WWE SmackDown 4-30-21 - Bryan vs. Roman for the Universal Title

It's been a LONG time since I've recapped SD - but the show has been worlds better than Raw, so what the heck. Cole lets us know that the ThunderDome is INNOVATIVE AND AWARD-WINNING before another hype video hits for Roman-Bryan. Bianca's out and does a brief intro before her hype video airs. Bianca and her SD women's title earrings cut a promo on the hottEST show on Fox. Dirty Dawgs interrupt, then the Street Profits get involved. Then Bayley. Promo parade is a perfect way to kill hype for this show. 

Six person tag is up and Ford dives onto the Dawgs on the floor. Bianca takes out Dolph and then KODs Bayley before Roode eats a spinebuster and the super duper frog splash ends it. Bryan chats up an interviewer on tonight's match - which he's at peace with. Seth picks Bryan to win, leading to a Cesaro win - and thus an easier title win for him. Nia and Shayna and Reginald are backstage before Nattie and Tamina jump them in the metal pipe district. Nattie's out in tits-forward gear that looks insane. Pat says TAG TEAM SPORTS ENTERTAINMENT IS VERY DIFFERENT. Reginald gets involved and Nattie attacks, leading to Tamina not being able to do the splash. Shayna's superplex is countered by a Tamina headbutt and the splash ends it. Jesus. Booker predicts Roman for the win.

Nakamura picks Bryan to win, but if Roman wins, he'll be waiting. Rey and Dom. Dom reciting his father's WWE Accomplishments is tremendous. "TO MAKE HISTORY BY BECOMING THE FIRST-EVER FATHER-SON SMACKDOWN TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS - THAT'S LEGENDARY!" E vs. Crews is up BUT FIRST WE NEED FILLER with Make a Wish and a to be fair solid E vs. Crews video. New Day picks Roman to win. E gets the abdominal stretch with the slaps. Ad for the Macho Man A&E bio on Sunday - that should do well. E BIG SPLASH gets 2. STJoe by E gets 2. E dropped on the apron and a frog splash gets 2. Schoolboy gets 2 and the Big Ending leads to an Azeez attack. 

KO saves and then they beat up KO. Sami helluva kicks KO and then directs traffic. Sami grabs the belt and you can see he wants it, but he gives it up and avoids a beating. Or not - Azeez Nigerian Nails him. Cesaro accepts a Seth match next week and picks Bryan to win - and then he'll beat him for it at Backlash. Heyman hypes up that Bryan did the impossible before - but while YES he did it all before, he can't do it now. HE WILL NOT BEAT ROMAN, HE CANNOT SURVIVE THE TRIBAL CHIEF. 

Bryan's out and we get a WM XXX recap. MORE PREIDCTIONS! Corbin predicts a Roman win in a reidiculous green shirt before Roman's out to a new epic theme. SHOTGUN DROPKICK TO START and then the corner yes kicks! Roman throat thrusts him down, but Bryan wants the Yes lock - and Roman nixes it. This honestly feels bigger than the WM match did - and I think it's because this is far more focused of a build. MONSTER lariat by Roman leads to a flip sell and a big knee to the jaw. Bryan wants a rana off the second rope, BUT A REIGNS POWERBOMB GETS 2. 

Super back suplex gets 2 for Bryan. Bryan eats an overhead belly to belly on the floor! Roman wants a spear through the barricade, but it misses! Bryan goes up for a diving headbutt and it gets 2! Superman punch gets 2! SPEAR BUT A BRYAN SMALL PACKAGE GETS 2! KNEE PLUS GETS 2 DUE TO THE ROPE! ARM TRAPPED STOMPS BY BRYAN! YES LOCK IS ON! Roman turns it into a cradle for 2 and then a spear gets 2.5! Roman eats another yes lock, but Roman gets the mounted elbows to the back of the head and a Rampage bomb! Front choke is locked on and ROMAN WINS BY PASSOUT. Fantastic match. He wants a conchairto, but CESARO SAVES AND BEATS UP ROMAN! But Jey's out and traps him to make him watch the conchairto! Tremendous night of action overall.

AEW Dynamite 4-21-21 - Darby vs. Jungle Boy for the TNT TItle

The card is rundown and we've got two sitdown pieces with Page and Starks starting the show off. Starks avoids a triangle lariat on one side, but eats another and a plancha. Starks springs into a lariat from Page. Massive avalanche fallaway gets 2 for Page. Page goes for Deadeye, but Starks avoids it - but gets flipped right into a bully choke with an ankle pick. New dimension for Hangman! Taz talks shit so Hook can chopblock him, but Dark Order gets involved before Cage can attack. Trent vs. Penta is up next.

We see Brandon Cutler as the Elite's personal camera man as the Elite goes to the Elite's trailer. Penta talks shit and lands a round kick to the stomach before eating a rebound meteora from Trent. Trent hits a flip dive and hits his knee on the barricade. Trent gets a rolling elbow after Penta avoids a package piledriver. Second rope blind-faith DESTROYER BY PENTA! This is fantastic so far and Alex rocking out to Penta's theme was amazing. Penta wants a package piledriver on the apron, but Trent avoids it avoid an apron battle. Piledriver from Trent on the apron! MASSIVE SPEARS FROM TRENT! Alex mic shots Trent after Penta superkicks Orange and a package driver ends it! Alex and Penta are fantastic. 

Pinnacle backstage and MJF gets a new silk scarf and Wardlow points out that Jericho's IMMORTAL PROMO was great - until he got to him. He makes Jericho nervous. MJF points out that Jericho is facing a lot of hot acts and rattles off THE LIST and says he's not "great for 25 - I'M JUST GREAT!". MJF says he's unbeaten and he beat Jericho - so he's the best and he's a mark for Jericho's spot and he's gonna take it! 

Shida vs. Conti hype video airs. It's astounding how much more of a star Tay is in under a year in AEW vs. all of her NXT time. RAINMAKER FOREARM BY TAY and they exchange forearms! Shida goes for a jodo throw, but Conti avoids that because SHE'S BETTER THAN THE CHAMPION THERE. PK HITS FOR 2 for Conti. Bodyscissors leads to a rope break and Tay breaks. Delayed suplex hits Tay on the floor! Shida works heel by stomping the back and gets a full nelson bodyscissor. 

ROLLING JUDO THROWS AND THE GERMAN HIT alongside the corner pump kick! Shida avoids the ripcord roundhouse and Tay sentons her up top for 2. Shida avoids the DD-Tay and lands the falcon arrow for 2! WITCH'S SHOT ON THE BUCKLE! Tay-KO gets 2.9! Shida hits a dudebuster for 2.9! KATANA HITS AND ENDS IT! THIS RULED! Britt comes out and POINTS TO THE TRON like a WM sign to show she's #1. 

Miro cuts a promo on just what champion he needs to beat first - because he's tired of Kip's shit. Inner Circle gets a wonky promo with Hager saying that the Pinnacle will be "sucking their own meat through a straw!" and Jericho buries MJF for reciting lines from drama class before Jericho sings showtunes. "You'd better own your soul because at Blood and Guts, the Inner Circle owns your ass!" at least caps it off nicely. 

Billy Gunn GETS HIS NAME BACK and he jumps the Factory...from in front. THIS IS HOW THEY'RE PUSHING QT MARSHALL!? Jesus. It's one thing to push a guy who maybe shouldn't be pushed to this level - but don't Billy Gunn his push like this. The Gunn boys brawl with The Factory, Billy gets attacked somehow in all this and then QT gets the edge. Tony says that QT is a good trailer - but he's not a boss. Piledriver gets 2 for QT. Famouser countered, ditto the cutter by QT. OGOGO LIVER SHOTS BILLY OF THE GUT CLUB! Cutter wins it. Jesus did this bury QT six feet under. Dustin whoops QT and he does the balsas wood chairshot to Nick, who does the Bubba no-sell!

The Elite is in their trailer and the Bucks are in the most ridiculous getup ever. Omega cuts a promo and Mox and Kingston run into the trailer with a truck and THEY WANT THE TAG BELTS! Hobbs is out and Christian has new blue, red, and white-trimmed gear. Ex talks about how Butch Reed said before his passing that Hobbs is the newer version of him after JR and Tony hype him up. Hobbs just waistlock and throws Cage around like he's nothing - tremendous! This match needs less of Cage in restholds and more of Hobbs just throwing him around like a sack of shit. Pendulum kick and an uppercut get 2. Big spinebuster by Hobbs but Christian gets a sunset bomb and frog splash for 2. Hobbs goes for Town Business, but does Christian's "look for you" pose and then the Killswitch ends it. Okay - smart move there as Hobbs basically got too cocky for his own good and could have won - but didn't and he could with more experience.

Jade hype video and every manager wants her - but she wants top money for it. Next week's card is rundown and Brian Cage vs. Hangman Page should be fantastic. Jack is out and we get a recap of him winning big matches with the Snare Trap and the TV time is all they have to work with. Lots of matwork to start off Allin vs. Jack, showcasing a lot that we haven't seen from Jack. Darby takes him down for some ground and pound and Jack chops away on the floor. Jack runs him over the barricade for an ad break. Bridging German gets 2 for Jack and Darby gets the float-over stunner for 2. Corner coffin splash chain from Darby, but Jack gets the knees up!

 

PAIR OF TOPES AND NOW A THIRD FROM JACK! COFFIN DROP ON THE APRON FOR DARBY! They set up at the start that TNT Title matches have until TV time remaining and now Luchasaurus and Sting brawl to the back. JACK HITS A BRAINBUSTER! SNARE TRAP IS ON, BUT DARBY GETS THE ROPE! SNARE TRAP AGAIN, BUT DARBY GOES TO THE EYES! JACK SLAPS THE SHIT OUT OF HIM! LAST SUPPER CRADLE ENDS IT. WOW. This ruled!

Sky and Page beat the shit out of them and the Archer makes a save! They beat up Archer and STING SAVES HIM! Good stuff there - they're setting up Sting and Archer as long-term allies and splitting Archer off from Jake is probably best. Jake just sounds completely shot right now and the benefit he had for Archer one year ago is largely gone as a result.

 

AEW Dynamite 4/14/21 - Young Bucks vs. Pac/Fenix

 

The Bucks say they through things in for friendship - they aren't a club of friends, they're a family that LOVES AND HUGS. They CUT THE TASSLES OFF THEIR GEAR because it's time for a newer, better version of them. Tremendous! Mike says he's excited about tonight and then MJF interrupts him and says he missed his prime because he's too young - BUT HIS DAD SAYS HE WAS GREAT. HEY MIKEINATOR! He offers up a blank check, which Tyson eats. Tremendous. Death Triangle vs. Bucks is up to start - hell of a start!

We see clips of the House Always Wins with Death Triangle holding the belts up. Ex talks about the Bucks knowing Pac since their first Dragon Gate tours. Matt goes to the face corner for a tag to Fenix...but he's in the wrong corner as a heel now. Faces double-kick, fake-out kick, and double dropkick Matt! Nick's in for an apron PK to Pac and then a spike X Factor to Fenix. Nick shows off DIOR on his shoes. 

Pac kick combo and brainbuster hits for 2 on Matt. DOUBLE APRON BOMB BY THE BUCKS! DOUBLE BACKFLIP...back rake! DELAYED SPRINGBOARD DIVE BY FENIX! Step-up superkick into a draping rana and a double cutter for 2! Deadlift German by Pac when Fenix Penix Matt and then Fenix flip dives onto Nick! Apron pump kick by Pac, but a superkick hits him! REBOUND DESTROYER BY NICK! Pac and Matt apron warfare! STEREO POISON RANAS BY THE BUCKS! Fenix eats a superkick, but recovers for a rolling cutter!

Black Arrow to Matt, but Nick SHOVES FENIX INTO THE PILE TO BREAK IT UP! Nick drags Matt over - good RNR Express move there. Nick rips Fenix's mask off and he eats a double superkick to end it. THIS MATCH RULED! Marvez chats with Page and Dark Order and he bugs Silver by slapping his shoulder and he shows how much he's rehabbed it while Page goes to get burritos. 

Jericho says that they changed their ways and that allow them to right the wrongs with Tyson - he called him and apologized right away. Red Velvet vs. Jade is up and JADE IS SUCH A STAR. My God. Pump kick by Jade and then she fallaway slams Velvet into the trainees. Jade counts her abs while Velvet crawls on her HANDS AND KNEES TO GET BACK IN and then eats a suplex that Jade kips up from. Jade is too cocky for her own good and eats a body-scissors bulldog and a standing moonsault for 2. Velvet misses-ish a moonsault a Glam Slam/JADED ends it. Good stuff in a different way than the Bucks match. Britt goes all Mookieghana with the rankings and says she'll get more wins on Dark Elevation to get the title shot.  

Ogogo is out with THE FACTORY logo looking pretty good. We see Ogogo beat up Cody at the house show. Tie-up by Ogogo, but a liver shot takes out Cole Carter. I love the ref stoppage - this is the kind of guy you do it with. He's a killer boxer, so he can take guys out with ANYTHING. Miro says he's here to fulfil HIS DESTINY AND BECOMING A CHAMPION. If you have gold around your waist, DISAPPEAR BEFORE I FIND YOU!

Jericho's out as a face before Cash and Tully WITH HIS IPAD try to stay out there and Tully acts shocked that he has to leave. Tyson and his pink shorts take the bat away from Dax. Jericho does his camera stealing bird flip deal as a face - WITH A BROADCAST CAMERA. Jericho double axe and the Lionsault hits for 2. Dax Man hits a series of forearms, but eats a lariat for 2. Pinnacle and Inner Circle entrance tunnel fight! Cash has the bat, but TYSON KOS HIM! Dax wants a piledriver, but Sammy distracts and a backdrop leads to the Judas Effect win! This was fun. 

Marvez meets with the Bullet Club and Callis says that when you think you've seen it all, you haven't seen anything. Bucks say that everyone is on notice - if you want to face them, you've got a BTE trigger with your names on it! Callis says you all wanted the old Omega and the old Young Bucks - YOU GOT THEM. Prepare to be surprised again. SUPERKICK PARTY TO THE CAMERAMAN! Rosa says she wants the AEW and NWA titles! 

Kris is out to OC's theme and JR says that Kris is in better shape and KRIS NOSE BOOPS! Kris press slam! Kris gets some...less than perfect flippy-dos. Super Nova driver ends it. This was fun, but she should maybe nix some of those flippy-dos. Starks says that Cage shouldn't be waiting a week for Cage and Taz cools him down. Cage agrees with Taz and Taz says they need to stay in the back and leave it to he, Hook, and Hobbs. Cage is mid-ring before Team Taz comes out. Christian vs. Hook would be a great first match for Hook to have. Cage says he isn't here to help Taz fix things, he's here to win titles. His answer is no and he's glad Taz is on the steps so he can see him eye to eye. Hobbs railroads Cage! Love Taz just calling Cage a shitbag. 

Shida vs. Conti for the gold is on the line next week. House Always Wins clips with Darby beating Butcher, only to eat a Twisto from Matt. Nasty chair landing on the back for Darby. Darby's back is all sliced up. Chair-spiking Twisto is setup! Darby uses the chair to the throat and then back! THE HARDY FAMILY INC IS HERE! Sting and the Dark Order make the save! STING SENDS PRIVATE PARTY TO THE FLOOR! Sting goes for a double deathdrop to PP but Archer prevents Page and Sky. BLACKOUT TO KASSIDY in front of Sting to one-up him. CHAIR TWISTO TO DARBY ON THE RAMP! 2.9! 

Hardy and Darby brawl and Hardy hits a YOOOO legdrop off the ladder and smacks his ass on the cement. WHY DO THAT IF YOU'RE HARDY WITH A FUSED SPINE!? Bat to the gut, back and jaw! Darby bats the shit out of the announce table monitors. COFFIN DROP OFF THE LIGHTING TRUSS! DARBY WINS IT. This was fun.

WrestleMania 37 Night 2 - 4/11/21

 

Pre-show features an HOF video showcasing why RVD never did a great promo. TREMENDOUS hype video for Edge vs. Bryan vs. Roman with a glorious three-way image and UNIVERSAL CHAMPION ROMAN REIGNS graphic. Short and sweet. Ashland Craft is out performing America the Beautiful. Has she ever performed in a stadium before? Her voice is not carrying well at all in this big setting. 

Same intro from last night. Ugh. Titus and Hogan are out and Hogan gets booed again. They're also out AS PIRATES and Hogan looks three feet tall. Bad comedy and then Orton's out in FANTASTIC white, black and red gear and does THE POSE to pyro. 

The Fiend is healed via fire GCI. Alexa's out. Randy yelling "COME ON!" is all of us. She unleashes The Fiend via giant jack in the box. Diving lariat off the box onto Randy to start things off. Fiend goes for a punt, but Orton avoids and rolls out only to be mandible clawed. ORTON WINS THE WRESTLING MATCH WITH A WRESTLING MOVE! After the gothic loli bled black blood and distracted the Asylum horror movie monster! Then they just disappear when the lights go out. Okay then whatever.

Bayley interrupts Hogan, Eric, and Titus. Hogan and Eric bail on Titus and he bails on Bayley after giving her his hat. Women's tag is up. Nia's match is sponsored by Snickers. Finally - some comedy on this show. Shayna has horrible makeup on, but stiffs the shit out of Nattie with a knee to the jaw. Jumping stomp to the ankle by Shayna to Nattie. "CM Punk" chant. LOL. This show is doomed BY WWE. Nattie gets Nia down off a double lariat and discus for 2. "YOU AIN'T SHIT! I RUN THIS - NOT YOU! I'M QUEEN KONG, BITCH!" - Nia is amazing tonight! Nia falling sofa double crossbody. Sharpshooter by Nattie on Nia, but Shayna's in and Kirafuda clutches her to win. THIS first hour has been ungodly horrible.

Sami-KO video package. JBL is out for commentary. Will he find a way to call Cherry a rat here? Sami's dance needs to be in Fortnite ASAP. Sami runs into the pop-up powerbomb for MOVE ONE. Sami avoids an apron bomb, but a cannonball hits leading to JBL referencing Otto Wnaz. Sami gets a JOYOUS BRAINBUSTER SERIES for 2. SUPER STEENALIZER BY KO! Helluva, but a second eats a superkick series. Stunner hits for the win. Sami and Logan argue and Logan shoves him down. Logan raises KO's hands to boos. Yeah this worked great! Stunner to Logan Paul! Well, KO's a face again.

Riddle meets with Great Khali and then RVD comes in to be his translator. RVD shills his rolling papers. Sheamus and Riddle slug the shit out of each other before we get some highspots with Riddle doing a run-up Spanish Fly. Forearm combo leads to a Pele kick by Riddle. Riddle goes for a...somersault flip into nothing into a V trigger for 2. Apron PK and the floating bro hit for 2. Sheamus sets him up for a super white noise and things go wonky and he just steps down for a running regular one and a knee off the top for 2. Moonsault off the second into a brogue kick ENDS IT. And Riddle gets all busted up due to this. This was fun, but sloppy. Great finish tho.

Wale's going to do Big E's theme here - thanks to their tron showing his name. Big E's theme does work pretty well for him getting a semi-main event push. A great showing from E here feels like it could be just what he needs to be in the main event scene. That intro felt main event-level. Suicide spear by E before Crews hits an apron DVD. Big Ending, but Dabba Kato is back and chokeslams him for the win. Okay then. WM night 1 recap. 2021 HOF recap. Rhea's theme is played live and we get WWE SPEAK ABOUT WHAT A REBEL SHE IS. Long "legscissors" by Rhea before a kneebar is escaped by Rhea. DDT OFF THE APRON and it looks like Rhea is split above the eyebrow. Riptide hits and ends it. 

WM recap airs -- BECAUSE NOT EVEN WM BEING TWO NIGHTS IS ENOUGH MANIA. Bayley interrupts Hogan and Titus again. She demands pyro and gets it and then THE BELLAS INTERRUPT and beat her up. Triple threat main event is up and Edge is great working as both a face against the heels and a heel against Bryan. Impaler DDT to Jey on the steps! Bryan missile dropkick to Edge and nip up! Superman punch meets an Edge powerslam and Bryan diving headbutts to both men for 2! "SUMMONING THE MOVEMENT!" - phrasing, Corey! Yes kicks to both and Bryan knees Roman for 2. 

Yes lock to Roman, but Edge nixes that. Yes lock to Edge, but Roman stops it and elbows him down. Rampage bomb to Bryan onto Edge. Roman sends Bryan through a table and then Edge spears Roman off the steps! Edge grabs steel chairs, but Roman steps on one as he enters the ring. Roman wants the front choke, but Edge escapes and Edge crossfaces him! EDGE USES THE CHAIR AS A WEDGE FOR IT! Roman prepares to Tap, but Roman gets locked in the Yes Lock and Roman's in both at once! Edge and Bryan headbutt each other to win out. Arm-trap stomps to Edge! 

Running knee to Roman MEETS AN EDGE SPEAR! Spear to ROMAN AND BRYAN TAKES THE REF OUT OF THE RING! Edge gets EVEN MORE CHAIRS. Chairs to the back of everyone! CONCHAIRTO TO BRYAN! JEY JUMPS EDGE! Spear to Jey by Edge! SPEAR TO EDGE BY ROMAN! Conchairto to Edge! Roman pins BOTH MEN TO WIN IT. This was fantastic and easily the best match of either night of Mania. Roman is THE GUY. The guy of all the guys! 

WWE WrestleMania 37 Night 1 - 4/10/21

 

The pre-show has rambling and an AMAZING hype video for Bianca vs. Sasha - legit one of the best video packages ever in terms of making a new star feel like a legend on the rise. Seth-Cesaro recap WITH THE BACKSTAGE SWING. Tremendous! HOF video airs - I like the "paid for by the NWO" bit for their induction. Braun vs. Shane hype video gets a Sin City-ish video effect and Rosenberg talks about the blue bars being back for this. Maybe. Booker rambles on more to hype the show and then Booker plugs his Instagram show.

So much for giving Drew the big "first guy back from the pandemic" pop so THE COMPANY AND VINCE CAN GET THE POP. A bit too much of the "local players are her for the play" vibe - but Bebe Rexha does a great job of singing the National Anthem. Hype video runs through "cold open 101"  with WM clips. Rain and lightning lead to a delay - this show is cursed! 

Rain delay leads to BANTER and Shane chatting with Sarah. MVP hypes up that tonight will be the crowning of THE ALL MIGHTY ERA. This needs THE ALPHA MALE cutting a coked-up promo. New Day promo about their match. KO doing an unscripted promo is fantastic - hyping this up as a war over 20 years between he and Sami. And this is THEIR MOMENT before he gets sucked into the borg. Seth cuts a horrid promo before AFTER THE 30 MINUTE DELAY, THE HOSTS GET INTROS! 

Hogan and Titus have no chemistry and Hogan is so awkward. Big pyro display for Drew and the goofy sword intro. Lashley's stage pose gets no pyro - but he does get pyro for his turnbuckle pose. Long tieup and they slug it out. "POUND AND GROUND BY LASHLEY" according to Cole. Standing Kimura attempt by Drew, but Lashley fights out. YOKOSUKA CUTTER GETS 2 FOR LASHLEY. All mighty spinebuster gets 2. Claymore is avoided and turned into another spinebuster. Soft style strike exchange FUTURE SHOCK CHAIN gets 2! 

Drew wants a claymore, but MVP pulls Lashley out...after he drops down and then Drew flip dives onto them. Lashley, former pro MMA fighter, only has one submission move to use to try and win. DREW HAS MORE SUBMISSION MOVES. Kimura with a bodyscissor, but Lashley gets the rope. Hurt Lock is on and Drew goes for the Bret-Piper finish, but LASHLEY ROLLS THROUGH IT. LASHLEY WINS IT VIA Pass Out. Right man won - Lashley just won it and is in his first reign - he needed the win more and Drew can win it at Summerslam.

Bayley meets with Titus and the NWO and gets made to look foolish. GEEK BAYLEY a bigger geek than when she was a geek. Whew. Let's follow up that hour-long clusterfuck with a LANA TAG MATCH. YES! People paid WWE to risk death to watch Billie Kay and Lana wrestle. Double X factor from the faces to Billie gets 2. Sunset flip pins Naomi thanks to Carmella pushing her during it. Liv's out as Harley and "didn't get all of it' on a dropkick. Faces win after turning the heel tactics against them and getting a double team. Dana and Mandy come out and Mandy slips on the wet ramp. Dana tags in via ass-smack. Liv gets a cradle for the win. Nattie and Tamina are out. Hart Attack hits and the sharpshooter is attempted, but Tamina tags in and the Superfly dive ends it. 

Another horrible Old Spice deal airs. Seth's EMBRACE THE VISION tron and theme are less buys than the Messiah was. Cesaro vs. Seth is up and Seth gets a big intro before a recap of Cesaro swinging him WITH WACKY NICKELODEON SPED UP VIDEO. All the drugs CG for Cesaro. Cole talks about Cesaro being a stop and start guy. Super gutwrench is met with a buckle bomb. Cesaro gets a sharpshoooter, but Seth gets the rope. Seth gets a European uppercut to the neck. STOMP INTO THE UPPERCUT! UFO HITS! CESARO SWING! 23 revolutions! Neutralizer hits and gets the win! Finally, a good match! 

Big E's out time to do the New Day's intro! New Day bully Omos by yelling that they're cutting the ring in half because HE ISN'T A TAG WRESTLER. AJ gets beaten up and then AJ tags him in and Omos runs wild with Giant Gonzales moves before AJ HITS THE FOREARM OFF HIS SHOULDERS! Tree slam and a one foot pin - fitting after Khali goes into the HOF. RECAP OF THE BRAUN SHANE FEUD! 

 

Shane's out and Braun gets a big train sound intro. Elias and Reicher jump Braun. They chairshot his knee a ton and then Shane chairshots him and kicks his leg out. Shane tears some metal off the cage top to attack him. Coast to Coast gets 2. They fight up top and Shane hits him with a tool box on top of the cage. OF COURSE! Shane climbs out, but Shane waves goodbye and Braun grabs him. Braun rips the cage apart and tosses him up top and throws him for a stunt bump off the top of the cage. Braun says he did that for everyone who's ever been called stupid. Powerslam wins it. This was fun.

Giant pyro display because fuck it, why not. YAY MORE WWE COMEDY. Just what we needed  HOF video package. HOF stage bit with Liger and Shatner via photo. Georgia and Harry looked proud for their dad and the NWO got the intro. WM 22 is now in Dallas again. BOOKER T IS OUT FOR COMMENTARY! Booker's out for commentary. I hope someone has a little black dot on their boot. or IBS. Bunnies come out and Byron says he's had dreams about this. Miz and Morrison are out to rap and then we get a Bad Bunny video.

Priest is out in a dreadful outfit while Bad Bunny gets Becky's big rig intro. Miz, the two-time former WWE Champion was just out...sports entertained by Bad Bunny! He hits Kelly Kelly's deja vu, but gets double-teamed by the heels. BUNNY IN PERIL! Priest tags in and runs wild with wacky kicks. STEREO FALCON ARROWS FOR 2! Bunny dives on the heels, but Miz hits the Finale on Priest before BUNNY SAVES HIM. CANADIAN DESTROYER TO MORRISON! Double Impact crossbody wins it! This may actually be the best match of Mania weekend for WWE. Recap of tonight's events. 

Sasha's revamped theme is better for just the intro stop point - everything else is a downgrade. Love seeing Bianca tear up a bit there - this feels like a big deal to them, and it makes the match feel bigger. Bianca gets her in the bitch clamp, but Sasha rolls her out and baseball slides her. Sasha dives but gets caught, pressed, and tossed in. Sasha lands a series of kicks and knees. Sasha jumps in the corner, but eats a spinebuster. 450 MEETS THE KNEES. Falling powerbomb INTO A DOUBLE POWERBOMB FOR 2! ALBERTO DOUBLE STOMP misses for Sasha and a shotgun knee misses. 450 HITS FOR 2.9! HAIR WHIP and the KOD is countering. KOD HITS AND SASHA...kicks out according to Cole. Yikes. Clean win there - good-ish match, but nothing amazing.