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| Image Source: ProWrestling.com |
Written By: Mark Armstrong
Genre: Wrestling
Produced By: WWE
Format: Pay-Per-View
Date: April 3 2016
Location: AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas, USA
Attendance: 101,763
After all the anticipation and the build-up, WrestleMania 32 finally happened! The biggest wrestling show of the year was hyped as being WWE's biggest show ever, even with injuries decimating the original line-up on multiple occasions, and other factors preventing some names from the past getting actively involved. That being said, the card still promised a stacked list of matches and, with the increased running time probably ensuring that all the bouts would get appropriate time, there was a genuine chance that this could be one of the greatest WrestleManias to date, even if some scheduled matches weren't what most fans would have preferred. So, how did WM 32 turn out?
Before beginning with the review, I should acknowledge how long the event ran. In the past, WrestleMania has lasted four hours with one or two pre-show matches, with the exception of WM XX which was 4 1/2 hours with no warm-up bouts. This year, despite the two-hour Kick-Off Show beforehand, it was still noted that Mania 32 would go over four hours to some extent. That ended up being by "a lot"; when Mania finally ended, the main card was very close to five hours long, and with the Kick-Off Show again lasting two hours and featuring three matches, the entire thing ended up lasting close to
seven hours! To be fair, this made WrestleMania 32 feel extremely special, but since most weren't expecting such a long running time, it did mean that most viewers were flagging come the final hour. I do hope that WWE continues this going forward, since at least next year we'll be prepared for a (very) long WrestleMania.
Getting to the action, then, beginning with the Kick-Off Show, and the very first match pitting Kalisto against Ryback for the United States Championship. It felt like this bout started too early; beginning with 80 minutes of the preview show remaining, the massive AT&T Stadium looked to be around a quarter full, at best; rumours of ticket machine problems no doubt prevented some fans getting in, but it still seemed bizarre that a venue would look so empty on a stage like Mania. Back to the match, though: Ryback played up his bullying heel persona by mocking Kalisto's size and taking advantage of his own larger frame by throwing Kalisto around hard in the early going. The defending champion fought back with some high-flying moves (albeit less than we normally see from him), and sent Ryback hard into the crowd barrier at ringside. The Big Guy fought back and signalled that he was ready to end it, but a reversal of corner-based offence involving the removal of a turnbuckle pad led Kalisto to hit a Salida Del Sol to pin Ryback and get the win, a second upset victory over Ryback (having pinned him at the Manchester episode of SmackDown last November).
As a warm-up match, it was okay, and it gave Kalisto a big win on the most important night of the year. It wasn't anything special or memorable, and the timing of this match in front of an almost empty venue felt weird, but as a way to get things rolling, it served its purpose. I was surprised at the result, as I thought Ryback might win the title here, but Kalisto successfully retaining is a good sign for him that WWE may have some plans for the high-flyer, who is starting to establish himself as an important member of the roster.
Kick-Off match two, held in the second hour (which was broadcast on USA Network; the entire two-hour broadcast was live on WWE Network), was a ten-diva bout pitting Team Total Divas (Brie Bella, Alicia Fox, Natalya, Paige and Eva Marie, the only member of the team to be booed, and unsurprisingly so) against Team B.A.D. and Blonde (Naomi, Tamina, Lana, Summer Rae and Emma). This was a standard women's wrestling based on the pre-NXT era, as it generally existed to give all ten women a spot on the show and provided each with an opportunity (at times a very brief moment) to shine with their own signature spots. In her first official WWE match, Lana's basic offence looked good, and even Eva Marie's moves were performed well. In the end, Brie made Lana submit to the Yes Lock to get the win to a big ovation (many more fans had entered the stadium by this point), and afterwards the still-injured Nikki Bella came out to a big pop to celebrate. The babyfaces all hoisted Brie up with heavy rumours that this or her involvement on the post-Mania Raw would mark her retirement.
In past years, this match would have been the extent of the participation for females on Mania night, and even then it wouldn't have lasted as long as this bout did, which is a positive sign. As noted, this match was really just a way to get these women on the card, so like Kalisto vs. Ryback it served its purpose to that end. My big gripe with this one (and I should have mentioned this in relation to the opener too since it happened there as well) was WWE's decision to include a commercial break during the match. It's annoying enough on Kick-Off Shows for other events, but on WrestleMania's preview show? It's frustrating to the viewers and it must be disheartening to the performers; despite WWE saying that all matches were a part of Mania regardless of their positioning, breaking up matches with a commercial is a heavy indicator by WWE that these early bouts really weren't a priority. I really hope that WWE ends this trend after this show.
Before the final match of the Kick-Off Show, Lita (who was on the KO Panel, a group of WWE personalities who run down all the matches from every angle) came to the ring to make a very welcome announcement: the WWE Divas Title (a nice-looking belt, but one which hasn't been very popular in recent times) would on this night be replaced by a new WWE Women's Title, which was a colourful version of the WWE World Championship. Fans responded very positively to this, as it was a big step forward in establishing the women's division as a vital part of modern-day WWE. I'm not sure why WWE tried to suggest that there hadn't previously been a
Women's Championship, but that aside this was a good moment, and a nice way to add some last-minute anticipation to the women's three-way on the main show.
The final pre-show bout was The Usos vs. The Dudley Boyz. Based on Bubba Ray and D-Von turning heel on Jimmy and Jey in February, and the Dudleyz' insistence that their days of using tables were over, this was a fast-paced mix of regular spots and some cool vintage double-team spots. The crowd seemed to lean towards The Dudleyz more, but The Usos still had plenty of fans, and it was the twin brothers who picked up the victory after Jimmy (or Jey) cracked D-Von with a big superkick. Afterwards, the Dudleyz pounded the Usos and, to a huge pop, they chose to bring out the tables. But the tables were turned (no pun intended) as the Usos laid out the Dudz on the wood and drilled them through the tables with top rope splashes to end the match presentation on a high.
I liked this match, but would have preferred it lasting a few more minutes and having a place on the main card. There is still scope for this feud to continue with a tables match on PPV, although it's also possible that Bubba Ray goes full-on heel on D-Von and breaks out on his own. It's a bit sad for the Usos that they have been receiving a decent amount of boos recently, which can either be attributed to their link with Roman Reigns or their presentation as super-smiler babyfaces, because they are a really talented tag team whose best days may still be ahead of them. As for the Dudleyz, this was a good return to Mania for them; it remains to be seen whether it is their last appearance on the grand stage.
Three matches in, and we were finally ready for the main WrestleMania show. Fifth Harmony sang America The Beautiful, followed by a WrestleMania clips video package which was apparently voiced over by Kelsey Grammar (the guy who provided Sideshow Bob's voice on The Simpsons). The opening show pyrotechnics were typically exciting to watch, and the crowd size with the entire AT&T Stadium filled looked very impressive, with an expected crowd of 100,000+ on hand. That led us to the opening match, the seven-man Ladder match for the Intercontinental Title with Kevin Owens defending his crown against Dolph Ziggler, The Miz, Sami Zayn (who got a huge pop; Owens did as well, unsurprisingly), Sin Cara, Zack Ryder and Stardust (whose attire had a Dusty Rhodes polka dot theme).
This was a high-octane opener which, to me, was superior to the seven-man Ladder match that kicked off WM 31. There were plenty of big moves, amongst them Zayn hitting a senton bomb to ringside whereby he dived
between a ladder; Sin Cara being tipped off a ladder only to land on the top rope and launch a splash to ringside, and Ryder hitting an elbow drop off the top of a very big ladder. Stardust introduced a polka dot-coloured ladder in another, very welcome tribute to the American Dream. Ziggler had a superkick party, and even tuned up the band to hit Sweet Chin Music at one point. In the bout's biggest spot, Cara was tipped off a ladder which led him to splash Stardust through another ladder placed between the ring and the crowd barrier. Owens and Sami had several square-offs during the match, with Sami getting the best of KO after an exchange at the top of a ladder. Miz then tipped Zayn off the ladder (Sami's careful landing made me think that he had found a counter to Miz's prevention, but it wasn't to be). It looked like Miz would be pulling off the unlikely and very unpopular victory here, but out of nowhere Ryder appeared to push Miz off the ladder and took down the prize to become Intercontinental Champion in a huge upset.
This was a really good match with plenty of great moments. It was nice to see the long-neglected Ryder win here, especially since he was only involved as a replacement for the injured Neville. As an underdog stand-in, his victory was definitely a memorable moment. Zayn had a first-class performance when you consider that he had already competed in what may end up being WWE's best match of 2016, an outstanding bout with Shinsuke Nakamura, two nights earlier at NXT: Takeover Dallas. Realistically, Ziggler, Cara, Miz and Stardust were never going to win, so Owens is the only one who was really hindered by this result. Despite Ryder becoming champion, I envision KO regaining the title from Ryder on Raw and then going on to a singles feud with Zayn for the title. In terms of a cool spot-fest and providing a shock outcome, though, this match delivered; and hardcore fans of Owens and Zayn can't complain at Ryder winning considering how much support he had garnered in 2011/2 when his internet show Z True Long Island Story convinced many fans that Ryder was worthy of a big push.
Up next was Chris Jericho vs. AJ Styles. The fourth match of their rivalry, this had the potential to be the show-stealing bout, if not a classic wrestling match. It ended up falling somewhere within that region, but not quite to the level of, say, a Shawn Michaels vs. Kurt Angle or The Undertaker vs. CM Punk. There were a plethora of back-and-forth wrestling moves and counters, a wealth of false finishes and several compelling submission spots whereby, at various points, both looked on the verge of tapping out. Styles (whose attire seemed to channel Eddie Guerrero from his WCW days) hit many of his biggest moves, and successfully executed a slightly underwhelming Styles Clash for a very close two-count (it's safe to say that the Clash is no longer AJ's go-to finisher in WWE). Jericho hit a Codebreaker only for Styles to kick out, and each man withstood almost everything they had to offer; at one point, Y2J even attempted to go for the Styles Clash himself. A Phenomenal Forearm by AJ also couldn't get the job done, and a second attempt by Styles to hit this move ended up being reversed into a second Codebreaker which allowed Jericho (whose attire included the word "GOAT", which stands for Greatest Of All Time, as opposed to referencing a farmyard animal, or even Daniel Bryan; actually, maybe he was) to pick up the win.
This was a great match, and superior to Jericho's bout with CM Punk at WrestleMania XXVIII. The crowd seemed a bit quiet at times, but they were definitely drawn in by the action in the final 5-10 minutes. Styles at his first WrestleMania put forth a great performance, and Jericho proved that at age 45, he definitely still has it. The big talking point here has to be the outcome of Jericho pinning Styles, in this year's equivalent to Triple H pinning Sting at WM 31. Now, AJ had already pinned Y2J twice and has previously been pinned by Y2J (and others, including Kevin Owens), so it isn't the ridiculous result that Sting's defeat a year ago was. But it was still strange to see the extraordinarily-talented Styles lose his first WrestleMania match to a veteran who probably won't wrestle at many more Manias. It also makes you wonder about the direction this feud will take; has the heel Y2J won this rivalry, or will there be an unprecedented FIFTH match to finally settle things? Who knows, but Styles really should have won this match (hell, Fandango pinned Jericho at WM 29); he will no doubt rebound and may achieve a top WWE spot at some point over the next twelve months, but this was so obvious to most onlookers that it's inexplicable that WWE would go the other way. Then again, maybe that's why they did it; to ensure an outcome that few were expecting.
Match three was most memorable for the pre- and post-bout antics. The New Day were expected to have an over-the-top entrance, and that they did with Xavier Woods, Big E and Kofi Kingston coming out of a gigantic box of Booty-O's that tipped over to release hundreds of cereal pieces (Google Booty-O's if you don't know what this is referring to). The League Of Nations had a regular entrance, although Rusev booting Booty-O's everywhere was a comical sight. This six-man tag team match felt like a card-filler, albeit a well-executed one: Sheamus provided laughs by chanting "New Day Sucks!" as he pounded at Xavier's chest. Alberto Del Rio didn't do that much, while Kofi Kingston provided some slick moves. Big E provided the spot of the match with a very dangerous-looking spear through the ropes onto two LON members and onto King Barrett at ringside (Barrett was the only LON member not wrestling here; he was stationed at ringside, perhaps because he is apparently leaving WWE soon). Woods did well in the role of isolated babyface, although he missed a trick by not performing the Dallas theme on his trombone (and where was the mass trombone entrance for New Day?). Most expected New Day to win this non-title affair, but after a Bull Hammer by Barrett caught Woods, Sheamus struck with a Brogue Kick and pinned Xavier to pick up the win for the League Of Nations. Another unexpected result, but with the titles not at stake, this was not a major issue. It gives LON enough momentum to warrant another title shot at New Day which at that point will probably end the feud between these factions.
Post-match, Barrett bragged that no three men in history could beat the LON, which told me that someone was about to get involved; I was expecting the Fabulous Freebirds, although I wondered how this would work with only two members still alive. Instead, Shawn Michaels' music hit to a massive ovation, and HBK shocked everyone by coming out in ring gear, hinting that he was actually about to wrestle. Mick Foley followed, and finally Steve Austin walked out to an ear-splitting pop from the 100,000+ crowd. The three legends came to the ring for a brawl with LON, assisted by New Day, and with each member tasting an icon's finisher, and with Barrett tasting all three moves. After all that, New Day tried to convince the legends to dance with them, with HBK and Foley obliging, and Austin finally getting a bit jiggy with Woods before Stunning him into oblivion. The segment ended with a triple-legend beer bash.
Most knew that Austin, Michaels and Foley would appear in some capacity, so it didn't have the surprise factor of Austin-Hogan-Rock at Mania XXX. But this was still a feel-good moment and a great sight for the Texas fans to see three icons whose careers all began in the Lone Star State. As noted earlier, the New Day entrance and the legends' involvement will be what this part of the show will be most remembered for, so New Day losing didn't harm them at all.
Following that was Brock Lesnar vs. Dean Ambrose in a No Holds Barred Street Fight. Beforehand, this had the potential to be the modern equivalent of Bret Hart vs. Steve Austin at WrestleMania 13 whereby the established main eventer truly makes the rising star even with the underdog losing. Even if it didn't, it still seemed likely to be the most violent match of the PG era with the hype indicating that Ambrose would use some extreme weapons against Lesnar.
Instead, the match to me was a bit of a disappointment. Lesnar took Ambrose to Suplex City early on, as expected, and generally threw Ambrose all over the place. Dean fought back with strikes, kendo stick shots and a low blow to turn things in his favour. Ambrose (who wore a Suplex City shirt with his logo spray-painted over it, although the announcers never acknowledged it) brought a steel chair into the fray and smacked Lesnar's back hard with it. An attempt at a top rope move was reversed into a Lesnar overhead belly-to-belly suplex from the ropes, which was probably the spot of the match. Lesnar later threw Ambrose onto a pile of chairs, although Brock's back caught the worst of the chairs. An Ambrose DDT onto the chairs didn't get the win for the Lunatic Fringe, so Ambrose decided to bring in the barbed wire baseball bat handed to him by Mick Foley. But Lesnar avoided the offence and planted Ambrose with an F5 onto the chairs for the win. That was it: one-two-three.
I didn't expect Ambrose to do much damage with the bat given the PG conditions, but one bloodless shot to the back might have given the match that extra boost, and it's not like Lesnar would have minded taking it. Ambrose had hinted at using Terry Funk's chainsaw early on, but it was obvious that he wouldn't have done so successfully, even if this had been in the original ECW (how exactly could they have pulled it off?). But the match was relatively short on a very long card, we didn't see Ambrose hit Dirty Deeds at any point, and it only took one F5 to beat Ambrose (even if it was on chairs) a year after Roman Reigns kicked out of three F5's. In addition, Ambrose put forth a good performance, but it wasn't even close to the level of Austin at WM 13. Also, whilst most were holding out hope that Ambrose would win, it simply wasn't going to happen; Lesnar has already seen his reputation dented quite a bit in recent months, so a defeat to someone of Ambrose's size at this juncture could have ruined him. And as weird and heartless as this might sound, most were expecting Ambrose to take a much more severe beating than he actually did. Roman Reigns and The Undertaker took far greater punishment from Lesnar in their matches with The Beast in 2015.
Dean will still have gotten a boost from this match, and it did give Lesnar a victory that he did actually need if he is to continue playing a major role in WWE going forward. And I was never expecting this to be as brutal as, say, Mick Foley vs. Edge at Mania 22. But overall, this needed a massive spot or some level of brutality or drama to be a big success. Perhaps it was because of the Hell In A Cell match later on, so this bout had a little less to work with. Whatever the case, this was still entertaining by all means, but it was probably the biggest let-down of the show when analysed as a whole.
Last point relating to this match: I am starting to get bothered by Lesnar's continuing messages in mainstream interviews that he is in wrestling purely for the money. That would be fine if a) Brock's character was money-motivated, b) if Lesnar or even Paul Heyman acknowledged this on-air regularly, and c) if Lesnar was a full-on heel. Since none of these apply, it only makes fans angry that Brock (who also didn't attend the Hall Of Fame ceremony) is receiving such a big push and so much money to essentially deliver a few suplexes and a couple of F5's on a part-time basis. He's great at what he does, no doubt, and he's definitely a special attraction. And of course, wrestling is a business, so Lesnar's stance can't be considered wrong. But it's still annoying to see someone who isn't really that interested in wrestling pushed so forcefully. Paul Heyman handles all of Lesnar's on-screen promos, and going forward it might be a good idea for him to handle all of his off-screen interviews too.
Prior to the next bout, we had the honouring of this year's Hall Of Fame inductees, introduced by Howard Finkel (the only man to appear in the arena at every single Mania). They were The Fabulous Freebirds, The Godfather, celebrity inductee Snoop Dogg, Big Boss Man (whose family accepted his induction), Jacqueline, Warrior Award winner Joan Lunden, Stan Hansen and star inductee Sting. Sting had officially retired at the HOF, but it was still possible that he would appear in another form later on (spoiler: he didn't). It was weird that WWE didn't acknowledge the seven Legacy inductees here, even in an on-screen graphic, especially considering that some of them were massive names during their eras (those inductees were Lou Thesz, Pat O Connor, Frank Gotch, George Hackenschmidt, Mildred Burke, 'Sailor' Art Thomas and Ed 'Strangler' Lewis).
Charlotte vs. Becky Lynch vs. Sasha Banks was up next, with Snoop coming out again to help provide a musical performance of Sasha's entrance music (Snoop and Sasha are cousins, by the way). This had the feel of a really big match, especially with the new (or reinstated) Women's Title going to the winner. All of the fans who had watched these women (and Bayley) put on the best WWE women's matches ever in NXT were hoping for something really special here. The three obliged: this was the best ever women's match on main-stage WWE TV.
The opening technical exchanges looked great; the pinfall attempts and counters looked smooth; the big dives (including a senton through the ropes by Sasha, a dive by Becky which took out Ric Flair at ringside and especially a top rope moonsault by Charlotte to her opponents at ringside) were awesome; the crowd responses to all three were loud and enthusiastic - this whole match was a big gem, and the required turning point for women's wrestling in WWE. After watching this match, you genuinely could see the women headlining WWE Pay-Per-View events in the future, perhaps sooner than people think.
A planned sunset flip by Sasha out of a top rope suplex by Becky didn't quite work out, and the spot-calling was a bit obvious later on, but otherwise this was tremendous. A double Natural Selection by Charlotte to her adversaries came close to getting the win, but closer still were the submission attempts by all three (the Figure-Eight by Charlotte, the DisArmHer by Becky and the Bank Statement by Lynch). It seemed that Sasha was destined to win, especially given her elaborate entrance. But as it turned out, Charlotte retained (or became new champion, depending on your point of view) by making Lynch submit to the Figure-8 whilst Slic Ric held Sasha back from ringside. A huge fireworks display afterwards for Charlotte solidified the establishment of women's wrestling as a major part of modern WWE.
This, to me, was probably the match of the night because it was everything that fans would have been hoping for. Considering that past female bouts at Mania would often involve Playboy, states of undress or a group of unrecognisable and, honestly, untalented "Divas", this was a milestone in women's wrestling history. The only question marks once again concern the result, as Sasha not becoming champion seemed like a huge mistake. Charlotte retaining isn't bad, by any means, and it definitely builds her heel heat. And no doubt, Sasha will become champion fairly soon. But I think that in the future, many will look back and say that Sasha really should have become champion at AT&T Stadium.
That brings us to the most anticipated match on the card: The Undertaker vs. Shane McMahon. I was glad that WWE didn't have this in the show-closing spot, partly because Shane probably shouldn't be actually main eventing a WrestleMania given his non-wrestler status and partly because it would have harmed Roman Reigns even more (more on him later). This was definitely the match that most were looking forward to most, though: if Shane won, he would have control of Raw and essentially WWE, but if Taker lost, he couldn't wrestle at Mania again (which essentially meant his career ending). Oh, and it was in Hell In A Cell. Someone remarked that the success of this show would hinge on how this match went. They were probably right.
Shane came out with his children doing his signature dance and with money raining from the ceiling; Taker came out to a typically extravagant presentation. Early on, it was clear that Taker would be in full control for much of the match, with Shane sneaking in offence as and when he could, but with his big moves and strikes needing to make an impact. The crowd was a little bit quiet, but they were definitely into the match. Taker drove Shane into the Cell cage a few times but there was no blood, which didn't surprise me since it's a PG era and with Shane's family on hand, the idea of him being turned into a bloody mess was even more unlikely. It was interesting that Taker looked more tired than Shane O Mac, but he was still in condition to keep going and hit his major spots like the Last Ride and a painful-looking Chokeslam onto steel stairs. Shane fought back, though, and after hitting a Coast-To-Coast with the stairs, he used bolt cutters to create a minor opening for one side of the Cell, which backfired when Taker drove Shane back-first into the Cell wall and it gave way onto one of the announcer's tables.
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| Image Source: DNA India |
The battle continued at ringside, with Shane applying a sleeper on Taker in the crowd, only for UT to drop Shane onto and through an announcer's table as a counter. Shane fired back again with weapon shots, including the virtual explosion of a toolbox on Taker's skull. With Taker laid out on another announcer's table and with the ever-crazy Shane looking up at the Cell, you knew what was coming next. Even though Shane is now 46-years-old and the Cell cage is now more than 20 feet high, everyone knew that Shane was about to deliver a WrestleMania moment for the ages. Shane scaled the cage, looked out at the 100,000+ crowd, and delivered an absolutely insane elbow drop off the Cell, only for Taker to move (he probably would have been killed if he didn't) and Shane went right through the table! OH MY GOD!
With Shane virtually fighting for his life (fortunately he was okay in reality), Taker took the time to ponder why Shane would take such a crazy chance before bringing Shane back into the ring and with Shane telling Taker to keep bringing it, Undertaker drilled Shane with a Tombstone to finish him off. Taker left triumphantly, having taken his Mania record to 23-1 and having ensured he could continue battling at Mania in the future, while Shane was stretchered out on a moving cart, but not before giving fans a thumbs-up before saying farewell.
This was the spot-fest we all expected it to be, and Shane's elbow drop was an unforgettable Mania moment. It was strange that Vince McMahon didn't make his presence felt given that he has carried the entire feud, and I thought Shane could have had someone give him a minor piece of assistance at some point (I was expecting an Undertaker-Sting stare-down since their dream match will not be happening now). The crowd could have been a bit louder but given the huge running time (and there was still over an hour to go even after this match), fatigue was probably playing a role in the response. It wasn't by means a great wrestling match but to expect two men with a combined age of 97 to do that was unrealistic, especially since Shane is not an actual wrestler. It was a great spectacle, which is what it was presented as being, and considering all of the injuries and the initial disappointment that Shane was fighting Taker, plus the confusion over the storyline going into this match, I think the bout was definitely a success.
As for the result: as much as people might have wanted Shane to win, there was no way that Undertaker was losing. Considering his near-perfect Mania record, the thought of him losing to Shane was unfathomable (on any other night, it would have been a possibility), and once Taker's career was put at stake, it essentially confirmed the result because, when Undertaker finally retires, it will be the selling point of Mania as opposed to a throwaway stipulation. Many were rooting for Shane because of his promise for change, but let's remember that Shane McMahon the character had made those proclamations, not the real Shane. From a storyline point of view, things might have changed on-screen, but the real change will happen behind the scenes when Vince McMahon finally steps down. And since Shane was essentially the final option after injuries and other factors prevented certain people from facing Undertaker, it was unreasonable to imagine that Shane would pull off the win. I thought the match could have had more dramatic "will Shane win?" spots (the interference would have helped here), and it was begging for Vince involvement. Taker might strike Vince on Raw, leading McMahon to put Taker's career at jeopardy for real at WM 33, but with Shane out of the picture following his death-defying leap, Shane O Mac getting revenge on his dad is probably not going to happen anytime soon.
The last thing about this match is to give credit to Shane McMahon. Having left WWE for real in 2009, and been financially well-off for life and pursuing other business interests ever since, Shane had no reason to ever return to the company. And he certainly wasn't pressured to jump off a cage even taller than the one Mankind was thrown off in 1998. That he came back in the wake of WWE's injury crisis and took the chances that he did on the night, and looked nothing less than impressive and competitive throughout the well-executed HIAC match was a triumph to Shane as a performer and as a person, really. For all the talk of legacy beforehand, this ended up being the match that defined Shane's legacy. This wasn't the match of the year or anything, but it was definitely a memorable entry in WrestleMania history.
The Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal provided a few surprise entrants (Diamond Dallas Page, Baron Corbin from NXT, Tatanka - who most didn't notice come out, and who the announcers hilariously didn't even realise was in the ring until a few minutes in - and basketball legend Shaquille O'Neal) and was basically your standard multi-man match. Shaq and Show exchanged some minor spots before both were dumped out by most of the crew. From there, the rest of the match was basic, with Baron Corbin pulling off the shock win by last eliminating Kane, which indicates that Corbin will be playing a fairly significant role in WWE over the next few months.
This served its purpose by allowing the crowd to come down after the excitement of Taker vs. Shane, and added a bit extra with some shock entries and a surprise result. Incidentally, why was Baron Corbin chosen to come up and win this ahead of Finn Balor, Samoa Joe, Austin Aries etc? Probably because he's big. That's the Vince McMahon way. Look at the main event.
After a dance routine by the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, we finally got The Rock. Rock used a flame-thrower to light up a Rock logo and revealed to the audience the record-breaking attendance for WWE history here at Mania 32; a crowd of 101,763. It was obvious at this point that the crowd were really tired (I'm tired just writing this!); they clearly wanted to pop for Rock's catch phrases, but just didn't have the energy. Things perked up when Bray Wyatt, Erick Rowan and Braun Strowman interrupted Rock (the sight of so many flash-lights was amazing), and their interaction raised a few laughs (Wyatt calling Rock "Mr. Rock" was amusing, and some of Rock's lines were genuinely funny), before Rock surprisingly revealed that he had wrestling gear on and offered to have a match right there and then (which definitely woke up the Dallas crowd).
As it turned out, Rock's match lasted just six seconds and consisted of a Rock Bottom and a pin on Erick Rowan making it the shortest match in Mania history (hey, at least Rowan can say he fought Rock at WrestleMania). The Wyatts then planned to pummel Rock further, until they themselves were interrupted by John Cena's music, as the returning Cena got a legitimately huge babyface pop. The "John Cena Sucks!" chant-along and scattered boos aside, Cena got a full-on babyface reaction here as he and Rock teamed up to take out the Wyatts, and the two legends left together.
This was a fun segment, if slightly predictable once Rock was outnumbered for the second time. That Cena appears to be healthy is great news, and it was nice that he could appear at Mania in an active role. Rock wrestling, as brief as it was, was unexpected, and perhaps explains why his role hadn't been announced; had he made these intentions clear, the film producers for Baywatch (which he's currently filming) may have prevented it. The Wyatts took a bit of a knock here but sharing a Mania ring with Cena and Rock is hardly a bad thing. I do think that the Wyatts need to turn babyface, or Bray does at least, because their status as dangerous heels is virtually non-existent now, but on the whole they will probably look back at this experience as being a positive, if not now, perhaps in the future.
Finally, we came to the main event, pitting Triple H against Roman Reigns for the WWE World Heavyweight Title. This was the "oh, dear" match during the show; even during the fun segments, I was remembering that this was still to come. Not because it had the potential to suck, but because you
just knew that Reigns was getting booed out of AT&T Stadium, and that the fan base was guaranteed to be offended regardless of the outcome. If you are unaware, WWE's push of Reigns and handling of his character have been - well - questionable, so the top babyface contender is receiving boos almost or possibly even more savage than those which greeted John Cena when he first became a top star in the mid-2000s.
HHH had an elaborate video entrance with an evil emperor-like Stephanie McMahon announcing the Authority's hatred for the audience. Reigns had his usual entrance with some pyro, but - yes - he was booed heavily. The match opened slowly with basic exchanges and submission holds by HHH, but as the minutes wore on, it was clear that HHH was being treated as the babyface and Reigns as the heel, not that this was a surprise. To be fair, some wondered if many fans would leave the stadium early, so repulsed were they by this main event match, so I suppose an interested crowd with undesired reactions is still better than that scenario.
HHH continued targeting Reign's shoulders with his submission offence and hit a nasty-looking neckbreaker off the one remaining announcer's table. Reigns fought back hard with some big moves, including a running clothesline off steel stairs at ringside and a Spear through a ringside barricade (some front row-seated fans were definitely giving a "Roman!" chant during the former spot). HHH survived a Spear, but only because Stephanie pulled the referee out of the ring. She then entered the ring herself, only to accidentally taste a brutal-looking Spear from Reigns in the most memorable spot of the match. HHH countered immediately with a Pedigree but it didn't get the job done. The almost unconscious Steph managed to pass her husband his trusty sledgehammer, but before he could use it, Reigns fired back with Superman Punches and a second Spear to win the match and the WWE Title. It should be noted that the three-count was genuinely met with a big cheer, but Roman's post-match celebrations were met with significant boos as a huge amount of fireworks went off inside and on the roof of AT&T Stadium to bring the show to an end, at long last.
I will risk the wrath of many fans by suggesting that Roman Reigns earned his moment here. Judging his career from the debut of The Shield at Survivor Series 2012 to this card here, few have done more and, more importantly, had to put up with more than Reigns has. Considering the injuries, who else could have featured in his spot here? Dean Ambrose, who I dare say is slightly overrated and aside from collisions with Seth Rollins, has had fewer memorable matches since the Shield split than Reigns has? AJ Styles, Kevin Owens or Sami Zayn, all of whom are relative newcomers to main-stage WWE TV? Or previously pushed and/or stale acts like Big Show and Sheamus? Let's face it, Roman Reigns is the only guy WWE could have pushed in that spot, and given what he has gone through, I dare say that he has earned this moment, and his opportunity to try and become WWE's next major star. We'll know over the next few weeks and months whether he can truly succeed as
the guy, but it's harsh to say that he hasn't earned it, because he has.
And I thought that this was a fairly good main event. It wasn't a great match, but it was good, and I'm glad that the Dallas crowd didn't turn on the participants and ruin the match for the audience at home, like the Boston crowd did for Reigns vs. Sheamus at TLC. HHH put forth a worthy performance, though by no means his best at Mania. Also, for those complaining that HHH was in this spot, again who else could have been in this role? Lesnar losing to Reigns cleanly would have infuriated fans even more, and besides Kevin Owens (and him losing would have had an even worse reaction from hardcore fans), nobody else was available due to the injury situation. I was also surprised that Stephanie took a Spear; it definitely added something to this main event.
So, how to judge WrestleMania 32 on the whole? It's hard really, because most Manias are memorable either for the matches or for the moments. This show provided both, so theoretically it sounds amazing, but the results of quite a few matches dragged it down a bit.
Beginning with the bouts themselves: the women's match was probably the show-stealer, and AJ vs. Y2J was also really good. The Ladder match was superior to last year's effort, and HIAC was a great spectacle. The main event was adequate but nothing more than that, the Battle Royal and New Day vs. LON were card-fillers essentially, and Lesnar vs. Ambrose was sadly a disappointment. The pre-show matches were decent, but they largely existed to warm the crowd up. There were no classic match of the year contenders, but the best way to describe the in-ring action at Mania on the whole is good, but not great. Charlotte, Sasha and Becky will be the performers leaving WrestleMania having most enhanced their careers from an in-ring performance aspect.
Then, there's the moments: Austin, Foley and Michaels teaming up was nostalgic fun, and Rock and Cena joining forces was also a nice touch. Predictably, Roman's coronation was not the bang that WWE hoped to end Mania with, but the resurrection of the Women's Title, the appearance by Shaq (in an unexpected celebrity cameo after we saw Ronda Rousey last year) and some of the more elaborate entrances (especially New Day) more than made up for that. Some will be angry that a lot of young talent were on hand to make legends look good, which is fair comment; the hope is that they themselves will get the chance to create Mania moments for themselves in the future, as opposed to being crash dummies for those involving other icons. But the most memorable moment of WM 32 has to be Shane McMahon's insane dive off the Hell In A Cell cage, which given the distance that he fell and the location of said stunt ensures that this will be replayed for many years to come.
Although we had more than enough legend appearances, it still felt like we were missing one or two, or at least, that certain matches (especially HIAC) were lacking that extra something. Sting should have confronted Undertaker in some fashion. Someone totally unexpected like Goldberg or Kurt Angle would have gotten an almighty pop (I was half-expecting CM Punk, for some reason; just imagine if he confronted Stone Cold during a promo or something). The retro stars who did come out to play were more than welcome and were very well-received, but perhaps because we knew they would be there, it didn't have the zing that similar moments have had in the past (such as the nWo and DX reunions at Mania 31). Though he isn't a retro star in this context, the fact that Vince McMahon didn't appear in any form for HIAC was baffling, too.
And let's not forget the live attendance. After almost three decades of WrestleMania III being the largest attendance figure in WWE history, it has finally been topped here with 101,763 at Mania 32. The location itself looked superb, too, so I think that WWE will definitely be returning to AT&T Stadium in the future, perhaps closer to WM 40. Whatever the case, the once-unimaginable prospect of WWE breaking the attendance record at WM III has finally happened. Now that this has finally been achieved, has Vince McMahon reached the point where he has nothing left to attain as WWE Chairman?
Finally, there's the results, which were probably the downer of the evening. Manias always have questionable booking decisions, but of the eight (or nine, counting Rock's bout) matches on the main card, almost every single one had a debatable outcome. AJ Styles losing was daft. New Day getting beat was strange but less crucial, since the WWE Tag Team Titles weren't at stake. Sasha Banks not becoming Women's Champion was a real head-scratcher. And while Zack Ryder's win was a feel-good moment, it wasn't welcomed by all fans who see Ryder as someone who had his chance a few years ago, and won't contribute much going forward. I fully expected wins for Reigns, Undertaker and Lesnar, although some will complain about those results too. Realistically, the opposite outcomes for all three were never going to happen, so qualms about these are futile. The Battle Royal result was possibly the only one for which the audience could probably completely agree was the right, or at least an agreeable, outcome. When Road Dogg tells fans on Twitter that wins and losses don't matter, well they certainly do at WrestleMania.
Oh, and then there's the running time. A five-hour Mania with a two-hour Kick-Off Show that included three matches was a tough ask from an audience which is tired enough from weekly three-hour episodes of Raw. However, whilst it would have been nice to have been warned about this (WWE said Mania coverage would last seven hours but most took that to including a one-hour post-show, not one extra hour of WrestleMania), it definitely made the event seem extra-special. It had the feel of an extended rock festival, with absolutely everybody of note getting some form of attention, and quite a few major names from the past being on hand too. It also ends the idea of matches being shortened or dropped from the show to make time (Rock vs. Rowan was short by design); going forward, the talent has a greater opportunity to deliver that career-defining Mania moment because, thanks to the Network, WM could theoretically last all day if WWE was that way inclined. I am looking at attending WrestleMania 33 in Orlando next year, so I will definitely bear in mind that it could be a
long night under the Florida sun, but nevertheless while the crowd was undoubtedly flagging towards the end, I hope that WWE holds long WrestleManias in years to come, because it made WM 32 feel that extra bit special.
Whether you loved WrestleMania 32 or not depends on your stance as a fan. If you are a pure fan of wrestling, then you will be arguing that it was inferior, perhaps vastly so, to NXT: Takeover Dallas. If you are a hardcore fan who despises Reigns and loves the indie veterans, then you probably found the booking here to be very frustrating. If you are a fan of the big moments, then you were probably satisfied by what went down in AT&T Stadium. And if you are a casual fan who watches Mania once a year and not much other wrestling, then you probably had a whale of a time. WM 32 definitely had something for everyone, and provided plenty of talking points, some of which stem from other aspects of the weekend (which I will outline in an upcoming story on the entire WrestleMania weekend). And, considering the injuries and other situations (Hulk Hogan remains blackballed for, erm, reasons) which decimated the line-up so many times over the last twelve months, it's close to a miracle that WWE presented a show which was worthy of the WrestleMania occasion.
This wasn't one of the greatest WrestleManias ever, but it was probably a top ten Mania. With some great action, legendary cameos, big moments, shock results and an important if undesired main event outcome, combined with being a milestone night for the women and the all-time attendance record for WWE being broken, WrestleMania 32 will go down as one of WWE's most significant cards. It wasn't quite the all-time classic show we were hoping for, it was perhaps inferior to the last few Manias, and quite a few results dragged it down a peg or two, but whether it was the matches, the stunts or the moments, you probably gleaned a good amount of entertainment from WrestleMania 32.
Now, the road to WrestleMania 33 begins!
Overall Rating: 8/10 - Very Good
