The WrestleMania Undercard
Night 1
- Alexa Bliss & Nkki Cross beat The Kabuki Warriors for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship
- Elias pinned King Corbin
- Sami Zayn beat Daniel Bryan to retain the Intercontinental Championship
- John Morrison beat Kofi Kingston and Jimmy Uso to retain the Smackdown Tag Team Championships in a Ladder Match
- Kevin Owens pinned Seth Rollins
Night 2
- Aleister Black pinned Bobby Lashley
- Otis pinned Dolph Ziggler
- Edge beat Randy Orton in a Last Man Standing Match
- The Street Profits beat Angel Garza & Austin Theory
- Bayley beat Lacey Evans, Sasha Banks, Tamina & Naomi to retain the Smackdown Women’s Championship
You have a lot of good choices here, as everyone worked hard to deliver a great performance. If I were to rank these matches, the Top 5 would include Zayn/Bryan, the Ladder Match, Edge/Orton, Profits vs. Garza/Theory, and Owens/Rollins. In no particular order, but three of those five came from Night 1. I feel like Night 1 had the slight advantage there, but again it’s slight.
Advantage: Night 1
Unique Setting Match
- Night 1 – The Undertaker beat AJ Styles in a Boneyard Match
- Night 2 – Bray Wyatt & The Fiend beat John Cena in a Firefly Funhouse Match
Many are calling these matches the perfect end-games for both The Undertaker and John Cena, but I don’t think it’s the end for either. However, both of these matches were outstanding, even if some can’t look at them as “a match.”
I absolutely loved the Boneyard Match. AJ Styles deserves an Oscar for his performance, and The Undertaker was made to look like a million bucks. The setting was perfect, the action was enjoyable, and the finish made sense. Even the “spooky” Undertaker elements like teleportation and controlling fire made sense, and each added to the match.
The Firefly Funhouse Match was a masterpiece in its own right as well. You can’t do this on any other WrestleMania but this one. It was entertaining from start to finish, it was fun, and I’ll definitely watch it again. It left people talking, had elements you’d never see otherwise, and to me felt satisfying in the end.
This is a tough call, but I have to give the (slight) nod to the Boneyard Match as it was tighter, made more sense, and told the better story. But I mean it when I say slight. That damn Firefly Funhouse Match was a thing of beauty.
Advantage: Night 1
Men’s World Championship Showdown
- Night 1 – Braun Strowman pinned Goldberg to win his first world title, the WWE Universal Championship
- Night 2 – Drew McIntyre pinned Brock Lesnar to win his first world title, the WWE Championship
You know, I really enjoyed Night 1! I promise I did. But I don’t even hae to go into detail here. There is no comparison.
Goldberg vs. Braun Strowman was a serviceable match that was really a means to an end. It didn’t do much to generate a ton of excitement, and for me this was a foregone conclusion. Conversely, plenty of people were worried that Drew McIntyre wouldn’t win. WWE played that well, but in the end the right guy won. And Drew McIntyre won in what was the superior match, too.
Advantage: Night 2
Which WrestleMania Night Wins?
When you add it all up, you’re looking at a 3-2 win for Night 2. And that also “feels” about right. Both nights were amazing, and the escape we all needed before we could move on with our lives and stamp out this damn virus. To say WWE and their performers stepped up big time is an understatement, they delivered exactly what the world needed.
Night 2 might be the winner here, but everyone should be proud.
Forced to choose, which night of WrestleMania delivered over the other? It’s close for me, is it close for you? Reply in the comments and let me know!
Greg DeMarco is a life-long wrestling fan who has been providing analysis and perspective online since 2010. He’s also worked for various wrestling promotions including the NWA and Ring Of Honor, and currently promotes IZW Wrestling in Arizona.
Links:
* Homepage – http://thechairshot.com/gregdemarco
* Twitter – https://twitter.com/ChairshotGreg
* Facebook – https://facebook.com/ChairshotGreg
* Instagram – https://instagram.com/ChairshotGreg
* Free Email Newsletter – https://gregdemarco.substack.com
