Sports

Live Coverage of WrestleMania 33

on

Keep up to date with BackstageOL.com, @BackstageOL, and @Fox26Houston with results and reactions to WWE’s “Showcase of the Immortals” WrestleMania 33.

We kick off with some in-ring action as Neville defends his Cruiserweight title against Austin Aries.

The stars of WWE’s 205 get the still filing-in crowd, estimated to be at 75,000 tonight, with a strong display of athleticism with Aries giving a valiant effort in trying to win his first WWE championship. He even connected with a 450 splash!

Neville retains his championship with his patented Red Arrow finisher. Neville has not lost a one-on-one match since October 2016.

The world is about to shake with the likes of Big Show and Braun Strowman in Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal. WWE Superstar Baron Corbin made a name for himself in this same match when he made his in-ring debut. Tonight he squares off against Dean Ambrose for the Intercontinental Championship.

The weight of the bodies in the ring has dropped considerably as both the Big Show and Strowman have been eliminated!

Dolph Ziggler must be a fan of The Who as he’s a Pinball Wizard when it comes to taking bumps inside the ring. Already eliminated R-Truth and Rhyno as he tries to stave off elimination.

With the ring cleared we were left with three competitors: Mojo Rawley, Jinder Mahal, and NXT’s Killian Dain. Mojo gets some assistance in the form of The Gronk! The New England Patriots star tight end takes out Dain!

And now it’s time to celebrate. No Lambeau Leaps required.

Mojo Rawley continues his winning streak in WWE kickoff matches. SummerSlam 2016, No Mercy 2016, TLC 2016, Elimination Chamber 2017, and now WrestleMania 33. Way to go, Mojo!

One year ago, Baron Corbin made his WWE debut winning the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal. Tonight he challenges Dean Ambrose for the Intercontinental Championship!

Last summer, Dean Ambrose won the prestigious WWE Championship. Now he’s defending the Intercontinental Championship on the show before the “Show” at WrestleMania 33. Poor guy.

The “Lunatic Fringe” Dean Ambrose looks to be getting his second wind against the “Lone Wolf” Baron Corbin. Ambrose knows a thing or two about taking a beating; he squared off against Brock Lesnar at last year’s WrestleMania!

How can you not love a face like this?

After a hard, back and forth match, Dean Ambrose tranquilizes the “Lone Wolf” and retains his Intercontinental Title!

Let’s get this party started! All aboard the Ultimate Thrill Ride!

Recording star Tinashe delivers a beautiful rendition of “America the Beautiful” in front of 75,000 fans of the WWE Universe!

Our hosts of tonight’s WrestleMania, The New Day, have a Final Fantasy theme going on with their outfits. Maybe later they’ll level up with some Unicorn Power!

Our first match of the evening is a match of respect: Shane McMahon vs. AJ Styles!

The “Face that Runs the Place” AJ Styles better not underestimate Shane McMahon. Shane O’ Mac has no fear when it comes to taking risks.

What a way to kick off WrestleMania!

Shane-O-Mac pulls out a play from Billy Kidman’s playbook in attempting a Shooting Star Press! As Joey Styles would say, “OH MY GOD!”

AJ Styles avoids the high-risk maneuver and picks up the win.

In the battle of besties, our next match of the evening is Chris Jericho defending his U.S. Title against Kevin Owens.

WWE Commentator Michael Cole gives the WWE Universe a history lesson by acknowledging this is Chris Jericho’s 14th WrestleMania match, tying him with Bret “Hitman” Hart for sixth all time!

It looks like Kevin Owens is sporting a sleeveless WrestleMania 2 T-shirt with the letters “KO” duct-taped on the front.

Tonight is a night of high-risk maneuvers and going all out. Already we’ve seen the 450 splash, Neville’s Red Arrow finisher, Shane-O-Mac deliver an elbow drop to AJ Styles through a table as well as go coast to coast (and miss a Shooting Star Press).

Not to be outdone, here’s Jericho getting Kevin Owens off the top turnbuckle.

Kevin Owens wins his first U.S. Championship after delivering a pop-up powerbomb to Chris Jericho on the apron!

Taking a break from the testosterone, the Raw Women’s Championship is about to be defended in a Fatal Four-Way match!

It looks like Women’s Champion Bayley is selling used cars at WrestleMania.

How do you get rid of the dominating Nia Jax? With a triple powerbomb, of course.

Bayley champions the late Randy Savage with his patented flying elbowdrop to defeat “The Queen” Charlotte Flair to retain her championship!

“You Suck!” Only in WWE is this chant considered a sign of respect. Congratulations to Kurt Angle and the rest of the inductees to WWE’s Hall of Fame for 2017.

It must be moving day as ladders are set up around ringside for our next match.

The teams of Enzo and Big Cass, Cesaro and Sheamus, and Gallows and Anderson have a lot to live up to if they are to replicate the likes of Tables, Ladders, and Chairs with The Hardy Boyz, Edge & Christian, and the Dudleyz at WrestleMania X-7.

And the emcees of tonight’s show, The New Day, have announced a change for tonight’s three-way ladder match. THE HARDY BOYZ are back in WWE!

Chants of “Welcome Back!” greet Matt and Jeff Hardy. As Thomas Dolby would say, “It’s poetry in motion.”

This is the twelfth ladder match in WrestleMania history. The first occurred back at WrestleMania X and involved WWE legends Shawn Michaels and Scott Hall (aka Razor Ramon).

Check out this teamwork by Cesaro and Sheamus!

While the duo may have been in sync, it was insanity that was victorious at the end as The Hardy Boyz win their seventh tag team championship!

I just love it when other WWE superstars mark out for surprise returns.

When you talk about the power of promos in establishing a match, look no further than our next match of the evening.

Not sure how I feel about special ring announcer Al Roker referring to himself as “Chocolate Thunder.” Perhaps he’ll form a tag team with “Sexual Chocolate” Mark Henry.

John Cena channels the late Ultimate Warrior with his run to the ring. Hope he doesn’t get winded before the match starts.

Jerry Lawler in the broadcast booth for this match is comedy gold. His back and forth jawing with John Bradshaw Leyfield is great.

It would be a double five-knuckle shuffle that would silence The Miz and Maryse. But not to be outdone, John Cena gets the crowd back on his side (if only for a moment).

Business is about to pick up as we move towards a no-sanctioned bout with Triple H and Seth Rollins.

I have come to kick ass and play the game. But I’m all out of quarters.

Triple H is entering his twenty-first WrestleMania. His first match was a squash against The Ultimate Warrior at WrestleMania XII. Triple is second all-time in WrestleMania appearances.

As good old JR used to say, “It looks like business is about to pick up.”

I don’t think heads are supposed to bounce like this.

What happens next can’t be good.

The last few minutes had more twists than a pretzel. But in the end the right man won.

The obligatory bathroom break this year isn’t for a women’s wrestling match but a mini music set of Pitbull and Flo Rida.

Right now the WWE Championship is on the line with Bray Wyatt defending it against former Wyatt Family member Randy Orton!

The fireflies are buzzing as the 70,000+ crowd light up during Bray Wyatt’s entrance.

Only at WrestleMania will you see images of maggots inside a wrestling ring. The Orlando crowd doesn’t know what to make of it. “That was freaky!”

Bray Wyatt’s mind games were no match for Randy Orton’s RKO. He wins his 13th world championship!

So it would seem that The Undertaker and Roman Reigns is main-eventing WrestleMania 33. Because up next we have Bill vs. The Beast as Goldberg defends his WWE Universal Championship against Brock Lesnar. Hopefully it is better than their match thirteen years ago at WrestleMania XX and more recently at Survivor Series 2016.

Brock Lesnar thought he was going to make short order of Goldberg with a trip to Suplex City, but the champ counters with his patented spear. But several spears and his Jackhammer finisher is not enough to finish off Brock. Now Lesnar is in his element with multiple German suplexes!

Say “Goodnight, Irene.” F-5 finishes off Goldberg and Lesnar is your new WWE Universal Champion!

One last time for the ladies of the WWE to have a WrestleMania moment as Alexa Bliss defends her title in a Six Pack Challenge.

Congratulations to Naomi who comes back to SmackDown Live to reclaim the women’s championship she had to relinquish. And to win at WrestleMania in front of her hometown, too.

The main event must be a “slobberknocker” as Jim Ross returns to the broadcast booth to call the No Holds Barred match between Roman Reigns and The Undertaker.

This is the third straight year Roman Reigns has main-evented WrestLeMania. His career record at the event is 3-1. The Undertaker has a career record of 23-1. This is his twenty-fifth match at WWE’s biggest show of the year.

Whenever I hear Roman Reigns proclaim, “It’s my time now,” I think he’s auditioning for The Goonies. Thankfully, The Undertaker tries to put him in his place.

Chokeslam on a chair and a Tombstone piledriver is not enough to put Roman Reigns away. The crowd is not happy. But as Jim Ross freely admits, Reigns is “tougher than a two dollar steak.”

Uh oh, a chair has found its way into the match.

The Undertaker has taken four Superman punches and multiple spears from Roman Reigns but he won’t be pinned! But the Deadman is moving slower and slower after each thunderous blow that Reigns delivers.

It looks like WWE has a new Big Dog. The ring is no longer The Undertaker’s yard.

We have witnessed the end of an era. A legacy that began at Survivor Series 1990 and culminates with WrestleMania 33.

Thank you, Taker!

Related Topics:, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Click to comment
Exit mobile version