Best and worst of WWE WrestleMania 35: Amazing return, Botchy main event

By Riju Dasgupta
Modified May 16, 2019 15:05 IST
Were the fans happy with how WrestleMania 35 turned out?
Were the fans happy with how WrestleMania 35 turned out?

Believe it or not, WWE has actually fulfilled their promise. Not long ago, they said that they'd stopped listening to the fans. And as Dave Batista would say, at WrestleMania 35, Vince McMahon gave fans what they want. All of their favorites ended up winning matches.

So this is a rare case of when the Creative actually surpassed the performers when it came to the final product. Some of the matches were really sloppy or disappointing and left fans with a sour taste in their mouth. I kept perusing the internet through WrestleMania 2019 and noticed that many fans were not very happy.

Of course, it is impossible to make every wrestling fan happy in the year 2019. But I thought that all said and done, WrestleMania 35 wasn't a gigantic bore.

Please do share your thoughts in the comments below...

#1 Best: John Cena returns in his original avatar

Elias performed before a sold-out crowd at the MetLife Stadium and truth be told, it wasn't a bad show. But then we saw a strange video package play out, and a familiar theme was heard.

John Cena stepped out on to the ramp but it wasn't the Cena we're used to. This was John Cena from back in the 'word life' days.

Read Full WWE WrestleMania 35 Results & Analysis

John Cena did not compete in a match at WrestleMania 35 as the rumors had indicated. Instead, he interrupted Elias' mini-musical segment, dropped a few savage rhymes about the WWE's resident minstrel and in general, just stole the hearts of the WWE Universe. He even teased insider terms like 'heel turn', breaking the fourth wall.

This was by far the most genuine surprise at WrestleMania and something that the WWE Universe has been yearning for, for a really long time now.

#1 Worst: The main event match disappoints

So, I liked the result and I'm glad that it was Becky Lynch who stood tall at the end of WrestleMania 35. But the fact of the matter is that the match in itself was not as good as we'd assumed it would be, thanks to the excessive and unnecessary build up.

Taking nothing away from the women, it was clear to everyone in attendance that WWE was trying to make headlines with the first 'women's main event match' to coincide with the Women's Evolution that's happening across the world currently. But the women in this case just weren't ready for a match of this magnitude.

And so there was botch after botch after botch during the course of this match. Some of the spots looked downright dangerous and it was clear that the girls had let the occasion overwhelm then.

Congratulations are due nevertheless.

#2 Best: KofiMania runs wild

Becky Lynch wasn't the only WWE crowd favorite to win at WrestleMania 2019. Kofi Kingston is a man who realized his childhood dream and is finally a WWE Champion, and the face of the SmackDown Live brand. How long he holds the Championship is anyone's guess, but let's hope that it's for an extended period of time.

The match in itself was a true work of art, I thought. Daniel Bryan is an expert master of psychology and it seemed like the contest could have gone either way through the course of the night that unfolded. I don't think the crowd was more alive at any point than during this match.

It was truly a great sight to see The New Day in the ring, celebrating with their brother, after he'd achieved his big win. The original WWE Championship also made a big return following Bryan's loss.

#2 Worst: The US title match

I know that I'm always cribbing about Samoa Joe not being booked strongly enough, and therefore, I should be happy with how the US Title match played out. And yet, I was disappointed because I wanted to see two of the best in the business slug it out. It is clear that Mysterio wasn't at 100%, which is why the match ended so soon.

It was a squash match that ended before it even began. Booker T at the commentary desk started complaining that he'd been brought in to say almost nothing at all. What is the point of holding a Championship if you haven't defended it against prolific challengers, right?

Let's hope that Samoa Joe has a few good feuds in whichever brand he ends up with following the next Superstar Shake-Up. This match will not be remembered for what it was, but what it could have been.

#3 Best: A new Universal Champion

This was a long time coming and I'm glad it finally happened. While I'm not certain why this match went on first, I'm glad that WrestleMania ended with a brand new Universal Champion.

Seth Rollins has carried WWE RAW on his able shoulders as the face of the brand, and I am glad that the company is invested in him enough to make him the top superstar in the company. Now, The Universal Championship will be defended at every single pay-per-view and Lesnar can go do whatever he wants to in the UFC.

Finally, RAW has a champion that the fans actually like who can put on great matches on a weekly basis on TV. Let's hope that the era of Rollins is a glorious one for WWE RAW that brings ratings back on track for the red brand.

Who wants AJ Styles to move to RAW and for the two men to compete through the course of the summer months?

#3 Worst: The crowd

I don't know if it was the micing for the event or the fact that the crowd just wasn't into the card, but the audience seemed dead for a good portion of the night, really. Especially for a card where they got all the wins that they desired, this was a pretty dead crowd indeed.

Compare this to the audience that was live at NXT TakeOver and you can gauge the difference. Maybe an open air arena does not allow for the sound to be captured in the right manner, and this is why it felt like the audience did not seem to care.

It certainly hurt my WrestleMania experience to a great deal, truth be told, to experience a crowd that seemed so very lax. I wish there was a lot more noise during a great deal of the matches that took place.

What did you think?

#4 Best/worst: Kurt Angle's farewell

JBL called him the greatest competitor that he's in the ring with. Here's a funny story, during my first week in Sportskeeda, I wrote an article that was a retrospective on Kurt Angle's career. Angle would respond on Twitter, complimenting my article and making me realize that there was something to this pro wrestling journalism! He's not a mere man, but a legend.

At WrestleMania, Angle hung up his boots and the fact of the matter is that one of the greatest in the business will no longer compete again. We saw his family at ringside, especially his wife, who was in tears. She reflected the thoughts of the WWE Universe.

Did I want John Cena to take Baron Corbin's place? I have mixed thoughts about that and because I can't make up my mind, this article makes both the best and worst sections.

I can make up my mind about how good 'The Goddess' looked!

One of Samoa Joe's colleagues had harsh words for him HERE