5 Biggest missed opportunities at WrestleMania 37: Big losing streak continues, 3-time World Champion to undergo another character change?

WrestleMania 37 was a big success, with the return of crowds playing a big role. It was a two-night affair, and spreading 14 matches across made it more entertaining and easier to watch - with most matches getting great reactions.

The consensus seems to be that WrestleMania Night 1 was better than Night 2. However, the main event of Night 2 was perhaps the best-received match of the entire PPV.

While WrestleMania 37 was a great PPV overall, one can't help but ponder at the missed opportunities that WWE had. Here are the five biggest things WWE could have done at the Grandest Stage Of Them All.

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#5. Asuka's gets the short-end of the stick at WrestleMania again

Asuka is now 0-4 at WrestleMania

Asuka entered her fourth WrestleMania this year. Just like Sasha Banks, she has a bad record in the event. In title matches at WrestleMania, Asuka is now 0-3, losing to Charlotte Flair, Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross, as well as Rhea Ripley.

It must have been a tricky decision for WWE to make. If you count her 2019 appearance in the Women's Battle Royal, her WrestleMania losing streak is now 0-4.

There are two sides to the argument here. We can't deny that Rhea Ripley was deserving of the win, especially since she has evolved so much in the last few years. She is a former NXT UK Women's Champion, NXT Women's Champion and won her first title as an official member of the RAW roster.

Rhea Ripley was also the runner-up in the 2021 Women's Royal Rumble, which is why it makes a lot of sense for her to take the mantle from Asuka. The other side of the argument is that Asuka has carried the RAW Women's division for 11 months now. Her second reign as RAW Women's Champion lasted 230 days, and it would have surpassed 300 if it weren't for Sasha Banks' run in between.

If Asuka retained, it would have been the right decision as well. One could argue that Rhea Ripley won the title too early and should have been a bit more established. But given the circumstances, the original plan for the RAW Women's Championship would likely have been Lacey Evans vs. Charlotte Flair.

This worked out better, and the two women had a great match at WrestleMania 37 in the co-main event.

#4. A chance to re-establish 'The Fiend' at WrestleMania 37

A disaster

It's incredible to think that a four-month build to The Fiend-Randy Orton match at WrestleMania ended in less than six minutes. This was The Fiend's big return to the ring, and he shredded the "burned" look for his old one - indicating that he had been restored, somehow.

While there was no explanation for that, things only got more bizarre. Alexa Bliss suddenly emerged with a new look and went on to cost Bray Wyatt the match. There were more questions after this match than there were answers - which is the opposite of what a WrestleMania match should do.

Either way, Randy Orton pinned The Fiend with a single RKO and quickly escaped, seemingly putting all of this mess behind him. Alexa Bliss and The Fiend stared each other down post-match, and they both vanished. It seemed to indicate a shift in power, but this was a big opportunity - not only to re-establish The Fiend as a legitimate threat but to give him his revenge against Randy Orton from WrestleMania 33 in 2017.

WWE did the opposite, and now The Fiend character might be damaged. The three-time World Champion might just have to undergo another character change, which is a shame since he seemed to invest so much in 'The Fiend' character.

#3. A big shake-up to the Women's Tag Team Championship picture at WrestleMania

Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler are still the Women's Tag Team Championship

Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax, who have enjoyed the most screen-time on the WWE roster on the road to WrestleMania, retained the Women's Tag Team Championship.

The extent of their involvement on TV can't be understated. They were directly involved in the SmackDown Women's Championship feud and crossed paths with Asuka and Rhea Ripley on RAW as well.

After Tamina and Natalya won a Tag Team Turmoil match involving ten other women, they secured their spot as the #1 contenders on WrestleMania Night 2. It was a closely contested match-up, with the Nia Jax-Tamina confrontation not necessarily delivering.

One could argue that The Riott Squad should have been in their spot and gone on to win the Tag Team Championship. Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler winning seem to be an affirmation that WWE has no actual plans for the Women's Tag Team division. WrestleMania 37 was a big opportunity to shake that up, but nothing has changed.

#2. Drew McIntyre's WrestleMania coronation in front of a crowd

Drew McIntyre passed out in The Hurt Lock

Most fans seemed to think that Drew McIntyre would get his much-deserved coronation in front of fans at WrestleMania 37. It should have happened last year at WrestleMania 36, but the COVID-19 pandemic meant that it had to happen in an empty arena in the WWE Performance Center.

There are a few reasons why Bobby Lashley retained the WWE Championship, and it isn't a bad decision by any means. It would be unfortunate since there's a high chance that this might be the only WWE Championship reign that Bobby Lashley will ever have.

For Drew McIntyre, on the other hand, it seems all but certain that he has multiple World Championship reigns ahead of him. Even still, given that he carried WWE through 2020 in the pandemic era, he deserves to have a coronation in front of fans. We hope that he gets it next year, but it's still unfortunate that he had to lose in the first match in front of fans in over a year.

#1. A final World Championship reign for Edge or Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania

Edge at WrestleMania 37

Just to make it clear - Roman Reigns retaining the Universal Championship at WrestleMania 37 was not the wrong decision by any means. It's easy to see why WWE would want to go with Roman Reigns retaining at WrestleMania. For one, he has been the best superstar in WWE alongside Drew McIntyre for the last eight months.

His current run as The Tribal Chief and Universal Champion has been the best of his career, and he is the guy that WWE has wanted to go with for a long time. However, looking at the alternate scenarios, there are ways that Roman Reigns could have dropped the Title without getting pinned.

Even if Edge or Daniel Bryan won the Universal Championship, it wouldn't be hard to understand why they deserve it. The next World Championship run that either man has could be the last, and it could have kickstarted at WrestleMania.

Edge and Daniel Bryan would have both gotten a big reaction, so it was a big missed opportunity for WWE.