Universal Champion Brock Lesnar Attacked Roman ReignsWWE is desperately, and I mean desperately, trying to get you and the masses to feel sympathetic toward Reigns, and it simply isn't working. Granted, he wasn't booed nearly as loudly here as he normally is, but WWE's attempts to get him over as the conquering hero, again, aren't going to be successful. That said, this was another strong promo from Paul Heyman as well as another strong attack from Lesnar. He has looked absolutely relentless in his assaults on Reigns, so imagine how much more effective they would be if someone such as AJ Styles or Daniel Bryan was the target. Nia Jax def. Mickie JamesJames allowed Bliss to escape Jax's wrath last week, so it was logical for Jax to get her hands on James this week. As a match, it was perfectly fine and served its purpose in giving Jax more momentum ahead of her Raw Women's Championship match with Bliss at WrestleMania. They're telling a simple story with them that the crowd is invested in, and that's all that matters.
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Hunico and Camacho def. Mike Dalton and Jason JordanDalton and Jordan had previously scored an upset victory over Hunico and Camacho, which confused me since it looked like Hunico and Camacho were being built up. I suppose the point of that was to make Dalton and Jordan look competitive here and make viewers think they had a chance of winning again. Of course, that wasn't the case, but this was a nice little match and a good showing from everyone involved. The Ascension Attacked The UsosThe Usos called out The Ascension as they had unfinished business from the last time they clashed, only for The Ascension to ambush them from behind and lay a brutal beating on them. It was rare we actually saw talking segment (or something that wasn't a match) take place in the ring and not backstage, so this was a refreshing change of pace to breath new life into their feud.
The Rock Addressed the AudienceIt isn't ideal to kick off a huge show such as WrestleMania with a talking segment, but if anyone can electrify an audience and get them hyped up for the evening, it's The Rock. He didn't say much of substance here, but the crowd ate up everything he said and did, nevertheless. He went so far as to predict that this would be "the most memorable WrestleMania of all-time." I guess he was partially right, but it wasn't memorable for the right reasons. World Heavyweight Champion Edge def. Alberto Del RioFirst and foremost, the fact this kicked off the event essentially told viewers the World Heavyweight Championship wasn't important. Then again, that had been the case for years by this point, so I don't remember being too surprised at the time. As a match, though, this was actually very good. Edge and Del Rio worked well together and the interference from Ricardo Rodriguez, Brodus Clay and Christian at ringside didn't take away from the action. I would have put the belt on Del Rio, but Edge had never successfully retained a world title at WrestleMania before, so it was a cool moment for him. Considering no one knew that this would be Edge's last match ever (he officially retired from the ring eight days after this), I'd say he went out on a high note.
Antonio Cesaro def. Derrick BatemanCesaro is obviously one of those guys who can get at least a decent match out of anyone he steps in the ring with g, and considering Bateman was improving anyway (which William Regal made mention of on commentary), this was an enjoyable matchup. Similar to any other NXT match around this time, they weren't given a ton of time, but they definitely maximized their minutes and set the tone for the rest of the night. Tamina Snuka def. Sofia CortezI believe Cortez was already released from the promotion by this point and this had been taped beforehand, so it was no surprise that she lost. That said, she had plenty of potential and it was unfortunate she was cut from her contract (though she did go on to reinvent herself in Lucha Underground). Tamina had a fine showing, but none of her matches ever excite me. On the bright side, Raquel Diaz had her moment to shine afterward by attacking Tamina.
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