WWE WrestleMania 35 review: Highlights, takeaways and projections

Highlights, takeaways and what’s next for the Superstars of WWE following Sunday night’s WrestleMania 35 pay-per-view extravaganza.

WrestleMania 35 is now in the books and what a night it was, as more than 82,000 people jammed into MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey for seven title changes in more than seven hours of action. Okay, it wasn’t all action (the show is getting way too long) but overall, it was a fun night with good matches that sent the crowd home happy, even if there still might be people waiting for a ride home (apparently there were some serious transportation issues after the show). There’s a ton to get to so let’s just dive right in, beginning with the events that transpired on the Kickoff Show.

The first match of the night saw Buddy Murphy surprisingly lose his WWE Cruiserweight Championship to Tony Nese. This was a shocking upset but it was a good match that set the tone for the night and may signal that Murphy may be on his way to Monday Night Raw or SmackDown Live. He’s done just about all he can do on 205 Live and a step up during the Superstar Shakeup wouldn’t shock.

The WrestleMania Women’s Battle Royal was up next. After taking some hits for the team over the past few weeks in the Ronda/Charlotte/Becky buildup, The Riott Squad got to shine a bit here. But in the end, it was Carmella (a New York native) who got the win. This was obviously a way to get some more names on the card and it did what it needed to do in that regard. Plus, it was nice to see Ember Moon back from injury.

The Raw Tag Team Championship was on the line as The Revival took on Zack Ryder and Curt Hawkins. We all knew where this was going as Hawkins finally broke his long losing streak and got his WrestleMania moment in his hometown. They certainly won’t hold the titles very long, much like what happened to Ryder after his Intercontinental Championship win at WrestleMania 32, but this was fun enough.

The final match on the WrestleMania Kickoff Show was the sixth annual Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal and this, like the women’s iteration earlier in the night, did what it needed to do: Showcase male Superstars who weren’t otherwise on the WrestleMania card. There were a few fun spots in here (that Luke Harper-Ali spot could have gone very badly) but in the end, it came down to Braun Strowman and the Saturday Night Live guys, which was expected. After slapping Michael Che out of the match, The Monster Among Men threw Colin Jost, who expertly trolled the New York crowd with his Cleveland Browns Odell Beckham jersey, onto the pile of guys on the outside of the ring, and that was that. Let’s hope Strowman gets something better in the next few months.

Now, let’s get to the main card, starting with a very surprising opening match.