WWE’s biggest night of the year had a lot of match, with a lot on the line. Titles, careers and legacys were all at stake so did the show live up to it’s illustrious legacy? Pre-Show: Buddy Murphy (c) vs. Tony Nese – WWE Cruiserweight Championship match Result: Nese wins via pinfall – New champion crowned Grade: B Thoughts: Another frustrating moment as both Murphy and Nese showcased why they should be nowhere near the pre-show; the Cruiserweight title match was a very hot and intense opener to the show as a whole. Really early on – Murphy seemed to get a big cut above his left eye which looked awful and we really hope he’s ok but Buddy didn’t let it stop him in the slightest. Both men looked fantastic and, whilst I personally would have preferred Murphy to retain, Tony Nese is a fantastic star who I feel will be a great champion. Women’s WrestleMania Battle Royal Result: Carmella lastly eliminates Sarah Logan Grade: C Thoughts: This…really wasn’t that great. I don’t ever really enjoy Battle Royal’s due to the frantic nature and the fact you can’t really work out what’s happening for the first two-thirds of the entire match and this was a fantastic example of said issues. Clunky, a bit ragged- people like Candice LeRae being eliminated off camera and never even mentioned and a winner who never should have won; I didn’t really enjoy this. I feel like Sarah Logan would have been a great winner. Carmella does not need this win whereas it could have built Sarah Logan up that little bit more. Shame. The Revival (c) vs. Hawkins and Ryder – WWE RAW Tag Team Championship Match Result: Hawkins wins via pinfall – Streak is broken and new champion crowned Grade: B- Thoughts: Aw it was a nice moment wasn’t it? Curt Hawkins FINALLY picking up a win and it happens to be for a championship, on the grandest stage of them all, alongside his best friend in their hometown. It’s nice. Yes – it means that Revival are just…we don’t know what’s next for them (AEW) but we need to wait and see. Fun match with a good ending. Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal Result: Braun Strowman eliminates Colin Jost Grade: B- Thoughts: This was a lot better than expected to be honest. Both Colin Jost and Michael Che played their parts incredibly well and weren’t too intrusive, it allowed Braun to look like an absolute monster again, it had some terrifying spots – looking at you Ali, hope you’re ok- and a winner that makes complete sense. Braun winning was obvious but obvious in a positive way. ONTO THE MAIN SHOW. Main Show: Brock Lesnar (c) vs Seth Rollins – WWE Universal Championship Match Result: Rollins wins via pinfall – New champion crowned Grade: A Thoughts: Well this is, potentially in terms of the gravity of the match and the two individuals involved, the biggest WrestleMania opener ever. It was absolutely genius in every aspect. Heyman enforcing the fact that; ‘If Brock isn’t the main event, why should we wait to be anywhere else?’ and then just absolutely battering Rollins for about…10 minutes before the bell actually rang. The decision to have Seth win is, of course, absolutely the right one. And it’s actually a breath of fresh air to see Lesnar sell, lose-relatively- clean, and be done with it. The match only lasted two and a half minutes so there isn’t THAT much to say but god- I can’t remember a WrestleMania with a hotter opener since Daniel Bryan vs Triple H at Mania 30. Fantastic stuff. AJ Styles vs. Randy Orton Result: Styles wins via pinfall Grade: B Thoughts: I really enjoyed it. It was certainly methodical and a stereotypical ‘Randy Orton’ match but I felt it suited the style. The entire point of this feud was essentially ‘WWE vs the Indies’ so why wouldn’t Orton adopt the WWE style throughout the match and slow everything RIGHT down during it? Styles winning is absolutely the right move here- I’d really like to see him go to RAW this time next week in order to feud with Rollins. I think that would be a fantastic move for him and I feel Orton can shine in this role of, almost, the ‘gatekeeper’ of WWE talent. Really fun and both men delivered on the grandest stage of them all. The Usos (c) vs. Aleister Black and Ricochet vs. The Bar vs. Rusev and Nakamura – WWE Smackdown Live Tag Team Championship Match Result: Usos retain via pinfall Grade: B- Thoughts: Personally, I would have liked to see this match go a little bit longer. It felt like a sprint of a match – in the best way possible- but I just felt we could have had a bit more time dedicated to it as everyone involved here is great. There are far too many spots here to mention but the two big ones that stick out in my mind was the eight-man Tower of Doom spot that Ricochet rolled through and Cesaro swinging Ricochet for what felt like nine years. Usos retaining is absolutely the right decision; they’re debatably the best tag team in the world right now and deserve to have a Mania moment where they win after all these years. Good stuff. Shane McMahon vs. The Miz – Falls Count Anywhere Result: Shane McMahon wins via pinfall Grade: A- Thoughts: What is it with Shane McMahon and having great singles matches at Mania? Facing his dad at Mania X-Seven, facing off against Styles at 33 was one of the best matches on the card and now we had an absolutely brutal, insane, energetic, intense blood feud for the best part of nearly twenty minutes. Shane is absolutely fantastic as a heel and, in the biggest surprise of the year, Miz is absolutely fantastic as a face. He’s so, SO likeable and it’s great to see. There are kind of three talking points in the match; the bump over the golf cart, the finish…AND GEORGE MIZANIN FINALLY STANDING UP FOR HIS SON. I honestly wanted to see George batter Shane so much- alas, it wasn’t to be. But added that intensity factor for Miz that told the story of ‘he’s lost it, he’s not thinking straight.’. The suplex from the top of scaffolding was incredible for three reasons. 1. Oh my god, that was terrifying. 2. No-one can ever call The Miz a coward again because LOOK AT WHAT HE DID 3. It gives Shane a win without making Miz look terrible. Shane got lucky but now the eldest McMahon can run with this moving forward. Absolutely incredible and one of the best matches on the show. Boss N’ Hug Connection vs. The Iiconics vs. The Divas of Doom vs. Nia Jax and Tamina Result: The Iiconics win via pinfall – New champions crowned Grade: C+ Thoughts: The Iiconics won. THE IICONICS WON. I’m so happy. They’re, easily, my favourite tag team in WWE today- male or female- and are consistently entertaining. I still hold the belief that they should have been the inaugural champions but then, I guess, we wouldn’t have this moment to talk about. I know seeing my reaction and then looking at the grade may not make sense- how can I be this happy but the grade’s one of the lowest I’ve given so far? The only reason I’m doing this is because I didn’t really enjoy the match as a whole as it felt rushed and ragged for me in a lot of places but WHO CARES. THE BELTS ARE NOW…ICONIC. The emotion on the faces of both Peyton and Billie showcases how much this means to them. Really, really delighted for them. Daniel Bryan (c) vs. Kofi Kingston – WWE Championship Match Result: Kingston wins via pinfall – New champion crowned Grade: A+ Thoughts: It’s…it’s really hard to discuss this moment. Because it’s up there for one of the best Mania moments of all time, easily. I’m going to hold my hands up- I never thought this would happen.<doc-sep>When you subscribe we will use the information you provide to send you these newsletters. Sometimes they'll include recommendations for other related newsletters or services we offer. Our Privacy Notice explains more about how we use your data, and your rights. You can unsubscribe at any time. Sign up forfor news on the biggest players and tournaments Becky Lynch made history as she won the RAW and SmackDown Women's Championship when she beat Ronda Rousey and Charlotte Flair in a Winner Takes All Triple Threat Match. That was the first ever all-women's main event in WrestleMania history and will always be remembered as one of the greatest ever matches. Seth Rollins became the new Universal Champion when he dethroned Brock Lesnar in the first match of the night whereas Kofi Kingston beat the odds and Daniel Bryan to win the WWE Championship. Kurt Angle lost his last ever WWE match to Baron Corbin and Triple H saved his career when he defeated Batista in a No Holds Barred Match.<doc-sep>Kofi Kingston, who was raised in Greater Boston, won the WWE Championship after he defeated Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania 35 on Sunday. With his victory at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, Kingston, 37, is now the second black WWE champion in the organization’s history following Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson — and the first-ever African-born WWE champion. Born Kofi Sarkodie-Mensah in the West African nation of Ghana, his family moved to Massachusetts in search of a better life when he was 2 years old. He was captain of the Winchester High School wrestling team before attending Boston College. After graduating with a business degree in 2003, he took a job in catalog advertising at Staples in Framingham. “As what happens to a lot of people, I stopped following my dreams,” Kingston told The Republican in a 2011 interview. “But in my heart, I wanted to be in the WWE.” He decided to quit Staples and follow his dream of becoming a professional wrestler. When he was signed by the WWE in 2006, the sports entertainment company baptized him Kofi Kingston — a smiling Jamaican wrestler, and his career took off. (A decade ago, his character’s storyline changed and the Jamaican heritage scrapped.) WrestleMania 35 marked Kingston’s first one-on-one shot for a world championship in his WWE career. Bryan dominated much of the match before a crowd of 70,000 fans. Then, Kingston went to his signature Trouble In Paradise finisher and pinned Bryan to take the title.<doc-sep>
WrestleMania 35 is here. Below are match-by-match results from “The Showcase of Immortals," being held on Sunday, April 7, 2019 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford. CLICK HERE TO SEE THE PHOTOS FROM WRESTLEMANIA 35 WRESTLEMANIA 35 MAIN CARD RESULTS (in order): Universal Championship: Seth Rollins (new champion) over Brock Lesnar. A.J. Styles over Randy Orton. Smackdown Tag Team Championship: The Usos (retaining champions) over Aleister Black and Ricochet, Sheamus and Cesaro, Rusev and Shinsuke Nakamura. Falls Count Anywhere: Shane McMahon over The Miz. WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships: The IIconics (new champions) over Sasha Banks and Bayley (prior champions), Natalya and Beth Phoenix, Tamina Snuka and Nia Jax. WWE Championship: Kofi Kingston (new champion) over Daniel Bryan. United States Championship: Samoa Joe (retaining champion) over Rey Mysterio. Roman Reigns over Drew McIntyre. No Holds Barred: Triple H over Batista. Baron Corbin over Kurt Angle. Intercontinental Championship: Finn Balor (new champion) over Bobby Lashley. Raw and Smackdown Women’s Championships: Becky Lynch (new champion) over Charlotte Flair, Ronda Rousey. PRE-SHOW RESULTS: Andre The Giants Memorial Battle Royal: Braun Strowman. Raw Tag Team Championships: Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder (new champions) over The Revival. WrestleMania Women’s Battle Royal: Carmella. Cruiserweight Championship: Tony Nese (new champion) over Buddy Murphy. *** Sunday’s event is the eighth WrestleMania held in the New York/New Jersey area in history and the fourth in history to be held in the Garden State. WrestleManias 4 and 5 were held in Atlantic City in 1988-89 and WrestleMania 29 was held at MetLife Stadium in 2013. Madison Square Garden hosted the first WrestleMania in 1985. The event returned to MSG in 1994 and 2004 for WrestleManias 10 and 20, respectively. The Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum was one of several sites to host matches for WrestleMania 2 in 1986. James Kratch may be reached at jkratch@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JamesKratch. Find NJ.com Rutgers Football on Facebook.