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From a major title change to a few impressive debuts, WWE WrestleMania 37: Night One featured many contrasting moments.
On Saturday, WWE delivered one of their best WrestleMania shows in recent years. The event kicked off in a chaotic manner due to weather-related delays in Tampa, Florida.
However, the disruption only increased everyone's anticipation for WWE's biggest show of the year, considering this was the first WWE event to feature a big live crowd since March 2020. The performers did their best to keep fans engaged from start to finish, and they succeeded in doing so for the most part.
What are your thoughts on the first night of this year's WrestleMania pay-per-view? Leave your opinions in the comments section below.
Here are the five biggest news stories from WWE WrestleMania 37: Night One.
#5 Shane McMahon could not escape The Strowman Express at WrestleMania 37
Braun Strowman and Shane McMahon's feud attracted a lot of criticism regarding the buildup to their WrestleMania showdown. However, both men delivered an entertaining clash inside the steel cage on Saturday.
Heading into the match, Shane McMahon thought he was far too intellectually superior compared to Braun Strowman. However, McMahon learned his lesson when Strowman proved to be a significant obstacle inside the steel cage structure.
Elias and Jaxson Ryker attempted to help out Shane-O-Mac, but Strowman overcame all the odds stacked against him. Towards the end of the bout, Strowman grabbed McMahon's hand through the chain link and used his strength to rip off part of the cage structure.
Shane-O-Mac met his brutal fate after he was tossed into the ring from the top of the cage. A running power-slam allowed Strowman to successfully pin his opponent and gain revenge for being subjected to several weeks of bullying.
Thankfully, Braun Strowman got his moment in the spotlight, that too, in an enjoyable match. WrestleMania should mark the end of Strowman's feud with Shane McMahon so that the former can move on to better storylines on Monday Night RAW.
#4 Bad Bunny and Omos impressed WWE fans during their WrestleMania debuts
From WWE Royal Rumble 2021 to WrestleMania 37, Bad Bunny's time in the company has gradually proven to be a beneficial development. The Puerto Rican rapper's WWE stint peaked at Saturday's event, where he put on a newsworthy in-ring performance during a tag team contest.
A major reason why Bad Bunny's WrestleMania performance became successful is that he genuinely loves and respects this business. Despite tagging alongside Damian Priest, Bad Bunny significantly contributed to the match against The Miz and John Morrison.
Additionally, the special entrances for this match added a lot of weight to what seemed like a normal tag team contest on paper. Bad Bunny was possibly part of the best celebrity match in WWE history, and he even pinned The Miz to win the bout for himself and Priest.
Meanwhile, Omos made his WrestleMania debut alongside AJ Styles in a RAW Tag Team Championship match against The New Day (Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods). While Omos did not pull off anything extraordinary, his intimidating presence added a lot of intrigue to their battle.
Styles focused on the actual in-ring work, while his 7ft 3in tall partner suited a Superstar's role who can wipe out his opponents with minimal effort. Woods and Kingston also did a great job at selling how dangerous Omos can be inside the squared circle.
Eventually, AJ Styles and Omos became the new RAW Tag Team Champions at WrestleMania. Their uniqueness as a tag team could lead to an entertaining reign on WWE RAW.
#3 The Women's Tag Team Turmoil at WrestleMania featured two major botches
At WrestleMania 37, every match included a newsworthy moment, whether the purpose was intentional or not. The Women's Tag Team Turmoil contest featured some unintentionally newsworthy moments.
The match began with Lana and Naomi vs. Carmella and Billie Kay. Unfortunately for Lana and Naomi, they became the first team to be eliminated from the bout. Out came The Riott Squad, who successfully eliminated Kay and Carmella.
While the in-ring aspect of the entire Tag Team Turmoil could have been better, things went haywire when Mandy Rose and Dana Brooke entered the match. Due to the rain that had fallen on Raymond James Stadium, the entrance ramp became quite slick for starters. As a result, Rose slipped on the ramp on her way to the ring.
Thankfully, Mandy Rose handled the botch in a lighthearted manner. But her night did not get any better. The Riott Squad ultimately prevailed over Rose and Brooke, but the ring announcer mistakenly announced that the wrong team was eliminated before he corrected himself.
Natalya and Tamina entered last, and they were able to win the entire Tag Team Turmoil by defeating The Riott Squad. The same result was teased on the go-home episode of SmackDown before WrestleMania, so the outcome seemed pretty straightforward.
Natalya and Tamina will now challenge Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler for the WWE Women's Tag Team Championships on the second night of WrestleMania 37. Do you think the challengers can dethrone the current champions?
#2 Bobby Lashley crushed Drew McIntyre's WrestleMania dream
Drew McIntyre aimed to win his third WWE Championship in front of a live crowd at WrestleMania 37. However, his redemption arc did not come full-circle on Saturday.
McIntyre and Bobby Lashley had the honor of kicking off the event with their WWE Championship contest. The two stars delivered a great match from an in-ring standpoint. As both competitors seemed equally matched, all it took was a minor distraction from MVP for Lashley to gain the advantage.
Thanks to MVP, Lashley applied The Hurt Lock on his opponent to win the match. Even though McIntyre did not tap out, he passed out because of the submission hold, which prompted the referee to stop the match and award the victory to Lashley.
Despite the minor distraction from MVP, fans and viewers alike were thoroughly entertained by this encounter. Additionally, Vince McMahon seems to have embraced Bobby Lashley's position as the current WWE Champion.
WWE will likely play the long-term game with Drew McIntyre's redemption arc instead of providing instant gratification to fans. One has to appreciate WWE's decision to head in a bold direction as opposed to playing it safe during the first match of WrestleMania 37: Night One.
In the men's division, Cesaro vs. Seth Rollins was another bout alongside Lashley vs. McIntyre that competed for the title of "match of the night." Cesaro earned a hard-fought victory in his singles WrestleMania debut, as the match also featured many creative spots.
#1 WrestleMania 37: Night One ended on a feel-good note with Bianca Belair's SmackDown Women's Championship victory
Bianca Belair and Sasha Banks are the first African-American women to ever main-event WrestleMania. On Saturday, their main event clash for the SmackDown Women's Championship lived up to the hype.
Although the buildup to this match did not seem special for many fans, everyone expected an impressive in-ring competition between the two stars. Banks and Belair's fast-paced chemistry led to several reversal-based sequences that kept fans on the edge of their seats.
Using her ponytail, Belair even left a nasty wound to the champion's abdomen at one point during the match.
But at the end of the day, most people are looking for escapism in professional wrestling — that is exactly what they got when the 2021 women's Royal Rumble winner, Belair, successfully pinned Banks to become the new SmackDown Women's Champion.
It acts as the classic story of a wrestler's rise to become a top WWE star, and it always works on a grand stage like WrestleMania. Banks also deserves some credit here for playing a worthy adversary to Belair.
At the same time, Michael Cole's "robotic" commentary style throughout the night, especially during this match, has drawn a lot of criticism on social media. But for the most part, it did not take anything away from Sasha Banks and Bianca Belair's impressive performances.
Interestingly enough, the match card for the second night of WrestleMania 37 seems even bigger in terms of scale. But can WWE maintain the same level of quality as night one? The Superstars will likely perform at their best level, so it all comes down to the booking, which has been pretty efficient thus far.
In the video linked above, do check out Sportskeeda Wrestling's WrestleMania 37: Night One Post-Show. Also, make sure to subscribe to the Sportskeeda Wrestling YouTube channel.
