WrestleMania 37 Review & Reaction

In this edition of The Wrestling Estate roundtable, we review both nights of WrestleMania 37.

What did you think of WrestleMania 37?

James Klonowski: Night 1 was a cathartic experience from start to finish, but the second evening was a slog, except for the main event, which was one of the better triple threats in recent memory. Having Roman Reigns go over was the correct decision. Bobby Lashley retaining over Drew McIntyre was also smart, especially considering the mixed reaction McIntyre had from the fans.

Speaking of the WWE Universe, it was great to have them back in attendance. It made a real difference to the atmosphere and many of the performances. Overall, a very good WrestleMania, but we could’ve shaved off almost everything on Night 2, added the main event, and perhaps Randy Orton and The Fiend (solely for the Alexa Bliss heel turn that had us all talking) and stuck it all on the first evening.

John Corrigan: I had admittedly low expectations and was pleasantly surprised. Night 1 was a blast, but Night 2 lacked the same excitement. There were still good matches, though, such as Riddle vs. Sheamus, Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn, the Nigerian Drum Fight and of course, the main event. Overall, I’d put WrestleMania 37 in the top 20, maybe top 15.

Chad Gelfand: Night 1 was amazing. It felt great to see the fans back and every match besides the tag team gauntlet delivered or exceeded my expectations. Night 2 was not as enjoyable, but there was enough good-to-great to make up for the bad (Fiend/Orton).

Jack Goodwillie: You’re going to see a piece from me about this in a couple of days, but this was a middle-of-the-road WrestleMania. Sure, as James and I pointed out last week, the build was among the worst ever and the product has basically no buzz. That being said, there was never a question of the wrestlers working hard to give the fans a show, and with this being the first WWE event to welcome fans back into the arena, I can say confidently they were sorely missed and are desperately needed to make this product bearable on a week-to-week basis. Don’t get me wrong, WrestleMania had its duds, but match-to-match, the quality was actually quite good. What we now hope is for WWE to somehow capitalize on the momentum and parlay that into a better weekly product, but I’m fully aware I might be asking for too much there.

What did you like least about it?

Klonowski: Most of the matches were filler, and while some over-delivered, they were not WrestleMania quality. The poor build to almost every encounter did not help matters either. Really could’ve done without a Nigerian Drum Fight, Sheamus and Riddle fighting on the biggest stage, that entire tag team turmoil and subsequent title bout. The Raw Women’s Championship match was a slog and showed how much Charlotte Flair’s presence was missed. But for the most part, WrestleMania was a huge success. It just dragged at certain points, especially on Night 2.

Corrigan: Whatever the fuck The Fiend/Randy Orton/Alexa Bliss deal was.

Gelfand: As I’m on record saying, any version of Bray Wyatt and Randy Orton should stay far away from each other. This is their second dud of a match at WrestleMania. Wyatt and Orton in singles matches with each other just don’t mix well.

Goodwillie: Vince McMahon’s makeup? I’m not one to take the low-hanging fruit, but Bray Wyatt vs. Randy Orton. The match peaked at The Fiend’s subtle, but not that subtle Luke Harper tribute. I’m really not the type to wrestler bash, but Bray Wyatt/The Fiend needs to be cut down to size a bit and not be such an important part of these shows.

Take a look at Wyatt’s WrestleMania history dating back to the genesis of the initial character. The guy has worked with John Cena (twice), The Undertaker, Randy Orton (twice) and had a segment with The Rock. And every time his character has commanded the focus, he has failed to deliver. I don’t think it’s as much a case of him being bad in big moments, though, as it is him just not being very good. Don’t get me wrong, there is a serious level of creativity to what the guy does, but for a pro wrestling television product, it just doesn’t translate. Do I think he’d be better in movies? Definitely. And that’s not to say he can’t still be useful in wrestling either. I just think he could use a filter for his ideas and Bruce Prichard is clearly not that.

What was your favorite match?

Klonowski: The triple threat deserves a mention because all three men brought us an Attitude Era throwback that had a little bit of everything, but I can’t look passed the true main event of WrestleMania, which saw Bianca Belair dethrone Sasha Banks for the Smackdown Women’s Championship in what was a true classic in anyone’s book. The two women made history and didn’t let the magnitude overwhelm them. There were no botches aside from Michael Cole, but give the guy a break. He was a true pro throughout what was a strange start to proceedings thanks to the weather. I’d have to say that match is up there as all-time WrestleMania main events. Congratulations to both participants.

Corrigan: Sasha Banks and Bianca Belair had the best women’s match in WrestleMania history and one of the best main events, too. It was such a fresh environment with their visible emotion, innovative moves and the excitement of the crowd.

Gelfand: Bianca Belair vs Sasha Banks. To have the gravity of being the first Black women to main event any WWE PPV, let alone WrestleMania, and deliver an amazing match as they did, was beyond impressive. Despite any criticism going into the night, Sasha and Bianca proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that they earned and deserved the main event slot.

Goodwillie: Let me just start by saying build aside, the two best matches from the weekend were the Night 1 and Night 2 main events, and for good reason. You have to give WWE a ton of credit for the structure of both shows, and while I know some of you are critical of the two-night WrestleMania, for this day and age we’re living in, the pacing is infinitely better. But at the end of the day, as much as I picked apart its storyline last week, Reigns-Edge-Bryan was the best match on the show and the inclusion of fans made it all the better. Roman Reigns took everything he learned since his heel turn and applied it on a massive stage, Daniel Bryan wrestled to the level we’ve come to expect of him and Edge cemented himself as one of the greats of his time. It sucks that he didn’t get the win, but it’s not like I didn’t see a Reigns win coming. I’m just of the school of thought that a great WrestleMania has to end with either the confetti raining down on the conquering hero or something completely preposterous or unexpected (IE, Austin-McMahon handshake, Rollins cash-in).

What was your favorite moment?

Klonowski: Might be a controversial choice, but I have to go with the heel turn of Alexa Bliss. It was the match that had the most intrigue going in, and they didn’t disappoint. Yes, The Fiend and Randy Orton only wrestled for five minutes, but this wasn’t so much about the in-ring action as it was the story, and they completed it well on Sunday. Having Bliss turn on Bray Wyatt was something nobody saw coming, so the creative team deserve credit for it. Coming out of WrestleMania that’s the only thing that makes people want to tune into Raw or SmackDown to see what happens next.

Corrigan: I have no idea what Klonowski is talking about. A heel turn? Is that what Bliss did? I thought Ivan Ooze invaded Tampa. My favorite moment was Belair whipping Banks with her hair, followed by Bayley interrupting the commentary team on Night 1. Ding dong, hello!

Gelfand: Bianca Belair winning the SmackDown Women’s Championship. From her father nearly falling over the barricade in excitement after the win to the mention on her face and her husband Montez Ford coming to celebrate with her, this made for a special WrestleMania moment. It’s Bianca Belair’s era now and WrestleMania 37 is just the start of it.

Goodwillie: Honorable mention to Logan Paul’s sell of the stunner, but I have to go with Belair getting her WrestleMania moment and becoming the new face of the SmackDown women’s division. When she first came up through the Mae Young Classic, I thought she’d be a big star – as a heel. I had no idea she’d be so likable as a babyface. I got a similar impression after she won the Rumble as well. As far as the placement of the match itself as the main event, you can’t help but question anytime a company like WWE reaches for the low-hanging positive publicity fruit.

Remember, this is a company whose chairman said on a taped show, and I quote, that he would “hire a motorcycle gang to rape The Undertaker’s wife right in front of The Undertaker.” So when the WWE decides to make the all-black women’s championship match the Night 1 main event, it’s fair to question if that decision is being made for the right reasons. Throw all that nonsense out the window, however, because I enjoyed this match a good bit and believe it probably cracks top-10 and maybe even top-5 women’s match lists.

Actually, I’ll double down. I saw something on Instagram today comparing this WrestleMania to 2005 when Batista and John Cena, the final two competitors in the Royal Rumble, went on to walk out of Los Angeles as world champions of both Raw and Smackdown. Well, Bianca Belair and Rhea Ripley sort of paralleled that, did they not? We’ve become so accustomed to WWE making terrible calls on pushing young stars over the finish line that when they actually do end up on the right side of big moments you can’t help but be extremely impressed.

Who was the MVP of WrestleMania 37?

Klonowski: Could easily say the fans because they really raised the bar with their presence for the first time in over a year. Could also say Bayley who did her best to give herself a WrestleMania moment. Could say Alexa Bliss for the reasons above. But I’m going to go with Bad Bunny, who was absolutely phenomenal. For my money, the best celebrity involvement in professional wrestling history.

Corrigan: Sheamus for busting open Riddle with that Brogue Kick. That’s what you get for forgetting your lines and laughing it off.

Gelfand: Sasha Banks. This match fully cemented her as the best women’s wrestler in North America. If you deliver as she did on the biggest stage combined with her already impressive resume of matches, then it’s hard to dispute that she’s one of the greatest ever.

Goodwillie: Low-hanging fruit becoming something of an unintentional theme of this roundtable, it was without question the fans. I enjoyed WrestleMania 36 for how unorthodox it was, but you can’t spell WrestleMania without “fans.” Perhaps you can, but for WWE, live fan involvement is an imperative part of the program. After months of lackluster wrestling television, you have to chalk a lot of what made this show successful to the live crowd. They brought out the best in the wrestlers, and from a visual standpoint, it was just nice to see people in the crowd at a WWE show again.