Well, WrestleMania 37 sure ended on a high note.
The best story leading into the show of shows headlined what was already a pretty successful weekend for WWE. The Universal Champion Roman Reigns defended his title against the 2021 Royal Rumble winner Edge and Daniel Bryan in one of the best WrestleMania main events in recent memory.
You could argue that each performer is currently portraying the best version of their character ever. The Tribal Chief against a Hall of Famer eager to right the wrong that was the end of his career and a veteran of the business who is a sure Hall of Famer in his own right, and he knows it.
The longest match of the weekend saw the WWE Universe locked into a classic match.
I don’t want to give a full play-by-play in this post, because if you haven’t seen this match yet you should stop reading now and watch it. Then you can come back and relive the high points with me.
First off, the video package prior to the action was incredible. WWE isn’t new to the idea of a great WrestleMania video package to set up a great match, but it is worth noting that this was another great one.
It really set the tone for what was billed as three legends taking the squared circle. With talk that this could be Daniel Bryan’s final WrestleMania and not knowing how much longer Edge will be lacing up his boots, there’s a real possibility that Reigns will be the only man from this match wrestling full-time in a few years.
A must-see WrestleMania match.
Jey Uso, Reigns’ cousin and right hand man, got involved and Superkicked both Edge and Bryan as Reigns chucked them to the outside. Uso looked to be a difference maker early on, but Edge was able to turn the tide by tossing him into the steel steps.
Edge knocked Uso out of the match by hitting an Edgecution on top of the steel steps.
Another smart spot in the match was when Reigns was on the apron and he and Edge were trying to Suplex one another. Bryan slid underneath the two men to the outside and yanked Reigns down, causing him to go face first into the apron and a guillotine-like effect to Edge. Bryan took the opportunity to climb to the top rope and hit Edge with a Missile Dropkick.
There were so many spots within this match that just made sense. You never questioned why one of them was attempting a certain move.
A prime example of this occurred a little bit later on in the match.
At one point Reigns was setting up for a Superman Punch on Edge, but he was able to reverse it into an Edgecution. Edge then set up for a Spear, but Reigns was able to connect with a Superman Punch. Reigns then sized Edge up for a Spear of his own, but Edge jumped over him and executed a Sunset Flip roll-up cover for a near fall.
When both men get to their feet, Edge ducked a punch from Reigns. Both men ran off of the ropes and attempted Spears, a spot that you would see either man attempt in any given match. But seeing both men go for the same finish just to crash and burn was pretty poetic. Then Bryan took the opportunity to hit both men with Diving Headbutts before covering Reigns for a two-count.
Leading into the finish of the match Bryan set up for a Running Knee on Edge, urging the WWE Universe to do a slow “YES” chant with him.
But Bryan ran straight into a Spear from Edge.
Reigns then went for a Superman Punch but Edge ducked and ran off the ropes, planting Reigns with a Spear. Edge covered Reigns only for Bryan to drag the referee under the bottom rope, stopping the count.
Edge’s facial expression told the story.
You could see him snap. He went to the Timekeeper’s area and grabbed a plethora of steel chairs. He began to demolish Bryan with one outside of the ring before rolling him back in. Edge then hit both men with multiple chair shots before setting each of them up for their own Con-chair-to.
Edge hit a perfectly sold Con-chair-to on Bryan, his only movement being an occasional twitch. When Edge turned his attention to Reigns, the right hand man made his presence known once again. Uso began assaulting Edge before picking up the chair that Reigns’ head was laying on top of. Uso was pleading with his cousin to get back to his feet before attempting to hit Edge with the chair, but Edge hit him with a Spear out of nowhere.
Edge then hit Uso with a few chair shots before turning into a Spear from the defending Universal Champion. Reigns opted not to pin either man, but to set Edge up for a Con-chair-to. After hitting the devastating move he dragged the lifeless body of Edge over and placed him on top of Bryan, who still had not moved since eating a Con-chair-to of his own. Reigns pinned both men to retain the Universal Championship in the main event of WrestleMania.
While I could have done without the interference at the end of the match, I believe that this will go down as one of the best WrestleMania main events in history. It set up Reigns as a dominant heel in the process, making him along with the Universal Championship feel important and relevant.
Let’s just hope that Vince McMahon doesn’t do anything to tarnish the credibility of Reigns with any silly booking decisions.
** (Disclaimer) All photos courtesy of wwe.com.**
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