7 Match Star Ratings For WWE WrestleMania 37 - Night 1

4. The New Day Vs. AJ Styles & Omos - RAW Tag Team Title Match

Cesaro Seth Rollins
WWE.com

AJ Styles and Kofi Kingston worked the sort of early sequence that makes you resent RAW for mandating that its talent phone everything in. They were energised and they relished the game of counter-oneupmanship. They luxuriated not just in the crowd but by being encouraged not to just do the same old sh*t.

"WE ARE EFFECTIVELY CUTTING THE RING IN HALF," shouted Xavier Woods as he did precisely that, in a knowing meta gag that did just about enough to shrug at the weird dynamic. Styles, the heel, played the face-in-peril in an...heroic effort to tag in the crowd favourite, Omos, who happens to be a gigantic, dangerous and unstoppable monster.

If AJ Styles was getting worked over Midnight Express-style, does that make him a part of the day community?

Omos didn't know how he big is in a teased tag spot that was never going to work. Reach over! You're incredibly large!

This didn't work from a psychological nor a physical standpoint, and became rather boring, but when Omos finally tagged in, he impressed with a one-handed judo throw...thing, which relied entirely on Xavier Woods to sell it, but he sold it very well. If Omos is nothing more than a guy whose mere presence can make something look like it hurts more, that's good enough. The Phenomenal Forearm launched from his shoulders looked great.

That monster of a finish looked even better. It looked like death. There are rollercoasters with shorter drops than that.

A successful and wrong and entertaining and boring match, all at the same time.

Star Rating: ★★★

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!