Ten cool things that happened at WWE Madison Square Garden - March 16th

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WWE yet again rolled into MSG for a special night

Well, it's always something a bit different when WWE returns to Madison Square Garden. After all, it was home to the very first WrestleMania.

Last night's show was no different as WWE rolled up to New York with a star-studded line-up on the road to WrestleMania, and on the day that WrestleMania 35 was announced for MetLife Stadium not too far away in New Jersey, with NXT TakeOver and the Hall of Fame taking place in Brooklyn's Barclays Center.

So, here's the top five coolest things the WWE Universe in attendance at Madison Square Garden were treated to last night.


#10 We get a cross-brand tag team match

It's not often we see SmackDown and Raw Superstars interact these days since the brand split, so this is always cool.

Last night, the WWE Raw Tag Team champions Cesaro & Sheamus defended their titles against two Raw teams in Anderson & Gallows and Titus Worldwide, but it wasn't a Triple Threat Match.... Oh, no! It was a Fatal 4-way with SmackDown Live's The New Day making up the fourth team - with Big E even licking the belts. No word yet if there was pancake syrup on them.

The Bar retained the belts, but The New Day are always enjoyable - and it's great to see something different!


#9 Bayley improvised...

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The Bayley Buddies are normally in full force

Bayley had originally been scheduled to team with her Mixed Match Challenge partner Elias to take on John Cena and Nikki Bella, so fans were left confused when she appeared so early on in the night.

Well, after her Bayley Buddies decided they were too shy to cheers as Bayley challenged Alexa Bliss for the Raw Women's Championship, the Hugger decided to improvise.

That's ONE way to deal with things going wrong...


#8 Finn Balor, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns team up

With Shield's third member, Dean Ambrose, still sidelined with an injury, Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins were left without a partner to face The Miztourage. Well, up stepped one of Seth Rollins' WrestleMania opponents to complete the trio - and the team picked up the win!

It should be noted that this match was originally set to be a four-on-four with Bray Wyatt and Matt Hardy involved as well.

Oh, and one other cool moment happened here, Finn Balor marked St Patrick's Day appropriately too with his choice of attire...

#7 Nia Jax dropped Alexa Bliss, and got a HUGE pop

Nia
Tension is brewing between Nia Jax and Alexa Bliss

Well, this segment could easily have been much higher on the list. As always Alexa Bliss cut a genius "promo" as she made up excuses for badmouthing Nia Jax on Raw...

And Nia seemed to accept and forgive the Raw Women's Champion when she went for the hug...

That is until that turned into a Bear Hug. Bliss managed to escape but Jax laid out Mickie James before leaving, with Jax getting one of the biggest pops of the night.


#6 Brock Lesnar wrestles for more than five minutes

Well, with Brock Lesnar being absent from Raw the past two times he's been scheduled to appear, just seeing the WWE Universal Champion is a big deal these days.

Lesnar has, however, appeared on two house shows recently, but both matches combined don't even hit the two-minute mark. Last night, Lesnar defended his WWE Universal Championship in a Royal Rumble rematch when The Beast Incarnate competed against Braun Strowman and Kane in a Triple Threat Match.

Needless to say, Lesnar retained and you can see the finish of the match below.


#5 Sasha Banks hits the 619

Well, this kind of thing will ALWAYS be awesome to see. Last night, Sasha Banks paid tribute to a true WWE legend when she hit Bayley with the 619 - the finishing move of Rey Mysterio.

Sasha Banks has spoken at length about her love and respect for Eddie Guerrero and has used several of Latino Heat's moves in a similar context, but this was a real surprise to see Sasha use the 619 - and the crowd definitely appreciated it!


#4 Ronda Rousey is announced for MSG in July

Ronda Ro
Ronda Rousey will finally compete at Madison Square Garden

Well, this isn't something that happened tonight as such, but the announcement is BIG news.

WWE announced that they will return to the venue on July 7th, with Ronda Rousey making her WWE debut in the venue.

This is particularly big news as Rousey had previously campaigned for UFC to be sanctioned in New York, and even spoke of wanting to fight there in 2016 in an interview with Fox Sports.

I would love to have the opportunity to fight here because this is another time I feel like I earned the right to fight here because I fought for it. I want a tie to a historical place like this and I want to be remembered in a positive way.

#3 Braun Strowman destroys The Bar

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Braun Strowman stood tall at MSG

Well, after a hellacious five minute Triple Threat Match against Brock Lesnar and Kane, The Bar came out to ambush Braun Strowman when he was at his most vulnerable.

Sadly for Sheamus and Cesaro, The Monster Among Men is NEVER vulnerable, so trying to put him through a table was always going to end badly for the Tag Team Champions.

Unfortunately for Cesaro, that table was in just the right place for a Powerslam...

#2 Nakamura and Styles team up, and WWE works us all

AJ S
AJ Styles and Nakamura will go head to head at
WrestleMania,
but teamed up at MSG

Well, this one didn't go down the way everyone thought it might...

This was originally supposed to be a tag team bout with WWE Champion AJ Styles tagging with his WrestleMania opponent Shinsuke Nakamura, but Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn had other ideas.

Owens and Zayn came from the crowd to ambush Styles, leaving The Phenomenal One injured, with the referee reportedly throwing up the X and Styles limping to the back in a move that sent Twitter into a frenzy.

Thankfully it was all part of the show. Sami Zayn took on Nakamura one on one instead and Nakamura picked up the win, only for Owens and Zayn to strike after the bell.

A limping AJ Styles returned with a chair to save his WrestleMania foe.


#1 Sonya Deville teams with Elias to take on John Cena and Nikki Bella

Sonya Devi
Sonya Deville has made waves since joining WWE

Well, this match was always going to be monumental. John Cena and Nikki Bella returning to MSG in tag team action for their first match since competing against Miz and Maryse at WrestleMania in a match that saw the pair get engaged in front of the world.

But one thing wasn't accounted for. In a late switch, Bayley was removed from the match and replaced by local Superstar Sonya Deville!

Deville is from New Jersey and has hit the headlines as one of WWE's most credible Superstars since coming to the main roster alongside Mandy Rose to form Absolution alongside Paige.

That in itself made waves before Nikki Bella and John Cena entered the fray, which obviously got a massive crowd reaction.

Well, Sonya Deville had some huge spots during the match as she punched John Cena to the ground then absolutely laid out Elias with a clothesline - accidentally, may I add - but getting one of the biggest reactions of the night.

John Cena and Nikki Bella won the match in what was definitely one of the highlights of the night - and a great match for all four Superstars. You can see how it went down below.

An all-round great night at MSG, and WWE will be back to do it all again in July!

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