In the lead-up to WrestleMania 36 on April 4 and 5, Sportsnet is airing past WrestleMania cards for WWE fans across Canada. Check out the full broadcast schedule here.
WrestleMania 32 airs Wednesday at 12:00 p.m. ET/9 a.m. PT, and Kevin Michie is looking back at the event’s biggest moments to tee it up.
WrestleMania 32 welcomed more than 100,000 people into Dallas’ AT&T Stadium in 2016. The event was headlined by a WWE Championship match between the champion Triple H and challenger Roman Reigns.
Here are some observations after looking back at WrestleMania 32.
Charlotte vs. Sasha vs. Becky was match of the night
This match was outstanding.
The three women in this bout took home the title of match of the night, both in real-time and in hindsight. Elevating the match even further, meanwhile, was the fact that WWE made the decision to rechristen the Divas Championship the Women’s Championship.
The match also represents the start of the greatest period in women’s wrestling in WWE history. It was incredibly satisfying to see the WWE retire the Divas Championship after a match featuring three women who would be the torchbearers of a new era of women’s wrestling. These weren’t Divas, they were pro wrestlers — and the match showcased them as such.
Charlotte, Sasha and Becky are all at the forefront of the best women’s roster in pro wrestling four years later.
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Roman Reigns vs. Triple H shouldn’t have happened
It seemed obvious. Too obvious, in fact. It was all laid out to fall perfectly into place. I knew it was going to happen, you knew it was going to happen, the WWE Universe knew it was going to happen.
And then… it happened.
Roman Reigns’ coronation as WWE Champion went ahead as planned at WrestleMania 32 in front of over 100,000 fans, but with little fanfare attached.
The story leading up to this match was easy to understand and appreciate. Triple H and The Authority were doing everything they could to keep Reigns away from the WWE Championship. WWE fans had seen this story before, most notably with Stone Cold Steve Austin in the late 1990s when Austin was battling the evil Mr. McMahon.
Reigns versus The Authority was not Austin versus McMahon. Nowhere close.
There was another problem with the story though, as Reigns wasn’t chasing something he’d never achieved before. He had already been WWE Champion. Reigns won the championship in December 2015, and held the title for 40 days before losing it at the Royal Rumble to Triple H. There was no desire to see Reigns recapture the title after that.
WWE shoehorned this storyline into the main event of WrestleMania because it made sense from a storytelling perspective. There wasn’t much else that made sense around it. Reigns was liked by some members of the WWE Universe, and appreciated for what he could do in the ring. However, the WWE Universe was nowhere close to getting behind Reigns as a crowd favourite.
The crowd of over 100,000 fans told the story, when there was far more booing than cheering after the final bell rang and Reigns held up the WWE Championship.
AJ Styles losing to Chris Jericho was the correct decision
Let me say this first: this match was fantastic.
AJ Styles debuted in WWE at the Royal Rumble just over two months prior to WrestleMania, and if the WWE audience weren’t familiar with Styles by the time ‘Mania came along, they got very familiar with him in this match.
Styles was able to prove that he could live up to the hype that was associated with him following that first performance. He and Chris Jericho put on an excellent match, with Styles looking like a star in the process.
Having said that, there was much criticism toward WWE regarding the result of this match. Jericho was an established star, making a victory for him virtually meaningless. Styles, on the other hand, having just entered the company, needed wins to secure a form of credit with the WWE Universe.
Four years later, Styles seems just fine. Styles looked like a star, and therefore the match served its purpose.
When looking back at AJ’s ‘Mania debut, the result of the match doesn’t matter. Styles has gone on to become one of the top draws of the main event scene, all the while challenging for the title of best wrestler in all of WWE.
