Welcome back to our run back of every important PPV in the Bloodline saga. Last time, we tackled Survivor Series 2020—a show that was just kinda there. Some good matches, but nothing that really shook the world or moved things forward. Now we jump into WrestleMania 37 Night 1, a show that had a ton of anticipation around it. Not just because of the storylines, but because this was the first WWE event with a real crowd in over a year. After months of soulless Thunderdome shows, we were finally getting energy, atmosphere, real reactions again.
The hype was real—Bobby Lashley was finally champ and getting his moment, Drew was still hot off a dominant 2020, and Bianca vs Sasha had all the emotional weight in the world. RAW was still struggling, don’t get me wrong, but SmackDown had been consistently solid. The pirate-themed stage? Epic. The fact that Save Your Tears by The Weeknd was the theme? Inject that into my veins.
Let’s go match by match.
1. Bobby Lashley (c) Vs. Drew McIntyre for the WWE Championship
Winner: Bobby Lashley via Submission
This was the exact type of heavyweight brawl you want to kick off WrestleMania with. Lashley and Drew went out there and beat the hell out of each other—big suplexes, power moves, just two juggernauts colliding. It was intense, physical, and felt like a real war. Lashley looked like a monster and Drew sold everything perfectly. The match also benefitted from the crowd being hot—this was the first entrance they’d seen live in over a year, and Drew’s sword entrance felt grand.
The booking was the right call too. Lashley going over clean by submission helped solidify him as a dominant champion. Drew didn’t look weak in the slightest, and if anything, it made Lashley feel like a made man. It set the tone for the night and reminded everyone that this wasn’t a B-level champion—this was The Almighty.
Rating: 4.25/5
2. Women’s Tag Team Turmoil Match
Winner: Natalya & Tamina
This was easily one of the worst things on either night of Mania. Sloppy, awkward, and just not fun to watch. The structure didn’t help—too long, too many cold teams with zero momentum, and too many blown spots. You could tell half the teams had no chemistry or experience tagging together regularly. Liv Morgan and Ruby Riott tried their hardest to carry, but no one else seemed to match their energy.
The finish with Natalya & Tamina going over was just… baffling. They were not over, they had no real storyline momentum, and it felt like such a flat choice. This was supposed to build interest in a title match on Night 2, but instead it made people dread it. One of those matches that makes you question how this even made it to the Mania card.
Rating: 0.75/5
3. Cesaro Vs. Seth Rollins
Winner: Cesaro
Now this was the type of Mania match that feels special—not because it was a five-star classic, but because it was finally Cesaro’s moment. For years, fans had begged for WWE to give him a solo push, and here he was, in a prime singles match against a top-tier opponent. And they killed it. Rollins is one of the most consistent guys in-ring, and Cesaro brought all his signature athleticism: deadlift suplexes, crazy uppercuts, and of course, the giant swing spot that had the crowd losing their minds.
It wasn’t super long, but it didn’t need to be.
Everything they did was crisp, purposeful, and well-paced. The pop when Cesaro won was awesome, and it felt earned. This was one of those midcard matches that doesn’t steal the show, but definitely makes the show better.
Rating: 3.75/5
4. The New Day (c) Vs. AJ Styles & Omos for the RAW Tag Team Championship
Winner: AJ Styles & Omos
AJ and Omos as a team had all the signs of a fun oddball pairing, but this match didn’t really click the way it should’ve. The New Day did their best to keep things interesting, but the structure was odd—AJ played the smaller, weaker guy for most of the match, which is a weird choice considering he’s a former WWE Champion. It dragged a bit until Omos tagged in.
Omos got his moment, and yeah, he looked huge and imposing, but his offense was mostly just standing still and doing slow-motion power moves. That might work for a debut, but it doesn’t make for compelling wrestling. It wasn’t bad, it was just very basic and not very exciting beyond the novelty of Omos debuting. This felt more like a RAW match than a Mania one.
Rating: 2.25/5
5. Braun Strowman Vs. Shane McMahon in a Steel Cage Match
Winner: Braun Strowman
This match made me irrationally angry. I get it—Shane’s whole deal is being an arrogant idiot who gets beat up—but this went way too far into cartoon territory. The story was Braun being bullied for being stupid. That’s literally it. And to pay it off, he rips open the cage wall with his bare hands. Like, what are we doing here? The psychology was nonexistent, and even the bumps (which is usually Shane’s saving grace) didn’t really hit.
I will say: the big bump where Shane falls off the top was fine, and the crowd popped for Braun winning. But the buildup sucked, the match was ridiculous, and it felt like a waste of a Steel Cage stipulation. They could’ve done anything else with Braun here and it would’ve been better than this.
Rating: 1/5
6. Bad Bunny & Damian Priest Vs. The Miz & John Morrison
Winner: Bad Bunny & Damian Priest
The shocker of the night. Bad Bunny not only held his own—he thrived. He was bumping, selling, pulling off real wrestling moves. The Canadian Destroyer on the outside? The crowd lost their minds, and rightfully so. You could tell this wasn’t just a paycheck for him—he trained seriously and delivered one of the best celebrity performances in WWE history. Miz and Morrison were the perfect foils too, bumping around like pros.
Damian Priest felt like an afterthought, which is a minor nitpick, but the match was still laid out well.
Bad Bunny got his big moments, and the pacing was strong. A total crowd-pleaser and probably the biggest over-delivery of the entire weekend.
You walk away from this just impressed.
Rating: 4/5
7. Sasha Banks (c) Vs. Bianca Belair for the SmackDown Women’s Championship
Winner: Bianca Belair
This main event felt historic. From the moment they stood across the ring and took it all in, you could feel the gravity of it. Two Black women headlining WrestleMania, with a white-hot babyface challenger and a killer heel champion.
And they backed it up in the ring. Sasha was on another level with her selling, timing, and intensity, and Bianca rose to the occasion. Her athleticism is just freakish—she made catching Sasha mid-air and walking up the steps look easy.
The story was simple and powerful: Sasha did everything to stop Bianca from realizing her dream, and Bianca kept fighting. The finish with the KOD was explosive. The hair whip spot?
Iconic. This match delivered in every way it needed to and more. The best match of the night and a WrestleMania moment for the ages.
Rating: 4.75/5
Pros:
Real crowd made a massive difference.
Sasha vs Bianca was a classic.
Lashley got a dominant win.
Cesaro’s breakout moment.
Bad Bunny absolutely crushed it.
Cons:
That Women’s Tag Turmoil was horrendous.
Shane vs Braun was cartoon garbage.
RAW Tag Title match felt flat.
Some awkward pacing issues mid-show.
Tag division still felt like an afterthought.
Final Score: 7.5/10
WrestleMania 37 Night 1 was a breath of fresh air after the soulless Thunderdome era. You could feel the performers feeding off the crowd energy again. While not every match delivered, the highs were really high—Lashley getting a signature win, Bianca and Sasha putting on a banger, Cesaro finally getting his flowers, and Bad Bunny stunning everyone. The bad stuff was definitely bad, but it wasn’t enough to drag the whole show down. This was a solid thumbs-up Mania night and a hopeful step back into normalcy for WWE.
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