By Brian Argabright
You like title changes? Oh we had title changes!
WrestleMania week has come and gone and the granddaddy of sports entertainment did its best to cram as much wrestling into two days of competition. Alas, not every match was a classic and some will be forgotten just as quickly as they were booked, but there will still some great moments from this past week that could lead to some big things down the line for the WWE.
Of course the title changes got started on NXT Takeover: Stand and Deliver. The first two-day Takeover saw every title from the brand on the line and not every champion who entered their match walked away with belt in hand.
Be warned. There are spoilers ahead.
In my opinion, Takeover gave us three instant classics – Io Shirai vs. Raquel Gonzalez for the NXT Women’s Championship, Santos Escobar vs. Jordan Devlin to unify the NXT Cruiserweight Championship, and Kyle O’ Reilly vs. Adam Cole in a non-sanctioned grudge match. Of those three, O’Reilly vs. Cole stood out the most for its storytelling and brutality. It was like very violent theater that left fans wanting more even if some folks felt the match went a little too long.
The title changes came hard and fast.
Gonzalez defeated Shirai by pin fall to win her first women’s championship. An alumnus of the Mae Young Classic, Gonzalez has been pushed as one of the new faces of the women’s division going forward. I wouldn’t be surprised if Shirai heads to the main roster now where she could have some excellent matches with the likes of Charlotte Flair, Bayley, Sasha Banks, a returning Becky Lynch and others.
Escobar defeated Devlin in a ladder match to unify the cruiserweight titles. It was a physical match, but Escobar came out on top after shoving Devlin off one ladder and onto a second one. Escobar’s reign as champion came to an end Tuesday when Kushida defeated him to win his first title since signing with the WWE.
MSK won their first NXT Tag Team Championships when they outlasted the Grizzled Young Veterans and Legado del Fantasma in an entertaining triple threat match for the vacant titles.
Carrion Cross regained the NXT World Championship when he pinned Finn Balor. Another physical match, this may mark the end of Balor’s time in NXT. I feel he may be headed to NXT UK rather than the main roster to help give that brand a shot in the arm.
Saturday and Sunday brought us WrestleMania 37 and more title changes. It also brought us the surprise of the weekend in the form of Damian Priest and Latino recording artist Bad Bunny vs. The Miz and John Morrison.
This feud began at the Royal Rumble and stayed hot to WrestleMania. While Bad Bunny isn’t the same size as the men in the WWE, he trained regularly at the company’s performance center under the tutelage of Adam Pearce, a former NWA World Champion, and former 205 Champion Drew Gulak. That work showed as he worked very well with Miz and Morrison. Those two carried Bunny in the match, but they also played up their shock at his performance and the fans ate it up. Bunny is a huge wrestling fan and his respect for the business showed from the outset. WWE then paid him back by announcing his upcoming world tour and dates for his shows on night two of WrestleMania, which was no doubt a surprise for his fans.
My favorite match of the weekend was Matt Riddle vs. Sheamus for the WWE US Championship. Both men are no strangers to a physical style of wrestling, but they worked so well together I really want to see a rematch soon. Even the botched finish, in which Sheamus legit kicked Riddle in the face with a Brogue Kick as Riddle was flipping, thereby busting Riddle’s lip wide open, gave legitimacy to the match and Riddle especially.
There were also a couple of title changes over the two nights. A.J. Styles and Omos defeated The New Day for the Raw tag team titles, Sheamus pinned Riddle for the US title, Bianca Belair defeated Sasha Banks for the SmackDown Women’s Championship in what many fans and experts consider to be the match of the weekend, Apollo Crews pinned Big E, with some help from Commander Azeez, aka former football player Babatunde Aiyegbusi; and Rhea Ripley pinned Asuka to win the Raw Women’s Championship.
For full results, check out wwe.com
