My Thoughts On Wrestlemania 33

Wrestlemania 33 took place in Orlando, FL this year. The set up was amazing! In the days leading up to it I kept looking for photos of the progress just to get an idea of what we would be seeing. Each time i'd get a little more excited. I am very, very pleased with the outcome. It was gorgeous! Outdoor arenas seem to leave open the opportunity for crazy stuff. I love that.

To start off Wrestlemania (on the pre-show), Neville defeats Austin Aries to retain the Cruiserweight title. The match was fine and I didn't mind the outcome. I wanted AA to win, obviously but I was pretty sure Neville wasn't going to lose the title so soon. Then the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal took place. Mojo Rowley won after he threw Jinder Mahal over the top rope. I was fine with that as well. I wasn't that surprised that he won but I am very glad he got his Wrestlemania moment. I really enjoyed seeing Rob Gronkowski step into the squared circle and do a little damage of his own! Although, I still can't believe that one tiny little woman security guard "held back" arguably the greatest tight end in the NFL right now lol

Dean Ambrose defeated Baron Corbin and retained his title as well. I actually was surprised with that one. I honestly thought it was Baron's time and that they'd give it to him. AJ Styles and Shane McMahon put on an incredible match. It started out a bit slow for me, but once Shane stopped the boxing/MMA stuff and started doing all sorts of wrestling moves, I was hooked. AJ can carry ANYONE in a match and make it look good. He really is a talented guy. Not that Shane needed carrying. He does well on his own for a guy that just wrestles every once in a while. It's always nice seeing the Coast to Coast. I secretly wish Shane had jumped off of something crazy, though!

Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho had a pretty decent match. To me, it wasn't bad or particularly good. It definitely wasn't as memorable as I had hoped after all those months of build up. But Owens defeated Jericho and won the United States Championship. As I had hoped, Bayley retained the Women's title in her match against Charlotte, Sasha, and Nia Jax. Nikki Bella and John Cena had your basic run of the mill match with Miz and Maryse. And of course they won. Afterwards, John proposed to Nikki in the middle of the ring. I suppose it was a nice segment. I didn't think much of it because it's been rumored for a long time. I do know, though, that 14 year old me would have been sobbing because I was so in love with him haha

Randy Orton and Bray had another one of those "meh" matches, in my opinion. And honestly, I had hoped for so much more. Randy spent months pretending to be his "family" and then turned. That whole thing leading up to Mania wasn't quite what I wanted it to be and the match was the same. I really just didn't care for those effects bray had shine down on the ring to get into Randy's head. Seemed dumb to me and I also don't think Randy would actually be bothered by them. But that's just my opinion. I was going for Bray to win and I knew the fans really wanted it too. However, they let Randy take the title for some crazy reason. It's fine. I love Randy. He is now a 13 time champ so I guess that's cool. But hopefully Bray gets it back soon.

After about a 4 minute and some odd seconds match, Lesnar FINALLY defeated Goldberg. I expected that. As a life-long Goldberg fan it's always heartbreaking to root against him but this time I just didn't see it going any other way. He's just not cut out for the business anymore. Age and ring rust really took a toll on him. I love the man, though. I'm really glad the match had a lot of back and forth stuff this time. Some jack-hammers, Spears, Suplexes, and F-5's. I just hope we don't continue to have a part-time champion again. I always hate that. I never understand how a guy like Lesnar can be gone for weeks or even months at a time with the championship but others have to relinquish it if they're going to be out for even like a month. It sucks. I get that he's an attraction and stuff but it just sucks for those other people.

Naomi defeated Alexa Bliss, Carmella, Mickie James, Natalya, and Becky Lynch in a six-pack challenge for the Smackdown women's title. I really wanted her to regain it. Especially in her hometown. But i was so worried they wouldn't let her. I'm so glad they did. She has worked really hard for years in the business. She deserves a title reign. And it was really fun to see James Ellsworth take a bump!

Seth Rollins and Triple H had a sweet match. It was one of the better matches of the night (notice I said one of). It had it's slow moments and it definitely could have been better. But it was entertaining nonetheless! I especially loved seeing Stephanie get "pushed" into the table haha Seeing her take hits is always really entertaining because my god, she is annoying! She looked cute though! And HHH's entrance delivered, as always. I'm just glad that yet again, H chose to put over the guy he was fighting and Seth won. And now the authority is "gone" for a little bit to nurse their "injuries". It's the perfect set up so that the new GM can do something great!

One of the elephants in the room now is that Roman Reigns "Retired" the Undertaker. The crowd went nuts (especially on Raw) and people all over the internet are pissed but honestly, I love it. I do like Roman, but not as much as I used to. I do see that they are trying to force him on us like they have Cena. I don't hate him for it, I hate the WWE for it. And as much as I wish Taker had won and gone out on a high note, I understand why he didn't. In the pro wrestling world, you put over the younger guy and pass the torch. That's just what they do. It's a sign of respect. And as many wish it was someone else like Cena or whoever, I get why it's a better fit for someone like Roman. If you're gonna pass the "yard" to someone else, let it be someone young and fresh. It just fits better that way.But in all honestly, I wish Taker would have just retired after the streak was broke. To me that seemed like the perfect time for him personally. But as a long -time fan of the business, I appreciate what they did and I understand it. I love that he requested J.R. to call his last match too. There's something nostalgic and great about that.

But the most important part of Wrestlemania to me every year is the surprise returns! (Even though this one was spoiled before lol). I am especially happy and excited about this one. The Hardy Boyz came back and won the Raw Tag Titles in a four team ladder match with Anderson & Gallows, Enzo & Cass, and Cesaro & Sheamus. I wish I had been more surprised by it, but still my heart dropped down into my stomach (in a good way). I grew up obsessed with the Hardyz, especially Jeff. He was my childhood crush. Heck, he introduced me to a darker style and stuff. I loved it, and him. I am so happy to see them back and I am really interested in seeing what they do from here on out. I'm glad they got to have such a cool Wrestlmania moment after all these years also. They showed up as "Team Xtreme", which is honestly what made me the happiest since i'm not a big fan of the Broken characters. But I do think that at some point, they will take on those characters again.

Overall, I enjoyed Wrestlemania this year. I was so worried that I wouldn't. I even spent months not really being as excited as I usually am for it. I'm just so used to them disappointing me lately. Especially in the last few years. But I am so glad it was "the ultimate thrill ride" instead haha Or, sorta. Some matches were meh, but some were really good. The set up was the best yet, and the "big" things that happened were nice. I just don't know how they can possibly top it. I am excited to find out, though!

I give Wrestlemania 33 4/5 Stars!

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