WrestleMania: What we learned
By Anton Toloui
Last Updated: 03/04/17 4:02pm
So many matches, so much fallout. Sky Sports takes a look at the state of the WWE following WrestleMania 33.
All hail King Neville
Neville remains 'King of the Cruiserweights' after seeing off the spirited challenge of Austin Aries. OK, the Geordie high-flyer got a bit grabby around the eye area but he retained his Cruiserweight Title on the biggest stage of all. Do not expect Aries to take this lying down, expect ramifications.
Don't mess with Gronk
New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski turned Jinder Mahal inside out with a high impact shoulder tackle after the muscly Superstar threw beer in his face. That interference helped Gronk's old friend Mojo Rawley throw Mahal over the top rope to win the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, his biggest achievement in WWE. Well, I say 'don't mess with Gronk', a special mention is needed to the security guard that genuinely tried to stop Gronkowski from jumping over the barrier.
Shane O'Mac is superhuman
Shane McMahon is 47 but produced a performance that defied his age at the Citrus Bowl. He threw himself from the top rope through the announcers' table, he performed a shooting star press and he nailed AJ Styles with a trash can. But his best wasn't quite good enough, going down for the count after a Phenomenal Forearm. But Shane proved he's still got it. Did I mention he's 47?!
Bayley belongs but Charlotte's the star
Bayley overcame three other women to walk out of WrestleMania still holding the Raw Women's Championship but what a performance from Charlotte Flair! A corkscrew somersault from the top rope to take out Bayley and Sasha Banks was a thing of beauty and her mix of high risk manoeuvres and powerful agility re-stamped her credentials as one of the greatest athletes in the WWE.
A true WrestleMania shocker!
The Hardy Boyz are back! In their first 'Mania for fifteen years Jeff and Matt Hardy stunned the world by entering the ladder match for the Raw tag team titles. Jeff went old school, climbing to the top of the biggest ladder he could find and throwing his body through Cesaro and a different ladder, which led to Matt claiming the gold. A real WrestleMania moment.
I'm off to buy a new hat
John Cena and Nikki Bella saw off The Miz & Maryse, despite the WWE Universe very much being in M&M's corner. But no one will remember the bout, the WrestleMania moment was the proposal that followed. Cena got down on one knee and asked Nikki to marry him, she said 'yes', they kissed and hugged a lot - expect talk of a wedding to be mentioned on every episode of SmackDown Live, Total Bellas, Total Divas and who knows what else for the next few months.
Steph is best for business
Seth Rollins, fighting a dodgy knee and the flu, managed to see off Triple H. But the moment of the match was Stephanie McMahon inadvertently being put through a table. The Commissioner of RAW put her body on the line to make the match memorable but expect ramifications when Rollins turns up to work on Monday night.
A big, big night for the 'Big Dog'
Controversially, this was the last bout of the night, meaning Roman Reigns has headlined the last three WrestleManias. Like him or loathe him, the 'Big Dog' gets people chatting and typing, thus generating a huge buzz for his match against The Undertaker. Reigns' impressive victory means, even though he doesn't have any gold around his waist, he is now right up there in terms of talent in the WWE. Where he goes next will be fascinating, as will the reaction of the WWE Universe.
The Raw after WrestleMania always promises to be one of the highlights of the year. With so much unresolved you won't want to miss it live, 1am on Tuesday morning on Sky Sports 5.
