.
The Street Profits eventually persevered and left WrestleMania with their Raw tag team titles intact, but the game’s biggest story came in the form of Bianca Belair inserting herself into the equation when an unsuccessful post-match sneak attack of the challengers took everything off balance. .
For a short encounter, Theory and Garza had the opportunity to show their deep potential and charisma as a couple and as individuals at various points in the encounter.
Montez Ford helped kick the game into second gear with an effortless moon jump, then landed a large bumper on the top rope. Ford managed a great distance, and while nailing Theory, he also eliminated his partner, Angelo Dawkins. That allowed Garza to climb onto the top rope and connect a moonnsault outward on both Street Profits.
Theory hit a big TKO at Dawkins, but in a breath of fresh air, Ford didn’t wait until the bottom of the referee’s count to get in the way, plugging a frog into Theory’s back to break it. Dawkins had enough ring awareness to cover an arm over Theory to land the fall in a disappointing finale.
Theory and Garza attacked the two men after the match, and prepared Zelina Vega for a tough super kick to Ford. But Bianca Belair came out to the surprise save, in what could be her moment of elevation to the main list.
What follows: Belair teaming up with Street Profits could be good news for everyone involved. And it seems that the conflict with Vega and his growing stable of fighters is probably not over.
LAST MAN ON FOOT: Edge over Randy Orton
Orton, dressed as a cameraman, ambushed Edge with an RKO before the game started. When the bell rang, Orton got another RKO, and it seemed that with two pre-used stopcocks, this would not be too long an encounter. That was not the case.
Orton and Edge quarreled for almost every inch of the WWE Performance Center for more than half an hour. Some parts were very convincing; others dragged. The end came when Edge hit a chair with a prone Orton, the same move Orton used against Edge the night after the Royal Rumble.
After the initial two RKOs, the rest of the encounter took place in all corners of the PC. The exercise area was the first, with Orton using equipment to tie Edge’s head. Edge landed a place of hope here when he hit a double kick using the equipment and then a Thesz press, launching himself from what appeared to be a pull-up bar.
Edge exclaimed, “Nine years, Randy!” That is the time that has passed since his last singles game, after a long retirement due to a major neck injury. It was quite an impressive performance from him given the likely mold in the ring, especially from a resistance standpoint.
The backstage fight was a bunch of punches, kicks and punches between walls and doors and the like. There were some great places. In a conference room, Edge laid Orton down on a huge table, leaped onto a fence on the ceiling, and dropped onto Orton with one elbow.
Minutes later, he jumped out of a team cage and put Orton across a table with another elbow drop.
The party ended at a loading dock. Orton slammed a draped DDT into Edge onto a truck-covered loading platform. Orton said to the referee, “You don’t need to count, I’ll tell you when to count.” That foreshadowed for later.
Both men ended up on top of a Mack truck. Edge countered an Orton clearance with a spear. Then Orton responded to another Spear with an RKO. Orton brought chairs to the top of the truck and rested Edge’s head on one of them, telling him that “he can go back to his girls,” that is, his daughters and his wife.
Edge suddenly appeared and choked Orton with a standing arm triangle. Orton fell headfirst onto the chair. The referee started counting and Edge told him to stop. Edge, crying for the moment, grabbed a chair and slammed it against Orton’s head. Then the referee counted to 10 for the end.
What follows: Edge worked hard on this encounter. Both men did it. But given the time that has passed since Edge worked a fight, this was an outstanding performance. And went through the story they were trying to tell. Now Edge will probably move on to another show, perhaps with someone like Seth Rollins, with whom he also has a history. There are still many more threads for Edge to follow during this comeback. As for Orton, he will always be at or near the top of the BILLBOARD. This was a solid performance from him as well, even if Edge was the one who took the biggest hits.
MEETING OF 5 FIGHTERS FOR SMACKDOWN FEMALE CHAMPIONSHIP: Bayley (c) defeated Lacey Evans, Naomi, Sasha Banks and Tamina
This encounter told a really good story throughout the process. There were some difficult times, but it was entertaining. There was even a very brief BAD Team meeting with Banks, Naomi, and Tamina.
The end came when defending champion Bayley defeated the only other person left in the elimination bout, Evans, after Banks interfered on Bayley’s behalf.
The main thread here involved Bayley and Banks, the two best friends and partners who have some tension with each other and a long history. They worked together for most of the encounter until things changed a bit.
Banks was holding Evans in the corner for a Bayley attack. Evans ducked and Bayley kneeled Banks out of the ring. Moments later, Bayley and Banks had a confrontation in the ring. Evans attacked and Bayley shoved Banks out of the way. But after getting tangled up with Bayley, Evans was pushed into Banks and she got her Women’s Right finisher and pinned Banks to eliminate her.
That left Bayley and Evans as the only remaining two. Evans was in control and connected double jump s to Bayley for a count of two. Banks returned to the ring, hitting a Backstabber in Evans. Bayley followed up with a head-to-head move for the pin and victory.
Then Banks put the belt on Bayley and raised his hand. There didn’t seem to be any tension, but this will surely continue.
What follows: The Bayley-Banks saga continues. And that is a good thing. SmackDown has another compelling story that accompanies the ongoing romance between Otis and Mandy Rose. Inevitably, all of this will lead to a fight between the two, perhaps at SummerSlam? That would fit so well, as the original classic between Bayley and Banks happened at NXT Takeover Brooklyn over the SummerSlam weekend in 2015.
NXT WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP: Charlotte Flair defeated Rea Ripley (c)
More than five years removed from her first NXT women’s championship reign, Charlotte Flair opened the second night of WrestleMania 36 by regaining that title, beating Rhea Ripley in a long and intense match that set a high bar for the rest of the struggles. of the night.
This battle between two generations of outstanding NXT fighters was physical from the opening bell. Flair held nothing back, and Ripley’s kicks from all angles and directions fell flush, over and over. The action spilled in and out of the ring, but Ripley largely controlled the action from the start and even placed a Riptide in the first moments, though he only gave him a two count.
The story and tone for the rest of the match was set when Ripley attempted a big boot on Flair while standing on the apron, only to fail. Flair aimed at the knee and lowered it onto the top rope. He would attack that left knee for the rest of the match, stomping on it, cutting it off blocking it, wrapping it around the post and generally doing everything possible to inflict damage.
Ripley fought back and landed some groundbreaking punches and kicks, including a smooth missile launch from the top rope, but every time it looked like he was gaining control, Flair kicked out again. After struggling to get back to her feet and stomping on Flair’s torso, Ripley briefly locked her in her submission of the prism trap, but it wasn’t enough.
Flair finally tried to position figure eight, but Ripley kicked it out. Flair changed strategy and eventually tied up on a Boston crab, but Ripley did not budge. Ripley missed a superplex, but was able to raise his foot to kick Flair while attempting a moon jump.
After a series of restraining attempts, Flair finally locked herself in Figure Four and got up. Ripley hit Flair’s legs and did his best to reach the ropes to get out. But Flair eventually joined Figure Eight and won the submission victory.
Flair became the second woman to win the NXT women’s championship (only Shayna Baszler had previously done so) and her 12th WWE title.
What follows: There are a few ways this move makes sense. Ripley, who has been in an unstoppable career, could run the gauntlet on his way to redemption, or perhaps even move to Raw or SmackDown. Having Flair back on NXT offers an opportunity to pair her with an increasingly impressive crop of women on her roster.
OTIS ABOUT DOLPH ZIGGLER
While most would agree that Otis vs. Dolph Ziggler is not an exceptional fight on a show as big as WrestleMania, it is difficult to argue against the quality of its build compared to some of the higher profile fights in the billboard. The love triangle story, with Mandy Rose, reached a boiling point last week on SmackDown. It was revealed that Rose’s best friend, Sonya Deville, worked with Ziggler to sabotage a Valentine’s Day date Otis had with Rose a couple of months ago. Would Otis take revenge on the big stage at WrestleMania?
Ziggler was escorted into the ring by Deville, while an aggressive Otis burst into the ring alone. That aggression cost him from the beginning.
While trying to run over Ziggler in the corner, Ziggler got out of the way and caught him with a super kick. Ziggler continued to use his feet while connecting with a perfect image a few sequences later.
Otis defended himself bravely. He started to get up and shrugged a couple of punches from Ziggler before literally knocking Ziggler off the pillar onto the post. He continued that trend outside the ring as well. Once the two re-entered, while Otis sought to execute his caterpillar’s elbow drop, Deville distracted the referee, allowing Ziggler to hit Otis with a low blow.
Mandy Rose enters, who immediately went after Deville and slapped her before giving Ziggler a low blow while turning his back on the referee. Otis followed with the caterpillar’s elbow drop and claimed his first WrestleMania (and WWE pay-per-view) victory of his career.
After the meeting, Otis and Rose celebrated with a kiss.
Whats Next? While there may be more to come on the Rose-Deville front, perhaps Rose will start accompanying Heavy Machinery to its games. That would add another fun element to an already entertaining pair team.
ALEISTER BLACK ON BOBBY LASHLEY
Trouble in paradise? Lana could have cost her beloved husband a WrestleMania victory.
Lashley was in control of this match, looking for a large monkey wrench suplex when Lana jumped on the apron and yelled at Lashley to go for a Spear. Lashley listened.
He lowered Black, walked to the corner, stalked Black, and then was countered by Black Mass. Afterward, Lashley looked at Lana as Black exited the ring.
The end came shortly after seven minutes and the match was good for what it was. Black is extremely talented and the two worked solidly together. Both have experience in legitimate combat sports, Black in kickboxing and Lashley in amateur wrestling and MMA.
What follows: hopefully a push to get Black into a prominent position. Before things shook, Black really didn’t have a natural place at WrestleMania. Although this was forgettable, it worked in Black’s favor. On the other hand, it seems that WWE could be causing some dissension between Lashley and Lana. Presumably, that will continue to build over the next few weeks.
RELEASE SHOW: Liv Morgan about Natalya
The second night of WrestleMania started with an opening submission match that had no construction and really had no rivalry. Natalya took advantage of a handshake offered by Morgan to start and used her strong advantage in the mat game in the opening sequences. Natalya continued to bring the assault with a cowboy disc tie that sent Morgan onto the ring platform. Then she locked herself up on a surfboard for a good minute, but Morgan refused to tap. Finally, Natalya released the mooring and opened the door for a return.
Morgan worked on an offense that included his version of the code breaker and a nice-looking enzyme. However, it was a less eye-catching move that had the biggest impact when Morgan invested a series of roll-ups in a pinning combination and picked up the biggest win of his career.
This was Morgan’s first victory on a WWE PPV. She was 0-9 entering the meeting tonight.
What follows: Perhaps this will create a bit or a boost for Morgan in the coming weeks and we will get a resolution to the rivalry between the three former Riott Squad members that was apparently put on hold. As for Natalya, no one knows, but she has the ability to keep helping build stars like she did tonight.
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