ALBERTO DEL RIO vs. KALISTO "2 OUT OF 3 FALLS": This was, honestly, the best match of the night. It wasn't even on the show, it was on the pre-show. It probably didn't help that I watched the much better NJPW show, The New Beginning in Niigata, earlier today (Omega vs. Tanahashi was crazy awesome). Nothing the WWE was going to put on would deliver anything that good. But this was a fine, fun, entertaining opener. Kalisto is one of the more entertaining wrestlers in the WWE. And very, very few people can make a match against Del Rio watchable. Kalisto retained the U.S. title. *** (out of ****)
SASHA BANKS & BECKY LYNCH vs. NAOMI & TAMINA: Well...Sasha Banks is a fucking star. She's super hot, talented, and has the right persona for this business. It doesn't help that she's stuck in lame matches like this. But at least the crowd was into it because it was early. *1/2
KEVIN OWENS vs. DOLPH ZIGGLER: It probably would have helped if these two hadn't wrestled each other every week on RAW for the last six month's. It was basic stuff, really. Owens retained the IC title. *1/2
BIG SHOW & KANE & RYBACK vs. THE WYATT FAMILY: Bray Wyatt didn't even wrestle. But Kane and Big Show, two guys who should have retired ten year's ago, did. Ryback at least tries hard. He even does CM Punk's running knee in the corner move now. But it was mostly a bunch of big, lumbering idiots milling around which is what everyone expected. *1/2
CHARLOTTE vs. BRIE BELLA: I guess building up Charlotte as a solid, evil title holder is good...it's just too bad her matches are stale. This was mediocre stuff. *
A.J. STYLES vs. CHRIS JERICHO: Styles has been in the WWE for one month and this is already the third match between these two. And I didn't want to see it again. Did you? It was average stuff, a little sloppier and slower than their first two. Jericho is too old to be doing this. Styles should be facing real contenders like...well, okay, the WWE has very few contenders. **
EDGE & CHRISTIAN SEGMENT: This involved Edge and Christian, The New Day, and the League of Nations trading insults. It was amusing. It also reminds me how much better Edge and Christian are on the mic than anyone actually still in the company week to week. Sad. **1/2
R. TRUTH vs. CURTIS AXEL: Yes! A filler match! And what a filler match! Why R. Truth and The Social Outcasts are still in the WWE is beyond me. -No Stars-
DEAN AMBROSE vs. ROMAN REIGNS vs. BROCK LESNAR: It really tells you something about the state of this company when the main event of their biggest show of the year, Wrestlemania, has a guy routinely booed (Reigns) facing a retired guy that was popular fifteen plus years ago (HHH). It also makes zero sense that they're keeping a ton of stars separate on NXT (Sami Zayn, Somoa Joe, Finn Balor) when this show badly needed more big star matches. Oh, well. This main event was not great, as I thought it'd be. They told the same story that last year's great triple threat Cena-Lesnar-Rollins match told: the two guys put Lesnar through the announce table to take him out of the match while they fight in the ring. Tonight, Lesnar was put through two announce table's after an early, one-sided beat-down that Lesnar delivered. Lesnar got back but Ambrose hit him with a chair a few times then Roman speared Ambrose and won. It was a good match, just nothing new. And the outcome was way too obvious, meaning their wasn't any true drama. It says a lot that I'm looking forward more to NXT Dallas (Nakamura's debut! Zayn vs. Balor!) than Wrestlemania. **1/2
