Night two started off with Randy Orton vs the Fiend in a match that was seven months in the making. In this storyline we have seen black blood out of the mouth of Alexa Bliss and Orton. We have seen a man burned to “death”, and all sorts of magical stuff happen. Like much of the fiend’s matches they are more of spectacles but not very good. This was much of the same, the end saw the end of one storyline but the continuation of another looks like.
The Fiend’s First Match at Mania
As the fiend had the match won and Bliss distracted him right into an RKO for Orton to get the win and keep his grip on the fiend. Why does it always feel like one step forward with Bray Wyatt and eighty steps back? I thought last year was the turning point, but this feels like they do not know what to do with someone like Wyatt. The proof of this is Matt Hardy, when you are extremely gifted and can book yourself, WWE does not know how to use those talents.
Woman’s Tag Team Titles
The woman’s tag team titles were on the line as the winners from the gauntlet the night before got their shot. This was not bad, but I do not think anyone thought that the makeshift tag team of Natti and Tamina were going to defeat Jax and Bazler. So good match but I think this could have benefited from maybe the riot squad getting the shot and left a little more suspense as to who would win. But at this point these belts do not really mean anything and its probably safer to keep them where they are.
Sheamus Returns to Form
Sheamus vs Riddle for the United States title and this was good like their previous matches on raw. This spot I do not think was meant for Riddle if Keith Lee did not have whatever issues, he is currently having I believe this would have been his spot. But the good thing is whenever Lee returns, he can still win the US title now that Sheamus has it around his waist again. The finish of this match was fun as Riddle did a backflip off the second rope into a brogue kick. This was good after the year Sheamus had he deserved to be on the card for the show.
Crews Bring Friends to the Party
The next match was a Nigerian drum fight. Which is just a fancy way to say a no holds barred match. We would soon find out why this match was no holds barred. Big E defending his Intercontinental title vs Apollo Crews. This feud has been good with Crews losing every time the title is on the line. This night was different only because a Dabba Catto came out and attacked E win, he had the match won only to assist Crews in getting his first reign with the title. This is good because E should be chasing and there could be bigger prizes on the arising for him. At maybe Summer Slam for example.
Rhea is Here to Stay
Rhea Ripley with her second straight mania appearance being in a title match. This time she comes in as the runner-up in the Royal Rumble and she just debuted a couple of weeks ago after the fiasco of a situation that is happening with Charlotte Flair. Ripley had to be tagged in and in this match, she played the heel even though I do not think that is how they want her to be in the future. This had to be a Ripley win. Asuka has had that Raw woman’s title for a long time and is direction lessness for a good portion of it. She will be fine this was just Ripley’s time to shine and there is a story here for when Flair returns. Ripley can avenge her loss from WrestleMania 36.
Hail to the Tribal Chief
And in the main event, the best promoted match on the card for either night. You have the tribal chief Roman Reigns (Universal Champion) vs Edge (Royal Rumble winner) vs Daniel Bryan who some how keeps finding his way into WrestleMania main events. This was fun and one of the best mania main events in a long time. All three men put in the work to make this work and in the end, Edge did a one-man concharito to Bryan and then Reigns did one to Edge and pinned both men.
I do not think I have ever seen a triple threat match end where a man drags someone over and puts him on top of the other guy just to pin both. This cements Reign’s spot and keeps his dominance going for a while longer. To me this sends Edge to face Bryan and both men out of the title picture. But this is also a fun fact well not so much for Edge, he is the only competitor to ever win two Royal Rumbles and not win a title match at mania.
Overall, this was not a bad show some questionable booking, but we still need to see the fall out from mania. I feel like night one was a better overall show but night two had the best show on either night with the most at stake. A lot of these matches did not feel like they were April-worthy, but you know what the booking was to blame. People that should have been on the card were not in favor of Shane and others getting the attention. I was happy to see fans back in the building it added to the experience for all of us.
