Written by Shining Polaris
The long-anticipated and biggest wrestling show of the year happened on April 10th in Tampa, Florida. Wrestlemania 37 was the first WWE event with a live crowd (though limited) in a long time. The show had a rocky start with a half hour rain delay, but to fill the time, most of the wrestlers were interviewed or were able to give a promo. Titus O’Neil and Hulk Hogan were hosting.
Part 2 can be watched tonight, April 11th, on the Peacock App. The pre-show will start at 7PM ET, and the main show at 8:00 PM.
***WARNING: This article contains spoilers for the
first night of Wrestlemania 37 from April 10th, 2021***
The first match started off very strong with the WWE Championship on the line. It was Bobby Lashley defending his title against Drew McIntyre. Lashley was accompanied by his manger MVP, who also stood ringside. Both heavyweight wrestlers put on a hard-hitting match. Drew was able pull off some great offense with his Claymore kick. MVP made the save by pulling Lashley out of the way. He also distracted Drew a few times, giving Lashley an opportunity to apply the Hurt Lock. Drew tried to get out of it by rolling around, but it was too much for Drew and he passed out.
Bobby Lashley retains his WWE Championship by submission.
The next match was the Women’s Tag Team Turmoil Match. Unfortunately, this was the lowest point of the show. WWE has been criticized before about teaming random wrestlers and this match had no build. The winner of this match will go onto night 2 and face the Women’s Tag Team champions of Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler. The women that participated in this match were Billie Kay/Carmela, Naomi/Lana, Mandy Rose/Dana Brook, Riot Squad, and Natalya/Tamina.
At the end the team that survived was Natalya and Tamina.
Before the Seth Rollins vs. Cesaro match, there was an entertaining segment in a campaign-style video that made by Rollins poking fun at Cesaro on why he should not win this match. Rollins entered accompanied by new music and gear. Cesaro had his signature spinning move and broke his spinning record with Rollins. He did over 23 spins. He also landed his UFO move, spinning Rollins over his shoulders with no hands.
The match ended with Cesaro hitting Rollins with the Neutralizer. The crowd cheered loudly for Cesaro, as this was his first time ever wrestling in a singles match at Wrestlemania and the biggest win in his career.
The Raw Tag Team Titles were up for grabs. It was the tag team champions The New Day vs. the brand-new tag team of AJ Styles and Omos. The New Day isolated Styles for most of the match, making it almost a handicap match, since Omos could not be tagged in. Styles finally made the hot tag as Xavier Woods was climbing to the top rope, then Omos dominated The New Day. Omos did a backbreaker to both members of The New Day. AJ jumped off Omos’ shoulders to land the Phenomenal Forearm onto Woods. This knocked him out, leaving Omos and Kofi Kingston alone in the ring. Omos simply picked Kingston up and powerslammed him, then put his foot over Kingston for an arrogant pin.
AJ Styles and Omos are WWE’s new Raw Tag Team champions. Omos looked like an unbeatable monster and hopefully this will be his start for a push. Styles winning the tag team titles made him the Grand Slam Champion (he has held the Universal, United States, Intercontinental, and Tag Team Championship).
Shane McMahon and Braun Strowman had their cage match. To win, the wrestler has to pin his opponent, get his opponent to submit, or escape the cage. Shane entered first and kept it shut, barring Strowman’s entry. While Strowman tried to pry the door open, Elias and Ryker came from behind and beat him with chairs. When Strowman finally entered the cage, Shane continued to beat him with a chair. Then, using his MMA background, he kicked Strowman around. He found a piece of metal from the top of cage and hit Strowman on the head. Shane tried to escape the cage, but Strowman continually pulled him back. Shane hit Strowman with the Coast-to-Coast and failed to knock down Strowman. Shane climbed to the top of the cage to escape, while Elias and Ryker tried to pull him out. Both fell when Strowman rammed himself into the side. Shane almost got out, but Strowman ripped the side of the cage out and he carried Shane to the top of the cage and threw him down.
That knocked Shane out and Strowman pinned Shane for the win.
Bad Bunny/Damian Priest Vs. The Miz/Morrison was another highly anticipated match. The Miz and Morrison had an entertaining entrance accompanied by dancers in bunny costumes and singing live. This was nothing compared to the grand entrance Bad Bunny had. He rolled into the arena riding on top of a huge, lighted-up semi truck. This match really showcased Bad Bunny’s wrestling skills, impressing wrestlers and commentators. He even landed the Canadian Destroyer onto Morrison. Damian Priest lifted The Miz onto his shoulders.
Bad Bunny climbed the top rope, and he landed a cross-body onto the former WWE Champion, pinning The Miz for the win.
The Main Event was the Smackdown Women’s Championship, Sasha Banks vs. Bianca Belair. It was a very emotional start with the announcer introducing both women and informing the viewers how monumental this match was. This is the first female and the first African American woman main events at Wrestlemania. As the announcer was stating both women’s achievements, the emotion on Bianca’s face was genuine and heartfelt. The match was brutal with both women giving their all. Banks took advantage of Bianca’s long hair and pulled it when she could. She also attempted to apply her Bank Statement submission hold by tying her hair around her arm for leverage. Bianca was able to escape and land a 450-splash onto Banks for an almost near-pin fall. When Banks got her shoulders up, Bianca was screaming and crying in frustration, as she couldn’t believe Banks kicked out of that move. In a last effort to try to knock Bianca down again, Banks grabbed her hair and tried to yank it. Bianca pulled her hair back and used it against Banks, swinging it like a whip onto Banks stomach. The pain was too much.
Bianca hit her KOD onto Banks and pinned her for the win. Bianca Belair cried with joy and celebrated with her family at ringside. The show ended with Bianca holding the belt up high, finally realizing her lifelong dream had come true.
WWE
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