WWE WrestleMania 35: Analyzing the crazy week that it was
Wow is all I've got to say about everything that has happened this week.
WrestleMania week is always filled with surprising twists and turns, and we certainly got to see a lot of those.
I am amazed that WWE managed to deliver a consistantly decent product with mostly correct outcomes for the entirety of the programming this week.
Do not get me wrong, there were things that could of done differently, however the main goals were achieved this week. It makes you feel happy to be a wrestling fan when things are done properly.
In this article, we are going to analyze the events that unfolded and take a look at the good, as well as the bad and how things could of been done better. As usual, feel free to leave your comments of what you thought below.
#1 NXT TakeOver: New York
WWE kick started WrestleMania weekend in splendid fashion by delivering an excellent NXT Takeover.
I can't say I have had the chance to watch a great deal of NXT, however their performance and storytelling abilities are that far ahead of the main roster.
It certainly does make the WWE a better product, having both NXT and NXT UK. I know understand why many choose these two shows over the main roster. The crowd was electric (mostly) and they definitely gave the main roster the standards in which to beat.
While watching this show, I did not find anything particularly bad about it overall, although a few minor things that weren't too bad but did stand out. I do think that the Matt Riddle vs Velveteen Dream match was something of a display of both dominance and somewhat of a spotfest.
These two men are both eccentric characters, but I would of thought the fluidity of the match would of been done a little better. Riddle absolutely demolished The Dream for most of the match and should have won. It's good though, in a way, to end Riddle's streak now so that his career doesn't go the way of Goldberg or Asuka after they lost for the first time.
The women's fatal four way match was fairly good, however it seemed that some of the competitors lacked chemistry with each other. Kairi Sane and Io Sharai both are amazing talents and I can't wait to see how they do on the main roster. I just hope they don't suffer the same fate as their fellow country woman Asuka.
WWE can say what they like, but they do not give these Japanese stars the opportunity to be champions very often. TakeOver was a missed opportunity to crown either of these two as champion or even Bianca Belair. Shayna is main roster ready and has crushed all the women in NXT, but hopefully they will fix this issue at the next NXT TakeOver.
I found the match between Johnny Gargano and Adam Cole to be both entertaining and mediocre at the same time. I noticed that there seemed to be either a communication issue between them or a timing issue.
There were moments of awkward exchanges in the ring throughout most of the match. Gargano played the underdog role well, however kicking out Cole's finisher that many times was something I felt, sold Cole's finisher short. It's ok to kick out once from a finisher, however doing it so often made the Superkick and The Last Shot look weak and sold the moves short.
A finisher should only be used to end a match. If the match is good, maybe do one kickout from a finisher, but not multiple times. The Undisputed Era getting involved was a nice touch to paint Gargano as the underdog. I still really enjoyed it and felt that it delivered very well.
The NXT UK match was an absolute mugging between Dunne and WALTER. I have honestly never witnessed such brutality in a match with the joint manipulation, hard body chops and other devastating maneuvers.
People have said this went too long, however I didn't think it did. We were getting a look at British Strong Style wrestling. It was disappointing to see Pete Dunne lose his title to newcomer Walter, however Dunne may be about to head to the main roster.
The War Raiders vs Aleistair Black and Ricochet and Pete Dunne vs WALTER were easily the two best matches of the night for me.
They were both physical and brutal matches and they absolutely delivered. It was great to see the respect between the War Raiders and Black/Ricochet after the match. It was a fitting fairwell for Black & Ricochet to be permanent members of the main roster.
Overall NXT TakeOver: New York was a huge success and they continue to prove why they are better than the main roster. I would rate this PPV a 4.5 out of 5 stars.