The official Wrestlemania 37 promotional poster
Source: wwe.com 

Intro and history 

Wrestlemania is a professional wrestling event held annually between March and April by WWE, an American professional wrestling company. It is widely considered to be WWE’s flagship event. This year’s edition, Wrestlemania 37, was the 37th annual Wrestlemania event which took place over the course of two nights on April 10 and 11. It was held at the Raymond James Stadium located in Tampa, Florida with a combined attendance of 51,350 spectators for both nights in total. It was the first event held by WWE to have live spectators in attendance during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Night 1 – April 10 

No.Match card Stipulations 
1)Bobby Lashley (c) vs Drew McIntyreSingles match for the WWE Championship
2)Natalya and Tamina vs The Riott Squad (Liv Morgan and Ruby Riott)Tag Team Turmoil match
3)Cesaro vs Seth RollinsSingles match 
4)A.J. Styles and Omos vs The New Day (Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods) (c)Tag team match for the WWE Raw Tag Team Championship
5)Braun Strowman vs Shane McMahonSteel cage match
6)Bad Bunny and Damian Priest vs The Miz and John MorrisonTag team match
7) Bianca Belair vs Sasha Banks (c) Singles match for the WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship
* (c) refers to the champion heading into the match 

Match 1: Bobby Lashley (c) vs Drew McIntyre

Source: wwe.com 

The opening match was met with an electric atmosphere as McIntyre entered the stadium. At the beginning, Lashley had the upper hand by holding onto momentum but a crash landing into the ring post gave McIntyre to get back in the match. One of the highlights was when McIntyre did an overhead belly-to-belly suplex  immediately followed by three back-to-back-to-back  Future Shock DDTs , however, Lashley kicked out at two. McIntyre was close to a victory but he got distracted by MVP  and that led to Lashley locking him in the Hurt Lock . McIntyre passed out while in the Hurt Lock, giving the victory to Lashley by submission.

Result

Bobby Lashley defeated Drew McIntyre by technical submission.

Match 2: Natalya & Tamina vs Lana & Naomi vs Dana Brooke & Mandy Rose vs The Riott Squad vs Billie Kay & Carmella

Source: wwe.com 

Each team battled it out to earn the right to challenge WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Nia Jax & Shayna Baszler. The battle began with Naomi & Lana vs Carmella & Billie Kay. With an assist from Carmella, Kay earned a flash roll-up pinfall on Naomi. The Riott Squad was the next team to enter the fray. Carmela’s attempt to replicate her previous assist was unsuccessful as her act was caught by the referee. A combo move – a Codebreaker and a Senton earned the Riott Squad a pinfall win over Kay. The Riott Squad victory run continued as Liv Morgan reversed a pinfall attempt after a Swanton by Brooke, eliminating Dana Brooke & Mandy Rose. The winning streak of the Riott Squad ended when Natalya & Tamina hit the Hart Attack  on Riott with Tamina crashing down on Riott to obtain the financial victory, earning the right to challenge the champions on the next night.

Result

Natalya and Tamina won by last eliminating The Riott Squad by pinfall.

Match 3: Cesaro vs Seth Rollins

Source: wwe.com 

Cesaro’s first-ever singles match at Wrestlemania began with much action as he tried to give an encore performance of the 22 Swings he performed on SmackDown’s Savior back in February, but Rollins avoided it well. However, Rollins could not avoid it for long as Cesaro brought Rollins on nine trips with the Swing. Rollins tried gaining back the upper hand with moves like a twisting splash and a scorpion kick  but his efforts were stopped by Cesaro’s jaw dropping, record breaking 23 rotations of a combination of UFO and the Swing, turning Rollins into a human merry-go-round. Finally, Cesaro gained his victory over Rollins with the Neutralizer.

Result

Cesaro defeated Seth Rollins by pinfall.

Match 4: A.J. Styles and Omos vs The New Day (Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods) (c)

Source: wwe.com

Kingston & Woods, the tag team champions on 11 occasions, trapped Styles in a corner and taunted newcomer giant Omos early on. Eventually, Styles escaped the trap and made the hot tag to Omos. The whole match changed 180 degrees from that point onwards. The efforts of Kingston & Woods to assault Omos were completely ineffective. The match ended with Omos pinning Kingston while standing after drilling Kingston with a two-handed choke bomb

Result

A.J. Styles and Omos defeated The New Day by pinfall.

Match 5: Braun Strowman vs Shane McMahon

Source: wwe.com

McMahon took on Strowman who is much bigger in his physique for the only cage match of the event. McMahon attacked Strowman with a chair, a toolbox and even part of the cage but Strowman never really dropped out of the match. As McMahon was climbing outside of the cage, he waved his hand at Strowman by putting his hands through the cage, Strowman seized the opportunity to grab it. To McMahon’s horror, Strowman ripped part of the cage from its brackets and brought McMahon back in. Strowman finished off the game by throwing McMahon from the top of the cage and then picking up a pinfall win soon after.

Result

Braun Strowman defeated Shane McMahon by pinfall.

Match 6: Bad Bunny and Damian Priest vs The Miz and John Morrison

Source: wwe.com

Grammy-winning recording artist, Bad Bunny teamed up with Damian Priest to go against The Miz & John Morrison. Despite being a celebrity, Bunny put up a good fight and even managed to pull out a lucha libre staple with a spinning headscissors  on Miz. The match ended with Bad Bunny hitting a crossbody on Miz, who was held on Priest’s shoulders, earning his team a win by pinfall..

Match 7: Bianca Belair vs Sasha Banks (c)

Source: wwe.com

The final match and main event was the first time two Black women competed in a singles match in the history of Wrestlemania. Banks had the upper hand early on but Belair fired back by exchanging shoves. Banks tried to use Belair’s hair as a weapon but it never really worked out for her. They went back and forth with reversals until Belair hit the K.O.D(Kiss of Death) for a pinfall win. It was a great cap off to the first night of Wrestlemania 37.

Result

Bianca Belair defeated Sasha Banks by pinfall.

Night 2 – April 11 

No.Match card Stipulations 
1)Randy Orton vs ‘The Fiend’ Bray Wyatt Singles match 
2)Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler (c) vs Natalya and TaminaTag team match for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship 
3)Kevin Owens vs Sami Zayn Singles match 
4)Sheamus vs Riddle (c)Singles match for the WWE United States Championship 
5)Apollo Crews vs Big E (c)Nigerian Drum match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship 
6)Rhea Ripley vs Asuka (c)Singles match for the WWE Raw Women’s Championship 
7) Roman Reigns (c) vs Edge vs Daniel Bryan Triple Threat match for the WWE Universal Championship 
* (c) refers to the champion heading into the match

Match 1: Randy Orton vs ‘The Fiend’ Bray Wyatt 

Source: bleacherreport.com 

This encounter was a climax of a six-month rivalry between Randy Orton and The Fiend. The entrance of The Fiend was a particular highlight, with his attaché Alexa Bliss turning a handle of a massive jack-in-the-box at ringside and The Fiend emerged from the box. Both competitors delivered some of their signature moves on one another, with The Fiend twice going for the Mandible Claw on Orton who escaped both times, and Orton delivering numerous draping DDTs to The Fiend. Ultimately, Orton capitalised on a distraction by Bliss on Fiend, hitting the RKO to score the pinfall victory. 

Result

Randy Orton defeated ‘The Fiend’ Bray Wyatt by pinfall. 

Match 2: Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler (c) vs Natalya and Tamina – WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship 

Source: wwe.com

This match occurred as a result of Natalya and Tamina’s victory in the previous night’s Tag Team Turmoil match, earning a shot to battle the dominant duo of Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship. The challengers went close to clinching the titles at one point during the match, with Tamina narrowly missing her finisher, the Superfly Splash on Jax. Baszler subsequently locked in the Kirifuda Clutch on Natalya, who gradually lost consciousness, thus Jax and Baszler retained the titles. 

Result

Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler defeated Natalya and Tamina by technical submission.

Match 3: Kevin Owens vs Sami Zayn 

Source: wwe.com

Sami Zayn took on Kevin Owens for this contest, with American YouTube personality Logan Paul accompanying Zayn at ringside. Within mere seconds of the match’s commencement, Owens nailed Zayn with his signature pop-up powerbomb, nearly ending the match in its infancy. Zayn subsequently recovered, and executed several of his own signature moves which include the Michinoku driver and the Blue Thunder Bomb. Eventually, Zayn succumbed to a stunner from Owens, giving the win to Owens. 

Result

Kevin Owens defeated Sami Zayn by pinfall. 

Match 4: Sheamus vs Riddle (c) – WWE United States Championship

Source: wwe.com

Sheamus started this match with incredible intensity, brutalising and heavily focusing his attack on Riddle’s left arm. In the final stages of the match, Riddle recovered and was going for a springboard moonsault, but Sheamus caught him mid-flight with his Brogue Kick finisher to clinch the win and the United States Championship. 

Result

Sheamus defeated Riddle by pinfall. 

Match 5: Apollo Crews vs Big E (c) – WWE Intercontinental Championship 

Source: wwe.com

The Nigerian Drum match stipulation was suggested by Apollo Crews as he began to gradually embrace his Nigerian roots in the buildup to this match. The stipulation of the Nigerian Drum match is similar to that of a No Holds Barred Match, but with African drums surrounding the ring that can be utilised as weapons. After a hard-hitting match involving heavy usage of the drums and kendo sticks as weapons by both competitors, Crews emerged victorious after interference from an unnamed competitor. 

Result

Apollo Crews defeated Big E by pinfall. 

Match 6: Rhea Ripley vs Asuka (c) – WWE Raw’s Women Championship 

Source: wwe.com

This match began at a breakneck speed, with Asuka dominating the early exchanges, frustrating Ripley which sent her to the arena floor to regroup. Both competitors traded submission holds, with Asuka managing to apply the Asuka Lock near the end of the match. Ripley subsequently performed the Riptide to win the match and the title. 

Result

Rhea Ripley defeated Asuka by pinfall. 

Match 7: Roman Reigns (c) vs Edge vs Daniel Bryan – WWE Universal Championship 

Source: wwe.com

Three men who have suffered career-threatening injuries and illnesses at one point in their careers meet one another in the main event of the second night at Wrestlemania. At one point during the match, Edge and Bryan simultaneously applied their respective submission holds on Reigns. After a 20-minute grueling battle, Reigns smashed a chair over the head of Edge, then draped Edge’s body over Bryan’s and pinned both men at the same time to win the match and retain the title. 

Result

Roman Reigns defeated Edge and Daniel Bryan by pinfall. 

Welcoming back its audience to live events for the first time since the pandemic, Wrestlemania 37 gave thousands of people an entertaining weekend with its spectacular matches. It has also left avid wrestling fans looking forward to the day the stadiums can be filled to its fullest capacity without worries of the pandemic at the back of their minds.

Writers: Chris Phang and Pei Zoe

Editor: Wu Wen Qi

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