Welcome to another edition of Triple Threat from Smark Out Moment, where three of us get together to discuss three questions based on one big topic going down in the week of professional wrestling.
This week, Dallas Allsopp, Greg Coleman and Tony Mango review WWE WrestleMania 37.
WrestleMania 37 was a successful event, featuring the long awaited return of fans. The event felt special, with most matches surpassing fans' expectations. Which match was the best? Which was the worst? Who walks out of WrestleMania a more valuable prospect? And just where does this WrestleMania rank on the all-time list?
Question 1: Which match was the best over both nights? Which match was the worst?
ALLSOPP: Simply put, the best match of the weekend for me was the Triple Threat match for the WWE Universal Championship. It superbly blended solid storytelling with breathtaking action, solidifying Roman Reigns as the ultimate wrestler in WWE.
Sadly, the Tag Team Turmoil match was a clusterfuck of epic proportions. No-one came away looking strong, with Lana and Billie Kay displaying the type of wrestling the Diva’s division was synonymous with.
COLEMAN: The best match of the weekend was Sasha Banks vs Bianca Belair. For as bad as the build was, the match was everything fans hoped it would be when Belair made it official and chose to face Banks. It was an amazing match, and an amazing moment.
The worst match of the weekend was The Fiend vs Randy Orton. This match was terrible in all aspects, and the only good thing was that it didn’t take up a lot of time.
MANGO: Best for me goes to Banks/Belair. Maybe I got swept up in the moment, but that one put the biggest smile on my face, which was the total opposite of Wyatt/Orton. Functionally, the Tag Team Turmoil was the worst, but the fact that WWE put so much time for months into this story with The Fiend just to have THAT be the end game was absurd, even though I saw it coming from a mile away.
Question 2: Who walks out of WrestleMania 37 with the most improved reputation? Who walks out of WrestleMania 37 looking like their WWE career is circling the drain?
COLEMAN: Bianca Belair. Belair has all the makings of being a huge star, and her performance against arguably the best wrestler in WWE showed what she can do when she has the opportunity and the right dance partner. If handled correctly, this moment for Belair will be similar to what WrestleMania 21 and the Great American Bash 1990 meant to John Cena and Sting respectively.
I hate to pile on Bray Wyatt, but it’s The Fiend who comes away from WrestleMania in a mess. Wyatt is building up one of the worst WrestleMania resumes as far as performances and win/loss records go. By my count, his only WrestleMania win was last year against John Cena.
MANGO: Bonus points for Roman Reigns for overcoming the odds. Negative points for The Fiend for following through with none of his promises to put The Viper down.
ALLSOPP: Roman Reigns is now the undisputed star of WWE, finally fulfilling the prophecy that Vince McMahon created for him. Fans boo him, of course, but that is because he is such an amazing heel. It will truly take something special to end his WWE Universal Championship reign.
Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of The Fiend. What the actual fuck was the point of his feud with Randy Orton, if he was not going to secure revenge for being literally cremated inside a wrestling ring. I don’t care what Raw tried to achieve in resetting his character. He just does not work anymore, which is hard to say as a huge fan of his character work.
Question 3: Overall, where does this rank on the list of all time great WrestleMania events? Did you appreciate the lack of part-timers competing on the card this year?
MANGO: Combined, it isn't the worst, but when you factor in how problematic Night 2 was, it goes down quite a bit. Night 1 overall was a bigger success even with the rain delay and women's tag match. I can't say for sure where I would rank it, but it's still certainly better than last year by sheer virtue of having fans and feeling like WrestleMania. Part-timers don't bother me if they're used properly. It's only an issue if they swoop in and fight in the title matches and take those spots away from others who could do just as well. Goldberg or Brock Lesnar in an undercard match? Totally fine. Putting the title on them for months and barely being on TV just to have a 3 minute title match? That's the problem. No issues with that this time around, thankfully.
ALLSOPP: It was an extremely solid event, with way more positives than negatives. It surpasses the quality of some of the recent events, but was not strong enough to break into the upper echelon of WrestleMania events. Saying that, I could not be happier to see a card composed of mainly full time stars, which is something WWE have been crying out for. The Undertaker, Goldberg, John Cena, and yes, even Brock Lesnar are not required to have a stellar event. The proof is in the pudding, and I felt proud of the roster for their sterling effort.
COLEMAN: This was a really good WrestleMania and I would rank it at 5 or 6. I believe it’s the best WrestleMania of the past 10 years. I did appreciate the lack of part timers and the fact that they didn’t go overboard with celebrity involvement. Overall, this was a very well booked WrestleMania.
Those are our thoughts on the issue, but where do you stand?
Let us know your answers to these questions in the comments below!
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