April 3 (UPI) — Camping Word Stadium’s 75,245 strong had quite the view Sunday, April 2 for the Show of Shows. WrestleMania 33 ended with a nod to the career of an icon.
The Undertaker left his hat, jacket, and gloves in the ring following a loss to Roman Reigns in a No Holds Barred Match in the final bout.
Jim Ross called the main event, which began with both wrestlers exchanging shots in and out of the ring.
The Deadman led off by chokeslamming The Big Dog onto the commentator’s table, before calling for his foe to concede. But instead, Reigns retaliated with a spear into The Phenom to swing back momentum. The Undertaker’s next effort was a Last Ride and barrage of chair attacks. The Big Dog barked back with a Superman Punch. The Undertaker again fought back, using a chokeslam. He was setting up his signature Tombstone Piledriver when Reigns miraculously escaped from The Undertaker’s grasp and deployed a Superman Punch and another colossal spear.
The Deadman retaliated with a Hell’s Gate, but Reigns again returned with another chair assault and threw in a Superman Punch after two cringe worthy spears.
But his next spear would be the deciding blow. Just as The Phenom rose graciously during his classic introduction, he would not fall to the mat in an equal act of class. Reign’s finished off The Deadman with another spear to send him down. After the loss, The Undertaker departed the ring by dropping off his wardrobe and walked down the ramp floor under the watchful eye of the WWE Universe.
In Raw’s Universal Championship Brock Lesnar pulled off his first victory against the champion Goldberg. The Beast slammed the door on Goldberg’s comeback run, despite looking down and out for portions of the matchup.
The Beast began the match with an incomprehensible triple German suplex. But Goldberg returned with two sick spears to incapacitate The Beast, forcing him to roll out of the ring. Goldberg then added another Spear to drive Lesnar through the barricade. The duo climbed back into the ring, but Goldberg spoiled Lesnar’s F-5 and returned with a spear. Goldberg’s Jackhammer didn’t work as planned when Lesnar stunned the champ by kicking out of it.
Then things began to decline for Goldberg. Another spear attempt was blocked when Lesnar jumped over the Universal Champion, making him drill his head on the unforgiving ring post. An impossible barrage of six German suplexes and an F-5 ended Goldberg’s night and quest for a 3-0 record against The Beast.
It’s hard to top The Grandest State of Them All when considering an engagement venue. But the big question wasn’t the only thing in doubt during John Cena and Nikki Bella’s Mixed Tag Team Match against The Miz and Maryse.
The match began with Al Roker clinching the mic at center stage. After Roker departed, Miz and Maryse claimed an early edge. Cena attempted to get help at the beginning of the match by tagging in his girlfriend, but Miz’s spouse denied the effort by overwhelming Bella from behind. The Miz repeatedly kicked a kneeling Cena in the chest as the massive crowd roared with every boot smack. He walked over to Bella and mocked her beau’s ‘You Can’t See Me’ move, which resulted in a vicious slap to the face.
Eventually Cena was able to tag in Bella and the couple gained control of the matchup. Bella quickly took down Maryse, before diving between the ropes and into a struggling Miz.
The duo’s Double Knuckle Shuffle was following by Cena’s Attitude Adjustment. Nikki then came through with a Rack Attack 2.0 for match-winning double-pins.
Many wrestling lovers were not surprised by what came next, but it was nevertheless a special moment when Cena opened his victory speech with a heartwarming story. The tale profiled a time when Bella was being wheeled into a surgery. During the traumatic time, Cena asked Bella if she knew that he would one day marry her.
Cena then dropped to one knee on the mat and asked for Bella’s hand in marriage.
“I have been waiting so long to ask you this,” Cena said. “Stephanie Nicole Garcia-Colace, will you marry me?”
She quickly said yes as Cena slid the giant gem band down her finger, resulting in more romantic embraces and long kisses.
Seth Rollins’ knee was everyone’s knee Sunday at The Showcase of the Immortals. Triple H showed no mercy in a Non Sanctioned Match, dominating The Architect with a relentless barrage of assaults on Rollins’ notoriously weak leg. The man who arrived in a helicopter was flying high during the assault. Rollins roared in pain as The Game did everything he could to detach the joint from his body. The King of Kings gifted Rollins a DDT on top of the announcers table and then slammed a steel chair into the injured leg.
But The Architect was just pouring some foundation for his prime construction. The newfound King Slayer, who carried a torch into the ring, returned with a Running Buckle Bomb. He was then tripped by an interfering Stephanie McMahon, setting up The Game for a couple of reverse Figure-Four Leglocks.
The King of Kings miffed on a second-rope Pedigree, leaving The Architect room for a chair slam to the face and a Phoenix Splash. McMahon wasn’t done engaging in the battle. She helped tee Rollins up for The Game’s offensive attack, but was unsuccessful as The Architect kicked the King of Kings into her. Rollins then showed off a Pedigree after smashing the duo through a table. That would be the decisive blow for The King of Kings.
Although the crowd was a bit smaller than the 101,763 watching live last year, it still basked in the light of The Show of Shows.
The Hardy Boyz were a big reason for the illumination. In the Raw Tag Team Championship Triple Threat Ladder Match, Matt and Jeffy Hardy pleased fans with their stunning return to The Showcase of the Immortals.
It wouldn’t be just Luke Gallows, Karl Anderson, Cesaro, Sheamus, Enzo Amore, and Big Cass in a trio tussle.
WrestleMania host’s The New Day weren’t making a cameo in the group fight when they walked down the yellow brick road ramp. They were just announcing the arrival of icons.
“Ladies and gentleman, as your WrestleMania hosts, we must inform you that we have just received word that this ladder match has now become a Fatal 4-Way,” The New Day told fans. “Which means that there is one more team involved in this match. Now I wonder who this fourth team could possibly be?”
Team Xtreme’s theme song blasted through the speakers as they reached the ring for the fight, dooming the other squads. Big Cass used his massive frame to boost Enzo more than seven feet in the air, but the attempted was put down from a barrage by the brothers. Matt Hardy’s Twist of Fate doomed anders from the top of a ladder. Jeff used a Swanton on top of a duo of ladders that were hoisting The Swiss Superman and Celtic Warrior. The Hardy Boyz then grabbed Raw Tag Team Tittles after Matt ascended on the ladder in the ring.
In other matches, Randy Orton claimed the WWE Championship against Bray Wyatt with a killer RKO to The New Face of Fear. The Viper snatched SmackDown LIVE’s prize from his former ‘Brother’ for his ninth WWE Championship.
AJ Styles edged Shane McMahon in another showdown that was booked for revenge. Weeks before the bout, The Phenomenal One threw McMahon through a car window. Team Blue General Manager Daniel Bryan fired Styles for the incident, but McMahon overturned the ruling to allow him in the fight.
The Phenomenal One mistakingly knocked out the match official en route but ended the match with his Phenomenal Forearm to WWE’s Man Without Fear.
Super Bowl 51 champion Rob Gronkowski had his hands on the evening from the start. In the opening match, Gronk aided his pal Mojo Rawley in the fourth annual Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal. Rawley claimed the victory by knocking off Jinder Mahal. Mahal and Gronk had gotten into a heated altercation at the beginning of the matchup.
Gronk was cheering for his friend ringside as Mahal took an early edge. Mahal then walked over to the New England Patriots tight end, throwing a drink in his face. Gronk responded by jumping over the crowd retaining wall, ripping off his shirt, and climbing into the ring. He then hit Mahal, incapacitating him enough for Rawley to finish off Killian Dain and set the stage for a final bout between Rawley and Mahal. Mahal finished NXT’s only participant in quick fashion to claim the victory.
Bayley defeated Charlotte Flair, Sasha Banks, and Nia Jax in a Fatal 4-Way Elimination Match for the Raw Women’s Championship at The Show of Shows. She retained her title with an excellent elbow drop after untangling herself from the ropes and soaring from the rooftops.
Raw’s next stage is set for 8 p.m. Monday on USA. Total Divas returns to E! on Wednesday, April 5.
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