WWE WrestleMania 33 review: What we learned, takeaways, future projections

SmackDown Women’s Championship Match

Alexa Bliss (c) vs. Mickie James vs. Natalya vs. Becky Lynch vs. Carmella vs. Naomi

What we learned: We learned here that you actually can win in your hometown.

I thought they might take this opportunity to bring back some of the divas from the past but the past really wasn’t the theme of WrestleMania 33 as we didn’t have any of the segments with legends or past stars that we’re used to getting at a WrestleMania. And I’m okay with that either way. Sometimes it’s fun to see those people and sometimes it’s best to focus in on the stars of today.

As for this match, this was a Six-Pack Challenge that saw Alexa Bliss take on Mickie James, Natalya, Becky Lynch, Carmella and Orlando’s own Naomi. This match wasn’t nearly as good as the one that decided the inaugural SmackDown Women’s Champion but it was good enough for the time they got out there.

There really wasn’t a lot of down time in this one as everybody had something going on at any given time. The six brawled at the start before a few went to the outside (always expected in a multi-person match) and the double suplex from Naomi and Alexa to Natalya was a nice touch. Enemies working together, you just gotta love it. Becky Lynch had her fun moment as she cleared the ring and then gave the crowd a thrill, or a laugh depending on which way you look at it, by taking out James Ellsworth when he tried to get involved.

Naomi nearly botched a sunset flip coming back into the ring but was able to hold on and pull it off while Natalya simultaneously hit Becky with a German suplex. Not bad. And speaking of Natalya, how cool was that double Sharpshooter? She only had it locked in for a little bit but I actually dug that. In the end, however, this was always going to be Naomi’s night. Having to relinquish the title but being able to make it back to her hometown for this match made the finish pretty predictable and it was a nice moment for her.

What’s next: This match definitely could have benefitted from having more time and these six were kind of victims of a time crunch, which seems silly in a five-hour show. Alexa likely won’t be happy come Tuesday night and will probably demand her rematch. The women’s division on the blue brand hasn’t been as strong as it was in the past and needs to do some work to get back to where they once were.