 The Rock Addressed the AudienceIt isn't ideal to kick off a huge show such as WrestleMania with a talking segment, but if anyone can electrify an audience and get them hyped up for the evening, it's The Rock. He didn't say much of substance here, but the crowd ate up everything he said and did, nevertheless. He went so far as to predict that this would be "the most memorable WrestleMania of all-time." I guess he was partially right, but it wasn't memorable for the right reasons. World Heavyweight Champion Edge def. Alberto Del RioFirst and foremost, the fact this kicked off the event essentially told viewers the World Heavyweight Championship wasn't important. Then again, that had been the case for years by this point, so I don't remember being too surprised at the time. As a match, though, this was actually very good. Edge and Del Rio worked well together and the interference from Ricardo Rodriguez, Brodus Clay and Christian at ringside didn't take away from the action. I would have put the belt on Del Rio, but Edge had never successfully retained a world title at WrestleMania before, so it was a cool moment for him. Considering no one knew that this would be Edge's last match ever (he officially retired from the ring eight days after this), I'd say he went out on a high note.
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 Antonio Cesaro def. Derrick BatemanCesaro is obviously one of those guys who can get at least a decent match out of anyone he steps in the ring with g, and considering Bateman was improving anyway (which William Regal made mention of on commentary), this was an enjoyable matchup. Similar to any other NXT match around this time, they weren't given a ton of time, but they definitely maximized their minutes and set the tone for the rest of the night. Tamina Snuka def. Sofia CortezI believe Cortez was already released from the promotion by this point and this had been taped beforehand, so it was no surprise that she lost. That said, she had plenty of potential and it was unfortunate she was cut from her contract (though she did go on to reinvent herself in Lucha Underground). Tamina had a fine showing, but none of her matches ever excite me. On the bright side, Raquel Diaz had her moment to shine afterward by attacking Tamina.
 Alberto El Patron Called Out Impact World Champion Austin AriesWhile I largely stopped caring about El Patron long ago, I think he's a logical first feud for Aries as Impact World Champion. I'm sure they'll work very well in the ring together, and so far their verbal exchanges have been excellent, including this one. Both men brought their best on the microphone and it actually got me more excited for their upcoming encounter at Redemption than I was before. Trevor Lee def. Fallah BahhI like The Cult of Lee, but I guess this unofficially confirmed that they're done in the Impact World Tag Team Championship picture for now? Anyway, this was a nice little match that mostly consisted of Lee trying to dodge Bahh's offense. Bahh's matches are designed to be comedic filler, and the crowd gets a kick out of it, so I didn't mind. The important thing is that Lee won as he should have to pick up some much-needed momentum.
 Johnny Gargano Attacked Tomasso CiampaCiampa has been doing this thing for weeks where he'll come out in front of the audience and not say anything because the crowd would be booing him so loud. Well, he finally spoke here, albeit briefly, screaming, "HE'S GONE!" (in reference to Gargano). It was a masterful segment that led to the return of Gargano posing as a fan and taking the fight to his former friend before being hauled out of the arena by security. William Regal making a match between them for TakeOver: New Orleans is only inevitable. WWE United Kingdom Champion Pete Dunne and Roderick Strong def. Oney lorcan and Danny Burch in a Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Quarterfinal MatchAn injury to Tyler Bate forced him and Trent Seven to pull out of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. Regal told Strong that he can enter the tournament if he can find a partner, and after what we saw with him and Dunne last week, this shouldn't have been a surprise. That said, the crowd popped huge anyway for Dunne when he made his entrance (perhaps what happened last week hadn't aired on TV by the time this was taped). This started out slow but turned into an extremely entertaining and hard-hitting affair. Burch and Lorcan losing was never in doubt, but they looked damn good in defeat. Strong and Dunne should be a treat in this tourney.
 Triple H Attacked Ted DiBiaseWe had essentially heard it all from both HHH and The Undertaker at this point in the build-up to their bout at WrestleMania 27, so his promo here was hardly anything new. I would have been fine with him leaving it at that, but apparently he felt the need to bury DiBiase because, well, just because. DiBiase referred to himself as an "afterthought" before getting his ass handed to him by The Game and put through a table, so needless to say, his stock was not exactly at an all-time high at this time. United States Champion Sheamus def. Evan Bourne (Non-title)Bourne previously beat Sheamus upon his return to the ring one month earlier, but instead of running with that boost of momentum for Bourne, WWE opted to do nothing with him. Thus, his decisive loss to Sheamus on this show wasn't a surprise in the slightest. It was a fine little match that gave Sheamus another victory coming off his United States Championship win the week before. Afterward, Daniel Bryan announced he'd be invoking his rematch for the title at WrestleMania, but of course, that would ultimately be bumped from the WrestleMania card.
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