This past weekend, I had the pleasure and honor to be at WrestleMania 32 at Cowboys Stadium in Dallas, Texas. I am a lifelong fan of wrestling, WrestleMania has always been a special event that I treat like an unofficial holiday. WrestleMania is the Super Bowl of Wrestling, because it transcends pop culture. People that don't even watch wrestling or know anything else about wrestling know about WrestleMania. I became a fan shortly after the Golden Era phased out, and as the New Generation made its rise. My introduction to wrestling came through Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker. The Attitude Era of Austin, Rock, etc is what cemented me as a fan even more because of how great the product was and the impact it made on the industry in the future. Those wrestlers were my foundation as a fan. Even as they have come and gone, I continued to support the product as my Dream was to always go to WrestleMania. I am also a Dallas Cowboys fan, so that was only the icing and cherry on top of my cake. Thankfully, I got both monkeys off of my back.
The Atmosphere in Dallas was spectacular, with so much to see and so much to do in a short amount of time. The Convention Center was filled with fans from all different circles. You had fans from nearby Dallas and other parts of Texas. You had fans like myself flying from Washington, DC, as well as other parts of the country. Of course, there were the International fans. This mixture of people coming together in one place, the Palace of Dallas (AT&T Stadium) to be a part of potential history. That weekend, I wore my Undertaker and Shawn Michaels T-shirts to represent the greatest stars in WrestleMania history. Plus, they are from Texas so it was only right. I also came with my Intercontinental Title. When you are at Mania, you have to do things big especially in Dallas. I came with my A+ Game. The only issue I had the day of Mania was the extremely long line to get into the building. It all paid off in the end. I was in the Standing Room Only Section in the West Plaza of the Stadium (Party Pass), so I had a great view. The Screen was right in front of me as I walked inside. My section was filled with people standing together, but I still had a nice view. It was on the same level as the Cowboys Pro Shop and WWE Shop at the Entrance. No bad seats anywhere.
However, things were starting to look bleak going into WrestleMania or as I like to call it Hospital Mania. WWE took a huge bite from the Injury bug as their most valuable names were out for the biggest show of the year: John Cena, Randy Orton, Seth Rollins, Cesaro, Sting, Daniel Bryan, etc. Dream matches were thrown out of the window, and WWE was desperate to make the most out of the mess that they helped to create. As a result, WWE produced a card that involved lower level players in mixed matches. For example, Zack Ryder and Sin Cara were put in a 7-man Ladder match for the IC Title with Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, Dolph Ziggler, Stardust and The Miz. The Divas Pre-Show match was a 5-on-5 that featured the debuts of Lana and Eva Marie. All for the sake of giving everybody a Mania payday.
One of the other big issues for me was when The Dudley Boyz and the USO's were on the Pre-Show. I know New Day is the hot new flavor, but the USO's were reduced to a spot beneath the main card. I guess Roman must be the main Samoan they want to focus on. Apparently their cousin Dwayne (The Rock) did not push for them to be on the main card. I'm not sure if this is Vince's way of punishing the Dudleyz for being in TNA for so long. Either way, they made the most of this match.
WWE also had to improvise by placing Dean Ambrose in a match with Brock Lesnar. The biggest surprise was when Shane McMahon not only made his return, but he was placed in a match with The Undertaker. The storyline about Shane possibly taking over RAW if he won was the loophole that they needed to use to make up for Taker not having a match with Cena or Sting. Overall, Shane was far from my ideal opponent for Taker. Triple H vs Roman Reigns was another alternative since Roman did not have a Seth Rollins or John Cena to depend on for the ideal match. If the roster was healthy, the card would look totally different.
As far as the show itself, it was a spectacle in spite of the card. Surpisingly, Zack Ryder won the IC Title. I stood in disbelief wearing my Belt along with many other fans in the building. Other surprises included Chris Jericho's win over AJ Styles in a very good match (arguably their best). I was not upset about it. Charlotte defeated Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch in the Triple Threat Match for the newly revealed Women's Title. I picked Sasha, but it was still a great match especially with Sasha paying tribute to Eddie Guerrero in her own way. She was also accompanied to the ring by her cousin, WWE Hall of Famer Snoop Dogg (I know. I want to laugh too).
The League of Failed Nations defeated the New Day. Big E, Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston dressed like the Ginyu Force from Dragon Ball Z. It is very appropriate because they are the wrestling equivalent of that group. After the match, the League of Nations issued an open challenge. Be careful what you ask for because you just might get it. They got a huge surprise with Shawn Michaels, Mick Foley and Stone Cold Steve Austin. Texas sized surprises as they cleaned house and proceeded to dance with New Day before Austin gave Xavier Woods the Stone Cold Stunner.
Brock Lesnar defeated Dean Ambrose in their Hardcore Match. Whenever Dean reached for the toys that Mick Foley and Terry Funk gave him, Brock would stop him every time. Lesnar turned Dallas into Suplex City.
Shane vs Undertaker went without interference. Taker slowed the match down to his pace, since he was already moving slow to begin with. Shane got his share of offense in, but still was not lighting the match on fire. Taker gave him The Last Ride, Hell's Gate and a Chokeslam, but Shane did not give up. The highlight of the match was when Shane jumped off of the Cell for his Elbow Drop, but Undertaker quickly moved out of the way as McMahon crashed through the announce table like Mankind. Undertaker closed the match by picking up Shane and rolling him back into the ring for the Tombstone Piledriver for the victory. There was no surprise interference involved on Shane's behalf from John Cena, Sting, or even the Balor Club. It was a straight up match with Undertaker having the obvious advantage. As I have said before, the fans that picked Shane to win, congratulations the April Fools Joke is on you. The fans that screamed Shane O'Mac became silent. It was music to my ears.
Shaquille O'Neal made a surprise appearance in the Battle Royal. Baron Corbin won the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal.
The Rock made the announcement that WrestleMania 32 broke the Attendance Record with 101,763. He was introduced with the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders. The Wyatt Family interrupted The People's Champ. The Great One turned this into a match and his surprise partner was John Cena himself. Rock and Cena destroyed the Wyatt Family.
Finally, Roman Reigns challenged Triple H in the Main Event for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Stephanie's introduction of The Game reminded me of the first Ghostbusters movie. The match was decent. The highlight of the match came when Roman accidentally speared Stephanie. Triple H went for the sledgehammer, but Reigns countered with a Spear to win the title. Hopefully, this sets things in motion to end the Authority storyline and clean up the giant mess that it has created.
The match card was not the best, but it was a dream that I wanted to realize at my favorite Stadium. No matter what things looked like, my goal was to go to WrestleMania in Dallas. Mission Accomplished.
I give the show 3 out of 5 John Cena WWE Title Reigns.
Cowboys Stadium: 5 out of 5 WWF Winged Eagle Title Reigns.
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