Returning fans witness WWE magic and history: Sportskeeda's inside look at WrestleMania 37 Night One [Exclusive]
"We welcome you to WrestleMania!"
Vince McMahon emphatically uttered those iconic words to open the show on Saturday night and was met with a thunderous roar from the 25,000 plus fans in attendance at Raymond James Stadium. Suddenly, all was right with the world. Well... except for the 40 minute weather delay that immediately followed that feel-good moment.
Of course that's how it went down. After a 13-month stretch where the WWE Universe was shut out of live events due to the on-going pandemic, fans were then forced to wait just a little bit longer before the the Show of Shows got underway.
The WWE Superstars did an admirable job of cutting off-the-cuff promos and interviews to help fill time as the rain fell on Raymond James Stadium. Seth Rollins' exchange with interviewer Kevin Patrick, where he continued to call him Mike, and then asked him repeatedly whether he could hyphenate his name, was one of the absolute highlights of that series of backstage segments.
Once the last storm cell had passed through, the tarp was pulled from the ring, and WrestleMania 37 hosts Titus O'Neil and Hulk Hogan came out to cut one final long promo to allow many fans a chance to get back to their seats. At roughly 8:40PM EST, we were finally ready for WrestleMania.
The fans' patience on this night was fully rewarded with a remarkable opening match-up between Bobby Lashley and Drew McIntyre. Fighting through the rain and the remarkable pressure of being the first match in front of fans in over a year, these two behemoths painted an absolute masterpiece in the ring as they battled over the WWE Championship.
A fan named Floyd came to Tampa from Oklahoma City and told Sportskeeda Wrestling he desperately wanted to be in the crowd to see McIntyre get his moment.
"I'm a lifelong wrestling fan. I've been coming to a lot of Wrestlemanias. I've been following the path of Drew McIntyre for a couple of years. I was at Royal Rumble when he won it. My goal was to be at WrestleMania when he fought Brock Lesnar, that didn't happen. And he's getting a big moment again tonight when he fights Bobby Lashley. So I'm very looking very much looking forward to Drew McIntyre's match."
Unfortunately for Floyd and the rest of the McIntyre fans in attendance, the Scottish Warrior was defeated by Lashley when he couldn't escape the Hurt Lock and ultimately fell unconscious. It was, however, an incredible moment for Bobby Lashley and one that carries with it a high level of cultural significance to many of those live in Tampa and millions more watching around the world.
James was another fan who came in from Oklahoma City to see the show last night, and he spoke of the importance of this weekend's card to him, as an African American man.
"Oh, it's a history making moment. A lot of representation for people of my skin color. Bianca Belair, Sasha Banks, The New Day, you know, just a lot of the Champions are African-American."
His buddy Jalen flew into the Tampa Bay area this week from Virginia, ready to see the women of WWE make history once again. For the first time ever, two women of color would face each other one-on-one in the main event of WrestleMania.
"My first WrestleMania was actually two years ago with the women main eventing, and to see that the women of color are main eventing WrestleMania as well... It's another major moment in the women's evolution. So I'm mostly looking forward to Sasha Banks retaining her title."
Just like with Floyd, who was pulling for Drew McIntyre, Jalen did not get his wish to see "The Boss" walk out on top, but he should be proud regardless. Amid incredible pressure, Sasha Banks and Bianca Belair went out and put on what could be considered one of the top 5 main events in WrestleMania history.
There's no hyperbole there. You could see it on the faces of both competitors when the bell rang. Bianca Belair was so overcome with emotion when this match finally got underway, she was fighting back tears. After taking a few seconds to soak in the moment and collect themselves, "The Boss" and "The EST of WWE" went out and showed the world, once again, that they are two of the best performers on the planet.
As great as Sasha Banks was on this night, make no mistake about it, this was a star-making performance for Bianca Belair. She was impressive from the get go. Early on in the match she would catch Sasha as she dove to the outside. Bianca then rolled through, picked her up, pressed her into the air and carried her up the ring steps, before ultimately dumping her back into the ring. An absolutely incredible display of her strength and athleticism.
In the end, Bianca would hit Sasha with a hair whip that sent shock waves across the state of Florida, counter the backstabber and connect with the KOD to capture the SmackDown Women's Championship.
Long after the feed was cut on Peacock, the celebration continued. Bianca's husband Montez Ford would hit the ring to embrace his beloved before hoisting her on his shoulders to carry her around the ring. Belair would later jump into the crowd to celebrate with her parents.
The celebration was also on for the fans in attendance, as well as those watching at home.
It was an absolutely incredible moment. That's what night one of WrestleMania 37 was filled with - INCREDIBLE moments.
Night One of WrestleMania was the gift that kept on giving
Let's break the rest of the night down. Cesaro got the biggest singles win of his career after putting on an absolute banger of a match with Seth Rollins. The UFO, Swing, Neutralizer combo was a thing of beauty and the response from the crowd after the three count was one that the Swiss Superman truly deserved.
You could see the emotion pouring out of him when it was all over. He's worked so hard, for so long, to get his moment. Congratulations to him, he truly deserves it.
The giant Omos was booked to perfection. He didn't have to do much, but it didn't matter. The RAW Tag Team title match was centered around him finally getting in the ring and when he did, The New Day did a masterful job of making him look unstoppable. He ended up pinning Kofi Kingston, a former WWE Champion mind you, with a thunderous chokeslam.
All he needed was one foot on his chest to make the cover. That's incredible booking for your first ever match. Also, congrats to AJ Styles on becoming the latest Grand Slam Champion in WWE.
The build-up to Braun Strowman vs. Shane McMahon had not been well received by the WWE Universe, but this match produced two of the more eye-popping moments in cage match history. Braun ripping open the side of the steel cage to pull Shane back into the match and then - we all knew it was coming - Shane McMahon's huge fall from the top of the cage. Imagine taking that bump, knowing a few moments later you had to take a Braun Strowman powerslam. Nothing but respect for Shane-O-Mac.
Finally, what can you say about Bad Bunny? The man delivered the greatest wrestling performance by a celebrity in WWE history. You could tell he worked his butt off getting ready for this match. The Grammy winner showed off some chain wrestling ability to start and then hit some big boy moves later on.
The double Falcon Arrow with Damian Priest is one thing, but the Canadian Destroyer to John Morrison was insane. He over-exceeded everyone's expectations and then some.
The only miss of the night, from a storyline perspective, was the Women's Tag Team Termoil match. After scoring two eliminations, WWE had the opportunity to finally give the Riott Squad the big win that's escaped them so far in their careers, but instead decided to put over Natalya and Tamina. This now sets up a Women's Tag Title Match tonight, featuring two heel tag teams. Still, you can't help but be happy for Tamina, who got the victory on the Grandest Stage of Them All after hitting her father's finisher.
Night One of WrestleMania 37 delivered again and again. Luckily for all of us, we still have night two. Buckle up folks, and let's all pray for some good whether.
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