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Huge Rusev Day chant as the lights go out by fans for waiting for the start of the show.
Great rendition of America the Beautiful.
Lots of pyro to open the show. I guess the endless emails asking when pyro will return will stop now.
Big entrance for Seth Rollins with fireballs. I could feel the heat at the top of the venue in the press box.
I really liked the graphics for Miz that were generated on the broadcast. I also liked the idea that he was going to go It alone, sending Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel to the back. The Balor Club entrance was cool as hell. I guess they are saving the Demon for another big show.
Strong match from the start. Just a great pace here with all sorts of big moves and near falls. These guys were running a marathon with all sorts of massive spots, including a hell of a Rollins splash. Lots of awesome near falls. It’s amazing how far Miz has come. It’s really something remarkable. His Skull Crushing Finale on Rollins was amazing. They kept going until finally Rollins got the win with the curb stomp for the pin. New champ!
One hell of an opening bout with three of the best workers going right now. Rollins swung the belt like Bruiser Brody used to swing his chain. I love it. Great stuff.
Wow, Asuka vs. Charlotte next! I like the idea of getting the matches with the big "workrate" expectations on early so they can have time to breathe and develop. The longer the show goes, the more of a chance the later matches will have time clipped and we don't want that for this one!
I have seen a lot of awesome entrances at Wrestlemanias, live and in person, but that Charlotte entrance, man. Using the old original music from 2001 to create a Starrcade like feel and do a reversal on the Triple H entrance from Mania 30 (which Charlotte was part of) - man, it was beautifully produced and just spot on. She's the Woman, just like her father was the man. It was badass and perfect.
They went right after each other and there's a big fight feel here in the Dome. When they faced off and Charlotte did the strut before locking up again, you heard a huge woo echoing off every corner. Asuka took the fight to Charlotte with some strong kicks and sent her to the barricade. They had the referee check on her with the idea that Charlotte may have hurt her arm. Lots of dueling chants live.
There was lot of strong physicality here. The series of back and forth reversals reminded me of Eddie Guerrero vs. Dean Malenko, only more futuristic. Asuka got more and more vicious, stomping and kicking at Flair's face. They fought to the apron, where Asuka suplexed her off to the floor. Charlotte, defiant, declared she was the Queen.
The longer they wrestled, the more intricate and bigger the spots and submissions got. This was a physical war in every sense of the word. Flair speared the hell out of Asuka. Flair locked on the Figure 8 and bridged over, holding herself with one hand in the center of the ring. Asuka was trapped and holy crap, she tapped out!
When you think of the definition of a classic wrestling match, this had all the hallmarks. It was an absolutely perfect match that exemplified how great the current Women's division is. The road when Charlotte celebrated with her championship, crying, gave me chills. To me, this was the best women's bout in WWE since Bayley vs. Sasha at the first Takeover: Brooklyn.
Asuka took the mic after the match and declared Charlotte was ready for Asuka, then hugged her out of respect. A great, emotional moment.
A referee came out to tell John Cena something. Cena thought it was BS, then was shocked, hopped the rail and charged to the back. There were literally people jumping up and down with excitement. We know Undertaker is in town. Will we get a match or a confrontation or perhaps they are going to go play XBox together in the back for UpUpDownDown? We will soon find out. By the way, I thought all the Cena at ringside segments were silly in the right way.
Next up is the Four Way for the United States championship. Big reaction for Rusev. The crowd was really into this and there was some strong action throughout. Randy was dishing out RKOs. Everyone was breaking up pinfalls until finally Jinder Mahal scored the pin with his finisher and won the title, pinning Rusev. Well, you can give them credit for going in the direction no one expected, but this was the first finish that live, the crowd sort of went, "Huh?" More Jinder for everyone...uh, yay?
Mick Foley then made his return to WWE TV in a sketch for the Fashion Police to promote Snickers.
Coverage continues on Page 3!
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