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The opening night of WrestleMania 37 saw a paying audience attend a live WWE event for the first time in over a year.
The show was witnessed by a sell-out crowd of 25,625 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Bay, Florida - and fans were treated to a great night of action.
After being forced to stage last year's WrestleMania inside an empty Performance Center due to COVID-19, the company was understandably thrilled to have the WWE Universe back in person.
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The significance of the moment was highlighted when Vince McMahon chose to open the pay-per-view in-person.
The WWE Chairman rarely appears on television these days, but he came out on the stage at the start of the show. Joined by the WWE roster, McMahon thanked the crowd and welcomed them to WrestleMania in his own trademark style.
Not even a 45 minute delay to the start of the event because of thunderstorms in the local area could dampen the enthusiasm of the fans. Having been starved of live WWE action for so long, the weather warning simply served to add more anticipation to the opening bout of the evening.
Once safety concerns were out of the way, the first installment of WrestleMania 37 delivered in a big way. From great matches, to title changes and career-making performances, the show will live long in the memory. Here are five big takeaways from the pay-per-view.
5. Bobby Lashley defeats Drew McIntyre in the opening match of WrestleMania 37 to retain the WWE Championship
Drew McIntyre defeated Brock Lesnar in the main event of last year's WrestleMania to become WWE Champion for the very first time.
However, as great of an accomplishment as that was, McIntyre was denied his crowning moment in front of a live crowd because the match took place behind closed doors.
Fans of The Scottish Warrior had hoped he could begin another title reign at WrestleMania 37 by dethroning reigning WWE Champion Bobby Lashley. It was not to be, though. Instead of recording a famous WWE Championship win in the first match back in front of a live audience, McIntyre ended up passing out to The Hurt Lock.
Lashley retained the gold, but McIntyre can point to the fact MVP distracted him in the final stages of the match.
It is likely these two men will end up squaring off again in the near future. This finish seems to be part of a wider redemption story for McIntyre, who looked devastated after the match.
Drew McIntyre will win WWE's grandest prize again, but it may not happen as soon as many had assumed.
4. Omos impresses in his official WWE in-ring debut at WrestleMania 37
The RAW Tag Team Championships changed hands at WrestleMania 37 as AJ Styles and Omos defeated The New Day to claim the belts.
The win sees Styles become a Grand Slam champion in WWE, adding tag team gold to the WWE, Intercontinental and United States Championships he has already held in the promotion.
However, the bigger story here (literally) was the performance of Omos. The match marked the official in-ring debut of the monstrous Nigerian-born superstar and was built to showcase him perfectly.
The story of the bout itself revolved around Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston trying to isolate Styles from his partner to prevent Omos from legally entering the match.
This strategy eventually failed and Omos wasted little time in making his presence known once Styles made the tag.
Omos swatted away the offense of Kingston like it was nothing, before Styles climbed on to the shoulders of his associate to deliver a flying Phenomenal Forearm to Woods.
The end came when Omos hit a huge tree slam on Kingston. Just two years ago at WrestleMania, Kofi beat Daniel Bryan to lift the WWE Championship. At WrestleMania 37, he was pinned by Omos with one foot on his chest.
Omos' debut will go down as one of the most dominant outings in WrestleMania history. Based on how easily he handled The New Day, Omos and Styles could be champions for a long time.
3. Cesaro picked up the biggest win of his career at WrestleMania 37
For years, Cesaro has been touted by his fellow WWE Superstars as one of the most underrated men in the industry. He proved why at WrestleMania 37.
Cesaro entered his match with Seth Rollins on Saturday night having never won a singles bout at WrestleMania. The Swiss Cyborg put an end to that run in fine style at Raymond James Stadium, picking up a victory in one of the best matches of the night.
In the build-up to their contest, Cesaro hit his Swing move on Rollins 22 times during a segment on SmackDown. Heading into their WrestleMania encounter, it always seemed likely Cesaro would try and break that record.
An attempt early in the match was not successful, but a later effort saw Cesaro land a 23-rotation swing (at least by the count of the announcers).
A Neutralizer soon followed, securing the win for Cesaro. The live crowd loved the result, reacting as though it was a breakthrough moment for Cesaro. More importantly for his long-term prospects, the WrestleMania broadcast played up the result as though it was hugely significant.
Cesaro will now have a keen eye on the second night of WrestleMania 37, where Roman Reigns defends his Universal Championship against both Edge and Daniel Bryan.
His win over Rollins could well launch Cesaro into the Universal Championship picture after WrestleMania. He is long overdue for the opportunity.
2. Bad Bunny puts on a great show at WrestleMania 37
When news broke at the start of the year that WWE intended to feature Grammy award-winning rapper Bad Bunny in a match at WrestleMania 37, plenty of eyebrows were raised.
Bad Bunny did not have a celebrated athletic background, nor was he a mainstream celebrity on a worldwide level. Some questioned whether the Latin music star was deserving of a spot on the card.
What the 27-year-old did have, though, was a passion for professional wrestling and an incredible work ethic. Bad Bunny relocated to Tampa to be closer to the WWE Performance Center so he could train for WrestleMania alongside both Adam Pearce and Drew Gulak.
He also agreed to appear weekly on RAW to build-up his WrestleMania appearance, impressing many in the company with his commitment.
Bad Bunny's efforts paid off at the pay-per-view, as his match exceeded all prior expectations.
Teaming with Damian Priest to take on rivals The Miz and John Morrison, Bad Bunny more than held his own in the match.
It was hard not to be impressed by the efforts of the Puerto Rican superstar as he hit moves such as a Tornado DDT, a Falcon Arrow and even a Canadian Destroyer.
Bad Bunny picked up the win for his team with a flying crossbody, capping off an enjoyable outing.
The tag team match was originally billed as a singles bout between Bad Bunny and The Miz. After putting on one of the best in-ring celebrity performances in WrestleMania history, Bad Bunny will be more than welcome back into a WWE ring.
1. Bianca Belair and Sasha Banks steal the show at WrestleMania 37
When Stephanie McMahon confirmed earlier this week that Sasha Banks and Bianca Belair would headline the first night of WrestleMania 37, it was known history would be made.
Their bout became the first-ever women's singles match to headline WrestleMania, as well as being the only 'Mania match of all time to exclusively feature black women.
History aside, the match itself was phenomenal. A back-and-forth classic that justified its main event billing, Belair won the SmackDown Women's Championship after 17 minutes of gripping action.
The closing stages of the match saw Belair whip Banks with her hair, delivering a blow that left Banks with a visible mark on her side.
Belair secured the win after hitting a KOD on Banks shortly afterward. Belair's triumph in such a high-profile spot truly made her feel like a major star for WWE.
Fans in attendance loved this match and gave both women a standing ovation at the end of the bout. Although there is still another night of action to come before WrestleMania 37 is officially in the books, this battle between Banks and Belair will be tough to top.
The bar has been set high for WrestleMania 37: Night Two.
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