WWE WrestleMania 35 Review - April 7, 2019

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Tony Nese def. Buddy Murphy to Win the WWE Cruiserweight Championship (Kickoff Show)

When this match was first rumored for WrestleMania, I was skeptical, if only because Nese just has never done much for me and it was a heel vs. heel scenario. They later changed my mind with Nese's standout performances in the number one contender's tournament and him eventually turning face. He and Murphy had quality chemistry here and kicked off the night on a high note. Nese winning near his hometown was pretty damn cool and was well deserved.

Carmella Won the WrestleMania Women's Battle Royal (Kickoff Match)

Kairi Sane and Candice LeRae were surprise entrants in the match. Between Sane's appearances in the women's Royal Rumble and WrestleMania Women's Battle Royal both last year and this year, she has to be earmarked for a main roster call-up soon, right? I really didn't care for the layout of this matchup to be honest. It was your typical Battle Royal, and it didn't help that they recycled the same finish from WrestleMania 34's installment. Congrats to Carmella on the victory, though.

Zack Ryder and Curt Hawkins def. The Revival to Win the Raw Tag Team Championship (Kickoff Match)

I actually liked this match more than most it seems. Sure, it didn't receive the strongest buildup on television (it kind of came out of nowhere actually), but the in-ring action was enjoyable and the crowd was clearly behind the underdog babyfaces. The Revival were never booked properly as the Raw Tag Team Champions, so I fully endorse the decision to put the straps on Ryder and Hawkins for the foreseeable future. It gave Ryder and Hawkins a memorable 'Mania moment as well as Hawkins' first win in over two years. At long last, the streak is over!

Braun Strowman Won the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal (Kickoff Match)

Similar to the WrestleMania Women's Battle Royal, I couldn't have cared less about this. Past winners didn't amount to anything, so I have zero faith this will benefit Braun in any way going forwar. Rather, it was merely WWE's way of blowing off his brief feud with Colin Jost and Michael Che from SNL. It was good for a few laughs, but that was about it. The rest of this Battle Royal was as basic as it gets.

Alexa Bliss Kicked Off WrestleMania with Hulk Hogan

WWE kept Bliss' WrestleMania role to a minimum, so I appreciated that she wasn't all over the show and didn't make the show longer than it needed to be. She didn't announce anything out of the ordinary here, though she did bring back Hogan to a huge reaction. I realize there are still those who are not fond of Hogan from what happened back in 2015, but as a longtime Hogan fan, I didn't mind him making a quick cameo. Plus, nothing will ever beat getting to hear his epic entrance music live!

Seth Rollins def. Brock Lesnar to Win the Universal Championship

WWE opening WrestleMania with this "match" (let's face it, it was more of an extended angle than a true match) was one of the smartest things they could have done. Lesnar's pre-match attack on Rollins planted the seeds of doubt that this could be an easy win for Lesnar, but instead Rollins battled back, hit him with a low blow, laid him out with three Stomps, and pinned The Beast Incarnate for the Universal Championship. This was a hell of a moment. We finally have a full-time world champion on the Raw brand (hopefully for more than two months). I have no clue what Lesnar's WWE future holds, but fingers crossed he's off WWE TV at least through SummerSlam.

AJ Styles def. Randy Orton

I had high hopes for this, and while those lofty expectations weren't exactly met, this was still a super solid match. Both men put forth an excellent effort despite the unfortunate situation with the bright lights in the arena blinding fans in attendance and acting as a distraction as a result. If nothing else, that finishing sequence with Styles barely fending off the RKO and immediately connecting with the Phenomenal Forearm was awesome. I hope they're given a chance to do even better in an eventual rematch.

SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos def. The Bar, Shinsuke Nakamura & Rusev, and Aleister Black & Ricochet in a Fatal 4-Way Match

To be honest, I wasn't looking forward to this whatsoever going into the show due to how it was added to the card only five days beforehand. However, this was a fun Fatal 4-Way with everyone having their time to shine at one point or another. I was especially happy that Black and Ricochet were spotlighted in their WrestleMania, sky is the limit for them on the main roster. It didn't make sense for any of the other teams to take the titles here, so I was content with the outcome.

Shane McMahon def. The Miz in a Falls Count Anywhere Match

I've seen some less-than-stellar reviews for this match, and I understand why fans wouldn't enjoy it because of its slow pace, but I personally appreciated how they took their time to tell a story and Miz's dad getting involved early on. I believe this would have been far worse if it was a standard singles match and at least the stipulation allowed them to take their fight all around the arena. Shane winning (in fluky fashion, mind you) surprised me, but I guess that means this feud isn't over yet. It's been better than expected up to this point, so I don't have a problem with it continuing for now.

The IIconics def. The Boss 'n' Hug Connection, Nia Jax & Tamina, and Natalya & Beth Phoenix in a Fatal 4-Way Match to Win the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship

Unlike the previous Fatal 4-Way, this was pure garbage. I don't blame fans for using this match as a bathroom break because it was no good and didn't need to be a Fatal 4-Way in the first place. There were too many awkward spots and the crowd was never invested in what they were doing. I'm stunned that WWE had Sasha Banks and Bayley lose the twin titles this soon. There was so much more they could have done with the belts, but I'm willing to reserve further judgement until we see what WWE has planned for the new champs.

Kofi Kingston def. Daniel Bryan to Win the WWE Championship

I don't think it's a stretch to say that I loved every damn second of this. I'm glad the women went on last, but this would have made for the perfect main event in an alternate universe considering how hot fans are for Kingston at the moment. They were given plenty of time and they more than made the most of it by ensuring that everything they did served a purpose. Anyone arguing that Kingston winning was "predictable" is a fool because it would have been extremely easy for WWE to swerve fans by having Bryan retain the title. The storytelling was sensational, so much so that there were fans in the arena that were crying real tears of joy. Kingston earned this opportunity to call himself the WWE Champion and I'd be thrilled if he was more than a transitional champion. This was my match of the night and I doubt you'll find many people who disagree.

United States Champion Samoa Joe def. Rey Mysterio

Joe and Mysterio were in a bad spot coming off Bryan vs. Kingston, so it was definitely for the best that their match was kept short and sweet. Besides, Mysterio was legitimately injured last Monday on Raw, so it's unlikely that this would have been as exciting as it had the potential to be, anyway. They weren't cut from the card, and better yet, Joe went over in dominant fashion. You won't get any complaints out of me for that.

Roman Reigns def. Drew MCIntyre

I was actually looking forward to this match and thought these two could have had a hard-hitting brawl. Unfortunately, this was nothing out of the ordinary and felt like something you'd see on Raw. It wasn't bad by any means, but it wasn't WrestleMania-worthy, either. I tried to pay attention to the action, but I can't say I blame the crowd for being bored out of their minds during this and attempting to start a wave. Hopefully they get the chance to redeem themselves with a rematch down the road.

John Cena Interrupted Elias

In the weeks preceding the pay-per-view, I made it clear that I wanted anyone but Cena to interrupt Elias. It's not because I have anything against Cena, but we saw him interrupt Elias last year, so on paper, rehashing that angle this year felt lazy. Well, that's exactly what happened, but I ended up loving this segment more than I could have ever imagined once Cena's old Thuganomics theme song hit the arena. The crowd ate up everything he said and it was a fun trip down memory lane. Even those who weren't around for his Doctor of Thuganomics days had to get a kick out of this. The crowd needed this coming off the dud that was Reigns vs. McIntyre.

Triple H def. Batista in a No Holds Barred Match

This match received mixed reviews from fans, but I was in the minority that liked it on the whole. I appreciated how there were callbacks to their previous encounters and how well they utilized the No Holds Barred stipulation, but this way longer than it needed to be at almost 25 minutes in length. Again, this event was seven and a half hours long; this match should have been significantly shorter. Cut out the first 10-15 minutes and you have yourself a much more compact, compelling matchup. Triple H winning was never in doubt, but at least Batista got to go out on his own terms.

Baron Corbin def. Kurt Angle

I can't imagine anyone was expecting anything special out of this. Yes, it was Angle's retirement match, but considering he's past his prime and Corbin's in-ring ability isn't exactly outstanding, I figured this would be bad. It's sad that people sat on their hands for Angle's last matchup ever, but WWE did that to themselves by putting him in that position. The outcome was logical as well after weeks of Angle winning on WWE TV, and WWE is probably of the mindset that the victory will benefit Corbin going forward (I sure hope so, because this will be remembered as being a waste otherwise).

Finn Balor def. Bobby Lashley to Win the Intercontinental Championship

Making this the buffer bout before the main event was wise, because fans had little interest in this outing outside of the return of The Demon. To their credit, Balor and Lashley put together a nice little match that hit all the right notes in a short span of time. Balor beating Lashley to regain the gold was the right call because there is way more he can do with the strap than Lashley can at the moment.

Becky LYnch def. Ronda Rousey and Charlotte Flair in a Triple Threat Match to Win the Raw and SmackDown Women's Championships

WrestleMania being a such a long show hurts main event matches like this one in the end because the crowd is just exhausted, but there was excitement in the air when the bell rang because this had all the makings of a great match. It was very well laid out for the most part and the animosity between all three ladies felt real. Sadly, it fell apart in the final third or so, and although the crowd was buzzing when Rousey and Lynch went face-to-face, their interaction was way too brief. Some are saying that the finish went as planned and others are speculating that it was botched, but either way, it was too abrupt and was a weak finish for the WrestleMania main event. On the bright side, Lynch went over as she should have. Rousey getting beaten the way she did (one of her shoulders was technically up during the three count) was slightly disappointing, but she can still claim when she returns from her hiatus that she remains undefeated in one-on-one action. A Rousey vs. Lynch match is only inevitable, and I'd say SummerSlam is a fitting stage to host that anticipated encounter.

Overall Show

My overall experience being at WrestleMania 35 live was an awesome one. I was at WrestleMania 33 two years ago and nothing will ever beat experiencing the spectacle that is WrestleMania in person. Putting that aside for a moment, this was a pretty good show in my opinion. The night's biggest bouts (Rousey vs. Flair vs. Lynch, Bryan vs. Kingston, and Lesnar vs. Rollins) delivered, and more shockingly, the company actually did the right thing by having the three fan favorites win. The rest of the card was hit or miss, but I do think the positives outweighed the negatives. That said, the length of the show was my biggest criticism of it. An event getting over almost eight hours after it started is ridiculous. They need to work on shortening it to avoid this issue for future installments. On a side note, I had the absolute worst time exiting the arena thanks to MetLife's shoddy transit/Uber system. I won't be attending another event there again in my life, but that didn't at all take away from the fun time I had at WrestleMania with my girlfriend.