Wrestlemania 33

The build is here.

Wrestlemania 33 comes to you from Orlando.  Other notable Orlando PPVs: Rumble ’90 (Hennig v. Rude on top) Wrestlemania 24 (Punk v. Benjamin v. Nitro) Rumble ’16 (Steen v. Lesnar v. Nemeth)

(Dark – Nakamura d. Kenta, Joe d. Gargano, Roode/Strong d. Revival)

The show opens with a montage of the past WWF year: a lot of Bullet Club, AJ keeping the title over Steen and Harper twice, Nakamura taking from and then losing the Dark Ride title to Joe, Strowman destroying the veteran members of Underground, Anderson and Gallows burying Swagger in the Bullet Club flag, Becky Lynch turning on Sasha Banks – we see the formation of Trash, Claudio and Neville taking the tag titles from the Usos, then losing them to Steen and Generico, we see Lesnar fracturing Devitt’s skull, F5’ing Goldberg and Rusev, with Heyman calling him the Real World’s Champ, we see multiple face to face confrontations between Ambrose and Black, then the two men coming to blows, we see Chris Jericho, old, weathered, Chris Jericho struggling to get out of bed, then beating Apollo Crews, Roman Reigns, and Nick Nemeth, the final clip is Austin Aries, throwing off his sunglasses, leaving AJ Styles laying, and holding the WWF Title aloft…it’s time for Wrestlemania 33!

Announce: Ranallo (his 7^th PPV) Regal (his 17^th) Nigel (his 4^th) and returning to call the IC match, in his first PPV in 4 years, Jim Ross (66^th)

We go to the ring, WWF Commissioner Bryan Danielson enters, he’s wearing a Linda45 armband, he says Wrestlemania 33 is dedicated to President Linda McMahon, he says that in respect to her, as her phone call was the reason he took this job originally, he has decided to stay one more year, he will remain WWF Commissioner through Wrestlemania 34!  

Danielson says he hopes everyone enjoys the show. 

Clip package for The Opening Tag, the match that has begun each of the previous 32 Wrestlemanias..

---King Kong Bundy and Big John Studd walking to the ring…

---the Killer Bees getting pinfall wins over Hercules in back to back years…

---Demolition getting consecutive wins, then losing to the Orient Express…

---Hogan dropping the leg before Snuka hits the splash…

---there’s the Beverly Brothers…there’s the Headshrinkers…there’s Yoko and Mabel…

---the Smoking Gunns beating Ron and Don Harris…the Godwinns beating Yoko and Dr Tom…

---there’s the Road Warriors…there’s 2 Cold and DLo….Hunter and Waltman battling the New Age Outlaws in a cage and then beating the Holly Brothers…

--Vince McMahon, who is now the President of the United States, nose to nose with his son Skip…

--Shawn Michaels returning to the WWF after 4 years, superkicking Edge and Christian, Shawn/Razor/Hunter/Diesel climbing the buckles…

--Undertaker and Kane nose to nose with Piper and Hogan…

--Mick Foley and The Rock beating Brock and Goldberg…

--Bradshaw and Ulysses Morley beating Tajiri and Yang…

--Orton RKO’ing his partner, Cena, ending their tag team…

--MVP and Elijah Burke walking the aisle…

-Chavo and Carlito beating Cade and Murdoch…

-PAUL and Kane holding the title belts aloft…

--Tyson Kidd and Harry Smith beating Hunter and the Miz….

--Ryder and Hawkins…the Shield and the Kings of Wrestling fighting on the floor…

--Mark Henry and PAUL…Cena and Dustin beating Orton and Cody…and then the Dudleys beating Cody and Dustin…

1. Usos (Jimmy/Jey) d. Kalisto/Apollo Crews

The Usos began the year as babyface tag champs, but after the Rumble, began the process of turning heel as part of this program against the shiny new babyface team of Kalisto/Crews.  Now, they have new gear, new music, a new attitude as the announcers will metaphorically call their turn.  They go over here, adding themselves to that clip package we just watched.

2. Braun Strowman d. Sheamus

Strowman’s had a dominant 2018, squashing Mizanin at the Rumble, then cleaning out the prior generation from Underground, squashing Ryder/Hawkins/Curtis.  He takes a solid step up in quality of opponent here, a former IC champ, Sheamus, still in his prime – and Strowman squashes him.

This is a 2 minute match, just an overwhelming victory for Strowman. The announcers are astonished, we thought maybe this man was too green for this moment – but he was an easy overmatch for Sheamus.

Prior to the next match we see backstage footage from earlier in the night:

Anderson/Gallows/Nakamura attack Roode and Strong following their pre-show match, they’re left laying. Speculation by the announcers about how that impacts the main event – Aries is now likely to be alone against what Styles promised (and maybe it will turn out to be true, given this footage) will be a united Bullet Club.

3. Bullet Club (Karl Anderson/Doc Gallows) d. American Alpha (Chad Gable/Jason Jordan)

American Alpha started the wrestling year as the consensus heir to the great amateur wrestling tag teams in WWF history (Steiners – Haas/Benjamin – Division One). Grubby veterans Anderson/Gallows took umbrage at the hype and have spent the year dirtying Alpha up.  This is the blow off – and it looks like maybe Alpha wasn’t ready for the moment after all, the Bullet Club gets the win and the night of heel victories continues. 

4. Roman Reigns-Uso d. Nick Nemeth

Two guys maybe going in opposite directions; Nemeth is the most recent Triple Crown winner, the highest achievement a WWF wrestler can receive, but his performance in the Survivor Series tournament and subsequent attempt to get an IC shot had to be considered disappointing.  Reigns has largely been a tag wrestler, the engine of the Usos tag act, but has been on his own most of the wrestling year – he goes over here, the announcers speculating on if that foreshadows a big year for Reigns.  Jimmy and Jey, again, recall, they’ve turned heel, come out to the ramp to salute Roman (who has not turned heel) postmatch.

5. Full Circle (Randy Orton/John Cena) d. Luke Harper/Bray Wyatt

Orton and Cena were early career tag champs, they’ve taken different paths over the past decade, Orton almost always a heel, Cena largely a babyface.  They reunited at the Rumble when Cena swerved Bray, his former cultleader, who turned face over the course of the year.  Orton and Cena win here and move into the new wrestling year together. 

Clip package of each of the 6 WWF Women’s Champions from the Wrestlemania era. 

…Natty Neidhart becoming the inaugural champion at Survivor Series 2014..

…Paige taking the title at Rumble ’15…

…Charlotte Flair, with aid from Ric, blowing up 4-Ground at Survivor Series 2015…

…Sasha Banks taking the belt from her former stablemate at Wrestlemania 32…

…Charlotte retaking at Summer Slam last year….

…Sasha retaking at the Rumble…

6. Women’s Title: Becky Lynch (w/Nakamura) d. Sasha Banks

Part of the pre-match discussion involved if Becky would finally be forced to be on her own; she’s been flanked by Bullet Club members since her turn – but with Anderson/Gallows on the card that might mean she was alone.  But we get more evidence that the Bullet Club is united tonight, Nakamura seconds her to the ring, and is involved in the way you’d expect (Becky’s outside the ring, Sasha wants to dive atop her, but is stopped when Nakamura stands in front) - you can feel the frustration in Banks, she’s never once had a chance to be really one on one with Lynch post-turn, and it doesn’t happen here either.  Becky gets some type of Nakamura interference (Sasha’s got her hand on the ropes during the pinfall attempt by Lynch, Nakamura knocks it away) and she takes the title.  Anderson and Gallows, now in street clothes, make their way to the ring – and it’s a full Bullet Club celebration for the new WWF Women’s Champion – Becky Lynch

At Wrestlemania we do an In Memorium segment, stills/clips of those who have died since last year’s event while some appropriate song plays. 

Blackjack Mulligan

Balls Mahoney

Gypsy Joe

Frenchy Martin

Mr. Fuji

Chavo Guerrero Sr.

Dennis Stamp

Outlaw Ron Bass

Chyna

Timothy Well

George the Animal Steele

Ivan Koloff

Jimmy Superfly Snuka

Muhammad Ali

The upper card is next.

7. Dean Ambrose d. Tyler Black

-The Shield held the tag belts for more than 2 years, but Black’s injury and a difference in opinion about how Ambrose should have handled Langston’s turn precipitated a series of events that gets us here.  They go 50/50, longtime partners not in a blood feud, but there’s animosity that’s developed and given the size of the moment they go at each other hard.  The key moment is a high spot where Black’s leg, the one which cost him over a year of his career, betrays him again.  He comes up short, Ambrose takes advantage and beats him.

Postmatch the two men stand in mid ring – Ambrose offers a hand….Black accepts…they shake…they hug….Ambrose and Black are united again, here at Wrestlemania 33!

A clip package plays with as many living tag champs (both partners) as we can get in present day (not all together, each gets their own clip) where the two men stand together as they are now, right next to a clip playing of them as WWF Tag champs.  One assumes not all of these teams are available, as they aren’t all drawing WWF legends salaries, but they get as many as they can.  I think it would be moving, to see the partners together again today in half of the screen as the other half plays a clip of who they used to be.  Passage of time hits a specific emotional place, and that's a good place for Wrestlemania to live.  It’s also the culmination of all of the tag title history talk/programming that occurred in advance of Steen/Generico becoming the 100^th tag team champs.  It’s a good package, I think.

Tony Garea/Dean Ho, 1973

Jimmy Valiant/Johnny Valiant, 1974

Dominic DeNucci/Victor Rivera/Pat Rivera, 1975

Tony Garea/Larry Zbyszko, 1978

Ivan Putski/Tito Santana, 1979

The Wild Samoans, 1980, 1983

Bob Backlund/Pedro Morales, 1980

Tony Garea/Rick Martel, 1980, 1981

Tony Atlas/Rocky Johnson, 1983

Barry Windham/Mike Rotundo, 1985

Iron Sheik/Nikolai Volkoff, 1985

Tito Santana/Brutus Beefcake, 1985

The Rougeaus (Jacques/Ray/Anvil) 1987

The Brainbusters, 1988

The Rockers, 1989

Orient Express, 1990

Money Inc, 1992

The Steiner Brothers, 1992

The Rougeaus (Jacques/Pierre), 1994

The Hart Foundation (Bret/Anvil), 1994

The Smoking Gunns, 1995

Razor Ramon/Diesel, 1995

Steve Austin/Dustin Rhodes 1996

Bart Gunn/Marc Mero 1996

The Rock/DLo Brown 1997, 1998

Cactus Jack/Terry Funk, 1998

New Age Outlaws, 1998

The Dudley Boys, 1999, 2001

Edge and Christian 2000, 2009

Raven/Taz , 2001

Chris Jericho/Lance Storm, 2002

HBK/HHH-M, 2003, 2007

Shane Helms/Rhyno 2005

PAUL/Kane/Undertaker, 2006, 2009

RVD/Sabu, 2006

The Sandman/Tommy Dreamer, 2007

Chavo Guerrero/Carlito Colon, 2007

John Cena/Dave Batista, 2008

Young Money, 2010, 2012

Randy Orton/Ted DiBiase, Jr, 2011

Wade Barrett/Justin Gabriel, 2011

Randy Orton/Giant Bernard, 2012

Wade Barrett/Ryback, 2013

Wade Barrett/Sheamus, 2015

8. WWF Tag Team Titles: Ladder Wars: Trash (Claudio/Neville) d. Steen/Generico

Steen and Generico took the titles from the former stablemates at the Rumble to become the 100^th WWF Tag Team Champs, they give them back here in what is probably the match of the night.  The goal here is pure carnage, whatever level of ladder based wreckage can these four men put themselves through in order to have an all time classic Wrestlemania tag title match.  In the end its Neville, driven by rage, who climbs the ladder, grabs the belts, and secures the tag titles for Trash.

Steen and Generico disappear, Neville takes the mic and says there’s no denying it – Trash is the true Kings of the Ladder match.  And they’ll defend these titles in a ladder match against any team in the universe.

Blackout. 

Take a beat.  Take a second beat.

In the darkened stadium – the cackle of Broken Matt Hardy. 

The Hardys music hits – the lights come back – and here they come.

The announcers tell the story – the Broken Hardys were TNA Champions and never lost those belts, they were Ring of Honor Champions just yesterday. The Broken Hardys are here – and the referee is hoisting the title belts  again – we’re going to have another Ladder Match for the Tag Team Titles!

9. WWF Tag Team Titles: Ladder Match: Broken Hardys d. Trash

-17 years after they last won the WWF tag team titles, the Hardys return at Wrestlemania to grab their third WWF tag titles.  It’s a moment.  This is a shorter match, 10-12 minutes, after Trash just did 20+ with Steen/Generico, Gargano runs in for this one to take some type of monster bump.  In the end its Broken Matt Hardy climbing that ladder to take all the gold.  8 years ago, Matt Hardy forced Jeff to leave the WWF in the second ever Montreal Match, tonight – the Broken Hardys are WWF Tag Team Champions.

Prior to the next match, Jim Ross is introduced, he makes his way to ringside to call his first Wrestlemania match in 6 years. 

10. IC: Brock Lesnar (w/Heyman) d. Chris Jericho

-Jericho’s last ride comes to an end against Brock.  We’ve been watching this latest iteration of Jericho, old man Chris, for the last year – every creak, every ache, he uses every trick in his arsenal here – throws everything at Lesnar from his 25 year bag of tricks – he’s able at one point to successfully hurt Brock, attacking his left arm and causing Brock to be unable to get Jericho up on a suplex.  That gave the veteran some home – but in the end, Lesnar was too much, it’s an F5 and a pinfall.  Jericho is left flat on his back in what is..perhaps…his final WWF image.

As Brock leaves the ring, Heyman, forcefully, looks at the camera “REAL.  WORLD’S.  CHAMP.”

One last clip package.  Every main event in Mania history.

I…Steamboat beating Windham to keep the WWF Title

II…The Dynamite Kid taking Steamboat’s WWF Title…

III…Steamboat retaking the title from Dynamite in that epic feud that started the Wrestlemania Era….

IV…The Dynamite Kid, body breaking down, gets the final triumph over Steamboat…

V…an all babyface main event, WWF Champ Randy Savage successfully defending over Bret…

VI…Mr. Perfect keeps the WWF title over the former champion Savage…

VII…the first man ever to walk out of consecutive Wrestlemanias with the WWF Title was Hennig, he beat Savage again…

VIII…Bret wins his first WWF Title, beating Ric Flair…

IX…Bret keeps that title, beating Razor Ramon…

X…Bret loses the belt to his brother Owen…

XI…Bret ties Steamboat, four WM main events in a row, he beats Shawn to regain the WWF Title…

XII…Shawn regains the WWF Title, beating Bret in the Iron Man match…

XIII…Bret’s third WWF title run (and 6 year streak as the WM main event) comes to an end, losing to Steve Austin…

XIV…Owen Hart came in as WWF Champion and left the same way, defeating Shawn Michaels..

XV…Cactus Jack regains the WWF Title in a Pure Wrestling Match, defeating Owen…

XVI…Benoit takes the belt from Cactus…

XVII…Angle takes the belt from Benoit…

XVIII….11 years after his last WM main event, Curt Hennig is back, he fails in an attempt to take the title from Angle…

XIX…Angle keeps the belt one more time, beating Brock Lesnar…

XX…it’s four main events in a row for Angle, he loses the belt to Benoit….

XXI…It’s an Iron Man match, Eddy Guerrero taking the belt from Benoit…

XXII…Chris Benoit’s last match, he fails in an attempt to take Rey Mysterio’s belt…

XXIII…the first WM main event not for the WWF title, Matt Hardy beating Edge in the Cell…

XXIV…a TLC match, CM Punk reuniting all of the world title belts by beating Shelton Benjamin and Johnny Nitro…

XXV…13 years ago HBK was in his first WM main event, he’s in this years as well, losing a WWF Title shot to Jericho…

XXVI…another match not for the title, Edge and Matt Hardy defeated Punk and Christian…

XXVII…the announced main event was Punk taking the title from Edge…but Nick Nemeth then cashed in the MITB briefcase and took Punk’s newly won title…

XXVIII…Bryan Danielson came in as WWF Champ and left the same way, beating Jericho…

XXIX…Danielson wasn’t as fortunate the following year, he loses the belt to Lesnar…

XXX….Danielson lost the title again the following year, to Claudio Castagnoli…

XXXI…the two previous years winners meet, Lesnar keeping the belt over Claudio…

XXXII…last year, the Elimination Chamber, when AJ Styles pinned Kevin Steen to take the title…

And what happens after the video package?  What might be the reason some people purchased the PPV…the return to the WWF of Kurt Angle.

Angle’s got the striped referee’s shirt on, he’s wearing his mirrored sunglasses – the fans are likely to erupt as he reaches the ring – he takes off the glasses, lets the moment settle, gives a half wave..and then the wrestlers come to the ring.  The announcers tell us that tomorrow night, Kurt Angle will return to RAW for a celebration of his career and he will speak to the WWF fans. 

11. WWF Title: AJ Styles (w/Bullet Club) d. Austin Aries (special guest referee: Kurt Angle)

AJ (debuting new trunks tonight which say "Best Wrestler In the World") was right, the Bullet Club all comes down to ringside, Anderson, Gallows, Nakamura and the new women’s champion Lynch.  And they figure in one spot – Anderson and Gallows try to do a distraction, one hops to the apron to draw the officials attention while the other then gets involved – but Angle snuffs it out and winds up knocking Gallows to the floor with a blow he sells like he’s been shot.

Other than that, it’s a straight up match, the best match they can have – and AJ gets him at the end. 

Postmatch, the Bullet Club hits the ring – they do the full beatdown on Aries, recall Strong and Roode were beaten down earlier in the night – Mauro is screaming at them to stop – he’s seeing his friends attack his other friend – he’s picking a side, and now, going forward, he was also have some animosity toward the Bullet Club, as they  bury Aries under the Bullet Club flag, presumably ending his WWF career.  Anderson/Gallows/Nakamura/Lynch go to the four turnbuckles – AJ Styles holds the title belt aloft over the broken body of Austin Aries, covered in the Bullet Club flag, to end Wrestlemania 33.

I’ll be back in a month to offer some reconsiderations of past booking decisions (like I did a year ago) and in either June or July we’ll be on the Road to Summer Slam 2017, where AJ Styles will defend the WWF Title against….well, let’s hold off on that, it can be a surprise.  Summer Slam is going to be a big show.

Thanks for reading.  The build starts here