4 Ups & 7 Downs From WWE WrestleMania 41 - Night 1 (Results & Review)
A disappointing overall effort for WrestleMania, save for a fantastic main event.
When watching WrestleMania, it’s extremely easy to get caught up in the moment: the glitz, the music, the bright lights, the slick production, and the hyped announcers all contribute to a vibe that makes you feel like you’re watching the greatest show you’ve ever seen.
While vibes are important and should not be discounted, the strength of a good wrestling show and how it’s assessed should not be based entirely on the vibes WWE generates itself.
WWE would have you believe WrestleMania 41’s opening night was an incredible night of action, drama, and moments. In reality, Night 1 was an underwhelming underperformance from nearly every corner of the show. If not for the main event, this might have been one of the most disappointing efforts from WWE in years.
The in-ring product was mostly good, though the matches certainly didn’t feel like WWE’s best offering. The WWE Women’s Championship match was a clunky mess that nearly fell apart. Gunther/Jey Uso had a fantastic moment, but the match itself was a fraction of what it could have been after all the buildup. Rey Fenix’s WrestleMania debut could have taken place on a random SmackDown.
Many times, this column gives partial credit for effort or whether something was passable rather than being outright “good.” For WrestleMania, the standards have to be higher. We have to demand excellence rather than blindly giving kudos to the biggest wrestling company on the planet for turning in a C+ homework assignment. The build has been lackluster, and that carried through with Saturday’s show.
Let’s get to it…