Supercard Review: WWE Hell in a Cell 2016 - Charlotte Flair v Sasha Banks *Hell in a Cell*

On 30th October, WWE's RAW brand held the 8th incarnation of the Hell in a Cell PPV (the 1st to be entirely RAW branded). The main event was the first ever female Hell in a Cell bout with Sasha Banks putting her RAW Women's Championship on the line against Charlotte Flair, whilst a pair of semi-mains came from Roman Reigns and "The Bulgarian Brute" Rusev battling over the United States Championship and Kevin Owens placing the Universal Championship on the line, both inside the structure. With Cesaro, Bayley, RAW Tag Team Champions The New Day, Karl Anderson and Brian Kendrick on the undercard, how would Hell in a Cell turn out? Let's take a look. 

Despite what WWE's "triple main event" billing said, Charlotte Flair winning the RAW Women's Championship from Sasha Banks in a Hell in a Cell match was the main event in pretty much every sense of the term. It went on last, took up the most screen time and got the most hype. So how about that main event? It was always going to be difficult for Flair and Banks to step up not only into the main event, but to join the grand pantheon of Hell in a Cell matches, that includes classics like Shawn Michaels v The Undertaker and Cactus Jack v Triple H. There was a lot of history behind this bout, but at the same time there was none. Never before had two women main evented a PPV, never before had two women stepped inside the demonic structure. Was the match looking to emulate the past or create the future? It's difficult to judge something's effectiveness, if you're unsure of its aims. 

A large portion of the action happened outside of the bell, with Flair attacking Banks before the bell, leading to the two brawling outside of the cage. This would include the main angle for the bout that would drive the contest's narrative. Flair pulling Banks from the outside of the cage and hitting a powerbomb through the announce table looked superb. Banks took the bump like an absolute boss (pun intended), with the table collapsing underneath her and Flair's powerbomb looked tasty also. The build up could have been a lot slicker than it was, with Flair awkwardly bumping off the cage and then waiting for Banks to position herself into the powerbomb, instead of simply grabbing her. If the prior work had looked less cooperative then the big spot would have looked even better. The angle with Banks being put onto the stretcher and not wanting any help, only to pull herself into the cage when the announcement was being made, felt a little corny and didn't make a whole lot of sense. The two ladies played it well, but if the doctors had decried that Banks couldn't wrestle to the point that it had been communicated to the ring announcer (Jo Jo) then surely the match still doesn't go ahead? The spot has been played out in various formats over the years, including in a number of Hell in a Cell matches and I would've preferred the ladies had started with something that couldn't be easily compared to things we've seen over, at least, the last five years. 

Once the wrestlers were inside the Cell, I thought Banks and Flair did a damn good job, with a number of strong spots, some substantial storytelling and never for a moment looking out of place in the slot they were given. The majority of the bout was wrapped around Banks' back injury, with Flair targeting the damaged area and Banks offence kept to desperation flurries. The Boss' selling was mostly good, but the length of the bout (over 20 mins bell to bell) at times threatened it's believability, especially during a spot that saw her hit the three amigos suplexes (Because Eddie Guerrero). Spots-wise the match had some good use of the cell, from the very beginning where Charlotte hit a wicked monkey flip into the steel and a flurry of double knee shots from Banks that pinned Flair against the structure. A couple of the spots involving tables could have come off slicker, especially Flair's bump off the apron. Had these spots come together as planned then this probably would have been the undisputed match of the night. Flair winning the match with Natural Selection, having thrown Banks into a table twice, was a flat end to the evening, especially with the match in Banks' hometown. 

Match in a Sentence - A very good match, with some flashes storytelling brilliance, but it occasionally got lost and some of the bigger spots could have looked better

The show opened with Roman Reigns retaining the United States Championship over Rusev in a solid heavyweight scrap inside the structure. The match was hurt by having to take two other HIAC matches into consideration, meaning that the bout lacked any particularly impressive spots, meaning that Rusev bumping off the apron and into the cell was replayed about twenty times during the match. However, within the confines that they were given, I felt like Reigns and Rusev managed to produce an extremely watchable affray. They'd introduce a number of props to compliment that big lads style, whacking each other with Kendo sticks, the steel steps and a big metal chain. One of my favourite parts of the match was when Rusev had Reigns caught in the ropes and was wailing away with the kendo stick, but with the crowd chanting along, he stopped the beating and broke the kendo stick over his knee. It made me chuckle at home, but also got him a decent big of heat, because Boston loves to count. There was a couple of near falls with Reigns' being sent into the steps and then taking a superkick, which were worked well and had the crowd gripped, especially on the first one! 

My main problem with the bout was that it felt like a missed opportunity to make Rusev into a legitimate top guy in WWE. This was all down to how the story of the match unfolded and also, in part, the finish. The conclusion saw Rusev wrap the steel chain around Reigns' chin and apply a modified Accolade with the chain, with the two on top of the steel steps, now for me, unless you can do a run-in, that's the end of the match, right there. Instead, Rusev was made to look a bit dim, by dropping the chain to lock in a normal Accolade, allowing Reigns to power out and hit a Samoan Drop on the steps, followed by a spear to get the win. Why on earth would Rusev drop that chain? It just made him look a fool. Have Reigns pass out or if The Big Dog HAS to win for whatever reason, work an injury angle where Rusev can't keep the hold on because X, Y or Z, anything that gives a reason for The Bulgarian Brute to drop the chain. With the knowledge that Reigns was going over, I would've liked to have seen Rusev get more offence in during the first act of the match, where it seemed like Reigns always had the upperhand, even when the former champ resorted to raking the eyes, Reigns somehow rebounded and sent Rusev into the steps. There was a more interesting story to be told, with a few simple changes, that would've lead to both being elevated at the same time.

Match in a Sentence – Big heavyweight scrap, that utilised a number of props well, but could have done with cutting time and also feels like a missed star-making opportunity for Rusev.

The third Hell in a Cell contest on the card was Kevin Owens retaining his Universal Championship against Seth Rollins, after Chris Jericho had got himself locked inside the structure. There were a number of different elements that went into this, with the near 25 minute bout moving through a number of distinct segments. Each of these sections had their own merits, Owens focusing on Rollins injured tapped back had some good spots and suited the pairs styles, a lightning quick sequence of reversals sent the crowd into a frenzy and Jericho's involvement in the finish bought more storyline into the action without feeling over-booked. Everything on it's own was entertaining and the variation of styles meant that the 25 minutes went past fairly quickly, but (there's always a but) it wasn't melded together as good as it could have been. The back and forth sequence felt so out of place for what had come before, the run-in was awkwardly ambled towards with fire extinguishers and shit. It felt like when it was booked everyone had a load of good ideas, but not the time to make them fit together. 

Everything from when Jericho got inside the cage to when Owens pinned Rollins was very good. Rollins looked great fighting from underneath, managing to keep Jericho out of the action, only for Y2J to comeback just in time to keep Owens in the match. The spot where Rollins powerbombed Owens through a ridiculous structure of tables on the outside was superb stuff with the highspot itself looking insane. Similar to the Banks v Flair announce table spot, the build up could have been slicker, but the duo managed to recover the moment well, as when Rollins seemed to be unable to get Owens in position it could have been a lot worse, both visually and physically.  The finish built up nicely with Owens unable to put Rollins away with a Pop-Up Powerbomb, before Jeri-KO were finally able to combine for a sustained period, hammering away with chairs, before Owens hit a DDT on a chair for a near fall and finally won with a Powerbomb through a pair of seated chairs. It protected Rollins by having him scrap til the very end and also included some pretty cool looking moments along the way. I feel like everyone will benefit from this story ended, with Rollins able to stretch his babyface wings in a separate feud, whilst Jeri-KO can step up their best friends storyline that is obviously only heading in one direction.

Match in a Sentence - Good bout that goes through a number of different section, but doesn't quite manage to thread them together.

The biggest bout on the undercard saw Sheamus & Cesaro defeat The New Day (Big E & Xavier Woods, accompanied by Kofi Kingston) by disqualification, meaning that New Day retained the RAW Tag Team Championships. At times this match had some great wrestling, at times it was super awkward. Sheamus being the only heel in the contest, just meant that the structure of the whole thing was a bit off and that the first half of the match played out in front of a crowd that didn't really know how to react to it. The hot tag sequence was exciting stuff, with Big E having overhead belly to belly suplexes for days, Woods hitting a lovely tope conhilo and then Big E blocking a Brogue Kick and hitting a sit-out powerbomb for 2, but it didn't have enough substance or heat heading in to make it as satisfying as it could have done. The finish had way too much going on to set up the DQ finish, with Kingston retaliating Sheamus hitting Big E with Francesca 2 (the trombone, if you're not keeping up) with a Trouble in Paradise, whilst Cesaro got Woods to tap out to a Sharpshooter. After the match, I don't feel like anyone involved came out of the show looking any different from before the match took place.

Match in a Sentence - Some really well worked spots, but also incredibly awkward at points and did very little for anyone involved.

Brian Kendrick won his first singles title in WWE, taking the Cruiserweight Championship from TJ Perkins. The contest was technically sound but struggled to grab to crowd's attention and at points risked the audience turning on it. One of the matches biggest challenges was that it came directly after the Owens v Rollins HIAC bout, which had included the stupidly quick back and forth section. There was nothing in this match which even came close to the excitement of that piece of work. The spot that seemed to turn the crowd off was Kendrick trying to tape Perkins to the bottom rope by his wrist tape, which made absolutely no sense (the commentary team said Kendrick was going for the countout) and looked awful. WWE have weaved a story into the cruiserweight division that nobody wanted to see and have shown a clear misunderstanding of what made the Cruiserweight Classic so popular. The majority of the wrestling content was fine, because Kendrick and Perkins know what they're doing, but by the time Kendrick had won the belt I didn't feel anything or at least felt nothing near to how emotional I was for any of Kendrick's matches during CWC. 

Match in a Sentence - A match that struggled to get the crowds imagination, but included some decent wrestling 

Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson got a big victory over Big Cass & Enzo Amore, in a simple but enjoyable tag team match. Gallows, Anderson, Cass and Amore didn't reinvent the wheel here, but each part of the wheel was constructed well. Enzo & Cass' face shine was fun, Gallows and Anderson controlled the bout well, the build to the hot tag was good, Cass looked like a hero during his come back and the heels got the win thanks to some over exuberance from Cass and a swift double team on Amore. I would've liked to have seen Gallows & Anderson get a bit more time to work over Jersey's Finest and to have really ground on him to the point where the crowd were absolutely desperate for Cass to come lay waste to them, but in a show that went three and half hours, asking for more is an odd request. Gallows & Anderson needed this victory, after no supercard win since May and especially after the New Day feud had killed their momentum as two bald bad asses. Don't worry about Enzo & Cass they could lose week in week out and still turn things around with one promo, plus Cass looked like a beast, so all is well.

Match in a Sentence - Solid tag team match, that finally gives Gallows & Anderson a bit of momentum!

Rounding out the show we had Bayley picking up a victory over Dana Brooke in what was both women's first singles match on a main roster supercard. It was clear to see where both women were at in their careers in this match as Bayley shone, whilst Brooke looked average (that's being me being uncharacteristically nice).  From the awkward spot where Brooke tried to drop Bayley shoulder first onto the top buckle, it was clear that the contest was a little too sophisticated for a Brooke who should probably still be in NXT. Brooke working the arm was mostly sloppily executed, including a move that I believe was supposed to be a Bow and Arrow, but Bayley's selling was strong enough that it pretty much carried the match. Little touches, like only using one arm to do the wacky waving inflatable arm flailing tube man dance, made the contest for me and gave me a big smile on my face. The logical next step would seem to be moving Bayley into either a one on one feud with Charlotte or Nia Jax, the top two female heels on the RAW brand currently. 

Match in a Sentence - Very good performance from Bayley in a match that wasn't always as tight as it should have been

Best of the Rest 

• Big Cass & Enzo Amore knocked their pre-match promo out of the park, with a number of funky references to their opponents, such as renaming them Big Gal and Andy.

• The New Day's pre-match promo was mainly pandering and talk of potential merchandise for Cesaro & Sheamus, it wasn't great.

• Backstage, Stephanie McMahon and Mick Foley shilled the upcoming Survivor Series PPV before Chris Jericho canvassed for position on the RAW Survivor Series team, with all the signature catch phrases. 

• Backstage, Tom Phillips interviewed Kevin Owens – Cesaro & Sheamus argued about something 

Finally...

ATPW Scale Rating - 6.27/10

Show in a Sentence - A good show, with three good to very good Hell in a Cell bouts, even if each would have been improved by not having to take the others into consideration, accompanied by an average, yet mostly entertaining undercard.

Match of the Night - Sasha Banks v Charlotte Flair

All content - James Marston

All images are the property of their respective owners. 

PPV Review: WWE WrestleMania 32 (Shane vs. Undertaker *Hell in a Cell*)

Check out our review of last week's Monday Night RAW, including thoughts Dolph Ziggler, Sami Zayn & Sin Cara vs. Kevin Owens, Stardust and The Miz here.

On 3rd April 2016, WWE aired WrestleMania 32 live from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, USA on PPV and the WWE Network. The Undertaker put his WrestleMania career on the line, as Shane McMahon tried to win control of Monday Night RAW as the pair came face to face inside Hell in a Cell, Roman Reigns challenged for Triple H's WWE World Heavyweight Championship, The Wyatt Family confronted The Rock, before John Cena made his WWE return, Charlotte, Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch competed over the WWE Women's Championship and AJ Styles went toe to toe with Chris Jericho...but was it any good? Let's find out!

wrestlemania 32 match card

Match 1 – Seven-Man Intercontinental Championship Laddder- Dolph Ziggler vs. The Miz vs. Sami Zayn vs. Stardust vs. Sin Cara vs. Zack Ryder vs. Kevin Owens (C)

Match 2 – Singles - “Y2J” Chris Jericho vs. “The Phenomenal” AJ Styles

Match 3 – Six Man Tag Team – The New Day: Big E, Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods vs. The League of Nations: Rusev, Sheamus & “The Celtic Warrior” Sheamus with King Barrett

Match 4 – No Holds Barred Street Fight - “The Beast, The Conqueror” Brock Lesnar w/Paul Heyman vs. Dean Ambrose

Match 5 – WWE Women's Championship – Becky Lynch vs. Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte © w/Ric Flair

Match 6 – Hell in a Cell – Shane McMahon vs. The Undertaker

Match 7 – Andre the Giant Memorial Twenty Man Battle Royal - Adam Rose vs. Baron Corbin vs. Bo Dallas vs. Curtis Axel vs. Damien Sandow vs. Darren Young vs. Diamond Dallas Page vs. Fandango vs. Goldust vs. Heath Slater vs. Jack Swagger vs. Kane vs. Konnor vs. Mark Henry vs. R-Truth vs. Shaquille O'Neal vs. Tatanka vs. The Big Show vs. Tyler Breeze vs. Viktor

Match 8 - Singles - The Rock vs. Erick Rowan w/The Wyatt Family: Braun Strowman & Bray Wyatt

Match 9 - WWE World Heavyweight Championship - Triple H (C) w/Stephanie McMahon vs. Roman Reigns 

fast-forward...Five-piece girl group Fifth Harmony performed America the Beautiful...Cheers, Frasier and The Simpsons actor Kelsey Grammer did the voice over for show's hype package...

ryder defeats ziggler, miz, zayn, stardust, cara and owens to win the wwe intercontinental championship in a ladder match

You can't really go wrong with a big multi-man ladder match, can you? I mean it wasn't the Michelin star meal that a Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn singles bout could have been, but a Big Mac and Fries is still a tasty treat, as well! Lots of thrills and spills throughout what was a pretty well-paced spot-fest that got Arlington nicely warmed up. Zack Ryder's "Elbro Drop", Owens' frog splash onto Zayn on a propped up ladder, Sin Cara getting sent off a ladder to the outside and crashing through Stardust on another ladder across the barricade all stand out as highlights of the bout, but my favourite moment had to be Zayn hitting Owens with a half and half suplex onto a ladder because it looked absolutely brutal. Stardust pulling out a polka dot ladder in tribute to his late father, Dusty Rhodes, was also a great touch. 

Wowza, Zack Ryder won the WWE Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania. This almost felt like WWE firing back at anyone who has called their output predictable, by putting together a series of random moments that would eventually lead to Ryder holding the belt high a lot in front of 101 thousand people. This was Ryder's first PPV win since he won the WWE United States Championship from Dolph Ziggler back at TLC: Tables, 
Ladders and Chairs in mid-December 2011! Ryder taking advantage of The Miz's complacentness to grad the belt gave the 30 year old the biggest moment of his career and I have to admit that I had a big smile on my face seeing just how much that moment meant to the Long Island Z. Who the hell knows where this will go from here!? 

jericho defeats styles 

Two supreme talents here, bringing their feud to the biggest stage possible and producing a strong contest. I'm not sure I enjoyed it as much as their match at Fast Lane in February as it didn't seem to have the same depth in the storytelling, but they did put together a number of well-thought out sequences of action. The strongest piece of action in the bout was the build up towards Styles hitting the Styles Clash, which was teased a number of times throughout the bout (from both men) and the build towards it eventually being hit was some of the smoothest activity of the encounter. I'm not upset about Jericho kicking out of the Styles Clash again, especially not to the level of some, although I do feel WWE have missed a trick by not continuing to build the move up to mythical proportions. It would have been a huge moment if this was the first time Styles had hit the move in WWE and even bigger if Jericho had still kicked out! 

Let's talk about the finish, eh? Styles went for the Phenomenal Forearm and Jericho caught him with the Codebreaker and got the three count, leveling the series of matches at two a piece. It ended up feeling just a little flat to me. The duo had done a similar sequence earlier in the match, with Jericho ducking under Styles before hitting a Codebreaker for a near fall. I had thought that this was a fairly strong false finish that got a decent reaction from Arlington, however seeing it essentially repeated for the finish was a bit of "Meh" moment. I understand Jericho leveling the series, to potentially continue the feud past WrestleMania, but with this being the biggest show of the year, this will end up being the most remembered result of all. 

fast-forward...Maria Menounos interviewed Zack Ryder about winning the WWE Intercontinental Championship earlier in the show...

the l.o.n. defeat new day

A fast-paced six man tag was next as The New Day collided with The League of Nation in a bout that I found a lot of fun. Lots of nice spots scattered throughout a decent length match, that showcased all six men well one their own, I felt like the two groups could have looked more like units to take it too the next level. It did at times feels like six guys all trying to get their to stuff in, but I was still entertained throughout the match. For me, Big E shone the brightest here as his comeback sequence and multiple overhead belly to belly suplex looked great, as did the spot where he spear two of his opponents off the apron. The L.O.N. getting the victory was another surprise, with King Barrett interfering to hit Kofi Kingston with a Bullhammer and allowing Sheamus to connect with Brogue Kick, however it made sense with what WWE had planned for us next.

Seeing multi-time WWE World Heavyweight Champions Shawn Michaels, Mick Foley and "Stone Cold" Steve Austin coming out and kicking the L.O.N's arses, before drinking a couple of brewskis (or at least smashing them together in the case of Michaels and Foley) was a damn cool moment. Barrett's promo lead into the moment perfectly and the pops from Arlington sounded great on television. The New Day got an opportunity to get involved as well with a bit of a dance, before Austin ceebsed it off and hit Xavier Woods with a stunner. WWE has always been about creating memorable moments and this was definitely one of them!

fast-forward...The upcoming WWE Network shows promo aired...

lesnar defeats ambrose in a no holds barred street fight

WWE had managed to over-hype this match to high-heaven over the last few weeks and it just couldn't live to the brilliant build and the expectations of many. I mean, it was a good match and there was a lot of quality stuff in here as Lesnar threw Ambrose about the ring and Ambrose put on a brilliant performance, but it just wasn't quite what it felt like it should have been. The introduction of the chainsaw and barbed wire bat through the storyline, and having Ambrose meet with Mick Foley and Terry Funk over recent weeks, meant that I was expecting this bout to take WWE's Street Fight's back to, at least, something approached the level of Foley's bout with Edge at WrestleMania 22. Ambrose didn't even bring out his trailer full of weapons that he filled up on last week's Monday Night RAW! 

I liked the general structure of the contest, with Ambrose doing anything he could to try to get the better of the bigger and stronger Lesnar, but the duo didn't manage to explore the whole length and depth of what they could have done in the ring and even outside of it. Overall I think the match didn't end up feeling like one of the main events that it was originally promoted as and indeed ended up feeling like one of the bigger undercard matches than anything. I'm sure if you hadn't watched any of the product heading into the bout then this would have been a much more enjoyable contest as there were some pleasing spots throughout. In the end, this was a good match that should have been a great match.

sting headlines the wwe hall of fame class of 2016

Always a cool moment this, but the HUGE crowd made this even better for me as the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2016 made their way in front of 101 thousand people in Arlington. Former WWE Intercontinental Champion The Godfather, the family of former World Tag Team Champion The Big Bossman, former 2 time WWE Women's Champion Jacqueline, former 4 time Triple Crown Champion Stan Hansen, The Fabulous Freebirds (represented by former WCW World Tag Team Champion Michael Hayes, Jimmy Garvin,  former 2 time Triple Crown Champion Terry Gordy's son Ray and former WCW World Tag Team Champion Buddy Roberts' son Buddy Jr.), Celebrity Inductee rapper and actor Snoop Dogg and Warrior Award recipient journalist, author and television host, Joan Lunden. The moment was crowned off by former 2 time NWA World Heavyweight Champion Sting making only his 2nd WrestleMania appearance, coming out looking pretty damn swagger with the sun-glasses making him look reminiscent of his run with the Main Event Mafia in TNA.

fast-forward...A recap of former 4 time WWE Women's Champion announcing that the Diva's Championship was to be scrapped, WWE's women would now be known as "Superstars" and unveiling a new WWE Women's Championship title belt on WrestleMania Kick-Off was shown...

charlotte defeated becky and sasha to retain/win the wwe women's championship

Can you imagine even contemplating that a Women's Triple Threat match could even be considered as having stole the show by anyone a few years ago? It would've been an utterly ridiculous statement and if you'd have mentioned it to anyone you'd probably have been laughed out of the building. However, Charlotte, Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch put on the best women's bout in the history of WrestleMania here and completely own their moment in the spotlight. It was made all the better that all three women were over huge with the Arlington crowd, as they cheered loudly for Becky and especially Sasha, whilst pouring scorn on then WWE Diva's Champion Charlotte.

I'd like to take a moment to talk about how cool it was to see all three women treated as superstars on the same level as the men as they came out. Sasha coming out to a remixed rendition of her theme song, with a brand new rap from new Hall of Famer and her cousin Snoop Dogg was quality moment and you could see just how much it meant to Sasha to be out there. Sasha wearing tights based on her hero Eddie Guerrero was a cool touch as well. Charlotte looked every inch of the champion she should, coming out in a sweet robe, that according Michael Cole had pieces of her father's robe that he wore at WrestleMania 24. Whilst Becky's entrance was slightly less memorable, the upgraded version her regular entrance was still fun to see on the huge scale.

The women put together a brilliant three way bout, with the momentum swinging in numerous ways throughout the contest and trio having some strong moments of wrestling both all together and one on one. The section on the outside of the ring stands as my favourite part of the bout as Sasha ducked under a Becky clothesline to perform a suicide senton on Charlotte, Becky then decided to take out Ric Flair (and finally get some revenge for his sexual assault at Royal Rumble) before Charlotte later put an exclamation point on the whole sequence with a beautiful moonsault to the outside onto both Becky and Sasha. The action built well to the conclusion, with Charlotte acting as spoiler for Sasha breaking up her Banks Statement on Becky and locking in her Figure 8 on the Lass Kicker, whilst Flair made sure Sasha couldn't get involved. Whilst Sasha would have produced a crowd-pleasing moment, with Charlotte being so very over as a heel at the moment, I think making the fans wait just a little bit longer for Sasha to capture the title and keeping them interested in that storyline was the right direction to go in. On a side note, the new WWE Women's Championship belt looks a like a special edition Magnum ice cream.

undertaker defeats shane inside hell in a cell

The Undertaker and Shane McMahon just had a 30 minute match in 2016. Think about that phrase for a moment. The Undertaker. Shane McMahon. Undertaker. Shane O'Mac. 30 minutes. Taker. Shane. 30 minutes. 2016. It's April, if that helps you. I'm attempting to send this message back in time to try and make sure that everyone's 100 hundred percent ready for it when the moment comes. Because I'm not sure any body was ready for this, were they? I was convinced that the bout would be choc-full of interference and shenanigans and hijinks and tomfoolery, but that wasn't the case. Whilst the pair didn't exactly "wrestle" for 30 minutes and had a number of gimmicks to help them get to their mark, they were still out their for almost an hour performing in front of the massive crowd.

Maybe it was too long for some people, but I found myself really drawn into the action by the strength of the two characters and I think that's what kept me interesting in the action. The Undertaker ran through a series of his greatest hits early doors, as the pair brawled around the structure and built the foundation for what would grow bigger and bigger a the bout went along. A snake-eyes attempt, the leg drop on the apron, a near fall from a Last Ride, all the moves you'd want to see from the Undertaker and especially from the Undertaker at WrestleMania were seen in the opening exchanges of the bout and I think that allowed the crowd to settle into the style of the contest, as Arlington seemed to be completely hooked from start to finish here.

This contest was based mostly on moments, and before we get to the biggest one of those I want to talk about why I think this style is the most suitable for an event like WrestleMania. Of course, moments are pretty much what WWE is built on anyway, especially to the casual fan. "Remember when Mick Foley fell off the Cell?" "Remember when Hogan slammed Andre?" "Remember Austin passing out in the Sharpshooter?" There's many more of these as well. Whilst it wasn't nessecarily the most technically nuanced match that you'll see, moments like Undertaker hitting a chokeslam onto the steel steps, McMahon laying in the punches only to locked in Hell's Gate, McMahon's original leap of faith into the metal bin, Undertaker driving Shane through the cell, Undertaker driving Shane O' through the announce table to escape a sleeper hold all made this one a lot of fun for me. My favourite moment came when McMahon was sat up against the Cell and looked up to the heaven, because everyone knew what was about to happen and it just built that expectation for what was about to come even more.

SHANE JUMPED OFF THE CELL! I mean, I think everyone was kind of expecting him to jump off something at something, but I'm not sure anyone was prepared for what it would look like to see a 46 year old man attempt to jump 20+ ft onto a 51 year old bloke and miss. It looked spectacular. A huge moment that long after all the random build has been forgotten people will continue to talk about. It's a moment that WWE will get plenty of replay value out of for years and years to come. It was a well-produced moment, with their seemingly being some kind of padding underneath the announce table, but it was done so well that I don't think anyone who wasn't looking for something would have seen it. Good job by all involved.

There was some lovely stuff heading towards the pinfall here, with the crowd surprising me with the extent of their reaction to little moments like Taker patting Shane on the cheek seconds before delivering a Tombstone Piledriver for the victory. It was for this reason that I felt the finish came across as just a little bit flat again. Wrestling fans have been conditioned over the last few years to think that one Tombstone wouldn't be enough, especially on the biggest stage. Of course, Shane had just crashed from a ridiculous height, but to me it felt like things were building to one last flurry from McMahon, whether that was to come from a kick out or escaping the Tombstone, I would have liked to have seen one last chunk of action before Undertaker got the win. 

fast-forward...The Kick-Off panel of Renee Young, Booker T, Corey Graves and Lita chatted about their favourite moments of the show so far...

corbin defeats kane, young, dallas, henry, breeze, slater, rose, axel, goldust, r-truth, swagger, tatanka, konnor, page, viktor, show, o'neal, sandow and fandango to win the andre the giant memorial battle royal

A bizarrely booked match here and no mistake. A couple of nice surprises kicked things off like Diamond Dallas Page and Tatanka's WWE returns in their first matches since January 2015 and 2007 respectively and the crowd seemed pretty hyped to see retired basketball star Shaquille O'Neal. There was some fun moments thrown in here, like the nostalgia pops for Page and Tatanka, and I got a kick out of The Social Outcasts running around the ring in the Bo-Train. However, the overall shape of the bout was a bit of a shambles and the final competitors seemed to have been almost picked out of a hat. The final five came down to Mark Henry (no singles win this year), Bo Dallas (no singles win in over a month), Darren Young (no TV match since February), Kane (no singles win since October 2015) and Baron Corbin (making his first main-roster appearance). Luckily, WWE took the moment to showcase new talent as Corbin won and got himself a WrestleMania moment, but with a bit more foresight it could have been a more impressive victory.

fast-forward...A promo for WrestleMania 33 in Orlando, Flordia, USA on 2nd April 2017 aired...

rock defeats rowan, cena returns

The best thing about The Rock's entrance was that it didn't involve Flo-Rida in any way. Actually that might have been the best thing about the entire show. Any show that doesn't involve a Flo-Rida appearance is surely worth about least a couple of extra points on the ATPW Scale, right? Anyway, less bashing off Flo-Rida (oh er), The Rock's entrance was pretty damn funky wasn't it? He set fire to his own name! Who doesn't love fire? More fire please. I'd like to see everyone set fire to something on the way down to the ring in future. Oh four! I mean five! I mean FIRE! 

The Rock was there to announce the attendance of the show, but it was all a ruse for the much-anticipated Rock vs. Erick Rowan match that fans have been clambering for for years and years. I actually enjoyed the back and forth between Rock and Bray Wyatt on the microphone, with Wyatt pulling out some lovely turns of phrase that seemingly had the crowd captivated. Rock going down the comedy route worried me just a little, but he was admittedly funny with his replies and also managed to put the Wyatt Family over strong. Rock giving the Wyatt's his endorsement surely sets them up for a babyface run heading out of the show. The People's Champ getting the quickest win in WrestleMania history (usurping Kane's ECW Championship win over Chavo Guerrero at WrestleMania XXIV) was also a bit of fun and will hardly hurt Rowan as a performer going forward. 

I was pleasantly surprised by the pop that 12 time WWE World Heavyweight Champion John Cena received when he came out to save the Rock from the Wyatt Family's post-match attack. The crowd seemed to love this moment and popped for everything that Cena and Rock did on their way to destroying Wyatt Family. Do I think the pair buried Wyatt, Rowan and Braun Strowman? Absolutely not. This moment was bigger than pretty much anything the trio could have done on the show and should actually give them some momentum to produce some strong television over the next few months. Cena and Rock closing the segment by calling back to their WrestleMania XXVIII and XXIX matches was a cool way to close things out.

reigns defeats triple h to win the wwe world heavyweight championship 

Before I talk about the match itself, I think it's right to point out that this match started a ridiculous time. Having Triple H vs. Roman Reigns start over 4 hours into the show will perhaps go down as one of the stupidest booking decision in the history of the WWE. It was a brave decision to put this match on last anyway, with WWE knowing the most vocal and passionate section of their fanbase would be against Reigns winning the title or even just being involved in the title match. A worn out crowd was never going to give this match a chance and that atmosphere cut threw the match and made it even more difficult to get into for the home viewer. 

Another stupid decision was having the match go for almost half an hour. This was a match that clearly many weren't interested in seeing, so why not put on a short explosive match if you want the bout to go on last? Scrap the five hour show idea, that was surely only done for WWE's vanity and ego and have this bout stripped back to the power moves. Keep things exciting and don't give fans the chance to turn on the bout. The whole exercise was poorly thought through and felt like someone should have spoken up at some point to change the contest. 

You know what though? There was a lot in this bout that I found to enjoy, which is probably down to the fact that I actually think Roman Reigns is a damn good wrestler. Yes, I agree that WWE should have done something to protect Reigns and switched up their plans either in the six week build to the show or even on the night of the show, but on a personal level I'm pretty cool with Reigns holding the main belt. I thought he performed against the odds in this one, making the most of the poor booking with some strong selling before during and after the match. One of my favourite moments of the contest was made by some brilliant camera works and production as Reigns came seemingly out of nowhere and speared The Game through the barricade.

The biggest reaction of the clash was when Triple H dodged a spear and Reigns hit Stephanie McMahon instead. It was a big reaction, which was probably made by WWE rarely showing male on female violence. It did look genuinely destructive to poor old Steph, who is much more over as a heel at the moment than Triple H is! Unfortunately the closing stretch didn't feel like one that should be closing at near 30 minute match that is headlining the biggest event of the year. I liked the idea of Triple H getting the Sledgehammer due to being unable to putting Reigns away and that if he had hit Reigns with it he would have retained his title, but it just ended up feeling more than a little flat when Reigns nailed a spear and picked up the win. In my opinion, this was far from a bad match and I actually did manage to enjoy it, but it was clear to everyone what reaction the match was going to get and WWE should have done more to change this. Having Stephanie cut a weird heel promo on top of a thing was never going to work with the type of fan that was already against the contest, was it?

finally...

atpw scale rating: 6.29/10

For me, the Women's Triple Threat was the strongest wrestling contest of the evening, whilst The Undertaker and Shane McMahon provided the best of the sports-entertainment style bouts. The return of The Rock and John Cena provided some brilliant moments and I'm sure the Wyatt Family will bounce back pretty easily after appearing with two of the biggest names in the history of the industry on the biggest show of all the times. AJ Styles and Chris Jericho could have a good match in their sleep, it's a shame that we never got to see the two face each other in their (and more importantly Jericho's) prime. The main event was what it was, but I'm sure that I enjoyed more than most out there. The undercard was highlighted by a spot-heavy Intercontinental Championship Ladder match and a strong No Holds Barred Street Fight between Brock Lesnar and Dean Ambrose that despite being more than slightly underwhelming still came out as an entertaining clash. 

This was a strange, strange show. Odd booking decisions, a weird choice of having the event go almost five hours and many moments that left me wondering what the heel I was watching! That being said as a stand alone show I also found myself enjoying the majority of the show, for his spectacular visuals and focus on big memorable moments. Despite it's flaws, I'm more than happy to call this a good show, because quite frankly it was. Especially the first couple of hours. 

Opinion: Bigger Than the Superbowl - Why WrestleMania Weekend is Kind of a Big Deal (Sean Taylor-Richardson)

Wrestlemania means different things for different people. For the host cities, it is an event almost comparable with the Superbowl, a surefire way to attract the gaze of the world’s media and a goldmine for the local tourist industry. For the hardcore fans, it’s not a single event, it’s a pilgrimage, a week that has evolved into festival of wrestling. It goes beyond just WWE, featuring a multitude of live events, Q&As and conventions that showcase stars new and old from around the globe. For the casual or lapsed fans, it is all about the Fed, and for many is the only pay per view of the year worthy of their attention. It is an event that features the biggest names on the grandest stage, a chance to feast on nostalgia and reminisce about a childhood passion. Whatever your current levels of fandom, there will be something occurring in the industry this weekend that will pique your interest. As we count down to this annual extravaganza, here are some things to look out for in Dallas, where each level of the wrestling pyramid is looking to put its best foot forward and provide fans with memories to last a lifetime.

british wrestling makes progress

Unless you’re a mad fan of the League of Nations or 10 diva tags, Wade Barrett and Paige’s ‘Mania moments probably aren’t doing much for you. But this weekend is still a very important one for British wrestling. Glance down the card of the live event portion of Saturday’s Wrestlecon and amidst the smorgasbord of US indie and ex-WWE stars, you’ll see some very familiar names fighting for a very familiar title. Marty Scurll defends the PROGRESS title against Will Ospreay in a match that will surely steal the show and enable each man to further cement their status in the game. Their January bout for RPW was sensational- the best Brit vs Brit match I’ve ever attended- and their exchanges in last Sunday’s PROGRESS main event pointed to a growing chemistry that could make this upcoming match even better. This is an excellent opportunity to promote the PROGRESS brand to a host of US fans; as well as the exceptional action, I’m sure the travelling UK fans will help recreate that Camden vibe in Dallas. A definite must see for all fans of indie wrestling; for those of us stuck in Blighty, hit up the PROGRESS demand service to see the match and marvel at how British wrestling continues to broaden its appeal.

enter nakamura

Unquestionably, the highlight of a stacked Takeover card this Friday is Shinske Nakamura’s first WWE outing; on this night ”The King of Strong Style” faces the heart and soul of NXT, Sami Zayn. This is the archetypal dream match that two years ago would have been associated with ROH but in the crazy world of 2016, this style of booking is very much a staple of the WWE’s increasingly global brand.  I think we can all guess the result here but there are other questions the bout poses: how will Nakamura be presented to the US audience? Will he work the same style that made him the number one star in NJPW?  Will this represent Zayn’s last stand in NXT? Expect big moves, big ovations and an emotional finish to boot. My pick for the wrestling match of the week.

tag team city

There was a time when ROH’s annual Supercard of Honor show would instantly be considered the cool, workrate heavy card of the weekend. Whilst the arrival of NXT has challenged that status quo, ROH’s Saturday television tapings do have a fight that could rival the aforementioned Nakamura/ Zayn tussle for match of the weekend honours (pun unashamedly intended): a four corners elimination match pitting The Addiction against The Briscoe Brothers, The Young Bucks and The Motor City Machine Guns. A study in tag team excellence, this combination of ROH legends will be one of the most exciting matches of the weekend. If high spots and superkicks are your thing, this is yet another dream match you need to search out.

roman reigns' sad face

Back in January, I asserted that Reigns had turned a corner and was on his way to becoming a bona fide babyface star. I also predicted that Arsenal would win the league and that Leo would have to wait at least another year before he landed that Oscar so what do I know? As it is, WWE have a predicament with their Mania main event. Now, that isn’t new in itself: in 2014 they changed course early and played their Daniel Bryan Card when it was clear Batista was bombing. Last year they had a Seth Rollins safety net which spared them the wrath of a hostile crowd. So what will they do this year?

What is certain is that Reigns, who looked so unhappy on Raw that I just want Bayley to appear and give him a hug, will be booed and HHH cheered. And that’s the best case scenario. The crowd could reject the entire spectacle and spend the whole match chanting for Messers Punk and Saxton, Mexican waving themselves to oblivion and destroying Roman’s reign before it can begin. Originally, I expected run-ins galore as this is a sure fire way to pop a crowd but now I doubt that many stars will want to be associated with this mess. So it may be a straight up one on one battle in front of the most apathetic/ hostile crowd in history. Such is the risk this match presents, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was pulled from the main event spot. This contest might not be pretty but it will be hard to take your eyes off it.

the real main event

Shane McMahon vs Undertaker is the true main event of the show. The most smarky smark in all of the internet must have enjoyed their salty exchange on Raw and popped a bit when Shane O’Mac dropped that flying elbow. He isn’t the most graceful striker (or dancer) but Vince’s former son epitomises daredevil risk taking. You just know at some point in the match, he’ll abandon his Gracie jujitsu in favour of a leap of the cage. This battle will feature stunts, weapons, blood and run-ins galore. It is a first time match between two performers who are massively over and with a result that matters: with the possible exception of Lesnar vs Ambrose, this will be the match that everyone is talking about after the show.  I’m calling Taker on the night but with a narrative twist on Raw offering Shane a second chance at ownership. Expect him to take that one. 

shuffle the deck. shuffle it hard.

The Raw after ‘Mania has a rep: a rowdy crowd, a few exciting debuts and a huge angle to set up the next big show. This year, we need more. Shane’s promises of change have to deliver more than Punk’s similar proclamations in 2011: something tangible needs to happen on April 4th. NXT calls ups are a given but more than a refresh of the roster, what the Fed needs most is real change is in the creative: if every angle has purpose, several new feuds are propagated and a couple of overdue pushes begin, there may well be enough excitement to back up the promos we’ve been hearing of late. And if rumours of brand splits, big heel turns and Balor clubs are true then this could be three hours that fly by.

So there we have it: if you’re fortunate enough to be going to Dallas, travel safe, take it easy on poor Roman and enjoy the rush of live wrestling. If you’re watching at home, pour a cold beer and order in your favourite pizza. For all of the flaws that exist in this crazy wrestling world, this weekend is a big one for all of us fans. Sit back, enjoy it and remember why we love this.