18 of 18 Credit: WWE.com The Raw and SmackDown Women's Championships were on the line in the historic first women's main event Sunday as Becky Lynch sought to dethrone both Ronda Rousey and Charlotte Flair and pay off The Man's journey to the top of the industry. SmackDown champion Flair arrived in style, landing outside the stadium in a helicopter, not unlike her Hall of Fame father Ric during the legendary 1985 Great American Bash. Before she entered the arena, Joan Jett and The Blackhearts performed "Bad Reputation" live, playing Raw champion Ronda Rousey to the squared circle. Flair was out next, becoming the first member of her family to compete in the main event of wrestling's grandest event. Lynch entered third, minus the frills, intense focus painting her face. Rousey dominated early, booting Lynch to the floor and delivering Piper's Pit to Flair at ringside. Lynch sent Rowdy into the ring post, and Flair sent her into the guardrail to set up a showdown between former friends. Rousey interrupted and turned a double-powerbomb attempt into a double submission. A dropkick by The Man to Rousey sent her tailbone-first into the apron. With the Raw champion down at ringside, Flair teed off on Lynch, delivering knee drops to the back of the head. She tried a moonsault but landed in the grasp of Lynch, who tried for the Disarm-Her. Rousey reappeared and broke the submission up. She applied her own armbar, but Flair kneed her to force the break. A double Natural Selection earned Flair two near-falls. Flair chopped Rousey, to which the Raw champion replied, "you chop like a b---h." Flair caught her with one to the face and Rousey tried for an armbar. Lynch returned to the squared circle and delivered a double DDT for a two count on both women. Moments later, she delivered a Bexploder suplex from the top rope to Flair. Rousey appeared and powered both women down. She tried for a double armbar, but The Queen and The Man delivered three straight powerbombs to break the hold. The action was nonstop, the women cutting a furious pace. Lynch applied the Disarm-Her for a strong false finish, but the Raw champ broke the hold. Rousey charged at Lynch in the corner but struck the ring post. The Man applied her submission again, but Flair broke it up. A Spanish Fly from the top rope led to another quality near-fall. With her other opponent down at ringside, Flair applied a Figure Four around the ring post, damaging Rousey's knee. Lynch broke it up but was driven back into the guardrail. Flair applied the Figure Eight to Rousey, but Lynch flew in from out of nowhere to break the hold. Lynch retrieved a table and slid it into the ring. She set it up, but when Rousey gained momentum, she overturned it. As the two women battled back-and-forth, Flair delivered a double spear that earned her a two count. With the table set up in the corner, Flair bounced Rousey's head off it. Lynch interjected but ate a spear. The opposition paired up and sent Flair through the table before engaging in the intense brawl fans wanted to see in this spot in the first place. As Rousey hoisted Lynch up for Piper's Pit, Lynch shifted her weight and scored the pinfall victory on a crucifix. Rousey looked on in disbelief as Lynch celebrated her victory in the center of the ring, fireworks exploding from atop the stadium. Result Lynch defeated Rousey and Flair to win both the Raw and SmackDown Women's Championships Grade A Analysis The historic first women's main event had the feel of a big match, featured three women beating the unholy hell out of each other and provided fans the outcome they desired. It earned its grade and put an exclamation point on a noteworthy event. Timing was an issue late, as it felt like the women were rushing to get certain spots in, and the finish—casting doubt on Lynch's victory by questioning whether Rousey's shoulders were down—could have been better. With those two complaints out of the way, this was a damn good match that channeled the emotions of the women involved, provided a suitable conclusion to weeks of preparation and made the most of the historic opportunity. Rousey bumped all over, Flair and Lynch turned in two more stellar performances, and the fans bought in with every passing minute. What could have been a major disappointment given the hour of show that preceded it was, instead, everything those involved could have hoped for. This was a strong conclusion to a mostly good WrestleMania that overstayed its welcome and robbed Lynch of a longer celebration to close out the night.<doc-sep>WWE Wrestlemania 35 is done! The biggest wrestling show of the year was headlined by the first ever women's main event. A triple threat match that pit Raw Women's Champion Ronda Rousey against SmackDown Women's Champion Charlotte Flair against Becky Lynch. And the winner (revealed below) walked away with both titles. That was only the first of three major title matches. Noted human death machine Brock Lesnar faced Royal Rumble winner Seth Rollins for the Universal Championship, while Kofi Kingston got his first ever singles shot at the WWE Championship when he took on Daniel Bryan. With over a dozen matches, these three championship bouts only scratched the surface. We also saw the return of Batista, Kurt Angle's retirement match, Roman Reigns' first Wrestlemania match since returning from his bout with leukemia and, amazingly, much more. Below we recap the event as it happened. Needless to say, spoilers ahead! Now playing: Watch this: The world of pro wrestling: explained Becky Lynch defeats Ronda Rousey, Charlotte Flair The crowd may have one match worth of excitement in them yet. Fortuitous timing, because it's main event time. Flair is taxied to the stadium in a helicopter. She steps out, takes off her leather jacket and has her lackeys bring over a patented Flair sparkle cape. Rousey is out first, played in by Joan Jett. Rousey smiles at the band, then gets her killer face on. Flair comes out to fireworks, and "The Man" Becky Lynch steams in last. The crowd is all about Lynch. Remember, both Rousey's Raw Women's Championship and Flair's SmackDown Women's Championship are on the line. Rousey kicks things off with punches to Lynch. Rousey kicks Flair out of the ring. Rousey is the monster of this main event. Lynch and Flair work together to take out Lynch. Flair and Lynch end up alone in the ring. The crowd is well and truly alive again, chanting "Becky" and booing everyone not Becky. Rousey returns to the ring. Flair and Lynch try a double power bomb on her, but Rousey counters with a double armbar over the ropes. Lynch escapes and dropkicks Rousey out of the ring. Flair goes for a moonsault on Lynch but Lynch counters into a Disarmer armbar. Rousey re-enters the ring and puts Lynch in an armbar. Flair breaks it up with a solid knee to Rousey's face. Flair hits Rousey with a million chops, then backhands her to the face. Rousey goes for a flying armbar. All action. So far so good. All three women are in the ring. Lynch hits an exploding suplex on Flair from the top rope. Rousey hits a off-the-top-rope splash on both and starts Judo throwing everyone. Double armbar on Lynch and Flair. Lynch and Flair counter with a double powerbomb on Rousey. Rousey holds the armbar. Two more powerbombs breaks the hold. Lynch and Flair have an exchange, leaving Lynch alone with Rousey in the ring. Lynch hits the Disarmer on Rousey. Rousey powers out. Flair is back. Off-the-top-rope Spanish Fly from Flair to Lynch gets a two count. Flair kicks Lynch out of the ring. Flair works over Rousey's leg, which immediately bruises up. Flair puts a figure four leglock on Rousey using the ring post before Lynch breaks it up. Flair puts Rousey in a Figure Eight leglock in the center of the ring but again Lynch breaks it up, this time with a flying leg drop. Lynch brings out a table. The crowd is happy. The table gets set up in the ring. Rousey kicks it over, the crowd is furious. She pummels Lynch. Flair spears both women. Double two counts. The table is now setup by one of the turnbuckles. Flair spears Lynch for a two count. Michael Cole has no voice left. Flair tries to spear both Lynch and Rousey through the table but ends up going through herself. Lynch and Rousey square up in the ring and the crowd pops big. Rousey goes for a Piper's Pit slam but Lynch counters into a crucifix pin for the three count. Becky Lynch wins both the SmackDown and Raw Women's Championships. After the match, it was reported Ronda Rousey broke her hand during the bout. Rating: 3.75 stars. Excellent opening and middle, but the match's ending came out of nowhere. Just as it felt like we were going to get a satisfying ending segment the match ended. The fluke win over Rousey will likely lead to a future rematch, but it was a weak ending to a Wrestlemania main event. WWE Finn Balor defeats Bobby Lashley When Finn Balor first unveiled his Demon Finn alter ego in NXT back in 2014, the first thing that came to my mind was "wow, imagine what a Demon Finn entrance at Wrestlemania would be like." Today is that day. wwe Balor starts with a spinning wheel kick, a scissor kick and a shotgun dropkick. Kicks galore from Demon Balor. Lashley comes back with a slam and a suplex. Lashley sends him outside. Balor hits a slingblade and a shotgun dropkick into the barricade. Lashley spears Balor out of the ring, then hits another one in the center of the ring. Two count. Balor powers up, hits a powerbomb on Lashley and a Coup de Grace. We have a new Intercontinental Champion. Rating: 2.5 stars. Lashley' spear was spectacular, and Balor's powerbomb was impressive. It was a short match though, and the crowd at this point only cares about the main event. Kurt Angle loses to Baron Corbin, retires Baron Corbin, Kurt Angle's opponent, comes out first. People aren't keen. Fans hoped Corbin would get a last-minute replacement, but it doesn't appear to be happening. Corbin hits Angle with some punches and generally whales on him. Angle mounts a comeback, hits a three German suplexes. Angle gets him in an ankle lock but Corbin powers out. Corbin hits him with a Deep Six slam. Angle hits an Olympic Slam for a two count. Angle takes off his straps and puts Corbin in the Ankle Lock. Corbin powers out again. WWE Corbin gives Angle a "you can't see me" taunt. Angle goes in for more german suplexes. Crowd wakes up and cheers for Angle. Angle goes for a reverse moonsault but Corbin moves out of the way. Corbin hits an End of Days to win the match. The MetLife Stadium collectively shakes its head. After the match Angle gets on the mic and asks the crowd to walk him out by chanting "You suck." The best and worst of WWE in this match. Rating: 2 stars. No one wanted this. @WWEUniverse Thank you for letting me entertain you. I love this business and whether you cheered me or jeered me, I’m grateful for being a small part of your life. I am officially retired from sports entertainment and I am grateful for every second of my amazing journey ✌🏼 — Dave Bautista (@DaveBautista) April 8, 2019 Triple H defeats Batista Shawn Michaels is out for what is being touted as potentially Triple H's last match. Two SUVs come out carrying Batista and his entourage. Batista is so great. Physique wise he looks the same as he did five years ago which, at 50-years-old, is impressive. He trips while stepping through the ropes. Not a good omen. Kumail Nanjiani, of Silicon Valley fame, is at ringside. Triple H's entrance is Mad Max: Fury Road-themed. He comes out on the back of what can only be described as a death mobile. It's time to play the game. WWE The two are outside within seconds. This is a no-holds-barred match, meaning anything goes. Triple H finds a toolbox with a thick chain in it and promptly whips Batista. Nice and easy start. Triple H brings out a pincer tool and crushes Batista's fingers with it. If Saw was PG-14 and set in a wrestling promotion, this would be it. Triple H throws Batista in the ring and hits him with a chair. Then he tears Batista's nose ring out with pliers. This is actually pretty gross. At the very least, you can't say Batista isn't dedicated to showbiz.<doc-sep>It’s finally time. WWE WrestleMania 35 descends on MetLife Stadium today, and “The Grandest Stage of Them All” looks ready to live up to its monumental expectations. With 16 matches and 10 championships on the line, there’s a lot to look forward to today. WWE WrestleMania 35 comes to East Rutherford, New Jersey and the home of the NFL’s New York Giants and New York Jets. In many ways, the build to WrestleMania 35 began the day after WrestleMania 34, but things really ramped up back at this year’s WWE Royal Rumble. That night saw Becky Lynch and Seth Rollins win their respective Royal Rumble Matches, leading to their championship matches tonight. WrestleMania Kickoff Show The Kickoff Show will feature three matches: the WrestleMania Women’s Battle Royal, Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, and Cruiserweight Championship Match. In that third match, there’s the potential for a sleeper match of the night between Cruiserweight Champion Buddy Murphy and challenger Tony Nese. After fighting his way through a tournament, Tony Nese won the opportunity to challenge his good friend Buddy Murphy for the title, only to be attacked by Murphy after earning that opportunity. That leads to their match tonight, a heated, personal confrontation between two of the best in-ring performers WWE has to offer. In the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, we’ve got this year’s in-ring celebrity involvement as Saturday Night Live stars Michael Che and Colin Jost will compete alongside Braun Strowman and many other superstars. It’s sure to be a chaotic contest, and we might see a few surprise entrants as well. In the WrestleMania Women’s Battle Royal, we’ll see the spotlight on much of WWE’s women’s division. Despite very little build going into the night, this will surely be a great contest and hopefully we can see several hardworking female superstars get their WrestleMania moments along the way. Don’t be surprised if we also see names from NXT or legends join the fray as well. WrestleMania Grudge Matches The main card features 13 matches, with 9 championships up for grabs. In the realm of grudge matches, we’ve got Kurt Angle competing in his farewell match against recent rival and former WWE Raw authority figure Baron Corbin. We’ll also see indie veteran AJ Styles face off against WWE stalwart Randy Orton, which is sure to be an unforgettable contest between two men who paved very different careers. It’s been amazing to see the return of “The Big Dog” Roman Reigns after successfully fighting leukemia and sending the disease back into remission. Unfortunately for Reigns, his return was soon met with constant attacks from “The Scottish Psychopath” Drew McIntyre. While Roman Reigns is looking to prove WWE is still his yard, Drew McIntyre is trying to carve his path to the top at Roman’s expense. Both of these men will be staples in the company for years to come, making this a must-see contest. The final two grudge matches are certainly the most bitter. Triple H will take on former Evolution stablemate and longtime rival Batista, the latter making his return to WWE after five years away. Triple H has also been convinced to put his in-ring career on the line, meaning there are high stakes in this No Holds Barred brawl that could be either, or both, man’s final match. Back at WWE Crown Jewel, The Miz got to the finals of the WWE World Cup, but was unable to compete due to an injury. Then-General Manager of SmackDown Shane McMahon took his place and won, becoming the “Best in the World.” This later led to an awkward but endearing partnership turned tag team between The Miz and Shane McMahon, only for the latter to turn on The Miz at Elimination Chamber and even attack The Miz’s father. This has built to their impending Falls Count Anywhere Match today, which is sure to be one of the craziest and most unpredictable fights of the night. WrestleMania Championship Matches On the main card at WrestleMania 35, a total of 9 championships will be contested through 8 matches. In the tag team realm, both the Raw Tag Team Titles and SmackDown Tag Team Titles have seen matches made just this last week. After a brawl broke out between the four teams on SmackDown, WrestleMania host Alexa Bliss made a Fatal 4-Way Tag Team Match for the titles between The Usos, The Bar, Aleister Black & Ricochet, and Shinsuke Nakamura & Rusev. On the Raw side, The Revival escaped a title defense against Aleister Black and Ricochet on Monday only to find themselves against hometown favorites Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder today at WrestleMania 35. We’ll also see a second Fatal 4-Way Tag Team Match, as The Boss ‘n’ Hug Connection will defend the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles against The IIconics, The Divas of Doom, and The Samoan Slaughterhouse. Intercontinental Champion Bobby Lashley will continue his rivalry with Finn Balor, but this time Balor is bringing “The Demon.” When bringing “The Demon,” Finn Balor has yet to be defeated on the main roster in WWE, and he’ll look to continue that and leave as Intercontinental Champion. On the SmackDown side, we’ll see United States Champion Samoa Joe defending his title against veteran Rey Mysterio in what could quietly become an instant classic. Universal Champion Brock Lesnar will make his first in-ring appearance since defeating Finn Balor at the Royal Rumble, and only his third since capturing the Universal Championship in November of 2018 at WWE Crown Jewel. Seth Rollins earned the right to face Lesnar by winning the 2019 Men’s Royal Rumble, and “The Kingslayer” looks to become “The Beastslayer” and Universal Champion by dethroning Brock Lesnar tonight. WWE Champion Daniel Bryan defended his title inside the Elimination Chamber less than two months ago, and found himself very close to being defeated by late addition Kofi Kingston. After an hour-long gauntlet performance on SmackDown Live and an amazing effort at Elimination Chamber, 11-year veteran Kofi Kingston found himself with the support of the WWE Universe. Despite Mr. McMahon’s best efforts, Kingston fought through every obstacle to earn this opportunity, and now in his first one-on-one WWE Championship match, Kofi Kingston looks to leave WrestleMania 35 as the first black man to hold the WWE Championship. For the first time ever, the main event of WrestleMania will spotlight the women of WWE, and there will be two championships on the line. In a winner takes all triple threat match, we’ll see Raw Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey, SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair, and “The Man” Becky Lynch give it everything they have to leave WrestleMania 35 as a dual champion. We saw this week on Raw just how much these three women want to tear into each other, and they’ll finally get the chance to do that tonight in the main event of WrestleMania 35. Also don’t forget that the nature of a triple threat match means anything goes, so there’s nothing stopping these three women from pulling out all the stops. WWE WrestleMania 35 Announced Card WrestleMania Women’s Battle Royal (Announced Participants: Dana Brooke, Mickie James, Ruby Riott, Liv Morgan, Sarah Logan, Asuka, Carmella, Naomi, Lana, Mandy Rose, Sonya Deville, Zelina Vega, Nikki Cross) (Announced Participants: Dana Brooke, Mickie James, Ruby Riott, Liv Morgan, Sarah Logan, Asuka, Carmella, Naomi, Lana, Mandy Rose, Sonya Deville, Zelina Vega, Nikki Cross) Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal (Announced Participants: Braun Strowman, Michael Che, Colin Jost, Apollo Crews, Titus O’Neil, Tyler Breeze, Jinder Mahal, No Way Jose, Bobby Roode, Chad Gable, Kalisto, Gran Metalik, Lince Dorado, Bo Dallas, Curtis Axel, Heath Slater, Rhyno, Viktor, Konnor, Andrade, Ali, Shelton Benjamin, Luke Gallows, Karl Anderson, Matt Hardy, Jeff Hardy, Otis, Tucker, EC3) (Announced Participants: Braun Strowman, Michael Che, Colin Jost, Apollo Crews, Titus O’Neil, Tyler Breeze, Jinder Mahal, No Way Jose, Bobby Roode, Chad Gable, Kalisto, Gran Metalik, Lince Dorado, Bo Dallas, Curtis Axel, Heath Slater, Rhyno, Viktor, Konnor, Andrade, Ali, Shelton Benjamin, Luke Gallows, Karl Anderson, Matt Hardy, Jeff Hardy, Otis, Tucker, EC3) WWE Cruiserweight Championship Match: Buddy Murphy (c) vs. Tony Nese<doc-sep>
WWE fans have been trained to expect the unexpected when it comes to the annual episode of Raw after WrestleMania. Yet for the second straight year, Monday night turned out to be a letdown. For as hot as this year's Raw initially was over the first two hours, just 24 hours removed from Sunday's WrestleMania 35 card, the main event of Monday's show from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, provided the hangover to remind you the magic of WWE annual showcase failed to carry into the third hour. But despite an almost unforgivable end to the broadcast, there was plenty to like on this show from the beginning of what could be an electric women's title feud to the surprise return of a legend and the debut of an NXT monster. Let's take a closer look at the good, bad and ugly from Raw after Mania. Check out our audio analysis of WrestleMania 35 from the State of Combat with Brian Campbell podcast below. Be sure to subscribe on iTunes, Spotify or wherever you get podcasts. WWE Raw results, grades A celebration and epic challenge: Seth Rollins opened Raw with the universal championship on his shoulder and corrected the crowds chants of "you deserve it" by saying "we deserve it." He excused his dirty actions of hitting Brock Lesnar low the night before by saying Lesnar would've done the same to him. He also proclaimed his wish to be a fighting champion everyone can be proud of. Out came The New Day. After announcing the Superstar Shakeup wouldn't start until next week, new WWE champion Kofi Kingston challenged Rollins to a "winner take all" match later tonight. "No Shield, no New Day," Kingston said, "just you and me, one-on-one, title-for-title." Rollins accepted and the crowd exploded. Grade: A- Raw Tag Team Championship -- Curt Hawkins & Zack Ryder (c) def. The Revival via pinfall to retain the titles: The unlikely champions scored a sneaky victory to keep their reign alive just 24 hours after pulling the upset at WrestleMania. The fact that this automatic title rematch was supposed to be the kind the McMahon family announced last fall was outdated wasn't addressed on commentary. The match was quickly paced and featured a number of late near falls to pop the crowd. The Revival hit a Shatter Machine late on Ryder, but Hawkins had secretly tagged himself in seconds earlier and ran in to roll up Scott Dawson from behind for the pin. Grade: B Former NXT star makes smashing debut: Baron Corbin entered the ring to boos and "shut the f-- up" chants as he bragged about retiring Kurt Angle. Out came the former Olympic gold medalist to tell Corbin he was the better man last night. He also extended his left hand for a shake and wished him luck. "Bad luck," Angle added, before hitting Corbin with an Angle Slam and applying his ankle lock. After Corbin escaped, Lars Sullivan's music hit. The hulking "Freak" stared down Angle before hitting him with a one-arm slam and landing a flying head butt halfway across the ring from the top rope. Grade: B- Alexa Bliss def. Bayley via pinfall: After a lengthy break from televised competition amid rumors of a lingering injury, Bliss made her in-ring return just one night after hosting WrestleMania. The match was short but physical with Bliss having the back of her head slammed into the second turnbuckle after Bayley hit a sunset flip slam. After Bliss got her leg onto the rope to break the subsequent pin attempt, she hit a DDT out of nowhere for the 1-2-3. Grade: C+ Lacey Evans gets Becky Lynch's attention: Lynch entered the ring holding both titles as a hot crowd greeted her with a chant of "Becky Two Belts" and loud singing of her theme song. Lynch mentioned she had worked at a bar nine years ago not far form the Barclays Center. She also cut promos on Ronda Rousey and Charlotte Flair. Out came Lacey Evans who, after feigning she was walking away, turned back to deliver a stiff Women's Right to Lynch's face. Lynch chased her down on the ramp to start a stiff brawl of believable strikes. The action spilled onto the stage as Evans, who fought in a dress with heels, broke free from the Dis-Arm-Her just as a group of referees swooped in to break them apart. Talk about an amazing introduction after weeks of cryptic and increasingly annoying run-ins.